Promises | Inspirational Christian Blogs

March 31, 2013
by Bruce Mewett Leave a comment

IS THE RESURRECTION REAL?

Big question!

Obviously there are some big and very compelling evidence that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead but first lets go back to the trial of Jesus and have a closer look at what He went through, just to satisfy ourselves that Jesus was in fact dead and didn’t just swoon (whatever that is) as some would have us believe.

After his so-called trial and sentencing, Pilate ordered Jesus to be scourged. The Romans scourge was probably one of the most barbaric instruments of torture other than the cross to emerge from the very depths of hell and wielded at the hands of men.

The scourge itself was made of the sinews of oxen and sharp bits of bone which were plaited through it at intervals; so that every time the lash came down on the bare body of Jesus, great lumps of flesh came away from His bones and not just from his back.

A scourging, more often than not resulted in the death of the victim, negating the necessity of an execution. But Jesus was on His mission – the mission of Salvation.

After the scourging they mocked Him plaiting a crown of fierce thorns and shoving it down on his head calling Him “the King of Jews”, they pulled out His beard and punched Him in the face.

Jesus survived all of that – It was more than likely a normal healthy male would probably have died through such an ordeal. But then he had to carry that tree/cross through the gates of the city to Golgotha.

Jesus could NOT have survived the crucifixion. The blood loss alone, the trauma, the shock, the nails, the pain would have been more than enough for most.

Roman procedures were very careful to eliminate any possibility that the victim was alive after such an ordeal. The death penalty was waved over the head of any soldier who let a capital prisoner escape.

When taken down from cross – Jesus’ body was tightly bandaged and put in a cave with a huge boulder across the entrance. If he did awake where did he go?

How could a ‘swooning’ (whatever that is) half dead man have moved that boulder? Could these rough, strong guards be overcome by a ‘swooning’ corpse, considering everything he had gone through?

The disciples were blamed for moving the body of Jesus, but with soldiers guarding the tomb even if they were asleep, the very effort of Jesus’ rescuers attempting to move such a huge rock would have awakened them. Anyway the disciples would never be able to overcome the force of Roman soldiers.

No! Jesus was dead when they laid Him in that cave – So we are left with the Question “Did he really rise from the dead?”

There are just many witnesses that actually saw Jesus after His death – from the very earliest records a whole swag of Jews not only believed but taught that Jesus had been raised from the dead. There is absolutely no dissent at all that Jesus appeared after his death to his followers.

Mary was the first eye witness, followed by His disciples.

The resurrection was so startling at first that many doubted and found it hard to believe.

Therefore, for more than a month afterwards, Jesus supplied his disciples with many convincing proofs that He was in fact alive. Thomas was even shown the results of His horrific death and torture because of his doubts.

A lot of these witnesses were stunned into worship as they laid eyes on the very living form of Jesus.

You, like me may need to be shown the very logic of scripture or others may need to be confronted about mistaken spiritual beliefs or like Thomas some get hung up on the very physical side of Christianity and can’t believe, by faith, of the very grace of God.

One thing is certain – Jesus did die! Jesus did rise from dead! without those two amazing facts our faith means nothing – we are like a rudderless ship tossed about on the ocean with no hope of rescue just abandoned to the elements.

Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to in order to help us believe. The chapters in the Gospels regarding Jesus’ Crucifixion and resurrection are a bracing slap in the face to all of us believers who are lulled into taking our salvation for granted. We should never underestimate what it cost Jesus.

The false accusations, the rigged trial, the flesh-gouging scourging, the mocking, the beatings, the crown of thorns, the anger of the crowd, the excruciating journey to Calvary, the nails, the weight of hanging on that cross and the sheer horror of being abandoned by God his Father.

The price He paid – The gift he offered – All for us.

Jesus paid it all for us – follow the one man that can conquer death. It doesn’t mater how messed up we are we all need to get right with Jesus.

The resurrection is true, lives are transformed and re-birth a real possibility.

Christ is alive – guiding our lives, healing, touching and giving new life – HALLELUJAH!

March 8, 2013
by Bruce Mewett 4 Comments

Hold on – Press on – Hang on tight

“Sometimes life just seems to get the better of me.” Probably we have all heard that statement many times and in many situations.

You may have even said it or felt it yourself a number of times as well.

Life IS hard – Life can be VERY hard – We can have things thrown at us that can send us completely off the rails if we let it and even cause us to go into deep depression.

