TEXT: ‘No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us’ (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB) THOUGHT: New Year: the time to look back and forward. No one could have imagined in 2019 how 2020 would turn out. So it’s with trepidation we wonder what 2021 will bring, especially with new Covid variants causing a surge in infections and deaths, and the imposition of even more restrictive ones. It is also the time of year to make resolutions: goals to achieve; habits to give up; lifestyles to change. While it is easy to start off with best intentions, so often it ends with failure before the end of January! I have been impressed how the Apostle Paul faced the future and overcame personal battles within. There are three aspects I want to highlight. Forgetting the Past – ‘forgetting those things which are behind us’ 2020 is a year most of us want to forget, yet many will find it...
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TEXT: ‘For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counsellor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace”’ (Isaiah 9:6 TLB) THOUGHT: Countless adverts promote the new iPhone 12 with its 5G download speed. People look enviously at the person who now has it. Advertisers choose to ignore the Tenth Commandment, ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house ….nor anything that is your neighbour’s’ (Exodus 20:17). Instead they promote the erroneous idea that we must have the latest product for it will make us a better person and one to be envied, when in reality all it does most of the time is make us poorer. The excitement of getting soon wears off, but the commitment to keep paying continues if we have used credit. So let’s consider a 5G Christmas from heaven’s viewpoint. 1G – God ‘In the beginning God’ (John 1:1). Everything starts with God because He is the One who started everything in the first place. ‘All things were made through Him’ (John 1:3). So the first challenge is, “Will God receive an acknowledgement or even get a look-in during my festive celebrations?” 2G...
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TEXT: ‘Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, “the Stone of Help”), for he said, “The Lord has certainly helped us!”’ (1 Samuel 7:12 TLB) THOUGHT: My favourite DVD is probably ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’ and a certainty for watching again during December. Based on Charles Dicken’s novel, the story is about a miserly moneylender called Ebenezer Scrooge. He was so intent on amassing wealth that he did not care who he exploited or what relationship he ruined. On Christmas Eve night he was visited by three spirits who showed him his past, present and future. They helped him discover the true meaning of Christmas as a time for love, joy and giving and revolutionised his lifestyle, much to the amazement of everyone who knew him. Every time I watch it I always say, “If I was Prime Minister I would make everybody watch it at Christmas”, so powerful is its message! Today’s Teaching is about the place called “Ebenezer” and there are four important truths we can learn from the events that happened there. Ebenezer – The Place of a Previous Defeat – ‘Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer’ (1 Samuel 4:1) Israel...
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TEXT: ‘Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest’ (Hebrews 3:1 NIV) THOUGHT: In Part 1 we studied who Jesus really is; a merciful, faithful, compassionate, sinless, humble and eternal High Priest. Not one word can really describe Christ as a person. He is like a sparkling, many-faceted diamond. Whichever way we look we see something different that is just as relevant and attractive as all the other qualities. In Part 2 we now consider three other aspects of His High Priesthood. His Completion Jesus is now seated – ‘We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens’ (Hebrews 8:1) Jesus came to serve, not to be served and to sacrifice Himself rather than to receive the sacrifices. ‘But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God’ (Hebrews 10:1). He accomplished all that the Father asked Him to do. ‘I have finished the work You gave Me to do’ (John 17:4). He cried out on the cross, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). What Jesus did, He did once,...
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest’ (Hebrews 3:1 NIV) THOUGHT: When Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, people in the city were amazed and asked, ‘”Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus”’ (Matthew 21:9-11). Reading Saul’s conversion in the Book of Acts recently, I was struck by the following thought. He went to the High Priest for authority to persecute Christians in Damascus.1 On the way there he was struck blind by a dazzling light and Jesus, our High Priest, asked him a question, ‘Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me?’2 The Book of Hebrews contains many references to Jesus being our High Priest. Each verse helps us to understand Jesus’ character and what He has accomplished for us in that role. His Person Jesus is Merciful – ‘that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God’ (Hebrews 2:17) God is rich in mercy3 therefore Jesus must be merciful too. The Syro-Phoenician mother4 and the epileptic son’s father cried for mercy for their children and both were delivered from demonic powers and healed. The ten lepers6 and Bartimaeus7 cried for mercy and all were...
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