18th November 2024.
(Matt 6:19-24).
Someone once said to me that investing in the future instead of living for the moment is most wise.
In a sense, that is what Jesus calls us to do. We have been entrusted with resources–time, ability, opportunity–and we decide how to use them. Our challenge is to see those resources as an opportunity to invest long-term. “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” is how Jesus put it in verse 20. Those protected treasures cannot be destroyed or taken away, Jesus assures us.
Think of your resources: time, talent, knowledge. These are temporal and limited. But if you invest them with an eye toward eternity, these temporary things can have an enduring impact. What is your focus? Now or forever? Invest in the future. It will not only have an eternal impact, but it will also change the way you view life each day. So reflect then on this SLM:-
“The richest people on earth are those who invest their lives in heaven”
…Pastor Ross.
15th November 2024.
(John 4:1-15)
The one thing that is essential for life is water. No water, no life.
Two thousand years ago a couple of people set out across the countryside of an Earth-outpost called Samaria looking for water. One was a woman who lived nearby. The other was a man from Galilee. They ended up meeting at a well near the village of Sychar. When they did, Jesus found the water He was looking for, and the woman found the water she didn’t know she needed (vv. 5-15).
Water is essential for both physical and spiritual life. Jesus had a surprise for the woman at the well. He offered her the Water of Life – Himself. He is the refreshing, renewing “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (v. 14).
Do you know anyone looking for water? Someone who is spiritually thirsty? Introduce that person to Jesus, the Living Water. It’s the greatest discovery of all time.
So reflect on this SLM:- “Only Jesus, the Living Water, can satisfy the thirsty soul.” … Pastor Ross.
13th November 2024.
(Luke 10:38-42).
It’s amazing how many folks talk about being busy for God but not their fellowship with God.
I think the New Testament character Martha would have really understood that. Having invited Jesus to be a guest in her home, she set about doing what she thought were the important things. But this meant she couldn’t focus on Jesus. Because her sister Mary wasn’t helping, Martha felt justified asking Jesus to chide her. It’s a mistake that many of us make: We’re so busy doing good that we don’t spend time getting to know God better.
My advice to those of you who are finding things “busy” these days comes from the core of Jesus’ words to Martha in verses 41-42. It is: Slow down and invest yourself in knowing God; let His Word reveal Him to you. If we’re too busy to spend time with God, we’re simply too busy. So reflect on this SLM:-
“Our heavenly Father longs to spend time with His children.”
…Pastor Ross.
11th November 2024.
(Daniel 6:1-10).
Difficult choices are often still required of every person of faith, even in our society where we enjoy religious freedom.
Daniel demonstrated the courage to obey God no matter what the consequences. When his political rivals set a trap to eliminate him from their path to power (vv.1-9), he didn’t challenge the law or complain that he had been wronged. “When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the window opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (v.10).
Daniel didn’t know if God would save him from the lion’s den, but it didn’t matter. He chose to honour God in his life whatever the outcome. Like Daniel, we are free to choose to follow the Lord. Reflect then on this SLM to start the week:-
“You can never go wrong when you choose to follow Christ.”
…Pastor Ross.
8th November 2024.
(Exodus 5:1-14);(Exodus 5:22-23).
When God recruited Moses to rescue the Hebrews from slavery, their very situation went from bad to worse as well. There was no doubt that the job needed to be done. The people had been crying out to God to help them Exodus 2:23). Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Moses agreed to appeal to Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews. The encounter did not go well. Instead of releasing the people, Pharaoh increased his unreasonable demands. Moses questioned whether he should have ever even approached Pharaoh. See Exodus 5:22-23. Only after a lot more trouble for a lot of people did Pharaoh let the people leave.
Whenever we set out to do something good, even when we’re certain that God wants us to do it, we shouldn’t be surprised when the situation gets worse before it gets better. This doesn’t prove that we’re doing the wrong thing; it just reminds us that we need God to accomplish everything. So think on this SLM:-
“The supreme need in every hour of difficulty is a vision of God.”
