TEXT - Luke 8:23-25.
"But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him saying, Master, master we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm".

We see that the Lord's disciples were on a journey, just as we are on a journey through life. When the storm hit them it must have been very frightening, as they realized it was beyond their capabilities to put a stop to it or even survive it. We read when they realized this, they had enough sense to call on Christ, who they recognized as their Master. They did not just tell Him, but we see the sincerity in their desperation in the words "Master, Master we perish". We see how He exerted His power to order the storm be still and there was a calm. We can see that although the storm was over, it is recorded how they were afraid at the power they had witnessed and Christ said unto them, "Where is your faith?"

This was done as an example for us as we travel through life. The disciples must have been so thankful to have had Christ with them. We too, must ensure that we invite Christ into our lives each and every day. We do this when we start our day in prayer. We strengthen this within us as we attend divine service, take into our mind the Word of God preached, which is Christ, and take part of Him and His spirit in the partaking of Holy Communion. Many storms confront us in our lives, crisis times when we feel we cannot cope. Break down in communication in our married lives. The cares of the world. The worries. The fears etc. Do we continue on believing we can go it alone, we do not need help! Or as the disciples of the Lord, do we recognize that the situation is getting out of hand, and in all sincerity, call on the Master and confess to Him, We perish! In a marriage crisis, if this is done together, before the matter gets out of hand, the Lord will, as He did with that storm, rebuke the storm in our lives and we will inwardly hear His voice, "Peace be still". As Christ had disciples in those days to wonder and speak of His healing power, so today He has chosen men to continue with this work, and these should be sought out in time of crisis if support is needed. A very good example of this, we read in Acts 27, where Apostle Paul was confronted with 273 souls on a boat that was about to be shipwrecked, and he prayed for them and said "Be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you". They held to his word and were saved. We see therefore how important it is for us always to have Christ with us, to recognize when we need help, to recognize Him as our Master, to call upon Him to confess that to believe He will help, without Him we perish, and to thank Him for His love. To fulfil this, we must recognize His right to also ask us the same question He asked His disciples on that night of the storm, "Where is your Faith?"

APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND

TEXT – Ephesians 4: 1-3.
‘I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Our minds should come to the Alpha (beginning) of Gods’ Creation.  He said “Let Us” Genesis 1-26.  We see the unity as one.  And we are urged to keep this unity to-day.  Galatians 3:28 tells us clearly “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Unity is already in them. All should have the Spiritual oneness of the body and that is the miracle of God’s Grace.  Our only role is to maintain the unity that Jesus died to create in ourselves, endeavouring at all times to keep that unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace.  Apostle Paul, after his conversion, advised the people they should walk worthy, with all lowliness and meekness always being consistent to observe, long suffering, forbearing one another in love.  These virtues will help to keep the unity and peace.  He reminded the people that we are all called in one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all and everyone is given Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  It is so important in these last days for this unity to be preserved.  Jesus prayed for this in earnest tones before He went to the cross. John 17:22-24.  “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:  I in them, and thou in me, that they may  be make perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and has loved them, as thou hast loved me.”  If we behave as Christians and disciples of the Lord, we must not be pretentious or showy to our calling, but be gentle to all, apt to tech, patient in humility to all, even to those that may oppose the teachings of the Apostolic Christians, but instead we must initially pray for them, so that they may know the truth.  Read 2 Tim. 2:24.  The moral of this word of life, is that believers and servants of God must avoid compromise with the world.  God teaches “Stand fast in one Spirit with one mind working together for the faith of the Gospel – Phil. 1:27. “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one Spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

ELDER DAGSI DULUNAG
ABRA, PHILIPPINES.

TEXT - Ecclesiastes 3:1.
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven".
King Solomon searched for the role of man and woman and wrote these words about time.  Time plays a major part of all of our lives, and is probably the one single factor that rules our lives without realising it. Before we make a move in life, we measure it in time. We review our past results in time. The Bible uses the term "time" in many different ways. As a measure of time (day, year etc.). As an appointed time. A set and definite time. A time to come. A figurative example. Everlasting time. Etc. Our text teaches us that there is one who views time in a way that we in our minds cannot even comprehend, for we cannot see all times under the heaven but we know that God can and in verse eleven, we find "He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end". This should give us comfort to know that in God's time all things shall be made beautiful, and we should not spend our lives worrying about those things and times that God has in hand.

