Our Best Hope for Peace

/ Jesus_Follow3r

As calamities, atrocities and disasters of all kinds continually emerge throughout different parts of the world, the need for peace becomes progressively amplified. The inescapable truth is that the same peace which humanity has sought repeatedly throughout the last two millennia is still not found in anything under the sun. In fact, as mere mortal beings we are utterly incapable of ever attaining this life-transforming peace because we ourselves are spiritually-depraved. Like Romans 3:10 tells us,Fallen short.jpg

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

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Self-Righteousness is Dangerous

/ Jesus_Follow3r / 2 Comments

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As sinful beings who have been pointing fingers at one another since the Fall, it should be no surprise with how swiftly we find ourselves repeating the same mistake to this very day. Accepting personal responsibility and accountability for our actions has always been challenging for us to do in our strength. It is far easier for us to simply blame others after all anyway, isn’t it?  In the same vein, one thing that continues to fascinate me is how quick we are to identify and judge the sin which we see others commit. Continue reading →

Cliff Notes: The Lost Art of Bible Study In the Church (Part 2)

/ Jesus_Follow3r

Thank-you for writing this much-needed post.
I agree with your thoughts and I really appreciate your insights.
Particularly within Western Christianity, it is very simple to adopt a supplemental-focused mindset in place of spending quality time in the Bible. Because it is God’s Breathed Word, it is final and authoritative which makes it absolutely rock solid for Christians to rely upon. As Christians, God calls us all to be discerning, which can only be accomplished through being Biblically-literate, through intentionally investing time in the Scriptures.
God Bless!

samaritansong's avatarSamaritan's Song

“Some is better than none at all.”

I’m pretty sure my dad feels this way about pizza.  After having a quintuple bypass five years ago, he dutifully made the change to a heart-healthy diet – and that meant sacrificing the anything-goes pizza he used to have for a few meager slices of the healthiest kind available.  A sacrifice?  Sure.  But he doesn’t mind – he’s just glad he still gets to have pizza at all, even if it’s not quite the same.

I imagine that some Christians take the same attitude with Bible study.  Strapped for time and desperate to feel close to God, they swap out time with the Word for a ten-minute devotional, a chapter of a Philip Yancey book, or the latest study guide written for their small group.  Some time with God is better than none at all, they reason, and anyway, there are Bible verses

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How to Perfect the Art of Listening

/ Jesus_Follow3r / 1 Comment

Very practical and helpful post!
Intentional listening is crucial within every sphere of our lives! Often times simply taking the time to earnestly listen to others is the most effective way to let Christ’s love shine through us. Witnessing our faith to others needs to always be a two-way street, otherwise all that we would be doing is bombarding people with our beliefs. I believe that we can always improve upon our listening skills, especially while living in the Digital Age like you mentioned.

May God be glorified and Christ exalted as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us to cultivate the skill of listening to others with intentionality!

Elihu's avatarElihu's Corner

This is the third post in the series on Chip Removal for Christians. Read the previous post here

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Communication is a lost art.

In spite of the vast amount of books, classes and seminars on the subject, we are probably worse listeners now than we were 50 years ago. We are instantly connected these days through social media, email, and texting and yet much is lost in the cacophony of wires, pixels and tones. (Those wires and pixels are often distracting us from fellow humans as well!)

What do you think is one of the major causes of conflict in our relationships? I suggest that it is often poor listening and foolish talking.

How often do you find yourself in one of these scenarios:

  1. While someone is talking, your mind is rapidly piecing together a response to what they are saying (instead of really digesting what they are saying).
  2. Your friend is going through a difficult time…

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For All the Seekers

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One thing that is unequivocally true about humans is that we are all searching–searching for what we feel will provide us with contentment and satisfaction. This quest becomes progressively frustrating when we become repeatedly disillusioned with the fact that time and time again this void remains. What I, myself, (and Solomon specifically in Ecclesiastes) as well as many others have learnt first-hand through seeking in the wrong places is that there is absolutely nothing under the sun that is capable of filling this void. Simply put, only God is god-enough to fill this void which all of our souls yearn to have satisfied. Continue reading →

The Importance of Prayer

/ Jesus_Follow3r

power_of_prayer_400.jpgRecently, I feel that the Lord has been drawing my attention to the importance of prayer more than ever. It is so easy for Christians(myself included) to become apathetic with our prayer life, particularly living in an increasingly Biblically-hostile society. However, I firmly believe that prayer is the powerhouse for the Christian life. It is paramount that as Christians we realize that “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”(Ephesians 6:12, NIV). There is an unseen world around us where Christians are living in the midst of a spiritual battleground. This is why it is critical that we put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 13-17), and that we pray for God’s continued protection. Continue reading →

Suffering, Perseverance, Character, and Hope(Part 4 of 4)

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Throughout today’s post I will conclude this four-part series by focusing on the Hope that we all share as believers in Christ.hope in Christ (1)

Although hope is essentially the final resultant fruit yielded from our suffering as Christians(Romans 5:3-4), I feel that its influence has the ability to penetrate into every facet of our lives. In fact, it is the very hope in the return of Christ which serves as the basis for believers to purify themselves in this life (Titus 2:11-14, 1 John 3:3). Continue reading →

Suffering, Perseverance, Character (Part 3 of 4), and Hope

/ Jesus_Follow3r

Again, I sincerely apologize for the prolonged delayed in continuing this series. Life is far from boring. It seems that there is always something vying for our attention and investments of our time.

Throughout Part 3 of this series I will focus on the intrinsic value derived from character, specifically within the context of Christianity.

As per usual, I will begin with a working definition of character from a Biblical perspective in order to establish a solid foundation for this school of thought.christ-like-character-title-960x350

Dictionary.com defines character in general terms as follows:

Character(noun) – the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing; moral or ethical quality; qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity.

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Sorry for the Delay 

/ Jesus_Follow3r

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the delay in posting new blog content, particularly with respect to part three of my recent series.  Without trying to somehow justify this delay, I feel that my readers have the right to know of the two impacting factors. Firstly, to put it simply, I have been busy with life in general. Admittedly, however, I do confess that I myself haven’t been granting my blog-content writing as high of a priority as I would have liked. Secondly, I have also been trying to build more intentional relationships among: fellow believers, my unsaved friends, and among family members. I feel that the Holy Spirit has convicted me with: the realization that there is a massive need for organic Kingdom-Building within my community; and the knowledge that after God, family comes first. Therefore, you could safely say that I have also decided to take a form of fasting from this blogging ministry. For those of you asking that obvious question, I do plan on resuming my Blog hopefully sometime this week by continuing with Part 3 of my recent series. In the meantime, however, I cordially invite and encourage everyone to read any previous blog entries throughout this archive. Thank-you all in-advance for understanding and may the Lord bless everyone abundantly!

Suffering, Perseverance (Part 2 of 4), Character, and Hope

/ Jesus_Follow3r
Press on; God's Got This!

Press on; God’s Got This!

Throughout today’s blog entry I will continue the series, which I began last week, however this time I will underscore the importance of perseverance in the Christian life.

Perseverance is a widely disseminated term particularly within the confines of Western Culture. Therefore, I feel that a working definition is required for purposes of clarity within this post. Continue reading →