Episodes
Monday Mar 31, 2014
Think Spot
Monday Mar 31, 2014
Monday Mar 31, 2014
Monday Think Spot
31 March 2014
A Heart Of Service
Do you have service in your heart? Do you have a heart of service? When someone mentions serving another what emotion does the question evoke in you? Did you realize that service is found 132 times in 116 verses in the KJV Bible? And the word “servant” is found 491 times in 452 verses in the KJV.
Today I want to focus on just one of those many verses.
Mark 9:35 And he sat down and called the twelve, and said unto them, if man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
With the words “servant” and “service” being found so frequently in Scripture it has to make us realize that this is something that is very important to God. During creation week when He created man, He created Adam, before He created Adam, with each thing that He created He said, “It is good. It is good.” But when He created Adam, although it was good that He created Adam, He said. “It is not good for man to be alone.”
So, that tells us right there that we have to have connections with other people. Our health tells us that we have to have connections with other people. Some of the most depressed people are shut-ins who can’t get out to be with other people, who have limited interaction with other people. And so, it is important for us to not just be self-serving but to be serving to others.
I am reading a book, “Thou Shall Prosper” by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and he has so much wisdom in this book that it is just profound, and I would like to make a couple of quotes from this book, if I may. One is, “If you cannot wrap yourself around the notion that other humans are worthy of your committed service and that you are not diminished but are instead elevated by providing that service, you will never excel at what you do. There is nothing shameful in being a servant or a people who serve.
Only humans worship God and only humans serve their fellow humans. Not out of blind animal instinct but out of love, altruism, and a commitment to an idea just like those firefighters on September 11, 2001. Giving of one’s self to another is at the core of what it means to be human.” And it’s at the core of everything you do; your quest for career success, your quest for ministerial success is all the core of giving service to another!
As I close this morning, I would just like to ask you, where do you stand with serving others? Do you have a lot of friends? Do you offer your services to them? Maybe you’re in business and you provide a service for your customers. Or you’re in a church that you do some work for...there are a lot of avenues that we can serve others, even telephone ministry is providing service to another. It’s giving them a call letting them know that you are thinking about them. For some it’s easy, they just have a servant’s heart so it’s easy for them to give of themselves to another. For others it’s not so easy. But it’s something that we work for because we know that it is something that delights God.
Prayer
Let’s bow our heads: Father I thank you for the message that you have provided this morning. I thank you for explaining to us the importance of being a servant. I thank you that we have the opportunity to serve someone else. I pray that we count it as a privilege and an honor and that we realize that it brings glory and honor to you.
Father, when we have a difficult time serving someone or when we just don’t feel like we are in the mood to do it that day, I just pray the Holy Spirit comes and speaks to us and gently nudges us and that we continue in that servant’s walk that You have brought us to. I thank you for each one that is listening this morning because that means that they chose to set aside some time to hear your word. And I pray that this word encourages them and if they haven’t been serving others, if they just felt like they were too busy then I pray that they will find time, 5 minutes here or there, 10 minutes here or there; whatever it takes; whatever You desire for them to do, Lord, impress it upon them. May Your will be done.
I ask that you bless each one this week, bless them abundantly and may they have an abundant life, an abundant life which serves others. Father, I just thank you. I just come to you with a heart of gratitude for this opportunity, for being a part of Partakers.
And I ask you to bless Brother Dave as he puts all of this together and he encourages each of us along. I just thank you, Lord. I thank you for the tremendous blessings for the doors you are opening for this ministry. I just pray that the harvest comes in for you. That you are blessed through all of this. And father, I just ask you now to hear our prayers and answer our prayers so that all may know that YOU ARE GOD.
And I ask you now, father, to just love on us, just love on us a little bit more. Blessed are you, Adonai, God who hears and answers our prayers. Blessed are you, Adonai, who gives us the opportunity to serve others and serve you. Blessed are you, Adonai, God who provides for all of us. Amen.
Thank you for being with us today. I pray that you will come back each day this week and be blessed by a new message and may this help carry you through your week. Make your week much more meaningful, much more successful, and help you to be a blessing to others in the process. Thank you again. Good bye.