When our Lord walked on this Earth, He also taught about how we should handle time. Matt. 6: 34 "Take there fore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof". We see that if we try to extend our plans and more so our worries and cares beyond the day or present time, those cares will seem to grow and soon in our minds will be insurmountable. There is also the risk that the evil of the day will catch up with us and even perhaps will go unrepented, for as we lose our trust in God that He has it all under control anyway. There has always been those that claim to be able to look into future time and tell one's fortune and today, more than ever, many are worshipping many things that they believe can point their way to a future destiny. God's words are unchangeable through-out time and we find written in Deuteronomy 18:10 "There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch". We must in all meekness give our destiny or future time into the hands of the one who has that right. Matt. 28:18 "And Jesus came and spake unto them saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". A sister recently sent to me the following verse to show us how we should help manage our time.

TAKE TIME
Take time to think; it is the source of power.
Take time to read; it is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to play; it is the secret of staying young.
Take time to be quite; it is the opportunity to seek God.
Take time to be aware; it is the opportunity to help others.
Take time to love and be loved; it is God's greatest gift.
Take time to laugh; it is the music of the soul.
Take time to be friendly; it is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream; it is what the future is made of.
Take time to pray; it is the greatest power on earth.

APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND

TEXT – Psalm 119: 105.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path".
How sure and true is this statement. Can we fully agree on that without argument? Have we no difficulty to hear GOD'S WORD, or better said, to be able to hear it out of the maze of all the voices in us and around us? Does our way not often lay in darkness and we can still see no light? The Psalmist also knows only too well of such times in his life (Psalm 119: 67) "Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now have I kept thy word". Through God's mercy and goodness, he came to realize the greatness of the Word of God. His eyes were opened. He could see the light! Out of the new and wonderful sight originated this glorious Psalm. With his whole heart he loves the Word of God, His Commandments! Therefore does he keep them! I think that this is the key to understand the ways of God: The Love for
Him. Now, to mention further meditations:
1. At first, God's Light is hidden to man.
Since the exclusion from Eden, man is separated from God. He cannot recognize Him by himself (Matt. 11:25)The light of God's Word as well as His closeness are not recognizable to the estranged man. As the clouds hide the Sun, which renders all life here on earth, so is God hidden from the sinful man. Through Jesus Christ it became possible to see God. God was brought near to man. Only as a Newborn
Creature can we have fellowship with God and recognize His light. This however is a growing process. How often does God take us simply by the hand, because He loves us, and leads us like the blind?
2. My own "I" stands in the foreground.
When our "I" stands in the foreground we see only darkness. This darkness is our own shadow. It is not God who hides Himself from us, but we stand in front of His light. Exactly the same, when we want to push our works in front of others "into the right light". May we be humble. God sees into our hearts! Only those who have a clean heart, will see God. (Matt. 5:8)
3. We are the ones seeking after this way, which God laid down for us.
How is it, when one in total darkness seeks the way with just a torch? Even a well known way, through a forest, can turn out wrong by night. Repeatedly, we want finished recipes from God, an exact description of the different stations, which may lay ahead. But He often only says: "Don't be afraid, I am with you (Isaiah 41:10). Set out on this way in full trust. Live according to My instructions, My Word!" this is the precious promise of God: "If you seek Me with all your heart, so will I be found of you".(Jerem. 29:13-14) The Psalmist speaks, in our Word of  "The lamp for the feet". Often, only a short distance appears for the next steps, may be, only a word of comfort given for this day.
4. There is only one Way (one Goal) God gives us.
In today's time a decisive Christendom is asked for! If we, following Christ, make compromises, there are many ways. When we want to live after God's Law, there is only One Way. We see Christianity going in all directions, trying to please all.  We should enjoy life. But a traveller experiences nature more intensive than a driver racing through the country-side. "Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but on the seventh day then you shall do no work". (Exed. 20:9-10)
5. Taking other people with us on this Way.
All the people you meet, try and bring to light God's image (Light) before them, (to be Light bearers!) How quick is one influenced by the darkness of the other. God's light in you, shall point others also on the right way.