Australian statistics are pretty alarming as to the number of people suffering from a myriad of differing depressive illnesses – from very mild to very severe, depressive illness can rob people of their self esteem, their jobs and often sadly their very lives.

http://www.beyondblue.org.au describes it like this “Depression is one the most common of all mental problems. One in five people (here in Australia) experience depression at some stage of their lives”

One in five!! WOW that’s pretty startling – statistically one in every five people we meet, in theory, have some sort of depressive problem – worry, stress, anxiety, phobias and fear.

Christians certainly aren’t exempt from suffering trials, tribulations and worries – there are hundreds of different reasons why we are thrown a curved ball in life and they all have serious potential.

Worry is so debilitating – it steals the joy from living and we can become so preoccupied with whatever the problem is that there is little else left over.

We can feel that we are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the problem we are facing – we feel alone, helpless, weak and vulnerable.

Worry can rob us of peace, sleep and communication. It can affect our marriage, our jobs and worst of all it can cause separation from God.

Worry can rob us of our prayer life and study of God’s Word – we can feel God is not there or that he doesn’t care about our problems.

Worry and stress can lead us away from God – lead us to a dark place in our lives and lead us to a point where we take our minds and hearts off Jesus.

Some days we feel we can’t possibly make it through – there is nothing absolutely nothing going right – everything has gone pear-shaped – our lives have been shattered.

It is in those dark places of our lives that, as strange as it sounds, is the very time we have to place our utmost faith in God – where we have to praise Him for what we DO have in our lives and look at the blessings that He has given to us.

When the days ahead look their blackest – when there is seemingly no answer to an on-going problem that is the very time we, in faith, have to reach out to God and hold tight and hold on to His promises.

Annie Hawks and Robert Lowr wrote a song which I feel spells out pretty plainly what I’m talking about, it goes like this:-

“When I think I’m going under, part the waters Lord.
When I feel the waves around me, calm the sea.
When I cry for help, O hear me, Lord and hold out your hand.
Touch my life, still the raging storm in me.”

Knowing that God loves us is pretty amazing – we are never alone – we never have to face our trials, no matter how huge they are, alone.

He is the one who wants to take our burdens and even in the darkest place imaginable – He is there to shed amazing light and the promise of a better future – all we have to do is hold on tight to Him – he will show us the way.

Jesus has promised us a prize – an amazing prize – an awesome prize, but we need to press on, hold on and with God’s help we will have the strength.

Even though we are battered and scarred in the process, even though we may stumble and bumble along, God’s perfect plan is for us all to reach His goal.

When we are sad and worried we can a huge tendency to look on our worries and trials in the most depressive way – everything takes a mammoth amount of trouble – everything looks like it is working against us.

To every dark side – every sadness – every worrying time, there is often a brighter side – we as Christians need to hang on tight to those ‘bright’ sides of our problems.

As Charles Spurgeon once said “Even the darkest underground mine often yields a vein on pure gold” and again “Samson’s lion yielded honey, and so will our adversities, if rightly considered.”

Faith’s way of walking is to cast all of our cares on the Lord and then anticipate good results from even the worst of calamities.

Even in the face of death itself – we Christians can look beyond the grave to the amazing light of the resurrection – sure and steadfast in the knowledge that Jesus’ sacrifice knocked death on the head – killed and forgotten – death will have no hold on those whose hope and faith is in the Lord.

Christians need to hold on tight to Jesus no matter where we are in our lives – whether on the mountain peak or down in the deep dark valley.

Living close to Jesus we are covered with the very wings of God himself – His wings of protection – his wings of peace and underneath us are His everlasting arms.

We have all had difficult roads travelled in the past and we are sure to have more in the future – whatever the case – whatever condition we are in, we will need Jesus.

Hang on tight to His hand – Hold on to His promises and press on to the Goal.

December 29, 2012
by Bruce Mewett Leave a comment

Beware of the Dog!

When I was out walking the other with my beautiful wife – we came across a sign on the fence of a house that said “Beware of the dog” – well they weren’t wrong!

Not just one dog but two – cooped up in the small handkerchief sized front yard – both vicious and snarling and both pretty worked up because we had dared walk past their territory.

We both talked about how terrible it would be to be attacked by wild dogs and how fortunate we have been so far to avoid it – those dogs were indeed ferocious!

