Category: Spiritual growth

We Shine by Walk, not Just Talk

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Talk is cheap, but walk is difficult, sometimes.

You can talk all day long, but what God is mostly concerned, and people around us, is to see our walk, the spiritual walk in Christ we have, not just the words.

Our walk, proves our talk. If we do not walk the talk, we are like an empty glass, which can not fulfill its own purpose, because there is nothing in it…

The Apostle John said, as recorded in the Bible, that we should not love with words, but with actions. Our actions are the stamp, or the signature, which proves the validity or our Christian ‘cheque’.

Just like faith without deeds, is dead, so is our Christian talk, which will become, dead and empty, if it is not accompanied by our faith walk, or a spiritual walk in Christ.

Our real transformation or change from above, is mainly proven, by how we walk, in the ways of God, not just by our spiritual talk.

It is easy to make the talk, but often, it is difficult to make the walk. Our Christian walk is where most of the grace and power of God is needed, in order to enable us, to do the right actions, in a difficult situation.

In Matthew 5:16, it says that our light should shine before men, so that they will see our good works. Notice it says they should see our good works, not our good words. Even people in this world, want to to see how we live, on a daily basis, not what we talk and preach.

It says they should see our good works, by us letting our light shine, before them. But we do not not have our own light. The light that we have, is the light of God, or from God, because God is Light. So, if we are born again Christians, we have already, the light of God in us.

That is what people in this world, want to see, not us. But although we have the light of God in us, we still have to make a choice to do actions, which will be motivated by that light in us, and will reflect the light of God in us.

Jesus who is the Light, wants to shine through us, and our actions, to the people in this world, who live in darkness. Will we let him do so?

No Dying-No Living for a Christian

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A Christian can not live, but by dying. Jesus said that we as Christians, must die first, before we start to live.

In the Gospel of John chapter 12, verse 25, Jesus said that we have to hate our life, in order to get to the eternal life.

That means, that we can not live for two masters, for God and money, because we will love the one, and despise the other. We will be dedicated to the one, and not to the other.

We can not sit on two chairs at the same time, because we will fall between them. We can not sit on the fence for a long time, because we will fall, on the one side or the other.

It also means, that we can not put our hand on the plough, and look back, because we will not be fit, for the Kingdom of God.

To hate our life, so that we will keep it for eternal life means, that we are not supposed to live our life, as we want, but as God wants, and according to what he has said, in his Word.

It does not mean that we should hate living here on earth, because God has given us this life on earth, but it simply means, that he gave us our life on earth, so that we can prepare for heaven, and live for him.

Just like a seed in the ground, we have to die, in order to live and produce fruit for eternity, like in John 12:24.

No death, no life. To die for self is to live with him, for him, and by him, that is God.

Taking our cross daily, can be one of the most difficult thing to do, as a Christian, but if we are not on the cross, we are dead, even if we live.

A seed in the ground not dying, lives for self, because it does not produce other seeds. But a seed dying, lives for others, because it produces many other seeds.

But if we are ‘on the cross’ daily, although we appear to this world like dead, we appear to God, as alive, alive in Christ, and alive for Christ.

Grace Peace and Power from God-According to Knowledge

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The grace and the peace of God, is always available for us, as Christians, at any time, in abundance, but we can only receive them, according to what we know about God, and his Word.

In 2 Peter 1:2 it says, that the grace and peace of God, are for us in abundance, but it also says, that it is according to knowing God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to know God on a level, and to know his Word, on a level, which will make us able to receive, that abundant grace and peace from God, on that level.

The same applies about the power of God, supplying everything we need, for life and godliness, as it says in 2 Peter 1:3. Yes, but it all depends on our level of knowing God, and on the level of knowing his Word. It is not enough to know, that God has an abundant grace and peace for us, as Christians.

We also receive them from God, on the level of our faith, on the level we believe. Some of us, have a strong faith to receive anything from God, but some of us also have a not so strong faith, for receiving from God.

Even Jesus was commenting about the faith of various people, that they have either a strong faith, or small faith, or even not faith at all. And at the end, in order for us to have strong faith in God, and his Word, we need first of all, to know God personally, and to know his Word on a certain level.

The level of us knowing God personally, and the level of our knowledge of the Word of God, will determine, the level of our faith, and that in turn, will determine, how much we receive from God, not just his peace and grace for us, but anything else in life.

The Kingdom of God Overcomes Darkness

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Jesus said in Luke 17:20, that the Kingdom of God, is in us. The Kingdom of God, is manifested in this world, through us, but it is first of all, in us as Christians.

In Matthew 12:28, Jesus also said, that driving out demons from people, in his name, is also part of the Kingdom of God, and that is one of the manifestations, of the Kingdom of God. You see, it is not just about a good Christian character. A good Christian character, and for us to love God and people, is the most important for us, as Christians, but that is not enough, to demolish and overcome, the things done, by the Kingdom of darkness.

