Thoughts from a service of the New Apostolic Church Southern Africa.
‘If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.’ (Proverbs 25:21-22)
For many; it has been a tough day, a tough month, and a tough year. We have gone through ups and downs. We have gone through successes and failures. And life can get very tough at times. In the book of Psalms, which says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;’ to be still meant to stop talking, to become quiet for a moment, to stop questioning, to stop reasoning. Let us become quiet in our souls and listen to our God. The Word says, ‘and know’, we have confidence in our God, we have faith in our God, and we know that He is in control.
It says, ‘I am God’.
He is there for us. He is all-knowing, He is all-seeing. And wherever you find yourself today, God is present. He knows what you are going through. He knows what you have lost, and He is there for you today. God has a message for you today. He says, let your love for God allow us to love and care for our neighbour.
Where does it all start?
Our love for God starts with God because God is love. Everything He does, everything He allows is done through love. In the beginning, He created this earth. He created a paradise and He created man and woman in His image. And then, they disappointed Him. And He allowed them to exit the Garden of Eden.
But it didn’t end there?
He said He would take care of us. He also said that He would send someone to bruise the head of the serpent. And then He sent His Son. Jesus came to the earth, showing and demonstrating love. He gave His life for you and me. Unselfishly, He gave His life for us. Then He says, ‘and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. The conclusion of the work of salvation is also love. It is through love that we are going to enter the kingdom one day.
The Apostle Paul writes, he says, ‘And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’ That is what we want to work on as we pray to God, as we speak to Him, as we learn to know His will for you and me. It brings about love in our lives, and we love Him back. And it is through this love that we can love others. Our love for God allows us to love and care for others. Look to Jesus, overcome, and value your neighbour because God loves him. In reaching through prayer and a good word out of our hearts because love has been poured out in our hearts. May God bless you all as we now go forward to the next few days that we reconsider where our neighbour is in our life and we open our hearts to forgiveness, reconciliation, and above all, love. Amen
Excerpt from NACTV Broadcast. Divine service conducted at Silvertown, Cape Town by Shepherd Van der Hoven.
