Marbaniang, Domenic

Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Rom 1:3-4 NKJ) The declaration of the Christ as the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead was foreshadowed in the baptism of Jesus, which was in itself a foreshadowing of His death, burial, and resurrection; for that in essence is what baptism signifies. It is not a coincidence then that we hear the first heavenly announcement that Jesus is the beloved Son of God after Jesus comes out of the waters of baptism. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mat 3:16-17

"Faith is the foundation..." (Hb.11:1, SLT) The empirical philosopher, whose method is chiefly inductive in nature, fails to understand faith. For he sees the faith of God as impossible and the explanations of a theologian appear to suffer faith to die the death of a thousand qualifications. Such is the case illustrated in the Parable of the Invisible Gardener by John Wisdom. Antony Flew, in his agnostic period, analysed the parable in the following empirical terms: Let us begin with a parable. It is a parable developed from a tale told by John Wisdom in his haunting and revolutionary article "Gods." Once upon a time two explorers came upon a clearing in the jungle. In the clearing were growing many flowers and many weeds. One explorer says, "Some gardener must tend this plot." The other disagrees, "There is no gardener." So they pitch their tents and set a watch. No gardener is ever seen. "But perhaps he is an invisible gardener." So t

"I am nothing " (2Cor.12:11) Nothingness is the threshold of a new beginning. Spiritual nothingness is a recognition of the everythingness of Christ and the nothingness of self: in Christ, everything; through Christ, everything; for Christ everything. The chorus of heaven is "God is everything". The dirge of hell is "I am everything". The Throne of God is surrounded by "How Great Thou Art!" The vaults of hell resound with "How Great I Am!" The devil begs and lures for recognition. God commands submission. The meek inherit the earth. The poor in spirit inherit the Kingdom of God. God resists the proud, but exalts the humble. The humble are not those who try to look humble. The humble are those who recognize that they are nothing, but Christ is everything, and they are complete in Christ; and if so, there is left no more room for boasting of any kind whatsoever, no confidence in flesh, no praise of men, no provision for the flesh and its

If the doctrine of Trinity is illogical, then by the same logic, everything else is illogical. Now, there are some who consider it to be an evidently foolish thing to believe in the reality of God as One and yet three persons. They say, 1+1+1=3 in every case, or else mathematics is absurd. But, let me show you by an ancient argument, once again, that mathematics can’t explain reality as it is. I will adapt only one argument from the many that a Greek philosopher of the 5th century BC, Zeno of Elea, used in order to defeat the then philosophers of mathematics, the Pythogoreans. The argument is commonly referred to as The Dichotomy. A .. A 6. . A 5    A 4       A 3            A 2                         A 1                                               B Suppose a runner is standing at point A and must reach point B in order to finish the race. The only way he can reach point B is by reaching the halfway point, say A 1 , between A and B, before reaching B. But then the only way he can

I can't see the entire road, but the road is still there. I'm just at this present spot, but God is everywhere. He leads and I can see the next steps to take. But, I must be perpetually alert, vigilant, and awake.

The sun has risen and his golden beams light up the horizon, He draws the day across the sky on a blazing trail of fire. But, he reminds me he's just a shadow of the soon coming Glorious One, That Righteous Sun whose path is lit by God's healing desire.

Inter-personal relationship is something akin to building a house.  It is not a readymade house that can be bought; it has to be built over time. The most intimate form of inter-personal relationship is the family. Therefore, a family is also known as a house. And, the Church is called the House of God, or the Household of God, in the same sense. The first most important thing in a relationship is the foundation. The strength of the foundation determines the strength of the house. A house without real foundation is as weak as a castle built on air. There are many unreal materials that people use as foundation for their relationships. Some of them are physical beauty, academic excellence, wealth, skill, status, or any such impermanent things. Feelings and attitudes are subjective experiences that are not foundation materials at any case. Much of these unrealities are matters of mere assumption and imagination. It is like a fan who is enamored by a celebrity, but on drawing near is shoc

Ref: The Republic Gymnastic is for the body, and music is for the soul. Gymnastic as well as music should begin in early years; the training in it should be careful and should continue through life. Music includes literature and literature can be true or false. Therefore, censorship is necessary. When modes of music change, the laws of the State always change with them. The music style must be more narrative than imitative; the artist, willing to imitate only the good and virtuous. A song or ode has three parts--the words, the melody, and the rhythm. The melody and rhythm must depend upon the words The State must not allow mixed styles that create confusion. The State must banish melodies that express lament and sorrow, and also banish instruments such as flute for promoting such melodies. Thus, only the lyre and harp are allowed. When a man allows music to play upon him and to pour into his soul through the funnel of his ears sweet and soft and melancholy airs, and his whole life is p

"God..calls things that are not as though they were." (Rom 4:17) ----------------------------------------------- Emptiness, the seeming void around; Frustration of silent blankness; Impatience, the restless hunger inside; Darkness, the unknown nothingness; Faith that triumphs over all, for it calls Things that are not as if they are.

"It is required in stewards that one be found faithful" (1Cor.4:2) Tit.1:7 - Steward of God Luke 12:42 - Faithful Steward For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (Luk 12:48 NKJ) Steward : 1. The things in his possession don't belong to him. 2. He must protect what he has been given. 3. He must strive to increase and make better what has been entrusted. 4. He must keep a record of all things. 5. He must give an account of his stewardship at the end. 6. He will be rewarded for good work and punished for failure. Stewards of: 1. The Mysteries of God (1Cor.4:2) Matt.5:18-20; Rev.22:18-19. Ex. Peter.. Obey God or man. Acts4:20; 5:29 Paul. Woe to me if I don't preach the Gospel. 1 Cor.9:16 Acts 20:26-27 - whole counsel of God Watchman. Eze.33:7,8 2. The Manifold Grace of God (1Pet.4:10ff)

In the same manner as there is false fear and false pride, there is also false guilt. False guilt is feeling guilty about something that you are not truly guilty of. You are guilty of something only if you violated your obligations in relation to it. A moral obligation is a binding that is governed by the principle of love. We know what love is from 1 Corinthians 13. This talks about real sacrificial love where your own desires and needs are not more important than the well-being of others. False guilt, however, can hurt both persons of a party. Because it thinks in legal and carnal terms alone and not according to the freedom of the Spirit. For instance, people were astonished that David rose up, washed and ate when he came to know that his son was dead. Usually, the world would say that he really never loved his son. But, this is false. David was thinking rationally. His crying was useless now. False guilt is irrational. Why cry over spilt milk? When you made a rational decision, yo

THE BIBLE upholds the importance of seeking counsel in times of need. We are told that “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Pro 11:14). If the law is taught by priests and the word proclaimed by prophets, then counsel was expected from the wise (Jer.18:18). The most important source of counseling in the world is the Bible; for, it is the Scriptures that make one wise for salvation (2Tim.3:15). And, the witness of Scriptures is of Jesus who is called the Wonderful Counselor (Isa.9:6). The greatest blessing for the church is the presence of God with us through the Holy Spirit who is called the Counselor ( Parakletos , Jn.14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7). The ministry of counseling, therefore, in the church is always through the Spirit based upon the Word of God for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father. Pastors are counselors; however, this doesn’t mean they should use the title “Counselor”, since that title is a professi