All posts tagged: God

Ignite my Soul: Consume these idle sticks

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“God consume these idle sticks in my life that may burn for thee.” Jim Elliot What does the word idle mean? It means – not active or in use. synonyms: inactive, unused, unoccupied, unemployed, disused. It speaks of a person – not working; unemployed. Synonyms: unemployed, jobless, out-of-work, redundant, between jobs, work less, unwaged, unoccupied. It also speaks of a person avoiding work; lazy. Synonyms: lazy, indolent, slothful, work-shy, shiftless, inactive, sluggish, lethargic, listless It means to lack or be without purpose or effect; pointless. Synonyms: frivolous, trivial, trifling, vain, minor, petty, lightweight, shallow, superficial, insignificant, unimportant, worthless, paltry, niggling, peripheral, inane, fatuous It defines a person who spends their time doing nothing; be idle. Synonyms: do nothing, be inactive, vegetate, take it easy, mark time, twiddle one’s thumbs, kill time, languish, laze, lounge, loll, loaf, loiter. The Scripture warns about it A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 10:4 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. Matthew 20:3 But …

The Greatest Chapter in All of Scripture is the greatest chapter of my life

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It was the summer of 1991. I was young and had discovered the joy of salvation, the hope of eternal life. There was a fire burning in my heart. I felt like I had been made new. I was born of God. His seed had budded within and I would never be the same. We had completed our baptismal classes. We were baptized. My spiritual father insisted that we memorize Romans 8. Everyone of us had committed the chapter to memory. We stood before the congregation, just before our first communion, and with one voice, one proud, loud and joyful voice, we recited the greatest chapter in the entire bible – Romans 8: The Spirit of Life There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of …

One Word Wednesday: Worship

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God is not impressed with a ‘song service.’ God is not pleased with lip service either. Singing lips but far away hearts. God is terribly appalled by worshipers who love worship more than they love the only one who is worthy. God does not want praises from mouths hearts of perversity and mouths of profanity. God hates platitudes and our Pharisaical Posturing  void of reverence and crazy love for Him. God is not interested in how you look when you worship but that praise looks good on you. The English language, in reality falls short to adequately describe what God really intended to teach when it comes to the word. For lack of a better word, the translators of our bible could not really find an accurate word to express the heart of God when John wrote the following in his gospel: But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. John 4:23 …

7 Promises I can use right now

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When I was 5 years old my dad made a promise to me. A promise he was going to fulfill in 24 hours.  I was very passionate about soccer. I found myself skipping classes, at that early age, to go play soccer out in the fields. I guess, it was that rubber ball that we kicked around everyday that prompted ,my dad to get me a brand new and real soccer ball. I’ll never forget that morning when he whispered in my ear. That at the end of the day, I would have my own soccer ball. I was gripped with expectation. I couldn’t wait for him to come back home from work. I had it on my mind for the entire day. I always wanted one, but the likelihood of getting it that day, made my desire for it even more compelling. I waited for the car to turn into the drive way. And before he could get out of the car I was right there with arms outstretched. He didn’t fail me either. …

The Weakness of Great Men

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The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor. Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you? 15 Statements About Gideon the Mighty Man of Valor. Judges 6 Sometimes great men are found in lowly places. See verse 11 Sometimes great men have a false sense of humility. See verses 12, 13 Sometimes great men doubt God and question His faithfulness. See verse 13 Sometimes great men fail to realize that it is only in their weakness that God shows up strong. See verse 15 Sometimes great men fail to realize that victory is only certain if God is in it. See verse 16 Sometimes great men don’t recognize their greatness. So they waste their time devoted to common and frivolous things. See verse 11, 14 Sometimes great men doubt their greatness even when repeatedly reminded. See verse 12 Sometimes great men lack perspective in difficult surroundings and circumstances. See verse 12 Sometimes great men just don’t have a clue of how to take next …

7 Ways it Improve your Marriage right now

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Take ownership and personal responsibility for all your actions. The easiest thing to do when your relationship goes sour is to play the blame game. This only leads to more headache. The godly thing to do is just own up to your personal faults and everything will begin to fall in place. Pray, pray, pray! Jesus is able to make it work A lot of marriages fail because too much trust is placed on marriage counseling. As good as counseling is – (you should get it at all cost), you will need God to work in it. Also, marriages fail because we expect our counselor to fix our partner. God is the only one who can do stuff like that. The sooner you realize that neither you nor your counselor can fix your spouse, prayer will become your priority. Sometimes we just give up before truly seeking his help. Until we can all realize that he has the power to fix things, even the most difficult things, we may never experience divine breakthroughs in our …

Refreshing Times of Reconciliation

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This short epistle (letter) written by Paul to Philemon has one of the most powerful messages on conflict resolution in the bible. This story is not only a powerful demonstration of the gospel to transform lives (“formerly he was useless” but “now he is indeed useful,” v. 11), but also a demonstration of the powerful impact the gospel can have on human relationships as well (receive him “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother,” v. 16). Apparently during Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus, Philemon heard the gospel and was saved. He began serving the cause of Christ in the Colossian community, opening his home for a group of Christians to meet there regularly. At some point, Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves, fled to Rome, possibly having stolen money (or property) from Philemon and now a fugitive. Onesimus somehow came into contact with the apostle Paul and became a Christian. As he grew in Christ, he spent much time and effort helping Paul, who was severely constrained by his imprisonment. Paul thus wrote this letter as an appeal to Philemon to appreciate …

God Controls Promotion and Success

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A few week ago, my wife got a promotion at her work. She still had to apply and be interviewed for it, but I remember how exciting it was for all of us when she shared the news. We texted each other, shouted and celebrated later that evening with a cold bottle of Sparkling Cider. She had worked hard and truly deserved it. A few days after I reflected on this, I concluded that even though we ought to work hard and do our best at work, our promotion doesn’t necessarily come just by our personal and professional growth. There is another element we often overlook. Let me share with you an excerpt from Howard Dayton’s “Your Money Map” to better illustrate. He writes, As much as it may surprise you, your boss is not the one who controls whether you will be promoted. The bible says, “For promotion and power come from nowhere, but only from God.” The bible also reveals the reason for Joseph’s success: The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered… The Lord gave him …

Monday Night Meditation

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So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1-2‬ MSG) Photo Credit: LightStock