MONDAY 12TH JULY
Genesis 18:1-10a
Shared meals bind us together
In this simple Old Testament story we see how Abraham goes out of his way to make friends with God. God appeared to Him as the Trinity, three men, and Abraham and his wife frantically got a meal organised for them. They sat down and ate the newly baked bread together with the calf Abraham had prepared. They all enjoyed the meal. It brought them close together.
The Bible shows us the tremendous importance of meals as a means of bonding ourselves with those we sit down with around the table. Sharing meals, cups of tea etc are valuable ways in which we can make our relationships with others stronger.
There is a tendency these days for members of families to come in when they feel like it, put a pre-prepared meal in the microwave and have their dinner all by themselves. This is very destructive of family unity. As we eat together and share the meals together our hearts come closer to each other. Even if we don’t feel like it, we should always have a cup of tea or share in the food prepared. Make bonding with your family and friends a top priority in your life.
As Abraham sat down with God, so we in the church sit down with God every Sunday at the Eucharist. It is a special meal which bonds us to God in a very simple but powerful way.
As Abraham sat down and shared a meal with God, God promised a miracle. His wife who had passed the age of childbearing would have a baby! As we have a meal with God at Holy Communion we can expect miracles too.
PRAYER: Father, help us to realise the value of sharing meals as a means of making bonds of love stronger. Show us the value of Holy Eucharist and also the need to accept those cups of tea and eat whatever is set before us. Through meals, God make us one, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
TUESDAY 13TH JULY
Psalm 15
How to experience closeness to God
The Bible makes it very clear that God really wants to be a friend of each and every one of us. However, it’s obvious that not everyone experiences a close relationship with God.
The Psalmist gives us some advice on how we can get close to the Lord. If we want to dwell with God we need to listen to what He has to say. What He is saying is that for us to have a close friendship with a Holy God, we have to be holy too. Holiness qualifies us to dwell with God forever.
To be holy, we must be blameless and do only the things that God wants us to do. A holy person is always truthful and very sincere. A holy person does not flatter other people then gossip about them behind their backs. Holy people hate sin and the way sinful people live. They honour all those who fear and obey God. A holy person always keeps his promise, however much it may cost him. A holy person is always just and fair, never taking unfair money from people or accepting bribes.
When we look at it, it’s impossible for us to be a friend of God because it’s impossible to be holy. Jesus could see this and that’s why He came to earth. He came to make us holy. He came to make us into God’s friends. If we repent of our unholiness and trust in the power released when Jesus died, then He will make us holy. We will then dwell with God forever in Heaven.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I know how much you want to be my friend. I want to be your friend too. I repent of my unholiness and trust in the power of the blood of Jesus to make me holy, through Jesus my Saviour. Amen.
WEDNESDAY 14TH JULY
Colossians 1:15-29
Present everyone perfect in Christ
Yesterday we learnt that the only way we can get close to God and remain His friend is for us to be holy. Today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians assures us that this is possible. Paul’s aim in writing this letter is to do all he can to enable as many people as he can to achieve this state of holiness.
After teaching us about Christ’s great superiority in verses 15-20, he tells us that we are put right with God, or made holy, by what Jesus did for us on the cross. We were once alienated from God - completely cut off from Him because we were unholy. Then Jesus came and reconciled us with God. He did this by all the suffering He went through on the cross! He paid the price for us! He took all the punishment our sins deserved. He removed all sin and all unholiness from us! Now Jesus presents us to the Father, “holy in His sight without blemish and free of accusation”.
All we have to do to be holy is to believe these words of scripture. As long as we believe Jesus is presenting us as holy people to God, as long as we trust in Jesus, His grace pours into our hearts in great abundance and we are made holy by Him!
When Paul says, “I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” in verse 24, he is saying he just wants to give himself completely, to sacrifice everything, using all the energy he can muster to get through to people the wonderful message that Jesus loves them and wants them to accept Him, trust in Him, and be with God forever!
PRAYER: Jesus we thank you that when we were alienated from you and your Father you went to the cross and died for us. You made us holy. Help us to be willing to receive you into our hearts as Saviour and Lord, so that we may go on trusting in you and receive the holiness you died to give us as a free gift. Help us to give ourselves completely to others and give us all the energy we can muster to encourage everyone to receive you, that you may present them to the Father, perfect in Christ. Amen.
