TEXT: ‘For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen’ – Romans 11:36 THOUGHT: When God says, “All things,” He means, “All!” When reading Romans Chapter 8 recently, my attention was drawn to this phrase, “All things” which appears three times. These form the basis for Today’s Teaching. All things work together for good – v28 There are two provisos to this promise, lest people should think that just anyone is included in this statement. Firstly, it is for those who love God. Not just those with a belief in God, but those with a love for the one true God. Love can be inclusive, ‘For God so loved the world.’ 1 But it also can be exclusive, as the marriage vows indicate. “Will you love … forsaking all other?” Some wrongly assert that they can love God but include other gods as well. God is a jealous God and it grieves Him if you try to place others alongside Him. Secondly, it is for those who are the called according to His purpose. Jonah loved God and had been called to go to Nineveh to warn them of impending judgment. When he chose to disobey that call and head...
Learn More
TEXT: ‘I thank God that I speak in [unknown] tongues more than all of you’ – 1 Corinthians 14:18 Amplified Bible THOUGHT: It has been thrilling recently to see people in Engage Saltash church plant warming to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues. Some of those had been disappointed in the past by not experiencing this miraculous phenomena when prayed for and ended up wrongly thinking God did not want them to receive. Others were the product of wrong teaching or ignorance in the churches they had previously attended. But by slowly studying the scriptures, doubt and disappointment was replaced by desire and then the delight of receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the same way as the Bible promised it would happen! Paul, writing to the Pentecostal church in Corinth said, “I speak in tongues more than you all.” That could have meant he spoke with other tongues more than anyone else in the church or more than all of them put together! Why were they under-using the precious gift of tongues? Why was it so important to Paul? Far too many Christians receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, speak with other tongues, but fail to continue to do so...
Learn More
Text: ‘So now he is here being comforted and you are in anguish’ – Luke 16:25 Living Bible Thought: Jesus used parables to illustrate and explain about the Kingdom of God, heaven, hell and life in general. Some are easier to understand than others but all are true and we ignore them at our peril. Such is the case with the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 1 In life there will always be the have’s and the have not’s The latest survey reveals that the top 1% of the richest people in the world have more combined wealth than the other 99% put together. Jesus said, ‘For you have the poor with you always.’ 2 and ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.’ 3 He also said, ‘How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.’ 4 Yet there are many rich people who are true Christians in spite of their wealth and there are countless poor people who do not give God or Jesus a moment’s thought. It is not what you have in life that really matters, but what has you! One can have everything yet be generous and others with nothing yet are...
Learn More
Text: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body You have prepared for me. Then I said, Behold, I have come .. to do Your will, O God’ – Hebrews 10:5,7 Thought: Wherever I go I come across “unattached Christians”, those who are not regularly attending a local church. Usually there is a root cause for their non-attendance. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus gave several reasons as to why there was no commitment and therefore no fruit. Misunderstanding, offended, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things. 1 All are perfectly plausible, but none are valid! The text reveals that God has prepared a “body” for every Christian. Individually they are a new creation and have a new purpose – to do the will of God. Collectively, Christians are to gather together into local churches. We become the body of Christ and each Christian is a member of that body. God’s intention is that every Christian is a functioning member of a church. Naturally, if a member of my body can’t function effectively due to weakness, disease or paralysis, it causes a great strain on the rest of my body. So the non-attendance or non-functioning of Christians within...
Learn More
Which fire will warm you? Text: ‘Peter stood with them and warmed himself’ – John 18:18 Thought: It is amazing how something can be both a blessing and a curse. Fire can heat our homes and keep us warm, yet out of control it can burn the place down. In this study we will look at how fire changed Peter’s life and ministry. The fire of denial – ‘They made a fire and stood there’ – John 18:18 The courtyard was filled with the mob who had arrested Jesus. John, because he was known to the High Priest, got Peter in through the gate. Yet the night’s events had shaken Peter to the core so that even a simple question, “You are not Jesus’ disciple also?” brought the first of three denials, just as Jesus had predicted. 1 In the cold night Peter edged closer to the fire, robe wrapped around his face, hoping no one else would recognise him. He wanted to see what would happen to Jesus which was commendable. He ended up denying three times that he even knew Jesus, which he thought would now be unforgivable. Do people know you are a Christian or is your faith hidden? Watch out! Sooner or later someone is...
Learn More
Text: ‘I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith [as this man’s]’ – Luke 7:9 Amplified Bible Thought: The well-known Bible text often quoted at weddings says, ‘Now abides faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love.’ 1 I want to reverse the order as we study the miraculous healing of the Centurion’s servant. We will see how love searched out hope and from that sprung faith. Love – ‘who was dear to him’ This is a love story that is quite amazing. Roman centurions are not normally noted for love. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar which Daniel interpreted revealed the next 4 world empires – Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman. 2 In the dream, the metal used to describe the Roman Empire was iron and that is how they really were – cold, hard, ruthless and unbending. So for a centurion to care so much about a servant was an anomaly. One could hire and replace servants anytime, anywhere. Slaves were two a penny, often the spoils of war. Yet this servant was dear to the commander in charge of Capernaum. Not only that, he cared about the Jewish nation too and had built a synagogue for them. It is amazing...
Learn More
Recent Comments