May God bless you and keep you all today in His loving embrace and in the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.
Well we have come to an end of our Summer Services outside of our building with church in the park, church on the deck and church in the vines. I know personally I have found the reflection and fellowship over all three gatherings so encouraging, and I pray for those of you who gathered together that you too were as blessed as well. This Sunday we are back at church 10:00am. Prayer-time goes from 9:30 to 9:15am for anyone who would like to join us in prayer. We as Elders are sharing some of the things we believe God has shown us for the road ahead, we are also finishing with a shared meal after the service. Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday. My Muse - I've been reflecting on what Jennyne shared out at her, Cheryl and Eden's place on Sunday and God has along with this bought into my reflections what Beth and Dane also led us in the week before. They looked at priorities and Jennyne shared about hope. My thoughts have led me to this verse God opened up to me. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you..." - Matthew 6:33 When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that our human ears will ever heard. “…seek first the kingdom of God….” Even the most spiritually-minded of us tend to live out the exact opposite, arguing saying, “But I must live; I must make a certain amount of money; I must be clothed; I must be fed.” The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God but how we are going to take care of ourselves to live in this life. Jesus reversed the order by telling us to get the right relationship with God first, maintaining it as the primary concern of our lives, and never to place our concern on taking care of the other things of life. It is really about perspective – the question we need to answer then, "is my life lived with a kingdom of God perspective or a self-directed perspective?" For our priorities and our hope to have long-lasting, eternal consequences then how I treat them in my current life reality is crucial. Are my priorities kingdom of God focused? Is my hope set on what is eternal in the longrun or is my hope set on surviving this life? Jesus Himself said, “…do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25). Our Lord Jesus pointed out that from His standpoint it is absolutely unreasonable for us to be anxious, worrying about how we will live. Jesus did not say that the person who takes no thought for anything in his life is blessed - no, that person is a fool. But Jesus did teach that His disciple must make his relationship with God the dominating focus of his life, and to be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison to that. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Don’t make food and drink the controlling factor of your life, but be focused absolutely on God.” Some people are careless with or overly focused about what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless with or miss-guided about what they do with their time, and they live overwhelmed and ineffective; they are careless with their earthly decisions, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second. It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses. It is because of the presence of God in our lives through His Holy Spirit that we are able to truly live our life focused on the kingdom of God, for He is the one who empowers us to do so, and He is the one who will guide us in all things - but we need to seek Him and His kingdom in all things. Here's some wisdom from Oswald Chambers There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage I've been down at church the last couple of days praying for us all, and as your 2017 starts to really kick in, my prayer for you all today is that the kingdom of God will be the bases for your priorities and what you put your hope in, I pray that your perspective this year will not be self-directed but you will have the perspective of God's kingdom as your guide. May you make the adjustments to your life that God is highlighting. May you pick up opportunities He is highlighting May you lay down those things that He is highlighting May you seek first the kingdom of God for your life; for your marriage; for your families; for your workplace; for your neighbors; for The Station community Church where you are planted, and for your participation with us as a community of living faith in Jesus Christ our King! Can I please encourage you to listen and reflect on this song and it's lyrics in relation to what I have felt God ask me to share with you today. https://youtu.be/z9UB5U7kSec?list=RDnQWFzMvCfLE With much love and affection Your friend JD
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Shalom to you all.
