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MONDAY 15TH MARCH
Isaiah 43.16-21
I am doing a new thing

One of the things that makes life difficult for a lot of people is having to live with the past. The things others have done to them that have wounded them, or the bad things they have done to others that make them guilty, often can make their lives a misery. The word of God has good news for these people, for all of us in fact. If they surrender their lives to God and trust in the power released when Jesus died on the cross for them, God works a new thing in their lives. He makes them completely new! He tells them to forget all those former things which caused so much heartache. The power of Jesus’ blood completely wipes all the hurts of guilt feelings out of their memory. It’s as if they have never been hurt or never done anything wrong.

A lady once came to Jim Glennon. She was in her sixties. She told him how her sister had been jealous of her as a child because of the preferential treatment her mother gave her. As a result, they had a come-out and hadn’t spoken to each other for many years. Jim Glennon prayed for her sister, that Jesus would heal her memories. A few days later he received a phone call from the lady to say that her sister had invited her to come to stay. Jesus had done a new thing for these sisters. He had healed their memories.

Jesus’ help is like water in a parched land. It brings new life to all who receive it by faith.

PRAYER: Father, you are such a wonderful God. You are always doing new things in people’s lives and you wipe out their pasts. Please come to me and heal my wounded memories. Forgive me all my sins. Make me a new person, always drinking from your living water. Thank you that the past has gone and today is the beginning of the rest of my life, through our wonderful, fantastic Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

TUESDAY 16TH MARCH
Psalm 126
The Lord has done great things for us. We are filled with joy

The psalmist writes, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”! If you are going through hard times or know other people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives, these words will bring much comfort to you. In those down times it’s hard to have faith in God. The best way to regain faith in God is to look back to all the wonderful things God has done. If you have experienced the saving power of God in your own lives, look back to the fantastic difference God made to your life then. Think of all the answered prayers. If God doesn’t seem to have done much in your life, think of what He has done in the lives of others.

Here are a few of the many miracles God has done in my life. He saved me, gave me a new life in June 1973, and then filled me with His Holy Spirit in September that year. He also filled my wife, Wendy, with the Spirit and miraculously healed her injured back. He taught us how to live by faith when He called us to live without a salary for seven months. During this time He answered our prayers for food, etc. every day. As we have prayed for people in the name of Jesus, we have seen lives transformed, marriages healed and people’s diseases healed.

A few years ago Jack Huebener (the grandson of a member of my congregation at St Faith’s Strathpine) was diagnosed with having epilepsy. Albert rang me and we prayed for Jack, and then soon after the doctors said there was nothing wrong with him!

What miracles the Lord has wrought for us; we are filled with joy. May these and many other miraculous things the Lord is doing today give us such a strong faith, restore our lost fortunes and deliver us from all our fears and anxieties.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to count up all the miracles you have done in our lives or in the lives of people in our church. May the knowledge of the power you exert to help and heal so many people give me faith to believe you will deliver me from all that is now causing me suffering, anxiety or fear, through the great miracle worker, Jesus our Saviour. Amen.

WEDNESDAY 17th. MARCH
Philippians 3.7-14
The surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus

The greatest thing in all the world is knowing Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Paul says that once he came to know Jesus, everything else in his life lost its value and importance to him. He regarded it all as garbage! Have we come to a place in our lives where we consider our relationship with Jesus to be more important than anything else. Here is how we can all reach that point. We must stop trying to make ourselves acceptable to God by our own efforts. It’s absolutely impossible for us to save ourselves. It’s only when we put our faith in Jesus and the price He paid for us on the cross, that we are made acceptable. Then we begin to experience in our own lives how absolutely wonderful the experience of knowing Christ Jesus really is.

As we experience Jesus touching our lives, we soon discover that we need more and more of Jesus. As we taste and see how fantastically great the Lord is, we want to taste more so we seek, above all else, to know Jesus even better. I want to see the power God exerted, when He raised Jesus from the dead, working in my life. I want to be willing to share in His death, by dying to self and selfish desires every day. I want to be raised with Christ to eternal life.

Because I know I have not fully reached it yet, I press on to the goal of perfection and being absolutely one with Jesus in every way. I forget what is behind and strive forward, putting all my faith in Jesus to help me win the prize which I know Jesus wants me to have.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, it’s so wonderful knowing you. It’s so much better than everything else in my life. Please accept me fully into a wonderful personal relationship with yourself, as I put all my faith and trust in you and what you did for me. May your resurrection power transform me completely into your likeness and take me to be with you for ever. Amen.

THURSDAY 18th. MARCH
John 8.1-11
Neither do I condemn you

I believe the woman in our story today was Mary Magdalene, the first person to see Jesus after He had risen from the dead. This account illustrates the wonderful saving power of Jesus. She was guilty of adultery, sleeping with a married man. The sin of adultery was so bad in Jesus’ day that its punishment was the death penalty. If only it were taken more seriously today; far fewer marriages would be broken up and many children spared being broken in two, which happens when parents separate.

However bad the sins we have committed, none of them are too hard for Jesus to heal. When He forgives us, remember, it’s as if we have never sinned. Doreen Irvine, the author of the book, “ Witchcraft to Christ”, was a very evil woman, a prostitute, Satan worshipper and queen of the black witches of Europe. After Jesus converted her and drove out several evil spirits, she was made into a completely new person. As she was preparing to get married, she

was worried because she was not pure. She prayed and God spoke to her and said, “I present you to your husband as a pure virgin”!

