Tag Archives: Christianity

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Word

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:1-2

What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that God’s kindness will increase?  That’s unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin’s influence?

Thought:

It can sometimes be confusing knowing sin separates us from God, but at the same time knowing we have a sinful nature. How, then, can we reconcile with Him? Jesus died for our sins and paid the price, so we don’t face its consequences, when we truly believe this, we are His followers, we are no longer followers of sin, and we do not do what our sinful nature asks us to do, but since we believe in the gospel, we strive to imitate Christ’s nature in everything we do. One way we can discern whose followers we are is to see how we respond to sin, are we defeated by it? Are we dragged down by it? depressed because of it? Are we stuck in a cycle of falling to sin again and again, or are we running to God knowing that the grace of God powerfully overcomes the hurt caused by sin?  

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for your grace and mercies through Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross for our sins, we ask for power and strength to overcome our sinful nature and desires. Amen.

Let us Hold Unswervingly to the Hope!

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Is fellowship vital for a believer? The hope we hold means that Jesus is the sole author of our salvation, should we then exclude ourselves from others. The Bible answers that in Hebrews 10 23:25, it mentions that we should tightly hold on to hope but at the same time we are also called to spur one another in doing good things and be encouraging to others. Also, it warns about some people who have a habit of not meeting. Though Christ alone is sufficient for our faith, how can we put that faith into action without outwardly showing that love among others, including believers? Hold on to fellowships if you are in one or seek and find fellowships if you are not in one, or in some cases even start one. In any case, do it prayerfully, listening to God’s will.

Word:

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Prayer:

Lord, we pray that you lead us to find fellowships and grow in them. We pray that we can encourage and love others. Amen.

Recognizing our critics

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Apostle Paul in his instructions to the church of Thessalonica asks them to recognize three important characteristics in people; those who work hard, those who care for others, and those who admonish others. It seems sensible and practical to appreciate hard-working and caring people but it’s not easy to appreciate them when they strongly criticize us. The type of admonishment that Paul talks about is done in love where the person who admonishes someone cares enough about them to boldly warn them of their sinful ways. A simple illustration is a mother admonishing her child for playing with fire. We know she does it in love and it is for the child’s well-being. As believers, we should be able to humbly accept and live with people who admonish us, at the same time, when a situation arises, we should also be courageous enough to admonish others in love.

Word:

1 Thessalonians 5: 12, 13

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Prayer:

Lord, help us to be humble when You or others admonish us, help us fix our sinful ways, and also give us the courage to admonish others in love. Amen.

Sharing the Gospel

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

As believers, we are called upon to share the gospel with others.  Before we share, we should remind ourselves of the reason or motive behind this sharing. It was indeed done to spread the knowledge and love of Christ. Paul is a great person to emulate in sharing the gospel. In Acts 17 v16, he is distressed by seeing people worshipping idols and being ignorant of who God truly is. His response to the distress is to love on them by sharing the gospel Acts 17 v22-31. To understand the extent of his sacrificial and selfless love we can refer to Romans 9 v1-3 where he is willing to cut himself off from Christ so that his people may know Christ.  

Word:

Acts 17:16

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

Romans 9:1-3

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for the love and mercies we receive from you every day. We pray that you lead our hearts to share the gospel with others in love. Amen.

Mastering ourselves

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

In Judges 16, Samson’s lack of self-control and humility was on full display as he made a series of poor choices, sleeping with a prostitute, sharing secrets with the enemy, and being proud of his strength. Eventually, God left Him. We run the same risk when we haven’t mastered ourselves from doing what our flesh or the world wants us to do. Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 9:27 goes so far as to say that he made his body his slave to prevent himself from being disqualified as he is preaching the gospel to others. To each person, making their body their slave could mean different things, but one thing is for sure, it will push us out of our comfort zone. We should strive to push our boundaries to master ourselves for God’s glory and avoid disqualification from attaining eternity with God.

