Psalm 127

Good day As we move forward in this series about developing intimacy with God, it's important to define what we mean by intimacy. When you search for the word on the internet it brings up synonyms like familiarity, belonging, nearness, closeness, affection, commitment, devotion, fellowship, faithfulness of a friendship or relationship. It also refers to trust or confidence, transparency and integrity. Now to experience all of the above with someone, one would assume you've spent a significant amount of time with the other person to have developed the relationship to such a point that all of these characteristics become real and can be experienced by both parties. This takes time. It wouldn't happen overnight. One would also assume that it took commitment from both sides. Commitment to each other. Commitment to develop the relationship ... And this is no different when it comes to our relationship with God. Now whilst you may not find the word "intimacy" used in th

Good day In the previous message I spoke about loving the Lord your God and ended it off by saying that if someone says that this seems difficult or perhaps even unreasonable, then o ne of the things that helps with this thought process is taking a look at the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and reflecting on His example on the cross and it demonstrates the ultimate example of love and sacrifice: John 15:12-13 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us... 1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Romans 5:7-10 Now it is an extraordinary

Good day In the previous message I mentioned that if we we're in a place where we say that we desire to experience more with God and make progress in our relationship with Him, the next question is, what does this look like? How can we ensure that we're on the right track? In today's message we'll look to answer that question by taking a look at the following commandment: Luke 10:25-28, "and a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.” Now I'm sure if you were to ask some Christians if they love God, many of them would say yes. However, when asking them

Good day I trust you're doing well. This will be the start of a new series about developing intimacy with God. Most people have a desire to improve or make progress in certain areas of their lives, whether that be in their career, financially, marriage, parenting, health, etc. In the same manner, the Bible encourages us to do the same when it comes to our relationship with God. Please see below scriptures: 2 Peter 1:1-11 NLT This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of

Good day While in prayer now, the word "Arise" came up. To arise in His might and strength. To arise in His peace. To arise in His love, grace, mercy and forgiveness towards us, and allowing it to work in us and through us. To arise in our identity and who we are in Him. To arise in His calling on our lives. To arise in His perspective on what matters while on the Earth. But to do so not in our own efforts, willpower or self discipline - but to do so in, and through, His grace and empowerment. Like someone carrying another on their back, God is encouraging us to arise - but not in our strength, ability or might - but in Him (allowing Him to lift us up, hold us and carry us onward). ‭Ephesians 6:10 AMP‬ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. ‭Isaiah 40:28-31 AMP‬ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of

Good day We've spent the past few weeks taking a look at the absence of love, the presence of love, the importance of love, the standard of love that should be used and reflected on how we love others in comparison to how God loves and treats us. Today's message will be the final in this series and we'll be taking a look at some of the ways in which we can develop in loving others as God expects us to. 1. Choosing to love. In the previous messages I took some time to stress the importance of love and I think it should at the very least make us all aware of the fact that walking in love is a commandment from God. Based on this, we should take comfort and courage in knowing that God would never expect something of us that He didn't believe we could accomplish - otherwise He'd be setting us up to fail / sin ... and He wouldn't do so, meaning we are capable of loving others as He expects us to. We can therefore comfortably make a quality decision to believe that thi

Good day In the previous message we took a look at the following question, " What standard of love should we use?" and we ended off by saying that the standard with which we're expected to love others is reflecting on how God loves us and loving others the same way. This reflection should make us realise that if love is of God (1 John 4:7-11), then His love towards us should serve as the benchmark with which we should love others. In the below passage Jesus defines what this love looks like - a measure of love that He demonstrated by laying down His life for us on the cross - and that we in turn would love others the same way. John 15:12-13 (AMP) This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. Now we may not be required to offer up our lives as a substitute for someone else, as Jesus did for us, but there are some

The Most Important Things You Should Know About Healing - Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-U8LerWvLM

  "Do we have authority that we don't know about, that we haven't discovered, that we're not using?" Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin asked himself this question when he was a young preacher. "I had had little glimpses of spiritual authority once in a while," he writes in "The Believer's Authority." "Like other I had stumbled upon it and had exercised it without knowing what I was doing." "As a result of my studies, I concluded that we as a Church have authority on the earth that we've never yet realized." "A few of us have barely gotten to the edge of that authority, but before Jesus comes again, there's going to be a whole company of believers who will rise up and with the authority that is theirs, they will do the work that God intended they should do." The Believer's Authority - Part 1 - Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4FJ4bJkyeo The Believer's Authority - Part 2 - Rev. Kenneth E

