If you had the opportunity to choose where you were born, what would your choice have been? Where would you have chosen? Jesus, being God had this choice. However, He chose to be born in a manger, not exactly the most convenient place.

We have been studying the book of Mathew in the bible and what I have seen constantly is that God’s view point is totally different from the popular world view. He did not prioritise some of the things that we would normally take to heart. Instead, He focused on fulfilling his mission, which was to obey God the Father at any cost and to redeem mankind from the clutch of Sin.

As the year finishes off, I think we should take time out to prioritise our goals and dreams for next year. However, let’s do it from God’s view point for our lives. As we do so, we can begin to enjoy eternal life from now. Jesus said in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Have a great month ahead.

-Pastor Benson

The year has gone by so quickly that I can hardly believe that it’s December next month. I feel as if it was just January yesterday. The bible verse, James 4:14 says“…. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”. This tells us that life goes by quicker than we can imagine.

With life so short, we should make a deliberate effort to fulfil our own quota in God’s plan for our generation. The bible verse, Mark 8:36 states, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” As believers, our primary focus should be to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to please him and to obey him.

Let’s make our lives count for Christ.

Have a great month ahead.

-Pastor Benson

We are all relational in nature. Growing up as children we wanted to play with other children, as teenagers we often want to “belong”, at work we want to be part of a team so that we can contribute our own quota. At church, we love the yearly barbecue event: we can relax and really get to know one another. It appears that relationships are part of our DNA.

Relationships can have a huge impact on how our lives are shaped, particularly close friendships and marriage. This passage in the bible, 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”  stresses the effect of friendships. In this case from a negative perspective. On the flip side, good friendships can strengthen and help us through difficult times. Proverbs 18:24b, states that “…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  However, one relationship that can have the biggest impact on one’s life is the marriage relationship.

I’ll be doing a teaching series called “Relationships & Marriage” at CFT Bristol Church which will focus on pre-marital relationships, marriage and parent-children relationships. All from a biblical perspective.

Have a great month ahead.

-Pastor Benson

When Jesus told his disciples that He would be crucified and return to heaven, they were at a loss as to how they would cope without Him. He had been there to provide for them, heal their relatives, defend them against the harassment of the religious leaders. The list goes on. How would they survive. Jesus knew how they felt: they felt like orphans who would be abandoned.

Our Christian walk sometimes feels like that. We often wonder where Jesus is: we need help, we need direction, we want to make an impact in the life of others as Christians, we want to pray for people and see them healed. We want to be like Jesus.

The good news is that like the disciples of Jesus at that time, He made a promise to send someone who would take His place, when he left to return to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to take his place in the lives of the disciples. We also have the Holy Spirit with us, just as they did. The wonderful thing about the Holy Spirit is that He is always with us and lives in us. So, we are not alone in our walk of faith. Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” – John 14:16.

Have a great month ahead.

-Pastor Benson

I was speaking with someone a while ago about how the decisions we make in life determine where we end up. Looking back at my life, I can point to at least two decisions that I have made that changed the course of my life.

I believe God wants us to make decisions that will ensure we stay in His plan for our life. He says in Jeremiah 29:11, one of my favourite bible passages, “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”. However, the interesting thing is that God won’t force his plans on us. He expects us to depend on Him to make the right choices. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”.

One instance that stands out for me in the bible about someone making a good, but not “God-based” decision was Lot. The bible says he made a fundamental decision about the direction his life should take based on his own personal assessment. Genesis 13:10-11 describes Lot’s decision-making process; “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt….  So, Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.” The story of Lot was a really sad one. He lost everything that was dear to him as a result of this decision.

However, one good thing is that, in Christ, all the wrong decisions we have made in the past don’t have to derail us from God’s plan for us. If we begin to trust and depend on God, now, he can get us back on track. Romans 8:28, says, ”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Have a great month ahead.

-Pastor Benson

One thing stood out to me as I read through 1^st Thessalonians (in the Bible); Apostle Paul was primarily concerned about the faith of the Christians in Thessalonica. He left out references to their personal aspirations, career plans, dreams, goals and ambitions. Although all these are valid, he focused on one thing that had eternal value, their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That was all that really mattered. That was what was eternal and everlasting.

Let’s not lose focus of what is really important; our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and getting to know Him more on a daily basis.

When I became a teenager, a long time ago, the theme that rang in my mind was, “I need to live my life the way I want…. I need to be independent of the control of my parents”. I suspect that this theme drove a few of us and still drives quite a few teenagers today.

We often carry this theme into our relationship with God as well, after we become Christians. We often want to do things “our own way” in some areas of our lives. With this driving theme, it is easy to wade off from God’s perfect plan for us. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “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”.

Let’s determine that we’ll submit to and follow God’s plan for our lives as outlined in his word. I believe that as we do that, we’ll experience the fullness of God’s great plan for us.

Have a great month ahead.

–  Pastor Benson

We often don’t realise how much we have changed till we meet someone from the past that we have not seen in a very long time. It might be a childhood friend, your primary school teacher or a former work colleague. When you start the conversation with them about old times and views, you’ll quickly begin to realise that you are not the same person that you were 10 or 15 years ago.

What changed? Apart from you physical appearance. Your “perspective” is what has changed. I looked up the meaning of the word, perspective in the dictionary. It is defined as “a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view.” Your perspective about things in life will determine how you view people, life, handle opposition, success, relationships, money and the list goes on. It will ultimately affect your walk and life as a Christian.

Paul, the apostle, pleads with Christians in Romans 12:1 to change our perspectives to line up with God’s perspective through the word of God, the bible. This is based on the fact that your life will end up in the direction that your imbibed perspectives take you.

We’ll be starting a teaching series, here at CFT Bristol Church called “The True Perspective” looking the bible’s view point about: God’s plan for your life; What is the church?; Money & Financial stewardship; Worry & Fear; Perseverance; Worldliness; Holiness; Your Mind & Spiritual Warfare; Your body, God’s temple; Dealing with temptation; Quiet time with God – Prayer & Bible Study; Born Again – The new you; The Gospel & Sharing your faith; and Laziness. We’ll carry on with our verse by verse study of the book of Revelations, chapters 1 to 3 during our Friday bible study meetings.

Have a great month ahead.

– Pastor Benson

There is nothing like a good refreshing Christian conference or retreat. You come away, refocused on the things that matter the most – relationship with God and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life. That’s what one full week at the CFT Churches annual anniversary celebration at the London headquarters did to me.

The next step is to ensure all the “refocusing” isn’t slowly drowned in the river of everyday life – school, work, making ends meet and so on.

We started our Relationship and Marriage series last month and it has proved to be quite interesting. We’ll carry on with the series this month, looking specifically at: conflict in marriage; children in marriage; divorce and remarriage.  We’ll be doing a verse by verse study of the book of Revelations, chapters 1 to 3 during our Friday bible study meetings.

We’ll have our communion service on the last Friday of the month, 30^th. We’ll also have our free Easter Sunday service breakfast on the 1^st of April, in the restaurant at the Holiday Inn

Have a great month ahead.

– Pastor Benson