This Week With Jesus

 

  Salvation is not a singular event, so we shouldn't treat it as such. It is an ongoing process that began at the cross and continues throughout our earthly lives, involving faith, repentance, and transformation. Lent plays an important role along the way. Phil Ashey, pastor of South Riding Church in Virginia, observed, "Our culture is so focused on an event rather than a process. Even as evangelicals, I think we've been trapped by the idea that salvation is a one-time event, like a sale that we've got to close. But often, it's a process in which people ask questions again and again and approach God repeatedly to consider faith. I see Lent as a door—an entryway—for people to connect or reconnect with Jesus." Engaging in this process means approaching God, understanding His will and power, and reflecting on our faith in Him. Lent offers a unique opportunity to dedicate time toward this reflection. Over these 40 days, we examine our lives, confront our baggage a...

Moses' first speech in Deuteronomy is a profound historical review that serves to remind the Israelites and us, of their/our past, instruct them in the present, and prepare them for the future. The speech is found in Deuteronomy 1:1–4:43 and is a foundational text for understanding the covenant relationship between God and Israel and, today, between God and us. Through this speech, Moses calls the Israelis to remember God's faithfulness, learn from their history, and commit to a life of obedience and trust in the Lord as they stand on the brink of the Promised Land. This speech is as relevant today as it was then; we too have travelled the Christian's road and many of us stand ready to be prepared for the future. Our memories of "good" are short but we seldom forget the "bad" - and which necessitates a hard look at the past so that we do not forget God's infinite blessings and so that we can be strong and confident of the future. "As Moses is gi...

                                                                   Since we are talking about Covid days this week, and you think Covid turned our lives upside down, well, think of this scenario: A strange person appears before you, someone whom you have never seen before, stands before you in your room, and starts talking to you about your future - pretty freaky!! isn’t it? Today I want us to wind back 2025 years and look at the life of a 16 year old Jewish teenager in Israel. This teenager had her life turned completely upside down by the visit of a stranger, in circumstances similar to what we mentioned. We are first introduced to her by name in Matthew’s gospel but we are told of her by Isaiah in his prophecy ‘ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and s...

The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.    R. A. Torrey Too many Christians live their Christian lives inside their heads; it never gets out through hands and feet and lips. - Vance Havner God gives us people to love and things to use, not things to love and people to use. - Max Lucado There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God - Brother Lawrence Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength. - Dwight L. Moody The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.' - Billy Graham Creative words generate energy; negative words drain out energy. - Robert H. Schuller It is not the bee's touching of the flower that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates mo...

 

                           "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. " - John 15:13 In a small village in Japan, there was an old house that had been abandoned for many years. One day, a man decided to renovate the house. As he started to remove the wooden wall panels, he noticed something unusual. A small lizard was nailed to the wall by one of its feet. The man felt sad for the lizard, which must have been trapped there for a long time. However, as he examined the lizard more closely, he noticed something even more surprising. Another lizard was bringing food to the trapped lizard, ensuring that it didn't starve. Despite the hardship of being nailed to the wall, the trapped lizard had been sustained by the unwavering care of its companion. The free lizard had dedicated itself to feeding the trapped one, showing an incredible level of devotion and compassion. This story serves as a...

Inspiring Christian quotes serve as beacons of hope, faith, and encouragement in our daily lives. They remind us of God's unwavering love, the strength found in Christ, and the beauty of living with purpose and compassion. These quotes, often drawn from Scripture or the wisdom of Christian thinkers, provide guidance during challenges and celebrate the joy of faith. Whether uplifting the spirit or deepening one's connection with God, they resonate with timeless truths that inspire believers to walk in love, grace, and perseverance. “Satan is so much more in earnest than we are—he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost.” (Amy Carmichael) “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” (John Wesley) “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” “Every temptation, direc...

