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DISCIPLINE YOUR CHILDREN IN LOVE


SCRIPTURE TEXT: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”–Ephesians 6:4(NLT) 

The purpose of parenting discipline is to help children grow, not to exasperate and provoke them to anger or discouragement. Parenting is not easy—it takes a lot of patience to raise children in a loving, Christ-honoring manner.

But frustration and anger should not  be causes for discipline. Instead, parents should act in love, treating their children as Jesus treats the people He loves. This is vital to children’s development and to their understanding of what Christ is like.          

STAY BLESSED

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LENTEN MEDITATIONS

Come to me, all you who are very weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11: 28-30

INTRODUCTION

Lent started on Wednesday 17th February with Ash Wednesday and would continue until Saturday 3rd April, a day before Easter Sunday. Originally, Lent was kept as a pre-Easter retreat: a prolonged period of time when Christians would “tone up” spiritually. Their “spiritual aerobics” were not unlike the intensive training an athlete undergoes before an important race or the strict diet a person goes on in order to lose weight for medical or cosmetic purpose.

The reason why Christians took Lent so seriously from the days of the Early Church onwards is that Easter Day was the highlight of their year. On this day, like us, they celebrated the amazing fact that Jesus’ body was not left in the grave. He rose from dead! But on this day, they also welcomed converts to Christianity into full fellowship of the church and welcomed back people who had once believed in God but whose faith in Him had grown dim and whose love for Him had grown cold. Throughout Lent, these people would prepare for Easter by becoming familiar with the basic teaching essential to understanding of Christianity. They would be encouraged to repent of the past failures and be shown how to live life God’s way. Committed Christians did not escape the rigours of the Lenten season. They, too, took Lent seriously and used it as a time to examine their life-style, to turn their backs on the sin that so easily creeps into their lives and to re-dedicate their lives to God.

Lent means to sacrifice your most precious commodity, time: quality time for God. During Lent we should devote our time to extra prayer, extra Bible meditation, extra reflection and serious repentance. Such dedicated time to God would make a difference to the way we worship when Easter Day arrives.

LENT IS THEREFORE:

  1. A time for spiritual spring-cleaning; a challenge to combat evil in our lives. And Lent is a time to turn back to God. The Prophet Joel puts the invitation this way: ‘Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.’ (Joel 2:13 NIV)
  • A time for new beginnings. New beginnings start with repentance. Repentance is not negative. True repentance is an active, positive attitude which effects real and deep changes. Repentance involves recognizing the wrong, and, where possible, putting it right. And when we repent, we are determining in our minds that we will live differently.  John the Baptist said ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near’ (Matthew 3:2). Repentance means to face up honestly to the past and turn from it… Our own repentance conjures up feelings of being sorry or guilty for something. The biblical meaning is far deeper and richer. In the New Testament usage, repentance turns us from sin, selfishness, darkness, idols, habits, bondages and demons both private and public. Jim Wallis puts it this way: ‘We turn from all that binds and oppresses us and others, from all the false worship that has controlled us. Ultimately, repentance is turning from the powers of death. These ominous forces no longer hold us in their grip; they no longer have the last word’.Repentance and receiving God’s forgiveness go hand in hand. The Apostle John writes: ‘If we confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise…He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.’ (1 John 1:9). After we have confessed, we must move on to receive and embrace God’s forgiveness and love. To fail to do so implies that we give greater importance to our sinful self than to God’s goodness. We must learn to accept that God’s goodness is greater than our ‘badness’; that there is joy in God’s heart in extending to us the forgiving love which sets us free from past sin. So, we must refuse to nurse a sense of guilt and accept the healing God offers.
  • A glorious forty-day retreat. A retreat is a time to stand back; to ask; ‘what have I been doing with my life?’ What has God been teaching me? Where have I succeeded in living life God’s way? Where have I failed? What do I need to confess to God or to change?’  Lenten retreat is a time to recognize our wanderings and to determine to go back to God. Like the young man in the story of the prodigal son, we are to make a calculated choice to come back to our Father: ‘I will get up and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son: treat me as one of your hired workers.’ (Luke 15: 20-24) :and enjoy our Father’s joyful restoration.   
  • A time to hope. Unending love is what God is. Lent is a time to experience that love all over again. For this reason, God ‘woos’and assures us that though we have failed Him, He will not forsake us: ‘How can I give you up?… How can I abandon you?… My heart will not let me do it! My love for you is too strong.’ (Hosea 11:8). Now is the time to make a personal response to God invitation: ‘Return to the Lord your God and let this prayer be your offering to Him: “Forgive all our sins and accept our prayer, and we will praise you as we have promised”’(Hosea 14:2) . Because God’s love is perfect, when we return to Him, we enjoy security. He has promised that He will never abandon us nor banish us from His presence — ‘Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you. See, I have branded you on the palms of my hands.’
  • A time to re-focus; to turn away from the business which pre-occupies us for most of the year and concentrate on Jesus.  

END NOTE

Lent is a wonderful time we should not miss. Let us go through the rigours of the 40 days spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayers and enjoy prolific change and growth in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Stay Blessed!

