Month: September 2026

“Here is love as vast as the ocean” – thank you Lord that I have been a recipient of that vast, immeasurable love.

”My Name, my very nature is made up from this attribute. The way I act, the way I see my creation, the way I see you, is through this vast filter of love. It is my longing that you may come to know over time how high, how wide, how deep and how long my love is and that it may make up the intimate experience of your relationship with Me. My whole program for you all is to bring you to a place where My love will become more and more real to you. And it is not directed randomly, it is directed at you and every person that reads this blog, personally.”

Read Romans 15:1-12. Paul is still expanding the theme arising from 12:1,2, ie the life the reader should be living in the light of the transformed life, arising from Jesus’ death on the cross. We have seen that we, as individuals, must show a changed life, and then flowing from that the witness of the church as a group of people transformed by God’s love. Chapter 14 dealt with grey areas and we now come to the major issue which has been appearing from time to time, all along in this letter, ie the issue of the relationship between Jew and Gentile.

This was a huge subject at that time. On the one hand the Jew who still felt they had the inner track, as it were to heaven, because of their whole OT history. Historically they had been warned to separate themselves from the pagan world around them. This resulted in totally different religious and social cultures. I suppose a little like our forebears felt about the black indigenous folk in this country. To get these two groups to work together was hard, but imagine the difficulty of persuading them to love one another.

In this passage Paul tackles the Jewish idea that the scriptures called on the Jews to keep themselves separate . Paul makes the point that even from the time of the Patriarchs there was a provision made for the Gentiles. The fact is that the idea of God was always that His people would represent Him to the Gentiles so that they also could be included in His future Kingdom. And he shows this quoting a number of OT scriptures. The coming of Christ has made this much more possible removing the previous barriers.

Without getting into the minutia of each verse the central command in verse 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, summarises Paul’s teaching here and is pretty much a universal command to all Christians everywhere. That is Christ’s word to us today. In Philippians 2 Paul uses a similar argument, but going further says “in humility consider others better than yourselves. This requires a real transformation of our minds, since we are all basically self-centred by nature.

It is, however, the oil that allows every growing church to reflect Jesus’ love within the church, as well as outwardly to the community outside. Let the challenge to us today therefore be to give attention to this command, asking Jesus to help us through His Spirit, to accept every Chrsitian brother or sister, especially those who we actually don’t particularly like for whatever reason.

May God bless you all till next week.

Oh the wondrous cross that bids me know that I can die and truly live.

”It is good and right to begin with the cross – because that is where your real life was reborn. My plan though, goes back to the beginning and all the time the cross was like a beacon of hope for a lost world. It represents my total commitment to my creation so that each one of you may know to what extent my love goes. It goes to the very end in death, it takes new wings in a life that happens after that. Keep your eyes fixed on Me and My cross and your hope will remain alive.”

We continue today with the overall theme of what the transformed life of 12:1,2 looks like. The overall theme is love, which is the basic standard of the new life. We must also remember that, while God is intensely involved and interested in each one of us individually, His bigger plan is the bringing of His kingdom into this world. The church represents the visible part of His kingdom and is also the main means that He uses to achieve this purpose. How we interact is therefore an important part of the church’s witness to the world. The “grey” areas of food and drink and keeping special days may seem of little importance, but may also represent a major source of conflict in a church congregation.

We continue with ch 14, please read Romans 14:13 – 21. We have already seen that we are all under God’s judgement and belong to Him.and therefore will be held accountable by Him.

In v 13 Paul takes on a more positive attitude, urging the reader to actively consider how their actions and words in these grey areas may affect the weaker brother and therefore be prepared to adapt ourselves and our behaviour so as not to offend the weaker brother. He goes on to make his own position very clear vv 17,18 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the HolySpirit. But follows that with the earnest appeal in vs 19 to make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. Underlining so strongly how important this is by saying the readers could destroy God’s work by not giving heed to what he has been saying.

So ultimately, if there are a group who feel strongly about these things they should keep it to themselves and not go around condemning those who don’t think like they do. He ends the chapter with the cardinal rule that everything that does not come from faith is sin. So really he is calling us out to sort our thoughts out with God to whom we owe all, and not to stir up the congregation and cause divisions.

So then we actually come back to the fact that the rule of love covers all these things. If in doubt ask yourself the question “how does what I do and say represent God’s love to the other person/people and to the world that is watching.”

May you all have a blessed week and long weekend break.

Be thou my Vision Lord of my heart, High King of Heaven my treasure thou art.

” Am I truly your treasure? in what ways do you know and are certain that I am your treasure? It is easy to say words of love and adoration, but the genuine proof of their reality lies in the way you live and think, the choices you make, where your thoughts and actions are directed for most of the day. Remember Romans 12:1 true worship means giving not only our thoughts and words to God but our whole bodies, our whole lives. Difficult? That is why I have transformed your mind and given my Holy Spirit to help you.”

Chapter 14 is perhaps a chapter that is not given nearly enough attention to. The theme of the interaction of the members of the church for the benefit of the whole continues. Paul is busy spelling out the details of the overall instruction of what it means to love one another. The theme of the whole chapter is directed at how we see and interact with each other in the church, especially focussed on the grey areas where people so easily condemn each other.

There are two areas he addresses: food and drink; special days, like the Sabbath. He does so against the backdrop of weaker and stronger brothers in the faith. It is one continuous thought but we will deal with the chapter in two parts. Scan the whole of ch 14 but focus on the first 12 verses.

As an aside may I say that I have observed that these type of issues often cause more division in the church than most others.

The underlying principle that we have to keep in mind lies in vs 12. Each of you will give an account of himself to God. So that points back to the fact that when we condemn people for behaviour which we don’t approve of, we are taking up the position of God.

