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Showing posts from July, 2014

Motivational Gifts (Rom.12:3-7)

Motivation is the process of being inspired and made enthusiastic to do something. The person who has a motivational gift is inspired and enthusiastic to do a particular thing for which he is enabled by God. Motivational gifts help to keep the Body of Christ motivated and lively. 8 Facts regarding the Motivational Gifts: 1. Everyone has at least one motivational gift, apart from the 9 Gifts of the Spirit (Rom.12:3) 2. Motivational gift is grace that a person is given; however, ministry gifts are persons that Christ gives to the church (Rom.12:3) 3. Motivational gifts are not mere natural talents; for example, prophecy is not a natural psychical ability; they are gifts from God that identify our fuctional role in the church (Rom.12:6) 4. Motivational gifts are given according to grace (Rom.12:3) 5. Motivational gifts are given to each according to the measure of faith which God gives to one to operate in the gift (Ro.12:3) 6. We can only operate in the motivational gift in pr

The Gospel According to Romans

I. The Promise of the Gospel Given through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures - It was a Spoken Promise – Communicated - It was a Written Promise – Encoded, Recorded Promise of the Gospel: “That God will save…” Promises of the Gospel. “Salvation, life, adoption….” Rom.15:8; Gal.3:16, 22 Why the Promise of the Gospel Was Made 1. Because man by his righteousness could not fulfill the righteousness of God. The Law can’t save. It can only condemn. Israel is the greatest example. - Sinned despite of miracles - Sinned despite of Tabernacle - Sinned despite of Shekinah - Sinned despite of prophets, priests… (Jer.5:31) Education can’t transform Religion can’t transform 2. Because God loved us and wants us to be saved. (1Jn.4:19) - Cross: Greatest symbol of human rejection of God and God’s embrace of man 3. Because the Gospel is the only way for man to be saved. That is why it is the GOSPEL II. The Person of the Gospel Not an ordinary man. Mediator: Real. High Priest. According to the Flesh: S

Pursuit of Holiness

Holiness is not a Mount Everest. To many people today, holiness seems to be as unscalable as Mt. Everest. Not that they haven’t tried; but, each time they attempted the climb, their efforts (successful to a level) soon met with frustrations. Sometimes, it was the roughness of the climb, then sometimes it would just be the weather, the winds of circumstances blowing hard on them. Many times, the pull of comfort from the world below is so strong that they turn back too easily. But, sadly, the higher the climb, the more crushing the fall. The desire for holiness is nothing but the desire for God. God is the source of holiness (Exo.28:36). He alone is holy (Isa.6:3). The holiness of anything is not inherent in itself; it is holy because of its relation with God. Thus, for humans, holiness is a relationship. We are separated from the world unto God. The phrase “unto God” is central. Also, the very desire for holiness is a characteristic of being born again. When we were sinful humans, our d

The Cleansing Power of Christ's Blood and God's Call to Holiness

The Bible declares that all men have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23) 1. We Cannot Cleanse Ourselves; So, God took the Steps to Cleanse Us In Eden, He provided the skin to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve (Gen.3:21) He provided an Altar. He provided a Temple and ordained the Sin Offering (Exo.29:14) Then, He became the Sin Offering (Heb.10:8-10) Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part in me” (Jn.13:8) 2. The Price of our Washing Was Very Great Something gets spent up for the washing of any dirt. You may use detergents, shampoos, and, of course, a lot of water. But, all these couldn't cleanse us. The price of our cleansing was the Blood of Jesus (1Jn.1:7; Rev.7:14) 3. The Power of Christ’s Blood is Total: The Cleansing is Absolute “You are clean”, "completely clean" (Jn.13:10) – He alone can clean; He has the authority He has fully forgiven all our sins – cast them on His back. Remembers our sins no more. He has cleansed us of all sin

Purity in Living

We are purified by the Blood of Jesus (Heb.9:22,23) We have been purified by obedient faith in the Blood of Jesus through the Spirit (1Pet.1:22; Rom.3:25) We Live in Purity By Faith in God's Word(Jn. 15:3) In Confession and Repentance (James 4:8-9; 1Jn.1:7) Towards Sincere Love (1Pet 1:22) Through Testing (1Pet 4:1)

Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of the Lord (2Cor.7:1)

The word used for cleansing in the Greek is a Levitical, temple word. The priests were very fearful of the Lord. They knew the fear of the Lord. The New Testament Christians also know this. For instance, they understood what it meant when the Bible said “God is a consuming fire”. They knew it when the Bible said that God will remove the candlestick. God is love but He also put an end to Ananias and Sapphira, as soon as they sinned. It created fear in the people (Acts 5:10,11). Sadly, today, there is a lack of emphasis on the fear of the Lord. People are afraid that if we speak about a fearful God, people will run away. But, the problem is people are already away; and it makes less difference if we don’t tell them that they must repent from their sins and step into the path of holiness. The main problem in the world is sin. It is a problem because God is holy. Holiness is perfected in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord includes the love of God. It is a reverential fear. It is no

