The king of king is near

You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. (John 12:8)

To understand this verse you have to go back to verses 1-7 where Jesus is at a party thrown in his honour.  He is reclining at the table with his disciples and his friends - namely Lazarus, who he has just been raised from the dead.  Mary, Lazarus’ sister, sees her now alive brother sitting with the man who raised him from the dead and she is moved by gratitude. As an act of worship she goes and gets an expensive perfume and she anoints Jesus.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, the one who later betrays Jesus  says, “What a waste! This perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Of course, we are told that Judas didn’t really care about the poor because he was a thief and wanted only for himself.

Here is how Jesus responded. Jesus, knowing that he is heading for his own death, his own crucifixion, says, “you will always have the poor among you, you will always have time for that but I am here…now. Judas, you are missing the point.”

So the question comes to us…Jesus is here now, in all of his mercy and all of his compassion and all of his power and glory and his holiness… how will we respond?

Will we miss the point, like Judas?  Will we be clouded by our own greed and our desire to get more for ourselves or will we like Mary bring an extravagant, un-calculated, generous, humble offering of worship.

The king of kings is close today, how will you respond?

Lord make us tender, make us sensitive to your presence.

Be Strong and Courageous

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Does this verse sound familiar to you?

It is found in Joshua 1, verse 9 and honestly you can find it everywhere —on throw blankets, and wall hangings, on mugs and t-shirts.  I have it on the cover of a notebook, oh and I also have it embroidered on a pillow!   

Be strong and courageous!  And as empowering as it is, it can also feel overwhelming because most days - the idea of being strong and courageous  isn’t something that naturally comes to me.  But here, sandwiched in this one small verse is a promise — the promise of the presence of God.

Why can you be strong? Why can you be courageous? Because it’s not in you or in me.

God was having a conversation with Joshua. The mighty mentor Moses had passed away and Joshua is now leading the children of Israel into the promised land. Joshua, like most of us, would have some insecurities leading over a million people through some overwhelming and terrifying situations.  And God promised — I will be with your wherever you go.

You don’t need to be afraid. And knowing that God promises to be with us - we can be strong and courageous.

If you are reading this today and don’t feel courageous - maybe you’re feeling a little weak and alone, here is the good news, God promises to be with us. You and I, like Joshua, get to hold on to the promise of God’s presence.

So friends, be strong and courageous, God’s presence has gone before you!

Ask and Believe

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

I love this verse taken from the gospel of Mark.  What an incredible promise it is to you and me.  And the context of this verse is pretty interesting.

The disciples were walking along with Jesus and stopped by a fig tree and noticed that it was withered at its roots but they also remembered that the day before, Jesus had cursed that very fig tree and said, “May it never bear fruit again”.

Now they were standing around looking at the tree and looking at Jesus and saying “Whoa.. Jesus, how did this happen? Look what you said, actually happened.”

And then Jesus makes an interesting turn, instead of talking about the horticultural issues, Jesus starts teaching about prayer.  At first glance as you read this you might wonder “Why is Jesus talking about prayer here, we were just talking about this poor dead tree?!”

Jesus says,  24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

What Jesus is trying to tell his disciples and us, is that the same power that made that happen to the tree is available to you and me through prayer. Just like that!

Jesus can change anything and anyone and that is what prayer is all about.

God wants to give us everything we need to live the life that he has called us to live. And Jesus want us to ask Him. Ask Jesus, in prayer, not just what we want but what we need so we can accomplish his purpose for our life.

Number one:  ASK. And then the other part is BELIEVE.

Believe not just in our ability but in God’s ability. Believe in the resources that are available to us through God. Believe that our Father is not empty handed. Believe that God wants to give us blessing upon blessing for God’s glory and power to be at work in our lives.

ASK and BELIEVE.

Let’s be a praying church. A believing church. A church that asks God to move in and through for God’s glory.

Let’s be bold and pray.  Pray for relationships to be restored; Pray for healing; Pray for those far away from God to discover the hope and peace that comes from knowing a Saviour; Pray that our pews at Amberlea would be full of people hungry to learn about our Amazing God; Pray that God may be glorified; and Pray for God’s power to be on the move in our community, in our city, in our province in or country and in the Church around the world!

Ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours!  Amen.