Time With God

Today, we rejoice and commemorate Pentecost Sunday, a significant event in the Christian calendar. Pentecost marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, empowering and igniting them with a divine flame. It is a day of great spiritual significance and joy for believers worldwide. Pentecost, which means "fiftieth day" in Greek, is celebrated fifty days after Easter Sunday. It represents the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit as a guide, comforter, and source of power for His followers. The account of this extraordinary event is described in the book of Acts in the Bible. As the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem, suddenly, there came a sound like a rushing wind, and tongues of fire appeared over each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, enabling them to communicate the message of God's love and salvation to people from various nations who were present in Je...

I t might be hard to read this if you have been through much hurt and pain, but I want you to know that your experience, no matter how harrowing, can enhance your life and set you on a path to significance. Life will always throw curveballs at you, but no matter how badly the odds seem to be stacked against you, you can play a good match. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may he able to bear it."  My word for you today? THIS TOO SHALL PASS ! The trying times will not last forever, and right behind them will be blessings in abundance. Remember: Job received a double portion for his torments, Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa after years of incarceration, and Joseph, who was sold into slavery, became the Prime Minister of Egypt. Their experiences made their...

BELIEVING GOD'S PROMISES God doesn’t promise you an easy life — but He does promise He’ll be there. Isn't it good to have a promise you can count on? As great as it would be to tell our loved ones they'll have easy, successful lives, but that would be a lie, not a promise. We can do our best to be there for our friends and families, but we're all fallible even with the best of intentions. But God isn't going to provide fake comfort. He’s not going to say He'll be around and then disappear. He's going to be there for you, no matter what.  God didn’t send Jesus to  think about  doing something about the power of sin and death. He sent His only Son to  destroy  the power of sin and death. So, we’re not called to manage sin; we’re called to eliminate it by the power of Christ in us. God decided we were worth Jesus’ life, so let’s really live! Let’s pray, let’s know His Word, and let’s leak God’s light into the world. We live in a fallen...

FEED YOUR SPIRIT WITH PEOPLE Imagine the weakest of all lights. Now put it in the darkest room you can think of. What happens? Darkness gives up, and your dim light glows on what was unseen. Now, imagine the One Whose very existence inspired the idea of light. Add Him to your room. What happens? The darkest night becomes bright as day. This is what God can do with the darkest part of our hearts and minds.  However, when we only confess our darkest parts to God, we can slowly cover God’s brightness with shame, pain, and our own selfish desires. Imagine your room is dark again. Now open up a few doors to nearby rooms. What happens? God’s light in others helps us rediscover and keep the healing light of God. You don’t have to tell everyone about your darkest moments, but we ought to tell someone who carries God’s light in them. When we confess to God, He forgives. When we confess to others, they help us hold open the door to God’s bright healing light. Consider:  How...

FORWARD EVER!! BACKWARD?? In life, we are usually expected to be moving forwards but it is not automatic for us to move forward. Whether we go forwards or backwards depends on us. We shout, “forward ever! backward never!” but is it really all forwards for everyone? Why do some people keep moving forward, others backwards and others forward-backwards? Our progression or retrogression in life may to a large extent depend on our choices. The consequences of our choices may bring us progress or take us sideways or take us backwards. Our God expects us to progress in everything we do. He expects us to progress with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). To be progressive in every sphere of our lives; in spirituality, in business, in relationships and in the family among others, we must do everything with excellence. We must turn to our God, who expects us to progress, for guidance and direction so that we can make excellent choices. To progress, we must have an excelle...

GOD WILL NEVER TEMPT YOU You and I wouldn’t likely claim God tempts us. However, most of us have at some point gotten ourselves into a bad situation and said, “God, how could You let this happen to me?”  In these moments, when we face the result of our own actions, we have to make a decision about how we’ll see God. If we think He’s responsible for the outcome, then aren’t we saying He tempted us?  James 1:13 teaches we shouldn’t say God tempts us.  In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus models for us a God Who does not lead us into temptation, but delivers us from evil. When we realize God is not our tempter, we can see Him for Who He is—our Savior. Consider:  Think about the last time you blamed God. Were you also able to see Him as your Savior? Is there anything you need to stop blaming God for? Prayer: Thank you Father for this great revelation. Forgive me Lord for the many times I have blamed you for results of my own inactions which is caused by my lust o...

THE LION KING AND THE CYCLE OF LIFE Watching the remake of the 1994 cartoon Lion King, I felt a bit disappointed with the “remixing” of the music but I have appreciated more profoundly the great lessons that the story reveals: Great African values of togetherness, community, love and care of nature. Life is not an endless and meaningless straight line which leads into the abyss of nothingness (as Timon and Pumbaa had taught Simba) for which reason we must sing “akuna matata”; but life is a cycle in which everything is connected. To think of life as a straight endless line that leads into an abyss of nothingness is to be care free, to live an indifferent life, to care about nothing: neither about people nor nature and hence begin plunder and exploit nature and people. “The book of nature is one and indivisible”, says Pope Benedict XVI (emeritus), “and includes the environment, life, sexuality, the family, social relations, and so forth. It follows that ‘the deterioration of natu...