Scripture Treasures

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you ~ Matthew 6:14 We are all forgiven much. We come to God unwashed and unclean, and He gives us His love and forgiveness so that our lives may start over and fresh. There is only one sin God will not forgive – that is to reject Him. All others, as we come to Him in repentance, He forgives. If He can forgive us for all the darkness in our lives, all the sins we have committed against Him and others, how can we not forgive? Yet, we hold onto grudges and hurts, we hold on to words and actions, and we hold on to hate and anger. Romans 3:10-22 declares our unrighteousness before God, yet righteousness comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ. If none of us be righteous, yet we were forgiven; if God can let go of our past, then we must be followers of His example and forgive as well. Forgiveness does not mean there are no consequences for their actions, for there are always consequences

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being ~ Revelation 4:11 I was watching a nature show last evening, and was enthralled by the beauty of the oceanic creatures. How in sync they were with each other in keeping the equilibrium of life. Whether they worked in partnership for their food, or whether they became food, and how they reproduced was all so amazing to view. This is only one aspect of God’s creative powers visible to our eye. Then I turned my eye to see the beauty in each one of us. We are the only creature created in the image of God! All animal life may procreate itself in differing ways, but we were created to be God’s image in life and in procreation. We may all have the same features or appendages, but each one of us is unique in looks, in body shape, in finger prints, in eye iris patterns! How amazing is that? And yet, some look around and say, “There is

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” ~ John 16:33 We live in a day of false teachers who claim that if you think it, you will have it; if you want money, fame, prestige, it is yours for the asking. Nothing will get in the way of all you desire. This is what the devil offered Jesus! Out in the desert, before He began His ministry, He was tempted by Satan. Look over all this land, Jesus was told, and it will be yours! False liars! For those who come to Christ thinking that He is some Santa Claus in the sky, they soon fall away because that is not who God in Jesus Christ is. The Lord gave us warning that it would be difficult to follow Him. We have to carry our cross, and it is heavy! We have to walk away from some things that we want, so to follow Him. We have to lay ourselves aside so that He might be more in us! To be a true follower of Jesus is not easy, but it is so very

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted ~ Matthew 5:4 As Jesus stood on a hillside, He quoted many beautiful sayings, only some of which are recorded, as I expect He taught for hours. We call them the Beatitudes. They are a series of blessed, and this one, blessed are those who mourn, is one of them. We might automatically think of this mourning as grief over the loss or death of a loved one, but this is not what Jesus is talking about. He is talking about mourning the loss of communion with God. Blessed are those who mourn the sin in their life which separates, blessed are those who mourn their lack of spiritual joys, and blessed are those who mourn the state of God’s people and church, for there are many whom have turned away from God. Look at the world around us! There is much to be mournful over! Yet, they shall be comforted! For when we mourn, we have the grace-filled opportunity to lean into our Saviour and be comforted by His Holy Spirit. His Spirit sho

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ~ John 10:11 Many of the psalms display the language of a shepherd and his flock. The shepherd leads and guides, protects, and God is the representation of the Good Shepherd. Ezekiel’s prophecy states there would be a Shepherd; “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I Jehovah will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I Jehovah have spoken it” (Ezekiel 34:23,24). His prophecy was not about King David in the past, but about Jesus Christ in the future. We must understand the role of a shepherd. He would be with his sheep day and night, watching over them. He would not only walk with them, but he would sleep with them, watching for the predator that may attack. He would be ready to fight the bear or the wolf which might choose to take one of his lambs for a meal in the cover of darkness. Many a shepherd gave his life for his sheep

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ~ Romans 3:23 The first point is that we have to recognize sin, what is sin, and how we sin. I hear more and more there is no such thing as sin. It is all under the umbrella of behaviour – I either behave well, or I behave poorly, or, others may say, this is just who I am! There is no acknowledgement of sin. Until we recognize this aspect, there can be no recognition that I fall short in God’s eyes. There can be no recognition that I need God if I do not recognize my sinfulness before Him. It’s like cancer in the body. This disease may be raging in my body without my knowledge, then my Dr. will do some tests and discover it. Most often, my choice will be to fight against the cancer, but I have to know it is there. It is the same with sin. If we as Christians do not talk about sin, if we soft-soak the Gospel message so people won’t be offended, then we are sending them to hell. Let’s face it – the Gospel is offensive! Sin is r

