Today we did a 'Worship Workshop' (try saying that quickly five times in a row..) - we were painting, singing and dancing!
Romans 12:1 says: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
So everything we do should be done to please God and in his name, so that our lives glorify him. Remember, worship is about lifting up the Name of the Lord (and he will change your heart as you do so), not about what other people think - although if people see you worshipping God with all your heart, they may also turn to him.
Have a great week!
Lois and Eleanor
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Week 16 (18.01.09)
This week we were talking about stress with work, and we looked at the part of the Bible where Jesus visits Mary and Martha.
This passage (Luke 10:38-41) reads:
'As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."'
So Jesus is saying that he would rather you took time out of your lives to be with him and listen to what he has to say than spent all your time rushing around getting stressed with work rather than getting to know God a little better. Our heavenly Father wants us to take rest in him and not to be worried about anything: he doesn't want us to try and impress him with how much we can get done; he'd much rather we fell in love with him and loved nothing more than to use every chance we get to be in his company (what we mean by that is praying or reading the Bible, spending time with other Christians and time worshipping God).
We also looked at a passage in Phillippians which was talking about the fact that we shouldn't worry about anything. Philippians 4:4-7 reads:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So even when there's lots going on around us to stress us out or make us worry about something, God still wants us to take joy in him; in knowing that he is God, that he loves us and is always faithful in protecting and caring for us. He also wants us to tell him all the things that we are concerned about, praising him as we do, and he promises that he will fill and protect our hearts with his peace: a peace that, without God we could never have in our circumstances.
Remember, the more we concentrate on Jesus and the less we think about our problems, the greater our joy will be! If you do have concerns of any kind, we would love to listen to them and pray about them with you - just send us an email and we'll arrange a time to meet you :)
Lois and Eleanor
This passage (Luke 10:38-41) reads:
'As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."'
So Jesus is saying that he would rather you took time out of your lives to be with him and listen to what he has to say than spent all your time rushing around getting stressed with work rather than getting to know God a little better. Our heavenly Father wants us to take rest in him and not to be worried about anything: he doesn't want us to try and impress him with how much we can get done; he'd much rather we fell in love with him and loved nothing more than to use every chance we get to be in his company (what we mean by that is praying or reading the Bible, spending time with other Christians and time worshipping God).
We also looked at a passage in Phillippians which was talking about the fact that we shouldn't worry about anything. Philippians 4:4-7 reads:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So even when there's lots going on around us to stress us out or make us worry about something, God still wants us to take joy in him; in knowing that he is God, that he loves us and is always faithful in protecting and caring for us. He also wants us to tell him all the things that we are concerned about, praising him as we do, and he promises that he will fill and protect our hearts with his peace: a peace that, without God we could never have in our circumstances.
Remember, the more we concentrate on Jesus and the less we think about our problems, the greater our joy will be! If you do have concerns of any kind, we would love to listen to them and pray about them with you - just send us an email and we'll arrange a time to meet you :)
Lois and Eleanor
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Week 15 (11.01.09)
This week we were talking about peer pressure and looked at some parts of the Bible where Jesus does not do what people think he should but does what he knows to be right, pleasing God not people.
The first passage we looked at was John 2:1-11, which talks about Jesus' first miracle when he turned water into the best wine at a wedding. At the beginning of the passage, Jesus' mother Mary came to him telling him they had run out of wine in the hope that he would make more miraculously. Jesus reminds her of who he is and that he does not need prompting if he needs to act, saying, "My time has not yet come" (verse 4). He later decides to perform the miracle in his own - and therefore God's - time. This is not because he gives in and does what a person told him to do, but because he had always intended to do the miracle and had not needed his mother to tell him to do it in the first place. We can learn from this that if someone (even if they are someone we love and respect: Jesus would have loved and respected his mother a great deal) tells us to do something, even if it looks like something good, but we know that God does not want us to do it - perhaps not then but in some time, or perhaps never - then we should listen to God and not people. We should live to serve him and not human beings. We can also be encouraged to be in tune with God's voice (which comes over time through seeking him in prayer, reading the Bible, being in fellowship with other Christians and worshipping him; just as any relationship on earth is formed, we get to know God by spending time with him) so that we know his plans for our lives.
