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Busy Christians in an iPhone age can look at Christ as though he were the battery charger and we are the smartphone. We ‘plug into’ Jesus during a quiet time, then go out and live on that energy until our spiritual batteries run dry— then it’s back to the next quiet time, conference, or retreat. But this is not a metaphor the Bible invites us to use when it speaks of our union in Christ. He is the vine; we are the branches JONI EARECKSON TADA

How long beneath the Law I lay In bondage and distress I toiled the precept to obey, But toiled without success WILLIAM COWPER ( Source : Ol­ney Hymns)

It’s scary when you’re slipping And there’s no one there to catch you In fact they catch a glimpse of you And start to welcome you back And with a heart caught between Two situations You begin to take in their semi-compliments Like ‘you’re finally back to being you’ ‘Remember that time when you were getting a bit dry But now we’re all cool’ Cool is the last thing you feel

The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. JUDGES 1:22-25  I have been thinking about success recently. What is success? How does it look like? That is partly because of change in personal circumstances. I am now just moved into this new pastoral role, a radical departure from my previous economic role in government. The other reason is that we have been hearing a lot of success from national leaders. Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to make a success of Br

This is one of the most disturbing videos I have ever come across. The deep seated embrace of Lady Gaga's satanic practices by the media and society in general is quite shocking. Was also shocked by the shocking Nazi streak in her performances. The fact that Lady Gaga does not hide her Satanism means does help us to pray purposely that God should set her free from the dark web that has engulfed her and also millions of her young disciples. Good Fight Ministries are doing great to expose these deeds of drakness. 

And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. JUDGES 1:19 At the first reading of this verse, it seems like the author of Judges is suggesting the iron may be too strong for God. In fact his point is totally the opposite. Prior to this incident the author of Judges tells us about the various victories over the Cananites that God gave the people of God, especially of the brutal Adoni-Bezek. God had done this just as He had promised the people after the death of Joshua. So there is no doubt that the God of Israel is omnipotent!

Human beings are not the centre of the Universe. In fact, it is the human belief that we are the centre of all things that the Bible calls sin. It leads to the arrogant treatment of the rest of the created order and the breaking of human relationships. Some writers give the impression that our destiny is to control the Universe. That is not the biblical view. God is the centre of all things, and we are creatures given status by his love. DAVID WILKINSON

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-58 LESSON : To follow Jesus is to follow a homeless man and become a stranger and exile on the earth. This inevitably means embracing divine engineered uncertainty in this life. There are going to be times when following Jesus means not knowing where your next meal is coming from. There will be times when your plans will fall through. The salary might not allow you to buy a home. A thief may break into your house. Radical generosity may be required to meet another person's desperate need. A debilitating illness may befall. Can you bear not knowing how Jesus is going to provide for all these urgent needs and still trust that he will? If your answer is yes, then you are a follower of Jesus!

The proper and genuine cause of sin is not God’s hidden counsel but the evident will of man. JOHN CALVIN

Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. John 14:19 LESSON It is important to remember that the only hope for your life and mine, in this life and beyond, is this remarkable Union that is available 24 hours day, 7 days a week, with God through His Son. No Jesus, no life. No matter how much you have accumulated. This is true for terrorists, prostitutes, drug dealers and corrupt leaders. It is also true for you. You need this Jesus 24/7. If you put this Jesus first, God the Creator comes to live in your heart. God does not just save you, He becomes your very life! What a great honour!

Faith..unites the soul with Christ, as a bride is united with her bridegroom. From such a marriage, as St. Paul says, it follows that Christ and the soul . . . hold all things in common, whether for better or worse. This means that what Christ possesses belongs to the believing soul, and what the soul possesses belongs to Christ. Thus Christ possesses all good things and holiness; these now belong to the soul. The soul possesses lots of vices and sin; these now belong to Christ. . . . Now is not this a happy business? Christ, the rich, noble and holy bridegroom, takes in marriage this poor, contemptible and sinful little prostitute, takes away all her evil and bestows all his goodness upon her! It is no longer possible for sin to overwhelm her, for she is now found in Christ. MARTIN LUTHER

"When you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection" - A. W. TOZER

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60 LESSON: Jesus is God and you must learn to pray to him directly, not just "in the name of". Some falsely teach you can only pray to God the Father not Jesus. You must reject such heresy. At the worst juncture of his life, Stephen called out to the Jesus he knew and loved. The practise of praying directly to Jesus, God the Son, is a powerful reminder to us that our hope is only in and through Jesus. There is no God, but Jesus Christ. All others are idols. Do not pray to idols, as Apostle John warns. Start your prayers during the day like "Dear Lord Jesus" or "My dear Jesus, my precious Love and Eternal Friend". And of course you should continue to pray directly to God the Father and God the Spirit as well.

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:16-19 LESSON God loves immigrants because He was once an immigrant in this world. More than that, God is working towards a world without borders, so you must stop spiritualising every verse and start obeying his commands to love immigrants. Stop looking after number one. Join God's ultimate plan to create a world without borders.

There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity. This we take to be beyond controversy. To prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretence of ignorance, God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty. Ever renewing its memory, he repeatedly sheds fresh drops. JOHN CALVIN

Time is the medium in which we exist. To complain about a shortage of time is like a fish in the sea complaining that it has a shortage of water. MARK FORSTER

"Much time had I spent in vanity, and had wasted nearly all my youth in the vain labour which I underwent in acquiring the wisdom made foolish by God" ST BASIL THE GREAT

Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. Revelation 15:3-4 LESSON: When all of God’s actions are added up at the end of time, it will be plain that the sum total of His works are righteous. From the evils of history God has brought unquestionable good, worthy of the highest praise. Keep trusting in the goodness of God!

I just finished reading  Bexleyheath : A History  by John Mercer as part of my effort to know a little about the history of our new local area. We have been living here for the last four months and it is a wonderful area indeed. Here are seven fascinating things about Bexleyheath mentioned in the book. 1. Two hundred years ago much of Bexley Heath was an area of wide-open land largely uncultivated. It was not until 1894, that the two words were put together. 2. On 5 June 1739, George Whitfield, a prominent preacher associated with John Wesley, came to the highway and preached by the pond opposite the Golden Lion. He was welcomed to the district by Henry Piers, Vicar of St Mary's (Bexley), who was a supporter of the new evangelical movement which was to become later known as the Methodist Church. Over 300 gathered to hear Whitfield preach from his horse: travellers, labourers, gypsies and villagers from Bexley village. 3 . One of the early inhabitants of Bexlyheath was th