Jesus said that by the Holy Spirit of God, he is driving out demons, in Matthew 12:28. The Bible also says in the book of Acts, that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came on this earth, to destroy the works of the devil. And he destroyed them, indeed, glory and thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for that! We are called kings and priests in the New Testament. What type of kings and priest we are, if we do not display the Kingdom of God in our life?

Jesus also said, in Luke 8:10, that the secrets of the Kingdom of God, have been given to us Christians, to know and understand. You see, if we are Christians, those spiritual matters and revelations about the things of God, and how the Kingdom of God operates in our life, as Christians, have been given for us to know, and apply in our life, for the glory of God, and for establishing his Kingdom, on earth, through us.

If you do not understand anything you read from the Word of God, ask the Holy Spirit to show you, what that means, because the secrets of things from heaven, from God, have been given for you to know. And we have the mind of Christ, as the Bible says.

In John 3:5, Jesus said, that no one can enter the Kingdom of God, unless he is born again. But once we are born again from the Holy Spirit, we have the Kingdom of God, in us. The darkness in this world, is getting more and more obvious, but the light of the Kingdom of God in us, is surely getting brighter and brighter, because, there is no way, that God will allow, darkness to stay and rule in this world, forever, because the Light shines in the face of darkness, and the darkness has to disappear.

The light of the Kingdom of God, will always expel and overcome darkness.

Lack of Knowledge-Lack of Spiritual Gifts

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We as Christians, are told in the Bible, to desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

You know, as a Christian you look at some minister of God, and you see how God is using him in a supernatural way, by the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested in his life. And you wonder, why the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not manifested in your life.

But there is an explanation in 1 Corinthians 1:5, 6, 7. It says in verse 5, that the Corinthian Christians have been enriched in Christ Jesus, with knowledge. Now, what knowledge is that talking about? It is certainly not the knowledge and the wisdom of this world.

But what type of knowledge are they enriched with? Well, it is a heavenly knowledge, given by God to them. And because they were rich in knowledge about the things of the Kingdom of God, therefore, they could not lack the gifts of the Holy Spirit either.

We have to have a knowledge from heaven, from God, about the matters of the Kingdom of God, if we want to know, how the gifts of the Holy Spirit, can operate in our life too. Asking God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not enough. We have to have knowledge from heaven first. That is why the Cointhian Christians did not lack any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

To want to have and manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is not enough. To aks God to give them to you, is not enough. We have to have spiritual knowledge from God, how to use and operate in the gifts. Because zeal without the proper knowledge, is no good.

You can be zelous for the things of God, but if you have the wrong knowledge or doctrine about the things of the Kingdom of God, you will end at the ‘No through’ road. Another thing is, that manifesting the gifts of the Spirit, also shows to us and unbelievers, that God is really amont us.

Why Pray Before Making Decision

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How many times you have to make a decision, and wondered what to pray, and how to pray about it? You are not alone. We all as Christians, need to pray and ask God for his input and wisdom for our decisions. Why we want to do that?

Even the Son of God, Jesus Christ, had to go to his Father God, to pray to him a whole night, before he made an important decision in Luke 6:12-16. That was the case when Jesus had to chose his disciples, and he went away, and spend the night in prayer, before making decision, whom he will chose to be his disciples, Jesus did not make an important decision, before consulting his Father in heaven.

Because we know that God has promised us, to give us wisdom when we need it. Why did God promise to give us wisdom, when we lack it to make a decision? Because God knows that a lot of the decisions we make, are first not according to his will, and and also, because because God knows that many of our decisions are not the best for us and no good for us, and they sometimes are like we shooting ourselves in the foot, to say so.

I mean, think about it. Jesus, the Son of God, God Almighty himself, had to pray and ask his Father in heaven, before taking that decision, about choosing the disciples.

If Jesus had to pray and ask his Father in heaven, about making an important decision, how much more we need to pray, and ask our God and Father for wisdom, when we need to make a decision, especially an important one.

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is the gift of wisdom. I believe that gift is about God giving us wisdom, in a difficult situation, when we do not what is the best to do.

Otherwise, if we know what is the best to do, why do we need the gifts of wisdom from the Holy Spirit? Let us not be wise in our own eyes, thinking that we know best or better, but let us ask God for wisdom, when we lack it, because he has promised to give it to us generously.

But we should ask in faith, not doubting, because the one who doubts, will not receive anything from the Lord, just as the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, James, has promised us in the Epistle of James.

Asking God for wisdom, when we need it, also shows God our dependence on him, instead of entirely depending on ourselves, when we make a decision, without asking God for wisdom. God is pleased, when we try to depend on him, instead on depending only on ourselves.

