September 2015

As a Kingdom community, we are to relate to one another in covenant love. What is this love like and how do we fulfil the command to love one another with a covenant love and not just a convenient love? In the light of 1 Corinthians 13, we begin to consider the differences between Saul’s and Jonathan’s love for David.

The book of Hebrews tells the wonderful story of a great heart transplant. Our holy and righteous Father made obsolete the Old Covenant which cleansed the body but not the heart, and sent his Son to establish a new and better Covenant so that we, like Jesus, could be made holy and righteous and enjoy perfect fellowship with our Father by receiving a new and perfect heart. With this new heart we can enjoy God’s rest, strengthening and presence and should put it into action!

Reading Zechariah 3, we discover that God is ready to forgive us and dress us in clean clothes, and that the accusations of Satan have no power over a child of God. We find that God gives us freedom and prepares places where we can walk. We also learn that the people of God should invite their neighbours to sit peaceably with them and share the goodness of God.

What does it look like when a church opens its windows wide to let the fresh air of heaven flow in and the life of the Spirit flow out? Key moments in the lives of Noah, Rahab and Daniel show us what can happen when we live with open lives, open hearts and open windows.