January 2024 | Conversion: Persecutor Turns Promoter

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Saul of Tarsus and Us

January 2024

The miraculous transformation of Saul of Tarsus gives us hope for our own day.Saul of Tarsus was the last person anyone expected to follow Jesus Christ.  That he would later become the missionary to the Gentiles, willing to face beatings, stoning, prisons, shipwreck, and to lose his life for th...Read More

Signs and Wonders: The Kingdom of God in Our Midst

December 2023

Terrorism…nuclear war…social and cultural decay…political corruption…attacks upon the family…persecution…At this time in history, it is difficult not to be afraid at the growing list of terrible threats against civilization itself. The world seems to be going mad. More and more people wo...Read More

A Pathway to Heaven on Earth

October 2023

According to archeologists, the population of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time was somewhere between 20,000 and 100,000, with smaller numbers probably more accurate.  For a small city, Jerusalem has exerted an influence far out of proportion to its size.I mention this because Acts 1-5 relates how 3,0...Read More

Christ is Risen Indeed

July 2023

One Easter Sunday morning in the 1930s, a young British journalist, also an atheist and socialist, entered a Russian Orthodox Church in Kiev, in what was then part of the Soviet Union. This young man idealized the Russian Revolution as the beginning of a human utopia free of all religion.  One ...Read More

Living the Fruitful Life

January 2023

When he was 17 years old, a perceptive German student wrote, "Our heart, reason, history, and the work of Christ convince us that without Him we cannot achieve our goal, that without Him we are doomed by God, and only Christ can save us."Nine years later, that young man, Karl Marx, rejected Jesus Ch...Read More

Lambs Indeed Why All of Us Need the Good Shepherd

October 2022

I am writing this during the plague of tornadoes that have devastated Joplin, MO, and other places in the Plains States. I know many people there, some of my dearest friends were wiped out of their earthly belongings. I know some who lost loved ones. At such times, we suddenly realize how incredibly...Read More

Holy Spirit Persuasion

September 2022

Often, Christian witness today is based upon apologetics-rational arguments for the faith.  Peter tells us we must always be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us]” (1 Peter 3:15).  While apologetics has importance and ma...Read More

Jesus Christ-The Light of All Lights

August 2022

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World.”  Jesus entry into the world was announced to the wise men as a star in the heavens.  But Jesus first publicly spoke these words at the feast of tabernacles during a festival of lights.  Any perceptive person hearing Jesus speak of Himself as “lig...Read More

Jesus Christ, the Bread

June 2022

During the United States Presidential election frenzy, politicians will promise, and Americans will vote for, what can never be perfectly realized by any human chief executive, no matter how talented, experienced or sincere. At such times, I frequently think of Jesus’ words, “I am the bread.Jesu...Read More

Your Perceptions or His Truth?

April 2022

Would you fly on an airline with pilots so sure of their perceptions that they refused to fly by instruments or listen to air traffic controllers?It is safe to say that such an airline would quickly go out of business.  Generally speaking, we don’t trust people who trust too much in themselves. ...Read More

I Have Overcome the World

March 2022

In the Upper Room Jesus partakes of His final meal with His disciples before His trial and crucifixion.  There, He makes an astounding claim we all do well to heed: “In the world, you shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).Here, Jesus rem...Read More

From Spiritual Death to Life

January 2022

Go into a mortuary and try to carry on a conversation with a dead person lying in a casket.  No matter how charming, charismatic or logical your words and personality, you will get nowhere.  That dead person cannot respond.A spiritually dead person cannot respond to the things of God. ...Read More

"Look Up... Your Salvation is Near"

December 2021

Would you like to see heaven on earth?  If so, then you should be waiting, working and watching for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.Every day, we pick up our newspapers and note that the world is in deep trouble.  The trouble seems to be getting worse.  Desperate people want super-w...Read More

The Importance of Second Doctrine or Truth

November 2021

There was a time not too long ago when “Theology” was regarded as the queen of all sciences. Theology comes from two Greek words: Theos (God) and Logos (Word), literally “God-Word” or Word of God”. Take the words such as psychology, sociology and biology. Psychology is the “study of...Read More

Fierce love ? Are you sure ?