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him ~ Colossians 3:17 On average, I can find this directive easy to follow. Everything I do and say, I do and say because I love my Lord Jesus and I want to model Him in my life. This is a good thing! You and I want others to see the love we have for Jesus, and in Jesus, as we go about the day-to-day living experiences. We want others to come to know Him, as we know Him, and to serve Him, as we serve Him through our service to others around us. But put passion into the deal and it becomes more challenging to do and say in the name of the Lord Jesus! When passion enters into the dynamics, emotions get in the way and I want to be right! I want to be listened to, I want to know that you will see my point of view and pay attention to that! This is passion I am talking about! We can become out of control when passion takes over our emotions. This is what the w

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy ~ Psalm 47:1 I will go on shouting out to God with cries of joy, and I will clap my hands in praise! I serve a God who loves and cares, and whom is alive forevermore! And one day, all nations will shout to my God with cries of joy! Self-seekers, beware; God seekers, rise up! He is a God of justice and judgment, a God of hope and grace, and a God of righteousness and purity! Come to Him and claim Him, live for Him and live in Him! He reigns! He is exalted! All peoples belong to Him! Devotion by Pastor Julia

They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn. He has done it! ~ Psalm 22:31 He has done it, yes, we who live today proclaim it! Centuries after Jesus Christ lived on this earth, we still proclaim His name and His works! He came to heal the blind, and the lame. He came to cure the deaf and those who could not speak. He came to heal the broken-hearted, and He came to redeem the lost. And, He came that we might have life everlasting through His death and Resurrection! He has done it, for He is alive! He lives within you and me, and every day we have the opportunity to bring to others His healing power. Every day we have the opportunity to speak His name to those who do not know Him. Every day we have the opportunity to show His love. Every day, we live we are witnesses to a people that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life! Devotion by Pastor Julia

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ` John 11:25, 26 I love the story about Mary and the others going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with the ointments, and like you wonder at their move. How on earth would three tiny women roll back the stone to enter into the cave in which His body lay? It was a massive stone, moved in place by many men, yet this was not at the forefront of their mind that morning. The only thoughts were about making His body ready for the decay which had already in their minds begun. And there the vision in front of them displayed not a sealed tomb, but an opening into which they could peer! There was no Lord to anoint! Only angels which gave them the most wonderful news! He was alive! I wonder at the story. Did the other women leave Mary after this news? Is this why she is the only one to have Jesus appe

For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” ~ Romans 10:13 As far as the disciples were concerned, death came. Death won! It was a bleak and desolate day for those men and women. We can relate to them in grief, yet, we have something they did not have, though Jesus had told Martha at the time of Lazarus’ death. He was life everlasting, and those who believed in Him would receive this gift. But on this day, the in-between day after the crucifixion, the disciples did not remember these words of Jesus. We have the blessed privilege of knowing what they in their shock and grief could not recall. Jesus came to die! Jesus came to take our sin! Jesus came that we might, through Him, have life everlasting and be saved! But not only in the life to come, but for this present life as well! We live in the glory of tomorrow, in the glory of Jesus Christ, in the glory of resurrection! And anyone and everyone who says to the Lord Jesus, “Save me,” they are answered and the

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit ~ John 19:30 His life was finished. He had completed the journey of being the incarnate Son of God, living as a human with all the temptations, the poverty and toil we may undergo. He had dealt with hunger, fatigue, and temptation, yet had never sinned in His desire to fuel His human nature, but always lived as holy obedient and useful. And the final pain, grief, and torture were ending. All this was finished. And He had finished the process of redemption for the people of God. No longer was a sacrificial lamb or goat needed, no longer was a priest necessary as the intercessor for divine forgiveness, no longer would a man or woman fear to enter before the presence of God in prayer. Every prophet’s claim had been fulfilled, for He had authenticated each and every one. What Adam could not do, Jesus accomplished. The sin of the world had been removed; the covenant promise

