TEXT: ‘For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me’ – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 THOUGHT: The Apostles are often referred to as saints – St Peter and St Paul. In fact, Paul taught that all Christians are called saints (See Philippians 1:1). If we are not careful, we will end up believing the apostles were super-human and at a spiritual level way above anything we could ever attain to. In their epistles, the apostles did not promote themselves, rather the opposite. The more successful and well-known Paul became, the lower the opinion he had of himself. It was not false humility when he wrote, ‘not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church’. What can we learn from our text to help us move forward in God into more effectiveness? We cannot change the past However much Paul regretted his actions, he could not rewrite history. How could Christians forgive and forget what Paul had done either? After...
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TEXT: ‘Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper’ – 2 Chronicles 20:20 THOUGHT: Although unintentional, it is interesting that Today’s Teaching, the first of the New Year, is based on 2 Chronicles 20:20. Many kings of Judah and Israel were ungodly and created real problems for the people they ruled over. Jehoshaphat was someone who feared the Lord having inherited the throne from his father Asa, (also a godly king although he went off the rails spiritually towards the end of his reign). Jehoshaphat stayed true to his faith to the end. ‘The people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites,came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you”’ – 20:1-2. 2 Chronicles chapters 19 & 20 are the record of a key crisis Jehoshaphat and the nation faced and the events prior to it. It is something we can all learn from. Rebuke – ‘Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?’ – 2 Chronicles 19:2 How do you respond when you are told off, whether at...
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