Do you feel alone or discouraged today?

I was greatly encouraged this morning as I read 2 Timothy chapter 4. This chapter outlines some of Paul’s struggles and how people loved the world and followed their ways and in so doing caused much harm towards Paul and his ministry, but his hope remained in the Lord and His reward comes from Christ alone.

Verse 10 “Demas has forsaken me”

Verse 14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm”

People can come and go out of your life. People can cause trouble, but we are called as Christians to endure hardship as it says in 2 Timothy 2:3

“Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a solider”.

2:10 “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.’

We go through many things in life, many challenges and it is easy to look to man, to get discouraged by what you may see happening all around you, but through it all, I believe the Lord is wanting to teach us to trust in Him alone and look to Him alone. That we are here to please only Christ. The Lord is faithful and those times we feel we cannot take much more, he strengthens us and gives us grace for a new day.

4:17 “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

Through Paul’s trials the message of the gospel spread to the Gentiles. Through the pressures that may happen around us, it forces out the message of the gospel that is in us to go in directions and ways that we never thought it would go. God uses everything for good and He is faithful and He will strengthen us and preserve us for Him. Keep your eyes on the prize which is Christ Jesus and wait for him to deliver you because He is faithful and will do what He said He would do!

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" Matt 10:36

Recently we have been pondering how to deal with situations in our family that don't line up with the word. What action do we need to take? Are we being too harsh? Do we accept the behaviour or be considered by those around us as "too radical" or "too black and white"? "Where is grace in all of this? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? What about forgiveness? What is the role of discipline? What makes that sin any worse than lying? What is true love? And there are a lot more questions going through the mind in how to work through this and know God's will and desire for the situation and the person. And firstly to say we have not come to any conclusions and are growing and learning day by day in this but I want to throw it out there. In Matt 10:34-39 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, ...

"I am ruined for the ordinary"

“I am ruined for the ordinary” A statement that can possibly be to some, come from a place of judgement, or it can be from a place of there is more in the Kingdom of God that I am yet to experience or understand, revelation that I have tasted of something that actually shows me that I have not tasted of anything yet. A place where there is such a contentment and joy in what I have seen and longed to see and yet a revelation that there is way more "beyond what I think, ask and imagine" (Eph 3:20) and one that spurs me on to seek and discover all the fullness that could be ours in the Kingdom of God. When we as Christians see other Christians going places or experiencing things that we don’t understand or perhaps we have not yet moved in, we can either become jealous of that person and judge and bring them down to our level, exclude them from our lives or we can choose to be excited by what is happening and be encouraged and spurred on in the Lord for the more than ca...

Aphids and Slugs - Resisted or Received?

Morning. The last week or so I have had some very powerful pictures through my garden and life in which the Lord used to speak to me that I would like to share. The first picture: While caring for my roses, I notice that one particular rose is not doing well and I see aphids and disease on the plant and so I spray it again hoping that it will kill what is attacking them. A week later I see it has not been effective and so I am prompted to try another different form of disease killer, an oil rather than the pesticide, and the Lord speaks to me; "Sarah, what was used in the last season, won't work for this new season". We are in a different season, and the way we ministered or dealt with things in the past, won't work in this new season we are in. The reason being we (as a people) have become 'familiar' with the styles and ways of ministering and hence the 'enemy' is already aware of it and becomes 'resistant' to it. A bit like how...

Guest Ministry - Linda Hartzell from America

We are blessed to have join us on Wednesday the 25th at Puketaha Hall this amazing powerful woman of the Lord - Linda Hartzell - She travels internationally as a missionary / evangelist and conference speaker. She has ministered in over 45 nations of the world and has been in ministry for 30 years. I was honoured to be able hear her speak this last Sunday at Life Church and highly recommend her and the power she speaks confirming the season as to which we are in: Come along - All welcome. 7pm A little about her: " At the young age of 22 Linda's ministry was launched in the "heat" of the great Argentina Revival. She has experienced and seen first hand the incredible impact that the power of God can have upon an entire nation, when God's eyes look upon that nation for revival. Linda's message is prophetic in nature with insight and understanding of the times and a directional message of where God is takin...

Let's not be a 'passerby' this Christmas

If you were to see a car accident happen would you stop and help the people in the car or would you drive by believing that others will help them and keep going to where you were headed? This morning I was woken by a request by the pastor in India where we visited three years ago requesting help for the orphanage and daily needs as they were struggling and I thought of the dream I had this morning about a car accident that had happened and those that walked by. For many of us every day things have happened to the people around us that need our help in some way. The Lord took me to James 2:5 "Listen my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor..... v14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a br...

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

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