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He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44

It’s been a good few years now since Jesus walked the earth and went to the cross for us. He ascended to heaven and left us with our Mission: to go out and make disciples, reminding us that he’s going to come back, and when he does we better be ready!!

Are you ready for when Jesus comes back?

What if he came tomorrow? Would you have things you wished you had done, people you wished you had talked to? Sin you would have dealt with. Life choices you would have made differently?

Are you living with the urgency and knowledge that Jesus could come back at any moment, or because it’s been over 2,000 years now are you complacently thinking that he’ll not be coming back in your life time?!

Well don’t rest on your laurels! Jesus wants us to live as though he could return any day/any minute! He wants to install in us that urgency that the disciples had! We need to have this mentality when making decisions, responding to opportunities and talking to people who don’t yet know Him. We can waste so much of our short lives by focusing on the wrong things or thinking we have plenty of time to change or to do things that really we should be doing / dealing with right now – urgently!! If there is sin in your life – repent & sort it out! If there are things God’s wanting you to do or deal with in your life, but you’re putting it off, don’t put it off any longer ! Now is the time!

We can’t live as though we’ll always have tomorrow, because one day tomorrow won’t come. Whether that’s because we die, or because Jesus returns, we know not the days of our lives, nor the time when Jesus will return. Only God does. Therefore let’s make sure we are living to please God and to fulfill the calling he has given us – as one day soon we will have to stand before God and be accountable for how we lived our lives on earth …and that day could be much sooner than we think!

Read Revelation 2 & 3. These are God’s warnings to the churches. There are so many traps we could easily fall into, yet he has warned us about them so that we can overcome these things and be welcomed into his Kingdom.

Prepare yourself! Ask God for that urgency you are missing, and ask him to help you focus on what is important for the kingdom and for your walk with him, rather than allowing the world and the devil distract you with things of no eternal value. If your focus is not Jesus, your focus is wrong! Don’t wait till tomorrow to re-focus – do it now!

Luke 15: 1-7

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable:  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Jesus Rocks! We sometimes have such a wrong view of what Jesus was (and is) like. If Jesus was here today he’d be out in the shopping centres inviting people to know him. He’d be in the pubs, betting shops and supermarkets talking to people and inviting himself over to their house for dinner! I doubt very much that he’d spend all of his time with “church people”. Why? Because they already know him! They’ll be spending eternity with him (which I gather is quite a long time). That’s why while he was on earth Jesus took a few of his close friends and went out as a small group sharing his love, forgiveness and healing power with anyone who would take the time to listen.

And you know what? That bugged the “righteous” people. They thought he was polluting himself by spending time with those “sorts” of people (sinners). Yet we know that Jesus is a friend of sinners (Praise God!) and his concern is for those who don’t yet know him. That’s why he sent his disciples “out” (out of the church, out of their comfort zones, out of their families, out of their homes, villages & nations)… so that they (we) could reach those who were on the road to hell. Not to condemn them, but to save them!(1) As the bible says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (2) That’s Christ’s promise to every person who repents. No matter what they have done in the past!

Plus every time a person who has been living their life away from God, repents and decides to follow Jesus, the whole of heaven rejoices! (like it says in the verse above) There’s a party going on with the angels for every single sinner who seeks Jesus for forgiveness! It’s amazing. That’s God’s heart for the lost, and for every person who is saved! Every individual is so important to God.

Is your heart in-line with God’s?

Are you seeking to share Christ with those who are currently living lives apart from him?

Has their been a party in heaven for you yet, or are you still living your life without knowing Jesus as your Saviour?

Time is short. Now is the time to make those choices!

1) John 3:17 : For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

2) Romans 10:13: for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I thought I would try something a bit different this week! I want you to go and look this verse up and fill in the gaps! (you may need to print it off) It’s in the NIV version, so it would help if you use the same one, but do look up in other versions too if you want to gain a better understanding.  If you don’t have a bible to hand, you can look it up here www.biblegateway.com

Each time you fill in a word, just spend a moment and think about that word and the significance of it. If there’s a word you come across that you don’t fully understand, write it down and move on, then once you have finished, go and look up the definition of those words, or ask someone you know!