October 2021

Most times, we don’t put those two words together.  We think of “fierce” as aggressive, destructive and fearful, and love as soft, tender and peaceful.  But “fierce” has another side to it—heartfelt and passionate intensity.  This definitely describes the character of Jesus’ love.Th...Read More

The Full Life

July 2021

The United States of America or any other democratic nation that elects its President or Prime Minister experiences election frenzy  when politicians will promise, and people will vote for, what can never be perfectly realized by any human chief executive, no matter how talented, experienced or sin...Read More

God's Work Made Manifest in Us

June 2021

   John records the story of the healing of a blind man by Jesus in Chapter 9:1-7 and then details in the following thirty-one verses the reactions of four groups of people and the story culminates in the blind person recognizing Jesus as the Son of God and “worshipped Him” (v.38).&nbs...Read More

The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

May 2021

   The role of women has changed little over the past 2,700 years.  I want you to compare what women are saying about their roles now with what was said in the year 1,700 and what we read in Proverbs 31, which was written around 700 BC.   Author Linda Weber, in her book writ...Read More

Jesus Christ: Light of the World

April 2021

Lloyd Ogilvie, pastor and one-time Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, originally came from Scotland.  One evening, in his native Scotland, he was walking outside without a flashlight.  It grew dark.  He tripped on a rock and fell down.  He put his hand forward to push himself up and fe...Read More

What We Believe makes All the Difference

March 2021

Many people say they believe in Jesus, but what we believe about Jesus makes all the difference.In John 7, Jesus’ own brothers give a good example of this.  They “believed” in Jesus, but they believed He was a magician and a secular Messiah.  They saw Him as a celebrity who needed to break o...Read More

The New Life of God

January 2021

God Bless you with His Grace and Peace in the new year of 2021. I pray you experience His Love, Joy and Goodness in abundance. We have just celebrated the birth of our Savior and Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.  It is necessary for us to remember why we celebrate the coming of this Child an...Read More

Praises During the Pandemic

December 2020

Praise God that He has “overcome the world” for the gospel of the kingdom in the middle of the continuing pandemic.In John 16, just before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, “In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”...Read More

The Life of God in the Dead

November 2020

Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, came into the world to restore peace with God and peace among human beings.  Throughout India and the world, billions of people search for peace.  Most people look for peace in the wrong places.Christians say the only true way to peace is through Jesus C...Read More

The Christian and the Trials of Life

May 2020

 How should we as Christians regard such a time as this? Some of you may have the coronavirus. Others of you may have friends or loved ones who have suffered or even died from it. Others of you have lost or are about to lose your livelihoods. Still others have faced shortages in food and other ...Read More

Humility, Holiness, Healing

March 2020

A significant event in the life of Solomon is recorded in 2 Chronicles 7. The Lord appears to Solomon a second time in a dream. Solomon perceived that it is God who spoke to him. Whenever God touches us, we know in our heart and realize that it is a supernatural intervention. Solomon realized th...Read More

Faith Healing and Medicine: Biblical Perspectives

January 2020

The Great Commission is fulfilled only when we witness to a loving and gracious God who is sovereign in all things.  “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” we read in Psalm 24.  This galls Satan and his human allies.  They want to banish God from His creation a...Read More

Live Without Worry

December 2019

Dear friend,One day, a breathless man came running up to John Wesley, the well-known preacher and revivalist, and shouted, “Sir, your house has burned down!  Your house has burned down!”John Wesley calmly replied, “No, it hasn’t because I don’t own a house.”“But Mr. Wesley, sir,...Read More

The Importance of Second Doctrine or Truth

November 2019

There was a time not too long ago when “Theology” was regarded as the queen of all sciences. Theology comes from two Greek words: Theos (God) and Logos (Word), literally “God-Word” or Word of God”. Take the words such as psychology, sociology and biology. Psychology is the “study of...Read More

