Gospel News — Jan-Apr 2013

Paul exhorts: "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love ... There is one body, and one spirit even as you are called in one hope of your calling ...One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all" (Ephesians 4:1-6). Joined in that same unity of spirit and mind we, too, can know His care and nearness which strengthens us from day to day.

Thanksgiving

Bro Joseph Kwesi (Cape Coast, Ghana)

The scriptures urge all people to worship the Lord with thanksgiving. The Psalms speak a lot about this, and a letter written by Paul to the Colossians states that the Lord should be praised with thanksgiving at all times. We know that all good things come from the Lord, but some misfortunes also result from the designs of the Lord (Job 1:16,17), the story of King Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:10-13) and the sufferings of Israel during the times of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-12).

Though all the children of God will go through tribulation at some time in life, the Lord has to be praised always. Believe in Him and your end will be great. He has done it for me and for many others; believe and He will do it for you too. Worry not about the length of time it will take, nor that you do not see Him. The powers above will prevail in your favour to make you win in life despite the odds.

Remember that out of thanksgiving, the yoke of `Assyrians' in your life, and the `walls of Jericho' in your path will crumble before you. You will definitely give birth to a multitude like Sarah (Genesis 18:9-15), Elizabeth (Luke 1:40-57) and the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-17) celebrate their pregnancies at an old age, when they had no hope. Praise the Lord and prosper in health (3 John 2), wealth

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(Deuteronomy 8:17,18) and position will be yours (Daniel 1:17-20).

Praise one, praise all. Therefore we ought to be thankful always to our Almighty, heavenly Father for all the benefits that we receive from His hands. Let us all look up unto the Lord for His glorious Kingdom that our Lord and Master Jesus is coming to set up.

Prepare Your Minds for Action,
Be Sober Minded (1 Peter 13-16)

Bro Joseph Chrivious (Mazabuko, Zambia)

Peter proclaims Christ as the shepherd of God's people. His letters teach endurance. Everyone in this world suffers in one way or another. Climate change and the like are affecting human lives today, yet man cannot do anything positive to bring it to an end. We just have to make ourselves ready for the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which is very near. If we die before his coming and we die in him, we shall also be raised in him (Isaiah 26:19; 1 Thesss 4:16).

Paul wrote a letter to the believers in Rome with good news for the baptised believers there. Though they would die , they would live again as long as they had live according to the will of God in this life (Romans 6:1-4). Therefore baptised believers are no longer slaves of sin but of righteousness (Romans 6:16-18). After baptism we are changed, and so are our masters. Before baptism we are slaves of sin, but after this act we become slaves of righteousness – being saved by the Lord Jesus Christ only. This is the beginning of a new life in Christ.

When we are baptised, we take our first step in the Christ-centred life. This is a very serious step to be taken by any committed Christian. That is why we are to be sober-minded. We children of God should always stay awake since we do not know the day of our Lord's coming (Matthew 24:42). If we sleep, our Lord