Jesus…rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet ~ John 13:3-5a The washing of feet was a courtesy provided by the host. Most people wore sandals, and the feet would be dusty and dirty from long walks. Here, during the supper hour, Jesus rose and partially disrobed, taking on the image of a servant as He girded himself with a towel. He did this without explanation, but just began the lowly job of washing feet which had walked roads in following Him. We must understand the circumstances, for the disciples were still expecting the coming of a great earthly kingdom, and for them, this would have been like a state dinner! But, as in other occurrences, each wanted to hold the chief position! No other disciple had volunteered to wash the feet of Jesus as their Master, or to bring that relief to each other. Yet, as they are filled with ambition and greed over personal posit

Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” ~ John 11:49b-50 Caiaphas spoke prophetically, not knowing what he was speaking. He thought it was best to kill one man rather than have the Roman government take the lives of what they would consider rebellion in the Jewish leaders. The Romans and Herod set in place whom they would, and whom they pleased. Caiaphas believed too, that it was better to kill Jesus before He was hailed as the Messiah, which would bring down upon them as a people the full force of Rome. His argument is against those who were in council with him, acting out of angst at the pros and cons being discussed and the question of what to do with this man named Jesus. Save the nation, kill the man, was his argument. Of course, we know Jesus did die, once for all. His sacrifice need never be repeated, fo

“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” ` Matthew 15:21b This is a loaded statement, for it is one thing to give to a government which follows its laws and be obedient to that government, and another when the leaders are corrupt. What this does though is establish limitations. When we acknowledge our government, we naturally submit to them, especially when we vote them into power. Yet still our earth is agitated over political rights and wrongs. What then is what we owe our government? For one, most laws are made to suppress evil doers, they promote good order, and they protect their citizens. What governments should not do is intrude into what belongs to God. Unfortunately, we live in a society which does this more directly than indirectly. Rendering to God demands from us our obedience, honour, our worship and reverence in both the moral and spiritual realm. If the first requires us to disobey God, we are to obey Him, what

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes ~ Luke 19:41, 42 Jesus saw the city in all its fullness before Him as He traveled the route into the city. And he began to cry. Not just gentle tears flowing down His cheeks, but chest heaving sobs wracked His body. He could see what lay ahead, beyond even the next week. He could see His cross before Him, He could see the sin which would be laid upon Him and the separation from His Father in heaven due to that weight of sin. He could see beyond that too, to the destruction of the city and the temple. And He could see that the Jewish people would not accept Him as Messiah. He knew His efforts had been rejected. If only His people had received Him, had led the campaign for all nations to receive Him. What a change that would have made! What unbelievable joy there would be now. The grand

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ~ Luke 19:38 The King is coming! The King is coming! Today is what we call “Palm Sunday”, the day when Jesus was celebrated as He entered Jerusalem. Amid shouts of joy, Jesus was honoured. As we look back on history and celebrate with those people the arrival of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, how do we honour Him? How do we live our life for Him? We know how then the crowds turned on Him within a few short days, do we do the same every now and again? Jesus is the King of glory, and of peace. He was the hope of the nation at that time, He is our eternal hope now. There was much at stake upon His first arrival, but there was also great victory! They did not understand the significance of His arrival, but we have the full benefit of that ride upon a colt, for He is our King, our Saviour, our Lord, and His kingdom brings peace! His victory brings eternal life! Devotion by Pastor Julia

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ ~ Romans  10:17 Faith can only come by hearing. If you have never heard about Jesus, God the Father, the Holy Spirit and His salvation, how can you come to have faith in Him? Faith comes through His word, not from works. The same theology works for both: I cannot work my way to heaven, I must know Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and believe in Him. I cannot share about God by being a hard worker; I have to tell others about Him. The apostles wrote and spoke about Jesus with others, preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. More and more, we have that same opportunity as we live in an ever more Gentile world. Though the word of God is written in more languages every year, many in my part of the world never pick up a Bible to read, or go to church to hear the word of God spoken! We have a charge to speak about Christ! Yet, why then are we not as bold as the disciples of the New

