If you think you are standing...

be careful that you don't fall. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up over it!

1 Corinthians 10: 12-13

A Warning For Us

All other ages pointed toward this last great one in which we live. Notice "all" of them received God"s blessings and mercy (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), yet "some" turned away (1 Corinthians 7:1-40; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 1 Corinthians 9:1-27; 1 Corinthians 10:1-33). Their sins grew out of lust (James 1:14-15; 1 John 2:16-17). Since they had many blessings yet fell, it serves to warn us. Trusting obedience will keep us from falling (1 Corinthians 10:11-12; 2 Peter 1:10).

1 Corinthians 10:13 teaches God watches out for us as individuals and providentially cares for us. It also shows he has control over all things, even the forces of evil, since he will not allow too much pressure to be brought against us. General kinds of temptation are listed in 1 John 2:15-17. Other Israelites had resisted that which caused some to fall.

Source: in G Hampton's commentary.

Have you taken the time to read the word of God today in the middle of all you activities, I know that at times it's hard to find time but as they say, if there is a will there is a way or rather ask the Lord to help you manage your time and go for it. Aren't we privileged to be in a safe country where we are free to pray, to gather in a fellowship and to encourage each other, to take communion and to read the bible at any time. Let's fix our eyes on our saviour Jesus-Christ who watches over us. Let's take time to listen to him and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us on the right path away from the turbulences and wicked behaviour of the world. 

I  pray that the Lord bless you and your beloved and keep you safe under his wings in the name of Jesus-Christ Amen

The King's problem

Jeff Reynold tells us about the King's problem. 

An A to Z challenge..

Memorising one verse every day will be a real challenge for me....will you join me ?  Of course, you may know a few or more already. I confess that I find it difficult to memorise the chapter and number of verses. The verses are in alphabetical order already so that should help!

Here is the first one:
A  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Have a blessed evening. Yours in Christ. N.

Galatians 5:1 & 13 -25

What is freedom? Does it really exist? People think they are free but really they are conforming in one way or another – some good and some not. Keeping the laws of the land as we have to means we are not free to do as we may want – speeding is a good example! To be historic, back in the 60's, people claimed that they were free to do it all, wearing flower shirts, flowers in their hair and the whatever but in the end they were conforming to the same ideals. There will always be someone or something pulling our strings. If those who pull our strings are at work or at home, in a comfortable/loving environment, we do not mind it because we love them and want to please them. When you are watching advertisements on TV do those who produce the adverts really think people are free? Obviously some people are more influenced than others.

Freedom:

Paul talks of the freedom in this passage to love: 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself." ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Flesh:

He compares the life in the flesh [we are back to Adam's basic instincts] and see how he illustrates it in verses 19-21. Note he says ‘the acts of the sinful nature are . . . ‘ to the life in the Spirit and he outlines the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and hence original sin is part of our nature. Through redemption, Jesus-Christ sets us free ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Fruit:

See above and then he goes on to say that we have got to keep in step with the Spirit (v.25). In John 14:16, Jesus says: ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever. Counsellor = paralete = one called alongside to help etc. in the place of Jesus. Keeping in step means walking in accord with the Spirit. We are not walking on our own ways.  As the Son sets us free, we should be free indeed, that is the restoring process but we live in a world marred by sin. It's only in eternity that we will be perfected.

I wanted to share my notes on what Steven talked about last Sunday. Blessings, Yours in Christ.

The Long Silence

Have you heard this story before ?
At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly - not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.
"Can God judge us? How can he know about suffering?" snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. "We endured terror ... beatings ... torture ... death!"
In another group a Negro boy lowered his collar. "What about this?" he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. "Lynched for no crime but being black!"
In another group, a pregnant school girl with sullen eyes. "Why should I suffer?" she murmured. "It wasn't my fault."
Far out across the plain there were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he permitted in his world.
How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure in this world. For God leads a pretty sheltered life they said.
So each of these groups sent forth their leaders, chosen because they had suffered most. A Jew, a Negro, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the centre of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.
Before God could be qualified to be their judge, he must endure what they had endured. Their decision was that God should live on earth - as a man!
Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured.
At the last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.
As each leader pronounced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled.
When the last had finished pronouncing sentence there was a long silence.
No one uttered another word. No one moved.
For suddenly all knew that - God had already served his sentence.

Taken from "Voice " magazine. Autumn 1970

The Way of the Master

Tonight, I found out this very special blog : http://www.raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/

It's worth visiting! I knew about Kirk and Ray' tv programme and internet site, www.wayofthemaster.com

It is just an amazing way of preaching the Gospel in the streets!

What the fossil records reveal:

Rejoice!

Philippians 4 4-5
'Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon'.
As I was reading this passage again and again, I suddenly realised that this message is so relevant to us. If we were not Christians, we could easily be torn by depression as we are living in such a world where gentleness is dominated by violence, peaceful people are devoured by angry people, even our friends seem to get angry quickly for no reason. We could easily fall into depression. Paul was in jail when he wrote this letter and he could have been extremely depressed too. Imagine being in jail when you are completely innocent, the unfairness of it all.
Now if you are not a Christian and you have just opened your Bible on those lines, you may be wondering what is going on!
Who is the Lord ?
Here is a very simple version of an amazing truth .
Paul's message is that you will find Joy forever in believing that The Lord (who created every human beings and animals on the earth ) sent Jesus-Christ his son on earth, Jesus obeyed his Father in everything and accepted to die on the cross for our sins.
Sins, what on earth does it mean ? We sin when we are forgetting The Lord and not obeying his 10 commandments. Adam and Eve committed the first sin, disobeying the Lord.
Jesus' sacrifice allows us to be forgiven by the Lord and when He comes back, we will join him for eternity in the new world.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments 1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."