The problem of food and keeping special days of course highlights the difference between the Gentile believers and the Jewish believers that Paul is facing. But we still have those issues today in the church. From the food perspective we have the issue of whether it is OK to drink wine. But also more and more people are becoming focussed on not eating meat and following vegetarian and vegan diets. Not so prominent is the discussion on the importance of the Sabbath and other “holy days”.

The principle Paul highlights in these first12 vv is that the “stronger” brother has the freedom to eat what he likes and not be limited by regarding certain days as special. It is up to the stronger brother to avoid making an issue of these things. It is the one depicted as the weaker brother who is likely to judge. Ultimately the principle is the same for both, clearly voiced in v 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant ? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

And in vs 10 For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat. And vs 12 So then each of. Us will have to give an account of himself to God.

What Paul is saying, we must recognise that it is God who is the ultimate judge and He decides what is right so we must remember that before we criticise others in these grey areas. This does not take away the responsibility we have towards others to minister to them if they’re openly sinning in other areas.

This is such a tricky area, but nevertheless one we should consider carefully. The ultimate purpose of the command to love remains supreme and should be demonstrated by the unity we, as believers show towards the outside world. That unity remains God’s aim as Jesus said in John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. It is the important role of the stronger brother to help the weaker brother feel secure in his faith and benefit from the communal spirit.

More on this subject next time. In the meantime may God bless each one of you.

Love lifted me, when nothing else could help love lifted me.

”Yes I am the embodiment of love, I represent the whole concept of love in my being. Remember in 1 John “God is love”. My being cannot be separated from my attitude towards you, which leads to the way we can interact. As you learn more about me you are also learning more about love. So the concept that “ Love is the fulfilment of the law”, Simply recognises that the theme of love should control all our interactions and your interaction with each other and the world. When you doubt ask the question” Does this action or attitude reflect my love?”

As we pursue the consequences of living a life that has been transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have come to a focal point where we should recognise the importance of love being the guiding principal for our lives and our relationships both with each other and the Lord. Please read Romans chapter :8-14. We need to remember verse 10 which described love as the fulfillment of the law, to see the relevance of versus 11 to 14.

i was reminded again this week how important it is for us to remember, when we are having our devotions that they are more than just words on paper, as important as that source may be, but that we are meeting with our living God and interacting with him. It is very easy to slip into the mode of just trying to understand the script and forgetting their aim to understanding and experiencing our love relationship with our Saviour.

Today’s few verses from 11 to 14, act as a powerful motivation for us to make this way of living out out relationship with God by demonstrating our love for our Saviour and for each other as a way of living that is in line with God‘s will for us. The New Testament reminds us continuously that the world is rushing towards a conclusion of judgement and salvation when Jesus comes again. Since 2000 years have past it is easy forget the urgency. While He tarries we may pass from this life at any moment. So there is no room for complacency.

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” So let us “Rather clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”.

May God bless each one of you this week.

Christ the sure and steady anchor in the fury of the storm.

” I stand as your Rock, a fixed position which cannot be moved. Not only can you stand on that Rock – I will lead you there and steady you on it. All you have to do is to decide to follow Me and allow Me to lead you. To set aside your pride-filled plans which drag you away, and even in those I am pursuing you and drawing you back to the Rock again. Rest assured today – you and all who read this, that My goodness and mercy will follow you, not in a sense of being behind you, but in a sense that pursues you through every aspect of your lives.”

We continue to look at how our transformed lives are to play out in our everyday lives. Read Romans 13:8-10. I want to stand still on these verses because they are so central to the New Covenant and our lives as Jesus followers.

A key word in this section is “fulfilled”. In the sermon on the mount Jesus said “I have not come to abolish them (the law) but to fulfill them”. If we look at 13:10 today “love is the fulfillment of the law”. What does that say about Jesus? What does that say about the whole law as laid out in the Old Covenant?

God has used a protracted process from the beginning through the Old Covenant period, leading the people through legal imperatives to a “Person”. Many people live their lives trying to stay right or be right with God by keeping the law, as they interpret it. For example because of the emphasis in the OT on the Sabbath, there are many who feel they have satisfied God by regarding a Sunday as special. In the process they miss the intention of the Sabbath. The Sabbath, in many ways, is the personification of our relationship with God through Jesus. It is a reminder of the gospel.

I have often said that the gospel is not a message in words, but is a message focussed on a Person – Jesus. Jesus is our Gospel. Part of that is that Jesus is our Sabbath. It is in Him that we find true rest (Mat 11:28). In the same subtle way since Jesus came, every law flows from our hearts and transformed minds to reflect Jesus and His relationship with us. The concept of love (agape) is what moulds this in our minds to guide us in our interaction with others. In the same way we cannot do this unless Jesus is moulding us through His love first.

So, in a way the various written laws become promises. Hence “do not commit adultery” becomes “you shall not commit adultery” And as Jesus says, this all starts in the mind. So, are we each carrying this out perfectly? No of course not. There’s still the battle between our old selves and the new spiritual self going on. But the focus now is on growing in our understanding of the huge difference this makes in the way we relate to the law of the OT. Central to that is our growing intimate relationship with Jesus, which should constantly be being replenished.

So does that mean we should not regard Sunday as special? Of course not. Our focus though, should be different. Not on all the things we should not do, but rather on the opportunity of building our relationship with Jesus and carrying out the message about Him to as many people as possible. To rest and recreate and build friendships for the kingdom. Recognizing that Sunday is the Lord’s day and that every day is our Sabbath in Jesus.

And so the whole law can be summed up in the command to love God and love one another. That covers all the aspects of our lives as we interact with our Lord Jesus and as it flows to those around us.

This is an important issue, so why don’t you reflect on it in our comments section?

God bless you all till next week.