It made us wonder why in the world would anyone want to keep such wild animals as pets!

Somehow I just couldn’t get my mind off those terrible dogs – they were just so savage – yet those people inside obviously loved them – they could see something in them that we were at a loss to explain!

Seeing those dogs and the absolute hate in their eyes for us as strolled/ran past made me think of hate in the world generally!

The world out there is full of hate unfortunately – and if you are a Christian then a lot of the time that hatred is aimed for and squarely at you.

The world hates Christ – and if you are fully committed to Jesus then it stands to reason that the world will hate you also.

James in his letter spells it out pretty plainly that we can’t be friends with the world an friend with God at the same time – God won’t have it and the world will hate us.

James 4: 4 says “Do you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

I wrote a further blog about this very subject in November of this year entitled:- “You can’t be in two camps or play for two teams.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote lines along a similar vein when he said quote:- “If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs in the world yelping at your heels.”

That just about sums it up for me – maybe in not so graphic terms as Spurgeon puts it – but the thought is there – that we make ourselves a walking target when we stand up for and confess that Jesus is our Lord and we are committed to Him.

More than that though – Satan the arch enemy of our Father is out to get us also.

1 John 5:19 says “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”

WOW! the whole world! – pretty awesome when you think of it.

Then in 2 Tim 3:1 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty”

So again that is pretty plain- God has already told us that we will be hated by all men for His name sake – Satan is prowling around tempting us at every turn – throwing our past sins up at us – telling us we are not worthy to come to Christ – even making us believe that we have no need of forgiveness.

Anything to keep our eyes off God and onto ourselves – that is his aim – to make us backtrack – to turn away from God and to give our allegiance to him and the world.

Paul had the same worries about this very thing. He says this to the Corinthians “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3).

So what do we do? If we fully love God and make that love known to others by our actions then the world will resent our commitment for the very reason that it will show them their own sins and iniquities (if I can use that word)

In other words we will become living testimonies to the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives and the world will not like that – they won’t want to hear that their lives can be changed.

We will need the bravery and steadfastness of a lion to face the world at large – we need each other for support and assistance – we need our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord to give us the courage to fight against all the evil powers that Satan will throw at us.

We will need to be brave when we make a definite stand against Satan. We may see our very best friends become our fiercest enemies.

But for Jesus’ amazing love we will be, with the awesome help of the Holy Spirit, courageous, brave and true when facing off with our enemy.

As I have mentioned before, we are only passing through here – this world is not our home – Jesus traveled this road long before us – He has won the battle – we need to uphold His standard in the fight and we desperately need to follow in His footsteps.

It is far far better to fight this brief warfare here and share in our (undeserved) reward won by Jesus Himself than to give in to the world and all the dastardly consequences that that will bring for eternity.

Fight the good fight – Jesus has won the battle – we need to hold His standard high and put on the whole armour of our Lord and Saviour.

December 27, 2012
by Joey Coons 4 Comments

The Blood of Jesus Christ

I started reading a book by Watchman Nee called Normal Christian Life. So far I have only read the first chapter, but within that first chapter something really stuck out to me. He said “a clear conscience is never based upon our attainment; it can only be based on the work of the Lord Jesus in the shedding of His Blood”. The entire first chapter is about the Blood of Jesus Christ and how it applies to the life of a Christian. I thought that the chapter laid out beautifully what the Blood of Christ truly means to us as followers of Christ.

The chapter starts first by pointing out that the Blood of Jesus really isn’t so much for us, as it is for God. Now at first reading you may say, “Hold on a minute, the Blood of Christ is what saves me!” Yes that is very true and Nee is not dismissing that very important truth. What he means is that the only way God pardons our sin is if He sees the Blood of Jesus paying for the debt of our sin. Think about the Israelites when God commanded them to eat the Passover lamb inside the house, but spread the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. Then, when God passed over Egypt on the Passover night, God would see the blood and pardon the household. This is the same with us and the Blood of Christ. When God sees the Blood of Christ applied to our hearts, He can forgive and pardon our sin because of the great sacrifice of Jesus. So consequently, the amount we value Christ’s Blood is directly linked to the value that God values the Blood.