…Pastor Ross.
6th November 2024.
(Exodus 4:1-9,17).
In Exodus, when God asked Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, Moses was afraid the people wouldn’t listen to him or follow him. So God said, “What is that in your hand?”(v.2). Moses replied, “A staff.” God went on to use that staff in Moses’ hand to convince the people to follow him, to turn the Nile River into blood, to bring great plagues on Egypt, to part the Red Sea, and to perform miracles in the wilderness.
Moses’ staff, when dedicated to God, became a mighty tool. This helps us see that God can use what little we have, when surrendered to Him, to do great things. God is not looking for people with great abilities, but for those who are dedicated to following and obeying Him. So reflect on this SLM:-
“Little is much when God is in it.”
…Pastor Ross.
4th November 2024.
(Job 1:13-22).
The heavy use of computers and smart phones is causing many young people in China to forget how to write the characters of their traditional language. It’s being called “character amnesia”.
Some people appear to have “character amnesia” of a different sort. When faced with a dilemma, they seem to “forget” the right thing to do and instead choose the easy way out.
God called Job “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil”. See verse 8. God allowed Satan to take everything Job had–his children, his wealth, and his health. But despite his very heart wrenching circumstances, Job refused to curse God. “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with doing wrong” (v.22). Satan had challenged God’s assertion of Job’s blameless character, but he was proven wrong.
Character amnesia? No. Character is who we are; it’s not something we “forget.” Those who have a loss of character make a choice. So reflect on this SLM:-
“When wealth is gone, little is lost; when health is gone, something is lost; but when character is gone, all is lost!”
…Pastor Ross.
1st November 2024.
(Exod.14:1-14).
I’m sure we have all faced times in our lives that are very hard to understand.
If we had been among the Israelites leaving Egypt after four hundred years of slavery, we would likely have seen Pharaoh as part of the problem–and he was. Yet God saw something more.
Inexplicably, the Lord told Moses to take the people back toward Egypt and camp with their backs to the Red Sea so Pharaoh would attack them (vv.1-3). The Israelites thought they were going to die, but God said that He would gain the glory and honour for himself through Pharaoh and all his army, “and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” See vv 4, and 17-18.
When we simply cannot understand why God allows circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us, it’s good to remember that He has our good and His glory in mind. If we say, “Father, please enable me to trust and honour you in this situation,” then we will be in concert with His perspective and plan. So reflect on this SLM:-
“Faith helps us accept what we cannot understand.”
…Pastor Ross.
30th October 2024.
(Prov. 4:14-27).
Proverbs 4 urges us to consider carefully our own road in life. The passage contrasts the free, unhindered path of the just with the dark, confused way of the wicked (v.19). “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live” (v 4). “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (v.23). “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm” (v.26). Each verse encourages us to evaluate where we are in life.
Most people do not want to go through life on a selfish, heartless road. But it can happen unless we consider where we are going in life and ask the Lord for His direction. May He give us grace today to embrace His Word and follow Him with all our hearts. Reflect then on this SLM:-
“You are headed in the right direction when you walk with God.”
….Pastor Ross.
28th October 2024.
(Jer.18:1-10).
It is amazing what a master craftsman can do with what others might view as useless.
That is also how God works in our lives. He is the greatest Master Craftsman of all, taking the wasted pieces and broken shards of our lives and restoring them to worth and meaning. The prophet Jeremiah described this when he compared God’s work to that of a potter working clay: “The pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (v.4).
No matter what messes we have made in our lives, God can remould us into vessels that are good in His eyes. As we confess any sin and submit ourselves in obedience to His Word, we allow the Master to do His redemptive work in our lives (2 Tim 2:21). That is the only way for the pieces of our brokenness to be made whole and good once again. Consider then this SLM:-
“Broken things can become blessed things if you let God do the mending.”
….Pastor Ross.