This Week With Jesus

The name of this post in truth, should have been Science and God. But we view science and religion as being diametrically opposite, though they go hand in hand.  Science explains the "how" of God and His creation while religion explains the "why" . For example, it can tell us how it rains but cannot tell you why it does or does not rain and why should it rain. Why do we die? Science can tell us how we die but cannot explain why we die. The fact is the world and all that is in it, is part of God's creation. And God uses His creation to bless us or deprive us, according to His will and judgement. For example, we have completely disrespected nature, Gods creation, throughout the ages and today we are paying the price of that disrespect and destruction. The "how" is what science helps us to understand, so that we truly appreciate what God has done, and praise Him in awe and wonder. This understanding of the "how" of creation inspired King David

Reference: 2 Timothy 2 14-26 Our world revolves around two things - assets and liabilities. We define and classify people around us with these two scales. That is of course in the material world. In the Christian world, a similar question arises: are we an asset to Christ? Firstly, let us understand that we are NOT a liability. We, each one of us are valuable to God. Not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of what we have cost . Second, just because we are not a liability does not mean we are an asset. An asset is something or someone who is useful to the world, people around us and to society at large. As assets we become agents of change for the better. Last, and following from the above, as assets we become agents of change for God. His word tells us what we need to do, how we must behave and act. How we need to build a relationship with Him as well as the people around us. That we, become a lighthouse for Him, guiding others to Him. If our light starts to dim, w

                                                      Prayer is Where the Action is - John Wesley Does God see? Does God care? Scripture calls us to believe that God really does see, know, and hear. The question is do we call?  Today, we thank God for the recovery of your servant in Australia, in India and those who were sick and needed your intervention.  Today we request you, our readers, for prayers for all these people. We do not know them nor they us. Yet we believe, your prayers will help them and give them hope:  Brandi says - Can you please pray for God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, The Angelic Hierarchy, The Saints, all those that help us, me (Brandi), my family and my friends. WE are going through a very challenging time right now and could really use your prayers. Thank you! Tanu Prays -  Heavenly Father I come before you praying for resources and money to build our family home, I pray for your blessings and favor, remember me and my family in a special and mighty wa

“He that watereth, shall be watered also himself” Proverbs 11:25 "I read this touching true story of a boy selling from door to door to pay for his school. One day he found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly and then asked, how much do I owe you?” You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness.” He said … “then I thank you from my heart.” As he left the house, he felt physically stronger, and his faith in God and man was strong. He had been ready to give up and quit. Many years later, that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

                                                  Life is lived on trust. When we consult a doctor or an architect for example, we trust that the outcome of their work will be good for us. When we board an aircraft, we trust the pilot and the technology to reach our destination. When we eat our food, we trust the farmer has not used dangerous fertilizers. Even when we cross the road we trust the walk sign. When we sleep, we trust that we will wake up the next morning. In all these situations where we trust, we trust fully. No halfway trust, no partial trust. There is no such thing.  When we completely trust all these things throughout our life so easily, why is it a challenge for us to trust God who made, maintains and runs all these things that we, so easily, trust? Jeremiah 17 Says   "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves rem

 

The Christian Way "I can honestly say I am a Christian, but my spirituality has been developed on the road and is based on my experiences with God." Justin Timberlake 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 I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian.  Saint Ignatius When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man, when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!  John Wesley A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know .  Dwight L. Moody I'm just like you - I want to be a good human being. I'm doing my best, and I'm working at it. And I'm trying to be a Christian. I'm alwa

Whatever continually occupies your mind is your God. Your job, worries, burdens, children, wife, husband... whoever comes first. Why not give God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that place? That is not to say to ignore all others. But Those are responsibilities which we can fulfill with the help of our God. It's not easy to relinquish control but do remember, every night when we sleep, by default we pass the control to God. It's time we gave Him priority in our conscious time and our attention as well. Proverbs 3:6 proclaims, “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success,”

Matthew 20: 21 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” Man's natural instinct is to strive for Glory, small or big. The question is who's Glory? Self or God? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God". Yet, some people credit all their successes to their own knowledge and hard work, (much like Nebuchadnezzar and his self-praise regarding Babylon, Daniel 4, 28-37) relegating God's grace to church circles at best, and some not even that. Some even preach the gospel, inspired by themselves and uninspired by God, for their own glory as speakers or knowledgeable people. We thus become idols to ourselves. Romans 12:3 ... According to Paul Tripp in TGC, Typical signs of self glorification (among others), are - Parade in public what should be kept in private. - Be way too self-referencing. -

Did u know that Satan also blesses. He is not deaf. He too hears when we ask God for some blessing which may or may not be His will for us. The devil works with counterfeit information and what we have asked for, he will send us as a counterfeit blessing. Terms and conditions attached.  The exact meaning of the word "counterfeit" is something  made in exact imitation of something valuable with the intention to deceive or defraud . And without knowledge and wisdom to discern, a fake, seems to be genuine.  This is why it is wise to pray for discernment so that nothing passed us by surprise, and we miss what God really wanted for us. 