After realizing the value of the Blood, it is crucial that we base our life around that. Without the Blood of Christ, we can not go into the Presence of God without fear and shame. On the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament, the high priest alone was to go into the Most Holy Place to offer the sin offering to God. As it is with Christ. He is our High Priest who applies His blood to our sin to make retribution before God. When we allow this to become true in our everyday life, then it shapes our entire relationship with God. Some days I can feel really connected with God. I read my Bible and get a lot out of my reading. I feel like really connect with God in prayer and hear from Him. I am able to reflect the love of Christ well. I feel like I’m serving God well. Other days, it can be just the opposite. I don’t feel the same connection during my Bible reading or prayer time. I don’t reflect Christ’s love well. I may be mean or nasty. But listen to this: our standing before God is not based on our works, our merits, how we feel, or anything we can furnish. It is by the Blood of Jesus that we are able to be seen as forgiven by God!Do not allow the way you feel ditate how you think your relationship with God is based. It is only by the Blood of Jesus that we have relationship with God!

It is very easy as Christians to allow ourselves to get beat up when we fall short of the glory of God. We believe the lie that we have to earn our way into God’s love or we have to preform for God to be accepted. But praise be to God that it’s not about what I can do, it’s about what I can’t do. Only Jesus can bring me back into restored relationship with Jesus. When we try to base our status with God on anything other than the sacrificial Blood of Jesus, we play right into Satan’s schemes. The Bible calls Satan the Accuser. His tricks aren’t new. He has used the same tricks all through history; lying and accusing. He will try to accuse us of our sin before God and lie to us saying that we are failures and can’t be forgiven. By ourselves, we are failures and we can’t be forgiven. We can’t save ourselves. But by the Blood of Jesus I am redeemed and by His grace I can be pardoned of all my sin!

I pray that as you read this blog, you will ponder in your own heart whether or not you are applying the Blood of Jesus to your life. Does it really impact your everyday life, or is it more than a passing thought. I encourage as the Lord to reveal more of Himself to you, and share His value of His Son’s Blood with you. As always, I pray this blog encourages you or helps you! Blessings!

Joey

December 23, 2012
by Austin Coons 2 Comments

The Virgin Birth of Messiah

Most people have probably heard the story about Jesus’ birth. Here’s Luke’s account:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

There’s something about the birth of Messiah that’s somewhat controversial, even among some Christians. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Many ask, “Was Mary actually a virgin? Was the birth of Jesus truly a virgin birth?” Well let me take you back a few hundred years before Jesus Christ was born.

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Isaiah clearly prophesies a virgin birth here. The original Hebrew word that was used for “virgin” here is “almah.” This Hebrew word means a “young, unmarried woman who has had no sexual relations.”

The angel, Gabriel, appears to Mary in the book of Luke. Luke 1:26-38 says:

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Notice that Mary tells Gabriel that she is a virgin. She wants to know how she will give birth to a child if she has never been with a man.

My point is this: The Messiah MUST be born of a virgin. It was prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Hundreds of years before the book of Luke was written. It was something that had to be fulfilled. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. If Mary had not been a virgin, Jesus would not have been Messiah. Without the virgin birth, there is no Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), no Savior, and we are completely lost. But Jesus fulfilled ALL of the prophesied requirements for the Messiah. Jesus born of a virgin. That fact is essential to the Christian faith.

“Jesus was born that you might be born again. He lived that you might live. He died that you might die to sin.” ~Spurgeon

God bless you and Merry Christmas!

-Austin

December 23, 2012
by Joey Coons Leave a comment

Christmas: The Day Hope Was Born into the World

For may people, Christmas means a lot of things. For some, it means lots of shopping, traveling, and scrambling all over town to get those special gifts for special people. For others, it may mean getting together with family that they are unable to see throughout the year. These are great things. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get special people gifts. It is greatly important as well to spend time with family. However, Christmas marks a day much more important than gifts or family. It celebrates the day that God sent Hope back into the world.

Picture this. From the time the prophet Malachi, which is the last recorded Old Testament book, to the time of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) there was 400 years of silence. God’s chose Israel as His chosen people. Starting with Abraham, God promised a linage that would never perish and would bless all people. Abraham descendants were enslaved by Egypt for over 400 years, when God sent a leader, Moses, to bring them out of Egypt. After leaving the bondage of Egypt, Israel remained faithful to God for a time. Unfortunately, the longer Israel lived around the pagan nations, the more they grew into to practices of those nations. They eventually started worshipping and serving dead idols rather than the one, true living God. God began sending prophets to various parts of Israel. Those prophets began speaking the words of God and pleading for people to turn back to the Lord. Eventually Israel, was broke into two nations (Israel and Judah). Israel was wiped out by the Assyrians and Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon for 70 years. The prophets began giving snapshots of a Messiah that was to come and lead God’s people and save them. After the people of Judah were liberated from Babylon, the people turned back to God. But their worship to God became nothing more than dead religion. So with the last of the prophets, Malachi, God did not speak to Israel for almost 400 years.