THURSDAY 15TH JULY
Amos 8:1-12, 9:5-15
Cut off from God and restored
Some people think that it does not matter if they live unholy lives. God makes it very clear in today’s reading that the price for unholiness is to be cut off from God and to suffer devastation.
Holiness is another word for love. A person’s holiness is measured by how they love and treat other people. Israel in Amos’ time was judged unholy and condemned by God because they trampled on the needy and did away with the poor, because they cheated and lied and stole from others.
God just can’t tolerate people who say they love but who show in the way they treat people how little they really love them. At the end of his prophetic message a huge ray of hope lights up the message of doom and destruction. God will raise up a holy people, a remnant who will fear his name and be his friends.
We must all desire to be part of that remnant, to repent of our lack of love for each other and lack of concern for the poor and needy. We must trust in God to make us holy, loving people, always showing we are his friends by the way we treat each other.
PRAYER: Father, we want more than anything else to be your friends. Help us to show in a very practical way that you have made us holy. We repent of our lack of love and lack of concern for others. Fill us with the power of your love that we may love others as you love us, through Jesus our most holy, loving Saviour. Amen.
FRIDAY 16TH JULY
Luke 10:17-24
Rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The most important thing in all the world is to be a friend of Jesus and know that we are acceptable to God. When we become Jesus’ friends on earth, we know that friendship will last for ever! We will be His forever. Jesus wants to be friends of all. He died for all. He died to make everyone holy and acceptable to God and to be His close friends forever.
When we hear the good news of how much Jesus loves us and how He has given us the free gift of his grace, and when we respond to it by accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour and put all our faith and trust in Him, at that moment a wonderful thing happens. It is very significant for us. Our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life in heaven. We know that when the roll is called up yonder, we’ll be there! Every time Jesus reads this roll His heart is filled with so much joy, especially when He sees your name on it. You mean so much to Jesus. Though many wise and learned people have rejected Jesus, He has revealed Himself to you. Yes, you are so very, very special to Jesus.
Let’s all make Jesus’ joy complete by responding to His love. In this way our names will remain in the roll in heaven.
Let’s also be the means by which Jesus reveals Himself to others, that through us they, too, may have their names written in the book of life and be His forever.
PRAYER: Jesus, every time we think of you our hearts rejoice. It’s so wonderful that you love us so much that you want us to be with you as your friends forever. We love you too. We totally surrender and trust in you. It’s so wonderful to know that we are so special to You and that You have so much joy when You see our names in the heavenly roll. Amen.
SATURDAY 17th. JULY
Luke 10:38-42
I like me best when I am with You
To gather information to gain his PHD a student in the US had to spend a year living with Indians on a reserve. He lived in a hut and got very close to the family. One old lady, the grandmother, got particularly close to him. They couldn’t understand each other’s languages, but a strong relationship developed. When the time came for them to part, the old lady’s eyes were streaming with tears. She placed her hands on each side of his face, looked directly into his eyes and said, “I like me better when I am with you”.
This is exactly the way we feel when we are in the presence of Jesus. Jesus always brings out the very best in us. He makes us see ourselves as being very valuable and worthy of His love. When we look in His eyes and realise the depth of His love, the hurts, the cares and disappointments of our lives melt away. Then our self-esteem no longer depends on what we have done or failed to do; it depends only on the value He places on us.
Mary’s love for Jesus was like this as she sat at Jesus’ feet just listening to Him. She felt like the Indian grandmother. She could say, “I like me best when I am with you”. Martha, on the other hand, wouldn’t listen to Jesus. She tried to do so many things in her own strength to please Him. She felt so disappointed with herself and angry with Mary.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, save us from trying to save ourselves by all that we try to do. Help us to just be with you and let you accept us and love us that we may say to you, “I like me best when I am with you”. Amen.
SUNDAY 18TH. JULY
THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
LISTEN AND LIVE
We have two ears and one mouth. That means that we should listen twice as much as we speak! Listening is very important and the most important persons we should listen to are God the Father, His Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit.