In our last post we talked about Jesus being the way and why we need to follow Him, if we want salvation. Following Jesus means commitment to living a life that mirrors his teachings, values, and example, prioritizing his will above all else, and striving for spiritual growth through faith, love, and service. In short it means "living Jesus" every day. Addressing challenges He faced - His way. Relating to people - His way. How we can do that is to ask ourselves in every situation - what would Jesus do? And then do what He would do. If we don't know- go to the Word. Ask. Rev Francis Taylor says this - "Everyone faces temptation every day. It may be something as unimportant as having an extra piece of candy, or skipping exercise, but it could be as serious as giving in to road rage, drinking too much, cheating, gambling, taking drugs, or – (insert your favorite vice here)! Jesus was tempted to let us know that this is something we all must overcome. When you face a te...

Did you know that the Early followers of Christ were called followers of "the way" ? The term "Christianity" came much later. Let us pause and think why were they called that? What was "the way"? The answer will open the door to another basic question: why should anyone follow Christ? Because Christ offered true followers a pathway to salvation. Jesus was and is the way to our salvation. Thus, our ultimate goal to follow a resurrected Jesus is because He is the way to salvation.  How may you ask? Jesus said to take up our cross and follow Him - essentially symbolizing the end of our earthly self and a new beginning. When a person carried a cross in Jesus’ day, no one thought of it as a persistent annoyance or symbolic burden . It was literal! "To a person in the first century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop. Two...

If you were told to empty a bathtub and the choice was to use a bucket, a glass or a spoon, which would you use?  The answer of course is none of the above. The smart way would be to simply pull the plug, because using any of those above-mentioned alternatives would never completely empty the tub. There would be a remnant of water remaining.  Similarly in our spiritual life, if you don't pull the plug there will always be remnants of our previous sins which will remain.  The problem is when called upon to pull the plug, our strength fails us. We are unable to empty that tub completely because of our attachments to our earthly desires and possessions. But Jesus can!  He sacrificed himself to pull the plug and drain out sin from the world, including for you and me.  Today, as we fill our own tubs, let us be careful that we fill it with what Jesus wants, not what we desire from this world.  Reply Forward Add reaction

  Play to Win or Play Not to Lose! 

As we read Revelations, trying to understand, one thing stands out: the significance of the 7 churches to our lives today, with 7 different types of Christians in the world. Let's take a look: The Loveless Christian : First, we have Ephesus, a prominent city with a church mentored by Paul and pastored by Timothy. They are doings things right and yet do have their faults, primary among them is that their devotion to Christ had declined. What can we learn from this church? Like the Ephesian church, we can easily fall prey to a cold, mechanical observance of religion. Like the Ephesians, many tend to focus solely on doctrinal purity and hard work, to the exclusion of true love for Christ. As this letter shows, no amount of zeal for the truth or moral rectitude can replace a heart full of love for Jesus. Persecuted Christians :  Then we have Smyrna. Persecuted Christians. Jesus encourages them to remain faithful, for more persecution is to come. Like the people at Smryna, many today fa...

Today we going to continue our series of messages on prayer based on O.S. Hawkins’ book the prayer code. How many of you have heard of the term “prayer partnership?” Prayer partnership is when two people tie up and make a pact to pray together at the same pre-decided time even though they may be located at different places. Now we may not be practicing prayer partnership in our own lives even though it is a practice that brings considerable blessing but all of us each one of us who are believers in the lord Jesus Christ has a prayer partner. Surprised? Yes, the holy spirit is our personal prayer partner. He is with us all the time, he searches our hearts & helps in our weaknesses and, above all intercedes for us according to god’s will. The Holy Spirit lives in the life of every believer who has called on the name of our lord Jesus Christ. Hawkins explains that our bodies are the holy spirit’s Holy place and because he is in us, he does on our bodies what our lord Jesus Christ...