APOSTLE DETLEF LIEBERTH

 GERMANY

TEXT - Matthew 25:1-13.
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. “
We see there a very striking parable. When we understand how this wedding is to take  place it begins to make sense. We have been given a lamp within our life. That lamp is our soul. The faith that we believe that this event will happen. It is now up to us to provide oil for that lamp to be in readiness, for we do not know when the call will go forth. That oil is the righteousness of Christ. We in this life have to work and in faith receive the gift of righteousness so that it will provide oil for our lamp. Scripture tells us there are three ways that we can obtain this righteousness. It tells us that we can obtain if we overcome the temptation of sin, and we know that is very difficult. We may do that, but then we could easily fall in another direction. That righteousness first has to be made pure. Our Lord spoke of this when He said that He was the vine and we are the branches, and we must bring forth fruit so that it can be purged. To purge under the Jewish law was a ceremony involving water and wood, involving hyssop and involving sacrifice, and that means has been taken over by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has all those elements. He can purge our fruit and make it acceptable to go before God. The second way the Scripture tells us is that if we do good deeds for others not  looking for a reward or a pat on the back. Those good deeds then can be purged and can become as a righteousness which is acceptable before God. The third and most important way, because if we had to rely on those two none of us would have sufficient oil, the most important way is through the Blood of the Lamb. Our Lord said that this would be for the remission of our sins, the sins would be taken away and replaced with His righteousness, and that righteousness then can be placed in our storehouse. Where is this stored for us? Our Lord said that we store up our treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt. We therefore see that when this is purged it is taken up to heaven and stored there for us. That is why the virgins, they were all virgins which meant they were all believers, that is why the five wise virgins had their oil, and the five unwise did not and they asked them to give them some. They said that they would not. That does not seem like a Christian act. The reason being that they could not give something to the others that was now stored by God for their use. They took their oil and lit their lamps and they were able to find their way unto the bridegroom who was being sent forth. The others had to rush and try to now fill their lamps, but we have heard that it was too late when they received that oil, for when they arrived at the door it was closed. The marriage or consummation had begun. Under a Jewish wedding that consummation took place so that the bridegroom could ensure that his bride was indeed a virgin. We must indeed be as those wise virgins. We must live our life relying on the grace of Christ, making this preparation through those means of gaining righteousness so that we will be seen as wise virgins. When that was proven the bride went before the father of the bridegroom who gave them a blessing, and what a blessing we have heard. What a blessing to be united with Christ, and to be as Him, and to receive of the blessings of a loving Heavenly Father. The father of the bridegroom then bestowed a special gift on the bride and groom. We know that gift will be the Kingdom of God, a thousand years of peace on this earth where there will be no death, there will be no sorrow, there will be no sickness, there will be no want. We will be fed unto the living waters by the Heavenly Father, and through the Lamb of God we will obtain our light and we will be as He is, spirit first and body second, and also those who have died in the Lord and are prepared will also be partakers of this great blessing. There will be no bar put on it. What a sight. What a wonderful wedding stands before us. What a wonderful blessing. Blessed and holy are they who partake of this first resurrection for on them the second death holds no fear. What a wonderful thing to believe in through our faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and after the kingdom period eternal life in the highest of heavens. There is no choice in our life if we stop and think about. There is no choice in trying to gain the world. There is no choice in thinking that we can go it alone and be part of this great blessing. There really is no choice. We have to give ourselves into the hands of the Lord.  We have to make Him our faith.  We have to accept His guidance and teaching through the Holy Spirit.  We have to accept His free gift of grace in the righteousness that He can give unto us and in receiving all of this we will be the ones who will be blessed.  The greatest blessing that we can look forward to is when He returns that we can kneel before Him and personally thank Him for this wonderful blessing of grace that he has given to the world.

APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND.

