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Episodes
Thursday Jun 28, 2012
Thursday Jun 28, 2012
28th June 2012
Love is not self-seeking!
1 Corinthians 13 :5 “Love is not self-seeking.” So often when we get angry with others, it’s because we are looking after number one. If someone cuts in on us in their car and there has been no accident, what are we so upset about? That they have overtaken us, that they are in front of us. The same thing happens when someone gets served before us that shouldn’t have been in a shop, all our indignation rises up. But if we are not self seeking, if we seek the interests of others as much as we seek our own, we would not get angry.
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I remember an illustration from a long time ago, so I will use it today. If a bowl of fruit is passed round and some of the fruit is perfect and some of it is bruised. The first Christian that is passed the bowl of fruit should take a damaged piece so that others may have the perfect fruit.
The opposite of being self seeking is being generous. So be generous with your time, if someone asks you for a lift when you would rather be reading a book, say yes to them. Invite people round for meals. You don’t have to do a fancy meal, most people are coming round for the company anyway. The bible says that God puts single people in families, but He requires you families to ask the single people round. So go on be generous with your food and your time. Invite someone to join you and your family next time you go to the cinema or out for a walk. It is hard being single, spending every weekend on your own. With a little thought and minimum effort you can make a huge difference. If you tythe, God allows you to keep 90% of your money so make sure you remember that it really all belongs to Him, so be generous with it.
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Monday Jun 25, 2012
Monday Jun 25, 2012
25th June 2012
G'day and welcome to Partakers ThinkSpot on Monday, 25th of June 2012. Play the audio and see how you are challenged to live your faith out this week!
The most famous verse in the Bible is probably this one. I wonder if you have heard or read it. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Isn’t that simply amazing! Love! God is love! Every exhibition of love, even by those who deny His existence, is an example of God’s love. God’s love is also seen in all tenses – past, present and future. Past - God has loved you. Present - God is loving you. Future - God will love you! Amazing! WOW!
Moreover, God's love in the Bible is seen as unfailing, everlasting, intimate, sacrificial, unbreakable, all-conquering, personal, great, immeasurable and all-knowing. This is seen supremely in the Cross of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died for the sins of the world on the cross, it was supreme love overcoming all that is not love. Even when great acts of evil are committed in the world, love is all around. Love continues despite such acts.
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How are we to respond to this love of God?
The Apostle John in 1 John 3:16 says “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
Further on in 1 John 4:15-16, John writes “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
Our motivation as Christians is to love and to be love. This is a love, which is sacrificial and self-less. It is tough love which is of service to other people. Loving and serving others, sacrificially, are the primary ways of showing you love God! It is easiest to love your friends. But Jesus commanded that his followers also love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-45)! Now that is very radical and can be difficult! We see constantly in the media and elsewhere, that regards our enemies, we are to be confrontational or at best to just ignore them!
Love and serve everyone
How is it possible to love our enemies? It is only with the help of God and His abundant grace towards us! We depend on the Holy Spirit who lives inside all Christians to empower and guide! To only love those who love you is what is expected by people everywhere as normal behaviour. But as a Christian, if you are one, you are to do more! You are to be seen to love more than other people. You don't have to like others as friends, but you do have to love them as fellow human beings!
Go!
Go into this week, being prepared to show your love of Jesus Christ, remaining close to Him and serving other people generously with abundant grace-filled love! By loving and serving others, you become God's arms and legs in a physical world. Give people a smile! If you are happy, let your face show it to others! Help that work colleague! Help that unemployed person to find work. One of the greatest limitations you face in loving and serving other people is a severe lack of imagination! Ask God to expand your imagination to love and serve; as well as asking for the opportunities to do them. Loving and serving are hallmarks of an authentic Christian life. Love continues even amidst chaos and turmoil all around. Go and be part of the continuing of love.
Prayer
Father, we thank you, that you are love! We thank you Jesus, that you demonstrated great love by going to the cross and showing your love for the world by dying on the cross! Holy Spirit enflame our imagination and cause us to desire to show love to others – even others who we think don’t deserve it! As we go into this week, O God, remind us to love you wholeheartedly and to love others sacrificially.
For we ask this, O Father of Love, in the name of the Son of Love, Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit of Love.
Amen.
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Thursday Jun 21, 2012
Monday Jun 18, 2012
Monday Jun 18, 2012
18th June 2012
G'day and welcome to Partakers ThinkSpot on Monday, the 18th of June 2012. Play the audio and see how Jim and Joy are challenging you to live your faith out this week!
