This morning our message from Romans chapter seven is about the struggle all true believers in Jesus contend with. We who are God’ elect willingly submit to the sweet persuasions of God’s Holy Spirit yet still experience the powerful yearnings of our sinful flesh.
Read moreOBEDIENCE & FAITH
What an encouragement it is when we witness obedience to the Lord. We experienced this at Shefan’s baptism last Sunday evening. It impressed upon me again how faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His commands are inseparable.
Read moreWORSHIP BASED PRAYER
Over the last few weeks I have asked myself some serious questions
dealing with the what, why, when, where, who & how of my prayers.
The answers, when all was weighed up against the Word of God, found me
sorely wanting. I discovered that my prayers were heavily bent with a
“Lord bless me - Lord bless us” mentality. In other words, the purpose
of so much of my prayer can be likened to going to the supermarket with
an “I need this” list! Read more
PRAYER IN ACTION
Being ‘so busy’ that prayer is shelved for a more convenient time, is a common excuse that stops believers praying. The high level of engagement that our careers, family, education, and social life demand, can interfere and allow precious little time for prayer. Maybe we need to do some personal evaluation here.
Read moreHOW DO YOU DEFINE PRAYER?
E. Stanley Jones in his book, ‘A Song of Ascents’ wrote this: “If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.”
Read moreFAITH EQUALS PRAYER
Someone asked me recently if it were possible to have some teaching specifically on prayer. I have since asked myself some pertinent questions in regard to my own views on prayer. Simple questions like, “What motivates me to pray? How do I think God interacts with my prayers? Why is it that prayer is often a last resort?”
Read more“I FEEL ... I BELIEVE ... I THINK”
How true it is that often what we feel can easily become the force, road map, and the guidance system that directs our actions and stance on life and even church matters. There is nothing wrong with ‘feelings’ - God gave us this emotion to glorify him. But the problem is our emotional capacity has also suffered in the fallout of Adam’s sin. This means that even our feelings, opinions and ideas in and of themselves, cannot be trusted.
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