The people of Israel, however, still held on to the hope of the coming Messiah. Although the Pharisees of that time taught hypocrisy, there were still those in Israel who were looking forward to the coming Messiah. Then one day, prophecy started being fulfilled. The forerunner of Messiah spoken about in Isaiah, “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3), John the Baptist, was born. Not too much later, Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born in Bethlehem by the virgin Mary, in a manager because there was no place in the town inn. This fulfilled the Scripture that said, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,Mighty God,Everlasting Father,Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Hope came back into the world when Jesus was born. Jesus came and ministered to all of Israel, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again three days later from the grave, overcoming death. He not only paid the ransom for Israel, but opened up the door of salvation to all who believe in His name an turn from their sin. He now seated at the right hand of God and He will return for His Church.

Jesus came in the most humble of ways. He came as a baby. He didn’t come in with an army. He didn’t come in as a conquering king. He came as a baby, in human form, to relate to us and give us hope that once seemed lost. So this Christmas season, really reflect on the fact that Jesus chose to step out of divinity, and live as a human only to be hung on a cross for the sin of the world. I encourage you to read the Birth of Christ in the book of Matthew and Luke. When you are unwrapping your gifts, spending time with family, and eating hearty meals, remember Jesus this year. Jesus is the reason for the season. Truly.

Joey

December 21, 2012
by Joey Coons 2 Comments

Live Free

The book of Acts is a tremendously important book in the life of a Christian believer. It contains some of the earliest history of the early church and provides great information about the church’s growth. Such rich information about the history of the Christian faith should be treasured! Acts serves as a connector or bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament, providing great historical and introduction information to the Pauline Epistles. Without the book of Acts, Christians would be left with many unanswered questions about the New Testament such as who were the authors, what happened after Jesus returned to the rather, and how did the church start? Clearly, Acts has an irreplaceable spot in the Biblical canon.

The book of Acts also provides information about a crucial event in Christian history, Pentecost. This book is unrivaled in its information about the work of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit, and the functions of the Spirit’s gifts operated in the life of a Christian. “Pentecostal theology appears elsewhere in the New Testament; however, any Pentecostal theology founded without the full benefit of the book of Acts would be severely impoverished”. It is often stated the book should be named “Acts of the Holy Spirit” because of the many circumstances that the Holy Spirit guided the early church and made a way for the advancement of the church.

It is true that the actions of a person stems out of what they believe. Some want to separate faith and practice, but this is not consistent with the Bible. The Bible uses positive and negative examples all throughout the Scriptures to illustrate lifestyles affected by beliefs. Historical information is meant to guide future generations into right living, and the book of Acts is no different. The material found in Acts is meant to guide Christians in their walk with the Lord and help them understand what they believe.

There are many theological and hermeneutical emphases found in the book of Acts. One main theological theme found in Acts is the continuity of the Holy Spirit’s activity. From the very beginning of the book, the Holy Spirit shows up and shakes up the life of believers. After the day of Pentecost, the Spirit inspired such boldness and passion in the hearts of Peter and John that they went out to preach in the synagogues of the city. The people were amazed at their teachings (much like they were at the teachings of Jesus) and recognized the authority in their words because it came with power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 3). The Spirit continued to guide the church and grow the church all throughout the book of Acts.

Another emphasis is that of the redemptive-historical perspective. This attempts to understand each verse, passage, and book of the Bible in the scope of God’s overall sovereign plan. This theology seeks to focus on the unity of the entire Biblical message and necessarily individual stories. The focus is events in history unfolding in God’s perfect timing. A great example from Acts can be found when Jesus tells his disciples, “wait for the gift my Father promised…you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). The disciples had not yet received the Spirit nor had they went out preaching the name of Jesus because it was not time for them to do so. The time would be right when God was ready to carry out His plan, which can be seen in Acts 2.

