A few weeks ago in our church we had a sermon that was really good. We are going through the book of John in the New Testament. I had read the passage many times during my Christian life, but it was the first time I actually looked at it attentively. The truths about Jesus in this passage are amazing! We read the whole of chapter 17 but focused on the first 5 verses:

“After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

John 17:1-5

We are so used to watching celebrities on TV seeking glory for themselves. They spend an obscene amount of money on dresses and make up in the hope that a photograph will appear in the front page of a paper or magazine. More so, they hope that everyone would be talking about what they wore at that night at the Oscar’s.

Jesus is not seeking that kind of glory here. In fact, it is almost the opposite.

Here are some of my notes:

Jesus was going to be glorified on the cross and ultimately the glory He was seeking was for the Father. Jesus knew that only God can make people see Him glorified on the cross.

Jesus wants people to rejoice in God because of His immense love that gave His Son to die for our sake. He died the death that we deserve to give us the life we need.

Eternal life is not just about going on forever. Eternal life is about knowing God and Jesus. Jesus brought God glory by doing the work He was sent to do.

Jesus is now returning to His Father and He was asking for the glory that was rightfully His to be restored to Him.

This last point made me think of the aspect of the cross that we don’t normally think about. Jesus, the King, the One who was there from the beginning of times with God in His full glory, He gave that glory up to come down to earth and live like a man, and die for man to give man life with God. It is so much easier to think of Jesus as the baby, the man who walked the earth and preached sermons, and did many miraculous signs and suffered. But it is harder to picture Him before the cross in glory with the Father. Jesus was not asking for something as a recognition for His work. No. The glory was His by right. I guess this made me appreciate even more what He did for me on the cross. He left all his splendor and Majesty for a time to suffer for me.

Jesus’s prayer was answered on the cross and his resurrection. through history He has been made known to people who recognised Him as the King and saw Him glorified. Do we all know Him as the Sovereign over the whole world? Do we recognize what He has done for us? If the answer is no, maybe this is a good time to consider these things. If we answered yes, are we still delighting in giving Jesus all the glory that He deserves? Are we filling our hearts with things that are pushing Him to a little corner of our lives?

May He always give us the desire and the strength to give Him everything for His glory.

God bless.

My son had a lamp in his room that was constantly breaking. No matter how many new bulbs I bought it blew each one up in a matter of days. It was really interesting because it would flicker as well. Sometimes it would go off and then a few hours later go back on again. My son was very upset about it, because he does not like the dark and the lamp was not doing its job properly. Eventually I just bought a new one. And this one works just fine and illuminates the whole room.

Have a look at Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We are to shine the light of Jesus in the dark and lost world we live in. We have been given he message of Salvation to the world and we therefore have been given a task. People are dying every day and they are heading to an eternity of separation from God. The way we live needs to impact those people around us.

We are like broken lamps when we take our eyes off the goal. Our light flickers when we let God’s truths be pushed away from our hearts. We let the light go out when we question and doubt the power God has over us and the whole universe He has created. When we do that, those around us remain in the dark.

As with the broken lamp, sometimes just changing the bulb won’t fix the problem. If our hearts are not right all the bulbs will blow up! It could just be that we are enjoying this world too much. If that is the case, we need a new lamp. We need a renewed commitment to live for God and Him alone so the light shines all the time.

May we be working lamps for His glory!

We visited Scotland for the autumn half-term in 2011. It was very beautiful there and I would love to return one day. We visited a castle and went up a mountain. We stayed in a fantastic resort and built many fond memories while we were there for the week. One thing I regret about that trip: 3 point on my driving license! Unfortunately, I was caught speeding. I was not aware of the change in the speed limit in a stretch of road and the camera saw me. I was ashamed, still am, and thought it so unfair because I did not know, or did not notice the sign, which I am sure, was placed somewhere to let motorists know the speed changed. Still my ignorance cost me 3 points on my license!

I was embarrassed but also I felt I was not being given any chance to explain myself, after all, I did not know the speed limit had changed in that part of the road. I did not see the sign! How dare they send me a letter and fine me, AND give me 3 points on my license!

I am afraid, when it comes to the law, ignorance is not a good defence. I did not know, or did not notice the change, but it was my job to do so. I should have been more careful. So, I had to swallow my pride, pay the fine and get the points, which will disappear from my license in due course.

