Marbaniang, Domenic

Acts 1:8 – Power of Holy Spirit Acts 3.6 – Authority. Not Silver and Gold… Jesus didn’t leave them with monetary assets, but gave them authority in His Name. Acts 4:30,31 – Not to flee the field, but to boldly proclaim despite opposition Acts 5: 11,12 – Purity of Church Acts 6:7 – Administrative Wisdom Acts 9:31 – Divine Breakthrough. The Big Fish Acts 12:24 – National Changes. The church prayed.

Miracles of Creation – e.g Blind Eyes Opened, Aaron's Rod Budded Miracles of Multiplication – e.g. Multiplication of Bread and fish, Widow's Oil Multiplied Miracles of Resurrection - e.g. Raising Lazarus Miracles of Power over Nature – e.g Stilling Storm, Walking on Water, Dividing Red Sea, Iron swims Miracles of Destruction – e.g. Withering of the Fig Tree, Uzzah Struck Dead Miracles of Healing - e.g. Healing of Naaman Miracles of Transformation - e.g. Water Turned into Wine Miracles of Opening - e.g. Balaam's Donkey Speaks, Elisha's Servant's Eyes Opened Miracles of Protection - e.g. Daniel in Lions' Den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

"Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket." (Acts 9:25) Christians having access to the wall are responsible to help save lives of other Christians threatened by enemies of the Gospel; if unable to physically help, then at least fervently pray and send relief by any means possible. (Matt.10:23; 2Cor.11:23; 1Sam.19:12; Rom.15:30-32; Acts 12:5; 2Thes.3:1,2; Matt.25:37-40; Phil.4:15-18). When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matt.10:23) In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. (2Cor.11:32-33) So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. (1Sam.19:12) For if you remain completely silent at this time, re...

"Love the LORD your God with all your ...strength." (Mk.12:30) There is a reason why Solomon tells young people to remember God when they are still young (Ecc12:1); it's because youth is the time when one has great opportunities to love God truly with all one's strength. It's the time when one can choose to use his strength for the Master. To know God at an old age is fine; however, then strength is weak, the keepers tremble, and the grasshopper is a burden (Eccl.12:3-5). But, in the robust vigor of youth, one can truly speak of loving God with all one's strength. In his youth, David could talk of God as the one who trained his hands for war so that his arms could bend a bow of bronze and his feet could run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psa.144:1; 18:29,34). But, in his old age, he could not speak of being able in the same manner. David had the blessing of serving the Lord with all his strength in his youth. There is no sadder sight than a young person...

There are two kinds of sorrow: godly sorrow and godless or worldly sorrow (2Cor.7:10). Godly sorrow over sin leads to repentance; godly sorrow over the state of people or things leads to prayer (often with fasting) and action. Godless sorrow leads to works of flesh, to anger, lust, bitterness, hatred, and ultimately death. Godless sorrow is abomination in God's eyes. Godless sorrow hurts self and others. Examples of Godless Sorrow: 1. Cain's sadness that led to hatred and murder (Gen.4:5-7) 2. Sorrow of the Israelites for not having their lust for meat being fulfilled (Num.11:4-6) 3. Ahab's sorrow for not getting Naboth's land that he coveted (1Kgs.21:1-4). 4. Sorrow of Judas Iscariot that led to his suicide (Matt.27:3-5). 5. Sorrow of Abraham out of not knowing the will of God (Gen.21:11,12); but, when he knew God's will, he immediately obeyed God. 6. Sorrow of Jonah out of selfish pity (Jonah 4) Examples of Godly Sorrow: 1. Sorrow of David over his sin (Psa.51). 2...

