Hear the call of the kingdom!

The world still needs to see and hear Jesus. The only possible way most people can do so us through the testimony of our lives and the words of our mouths. This would be impossible in our own ability but we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to sanctify and empower us. Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” By daily submitting ourselves to the Spirit of God, as Jesus did, we shall become good examples of what it means to be the Lord’s servants. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me know, poured out like oil over me, for the Lord has called and anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to bind the broken heart, to free the captive soul, open blind eyes , make broken people whole and I know this is the hour of his favour and his power and his spirit is upon me now. We are God’s called and chosen people, do our lives really stack up, do we love as Jesus loved, do we live putting others first. It’s hard and we can only do it in his strength and not in our own. "Hear the call of the kingdom, to be children of light, with the mercy of heaven , the humility of Christ. Walking justly before him, loving all that is right. That the life of Christ may shine through us."

Jesus is Lord of all things!

Isaiah 44:9

“All who makes idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.”

Isaiah 40:18-20 ¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
¹⁹ As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple.” 
Isaiah 44:9-20All who makes idols are nothing and their treasures are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
¹⁰ Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?
¹¹ People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame. ¹² The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
¹³ The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.
¹⁴ He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
¹⁵ It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
¹⁶ Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, Save me! You are my god!”
¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
¹⁹ No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
²⁰ Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Isaiah 45:20-21 ²⁰ “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. ²¹ Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me.”

Colossians 1:15 ^“15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Hebrews 1:3 ^“3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

Today what are the idols in your life, who, what or where do you worship when only God should have first place in your life. For me it is my Iphone, I am lost if I am not carrying it about, I am lost if I can't instantly communicate with my family. The challenge to each one of us is to trust Jesus completely, knowing that he holds each day in his hands and he will help us get through. When I stand in glory, I will see his face, There I'll serve my king for ever in that holy place.... May our lives be about Jesus!

There is only one God!

Isaiah 45:5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”
*When someone tells you that God does not exist how do you answer them?
John 4:20-24
“20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Isaiah 66
“1 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? 2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favour: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word. “

Ephesians 2:19-22
“19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The God who created the universe choose to reach down to us. We cannot reach God but God has reached us. In Jesus we see the justice, the mercy and the humility of God. It is pure grace reaching out and touching our lives with his love. Today how do we respond to this amazing God who loves us so much that he gave up everything so that we might have life eternally in abundance? The word of this chorus I would like to suggest sums up what our response should be. “I am yours, set apart for you, I am yours hungry for your truth, take my life you are all I live for, I am yours!"It's my prayer, may it be yours too.

Good Friday & Easter Sunday

To be Continued...

The cross was not the end, just the beginning. The transforming power of Jesus can and will do incredible things in our lives, when we live in the truth that we are all loved unconditionally by God. When our lives are placed into his hands he will amaze us, as he works in and through us!

Happy Easter!