Marbaniang, Domenic

Exodus 3 and 4 record God's call of Moses to deliver the people of Israel and lead them into the Promised Land. Background Hebrews 11:23 tells us that the parents of Moses were strong believers. Hebrews 11:24-26 tells us that when the time came for Moses to choose, he "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (Heb 11:24-26) In other words, Moses was a person who made a honest choice to follow Christ and His path of suffering. It is wrong to imagine that if Moses would have been patient and not killed the Egyptian he would have become the next Pharaoh. The Bible says that He actually made the choice to refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. It seems that Egyptian politics was deeply tied with their polytheistic religion that in a way also de

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. (Isaiah 32:1) Psalm 96:10; 103:17; 2Pet 3:13 A. He is Righteous and True and Just in His Character (Mal.4:2; Jer.23:5) B. He is All-knowing and Nothing is Hid from His Blazing Eyes (Heb.4: 13; Jer.23:24) C. He is All-powerful and No Wicked Can Stand Before His Power (2Thess.1:6-9; Jude 1:14-15) He is Coming Soon. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.

"The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him." (Prov.18:17) The Opposition is a vital part of modern democracy. It ensures that the government elected by the people is working on behalf of the people and fulfilling the goals it set before them. It also ensures that the ruling party practices transparency and accountability. The Opposition has the right to question the actions of the government and demand an account or rationale for its actions. It may be wrong in its assumptions, but it has the right to voice its questions, without which democracy will be annihilated. To try to silence the voice of the Opposition by any means whatsoever is to kill the soul of the nation which is liberty, unity, fraternity, and justice; for where the right to freedom is exterminated, democracy is dead. A government that labels the Opposition as traitor for questioning its actions is against the people. The Opposition provides an opportunity for the

"All of You, none of me," Is all I pray to Thee. A clay pot filled with divine treasure Of power and truth beyond measure Is all I want to be.

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again." (Ecc 11:1) One should not fear taking risks. All work of production calculates risks. Risk-taking is key to farming, business, banking. In the Parable of Talents, the boss commended the two workers who went and took risks to do business with the money they received, doubling it by the time their boss returned. However, he was very unhappy with the worker who went and hid the capital depriving the boss of even the interest from the use of it. He rebuked him saying that he should have given the money to bankers if he was afraid of taking risks, for bankers (risk-takers themselves) assure of a set interest amount. Risk-taking must be accompanied by good counsel, calculation, wisdom, and diligent hard-work that explores various avenues of investment. Risk-taking investments forgo the present disuse or use of something for sake of future returns. For instance, the farmer sows the grain instead of eating

The Lord of the Universe watches from above, He looks at the oppressed with eyes of love. He feels their agony, their cries He hears. He'll give them justice and wipe their tears.

And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."(Exo 16:3) People in general detest to go through the pain of transition though they immensely desire the Promised Land--they give in to intense complaining, wishing to go back to their previous state of misery, instead of walking through the ordeal of the uncomfortable journey. They, then, begin to despise authority and speak evil of dignitaries (2Pet.2:10), when they are called to cooperate with them, knowing the fear of the Lord (Rom.13:1; Tit.3:1). To citizens of various respective countries, if your government stands in rebellion against the express Moral Law of Heaven, resist it (Acts 4:19; 5:29); but, if it is on the side of righteousness and good governance with a vision to lead the nation to well-being , b

