Posts by Norman

TEXT: ‘So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper”’ (2 Chronicles 20:20). The Bible is full of miraculous events that appear to be unbelievable because they are so amazing. The account of King Jehoshaphat’s reaction when being told he was about to be overrun by a superior army and what resulted, is no different. In Part 1, we considered 3 principles: wrong associations; reacting to God’s discipline; and how a crisis can suddenly arise and catch us unawares. Today’s Teaching focusses on another four as we see Jehoshaphat move from fear to faith. God said, ‘I am the Lord, I do not change’ (Malachi 3:6). Therefore we can adopt God’s principles and believe God’s promises because they are as true today as they were thousands of years ago. 4. Prayer – ‘Shaken, Jehoshaphat prayed. He went to God for help and ordered a nationwide fast. The country of Judah united in seeking God’s help—they came from all the cities of Judah to pray to God’ (2 Chronicles 20:3-4 MSG) Jehoshaphat got the...

TEXT: ‘Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him’ (Mark 10:32). During the early hours of March 29th this year, the Holy Spirit showed me what I am sharing in this teaching. Some of it will be particularly relevant to what you are going through and I want to encourage you that God knew ahead of time what you are facing today. Our text is the start of Jesus’ final few days on earth before the cross and there are four key truths we can take from the text. 1. Ahead – ‘Jesus was going before them’ True leaders always lead and have others following them. Psalm 23:1-3 says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.’ To get horses moving, some drivers crack a whip. Others simply say, “Lead on” and the horses respond to the sound of their voice.  Jesus said, ‘My...

TEXT: ‘Not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25 AMP). Attending church has always been a problem for some Christians, ever since the first church started on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. This is why scripture addresses it with our text. Jesus was faithful to attend the synagogue1, as were the early Christians meeting together for the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer2. In many parts of the world church attendance is thriving but not in Western Europe and Britain, fuelled by affluence and a desire for anything but Jesus. It’s easy to find fault with your local church and use that as an excuse not to attend, but no church is perfect and if it were, once you started attending, that perfection would cease! Today’s Teaching focusses on some key reasons for regular and faithful church attendance. 1. Faith Attending is a declaration of faith. Before I became a Christian I usually frequented pubs and clubs on a Sunday. After receiving Christ as my personal Saviour, the desire to go to church grew. I couldn’t be in...