The Covenant of Baptism

October 2019

What is the meaning and purpose of baptism?  Does baptism guarantee our salvation?  Is this why Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples and baptize them?Praise God for His wondrous grace by which He provides everything we need for our salvation.  Salvation comes to us by grace...Read More

Generational Curses and God's Grace

September 2019

Imagine yourself wading in the ocean on a warm day.  Someone has warned you that the riptides are especially strong today, and it is not a good time to wade, but you ignore the warning.  A sudden wave picks you up and carries you out to sea.  The ocean current is too strong for you, and you find...Read More

Maturity

August 2019

Dear Friend,“Abide in me...he who abides in me bears much fruit.”  This is the essence of maturity.Jesus spoke these words to His disciples just before His crucifixion.  They are not mystical or religious words, but relational.  God is sovereign.  He is also a Person we can know and trust....Read More

Marks of a Spirit-filled Church

July 2019

Years ago, the late Billy Graham, held one of his large evangelistic crusades in a certain city.  A prominent minister of that city was approached by a reporter who asked him how he thought the crusade was going.The minister grumbled, “Billy Graham has set back the churches of this city fifty...Read More

The Source of Holy Living

June 2019

Holy living means learning to live as God Himself.God’s central quality is His holiness.  His holiness makes Him incomparable to all others.  His holiness is the one outstanding quality about which the angels sing.  When Isaiah saw God in the temple, God’s holiness caused Isaiah to cry out,...Read More

Towards a Biblical Morality

May 2019

II Kings 22 records how young King Josiah ascended the throne following years of idolatry, a time of darkness when even Solomon’s temple, once dedicated to God’s glory, became filled with pagan idols.  One day, Hilkiah the high priest found the sacred scriptures in the temple, forgotten and...Read More

The Message of the Cross

April 2019

“Weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28). “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).Countless painters have painted the scene of Jesus’s crucifixion or dramatized it on film.  There is a natural tendency among many people to regard the cross...Read More

Liberty from addiction

March 2019

Dear Friend, Whether in India, Europe, Africa or America, addiction is a major problem.  Gerald May defines an addiction as “compulsive, habitual behavior that limits freedom of human desire.”  In other words, an addict is a slave.  Whatever holds an addict’s attention to this degree has ...Read More

Walk in God's Light

January-February 2019

Twenty-year-old Eric Percy, after drinking, got into a loud argument with his girlfriend about 3 am that carried over the neighborhood in the early morning quiet. Finally, with curses that woke everyone, he jumped into his car, turned on the engine, and screeched around the corner. His car accelerat...Read More

The Shoot from the Stump of Jesse

December 2018

A dead, dry tree stump lies forgotten and neglected in the corner of the yard, covered with weeds and snails.  Someone cut down the tree long ago, but no one remembers (or cares) who cut it down or when it was cut down.  But one day, a shoot begins to grow from the dead stump.  It gro...Read More

Christian Attitude Toward Finances

November 2018

In recent days, we hear much about and perhaps experienced the penalties of living with a bad economy.  The more we learn about the roots of the present distress, we realize that many supposedly “smart” people in responsible positions have made foolish decisions that violate simple principl...Read More

The Blessed Hope

October 2018

“When we all get to heaven…”Many Christians regard this as the “ultimate” of the Christian life.  This is important, but Jesus revealed a far greater and more dramatic destiny for the Christian:  His Second Coming.  It is the day, not when we leave earth for heaven, but when...Read More

"Encourage One Another with These Words"

September 2018

There is no doubt about it.  We live in troubled times, and they seem to be getting more troubled.  In Kerala, we know this by experience as we recover from the worst floods in recorded history.  But even these floods, as destructive, terrible and grievous as they are, pale in co...Read More

Demons and the Problem of Evil

August 2018

Demons are real.Many times, I have encountered them in my ministry.  I have heard the testimonies of other people who have encountered them.  I have personally cast them out of possessed people and seen the dramatic transformation that took place afterwards.  Demons are a difficu...Read More

Commitment to God

July 2018

Someone has defined commitment as “dedication to a particular organization, cause, or belief, and a willingness to get involved.”  This definition governs many churches and organizations, but this definition of commitment is insufficient for the church of Jesus Christ.  At heart, ...Read More

The Essence of Christian Unity

June 2018

Christian unity is one of the most desired-and most misunderstood-qualities of the church.  In John 17, Jesus prays for unity among His disciples and those who would hear their preaching (that includes you and me). What did He actually pray for?He did not pray for a one-world church under ...Read More

Jesus' Resurrection-Truth or Fiction?

