Verses in Context
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It is intriguing to refer to our God as the Righteous One and the Holy One. As God embodies holiness, He has called us to attain holiness ourselves, enabling us to experience His presence at its fullest. Regrettably, despite our recognition of God as a righteous One and His invitation to pursue holiness, we often fall short of embodying righteousness and holiness required to keep us in His presence. Practically speaking, we often lack the necessary edification in our lives, merely addressing God as the Righteous and the Holy without comprehending the true significance of these titles. Consequently, one must…
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In discussing the moral of this parable, Luke emphasizes two key lessons that everyone should take to heart: to pray continually and not to give up. These two points reveal Jesus’ deep understanding of the human heart. He knew that people often turn away from God when their desires remain unfulfilled over a long period. Instead of waiting patiently, many shift their focus to other options—often seeking quicker, easier ways to get what they want. In their relentless pursuit of blessings by any means, some end up aligning themselves with the devil, who offers the pleasures and riches of this…
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In many places throughout the Scriptures, Jesus encourages us to ask and receive. Motivated by numerous mediators who stand between us and God, we are thoroughly trained to constantly ask—again and again. James reinforces this by saying, “You did not receive because you did not ask (James 4:2).” Some believers, after asking for a long time without receiving, begin to reflect on Jesus’ words: “Until now, you have not asked the Father for anything in My Name (John 16:24).” So they begin to include the phrase “in the Name of Jesus” in their prayers. Yet even then, when the desired…
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While Jesus is calling all mankind who are burdened and weary to follow Him, He has also told us to deny ourselves and also to carry our cross. Many follow Jesus, not knowing where Jesus is leading them. They are pleased to just follow Jesus, and reluctant to reach out to God. Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way (John 14:5)?” If we do not know where Jesus is leading us, we may end our journey when we find Jesus. Finding Jesus is the beginning of our journey…
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It is often the aspiration of a father to elevate his children beyond his own standing. Even parents lacking formal education do not wish for their children to remain illiterate, so they make great efforts to enrol them in reputable schools to ensure their literacy. Similarly, educated individuals consistently strive to provide their children with a higher social and educational standing, selecting the most esteemed educational institutions within their means. This commitment to securing the best education aims to equip their offspring with the necessary skills and opportunities to excel in life. Looking at examples from monarchy, the heads of…
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In Scripture, Jesus encourages His followers to draw nearer to His Father. He graciously extends His Sonship to all, so that we may address the Almighty God as our Abba, our Father. God sent His Son to be our elder brother, sharing with us all that He knows about His Father and His glorious Kingdom. It is interesting to note that even as some preachers and prophets claim to possess knowledge of the precise hour of Jesus’ second coming, Jesus, Himself assures us that only the Father knows this sacred hour, and it remains hidden from all others. Moreover, when…
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The statement, “The last will be the first”, appears to be incongruous with societal norms when viewed from the perspective of renowned scholars. In today’s fiercely competitive world, striving to be the foremost in all endeavours has become ingrained in the minds of many. To understand the meaning of last becoming first, it is essential to distinguish between the concepts of percentage and percentile. The former fails to provide an adequate basis for comparing a given value, while the latter enables such a comparison against the wider dataset. Percentages offer the gratification of achieving a maximum score out of one…
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Believing in what Jesus did for us on the cross, we became God’s legitimate children and heirs to inherit His Kingdom. The devil does not tolerate our freedom in Christ Jesus and always tries to bind us again with the cords of sin. After luring us to sin, he gives us a feeling of guilt and when that guilt hounds us, he goes to the presence of God and accuses His children of being sinners. The devil leads a believer to forget the forgiveness they receive from God. He does this by misinterpreting the word of God to convince us…
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Jesus is keen on keeping our relationship with Him as personal and He is eager to reward us personally. If we expose His intimate relation to earn riches and fame, then Jesus warns us that we have already been ‘rewarded’ with riches and fame. If we keep it personal between ourselves and Him, He is assuring us a reward from our heavenly Father.
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When we read the above verse without synchronising our minds with the mind of Jesus, we start encouraging believers to earn money by whatever means (even unrighteous ways) to cater to the needs of the Church and its projects.
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No one can harm us because the God who loves us, loves the people who intend to harm us too and no one can stand against His love. We may fail in showing love to our enemies but God is able to love our enemies to the extent of transforming their darkest lives into a light shining for the Truth.
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Storing our treasures in heaven does not mean that we have to store all the mortal things of this earth in heaven, rather it means that when we shift our focus to the things of heaven, our rewards will start to accumulate in heaven. And if our rewards continue to accrue in heaven, our hearts will cling to our Lord Jesus to inherit His belongings.
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Let our love be without hypocrisy. If we hate evil, our love will be complete but unfortunately we love evil.
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Who does not want joy in this world? Irrespective of their faith, people will take a chance to grab any joy offered in this manner.
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On the basis of the above verse, we are trained to walk on eggshells when confronting our fellow brethren of their mistakes. While we want to do the right thing and correct our brethren, we are plagued with guilt because of the above verse. If we do adhere to our inclination and confront the offender, he might quote the above verse and say ‘Are you not aware of Jesus’ teaching Do not judge others?’
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This commandment has not only been manipulated by parents but also by the pharisees in misleading young people.
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According to this world, victory and prosperity are dovetailed notions. Whereas, for the followers of Christ, victory and prosperity do not conform to each other. Not being able to discern the difference between victory and prosperity, leads many believers to become prey to the concept of suffering and end up losing their victorious life.
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While reading this verse in isolation, some understand this verse as the presence of God is possibly drawn only if two or more people gather in a place. With this misconception, people use this verse to invite God’s presence while they come together. The whole endeavor for coming together in His presence may go in vain as it exposes the lack of knowledge of the word of God in them.
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The present freedom is a provision of grace that has to be received by faith. This freedom is available exclusively when people realise the gravity of their situation when they were slaves to sin, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead them in penitence and self examination. Self righteousness does not allow people to cherish this freedom in fullness.
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The disciples were always with Jesus, yet they were unable to feed the crowd. They were traveling with Jesus, yet were unable to calm the storm. Above all, they were right next to Jesus listening to Him explaining what will happen to Him and the redemption plan of God, yet they were unable to grasp any of it.
The Jordan Valley 