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy ~ Psalm 126:5 I thank the Lord that most of my labour does not involve tears, but there have been times when I, as a pastor, laboured with great sorrow. It never had to do with the work itself of being a pastor, but always with those I was working with. Sometimes that sowing came with the tears of death, other times it came with the tears of discouragement and disharmony. When we labour for others, there is often great sacrifice as we struggle through our experiences. There are times too, when we labour against the enemy of our soul, and the devil seems to be rising up on every side where the thresholds of religion and morality may clash. The struggle is to avert evil, and to bring about the truth of the gospel of righteousness. There are and always will be many struggles between light and darkness, and between sin and holiness. Our human nature and grace are ever at odds with each other, and they will be until Jesus returns to

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile ~ Romans 1:16 Only Jesus is the power to salvation! The gospel is the Good News about His saving grace, His love, and His sacrifice; this then is the power of God. Of being His follower, I am not ashamed. I know He is my hope, and in this I will not be disappointed. Today the Jewish people are in the news with the historical renewing of Benjamin Netanyahu’s fifth term, which is remarkable, yet, the majority of Jewish people still do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. They are still waiting for their salvation to come. God’s plan was to save humanity, but we have to believe in the one He sent! Salvation does not come by good actions, we must have our heart turned and renewed by Christ’s Spirit which brings us to new life. Paul found this new life in His encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road. Paul then was not ashamed to prea

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin ~ Psalm 51:1, 2 This is from a psalm of David, after his encounter with Bathsheba, and we, though our circumstances are not the same, pray the same prayer. God’s love is unfailing, and though we may at times turn our back on Him, or let Him down through our actions and our words, He is always there to love and forgive. Our God is a holy God, and therefore sin cannot enter before Him. Yet, we come because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and through His sacrifice, may enter before our God. Unlike what some believe, we cannot enter heaven without the compassion of God forgiving us from our iniquity. Some believe once death comes, heaven has an “open door policy” where the righteous of any faith have a place in it. It is our actions, not our specific beliefs which open this door. Some others believe that it is

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger ~ Zephaniah 2:3 You who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, this command is for you. Persevere in righteousness! Do not give in to the world which desires to close our mouths which proclaim the testimony and witness of not only His love and mercy, but also His judgement. Seek the Lord with diligence and earnestness. Seek Him that you might know Him more, hear Him more clearly, and follow Him more closely. Do not give in to the truths of the world, but stand by His truths which we read in the life of Jesus. Just because you are sure of your destination does not mean your destination is sure. Follow the commands of Christ, and Him alone, then you will know the surety of your destination. Too often we are swayed by public opinion rather than by God’s opinion and our thoughts give way to what the world is holding as right

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me ~ Matthew 18:3-5 The faith of a child is precious. They trust without question, they believe without doubt, they speak truth without hesitation. A child is innocent, and pure. A child finds delight in the simple things – a touch, a smile, a kind word. A child holds your hand and walks with you, following your moves. Is it any wonder Jesus said we are to take on the position of a child? As adults, we question and doubt, we forget to hold onto the hand of Jesus and we walk on our own, sometimes to our own destruction. As adults we often hide the truth in speech for fear of hurting feelings, which we do not want to do, but which is sometimes also an excuse for our lie. As an adult, we are more often apt

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it ~ Psalm 24:1 “For the Beauty of the Earth” was written by Folliott Pierpoint, a classical scholar who lived a rather leisurely life in the lovely town of Bath, England. As I read the scripture verse this morning, the old tune of this hymn and its words jumped into my mind. In this small piece of music, Pierpoint describes the beauty of the earth and brings back to us what we sometimes overlook in the world around us. This song should not be sung or read without thinking about the God in heaven who created all we see and all we are, and the beauty He intended for all His Creation. One day, this world will be made new when our Saviour returns, and one day the beauty of this world will glow brighter than it does in this hymn. We look forward to that day, but, for now, let us appreciate and worship the God who gave us this earth now.   The text was shortened over the years, but here is his original tex

