Embracing our Suffering
Suffering is a part of the human experience. Jesus chose to enter fully into the human experience of suffering. Beyond human suffering is Christian suffering. This suffering is that which comes from the price of embracing Jesus as the Son of God. Peter rebuked Jesus because he did not believe the Messiah should suffer.
Bringing Order Out of Chaos
God does not cause all things but he does cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. The chaos that happens to us may just be life, but the Divine Logos can bring order out of our chaos. God is not bringing all the bad stuff into your
Good and Bad Memories
Some memories we possess can cause us anxiety; some can bring us comfort. Bad memories bring us pain and trigger regrets; they remind us of failures that we can never go back and fix. Good memories can soothe our grief, warm our hearts and make us feel good. But the fact is, we have
Move Forward
We can let our past destroy our present and our future. Those memories of some failure, sin, embarrassment, shame, hurt, loss, grief are very real. We feel that we can’t move ahead with dreams and plans. By this, we veto vision, miss our divine call, and short circuit our own God-given talents. Pastor Mark
Saviors of the Church
We are certainly to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The truths of the gospel of the kingdom, incarnation, and resurrection of Jesus are to be preserved. But here, I speak of another problem; those who think it is their sole duty to set the church straight. Sometimes
Beyond Imagination
“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT, Quoted from Isaiah 64:4). This is really not a verse about heaven, though we often quote it as such.
The Mind of Christ
Isaiah asked, “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?” (Isaiah 40:13 NIV). It seems that the answer is “No One!” Yet the revelation of the NT changed all that. The coming of Christ and His Spirit opened new vistas into the mind of the Lord. So
Using People
Pharaoh lost his job force and wanted them back. He had not counted on his ill treatment of the Hebrews resulting in their departure from Egypt. He had no one to provide bricks and put shingles on his roofs; no one to provide the hard grubby work that had brought prosperity to the Egyptian
An Artificial World
We have created an artificial world, one that simulates and imitates reality, but is, nonetheless, unreal. We do not even see the earth on which we walk. Our noise has drowned out the music of the universe. We prefer our creations to His creation. We think our reality is all there is, and we
Don’t Oversimplify God
We oversimplify God so we can own Him, so we can control Him, so we can dispense Him to others, so we can be the insiders with the true message. When we oversimplify Him we make Him subservient to our narrow thinking about Him. In this way, we not only keep God away from
The Father’s Vision for You
The Father has desires and a vision for His children. Math may see us as a number. Consumerism sees us as a customer. The boss sees us as an employee. The lustful sees others as a means of gratification. God sees us as children made in His likeness. God sees how His love can
Those God Things
From time to time we often have God things that confirm to us that we are not forgotten. More often than not these things involve people and circumstances that assure us that Someone is involved in our lives doing things that have His definitive fingerprints on them. God likes to help other people through
Breaking Generational Sin
Dysfunctional families create one generation after another of “generational sin”. This is the natural consequence of rejecting God and His ways for our lives. We tend to miss something when we quote Deuteronomy 5:9 and ignore verse 10. (9) “You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God
Full of Truth
“The Word…came from the Father, full of grace and truth… the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17). The followers of Moses knew all about the letter of the law. In Jesus, it was not the letter of the law, but the spirit of law (2
A Fountain Of Grace
Christ who was “full of grace” (John 1:14) has come to live in our hearts. He is to be in us an overflowing fountain of grace, grace incarnate taking up residence in us, even “grace on top of grace” (John 1:16). The river of the Spirit within us is to be a fountain of
Rationalization and Self-Deception
We are rational beings. We know our behavior should follow some inner reason. Oftentimes, when we seek to rationalize our behavior we fall into a kind of self-deception. What we might condemn in others we condone in ourselves. Honest self-examination is not an easy road to take. It requires openness to the word of
The Astonishment of Grace
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him” Matthew 21:38-39 (NRSV). This is a glimpse of the cross in a parable. But wait, did not
Loving God Foremost
It may be more prevalent to do things for God than to love God. It is possible to teach, preach and witness about God without a passion to be near Him. It is easier to pursue the Great Commission than it is to practice the Great Commandment. Loving God is our first and foremost
The Tuning Fork
The goal of our life should be to live in harmony with this Love-Energy that flows from God, the Spirit of Jesus. Love’s tuning fork must set us straight for there are other notes being sounded in the world that will never keep us in the harmony spot with our Lord. If the love
Eternal Word
The Word that abides forever, even after the flower and grass fades, is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is that the Kingdom of God has arrived (Mark 1:15). It is that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9), the King of the kingdom, and the Lord of all people, the Lord
Purifying or Painful Fire
David said, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139:7–8 ESV). John said, “God is Love”. His Spirit is the Spirit of Love. When God is there,
The Spirit and New Creation
It is the Spirit that brooded over the waters of the first creation and gave us our beautiful earth. It is by the Spirit that we are made new creations in Christ Jesus. It was by the Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead as the first fruits of new creation. He is
Your Pastor
The pastor is not the hired employee of the church board or congregation. The minister is on a God-assigned mission/vocation. Most people, though they have spent their lives around the church, do not grasp the size and scope of the pastor’s job. He does not punch a time-clock or give an account of every
But the Lord
“Lord, the thorns that the ground brought forth in Your creation have often caused us great pain. Yes we know, You wore a crown of thorns. May we not complain. “Sometimes our enemies form hooks to catch us in some way; we read the Book and they did You that way also. “Sometimes saboteurs
Connecting the Dots
As children we would trace from dot to dot and then discover that we had created a picture. Life is about connecting the dots. It may take us a while to see the picture. Connect the love of God with your own thought that you are unloveable. Connect the mercy of God with your