Life Matters

Many believers have never taken 'ownership' of what God has given them - of what they already possess! They have great and powerful tools in their hands that much of the time are not recognised and seldom used. Yet 2 Peter 1:3-4 declares, "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life (the natural) and godliness (the spiritual), through the knowledge of Him who called us by His...

One of the elements of modern-day Christianity that we may consider guarding ourselves against is our love-affair with 'bigness' (mega-stature). We should be reminded of the need to "de-spectacularise" the church. Jesus declared that God's Kingdom comes quietly, invisibly - spreading its influence like yeast in dough. But the corporate model of church growth is bigger crowds, bigger buildings, and...

One of the elements of modern-day Christianity that we may consider guarding ourselves against is our love-affair with 'bigness' (mega-stature). We should be reminded of the need to "de-spectacularise" the church. Jesus declared that God's Kingdom comes quietly, invisibly - spreading its influence like yeast in dough. But the corporate model of church growth is bigger crowds, bigger buildings, and...

"A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul" Proverbs 13:19 . Achieving your goals is pleasing and enjoyable. But notice, there must be desire present before this can come about. In Matthew 15:28 , Jesus links desire to great faith, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be as you desire."  The Greek word literally means, "to will" or "to wish."  But it implies a deep human determination. Therefor...

God wants us to come of age. He wants sons and daughters who can take hold of their inheritance, and He has provided a sound process for achieving this. As the gifts that God has placed in the church equip the saints (that's you), and as you enlarge through active and energetic service, you grow up and increase in all matters of life. Resulting in you being transformed into the image of Christ and...

In this story, it would seem as if Jesus could not look upon grief, without that grief becoming His own. In the similar case of Lazarus, it was the bitter thought of a lost and departed friend which opened the fountain of the Lord's own tears.  At Bethany (as with here at Nain), it was simply the spectacle of human suffering that made its irresistible appeal to the emotional side of the Jesus' nat...

The word 'compassion' comes from two Latin words - 'suffer' and 'with'. Therefore, to show compassion means to suffer with someone, to enter into a person's negative situation and become involved in that person's distress. Compassion is not a theoretical attitude, put a practical involvement. It involves doing, not just thinking or saying! 'A compassionate response to suffering requires that (a) o...

Canon Andrew bring out the true meaning of Psalm 23.

Winston Churchill said, "The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." God's word says, "For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is" ( Proverbs 23:7 ). Therefore, the pessimist thinks and sees only difficulties, and the optimist thinks and sees only opportunities. Which one are you? Many people's philosophy in life is: "If I don't e...

If your thoughts are all negative so too will your confession be; and consequently your whole life. Perhaps you're like that. You're avoiding hope to protect yourself against being hurt. This type of behaviour sets up a negative lifestyle. Everything becomes negative because your thoughts are negative. God's word does not promote negativism. The longer you serve God, and study his word, the more y...

Proverbs 10:26 says, "The prospect (hope) of the righteous is joy." In other words, when you connect to your future (in God) you connect to happiness! However, we often neglect this truth. Have your hopes and dreams ever kept you awake at night? Do you ever wonder how all the pieces are going to come together to unleash all you are wishing for? Trusting God with your future is as simple as underst...

Proverbs 17:22 , "A happy heart is good medicine" ( Amp). We all need to laugh more – we need to have a "happy heart." Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to "rejoice," to "be joyful," and to "be glad;" and you will find over 50 direct references to happiness. Being happy has great benefits. Not only does it strengthen you, it can completely change your attitude and outlook on life. Someone onc...

We all need to laugh more – we need to have a "happy heart." Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to "rejoice," to "be joyful," and to "be glad;" and you will find over 50 direct references to happiness. Being happy has great benefits. Not only does it strengthen you, it can completely change your attitude and outlook on life. Someone once said, "What everyone wants from life is continuous and g...

Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know, recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations…" Acts 10:38 "How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and,...

Last week Pastor Chris spoke on who God says He is and we saw the attributes of God. Following on from that, today I want to look at who God says we are, as revealed in His Word.   "Who Am I?" Is a great question that we should ask ourselves?   Even Jesus had to discover who he was. Virgin birth. In Luke 2 we read about his birth, how he was presented in the Temple. By v 39 he is 12 years old. Par...

There are aspects of God that remain hidden from our eyes because we are finite beings. God is infinite and we cannot possibly understand everything about Him. However, God does reveal Himself in His own time and in His own way. And strangely enough, God does not reveal Himself to everyone. Probably, the number of people He does not reveal Himself to is far greater than to those He does. So why do...

Malachi 3:6 – "I am the Lord God and I do not change!" In order to understand what God reveals about Himself we must allow God to speak for Himself and be who He said He is! Let's stop misrepresenting Him by voicing our own opinions and politically correct views. I am always amazed at how many false statements people make about God - or about what God 'does' or 'thinks'. I can understand non-Chris...

In order to understand what God reveals about Himself we must allow God to speak for Himself and be who He said He is! Let's stop misrepresenting Him by voicing our own opinions and politically correct views. I am always amazed at how many false statements people make about God - or about what God 'does' or 'thinks'. I can understand non-Christians having an unscriptural concept of the nature and...

Pastor Chris Lodewyk was part of the team that brought about the end of apartied and the forming of the peace process in South Africa and now speaks to government ministers worldwide.

Pastor Chris Lodewyk was part of the team that brought about the end of apartied and the forming of the peace process in South Africa and now speaks to government ministers worldwide.

In Mark 12:29-31 Jesus said that the most important commandment is this… "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." And the second is equally important: "Love your neighbour as yourself." No other commandment is greater than these. Note, the first and second commandments are a package deal. They are inseparable. Jesus calls them firs...

How can you build a life of purpose? You can seek the answer to this question in many places - in self-help books, mentoring programmes, professional advice or even new-age philosophies. But have you ever considered how Jesus would answer this question for you? As the world's most significant person, He can do what no one else can. He can give you peace, purpose and power to change. Imagine for a...

How can you build a life of purpose? You can seek the answer to this question in many places - in self-help books, mentoring programmes, professional advice or even new-age philosophies. But have you ever considered how Jesus would answer this question for you? As the world's most significant person, He can do what no one else can. He can give you peace, purpose and power to change. Imagine for a...

Many of us sometimes feel as if we're living in a combat zone. It's as if a battle is raging on all sides and we can't seem to get focused. In combat, a critical factor for every soldier is whether he/she can outlast the battle in order to secure the victory. Therefore, surviving (coming through the struggle) means one of two things: (a) either you have gained the victory, or (b) you have escaped...

John Watson of Vinesong talks about this vital subject bringing healing to those who have been hurt by life and knocked out of the race.