Down through the ages millions of lives have been transformed by people listening to God speaking to them. God spoke directly to Abraham and Moses and all the prophets of the Old Testament and He spoke directly to Jesus and many of the Saints in the New Testament. Many times He has spoken directly to people as they have been praying. On several occasions He has spoken to me directly too.
Sometimes when God speaks to us, or we think God is speaking to us, we are not sure whether it is His voice, some other voice or our own imagination. How can we be sure it is God speaking? To be sure we have to seek some sort of confirmation When God speaks other things happen which make us sure that it is indeed God who has spoken to us. Usually a huge change takes place in our lives. We may feel overwhelmingly loved by God, our hearts may be filled with peace or we may experience a joy we had never known before, Jesus was invited to be a guest in the house of two sisters, Mary & Martha. One was really happy and at peace the other was all flustered and upset. Mary sat at Jesus feet and listened to Him very intently while Martha frantically did all the housework and complained that Mary was not helping her. Jesus commended Mary for listening to Him. He showed us that listening to God is more important than doing things for Him Does this mean that we can sit down and pray and do no work? Absolutely not!!
Once we have prayed and read the Bible and listened to God He soon directs us to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. (See Ephesians 2:10)
I have found if I pray and Listen to God before doing the jobs I do not like doing I do them so much more cheerfully The way all of us can listen to God EVERY DAY is for us to read the Bible. Years ago God spoke directly to the Authors of the biblical books. His Holy Spirit inspired them and directed them to write what they wrote. That is why we call the Bible the Word of God. When we read it with the help of the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us.
The Holy Spirit makes the Bible come alive for us. Jesus longs to speak to us and fill our hearts with love and peace and joy. Let’s all resolve to spend more time Reading His Word, praying and listening to Him. The more we listen the more we will live a really fantastic abundant life !!!!!!!!!
PRAYER
Dear Father God please open the ears of our hearts that we may hear you speaking to us. Speak to us as we read Your word in the Bible and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive for us. Through Jesus The Word who became a human person and dwelt among us.Amen
MONDAY 12TH JULY
Genesis 18:1-10a
Shared meals bind us together
In this simple Old Testament story we see how Abraham goes out of his way to make friends with God. God appeared to Him as the Trinity, three men, and Abraham and his wife frantically got a meal organised for them. They sat down and ate the newly baked bread together with the calf Abraham had prepared. They all enjoyed the meal. It brought them close together.
The Bible shows us the tremendous importance of meals as a means of bonding ourselves with those we sit down with around the table. Sharing meals, cups of tea etc are valuable ways in which we can make our relationships with others stronger.
There is a tendency these days for members of families to come in when they feel like it, put a pre-prepared meal in the microwave and have their dinner all by themselves. This is very destructive of family unity. As we eat together and share the meals together our hearts come closer to each other. Even if we don’t feel like it, we should always have a cup of tea or share in the food prepared. Make bonding with your family and friends a top priority in your life.
As Abraham sat down with God, so we in the church sit down with God every Sunday at the Eucharist. It is a special meal which bonds us to God in a very simple but powerful way.
As Abraham sat down and shared a meal with God, God promised a miracle. His wife who had passed the age of childbearing would have a baby! As we have a meal with God at Holy Communion we can expect miracles too.
PRAYER: Father, help us to realise the value of sharing meals as a means of making bonds of love stronger. Show us the value of Holy Eucharist and also the need to accept those cups of tea and eat whatever is set before us. Through meals, God make us one, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
TUESDAY 13TH JULY
Psalm 15
How to experience closeness to God
The Bible makes it very clear that God really wants to be a friend of each and every one of us. However, it’s obvious that not everyone experiences a close relationship with God.
The Psalmist gives us some advice on how we can get close to the Lord. If we want to dwell with God we need to listen to what He has to say. What He is saying is that for us to have a close friendship with a Holy God, we have to be holy too. Holiness qualifies us to dwell with God forever.