We will all have to give an account to God of our: Thoughts/Conscience (Rom.2:15-16; Heb.4:12,13) Words (Matt.12:36; Jude 14-16; 2Cor.5:10) Works (Eccl.12:14; Rev.20:12,13) Desires/Pursuits (Rom.2:7) Treasures, Stewardship/Talents, Expenditures and Investments (Matt.6:20; Phil.4:17; Matt.25:19; 1Tim.6:17-19; Rev.3:18) Obedience to Faith (Rom.4:3; 2Thess.1:8) Choices and Lifestyle, Time Spent (Eccl.11:9) Souls (Heb.13:17; Rom.14:12; 1Cor.8:12,13; 1Pet.5:4) Acts towards the Body of Christ (1Cor.3:10-17) Ministry (James 3:1; Lk.12:47-48; Jer.48:10; 2Cor.4:1-2)

In the past, empires and regimes identified national integrity with a cultural, ideological or religious unity of some kind. Thus, from Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image and Alexander's Hellenization to Nazi Fascism and Soviet Communism, the attempt was to unify on the basis of symbols, forms, and slogans. However, it didn't unite but only divide turning a nation against itself and its own people, in some cases leading to persecution by the government of the very people it was called to protect. Opposed to such false ideals of national integrity, modern secular constitutions envisage justice, equality, fraternity, and liberty as the chief principles of nationhood. In an increasingly globalizing era, cultural pride and cultural monism can never be the answer. The parade and propagation of symbols and slogans don't help much in the improvement of the nation. Pride goes before destruction. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best illustrations of the real need. The...

The building of the Third Temple is one of the most anticipated events for Jews all over the world; for, the Temple is considered to be the heart of the identity of Jerusalem as the Holy City of God. For about 2000 years now, Jerusalem and the Jewish people have been Temple-less. However, the vision of a third Temple burns brightly in their hearts. History tells us that the First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC. In 538 BC, Cyrus the Great Emperor of Persia ascended the throne and decreed the construction of the Second Temple. This temple was completed in around 516 BC under the leadership of Joshua the High Priest, Prince Zerubabel, and prophets such as Haggai and Zechariah. The Book of Ezra gives an account of this construction and the hindrances the people had to overcome during the work. The Second Temple was renovated and remodeled during the reign of Herod the Great in the first century BC. This temple was destroyed by the arm...

Life is made up of choices. Man has been given the freedom to choose. One may not be able to choose circumstances, but he can choose how to respond to those circumstances (Matt.25:26,27) God will judge us according to our works, that is according to the choices we have made in life (Rev.20:12) Choices involve acceptance and rejection; acceptance of good and rejection of evil. Those who choose good receive favor, but those who choose evil invite trouble (Pro.11:27). Some Important Choices to Make The Bible is filled with guidance regarding what to choose and what to avoid. Following are few of them: Choose the Narrow Gate (Matt.7:13) Choose Life (Deut 30:19) Choose Blessing (Deut 30:19) Choose Right Attitude (Gen.4:6-8) Choose to Serve God (Josh 24:15-22) Choose the Word of God (Psa.119:30,111,173) Choose the Fear of God (Prov.1:29) Choose Wisdom (Prov.8:36) Choose What Pleases God (Isa.56:4) Choose the Kingdom and God's Righteousness (Matt.6:33) Choose to Spend Time with Jesus (Lk....

"But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee." (Matt.2:22) Faith-life in this world is doesn't mean that we should not lock our doors. It is not about supernatural invincibility and perfection all the time. Sometimes, God can also guide us through rational fear. A few verses earlier, God tells Joseph to flee to Egypt. Joseph could have argued, "Why flee? Isn't God powerful to protect us? Is Herod greater than God?" But, Joseph didn't; he just obeyed. And, then we may argue that God could have averted the death of so many infants. Why didn't He send legions of angels for the protection of the little ones? But, He didn't. There were times when Jesus Himself hid. It was not possible for the High Priests and his soldiers to find Jesus without having got a traitor like Judas on their side. The heroes of fa...

Contrary to popular assumptions that yoga is just about exercises, the Hindu scriptural text, Yoga Sutras declares yoga as the path to self-realization or union with God. The doctrines of karma, reincarnation, and spiritual powers are integral to the philosophy. If this aspect of philosophy is removed from yoga, then it becomes just a set of exercises and is no longer worthy of being called yoga. It would do injustice to call a set of exercises as "yoga" after subtracting from them the ground on which they are based. Therefore, the government of India website has tried to make it clear to the world to not misunderstand yoga as just a mere set of exercises (especially as the recently adopted International Day of Yoga on June 21 draws closer). The following are some statements quoted from the site. "Yoga is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature and ...