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger ~ Proverbs 15:1 Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, and our anger, like any other emotion, can flare up quickly. It is like a burning flame within us, and it just has to explode. The problem with anger is that one word can lead to another, and before we know it we have left damage behind, sometimes hard to repair damage. This is unrighteous anger, which usually stems from jealousy or greed, or pride. Righteous anger stems from injustice, and often needs following up. Righteous anger changes wrongs into rights, unrighteous anger destroys rights. For this type of anger, a gentle answer is the diffuser. Kindness, tenderness and empathy can help the one in front of you become calm and weaken his or her passion to the level where talking can begin. Essentially, this is where the situation stems from – lack of communication. Where and when communication breaks down, emotions arise to the out-of-control stage. We h

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:15 Vengeance is a nasty way to live. It destroys our heart and our spirit, and it destroys other lives as well. I just viewed a movie screen shot where the face suddenly and dramatically changed from one of love and peace to an evil, dark-eyed demonic face and the caption was “when the real me” comes out. I thought, how horrid that is the real you! I want my “real me” to be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When those characteristics are the real me, I won’t have reason to pay back wrong for wrong! When the Holy Spirit guides the real me, 1 Corinthians 13 will be my motto: Love is patient, love is kind. Love will see in you what you can be, not what you may be in front of me now. Doing good for each other opens the door for us to become the person God created each one of us to be, a

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream! ~ Amos 5:24 How poetic is this writing for two very vital instruments. Justice takes in all that is unequal and out of balance. Justice is to care for the poor and needy with the same measure as the rich and profitable. It is to do your duty to God and mankind, or as Jesus said it, to love God above all others and your neighbour as yourself. It is to not presume one is better than another, but that all stand on equal ground. This does not come naturally to some, but must be a constant in the thoughts and actions. It must not only be thought about, but also acted upon. As Christians we are beginning to live in an unjust world. I read of a leader who prayed in Jesus’ name recently. She was criticized and mocked, yet immediately following her prayer was an Islamic who prayed the Quran and no criticism arose. Let justice roll on like a river! And let righteousness bear down like a never-ending stream, wri

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest ~ Matthew 11:28 Do you know you were not meant to carry your burdens alone? Do you know there is Someone who will bear you up under them? Why then, is it so hard for you to let go and let God? We all have burdens. It may be our children going through the experiences of maturing, or caring for parents that are aging, or spouses that are ill. Our burden may be our home, or our workplace, or, it may be our own illness and possibly our own hurt past. Here, we have an invitation to come, to rest, to give whatever keeps you awake at night to the Lord Jesus. When He walked to the cross, you were His burden, you were the weight upon His shoulders, not out of duty, but out of Love. He did not take that burden lightly then, but gave it His all. He is still prepared to carry your need on His shoulders, and, He has asked for you to place it there. So, pray with me now…Lord Jesus, I don’t know how to ______ . Please help

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life ~ John 3:16 For God, the one true God, the God who came to live in human form so that we might know Him better, took up the cross and carried it up Golgotha hill. Stripped, beaten, bloody and bruised, He carried that cross so that He could then be nailed to it and die a painfilled death. And He endured all this for you and for me. Even though you may not believe in Him, He did it for you. Certainly, for those who do believe, this life is different, and not only this life for it does not end here, but it continues on with Him for eternity. For those who believe, there is life after death with Him forever. No other god has died sacrificially for his believers. Other god’s serve themselves, and you serve them, or you will be punished. That punishment will come in this life and it will come in the next, and it will be based on your conduct during your life

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18 The message of the cross is new life and hope! The cross itself is a symbol of death and finality, yet from it we are a saved people. It is written that if Jesus died a martyrs death there would be no confusion, but that he died taking our place, dying for our sin, and taking our punishment, this then is the factor which the world cannot understand. Many people still think one can work their way into God’s kingdom, or that all one has to do is be a good person, or that one has to follow all the rules, and then they will enter the kingdom of God. Being good, working hard enough, or being a righteous law abider does not mean that salvation has come to that soul. For the cross to have full meaning, one has to acknowledge that Jesus died for them, and then receive the pardon He graciously gives. If the cross is unworthy of belief, then Jesu