To be holy, we must be blameless and do only the things that God wants us to do. A holy person is always truthful and very sincere. A holy person does not flatter other people then gossip about them behind their backs. Holy people hate sin and the way sinful people live. They honour all those who fear and obey God. A holy person always keeps his promise, however much it may cost him. A holy person is always just and fair, never taking unfair money from people or accepting bribes.
When we look at it, it’s impossible for us to be a friend of God because it’s impossible to be holy. Jesus could see this and that’s why He came to earth. He came to make us holy. He came to make us into God’s friends. If we repent of our unholiness and trust in the power released when Jesus died, then He will make us holy. We will then dwell with God forever in Heaven.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I know how much you want to be my friend. I want to be your friend too. I repent of my unholiness and trust in the power of the blood of Jesus to make me holy, through Jesus my Saviour. Amen.
WEDNESDAY 14TH JULY
Colossians 1:15-29
Present everyone perfect in Christ
Yesterday we learnt that the only way we can get close to God and remain His friend is for us to be holy. Today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians assures us that this is possible. Paul’s aim in writing this letter is to do all he can to enable as many people as he can to achieve this state of holiness.
After teaching us about Christ’s great superiority in verses 15-20, he tells us that we are put right with God, or made holy, by what Jesus did for us on the cross. We were once alienated from God - completely cut off from Him because we were unholy. Then Jesus came and reconciled us with God. He did this by all the suffering He went through on the cross! He paid the price for us! He took all the punishment our sins deserved. He removed all sin and all unholiness from us! Now Jesus presents us to the Father, “holy in His sight without blemish and free of accusation”.
All we have to do to be holy is to believe these words of scripture. As long as we believe Jesus is presenting us as holy people to God, as long as we trust in Jesus, His grace pours into our hearts in great abundance and we are made holy by Him!
When Paul says, “I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” in verse 24, he is saying he just wants to give himself completely, to sacrifice everything, using all the energy he can muster to get through to people the wonderful message that Jesus loves them and wants them to accept Him, trust in Him, and be with God forever!
PRAYER: Jesus we thank you that when we were alienated from you and your Father you went to the cross and died for us. You made us holy. Help us to be willing to receive you into our hearts as Saviour and Lord, so that we may go on trusting in you and receive the holiness you died to give us as a free gift. Help us to give ourselves completely to others and give us all the energy we can muster to encourage everyone to receive you, that you may present them to the Father, perfect in Christ. Amen.
THURSDAY 15TH JULY
Amos 8:1-12, 9:5-15
Cut off from God and restored
Some people think that it does not matter if they live unholy lives. God makes it very clear in today’s reading that the price for unholiness is to be cut off from God and to suffer devastation.
Holiness is another word for love. A person’s holiness is measured by how they love and treat other people. Israel in Amos’ time was judged unholy and condemned by God because they trampled on the needy and did away with the poor, because they cheated and lied and stole from others.
God just can’t tolerate people who say they love but who show in the way they treat people how little they really love them. At the end of his prophetic message a huge ray of hope lights up the message of doom and destruction. God will raise up a holy people, a remnant who will fear his name and be his friends.
We must all desire to be part of that remnant, to repent of our lack of love for each other and lack of concern for the poor and needy. We must trust in God to make us holy, loving people, always showing we are his friends by the way we treat each other.
PRAYER: Father, we want more than anything else to be your friends. Help us to show in a very practical way that you have made us holy. We repent of our lack of love and lack of concern for others. Fill us with the power of your love that we may love others as you love us, through Jesus our most holy, loving Saviour. Amen.
FRIDAY 16TH JULY
Luke 10:17-24
Rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The most important thing in all the world is to be a friend of Jesus and know that we are acceptable to God. When we become Jesus’ friends on earth, we know that friendship will last for ever! We will be His forever. Jesus wants to be friends of all. He died for all. He died to make everyone holy and acceptable to God and to be His close friends forever.
When we hear the good news of how much Jesus loves us and how He has given us the free gift of his grace, and when we respond to it by accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour and put all our faith and trust in Him, at that moment a wonderful thing happens. It is very significant for us. Our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life in heaven. We know that when the roll is called up yonder, we’ll be there! Every time Jesus reads this roll His heart is filled with so much joy, especially when He sees your name on it. You mean so much to Jesus. Though many wise and learned people have rejected Jesus, He has revealed Himself to you. Yes, you are so very, very special to Jesus.
