Family Ministry London » GETHSEMANE NEWS

What does Easter mean?

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:54:00 +0000

There are two points which are integral in understanding what Easter means for Christians.

The blood of Jesus Christ was shed to free humanity: The blood of Jesus Christ is the blood that frees us from the curse over Adam’s sin. It is the blood that allows us to enter the new covenant with God and it is the blood that permits us to receive the heritage promised to our father Abraham.

Jesus Christ’s victory over death: After Jesus Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life on the cross, he went to the tomb to defeat death for us. After three days in the tomb, Jesus Christ rose up from death. What this now means for us all, is that anyone confessing Jesus Christ will also have victory over death and receive eternal life.

What do these two points mean for Christians? Put simply, they concern our deliverance, and this Easter we would like to take the example of Mary Magdalene in the following passage, to see what role we all have in our own deliverance.

John 20:1-17

The Empty Tomb

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

Mary Magdalene was someone who followed Jesus and worshipped him without hesitation. She loved Jesus and he knew that. Her deliverance began when Jesus drove seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2). After this, she did not return to her past life as a prostitute, she did not fall back to her old ways and was confident in her faith.

The life of Mary Magdalene is a clear example of the two basic steps to the deliverance of any person.

Jesus Christ is the first step to deliverance – Confessing the blood of Jesus Christ and acknowledging him as our Lord and saviour. Prayer from God’s servants is also included in this first step.
The second step is our own part in the deliverance – Like Mary Magdalene, we shall follow Jesus-Christ, love him and attach ourselves to the truth that is the Bible, the Word of God. With all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our spirit.

Bring LOVE to your Family

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:36:49 +0000

The next Christmas is soon. Surely, when you see how people around you or on the media talk about what kind of presents they would like to give or receive, your heart starts beating and you send your imagination on its way through the stores to find out what would be the best present for this season. But have you ever thought that LOVE is a great gift!

Yes, we believe that LOVE is the greatest gift we can give to people who care about us and people we care about.

With LOVE you will assume your personality, your feelings and weaknesses and stop the feeling of frustration and incoherence that you always had when Christmas time came and you had to buy presents for family members or friends you suspected not to being on your side or even understand you.
With a kind of hypocrisy you made it to take part in the family reunion but it was only your body sitting with the people while your thoughts were accusing them and checking any suspect word to get your needed proof.

By joining, it won’t be the same again: when you put your name on the list of ‘Hands together in Prayer’ Spiritual Leaders and anonymous persons are supporting you day and night to overcome the frustrations and blockages that spared your family from LOVE. With these prayers and actions you will plant true LOVE in your Family. That’s why we call our program ‘Hands together in prayer for more LOVE in every family’. Join the program as ambassador of your family and observe how you make LOVE grow in your Family.

Click here to join

Confession

admin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:03:18 +0000

As the Lord said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.

I do not pretend to call myself a Pastor because I know the Bible inside out and can quote endless passages from memory. I confess that there is not much special about me, I am no historian and I don’t know Hebrew. But, as the Lord said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.

Then Paul said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

May God bless you all.

Pastor Sara

Choose Life

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:02:02 +0000

I recall the day a pastor in Frankfurt, Germany, asked me if I wanted to continue working for satan, or if I wanted to now work for God. I was so offended by this question. I couldn’t believe that anyone would think that they have the right to even suggest that I might be working for satan!

It was later that I learned what a dedicated servant of God he was. He made himself available at all hours for people to call and talk to him. He slept very little and spent much time in prayer. I still think he didn’t quite choose the right approach to convince someone like myself, to go to Church and become Christian. However, he was not entirely wrong.

Many in this world deny it, but we have one major choice that we make in our lives and continue to make every day we are on this earth. In every action we take and with every word that crosses our lips, we are choosing between life and death – between God and satan. Some may think I am being dramatic and some may even suggest that I am trying to scare people into becoming Christian. (From my experience, I know that that doesn’t work. Actually it played a part in distancing me from the Church for some time). However, I find it important that we don’t pretend that being a Christian is only about being nice to each other and going to Church on Sunday. The truth is, if you don’t make a choice between God and satan, then you automatically choose satan without even realising it.

“When people cease to believe in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” (Lord Chesterfield)

We may walk the streets with ‘good intentions’, but through our own ignorance, we allow ourselves to be at the enemy’s beck and call. By doing this we may unwillingly hurt the ones we love and most of all, hurt ourselves. This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t Love us all, on the contrary, he is waiting for you; waiting for you to make the decision to choose life. God’s Love is perfect. He is the perfect father and he cannot wait till you come home. That is why it is written in Luke 15:10

“I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Angels in heaven have a great celebration when someone returns to God and accepts Jesus Christ as their saviour.