The next passage we looked at (Mark 2:23-3:6) was about Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath and also spoke of when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. Firstly, the Pharisees told Jesus he and his disciples should not have picked and eaten some corn because it was the Sabbath day and this went against the rules that they had made up to restrict people on that day, and he reminded them of when David and his companions at consecrated bread when it was lawful for only priests to do this. He says "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," telling them that the Sabbath day was intended to help us because we need rest, not as a means of control but so that we can be refreshed and ready to work the coming week. The next part (Mark 3:1-6) reads:
"Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus."
Here Jesus clearly heals this man so that others would see that Sabbath day should not be used as an excuse to stop loving people and doing good when it is in your power, but that if someone needs your help and you can give it, you should. What Jesus did made the Pharisees angry because it went against the way of life that they had control over and because it showed them to be valuing the wrong things in their hearts. Jesus knew that doing what he did would make the Pharisees want to kill him, so he could have waited until they were out of the temple and out of sight to heal the man's hand, but he chose to do it in front of everyone and even asked the man to stand up, because he knew he was in the right and wanted to live to please his Father, not to be in fear of men. We should do the same: we should not worry about what other people may say or do but live according to God's will above all things. It can be really hard when we're in situations when we are surrounded by people that are all doing one thing and want us to join in (be that something extreme, or something more subtle like a general behaviour that would not please God) - even though we know we shouldn't, it's often tempting because we want to be accepted and loved by those around us. Or even in times when others are treating us badly and the first thing we often feel like doing is responding in the same way back to them, but we know that God wants us to love people and not live the way that they live and so we should not give in to these temptations. Instead, when we feel tempted to conform to (or be like) those around us, we should pray that God would give us strength to resist and to instead be a witness to those around us by the way that we live. We should pray for those that tempt us in whatever way and look forward to seeing how God wants to use us to help show them who he is.
Lois and Eleanor
The first passage we looked at was John 2:1-11, which talks about Jesus' first miracle when he turned water into the best wine at a wedding. At the beginning of the passage, Jesus' mother Mary came to him telling him they had run out of wine in the hope that he would make more miraculously. Jesus reminds her of who he is and that he does not need prompting if he needs to act, saying, "My time has not yet come" (verse 4). He later decides to perform the miracle in his own - and therefore God's - time. This is not because he gives in and does what a person told him to do, but because he had always intended to do the miracle and had not needed his mother to tell him to do it in the first place. We can learn from this that if someone (even if they are someone we love and respect: Jesus would have loved and respected his mother a great deal) tells us to do something, even if it looks like something good, but we know that God does not want us to do it - perhaps not then but in some time, or perhaps never - then we should listen to God and not people. We should live to serve him and not human beings. We can also be encouraged to be in tune with God's voice (which comes over time through seeking him in prayer, reading the Bible, being in fellowship with other Christians and worshipping him; just as any relationship on earth is formed, we get to know God by spending time with him) so that we know his plans for our lives.
The next passage we looked at (Mark 2:23-3:6) was about Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath and also spoke of when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. Firstly, the Pharisees told Jesus he and his disciples should not have picked and eaten some corn because it was the Sabbath day and this went against the rules that they had made up to restrict people on that day, and he reminded them of when David and his companions at consecrated bread when it was lawful for only priests to do this. He says "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," telling them that the Sabbath day was intended to help us because we need rest, not as a means of control but so that we can be refreshed and ready to work the coming week. The next part (Mark 3:1-6) reads:
"Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus."