                                            "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts" . Malachi 1  When we have esteemed visitors over for a visit, we try and offer the best we can. Best crockery and cutlery, the best of foods, the best seat in the house and the best comforts. When God knocks, in the form of a hungry person, what do we offer? Stale food? When asked by beggars -do we give s oiled or unusable currency and keep the crisp notes for ourselves? It's not what we give. It's how we give. Let's not put terms and conditions to our giving. Recognize the need and give honorably, thereby honoring God for there is God in each human.  Give more or give l

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness . It is an expression of humility . It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer , faith , courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being . James E. Faust " Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you ." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

  Today we have chosen the theme of Faith and Hope and bring you a post and a song. We hope you enjoy these.  Leap Of Faith can be read here  King of Heaven a Paul Baloche song rendered by Voices for Glory, the Bethel Methodist Chruch Choir can be heard here 

Remember Job? A character of much importance in the Bible. Some people joke and say that he innocently became the subject of a bet between God and Satan. Except that God does not gamble.  God also does not need to give points, but He did point Job to His truths. Yet, even today,  we humans want proof points. Proof of His creation, proof of His presence, proof of His love for us. We sure know about Him, but do we really believe in Him until he shows His presence? Humanity needs case studies like that of Job to show others of things like faith, Gods love, Divine intervention etc. If you look at it, Job is a typical human and, in the story, God lists out all the proof points you and I need that He exists, and He is God the Creator. He also gives proof points that He is the nurturer and the provider; that he is the protector of His creation and finally that He is the power that keeps the balance in His creation. The Story of Job is an important one for us. Not because it teaches us how to

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14 What a profound ultimatum was given to Esther!  But in  Esther we find a powerful message of courage and divine providence. Esther found herself in a powerful position as a queen. She used her position to save her people from a terrible fate at the urging of her cousin Mordecai, who is quoted above as well. In fact, till this day the Israelites celebrate Purim , to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther.  Like Esther, have you ever felt you were in a certain situation for a reason? That perhaps, like Esther, God has orchestrated events in your life to fulfil a special purpose? It can be easy to feel insignificant and powerless, but God often places us exactly where we

The Good news is that Sundays will not be blank for us!  We will be repeating some meaningful posts on Sunday. So here are our suggestions for today:   1.  Transforming Sadness to Hope - Jesus transforms lives. Can we help?  You can read it here   2.  An Accidental Human - For management strategists & practitioners as well as Christian professionals .  You can read it here   Happy Weekend Reading! 

                                                                                                                                Image: Scout Life Magazine Prayer is a pillar or actually the cornerstone of Christian life.  A typical prayer may include giving thanks, intercession, blessings, praise etc.  And we may ask for help with the problems and challenges we face. Tom Clark from Life, Home and Truth has this to say -  ... "do we always pray for the right things?  Let me illustrate this with a paraphrase of a story by Peggy Porter on  usscouts.org  that I read many years ago. Eight-year-old Gilbert had only been in Cub Scouts a short while when the scoutmaster handed everyone a block of wood, four tires and a sheet of instructions, and told them to go home and “give it all to Dad.” Unfortunately, the dad part was not an option for Gilbert, so the block of wood sat untouched for days as a befuddled Gilbert struggled to figure out what to do. Finally, without a better option, Gilb

Growing up there was no television and going to the movies was a treat. The daily entertainment came from reading books. Two such book are ones I will never forget - All things bright and beautiful and All creatures Great and Small by James Heriot, a vet surgeon in rural England.  His books are about his daily experiences as a vet and  Gods creation, farm animals, birds and other creatures in our daily life, as well as the challenges they face as do their owners and farmers. One common picture which will keep popping up is that of fences on farms, pens and enclosures where the animals are kept safe. A gate left open accidentally can result in tragedy for the animal, so the farmer makes sure all gates are shut. In case it is not and animals stray, they are sitting targets for wolves, speeding cars and other dangers, so the farmer immediately goes after the strays and tries to bring them back to safety. This is much like our own shepherd who may leave 100 of us while we are in the safe

                                  Addiction is so prevalent in the world today that it encompasses nearly a quarter of the world. And if we add food addiction that figure would probably be three fourths. Food addiction will probably include you and me. Addicts of all kinds are looked down on, sometimes with sympathy and sometimes with disgust. Seldom with empathy. Addicts need to be treated not with sympathy or disgust but with kindness and support. Pastor David Jacobs says - "No matter where you are from, if you are old enough, you have been exposed to some form of addiction. Whether you have battled addiction yourself as I have or you have seen it grip somebody that you know, the depths of addiction and the hold that it can have on people is terrifying. Knowing all that we do about addiction and the harms that it brings, how are we not more wary of it? How do we not do more to resist its temptations? The enemy is stronger than we imagine, prowling like a lion on helpless prey.

Who has the power to reject you? Isn't rejection a judgement? And who in this human world can judge?  Unfortunately, we all do, belying what Jesus taught or tried to teach. Judging others seems to be second nature to us. The question is why we do it. Firstly, we build our own castles by bringing others down . For example, some public speakers comment adversely on their audience to make a point, thereby positioning themselves higher than the audience, so that the audience accepts their views without question. Secondly, it sometimes helps to fit in the crowd . If 5 people we know don't like someone, we too pretend so that we may fit in and build a bond. And sometimes it may just be a self defense mechanism , not to get close enough to someone so you don't get hurt, therefore we build a justification for that by a negative judgement. Lastly, and this is a universal fact, we all have a perception that we are entitled . No. We are not. That's an illusion we have created abo