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Friday Mar 28, 2014
Friday Prayers 28 March 2014
Friday Mar 28, 2014
Friday Mar 28, 2014
Partakers Friday Prayers!
28th March 2014
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
Order of Prayer Service
Opening Prayer
1 John 1:8-10
Confession
Lord's Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Prayers for those facing challenging situation
Prayers for those grieving & in despair
Prayers for those imprisoned
Prayers for Churches Worldwide
Prayers for the world
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Time for your own prayers
The Creed
Benediction
Closing Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Wednesday Mar 26, 2014
WOW Word 53 - New Nature
Wednesday Mar 26, 2014
Wednesday Mar 26, 2014
WOW Word 53 - New Nature!
Today, Alphy the WOWChurch cat shares with us about our New Nature - what it is, what it is not, who, why, where? Come see and hear Alphy the WOWChurch Cat explain more!!
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
(Romans 6:1-7)
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Monday Mar 24, 2014
Think Spot
Monday Mar 24, 2014
Monday Mar 24, 2014
Monday Think Spot
24 March 2014
Experience The Blessings
Good Morning! Welcome to Partaker’s Think Spot! I am Regina. I will be your host for today and I am from South Carolina in the United States. I would like to bring you a warm, humble welcome and thank you for being with us.
Receiving from God in faith the answer with perfect assurance that it has been given, is not necessarily the possession of the gift we have asked for. At times there may be a long interval before we have it physically. In other cases we may enjoy at once what we have received. When the interval is long we have need of faith and patience. We need faith to rejoice in the assurance of the answer bestowed and to begin to act upon that answer though for the present there is no visible proof of its presence. We can apply this principle to our prayer for the power to be faithful intercessors. Hold fast to the divine assurance that as surely as we believe, we receive. Rejoice in the certainty of an answered prayer. The more we praise God for it, the sooner will the experience come. We may begin at once to pray for others and the confidence grace will be given to us to pray with more perseverance and more faith than we have done before. If we do not find an immediate increase in our desire to pray, this must not discourage us. We have accepted a spiritual gift by faith; in that faith we are to pray, doubting nothing. We may count upon the Holy Spirit to pray in us, even though it is with groanings which cannot find expression. In due time we shall become conscious of His presence and power.
Wow, what a message! We continue to pray even though we may not see it, we may not know the length of time that it is going to take for us to receive it, but we pray, we consistently pray, we persevere and we believe; and we go ahead and thank God for it. "Thank you, Father for the blessings that you are giving us! Right now, thank you for answering our prayer!"
And you know, He is going to answer it! Remember there are creation power in your thoughts and your words! So, don’t allow that doubt to creep in. Don’t allow it to steal your blessing, to steal your gift from God, to steal your abundant life. When that inner mean voice starts talking to you and trying to put doubt in your head just tell it to go away that you are only listening to the Holy Spirit. Pray and ask God to quiet that inner mean voice and to let his Holy Spirit speak more loudly to you, more clearly to you than you have ever heard before. He will do that. He will allow you to hear Him, to know He is there with you.
I pray that as you move forward this week that you are blessed. I pray that you pray often, if not for yourself then for others but also include yourself. I pray that you have a week of peace, a week of solitude with God, just one on one time with Him. Maybe you can’t do it for the whole week, every second of every day, but you can have your quiet time with Him in the morning or the evening or whenever you do it. Take that time and as you pray, don’t forget to be quiet and listen and allow Him to speak to you during that time. Let’s close now in prayer.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for each one that has come out to be with us this morning, that’s turned us on on their computers. That’s taken the time to receive this word. And I just ask you to bless them in an abundant way. Allow them to feel your presence. Allow them to hear your voice and know without a doubt that it is you speaking to them. I ask you to bring clarity of mind, Lord, and to unplug their ears so that they are able to hear you clearly. I ask you to prompt them and encourage them to pray for others for that is what we are called to do and that is one way that we can love our neighbor as ourself is to pray for them. In Jesus name I pray and ask these things. Amen.
Thank you for joining Partaker’s Think Spot. If you have Twitter, Facebook, Google+, any of the social media share us with them as well. Until next time, this is Regina, have a blessed week! I pray that you will come back tomorrow and each day this week, and be blessed by the wonderful words that are brought to you. Have a good week.
