Have you been with Jesus? Have you had a life changing experience with Him to the point that you can never go back to what you were before and your life now shows just how different you are?
Read Acts 3:1 - 4:14. The Apostle Peter had this encounter with Jesus. In his own strength he failed, even denying Jesus 3 times, but after he was filled with the Holy Spirit Peter became the voice of the early church.
The first time he preached, 3000 people got saved and baptised both in water and the Holy Spirit and then Peter and John became the instruments of God’s healing power. That got everybody’s attention. He then preached powerfully again saying to the crowd that they killed the Holy One of God whom God raised from the dead and this greatly disturbed the ruling authorities who put them into custody until the next day.
Peter declared, “It was through Jesus who had died but God raised from the dead, by Him this lame man stands whole before you. And Peter makes this foundational statement, “There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” In the name of Jesus there is salvation. In the name of Jesus there is healing, there is forgiveness. a new destiny and renewed hope. All in Him.
Let us all with renewed hope and passion proclaim Jesus to be the answer to a struggling and dying world
With much Love,
Ps Bernie
What is our vision for our children and their children’s children? Ps 78:1-7; 139:13-18; Jer 29:11-13.
God’s plan for His sons and daughters is absolutely awesome and seeing that you and I are made in His image, then our thoughts towards our children should be the same as God has towards His children.
Let’s put that into a practical area of life. What does God do for you? He gives you life and He blesses you with every spiritual blessing that pertains to life (2 Peter 1:2-4) and Godliness. He has given us His Son because He loves mankind that much. Do we love our children like that, that our whole desire is to love and to bless and to instruct them in every way possible both for this life that they might be fruitful in serving their Lord and King and that their whole life through they are being prepared for the life to come which has an even greater importance than this present life which is but a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:14)
The opposite to the above is to be totally selfish and care only about yourself. King Hezekiah as an example is 2 Kings 20:18-19. Listen to the prophet. “Some of your own sons will be taken away and made into eunuchs who will serve on the palace of the king of Babylon. All right, Hezekiah replied. If this is what the Lord wants, it is good. But he was really thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during the remainder of my own life’” (TLB)
How is it that for being selfish and not being in God’s image doing things because we love? Let us be His image bearers.
With much Love,
Ps Bernie
What God can do with people who are wholly devoted to Him and His purposes on the earth. We all agree that the Great commission was a command written for us and to us for the benefit of the world and for the glory of our God and our job then is to make disciples under His Kingly authority, being involved in and among the nations to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I am with you always. Observe = Strongs Concordance No.5083 is (fig. to fulfil a command) “to guard from loss or injury, prop. by keeping the eye upon”. The word observe is more than just looking at something, it is a command to do. So what should we be doing to please our heavenly Father? The least we could do is is to be doing what He has told us to do:
a) Because He is the King of the kingdom
b) Look at what He is giving us; to be joint heirs with Jesus
c) In thankfulness for what He has saved us from (hell) and continues to save us each day and will continue to save us (2 Cor 1:9-10)
Acts 17:6 “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too”, indicating they have been everywhere else already, being obedient to the great commission.
It started with 120 in the upper room praying (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4) and the outworking was awesome to behold by speakers and those listening. The first day 3000 people are saved by the power of the Holy Spirit. So what can God do with people who are radically obedient to His word and empowered by His spirit?
The world lies at our feet.
With much Love, Ps Bernie
2 Sam 23:1-39. This is an amazing chapter about the lives of 37 people who were amazing in their exploits to say the least, but they didn’t start out this way. As a matter of record, they were a bunch of no hopers. Listen to their qualities - “In distress; debt and discontented” (1 Sam 22:2). These were men that David the anointed by God had to work with and mould them into the mighty men that they became and the leadership rulers they grew into - being leaders over 50, 100 and 1000. David was landed with this bunch. He didn’t choose them and yet they were the back bone of king David’s mighty army that didn’t suffer in defeat.
Jesus on the other hand chose the ones that He wanted (Mark 3:13-19). 1 tax collector, 5 fishermen, a thief and 5 others. What a motly crew and yet look what they became, by the teaching and demonstration that Jesus did and preached about all in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now look at the mighty army that was baptised in the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1-47 and how they together turned the known world upside down (Acts 17:6) and these groups all thad this in common - they did things together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
David did it in his day and became the greatest king who ever ruled Israel. Jesus did it in His day and became the greatest person who ever walked the face of the earth. The Apostles did this work in their day and turned the known world upside down, and they all worked with people to accomplish their God given goal.
Now it is our turn to work with people and achieve our God given goal - the fulfilling of he Great Commission and we can only accomplish that by fulfilling the Great Commandment. Come on Church, let us arise and become the mighty men and women of God.
With much Love,
Ps Bernie
Did Jesus really know what He was saying when He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel? I mean, there are issues we have to face today that people just didn’t have to face in Jesus time… aren’t there...? If you think about it, the disciples had it pretty easy compared to us today. They were only confronted by the religious leaders, rioting crowds, soldiers, imprisonment, beatings, whippings, stonings, threats of death. Yep, they sure had it easy…
In reality though, so many people worry when it comes to evangelism. Many of us feel ill-equipped when it comes to witnessing to others. Our fears can include things like, I could lose a friend, I’ll look stupid because I won’t know what to say, or what if they get aggressive? Here’s a thought - What if they get saved? There is a possibility that those things may happen, but the reality is that they probably won’t. Most people are happy to talk on some level. We don’t need to Bible bash them. All we need to do is look for each opportunity to introduce God into the conversation and allow Him to lead the direction from there. If they ask a question that you don’t know the answer to, that’s fantastic. You can say, “I don’t know but I’ll try to find out for you”, and it will the give you an opportunity to meet with them again.
