A FAITH DRIVEN LIFE

The Image of God in a Kingdom Good evening. Over the past two weeks I have been spending time studying the Kingdom of God and what it means for a kingdom to be a kingdom. I will be sharing a series of blogs that address this subject. Section 1 is all about the image of God in a kingdom. A well known section in the gospel of Matthew that most of us have read or heard many times reveals a very important fact. Matthew 22:15–22 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying th...

Good evening! Over the weekend our church was "confronted" with a powerful word that really spoke to my heart. The message shared is, and should be, at the centre of our walk with God, but it is also a message of truth to non-believers, a message that "cuts deep" to the core of us all. We have to know and understand the John 15 message that Jesus shared, to ultimately draw close to Go So what was the message? At its core, we are compared to branches grafted and connected to a vine, Jesus, in a vineyard. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, NIV). It speaks of our lives being pruned so that God can remove everything in us that is not Christ-like. And what does this painful process produce in the end? Beautiful fruit. The cut is deeper than we think Some weeks back, a reference was made to the pruning process, and a comment that stayed with m...

The day Jesus saved my life was a very special day—one that I have reflected on many times over the years. Not long ago, the Holy Spirit brought that moment back to my remembrance once again. Salvation is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It is the fulfilment of the very purpose for which Jesus sent Him. The Holy Spirit convicts the heart, revealing truth in a way that nothing else can. He penetrates both heart and mind, bringing a clear division between light and darkness, just as the Word of God describes (Hebrews 4:12; John 16:8). For me, it was a definite and unmistakable revelation of the truth that sets us free (John 8:32). It was the realization that Jesus had paid the full price for sin—once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). In that moment, I understood that salvation was not something I could earn, but a gift of grace purchased through His sacrifice on the cross. Later in life, however, it became difficult to understand why full victory and a meaningful life ...