Skip to main content

In Christ is all we need

In Christ is all we need
Luke 5:1-11 NIV; 2 Peter 1:3 NIV.

Praise God! Happy new year!!!

One time, I was meeting friends for a game of badminton. When I arrived at the court, I noticed I had come with the wrong bag. I planned to play in shorts, but I played in trousers, and my very competitive friends were not merciful.

Peter described the Christian life almost like my backpack experience, except that he made the right switch. He picked the one that had all he needed for his journey.

In Luke's passage (Luke 5:1-11 NIV), he records Peter's first meeting with Jesus. It was at a time when he had toiled all night but couldn't catch any fish. So he parked his boat by the seashore. But when Jesus saw Peter's boat, he got into it and used it to teach the crowd the word of God - to meet their spiritual needs. Again, in displaying his divine miraculous power, he used the boat to provide much fish - to meet the physical needs of Peter and his friends. When Peter recognised the divine power of Jesus, he surrendered to Him as Lord. He gave up his boat and everything to follow Him.

Peter then says (in 2 Peter 1:3 NIV), having journeyed with Jesus, that in Him we have everything we need to live godly lives. The divine power of Christ gave us everything when we came to know Him. Did you know you already have everything you need to live for God? His Spirit and a new heart - one receptive to Christ's character and God's will. Like Peter, we can surrender anything unnecessary for godly living, knowing we have all we need to live in Christ. Choose the right backpack; choose Christ again and again this year and watch Him change everything!

Reflect & Pray
What has taken your focus away from God? How might surrendering those things to Him realign your focus? What fruits could this bear?
Thank You, Father, that we have all we need to live for You in Christ.

God bless you exceedingly and have a great 2024,
Sam.

Popular posts from this blog

Accompanied by unfailing love

Ruth 1:1-22 NIV. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break. Happy New Year! The Book of Ruth has been called the most beautiful short story ever written because of its simple narrative. A narrative that shows how God’s provision for our needs or challenges is often woven into the simple acts of human kindness. Chapter 1 shows the kindness of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to her mother-in-law, Naomi (v8, 16, 22), and we’ll see God at work through that. But first, the passage sets the context by introducing us to Naomi’s loss… Naomi lost her family… When Naomi (which means pleasant) is first introduced, we are told of her loss. A woman in a foreign land who lost her family (v1-5). She feels bitter, empty and afflicted by the Lord (v21). Why so? …Because Naomi knows Israel’s God to be the Almighty—Sovereign. He can bring famine to a disobedient Israel (v1) a...

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22 NIV. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gave His life to save us (John...

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, consider it or accept it. But there...