A Devotional Life

Note: If you have been following any of the teaching series, we will be continuing in the new year. Praise God for a new month. I would like to share a personal experience, then we look at the word. I recently was recalling my first experience of using a Bible reading plan. It was the Classic Bible reading plan (i.e. straight through Gen to Rev), which my mum gave to me and my elder sister during my first year at uni. Oh, and there was a cash prize for whoever finishes first. I can’t tell what my sister’s motivation was, but I knew what mine was - the money, well initially. The only problem was my sister was a faster reader or better put, I am a slow reader. Nonetheless, eyes on the prize and I kept going for it. Genesis chapter 1, chapter 2 … chapter 6, and I got stuck. I read that passage (Genesis 6) so many times - and what really touched me was verses 5-6. Imagine someone reading 39 books of the Old Testament (OT) with Genesis 6:5-6 in mind (which is actually reflected ...

Series: The introductions of the Holy Spirit by Jesus In the previous studies we looked at the teachings of Jesus revealing the person of the Holy Spirit, by highlighting how we are to relate to Him - setting Him as priority and yielding to Him . In today's session we will look at who Jesus said the Holy Spirit is from the passage in Matthew 10. He is: The Spirit of the Father and Our Guide into the Father's Will - Matthew 10:1-20, 26-31 In Matthew 10:1-20 Jesus sent His disciples on a short mission. He asked them basically to do what they had been watching Him do for a while now - preach the kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead...(7-10). He then gives them advise on how to travel (no money, no bags), and how to meet potential hosts (greet, ask nicely, and bless if welcomed) - verses 9-15. From verses 16-18 Jesus begins to tell His disciples the realities of this mission, how risky it is. They would be maltreated and summoned to justice. But in verses 19-20 He says ...

Series: The introductions of the Holy Spirit by Jesus Previously we looked at Jesus' introduction of the Holy Spirit in John 7 - where Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit by saying it is possible for us to flow in our relationship with Him. And that our relationship with the Spirit is as easy as believing and setting Him as our priority. This week we'll look at Matthew 9. In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus responds to a question about fasting, but His proverbial response went beyond fasting. 14 Then the disciples of John [the Baptist] came to Jesus, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast [as a religious exercise], but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus replied to them, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 But no one puts a piece of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment and a worse tear results....

Series: The introductions of the Holy Spirit by Jesus In John 7 there was a big Jewish feast called the Feast of Tabernacles. It seemed Jesus was initially reluctant to go to this feast (v9) but later decided to go stealthily. And when He got there He waited till the feast was half over before he began to teach (v14). We notice that for the period of the feast His sermon was blessed with a divided audience (v12-15) - those who accepted His message and those who didn't, which was understandable. But then there was also those who just wanted to kill him but wouldn't admit it (v16-36). What a day in Church? Actually, what a Church conference? because v37 says in the last (...) day of the feast , and He had been there teaching from when the feast was half over (v14). Although there was a very divided audience at His teaching, He pressed on till the last day. Father help us to always set your Spirit as the most important in our lives. [The feast of taberna...

Matthew 14:25-32 25-27 And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea...He spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid!” 28 Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus extended His hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” The Lord who calls you will walk with you and can (and will) save you in time of trouble. Without dismissing Peter's later doubt in verse 31, a more profound insight is his willingness to do like Jesus, his Yes active response to God's call. The lessons followed consequently. After verses 30 and 31 - he had learnt the secret was faith in God by fixing his eyes ...

We praise God for His faithfulness through the past years, and for the new gift; the year 2017. 2017 is the year of harvest for the church (the body of Christ). This year God’s blessings on every venture for soul winning is going to be like never before. The gospel of Jesus must be preached. As the end continually draws near, there is an increasing sense of urgency in the Father’s heart that the world comes to the knowledge of Him. The scriptures laid in my heart: The harvest is ripe (Acts 2:47, Matthew 9:37-38), the responsibility is ours (Ezekiel 3:17-19. Romans 10:14. 2 Cor 5:20), and this is a serious business (Revelation 20:10-15. 2 Peter 3:9). We all need to pick up the mantle this year. The bible says we are not ignorant of the devices of the enemy. One of his common deceits is to quench the prompting of the Spirit with lies such as; the person you want to preach to must have heard the Word several times before now. We can overcome the lies by asking ourselves: ‘have the...