All posts tagged: faith

The Power of Meditation

Published by

What is Meditation? Meditation is an act of focusing one’s thoughts upon something to get a deeper insight or understand of that thing. It is allowing one’s thoughts to ponder or muse or in some instances turn a thought over and over in the mind as if chewing on a piece of meat to soften it before we can swallow it. It can either mean to think upon God, His word, or his works. In our context today it means thinking and reflecting upon God’s word with the goal of internalizing and personalizing eternal truths in order for them to affect our lives to the glory of the Father. This goal is usually attained through our keen observation of the text we are reading, our careful interpretation of what the text means and our humble application of  that text to our lives. Scripture References And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by …

He has turned my mourning into dancing

Published by

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent… He has turned my mourning into dancing Have you ever experienced any of the following? deliverance from the attacks of your enemies answered prayer in desperate circumstances rescue from impending death Has God been good to you in any way? What does it do inside of you when you see how good he is? How does it make you feel? Does it move you? If yes, than you have reasons to sing, shout and dance! You have reasons to praise the Lord. This Psalm is jam-packed with the wonderful blessing of the Lord in the life of the Psalmist. And these wonderful acts of God leaves the psalmist singing, shouting and dancing. In fact, the bible actually says, “he breaks out in dancing.” I don’t know what this psalmist was into back in those days. I doubt he was familiar with Zouk, Conga, Charleston, Kolo, Cha-Cha, Lindy Hop or the …

It is finished: Shout heaven and earth, this Sum of good to Man

Published by

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit John 19:30 It is finished! I have executed the great designs of the Almighty When God made man and put in him a free will, all the angels thought He was out of His mind. He had a plan. A plan, from the foundation of the earth, to reconcile the world through Jesus His Son. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be Holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4). That plan was accomplished today, 2000 years ago. I have satisfied the demands of his justice God is holy and just. His nature demands justice. The wages of sin is death and somebody had to pay for our rebellion. Jesus answered that call. The LORD was “pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper …

UnFollow: 7 People you may need to Unfollow

Published by

We live in a day and age where people and things continually scream for your attention. We are constantly being asked to follow something. For example, these request might look like the following: Follow me on Facebook Follow me on Instagram Follow me on Twitter Follow me on Tumblr Follow me on Foursquare Follow me on WordPress Follow me on Google Follow this trend, website, celebrity The list goes on and on. It is not hard to see how people can easily start following people and things they have no business following. Let me suggest some people or trends you might want to consider unfollowing: Unfollow your favorite porn star It may be the one in your favorite movie, TV Show or dirty magazine or website. If they’ve ever exposed themselves – you need to unfollow them. Unfollow your favorite author or blogger If their words incite lust. profanity and all shades of sexual perversion – you need to unfollow them. Unfollow your favorite Rock star If they curse God or his people in their …

Fear is not real – It’s a choice…

Published by

2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and sound-mind. The only thing we have to fear is fear it’self – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. FDR – First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 What are fears but voices airy? Whispering harm where harm is not. And deluding the unwary Till the fatal bolt is shot! Wordsworth Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. Edgar Wallace – The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1916) All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears–of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club, and of the words “Some Assembly Required. Dave Barry Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not? Luciano Pavarotti Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. German Proverb I was particularly struck by Will Smith’s …

10 Bible Characters of Great Faith

Published by

…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… It is imperative to surround oneself with people who can impact your life for the good and not for the bad. Here is a list of a few great men and women worth hanging out with 24/7. 1. Noah was a man who took God seriously. Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. Genesis 6:22 2. Nehemiah was a man who silenced the Nay Sayers and did what they said he couldn’t do. Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 2:20 3. Job was a man whose life and resolve was tested beyond imagination, yet did not curse God. “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Job 1:22 4. Joseph was a man who was wholly devoted to the Lord even in times of injustice, betrayal, and temptation. “As for you, you …

7 Dimensions that make for Effective Praying

Published by

Prayer – what is prayer? I love the definition in “My Orthodox Prayer Book.” Prayer is doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God. “When I prayed I was new,” wrote a great theologian of Christian antiquity, “but when I stopped praying I became old.” Prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. Prayer is aliveness to God. Prayer is strength, refreshment, and joy. Through the grace of God and our disciplined efforts prayer lifts us up from our isolation to a conscious, loving communion with God in which everything is experienced in a new light. Prayer becomes a personal dialogue with God, a spiritual breathing of the soul, a foretaste of the bliss of God’s kingdom. In short, prayer is not just asking and receiving from God it is life with God, intricate, deep, living, a thing not only to enjoy – but also understood. There are all kinds of prayer in the Bible, but for our purpose today I would like to leave you with 7 of them from the book of James …