Ocean of Kindness, How great is Your Infinite Love; I entered in dark, soiled, and dirty; I came out spotless and white. I entered in broken, wormy, and leprous; I came out unblemished as a child. I entered in troubled, confused, and ignorant; I came out with unspeakable peace of mind. O Ocean of Kindness, Ocean of Kindness, How great is Your Infinite Love! Your Kindness never gets deplete, Your Kindness never gets soiled, Your Kindness is constant forever; Ocean of Kindness, How great is Your Love! O Ocean of Kindness, Ocean of Kindness, How great is Your Infinite Love!

From the One who holds the Seven Spirits and the Seven Stars, "I know you as you are: By reputation, alive; by character, dead!" "Watch and strengthen the things now dying; your works aren't perfect before God; Hold fast, repent, and watch; If you don't defile your garments, I'll give you garments white!" "For, I am coming soon to take the overcomers home; And, before the Father's throne, Their names I will confess and won't blot from the Book of Life." There is no overcoming, without a proper fight; He who expects no fighting will falter from the right; But, he who holds his faith in faithfulness will walk with Jesus in white.

"He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Gal 6:8) This speaks in relation to giving to the Lord. Verse 7 instructs us to assist full-time Christian workers and teachers in the ministry by sharing in all good things. Verse 9 tells us to do good to all, esp to the family of believers, whenever we have opportunity to help (and opportunity is precious, the season of sowing). The call is to sow into the kingdom of God in order reap incorruptible harvest. It doesn't say, "Sow your money in order to get a harvest of money!" NO. Rather, it says that he who sows to his flesh (who spends money only on his own personal, family, and business needs) will reap corruption (because everything in this world will be destroyed); but, he who sows to the Spirit, to the work of the Spirit, with faith in the spiritual, for spiritual purposes, to assist the work of God, will of the Spirit reap...

Judaism doesn't say that conversion to Judaism is necessary for non-Jews; however, it does hold it obligatory for every human to obey what are considered to be the 7 Laws of Noah. Anyone who abides by these 7 laws is considered to be a "righteous gentile" and is assured of a portion in the world to come. 1 In other words, though the Law of Moses given to the Covenant people of Israel is not obligatory for the non-Jewish world, the Laws of Noah are obligatory for all mankind. Tract Sanhedrin of the Babylonian Talmud lists the seven laws in the following words: The rabbis taught: Seven commandments were given to the children of Noah, and they are: Concerning judges, blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and that they must not eat of the member of a body while the animal is still alive. 2 The view known as Noahidism builds its ideology on these. Six of the commandments were considered to have been Adamic: "(1) not to worship idols; (2) not to blaspheme the...

The New Testament talks of relations as conditional identities, implying that people can only claim certain identities with Christ if they fulfill certain conditions. Following are some of them. 1. Only those who receive Christ and believe in Him have the right to become the children of God (Jn.1:12) 2. Only those who obey the commandments of Christ are His friends (Jn.15:14) 3. Only those who deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Christ are fit to be called disciples of Christ (Lk.9:23) 4. Only those who do the will of the Father is mother, brother, and sister of Christ (Matt.12:50) 5. Only those who show mercy to others, regardless of who they are, are the true neighbor (Lk.10:36-37) 6. Only those who confess their sins and cry out for mercy are marked as justified (Lk.18:13-14) Christ cannot recognize those who do not practically fulfill these conditions, no matter what they believe (Matt.7:21-23)

Christ Gives Us Freedom From: 1. Falsehood (Jn.8:32) 2. Sin (Jn.8:33-35; Rom.6:7) 3. Power of Darkness (Col.1:13) 4. Corruption of flesh (2Pet.2:19) 5. Vain Traditions (1Pet.1:18) 6. The Law (Rom.7:6; Gal.5:1,13) 7. Corruption of this World (Rom.8:21) 8. This Present Evil Age (Gal.1:4) 9. Fear of Death (Heb.2;15) 10. Oppression (Lk.4:18)

This kind of perversion is a spirit of high-class mindedness that prevails among Christian ministers and is evident in their speeches and gallery or media display in which they speak of friendships or acquaintance with rich, powerful, and popular or elite figures; portray themselves in context of or association with Universities, Clubs, or Associations; and create an environment of aloofness from the common people. Whenever they show themselves with the common, it is like condescending to help them. This pervert spirit craves to be seen as popular figures, whose meetings are jampacked, crowds number in thousands or millions, and who have a large subscription or fan following. The book of James rebukes this spirit of snobbish perversion.