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Monday Mar 17, 2014
Think Spot
Monday Mar 17, 2014
Monday Mar 17, 2014
Monday Think Spot
17 March 2014
I Will Not Cease To Pray For You
Good Morning! Welcome to Partaker’s Think Spot! I am Regina. I will be your host for today and I am from South Carolina in the United States. I would like to bring you a warm, humble welcome and thank you for being with us.
This morning let’s look at 1 Samuel 12:23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way"erse 11.
Psalm 34:11 "Come you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the LORD."
So what we see here in Samuel is that Israel has asked God to provide them with a king, the king of their choosing, not the king of God’s. And this hasn’t worked out so well for them. So Samuel tells them, “Look, OK, this is what we are going to do. I’m going to call upon the Lord and He is going to send thunder and rain. He is going to let you know about your wickedness; the things that you’re doing that’s not right.” And so, that’s what Samuel did. Samuel called to the LORD and the LORD sent thunder and rain and all of the people greatly feared the LORD and they feared Samuel because Samuel called to the LORD and the LORD answered him by bringing these things.
So all of the people come to Samuel and say, “Please pray for you servants, pray to the LORD your God so that we may not die for we have added to all of our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.”
You know, and Samuel could have said, “You’re right! That’s right! You did! You brought this all on yourself!” But instead what Samuel tells them is this:
“Do not fear. Yes, you have committed all this evil, but you do not turn aside from following the LORD. You serve the LORD with all of your heart, even though you’ve done this evil; you’re still serving the LORD. And you must not turn aside from serving the LORD because if you did, you would then go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver because they are futile. For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for HIMSELF.”
You know, up until this point God has really been happy. “You know, I’ve got My people, I’ve got Israel. They’re wonderful. They make mistakes but you know, no matter what mistakes they make, they serve Me whole-heartedly.”
And Samuel continues, “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. But I will instruct you in the good and right way. “ In other words, Samuel says, “I’m going to continue to pray for you. I am going to continue to lift you before God and I am going to listen to what God tells me to tell you. And as I listen to what He tells me I’m going to instruct you. I’m going to tell you what God says. And this is going to be leading you in the good and right way so that you don’t go off and do these foolish things.”
You see, we have to pray. We have to pray for one another, we have to pray for ourselves. And if we ask God to reveal to us the things that we do that are not pleasing to Him, and if we will be quiet a moment and listen to Him...He will reveal those things to us. And then the choice is ours, what we will do. Will we obey God and stop doing those things or start doing different things that He instructs us to do or will we just cross our arms say, “It’s going to be my way. I’m in control of my life.”
My prayer, as I pray for you all, is that we choose to follow God’s instinct. We choose to follow His leading, because He will lead us. He will reveal things to us. He’ll not only reveal our sin, but He will reveal the things that we are doing right. Because God loves us and so His final word to us doesn’t have to be a negative thing, but is always something wrapped in love. Because he does love us and He will continue to love us and instruct us. The important things are that we CHOOSE to listen to Him. We choose to pray for ourselves, we choose to pray for others; and did you know that blessings come to you, and protections come to you, and good health comes to you, when you lift up your brothers and sisters in Christ, when you lift up other ministries in Christ. God blesses you for the prayers that you pray for others. That doesn’t mean that we should pray just to get something, it has to come from our heart; it has to be sincere. But it does mean that God rewards us. He knows our heart, He knows the intent of our heart. He knows when we mean what we’re saying. And it’s his honor to bless us and to embrace us in his love and say, “Well done my child. You followed me, you listened to me. And you loved yours brothers and sisters because you prayed for them, and that shows me how much you love them.”
Prayer
Father I just thank you for each one that pulled up this podcast and listened this morning. I thank you that they took the time out of their busy schedule to come here your word. Father I pray that the word spoken here this morning brings into them abundant life. May our words always encourage and uplift them and show them the right way, the right path to walk down.Use us, LORD, as your vessel. Let your words come through my mouth as I bring these messages here. I don’t want any glory, I don’t want any credit, Father, but may you receive all glory, all honor, and may you just lift each one father, and embrace them. Pick them up like a father does his child and spins them around in love and, father, just bring healing to their bodies that need healing. Heal their finances. Restore their fortunes as your word tells us.
