TEXT: ‘Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world’ – James 4:8 NLT THOUGHT: Reading the Book of Job recently I discovered a wonderful verse about the spiritual blessing having clean hands brings. I remember at mealtimes my mother would ask me, “Have you washed your hands?” Although I replied, “Yes”, she would say, “Show me your hands!” More often than not the result was another trip to the wash basin! To have spiritually clean hands is a command James is emphatic when he writes, ‘Wash your hands’. He is urging, “Do something about the sins you have committed or been involved with”. When we confess our sins, it is as if Jesus washes us clean, hands included, and presents us to the Father as righteous. Natural water cannot make our hands clean spiritually Washing the outside can never make the inside clean. Many a murderer has washed the blood off their hands in order to conceal their crime. They hope they will get away with it and some do but they forget that one day they will stand before God. The blood they shed cries out to God from the ground as did Abel’s. ‘“What have you done?...
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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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TEXT: ‘That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus’ – Philemon 1:6. THOUGHT: The Goal for 2020 is to share our faith more effectively. However godless our nation has become it does not have to stay that way or plummet even further into degradation. Nations can be changed by a move of the Spirit in response to the prayers and witness of God’s people. Our text reveals three things to keep in mind that will help us to effectively witness. Godward – ‘acknowledgment of every good thing’ ‘Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God’ – James 1:17 TLB. This is why I say grace before a meal. It’s acknowledging I am blessed with food and thankful not only eating it but also for those who prepared and served it. It’s good to able to tell people because I am a Christian all things are working together for good, even the bad things life throws at me. It’s not bad luck but there’s a God who is able to turn what is against me into something that is for me. Joseph told his brothers, ‘You meant evil against me but God meant...
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat’ – 2 Kings 4:8 NLT. THOUGHT: The essence of Christmas is giving although for many it’s more about receiving. God gave Jesus so that anyone, anywhere through faith could find forgiveness and a better future. Today’s Teaching is about the Shunnamite lady whose actions unknowingly changed her future. Read 2 Kings 4:8-37 and 8:1-6 to discover the whole story. Her Generosity Not only did she manage to persuade Elisha to stop for a meal whenever he was passing but she got her husband to agree to spend some money. Wives have a knack of doing that! ‘Let’s make a little room for him on the roof; we can put in a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, and he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by’ – v10 TLB. She gave wanting nothing in return, ‘Generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity’ – Isaiah 32:8 NLT. God’s Promise Two promises stand out in the...
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TEXT: ‘We are sure of this that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us’ – 1 John 5:14-15 TLB THOUGHT: I did not intend to send out another teaching on this subject but the day before I flew to Rwanda I was reading about Hannah (1 Samuel Chapter 1). Years of waiting ended when she changed how she was praying and this is the theme of Today’s Teaching. I pray that it will help someone to get a similar breakthrough. The Problem – ‘Hannah had no children’ – 1 Samuel 1:2 Hannah was loved and well-treated by her husband Elkanah, although her barrenness appears to have caused him to take a second wife, Peninnah. She did have children and constantly provoked Hannah about her barrenness. Getting older also became another barrier to conception. Every year the family went to the house of the Lord in Shiloh to worship but such occasions only intensified her misery. Overcome by grief, she could not even eat with the others, but found a place to pour out her...
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