Mature believers are not made in their Bible study but in the pressures of life. But, if they’ve learned nothing in their Bible study, the pressures will probably overwhelm them.
Today our remarkable Queen, who repeatedly confessed her faith in the King of Kings, goes to meet her Lord.
We thank God for her consistent testimony & life of devoted service.
The stunning rainbow over the Palace seemed to offer an Amen.
A generation deplores the horrors of a previous generation’s cruel commitment to slavery. How long before a generation emerges deploring the horrors of this generation slaughtering babies in the womb?
A church more at pains to be relevant to the culture than in step with the Holy Spirit is never going to be useful to God.
Elijah confronted the culture aware that he “stood before God”. If we abandon that stance we lose all relevance.
God please deliver us from empty worship songs that say nothing.
We have so much to celebrate, such a Saviour to applaud & magnify, such awesome truths to reflect on & sing about together.
Life is tough. We don’t need naff songs. We need to glory in our God & his salvation.
Good for Ian Paisley Jr calling out the religiously discriminating
@BBCNewsnight
for making fun of the new DUP leader’s Christian faith: “You wouldn’t do that to a Muslim”.
#DefundTheBBC
Why do some Christians insist on calling themselves “sinners” when the Bible repeatedly calls us “saints”? Yes, we sometimes sin, but in Christ we have a new identity! Let’s own it.
This year I happened to stand in Paris where Princess Diana died & be driven in Dallas where JFK was assassinated, two deaths that shook the world. Neither CHANGED the world like the death we remember today.
Beware the danger that the desire to be relevant & contextual doesn’t rob you of the raw edge of the gospel. The cross is offensive. Settle for it. The world’s opinion isn’t the final word.
Another anniversary! 56 today!
‘Tis Jesus the first & the last Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home.
We’ll praise Him for all that is past And trust Him for all that’s to come.
My last season ticket.
60’years ago today I ended my secular employment & started an exciting adventure.
God’s faithfulness has been breathtaking & beyond my wildest dreams.
Who were first to be called “Christians”? A church led by Barnabas (a Cypriot), Simeon & Lucius (2 black guys), Manaen (raised with a prince) & Saul ( former zealous Hebrew). Acts13:1. Christ has been uniting races for centuries.
Beware the habit of questioning other people’s motivation. Often it’s hard enough to be sure of your own motives. Suspicion is not a gift of the Spirit.
True Christian fellowship, openness, honesty, vulnerability are all necessary to bring you to maturity. We were never meant to do Christianity alone. Get close to other believers. Don’t simply attend the same building.
Don’t confuse discipline & legalism. Legalism hopes to gain merit through rule keeping. Discipline helps those already justified make great choices for fruitfulness.
Not the slightest hint of emergency in heaven, nor lack of intense love beyond our wildest dreams. If God is providing a shock to wake us up, let’s honour him & keep praying for revival.
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burden gladly bearing he bled & died to take away my sin! HOW GREAT THOU ART!!
King Charles doesn’t know I exist. The Prime Minister is busy with many things, but the Bible insists that, if you’re his, God thinks about you, watches over you, plans in love for you & even makes things work out well for you.
Amazing eh? No wonder we love & worship him!
The disciples didn’t drift into a storm, Jesus sent them there. Jesus didn’t wander into the wilderness, the Holy Spirit led him there.
Don’t interpret your challenging circumstances as God’s indifference or carelessness. God orders events with purpose. He trains us for battle.
On earth it seems so right to honour her for her extraordinary life of service.
In heaven her gaze will be only upon him who laid down his life for her.
A tough year is coming to a close. For many it has been brutal. There’s certainly no guarantee that 2023 will be better.
What is guaranteed for believers is God’s unswerving faithfulness, awesome power & determination to glorify his Son & prepare for him a stunning bride.
Don’t pray because good Christians pray. Pray so that you can get to know God. Pray because you need him. Pray because he has made amazing promises to answer prayer.
Pray because it’s your lifeline to real life.
God deliver us from thinking that we are charismatic (ie genuinely Spirit filled) when actually we’re simply contemporary, (ie simply using guitars & overheads).
Let’s keep loving the church. Its flaws & failures are increasingly apparent but Christ loved the church & gave himself for it. Keep believing for restoration by Spirit & truth.
I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly & honesty admit how desperately they need him. (Jim Cymbala).
Christian truth isn’t obvious. Don’t reduce it to common sense.
It’s full of mystery. It needs revelation & a submissive heart.
It’s the ultimate truth. Faith & obedience unlock it.
When PAUL PRAYS for churches he doesn’t pray so much for their numerical growth or evangelistic impact (like we do) but for INCREASING REVELATION by the Holy Spirit of all that is already theirs in Christ.
He knows we can be Christian but hardly realise what God has done for us.
Beware the danger of unconsciously embracing the culture’s worldview through media bombardment. You need consistent exposure to God’s radical alternative.
Don’t simply submit to any “mood” you might find yourself in. Challenge it! Like the Psalmist, ask, “Why am I cast down..?” Resist & reject it. God is always to be thanked. His salvation always to be celebrated. Don’t just roll over. Fight the good fight.
The primary goal of the gathered church is to get believers worshipping & focussed on God as their centre, their life-giver, their majestic king. We’re not there to be entertained.