Open Your Spiritual Mouth for Food from Heaven

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Psalm 81:10

Our born again spirit, or soul, has senses, just like our physical body has senses. The Bible talks about spiritual eyes and ears, like for example, in the Book of Revelation it says ‘whoever has ears to listen what the Holy Spirit says to the churches’. That is about spiritual ears.

In Psalm 81 verse 10, God says that if somebody opens their mouth, God will fill it. But the question is with what? Well, in the same way we open our physical mouth, in order to get some food and feed ourselves, we can open our spiritual mouth, so that God can fill with with the spiritual food from God, so that we can grow spiritually, increase our faith, get healed, receive the promises of God in faith, and chew up, on the Word of God.

You see, before we can swallow each bite from the Word of God, we need to open our spiritual mouth. God will not open our physical or spiritual mouth. We do. We can have all the food around us, all the time, but God will not open our mouth, and place the food in it. We do. So, it happens today, that many Christians remain spiritually hungry, because they are waiting for God, to do something for them, and do not realize, that God has already provided and given them, what they need from him.

All they need to do, is to open their spiritual mouth, and take with faith, what God has already given. Then chew that spiritual food, meditate on it, until they are ready to swallow. Once they have meditated enough on the spiritual food God has provided them, then they are ready to swallow it, and it will become a part of their spiritual digestive system, and will become a part, of their born again spirit.

That way, they can grow spiritually and be strong, by the food from heaven, God has provided them. It all start with opening your spiritual mouth with faith, so that God can fill it with the spiritual food he has already provided. Do not wait on God to do something. He has already done it. You open your mouth, receive with with faith, and be blessed.

Doing the Will of God-Not ‘Bed and Roses’

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Genesis 16:5-12 Sometimes, doing the will of God, is not so easy, as we think. There seems to be a misconception among Christians, that if you are in the perfect will of God, and doing the will of God, then everything should be easy, nice or ‘bed and roses’, in other words.

But, nothing can be far from the truth. Just look at Abraham, and what happened with his slave, Hagar. Now, Hagar, although a slave from Egypt, was still loved by God, like any other human being. She was a slave of Abraham, but was not a slave to God, because she too, was created in the image of God.

But nevertheless, Sarai, the wife of Abraham, had mistreated Hagar, because she could not have children and Hagar was pregnant with a child from her husband Abraham. And on top of that, Sarai, the wife of Abraham, thought that her slave Hagar, was despising her, for not being able to have children, and she was pregnant from her husband.

Now, Sarai treated badly Hagar, and Hagar went away. But, God did not leave Hagar alone, and hopeless. What happened next, was that God visited Hagar, by sending an angel, and that angel told Hagar, to go back to her master Sarai.

Now, that was the will of God for Hagar. But I am sure, Hagar not only was not willing to go back to the trouble she had from Sarai, but perhaps was not even sure, that it is the will of God for her life.

Do you find yourself sometimes, doing all those things you believe God is calling you to do, and yet, there are various obstacles and hills for you to climb, which sometimes seem too much and to hard to handle?

Well, know this, that it is not always easy to do the will of God, but we can sometimes could be like Apostle Paul, who was perfectly doing the will of God, and yet had so many hardships.

So with us, let us not be discouraged, if we know that we do the will of God, follow perhaps his call for our life, and yet, things seems to be hard to do, achieve or accomplish, despite the fact, that we know we are doing the will of God.

How to Prevent Spiritual Famine and Starvation

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Jesus said, that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word, that proceeds from the mouth of God, in Matthew 4:4.

If we as Christians, do not feed our soul and our born again spirit, with the Word of God, we will eventually, fall into a spiritual starvation and famine. 

It is similar to us, not feeding regularly, our bodies, with food. Eventually we will lose strength, we will become weak, and we will lose weight. We will not be able to manage with anything in our live, which requires energy and strength. 

So, it is similar, with our soul and spirit. If we do not feed our soul and spirit, with the Word of God, to have a spiritual breakfast, lunch and dinner, eventually our soul and spirit, will become ‘lean’, weak and losing strength. We will not be able to resists and manage, with the challenges in our life, because we have stopped using the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus said that people fall into an error, because they do not know the Scriptures, that is, the Word of God.

The Bible commands us, to transform our mind, so that we will know the perfect, and pleasant will of God. But how are we going to transform our mind, which is a part of our soul, if we do not feed our mind regularly, with the Word of God? We need to transform our mind, on a regular basis, by feeding on the Word of God, so that we become more like God, and are shaped to be more like Jesus, only then we can live like Jesus, when he was on earth, and only then we can have victory over the darkness, and the challenges of life. 