Here Jesus clearly heals this man so that others would see that Sabbath day should not be used as an excuse to stop loving people and doing good when it is in your power, but that if someone needs your help and you can give it, you should. What Jesus did made the Pharisees angry because it went against the way of life that they had control over and because it showed them to be valuing the wrong things in their hearts. Jesus knew that doing what he did would make the Pharisees want to kill him, so he could have waited until they were out of the temple and out of sight to heal the man's hand, but he chose to do it in front of everyone and even asked the man to stand up, because he knew he was in the right and wanted to live to please his Father, not to be in fear of men. We should do the same: we should not worry about what other people may say or do but live according to God's will above all things. It can be really hard when we're in situations when we are surrounded by people that are all doing one thing and want us to join in (be that something extreme, or something more subtle like a general behaviour that would not please God) - even though we know we shouldn't, it's often tempting because we want to be accepted and loved by those around us. Or even in times when others are treating us badly and the first thing we often feel like doing is responding in the same way back to them, but we know that God wants us to love people and not live the way that they live and so we should not give in to these temptations. Instead, when we feel tempted to conform to (or be like) those around us, we should pray that God would give us strength to resist and to instead be a witness to those around us by the way that we live. We should pray for those that tempt us in whatever way and look forward to seeing how God wants to use us to help show them who he is.
Lois and Eleanor
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Week 14 (04.01.09)
This week we were thinking about Philippians 4:13, which says: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
We looked at the lives of some people who really lived like they knew this to be true, people whose lives were completely surrendered to God and who trusted him completely. Obviously we cannot give all their biographies, but here are some brief examples of some of the people we looked at:
Billy Graham and Luis Palau were both men who were unknown when they were children but who grew up to have millions of people come to hear them speak and saw hundreds of thousands of people saved after hearing the messages God had put on their hearts.
Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles into communist countries so that people could come to know God in places where worshipping him was illegal.
George Muller was a man who had no money of his own but who knew God wanted him to take in orphans. He started off with just a couple but ended up with hundreds and big buildings for them to live in as well as always having enough food and clothing for the children - all because he knew his calling and believed God would provide everything to make this happen.
Nicky Cruz used to be a gang leader in New York; his mother had been a witch doctor and he hated his family. He had commited many robberies, dealt drugs and murdered people. God completely changed his life and made him new. Now he has a family, has worked as a pastor and now he and his wife work with adolescants with addictions, helping them to come to the Lord and allow him to break their addictions.
The lives of these people were filled with miracles and all show that God is amazing beyond our understanding: many of them had broken hearts and lives which were entirely against God, until they let him into their hearts and he transformed them inside and healed their hearts. When we surrender our hearts to God, we don't know where he will take us but it is always so exciting to find out and we should never put a limit in our minds on what we think God can acheive; even if we think we ourselves are useless or the things we have done are too terrible: God has already paid the price of our sins and loves us, and he is powerful enough to use even us. His Word says that the weaker we are, the stronger this shows God to be when he uses us. Therefore give your heats to the Lord, believe "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength" and ask him to show you what he wants you to do to bring him glory.
Lois and Eleanor
We looked at the lives of some people who really lived like they knew this to be true, people whose lives were completely surrendered to God and who trusted him completely. Obviously we cannot give all their biographies, but here are some brief examples of some of the people we looked at:
Billy Graham and Luis Palau were both men who were unknown when they were children but who grew up to have millions of people come to hear them speak and saw hundreds of thousands of people saved after hearing the messages God had put on their hearts.
Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles into communist countries so that people could come to know God in places where worshipping him was illegal.
George Muller was a man who had no money of his own but who knew God wanted him to take in orphans. He started off with just a couple but ended up with hundreds and big buildings for them to live in as well as always having enough food and clothing for the children - all because he knew his calling and believed God would provide everything to make this happen.
Nicky Cruz used to be a gang leader in New York; his mother had been a witch doctor and he hated his family. He had commited many robberies, dealt drugs and murdered people. God completely changed his life and made him new. Now he has a family, has worked as a pastor and now he and his wife work with adolescants with addictions, helping them to come to the Lord and allow him to break their addictions.
