“So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Paul was talking about the race to win a prize – where only one person can win a prize in a race. We are not in a race for the prize of eternal life. We don’t need to push others out of the way, but we are easily subject to our own base needs and desires, and our bodies can sometimes let us down. Paul is determined not to have any physical distractions or desires in the path towards his Lord. Paul does not want to lose his own message of Jesus’ love and salvation that he preaches so well to so many. While we are not in a race for God, the course we all travel is tricky, narrow and strewn with man-made obstacles. Sometimes we put them there ourselves. Let us all try and keep our hearts and minds focussed on where we are going and where we want to end up. God does indeed have a prize waiting for you. And for me. And for everyone who chooses to take it from His hand. Let us not be aimless with our lives, but keep moving towards the goal of eternal salvation and being with Him, forever.

Dear Lord, our own efforts to reach You would fail completely but for the gift of our beloved Saviour. We give thanks for the prize You so freely give to all of us, and give praise to You for Your love and care to all. In His name, Amen.

“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6

In this passage Isaiah is talking about the Israelites who have gone astray from God, think of how quickly they went astray after seeing God part the Red Sea during the time of Moses. Yet we, who have knowledge of Jesus and all He has done for us, have also gone astray or even rejected our Lord.

Human nature is to desire control and to ‘take things into our own hands’ as often as possible. It is very hard for us, even those of us who trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, not to turn to our own ways instead of trusting and allowing God to work in our lives.

My prayer for myself and my brothers and sisters in Christ, is that we allow God to work in and through us and that we trust Him to care for us, even when things seem out of control or not as we desire them to be. The question we must ask ourselves is: does Jesus Christ, the “good shepherd” (John 10:16), gather us, lead us and guide us, or are we still wanting to go our own way like “wandering sheep”?

Lord, I thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross for my sins and the sins of the whole world. Please forgive me for going astray as the Israelites did when they did not trust You to be the “good shepherd”. Help me to keep my eyes on You and my ears attuned to Your voice. Amen.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace”. Numbers 6:24-26

‘Hair and beard please’, says the customer to his barber. He doesn’t have to say anything else, just sit down and relax. He trusts him because for many years he has risen from that chair admiring his job and always left feeling like a new man. There is no waiting. The barber offers him a hearty welcome and once he starts it feels like time doesn’t really matter. The barber always says how much he likes his job and gives each customer the full treatment. He really has a passion for what he does.

This story resembles our services on Sunday in so many ways. Every Sunday, the old sinful and shabby looking man is drawn back once again. God Himself gives each one a warm and personal welcome. He always starts the conversation and when He asks, ‘how are you doing?’ we know He really means it, and by the way He treats us and speaks to us, we know how much He cares.

Like a loving Father and as if He didn’t know where we are coming from, He bids to tell Him about our shortcomings. Then, Jesus begins to say that He was consumed by His zeal, that His passion for you and for me led Him to the cross where He was stricken, smitten and afflicted for our sins and that He did it to restore us to Himself and to conform us to His own image – to be children of God.

We sit there for about an hour and in the end we realize that He did most of the talking. Then He sends us on our way with the same loving words, saying that He will provide for us and keep watch over us, that He will light our ways with the brightness of His grace; that He will never look down on us but will continue to call us when we lose our way to give us His peace. We leave feeling renewed, admiring the Lord’s passion for His job, knowing that we are the work of His hands, His new creation, and that we got the full treatment.

Did I say the customer had to pay for it? That’s because this is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus give Your light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.

“And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” Mark 15:39

Lent is the time in the church year when we focus our hearts and our Scripture readings on the events that took place leading up to the very moment of Jesus’ death. This verse in Mark, and the handful preceding it, make up the climax of the whole Gospel, and ultimately the theme of all the Scriptures: confessing that Jesus is the Son of God.

