Christianity

God is not dead

clouds5 That one‘s troubles multiply daily and the list of unanswered prayers keeps growing by the minute, are not proof that God is dead–or He is a myth–or He does not care–or He is not listening. If anything, such occurrences could mean God’s timing and your timing are not in sync, or, perhaps you may have been too nonchalant in making your requests. Furthermore, the thorn you seek to remove maybe the link that keeps the chain together. In that case, God grace is sufficient for you.

We know with great certainty both from our own experiences and James’ writing in the book of the same name that the nonchalant prayer requests do not avail much: But, as James rightly puts it: “.. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). But James did not stop there. In verses 17-18 He called into remembrance Elijah’s petition for drought and rain through fervent prayer.
Less anyone thinks Elijah was some kind of a supernatural being, here is what James says: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit,” (James 5:16-18).

So, contrary to atheistic thinking, God is alive. He is not a myth. He cares, He listens, and He answers prayers. However, sometimes God’s people have to fight for their blessing like Jacob did. Other times it takes patience and faith like Job’s.

 

The trial you face could be a test from God

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Of course God tests His chosen! There is a mountain of Biblical evidence that God often uses hardship to test His chosen. Moreover, quite often those tests resemble the trials and tribulation the devil place upon you.

So, aside from the hardships that come naturally on your Christian journey, there are also more than a few difficult situations that God uses to test your commitment and resiliency. Therefore, as you navigate this narrow path, it is of paramount importance that you understand that not every trial you face is design to destroy you. The Bible says, ..”the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” (Hebrews 12:6).

For example, Job 1: 1-3 states, “There once was a man named Job, who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.”

Still yet, God allows Satan to visit terrible trials upon Job to test him. And in a short period, Job lost all his livestock.  Then a desert wind blows down his house, killing all of his ten children. And when Job did not falter, Satan double down and afflicts him with painful sores all over his body. Unable to help her husband, Job’s wife urges him to curse God and die. However, Job stays true to his commitment to God.

And in the end, “the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before” ( Job 42:10)…He lived for another 140 years.

 

Jesus is calling

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

 

Do you think Christmas is bigger than Easter?

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Do you think Christmas is bigger than Easter?

This seems like an easy question to answer. However, opinions and contexts differ. For me, the answer is NO! And I am not the only one. Apparently, the Rev. Ray Pritchard agrees with me. Let us take a gander at what he wrote on his http://www.keepbelieving.com website.

In our society, there are two great religious holidays-Christmas and Easter. For most of us, Christmas is the bigger and greater season of the year. It is the time of year when we gather with family and friends to sing carols, decorate the tree, and exchange gifts. Christmas is the climax of the whole year. Easter? Well, for most people it is just another long weekend, another chance to get away for a few days.

Even Christians view Easter as a second-rate holiday!

Somehow we’ve gotten our thinking mixed up. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If the tomb is not empty, the cradle makes no difference. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He is just a misguided Jewish rabbi with delusions of grandeur. If Easter is not true, then Christmas was only the story of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way village, in a forgotten land 2000 years ago. It is Easter that gives Christmas its meaning.

Do You want proof? In all the New Testament, no major doctrinal point is ever built upon the virgin birth of Christ. Not one. It is true. It happened. But it is never discussed or mentioned. In fact, two gospels do not even say anything about it.

However, when it comes to the resurrection? That is a different story. In every part of the New Testament, it comes up again and again. Read the sermons of Acts. When the first Christians preached, they did not mention Bethlehem; they talked about the empty tomb. They never got over the fact that on Easter Sunday when they went to the tomb, Jesus was gone.