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Challenge, Faith, Love

Faith working by Love

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May 6, 2018

- Challenge, Faith, Love

Galatians 5:6 6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Mark 16:1-4  And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

Is your love holding even when adversity impacts your life, when faith and hope have taken a monster hit? Hold on to that Love.

Scripture tells us that there was about six women that came to Jesus’ tomb after the Sabbath. Some of these women could have come from different directions, at even slightly different times, which would explain the varieties in details of that morning among the gospel writers. But let us focus on Mary Magdalene.

Here is what we know about her:

She had suffered greatly until Jesus delivered her from seven demons. After her encounter with Jesus,  she became a loyal follower of Jesus who with other women helped support Jesus and His disciples from their own means (Luke 8:3). Mary Magdalene’s love and loyalty to Jesus is shown not only by her presence at the cross, but as a witness to the placement of the body in the tomb (Matthew 27:61) and her presence at the tomb on resurrection morning.  She had lost hope, but had not lost love. Love brought her and the women to the tomb. Love kept her loyal when hope had died. On resurrection morning, Jesus restored Mary’s hope, but He didn’t need to restore her love. She never lost that!

Faith in Jesus Christ produces Love, “Faith which works by love.” To experience the Love of God in Jesus Christ changes our hearts to love as Christ unconditionally loved us. For while we were sinners, His plan of salvation paid for our sin. “Faith which works by love.” Love, then, does not work of itself, except in the strength of faith. Love is so entirely dependent upon faith that, as I have already said, it cannot exist without it. No man loves a Savior in whom he posesses no confidence. There may be an admiration of the character of Christ, but the emotion which the Scripture treats as, “love,” only comes into the heart when we trust in Jesus. “We love Him because He first loved us.” When we have a belief in His love and a sense of it, then we begin to love Jesus, but love to Jesus cannot exist without faith in Him.

Is your love holding even when adversity impacts your life, when faith and hope have taken a monster hit? Hold on to that love. Jesus will make His presence known to you as He did to Mary Magdalene.

Pastor Rick Mootoo

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Encourage, Faith, Hope, Love

Fear

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May 6, 2018

- Encourage, Faith, Hope, Love

And for every fear, there’s an empty grave. For the Risen One has overcome. 

  • Elevation Worship  

Fear. 

It is both a powerful motivator and a crippling disease. In some cases, fear is beneficial. It prevents us from touching poisonous snakes, jumping off a cliff, or taking other life threatening risks. 

But in other cases, fear can paralyze or cripple us mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. As humans, we spend much of our time fearing the circumstances of our daily lives. We worry and lose sleep over things like unpaid bills, rebellious children, or finding the right spouse. While it’s perfectly normal to feel anxious about our trials, we should not let fear prevent us from living the abundant life that Christ died to give. 

Of all the fears we may have in this life, the fear of death is perhaps the most terrifying. With every passing moment, our bodies are ageing and there will come a day when we are no longer present on this earth. Our society is aware of this fact and often tries to distract us from our own mortality. We are encouraged to buy “anti-aging” creams, dye our grey hairs, and buy a flashy car if we experience a mid-life crisis– anything to make us look and feel young! The truth however, is that there is only one person who can free us from death: Jesus Christ. 

In just a few days, Christians all over the world will be celebrating Easter. On this day, we will acknowledge two, life-changing truths. The first, is that Jesus rose from the dead! And the second, is that Jesus has conquered death once and for all, not just for himself but for everyone who puts their faith in him. Through his sacrificial death and resurrection, Jesus has freed his people from their ultimate fear. He has been given the key to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) and promises that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). What an amazing revelation! 

Because Jesus has overcome sin and death, we can boldly declare that we too, are more than conquerors! Our victory however, is not just for when we get to Heaven. Ephesians 2:6 says that we are we are seated (right here, right now!) in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus. In other words, no matter what trials we face in our lives, in Christ, we have already overcome them! If God has already dealt with the most fundamental human fear by sending his own Son, rest assured, he will definitely help us in all of our daily struggles. So the next time you are tempted to give into worry and fear, remember that Christ has already earned the victory, and in Him, you are victorious too!  

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