Positional Sanctification: Sanctified by Faith in Christ (Acts 26:18) by His Blood (Heb.10:29) Progressive Sanctification:  Dedication to God, Partaking of His Holiness, Pursuit of Holiness, Sanctified Living, Offering Bodies as Living Sacrifice, Walking in the Spirit, Sanctifying Christ in Hearts, Daily Cleansing, Walking in the Light, Avoiding all Appearance of Evil, Having Purity of Conscience, Purity of Faith, Purity of Love, Striving Against Sin, Fleeing Lusts, Disciplining Body, Pursuit of God in Hope, Putting off old man, Putting on new man (Heb.12:10,14; 1Pet.1:15; Rom.12:1,2; Gal.5:22-25; 2Cor.7:1; 1Jn.1:7-9; Rom.12:9; Heb.12:3; 1Cor.9:27; 1Tim.1:5; 6:11; 1Jn.3:3; Eph.4:22-25). Note : Progressive doesn't mean one is less holy today and becomes holier later. One is either holy or unholy; clean or unclean. In the NT, there is no gradation of Holy and Most Holy. Progressive means daily walk of holiness with Christ in the Spirit. No man can say he is immune to temptation while

There are different models of Leadership: 1. Pyramid Leadership (Military, Hierarchial) 2. Functional Leadership (Team Playing) 3. Situational Leadership (Rising for the Situation) 4. Servant Leadership (Focuses on Serving) 5. Shepherd Leadership (Focuses on Leading, Protecting, Providing, Teaching) 6. Family Leadership (Leadership in the Father-Son Model) Jesus gave us a picture of Family Leadership when He spoke about ministry and mission in the Divine Family. It was not a King who sent an Ambassador, but the Father who gave His only begotten Son. The Son learnt from the Father and obeyed His will. We also find an example of Family Leadership in Paul's mentoring of Timothy. Paul was not a boss, or a teacher, or a team-leader, or even a senior pastor to Timothy; he was a spiritual father to him. The modern cry of the youth is for true spiritual fathers who can set an example, who can teach and also correct with authority, who can mentor them. The cry is not for celebrity figures a

Usury is the money charged for the use of money. What is understood as usury in the negative sense usually, is considered as interest in the positive or neutral sense. Old Testament law discouraged practice of usury against fellow brethren. But, the Israelites were permitted to lend on interest to foreigners. Jesus mentions in His Parable of Talents that the servant with one talent should have deposited the money with bankers rather than hide it in the ground so that the Master could get back his amount along with interest. However, Aquinas considered the application of this suggestion in spiritual terms. For many centuries, usury was forbidden by the church (though Luther observes that many of the clergy did wickedly practice it). The Jews who practiced (or were marginalized to this trade) often became victims of persecution. A great example of the evil of usury is exemplified in Shakespeare's play, "Merchant of Venice", the usurer personified as the evil Shylock the Jew

Denmark ranks as the 1st among the world's least corrupt countries. Singapore ranks 8th. India ranks 65th. North Korea and Somalia rank 149th. A study of these systems reveal the following facts. 1. An Anti-corruption agency, independent of the police and executive is crucial to check corruption. Countries having multiple anti-corruption agencies don't seem to have much success. One cannot remove dirt with dirt; one has to use an agent that is intrinsically anti-dirt (soap-water). Singapore's "anti-corruption agency, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), is well resourced and independent. It is empowered to investigate any person, even police officers and ministers, and conducts public outreach to raise public awareness and shape social norms." (Lee Hsien Loong) 2. In countries like Singapore, the high-level officials are paid well and corruption is kept at bay at that level. The idea is that anti-corruption begins from top to bottom. "There is a

The Bible celebrates the fact that God is Good (Psalm 135:3). To state that God is good is to also acknowledge at the same time that God is the summum bonum, the Highest Good. His goodness is absolute in Himself, for He is perfect. His goodness is also towards us, in relation. God is Good in His Being God is Good in His Character God is Good in His Acts To the rich young ruler, Jesus declared that only God is good (Matt.19:17), i.e. in the sense of being the absolute good and perfect Teacher who alone can absolutely declare the truth that leads to eternal life. Sadly, the rich young ruler could not accept Jesus as the Good Master, refusing to follow Him. In his eyes, the world and its possessions were the more immediate good. There are at least four crisis-situations in relation to our attitude towards God's goodness. 1. Doubt Regarding the Selflessness of God's Goodness This was the situation that Eve faced in the garden of Eden when the devil deceived her to doubt that God