A third emphasis, but certainly not the last, in the book of Acts is the primary role of the Holy Spirit. Over the years many viewpoints have been presented about what the role of the Spirit really is. The Holy Spirit has been said to be an agent of holiness, empowering the believer for service, and increasing the intimacy of relationship between Jesus and the believer. All of these things are true and the Holy Spirit certainly works in sanctifying a believer and creating a deeper relationship with Christ, the book of Acts is undeniable in defining the primary role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). The primary role of the Spirit according to the book of Acts is to empower the believer for service and to make greater witnesses.

Luke, the author of Acts, included theology and practice in historical-narrative that can be seen all throughout the book’s entirety. One of the most obvious methods that should be observed is that Luke wrote Acts much like the format of the Old Testament book of history. In the Old Testament, there are statements made by monumental figures that were intended to affect the practice and beliefs of those who read the books. “A look at Acts and the Old Testament accounts for many features of Acts. There is evidence that in writing Acts, Luke used Biblical language and models.”

By looking at the writings of Luke, it is clear that Luke intends to be more than just an observer or historian. Although he makes sure to record the events of history accurately, even if it means illustrating bad qualities in the early church, he also adds editorials to his work. He gives clues in his writings that reveal whether he approves or disapproves with the characters that he is narrating. Luke wants not only for his readers to learn accurate history, but also come to conclusions about the actions depicted in his writings and whether or not they are just. Pentecostals draw much theology and practice from the book of Acts and would be at a terrible loss if it were not appropriate to do so.

As valuable as drawing theology and practice from the book of Acts is to the Christian believer, it is important to exercise correct methods of doing so. It is quite possible to draw things from the book that the author never intended. When reading Acts, extra attention must be given in the clues that Luke left to illuminate what he intended for the reader to learn. An example is his tendency to report things repeatedly or report things that are similar several times. It is most likely that Luke wanted to reader to find extreme importance in those instances and repeated those things for emphasis. Again, one must not read deeper into the narrative than Luke intended. It may be tempting to add things or draw conclusions about certain topics with vague description, but such practice can potentially harm interpretation and must be avoided.

-Joey

December 19, 2012
by Bruce Mewett Leave a comment

When you wish upon a star

Disney’s all time No 1 Favourite song ever is – “When You Wish Upon a Star” – WOW – magical lyrics and that tune!!! Man it’s no wonder everyone loves it.

So here we go:-

“When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do…..”

Lovely!!

You know – we all wish!! – we wish for this we wish for that – and I guess there is absolutely nothing wrong in wishing!

Poor old Geppetto the puppeteer longed so much for a little boy of his own – so he made Pinocchio. Then he wished Pinocchio would come to life – just like a ‘real’ boy – so he “Wished upon a star.”

The rest is history – the “Blue Fairy” the “Song” the little wooden boy coming to life. How marvellous!

But it was brought home to me just recently that sometimes wishing can be dangerous.

Some people seemingly live their lives in a fantasy world – wishing and dreaming and hoping (just like another song I’ve heard)- happy to float along – never really committing to anything – always dreaming of a ‘better’ life with more money or better looks or a bigger car or winning lotto etc etc.

Wishing can lead to regrets as well – “I wish I hadn’t done that” or “I wish I had said this.”

Like Geppetto we look dreamily out of windows and wish upon stars in our lives not really understanding life and missing out on the biggest opportunity of all time.

There is no room for wishing, regrets and guilty consciences after we have come to Jesus – How amazing is that?

Jesus promises us a guilt-free life, full of His awesome promises, and it’s all free – price paid by Him.

But instead of accepting His awesome gift, we prefer something more ostentatious, more flimsy, more flamboyant – we prefer to put our faith and hope in temporal things – things that won’t last but will give us a buzz anyway.

A new home, a new car, clothes, jewellery, furniture – all give us temporary happiness and we think – Yes! now I will be happy – My stars have come in for me.

When we do have problems or trials we prefer to consult our friends, employees, financial advisers and yes, even the stars. Anything that will make us comfortable and feeling good – even temporarily!

As long as our positive self-image is well fed and our self confidence and self assurance is at an all time high, for outward appearances anyway, we can manage.

And so we dream/stumble/claw/fantasise our way through life – making do with second best – jumping from one “high” to another – trying not to think too hard about the real issues in life.

Jesus came to do away with all that – this world is only a stop on our way to Heaven.

