This Week With Jesus

 

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God (Exodus 29:46). God living among men. What a fantastic thought! What security, what peace! And yet... The sin of man is so loathsome to God that When God appeared even to his servant Moses, he said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet”; and when he manifested himself upon Mount Sinai, to his own chosen and separated people, one of the first commands was, “Thou shalt set bounds about the mount.” Both in the sacred worship of the tabernacle and the temple, the thought of distance was always prominent. The mass of the people did not even enter the outer court. Into the inner court none but the priests might dare to intrude; while into the innermost place, or the holy of holies, the high priest entered but once in the year. It was as if the Lord in those early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly loathsome to him

God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people". There is a very old song which goes - "He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own..." Both these quoted verses, one from God outlaying His plan for us and the other by Merle Haggard actually make me very sad. Sad because an invitation from our creator, dedicating His time for us, is hardly taken seriously. Why? Because We reserve time for Him, time that He has given us, for 2 hours on a Sunday, or an hour for our daily devotions or another few minutes at night, while He waits for us throughout the day. This does not mean we pray all day and not work or enjoy our time. What it means is that we don't involve Him in ourselves, except when we are in trouble.  It's time we broke out of reserved timings for God and involve Him and talk to him throughout the day, involving Him in our daily lives, our joys and our sorrows. Talk to Him as we

Judas is a famous man. Famous for the greatest and most spectacular sin in the world. And yet he was part of Gods plan and chosen by God, followed Jesus, worked miracles and was an apostle. This can be perplexing, for if he was chosen by God to betray Jesus, was he really guilty? If he was preordained was he at fault? Here is a problem we all face. If things are preordained, why am I guilty or why am I blessed or why am I suffering? Can I be a follower of Jesus and yet not be? Judas example shows us that we can be Gods followers yet not be. By choosing from the beginning an apostle who was destined for apostasy and destruction, and by including him in his closest relations, and by giving him power over unclean spirits and over diseases, Jesus shows us that religious associations and religious practices and miracle-working are no sure evidence of being born again. And born again we must be to become a true follower of Jesus. Secondly Judas had a choice: that of begging God's forgive

"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD". Psalm 112 ver 7 We are no strangers to bad news. Not one of us. And we are no strangers to fear as well. Fear is the one thing that can undermine our belief and faith in our God. It is well written that fear is the sharpest tool of Satan and which he uses well. When we fear, it is because we see no hope for the future. We depend on man and human power to bail us out. But as a follower of Christ and God, and with the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, we do not need to fear. The KJV Bible Study says - "Christian, you ought not to dread the arrival of evil tidings; because if you are distressed by them, what do you more than other men? Other men have not your God to fly to; they have never proved his faithfulness as you have done, and it is no wonder if they are bowed down with alarm and cowed with fear: but you profess to be of another spirit; you have been begotten again unto a lively hop

"By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed...."  Influencing God through Prayer! Paul said to make our appeals to God through faith and thanksgiving. There are many examples in the Bible of people who had influence with God through prayer, and today we want to talk about this as well.  We call this prevailing prayer, something we can fall back on, when answers from God are not forthcoming.  Let's understand this. According to the Apolistic Faith Magazine, Prayer is the most intimate form of communication between God and His creation, because it is the heart of man communicating with the heart of God . What an amazing definition of prayer!  The word prevail means “to endure, accomplish, triumph or overcome, and have power or influence. A clear example of this is Jacob wrestling with God. Not for a moment do I believe that the night Jacob spent was only on a physical wrestle, I believe it was a spiritual wrestle as well, converti

Sunday the 4th was Father's Day in Australia and on this occasion, Pastor Rajiv delves into the parable of the Prodigal Son and the role of his Father