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt.7:13,14) To enter through the narrow gate means to leave every worldly luggage outside of the gate. One must save his own soul. Therefore, Christ said that he who wished to be His disciple had to deny self and all earthly relations, then take up his own cross, and follow Him. The cross is another symbol of the difficult road. For Peter and John, it meant to leave their business and life of security in order to follow Christ. For the rich young man, it meant to sell off his wealth, distribute it to the poor, and follow Christ. The rich man wasn't willing to leave his baggage behind; therefore, he refused to enter the narrow gate and chose the wide one instead. Jesus said that it would be easier for a camel to enter through a needle...

The Book of Genesis records the historically vital account of the Fall of man. Now, there are those who are skeptical of this account. It seems to them very unlikely that a race can be condemned to eternal damnation just because its progenitors took a secret bite of the forbidden fruit. Firstly, the fruit-nature correlation itself seems to them incongruous. Then, there is the issue of justness of such damnation. However, there is something about this account that is unignorable; and, that is that it stands out as the most legitimate explanation of the root of human devolution. Genesis 3 records the first lie of Scripture, the demonic lie that man would not surely die if he ate the forbidden fruit but would rather become like God knowing good and evil. The first part of it was blatantly false; the effect of the fruit was instantly fatal on both Adam and Eve, for the moment they sinned they died spiritually. The opening of their eyes meant their spiritual death in the same manner that th...

In this article, we will be looking at three simple aspects of child-like faith: 1. Primacy of Faith 2. Purity of Faith 3. Practicality of Faith Primacy of Child-Like Faith For a child, faith precedes understanding. His faith doesn’t say “I am never going to drink milk until I understand how a brown cow can eat green grass and produce white milk and yellow butter.” In modern times, there is a great clamor about providing evidences for belief; however, the Bible always talks about the primacy of faith over evidence. In fact, Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as itself being “the evidence”. This might appear to be very troublesome for some; however, the history of the Church has giants such as Paul, Anselm, Kierkegaard, and Barth who have affirmed the primacy of faith over understanding. We will try to understand this with the help of two examples from the Bible; but before that, it is important to understand that biblical faith doesn’t encourage blind-belief; in fact, truth is integral to fa...

After the Flood, God blessed Noah and granted to him every living creature as food even as he had given the green herbs (Gen.9:3). Prior to the Noahic Covenant, we don’t find any mention of humans being non-vegetarian. But, after the Flood, man was granted to kill and eat every living creature, with the following two conditions: 1. Humans, under the Noahic Covenant, are not permitted to eat flesh with its blood (Gen.9:4) 2. Homicide (murder of humans) is affirmed as a capital offence (Gen.9:6) When the Mosaic Law was given, God further stipulated meat laws that distinguished between clean and unclean animals and forbade the Jewish people from eating anything unclean (Deut 14:3-21). He also reaffirmed that blood must not be eaten but must be poured out on earth like water (Deut 12:16). Scholars have considered several reasons for the prohibition of blood-eating; but the prominent reasons considered are that God wanted to protect the animals from human cruelty and also protect humans fro...

"Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Eph.5:16, ESV) Things that Waste Time 1. Godless Mysteries (Acts 1:7). Indulging time in things which are hidden by God is a wastage of time, because no matter how hard one will try, one cannot find out anything that is hidden by God. You cannot hack the secret files of heaven; there are no heaven-leaks. Beware of false teachers and mystery cults! 2. Gainless Controversies (2Tim.2:23; Tit.3:9,10; 1Tim.6:3-5) . Do not waste time with someone who is obviously a rebel and has no interest in the truth. Those who are interested in truth will have a heart to listen as well. However, those who are obsessed with rebellion will persist in their folly. The Bible instructs about such, "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them." (Tit.3:10) 3. Negative People . Don't waste time with negative people who have no faith, are chronic critics, abusers of ...

