When you approach a chair, you look at it.  You analyse its structure, and you brain no doubt completes many calculations whilst figuring out if that chair will support your weight.  Once you have collected enough evidence that the chair looks like it will support your weight, you come to the belief that yes it will support you.

Now comes the part that highlights the difference betweek belief and faith.   You have looked at a chair, and based on some factors have now come to the belief that the chair will support your weight.  You BELIEVE it will support you.  Now comes the part where you SIT on the chair!  THAT is FAITH in action.

Your brain can analyse the evidence but can only take you to a certain point.  Looking at Jesus, you can look at the historical evidence, as well as the biblical evidence to come to a belief in his existance, however belief if not enough on its own!

Even the devil believes in Jesus (James 2:19).  Intellectually the devil believes in Jesus, in God, in the Bible!  But the devil is not saved!  He has no FAITH in Jesus.

When you become a Christian, you first believed, it was then you excersised faith.  Faith is the hand that receives the gift of salvation.  Faith is a gift from God (Ephesisans 2:8).  By grace we have have been saved.

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How much more does our father in heaven love us!?  He sent His Son to die that the gap that seperates us from God may be bridged.  When we therefore, believe on Him, and seek His forgiveness for our Sin, He forgives us, no matter what!  If an earthly father can feel such love for his child, how much more must our Heavenly Father love.

The prodigal son was still welcomed home by his father, even after sqandering his inheretence.  Like that father, God has His arms wide open to us, welcoming us home.  Remember, whatever you have done, God can and will forgive and you will have a right relationship restored.  Spend time with God, confessing, then believing in Gods promise that you are forgiven.

Forgiveness:
Acts 13:38-39,  Ephesians 1:7-8, James 5:15 and 1 John 1:9

Satan is the accuser, and wants nothing more that you to feel condemed for the things you have done wrong.  Instead of feeling condemed and far from God, read the promises above, believe in them, confess your sin, turn from it and believe in the promisies of God that you are a forgiven child of God.  You are a SAINT not a sinner!

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Sure I have….  Havent I?  I am nice to people…

Thinking about it in detail, our neighbour is not simply those who live next door and behind our physical homes, but litterally everyone!  It says quite clearly in James we shouldnt have favourites, and I know for a fact I have been guilty of that in the past, avoiding someone else, and “bee-lining” for someone who is more popular, easier to talk to or have less problems to “moan” about!

You see the problem there is I displayed selfishness, and by that simple action, broke the “law of loving”.

OK, but I have never murdered anyone, nor have I stolen from a bank, robbed a car or anything terribly bad!

 Well, when standing in court for a driving offence be it speeding or parking, it will not help your case should you say, “But I havent murdered, anyone your honour!”.  The fact is, a law has been broken, thus the penalty must be served.

The Bible is clear also, that the wages of sin is death.  And if it were not for our Lord God, through the death and ressurection of His Son Jesus Christ, there would be no hope for us!  We would be no doubt be sent away was it not for His love.

Now as Christians, it is clear we have a calling to keep this law.

Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free.
James 2:12  - GNB 

It is a desire of our hearts, as we are freed from slavery to sin (Rom 8:2).  As part of our relationship of love with the Lord, it is natural to want to live a life for Him, to follow Jesus’ example and live like Him.  Examine your heart, examine your motives, and if there is anything that you are struggling with, leave it at Jesus feet, seeking His help.  Invite His Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart, to guide you, and to strengthen you in the name of Jesus, Amen.

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It is amazing to think that God is our father, that He was with us when we took our first steps, even when we lay in bed at night scared of the “bogey man” God was there!  The day we chose to follow Him, He was there!

 He is the perfect father, who will never abandon us, who will always be listening to us, always loving and caring.

For parents, this passage is very touching as it is very easy to apply this situation to your own family, and how you would feel in the same situation.  As parents we love our children unconditionally, they do not earn it!  How intense therefore the pain, if our Children were to rebel, or reject our love and care.

God’s love for us led Him to offer the biggest sacrifice He could ever have given;

“…How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure…”
Stuart Townsend 

Thank you Father God for your sacrifice, for your immense love.  Thank you for your Father heart, that loves us unconditionally, that extends your grace to those who seek you, that loves us as your very own children.

