 Friends         |  Lishman: A great reading at a funeral: 'THE APOSTLES SAID TO THE LORD, 'INCREASE OUR FAITH.' LUKE 17:5 S G Holland, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, said, 'Faith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; and only faith can do it.' Henry Nouwen says that our greatest challenge as disciples is, 'to recognise and believe that unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions...but the way in which God moulds our hearts and prepares us.' The deeper your faith in God, the greater its potential to carry you through the rough times. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, 'Faith like Job's cannot be shaken, because it is the result of having been shaken.' But faith in Christ alone, gives us the assurance for heaven. When you die - what then? John Maxwell tells of attending the funeral of Jane Chapman, wife of his good friend Tom Chapman. During the service the following poem was read: 'I am standing on the seashore. A ship appears, spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades away on the horizon. Somebody at my side quietly says, 'She is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my vision, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her last. The diminished size and loss of sight is in me, not her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says 'She is gone,' there are others who are watching her coming, and voices take up the joyful shout, 'Here she comes!'' Lishman: Saturday, 22 June 2024 What the Scriptures ‘also say’ ‘Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say…”’ Matthew 4:7 NLT Satan will use half-truths to trap you. He took Jesus to ‘the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you.’”…Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God’”’ (Matthew 4:5-7 NLT). Satan will tell you, ‘Your spouse doesn’t understand you or meet your needs, you’re lonely, go ahead and have that affair. God will understand and forgive you.’ God may forgive you, but the Bible also says, ‘Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest’ (Galatians 6:7 GWT). When Satan comes calling, you had better know what the word of God actually says – not just selected snippets. Paul writes, ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching…in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). We sometimes like to hand-pick Scriptures that suit our lifestyle and facilitate our wants. But when the enemy manipulates God’s word and uses it against you, you need to be able to say, ‘The Scriptures also say.’ In other words, you need to know what else God has to say. The Bible says Satan ‘will speak against the Most High…oppress his holy people and try to change…times and…laws’ (Daniel 7:25 NIV). Satan knows God’s word is a ‘double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12 NCV), but he’ll still try to sword fight! Don’t accept his distortions and half-truths! Get into God’s word, get God’s word into you and, like Jesus, tell Satan, ‘Get behind me’ (Matthew 16:23 NKJV). Lishman: Friday, 14 June 2024 Strong, firm and steadfast ‘The God of all grace…make you strong, firm and steadfast.’ 1 Peter 5:10 NIV If you want God to restore you and make you ‘strong, firm and steadfast’, meditate prayerfully on these four Scriptures from 1 Peter 5:6-9 (NIV) and look for ways to put them into practice each day: (1) ‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time’. (2) ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you’. (3) ‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. (4) ‘Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings’. Now, here is the result God promises when you walk in the truth of these four Scriptures: ‘And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast’ (1 Peter 5:10 NIV). Note two important phrases here: ‘The God of all grace’ –whatever you fear and whatever you have to face, God will give you the grace to handle it; and ‘After you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong’ – if you are going through a season of stress, God has promised that it will lead to a season of strengthening. So when you pray, ‘Lord, take me out of this,’ he may answer, ‘No, I will take you through it and make you “strong, firm and steadfast”.’ Lishman: How to have peace (1) ‘We have peace with God.’ Romans 5:1 NIV God gives us three kinds of peace. (1) Spiritual peace. ‘Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 5:1 NIV). That’s the foundation, the bottom line. You must have peace with God before you can have any other kind of peace. Jesus said, ‘I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give’ (John 14:27 NLT). Why? Because his peace has the hallmark of Heaven on it. (2) Relational peace. Paul writes, ‘As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone’ (Romans 12:18 NIV). Relational peace decreases conflict. You know from experience that relationships can be an origin of tension. For the majority of us, our greatest problems are people problems: interacting well with our boss, family or relatives. We consistently have to deal with competition, conflict and criticism. And these things can steal our peace. (3) Emotional peace. ‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since…you were called to peace’ (Colossians 3:15 NIV). The Greek word for ‘rule’ means ‘to umpire’. What is an umpire’s role? He maintains peace. He ensures the game is played in a smooth and disciplined way. And God provides you with an internal umpire, his Holy Spirit, to keep you at peace when everything appears chaotic. Here's a great Bible promise: ‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you’ (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)! Do you need peace today? Turn to God; you won’t be disappointed. Lishman: Thursday, 6 June 2024 Learn to listen to your mate ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’ Genesis 2:18 NIV God designed your marriage partner to meet your physical needs, your emotional needs and, yes, even some of your spiritual needs. Adam enjoyed perfect health, worked at the perfect job and lived in the perfect environment. He even went for walks with God every day. Nevertheless, he was lonely and incomplete. So God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’ (Genesis 2:18 NIV). Note the word ‘helper’. God intended your partner to help you grow and fulfil your destiny. There is an intimate physical, emotional and spiritual bond between you and your God-given mate. No one on earth will ever know you better. He or she should be your closest friend, counsellor and confidant. That calls for communication! And good communication is based on asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answers. It calls for turning off the TV, laptop, iPad and mobile phone. It means asking, ‘How are things with you today?’ then listening long enough for hidden emotions to surface. Listen until you understand your spouse’s concerns, feelings, fears, hopes and dreams. Listen accurately, so you can assess his or her real needs – needs you are best equipped to meet. Your questions reveal your level of caring, and the answers you get in return can become a foundation for a long, happy marriage. That’s exactly what God had in mind when he said, ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one’ (Genesis 2:24 NIV). View all 8 posts  tina_time7 in reply to tina_time7: My aunt says it sucks because her husband doesn’t talk about himself Lishman: New Year, New Start Monday, 1 January 2024 '[You] too may live a new life.' Romans 6:4 NIV Refuse to let your past rob you of your future. This year God wants to give you a new start. Let's face it, we all have relationships that can't be healed, and issues that will never be resolved to our liking. But by God's grace we can forgive, forget and move on. You don't have to lie awake at night digging up old bones, picking at scars and reviving painful memories. If you give them an opening, the ghosts of your past will take up residence in your head. You say, 'But I still struggle in so many areas.' We all do. Even the great apostle Paul admitted he didn't have it all together. Paul admits: 'So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot' (Romans 7:17-18 CEV). 'Thank you, Paul,' from all of us who mistakenly thought that once we became Christians there would be no more struggles! But Paul doesn't stop there; he adds these two important Scriptures: (1) 'Just as Christ was raised from the dead...we too may live a new life' (Romans 6:4 NIV). (2) 'In the same way [as Jesus], count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus' (Romans 6:11 NIV). You ask, 'How should I handle my old issues?' Admit them, give them up and forget them! Instead of fighting battles you can't win, let Jesus' resurrection power sweep through your life and sever the ties between you and the pain of your past. SoulFood: Rom 13:12 - 14:19, Matt 1:1-17, Isa 43:18-19 (New Year's Day) Lishman: Merry Christmas from New Zealand. Wishing you all a happy and blessed time and may 2024 be an awesome year for you . Love and blessings from Lish . Lishman: A great reading at a funeral : 'THE APOSTLES SAID TO THE LORD, 'INCREASE OUR FAITH.' LUKE 17:5 S G Holland, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, said, 'Faith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; and only faith can do it.' Henry Nouwen says that our greatest challenge as disciples is, 'to recognise and believe that unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions...but the way in which God moulds our hearts and prepares us.' The deeper your faith in God, the greater its potential to carry you through the rough times. