"Father, Forgive them"

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34

While He was hanging on the Cross, Jesus spoke 7 times. Each time His words sketched a clear picture of His love for sinners and His intimate relationship with His heavenly Father. Even despite the excruciating pain, Jesus noticed other people and tried to help them.

In the period before His crucifixion, Jesus’ relationships had also suffered. The 12 friends who had accompanied Him for 3 years deserted Him, Peter denied Him and Judas betrayed Him. The Jewish people for whom He had come, rejected His offer of salvation and had Him crucified. Despite the agony He was suffering on the Cross. Jesus prayed for those that rejected Him and had Him crucified. He prayed that His Father should forgive them because they did not understand the impact of their actions.

The unconditional love and forgiveness of Jesus are still available to you. You can confess your sins with confidence because He is prepared to forgive them!

-         Derived from Living in God’s Love, Nina Smit

God's Grace - The Cross

My human mind cannot fathom the fact that God, our Lord and Saviour, is so generous and loves us so so much that He sent the one thing that He loved the most, His only begotten Son to die for US, you and me, on the Cross, so that we may be saved. Imagine if Jesus didn’t die for us.. We would be living our lives like the people of the Old Testament did, to some extent. We will be commiting sins, and paying for them at the same time, because as the Bible says, the wages of sin is death. BUT, the miracle that happened is when God sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth, to understand what life is like as a human, to bring us closer to God. Therefore God sacrificed His Son for us, so that we may not have to pay the debts of sin, instead with the intention that we may be forgiven for our trespasses! That is grace on another level!

By commiting this act of selflessness, Jesus Christ has done EVERYTHING for us. The only thing that is left is unmerited favour! He only requires us to receive this blessing, or rather this gift, by believing in our hearts that He has died and risen again, for us, and by confessing this with our mouths. Like sho! Jesus has literally done all the work for us, all we have to do is receive this gift! It almost sounds way to be good to be true. Like how can somebody give up their entire life on our behalf, in the most painful and gruesome way, so that people that hasn’t even met Him yet, can be saved?? But that is the beauty of God’s grace! Jesus did it ALL for those that believe! We just have to receive it!

Until we grasp what the significance about the events that occurred on the Cross of Calvary is, we will keep treating fellow humans without the love and compassion that God has showed us. Once you have the life of God living inside of you, nothing can take it away!

Forgiven by God

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more," says the Lord. - Hebrews 8:12

One of the greatest blessings that God has given us is the promise of forgiveness. Though we fail time and time again, God is faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins. This confession, however, is not merely a recitation of our obvious mistakes, but also a recognition of our willful choices and OUR disobedience to God's ways.

When we bring these failings to the light of God's LOVE, the Bible tells us that God not only forgives those sins, but He also FORGETS them. It is our own inability to forget our own sins, that is holding us back and often causes a lot of us to deter off God's righteous path.

Until we understand that God forgives us for our sins, and we realize the grace, and compassion He has shown us, will we realize that through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we are made holy and blameless in His sight. As Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us".

So we should not only receive the gift of forgiveness that God blesses us with, but also rejoice in God's loving forgetfulness with regards to our sins.

What a blessing it is to be forgiven by God!

Surrendering to Christ

God intended for us as young Christian women to live a life that is completely and fully transformed by the power, life and radiance of our Heavenly Prince. For us to live lives that are not our own, but Christ’s’, for He lives within us. Unfortunately, modern femininity falls short of this example of true beauty because we do not understand the reality of who Jesus is meant to be in our lives.

Jesus is not meant to be slipped into our lives whenever it is convenient. He is not meant to be treated as a casual buddy we hang out with every once in a while. Jesus wants to be our LIFE. He wants to occupy every waking thought, action, attitude, word and decision.

Being a Christian means that your life is hid with Christ. You are not your own. You have no time of your own, no money of your own. Christ must become your complete Master.

