Musings

So He (Yeshua) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He  found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:16-21 Потоа Исус се врати во Назарет, каде што беше пораснал и, како што имаше обичај, во саботата дојде во синагогата. Таму стана да чита од Светото Писмо. Му ја подадоа книгата н

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.    1 John 2:15-17 The Message The Message is a paraphrase of the Bible, but yet it lends such a dynamic clarity to words we often gloss over due to familiarity. These verses are frequently misinterpreted by well-meaning Christians who take separation from the world much too far. It is not my intention to be of a critical spirit, but it pains me to observe people in groups who insist that their members dress differently and live entirely isolated from the world, especially when it is against their will.  The verses in 1 John 2 urge us to have different attitude

We can change our negative environment by having a spirit of thankfulness. Maybe we cannot give thanks FOR some of the difficult circumstances in our lives, but we can give thanks IN those circumstances.  "Blessed are those whose strength i s in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (Tears), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." Psalm 84: 5-7

Jesus said, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message) For those of us who follow the Lord Jesus, we know He is 'gentle and humble in heart' as other translations render it. He never forces us to do anything and He waits to be invited into our lives. As we study the Gospels, we observe His perfect character, represented by the fine flour of the grain offering (Leviticus 2:1). When people object to Christianity nowadays, it is never because of the character of Christ. What possible objection could be raised to this beautiful, perfect Son of God, who was the personification of love and holiness!  Many are searching for the kind o

'But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law.' Galatians 5:22 Wouldn't it be strange if any of these characteristics were banned in a country? 'Joy is outlawed! There shall be no more kindness! Away with goodness! Ban gentleness!' It would be preposterous, yet the Source of these very traits is outlawed in many countries where the demonic spirit of evil and hatred reigns supreme. In passing, let me say that I've had my eyes opened in the last weeks to the increasing persecution of Christians in African/Middle-Eastern countries. The sheer brutality of crucifixions, kidnappings, beatings, rapes perpetrated mainly by Muslims defies description. The force behind these heinous crimes is nothing short of demonic and the spiritual void in Western countries is creating a platform for this hegemonic ideology to disseminate. We now have hundreds of indige

Psalm 67 May God be gracious to us and bless us  and make his face shine upon us,  Selah  that your ways may be known on earth,  your salvation  among all nations.   May the peoples praise you, O God;  may all the peoples praise you.   May the nations be glad and sing for joy,   for you rule the peoples justly   and guide the nations of the earth.  Selah May the peoples praise you, O God;  may all the peoples praise you.  Then the land will yield its harvest,   and God, our God, will bless us.   God will bless us,  and all the ends of the earth  will fear him. The prayer of my heart this morning. We need God's mercy more than ever as we increasingly ignore His word, standards and sovereignty.  May the nations return to God ( יהוה  YHWH) and call on His name to be saved. One thing is for certain, God will not be mocked. All that He has decreed will surely come to pass.  For those of us who love His name, may we be joyful and filled with a spirit of praise. May we