Use this exercise as an opportunity to dwell in Gods word, to spend time looking at the passage and really getting to grips with it and what reveals about God and what blessings you have because of Jesus !

Before you start, ask God to speak to you through it, to reveal things to you that may have never “clicked” before and to help you by the Holy Spirit, to understand and get to grips with what you are reading.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (NIV) : Spiritual Blessings in Christ

 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has _______ us in the heavenly realms with _____ _________ ________ in ______. 4For he ____ __ in him ______ the creation of the world to be ____ and _________ in his sight. In ____ 5he predestined us to be adopted as ___ ____ through _____ ______, in accordance with his _______ and will— 6to the praise of his glorious _____, which he has ______ _____ us in the One he loves. 7In him we have _________ through his blood, the __________ of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he ________ on us with ___ ______ and _____________. 9And he made known to __ the _______ of ___ ____ according to his good _______, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring ___ ______ in _______ and on _____ together under one head, even ( who is) ______.

 11In ___ (who?) we (the Jews) were also ______,having been predestined according to the ____ of him (God!) who _____ out ________ in conformity with the purpose of ___ ___, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might __ (exist) for the ______ of his _____. 13And you (non-Jews – i.e. us!) also were ________ in ______ when you heard the ____ of _____, the gospel of your ________. Having ________, you were marked in ___ (Christ) with a ____, the promised ____ ______, 14who is a deposit ____________ our __________ until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

As we approach Easter I wanted to spend a few moments looking at the extravagance of Jesus’ amazing grace and to remind ourselves of the cost of the cross.

These few verses above really sum up Jesus’ love, grace and forgiveness. Everything that Jesus lived out on earth was summed up here whilst he was in total agony hung on that horrific cross, doing a terrible, beautiful thing for mankind.

Jesus was hung between two criminals. One of whom believed that Jesus really was who He said He was, this criminal proclaimed Jesus’ innocence in front of the people who mocked him, he also openly acknowledged his own sin admitting that he himself deserved to die for his deeds, unlike Jesus. Then he turned to Jesus and humbly asked Jesus to remember him. The other criminal had the same opportunity but instead chose to mock Jesus.

The amazing fact is that the criminal who asked Jesus to remember him put his faith in Jesus right there and then on the cross, and was forgiven straight away! Jesus told him that he was to be with Him in paradise that very day!! There was nothing else that he had to do to be saved! The criminal didn’t have the chance to go back and live out a holy life, or to prove himself worthy of being allowed into heaven – that’s the beauty of it! It was (and is and always will be) all about Jesus and the truth that our salvation comes only through Him – because He paid the ultimate price, He made the once and for all sacrifice for all of our sins. We don’t deserve it, just like the criminal – we’ve all sinned and we all deserve punishment, but Jesus in his love took our punishment on himself. Salvation is a “free” gift to us, but we must always remember it was at such a cost to Jesus.

Yes it is true that once we are forgiven, a sign/result of our salvation is us wanting to turn our lives around, to stop sinning and to do good. Otherwise we are not taking the sacrifice that Jesus made seriously enough. We should want to thankfully and humbly serve our Lord because of what He did for us. It’s not the “doing good” that gets us saved though, it’s just our response to Jesus’ amazing grace!

It’s all about Jesus. There’s nothing more we can do – Jesus did it all.

Read the whole Easter story:

Luke 22 : The last supper, the betrayal & arrest of Jesus, Peter disowns Jesus, The guards mock Jesus, Jesus accused by the chief priests and teachers of the law

Luke 23 : Jesus before Pilate & Herod, the trial, the crucifixion, the death of Jesus, Jesus’ burial.

Luke 24 : The resurrection, Jesus appears to disciples, the Ascension.

