Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble (Psalm 95:12, 13a NIV).
No one of us likes to be disciplined. We often associate discipline with a cruel master who comes after us with a stick to punish us. In fact … Read the rest
So many people struggle to find the will of God. One way to do so easily is to make your goal in life to please God.There are several clear indications in Scripture as to what pleases God. The first and foremost is faith in Jesus Christ and his shed blood on the cross for
#1. Any gospel that treats the precious blood of Jesus Christ which he shed for us on the cross in a light-hearted manner is not the true gospel.
#2. Any gospel that focuses on your comfort rather than the will of God is not the true gospel.
#3. Any gospel that makes a big fuss … Read the rest
God does not stand far off when his people cry out to him. Instead he steps in to rescue them at the time of his choosing. He employs different methods to help us. But there is one image that we cannot forget—that of an eagle carrying her young ones in flight.
For God said, “You
As a man speaks with his friend, so God spoke to Moses face to face (see Exodus 34:11). If one man was given this privilege, certainly God offers it to all who calls on his name. Some of us will think that Moses was a great leader. True. But God never said that his friendship
The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Therefore many believers try to make the gospel acceptable to others by preaching a gospel without the cross. It cannot make an impact on souls crushed under the burden of sin and its guilt and shame.
Along with Paul let
When the struggles in our life stretch into days, weeks, months and years; it is likely that we grow disheartened. We long for deliverance; but it seems that it will never come.
It is then that there is the cry from our hearts, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me for ever” (Psalm 13:1).
Those who have tried to break from sin and sinful habits know what is being a slave to sin. The more you try to break free the more seems its magnetic pull. One thing we all need to note is that wickedness cannot be practiced without it increasing.
Therefore Paul warned believers saying, “Just as
Hear the Lord’s message to you today: “I am with you.”
He is with you because he has chosen you.
He is with you because he loves you.
He is with you because you are his child.
He is with you and he is mighty to save.
Therefore you need not fear. Go out to
God has set a time in your life for everything. While the children of Israel were groaning in Egypt because of slavery and misery, God send a deliverer in the form of Moses. He and his brother Aaron spoke to Pharaoh to let the people of God go to worship him.
But Pharaoh refused. Several
Begin with God. This is the lesson Hezekiah teaches us.
His father Ahaz was the king of Judah. But the Bible says that “he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD” (2 Chronicles 28P:19). But when he died, and Hezekiah became king he decided to begin with God. A
Dear child of God, are you in darkness today? Have you lost hope? Before you give up; read on.
Possibly you are licking your wounds because you have failed in some area of life. In spite of all your efforts every trouble seems to have intensified. Others are mocking you and might have written you
Where God is present, it is holy ground. Moses, when God met him at the burning bush, was asked to remove his sandals because it was holy ground (Exodus 3:6). It is important to recapture this reverent attitude towards God in our lives today as well.
#1. We need to be always conscious that God
All of us get discouraged from time to time. Many godly men and women have pointed out that discouragement is the key weapon that Satan uses against believers. But we can cheer up because God has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and encourage us (see Acts 9:31).
#1. The Holy Spirit encourages … Read the rest
“Then she told him this story” (Genesis 39:17).
It is important to know what kind of stories we tell. Potiphar’s wife had attempted to seduce the young man Joseph. When she failed to do so; she cooked up a story.
Now Joseph had tried hard to avoid her presence; but she tried to grab him
Ever since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the Spirit of God has been poured out in big measure on his people. Prophet Joel predicted it (Joel 2:28—32); and Peter on the Day of Pentecost confirmed that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit began that day (Acts 2:16—21).
It was the
The truth is that believers pass through times of doubt and despair in spite of their faith and trust in God. It has become difficult to hold on to faith in such experiences of darkness because everywhere we hear preachers who talk of “always smiling happy victorious life.”
The Bible is different as it speaks
Is the heart of Jesus sad today because of you? When he spoke to his disciples and told them about his relationship with his heavenly Father, Philip responded by saying, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
It was then Jesus asked him, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after
A famine is a serious condition very few of us have really experienced. It is not just shortage of food, but more about the suffering that it inflicts on people and the inability to do anything about it.
The Bible talks about several famines that occurred. One such during the time of Isaac is recorded
When love is present, people are remembered. When love is absent, people are forgotten. It is this lack of love that God is concerned about. He makes it a complaint against his people.
God is saying that he married his people; he was like a husband to them. But these people in spite of all
What is our heart’s desire? Did you know that when we pray, God looks at our heart’s desire? When Solomon prayed, God took special note of his desire to get wisdom above everything else (2 Chronicles 1:11).
Since this was his heart’s desire and not so many lesser things he could have asked for, God
Fall in Love
I have heard this story, real or imagined I don’t know, which tells us the real motivation in reading the Bible.
An author liked a girl and wanted to marry her. But she was not interested. Anyway the author gifted her with a copy of his latest book. She was in no
The comforting truth about God’s promises is that they are set against the backdrop of human sin and failure.
Therefore the promises of God can certainly be believed. For God is not talking about fulfilling these promises to a perfect people; but he is talking about doing good things for those who have sinned,
Have you ever thought of the fact so many thoughts you have are influenced by what you see? In fact there is so much evil in this world today which comes instantly through us through the newspapers, film posters, the internet, mobile phones and the like. People’s thoughts are negatively influenced by this evil.
If … Read the rest
#10. An Attitude of Contentment
Paul is in prison. And he says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (4:11).” It is a lesson that we need to learn too. Most of us go through good circumstances in life; yet we complain all the time.
Think about Paul. He is rejoicing greatly even
#9. An Attitude of Expectation
There are two ways in which this can be understood. One is expectation for the present moment. The next is the expectation for the future. Both these expectations are expressed by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians.
Let us look at the future expectation first.
Our expectation about
# 8. A Pressing-On Attitude
Victories in life do not come when you suddenly wake up one day. It takes toil, sweat and tears. It takes perseverance which means you continue to hold on to your goal in spite of every doubt, despair, defeat or discouragement.
Paul had this attitude. He did not keep mourning
#7. A Goal-Oriented Attitude
Paul’s goal in life was Christ. Even though he lived a perfect life according to the Law of Moses, and even though he had great family traditions to boast about; he was willing to give them all up to gain Jesus Christ!
Such an attitude comes at a great cost. So
#4. Exalting Christ in Suffering Attitude
Paul was least bothered where he was alive or dead; whatever his goal was to be with Christ. However his ambition was to have courage to exalt Christ in his life (1:20). He was confident that we are called by God not only to believe on him, but also
Paul wrote from prison to the Philippians. It is a kind of personal letter filled with joy. So many of us face less hardships in life; but go through life with a defeatist attitude. As we go through this letter Paul wrote we can find some great attitudes that will help us live a
