This Week With Jesus

  A sailing boat is an ideal example of a partnership between man and God. Even the law recognizes and divides actions into two parts - act of man and act of God. When God works for us to provide various blessings, it is through a combination of actions - act of God combined with an action of man. Unlike the law it does not separate but combines. Much like a sailboat which sails when a sail is hoisted by man to use the wind sent by God. In our earthly life, we have been destined to work the ground with labor to eat and live. Every action of ours, unless supported by God is useless. A farmer tills the ground, breaks his back to plant but unless the right weather conditions exist, he won't get a crop. Likewise, a factory worker will flourish when demand for that product is high which will happen if economic and natural forces are positive, both of which depend on nature which depends on God. Yet, we try and solve our own problems, find our own solutions. How much more foolish can we

In the year 2000, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called the tipping point. According to the book summary "The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviors, crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a change in mindset, a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. Or a powerful faith in Christ .  You and I can discuss Christ, God and the Gospels because Christianity itself went through a tipping point  when Christianity was rocket-propelled from a dynamic new religion to an official state sponsored religion and can be traced exactly to the day, it was 28th October 312 AD .  To reach that tipping point were the efforts of Jesus’ disciples, who along with the apostle Paul were on fire with the new Gospel to the point that all but a few of the 12 apostles died natural deaths. The majority were

2 Timothy 2 14-26 People must see us as different—and different in ways they want to emulate. 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, 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 God and 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. Tha

 

"Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: Amos 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD and shall not find it". As believers and followers, we are extremely dependent on the word. We may not be regular, we may run to in times of trouble only, we may not be familiar with it, but the truth is our lives are centered around the word of God. The word acts like a rudder as we sail to the other end.  What then would happen if suddenly we were left bereft of the word? Bereft of the rudder? Can we imagine such a scenario in our lives? We would panic at the slightest mishap; we would feel directionless.  The fact is that we realize the value of something, when we are left without it. It could be a person, a blessing or anything we take for granted like food

  Have you made adversity the main chapter or a footnote in your life? Adversity is something every human being goes through at some point in life. A lot of us in the midst of prosperity think that we are self-sufficient. Adversity helps us to realize how much we depend on Him. How we react to and treat adversity is a different matter though. Some people let it weigh them down and some know it's a passing phase and with the promise of divine help they will get through it. Some give up on God, on the other hand for some it is a strengthening of faith and an opportunity for a deeper relationship with God, friends and family. How we react to adversity really defines who we are and our relationship with God. With the power and presence of Jesus in our lives, we are called to endure and thus shine the light of Christ in a dark world. we can choose to make adversity the very center of our life and rave and rant and cry, thereby reducing another's faith, or we can choose to smile our