Month: February 2013

A Little Alcohol Is Too Much


The Christian who advocates or condones “drinking in moderation” is providing Satan an opening he would not have with an individual committed to total abstinence. By medical definition, alcohol is a drug. The moderate drinker is naive if he does not recognize the peril of eventually becoming addicted himself. The condition of the drunkard is tragic; and God’s Word gives clear warning of the final tragedy. The individual who refuses to have anything to do with such a dangerous taskmaster is wise indeed. No alcoholic ever intended to become an alcoholic when he/she took the first drink. And no individual who persistently refused to take the first drink ever became an alcoholic. The church of Jesus Christ must take a bold stand against this evil that in the end “bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Proverbs 23:32, NKJV). The effects of alcohol are vividly described in Proverbs 23. There is a physical and emotional impact. “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? …

Don’t let this world squeeze you into its mold


With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12:1-2

Walk in the Spirit


So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Galatians 5:16-18 There is an answer to all of us who at one time or another felt like the Apostle Paul when he asked the question – “oh wretched man that I am who shall save me from this body of death?” The question came after the realization that he was incapable of rising above the power of the sinful nature within himself. At that point he realized that only the grace of God through the redemptive work of Christ could help him break the …

Again in travail …


Let me start by asking you a question about what you think it takes to start a church. What do you think it takes to win your friends or lead a community into a vibrant life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ? For some of us the answer to those questions may be simple. Simple as get some good connections, a celebrity preacher to do a spot for you, run it on radio or TV – than get a little social on all the social networks and you are on your way. But it wasn’t that easy for Paul and his companions. For them, it was great labor both physically and spiritually. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4:19 There is one thing worth mentioning in this verse: Besides the many details mentioned in Acts 13 and Acts 14 about his sorrows and bitter sufferings, there had been an agony of travail (like that of a woman in childbirth) on Paul’s part at the founding of …