This Week With Jesus

                                                           Psalm 101:7 "No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes." According to Science Daily, whenever someone tells lies, the temperature around their nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of their eye will increase. Lying is as a second nature to us as is hunger and thirst. We probably inherited it from our ancestors in the Garden of Eden. But humor aside, lies in itself is not as non-serious as it is made out to be these days. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent, the embodiment of deceit, spun the first falsehood, causing a rift in the relationship between humanity and the Creator. The effect was immediate and devastating then, as it is today. Throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, the importance of truth and the destructiveness of lies are continually emphasized. In modern culture, we grade lies, small, big, serious etc. But a lie i

What Is Your Storm? Adapted from Steve Browns in the God Life devotional. "What is your storm? Maybe it’s a struggle with cancer, a broken marriage or a painful loss. In Matthew 14, Jesus’ disciples were in a tough storm of their own--scared and unsure. Before we go on, I want you to notice the reason the disciples were in a storm in the first place. They did what Jesus told them to do. Frankly, that doesn’t seem right to me. We’ve been taught that when we’re faithful, things will go well. That is a lie. Sometimes when you’re faithful, things go wrong. Your storm is not an accident. God is in control of it. He has a reason for your storm and even though you may not know the reason right now, when it is finished, it will be finished. Whatever your storm, there is a God-given script. Your storm has a beginning and an end. It is under the total control of God and you really can trust Him. If you’re facing a real storm right now and if you’re like me, you may believe that you did som

                             It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV "What a marvelous truth that each day is a God-given chance to start anew! The Lord’s mercies are new every morning! What happened yesterday and the days before are forgotten by Him Who gives us new hope and chances to live according to His will! As we begin the month today, let's make the most out of it to put our best foot forward and forget about the past! The Apostle Paul says that in order to attain our goals for the future, we must learn to let go of the past and continue to move forward, full of hope in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)! As we move forward to experience God, different people will encounter the living God differently, depending on each person’s needs and the purpose of God. Some people feel His great love encompassing their empty souls; some are comforted

                * Picture credits: The Chosen Read John Chapter 3  John 3 is a very familiar chapter to most Christians which talks about a very senior Pharisee named Nicodemus. While John 3 has many teachings for us, one question that does come up is who was Nicodemus? Was he a follower, believer, enemy or what? Being a very senior Pharisee, one does wonder about his interest in Jesus. Nicodemus did believe in Jesus, but his beliefs were safely hidden away in the night. It was only after Jesus' death that he came into a public demonstration of his faith and belief. Sometimes one wonders, are we like Nicodemus? Do we practice our faith in safe privacy in the dead of the night? Do we get too carried away with our professional duties, professional friends and other worldly demands and Jesus takes a back seat while our other priorities take the driver's seat? Sadly, I think it does happen that Jesus becomes a guest in our life, relegated to the night, when no other priorities take

                                     1 Timothy 4: v 3-4  3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. A good lie is usually hidden within the truth. As a citizen of Gods world, it is important to be able to uncover a false narrative. Had Adam and Eve been able to cut through the smooth lies of Satan, man would not be where we are. We think that if part of what we are told is true, then the rest of it must be as well. Media is a perfect example of how this works whether the lie is hidden in a picture, music or written message. The best example is Satan in the garden of Eden, when he gave a explanation of why God did not want Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit. It was plausible, it was based on an aspect of the truth, so they fell for it. They did not stop to think of the qualities of God: That H

"It's not enough to avoid doing wrong; we need to be doing good".  Ms. Francis Taylor This is such a powerful observation from Ms. Taylor and puts a double responsibility on us. Our Father sees what we do in secret but He rewards openly.    Here is a wonderful act of doing good, related by Lilly Phillips, in Quora "A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him. While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it. When he finished painting, he received his money and left. The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting. The painter was surprised and said “You've already paid me for painting the boat Sir!” “But this is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the hole in the boat.” “Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a

Genesis 37: 26-28 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed. 28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. Forgiveness is not blind. It's does not happen at the spur of the moment. It's a process. Let us take example and inspiration from Joseph. Why and how did he forgive his brothers? His brothers had sinned against Joseph and God. But God had a different plan. He wanted to use Joseph for ensuring continuity of his family. Think about this: If Joseph had been left alone to be a shepherd, would he have ever become the Egyptian second in command? Probably not. Would the race have survived? Probably not. But God does not work on probabilitie