May 2018

The key to Jesus Christ’s uniqueness is his historical resurrection.  If Jesus Christ did not actually rise from the dead in historical time, then Christianity is a fraud.  The Bible itself makes this claim in 1 Corinthians 15:  “If Christ has not been raised, then our preach...Read More

A Holy God and a Holy Life

January-February 2018

“Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man,” said Oswald Chambers.The problem is that most of us, most of the time, turn that around.  Even in the church, we must fight the tendency to reduce God to a sentimental being whose purpose is chiefly to make us happy and prosperous.Dr. Mart...Read More

The Glory of God

December 2017

What is the glory of God? The dictionary defines “glory” as “very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown; something that is a source of honor, fame, admiration; resplendent beauty or magnificence or prosperity; a state of absolute happiness, gratification, ...Read More

Contentment: The Road to Thanksgiving

November 2017

In America, November is marked by a holiday known as Thanksgiving Day.  The original purpose of the day was to set aside a time of thanksgiving to God for His many blessings.  It originated with America’s Christian forefathers, the Pilgrims, who settled in North America “for the glory ...Read More

Danger of Following False Christs

October 2017

A man looks at a sore on his neck that does not heal.  He worries - is it cancer?  The thought frightens and horrifies him.  He asks advice from others regarding a good doctor.  Someone tells him, “Oh, it doesn’t really make any difference which doctor you go to.  J...Read More

Heaven, Our Blessed Hope

September 2017

We live in an age of trouble. Wherever we look, we hear of heart ailments. Millions of people die of heart ailments. A cause of heart disease is stress. We read in the newspapers about terrorism, war, violence, and starvation. This adds more stress to people’s lives.We also experience job and fami...Read More

Live Without Worry

August 2017

Dear friend,One day, a breathless man came running up to John Wesley, the well-known preacher and revivalist, and shouted, “Sir, your house has burned down!  Your house has burned down!”John Wesley calmly replied, “No, it hasn’t because I don’t own a house.”“But Mr. Wesley, sir,...Read More

God's Grace and Our Healing

July 2017

Holistic healing - the harmonious relationship of body, soul and spirit - comes when we learn to live our lives governed by the grace of God.How do we know we are governed by the grace of God?  I submit to you a simple test.  Ask yourself this question:  When were you saved? &nbs...Read More

Everyone Needs The Old Testament

June 2017

A great error is making its way into the church and into our culture as a whole:  the belief that we don’t need the Old Testament.  We are told the Old Testament is too old, bloodthirsty and obscure to serve any further purpose. Let us cast aside this relic of the past, we are told....Read More

Your Call to Ministry Leadership

May 2017

To discover and to display Jesus Christ this is the highest purpose of life and ministry.This purpose is especially evident in the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. Someone has called Ephesians “the Rolls Royce of the epistles” because of the succinct way it sets forth the vision, minis...Read More

True Stewardship

April 2017

“Stewardship is another term for fundraising.”How many times have you heard or thought that?  This common misconception permeates our culture, even within the church, but it is heresy of the worst sort.Stewardship applies to everything God gives us, including our life experiences, our envir...Read More

Our First Mission Field

March 2017

Our children are our first mission field.We live in a turbulent world inhabited by troubled youth and children, alienated from their families and society. Apart from a dramatic intervention by God, we face a troubled future because these troubled youth grow up. Soon, they become parents themselves. ...Read More

Hope for a New Year

January-February 2017

We live in dangerous times. How easy for us to become alarmed, discouraged, to despair that God has abandoned us.  We all need hope in our times - hope greater than wishful thinking, knowledge based upon fact.  Hope greater than mere optimism. Hope based upon the Word of God, upon His...Read More