TEXT - Romans 1:16.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
The increasing secularization of Christian faith, due to today's tendency of adaptation, threatens to affect the very essence of Christian community life. To what extent has it influenced us? Do we passively watch it's influence spread in our community? Do we not need to remember from where we have fallen and repent? (Rev.2:5).

Very often in the struggle between the Spirit and the flesh, we unconsciously adopt ways of life and doctrines which are contrary to the basic teachings of the gospels. (Gal. 5: 16-21). The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men."(2.Cor.3:2).   What can be read and known from us?

All around we see the breaking up of marriages and family ties, an increasing dependence on luxuries and material goods, the decrease of basic laws and morality, a lack of understanding, a lack of involvement in the service of the community. All these are clear signs of the absence of spiritual strength and faith. Does such a realization awake in us Apostolic Christians the responsibility to resist courageously the evil forces of our times? Condemnation alone will not help. Christ's redeeming power is the only way to a new life. Taking the easy way out brings about the death of the Spirit and the break-up of our relationship with God.

It is absolutely certain that the tendency towards secularization has increased our fear of death and the efforts to satisfy our hunger for life. Death cannot be done away with simply by refusing to think about it. The Apostle Paul glorifies God, who has the power to snatch us from the jaws of death, to reveal the power of the Spirit and to make the community an epistle of Apostolic service. This is not a power to be ashamed of and we should, therefore, acknowledge it joyfully.

Only by acknowledging the message of the Gospels, i.e. that God has the power to save us from death, will they be effective. The words from the cross help us to conquer today's evil forces and to pass from death (and the fear of death) to life and thereby to attain happiness. This is part of the fulfilment of the promise that we should love our neighbour. Acknowledging the faith, with all it's consequences is the only way to gain eternal life and conquer the evil forces of our time.

The recognition of God's power gives us strength and motivates us. Salvation is not attained with theories, even though the Gospels contain the only true religious doctrine, they would help us as much as a detailed book on fire fighting would help a person trapped in a fire. To help we must exert ourselves. In our circle, among people who think like us, it is perhaps usual to talk of faith, but how do we behave among the other people whom we meet daily? Do we become timid and succumb easily to the influences of this world?

Let us tell the world about the happiness we have gained through Jesus Christ and let us also ask ourselves if through this true salvation has been attained.

APOSTLE WERNER WEISE
GERMANY (Since Retired.)

 WORD OF LIFE No. 15 - 2010

TEXT – James 2:17-18.
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”

Our text tells us that faith is a gift from God, which means that first God must  seek us out to give someone this gift. That is why we say we are called. Many today say that they have found God, but God finds us.  He firstly then gives us this gift of faith in His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Now a gift received is worthless to us if we do not put it to work. We can paint a picture of a farmer who has his land all prepared ready to plant a crop but there is not enough moisture. God in His love sends the gift of rain.  If the farmer then was to react and thank God and call all his neighbours to assemble together, and keep praising God for sending that gift and do nothing about that gift, after a time that gift will have become worthless.  But if the farmer when he receives that gift thanks God privately, and takes his seeds and plants in that moisture, and brings forth the fruits of that gift, then God is pleased. So it is with the Christian Church, our church.  We receive this gift of faith. How do we then put it to work?   Do we just simply accept that we have this faith, and we come each Sunday and we praise God for giving us this faith, and we are seen to be thankful for this gift.  Faith without works is dead. We must put that faith, that gift that we have received into action.  We must also make it fruitful, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the Almighty God. Who would  want to offend the gift giver who gives us a gift and then we just do not use it?  We see that we must put that to  work. We all know some of  the ways that we can put it to work, but we need to have guidance. We need to be able within this faith, if it is faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we then need a link to Him to be sure that the works that we put this gift to are in accord with His ways. Our Lord made it very clear and gave some very simple advice to those who wished to put this faith to work. We find written in Matthew Chpt 11 verse 28 on as follows: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I  will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  We see advice to those that wish to labour, that firstly we must take Christ's yoke upon us and learn of Him. Now a yoke in the days that He gave that teaching was a link normally between two bullocks where they were used to plough the fields and plant the fields. There were two methods that this link could have been. A link was made between the heads of the cattle or a link was made between the necks. We see that we must then firstly learn of Christ and place a link between our head or our mind and His mind. We must have the mind of Christ. A yoke of course held the two together evenly. If one stumbled then it pulled the other down. We can be sure as the Lord has taught, He will never stumble, He will never let us down. We may fall, but He will pick us up and restore that link again if we learn who He is. He says that He is full of meekness and He is kind-hearted. We also should adopt those within our lives. Meekness means to be guided by a power higher than us. If we are prepared to be guided by that power, then we will have that same mind as Christ. If we are prepared to have a charitable heart, then we will be in unison with Christ.  Suddenly we will find that His yoke is not difficult, but through keeping ourselves yoked to Him we will find peace, we will find rest, we will find life is meaningful to us. We will begin to see the fruits. We will not just speak of this gift of faith, but we will begin to see those fruits within our lives, and we will find that it will bring us rest and contentment, for we will be in tune with Christ. We can also see that this faith then is dead without works. These works we may well ask ourselves - What should we do? There are works as individuals, there are works for the church, there are works for others throughout the world who are not as fortunate as us, there are things we should do within our life that have been taught unto us through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and it would be well if we all took that guide book, The Guide to Apostolic Family Living and our Bible, and we once again re-introduced ourselves to many of those things that have been revealed by this Holy Spirit, and to put this gift of faith to work.

APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND

TEXT- James 2:17-18 .
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; shew me thy faith without thy works and I will shew thee my faith by my works". 

An honest and dependable worker is one who uses his common sense and at the same time gives an honest day's work for a fair days pay. His boss also remembers the labourer is worthy of his hire.
The evidence of a job well and conscientiously done is visible in the result.  A half built house cannot become a home. An automobile without engine or wheels is useless. If a very good motor car were to be called an aeroplane, it would still not be able to fly. Things are not changed by changing the labels we hang onto them.
If a house has no roof, faith alone will not keep out the rain. Faith alone cannot prepare our heavenly abode. Just calling ourselves Apostolic does not help either. Our works and deeds must play their part.
The wise man says "My God knows who I am and all that I do; I will therefore be faithful to my calling". The fool says "Later there will be enough time, nobody sees me, why should I waste my time in the Church?"
The faithful servant's heart is full of love and his deeds are lasting. Such a man yearns to serve daily in the Lord's house. God in His mercy has chosen us to work in His house and to enjoy His blessings. He who is not ready to sacrifice his life should read Romans 12:1. In Rev. 22:12 it is said that every man will be rewarded according to his work. (Read Matt. 24:45-51). Our works should be a proof of our faith. James 2:18. In our materialistic world only a finished product has value. Similarly our work too will only have value if it has been
completed.
Most tasks require light. Usually the more intricate and complicated the more  light is needed. A diamond merchant will carefully check the quality of the  diamonds under a microscope and in very good light. Only if he is fully satisfied will he buy them.
If a man wants to buy a house, he will go and look at it in broad daylight. All this shows that light plays an important part in our material lives, but it has much more importance in our spiritual lives. If our actions are pure and motivated by love then they will bring us great blessings.
God’s children who have faith can do His work, because they are living in His light and His light is visible in them. The world can see their works and they are an example to all.
Every trade has its own particular tools and methods. A mason cannot build a wall with a brush and a painter does not use a hammer. In the Lord's house too the talents, which the Holy Spirit has distributed and with which we have to work, are varied. Let each one of  us take a good look at ourselves and ask the following  questions:       
Do I love God above everything else? Do I give His work top priority? Do I do His will without grumbling? How much am I willing to sacrifice for His work? Do I love my neighbour as myself? Are my deeds a proof of this love? Matt. 25 : 31-46;  also read James 2:16.  
Do I obey His commands? Do I do all the things I ought to do?
Do I attend Divine Services regularly in order to hear the word of life and do I practice what is preached? Can I truly say "My God, Thy will be done?"
It is impossible to work for one company and expect to be paid by another. One cannot serve the world and expect to be rewarded by God. We should behave in a manner worthy of our calling and God will reward us.

APOSTLE J. J. JOUBERT
SOUTH AFRICA (Since Retired.)