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PARENTS AND CHILDREN HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO EACH OTHER

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”–Ephesians 6:1-4(NLT) 

If our faith in Christ is real, it will usually prove itself in our relationships at home with those who know us best. Children and parents have the responsibility to each other. Children should honor their parents even if the parents are demanding and unfair. Parents should care gently for their children, even if the children are disobedient and unpleasant. 

Ideally, of course, Christian parents and children will relate to each other with thoughtfulness and love. This will happen if both parents and children put the others’ interests above their own—that is if they submit to one another.   

STAY BLESSED

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CARE FOR YOUR SPOUSE AS YOU CARE FOR YOURSELF

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”–Ephesians 5:31-33(NLT) 

The union of a husband and wife merges two persons in such a way that little can affect one without also affecting the other. Oneness in marriage does not mean losing your personality in the personality of the other. Instead, it means caring for your spouse as you care for yourself, learning to anticipate his or her needs, helping the other to become all that he or she can be.

The creation story tells of God’s plan that husbands and wives should be one; “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one”-Genesis 2:24 (NLT), and Jesus also referred to this plan; “…Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”” –Matthew 19:4-6 (NLT). 

STAY BLESSED

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SUBMITTING TO GOD AND ONE ANOTHER

This week we focus on the study of Ephesians chapter five. This letter refers to the Church as a body to illustrate unity of purpose and show how each individual member is a part that must work together with all the other parts.  I will be sharing with you some selected notes from the Life Application Study Bible (NLT). Enjoy!

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.“–Ephesians 5:21(NLT) 

Submitting to another person is an often misunderstood concept. It does not mean becoming a doormat. Christ—at whose name every “every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10)—submitted His will to the Father, and we honor Christ by following His example. When we submit to God, we become more willing to obey His command to submit to others, that is, to subordinate our rights to theirs.

In a marriage relationship, both husband and wife are called to submit. For the wife, this means willingly following her husband’s leadership in Christ. For the husband, it means putting aside his own interests in order to care for his wife. Submission is rarely a problem in homes where both partners have a strong relationship with Christ and where each other is concerned for the happiness of the other. 

STAY BLESSED

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LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

INTRODUCTION

Today we would like to invite you to study a systematic study of 1 John chapter 4:7-21, where we learn so much about God’s love.

God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. God sets the pattern for true love, the basis for all love relationships – when we love someone dearly, we are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us. When we share the Good News with others, our love must be like Jesus’ willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. – 1 John 4:7-21.

VERSE BY VERSE STUDY

A. 4:7 – Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of a feeling. In reality, love is a choice and an action, as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows. God is the source of our love. He loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for us. Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything He did in life and death was supremely loving. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love; He lives in our heart and makes us more and more like Christ. God’s love always involves a choice and an action, and our love should be like His. How well do we display our love for God in the choices we make and the actions we take?

B. 4:8 – John says, “God is love”, not “Love is God”. Our world, with its shallow and selfish view of love, has turned these words around and contaminated our understanding of love. The world thinks that love is what makes a person feel good and that it is all right to sacrifice moral principles and others’ rights in order to obtain such “love”. But that isn’t real love; it is the exact opposite -selfishness. And God is not that kind of “love”. Real love is like God, who is holy, just, and perfect. If we truly know God, we will love as He does.

C. 4:9, 10 – EXPLAINS:

1. Why God creates – because He loves, He creates people to love.

2. Why God cares – because He Loves them, He cares for sinful people.

3. Why we are free to choose – God wants a loving response from us.

4. Why Christ died – His love for us caused Him to offer a solution to the problem of sin.

5. Why we receive eternal life – God’ love expresses itself to us forever.

Nothing sinful or evil can exist in God’s presence. He is absolute goodness. He cannot overlook, condone, or excuse sin as though it never happened. He loves us, but His love does not make Him morally lax. If we trust in Christ, however, we will not have to bear the penalty for our sins. We will be acquitted by His atoning sacrifice.

D. 4:12 – Jesus is the complete expression of God in human form, and He has revealed God to us. When we love one another, the invisible God reveals Himself to others through us, and His love is made complete.

Some people simply enjoy being with others. They make friends with strangers easily and always are surrounded by friends. Other people are shy or reserved. They have a few friends and are frequently uncomfortable talking with people they don’t know or mingling in crowds. Shy people don’t need to become extroverts in order to love others. John isn’t telling us how many people to love, but how much to love the people we already know. Our job is to love faithfully the people God has given us to love, whether there are two or two hundred of them. If God sees that we are ready to love others, He will bring them to us. No matter how shy we are, we don’t need to be afraid of the love commandment. God provides us the strength to do what He asks.

E. 4:13 – When we become Christians, we receive the Holy Spirit, God’s presence in our life is proof that we really belong to Him. He also gives us the power to love. Let us rely on that power as we reach out to others.

F. 4:18 – If we ever are afraid of the future, eternity, or God’s judgement, we can remind ourselves of God’s love. We know that He loves us perfectly. We can resolve our fears first by focusing on His immeasurable love for us, and then by allowing Him to love others through us. His love will quiet our fears and give us confidence.