The lives of these people were filled with miracles and all show that God is amazing beyond our understanding: many of them had broken hearts and lives which were entirely against God, until they let him into their hearts and he transformed them inside and healed their hearts. When we surrender our hearts to God, we don't know where he will take us but it is always so exciting to find out and we should never put a limit in our minds on what we think God can acheive; even if we think we ourselves are useless or the things we have done are too terrible: God has already paid the price of our sins and loves us, and he is powerful enough to use even us. His Word says that the weaker we are, the stronger this shows God to be when he uses us. Therefore give your heats to the Lord, believe "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength" and ask him to show you what he wants you to do to bring him glory.
Lois and Eleanor
Week 13 (14.12.08)
This week we finished the Sermon on the Mount, looking at the passage in the Bible where Jesus tells us that when we seek God, we will find him; the passage where Jesus describes the gate to heaven as being the narrowest gate (the one fewest people will pass through); and the passage where Jesus says our actions will show what our hearts are like.
In the first passage (Matthew 7:7-12), Jesus reminds us that, even though we are evil, we know to give those we love good things. He says that God, who is completely good and loves us infinitely more than we could love another person, will only ever give us good things when we ask him. Therefore, if we need something from God, we must have the faith to ask and believe he can and will give it to us if it really is something good that we need for his purpose. (Therefore material things are not always given, not because God can't give them, but because he is not there to grant a wishlist and give us things we believe will make us 'happy,' but rather we are here to bring him glory and he will give us all we need to do so and if we live according to his plan we will be filled with an everlasting joy that can't be gained from earthly things. In the gospel of Luke, this passage is written in terms of God giving us the Holy Spirit when we ask him). Jesus also says here that we need to seek him, or to "Knock at the door," and we will find him, or he will open the door to us. Searching for God is an active process, but if we really want to know him, he will always reveal himself to us: God created us to be in relationship with him and longs for us to reach out to him. Revelation (the last book in the Bible) talks about Jesus standing at the door and knocking: it's not just us who want to be allowed to be near God, God wants to be with us and in our hearts.
The next passage we looked at (Matthew 7:13-14) used the illustration of wide and narrow gates. Jesus tells us to "Enter through the narrow gate" (verse 13) because the wide path and broad gate - which most people will take because they are the easiest to walk along - lead to destruction. This means that the way of life most people choose to live is not that of following Jesus. To follow and love him means to deny yourself and most people are not willing to do this as they believe that they know the best way to live, and this is why Jesus calls the path leading to righteousness the narrow one.
The final passage we looked at today (Matthew 7: 15-23) tells us to "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (verse 15). Jesus says that we will know these people by their 'fruits' - ie by what their life produces. He says that "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit" (verse 18). In other words, if a person goes around claiming to be righteous and says all sorts of things about God which are not accurate but which people believe, we will be able to know them by what they do (a little like what we were talking about last week when we spoke about needing discernment): when Jesus says a bad tree cannot bear good fruit, he means someone whose heart is not surrendered to God cannot live as if it is. If your heart is not full of love, you cannot love others. Therefore, if someone seems to be very wise in their knowledge of God, their life could show that they do not know him in their hearts. Jesus ends this passage saying that there will be those who call him "Lord" but who will not enter his Kingdom, even some who have done great things in his name: there is great power in the name of the Lord, but not all those who use this have given their lives to him and have let him in their hearts.
