Religion and Spirituality

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;
and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord (Isaiah 54:17).

Do you live a good Christian life?

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Every good Christian dream of the day when you stand before Jesus Christ and hear Him say, “Welcome to my Fathers’ Kingdom, thou good and faithful servant. Unfortunately, not every so-called good Christian will see their dream turn into reality. As a matter of fact, Jesus, in one of His discourses made it clear, “Not every one that says unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). That begs the question. Is living a good Christian life enough to get you into heaven?

Anyone can seem to live a good Christian life, until the truth comes out.  The Scribes and Pharisees appeared good until Jesus exposed them for what they were; hypocrites. In one, instance, He referred to them as: “You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26). This pious group was more concerned about outward appearance than they were about the heart.

Unlike the Biblical Scribes and Pharisees, we Christians, must not only seem to live a good Christian life, but our hearts, words and actions must be in sync with the teachings of Jesus Christ. In other words, we must practice what we preach in public and in private. “For I say to you, this is Jesus talking, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:21). The blue print for a good Christian life can be found in Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount‘. (Read Matthew 5,6,7)

I know my Redeemer lives

Bad things do happen to good people, but every time something serious happens to a good person the critics question their credibility. This is especially true if the person in question is a follower of Jesus Christ. Even fellow Christians who should know better are often the first ones jumping to a negative conclusion.I am here to urge you not to feel guilty if you are a Christian and going through tough times. It is not uncommon for God to order the suffering of an individual to prove to the adversary that he is upright and steadfast.

Maybe you have lost your job, your house is being foreclose, your credit cards are maxed out, the bills are piling up, and there is no end in sight. Regardless of your troubles hold on to God’s unchanging hand. Your current situation might be a test from God.

The Bible tells us about a man in the Land of Uz, named Job. (Read Job 1:1) Job was a man of substance, who was perfect and upright. He was a righteous man who feared God. He never did anything wrong, yet he suffered. Job lost everything he possessed, including his ten children. Further, he was stricken with a skin disease. His wife and some of his friends were adamant that his suffering was punishment from God. They encouraged him to curse God and die.

But Job was not a wishy-washy man of God. His faith was unshakable. The Bible says, in all his suffering, Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Job knew his earthly possession, including his family were gifts from God. After the death of his sons, he remarked, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Job did not know his suffering was a test from God. However, he was confident he had not offended God. Therefore, he was certain that one day God would vindicate him when he stands before the Judgement Seat. Hence, he declared: “For I know that my redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter-day upon the earth” (Job 19:2 5).

In the end, God vindicated Job. His health returned, God blessed him with much more wealth than he ever had. His wife gave birth to ten more kids, and he lived for one hundred forty years afterwards. God rewarded Job for his faithfulness, and he will do the same for you and I.

Happy Fathers’ Day

My Hero

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My hero is the quiet type,
No marching bands, no media hype,
But through my eyes it’s plain to see,
A hero, God has sent to me.With gentle strength and quiet pride,
All self-concern is set aside,
To reach out to his fellow man,
And be there with a helping hand.

Heroes are a rarity,
A blessing to humanity.
With all they give and all they do,
I’ll bet the thing you never knew,
My hero has always been you.

–Anonymous

I know you are there

“O praise the Lord, all ye nations! Praise Him, all ye people! For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endure for ever. Praise ye the Lord.  (Psalm 117)