What a wonderful send off for Bill on Saturday, a service I'm sure he would have liked although I'm sure even he wouldn't have believed how many folk turned up to awhi his princess, Cheryl and all their whanau. Says a lot about the influence our lives can truly have. Also what a choice time of reflection, fellowship and food on the Deck yesterday - if you missed out then make sure you don't miss this coming Sunday out at 93 Mere Road Fernhill (6min drive from town) at Cheryl, Jennyne and Eden's place. Yesterday on the deck at Dane & Beth’s we were reflecting and thinking about “Setting Life Priorities,” so my thoughts for the Muse has flowed on from yesterday and the opportunity I had looking at life’s priorities and what truly is important in life with two of my granddaughters and my daughter-in-law ;-) One of the keys to being a fruitful person, in life, at work, with family, etc. is setting priorities. It is the focus upon what really matters, within the various distractions of life. As it was put to me once, it is the challenge “to keep the main thing, the main thing.” Others have labelled it “keeping first things first.” It is never easy though. I’ve come up with a couple of things to share with you and I hope you take the opportunity to read and reflect on them. Good priorities involve care of lifestyle! Ephesians 5:15 & 16 states: “Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Other translations use the allusion of walking. Take notice of the New American Standard when it says: “…be careful how you walk….” What does it mean to walk as wise men and women? For one thing, it involves care and awareness. The NKJ says: “See then that you walk circumspectly….” The idea is living with a cautious, vigilant, attitude… being spiritually aware. How is this done? Paul goes on to elaborate in a number of ways. One way that we walk as wise men and women is by making the most of our time, taking advantage of the spiritual opportunities around us. It means managing our spiritual resources in a way that honors God. Being keenly aware of your life and that you have been graced with opportunities to live for and point others to the Lord Jesus Christ. We have just celebrated the life of our friend Bill Smith and it reminds me clearly again that we are allotted a portion of time to serve the Lord. Some a very little time; others 80-90 years. No set time is guaranteed. Every day is a gift. We must make the most of it. Making the most of life means prioritising God and the things associated with Him! Setting the priorities of our lives around Christ and His plan. The heart of His plan is the church. This means that His purpose must become our purpose. His mission must become our mission. His priorities much become our priorities. Since we are to walk wisely and make the most of our time, we must plan our days, making sure that we do not just spend them as the world does. This also means understanding the Lord’s will. Someone recently pointed out that there is a huge difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge might be knowing information; wisdom is seeing how to apply principle. Wisdom has a starting point according to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” And how do we come to understand the Lord’s will? It is by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit begins by coming to a living faith in Jesus Christ. As it says in John 7:37-39 “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” My happiness is not the main goal, rather the giving of myself so that Jesus Christ might be glorified. Not only do good priorities involve care of lifestyle, but… Good priorities involve care of our community of faith. This includes speaking and singing. The picture is of worship and community life. Ephesians 5:19 - 21 tells us: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This reminds us that the local church must be the integral in our lives, because if Christ Jesus is our centre then His Bride the Church will be crucial, you CAN'T love the Head without loving the Body! Being filled with the Spirit includes many activities that are listed here. For instance, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. This means worship, both in a corporate sense and in a smaller, more intimate sense. Our lives are geared to recognising Jesus and His rightful place in our lives. Hearing thanks given from the lips of each other, so that we are built up and encouraged. Come and join us out at Cheryl, Jennyne & Eden’s place this coming Sunday so that you can experience this together. Here are some challenging thoughts at the start of 2017. Where do you find yourself between Spiritual growth in a caring community versus the individualistic way of doing life? Do you live only for yourself? Are you led by your feelings? Or are you been led by the Word of God and your obedience to Him? Ephesians 2:1-3 describes the Christian’s former way of life before Jesus enters the picture: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” Living for oneself verses living for the benefit and blessing of others. Galatians 5:25, "Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives..." Are you willing to live in a godly community of believers where you are in it for others? Can you Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ? May you make life changing decisions this year so that from those decisions you will go on to influence many many folk for Christ. Your friend JD Muse for this week comes from thoughts we had on Sunday morning in the park.
We did a reflection around two stories out of the Book of Matthew. Over yesterday and today I have felt the message of these two stories continue to reverberate in my heart so I want to share some things God has shown me. Mathew 8:23-27 & Mathew 14:22-33. Both stories involved 5 things: A boat, the Disciples, a Storm, Jesus and Faith. One story was of a storm that rose up while Jesus was asleep in the boat frightening the disciples; and the second one was when the disciples were alone and a storm rose up – but Jesus came walking on water and Peter responded to Him by stepping out and walking to Him also on water. Both these stories are relevant to each and every one of us.