The Accessible King

December 2016

Queen Elizabeth has reigned for almost 65 years.  We all know her face, and we know many things about her and her family.  But if any of us sought to enter her private quarters at Buckingham Palace without proper credentials, we would be arrested and jailed.  No one enters the presence of royalty...Read More

Walk in God's Light

November 2016

Twenty-year-old Eric Percy, after drinking, got into a loud argument with his girlfriend about 3 am that carried over the neighborhood in the early morning quiet. Finally, with curses that woke everyone, he jumped into his car, turned on the engine, and screeched around the corner. His car accelerat...Read More

Showing Grace to Graceless Parents

October 2016

To effectively fulfill the Great Commission sometimes depends upon how we honor the most dishonorable people of our lives with God’s grace.  This may include parents who mistreated, neglected and abused us.  To a degree, we all experience dysfunctional families.  All parents ar...Read More

The Godly Influence of My Maternal Grandparents

September 2016

As the oldest grandchild, I received much care and love by my grandparents and extended family.  My maternal grandfather, Pastor P.T. Chacko, took me to nursery school and to my earliest grades in elementary school.  I would sit on the front of his cycle and later, his motorcycle. Every da...Read More

When Our Children Don't Succeed

August 2016

All of us who have children, grandchildren, nephews or nieces want them to succeed in life.  We become overjoyed when they do, and we proudly tell others of their accomplishments.  Their success reflects upon us.  In a very real sense, we regard their success as our success.What if th...Read More

A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO COMMUNALISM

July 2016

Communalism is a chronic problem in India, but the Bible shows us a way to deal with it.Communalism attempts to build religious and ethnic identities and to incite strife among people of different communities.  These smaller communities see themselves first of all as members of a particular gro...Read More

God Introduces Himself

June 2016

God introduces Himself…  This fact makes the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ different from any other religion.Everywhere else, a celebrated philosopher, teacher or prophet tries to introduce us to God.  But humanity’s ideas about God, no matter how seemingly noble and high-minded...Read More

God Introduces Himself

May 2016

God introduces Himself…  This fact makes the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ different from any other religion.Everywhere else, a celebrated philosopher, teacher or prophet tries to introduce us to God.  But humanity’s ideas about God, no matter how seemingly noble and high-minded...Read More

In Christ, We Are All Leaders

April 2016

Today, millions of people feel alienated from society.  To feel alienated is to feel excluded and powerless.  Right now, Christians are coming under increasing attack on different fronts.  In the past, Christians have influenced society in dark days.  In many ways, they have...Read More

Work and Witness

March 2016

One of the greatest blessings that God gives to us is the gift of work. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people, including many Christians, do not believe this.  Most people are dissatisfied with the work they do. Many Christians are convinced that their jobs are not sufficiently “Chr...Read More

The Suffering Little Children

January-February 2016

I wish you all God’s richest blessings in 2016.Whoever receives one such child in My name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him, that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.”...Read More

JESUS LOVES CHILDREN

December 2015

Jesus Christ came into the world as a helpless child.  That says everything about the importance of children to God and the importance they should have for us.  During His ministry, Jesus attracted children, and He enjoyed their company.  He exploded with indignation when His disciple...Read More

ECOLOGY AND MISSIONS GO TOGETHER

November 2015

When God created man in His image, He mandated him to “subdue” the earth.  What does “subdue” mean in today’s world?In India, the Bhopal disaster of 1984 still haunts us more than 30 years after leaks from a pesticide factory emitted toxic gases that spread far over the surrounding ar...Read More

Metaphors of Maturity

October 2015

As any good parent knows, raising children is never an easy task.  Parents must take years to patiently raise their children to become fruitful human beings.As believers in the Great Commission, we must never become content just with winning people to Jesus Christ.  Jesus told us to “mak...Read More

Beyond Reconciliation

September 2015

Reconciliation does not necessarily equal intimacy.  Two enemies may reconcile but never become true friends.  They no longer fight, but they have little contact with one another.How many Christians secretly live lives like this?  They know Jesus has ended their enmity with God and re...Read More

