We all grow discouraged when trouble comes. It is most difficult when people close to us turn against us. Sometimes the reasons for the trouble lie beyond our control. During such times how should we react to it? There are many ways to do so. Often we react bitterly against the person or persons causing
How many times in life have you started reading the Bible, but stopped halfway through? How many times did you decide to pray for others and missions at least for five minutes a day and just had that discipline broken in a week’s time? Even if all this is true, do not give in to
The greatest danger to Christian preaching today is that it relies more on the power of oratory, multimedia presentations and self-help tips. These things do not have the power to break strongholds of Satan and deliver the people from slavery to sin. For that to happen, the message of the cross has to be preached
How much should each one of us be grateful for God’s timely help in times of crisis! Without such help from God how easily most of us would perish! Oh, yes He is the same unchanging God (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8) and He still comes to the aid of His children when the enemy seems
Several young Christians often wonder how long their bondage to sin would last. Most of them have given up hope that they will be ever delivered from a life of continually falling into sin. Sin, the Bible says, is slavery. Like the people of Israel in Egypt and in slavery were given a message of
As many writers have pointed out, a dead person does not react to anything. Any pleasure that he enjoyed in life will not affect him anymore once he died. You can switch on the television show he loved best in life, but a dead person will not see nor listen. You can offer him the
Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 NIV). He considered himself obligated to share his faith to everyone, both to the wise and foolish (v. 14). And therefore he was eager to preach the gospel. One another
Most of us see people acting against us or circumstances that are against us. Often we blame the devil for everything that seems to be working against us. But those who are given a purpose in their life from God should learn to see people and circumstances as obeying the will of God. This is
Pride is a Christian’s great enemy. It builds a wall between us and God. And we do not know that we’re headed for disaster until we fall.
The worst kind of pride is spiritual pride. It puffs us up. It makes us feel as if we’re doing something great for God and God owes us
It is not possible for man to understand God unless God chooses to reveal Himself. Even when He chooses to do so, it will be a bit by bit revelation. This is because of man’s limited understanding and the separation between sinful man and a holy God. Even then, until the time of Jesus in
“What’s your name?” sounds common enough. Yet at this point in time when Jacob is asked that question it is loaded with meaning.
Jacob is now coming back to the land of promise from where he had fled twenty years earlier. He had deceived his father and brother then. Later he, in turn, was deceived
Sometimes others know us by the company we keep. This is because the persons with whom we spend most of our time influence us for good or for bad. Their speech patterns, their goals and ambitions, their love and hate, their hobbies; all rub onto us. When this influence is strong others note it quickly.
Tests in life are common. From childhood we have faced tests in examinations. But none of us have liked or welcomed the idea of facing tests. Yet they came at set times. The purpose of these tests was to find out how much we knew about what was taught. Most of us, in spite of
Most of us are familiar with the story of Esau selling his birthright. In Esau we find a contempt for godly or spiritual realities. That is what we have to learn from his despising his birthright (Genesis 25:34). He gave up his birthright which included great spiritual blessings for some stew and bread. Do we
How it should tease us to think that a branch in a tree tries hard to remain where it is and tries all the more harder to bear fruit! Indeed, no branch does anything like that. It simply remains where it is. That is, it remains connected. In that connection it finds its link with
Choices confront us almost every day. And the choices we make have consequences. Some choices impact us for a short time, but others can affect eternity. One such choice is about serving God. It is not just about one or two decisions. Instead serving God is an attitude of choosing for God on a daily
We all face the problem of peer pressure. When all others are doing something we also feel the pressure to go along with them and be one of them. Often the crowd is after doing the wrong things. And they compell us to do the same. Some of those things might be popular even. So
So many of us wonder how effective is our witness for Christ. Often we get discouraged that we are not called or gifted to do something spectacular for God. This is because we are often influenced by the value systems of the world which equates success with great performances.
But we need to understand that
Many Christians want to serve God. But they do not know how to do it. The best way to do it is to stand before God on behalf of others. You can best serve God in this manner.
We often think much about our struggles and difficulties in life. But at the same time, we … Read the rest