Feeding our soul and spirit, with the Word of God, will help us build a ‘house’ on a strong foundation, which is the Word of God, which is living and active, so that when the storms of life, come, we will have an anchor, a strong foundation under our spiritual feet, to be able to stand, and not fall to the ground in peaces.

Iron Sharpens Iron

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The Bible says that we must admonish each other, and that we must teach each other, and if someone has a revelation, or a psalm, all things must be done in order for us to grow in our spiritual walk with God.

And of course, we are not only to teach each other the truths of the Word of God, but we are also to correct one another in love, when we need to be corrected, or when we need to correct somebody else. But that must be done in love, because if we do not have love, we are nothing, as the Bible says. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds us up.

When we read Galatians 2:11-14, that Apostle Paul rebuked Apostle Peter, for acting in hypocrisy, when Peter was eating with the Gentiles, at one time, but when other Jews came, he did not eat with Gentiles anymore. So in that case, Paul was rebuking Peter for his mistake. In other words, iron sharpens iron.

It is good for us to be ‘sharpened’ by one another, otherwise, we could become too ‘dull’ spiritually. But it is important to do that in love. It is easier for us to accept any correction, when we see the love for us, from the person correcting us. That is how love builds us up. It makes us more willing to accept any correction from other believers, even if we do not agree with them. At the end of the day, who does not want to be loved? Although the correction may be very difficult pill to swallow, the fact that it comes to us on the wings of love, makes it easier for us to accept it.

I wonder how Peter felt about the rebuke from Apostle Paul? We do not know, because we do not know how Paul said it to Peter. We know that it is important not only what we say, but how we say it too. Sometimes, we can say the truth to someone, but not in a very nice way. Or vice versa. We can still say the truth, but in a nicer, and more acceptable way. So, although we read that Paul rebuked Peter, we do not actually know how Paul said it to Peter. Love makes a hard truth, easier to accept. And we can ‘kill’ a person with a joke. Although it is a joke, if we do not say it in a nice way, it can actually hurt a person, instead of making them laugh.

So we have to be careful, how we ‘sharpen’ one another, just as a iron sharpens iron.

Levels of Spiritual Growth

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Levels of Spiritual Growth

There are Christians, all over the world, but each one of them, is on a different spiritual level, than other Christians. We are not all on the same level. Each of us, who has been born again from the Holy Spirit, is on a different spiritual level of growth, than the others. It is like students at school. Some are at the Primary School, but others are at the University. And their knowledge compared to one another is not the same.

Each sermon a preacher prepares, should ideally address all levels of growth, in the Church congregation. Why? Because, one Christian believes that he can eat vegetables but not meat, and another Christian believes that he can eat meat and vegetables, and that would not be a problem for him – Roman 14:1-5.

Now, let us look at Hebrews 5:13, 14. In these verses, we can see, that it is possible for a Christian, to be a Christian for many years, yet to be on the infant spiritual level.

You see, God can not give us the solid spiritual food, the ‘meat’, if we are on the baby spiritual level. Why not? Because if he did, we can not digest it. We literally can not digest it into our spirit, and apply it in our life, because that solid spiritual food, is only for the mature Christians, who have developed their spiritual ‘digestive system’, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and being renewed with the Word of God to a such degree, that it can ‘digest’ the solid spiritual food, without a problem. And not only digest it, but apply it in their lives.

We can not give a stake or fried chicken legs to a baby, because the baby does not even has the teeth to chew and digest that type of food. So it is similar to us, if we are still baby type of Christians, and we receive a ‘solid spiritual food’ from heaven. We will not be able to ‘digest’ it, and therefore, that food can not change us or make us to grow in the things of God.

Another thing to consider, is that wanting to have more revelations from God, does not ‘click’ well, with a Christian, who is on the baby level of spiritual matters, because, even if God gave that Christian some more revelations, if that Christians is not mature enough, he could possibly not understand what those revelations mean, or if he did, he could misuse those revelations, because of immaturity in Christ. We have to be on a more mature level in the things of God, in order for us, to grasp, and deal properly with the things God gives us in the spiritual realm.

​God knows on what level of maturity in his things we are, and although we may want him to give us more things of his Kingdom, he would probably often not, because of our ‘infant’ way of thinking about the things of God. God will give us revelation from heaven, according to our level of growth in him, so that we can use and apply in our life, that type of revelation from him.

No Matter Good or Bad Report

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There are sometimes, moments in your life, when you wonder, why if you do some things, which you know are right, and especially right in the eyes of God, because you have his Word, to make you think so, there are some people, or even Christians, who will say, all sorts of not so good things, about what you are doing, or about yourself. And of course, at the same time, there will be some other people, and even Christians, who will say various or many positive things, about what you are doing, or about yourself. And you find yourself, wondering, why there are those two types of reports, from people about you, positive and negative, about the one and the same thing you are doing. 