This made me think about our Christian lives. If we don’t know the “laws” given by our God about how we should live our lives, we, will suffer the consequences of our mistakes. The Bible tells us in Matthew 22:29

“Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”

If we don’t know the Scriptures and what it teaches, and if we do not practice it, we will certainly have problems in our lives. Problems in our marriages, problems with bring up our children, problems with our boss, problems with our relationships, problems with our finances. We would have problems in all areas of our lives. The Bible teaches us about all areas of our lives. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read:

” All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”  (New Living Translation)

That is why it is important that we try to be at church on Sundays, so we can  hear the Bible explained and we can learn what God teaches us about life. It is also important we try to attend our house group meetings, or youth group, or the weekend away the church has organized. As a matter of fact, any other activity where we have the opportunity to learn from the Bible. You see, when we choose to do other things instead of getting to know the Bible better we can’t use the excuse we didn’t know when something goes wrong in our lives. Ignorance is also a sin.

With my driving license points episode, I will be cleared of the consequences of my mistake soon, but when something goes terribly wrong in our lives because we did not know the Scriptures, the consequences will live with us for the rest of our lives. May God grant us the desire to learn more about His ways and His decrees so we can put it into practice in our lives.

“Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Psalm 119:33-34”

It has been a very cold winter and we have just returned from a lovely week of holiday! Lots of gloves, scarves and hats everywhere in our house at the moment! This made me think of how fortunate I was to have learnt to knit when I was a child. My grandma taught me. We used to visit her on a Sunday and after lunch she would get her needles out and very patiently she would show us what to do. Those were fun days. Unfortunately, she can’t knit anymore because of arthritis but she still helps me when I get stuck reading a pattern!

Recently I decided to make a ruffled scarf. My husband was away on a business trip and I sat down every evening to work on it. It occurred to me that knitting a scarf is very much like living our Christian lives. First you cast on the stitches. That is your foundation. Then you work on each row, making sure to keep the right side of the wool facing the right way (for the ruffled scarf). You carry on until you reach the length you desired and finally you cast the stitches off. During the process, if you are not being careful, you might lose a stitch or add one. When that happens you need to undo the stitches or rows above it in order to correct it. So, focus is important. As you practice you improve your rhythm and soon you are knitting very quickly! I really enjoyed the process and the scarf turned out so pretty that I went out and bought some more wool and knitted another one!

When we are living our Christian lives we cast on the stitches as well, i.e., we give all of our heart to Jesus and put our trust completely in Him. That is our foundation. Then we work each row – we let God take control of each area of our lives and we seek to do what He teaches us in the Bible. We make sure we are looking at the cross of Jesus to keep the right way. We carry on until we reach the end of the race and finally we present our lives before the throne of the King. During the process if we are not careful, we might lose our way or add something to the foundation of our faith. When that happens we need to go back, repent, confess it to Jesus and depend on Him above all things. So, focus on Him is important. As we live our lives seeking to please our King we become more aware of His love for us and we desire to keep loving Him back!

Happy knitting!

We have now established that sin is a problem of the heart. It is rebellion against God. It is pushing Him away. We also know that sin affects everyone. We all want to rule our own lives. We know that this rebellion in our hearts is punishable by death. So, we are left wondering if there is any hope. What can we do about sin? Absolutely nothing. Even if we tried really hard to “be good” we would not be able to change our hearts.

If the Bible stopped there, this would be a pretty horrible story, wouldn’t it? An entire race, condemned to spend eternity apart from the One who created them. But see, the Bible does not stop there. It tells us about God’s plan to rescue man’s heart and bring him back to Him.

Throughout the entire Bible we see God displaying his love to his people and giving them opportunities to turn back to Him. A bit like the mother that tells the child 100 times to go put the toys away and even when that child chooses to ignore her time and time again, she still loves him/her and does the best she can to teach them to choose right and to learn to obey. But in this case that is all the mother can do. She can only hope, pray, that her child will learn. In God’s case HE can rescue us. He can give us a new heart and a new life with Him. A new mended relationship.

God in His infinite love, mercy and grace gave his own a Son so that man could have a new relationship with Him. The Bible says in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus died on the cross so we could have eternal live with God. Jesus died our death. Jesus had no sin. He was perfect and did not deserve to die. He gave his life so we could have ours.

When Jesus walked this earth He knew what He was going to accomplish. He came to save us, but man despised Him and rejected Him. The love of God is so amazing that even then, He died. A slow and terrible death for each one of us. Isaiah 53:4-6

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

When we recognise that we are sinners and in our hearts feel sorry we rebelled against our Maker, we can put our whole trust in Jesus and He will, through his blood shed on the cross, change our hearts.

God provided the way for man to get back to Him. Jesus is the way. The only way. The Bible tells us in John 14:6:

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This amazing sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us, satisfied God’s wrath and when He looks at our hearts now, if we trust in Jesus as our Saviour, He sees Jesus. He sees our heart  as new.