Count Your Blessings Reading in my Bible this morning following a pattern of reading through the Bible in a year I am not always aware till I open my accompanying Bible notes of what I am about to read. This morning I needed to read a portion of the Old Testament concerning Israel and Judah and sadly their disobedience towards God after He had blessed them so much. It was a wake up call for all of us who profess to know Christ to “Count every blessing” as the song goes then we will not forget His abundant kindness towards us Whom He loves dearly.Right Mouse click to save this as an audio mp3 file
Scripture makes it clear that that the old nature within, does sometimes blind us to God's continuous blessings which abound if we were alert to them. Parking spaces found for us, requests for quick replies for urgent needs answered swiftly, sunny days for that special event, and of course rain which we need desperately at this time in UK. We may be forgetful of that reassuring touch from the Lord when a friend comes round and says “I just felt you needed someone at this moment.” Psalm 103 reads “Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his blessings (benefits) towards you. If you continue in that psalm and quietly give it some thought, you will find many times God has richly blessed you as you have waited upon Him and trusted Him. To make sure you are constantly doing this without having to think about it why not share your blessings with others you meet during the course of the day? I find that is a refreshing way in serving our Lord is giving praise and glory to Him by passing your blessings on. Try it and see I am sure you will find it to be true and you will receive a measure of joy in your heart as well. In psalm 23 we read of the believer’s daily walk with the Lord and even though we walk through the vale of death we need fear no evil. Why? The Lord is with us giving us reassurances He will never leave us. Note the joy in David the psalmist’s voice as he perhaps shout “My cup runs over” Oh the joy there is to be found in knowing Jesus. Then the climax of the ages as we move towards the day when we see our wonderful Lord face to face. Psalm 23:6; “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever!” Have a nice day and may you be blessed in all your circumstances and remember “Count your blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done?” Joy’s Prayer Dear Loving Heavenly Father, Thank you for the wonder of knowing You as our Heavenly Father and the One who supplies our every need on every occasion we require help and surprises us with unexpected blessings which delight us. Forgive us if we ever take You for granted or forget to thank you for your regular daily blessings. Help us to remember just how dependant we are on You. We sometimes find ourselves asking even for the seeming impossible and although we may have to be patient and wait You have never let us down. As the hymn writer reminds us “We are coming to a King, large petitions with you bring we can never ask too much... You have amazing resources Lord and we can never out ask your provision. Thank you for that knowledge and help us to be wise in our asking and swift in our thanksgiving. We love You for loving us so much and making sure our cup is never empty. In Jesus Name AmenRight Mouse click to save this as an audio mp3 file
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Friday Jun 15, 2012
Friday Jun 15, 2012
15th June 2012
1. Opening prayer
Father,
as we commence,
let our hearts and minds be right before you.
May your everlasting mercy, grace and love
be shown in hearing these petitions!
Praise to God the Father sing,
praise to God the Son, our king,
praise to God the Spirit be
now and through eternity.
Amen!
2. Prayers for those in challenging situations
Father, we lift before you,
all those facing challenging situations:
such as loneliness, confinement at home,
geographical isolation, lack of employment,
health issues, and financial pressures.
O Father, please meet their needs in what
ever challenging situation is being faced,
and we put ourselves in your hands
to help meet those needs where we can.We ask these things,
our Father God,
in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
and in the power of the Holy Spirit
who lives inside us!Amen!
3. Time to offer your own petitions and prayers to God
4. Benediction
O Father!
May it be that your love would take over our lives!
That we would follow you faithfully and
giving you alone, praise in all circumstances
that we face together!
Amen!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2012
Thursday Jun 14, 2012
14th June 2012
Love is not rude!
Love is not rude. I really struggle to think of times when I’m rude to people or am even tempted to be so. Then it dawned on me , even if I am rude inside my head it is unloving. And I recalled a time sitting outside a cafe in Trowbridge last summer, sitting there people watching. I noticed a couple dressed not in the same way I would dress, and to my shame after watching them for a bit, I wrote them off as losers. They were sat outside a cafe opposite. Then a severely disabled person walked by and stopped to speak to them, the person stopped and chatted for ages and I felt ashamed, I knew that I had judged these people on their outside appearance and not on what was in their hearts. They were clearly very compassionate and kind and Jesus would have loved how they were spending their time.
So check out your thought life – how many times do you judge people in an unloving way and think things which might be considered rude. Our thought lives are so important, it is easy to dismiss them because no one else can see what we are thinking and a thought can come and go in a flash. But thoughts reveal what our heart is like. Jesus said “Do not worry.” Worry is something that happens in our thought life and robs us of our peace, it shows a lack of trust in a good God to work everything for the good of those of us who love HIM. Unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment tend to occur in our thoughts and certainly it is in our thoughts where they take hold and take root. I don’t need to tell you what damage it does to replay a hurt or offence over and over in our minds.
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Monday Jun 11, 2012
Monday Jun 11, 2012
11th June 2012
G'day and welcome to Partakers ThinkSpot on Monday, the 11th of June 2012. Play the audio and see how Jim and Joy are challenging you to live your faith out this week!
The best Connexion
Recently a relative warned me of a scam where someone pretending to be a BT representative was informing BT Customers that they had outstanding bills to pay and if they did not comply they would have further bills trebling the amount they were supposedly owing.
