"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!

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

Who Is God Really?

“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” – Ecclesiastes 11:5

We do not have to try to understand God with our limited human minds because we will never be able to understand Him. However, the central message of the Bible explains who God wants to be for us. Willem Nicol said:

 “God is the Infinite One, the Foundation of our existence. He has a burning desire for us. He paid the highest price to enable us to be part of Him forever. We see Him in Jesus. Basically life for us should consist of being different from others, of no longer living for ourselves, because we follow Jesus. Eternity makes this possible for us because He gives His Spirit to live in us and to lead us.”

This is exactly what God wants to be for you. The reason for your existence. He wants you to be part of Him forever. He sends his Son so that you can be His child, and He gives His Spirit to show you how to live. You no longer have to try to understand Him – you merely have to be still and cherish His love for you.

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

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ. 

It is no longer I who live, 

but Christ who lives in me. 

And the life I now live in the flesh, 

I live by faith in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave himself for me. " 

Romans 6: 22-23

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you real leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" 

John 3:16

I truly believe that the story of Jesus' crucifixion is the greatest love story ever told. In fact, it is not a story, but rather the living truth, and it is what inspired me to start this page.

I’m pretty sure most of you are aware of the scripture:

 John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

It’s safe to say that this is the “golden” text of the Bible, and also the most familiar. Personally, I find it to be the most magnificent love story ever told. It does not deal with human emotions, nor does it deal with a romantic relationship that men and women have. Rather, it speaks about a love that is unconditional, unchanging, unfailing and all-consuming. It is almost unbelievable that someone can love us to this extent! Do you realize what this means??? It means that no mater what we do, no matter what doubts we have, no matter how many times we walk away from Him, and defy Him, He STILL loves us, unconditionally.

How many times has someone done something to you, which you feel they were unworthy of your forgiveness, let alone, your love? Many times, we as humans have allowed anger and hurt to change the love we have for one another. God will not do that. He loves us regardless of what happens. He does not love us for what we have or have not done, but He loves us because of who HE is. HE is a forgiving God. HE is a compassionate God. HE is an understanding God. He sent His very own Son, Jesus Christ, to earth so that He could understand what it means to be human and the struggles that we face. So God understands your every predicament and circumstance. Regardless of what it may be, He will love us no matter what.

Ladies, imagine being captured by a man who loves you more than life itself; who is willing to take His life for you. Imagine belonging to a man who finds you beautiful in everyway, despite ALL of your flaws. Imagine a man drawing you closer everyday, and loving you in the way that you have always dreamed. Imagine a man that pursues your heart, above all things. Imagine a man that can satisfy the deepest desires of your heart. A love like this does not exist in our imaginations. . It is real and it exists with Jesus Christ, our Saviour. The Bible is a beautiful love story between Christ and His Bride. He tenderly pursues our hearts. Isn’t it beautiful?

Jesus loves us so much that he endured hatred, betrayal, lying, beating, spitting, whipping, crucifixion, the weight of sin, and the wrath of God all so that we could come to know His father. He sacrificed his life and perfect communion with God so that we do not have to spend an eternity in hell, but in heaven with God.

That is the ultimate sacrifice.