All posts tagged: Christianity

John 1:4, 5

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Light in Dark Places Life, what is it, where did it come from, how is it sustained? Contrary to popular thinking, life has its origin in God. He is the maker of everything – the giver of life. When He made man, “He breathed into him and man became a living soul.” If we want to talk about life, its origin and how it is sustained, Jesus should be at the center of that discussion. The scripture says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Everything, this world, human life, depends on Jesus for survival. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Though most men do not recognize this, it still is the truth. Jesus is not only the sustainer of physical life he is also the giver and sustainer of spiritual life. When he stepped out of eternity into time, into this dark and evil world, he was on a mission to lay …

Bold and Courageous Leadership

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“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” — William Shedo “Boldness, more boldness, and always boldness!” — George Jacques Danton “Courage is the enforcing virtue, the one that makes possible all the other virtues common to exceptional leaders: honesty, integrity, confidence, compassion and humility.” — John McCain  “Leaders make decisions that create the future they desire.” — Mike Murdock “Rely on your own strength of body and soul. Take for your star self-reliance, faith, honesty and industry. Don’t take too much advice — keep at the helm and steer your own ship, and remember that the great art of commanding is to take a fair share of the work. Fire above the mark you intend to hit. Energy, invincible determination with the right motive, are the levers that move the world.” — Noah Porter  “The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.” — Faye Wattleton _____________________ Resource: Leadership Quotes

How to Excel in Pleasing God

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In this first letter to the Thessalonians Paul begins in chapter 1:4 by recounting how the gospel – preached with the Holy Spirit’s power and full conviction – had touched and transformed the lives of many. This transformation was so plain to Paul that he declared in 1 Thess. 2:1 that “our coming to you was not in vain” and how in 1 Thess. 1:9, “they had turned from idols to the living God.” He calls them imitators of God in 1 Thess. 1:6, and boasted about how their testimony had gone forth not only in their immediate surroundings, but also to far away places (1 Thess. 1:8). Paul also called them his hope and joy, the crown of exultation, and glory (1 Thess. 2:19, 20),  and broke out in ecstatic praise when he got news that they were doing great in their walk with the Lord even though he had not visited to impart what he thought they were lacking in their walk with the Lord. Even after hearing how great they were doing – Paul still continued to pray for them to increase and abound in their walk with the Lord. He admonished …

The Tale of Four cities

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It had finally reached the ears of all the nobles of the people of the ends of the earth. The word on the street was not very different, but the official version was short and sweet: “Across the great waters is a land of great learning and enlightenment. Anyone with enough courage to brave the great waters would find the secrets of life, depth of knowledge and heavenly wisdom that only comes from the Wisdom God.” The decision was final, the nobles had decided, Yakobo will be the first one to take the Journey. Unfortunately, an important piece of the information did not reach the ears of the nobles of the people of the ends of the earth. Across the great waters there were three other cities competing for the allegiance of anyone brave enough to travel over the great waters. In each of these cities there was a powerful force strong enough to captivate the allegiance of anyone. The name of the city where the Wisdom God dwelled was ILLUMINOS The name of the first …

Sunshine Sunshine in my soul today

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This video captivated my imagination about Jesus, his splendor and radiance. Hope it lights up your soul as well. For truly the sun declares the glory of the King. his face was like the sun shining in full strength. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!

Human life is a pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness

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There was a wealthy lady who died, and everybody in the community was extremely curious as to the extent of her fortune. One person was brash enough to come up to the pastor immediately after the funeral and whisper in his ear, “How much did she leave?” The pastor had the wisdom to reply, “She left everything.” The apostle Paul also calls us to a lifestyle of simplicity and contentment. I have learned,” he said, “in whatever state I am therewith to be content Paul said, Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and we shall take nothing out of it. Or as Job put it, Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. Have you ever considered, brothers and sisters, that human life is a pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness? We would be wise to travel light because there is no doubt that we shall leave everything behind. Let us be content. Covetous people always fall into a traps. The love of money is a …

5 Ways to use your tax return

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About a week ago we got our tax return in the mail. And every day for the past week, my wife has told me, “Walter we got to talk.” Well, she is right, last year we didn’t talk and the money vanished into thin air. In other words, we spent it carelessly. So, this year, we are considering five options. We are complete in accord with the first one – which for us, is non-negotiable. But the other four, we are still talking about. Please allow me to use these five suggestion to get you thinking about how you are going to use your tax return. Use the 10 percent and over and above principle. If you’ve been faithful paying your tithe throughout the year, you don’t have to give 10 percent this time around on your tax return. If you have paid your tithe correctly, on the gross and not the net, than you really don’t have to give 10 percent, you’re covered. However, there is the over and above principle. That means, you …

Encourage thyself in the Lord Monday

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And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Sam. 30:6 KJV There is going to come a time in your life when the world around you will seem to be caving in. Your closest friends, trusted colleagues and faithful brothers and sisters will all turn their backs on you. There is going to come a time in your life, when all hell will break loose over you. You will be hard-pressed from every side, and your enemy will seem to have  gained the upper hand or advantage over you. And of course, Mondays will come around once a week to remind you that you are in a dead-end job, and nothing’s working. When that happens, you need to lay hands on yourself and encourage yourself in the Lord. So, listen to this song and tell yourself the following: God is still on His …

3 Signs of a Revived Christian Life

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Jesus Christ came so that we can have life and have to the full. To be truly alive to Christ means, we must have his life flowing within our hearts. If you are like me, you’ll admit, that life leaks. Sometimes I am truly on fire and full of spiritual vitality, but other times I experience seasons of dryness. The question is how do I get my spiritual life revived again? An Abiding Presence The first sign of a revived christian life is a life that enjoys the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. He possesses a fullness that is ever-increasing – from glory to glory. In the words of a famous preacher, it is “something that you don’t have to stir up, crank up, work up.” Too often, revival is about how loud and emotional people can get in a meeting. Don’t get me wrong, I think, when God shows in our meetings it is going to get loud. But too often, people try to reproduce something God did before and act as if …

Holy Worldliness

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The church has a double calling: on the one hand to live in the world, and on the other not to conform to the world. The first is a call to worldliness, as opposed to other worldliness—getting involved in the life of the world around us. The second calling is the call to holiness. We have no liberty to respond to one call without the other. Indeed, we may neither preserve our holiness by escaping from the world, nor may we sacrifice our holiness by conforming to the world. Escapism, on the one hand, and conformism, on the other, are equally forbidden to Christian men and women. Instead we are to combine both callings to involvement and to separation. We are to develop what Dr. Alec Vidler, an Anglican scholar of the former generation, in his book “Essays in Liberality called “holy worldliness.” Ezekiel 11:12? “You have not followed my decrees. You have not kept my laws. But you have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” 2 Kings 17:15: “They imitated the …