All For Love

At the CROSS

In John 15:13, Jesus taught His disciples that no greater love exists than for a person to lay down their life for another person. I am certain the disciples all nodded their heads and acknowledged their factual understanding of that statement. perhaps they even thought of family members or friends and wondered whether they would be able to lay down their life for them. However, Christ did not leave them to wonder whether there was anyone willing to do this for them.

Shortly after making this statement He went out and showed them His love by actually laying down His life in their place. This one display of love was beyond anything these men had ever before encountered. They may not have fully comprehended what was happening at the time, but as their understanding grew, so did the impact this event had on their lives and their ministries.

However, Christ's sacrifice was not limited to the inner circle of the disciples. His love extends to each of us as well. The fact that God loved us enough to be willing to die for us is in reality more than we can comprehend. He was not obligated, or compelled from some sense of duty. His actions were motivated completely out of love, not just for mankind as a whole, but for each of us as individuals.

The most beautiful part of why Christ died at Calvary was that He died there for us. It is sad to think it was necessary, but comforting beyond words to know He was willing to do whatever was required, up to and including dying, in order to have a relationship with us. His love for us is not merely a bunch of words in a book, but a reality expressed in the most visible and memorable fashion possible. Never was any statement more true than the words of the familiar song -

"At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your Glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now?"

Renewing

No Youth Imapct Meeting on 1st May 2010

Hi Everyone,

Please take note that there will be NO YOUTH IMPACT Meeting on 1st May 2010. We will see you all again on the 8th May 2010.

Stay connected with Jesus and God Bless You.

Serving God

Worship

Quite Time

Satan will fight you tooth and nail to keep you from your daily meeting with the Lord. He hates nothing more than seeing a Christian getting down to business with God, because he knows that such believers are dangerous to his kingdom of darkness. Watch out for these problems:

The Battle of the Blankets

Almost every morning you will be tempted to hit the snooze button and sleep in and shorten or miss your time with God. Resist at all costs! Go to bed early enough and with thoughts of Scripture (the night before leave your Bible open to the passage you'll read in the morning) and get out of bed immediately when you wake up!

Concentration

Your mind will easily wander. Make sure you are ready. Try praying out loud in a whisper to help you stay alert when sleepy. Avoid having your quiet time in bed. Take a shower, drink some coffee, and keep a notebook handy so that when your mind wanders to a task that you need to do that day you can write it down, and then forget about it until later. Take control of wandering thoughts. Keep bringing your mind back with quiet firmness and without scolding yourself.

Dry Seasons

Sometimes you won't feel like you are getting anything out of your daily devotions. Just realize that obedience to truth is more important than following your emotions. Feelings come and go but the Word of the Lord endures forever (1 Peter 1:25). If you only had a quiet time when you felt like it, the devil would make sure you never felt like it. Dryness can be caused by:

• Disobedience - is there unconfessed sin in your life?
  
• Your Physical Condition - Are you getting enough rest?
  
• Rushing - Don't try to do too many things. Be simple.
  
• Routine - You have to watch out for staleness.
  
• Selfishness - Start sharing your insights with others. Don't hog them!

Satan's most vicious attacks will come in connection with your desire to be diligent in your quiet time. He knows that if he can keep you out of the Word, he has defeated you. If he can keep you from spending quality time with the Lord at the start of a day, then he's won the battle. Expect these types of attacks. Dropping your quiet time is usually the first step in spiritual backsliding. You must persevere!