Peter, that disciple who denied Jesus said in his first epistle 2: 11-12 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which wars against your soul”

Then Paul writes in Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

So how about our life here on earth? Well…. God made it for us to enjoy and we definitely live here – there is no denying that!

But it was through our sinful lives that has spoilt God’s amazing creation. That is why Jesus had to come to earth, and die to atone, compensate or make amends, if you like, for our rebellion against God.

When we repent, turn away from, be truly sorry for our sins and accept His forgiveness as being the only way to a complete and full acceptance of Jesus being our Lord and Saviour, then we become new People.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

After we have accepted this awesome gift, then we become citizens of Heaven and our new home is there rather than here on earth.

So let’s get our mind off earthly things which will give us ‘temporary’ happiness at best. We can only find true happiness in God – we don’t have to go wishing on a star – we don’t have to depend on anything this world offers – we can have treasures abounding and unlimited in Heaven.

December 17, 2012
by aliciamsmith 4 Comments

Letting Go…and Holding On

“To design the future effectively, you must first let go of your past.”

Charles J. Givens

Let’s go there. Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving the excitement of Christmas Day lying just around the corner. Despite Thanksgiving Day’s delicious food and entertaining football game, family chaos sometimes just can’t be avoided. There may have been that infamous family argument, the unforgettable comment that Aunt Silvia managed to slip in, or perhaps the occasional nagging from Grandma and Grandpa about the current state of your schooling/career/life? And then there it is–that subsequent, uncomfortable sensation claiming dominion over the pit of our stomachs. Have you recently had an experience resembling one of the examples described above? Has the revolving door of your thoughts placed this memory in constant rotation?

Or let’s go deeper…

When was the last time you dropped the ball? I mean really dropped it. That ball rolled so far away that it’s just a glimmer on the horizon at this point. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try to avoid those moments, they will occasionally happen, leaving us scrambling to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Life has left marks on us, sometimes producing scars so deep (literal and/or figurative) that no amount of care seems to diminish their existence.

“Just let it go,” people may have said to you. However, it really isn’t that simple. If it was, so many of us wouldn’t be forcing ourselves to relive moments that bring us nothing but discomfort and/or regret. As much as we may wish it were true, we can’t just flick a light switch, distinguishing our lingering memories/thoughts.

Giving It Away

I hesitate to believe that these unfortunate experiences should just be tossed over our shoulders like a grain of salt. These aren’t trivial moments in our lives; some do deserve our constructive attention, possibly rectifying unresolved situations.

However, after giving these situations their due-diligence, why can it still be so hard to wipe the slate clean? Leaving me with the question: is it truly about letting it go, or is it about giving it away to God? Though some of us may prefer to believe that we are superhuman, conquering the world on our own one day at a time–this concept is not realistic. We need help; we can’t do this alone. At some point, if we do not free our hands from our grip on the past, how are we supposed to hold onto God’s hands that guide us toward our next advised step?

Giving God our scars not only allows His healing, but also enables being fully present for what’s in front of us. If our focus isn’t on the here and now, joy will be missed and more mistakes will inevitably be made. When was the last time you succeeded at something when your focus lied somewhere else? More than likely, that has never happened. Our moments of pain should not remain in our peripheral vision. Should those instances help shape the new steps that we take? Absolutely. However, if those fumbles are continually fighting for the spotlight, we can’t fully embrace what is in front of us.

Choose to take control over your daily thoughts. Unclench those fingers. Hand Him your scars, freeing your arms to be wrapped around the One who can carry the weight of the world for you (and already has), wanting to share His universe.

Life is a crazy, precious ride. Hold on tight.

Challenge Yourself: Be honest with yourself. What are you carrying around that needs to be released in order to focus on worthy goals? Choose to be stronger than a moment in your rear-view mirror.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 (ESV)

**Special thanks to Cheryl for the nomination of “Blog of the Year Award 2012”! You can visit Cheryl’s site by selecting the following link: http://weepingintodancing.wordpress.com/page/6/.

Twitter: @AliciaMSmith7

December 6, 2012
by Bruce Mewett 1 Comment

Unhappy campers!

Life is just not fair – why do the ‘nice’ people nearly always finish last?

Life can be a lot like that – the wicked prosper while the ‘nice’ people always seem to be dragging around the bottom of the list when it comes to being blessed. Or so it seems.

Jeremiah complained to God about the same things in his book chapter 12: 1-4. It is good old Jerry’s plain talk to God in his prayer time.