Word:

1 Corinthians 9:27

No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Prayer:

Lord, give us the strength and endurance to master ourselves. Strengthen our weaknesses for Your glory. Amen.

Godly Optimism

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

As Christians, when our faith is strong, we tend to be optimistic because our hope is in the living God who holds our future. Joshua and Caleb came across a situation where they could have easily been discouraged by the nature of the land and its powerful people or by the bad report of the other spies or by the grumbling of the Israelites. Despite such circumstances, Joshua and Caleb gave a positive report and urged Moses and Aaron to proceed to the promised land. Their confidence was from the fact that God was with them, and in reality, the world will try to bring our hopes down, we also have to be confident in whatever future God holds for us and if He holds it, nothing can change it.

Word:

Numbers 14:8-9

If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. This is a land flowing with milk and honey! Don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will devour them like bread. They have no protection, and the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.

Prayer:

Lord, our hope is you, the true and living God. we want to abide in You all the days of our life. Give us the strength and wisdom to live out the plans You have for us. Amen.

Thoughts, words, and actions

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Greeting in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

Thought:

Sometimes our thoughts are not often as talked about as our words or actions. In many cases thoughts will be the starting point of a good or bad thing that we may do in the future, so we need to guard our thoughts. Apostle Paul gives a good idea of how our thoughts should be: pure, true, noble, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We should avoid sinful thoughts to stay, sometimes being too busy can also stop us from those good thoughts as mentioned in verse 8. In verse 9, He leads by example and asks us to follow either by what we have heard from him or from what we have seen from him, which essentially is his words and his life in actions respectively. Our thoughts are for us, and words and our lifestyle is for us and others to witness, but all need to align with God’s will.

 Word:

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.          

 Prayer:

Lord, give us your Spirit, to govern our words, thoughts, and actions. Amen.

Being Angry, sin or not?

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Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

Thought:
Being Angry? Is it a sin? No, anger in itself is not a sin but when kept uncontrolled, it can lead to undesirable consequences. For example, most acts of physical abuse, verbal abuse, and thoughts of hatred stem from being angry and this is what God doesn’t want from us. Jesus, Himself was angry when he drove away people from the temple. There might be situations where God uses our anger to do acts for the greater good like correcting others or stopping injustices, but in most other situations we need to be patient, exhibit self-control and leave the situation prayerfully for God to handle.

Word: Ephesians 4:26-27
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.

Prayer:
 Lord, forgive us whenever we have left anger to control us. Give us control over our anger so that it doesn’t hurt anyone. Amen

Christmas Season. Are our hearts in the right place?

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thought:

With Christmas approaching, where are our thoughts, on our vacations? Gifts? Decorations? Parties? family get together? Sometimes it might overshadow the reason for the season which is Christ. The world may know it as Christ’s birthday, but we can go a step further to explain what it means. Since almost everyone celebrates Christmas, it’s a great opportunity to share the love of Christ with non-believers during this season. We can invite them home or to the church where we can ask God for wisdom and boldness to share the gospel. It’s also a time where we can be radically generous to people who can’t afford to celebrate. Let’s celebrate God’s love for us this season by loving others.

Word:

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Prayer

Lord, help us to remember You as we head into this Christmas season, help us to share Your love with others. We pray that others also open their hearts and come to know you. Amen.

Why suffer for doing good?

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thought: The world teaches the concept of Karma where people get what they deserve based on their deeds. According to the Word, it is considered to be better, if it is God’s will, that we suffer for doing good (verse 17). Is that harsh? No, rather it is by that very principle we have a living hope, Christ went through the ultimate suffering on the cross so that we may be reconciled with God instead of going to hell, which is where we deserve to go. In verse 14, Peter says we are blessed when we suffer for what is right. Let’s be encouraged by the fact that through the suffering, God is always with us, watching and His reward for us is in heaven.

Word:
Peter 3:13-18

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for the grace and mercies you have showered upon us because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and the defeat of death through His resurrection. Strengthen us to endure sufferings and persecution when we are doing what is right. Amen.