Word of the Week

Have you ever had a one-in-a-lifetime experience that you'll never forget? If you did, I assume the moment you read my question, your mind will retrace the memories of that event. Well, our Scripture for reflection today, John 20:19-31, depicts an encounter with the Resurrected Christ, a story that is still being discussed more than 20 centuries later. It says: On the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, "Peace be unto you" (John 20:19). And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, "receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). If we follow up on the disciples’ lives in the Book of Acts, we'll see the fruitful results of their encounter with the resurrected Christ, which was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power. We can view it as men of God collaborating with a Holy God. The Scripture says, "And by the hands...

Our scripture text is taken from John 20:1-9, a beautiful expression of the power of the Holy Spirit at work. The physical Resurrection is a once in a lifetime event, but the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit is always at work in us, around us, for us, and through us. With so much suffering around us, I want to pivot your focus on a section of the Scripture to revitalize hope. Imagine this:   You hear bad news about a car accident involving a friend. You dash to the scene and see the car parts busted up, dented, some crushed, yet all packed neatly in a pile next to the tree the car hit after it flipped over. Pedestrians are on the scene, and you acknowledge it's your friend's car. You approach an onlooker and ask about the driver, who responds, "he's not here, he left."   "Left! To where, what hospital he was transferred to?" you ask surprised and anxious. "He looked okay, he hailed a cab and left," the man replies. And instantly your mi...

The LORD sets a high standard that the members of his household are called to live by. I'll call it "High Road" living, a road less travelled. Our Scripture for reflection today, Isaiah 50:4-7, expressed the high road as “attitudes-and-actions” that will bear fruits of meekness. It is a difficult road to travel by our own strength, thus we need the strength and wisdom of God along this journey. Isaiah said: " has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed." Isaiah further states, " I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. For the Lord God will help me, therefore I will not be disgraced. I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."   Here, we see two operations at work: first, the Lord ministered to Isaiah with ins...

  A long time ago, I saw a statement that reads: “Addiction is giving up everything for one thing; Recovery is giving up that one thing for everything”. This statement took root in my life and helped me with a lot of my decision-making processes. Every decision we make in life will produce benefits or consequences. Thus, before we make decisions we must weigh the cost with the benefits. In Philippians 3:7-14, the Apostle Paul spoke on this same principle as it relates to his life in Christ. Let's focus a bit on verses 7-8, where Pau l said:   “What things were gain to me, those I counted as loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” The Apostle Paul discovered the benefits of giving up everything to gain Christ. He esteemed knowing Christ more valuable that everything else he had achieved in his...