Two horses have more horsepower than the sum of both their individual powers put together. This is called the principle of synergy . Similarly, when two people work together on a job, their individual times add up to a greater whole than both of theirs individually. Thus, in a team work, one ends up getting more than 24 hours in his quota. Consequentially, a person in social engagement has more time than those who wish to work in solitude only. Of course, solitude has a place, especially when social engagement can mean destruction of synergy (like in two horses pulling a cart in opposite directions, in which case the single horse would do better than two opposite horses). Proverbs 21:9 says that "It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home" (NLT). When a husband and his wife have opposite perspectives and opposite directions, they end up destroying the energy of each other. But, where there is harmony, the overall res...

Australopithecus deyiremeda is a proposed species of early hominin among those who lived about 3.3–3.5 million years ago in northern Ethiopia, around the same time and place as several discovered specimens of Australopithecus afarensis, including the well-known "Lucy", a juvenile specimen. (Wikipedia). Some 3 jawbones discovered on March 4, 2011 were proposed as specimens of this proposed species. While the discovery may have prompted overjoy in the evolutionist camp, it doesn't aid to quell doubts regarding the problem of  transitional fossils (missing links), considered one big problem of the theory of evolution. Of course, while now and then specimen of so-called inter-species are claimed to have been unearthed, the question of why so less of these  still lingers. Often, the missing links are either just a few pieces of fragmentary bones that are put together or only jawbones or such. One answer suggested is that the fossil record itself is meagre.  But, obviously on...

Communication is a bi-way event ; both the communicator and the receiver are actively involved in determining what the communication comes to be. There is nothing like passivity in the communication process. Some form of active involvement is always present. For instance, one cannot say about a listener that his mind is a blank slate (a tabula rasa ) upon which everything that a person is saying or communicating is exactly imprinted in the way that the person intended to say. The listener is also very actively involved in trying to understand what is being said. And, if the hurdles of communication are not properly and skillfully tackled, the results could be grave misunderstanding if not blankness or sense. Thus, we know cases of people having a false memory of an event; it's because their mind was actively involved in resolving whether a color was red or orange or it was a particular person that they had seen passing by. Preconceptions and assumptions play significant role in wha...

Worship in Spirit  (Jn.4:24; Phil 3:3) Not external, ceremonial, slavish, but spiritual.... Not carnal worship that focuses on performance. Not a worship that is connected with location or tradition. Worshiping God in the Spirit means to know God, not after the flesh, but in the Spirit; to not have confidence in the flesh but to rely in the Spirit of God. Worship in Truth   (Not False, Rom 1:25; Psa 51:6). Sincerity in worship means that the worship is not a wearisome, burdensome act; it is sincere and sacrificial. Worship in truth also means to worship God according to knowledge of truth, not according to imagination. To worship God in truth, one must know the Scriptures. Worship with Understanding  (Psa.47:7; 1Cor.14:15). To worship God with understanding means to be attentive and watchful about what one is speaking and doing. It means to worship God reasonably and meaningfully; not just as a formality or as a ritual. It also means to serve God with having our whol...

Things that Hinder Our Run 1. Social Bonds (Lk.14:26-27, Mat 8:21-22). A person who gives priority to social relations above Christ, can never walk with Christ. 2. Cares and Desires of World (Lk.8:14; Phil 3:7). When the cares of the world and its desires, the urge to not miss something "good" of the world, take control of a person's decision, he becomes deaf to the Spirit of God and fails to move forward anymore. 3. Besetting Sin (Heb.12:2). A person cannot be moving ahead as long as he is being pulled back by sin, everytime he wants to go ahead. The solution is in simply deciding to lay aside that besetting sin. 4. Things of Past (Phil.3:13). Neither idolize the past nor be traumatized by it. Don't say that the old days were better (Eccl.7:10); instead, say "The future is going to be better than the past". 5. Crooked Paths (Heb.12:13). Paths that sinners and godless men walk on must be avoided by the believer (Psa.1:1) 6. Bitter Root (Heb.12:15). Dis...