Marbaniang, Domenic

Jude 1:20 - Building up in your most holy faith.... HINDRANCES TO FAITH 1. Not hearing God's Word (Luk 8:12; Rom. 10:17; Matt.13:15) 2. Forgetting the Word (James 1:23; Psa.119:16) 3. Doubting God's Word (Matt.14:31; Matt.21:21) 4. Worldly and Carnal Distractions (Matt. 13:22) 5. Not Seeking Pure Conscience (1Tim.1:5,19; 3:9; Tit.1:15; Heb.10:22) 6. Not Fighting the Good Fight of Faith - Being Slothful (1Tim.6:12; 2Tim.4:7; Heb.6:12) 7. Lack of Prayer (Jude 1:20) HELPS TO FAITH 1. Listening to God's Word (Rom.10:17; Acts 4:4) 2. Speaking to each other Words of Faith (2Cor. 4:13; Eph.4:15; 5:19; Mark 11:23) 3. Acting according to Faith. Matching faith with actions (James 2:17-20) 4. Trusting God with all our heart and not relying on our own understanding (Pro.3:5,6) 5. Having constant communion with God (Ps.42:8; 130:5-6; 1Jn.1:3-9) 6. Having regular fellowship with saints (Heb.10:23,24; Matt.18:20; 1Thess.5:11; 1Cor.12:20-26) 7. Loving God above all (Eph.3:17; Gal.5:6; Phil

WORKER A: I was reading "Qualifications of Missionary" in a book and the writer said that a candidate for mission work must have a strong body, able to withstand all odds, able to survive in jungles and in difficult places, and so on. Looked intimidating! WORKER B: What's he looking for? A Rambo or what?! ~Simple Living~

Pleasing God (1 Thess .4:1) Everyone is trying to please someone or the other. Christians are called above all to please God. MODELS 1. Please God as a Servant pleases his Master (Gal.1:10; Matt.6:24) 2. Please God as a Son pleases his Father (Matt.3:17; Heb.3:6; Mal.1:6,8) 3. Please God as a Friend pleases his Friend (James 2:23; 4:4; Prov.16:7; Ps.41:11) 4. Please God as a Wife pleases her husband or vice versa (1Cor.7:32-34) MEANS 1. Please God by a Pure and Holy Offering (Mal.1:18; Gen.8:21; Rom.12:1) 2. Please God by Walking in the Spirit (Rom.8:8,14) 3. Please God by Obeying the Commands of Jesus (1Thess.4:1,2) 4. Please God by Focusing on the Calling and Not being Distracted by the Affairs of the World (2Tim.2:4)

LIFE 1. Is a Present, Gift (Ps.127:3) 2. Is Precious and Priceless (Lk.15) 3. Has a Purpose (Ps.73)

The use of "man", "he" is not necessarily gender-biased or patriarchal. In fact, it is more honorific towards the feminine gender, in that it protects her gender by letting man stand in front. Take, for instance, the following quote: Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Gen.6:5) Isn't that better than the following? Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of woman was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of her heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made woman on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Gen.6:5) Or Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of humans was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made humans on

flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (Matt.16:17) People usually do have reasons for their beliefs, though not all may be able to instantly enumerate all their reasons when asked for. The believer in Chi power might even demonstrate his grounds of belief. So will the homeopath, the allopath, the evolutionist, the Yogi, the Advaitin, and the astrologer. But, it is also possible that one cannot demonstrate proofs and yet decide to go on with what one is convinced about, in whatever sense whatever. The Jews knew that there were no witnesses to incriminate the Christ; however, when He announced who He was, they decided that His statement was proof enough of blasphemy. But, on what grounds? The work of a preacher is certainly to persuade by means of reasoning. For some it may mean persuasion through exposition of scriptures; to others, through spiritual encounter and signs and wonders; to others, through contextually relevant reasoning (as in the cas

The butterfly-or-man problem isn't far-fetched. For instance, there is the case of a man who sleeps and has a dream and the events and arguments in the dream are as rational and congruous to him as he has the sense of rationality and congruity during his waking hours. However, on waking up, he is shocked to realize that the dream arguments were inconsistent and incongruous, but wonders that they possessed strong credibility and sense during the dream-state or the semi-waking state. Much similar might be the case of a lunatic. Yet, psychologists observe that humans possess some form of lunacy at given moments. For instance, take the case of an angered man who is convinced that his anger is justified until he comes to his senses. Therefore, the Scriptures advise us not to trust in our own understanding, but trust in the Lord with all our heart.

Nobody likes to be a second choice. But, God doesn't like to have second choices. Therefore, when man fell into sin, God didn't trash him away, but sent His only Son to win us back. He didn't say, "I can have better and worthier ones than you." He gave His life for us though He was despised and rejected of men. He comes back again and again, and He will come back. See how long He has been waiting for us!

Forthcoming in REVIVE Magazine. Definitions The Oxford Dictionary defines “ethnicity” as “the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.” Chamber’s Dictionary, on the other hand, defines it as “the state of belonging to a particular racial or cultural group.” While traditionally, ethnicity was connected with race, in modern times, with the emergence of nation-states, ethnicity is also broadly understood in “national” (political) terms. However, since ethnicity is dynamic in nature (for inter-marriages, migrations, acculturation, and assimilation are ongoing processes), multiplication of the multiple ethnic groups continues. For instance, we talk of African-Americans and Indian-Americans as different ethnic groups. But, then the terms “African” and “Indian” are not without their subdivisions. “Indian” could mean Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Naga, Khasi, Mizo, and any of the various ethnic groups in India. In addition, migrations, intermi