7 Hebrew Words for PRAISE

1. Towdah The Sacrifice of Praise as an Offering; Confession, Praise, Thanksgiving (Psa.100:4; 50:14, 23). The Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice of animals (1Sam.15:22). No praise and worship can be accepted before God unless the heart has first broken on the altar of God. That is the best praise. Towdah flows out of brokenness and self-surrender. 2. Yadah To Throw, Lift up Hands in Praise, Be Thankful . (Psa.100:4; 134:2; 63:1). Yadah is praise that flows out of gratitude to God for who He is and His great goodness and mercies. 3. Zamar To Make Melody to God With Instruments (Psa.33:2; 71:22). One may not have instruments to play upon and yet make melody in the heart unto the Lord (Eph.5:19). Zamar is praise in the sweetness of music. 4. Tehillah To Sing Song or Hymn of Praise (Psa.22:3; 33:1; 40:3; Isa.61:3). Tehillah  is praise that is expressed in a song or a hymn unto God. It is not a performance or show before men, but is a song in the spirit unto God. 5. Halal

Do Not Judge!

Other than unbelief, perhaps one of the greatest sins among the saints is the attitude and action of judging others. The Bible strictly forbids us against judging anyone because none of us can stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ without the grace of Christ. Jesus Commands Us Not To Judge The new commandment which Jesus gave us tells us to love one another (John 13:34; 1Jn.2:8-11; 2Jn.1:5). Jesus commanded us under the New Covenant not to judge anyone (Matt.7:1). He showed us the reasons why we should not judge anyone. --All of us have sinned and stand condemned without the mercy and grace of Jesus (Jn.8:7; Rom.2:1) --Jesus did not come to judge but to save (Jn.12:47; 3:17) --He taught us that anyone who judges others is worthy of hell fire (Matt.5:22) --He taught that the one who judges others must not think that he is better (Matt.7:2-5; Luke 13:1-6) --He taught that we must focus on correcting ourselves before trying to correct others (Matt.7:2-5) New Testament Reasons Not To J

Few Principles of Financial Prosperity

The Bible teaches us the true path of prosperity. The Bible is not poverty minded; in fact, it teaches us principles that will help us live successfully in this world. It teaches us the wisdom and skill necessary to use the world without relying on or being attached to it (1Cor.7:31). If anyone thinks that the Bible does not teach us the wisdom of success, then he may have to throw away a great chunk of the Bible. But, we must not forget some basic principles. Again this is not about some prosperity gospel, but about knowing the way of God's kingdom. 1. Put God First God is able to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory (Phil 4:19), but we must remember that He only fulfills the desires of those who first delight in Him (Ps.37:4). If our heart has no interest in the things of God and in the work of God, then it proves that we are not delighting in Him. But, to those who love Him He works all things together for good (Rom. 8:28). But this also means that we seek first

God in Graphology: Considerations in Gematria, Theology of the Alphabet (Hebrew, Chinese), and Philosophy of the Word

Let us call the method of trying to decode the writing system in order to seek proofs for faith as "Graphological Theology". Sacred Gematria The works of Ivan Panin that discover numeric patterns in the Bible are examples of Textual Gematria. Check the following excerpt from his letter to the New York Sun: The first 17 verses of the New Testament contain the genealogy of the Christ. It consists of two main parts: Verses 1-11 cover the period from Abraham, the father of the chosen people, to the Captivity, when they ceased as an independent people. Verses 12-17 cover the period from the Captivity to the promised Deliverer, the Christ. Let us examine the first part of this genealogy. Its vocabulary has 49 words, or 7 x 7. This number is itself seven (Feature 1) sevens (Feature 2), and the sum of its factors is 2 sevens (Feature 3). Of these 49 words 28, or 4 sevens, begin with a vowel; and 21, or 3 sevens, begin with a consonant (Feature 4). Again: these 49 words of the vocabu

Finding Grace

The Bible speaks about people who found God's favor in their lives. We know of Noah who found favor in the eyes of God (Gen.6:8); the result, he didn't die in the Great Flood. We also know of Moses who found favor with God (Exo.33:12); for sure, without God's favor he could never lead those teeming multitudes on the way to the Promised Land. Nehemiah was granted divine favor and he led the team that restored the walls of Jerusalem (Neh.1:11). When we turn to the New Testament, the English Bibles turn to the word "Grace". Grace is favor that is bestowed without any merit of ours. In fact, none of us can ever merit or work to find grace. We cannot merit it in anyway; by definition, grace is unmerited favor. So, how can we find grace? 1. The Spring of Grace is Jesus Christ. John tells us that we receive grace upon grace from Christ's fullness (Jn. 1:16). He is the full Spring of Grace from which alone we can draw the life-giving, life-strengthening waters of div

The Corrosion of Gold in Light of Modern Christian Economics

Published in The Contemporary Christian , Bangalore, 2013. “ Your gold and silver are corroded …” (James 5:3) One of the important assets that Gutenberg’s printing press gifted to modern political economies is the ability to print paper money. The common man usually thinks that paper money is the real money, while in fact it is only a promissory note promising the bearer of the note the payment of the same amount (in coins, if not in gold) by the Reserve Bank. [1] In the past, however, governments did deny such payment in exchange of the notes and one government even made the holding of gold by the citizens as illegal. [2] In his 1885 treatise, Principles of Political Economy, the American philosopher John Stuart Mill confidently described gold and silver as historically more fit to be used as money. In his words, “They were among the most imperishable of all substances. They were also portable, and, containing great value in small bulk, were easily hid; a consideration of much imp