Good morning people whose Saviour prioritised intimacy with His Father.

Luke 5:16 NIV But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

As the Son of God, Jesus had a certain Self-Sufficiency. Think about it. And yet, Jesus frequently stepped aside from the essential work that He was doing to spend time in prayer.

In this act, we see Jesus’ commitment and desire for intimacy with His Father. We see that prayer is more than just asking God to do something for us. Prayer is primarily about communion with God, and this is what Jesus wanted more than anything else.

Jesus could have just prayed on the run. In His busyness (fruitfulness), Jesus could have simply acknowledged God in all of His ways (and I’m sure He did). But this is not the only thing that Jesus did in prayer.

The essential point that God made repeatedly clear in His Word about Jesus and prayer was Jesus’ priority of regular private time with God alone. And this is what Jesus tells us to do too.

Matthew 6:6 NIV “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

It’s great to pray as we go, but all of us need a place to go when we pray.

I hear the Lord say, “It’s time to rediscover the secret place with Me.”

Good morning people whose Lord and Saviour is willing to heal and set free.

Luke 5:12-13 NIV While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

I think this man voiced what many of us think and ask today:

God, are You willing to heal me?

When a person has struggled with something for a long time, it is easier to accept that this is the way that it will be, than it is to still believe for healing. While we may say that we believe that God heals, sometimes we wonder if He is willing to heal us.

This man with leprosy had no doubt tried everything he could to be healed. Maybe this is your story too.

And then he met Jesus. He met the One whom he had heard could heal. Therefore, his question was not about Jesus’ ability to heal people, but about Jesus’ willingness to heal him.

I don’t understand why some people are healed and some are not. I know that the journey of faith and continued trust to believe is difficult. I don’t want to minimise any of this today.

Instead, I feel to point us to Jesus’ answer to this man with leprosy as I believe it is His heart still for you and me today.

I hear Jesus say, “I am willing!”

Father, may miracles happen today in Jesus’ name.

Good morning people who walk with the God who sees ahead of time.

Luke 5:4-6 NIV When he (Jesus) had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

Luke 5:10b NIV Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

Jesus exemplified true prophetic ministry. He saw the catch of fish before Peter had the catch of fish. He saw Peter fishing for people before Peter thought about fishing for people.

Our eternal God knows our future before it happens. This is because He is eternal; He is from everlasting-to-everlasting right now. God exists outside of time, therefore, to Him, there is no past, present or future – there is just now.

One way to describe pure prophetic ministry is God bringing us into His plans.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jesus called Peter into what He Himself came to do; to seek and to save the lost.

Today, God is calling you into more; He is calling you to be part of what He is doing on earth.

Good morning people who have received Jesus and who share Him with others.

Luke 4:42-44 NIV At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

We must not try and keep Jesus to ourselves.

In this passage, people tried to keep Jesus from leaving them. On one hand, this is commendable, and it is even right. We should want Jesus to be with us always.

But Jesus’ response was that there were other towns that needed to hear the good news of the Kingdom of God also.

I am thrilled that you and I have heard and received the good news about Jesus and His kingdom rule! PRAISE THE LORD!

But we must remind ourselves that Jesus wants to save others from their sins as much as He desired to save us from our sins! Jesus is not just for us; He is for us and for others, for all others.

Good morning people who believe the right gospel of the kingdom of God.

Luke 4:42-44 NIV At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Jesus came to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.

The gospel of Jesus is the gospel of the kingdom of God. It is rooted and grounded in love and grace, but it is not just about love and grace.

The central reality of the kingdom of God is the authority of God and His rule.

In heaven, God’s rule is absolute. It is rooted in love, but it is not weak or up for debate. God’s rule is sovereign; God is Sovereign. He is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

Acts 17:24 NIV “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.”

The power of God’s love is inseparable from the power of God’s rule. Where Jesus does not rule, His love does not transform.

Jesus came to set the captives free, and this freedom comes when people receive the good news of the kingdom of God; His rule on earth as it is in heaven.