Jesus Empowers Women

August 2015

Organized religion has tended to devalue women and deny them power and influence.  This includes organized Christendom throughout much of its history.Christendom is never as radical as the Bible.  When we read the Bible, it becomes clear that God has always had different ideas about women ...Read More

Maturity

June 2015

Dear Friend,“Abide in me...he who abides in me bears much fruit.”  This is the essence of maturity.Jesus spoke these words to His disciples just before His crucifixion.  They are not mystical or religious words, but relational.  God is sovereign.  He is also a Person we ...Read More

Why Did Christ Come?

March 2015

In 1990, 24 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope was sent into orbit on the space shuttle Discovery.It was the world’s most powerful camera and telescope sent into space. The camera lens was 8 feet in diameter, weighing 828 kilos, the most expensive space project undertaken by the government of U...Read More

Church and State: Pray for Our Leaders

January-February 2015

Dear Friend,Brutal, tyrannical, extravagant, persecutor, murderer, cruel, opportunistic…These are just a few of the words that describe the Roman emperor, Nero.  Roman historian, Suetonius, said that Nero “showed neither discrimination nor moderation in putting to death whomsoever he please...Read More

Christian Freedom

December 2014

Even when we do not think of God, we all depend constantly upon His presence in our lives.  The more we see and experience His glory and grace in our daily lives, the greater our freedom.When Isaiah met God in the temple, he heard the angels cry out,“Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, the...Read More

The Church: Organism or Organization

November 2014

There is a popular concept among some church people that as far as the church is concerned, “organism” is good and spiritual, but that “organization” is bad and unspiritual.  I believe this is false.  Organization is necessary for any enterprise.  As far as the church is ...Read More

Challenges and Opportunities of Globalization

September 2014

Question:  What is the truest definition of globalization?Answer:  Princess Diana’s death.Question:  Why?Answer:  An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel riding a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian, drunk with Scottish whiskey,...Read More

Lydia-And All of Us

July 2014

Lydia’s life forces us to re-evaluate our attitudes toward women.To receive God’s best and highest blessings, it is best that we follow Him and accept all He chooses to do in our lives, not decide ahead of time what He should and should not do. Throughout the centuries, men have tended to regard...Read More

Globalization: An Opportunity for the Gospel

June 2014

In 2010, I was a delegate at the Lausanne Conference in Capetown, South Africa.  That gathering of mission-minded Christians from around the world reflects the growing realization that the Great Commission requires global cooperation with other believers.The Lausanne Conference is just one exam...Read More

Through Example and Changed Hearts

May 2014

How should Christians deal with human trafficking in ways that glorify God, advance His kingdom and help victims? Human trafficking is growing in India, America and worldwide.  It is a form of human bondage and slavery.In the Apostle Paul’s time, the Roman Empire was a slave society.&nbs...Read More

The Finger of God

March 2014

All of us need a special healing touch of God upon our lives that renews as well as purges out what is unnecessary or harmful.The ancient Egyptians of Moses’ day referred to this as “the finger of God.”  This is a colorful term that refers to God’s direct and miraculous intervention in ...Read More

The Blessings of True Prophecy

January-February 2014

The gospel finds its place in men, women and children to the extent that the Holy Spirit plants and enlivens His written Word in their hearts. He does this in a number of ways. One of those ways is through the prophetic word. True prophecy is the Word of God coming through a human messenger. This ha...Read More

Perseverance: Key to God's Promises

December 2013

This Christmas season, we thank God for becoming “God with us.”Think of Simeon, the old man to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the infant Jesus as the promised Messiah.  Apparently many years earlier, the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he first saw God’...Read More

People with Special Needs

November 2013

Regularly, all of us see and meet people with special needs.  Maybe you have such people in your family.  Maybe you even see yourself as one of those in need.Often, when we come into contact with such people, we become uncomfortable.  We do not know how to react to those unable to car...Read More

