We will see Him

Dear Blogger In Ecclesiastes 12:13 the preacher writes: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." - This is the very last verse of the book Ecclesiastes. The Preacher has looked at everything and this is his summary: - Although everything is vanity, or 'like vapour', one things isn't - God's judgement over everything we do. - "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58) Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that your work did not amount to nothing, but that you completely defeated death. Help us to be steadfast and immovable in our faith in you, causing us to abound in work for you. That is the only thing that will stand th...

Ecclesiastes 4:1  Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:  I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter;  power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.    How do you view your 'oppressors', or the 'opressors' of the weak and vulnerable? Do you realise that they too have no 'comforter' - are also prisoners of the broken state creation is in? Perhaps this is the reason that Christ could pray for his enemies - realising that they too are prisoners of war.  Prayer: King Jesus, we find comfort in knowing that you came to win the war and dismantle the forces of the devil.  Would you continue to dismantle their power bases in us.  Also, would you free our enemies from the grip the evil one has on their lives.   Set us free to really worship and enjoy you through the ultimate Comforter - your Holy Spirit.  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also v...

Ecclesiastes 3:11  God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. [12] I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; [13] also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.   God has given man the desire to understand the entire creation, but unfortunately we weren't given the ability to understand creation completely - from beginning to end. Sometimes we can get frustrated at our limited abilities.    But what God has given to us is joy in doing good, the joy of doing your work and the pleasure of eating and drinking with delight. Praise Him for that! Prayer: Father God, this frustration we feel when we are unable to make sense of this world causes us to look to you for all the answers.  Thank you for providing a solid a...

Ecclesiastes 2:10  And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.    Here we read that the writer of Ecclesiastes worked hard for his wages, and enjoyed spending his income on the things that he wanted.  Today we can fully relate to this. But perhaps we can also relate to the Preachers' conclusion: none of the things he bought gave him any lasting pleasure... Prayer: Father God, you said in Psalm 16 that  in your presence there is fullness of joy...  pleasures forevermore!  This is in sharp contrast to our experience in life, and we long to experience that.  Please help us to see how precious it is and will be to have you. ...

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14  It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.   The teaching of the book of Ecclesiastes might feel completely out of step with the 'Postive Thinking' but it is completely in step with real life. Although there are many joys in this world, ultimately everything we accomplish will be forgotten and will become 'vapour' (Hebrew for 'vanity'). Life might seem pointless if everything comes to nothing, but this creates in us a longing for something or Someone that is worth living for.    Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you said " Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Lord, you know how tired we become of chasing the wind - please give us rest in living for You.  Amen  Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my ...

2 Corinthians 3:18     And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever‑increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  Are you becoming more like Jesus?  Are the contours of your character being shaped by his image, formed in his likeness?  Do you increasingly hate sin and love righteousness, as he already does perfectly?  Are you growing in humility and self-giving, which he has practiced flawlessly?  Are you making progress in loving and serving others, as he has always done in perfection?   Excerpt from  Christ Formed in you, Brian Hedges   Prayer: Our Lord Jesus, we know what kind of people you want us to be.  There is only one way to become more and more like you and that is if you shape us with your Spirit.  Please do it, and please help us to participate as we respond to the call of the Gospel in every situation.   Amen R...

Ephesians 2:4,5   But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.   "God's love is relentless in its determination that we be cured of our sins, at whatever the cost to us or to Him" C.S. Lewis   Prayer: Father God, you haven't even stopped at death to save us from the penalty of our sin! We praise you for it, and ask that you will continually renew us as we remember your relentless love for us .  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my blog at:  http://wewillseehim.blogspot.com   If you do not want to receive these messages anymore, just reply with 'unsubscribe please' in the subject line.

Romans 7:18-24   I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing...  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?   Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!   "Grace dismantles your confidence in you, while it gives you more hope and courage than you have ever had."  - Paul David Tripp   Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, nothing good lives in me.  By nature I want to be the centre of my world. But through your grace on the cross you've shown me a better love, a better friend and a better Saviour than I could ever be for myself.  I want to put my trust in you afresh this morning, knowing that you are constantly leading me back to you.  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these mes...

