And can it be? A song that expresses the power of Good Friday

In the moving hymn And Can It Be? written by Charles Wesley, we find expression of the power, joy, mystery, grace, mercy and invitation of the cross. May these words be a blessing for you on the day we remember Jesus' ultimate revelation of love.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Refrain:
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]

John 13:12-13 - This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

 

What will it take? - a brief reflection on our own Aldersgate experience.

Today is marked as Wesley Day - the day that John Wesley had his heart 'strangely warmed' at a church service in Aldersgate street. A lot has been written about his experience and I am sure that you have even heard a sermon on this topic before. However, today I want to make 3 brief observations on Wesley's Aldersgate experience and why I think it's important for us to chew on his watershed moment.

1. Apparently John Wesley went 'unwillingly' to the service that evening. In other words, he was not keen to go - he probably could have come up with many reasons why he couldn't attend, but he still went! It was his personal commitment to worship that put him into a place where God's spirit changed his life. How does this challenge us? What blessings could we be missing out on if we only go to worship when we feel like it?

2. John Wesley was already an Ordained priest by the time he went to the service on the 24 May 1738 - in fact, he had been a priest for 10 years already. This shows me that he was open to the work of the Spirit in his life - he didn't have an arrogance that assumed he knew everything. God is always willing to work in the lives of people who surrender to him.

3. Wesley's experienced energised him to serve God in new ways. He continued to serve within the Anglican Church, but he was passionate about preaching the Gospel in ways that hadn't been done before. When we encounter God, the Spirit moves us out of our comfort zone, for the sake of God's kingdom. We need to pray for the courage to be obedient.

May your heart be strangely warmed today.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Is it with an "I" or "E"? - Immanuel or Emmanuel?

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” - Matthew 1:23

During the Christmas season we will come across the name Immanuel on numerous occasions. However, sometimes we will see that it is spelt with an "E" and then others with an "I." So the question I am asked is: "What is the difference?" 

Here is my answer.

The Hebrew word Immanu'el means 'God is with us' and is found in Isaiah 7, which is then quoted in Matthew 1 with the same spelling or sometimes with an "E." 

So, where does the "E" come in then? The simple answer is that in Greek the name "Emmanouel" is a translation from the Hebrew name Immanuel. The New Testament was written mostly in Greek, and the Old Testament originally in Hebrew. So in order to have the Bible in one language, the Hebrew Immanuel was translated into the Greek Emmanuel. 

But the biggest question to ask is: Does it actually change the meaning? 

And my answer is: Not at all. The meaning is the same. Jesus is the Word made flesh and He is God with us.

As Charles Spurgeon says, "in this great Name IMMANUEL is eternity’s sonnet, heaven’s hallelujah, the shout of the glorified, the song of the redeemed, the chorus of angels, the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky." 

He adds that "John Wesley died with the words "The best of all is GOD IS WITH US" on his tongue.

This Christmas season let us us not get bogged down with trivialities, but rather focus on the important truth - God is with us.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Do you depend on it?

How many times do you look at your phone in a day? Just think about it for a moment and then do the maths. If we consider that we spend about 8 hours/day sleeping (if we are lucky), then we are awake for the other 16 hours. If you looked at your phone 5 times an hour, that would make it 80 times a day, but I think that many people look at their phones more than that.

So, if you smoked 80 cigarettes a day would you consider that a lot?!
If you needed a drink 5 times an hour, would you be worried?
If you looked at pornography more than 80 times a day, what would you think?
If you felt you had to shop every hour of that day would you not be bankrupt?

So, here is the thing - I think many of us (including myself) are tending towards addiction - technology and social media have had huge impact on our lives and we are very good at justifying that we only "use them" for work purposes or to connect with others. This may be true, but then most addicts would say the same thing.

I am challenged to make sure that I am not abusing the 'gift' of social media and technology. Like all good things, when it is abused it can cause endless harm. I need to remind myself daily that I should depend on the Lord and not on other things. This is why a few friends have given up Social Media for Lent - that is a good practise - challenging, but good!

"The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him." - Lamentations 3:25

If you are near Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday 8th March pop into the Wesley Methodist Church at 6:30pm - we are speaking openly about addiction and our guest speakers are going to be including the topics of Technology/Social Media in their address. It should be challenging indeed.

Depend on the Lord today. Use your technology, but don't let it own you.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Join the Fun

We are having our annual Night Market on Friday, from 4 - 8pm. If you are in the Pietermaritzburg area please stop by and support the event. There will be loads of awesome things on the go - and these will be catering for all ages. There are loads of interesting stalls and plenty of good food. Just come and be part of the vibe.

If you aren't in the area, please do us a favour? Pray that the rain doesn't hamper the event - it seems that every year the elements test our patience, so we could do with the prayers :) Thanks.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Watching out for each other

   John Wesley – “Watch over each other in Love.”

      Being part of an accountability group is key to our growth in the faith. It is hard to open up to another Christian, but it will help us keep accountable to the things of God. Being a Christian is hard and we need someone to walk alongside us, encouraging us and keep us focused on the ways of Christ. For this reason, I love John Wesley's comment above .... watching over each other in love is crucial. 

     So, who has your back and who are you watching out for in love?

    Just asking?!

    Living in Grace

    D3LM3