23 minutes in Hell - Bill Wiese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxKRoONrfY "My sincere hope is that this book is the closest you will ever come to experiencing hell for yourself"--Bill Wiese saw the searing flames of hell, felt total isolation, and experienced the putrid and rotting stench, deafening screams of agony, terrorizing demons, and finally, the strong hand of God lifting him out of the pit--"Tell them I am coming very, very soon!" Wiese’s visit to the devil’s lair lasted just twenty-three minutes, but he returned with vivid details etched in his memory. Since this life-changing ordeal, he has spent the last seven years studying the Scriptures to find answers and has listed more than 150 Bible verses referencing hell. Everyone is curious about the afterlife, and now Wiese shares his insights to commonly asked questions such as: Is hell a literal burning place? Where is hell? Do you have a body in hell? Are there Degrees of punishment in hell? Are there chi

Driven By Eternity - by John Bevere Make Your Life Count Today and Forever One day you will stand before God and give an account of your life. The most important question you can ask yourself now is, will you be ready? Most Christians know their response to the cross determines where they will spend eternity. But did you know that how you’ll spend eternity is determined by what you do in this life? God wants you to discover your calling—He’s not trying to keep you in the dark. In fact, He longs for you to find the meaning and purpose that comes with knowing why you’ve been placed on this earth. In Driven by Eternity, best-selling author John Bevere uses an eye-opening allegory and extensive Scripture to unveil how our daily choices shape our eternal existence. Life beyond the final breath is much more than a destination. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Discover your God-given destiny and make your life count both today and forever. Lesson 1 -  Defining Eternity: https://www.youtube.com

Good day In the previous message we discussed the importance of love and took a look at the below passages of scripture which emphasizes the priority it should hold in our lives: Jesus commands us to love others! - 1 John 3:23 (NKJV) He says people will know that we are His disciples by the love we have for one another! - John 13:34-35 (AMP) The bible says that though we can possess all knowledge, understand all mysteries, prophecy, have faith, give all our possessions away to the poor, etc. That if we don't have love - we are nothing! - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (AMP) That love is the fulfillment of the law! - Romans 13:8-10 (AMP) That he who does not love, does not know God! - I John 4:7‭-‬11 (NKJV) Now it's very important to point out that when we discuss the importance of loving others, that we don't view this through the lenses of our own understanding. In other words, when the Bible says that God wants us to love others, this isn't based on our definition or standard

Good day In the previous messages I shared briefly on the absence of love, then on the presence of love, and in today's message I'd like to speak about the importance of love and making it a priority. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (AMP) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all. Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogan

  Good day I'd like to lead us in a prayer that I believe the Holy Spirit recently led me to pray: "Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you for reminding us to place our trust in you. Right now we just want to take a moment to let you know, and to acknowledge, both to you and to ourselves, that we need you ... we need you Lord ... in every single area of our lives, we need you ... Regardless of what it may be - maybe it's in the workplace, maybe with our families, maybe we're in need of your direction, provision, WHATEVER it may be - we just acknowledge right now that we need you to help us ... that we can't do this without you ... and we just want to thank you. Thank you for caring for us the way you do and for allowing us to cast our cares upon you (1 Peter 5:7) ... we choose now to rest in you. To rest in your finished work on the cross. To receive your peace, and by faith, welcome and receive your help. (Psalm 46:1). We thank you now for this in

Good day In the previous message we took a look at Matthew 22:36-40 where it speaks about God's instruction to love Him and to love others. We also looked at an example where this commandment wasn't carried out, or where love was absent, and the severe consequences it carried. In today's message I'd like to focus on the opposite by taking a look at a Biblical example where love was present. In Acts 2 we see the account of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Peter then addresses the crowd and shares the gospel of Jesus Christ and about 3000 people were added to their number that day. It then goes on to describe some of the characteristics of what this new community of believers looked like: Acts 2:42-47 NKJV "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, a