When It Is Time To Die
When It Is Time To Die. When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die. Jim Elliot, 1956.
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Let God Be God (Part 1)
Let God Be God (Part 1). Romans 9 – 10. The abnegation of faith in Christ by his Jewish compatriots was a constant heavy burden on Paul’s heart, and in this segment of his Epistle to the Gentile Roman church, he pulled aside the curtains to his heart, enabling us
Continue readingTwo Kinds Of People
Two Kinds Of People. There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to who God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ C. S. Lewis, 1946.
Continue readingTwo-Thirds Of Chinese Christians Attend A House Church
Two-Thirds Of Chinese Christians Attend A House Church. In China, house churches or family churches are Protestant assemblies in the People’s Republic of China that operate independently from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC), and came into existence due to the change in religious policy after the end of the Cultural Revolution in the early-1980s. Some
Continue readingThe Visible Invisible God
The Visible Invisible God. Colossians 1: 15 – 20. Yahweh’s invisibility to humans is a Biblical fact, and since no man can see God and live (Ex 33:20), the only option left to the writers of Scripture, who perhaps had caught a glimpse of His glory or had some sense
Continue readingThe Martyrdom Of Polycarp
The Martyrdom Of Polycarp. When the proconsul insisted and said, “Take the oath and I will set you free; revile Christ,” Polycarp replied: “For six and eighty years I have been serving him, and he has done no wrong to me; how, then, dare I blaspheme my King who has
Continue readingManaging Our Innate Hypocrisy
Managing Our Innate Hypocrisy. Luke 6: 39 – 49. Having spoken about believers’ relationships in community earlier, the Lord Jesus next addressed a pertinent issue to do with our own attitude in relating to others. It is a no brainer to realise that we are often blissfully blind to our
Continue readingNo Man Ever Saw God And Lived
No Man Ever Saw God And Lived. No man ever saw God and lived. And yet, I shall not live till I see God; and when I have seen him I shall never die. …. As he that fears God, fears nothing else, so he that sees God, sees everything
Continue readingBe Merciful Just As Your Father Is Merciful
Be Merciful Just As Your Father Is Merciful. Luke 6:27 – 38. In both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the Beatitudes prefaced the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon as taught by Jesus to His disciples encapsulated broad aspects of kingdom life within the community of faith, from giving
Continue reading10 Sure Marks Of Humility
10 Sure Marks Of Humility. Is there any trait more odious than pride or more precious than humility? Is there any trait whose presence we so highly honour in others and whose absence we so readily excuse in ourselves? Truly, pride is the chief of sins and humility the highest
Continue readingDo We Treat Sunday The Way Earliest Christians Did?
Do We Treat Sunday The Way Earliest Christians Did? This is a book review for A Brief History of Sunday: From the New Testament to the New Creation by Justo L. Gonzalez, published by Eerdmans. I never miss the opportunity to read Justo González. The eminent Cuban American church historian
Continue readingHumanly Inexplicable
Humanly Inexplicable. I have seen Christians in communist prisons with 50 lbs of chains on their feet, tortured with red-hot iron pokers, in whose throats spoonfuls of salt had been forced, being kept afterwards without water, starving, whipped, suffering from cold, and praying with fervour for the communists. This is
Continue readingBlessed Are The Peacemakers, Those Persecuted For Righteousness’ Sake, And The Reviled
Blessed Are The Peacemakers, Those Persecuted For Righteousness’ Sake, And The Reviled. Matthew 5: 9 – 12. The Lord Jesus is our exemplary Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). He did not shy away from conflicts when immorality, prejudice and injustice surfaced, often putting His own life on the line against
Continue readingThe Paradox Of Evil
The Paradox Of Evil. The Paradox of evil is this, however, that the providence of God uses the intense suffering it permits to perfect the Son himself and to perfect all those who, by holy baptism, have been made sons. The fiery baptism of pain becomes, by Christ’s bearing of
Continue readingBlessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness, The Merciful, And The Pure In Heart
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness, The Merciful, And The Pure In Heart. Matthew 5: 6 – 8. Following from being poor in spirit, those who mourn over sin, and are meek, the fourth Beatitude, viz., Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
Continue readingOn Suffering
On Suffering. Who stands his ground? Only the man whose ultimate criterion is no his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these things when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and exclusive allegiance to God.
Continue readingCan A Christian Commit Suicide?