G. 4:19 – God’s love is the source of all human love, and it spreads like fire. In loving His children, God kindles a flame in their hearts. In turn, they love others, who are warmed by God’s love through them.

H. 4:20, 21. – It is easy to say we love God when that, love doesn’t cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us – our family members and fellow believers. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image.

Stay blessed!

For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0302-772013 or 0268130615

Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightministriesgh.org

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FIXING MY EYES ON JESUS

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2

INTRODUCTION

Every one of us has problems that feel like we are walking through a “fiery” time in life. What fuel has God the Refiner added to the fire of our life, as He works to reveal Jesus in and through us? Has the heat intensified to an almost unbearable level? Maybe it’s marriage problems, and your spouse walked out? Or financial problems, and now the bank says it will no longer give you time to pay? Or challenges at work, and now the boss says they no longer need you because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Whatever the situation or intensity of the heat, be encouraged! When a refiner purifies gold, he melts it in a pot over a fire. He keeps turning up the heat until the dross, or impurities, rise to the surface. He then bends over the gold to skim off the dross and continues doing so, until he can see his face reflected in the surface of the liquid gold.

JUST LOOK UP!

Gold refined in the fire is a meaningful visual of how God refines us. “But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness” – Malachi 3:2-3. He knows exactly how hot the “fire” needs to be to bring the impurities in our hearts, minds and lives to the surface of our attention, enabling Him to skim them off until He can see His own image reflected in us. When He turns up the heat, we need to fix our eyes on Him, totally trusting Him to know exactly what He’s doing.

Has the Refiner added fuel to the fire? Perhaps a dear one died suddenly or after a very short illness? Or perhaps there is a dangerous disease such as cancer?

Praise God! The cross, the blood of God’s Lamb, trumps anything the devil can throw at us or assign to us!

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” – 1 Peter 1:6-7.

So please let us fix our eyes on the Refiner … the One ultimately in control of everything, trusting Him especially with the intensity of the heat.

Let’s be confident that there will be a healing not just an answer to our prayers, but the prayers of others for us, whether healing without surgery, with surgery, with surgery plus follow-up treatment, or through the greater miracle of the resurrection. And our healing — physical, emotional, spiritual or mental — may also be an answered prayer for others as their faith strengthens ours.

I found the following poem written by a 9 year old which seems appropriate for the situation:

Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee.

Trust Him when thy strength is small.

Trust Him when to simply trust Him

Is the hardest thing of all.

Trust Him, He is ever faithful.

Trust Him for His will is best.

Trust Him for the heart of Jesus

Is the only place to rest.

Trust Him then through tears and sunshine,

All thy cares upon Him cast,

‘Til the storms of life are over,

And the trusting days are past.

As we follow the Good Shepherd through this Valley of the Shadow, we must firmly fixi our eyes on Jesus with a heart of absolute trust. May our prayers be that our faith would be purified, God would be glorified, and Jesus would be magnified through every step we take on this new journey, until the Refiner sees His own reflection mirrored in our lives.

Father God, help me trust You as my faith is purified, until my faith becomes sight, when I see You face-to-face, and the trusting days are past. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

As we continually look to Jesus, He will be the “author and finisher” of your faith. He will lead us to overwhelming victory, even amid the storms of life.

TO PONDER

The Lenten season, the period of 40 days fast, repentance and prayer prior to the celebration of Easter Sunday has begun. Please let us deepen our relationship with the Lord.

Stay Blessed!

Please continue to join us on Asempa 94.7 FM – Sunday 5.30 am., Sunny 88.7 FM – Tuesdays 5:30 am; and Uniiq 95.7 FM – Saturdays 7:30 pm, YFM 107.9 – Sundays 6.30am; for our Radio Bible Study as well as Sunny FM 88.7 FM every Sunday at 3:30 pm. for Hymn and their Stories.

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STAND FOR THE TRUTH

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.“–Ephesians 5:10-11(NLT) 

It is important to avoid the “worthless deeds of evil and darkness” (any pleasure or activity that results in sin), but we must go even further. Paul instructs us to expose these deeds, because our silence may be interpreted as approval.

God needs people who will take a stand for what is right. Christians must lovingly speak out for what is true and right.  

STAY BLESSED

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YOUR ACTIONS SHOULD REFLECT YOUR FAITH

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”–Ephesians 5:8(NLT) 

As people who have light from the Lord, our actions should reflect our faith. We should live above reproach morally so that we will reflect God’s goodness to others.

Jesus stressed this truth in the Sermon on the Mount: “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”- Matthew 5: 15-16

STAY BLESSED

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BE WARY OF UNBELIEVERS

SCRIPTURE TEXT: “You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do.”–Ephesians 5:5-7(NLT) 

Paul does not forbid all contact with unbelievers. Jesus taught His followers to befriend sinners and lead them to Him. Instead, Paul writes against the lifestyle of people who make excuses for bad behavior and recommends its practice to others whether they are in the Church or outside of it. Such people quickly pollute the Church and endanger its unity and purpose.

We must befriend unbelievers if we are to lead them to Christ, but we must be wary of those who are viciously evil, immoral, or opposed to all that Christianity stands for. Such people are more likely to influence us for evil than we are to influence them for good.