But I would suggest, that you are not alone in that, and that there are many other Christians, who are undergoing the same treatment, just like yourself, about the good and right things, they are doing, by being criticised by one group of people, and being praised by another. 

And now, what is more important for you to realise, is that when Jesus was on earth, there were also two types of people, the ones who were saying some positive things about him, and some others, who were saying some negative things about him, and what he was doing or teaching.

Look at Matthew 11:18, 19, and see, how people had a negative opinion, about John the Baptist, and about Jesus. And those verses, show some contrast between John the Baptist, and Jesus, in the sense, that John the Baptist, was not indulging in eating food, and Jesus, was sitting and having meals with sinners. The people criticised John the Baptist, even if he was not eating too much, and was not doing anything, which is not very commendable, and they did the same for Jesus. So, whatever John the Baptist and Jesus did, there were people around them, who would not like or approve, what they were doing. 

So why are you surprised, if sometimes, you find people saying things about you do, which are not very nice, although you know, that those things you do, are good, and is nothing negative about them? Do not be, that is, how it is. You will always have that type of comments from people, whatever you do. Jesus was perfect, never sinned, and there were people, who said all sorts of horrible things about him. You and me, can not escape, that type of treatment either, because the student is never above his teacher.

The Door is Small But Always Open

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Yes, the door may be small, and the path narrow for those who follow Christ, but it is worthwhile.

Of course, the door is opened for those who knock on it, as promised in the Bible, but the fact, that the door is small, and the path narrow, should not discourage you and me, to try to enter through it.

The reason the door is small, is not in order to make it difficult for any Christian to pass through it, but because many people in this world, have chosen to go, through the wide big gate of life, and the motorway of life, which leads to destruction. But only a few are those, who have chosen to follow Christ, and therefore, the door does not need to be big, and the road leading to heaven, does not need to be wide.

You see, there is more soil on this earth, than gold and silver. There is more soil on this earth, than there are diamonds. There are golden vessels and silver vessels, and there are vessels made just from clay. The golden and the silver vessels are much more valuable to their owner, than the vessels made from clay. We as Christians, are those vessels, made from gold and silver, useful for the Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. And the vessels made from clay, are always more than the vessels made from silver and gold. And the vessels made from silver and gold, are much more expensive to buy, than the vessels of clay. The golden and silver vessels, are much more appreciated by their owners, than the vessels of clay, because they have more value. So it is with us as Christians. We are God’s own possession, precious in his own eyes, bought for his purpose, sanctified by his Holy Spirit, bringing glory to him.

The fact that the road is narrow, and the door small, that leads to heaven, should not discourage us, and make us think, that we are not so important in this world, in the eyes of the world. People of this world, who do not know God, walk on the motorway of life, and pass through big gates in their life, and they look at us Christians, walking on a small, narrow ways of life, and entering through small, ‘insignificant’ in their eyes doors, and perhaps mocking us for that, but they do not realise, that the motorway they walk on, and the big gates they pass through, are leading them straightway to hell and destruction. We may struggle sometimes, walking on a narrow small road, and trying to squeeze ourselves, through the narrow door or life, but at least, we get to heaven.

Confessing Some of Your Sins to Another Christian

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When we look at James 5:16, we see that we are commanded by God, to confess our sins, to one another.


Now, there are some Christians, who claim, that it means we should confess any of our sins, to other Christians. But does it mean, we must confess every sin we have committed, to other Christians?


What I believe that it means, is that we must confess our sins to one another, when we sin, against each other, and that is confined, only about us sinning or doing something wrong, to another Christian, or another Christian, doing something wrong, against us. That is what it means. Why?


Because, fist of all, we are accountable for all our sins, to God alone, not to other Christians. God is our Judge, and God is the one who will forgive all our sins, if we repent. We do not nee, and are not commanded or called in the Bible, to confess all our sins to another Christian. Why should we?


At the end of the day, many or our sins are nothing to do with them, but are to do with other people or things in our life, for which they do not have any idea at all, most of the time anyway. Why should we confess all or any of our sins to another Christian? We are not accountable to them for our sins, fist of all, but to God.


Jesus said in the Gospels, that if our brother sins against us, then we can go and show him his fault, and if he repents, we must forgive him. Do you see that? Jesus was talking about another Christian sinning against us, doing something wrong to us. That is the type of sins we are supposed to confess to one another, and not all and every sin!


​All other sins, which we have done, and which have nothing to do with the brother who has sinned against us, are to be confessed to God, in order of us, to receive forgiveness. So, we do not need to confess all our sins, to another person, but only if we have done something wrong to that person, that is the sin we need to confess, and ask them for their forgiveness.

