Gospel News — May-Aug 2013

our prayers to God. We pray - through Jesus Christ - to God. Revelation 5:9 tells us, "Thou art worthy... for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation."

Financial security is much sought after in this world and it is often so hard to find. Money or precious materials are not acceptable to God. The precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only righteous basis upon which God forgives our sins.

Our eternal security depends on how much we value the sacrifice of Christ. For us to have the peace and security we desire, we will certainly find it in Jesus, and by reading the Bible every day with a prayerful heart and keen mind. May God help us with a focused mind as we journey towards the Kingdom.

Spiritual Stalwarts

Bro. Itai Tembo (Chegutu, Zimbabwe.)

It is not enough for us to train our minds to be intellectuals, but this is the in-thing these days.

Most people are busy pursuing academic achievements and prowess, but lack the zeal and time for God's works. We toil and suffer in order to raise fees to send our children to school, with a hope to attain a better physical life. But what we need is not educational prowess, but rather spiritual stamina to conquer all evil schemes thrown at our feet.

The Bible implies that when the natural harvest is plentiful idolatry abounds, increasing in fervency and significance. This is rebellion towards God.

We should first `seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.' (Matt.6:33) Greater attention must therefore be given to educating our spiritual life. The words of Prov.4:23: `Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.' There are things we give too much attention to in our lives, but avoid giving such prominence to God.

Let us open our Bibles and read carefully and meditatively the words of Matt.6:25-34.

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Mary Of Magdala

Bro. Gideon Hankomone, (Mazabuka, Zambia.)

There are times when each of us is disappointed when things don't turn out the way we want them to be. We all love to control the events in our lives and inevitably time comes when we discover we can't. People talk nowadays about their `comfort zone,' and when they find themselves out of it, they become agitated and anxious, not knowing what tomorrow might bring.

Mary of Magdala had had `seven demons' cast out of her by Jesus (Mark 16:9), and her appreciation of what Jesus had done resulted in complete devotion to Him. Now when Jesus had been crucified and buried, we can imagine Mary's sorrow as she came to the tomb with aromatic spices, as was the custom in those days, to embalm the body of Jesus. This indeed is a great `wake-up!' call for us - whether in life or death, we must continue ministering to the Lord just as Mary did (Luke 24:1), committing our lives to God and His Son Jesus Christ.

But God has a way of turning sorrow into joy in our lives. Like Mary, our sorrows can be changed into joy if we continue carrying out the great message of the gospel. Mary brought the news to the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that she heard Jesus telling her blessed words of wisdom for the disciples: "Go to my brethren and say to them `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (Luke 20:17-18).

Lessons for us:

— True devotion to the Lord Jesus always gains its reward.

— Whether we have much or little for God, let's hold what we have in our hearts for Him.

— When disappointments come in our lives, we should always focus on how the Lord endured to the end.

— We must always be near to Jesus and always recognise His voice and listen to what He is telling us.