What love is this? It is awesome! It is absolutely unimaginable! No one can understand!

Romans 5:8 says:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Why is it so difficult for people to see it and believe it? Wouldn’t they want a new heart? The problem is that most people can’t accept the fact they are sinners and need rescuing in the first place. They think that leading a good life is enough. They are happy and don’t need God.

I stand amazed that God would love me that much that He would give His Son so I could be in a relationship with Him. And it is all because of His grace. Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

This is how God dealt with sin.

My prayer for all of those reading these posts and for myself, is that we would find strength, courage in Him to tell those around us living their lives for themselves that God has already given us the way to have a changed, completely new heart. That way is JESUS.

God bless!

On my last post we established that sin is a heart disease. It is much more than just breaking rules. It is an act of rebellion against Almighty God. Wasn’t that Adam’s and Eve’s problem though? What does it have to do with me? How does it affect me in the 21st century in modern Britain?

We often think about the way sin entered the world as a problem related to those that sinned then. And then we think we are different, better. We didn’t do it. We are ok.

The Bible tells us that because of what happened that day when Adam and Eve decided in their hearts to rebel against God, that we are all like them.

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

We all have in our hearts the inclination to say NO to God and deny Him his rightful place as King in our lives. We all want that throne for ourselves.

This is the tricky part. It is very hard for people to see themselves as a sinner. In their eyes, and the eyes of the community, they might be good law-abiding citizens. They might have really high moral standards. They might be involved in doing good to people in need. What they fail to see is that in their hearts they are still saying NO to God. They don’t need Him as king.

Romans 3:23 says:

 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

All have sinned. That is what the Bible says. It does not say: the person that is not doing “good”, or living his/her life according to the law of the country. It says “ALL”.

Remember sin is about breaking a relationship with God. It is going against Him. It is denying Him the throne of your life.

When we think back to Adam and Eve in the garden, God punished them for their disobedience by sending them away from the garden. He banished them from His presence. And death entered the world. Physical and spiritual death.

Romans 6:23 says:

 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death is what each one of us deserves for our sins. Rebellion against the King is punishable by death. Our bodies will grow old and physically die and spiritually we will be eternally separated from God.

Sin affects us all, even when we think we lead “good” lives; even when we live in modern Britain. That is difficult to accept because the world tells us that there is no such thing as sin. It is bad for your self-esteem. Sin is a matter of the heart and i needs to be dealt with. But how? What can we possibly do?

In tomorrow’s post we are going to see how God dealt with sin once and for all.

What a weekend! We had a baptism service on Saturday and a confirmation service today. We saw a total of 28 people professing publicly that they want to follow Jesus and let Him be king over their lives! We had 12 people from our youth group among those 28! Praise be to God Almighty!

My heart was filled with joy to see these teens taking a stand and recognizing they are sinful and need Jesus to wash them clean.

I was very excited and at the same time challenged by it! Excited because God is at work in their lives and some were already witnessing to non-Christian friends that accepted an invitation to the service! They are already sharing God with others. I was challenged because, as one of the people who works with the younger youth group, I need to be a better example of someone who wants to serve and follow Christ no matter what.

Today was a day of celebration and encouragement! The church was full and the smiles were found everywhere! Proud parents and friends sharing a significant moment in these lives. Praise be to God!

But as the Bible tells us that in this world we, as Christians, will face trouble. Jesus himself told the disciples:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 

Jesus had been preparing his disciples and now it was almost time. He knew what was coming and He wanted them to find peace in Him and in the fact that He was victorious and bigger than anything that would come their way.

What an amazing King Jesus is! He who knew what was to happen, who created the whole universe and knew the Father’s plan cared about his friends deeply.

I carried on reading John 17 and was very encouraged by Jesus’ prayer for his disciples:

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. John 17:13-19

Jesus asked God to protect his disciples, his friends, from the evil one. He prayed that God would sanctify them by the truth! God’s word is truth! What an amazing prayer! Jesus did not ask for them to be removed from the world where they would suffer and be hated because of Him, but He asked for protection and sanctification (in other words, make them holy).

As I think of the wonderful services we had and think of the young people fired up for Jesus, hearts full of desire to serve and follow Jesus, I pray for the leaders of our church and youth groups, that God may equip each one to faithfully preach and teach from His word so that our young people can continue to learn the truth about Jesus and how He expects us to live. I also pray for each one of those people there tonight, that Jesus would strengthen them each and every day and as they face the world they will not be discouraged but would want to live lives that are pleasing to God.

What a Spiritual banquet! To God be the glory!