May Christmas be a reminder for God’s people to sing songs of joy and exaltation. The transcendent God has visited us in our lowliness. While our hearts marvel at the extent of God’s love, mercy and grace, our souls will proclaim this mighty deed. The world has not known any better news than that of God becoming man in order to redeem lost mankind. The Son of God took on flesh in order to die on our behalf. Jesus Christ willingly left His heavenly status and splendor and humbly identified with us. From the manger to the cross, he remained…
We can be confident that “the all-Knowing God is all-Powerful to deliver us”
Getting Encouragement from Habakkuk One of the intriguing dialogues between man and God is in the book of Habakkuk. As it opens, the book pictures prophet Habakkuk as burdened. The prophet has a personal struggle with reconciling God’s goodness and justice with the reality of evil and suffering in the world. He lodges this personal struggle as a complaint to God. Primarily, the prophet has one complaint, and it concerns Israel (Judah). Lawlessness, injustice, corruption, and oppression was thriving among God’s people (1:4). Habakkuk tries to draw God’s attention to this issue. He also inquires of God’s action plan. LORD,…
The Sin of Greed: Part 4
One can be saved from the sin of greed It is difficult to guard against that which promises to serve one’s own interests. Left unchecked, greed can be blinding because it comes with an exhilarating conquest of securing one’s own needs and wants. Greed can blind an unbeliever; it can also blind a believer. One may think that since I do not have a lot of money and wealth, I should be excused from this talk on greed. Wait a minute and be reminded that it is possible for one to be poor and still be greedy in actions and…
The sin of Greed: Part 3
Go to Part 2 Greed can breed other sins In his warning against rich people, James notes that these people did not only hoard wealth for themselves, but that in doing so they indulged in other sins (James 5:1-6). In their pursuit of wealth, they committed murder, injustice, oppression, selfishness, and corruption. In the same line, since the essence of greed is an excessive desire for more, ungratefulness, and discontentment always accompany it. In the passage, James mentions that these sins drew his audience farther from repentance, and they must now weep for their coming judgement. Just like James’ audience,…
The Sin of Greed: Part 2
Go to Part 1 The sin of greed can as well creep into a believer’s life. Believers are as well encouraged to guard against the temptation of greed. The scriptures charge that both in their personal walk and ministry, believers must distance themselves from greedy desires. Let us dig more. Greed can compromise one’s Christian walk In instructing Timothy, Paul provided an example of some people (believers?) who had abandoned the faith in their pursuit of money. He wrote: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge…
The Sin of Greed
Part 1. “Greed” is interchangeably used with “Covetousness” in some translations. In the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary it is defined as “an excessive desire to acquire more than one has, especially wealth and material possession, usually leading to inappropriate behavior”[1] [and lifestyle]. The temptation to the sin of greed may clothe itself in a variety of ways. It may come as a desire to make a name, financial and material success, find comfort, gain influence, et cetera. Going with the wording of Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19, it appears that reference is made to Satan (at least in a metaphorical…
Spiritual Gifts: How do I discover mine? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
The New Testament affirms that believers in Christ have been given at least one gift by the Holy Spirit, with which to serve within the body of Christ. At the same time, it should be admitted that there is no specific formula laid out in the Scriptures on how to discover a spiritual gift. So, this article is not necessarily something like “five or ten steps” to discovering your spiritual gift(s). However, we can glean some conceptual guidelines that could lead one to find the area of gifting the Holy Spirit has equipped them with for service. First things first…