I thought I would write a short post on how to know God for yourself – this is for anyone who doesn’t yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

1st – Do you know that you have made mistakes in your life and have lived your life without God? –> God calls this “sin” and this is what seperates us from Him. The bible says it like this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” –Romans 3:23 (NIV). God is perfect and has never sinned, and we learn in the bible that ultimately the punishment for sin is death – which is being cut off from God for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death.” –Romans 6:23 (NIV)

2nd - There is good news! John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” Jesus (God’s son) chose to die on a cross to take the punishment for all our sins. Then he rose again to conquer death once and for all, and to show that he really was the son of God.

3rd - YOU need to make a choice. To decide if you believe Jesus really is the son of God and really did die for your sins. If you’re not sure – perhaps go on an Alpha course or read the gospel of Mark or John in the bible (try a NIV or NLT version) to find out what God’s word says about Jesus. Then, if you want this gift of eternal life, you need to chose to ask for forgiveness from God for the sins you have committed, and chose to turn from them and try to walk God’s way (with God’s help of course). Welcome Jesus as Lord in your life and he’ll help you to do all this.

Here’s a prayer you can pray:

Father God, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong and for chosing to live my life apart from you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and thank you that he rose again. I now choose to turn away from my sins and to live my life for you. I pray that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit to help me and guide me as I learn to live my life your way. Amen.

4th - Tell someone! It’s really important that you find another Christian to tell that you’ve made a choice to welcome Jesus into your heart. They can support you and help you find a friendly, welcoming church who pray, worship & teach the Word of God.  We can’t be Christians on our own – it’s not God’s plan

What next?

If you live near Swindon, come along to Gateway church & make sure you visit the welcome area at the end of the service! If not, do try to find a Jesus loving, bible teaching, spirit filled church who will help you in the next steps of your journey.

Pray. You’ve started with a prayer to ask God into your life, it’s not a one off prayer! God wants to have an ongoing relationship with you, so try to speak to him each day about anything and everything. Ask Him for help, thank him for all the good things in your life and generally start to build a realationship with your Father in heaven. If it’s hard – ask God to help you to pray!

Get hold of a modern translation of the bible too and start reading! Start with the New Testament – An NIV version is good, or try NLT which is a nice easy version to read. The Message is also very easy to read (although it’s not a proper word-for-word translation.) Check out my bible studies, to learn more about God, Jesus and all sorts of living God’s way type of topics!

Check out our friend Adam’s blog on Baptism too!

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  John 15:15

Jesus came to reveal God to us in a new way and to restore our relationship with him. Even today, by reading what Jesus had to say in the New Testament, and by the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s will and heart can be revealed to us.

Isn’t it amazing that God would choose to tell us about “his business,” he often shows us what he has planned through the gift of prophesy or by his word being made alive to us. He is our living God, who doesn’t change and remains faithful, yet he is creative & active in our lives. He wants us to know that we are called “friends” through Jesus! Friends of God! How amazing is that?

God doesn’t say to us “it’s none of your business” when we seek Him and ask him questions, he instead calls us friend and chooses to speak to us about who He is and what he’s doing!

We are not to be servants who just blindly obey, we are to be in relationship with him, so that he can encourage and help us as friends, and reveal to us his plans. God doesn’t mind us asking questions or trying to understand – he encourages us to see his wisdom and understanding! Proverbs puts it well “For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)

Sometimes we don’t always see straight away what God is doing, and occasionally he chooses not to reveal why we are going through a certain situation. Yet we know through scripture that “God works all things for the good of those who love him”(Romans 8:28). There are so many times that God does put people/situations/projects onto our hearts, revealing what he wants to do through us, his church. Then we can work side by side with him, not just as servants, but as friends. Using the gift of his word in the bible, our guide book for life, which is full of God’s promises for our future with Him. The promises of God, revealed and made perfect in Jesus, who calls us friends.