He starts off with praise to God – admitting that God is righteous and always is so when he brings a case to Him.

God is righteous! – He is fair and just – His ways are not always our ways. But we have to have reliance in Him and on Him if we are to trust him in the way that he commands us to.

Poor old Jeremiah starts complaining to God about the injustices of the world – -He asks the same old question that we have asked ourselves – if not to God directly – “Why do the wicked prosper?”

I guess if we are brutally honest we have all asked a similar question.

The unscrupulous always seem to prosper in the world – the drug lords, the crime bosses – the fraudsters – the corrupt politicians – the liars – the violent offenders, the welfare and compensation cheats and so the list goes on. They always seems to be able to hold the ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card. They seemingly go from strength to strength.

It just doesn’t seem to be fair! Whereas the so called ‘nice’ people of the world pay their taxes and try to always do the right thing and what happens? They get slandered, unfairly accused, evicted from their homes, suffer illnesses, lose their jobs, have marriage break ups etc – It’s just NOT FAIR!

Even Godly people seem to be downtrodden – unable to speak their minds. If they dare try to – they are shouted down as being bigoted, unreasonable, homophobic, racist, sexist and other horrible, untrue and hurtful names – anything to silence them in the world.

Why is it so?

Well, looking through the Bible heaps of others felt the same – way way back though the Old testament. Habakkuk was one along with Jeremiah and Daniel. The Psalms are full of “Why Lords?” There just doesn’t seem to be answer.

I guess we can’t really give an honest answer – Although God assures us, through the life of Jesus, that He does care and He keeps reminding us so.

Jesus told Pilate at his “trial” that it was no good looking for His kingdom here on earth – if they did think that and if his kingdom was here – then His servants would have fought for Him and he would not have been given over to the hostile Jews and he would not be standing before Pilate.

No! He said His Kingdom is from another place – and we know where that Kingdom is – Heaven.

So Jesus Himself didn’t think of His home here on earth at all and he implores us that we should do the same.

Jesus didn’t care about what other people had – He didn’t hanker for their riches and homes – He said himself that he had nowhere even to lie down – amazing!

Satan is always on the lookout for others to join his band of merry men – he strolls around the earth looking to see who he can recruit.

He has his bag of temptations with him – and loves to show us how badly off we are and how good our neighbours are faring!

So it is for Satan’s own benefit to encourage his followers prosper? – after all they can recruit even more people for him!

Romans chapter one has heaps to say about what will happen to the Godless – and it aint pretty – read it for yourself.

What a dark place to be YUK!

God on the other hand – keeps saying to us that there are better times ahead – and for eternity!

Our home here on earth is only temporary – Jesus himself confirms that – No He didn’t want to go to Calvary – the very thought of it chills you to the bone.

Jesus died on the cruelest and evilest creation of mankind – spawned from the depths of hell itself.

Through all of His suffering He knew that His home was with God for eternity – He had an awesome Job to do and he was the only one that was able to do it.

He didn’t look back and ask ‘why?’ – he didn’t want what others had – he gladly did what He had to do and kept His eyes firmly fixed on the goal.

Let’s not waste time looking and envying, asking questions and getting depressed over foolish and Godless even wicked people so-called “prospering” in this world – they are actually doomed.

We certainly have an obligation to pray for these sad lost folk – that God will give us a heart of mercy and grace – that we will be able to see that God’s way even if it is hard here on earth, is actually the only way.

Satan, and I’m afraid many other prosperous people will all suffer the same fate – eternal separation from God – ETERNAL separation – sounds pretty final to me.

Let’s be content with what we have – what we have been blessed with – Look to the Saviour – Keep Him close because if we don’t Satan will only be too happy to snuggle up to us if we let him.

1 Samuel 17:47 says “For the battle is the Lord’s”. God, He himself will claim the victory over everything and everyone.

So let’s not get all hot under the collar about what and who is prospering and how ‘unfair’ it all is.

Our God is ever faithful – He is still on His throne – we don’t have to look to the world for our satisfaction.

Our God knows our needs and wants – he understands what we are going through – our trials, our troubles, our illnesses, our griefs – in fact everything.

Our job is to remain faithful to Christ who remains ever faithful to us – He is the one we must keep our eyes on – His home is going to be our home – we are only passing through here – visitors in time.

Let’s keep our eyes on the goal and not on our ‘prosperous’ neighbours.