The teachers of the Law and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking Him if it were okay for them to stone Mary as she was caught in the act of adultery. This is what the Law of Moses said - a very harsh punishment. Jesus had so much compassion for this sinner. He wanted to forgive her, but at the same time He didn’t want to fall into the hands of the Pharisees by going against the Law. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus the gift of wisdom when He said, “He who is without
sin throw the first stone”. Soon all left, except Mary. She heard the most beautiful words anyone had ever spoken to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin”.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank you for sending Jesus to completely forgive even the worst of sinners. We repent and confess all our sins to you. Thank you for wiping them out of our lives by the power of Jesus’ blood. Empower us to stop sinning, through Jesus our wonderful Saviour. Amen.

FRIDAY 19th. MARCH
Mark 15.21-41
The King of the Jews

In the Fridays in Lent we are looking at the various accounts of Jesus’ Passion. Today we look at Mark’s account briefly, then Luke’s and John’s. The cross must have been so unbearable for Jesus, laid upon His shoulders and back which was so bruised from many lashes. His headache must have been the worst ever with all those thorns pressing into His scull. What a relief when Simon carried the cross for Him.

The suffering grew intense as He was nailed to the cross. He embraced it so willingly, knowing that He came into the world for only one purpose; to die to take our sins away. He refused the anaesthetic they offered Him. Then all the insults came His way. They were hard to take, but Jesus felt so sorry for those who were making them. He must have smiled to Himself when they said, “He saved others, He cannot save Himself”. He knew that in three days He would be alive again. He knew He was dying to save all men who were willing to put their faith in Him.

Mark records only one word that Jesus spoke from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words reveal the inner suffering Jesus was going through. The physical suffering was bad enough, but far worse was what was happening in His heart. He was experiencing our sins and all the hurt that sin causes - the sins of all in the entire history of planet Earth. Think of the pain of a marriage break-up, the pain of war, abuse and torture. All these pains were added together and experienced in His heart. Sin is sin because it separates, it puts people against each other and cuts us off from God. That’s why Jesus cried, “Why have you forsaken me?” He experienced the feelings of being cut off from God. He became sin so we would be made one with God. The veil of the temple excluded the people from the Holy of Holies where God dwelt. They were not good enough to be with God. When the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died, it showed that His death had achieved its purpose. It had united us with God.

PRAYER: Jesus, King of the Jews, King of the universe, thank you for bearing my sin, taking the punishment I deserve and dying to set me free so that I can have a personal relationship with your Father. Thank you so much dear Jesus. Amen.

SATURDAY 20TH MARCH
John 12.1-8
Jesus anointed for burial

In this account of Jesus’ anointing we see the enormous love that Mary had for Jesus. He was in their house with Martha and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. No wonder Mary loved Him so much. He had brought her brother back to life. Mary had some very expensive perfume. She had probably gone out especially to buy it for Him. She broke open the bottle and poured it all over Jesus’ feet.

The whole room was filled with the lovely perfume. Then she wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. Judas wasn’t happy. Already he had lost his faith in Jesus and was antagonistic towards Him. He was a selfish person who wanted the honour and glory of being one of the Messiah’s cabinet, but he was not willing to believe a Messiah could be arrested and die a criminal’s death. He was getting ready to betray Jesus. He complained about what Mary had done, saying it was a waste of money, which could have been spent on the poor. He was lying. He was in charge of
the money and wanted to be able to take some for himself. Jesus rebuked Judas. He said that she was preparing Him for His burial by anointing Him. He told them they would always have the poor, but Jesus would soon be going back to heaven. Jesus wants us all to show Him how valuable He and His Father are to us. He loves us to spend money on Him in our tithes and offerings. He loves us to spend money on cathedrals and churches which show Him and the world how valuable He is.

PRAYER: Jesus, we want to show you how valuable you are to us and how much we appreciate your wonderful Father and thank you both for giving us the Holy Spirit. Help us to show our love in practical ways as Mary did. May the whole world know what a very high regard we have for you and be encouraged to surrender their lives to you. Amen.

SUNDAY 21ST. MARCH

THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE

VALUE JESUS MORE THAN ANYTHING

In the Gospel story today we will see just how much Mary, the sister of Lazarus, valued Jesus. She spent a whole year’s wages to buy ointment to anoint the feet of the one who had brought her brother back to life. I believe she is Mary Magdalene.   Earlier Jesus had saved her life by forgiving her when she was caught in the act of adultery.   Because she had been forgiven much she loved very much.

She stayed with Jesus all through His sufferings and was with Him when He died on the cross.   She had the wonderful privilege of being the first person to speak with Jesus after He had risen from the dead on Easter Day.

Paul also valued Jesus very much.   He had been chosen by Him while he was an enemy putting Jesus followers to death.   He too, Loved Him very much because he had been forgiven very much.   He said that he considered everything else in his life to be like rubbish compared with the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus His Lord. He spent his whole life strengthening his relationship with Jesus and encouraging others to give their lives to Him. He valued Jesus so much he longed For Him with tremendous passion.
He says to us, “I strain ahead for what is still to come, I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 3: 14)

We all have to ask ourselves the question: How much do we value Jesus? How much time to we give to building our relationship with Him? How much time in attending Church Services, praying and reading the Bible etc? How much do we spend on building up His Church?   Are we up to date with our tythes and offerings?    Time and money spent on Jesus is the very best investment we can ever make in our whole lives!

If we value Jesus more than anything else we will want to grow to be like Him in every way. Our bodies only grow if we feed them. Our spirits will only grow if we feed them the Word of God. The bible is the Word of God! Rick Warren reminds us of this in his book, The Purpose Driven Life. He says, “We can’t watch television for three hours, then read the Bible for three minutes and expect to grow” Remember, we value Him because He valued us so much that he payed the price for us with His life!