Tag Archives: gift

mmmm 1 peter 1 mmmm

Mmmm Chocolate Hot Cross Buns Mmmm

Aussie supermarkets desperately try to boost their profit margins:

Hot cross buns & Easter eggs appear earlier and earlier each year.

This year in January, supermarket shelves were already full with Easter food.

Christmas had only just finished and Easter was a distant 3 months away.

Retailers don’t waste time when money and sales are involved.

Beyond the chocolate, what is the real meaning of Easter?

Is there a deeper meaning behind the commercialisation of this season?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…

1 Peter 1:3

The bible verse above encapsulates Easter so brilliantly.

God the Father of Jesus showed his love to the whole world.

He mercifully sent Jesus to save us from the mess we were in.

We were powerless to save ourselves.

Jesus died on a cross – the cross in Hot cross buns.

He died in our place and took the punishment we deserved.

God raised Jesus to life again as King of the Universe.

The resurrection is proof that there is life after death.

Those who trust Jesus have new birth into a new life now and in the future.

The Easter egg symbolises new life and a new beginning.

The offer of new life is for everyone no matter how big a mess we have made.

We now have a real and living hope for eternity beyond the grave.

Death is not the end for followers of Jesus.

It is the gateway to life with Him in heaven.

At Easter we remember the sacrifice of Jesus dying to save us.

We also celebrate his resurrection and look forward to being raised to life in the future.

What will happen to you after you die?

Would you like to have a 2^nd chance at life after the mess you’ve made?

For followers, can family, friends, neighbours & colleagues see Jesus in your life?

mmmm Bible mmmm

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mmmm philemon 6 mmmm

Mmmm Chinese Noodles Mmmm

In Australia, we have the best multicultural food from all around the world!

But that’s not the only food that is mouth-watering.

At Bible College last semester, I was eating big mouthfuls of the New Testament.

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Philemon 6

I join with many other Chinese in celebrating Chinese New Year.

What do you hope for in a new year?
What new good things would you like to try?
How would you like to actively change your life?

The Bible passage above was written by Paul to a fellow brother.

Paul was asking this brother to change his attitude towards a friend.

He encouraged this brother to forgive his friend.

Paul hoped his friend would be given a new chance and beginning in life.

What is this “good thing” we have in Jesus?

Followers of Jesus have been given a 2^nd chance and a new beginning in life.

Once we were condemned and facing eternal death.

We had no hope and no way of saving ourselves.

But at great cost, God saved us by sending Jesus to die in our place.

God demonstrated great love by giving us a 2^nd chance that we did not deserve.

We can never earn salvation or pay God back for this gift.

Can we ever fully understand the enormity of God’s love for us?

How do we respond to God’s love?

By accepting His gift of love with humility and thanks
By trusting Jesus to save us and putting our lives in his hands

God’s love is such great news that we want to tell everyone.

By telling others, we are sharing God’s love and light in our dark world.

What do you hope for in the new year?
Do you know the love of God?
Would you like to be given a 2^nd chance and new beginning in life?

For followers:

How often do you pray for others?
Can those around you see that you are different to the mainstream world?
Have you ever shared the source of your hope with others?
Can others see that this hope is at the centre of your life?
Have you experienced forgiveness?

How do we actively share?

By praying for others regularly
By loving others so that they may ask why we are different to the world
By telling others the source of our hope
By showing others that this hope is at the centre of our lives
By giving others a 2^nd chance in life through forgiveness

mmmm Bible mmmm

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mmmm ephesians 2 mmmm

Come for a delicious journey through God’s Word with an inquisitive Sydney Bible College student!

Do you hunger for something more filling than yumcha?

If so, read on ….

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV 1984)

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Growing up in a Christian family, I always thought I had to earn my way to heaven by going to church every Sunday and obeying the Ten Commandments.

But I was always worried that I wasn’t good enough. In my heart, I knew that I wasn’t perfect.

When I was 17, I read this passage in Ephesians and a wave of relief washed over me.

God is a God of second chances (mercy) giving me an amazing gift that I didn’t deserve (grace): His Son Jesus.

I didn’t earn this free gift and there is no way that I can repay God for saving me.

Suddenly a light dawned on me and I fully understood and appreciated the enormity of “grace“.

I was baptised soon after and now live my life in thankfulness to God for his “grace“.

Think about “love”, “mercy” and “grace” – they are closely interconnected:

Grace is clearly the greatest gift we can receive in our lives – once you realise this, you can relax and be free from guilt and worry forever. Nothing else matters.

mmmm Bible mmmm