Lois and Eleanor
In the first passage (Matthew 7:7-12), Jesus reminds us that, even though we are evil, we know to give those we love good things. He says that God, who is completely good and loves us infinitely more than we could love another person, will only ever give us good things when we ask him. Therefore, if we need something from God, we must have the faith to ask and believe he can and will give it to us if it really is something good that we need for his purpose. (Therefore material things are not always given, not because God can't give them, but because he is not there to grant a wishlist and give us things we believe will make us 'happy,' but rather we are here to bring him glory and he will give us all we need to do so and if we live according to his plan we will be filled with an everlasting joy that can't be gained from earthly things. In the gospel of Luke, this passage is written in terms of God giving us the Holy Spirit when we ask him). Jesus also says here that we need to seek him, or to "Knock at the door," and we will find him, or he will open the door to us. Searching for God is an active process, but if we really want to know him, he will always reveal himself to us: God created us to be in relationship with him and longs for us to reach out to him. Revelation (the last book in the Bible) talks about Jesus standing at the door and knocking: it's not just us who want to be allowed to be near God, God wants to be with us and in our hearts.
The next passage we looked at (Matthew 7:13-14) used the illustration of wide and narrow gates. Jesus tells us to "Enter through the narrow gate" (verse 13) because the wide path and broad gate - which most people will take because they are the easiest to walk along - lead to destruction. This means that the way of life most people choose to live is not that of following Jesus. To follow and love him means to deny yourself and most people are not willing to do this as they believe that they know the best way to live, and this is why Jesus calls the path leading to righteousness the narrow one.
The final passage we looked at today (Matthew 7: 15-23) tells us to "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (verse 15). Jesus says that we will know these people by their 'fruits' - ie by what their life produces. He says that "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit" (verse 18). In other words, if a person goes around claiming to be righteous and says all sorts of things about God which are not accurate but which people believe, we will be able to know them by what they do (a little like what we were talking about last week when we spoke about needing discernment): when Jesus says a bad tree cannot bear good fruit, he means someone whose heart is not surrendered to God cannot live as if it is. If your heart is not full of love, you cannot love others. Therefore, if someone seems to be very wise in their knowledge of God, their life could show that they do not know him in their hearts. Jesus ends this passage saying that there will be those who call him "Lord" but who will not enter his Kingdom, even some who have done great things in his name: there is great power in the name of the Lord, but not all those who use this have given their lives to him and have let him in their hearts.
Lois and Eleanor
Week 12 (07.12.08)
This week we looked at the passage where Jesus tells us not to judge other people.
In this passage (Matthew 7:1-6), Jesus tells us that if we judge others, we too will be judged and that the more harshly we judge them, the more harshly we ourselves will be judged by God; he will judge us as much as we judge others (and we don't have the right to judge because we are as wrong as other people, whereas God is always right and completely good and therefore is the only one with the right to judge). Jesus then uses the image of us seeing a tiny speck of sawdust in somebody else's eye (the sawdust represents a fault in that person), and offering to remove the speck from their eye even though we ourselves have a log in our own eye, obstructing our vision. He says that we ought to remove our own log first so that we can see clearly to help the other person take out their speck. We said that often, when we see faults in other people, what we really find is that, in examining ourselves, the fault really lies within ourselves and if we were to give it over to God and sort it out, we would realise that the other person did not have the fault in the first place. Or, if they did, it would be so much easier for us to help them if we understand how to work through the problem ourselves. If we go around pointing out everyone elses' faults and never seeing them in ourselves, we are hypocrites (people who like to pretend to be holy and good so that other people respect them; but who, inside, are just like the people they pretend not to be, and worse because they don't see this). Jesus wants us to ask God to search our own hearts (which is a way of asking him to show our hearts to us, because he already knows what we are like inside and out and doesn't really need to search us!) before we look at others: he says that once we have removed the log from our own eyes, we can see clearly to remove the speck from the other person's eye (verse 5), so he does want us to be aware of other people and seek to help them too, but only once we know our own hearts and therefore know we are acting out of love and not hypocrisy. The final verse in this passage reads: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." This was a bit harder to understand, but we thought that Jesus was saying that he didn't want us to be ignorant and blind: he was telling us not to be judgemental in that he wants us to know we are all equal in his eyes and have all sinned, but that he does want us to have discernment. This is an ability given by God which helps us see the truth in situations. When he says "Do not throw your pearls to pigs," he does not mean 'Don't share the gospel with those that don't yet know Christ,' because that would mean no one would ever come to know the Lord. Rather, he is saying that if we have persistently have tried to show someone the truth about God and they continually reject this and have decided they are not going to accept it, we should not waste our energy with them forever but move on and find new people who still need this message. We should know, when this is right and when we need to commit a person to God and trust that, if God is calling them, he will open their eyes by the power of his Spirit.