The first Sunday of a New Year. Lord, please begin to do a new thing, replacing simply contemporary church culture with biblical charismatic church culture.
Yes, we must make good connection with the lost but if we’re not making regular, vital, nourishing life-changing connection with God himself we’ve very little to offer them.
It’s Sunday. Even the smallest congregation that genuinely centres its focus on Jesus &, with the Holy Spirit’s help, aims to draw near & worship him can expect to be privileged with refreshing, renewal & some transformation. Just one glimpse of his glory!
You may disagree with your brother/sister but when differences result in contempt for your brother/sister you’ve crossed a line forbidden by God. God hates contempt & the superiority it displays.
Beware the danger of making peace with the current culture. It will drag you down. Shake off apathy. You’re the citizen of another kingdom. Line up with your victorious King.
Bible reading isn’t to be regarded as a Christian duty but a source of constant encouragement, nourishment, encounter & revelation. You meet God there. Your thinking is shaped.
So many voices in the world want to shape your thinking. Many are harmful & distorted. Let God speak.
Religion just keeps piling moral obligations on you. Jesus invites you to come, rest, abide, drink, taste, be filled, enjoy, listen, learn, arise, believe, go & do.
Thank God for the extraordinary life & ministry of Tim Keller, a huge inspiration when he addressed Newfrontiers leaders at Westminster Chapel & speaking at Common Ground in Cape Town.
A life with Christ so central.
Strange how being “born again” is part of evangelical jargon but we often fail to grasp its wonder.
A new birth, a new identity, becoming someone you’ve never been before. Much more than being just a forgiven sinner.
The New Testament church made no attempt to impose morality on its contemporary culture. It shone as a light & invited people out of the darkness into gospel light.
If you drift from the enjoyment of God’s presence, burdens seem heavier, fears grow stronger, life is tougher. Abide in him & let his words abide in you.
Refreshing & renewal come not from simply having time off or “me time”.
They can you leave you flat & empty. Jesus is the fountain of life. Get into his presence. Taste & see how good he is. Isa40:29-31.
In overcoming stress relaxation is important but renewal is vital. What we sometimes treasure as relaxation provides no renewal at all. Stress can be replaced by lethargy.
The Holy Spirit isn’t an atmospheric mist or a funny feeling. Nor is he a theological abstraction, but God’s own presence & power with us enabling us to live new life.
Chatting to a former Hindu lady today I asked her what brought her to Christ.
Her face lit up & she said she heard of a God who loved her, returned home & told her husband, “I’ve found a God who loves me.”
Such an awesome & life transforming discovery!
God isn’t so much looking for the church to be filled with morally upright individuals.
He wants a people transformed into vulnerable & sacrificial lovers who put the needs of others first, willing to make costly choices, overwhelmed by Christ’s love for us.
If you don’t constantly & consistently CELEBRATE your justification, that God sees you righteous in Christ, you’ll keep drifting back into assessing yourself on your own performance & try to compensate. It’s misery. Enjoy the gospel!
If all Sunday meetings are focused on outsiders, where do believers gather to express heartfelt worship & also cultivate their united fascination with God?
If we dream up a God of our own imagination instead of letting the Bible inform us, no doubt we’ll come up with a sentimental figure, indulging our shortcomings or maybe a scary monster vindictive against us.
Let the Bible shed its light. Know the true God & worship him.
Have you noticed? The word “saint” has been stolen & reinterpreted to mean very special, mostly dead, individuals.
In the Bible it simply refers to believers, those in Christ & therefore made holy, called upon to live holy lives in & through Him.
Let’s take it back & own it!
We were never intended to “do Christianity” alone. Over 40 “one-another” verses demonstrate our mutual dependence. We all need others to pray for us, encourage us admonish us, build us up & so on. Isolated believers won’t prosper. “The were together”Acts2.
We in churches using the name Newfrontiers have dear friends & churches in Ukraine & Russia. We pray for our brothers & sisters & those they serve. May they experience God’s presence & be upheld by his truth.
What a chapter! Maybe we should all read Isaiah 40 every day!
The incomparable, everlasting God never grows weary, keeps the universe in order & is happy to renew those who wait on him so they keep walking, running & even flying like eagles. Wonderful!
Bitterness is such a poison. Never accommodate it. Don’t let it into your life. However justified you might feel to entertain it, refuse it or it will spoil you & infect others. Instead receive grace. It sets you free.
Christian culture is increasingly foreign to modern culture. Mercy, forgiveness, acceptance, kindness are out of fashion. Sincerely held values are rare. God help us to remember who we are. Don’t be alarmed that the Bible calls us “aliens & strangers”.
Jacob approached his blind father, Isaac, hidden in Esau’s clothes, the son that his father loved & received his blessing.
Today you come to your Father in his beloved Son’s clothes, carrying his fragrance, covered in his righteousness. Come & be blessed.
The best that the world can offer is “Be true to yourself”, but when your “self” is the problem that doesn’t help.
What you need is a new self, born afresh, filled with the Holy Spirit, inspired by fellowship with the living God & being constantly transformed by a renewed mind.
A song I sing almost daily.
The grace of God upon my life is not dependent upon me, on what I have done or deserved, but a gift of mercy from God which has been given to me because of his love.
It is unending, unfailing, unlimited, unmerited, the grace of God given to me.