You Can Be Around Jesus and Miss the Blessing

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Did you know, that you can be around Jesus and still miss the blessing? God has many blessings for us, but he never forces any of his blessing on us, and we can completely miss them, if we are full with doubt and unbelief.

In the Gospel of Mark 6:56, It says that many people were around Jesus and that some people, were touching his clothes. But you have to notice that, although many people were around Jesus, only those who came to him and touched his clothes, were healed. Why? Because they had the touch of faith. All the other people, who were around Jesus, but did not touch his clothes, were just spectators, who completely missed it.

There were many people around Jesus, everyday, while he was on earth. Some believed the miracles he did, but others when they saw the miracles, tried to kill him. So, being around Jesus is not enough. You have to do something, some type of action, in order to manifest your faith in him. Touching his clothes with faith, will give you the miracles. They would not touch his clothes, if they did not believe, that he would heal them. The only reason they came to him and touched his clothes, was that they believed, they will be healed, like many other people they have seen before, coming to Jesus, touching his clothes and get healed.

Did not Jesus want to heal all the people around him? Yes he does. But he also wants to see faith. That is why in Mark 6:5, 6 it says that Jesus was in one place, where he did not do many miracles, apart from healing a few people, because of their lack of faith. And he marvelled at their unbelief.

Knowing about Jesus is not enough to produce a miracle in your life. You have to demonstrate your faith in him and his Word, by some action, by something you do. Your actions manifest and display an unbelief or faith, and so do your words. Jesus is more that happy to see those actions of faith.

The power of God was there all the time in Jesus, to heal everyone, but those only standing around him, just like spectators, did not receive it. Only the ones who did something practically, like touching the robe of Jesus because of their faith in him, received his power, and were healed.

What I Do Not Want to Do, I Do-Romans 7:15-20

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If you think, that it is only you, who struggle with sin as a Christian, you are not, but everyone of us, who is born from heaven, struggles with sin on a daily basis.

When we read Romans 7:15-20, we can see the struggle, Apostle Paul was having with sin. Some people say, that Paul was talking about his past, before he became a Christian, but when you read the verses, you can see plainly, that Paul was not talking in the past tense, but in the present tense. That is because he said that he want to do good, but does not do it, because he does the bad things, which he did not want to do. And also, he said very clearly, that it is not him who wants to do the wrong things, but it is sin in his body, which causes him to do the wrong things. So, even Apostle Paul was struggling with sin, daily. So, we are not very different from him, because we all struggle daily, with sin in our lives.

​If Apostle Paul was struggling like that, so what about us? Of course, we struggle daily too, with trying to do the right things, and often, doing the wrong things, which we do not want to do, as Christians.

Apostle Paul says that he sees another law in his body, working against the Law of God, in his heart. And he says that when he does do the wrong things, it is not him who does it, but sin, or the sinful nature in his body, which does make him to sin.

We also have the sinful nature in our body, and although we are born again from the Holy Spirit, in our spirit, our body is not born again, and remains with the sinful nature in us. So we have always the daily choice of deciding what or who we want to follow, the sinful nature in our bodies, or the Holy Spirit, who is in our born again spirit. It is up to us. Even in the Epistle to the Galatians 5:17, Apostle Paul talks about the struggle in us, between what the Holy Spirit in us, wants us to do, in order to serve and obey God, and what the sinful nature in our bodies, wants to do, in order to cause us, to disobey God.

We can not find it as an excuse, that because we have the sinful nature in our bodies, so we do not have responsibility, if we do the wrong things or not. God has given us his Holy Spirit in us, and the Holy Spirit is the one who helps us, to fight against sin in our life, and to be able to conquer the sinful nature in us. It does not mean that we will never sin, no, we will sin, not because we want, but because, sometimes we fall into temptation, yet the Holy Spirit is in us, to help us do, what God requires.

God has provided us with everything necessary, for us to not do the wrong sinful things in our life, and to conquer the sinful nature in us, by the Holy Spirit in us, by his grace for us, by his Word, but it is up to us, if we want to follow the desire of the Holy Spirit in us, or the desire of the sinful nature in us. If we chose to obey the Holy Spirit in us, and the Word of God, we conquer the sinful nature in us, but if we chose to follow the desires of the sinful nature in us, especially when we are tempted by various circumstances in our life, and by challenging and difficult situation we face, then we will sin.

We as Christians, do want to obey the Holy Spirit in us, and the Word of God, but because of some difficult and challenging situations in our life, we sometimes, give in to temptation, and we sin.

May the Holy Spirit in us, help us to do always what he desires from us to do, so that we can live more for the glory of God, and for his Kingdom on earth.

Born Again or Bored Again

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There are two types of Christians in the world, the born again, and the bored again Christians.

The ones who are born from above, that is from the Holy Spirit, are the born again Christians. The ones who are born from bellow, that is by tradition, religion and the philosophy of this world, are the other types of Christians, they are the ones, born by the flesh.

