Religion and Spirituality

Jesus is a Rock in a weary land

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And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul:

And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou saved me from violence.

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears—2 Samuel 22:1-7

What moved Jesus to comment on the widow’s mite?

The story of the widow’s mite described in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4 is a fascinating and intriguing one. Most of us have heard or read this story more times than we can remember, yet most of us have missed the essential point–selflessness.220px-BasilikaOttobeurenFresko08[1]

The big question, however, is: “What moved Jesus to comment on the Widow’s Mite?” I am sure there were other poor widows in the Synagogue that day. Some may have even given less than two mites, so, Why did Jesus choose to comment on this widow? The answer is not as obvious as I thought. However, embedded in the story, one sees a poor widow displays an unusual and unique characteristic–others before self. In other words, she gave selflessly. It did not matter that the two mites were all she had to survive. She placed them in the offering plate without thinking about her needs. This to me was an extraordinary display of faith and a strong belief in God as her provider. Choosing others before self is not easy, but when we do Jesus takes note. After all, He chose others before self when He dies at Calvary.

Here is Mark’s version of the story: Jesus sat in the temple near the treasury and watched as people walked by and deposited their gifts for the temple. Some made a show of it, mainly because they wanted others to see how much they had given. Suddenly a poor woman who was a widow, came by and threw in two mites.250px-Widowsmite[1]

Now, back in those days, a mite was the least valuable coin used. Therefore, the widow’s gift was extremely small, amounting to nothing in the eyes of many. However, Jesus looked at her heart and saw what others did not see. Thus, He commented: “All the others contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44). The widow did not draw attention to herself. Her gift was much too small for anyone to notice. Of course, except Jesus. She gave from the heart, and she was selfless in doing so.

God sees everything we do, and it does not matter how small it may seem. It may be nothing more than a smile, a handshake, a silent prayer, a comforting word, or an unnoticed act of love and kindness to someone who is going through tough times.
Jesus said: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “Therefore”, when thou do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say, they have their reward. Hence when thou do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:1-4).

Do you still look the way you did before you met Jesus?

It has been more than twenty years since I came in contact with Jesus, and I must admit, I have had my share of ups and downs. Over the years my experience has thought me not to take my Salvation for granted, so now and then I do a soul-searching. I usually replay situations where I think I did wrong and ask God to forgive me. I also devise strategies that I think will help to stop me from making those mistakes ever again. Sometimes I fail, but I keep trying.

Astonishingly, recently while I was doing my usual soul-searching the following question pops up in my head: “Do you still look the way you did before you met Jesus?..Now, this is a difficult question. Nonetheless, I would like to think I have changed tremendously for the better over the past twenty years. Conversely, If I have not, then I would be one of the biggest Dr. Hyde and Mrs. Jekyll because it is impossible for anyone to stay the same after he or she, came in contact with Jesus. If I sound stupid, and naïve, I am not the only one.

The apostle Paul, in one of his letters to the Church in Corinth states: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Perhaps the apostle was thinking about his own conversion and later transformation (Acts 9), when he penned those words. For there was no fiercer opponent of the gospel of Jesus Christ than Saul, yet when he came in contact with Jesus his life transformed like a caterpillar morphed into a butterfly. images[2]

My dear brothers and sisters let us face reality. If we say we are Christians, and family, friends, neighbors and co-workers do not see the change in us, something is wrong. It is either we have aborted the transformation process or it never occurred at all. Surely, Saul did not suddenly become this perfect person after his Damascus road experience. Neither did the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, but the changes in these two people were blinding.

Hence, if family, friends, neighbors and co-workers do not see any changes in your attitude, behavior, language and modus operandi you need to ask yourself this question: “Do I still look the way I did before I met Jesus?” If the answer is yes, then it is time for a soul-searching.

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A love song to Jesus

I chose to dedicate this song to Jesus because the lyrics explain exactly how I feel. I do not know about anybody else, but I honestly do not feel this way every day. Some days I get overwhelmed with daily activities that I have to dig deep to come up with a “praise”. However, over the past three weeks I have this renewed vigor and vitality for Jesus, and I am not ashamed to express it

This new thing that has come over me is hard to put into words. It reminds me of a famous quote from a famous song: “When I think of the goodness of Jesus and what He has done for me, my soul cries out hallelujah thank God for saving me”. It is like an Epiphany. It brings joy, peace and happiness to my soul.

Folks this man Jesus is real. This is not a joke. When we surrender all to Him, exciting things will happen in our lives. In the book of Matthew chapter 11:29-30 Jesus entreat us: “Take my Yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. Yes! My Yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Knowing what we know about Jesus, how can anyone continue to resist such an offer.

I dare anyone to do what I did. I shed the cares and burdens of this world and took the Yoke of Jesus upon myself. Today, I can see and feel the results. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man who trust in him” (Psalm 107:1).

Merry Christmas, Messiah has come

Some five hundred years before the arrival of Emmanuel, the prophet Isaiah, prophesied that Emmanuel would come. ” Therefore the Lord himself will give the sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Thus, when it was nearing time for Emmanuel’s arrival, God sent the angel Gabriel to reveal His plans to the chosen virgin:

“And in the sixth month He sent the Angel Gabriel unto a city in Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Subsequently, the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

When she saw him, she became troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
Behold thou shall conceive in thy womb, and give birth to a son, and shall call his name JESUS” (Luke 126-31).
When Joseph heard the news, he became distraught.”How could this be? He thought. Mary and I have not come together yet! I must divorce her before everybody finds out.”
“As he contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The child she is carrying is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).

“So it came to pass that there went Joseph up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David. He went there to register with Mary, who had pledged to marry him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:4-7)