Lord, we know that you have good plans for us. And all we have to do is listen and obey and pray for one another. Father, I ask you to enlighten us, let us know who we need to pray for, what we need to pray, put those things in our heart, in our mind, and out of our mouths, Father. Now I ask you to bless each one with health, with financial blessings, with peace, love, and joy. And continue to bless them throughout the week. In Jesus name I pray and ask these things! Amen.
Again, thank you for being here with us. I pray that you will come back tomorrow and each day this week, and be blessed by the wonderful words that are brought to you. Have a good week.
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~Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!Sunday Mar 16, 2014
Sunday with Sammy
Sunday Mar 16, 2014
Sunday Mar 16, 2014
16th March 2014
Paul and Potholes
They say that when something is going on in your life then you see it EVERYWHERE. The car you bought because you had rarely seen one in that colour is suddenly parked everywhere you go. Everyone else is having a baby it would seem to the couple struggling to conceive. You hear nothing but the bright future of the school you have just decided to take your child from early as you thought there was a better chance for them elsewhere! The list is pretty endless.
Personally for me, it’s a word or phrase at the moment and that is…calling. During Intercessional Prayers on Sunday the person was asking for prayers of those exploring vocation to the priesthood – ‘woah that’s me!’ I thought.
In a home group yesterday, Brian Wilson from HIllsong said, ‘You must walk worthy of the calling for what YOU are called.’ Again, I wondered if he was talking directly to me. Of course he wasn’t, but my mind is tuned to that word and turn of phrase at the moment due to my circumstances.
Now, something that effects every single one of us at the moment is potholes! Whether you drive and need to avoid them, or you don’t and walk around praying that the cars avoid the ones still filled with water.
I have to admit, and this won’t be the last time you hear this from me, but I have an immense respect for St Paul. Not only because of the way he continuously admitted what he had done wrong – not to get forgiveness after forgiveness, because I hope you know that when you ask God with all sincerity for His forgiveness and Grace you get it, and you don’t then need to feel any guilt about what you have been forgiven for. You must not, however, go and do it again. As I wrote last week when Jesus dismissed the adulterous woman he said, ‘Go, and sin no more’.
Paul’s main writings in the Bible are his letters to various Churches in Christendom. Paul set up the church of Ephesus as described in Acts 19 and its urgency in his detailed explanations of that congregation’s relationship with Jesus Christ could be due to it having been written not long before his death around AD62. Let’s have a look.
Paul writes in Ephesus 4 ‘In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.’
So in his typical style he starts with a firm instruction. Get going you lot! Stop messing around, you know what to do, what are you waiting for? If I get out of here, I’m going to come over there and give you a good shake!! But I can’t so you’ll have to read my words and do as you’re told – through me – by Christ Jesus. Paul never took any credit for his work, he always said it was the work of our saviour Jesus he did. Paul also talked in verse 3 about being quick to mend fences. This is hugely important, and as Christians we must take the initiative. I speak from very recent experience when I say you WILL be nervous, you will want to back out, and yes, you may have the door slammed in your face, you might even be verbally abused, but God knows you did it for the right reasons and He loves you all the more for it. Also, as was in my case this week, you might not get the door slammed in your face, in which case you have a win-win scenario.
Paul continues with ‘You were all called’ oh here we go again ‘to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.’ ‘But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift.’
But what, you are thinking, does this have to do with potholes??
Well. Not much to be honest, but we do have them in common and probably will do for a while yet!
However, everything, as we’ve discussed previously happens for a reason, and when I stopped the car earlier today to avoid a rather large pothole I looked to my right and saw a minutes old new born lamb taking its first tentative, wobbly steps. Had I been driving I would have missed that sight. That wonderful sign that Spring is on her way, that through all the trials and tribulations, rain and darkness, there is new life springing forward, new hope is on the horizon…and together, in oneness, with our heads held high (being careful if we’re running of course) we can all reach the goal that Paul talks of, through commitment to God and in loving one another. The road is the same, the potholes may make us stumble, but by wearing the whole armour of God we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil!