Let’s all make Jesus’ joy complete by responding to His love. In this way our names will remain in the roll in heaven.
Let’s also be the means by which Jesus reveals Himself to others, that through us they, too, may have their names written in the book of life and be His forever.
PRAYER: Jesus, every time we think of you our hearts rejoice. It’s so wonderful that you love us so much that you want us to be with you as your friends forever. We love you too. We totally surrender and trust in you. It’s so wonderful to know that we are so special to You and that You have so much joy when You see our names in the heavenly roll. Amen.
SATURDAY 17th. JULY
Luke 10:38-42
I like me best when I am with You
To gather information to gain his PHD a student in the US had to spend a year living with Indians on a reserve. He lived in a hut and got very close to the family. One old lady, the grandmother, got particularly close to him. They couldn’t understand each other’s languages, but a strong relationship developed. When the time came for them to part, the old lady’s eyes were streaming with tears. She placed her hands on each side of his face, looked directly into his eyes and said, “I like me better when I am with you”.
This is exactly the way we feel when we are in the presence of Jesus. Jesus always brings out the very best in us. He makes us see ourselves as being very valuable and worthy of His love. When we look in His eyes and realise the depth of His love, the hurts, the cares and disappointments of our lives melt away. Then our self-esteem no longer depends on what we have done or failed to do; it depends only on the value He places on us.
Mary’s love for Jesus was like this as she sat at Jesus’ feet just listening to Him. She felt like the Indian grandmother. She could say, “I like me best when I am with you”. Martha, on the other hand, wouldn’t listen to Jesus. She tried to do so many things in her own strength to please Him. She felt so disappointed with herself and angry with Mary.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, save us from trying to save ourselves by all that we try to do. Help us to just be with you and let you accept us and love us that we may say to you, “I like me best when I am with you”. Amen.
SUNDAY 18TH. JULY
THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
LISTEN AND LIVE
We have two ears and one mouth. That means that we should listen twice as much as we speak! Listening is very important and the most important persons we should listen to are God the Father, His Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit.
Down through the ages millions of lives have been transformed by people listening to God speaking to them. God spoke directly to Abraham and Moses and all the prophets of the Old Testament and He spoke directly to Jesus and many of the Saints in the New Testament. Many times He has spoken directly to people as they have been praying. On several occasions He has spoken to me directly too.
Sometimes when God speaks to us, or we think God is speaking to us, we are not sure whether it is His voice, some other voice or our own imagination. How can we be sure it is God speaking? To be sure we have to seek some sort of confirmation When God speaks other things happen which make us sure that it is indeed God who has spoken to us. Usually a huge change takes place in our lives. We may feel overwhelmingly loved by God, our hearts may be filled with peace or we may experience a joy we had never known before, Jesus was invited to be a guest in the house of two sisters, Mary & Martha. One was really happy and at peace the other was all flustered and upset. Mary sat at Jesus feet and listened to Him very intently while Martha frantically did all the housework and complained that Mary was not helping her. Jesus commended Mary for listening to Him. He showed us that listening to God is more important than doing things for Him Does this mean that we can sit down and pray and do no work? Absolutely not!!
Once we have prayed and read the Bible and listened to God He soon directs us to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. (See Ephesians 2:10)
I have found if I pray and Listen to God before doing the jobs I do not like doing I do them so much more cheerfully The way all of us can listen to God EVERY DAY is for us to read the Bible. Years ago God spoke directly to the Authors of the biblical books. His Holy Spirit inspired them and directed them to write what they wrote. That is why we call the Bible the Word of God. When we read it with the help of the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us.
The Holy Spirit makes the Bible come alive for us. Jesus longs to speak to us and fill our hearts with love and peace and joy. Let’s all resolve to spend more time Reading His Word, praying and listening to Him. The more we listen the more we will live a really fantastic abundant life !!!!!!!!!
PRAYER
Dear Father God please open the ears of our hearts that we may hear you speaking to us. Speak to us as we read Your word in the Bible and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive for us. Through Jesus The Word who became a human person and dwelt among us.Amen