Today, organic food is very difficult to source and even if a brand promises purity of its ingredients there is high probability of adulteration in everything we consume. Even after knowing this fact, we do not give up eating altogether and are getting by with whatever is available in our local grocery store. But when it comes to our fellowship, we expect the purest variety and when we do not find it, we abandon it altogether. We feel we don’t need fellowship like we need food and thus our different standards. We make concessions for other things in our lives that are not perfect but don’t extend the same leniency to our fellowships.
Tag: Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1
Faith Or Fear
Fear always chases faith to weaken its strength. No one in this world can say that they do not understand what fear is. We are all driven by fear in some areas of our lives. Fear gives us restlessness and steals our confidence. With fear, we are not able to arrive at the right decision at the right time, but it leads us to the wrong decisions.
Faith That Draws
Is your faith fetching people to Jesus or is it rather driving them away from Him? Are you discouraged by the spiritual trait of some people? Here is an encouraging truth from the Bible, come near to Jesus and don’t see the crowd around Him.
Defiled by Unbelief – Matthew 15
Our words reflect the thoughts of our heart and if we do not have God guide our hearts, we will be giving way to the evil one to take over and defile us in the process.
Hope Giver
Hope is an optimistic attitude of expecting something good to happen in our future. When such expected things don’t happen, it sometimes causes agony and depression in some of our lives.
All you need is Faith – Matthew 9
The people chosen to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and His love were busy following traditions and burdening the people with rules and regulations and failed to do their work. We are now the shepherds who have tasted the love of God and should let the others know of that love.
Lord, Help Our Unbelief
Thomas was with Jesus for more than three years, he had seen all the miracles that Jesus had performed, how He raised the dead and would have been present for his countless teachings but still Thomas was unable to grasp the supernatural aspect of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Luke – Chapter 17
Love for money is the root cause for all kinds of evil. In the ancient days, man exchanged the goods and services in return for his own needs. In due course of time man invented money to replace the barter system.
What do we Believe
Our christian lives are sometimes influenced by the people around us. There are so many theological schools of thought that we sometimes find it hard to know what we believe.
Faith of a Centurion
As Jesus was entering Capernaum, a Centurion approached Him asking for his servant’s healing….
The Leap of Faith
In the land of Aram (Syria in Greek) there lived a valiant soldier highly regarded by the king and was the commander of his forces. The lord had brought victory to Aram through this man. His name was Naaman. He had a perfect life, respected in his community and feared amongst his enemies. However with his great wealth he also had an incurable disease – Leprosy, the disease which caused one to be shunned from society and live as an outcast.
The Syrophoenician Woman – The Epitome of Faith
Jesus left Galilee and headed north some 35 miles to the gentile occupied port cities of Tyre and Sidon. The purpose of Jesus’ short visit to these cities is not clear. He was not preaching in this region nor was he performing any miracles. Then why did Jesus take his disciples and travel such a long distance to Tyre and Sidon?
Faith an Integral Part of Our Life
At once after feeding five thousand men, Jesus asked his disciples to go to the other side. Probably Jesus did not want his disciples to get carried away by the applause of the beneficiaries of the miracle. Jesus decided to spend some quiet time with His Father and went up the mountainside. Shortly before dawn He decided to join his disciples who were sailing. While they saw Jesus walking on the water they took Him for a ghost. But Jesus comforted them by saying “It is I” and asked them not to be afraid. This signifies the level of faith of his disciples.
Ask And You Shall Recieve
Jesus was going to Jerusalem via Jericho and huge crowds had gathered all around Him wanting to hear what He had to say. As they entered Jericho, a blind man named Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside. On hearing the commotion, he asked the people around him as to what was going on, to which he was told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. We do not know to what extent he knew Jesus…
Seeing the Unseen
Jesus said this to the Pharisees who were unable to see Him and accept His work due to their limited knowledge of the scripture. Scripture is a written law that should be implemented in our day to day life. This is being implemented by two sources, one is with human mind and discipline, the other with God’s mind and discipline. Human mind has laid down some punitive elements to implement the law but God implements His law through unconditional love. Human mind uses a law to accuse but God uses the same law to rescue.
Truth and Mercy
David says in Psalm 31: 21-22 that he became fearful and was afraid that he had gone far from Him. Similarly we also face this fear many times in our lives and become worrisome and don’t get justice hence, all our work gets spoiled. David says that he was not of any use but still God showed His mercy and gave him victory. God, whether we believe in Him or not, whether we love Him or go far from Him, will be with us and never leave us alone.
Jesus is turning water into Wine
John recorded the turning of water into wine at the Canaan wedding as Jesus’ first miracle. It has an indication of Jesus’ purpose for coming in to this world and shows that Jesus is keen on family relations and the institution of marriage.
Oceans – A Test of Our Faith
The song ‘Oceans’, is a reminiscence of Peter walking on water. After feeding the 5000 Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to reach Gennesaret by boat while he dispersed the crowds and went up into the mountain to pray. When evening fell the boat the disciples had sailed about three and half miles into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus saw the disciples in the boat distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary
Faith And Deed
Faith comes from Jesus, the author of it. It helps the mankind to obtain salvation. Whatever was foretold about Jesus Christ has been fulfilled by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day. If one believes this, as a child the faith increases. This pleases God. Paul reminds this in his…
On The Road To Emmaus
In the cool of the day, two men from Emmaus were returning from Jerusalem. They had a seven-mile journey ahead of them and plenty to talk about. Unrest was at an all-time high amongst the believers. Rumors were being spread, seeds of doubt and confusion were sprouting and fear of the unknown was overwhelming the disciples.
Trust God
Quite often we are unable to understand God’s plans. Chronic diseases, fatal accidents, sudden demise of our dear ones and financial crisis keep us in dark from understanding His ways. When we do not understand His ways. Fear hovers over our lives, sorrow fills our hearts and peace eludes us. This shows that our strength is small.
Let Go
How many times have we been in the situation described in the above mentioned reading? God calls us and we find it hard to part with the earthly things and ask God to wait for us.
……….If only we believe!!
….. there is nothing too hard for the Lord (Jer 32:17) Main reading Genesis 18: 9-15 The three mysterious visitors came to Abraham on a hot summer’s day to convey to Abraham the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 16 onwards) and that Sarah would bear Abraham a son. The reaction of Sarah was quite contrasting from…
The Jordan Valley 