The Beauty of Scripture

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...