Christ's Way to Victory in Suffering

September 2013

Each person in this world suffers in some way. The heart of each person is heavy or broken because of tragedy, injustice and/or violence to oneself or family members or dear friends.  Suffering comes in as many forms as there are people on this earth—physical, mental, emotional, relation...Read More

The Little Things Do Count

August 2013

We all know people who do well in their studies and go on to succeed in life while others do not.  Are some people are born to success while others are not?  Is this their fate in life?  Not necessarily.Often, the person who faces more obstacles achieves the most success while the privileged acco...Read More

Sacrificial Lamb

July 2013

All of us carry roles in our society that identify who we are.  Some of us are doctors, lawyers, farmers, business people, etc.  In our families, we carry identities as “father,” “mother,” “brother,” sister,” “cousin,” etc.  Some of us are ministers and missionaries....Read More

The Source of Abundant Life

June 2013

“Religion…is the opium of the people,” wrote Karl Marx, considered the founder of modern-day Communism and icon of secular humanism.  Opium is a drug one takes when he feels hopeless, weak and depressed and has no realistic approach to a better life.  To Karl Marx, Christianity ...Read More

The Importance of Sound Doctrine or Truth

May 2013

There was a time not too long ago when “Theology” was regarded as the queen of all sciences. Theology comes from two Greek words: Theos (God) and Logos (Word), literally “God-Word” or Word of God”. Take the words such as psychology, sociology and biology. Psychology is the “study of...Read More

Establishing Our Godly Inheritance

April 2013

In December 2011, ABC News carried the story of an anonymous Kansas City woman who received $6.1 million, the largest unclaimed money award in U.S. history.  Generations ago, her ancestors had invested in a long-forgotten company, and she was the lawful beneficiary of all that had accumulated.&...Read More

Be Strong in the Lord

January-February 2013

How many times have you seriously tried to engage with God, and you suddenly have had lustful or bitter thoughts?  A telephone call?  A sudden compulsion to attend to “urgent” business?  Afterwards you feel deep pangs of guilt and wonder why you got so easily sidetracked.How many ...Read More

SOMETHING WORTH CELEBRATING

December 2012

Christians have more reason to rejoice and celebrate than any other religion on earth.  As Christians, we worship God who assures us of salvation in a way that no religion can offer.  We receive salvation without any human possibility to merit it. The Christmas season should be a time of festivit...Read More

THE BASIS OF GOD'S KINGDOM The Lord's Prayer, Part II

August 2012

The Lord's Prayer reveals how we should regard God and power and grace to accomplish important things in our own lives and the lives of others.The Lord's Prayer also reveals us for who we are when Jesus prays, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  We all tend toward idolat...Read More

BRINGING GOD'S KINGDOM The Lord's Prayer, part 1

July 2012

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work,” Oswald Chambers tells us, “prayer is the greater work.”Another man of God, H. MacGregor, has told us, “I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach.  A minister's highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray....Read More

We are all Theologians

May 2012

“Theology” is a word that causes deep misunderstanding among many kinds of people. There is a general misconception that theology is only for religious specialists who spend years in college and seminary and church pastorates. Not true. In truth, we are all theologians. Theology is the study...Read More

How to Become a Mature Christian

March 2012

How do you know if you are a mature Christian? Turn to the writings of James, the apostle. Right away, James tells us that his purpose in writing is “that you may be mature and complete.” The Greek word that James uses for “mature” is teleios. In his day, teleios was the word used ...Read More

Living the Fruitful Life

January-February 2012

When he was 17 years old, a perceptive German student wrote, "Our heart, reason, history, and the work of Christ convince us that without Him we cannot achieve our goal, that without Him we are doomed by God, and only Christ can save us."Nine years later, that young man, Karl Marx, rejected Jesus Ch...Read More

Jesus Christ-The Light of All Lights

December 2011

Jesus said, "I am the Light of the World."  Jesus entry into the world was announced to the wise men as a star in the heavens.  But Jesus first publicly spoke these words at the feast of tabernacles during a festival of lights.  Any perceptive person hearing Jesus speak of H...Read More