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, 'Faith like Job's cannot be shaken, because it is the result of having been shaken.' But faith in Christ alone, gives us the assurance for heaven. When you die - what then? John Maxwell tells of attending the funeral of Jane Chapman, wife of his good friend Tom Chapman. During the service the following poem was read: 'I am standing on the seashore. A ship appears, spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades away on the horizon. Somebody at my side quietly says, 'She is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my vision, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her last. The diminished size and loss of sight is in me, not her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says 'She is gone,' there are others who are watching her coming, and voices take up the joyful shout, 'Here she comes!'' Lishman: Testimony of going from an atheist to a born again Christian. Most of my life I never believed and thought it was all a big fairy tale, a Christian friend gave me a very small booklet ( a tract ) it was titled " How to recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit... So one morning I got out of bed and got down on my knees after reading the booklet I thought Oh well I have nothing to lose , so said what the booklet said and it went like this. Pray to God that I am a sinner and ask God to forgive me of my sins through Jesus Christ which I did and then the last page said " Now ask God to give you the Holy Spirit " At that very moment with eyes closed and on my knees, it was like someone pouring pure love electricity down from the top of my head, I cried like a baby and said to God , now I have have no more doubts about you and was born again . When I opened my eyes everything looked fresh and clean .It changed my whole life with Real truth, wisdom, awareness and the love of all people. After that God spoke to me in dreams and His word. View all 8 posts (Post deleted by Lishman ) (Post deleted by Lishman )  BigAlNH: That's really good to read, Lishman. I was brought up Catholic, and was a very wishy-washy one until I had an experience similar to yours. It took a few more years until I actually accepted Christ as my savior and was baptized, but my faith has only grown stronger since then. I used to think that once I became a follower of Jesus Christ my life would be perfect in every way (including eliminating sinning!) provided I stuck to all of His "strict rules". Instead, my day to day life has been pretty normal except my faith has carried me through difficult times and made me more grateful for the good times. And those awful "rules" have given me guidance and a purpose in life. God Is Good, Lishman! All the time! May He keep you blessed. Lishman: Testimony of going from an atheist to a born again Christian. Most of my life I never believed and thought it was all a big fairy tale, a Christian friend gave me a very small booklet ( a tract ) it was titled " How to recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit... So one morning I got out of bed and got down on my knees after reading the booklet I thought Oh well I have nothing to lose , so said what the booklet said and it went like this. Pray to God that I am a sinner and ask God to forgive me of my sins through Jesus Christ which I did and then the last page said " Now ask God to give you the Holy Spirit " At that very moment with eyes closed and on my knees, it was like someone pouring pure love electricity down from the top of my head, I cried like a baby and said to God , now I have have no more doubts about you and was born again . When I opened my eyes everything looked fresh and clean .It changed my whole life with Real truth, wisdom, awareness and the love of all people. After that God spoke to me in dreams and His word. |
Running to win
‘Run from temptations.’ 2 Timothy 2:22 CEV
Desperate situations sometimes call for desperate measures, and severing your supply line to your flesh means getting radical. Jesus used this analogy: ‘So if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it thrown into hell. And if your right hand leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it go into hell’ (Matthew 5:29-30 GWT). Jesus is advocating moral and spiritual surgery – and that’s radical!
There’s no way to argue, reason or negotiate with sin. Whatever your personal battle – gambling, alcohol, drugs, wrong relationships, internet porn, pride – its purpose is to destroy you and it needs to be eradicated. The apostle Paul was familiar with Old Testament Scripture. He knew that when faced with similar temptation, Samson fell while Joseph stood strong. That’s why he wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy, warning him about the sin that could disqualify him and keep him from winning the race: ‘Run from temptations that capture young people’ (2 Timothy 2:22 CEV).
Life in today’s environment is saturated with seductive influences, which means we can’t always eliminate the source. So Paul tells Timothy – when you can’t remove the influence, remove yourself! And furthermore, run, don’t walk. You can be free, but your carnal mind will only give you a few seconds before it decides for you. So don’t hesitate, don’t deviate and don’t procrastinate. Do what needs to be done – and do it quickly. Keep in mind Wireclub readers that porn is one of the devil's strongest weapons that even brings down Pastors.