Lois and Eleanor
In this passage (Matthew 7:1-6), Jesus tells us that if we judge others, we too will be judged and that the more harshly we judge them, the more harshly we ourselves will be judged by God; he will judge us as much as we judge others (and we don't have the right to judge because we are as wrong as other people, whereas God is always right and completely good and therefore is the only one with the right to judge). Jesus then uses the image of us seeing a tiny speck of sawdust in somebody else's eye (the sawdust represents a fault in that person), and offering to remove the speck from their eye even though we ourselves have a log in our own eye, obstructing our vision. He says that we ought to remove our own log first so that we can see clearly to help the other person take out their speck. We said that often, when we see faults in other people, what we really find is that, in examining ourselves, the fault really lies within ourselves and if we were to give it over to God and sort it out, we would realise that the other person did not have the fault in the first place. Or, if they did, it would be so much easier for us to help them if we understand how to work through the problem ourselves. If we go around pointing out everyone elses' faults and never seeing them in ourselves, we are hypocrites (people who like to pretend to be holy and good so that other people respect them; but who, inside, are just like the people they pretend not to be, and worse because they don't see this). Jesus wants us to ask God to search our own hearts (which is a way of asking him to show our hearts to us, because he already knows what we are like inside and out and doesn't really need to search us!) before we look at others: he says that once we have removed the log from our own eyes, we can see clearly to remove the speck from the other person's eye (verse 5), so he does want us to be aware of other people and seek to help them too, but only once we know our own hearts and therefore know we are acting out of love and not hypocrisy. The final verse in this passage reads: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." This was a bit harder to understand, but we thought that Jesus was saying that he didn't want us to be ignorant and blind: he was telling us not to be judgemental in that he wants us to know we are all equal in his eyes and have all sinned, but that he does want us to have discernment. This is an ability given by God which helps us see the truth in situations. When he says "Do not throw your pearls to pigs," he does not mean 'Don't share the gospel with those that don't yet know Christ,' because that would mean no one would ever come to know the Lord. Rather, he is saying that if we have persistently have tried to show someone the truth about God and they continually reject this and have decided they are not going to accept it, we should not waste our energy with them forever but move on and find new people who still need this message. We should know, when this is right and when we need to commit a person to God and trust that, if God is calling them, he will open their eyes by the power of his Spirit.
Lois and Eleanor
Friday, 5 December 2008
Week 11 (30.11.08)
This week we looked at the passage in the Bible that tells us to store our treasures in Heaven, not on Earth; and goes on to tell us not to worry but to put all our trust in the Lord.
In this passage (Matthew 6:19-34), Jesus tells us that everything around us on Earth is temporary and may be destroyed or stolen (verse 19), so we should instead "Store up for [ourselves] treasures in Heaven" because this treasure will never fade or be ruined (verse 20). He then says that "Where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also," so if we believe that we are Christians, we should be wanting God not things on Earth: our hearts and minds should be always on him and wanting to be with him. If we are obsessed with or even care about earthly 'riches' then this is where our hearts will be: Heaven would be a strange and unknown place to us. The next two verses talk about the eye being the "Lamp of the body," Jesus says "If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light, but if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness." We talked about how Jesus was saying that what you looked to defined who you were: if you were always looking to your earthly possessions and wanting to increase or protect them, then you are not seeking God and therefore cannot have your heart in the right place. However, if you are always looking to God for direction and following him in all you do, you heart loves God and you will be full of his light. Verse 24 tells us that we cannot be devoted to two masters, that we "cannot love both God and Money." This tells us plainly that if we really do love earthly things and build our world around them, we cannot also love God. We have to make a choice.
