Faithful Christian Commitment and service
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
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It is great to able to start another week with you all and we pray that these devotions help us all to focus our week on Jesus!
Here at the hospital we have a growing community, including people from the UK, Brazil, US and Australia! We will be welcoming more people as we head into spring and are excited at the work groups coming up!
Devotion
1 John 1: 1 -10
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Many times we hear of people who say they don’t go to church anymore, because they can watch services and listen to preachers on the TV or internet. These services are a great resource and can get the gospel into places it would be impossible to reach otherwise. However, if people stop going to church , how will this effect us?
This is a challenge, the preachers we can see on TV are often famous and very skilled, with musicians to challenge anything we have in our own churches. It can all seem so much more exciting on TV. So what does it lack?
Two practical things which are missing this way are communion and offering or tithes. These are part of worship and we cannot worship God fully without these things.
In 1 John 1, a recurring theme is “fellowship”. We cannot have fellowship when we are sat at home with our TV or computer. Why is this important? There are many reasons.
Fellowship means partnership, friendship. All these words end in “ship” – we are all in the same boat, part of the same body of Christ, supporting and encouraging one another. We all need this support from each other.
Fellowship means:
Comfort
We can experience comfort when we meet with others, comforting each other with the comfort given to each of us by God.
Rest
Like a hospital provides for those who are sick, the church also provides restoration and healing.
Power
Each of us alone is weak, but as we are united by the Holy Spirit and come together we become strong.
Unity
As we meet together this is a witness to others, as they see the love between us.
Rejoicing
We can enjoy one another and rejoice in the Lord together.
Counselling/ guiding
We all need this at times from each other and can benefit from the experience of others.
In Acts 2:42 we read that of the early church that: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” They committed themselves to fellowship in each of its aspect and as they did, we need to come together as one family, to thank God for all that He has given us.
Speaker: Rev Suheil Bathish
Comments
"Peace and Grace to all. We miss everyone very much. You are in our prayers. Sue and I talk about the wonderful time serving Christ alongside y'all." Darryl & Sue, USA