TEXT: ‘Love suffers long and is kind’ (1 Corinthians 13:4) THOUGHT: Another word for humanity is mankind. If the syllables were reversed how much better it would read – Kindman! How this world needs a good dose of kindness. The Bible also uses the word ‘lovingkindness’, and this is what God displays towards us that helps draw us to Him in the first place. ‘How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings’ (Psalm 36:7). ‘Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies’ (Psalm 103:4). ‘I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm’ (Jonah 4:2). Today’s Teaching focusses on five aspects about kindness that we need to be aware of. It’s an add-on to our faith – ‘But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love’ (2 Peter 1:5-7) We may be better at some of these add-ons than others, but kindness is one area we must keep working on. It’s all too easy to fall back into selfishness and become inconsiderate about...
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TEXT: ‘Hezekiah took the letter from the envoy and read it. He went to The Temple of God and spread it out before God. And Hezekiah prayed—oh, how he prayed! God, God of Israel, seated in majesty on the cherubim-throne. You are the one and only God, sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, Maker of heaven, maker of earth’ (2 Kings 19:14-15 MSG) THOUGHT: The biblical account about King Hezekiah gives an interesting perspective on how his prayer life developed. It’s easy to neglect prayer when the going is easy, but when trouble comes we can be left wondering what to do. The Assyrian army, which had overrun Israel, was looking to add Jerusalem to their list of conquests. There are four things I want to highlight about Hezekiah’s reactions and prayer life. In Part 1, we studied how Hezekiah tried to deal with the problem through his own efforts, but the enemy kept coming back for more. Unable to find a solution he turned to someone he believed was in touch with God, Isaiah, who after praying received an answer of deliverance. This gave Hezekiah confidence that God was with him and Part 2 shows how that confidence enabled him to start praying his own prayers. Let God’s...
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘Hezekiah took the letter from the envoy and read it. He went to The Temple of God and spread it out before God. And Hezekiah prayed—oh, how he prayed! God, God of Israel, seated in majesty on the cherubim-throne. You are the one and only God, sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, Maker of heaven, maker of earth’ (2 Kings 19:14-15 MSG) THOUGHT: The biblical account about King Hezekiah gives an interesting perspective on how his prayer life developed. It’s easy to neglect prayer when the going is easy, but when trouble comes we can be left wondering what to do. After his coronation, the first thing Hezekiah did was to re-open God’s house and clear out all the rubbish.1 He was a godly king who had a heart for God. Jesus taught, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God’ (Matthew 6:33) and that’s exactly what Hezekiah did. As a result, blessing abounded and divine healings lifted the nation’s spirit.2 The kingdom of Judah enjoyed a time of prosperity, spiritually and economically as Hezekiah did what was good, right and true before the Lord his God. But trouble is never far away, even during the best of times. The Assyrian army, which had overrun Israel, was looking to add...
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TEXT: ‘I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God’s straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master’ (2 Peter 1:1 MSG) THOUGHT: Simon Peter is one of the twelve apostles we can more readily identify with. At times he put his foot in it, but on other occasions he got it exactly right. Today’s Teaching is a snapshot of his life which will help us to see the “Simon Peter” in all of us and what areas need attention. 1. Realisation – ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ (Luke 5:8) This is our starting point. Unless we see ourselves as a sinner, we will never see the need for a saviour. Simon Peter had been introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew.1 It’s wonderful when family members respond to our invitation to come. After loaning Jesus the use of his boat, Peter heard His teaching and then experienced the miraculous catch of fish.2 Peter’s despair over his...
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TEXT: ‘That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord’ (Isaiah 61:3) THOUGHT: Recently reading how Solomon built the temple, I noticed certain trees were used in its construction.1Jesus said, ‘I will build My church.’2 The bible also says, ‘You are the temple of the living God.’3 How the trees ended up in the temple can help us understand our position and function as part of God’s temple. There are five things I want to highlight about the types of wood used. It was Chosen Google search reveals over 60,000 species of trees in the world, yet only five were chosen for building the temple. Cedar – for walls and roof supports. Cypress – for floors and doors. Olive – for the Cherubim, doors and doorposts of the Most Holy Place. Algum or Almug – for steps and instruments. Acacia – for the Ark of the Covenant. Everything in Solomon’s temple was brand new except the Ark of the Covenant. God does not change. Make sure that whatever you are building has God in the midst! Different woods were chosen for different positions and functions. Jesus said, ‘You did not choose Me, but I have chosen you.’4 Peter wrote, ‘You are a chosen generation, a...
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