I have been thinking about why people do not seem to continue to grow in their spiritual walk, and today as I was chatting with a person, it dawned on me that part of the issue was that while they were keen to read the word, and desired to change, the problem was that they had not succeeded in applying what they had learnt to their life. For real transformation to take place there needs to be committed application as well as considered information. I have heard it said that “information plus application equals transformation”. We need a revelation of the information, practiced in application to produce transformation. This totally concurs with the word of God. This makes a working, scriptural formula for success. James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We also read in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It seems to me that it is good to read and learn and study and get some understanding of the word of God. But that same word needs to be applied to our lives and to our situations. But it will not change your life if you do not exercise it and live it out. I know some younger Christians who do not know great passages of the Bible. They may only know one or two verses – but they take what they know and apply its wisdom. This is how we grow. This is how we mature. This is how we overcome. If we want to overcome, we must live in the victory that Jesus has won for us. “They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.” Jesus has won the victory for us. He has given us his word to use, but he requires us to live it out and apply it to our lives. This is how we overcome. Where have you seen the word of God applied to your life this week? Who would like to share a testimony of overcoming, or seeing an “aha” moment where the word applied brought transformation?
Don’t forget that this week is mission giving week. Giving can be made through Moe New Life Christian Centre banking details which are on the newsletter, our webpage and our Facebook page. Let us be open and generous as we give to increase God’s work both here and through the Murle Education Program. Also, through November, we will take our annual offering for The Bible League, so please prayerfully keep that in mind.
Please make sure you join us on Friday night, 23rd October for our online “zoom’ meeting with Tas Walker from Creation Ministries International. He will be speaking on the subject “Dinosaurs, The Bible and You.” The link will be supplied in this newsletter. You will need to download a zoom app to participate. If you need help to do this, please let us know before Friday and someone will assist you to set it up. There may be someone you could join with to view the meeting if you do not have the internet facilities to join by zoom.
Anyway, I hope that this week has been filled with God’s wonderful surprises and that you will continue to be blessed. This Sunday I will be speaking on rediscovering the “WOW” factor.
God bless and keep you in His care.
Kind regards,
Glenda.
Hi everyone,
As I was praying today, I couldn’t get away from the idea that this is prime time to be sharing our faith. This does not need to be a scary thing. For believers who have encountered the love, forgiveness, and the transforming power of God in our lives, sharing our stories should come quite naturally. 1 Peter 3:15 encourages us to be prepared to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with all gentleness and respect.”
Has your life been changed as a result of meeting Jesus and committing your life to Him? Have you experienced His forgiveness, acceptance, answered prayer and seen His hand moving in your life? People want to talk about Jesus. People want to see and hear authentic accounts of what God has done for you. People may not want to be “preached at”. But they really do want to hear the good news of Jesus, and what he has done for them. Just like Peter cautions us here, we should always share our story with gentleness and respect. People are at different stages and some may be more receptive than others. Even Jesus encountered people at different stages of receptivity. The rich young ruler asked Jesus “what must I do to be saved?” Jesus spoke to him, sussing out what he knew and where he was up to in his spiritual journey. Then he challenged him to “go and sell all you have and give it to the poor”. He was able to put his finger right on where the young man was up to. Then we see Jesus encounter with Nicodemus, the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and Zaccheus. So many lives changed as they were confronted with the words of Jesus.
Just remember, it is not you or I that “saves” a person‟s soul. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. But it is our job to “sow the seed”. For some, they will hear and respond to the gospel readily and with joy. For others, like the rich young ruler, they may walk away sad because they are not ready to give up their lives or accept the demands of the Gospel. There may be people we know who we think would never be interested or may seem so far away from God. But remember what Jesus said about this young man. “What is impossible for men is possible with God.” This gives us great hope that as we continue to pray for our family and friends, the Holy Spirit will bring them to the point where they are ready to receive.
So who are you going to pray for and believe for this week? Trust that God will bring you opportunities to share His love and give you the right words to say as you tell others about God’s wonderful, forgiving love.
Glenda
Our Sunday service from 11th October. A little late due to circumstances beyond my control.
Hi everyone,
Greetings in the lovely name of Jesus.
This is just a short catch up to say Hi and remind you all that you are loved, you are thought about, and we are praying for each of you.
We are attempting to catch up with each and every person on our church fellowship list to “take our pulse” and see how we are all going. This is happening by way of a personal phone call from the church leadership team to you, ready to have a chat, catch up with your news, and conduct a short survey as to how you are engaging with church life, online meetings, and your views on being part of a small group. As restrictions begin to ease, we are looking at creative ways to enjoy fellowship with each other, and to reconnect on a personal level. Social distancing and isolation have created a very “abnormal” state for believers who love community, love to worship together and love to share God‟s word.
It is our hope to create a network of small groups where this connection can take place. At the moment, we can only have up to 5 people from our “bubble” in our homes, but hopefully soon we will be able to extend that as we move from “step three” into our last phase before going to what the government is calling “Covid normal”. It is a good thing to be connected with other believers that we can worship, pray and share with, and it is our hope that through the formation of these small groups, this will be able to happen. So, watch out for our call, and I look forward to many “mini churches” being planted in our streets and towns.
Colossians 4:2 encourages us to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving”. The NLT says it this way, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” Paul goes on to ask the church to pray that they will have many opportunities to speak about God’s “mysterious plan” of salvation, and that they will be able to share the good news clearly and boldly. I pray that for us all, too. That we might al-ways be prayerful, alert to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and that we will be ready to share the good news of Jesus with our friends, family and neighbours. Verse 6 finishes by saying, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” As we witness for Jesus and share his love with those around us, we must not be contentious or argumentative, but wise, gracious and loving.
God bless and keep you in His care.
Till next time,
Love to you all,
Glenda.
Dear family in Christ,
Here we are as another month comes to an end. I always wonder how you are going and pray for you as I write this note. This morning I was thinking about the toll that Covid has had on our state and our nation. It is on my heart to be able to do some-thing practical for those who have really done it tough over these past months. People who have lost jobs or have had hours reduced, businesses that have had to close doors, cafes and restaurants that have had to change their business hours and reduce their service to take away. Also, the toll on people’s mental and emotional health over this time. I am open to suggestions of practical ways we could reach out to our immediate community. Could we do a grocery drive, or a special offering to be donated to a church or group who are already doing community care? Are there people you know who would benefit from a regular phone call or zoom chat? I think we have been pretty good at helping one another through this time, and I commend those who have been making phone calls and texting people with encouraging messages. There are those who have been making small groups on Facebook and sharing scripture, devotional times and prayer. How good is that?! Let’s have a think about this and pool our ideas to see if there is may be something we can do as one part of this community to another.
We are still not able to meet together – unless there are those who would like to meet outdoors for a time of communion – which I would be happy to do. We can only have 10 people, so we might have to have several sessions. This could be a possibility – maybe not every week, but certainly something we could do. What do you think? We will also keep you posted regarding setting up home fellowship groups for Bible study and communion, and of course – fellowship which we are all missing.
Keep a lookout this week for our Armchair Chat on Wednesday night at 7.00. We have a special guest – Liz Baillie, who will bring us a great little word with a bit of humour. On Sunday we will also have a guest speaker – Dr. Tony Kees, Director of Trinity Leadership, an author, Bible teacher, Leadership trainer and mentor, so be sure to tune in this Sunday at 10.00 am.
We are excited as we are planning our way forward as restrictions ease, so hang in there, keep praising the Lord, be blessed, and be a blessing.
Lots of love to you,
Glenda