The ones who are born from above, are the ones who have the living God on the inside of them, and they have the fullness of God in themselves. They are the real, and true Christians, which Jesus cares about, because he lives in them, by his Holy Spirit. They can not be bored, because they have been born from heaven, and nothing in heaven or from heaven, can ever be boring.

​The ones who are born from bellow, that is born by religion, tradition and philosophy, are usually bored, because there is nothing from from heaven in them, since the Holy Spirit does not live in them, and they according to the New Testament, are spiritually dead. Now being spiritually dead is boring, really boring, because the source of life, God himself, does not live in them. They are the Christians, to are such in mind only, but not in heart. Their minds are ‘born again’ by religion and tradition, but their hearts remain dead, because the Holy Spirit, is not in them.

The only true Christians who Jesus would call his own, are those who are a new creation. What is a new creation? Well, that is a human spirit, which has been dead before accepting Jesus as a personal Savior and Lord, separated from God, who is the source of life. But once that person gives their life to Jesus, and accepts him as a Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes in the heart or the spirit of that person, and makes it alive, by making it a new creation. The spirit of man becomes born again from the Holy Spirit, and also become one with the Holy Spirit, because whoever is joined to the Lord, is one with him.

​The Christians who are born from bellow, by the flesh, and by religion, tradition or philosophy, are those to whom Jesus will say ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you evil doers’. How could they be born again from heaven, if they are evil doers? You can not be a Christian, and a bank robber at the same time. And how could Jesus tell them that he never knew them, if they were born again from his Holy Spirit, and if he is living in them, being their Lord and Savior. So, obviously, they were never born from above, but what they had, was just religion or philosophy.

How to Die to Ourselves Daily-Philippians 3

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Jesus said, that we should carry our cross daily, and die to ourselves, if we want to follow him. At the first glance to that saying of Jesus, it seems very difficult thing to do, and we ask ourselves the question, if we can actually do that, on a daily basis, being non perfect human beings, although we have the Holy Spirit in us to help us to do so.

When we read Philippians 3:7-10, we can see, that Paul was really counting everything in his earthly life, as rubbish, in order for him, to get more of God. In other words, Paul was looking to the eternal value of spending his life for Jesus, and the things God wanted him to do on earth, instead of spending his life for himself, and the things he wanted to do for himself. 

Paul realised, that if had spend his life for himself and the things he wanted to do, instead of what God had in plan for his life, then, he would get all those human earthly desires satisfied, but the value of that, would be only for his life on earth, without bringing any value for his eternal life. That is why he decided to give life to those heavenly things in his life, which would serve God, and not himself, and would have value for his eternal life in heaven. 

As Jesus said that we should die for ourselves, in order to live for him, he meant that we should set what he has commanded us to do, in our daily life, to the priority number 1, and then, after that do what we want to do. As the Bible says that we should not longer live for ourselves, but for him, who died on the cross for us, that is Jesus. 

It is impossible to live for what God desires from us, and to live for ourselves, at the same time, because we will fall in love with the one or the other. We can not serve two masters.

We need to be just like a seed in the ground. Unless it dies, it will remain forever in the ground as a seed, but will not produce fruit. The only way for a seed to produce fruit, is when it dies. 

So, in a similar way, God wants our life to be like a seed, which will produce fruit, only when we die for ourselves. Is that easy to do? Not at all! In a matter of fact, to die for ourselves on a daily basis is often very difficult, because we have to say ‘No’ to our flesh, and say ‘Yes’ to the Holy Spirit in us. And that is where the battle is in our life, when we have to sacrifice what we want, in order to get what God wants, and our desires will sometime, conflict with what God desires for us.

But the Holy Spirit is there, to help us, become overcomes, just like Jesus said, that he has overcome the world.

In order for us, to know God better, to have more of God in us, and to know the power of God in our life, just as Apostle Paul wanted to do, as written in Philippians 3:7-10, we have to come to a point, where we can say like him “I consider all things rubbish, in order to gain Christ.” Everybody can say that, but to do that, there must be a sacrifice or ourselves, and that is sometimes very difficult to do, but it is possible, when the Holy Spirit is involved, and gives us the ability, power and grace to do so. If he does not help us, we can not die to ourselves in order to serve God, but will possibly find living for ourselves, more often.

How to Be Happy-Ecclesiastes-Part III

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Everybody wants to be happy? Who does not want to be happy? Raise your hand!

Most people in the world, especially without God in their life, look for happiness, in external things, in circumstances, and what is hap-pen-ing in their life and around them. The very work ‘happiness’ is mostly directly related to what is happening in a person’s life. If good things are happening, then they are happy, if bad things are happening, then they are not happy.

