This Week With Jesus

Ted Hughes, in his novel Iron Man, describes the fantastic story of a creature who finally saves the earth in spite of humans viewing him as an enemy. Sounds familiar?  Today let us look at David - another Iron Man. Where did David get his sustenance and strength?  Pastor Colin Smith explains this rather wonderfully in his  sermon, "He sustains Me" on what gave David that strength and is a promise for us as well.  As we know, David did not have a peaceful life like many of us do. He was plagued by a continuous stream of troubles, even death. Yet he was a man of God. In spite of his continuous troubles he fought on and accomplished what he was entrusted with. What gave him this strength? What did he have that we are missing?  Pastor Smith has explained all this and more in his message, "He Sustains Me" which we recommend you read/ hear. The message is available here

Deuteronomy 4:9   Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them . Waking up every morning is a miracle in itself, and that’s worth celebrating. Each new day is a gift from our gracious God. We are so miniscule we cannot even begin to create a certainty in our future. The only certainty we have is the past. Our past shows us that we are dear to God and being that we can be sure that He will ascertain the best for our future. That best may not be in line with what we want, but it will be what we need, to live a life as God would like us to. In the words of Ms Francis Taylor - When you feel abandoned by God it is so important that you remember when God was there for you. This is what Moses was trying to impress upon the Israelites before they entered the promise land. (In the quoted verse) He had many instructions for t

It is widely believed that the those who are poor are often more generous than the rich. Jesus recognized this in the temple when he saw a woman put in all she had into the offering bag. This may be due to the fact that the poor rely on God for their daily bread and  they recognize that fact that whatever they have came from God. This is not a universal law. There are so many well to do people who share their wealth in many ways. Yet, some Acts from the Bible take the prize as in the verse below.  Acts 2:45 "and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need". One of the points raised by Pastor Rajiv in his message earlier was that sacrificial giving goes beyond the specific giving. The word sacrifice comes from the Latin word sacra which means sacred and à ficeo à meaning ‘to make.  SO SACRIFICE MEANS TO MAKE SACRED OR TO MAKE HOLY! I n other words  to devote to God.  As we near the middle of Lent, some of us sacri

Psalm 22 verses 1 and 2  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yesterday we talked about unanswered prayers. Today we go a step further: when we think our prayer has not been answered, in some extreme situations like the death of a loved one, or a serious illness which won't go away, we can feel abandoned by God. But is it really so? Feeling abandoned is not the same thing as being abandoned. So, having made that distinction, do we feel abandoned or are we really abandoned? Or is there some wisdom or logic, beyond oir comprehension? Recently, while researching on the topic of unanswered prayers, we came across a real-life account of a person who felt abandoned. We will not try to reproduce the story, but let you read it yourself. So here it is. https://thecatholicwoman.co/letterstowomen/reckoning-with-grief-and-unanswered-prayers

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" Unanswered Prayers . Songwriters : Garth Brooks / Pat Alger / Larry Bastian I believe that there is no such thing as unanswered prayers. It is more a lack of discernment when we think our prayers have not been answered. We have all, at some point, prayed very hard for something, planned for something we deeply desire. But it does not happen. At that time, we feel let down because things did not turn out the way we had hoped. But, and I have said this before, our disappointment with God is because our will was not done.  So, the very basic principle of the Christian faith, embodied in the Lords prayer, is some thing we don't really believe in. That Gods will is paramount, in line with His plan for us is not acceptable. Deep down in our heart

Yesterday we talked about our prayers and supplications for help to overcome various life challenges, we often call it a miracle. What is a miracle? A miracle is an act not fully explained by natural forces but attributed to supernatural forces, mainly God. There are many definitions of miracles. But, biblically speaking miracles involve God doing something uncommon and usually awe-inspiring in order to reveal himself to mankind (The shepherd church). When we experience a miracle, small or big, it is divine intervention. We agree to that. But let's think beyond that: that God, whom we know from afar, has actually touched us! What a wonderous fact. If we have experienced a miracle we have actually experienced and felt God! Yet, we need to remember one thing: That  God is as part of our everyday lives as He is for any miracles.  Miracles are always within the grand design of God the Creator and fall within the category of prophetic symbolism intended to draw attention to something be

Image ; Poweroflifenow.com 2 Kings 19:19 " Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only". How many times in life are we in a situation from which we see no hope? When all possible doors are closed. And yet we have survived and recovered. It could be a health crisis, financial doom, some natural event (like covid) or some professional problem. When everyone lets us down our final stop is before our God. At the time we pray and hope and beseech God and beg for a rescue. And when that happens, which may not be as we had expected, we seldom look back more than a couple of times. My family and I were saved from being touched by the Covid in such an unexpected way that it was nothing short of a miracle. Yet it had a very negative impact financially. Should I be praising God vociferously for being saved or let that great feeling of a miracle and gratitude be pulled