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Hebrews 9:2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.
This text refers to the original tabernacle set up with the Israelites and used here as a memory jogger for the Hebrews.
This first thing which would be seen would have been the candlestick or lampstand which we now relate to the light of the gospel.
The shewbread was placed on a table which we now signify the sharing of the gospel with.
God had a plan in the beginning and we still have that same plan; we are just realising what it is nowadays!
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Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
Hindsight is always the best sight! When we have been there and done that, you know what is expected and what should be done…
Why then, after we get to know God through Christ and with the Holy Spirit, do we go back to trying to do everything by ourselves once again?
It is through God’s strength, Christ’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s guidance that we can do things – don’t try and leave them out of your life!
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Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The promise God gave to Abraham was that through his seed the Gentiles would be able to be blessed and brought into the church body just as the Jews would be.
The choice, however, is ours to make as to whether we accept Christ as our Saviour just as the disciples and believers before then did.
Jesus Christ is at the centre of our church and remains the focus through which everyone is able to be blessed and have their sins forgiven once and for all.
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Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Have you ever been into a religious institution where you have not felt welcome? I say religious institution because the section of passage depicts what church should be.
The disciples were sent out to share the gospel and include the gentiles into their church – all inclusive, not exclusive!
Christ made His promises for all mankind to accept and believe in and we have a duty to share those promises with all people we meet.
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Mark 13:11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
Jesus warned the disciple they would have to face many hardships, some of them being would be when they are brought face to face with the councils and courts of justice just because they were talking about Christ.
We are going to face people who will try to justify their own lives and try to show that Jesus was not real, and He is not the Son of God. Some of these arguments are going to be difficult for us…
But if we are willing to trust the Holy Spirit to guide us through these times, we will prevail and bring glory to God!
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Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!
Our faith is going to be shown for what it is – if we are willing to demonstrate our faith to others, they will see the object of our faith and may tend to believe because of that faith.
But when we show we do not have faith in someone or something, we get to sow doubt into other people’s beliefs rather than faith!
God is willing and faithful to bless those who demonstrate faith in Him; He may well allow miraculous things to follow after that faith!
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Romans 4:19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - since he was about a hundred years old - and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.
Abraham showed his faith in many ways, not least of which was believing God could accomplish childbirth even when he and his wife were around one hundred years old!
I have heard many grandparents complain of the amount of work they have to do whilst looking after their grandchildren, not because they do not love them but because it is hard work!
But Abraham and Sarah looked forward and trusted God would give them the strength and wisdom to bring up their promised child.
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Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
It may seem harsh that Jesus refused to help this woman in front of the disciples, even when the disciples begged Him to help her; but Jesus wanted this situation to reflect God’s glory.
Sometimes the fast and easy way is not the solution Christ wants from us and the way things happen make us wonder whether He is going to help us at all.
Just maybe Christ is waiting until we acknowledge the glory is His and His alone before He helps us like we want Him to!
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Luke 11:8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
It’s no good just thinking about a wish and hoping someone is going to come along and fulfil your wish; you have to make that wish known so people will be able to do something about it.
When we keep our needs away from God it is much the same thing – but when we are bold enough to bring those needs before God, He is faithful and just in answering our needs!
Sometimes you just have to ask, even when you feel like you should not be asking – just make sure it is for a need and not a desire…
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Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
We like to think we can avoid temptations which come our way but we always seem to give in to some of them all the time!
When we do give in to temptations, we are not just giving in to sinful ways but are allowing evil into our lives when God is trying to protect us from that evil.
God can give us strength to walk away from temptations just as a good friend can help you walk away from something you should not do… we just have to follow His guidance!
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Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
This is not talking about money debts owed here but rather the debt we owe to God because of our sins – this is why some bibles use the word sins rather than the word debts.
The type of things we fall short of all the time are love, obedience and gratitude.
If we fall short of these things toward God, then should we not expect to see these shortcomings from the people around us?
We need the grace extend forgiveness to others just as we expect God to extend His grace and forgive us!
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Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
Each and every day we need our input from God, be it listening to others or reading it ourselves, we need to be refreshed so we can face another day.
This can be paralleled with the time when the Israelites would have to gather their manna each day, just enough for that day, not to store it up; each family would have to gather their own manna.
We cannot leave it to the priests or church leaders to do our reading for us – we have to hear that message from God because He alone is the author and finisher of the Gospel!
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Matthew 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The Jews used to pray something like “the kingdom of thy Messiah come” before Jesus changed the wording to show them the Messiah had already come and now they should look forward to heaven!
This is all about the success of the Gospel – the message being spread far and wide – just as it would be echoed in heaven.
We need to take heed of what Christ has taught us and continue to pass the same message on to all people around us, not just sharing it with other Christians, but everywhere!
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Matthew 6:9 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
When Jesus was teaching the disciples, part of that teaching was about the ‘simple’ things in life like praying…
Jesus wants us to pray whenever we want and whenever we need to, but not forgetting that these prayers should be directed to God, our Father, who lives in heaven.
God is holy and so our prayers should in some way reflect that fact; don’t go asking to win the lottery or to have your enemy fall into hard times – that’s just what happens in life.
Speak to God with humbleness and honestly.
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1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
The more we seek after money and riches, the more likely we will be tempted to do things which are not normal for us or the more we will be willing to take liberties.
This is exactly what the evil one wants – he wants us to fall off the rails and take on a sinful life instead of following Christ; how else can he hope to gain power?
It’s not like we don’t know what is good and what is wrong, but we will be more likely to take on those wrong things in our lives when we are chasing money…
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Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
The things which come from God are always good and do not carry burdens with them; this does not mean we will not have any sorrows or burdens!
When we have to do something for God, we may well have to accept the hardships which come with that work – but the hardships come from mankind and not from God!
The earthly wealth we receive in doing work for God is coming from the world – we should be looking at the spiritual wealth we receive from God when doing His will in our lives…
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Matthew 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
When Jesus was warning the Scribes and Pharisees about their actions, He also wanted them to understand how different they were on the inside because of their ways.
When we allow the world to encroach on the things we should be doing for God, we are allowing the sinful ways of the world to come before God.
We cannot hope to serve God effectively if we are not willing to have our sinful ways cleansed first of all!
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Matthew 23:5 Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
The more leaders get into fashionable garments rather than leading the people, the more people begin to question whether the leaders are doing the right thing.
Jesus picked up on what the Scribes and Pharisees were doing; doing pretty much the opposite of what God wanted of them.
Don’t burden other people just so your burdens can be lighter unless they are asking that of you.
Be humble in what you do and always try to do it for God and not for pleasing mankind.
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Matthew 6:1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Do you do things so others can see you doing them, or do you do things because it is rightful to do so?
To often in our lives we end up doing things to impress others so they will “know” we are good. The only reward you are likely to get is the temporary adoration of those around us.
We should be aiming at a permanent reward we can get from God in Heaven; and not because we want to impress God, but because we have learned through His Spirit this is what we should be doing…
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James 5:12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.
When you try to tell a lie and try to convince others by swearing an oath about it, you have just condemned yourself to a position of non-trustworthiness before everyone!
No matter how much you try to convince others of one thing which is not true, when the truth does finally come out, everything is uncovered for you!
Keep things simple in life by telling the truth and not having to promise on or swear on something else to uphold your stories; this is pleasing to God!