There was a crowd of people at the scene where Jesus was crucified, and a lot of them saw Him as just a man, a criminal being punished for His crimes. In their eyes the world would be better off without Him. This centurion however, and so many others, had seen Him teach with authority, and had seen Him heal diseases with power not of this world. Jesus was fully man, yes. He felt compassion and joy, He felt anger and He felt the pain of the torture He had to endure before and on the cross. In ultimate love, He took on the filth of all our sins and the punishment we all deserved. He is so much more than fully man; He is fully God. All scriptures point to it, and we know that the story and His love do not end here, when He breathes His last breath on earth. We know that in the course of a few hours Jesus defeated Satan in hell, and on Easter morning we celebrate His return.

His life was perfect, His ministry was powerful, and His works are what save us. And this final work that He did is the most important and life-changing one. On that Easter morning Christ rose in bodily form to show Satan, and the world, that we don’t have to live in separation from God. We no longer have to be slaves to our sinful nature because He took them on Himself! It is Christ’s works, not ours, which allow us to live in the joy and freedom of this blessed news: that we, too, share in the gifts of heaven, and will also be resurrected to live with Christ in heaven.

The centurion did not only believe it in his heart, but he spoke the words confessing Christ as the Son of God. And that’s what we do as well, when we receive the ultimate gift from God, salvation. It’s hard to keep it inside, isn’t it? When we stand before God and make the same confession with our own lips, Christ will stand in our place, the sinless one, and clothe us in His purity and righteousness. The day of Jesus’ death is a sobering day, to be sure. But the day He came back, the day He rose again and promised us a life with Him, is a day of celebration and joy that we can hold to in our lives every day.

Heavenly Father, You give us so many good gifts to be thankful for. Above all things, Father, thank You for Your Son and for His life, death, and resurrection, and for the faith through your Holy Spirit to believe on Him. Continue to show me how I can share Your great love with others for the furthering of Your kingdom. I pray this in Your powerful and ever-loving name. Amen.

“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19: 30

These few words do not seem strong enough to sum up the fact that Lord Jesus gave His last breath. He only lived a short life on earth but in those three decades He carried out God’s plan to perfection, to save us miserable sinners from all of our sins forever.

Think of the beginning with the humble birth and ending with the worst kind of death imaginable. Not lying down, falling asleep and waking up in heaven, the kind of death most of us would prefer to have. But this horrible death that holds everything, so that we can escape from Satan and hell. The hope that lies in the resurrection, the peace and comfort that this brings to us, and the love of Christ Jesus our Saviour whom we know loves us more than we can ever love Him in return.

How humble that makes me feel. The beginning, the ministry, the end, topped off with a sponge filled with sour wine for thirst. Not even a last request for an untainted drink!

Thank You Lord Jesus that from heaven to earth You came. You lived the life planned for You. Then, when the centurion who stood facing You saw the way that You breathed Your last, it was all recorded as one of the many things that help us know and believe that, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Amen.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The True Vine

Here Jesus is reminding His disciples that in order to bear fruit they must be connected to the vine, Jesus Christ. Growing grapes was something all the disciples would have been familiar with. They would understand that if a branch was cut away from the vine it would not bear any fruit. It would be the same as cutting an apple tree branch. Unless the branch is connected to the tree it cannot live and bear fruit.

Jesus is not only talking about bringing others to know Christ, He is talking about our prayer life (verse 7), the joy we have in our lives (verse 11), and the love we give (verse 12). He is most likely also talking about the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-24 and 2 Peter 1:5-8.

If we want to “bear” this kind of fruit in our lives – answers to prayer, joy despite our circumstances, and sacrificial love for others – we need to be attached to the vine, Jesus Christ. In order to be attached to Jesus Christ, we need to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. Going to church, spending time in worship and in fellowship with other believers, spending time in prayer and reading God’s word will keep us connected to the vine. Then we will see much fruit in our lives and God will be glorified.

I am so thankful, Lord, that Jesus is the true vine and that I am one of His branches. Forgive me when I get so caught up with my life that I do not take time to stay connected to the vine. Help me to glorify You, Lord, with my life by bearing much fruit.

Amen.