It is such an encouragement to find a passage like this in the old testament that really reminds me and drives home that our God is a loving Father God.  I rarely dip into the old testament as I am always focusing on the Gospel, and yet God was with man for hundreds of years before He sent His Son, and by reading what transpired, really helps us to build up a picture of our loving father, as well as see the events that led to that manger and eventually the cross.

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Wisdom

I understand this to be the ability to advise in difficult situations, resolving arguments, solving problems etc. I don’t think it refers either to a worldly wisdom but one that is of a divine nature.

Knowledge

Knowledge of the Word, and being able to effectively communicate the Word and the Knowledge gained from it.

Faith

Matthew 17:19-20 talks of faith enabling you to achieve wonderful and amazing things. As believers we all have faith, however I think this refers to a more radical faith where the normal rationalisations we add to a situation no longer apply to those people, and the have complete and utter faith in the Lord for something.

Healing

Jesus healed the sick.  By the power of the Holy Spirit some are able to pray over the sick and the sick are healed.  I think healing can cover both physical and mental illnesses or afflictions.

Miraculous Powers

Seems to tie in with healing, however there are stories too of other miraculous things taking place in modern times, for example people being raised from the dead.

Prophecy

The ablitiy to receive pictures and Word direct from the Lord, and to then be able to effectively communicate these to the group or to the individual that picture or word is for.  I used to think that prophecy was about predicting the future, however it would seem it is more being a mouthpiece for God, speaking wisdom, knowledge, encouragement and advice into peoples situations.  Prophecy can be particularly effective when someone prophecies into a situation in your life, or into something you are thinking about, and yet they have no earthly knowledge of the situation!  This has happened to me on occasions and it is incredible.

Distinguishing Between Spirits

Often when I watch religious broadcasting, certain preachers will set off alarm bells in my mind.  Sometimes based on what they are saying, and others just the feeling that although what they are saying seems Biblically sound, their motive is not that of the Lord.  It is the ability to see what is of the Holy Spirit, and what is of satan.

Tongues and Interpretation

This is an often debated subject in the church and one I believe we are going to study together in the Lifegroup to better understand this gift.  I think in a nutshell that its the ability to talk in other languages and others have the ability to translate.  I will go into more detail in on tongues as and when we have studied it in more detail soon.

Bryn pointed out that throughout the Bible, there are other gifts of the Spirit mentioned to include:

Serving, Administration, Teaching, Encouragement, Giving, Leadership, Mercy, Helping Others, Hospitality, Interpretation of Dreams and Creative Arts.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but certainly highlights the wide breadth of gifts that the Holy Spirit can and will bestow on believers.

Why so many gifts, and why does he give them to us?  Firstly, these are gifts.  They are gifts of His grace, and not of our own doing.  He gives us these different gifts, to different people, I think to build up the church, as well as each other and to help advance His kingdom.  We all have different gifts at different levels to create balance within the Church so that we can act as one body.  Ann made a good point, if we all had the same gift for example, prophecy, we would never get through one Sunday service as everyone would be prophecying and there would be far to much to act upon!

With such a wide range of gifts at our own church, things really do work well.  We have people gifted with musical abilities, others with serving others (the welcoming team), others with leadership, others with administration (including finances etc) as well as others with serving (including those that always have the tea and coffee ready at the end of the service).  During the service also, we are lucky to have many wise, knowledgable people who bring word to us all, as well as prophecy.  The Lord has built up a dynamic Church, full of people with completely different gifts, all working together to grow His church.  Its is indeed amazing, exciting and wonderful.

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The Promise:

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

When you accept Jesus into your heart, you become a child of God and are automatically eligible for the inheritance of eternal life.

Longing for Rest:

2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Just like a long hard day, we long for rest and relaxation where we can unwind and leave the problems of that day behind us.  Its the same with life on earth!  It is tiring and we long to rest and be with our heavenly Father.

The Guarantee:

5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given

us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

God sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ to the sacrifice for our Sins. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are given the gift of Gods Holy Spirit as a guide, a strength and a comfort. And as this verse reminds us, as a guarantee of how serious God is about his promise to us.