Can A Christian Commit Suicide? This controversial topic has unfortunately often been addressed in emotional ways, not through biblical analysis. Those of us who grew up Roman Catholic have always heard suicide is a mortal sin that irretrievably sends people to hell. Influenced by the arguments of Augustine and Aquinas,
Continue readingBlessed Are The Poor In Spirit, Those Who Mourn And The Meek
Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit, Those Who Mourn And The Meek. Matthew 5: 3 – 5. The Beatitudes, the first in a sequence of teachings by Jesus, commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, epitomised His own character. In that sense, these counter-cultural redemptive qualities are beyond the
Continue readingCome To The Lord With Empty Hands
Come To The Lord With Empty Hands. Those who come to the Lord with empty hands get them filled from his hand, and the hands of the Lord are marked with the nails of Calvary. Bishop Taylor Smith, 1926
Continue readingThe Dual References to the Ten Commandments
The Dual References to the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20: 1 – 17; Deuteronomy 5: 1 – 22. In the Sinai, following the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, Yahweh promulgated the Decalogue, commonly known as the Ten Commandments. He prefaced it with an emphatic missive, “I am the Lord your God, who
Continue readingThe Love Of God And Affliction
The Love Of God And Affliction. When we hit a nail with a hammer, the whole of the shock received by the large head of the nail passes into the point without any of it being lost, although it is only a point. . . . Extreme affliction, which means
Continue readingThe Gospel Of Grace? (Part 2)
The Gospel Of Grace? (Part 2) Romans 7 – 8. Earlier, the Apostle Paul explicated his first two points (Rom 6:1-14; Rom 6:15-23; see Part 1 of The Gospel of Grace? dated 7 May 2017), as he anticipated objections from his readers regarding the Gospel of Grace. His third contention
Continue readingHow Badly Soviet Atheism Failed In Europe
How Badly Soviet Atheism Failed In Europe. Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe, a survey conducted from June 2015 to July 2016 in 18 countries by Pew Research Center, roughly a quarter of a century after the fall of the Iron Curtain and subsequent collapse of
Continue readingEnduring Temptation
Enduring Temptation. By enduring temptation, you, as a living member of the body of Christ, have the honour of being conformed to your head. He suffered, being tempted; and because he loves you, he calls you to a participation of his sufferings, and to taste of his cup; not the
Continue readingChristian Earth Day Lessons: Worship By Protecting Creation
Christian Earth Day Lessons: Worship By Protecting Creation. God, the Creator of all things, rules over all and deserves our worship and adoration (Ps. 103:19—22). The earth, and, with it, all the cosmos, reveals its Creator’s wisdom and goodness (Ps. 19:1—6) and is sustained and governed by his power and
Continue readingThe Gospel Of Grace? (Part 1)
The Gospel Of Grace? (Part 1) Romans 5 – 6. “Grace” appears gratuitous and contradictory in our world’s orientation towards achievement, recompense, and entitlements; not that any of these values are intrinsically immoral. Is it any wonder then that the meaning of ‘grace’ seldom enters into our thinking, and if
Continue readingThe Way Of Sinning
The Way Of Sinning. It is impossible for that man to get the conquest of sin, that plays and sports with the occasions of sin. God will not remove the temptation, except you turn from the occasion. It is a just and righteous thing with God, that he should fall
Continue readingLife’s Two Roads
Life’s Two Roads. Psalm 1. Except for the anonymously written Psalms 1 and 33, King David authored the 39 others in the first Book of the Hebrew Psalter. As wisdom literature, Psalm 1 sets an uncompromising picture contrasting the righteous and the wicked individual as man’s journey towards a holy
Continue readingSuffering And Healing
Suffering And Healing. Suffering and healing can be inscrutable; whether they transform , or, in some way, show the works of God (c.f. John 9:3) isn’t always clear to us before that moment foretold in Revelation when God will wipe away all tears. While all suffering seems to have some
Continue readingWho Is This Man On The Cross?
Who Is This Man On The Cross? The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The messianic language of Matthew’s Gospel, with its 53 direct Old Testament quotes and 76 other references, oriented our focus towards Jesus, as the eternal heavenly King that the Jews expected. The challenge to these
Continue readingEverything Amounted To Nothing Except…
Everything Amounted To Nothing Except… About one a.m. on Advent Sunday morning, I had a bad asthmatic attack. In my helplessness, I cried out to God to speak to me. I’m not very good at listening to God, but between one and three a.m. God spoke to me so powerfully
Continue readingThe Most Astonishing Easter Miracle
The Most Astonishing Easter Miracle. “When I visit a church, I notice things. The number of blacks, Asians, and Latinos in relation to whites. Whether women are on the platform. How people are dressed. The quality of the cars in the parking lot. I notice whether the congregation is old
Continue readingNarratives Of The Passion (Part 3)
Narratives Of The Passion (Part 3). Matthew 26 – 27; Mark 14 – 15; Luke 22 – 23; John 18 – 19. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew presented the most graphic details of the gruesome crucifixion scene at Golgotha, while Luke and John spared us most of the disturbing
Continue readingLimitless Love For God
Limitless Love For God. He, who is so great, loves us so much; he loves us freely, little and poor and worthless as we are. That is why I said … that measure of our love for God there should be none. For since love given to God is given
Continue readingNarratives Of The Passion (Part 2)
Narratives Of The Passion (Part 2). Matthew 26 – 27; Mark 14 – 15; Luke 22 – 23; John 18 – 19. When the Chief priests, the elders and the scribes were apparently satisfied that they had a tight case against Jesus’ blasphemous claims, the whole Council, together with their
Continue readingWhen God Is Always Being Sought, When Is He Found?
When God Is Always Being Sought, When Is He Found? When God Is Always Being Sought, When Is He Found? Faith has already found him, but hope still seeks him. But love has found him through faith, and seeks to have him by sight, where he will then be found
Continue readingNarratives Of The Passion (Part I)
Narratives Of The Passion (Part I). Matthew 26 – 27; Mark 14 – 15; Luke 22 – 23; John 18 – 19. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread formed the Pharisaic conspiratorial backdrop against Jesus that led to his eventual crucifixion and resurrection. However, in hindsight, the last word belonged
Continue readingWhy We Need ‘Useless’ People
Why We Need ‘Useless’ People. Typically, the nucleus of each human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent. Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and
Continue readingAll Holiness Is God’s Holiness
All Holiness Is God’s Holiness. All holiness is God’s holiness in us: it is holiness that is participation and, in a certain way, more than participation, because as we participate in what we can receive from God, we become a revelation of that which transcends us. Being a limited light,
Continue readingNo One Justified In God’s Sight (Part II)
No One Justified In God’s Sight (Part II). Romans 3 – 5. The Apostle Paul anticipated the view broadly held by Jewish believers at Rome, that Abraham’s justification was by his obedience and good works, rather than by his faith. If God were to justify through works, only those who
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