As for the boldness part, don’t worry. If you can accept the fact that through Christ God sees you as righteous, then Proverbs 28:1 is for you. “The righteous are as bold as a lion”. God has equipped you with boldness, His Holy Spirit and His Word. The rest is up to you. He’s given you the boldness of a lion. Now you just need to go and prove it.
Start roaring, you might have fun.
Adrian Nyhuis
What will you believe for in 2012?
Everyone makes choices in life and we all know that every choice we make has a consequence. That being the case, it is of the utmost importance that we make choices that are directed by the Word of God and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. This week, let’s look at the case of Rahab the prostitute who because of choices she made, came into the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
She heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red sea and how the Nation of Israel defeated 2 kings - Sihon and Og (whom they utterly destroyed) and she makes the statement, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the terror of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.” (Josh 2:9-11).
What an amazing statement of faith based on what she had heard (v10). She made a choice for the rest of her life on what she heard for herself and the rest of her family, ignoring the possibility of death if she was found out to have hidden 2 spies sent out by Joshua (Josh 2:1). If the king found out about the spies and sent a detachment of soldiers to Rahab’s and if they had been found, she and her family would have suffered the consequences of her choice. As it was, God looked after her and she became King David’s grandmother and David became the greatest King Israel ever had.
The choices you make this year will affect generations to come either in a positive way or a negative way - and you will be responsible.
With much love, Ps Bernie.
The promises of God are Yes and Amen because He is faithful (2 Cor 1:17-20). So where and how do we become discouraged? By putting time frames on God’s promises.
God’s promise to Abraham was, “I will take you to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12:1-2) WOW!! How amazing! No children; getting old; and God says, “I will make you a great nation”. Abraham must have thought, “Lord, a child would be a great start…”
Many blessings came and Abraham was on the way to fulfillment. They had a son from their own bodies, but had to wait 25 years, but they made a bad mistake in the middle - Ishmael.
Over 400 years years go by before the promise comes to fulfillment and I wonder what he thoughts and confessions were of the many people that lived in that interim period of waiting as they talked about Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the promises that had bee made to the Patriarchs about “a promised land flowing with milk and honey”.
I hope and pray that we can learn from these stories in the Old Testament and see the faithfulness of God to His Word and all these things that were written for our learning (Rom 15:14-16. Let us trust in God for all the promises He makes about you and I as we walk with Him in love and obedience.
With much love, Ps Bernie.
Trust God at all times!. That’s easily said, but as the trials of life come our way, what will be our response? We all know that he Scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5-6)
A Scripture that we all love is Psalm 23, where the Lord is our Shepherd… I shall not lack. He provides every need that I (or you) have and even in the midst of my enemies He provides for me.
Ps 91:1-2 - Dwelling under the shadow of the almighty, where He is our God, in whom I trust.
Jesus rebuked Peter for having ‘Little Faith” even though He was the only one who was game enough to get out of the boat.
Trust your heavenly Father to take care of you. Look how He cares for the flowers and the birds, and you are of more value than them (Matt 6:25-34)
Is 26:3-4 says, “You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.
Find rest in God alone. Trust Him at all times, under any and all circumstances (Ps 62:5-8)
And finally, God’s people were rebuked and judged for not trusting in the Lord (Deut 1:26-36; 1:32-33)
Let us be found trusting Him in every circumstance whether good or bad in 2012.
With much love,
Ps Bernie.
What amazing love Father God has shown to the world that He willingly gave His son to die (Romans 5:7-10)
Even when we were enemies of God, He sent His son to give His life for you and I. How is it that mankind doesn’t accept this free gift of eternal life and then in thankfulness live the rest of their lives loving Him and serving Him
God spoke of this amazing event in history 700 years before it happened. Is 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:3-5;Matt 1:22-23. Behold a young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and His name shall be called Immanuel (God with us). And it gets better! In Isaiah 9:6 it says that not only was a Son to be born and given, but the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.
For His Kingdom is the everlasting Kingdom which will last forever and ever. This earth we live in today will be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10) and seeing that is true, how should we live our lives? In thankfulness, giving glory to God all the days that we live upon the earth, loving God and loving each other just as He has commanded us (Matt 22:37-39)
May you all have a blessed Christmas with Christ at the fore-front and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.
With Much love,
Ps Bernie.
I remember as a child, at one stage one of my favourite toys was the magnifying glass. I would do all sorts of things with it - some not so productive things (which I won’t go into) but also some very interesting things.
One of the things I noticed was how we can look at things in much greater detail. I could focus on an ant… and see how much detail I could see... before…
Anyway, I noticed that through a magnifying glass I could see things that I couldn’t with the natural eye. I noticed that the detail increased. The object not only looked larger, but clearer. The further away I took the glass the more detail I saw, until I took it to a point where it became blurry, and I could no longer focus on it. I also noticed that I needed to be close to the object in order to see it. Looking at the world as a whole through a magnifying glass, depending on where you hold it, does nothing more than blur the image, or turn it upside down.
It’s interesting that as we get older, we never really put away the glass. We don’t physically hold onto one, but we do regularly use an internal glass a lot more often than we realise.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What am I focussing on? The things we focus on are what become magnified. It’s really quite simple: Focus on problems, they will only get bigger. Focus on Jesus, and He will get bigger. The things you ‘focus’ on will be the things that you will focus on and they will ultimately control the direction of your life.
Have an awesome week,
Adrian Nyhuis.
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