Have you experienced Jesus firsthand? Or have you settled with second hand Jesus? Do you personally know Jesus? Or do you trust other people’s opinion on Jesus? Please, don’t be satisfied with second hand Jesus. Many talk about Jesus as a great teacher or a sage prophet. Some even pass on the saving knowledge of Jesus as Messiah. But they miss the amazing opportunity to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Knowing Jesus firsthand is what’s eternal life is all…
As we approach the Holy week my mind has started swirling around the sacrifice of Jesus. I am in awe of vastness of God’s love. And then I think if God loved us so immensely … how should we respond to him? We can’t save ourselves but we can’t help but love God in return. How could we love God more and more? So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a…
An old saying insists that love is blind. I dare to disagree. I think real love is not blind. But that’s the thing. Infatuation is blind. But real love is not. Real love is many things but not blind. Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it…
Do you have engrams, memory traces, of God? Has God touched you in such a way that there’s been a physical alteration in your living neural system? I hope so. Just like the men who fought along Saul: Along with him went courageous men whose hearts God had touched. (1 Sam. 10:26, CEB) When we have been touched by God, we are marked by God for good. When we have experienced God’s love and grace, our brains will always carry…
Too often we just let life happen and we wander without thinking, even without praying. But then we are in danger to get where the flow takes us and not where we want to go. We need to put our faith in action. Because faith is not a sentiment, it is a call for action. We need to start our days by praying for guidance, for wisdom, for direction, for strength. Tommy Barnett explains “I’ve discovered it is not sufficient…
Fear can be paralyzing. Fear is, at least, crippling if it dominates our life. If we act out of fear, we most often make wrong choices. Fear is forced upon us by the enemy. Freedom is offered to us by Jesus. Fear or freedom? I choose freedom. I choose fearless faith in Jesus that brings freedom. Fearless faith is utmost confidence in God. Does it exist? Is it fact or fiction? Faith is always a gift that we need to…
I don’t hold a master’s degree in waiting on God, nor in patience. But I am praying that I’d be slowly molded into an artist of waiting on God. Biblical waiting means confident expectation, trusting that God will do what he has promised. That God knows best both what needs to happen and when it needs to happen. That God will be preparing us while we are waiting. That God works for the good who believe in him. There are…
Most of us can’t imagine that we’d ever reject God. But the sad truth is many of us is doing it without realizing it. When we insist living our way we are already rejecting God by our actions. The Israelites rejected God by asking for a king. The LORD answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them. They are doing to you only what they’ve…
Is your faith rooted in yourself or have you set your heart firmly on God? Is your faith truly grounded in God? Or do you still try to manipulate God in order to get what you want? Today God is calling us to examine our hearts and minds. Who does rule our hearts? Then Samuel said to the whole house of Israel , “If you are turning to the LORD with all your heart, then get rid of all the…
Just the other day someone on Twitter told me “if you [are] talking to God you are askew. If he talks back you are insane.” That pretty much sums up how the world sees Christians. Praying makes you eccentric but if you claim God is talking back you are crazy. But how else could we be in a relationship with him if we did not communicate with each other? God is alive and well. Why wouldn’t he want to talk…