Romans 8:28,29:   And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. " Making us like Jesus was God's plan from the beginning. God 'predestined' or planned for us to be like his Son. Before God even made the world, his plan for you and me was to make us like Jesus. And everything that happens to us is part of that plan." -  Tim Chester,  You Can Change   Prayer: Almighty God, thank you for revealing to us the purpose of everything that happens to us - to make us more like Jesus Christ.  We know we can trust you, because on the cross you experienced the ultimate bad thing to work for our ultimate good.  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my blog at:  http://wewillse...

Romans 1:1-2:  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. "We don't change so we can prove ourselves to God. We're accepted by God so we can change. God gives us a new identity, and this new   identity is the motive and basis for our change."  Tim Chester,  You Can Change   Prayer: Almighty Father, help me to see that I am your child, that you've mercifully bought me at the price of your own Son and that you love me deeply.  Help me to change as I grow in my understanding of who I really am.  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my blog at:  http://wewillseehim.blogspot.com   If you do not want to receive these messages anymore, just reply wi...

Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.   It is easy to think that a Christian has done something to get God's favour.   Even the faith a believer has is a gift from God.  This has two implications: We can't claim any credit for the fact that we believe in God - it is a gift from God.  We can't look down on anyone who doesn't believe - it is a gift from God to believe. Prayer: Father God, we confess that we sometimes feel superior towards those that doesn't believe.  Help every believer to understand that we have nothing to boast in - except for what you have done for us on the cross.  Help us to find our deepest identity in the fact that we are your workmanship.  Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You ca...

Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.    Christ's resurrection means believers will one day also be raised with new bodies.  For now we have been given new hearts. Our new bodies will be raised in order to join the eternal enjoyment of God's kindness to us - undeserving sinners.  "It will take all of eternity to fathom God's love, and those who are saved will never plumb the depths of it." ESV Study Bible Prayer: Eternal God, we praise you for your incredible kindness and love towards us.  In a small we we begin to grasp who you are. Would you please continue to show us how Christ expresses your kindness to us as we daily read your word. Amen Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my ...

1 Peter 1:2 To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.   How can God be Three in One?  I don't know - but what I do know is that only a God like this can save us. God the Father chose who would be saved, the son paid so that we can be saved, and the Holy Spirit causes believers to live as saved people. Although this was the work of thee distinct persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - it is still One God that saves us.   Or as the Westminster Confession Chapter II says: In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.   Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise You that ...

Titus 3:4-8 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. God's kindness and love isn't his faceless emotion towards us. It is a very practical kindness and love made visible when Jesus Christ became man.   After his death and resurrection His kindness became even more practical: Jesus Christ generously poured out his Spirit so that believers can now rest in the knowledge that they will have an eternity with God.   Prayer: Lord Jesus, you really do love us and are very kind towards us!  Thank you so much for your death in our place, and thank you for your Spirit which enables us to now live balanced lives, resting in o...

We interrupt Paul as he is speaking to his readers about God's judgement.  He says in Rom 2:4  " Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"  We're not always sure how to respond to God's kindness towards us. Some feel guilty because 'God is too good for me'. Others think God's kindness it is a free pass to 'do whatever we want to'. God's kindness, tolerance and patience is supposed to lead us to repentance! Prayer: Father God, you are too good for me and yes, your grace means I can do anything wrong and still not be lost.  But as I think about this I realise that being loved like you love me gives me the freedom to confess my sins without fear or reservation.  Please help me to constantly turn my back on sin and live for you.   Rev. Kruger de Kock London You can also view and subscribe to receive these messages via RSS on my blog at:  ht...

Phillipians 3:7-9  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ... Paul uses the language of an accountant here. The only difference is that he turns the 'profit' and 'loss' columns around! The things he used to put in the profit columns - power, prestige and obedience - he now puts in the loss column.   And Christ, whom he used to put in the 'loss' column now goes into the profit column! Question is: is knowing and trusting Jesus Christ your ultimate jackpot?  Do you view everything else differently? Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confess that other things easily become worth more to me that you.  Please forgive me, help...