Once upon a time, in a place called Heaven, a curious scene unfolded. The old king sat at the head of the round table, with His head bowed and deep in thought. Around Him sat His closest advisers, Sir Michael, Sir Gabriel and others and His Son stood next to Him. “You know why we are here,” said the king. The earth is in shambles, people are rebellious, and no one wants to live in peace with each other, let alone listen to me. In fact, some of them openly hate me “ “I made the earth and created humans to have a relationship with me. This relationship characterized by love, worship, and communion. I wanted Humans to live in harmony with me and each other.” “I wanted them to take care of the planet and all its inhabitants, love me and love each other. But most of all I wanted them to do all of this of their own accord – so I gave them free will. And what did they do with that great power of free will and choice?? They rebelled against me! I gave them laws but they broke them. I gave them...

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today" . - Deuteronomy 8:18 The Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore, once said that we can attain anything if we create the capacity to receive it.  This profound thought challenges us to reflect on our own readiness to receive blessings from our God. Are we really ready? Our God has promised us endless blessings, but do we truly have the capacity to receive them? What does this entail? Pastor and Bible commentator David Guzik writes, "Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us why God has blessed us. His plan is that it would ultimately further His eternal purpose. Therefore, we have no right to use our material blessings for selfish purposes; instead, we should use our resources to advance His kingdom." Our process of preparation begins with God Himself readying us. Our trials make space for His consolation. When God ...

  Recently we have seen a spate in discussions around the subject of Christians actively trying to convince others to follow Christ. This is said to be as per His command in Matthew 16:15. Francis Taylor has a very relevant view on this and has this to say - "If we ever needed a reminder of how important it is to practice what we preach, this is it. Not only are we encouraged to help others, but we are also warned about giving bad example or leading others, particularly children, away from the Lord." "I have spoken to many people who say that they became a Christian because of the example of people in their family, friends or strangers whose joy is so great they want a part of it. I also know people who have turned away from the faith they once had because they consider those who proclaim themselves to be Christian are hypocrites. Most people don't start out wanting to be Christians because of doctrine. They are influenced one way or another by people. Are you someon...

First let's be clear that humans cannot earn worthiness of Christ on our own. essentially, our worthiness comes from Jesus' sacrifice, not our own merit. However, once we have accepted Him, we then need to try and live a life according to Him and worthy to Him. It begins with making Jesus first in our life. It is seen in our love for God and our love for others. Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. Choose to live according to God's word every day. Most of all practice the presence of Jesus in our life. How can we do that? To practice the presence of Jesus in our life, we can: start our day with intentional prayer and reflection on scripture, incorporate short moments of prayer throughout our day, actively seek to see Jesus in everyday situations, express gratitude for His presence, and live according to His teachings by showing love and compassion to others; essentially, consciously acknowledge Jesus in all aspects of our life and actively ...

Have you ever pondered who you would be or what your life would be like if Jesus had not come into the world? For starters, we would still be under the law, not under grace and forgiveness. God would be perceived as an entity to be feared and respected out of that fear. We would be terrified of the Almighty. But the game changed with the advent of Jesus. He did not abolish the law; rather, He simplified it and inscribed it on our hearts. The sacrifice needed for our forgiveness every time we sinned was made permanently by Himself. This changed everything. It transformed our relationship with God from one of fear to one of love. Respect and reverence became part of our love for God, and grace and forgiveness became part of His love for us. Jesus' message of hope, redemption, and transformation continues to change lives today. Countless individuals have experienced personal transformation and found purpose, meaning, and hope through faith in Jesus. His profound influence on humanity ...

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage". There is a very strange phenomenon that occurs in a place called Jatinga in Assam, India, wherein migratory birds commit mass suicide.  During the specified months, when the air is foggy, misty, or cloudy, various species of birds see light through windows and in an effort to reach the light they ram into the windows and get killed. The question arises: why do these birds, like a ritual, arrive at the same time every year only to meet their demise? Can they not change their route? This reminds me of us humans. Even though our spirit has been made free in Christ, yet we tend to get entangled in the yoke and bondage of sin frequently. Like those birds we have a tendency to 'commit suicide' by frequently sliding back into sin, sometimes deliberately, sometimes without realizing it. but unlike them, we have a way out in Jesus Christ w...