Word of the Week

The apostle Paul prayed for the Colossian church, and his prayer is applicable to us today. Prayers like Paul’s will most definitely be answered. Why? Because the Scripture said we can have confidence that if we ask anything according to God’s will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us, we know we will receive the petition we ask of Him (1 John 5:15-16). Paul prayed that the Lord may “fill us with wisdom and knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, strengthened with [all] power according to his glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience, giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:11-12). I believe a person's prayer life will dictate his or her attitude and responses to life's daily events. And if we have no expectation when we pray, then why pray? During the ebb and flow of life, we must seek God's will for each situation that...

  In Luke’s Gospel this week, Jesus speaks about signs of the End of Time which includes rumours of war, famines, persecution and imprisonment of believers. Yet what stood out to me a great deal are these words: “make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words of wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resists or contradict” (Luke 21:14-15).   We live in a time when we worry about everything. We worry ourselves to sleep and worry so much that it prevents us from sleeping. We worry to the extent that it causes depression and anxiety and triggers other physical health complications. It is an undeniable fact that we have no control over how people will treat us, whether by persecution, false accusations, or just hating us. These are things we will face at work, at school, and perhaps in the very place we call home.   We have become experts in establishing defensive mechanisms (e.g. an often-unconscious men...

  When we hear the word "conviction" in the Biblical context, it sounds more often as a conviction for wrongs we've done. However, the word carries a broader meaning than this. In 2 Maccabees 7, we are given a clear picture of "Biblical conviction" among a mother and her seven sons. This family was arrested by a king and tormented with scourges and whips because they refused to transgress against the Torah. They all had a firm a conviction of their salvation and eternal life. One of them that spoke first said to the king: "What would you ask or learn of us? We are ready to die rather than to transgress the Torah of our fathers." This angered the king and he ordered that the caldrons (or "cauldron" --a large kettle) be made hot. Even after witnessing the horrific consequences in store for them, this family stood firm to their personal convictions. They knew death was only a gateway to immortality and the ultimate presence of God.   The que...

  Have you ever stopped to think if this (your life's experiences) is it? Is there more to your life here on earth? Better put, is there more to your life as a believer in Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered how people in the Bible from all walks of life experienced the miraculous power of God, but for some reason it seems like such power doesn’t manifest today, at least in your life? As I read Luke 19:1-10, my mind became bombarded with thoughts along the line of the questions presented above. I am one who has experienced affliction beyond measure and at times my mind wanders into places of doubt and frustration. So, as I read about Zacchaeus' interaction with Jesus, I honestly began to wonder: can I get an opportunity like Zacchaeus to see Jesus? And you too may have asked yourself questions along these lines: When will this aspect of my life change? When will I get some longer periods of joy and wellness?   Zacchaeus, a corrupt tax collector in first-century Jericho, h...

Prayer to our spiritual life is like water to our physical body. With the right attitude, prayer can keep your spirit refreshed as water quenches your physical thirst. Prayer is exceptionally important in our relationship with the Lord. All over the internet we are bombarded with countless teachings on how to pray. Yet, our best teacher on this subject is Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shares effective principles relating to prayer. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus spoke about two men that entered the temple to pray. One, a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed: "God I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn't even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said, "God have mercy on me a sinner." Then Jesus said, "I tell you that this man, rather than the other w...

When I was living with my parents, we had an outside sink. It was a square concrete structure with a tap hanging over it. I remembered a time when the tap was leaking, drip, drip, drip, one drop of water at a time. After a while, that one-drop of water cracked the concrete. The top layer of the floor in the sink was gone. And as I read Jesus's parable in Luke 18 about the persistent widow, I remembered my parents’ old sink. A drop of water would seem ineffective against concrete, but continuous drops over a period of time was detrimental to the concrete surface. And same effect can be achieved with persistent prayer. Prayer is a direct line to the throne of Grace, and there are Biblical principles that can boost our prayer life. One of them is persistence.  The widow in Jesus's parable was a vulnerable and helpless woman because she had no family to uphold her cause. Her need for justice had become her daily drive. she did not allow the unrighteousness of the judge, his lack ...