Here are four things to consider from these stories – using the boat analogy as your life. 1.The disciples were in the boat, and they were going somewhere. Who do you have in your boat? Who you are journeying with? Who are you are doing life with in relation to your life in God? YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO SAIL ALONE! 2.Jesus is both inside your boat and outside your boat. We all are needing to make every effort with our relationship in God, growing within personally, but conversely we are all needing to see how Jesus is wanting to work through us to others outside of ourselves. Our faith in Christ has never meant to be a private faith! 3.There are always going to be storms, and storms aren’t bad – they are simply opportunities for your character and your faith to grow. Stop resisting them and stop making them your focal point – Christ is our focal point in our storms, not the storm itself! 4.I’m not sure what lies ahead for you in 2017, but one thing I am sure of is God wants us to add to our faith; goodness, knowledge of His Son, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly love and love for the world. We have to remember that even though there are storms in life, Jesus wants to take us through in peace and bring us out more alive and more powerful than ever before. When you face those storms, remember, Jesus is in your boat! Call on Him! Jesus never said to the disciples, "Why are you waking me up?" He was saying, "Don't wake me up in fear." "Wake me up in faith." Call on Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and let Him bring peace to the storms in your life. Let Him lead you in confidence and strength and power through His Holy Spirit. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, NKJV) Here is a well known song to sit and reflect on from what God has just spoken about here in the Muse. https://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw May you not miss out on anything that God has for you in 2017 because of fear or because you are traveling alone! May you live with great expectation in God because of Christ Jesus who is your life! Grace and Peace JD, your fellow disciple of Jesus Christ Welcome to 2017 and welcome to the first Muse of 2017.
It's my first morning back in the office, maybe many of you are still on break, I pray that you are having a wonderful time with family, and friends along with some well needed rest and recreation. My Muse Trish and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary on Tuesday 2nd January. Thirty five years! I have been reflecting on our marriage and of the time we have had together so far. I can honestly say that in our marriage - where we are right now, is the best it has ever been and I feel closest to Trish than I have have done. I realise it hasn't just happened because of the length of time together, but it is a result of both of us individually changing in our lives so that we have been able to grow deeper together. This has had me thinking about our relationship with God and how God wants us to grow deeper with Him also. As we move into a new year may I encourage you with some key points that have helped me in my personal development with God which has resulted in a deeper relationship with Trish. Growing deeper in God doesn't simply happen either through length of time but it happens when we intentionally change. I'd like to give you 8 points that have stemmed out of my reflections from our marriage and are catalysts for my deepening relationship with God. Staying on fire for God... Jesus said, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. Adding more depth to your spiritual life is an intentional step that will draw you closer to God and bring perpetual reward to your journey. It doesn't just happen through time and vicinity you have to cultivate a hunger for relationship with God. Recognising your spiritual identity... Knowing who you are in the spirit is important to your spiritual depth. God wants to give you revelation for the destiny and calling He has for your life each and every day. The blueprint for this path can only be accessed in the spirit and understanding our identity in Christ. We are sons and daughters of God - so live as one. Arming yourself with God’s word... Our inner life must be governed by the word of God. The Bible acts as a spiritual sword, cutting away false ideas and harmful things of this world that try to attach themselves to our life. Read God's Word and let it read you so that you can live accordingly to Him Holy Spirit's leading. Pouring your life out for His Kingdom... Self-sacrifice for the sake of God’s purposes and plans cost us. The Gospel is free but it requires those who follow to lose their life so that Christ may live in them instead. When we try to hold on to our life we lose it but through giving it away we gain all that God has for us and more. Live full and die empty! Maintaining inner joy and peace... The Spirit of God in you responds with righteousness, joy and peace. When these states are active in your life it creates an ease of entering into the spiritual life and deepening your walk with God. Don’t let anything rob you of what only the Holy Spirit can give you. Growing in wisdom... Learn from your mistakes and turn your experience into a wealth of wisdom. Pray for wisdom, the kind that comes from God that is peaceable, pure and from above. You don't live long enough to learn from your own mistakes - learn from others. Daily spiritual upkeep... Our spiritual battle is won in the day to day upkeep of our spiritual vitality. Do something to feed your spirit daily. The spirit is nourished the most through disciplines such as prayer, fasting, praise, worship and the reading of God’s Word. We feed our bodies daily; our spirits need to be cared for also. Heart examination... The Bible tells us we have to examine ourselves. Examining means to search your heart asking the Holy Spirit to reveal hindrances to your spiritual growth. Once these blockages are removed it opens our heart more and more to be able to enter into deeper levels of the spiritual journey. Pride is a killer of deep relationships and God wants us to attend to anything in us that offends Him. May 2017 prove to be a year of intentional relationship development - with God and with your loved ones - and with one another. May love be your purpose and guide for God is love Shalom JD |
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May 2017
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