An acquaintance of mine attended a Christian Conference some years ago, and he came back heavily burdened. What burdened his heart? The speaker’s final charge; “You, Do Your Own.” The thrust of the address, he opined, was centered on the dire need of Christian men and women who will quit their complaints and endless criticisms, and begin to right the wrongs around them. In this article, I...
Hello dear reader, welcome to the year 2022. The beginning of a new year is always a good time to look back over the course of the previous twelve months and measure metrics we had resolved to track in the year. For some of us, it is how much we have grown our knowledge of God or how we have grown in stature. In any case, having a year to look back in a reflective mood is always a blessing. In...
Why did Jesus weep? Actually, the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus recount different times when Jesus was moved to tears. For example, he was moved to tears over the hardness of the heart of the people of Jerusalem, despite his ministry to them (Luke 19:41). Jesus also wept at the garden of Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7-9). However, for most people, when they hear about Jesus weeping, their minds...
Happy New Year! Or should I rather have said, “New Year, New You”? It is a New Year and that means for many of us, it is a time when we are forced to review our lives and try to change things that we know aren’t working, or start to do new things that we know will improve our lives. This is especially important for us Christians who live in light of eternity and know that our time is short, and...
It is a new year, and as is usually the case, there is a surge of optimism in us that all will be well. Somehow, our minds seem to be conditioned to switch from despair, hopelessness, and pessimism once the clock chimes 12 o’clock on January 1. Even the irreligious will say to themselves, “old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” We all like fresh starts and nothing stirs...
For many of us Christians, a recurring desire is to improve our prayer lives. We all want to become better at intercession and building a vibrant and more meaningful relationship with God. Of course, the starting point has to be a deeper understanding of the Word of God, for true prayer is always a relationship built on knowledge of God. If we only read the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 on the...
Suffering is a common thread of humanity. But our heavenly father sovereignly uses these same sufferings and trials for His glorious purpose in the lives of His children.
Rejoice in the Lord (Phil 3:1); Rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4); Rejoice always (1 Thess 5:16). This is the will of God for all His children. But, like we acknowledged last time, we all suffer. Some great, some small, but we all suffer. And the pervasiveness of suffering and trials can give us the impression that the command and encouragement to rejoice always, is only possible when all is...
People suffer! That is a fact. Especially if you live in Lagos State, Nigeria, and have to work outside your home. Some big, some small, but suffering exists, and it’s pervasive. It was Elizabeth Elliot who famously said: …suffering is anything from a burnt toast to losing a loved one (paraphrased). Her point is that suffering is in various degrees. And that I am not suffering to your...
In the first part of this article, we looked at what our text in Mark 6:1-6 means and what it does not mean. This part contains examples of God overruling unbelief and accomplishing His will… Some examples of God acting despite unbelief Help my unbelief! Jesus healed the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9 even though his father didn’t really believe: Immediately the father of the child...