The conversation proceeded with a demonstration of the so called rep saying he would prove that he was official. He then told the person to put the phone down and try to phone a friend. The person did try and found the phone had gone dead. However not being vulnerable they refused to pay with cheque card details given which the man was requesting and the man rang off. The number he had given was given to the police and discovered to be untraceable. He had wanted to get details of the persons credit card details to gain a great deal of money that way. “Be warned”, the offended person told me.
Yes we have to be careful in this world of wrongdoing where selfishness, greed and dishonesty are prevalent in a broken society as many have turned away from the Lord.
Talking of disconnection's many do not know anything of the wonderful, beautiful and safe connexion that God wants to make with each one of us. We are all switched off and disconnected until God responds to our cry to be connected through realising our switched off connexion (Read Ephesians chapter 2:1; where disconnection is described as either being dead or alive).
The Good News (Gospel) is that God wants to be in the very centre of our lives (the power house) controlling and leading us in a way of peace joy and contentment through the amazing connections in reading the Bible and through the equally amazing connexion through prayer, where we communicate with Him and He with us in a very troubled world.
He is more than willing to connect us to Jesus our Saviour and Lord who
died for us to remove our wrongdoing justly held against us.
His glorious resurrection assures us of eternal life here begun on earth below when we become connected and a marvellous existence with Him in Heaven where we remain connected for evermore. Wow !! Isn't that amazing?
So next time you are disconnected from electricity, gas or phone (when you move house or phone) remind yourself , if you are connected to God that connexion will never change as God's power to keep is eternal. Hallelujah!! ps. The telephone line to heaven is always open and …...... is free!! I would encourage you to try it if you have never tried before .
Joys Prayer
Dear loving Heavenly Father,
Thank you for reminding us today of the wonderful relationship we can have with You and the certainty that the power line will never be broken as we continue to read our Bibles and pray every day. Not out of habit but delighting ourselves in You.
Help us to do this especially when things begin to go wrong when illness, or a sudden loss or change takes place that can alarm or cause us to be tempted to panic.
Please enable us to remain calm and to persevere knowing that whatever happens we are connected to You and that Your power is always there for us to tap into because of your wonderful love, grace and passion towards us.
You love us so much so help us to love you in return by trusting and believing that You can make everything work for good on our behalf as we bring everything to you in prayer.
“Oh what peace we often forfeit oh what needless pain we bare because we don't bring everything to You in prayer.
Lord we love you, keep us strong when trials come and keep us ever looking upwards to You and believing and trusting You in all our comings and goings.
In Jesus Name
Amen
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Friday Jun 08, 2012
Friday Jun 08, 2012
8th June 2012
Introduction
Opening prayer
Father,
as we commence,
let our hearts and minds be right before you.
May your everlasting mercy, grace and love
be shown in hearing these petitions!
Praise to God the Father sing,
praise to God the Son, our king,
praise to God the Spirit be
now and through eternity.
Amen!
Confession
Time to offer your praises to God
Prayers for churches worldwide
Prayers for those in challenging situations
Time to offer your own petitions and prayers to God
Lord's Prayer
Benediction
O Father! May it be that your love would take over our lives! That we would follow you faithfully! Giving you alone praise In all circumstances! Amen!
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Thursday Jun 07, 2012
Thursday Jun 07, 2012
7th June 2012
Be Loving!
Love does not boast, it is not proud. I have linked these two together because I think they are related but also because I do not know many Christians that have a problem with boasting or pride. Culturally it is not acceptable to boast, if asked if I can cook and if I was born in Germany, I could say yes I'm an excellent cook! But being English, I could be the winner of Masterchef and I would have to reply "Well I'm not a bad cook", or something similar! I pray constantly that if I ever get good at preaching that I will not become proud of that. I know I've got a long way to go but I believe God has called me into a teaching and preaching ministry so I'm kind of assuming that I will be good sometime in the future, but I want to give God the glory and not become arrogant. It's much more difficult to become arrogant when you serve behind the scenes as I have done for the first 40 years of my life. If God uses you to raise people from the dead or heal people miraculously, there is a much greater danger that you might forget that it is God doing the work . As people we do look up to the folk whom God uses, we put them on pedestals and we want them to pray for us rather than another member of the congregation. It is the same God who works through us all! If God is using us it is because He chooses to, it is His power that heals, it is His power that casts out evil spirits and it is His power that raises people from the dead.- In my experience, God tends not to use people who are not listening to Him, so if He has told you to forgive someone or love someone that has hurt you and you are saying No - don't want to, won't do that- He is unlikely to choose you to raise people from the dead - until you are back walking in obedience. If you have a powerful job, if you earn a high salary, if you are particularly beautiful, handsome or intelligent - BE CAREFUL. Make sure you don't consider those in humble jobs, those who are less attractive in the worlds' eyes, those who earn next to nothing as less valuable, make sure you treat them as an equal - make sure you invite them round to dinner and to your yacht in the Bahamas.
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Monday Jun 04, 2012
Monday Jun 04, 2012
4th June 2012
G'day and welcome to Partakers ThinkSpot on Monday, the 4th of June 2012. Play the audio and see how Jim and Joy are challenging you to live your faith out this week!