If you are ready to trade the hollow self-made beauty of this world for the glorious Christ-built beauty of a set-apart young woman, this is where it all begins. Denying self, taking up your cross and following the Lamb wherever He leads. In other words, letting go of all preoccupations with self; our comfort, our pleasure, our agenda, our popularity, our ability to gain the world’s approval, even our own dreams and desires. And as Paul did, treating all those things as rubbish for the excellence of the knowledge of Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phillippians 3:7-9).

At first glance, it sounds like a very scary decision to make. If we stop looking out for our own agendas and become completely preoccupied with Christ, won’t our lives become dull and boring? If we stop pursuing worldly applause, worldly beauty and worldly pleasure, won’t our lives lose all their radiance?

Just the opposite! A life overtaken by the Heavenly Beauty of Christ is the only life truly worth living. Yes, it may include some discomfort, prison, pain or even death, but it also includes triumph, joy, peace and fulfillment in their richest and purest forms. Jesus Christ takes good care of the things we entrust to Him.

When we offer our existence to Him, we may not gain fame, fortune or sex appeal, but we will gain all the riches of His Kingdom. We will gain the lasting loveliness that every woman longs for. We will gain the unshakable fulfillment that the rest of this world spends their entire lives searching for in vain. Not only that, but we will live out the most spectacular real life adventures this world has ever seen.

I don’t know about you, but that sums up everything that I truly desire. I want the kind of beauty and radiance that never fades away. I want to join the ranks of set-apart femininity and glow with the kind of loveliness that all of Heaven cheers.

“...those who catch the vision are ready to follow the Lamb wherever He leads, and as they follow, in this spirit of joyful adventure, their path becomes clear before them and they are given power to fulfill their higher calling. They are those who have the courage to break the conventionalities, who care not at all what the world thinks of them, because they are entirely taken up with the tremendous reality of Christ.” – Bishop Bardley

“The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you – your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything – then altogether you may have the Christian life, you are not yet LIVING it.” 

– Ian Thomas

God's Plan

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

Everything that comes your way this year forms part of God’s plan for your life. God is omniscient and He therefore already knows what is going to happen to you. He is also omnipotent and He can therefore use everything in your life in a positive way. For that reason, you can rely on God totally, instead of making your own little plans.

God has a plan for each of our lives. We have to consider 3 words into our plan this year: initiative, timing and surrender. Swop your own plan for God’s initiative which He sets out in His Word. Work out your carefully and see to it that you do the right thing at the right time. Also, be prepared to accept God’s timing if you are uncertain. 

Finally, surrender your WHOLE life and ALL of your dreams to the Holy Spirit. If He is the pilot of your life, all things will work together for your good.

-         Derived from Living in God’s Love, by Nina Smit

Deuteronomy Chapter 8 - 10

“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord has promised on the oath to your ancestors.” – Deuteronomy 8:1

Deuteronomy Chapter 8 is basically a reminder to us that we should not forget the Lord our God, and all that He has done for us. God instructs us in Deuteronomy 10:12 “…to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”

As Christians, living in the modern world today, it is so easy for us to forget what the Lord has done for us in our lives, when we are going through trials and tribulations. This chapter is a reminder to us that we should not forget the Lord. The Bible is instructing us to obey, love and serve the Lord with ALL of our heart and soul, in everything that we do. In Deuteronomy 11:26, the Bible states that this is both a blessing and a curse. If we obey the commands, laws and decrees of the Lord that He has given to us, He will bless us with all that we desire, if it is in His will. However, if we choose to disobey Him, then “the Lord’s anger will burn against you” (Deuteronomy 11:16). Therefore, as 10:20 says, “…fear the Lord your God, and serve Him”. He is the God of all gods and Lord of all lords, the great God, mighty and awesome!

The message that the Lord is bringing to you today is to not forget what God has done for you, no matter what it may be that you are facing. In times of anger, sadness, happiness, etc., we should remember what the Lord has done for us, and praise Him, for He is worthy of praise! Decide right now to honour God’s Name in everything that you do and to give HIM the glory for your success. For as He has sworn to keep His covenant with us, so we should our promises to Him, and obey what he requests and requires from us. That we honour him, do His will, love, serve and obey Him.

Love God with your whole heart and soul., and ask Him to enable you to love your neighbour like this as well.