So let’s live in the knowledge that we are friends of the living God! Let us remember that he wants to share our lives with us because he loves us and cares for us.  And let us comunicate with God, asking him to speak to us as we pray and read his word, so that we might know the plans he has made and the promises he has already given us.

This story didn’t end 33 years later when Jesus died on the cross – it was just the beginning! Jesus rose again, giving each person who believes in him the right to a new beginning, a life washed clean of sin and a right to stand before God in heaven totally pure and right before God.

T herefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

If you don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus, then perhaps this Christmas is the perfect time to ask God for a new start. To ask for forgiveness for your sins and to invite Jesus to be Lord in your life.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me . . .
John 6:38

Christmas Part 2 : An Amazing Sacrifice

You may be thinking that I’ve gone slightly mad and I’m getting Easter and Christmas confused! However, by coming to earth as a baby Jesus set aside his majesty, not giving up his glory & majesty, but choosing not to excercise it, in order to serve others instead. If he had come in all his majesty everyone on earth would have bowed down and worshipped him immediately, but he chose to put His love for others before his right to be worshipped and praised, this in itself an amazing sacrifice.

It’s like if you were famous and lived in an amazing country, inside your own a huge impressive mansion (with no mortgage or bills!) which had everything you could ever want in it, then choosing to leave it all behind and live on the streets with the homeless, not offering them money but just to go through it with them.

Yet for God it was so much bigger than even that picture. He came to serve, to lead by example rather than from His throne in heaven, to show us the way. To be a living sacrifice on earth, and also to ultimately die for our sins because he loves us so much.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 2:2

What small/big thing could you do this Christmas time as a sacrifice for others?

Before Jesus arrived on earth God spoke to the odd chosen person, he occasionally showed himself in the form of a cloud or a burning bush, or through a chosen prophet, but no-one could see him face to face and live. Moses got the closest and was allowed to see God’s back as he passed by – and that was enough to make him tremble and keep him glowing for weeks! So GOD coming to earth to live with us really was an unthinkable thing! Those who realised this at the time were filled with awe and amazement, we should all still feel like this as we hear the Christmas story and think about The Lord, the maker of the universe, the One who placed all the stars in the sky and made the heavens and the earth, coming in the form of a baby to live with us on earth and truly experience life as a human. Wow!

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them….The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  Luke 2: 16-19

Who could you tell this Christmas about the great news of God’s presence still being with us today?

1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts always set aside Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to communicate Jesus with the people around me and how to use my whole life as a witness. We’ve been focusing on this in our Bible study group and have had some very real challenges about this at church.

Ultimately, we want people that we come into contact with to experience the love of Christ through us. This should happen in the way we talk to them, serve them and interact with them.

To interact with “gentleness and respect” we need to remember simple things like remembering people’s names and details about them (this applies as we’re getting to know neighbours, colleagues, shop workers, etc) and listening to them rather than having talking at them (This is a big challenge!) Good conversations will be where we explore each area thoroughly and LET THEM DICTATE where the conversation goes (This really shows them that we care for them!!). Looking for some common ground is helpful to establish a genuine connection with them.

Getting to know people, loving them and caring for them should be our first goal. Sharing the gospel with them shouldn’t be our first goal but as we develop meaningful relationships with the people we hang out with this relationship becomes the platform for opportunities to share Jesus. This will be words at times, but may mostly be through our actions. St Francis of Assisis says “Preach the gospel always, if necessary use words”.

When we’re interacting with others, we should always ask God to show us the needs of the person. When we see the needs, ask God how we can show our care for them in their hurt, trouble, etc. Some amazing opportunities to share Jesus often present themselves when there’s a genuine need!

I’ve been challenged lately to use my areas of influence (the places I hang out regularly) to get to know people, build relationships and live out my faith! Otherwise, we risk the danger of just going about our comfy little Christian lives and not being effectively used by God.

Challenge for this week: Get to know someone new in a place you hang out regularly (neighbour, colleague, sports team, pub, etc). Remember their name and some things about them. Start praying for them and for opportunities to chat to them again.