Faith:

7We live by faith, not

by sight.

Unlike doubting Thomas, we believe in Jesus without needed to see Him.  We do not demand proof!  In my own life things have changed so much since I met Him that I can not deny His existence!  Looking at the beauty of creation, its impossible to imagine there was no creator!

Preparation:

10For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Matthew 6:19-24 – Treasures in Heaven.  We will be judged on that final day!  The things that we do for His glory will earn us spiritual rewards in heaven.  We don’t know what they are to be, but they must be awesome to be described as treasures!

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John too when the going got tough did too experience those sorts of feelings.  It can be difficult to remain positive on the bleaker circumstances of life.  The test in these circumstances though are what you do with these thoughts.  Do you let them eat you up inside?  Do you let them take over your thoughts?  Do you give up all hope?

John did not do that!  He turned to Jesus and brought his questions to Him!  Jesus responded with encouragement and with examples of His miracles.  He was able to reassure John in difficult times.  We too should give any of these thoughts to Jesus and ask Him to help us.  He can and will through the power of His Holy Spirit encourage us, build us up and give us the knowledge and confidence in Him.

If anyone is reading my ramblings today, I really recommend you look at today’s Our Daily Bread.  Also if you find my ramblings useful, please take the time to contact me and let me know!

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15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace (NIV)

Before Jesus came down to pay the price for our sin, the world was a very different place.  There were two types of man.  The Jews who were under the promise of God who followed His law, and the Gentiles.  A gentiles is anyone who is not a Jew, so that would include me today!  Because Gods law saw Israel as the Chosen people, the Jews would treat the Gentiles with poorly, and the Gentiles often would retaliate.

Upon Jesus death and resurrection, he put the old law to bed.  From that point on, “whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)  Thus the promise was no longer for just Israel’s people, but for ALL MAN! Therefore the hostility stirred up be the old law was removed, and salvation was and is free to anyone who seeks it.

In conclusion, it would seem that the “two” reffered to is the Jew and Gentile, being made into One Man, which would be the church.

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Last night at our Lifegroup, we looked further into the sermon that Phil preached on Sunday (I am posting in Fellowship some the rest of my notes on the sermon in the near future). A large emphasis of what we talked about was about the Holy Spirit, and how He strengthens us and guides us, as well as enables us to grow in Him. Looking then at today’s Our Daily Bread reading, I was surprised that Ephesians 2:22 has popped up again (Sunday, Thursday and now Friday)! As you may have read from previous posts, I believe the Lord will repeat Himself as much as it takes so that we will sit up and listen.

22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does live inside us.  Before Jesus death, the only place for God’s Glory was the Holy of Holy’s in the temple at Jerusalem, and yet when Jesus died, the temple curtain was ripped in half, Jesus rose from the grave, and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and has continued to be poured out across the world.  The Holy Spirit is there as our guide, like in this passage in Acts.  We need to listen carefully to what He says, and be obedient to His guidance.  If we feel we must share the Gospel with a random person on the street, then we should do so, ignoring the old human fears and impulses, but just trusting in the Lord and His Holy Spirit.  You may only plant a seed, but one day that seed with burst forth life.

Living in a state of obedience to the Holy Spirit is really quite exciting, as we are no longer living a life that we plan out for ourselves!  We are living a life where we don’t know where the Holy Spirit is going to take us next.  That is not to say we shouldn’t try to plan our careers etc, but we should lean heavily on the Holy Spirit for guidance to make the right career choices, family choices, etc.  I pray that I can be as faithful as Paul and Silas and that I will recognise the Holy Spirits voice when He calls and points me in directions, that sometimes I may not want to go.  And I pray that in those situations that the Lord will be Glorified.

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It takes some doing to be able to take a step outside of oneself, and begin to understand the benefit of forgiveness.  It does not come naturally, and we have a tendency to want revenge for when we have been wronged.  And yet we need to remind ourselves of the cross.  How our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bore all our sin on that cross that we might be forgiven.  When we turn to Him and seek forgiveness of our sin, by His grace he is faithful

and forgives.

Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV)

The Lord keeps on forgiving us, and as in the above verse, we are told to forgive anyone, of anything, whomever they are, just as the Lord forgave us.

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