So why must we continue to make this choice every day? Isn’t once enough? Well, no – because every day is a constant battle and neither side wants to lose. But with God and the promise of Jesus Christ, we can overcome anything. Even Jesus was tempted by satan after his baptism (Matthew 4:1-11). That is why we need to remember the decision we have made and remember who you are when you are confronted with the enemy and are tested by satan. It is by our actions and reactions, our words and thoughts in such situations, that we are choosing between life and death.

“The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21)

Keep knocking…

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:10:43 +0000

Jesus said, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light…

What motivates you? For those currently seeking employment, this may be a question you have heard more than once recently. But what would you answer? The promise of eternal life? Or what about God’s Love? Are you motivated by God’s promise of prosperity and blessings for you and your whole family? To even begin to see the value of these things can be difficult. Your head may be consumed by so many worries that these promises don’t even seem real.

You’ve got bills to pay, may be you just lost a loved one, you may be worried about your children getting a good education, may be you are worried about finding something to eat today, or perhaps you are scared to be picked on because you don’t have the most fashionable shoes to wear to school. It could be you feel guilty that you haven’t phoned your mother in a long time, may be you are worried a good friend might try to kill themselves, it could be you lost all your savings in the recent financial crisis, or may be you just feel lost. Something doesn’t seem right with your life, but you can’t put your finger on it.

Well, there are some hard truths in the Bible that can seem confronting at first, but the peace that we all seek, can be found in God’s word. This is true. It really is possible to give all your troubles to Jesus.

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

If this passage has spoken to your heart, then I pray to you not to give up. This is where I come to my reference to the title of this article, keep knocking . I know from personal experience that it can take some time to really understand what all this means and to give yourself up, truly accept Jesus and learn what God’s Love is.

This is a journey that we all have to make, but keep knocking at God’s door because Jesus also said:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED.

AMEN

Protect the vision with passion…

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:46:52 +0000

If God put a dream in your heart
Write it -keep it as a treasure
Whatever anyone says, protect the vision with passion…

Here is a link to a beautiful song. The title is ’Persevere’, (which has the same meaning in french as in english).

Roughly translated the lyrics in english go something like this:

If God put a dream in your heart
Write it -keep it as a treasure
Whatever anyone says, protect the vision with passion

When you know, you know with all your being
That this dream does not come from you
Even if you only see the opposite

Persevere…

And so here is the youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TulL0wyWZrs
The song is by Olivier Cheuwa
(http://www.oliviercheuwa.com)

When in doubt…

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:44:06 +0000

In the past, my motto used to be: ‘when in doubt, drink a cup of tea’. It was the answer when there was no answer, and actually it is not such a bad thing to do. Whatever my problem was, I took some time out, boiled the water, let the tea brew, held the warm cup in my hand and sat down at the table to slowly sip at my warm soothing cup of tea – A moment of peace and time to contemplate. However, I often didn’t lose that feeling of doubt and I didn’t always find the right answer to whatever problem I may have had.

This morning I am drinking an espresso from our fabulous machine that we picked up 2nd hand from the ’Kringwinkel’ in Belgium. That is not to say that I don’t still find that tea has a lot to offer as a warm beverage. However, as a means to coming out of doubt, then I have since found a much more productive solution.

Prayer. Nothing can be better than prayer when you are in doubt. Like having a cup of tea, it is a moment where you take time out and find peace. Unlike a cup of tea, it is also a time where you can talk to God and Jesus. So see this as a little reminder when you are in doubt about anything, don’t forget that God has the answer. Also don’t forget always to pray in spirit and in truth.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24 (NIV)

And…

“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”
1 Corinthians 14:15 (NIV)

If you are unsure of what it means to pray in spirit and in truth, visit http://christianforumlondon.org and ask your question on the forum.

God be with you.

Pastor Sara

Daily Devotional of Gethsemane World Ministry

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:33:27 +0000

We believe in God, the Creator of all visible and invisible things and confess that
God is Spirit
God is Love
God is the Truth

We love Jesus Christ who is with us every day till the end of time and let us confess
with Andrew: “We have found the Messiah”
with the Samaritans: “We know that this man really is the Saviour of the world”
with John: “He is the true light that gives light to every man”

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor who teaches us all things.
We confess that the Holy Spirit is God acting in our hearts.

We confess that the Bible is God’s living Word.
We confess that the Word is with God, and the Word is God.
We confess that all things were made through the Word.

We confess that we are Love, created in the image of God.
We recognize ourselves as responsible for all Creation and always act, taking into consideration this Grace.

We administer true justice, and show mercy and compassion to one another.
We do not oppress the widow, or the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor.
We do not think evil against each other in our hearts.