Often, we find ourselves in life situations where the reality is so different from what we had thought, desired or planned for our lives. What does one do when life gets complicated? When things are messed up? Pray and surrender our complicated mess to Jesus. (Matt. 11:28-30) Ok. Then, what?

Here are a few vital principles that we need to constantly remember and incorporate into our day-to-day lives as we journey towards victory. Read more

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate [Prov 31:30-31]

A teacher at school put this question to little Johnny in math class, Johnny, suppose your mother made a cherry pie, and there were ten of you at the table: your mother and father and eight children. How much of the pie would you get? Johnny answered: One-ninth. No, no, James. Thank again. There are ten of you in the home. Don’t you know your fractions? Yes, ma’am, he replied, I know my fractions, but I know my mother even better, and she’d say that she didn’t want any pie. All of us who have been blessed to know the love of a mother can remember her countless unselfish acts of devotion. Mothers are… Read more

He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust [Psa 103:10-14]  Read more

When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you, … Psalm 42:6-8 MSG When we are facing our worst circumstances or the deepest valleys, we usually end up: Complaining. Worrying. Hurting. Fighting. Anxious. Bitter. Reckless. Shattered. Broken. (Add  any other adjective you can think off) Read more

Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm…Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.[Eccl 4:11; Gal 6:2]

A Jewish man named Yankel shared this testimony about how he survived the Nazi concentration camp as a young teen-ager. He was herded onto a train being taken to Auschwitz, and the boxcar was left on the railway tracks overnight. When night fell it became deadly cold in the boxcar, but the prisoners were given no food or blankets. Sitting next to Yankel was an elderly Jewish man who was shivering from head to toe. Seeing the old man suffering, Yankel wrapped his arms around him, and rubbed his arms, legs, face and neck to warm him up. Read more

But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power [Acts 2:24, CEV]

According to C.S. Lewis, the first fact upon which the whole Jesus Movement is based is a number of people who witness to an empty cross & empty grave – a group of frightened sceptical Christ-followers who boldly declare that they have seen Christ raised to life from the dead.

Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? Jesus’ resurrection confirms all his claims: Jesus claimed to be God in human form, he claimed to be the Messiah predicted in OT prophecies, he claimed to have the authority to forgive sins, he claimed that he would give his life for the sins of the world, but that God would raise him back to life on the third day. These would have all been empty claims if Jesus had not actually risen from the dead as he promised. The fact that Jesus was raised to life on the third day proves that all his claims were indeed true and that we can trust what he says about everything else – about God, the world, sin & judgment, salvation and life beyond the grave.

The cross and the grave are still aucasinosonline.com/nz/ empty today…over 2000 years after the event. On this resurrection Sunday we celebrate the greatest day in history as we rejoice in the presence of the Living Christ who is in our midst. We can entrust our lives to his promise: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die [John 11:25].

The greatest day in history, Death is beaten, You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive
The empty cross, the empty grave, Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it out, Jesus is alive…He’s alive!

If you don’t know the risen Christ, today is a great day to put your trust in him: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved [Rom 10:9].

Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey – riding on a donkey’s colt. [Zech 9:9]

The Sunday before Easter is celebrated in some churches as `Palm Sunday’. It marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem when crowds of people spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road and hailed him as Messiah-King, the Son of David. Matthew’s record of this event sees it as fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 [Matt 21:4]. During OT times if a king came in peace he would ride on a donkey instead of on a war stallion. Jesus’ choice of a donkey’s colt to enter Jerusalem reflected both his humility and his peaceful intentions. But he was clearly also fulfilling OT messianic prophecy and accepted the people’s enthusiastic acknowledgment of him as the long-awaited Messiah-King.

King Jesus is humble, but he is powerful. As Servant-King he rode a humble donkey, washed his disciples’ feet and submitted himself to a common criminal’s death on the Cross. But as Conquering-King he commanded the forces of nature, rebuked the powers of darkness and dealt a crushing death-blow to Satan by his death on the Cross: [Christ] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross [Col 2:15].

Jesus is our conquering King and when we follow our Lord in passionate devotion he will always leads us to victory: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession [2 Cor 2:14]. Are you facing circumstances that are pulling you down and threaten to depress you because they seem out of control? Do you feel Satan’s breath in your face as he seems to be taking the upper hand in the struggle over your life and family? Take heart…take authority over the enemy – whatever victory you need today, you’ll find it as you turn and fix your eyes on Jesus, your triumphant King!

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6)

This is the familiar story in the Bible where Adam and Eve messed up big time! Every time we read Genesis 3, we partly blame it on them and forget that we too mess up every day! Like the first couple, we have the following scenario played out on a regular basis:

  • We listen to God’s Word that is distorted (v.1-3) and denied (v.4-5) by Satan
  • We respond by defying (v.6-7) God’s Word
  • Finally, we are forced to receive the decree(v. 8-19) of God’s will

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That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day [2 Cor 4:16]

Do you know what it is to be really tired…not just physical tiredness, but deep mental, emotional and even spiritual weariness? I’ve been there – felt that! The good news is that God knows better than anyone the trials, circumstances, and people that wear you down. And he knows that you need time to be renewed and refreshed by him. Our friends, family, and entertainment can be great sources of fun and rest to be sure, but the only consistent and true source of renewal we have is spending time with our heavenly Father. Remember his promise: …those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint [Isa 40:31]. Read more

God, God . . . my God! Why did you dump me miles from nowhere? Doubled up with pain, I call to God all the day long. No answer. Nothing. I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.”

Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship, and punctuate it with Hallelujahs: Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel. He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening. Read more