Prayer
Thank you Father for new life shown to us in your wonderful creation. For the buds on the trees, the daffodils and crocus’ for the lambs and piglets and for each one of us, born because of you and saved because of the birth of your precious son. As we continue to draw closer to you this Lent, remind us quite how wonderful your world can be, and bless each one of us every day. AmenRight Mouse click to save this as an audio mp3 file
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Friday Prayers 14 March 2014
Friday Mar 14, 2014
Friday Mar 14, 2014
Partakers Friday Prayers!
14th March 2014
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
Order of Prayer Service
Opening Prayer
1 John 1:8-10
Confession
Lord's Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Prayers for those facing challenging situation
Prayers for those grieving & in despair
Prayers for those imprisoned
Prayers for Churches Worldwide
Prayers for the world
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Time for your own prayers
The Creed
Benediction
Closing Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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~ Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!Monday Mar 10, 2014
Think Spot 10 April 2014
Monday Mar 10, 2014
Monday Mar 10, 2014
Monday Think Spot
10 March 2014
Pray and Prevail
Welcome to Partakers Think Spot. I pray this Monday morning finds you doing well. I am Regina and I am from SC in the United States. I want to talk with you this morning about Praying and Prevailing!
Let's turn for a moment to James 5:16. The earnest prayer of righteous person has great power and wonderful results. When Israel had made the golden calf Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, these people have committed a terrible sin, but now please forgive them, forgive their sin, and if not, then blot me out of the record You are keeping. That can be found in Exodus 32 verses 31-32. That was persistence.
Moses would rather have died than not have his people forgiven. When God had heard him and said he would send an angel with the people, Moses came again. He would not be content, until, in answer to his prayer, God himself should go with them. God had said, "I will indeed do what you have asked." Exodus 33:17 After that, in answer to Moses' prayer, "Let me see your glorious presence,"Exodus 33:18, God made his goodness pass before him. Then Moses at once began pleading,"O, Lord, then please go with us." Exodus 34:9. Moses was up on that mountain with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. That's found in Exodus 34:28. Moses was persistent with God and he prevailed. He proves that the person who truly lives near God shares in the same power of intercession which there is in Jesus.
James teaches us to pray for each other. "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Praise God! He still waits for us to seek him! Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian. And you know, you may be lacking in confidence right now and you may be saying to yourself, "Why would God want to help me? Why would he want to do what I am asking?"
Well, you know what? That dream or that vision, that persistence that you feel gnawing at you saying, "I have to do this! I have to do this, but I don't know how." Don't let the "but I don't know how" stop you! Because God gave you that vision, that came from him! And he tells us in Jeremiah 29:11-14, "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all of your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I driven you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile."
Life may have been hard for you up until this point. You know, you may just be in survival mode, just barely making it from day to day. That's NOT God's plan for you and do not accept the conditioning of the world that tells you there's no better. Because God has a better plan for you. He tells us that in Jeremiah. He has a plan which offers you a future and a hope. So persistently pray to him. Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on that mountain before God. And God heard him and God answered his prayer. He'll do the same for you!
Let's close now in prayer this morning:
Father, I thank you for each listener that come out to be with us this morning. I pray that this word pushed into them a light, a light where darkness has been prevailing for a while. I hope it just lit up their whole world. I pray that it encouraged them, that it allowed them to grasp hold to that promise you made in Jeremiah 29 that said you have a plan for us, and that plan is a good plan which brings us a future and a hope. Father I thank you for the blessings that you have already given us. I thank you that we are surviving, that we have food, that we have clothing, that we are not cold in these frigid temperatures. And I thank you for the blessings which are yet to come. In Jesus name I pray and ask these things, amen. Thank you all for being with us today. I pray you will come back each day for a word of encouragement from everyone who participates in Partakers Think Spot. You can also find Partakers on the web. Just do a Google search for Partakers Ministry and you will find us and we look forward to meeting with you again tomorrow morning. God bless you!
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Sunday Mar 09, 2014
Sunday with Sammy
Sunday Mar 09, 2014
Sunday Mar 09, 2014
9th March 2014
What say you?
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered round him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’
‘No one, sir,’ she said.
‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’
The Ash Wednesday reading for this year is from John 8:7… What is interesting about this passage is that it didn’t actually make it into the Bible until the 3rd century. It is unlike the usual way that the rest of this gospel is written – ignoring the pro and epilogues, we will cover those another time, but if you get the chance do have a look at the ending of John’s Gospel…all three of them! It is thought that the copyist who inserted it here was possibly trying to illustrate Jesus saying that he will pass judgement on no-one later in the chapter, in verse 15.
Anyway, Jesus had returned from the Mount of Olives, and is being harassed yet again by the Pharisees. They have bought a woman to him who they claimed had been caught committing adultery (nothing is ever said about the man with whom the alleged crime took place you’ll notice!) This married woman knows there is very high chance of being killed by the then common practice of stoning under the guise of the Law of Moses, as written in Deuteronomy 22. The Pharisees tell Jesus this has to be the outcome, and are trying to test him, again. They want him to either go against the word of Moses, and as a teacher of the Jewish faith of course he could not, or they want him to go against the authority of Rome, as Roman law had deprived the Jews of their rights to stone people to death – they thought they had him!
The gospel says, When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." In the same situation now, knowing what we do, as the woman, you would be petrified! It is a wonderful thing to say, and it should be said more nowadays if you ask me – ok then, the one of you who is without sin and has NEVER done anything wrong can judge… that would make people stop and think before acting in certain ways! Of course, there WAS someone there who was without sin – Jesus – and he and only he had every right to cast that first stone…and we can only imagine the carnage that would have occurred after that.
What would have happened if one of the Pharisees had cottoned on to this, picked up a stone, handed it to Jesus and said ,’here you go then…’ But they didn’t. Thankfully. Because they understood not a jot of whose company there were truly in. There is a wonderful part when Jesus seems to simply ignore them, and starts to write on the ground with his finger. We’re not told what or really why., and there are many, many schools of thought about this, but in Jeremiah 17:13 in some translations it is written, ‘Those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth for they have forsaken the Lord’ …but in the Pharisees’ trying to get Jesus on the back foot and make a mistake, his calm demeanour must have had them all hopping from foot to foot in madness – how funny! So, Christ neither found fault with the law, nor excused the woman's guilt; nor did he tolerate the pretended zeal of the Pharisees.
People are actually self-condemned who judge others, and yet do the same thing. All who are any way called to blame the faults of others, are especially concerned to look to themselves, and keep themselves and their lives in order. In this situation, Jesus did precisely what he came into the world to do, and that was, to bring sinners to repentance; not to destroy, but to save. He aimed to bring, not only the accused to repentance, by showing her his mercy, but the prosecutors also, by showing them their sins; they thought to ensnare him, he sought to convince and convert them. Check mate to Jesus! AND he declined to meddle with the magistrate's office. Many crimes merit far more severe punishment than they meet with; but that isn’t for us to concern ourselves with. When Christ sent the woman away, it was with this caution, Go, and sin no more. If you help to save the life of a criminal, you must also help to save their soul with the same care. They are truly happy, whom Christ does not condemn.
And as we moan that our lives could be so much better, they could, remember, be so much worse. When I think about when Jesus was writing in the dust the following Lenten poem by George Herbert springs to mind…
Lord, who hast form’d me out of mud,
And hast redeem’d me through thy blood,
And sanctifi’d me to do good;
Purge all my sins done heretofore:
For I confess my heavy score,
And I will strive to sin no more.
Enrich my heart, mouth, hands in me,
With faith, with hope, with charity;
That I may run, rise, rest with thee.
May God bless and keep us all safe,
healthy and though able to cast a stone
be always unwilling to do so.
Christ's favour to us
in the forgiveness of past sins
should prevail with us,
So, Go then,
and sin no more. Amen
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Partakers Friday Prayers 7 March 2014
Friday Mar 07, 2014
Friday Mar 07, 2014
Partakers Friday Prayers!
7th March 2014
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
Order of Prayer Service
Opening Prayer
1 John 1:8-10
Confession
Lord's Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Prayers for those facing challenging situation
Prayers for those grieving & in despair
Prayers for those imprisoned
Prayers for Churches Worldwide
Prayers for the world
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Time for your own prayers
The Creed
Benediction
Closing Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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