Month: December 2025
Quote for the Day
For years, people in churches have remained ignorant and indoctrinated by a narrative lacking in historical context. The average Christian knew very little if anything about the ancient world in the first-century. Few pastors and ministry leaders took the time to study the historical fulfilment of Bible prophecy. However, this is changing. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding is coming to the Church! Cindye Coates
The light shines…
Reflection on Mark 2:23-28
Scripture
“The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Observation
One Sabbath day Jesus and his disciples are walking through some fields The disciples break off heads of grain to eat.
Some Pharisees rebuke them for working on the Sabbath.
Jesus points out that there were times when King David broke the law by eating the sacred bread that only priests were allowed to eat.
The Sabbath was made for the sake of people, and not the other way around. The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath
Application.
The Sabbath is God’s gift to humanity and gives everyone the opportunity to rest at least one day of the week.
In capitalist countries where worshipping money is more prevalent than worshipping the Lord, there is an expectation that shops and services be open seven days a week and preferably 24 hours per day.
Many people have been forced to give up a regular Sabbath day, whether it is Saturday or Sunday in order to comply comply with this demand.
I can remember a time when just about everything except essential services shut down on Sundays, even more so for Christmas Day and Good Friday. Sadly, this is no longer the case.
Perhaps lack of a Sabbath rest is partly responsible for the epidemic of chronic illnesses and mental health issues today.
While the Sabbath is a gift from the Lord, we must beware of the tendency to legalism here. Some Christians in the past tended to be critical of those who worked on Sunday. Let us rejoice in God’s gift without being churlish to those unwilling or unable to embrace it.
Listen
Lord, what do you want to say to me about Sabbath and legalism?
Keith, the abandonment of Sabbath observation is a sad indictment of greed.
When people ignore me, they will worship something, and in modern societies, the pursuit of possessions is a form of worship.
When you take the day off to rest and focus on me, this is a radical confrontation with the powers of darkness.
Sabbath rest means that you trust me to provide all that you need. It is related to tithing in that sense, and to generosity in general. Your focus is on something greater than on creature comforts.
Not Immunity but Peace
Today’s Bike Ride
Quote for the Day
When Jesus said one would be taken, He was not talking about a rapture. He was speaking of slavery. The Romans were always taking men and women into slavery. They had no mercy and no regard for anyone who was not a Roman citizen. When the Emperor Vespasian ordered the siege by his son, General Titus, there were four legions of men. They captured slaves to grow their food, cook their meat, and use any skills they had to serve the Roman Empire with no pay. Cindye Coates
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation..
Reflection on Mark 2:18-22
Scripture
“No one puts new wine into old wine skins. For the wine would burst the wine skins, and the wine and the skins would be lost. New wine calls for new wine skins.”
Observation
John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, so some people came and asked Jesus why did his disciples not fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
Jesus response is typically enigmatic. Wedding guests don’t fast while the groom is with them. The groom, that is Christ, will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
You don’t patch old clothing with new fabric. You don’t put new wine into old wine skins because you lose both the wine and the wineskin.
Application
The fact that John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting on the same day tells us that John’s disciples were observant Jews. Jesus’s disciples were observing the New Covenant, the new wine skin.
When a person comes to Christ, the new wine of the Holy Spirit comes in. The old habits and lifestyles must go away in order to contain the new wine. If not the person will stagnate in their walk with Christ and may even fall away altogether.
When Christians insist on following the Law in any form, whether it is the Old Testament feasts or legalism under the New Testament, this is the old wine skin.
The new wine skin is the Paradigm of Grace rather than law. We are Justified by faith in the completed work of Christ on the cross, not by following rules, traditions and customs.
Listening
Lord, what do you want to say to me concerning new wine and new wineskins?
Keith, the church is the wine skin I have given to contain the new wine of my Spirit. The trouble is that the human soul finds it so easy to manufacture religious wineskins,
Every generation must rediscover this truth and press in to grace in order to keep the wineskin supple.
The Pentecostal churches claimed to be the new wine skin. But they were troubled by the Holiness Movement that birthed them. Consequently, various manifestations of legalism have popped up in the Pentecostal churches over the years.
As for you, my son, stay close to me. Don’t let tradition lock you in. Listen to my Spirit and be ready to act on my words to you.
New Life Narrabri 