Then Jesus goes on to talk about worry. He reminds us of the birds in the air, saying that "They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet [our] heavenly Father feeds them." He tells us that we are much more important than the birds and so what cause do we have for worrying about whether or not we will have enough to eat? He also says we shouldn't worry about whether or not we will have enough clothes, reminding us that our heavenly Father dresses even the lilies of the field so of course he will make sure we have everything we need as he knows what we need and how to provide it, and we are far more important to him than flowers. Jesus also asks us, "Who among you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Showing that not only is it not trusting God when we worry, because it's not accepting that he is Lord over our lives and able to give us all we need, but it is also futile: what will we achieve by worrying about things? Nothing. Jesus says, "The pagans run after these things," showing that if we chase earthly things and let them occupy our minds, we are behaving like those who do not follow God. Jesus tells us that, rather than worrying about keeping everything in control ourselves, we should "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to [us] as well." In other words, if we stay within his will and seek him in our lives, we know God will give us all we need to carry out his will. If we deviate from the path of righteousness or stop acting to bring his Kingdom to Earth, we probably have more reason to worry because we are relying on ourselves rather than the One who can really look after us. Finally, in verse 34, Jesus says that we should not "Worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This reminds us that we should live for God in the hear and now and not let ourselves think about what the future might bring but instead make sure we are doing all we can to bring God glory today.
Lois and Eleanor
In this passage (Matthew 6:19-34), Jesus tells us that everything around us on Earth is temporary and may be destroyed or stolen (verse 19), so we should instead "Store up for [ourselves] treasures in Heaven" because this treasure will never fade or be ruined (verse 20). He then says that "Where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also," so if we believe that we are Christians, we should be wanting God not things on Earth: our hearts and minds should be always on him and wanting to be with him. If we are obsessed with or even care about earthly 'riches' then this is where our hearts will be: Heaven would be a strange and unknown place to us. The next two verses talk about the eye being the "Lamp of the body," Jesus says "If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light, but if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness." We talked about how Jesus was saying that what you looked to defined who you were: if you were always looking to your earthly possessions and wanting to increase or protect them, then you are not seeking God and therefore cannot have your heart in the right place. However, if you are always looking to God for direction and following him in all you do, you heart loves God and you will be full of his light. Verse 24 tells us that we cannot be devoted to two masters, that we "cannot love both God and Money." This tells us plainly that if we really do love earthly things and build our world around them, we cannot also love God. We have to make a choice.
Then Jesus goes on to talk about worry. He reminds us of the birds in the air, saying that "They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet [our] heavenly Father feeds them." He tells us that we are much more important than the birds and so what cause do we have for worrying about whether or not we will have enough to eat? He also says we shouldn't worry about whether or not we will have enough clothes, reminding us that our heavenly Father dresses even the lilies of the field so of course he will make sure we have everything we need as he knows what we need and how to provide it, and we are far more important to him than flowers. Jesus also asks us, "Who among you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Showing that not only is it not trusting God when we worry, because it's not accepting that he is Lord over our lives and able to give us all we need, but it is also futile: what will we achieve by worrying about things? Nothing. Jesus says, "The pagans run after these things," showing that if we chase earthly things and let them occupy our minds, we are behaving like those who do not follow God. Jesus tells us that, rather than worrying about keeping everything in control ourselves, we should "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to [us] as well." In other words, if we stay within his will and seek him in our lives, we know God will give us all we need to carry out his will. If we deviate from the path of righteousness or stop acting to bring his Kingdom to Earth, we probably have more reason to worry because we are relying on ourselves rather than the One who can really look after us. Finally, in verse 34, Jesus says that we should not "Worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This reminds us that we should live for God in the hear and now and not let ourselves think about what the future might bring but instead make sure we are doing all we can to bring God glory today.
Lois and Eleanor
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