Religion and Spirituality

Jesus shall reign for ever and ever

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7).

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

 

Might does not always make right.

David with the Head of Goliath

David with the Head of Goliath (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The recently concluded Presidential election campaign reminds me of the story of the duel between David and Goliath. (Romney was Goliath and Obama was David). Goliath on one hand, was tall and brawny, one of the most feared in the mighty Philistine army. He had a reputation of tearing his victims apart. (Romney blew away his opponents in the primary). David, however, was just a boy in a frail body with a sling and a stone and an extremely weak Israeli army to back him up. At least, that was what Goliath and his army thought. (Romney underestimated the Obama campaign). Here, is what Goliath said when David approached him:

“Am I a dog that thou comes to me with staves?” The Bible says the Philistine curse David by his gods. He then entreats David: “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field” (1 Samuel 17:44). Then David said to the Philistine, “Thou comes to me with a sword and a spear and a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45)

David had a secret weapon–his faith in God. He knew that the battle was not his. It was the Lord’s. Therefore, if he allowed God to fight the battle for him, he would be victorious.

Similarly, Mr. Romney is perceives as the stronger of the two candidates. He had the power of his millionaire donors behind him. Like Goliath, he was confident that he would rip his opponent apart. However, as we have learned in the David and Goliath story. Might does not always make right. Mr. Obama had the small donors–the people on his side. He knew that the greatest asset in any election was the people. Money is crucial, but money do not vote. People do.

In the end, David overcame the mighty Goliath and his Philistine army and did what he promised. He cut off Goliath’s head and gave it to the fowls. Likewise, Mr. Obama prevails over Mr. Romney. As I have said before, “Might does not always make right”.

What did you have to give up to follow Jesus?

English: Jesus appears to the disciples (water...

English: Jesus appears to the disciples (watercolour) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Every person who desires to follow Jesus must give up something. It is the basic requirement one has to meet before embarking on the Christian journey. It is the initiation period and a test of commitment. The twelve disciples did. Even though, they were mostly fishermen of extremely modest means, they gave up all they had–family and livelihood to follow Jesus. Nevertheless, following Jesus takes more than just giving up something which we hold near and dear to our hearts.. It takes great sacrifice and unshakable commitment and steadfastness.

 

 

Not everybody who wish to follow Jesus has it in him, or her (at least in the initial stages)to accept the challenge Jesus issues in Luke 9:23: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me”. The disciples no doubt had it in them, but I am sure it was just as difficult for them as it is for modern days people who are striving to follow Jesus. Regardless, they were not the only ones. There are countless others, including, perhaps you, and Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul after his conversion. Paul was not a disciple. Still, he did not hesitate to give up his job as a tax collector, as well as his position as a member of the ruling council to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

In the world, and in the society in which we live, there are many people who identify themselves as followers of Jesus, yet when asked to identify that which they have given up to follow Jesus, they cannot give a coherent answer. Young Moriah Peters who has had to make life changing decisions twice in her short life. In high School, she found herself at a crossroad where she needed to choose Jesus and stay pure or choose the crowd and be cool. She did the right thing and choose Jesus. Peters would soon find herself at another crossroad. This time she needed to decide whether to go to college to fulfill her dreams to become a lawyer or to pursue a music career, singing for Jesus. She chose the latter.

 

Love Triumphs and Grace Prevails

Jesus helped by Simon of Cyrene, part of a ser...

Jesus helped by Simon of Cyrene, part of a series depicting the stations of the Cross. Chapel Nosso Senhor dos Passos, Santa Casa de Misericórdia of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Oil on canvas, XIXth century, unknown author. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

One of the most significant events that had ever occurred in the history of the world was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary. It was a horrible and despicable act, which had been preordained and deemed necessary for the atonement of sin. Those who saw this historic event saw love triumph over evil. The proverbial captives who were bound and blindfolded were set free–not because they were innocent. But because of the grace of God. Here, is how the apostle Paul puts it: “For by grace, you have been granted a stay of execution through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, and not a result of works, so no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Admittedly, the keeper of the flame thought he had the condemned (You and I) in his grasps forever, but Jesus armed with instructions from His father stepped up to the execution stake and paid the ransom with His life. It was not His will but that of His father, the righteous Judge who had handed down the death sentence many years earlier.

Still, we are not free from blame yet. We are on probation. Therefore, if we do not break up our folly grounds and turned from our wicked ways, we could still end up in the enemy’s clutches once again. Many will argue, and I have in the past that Jesus died for sins once and for all. However, after reading Matthew 7: 21-23 I realized that Jesus’ death on the cross saved humanity from imminent destruction but most assuredly not forever.

Here, is what Jesus told His disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name? Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!

Should We Make The Gospel Easier To accept?

English: Illustration of the Parable of the Un...

English: Illustration of the Parable of the Unjust Judge from the New Testament Gospel of Luke (Luke 18:1-9) by John Everett Millais for The Parables of Our Lord (1863) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Certainly.

A majority of today’s preachers and teachers of the gospel is stuck in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and even earlier. Their style and presentation are bland, unattractive and out dated. Many of them consistently use terms and jargon most people do not understand. Some of them even fail to recognize that sinners do not need courses in theology and Christology. Sinners need alternatives; solid concrete reasons why they should turn from their way of living and stand up for Jesus. Let’s face it, the gospel is adaptable. Whether we use music, art or any other method; the gospel should be easy to accept. Jesus used parables to get His audience’s attention.

A parable is a short story that illustrates a universal truth, one of the simplest of narratives. It sketches a setting, describes an action, and shows the results. It often involves a character facing a moral dilemma, or making a questionable decision and then suffering the consequences.

Parables appear in both the Old and New Testaments but are more easily recognizable in the ministry of Jesus. After many reject him as Messiah, Jesus turned to parables. When His disciples asked, “Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?”

Jesus replied, “Because they haven’t received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don’t have, even the little they have will be taken away from them. This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don’t actually see; and although they hear, they don’t actually hear or understand. What Isaiah prophesied has become true for them:.

You will hear, but never understand; and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing. And they’ve become hard of hearing.

And they’ve shut their eyes so that, they won’t see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their minds, and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them. “Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear. I assure you that many prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn’t.