But there is another type of happiness, and it is nothing to do, with what is happening or not happening around you. That type of happiness, is a gift from God. Only in God, one can find true happiness, because even from the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and put them in paradise. What could be a better place than that, apart from heaven of course.

The Best Way to Be Happy-Ecclesiastes-Part II

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In today’s business world, especially in the West, the rat race never ends. People are rushing to work, rushing to get back from work, rushing to do this, to do that, toiling and working long hours, and go to their homes, and the same each day. The attempt to achieve more, work more, earn more, never ends, but so does their level of burn out, and unhappiness.

King Solomon, was somehow also in the ‘rat race’, building and working on endless projects, toiling endlessly, and after he completed all, that he wanted to achieve, he asked himself, was it worthy, or what was the point of all that. He eventually found, by the wisdom which God has granted him to have, that for human beings, it is better for them to enjoy the product of their toiling and working, rather than spend more time, working more, not being able to enjoy, what they have worked for.

Many people today, find that they still are not happy, even after working so, much, earning so much, and having a never ending ‘rat race’ daily.

If we look at what King Solomon says in the book of the Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, and verses 12, 13 and 22, we can see, that what he recommends that people do, which he thinks is better, is that they should enjoy what they are working for, instead of trying to work more, be extremely busy, with all sorts of projects, and never be able to sit down, and enjoy all they are working for. Solomon says that it is actually a gift from God, for a man to stop his work, take time to enjoy what they have worked for. Of course it is.

How can a person enjoy what they have worked for, if they do not have the time to sit down, slow down, and chill out, spending time with friends and family, and thus, being able to enjoy the consequences of their work. That was the design of God, from the very beginning. Even though God placed Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, to work in it, they surely had time to sit down and just enjoy that garden, and all it had to offer. I am sure Adam and Eve, did not have overtime, and did not work overtime in the garden of Eden. They surely had a time, to slow down, and enjoy all their work, in that garden.

But today’s lifestyle, of many people, is most work, more toil, and less time for family and friends, less time for leisure activities, and that is not a recipe for happiness, but for blowing out all your fuses, when a person finds, that they just are not happy. They can not be, if they do not enjoy, what they have worked for, just as Solomon says in the Book.

Hard work is good, but God did not create men for work only, but to have time to enjoy the beautiful garden of Eden, and spend time with each other, basically, just to enjoy the fruit of their labour. That is the gift from God. Hard work is necessary, but working yourself to death, was never God’s design or intention, and never will be. There is time for everything, just as the book of Ecclesiastes says, and that applies to time for work and time for living.

There you have it, beautifully explained, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verse 8. That man described in that chapter, is having a lot of work to do, which surely made him rich, and gave him wealth, but he himself realised, that despite of the fact, that he had all that business, and surely a lot of money, he was still not happy. Then he began to ask himself, some good and useful questions, about his life, his work, and what was going on.

If we are not content, with our wealth, that will always be the driving force, to do more, work more, burn out, and yes, earn more, but with no time, to enjoy what we were toiling for. That is why Solomon says that it is not all about how many businesses you have and are doing, and it is not about how much money you have in the bank, but it is also about how much of what you have, are able to sit down and enjoy. So I believe, Solomon somehow at some point, left the ‘rat race’, in order to sit down and enjoy, all those project he was working on, and he recommends that we do the same.

The Best Way to be Happy-Ecclesiastes

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Do you want to be happy? Who does not! Every human being on the planet, wants to be happy. But why is that? Because God designed man to be happy, from the very beginning.

If you think what kind of life, Adam and Even had, before they fell into sin. I am sure, they were enjoying themselves, in the garden of Eden. God had provided everything they needed, in that garden, all the nice food was there, and there was no any evil going on, around them, they felt safe, they were safe, they had all their needs supplied, and all the beautiful plants were around them.

There was nothing in the garden of Eden, to make Adam and Eve unhappy, depressed or worried, and they still did not know what evil was, because they had not fallen into sin yet. That was the original intention and design for mankind, from God, from the very beginning. Why should God change his intention today about that same design, he created, from the very beginning?

People everywhere, Christians or not, are looking for happiness. People without faith in God, do not know anything about the original design and intention of God, that God designed man, to be happy, from the start. So, they are looking for all sorts of things today, to make them happy.

God Wants Our Participation-Matthew 8:13

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God often uses our faith to do a miracle, in our life. Jesus could heal the servant because of his compassion, but obviously, what God was looking, was the participation of the man, in the act of God, by his faith.

Very often, God seems to do miracles, together with us, with our involvement, by our faith. That is why Jesus said to the man ‘May it be done to you, as you believe’.

God did not want to heal his servant, and let the centurion just sit around, and be a spectator, watching how Jesus would perform the healing. He wanted to do the miracle together with the participation and involvement of the centurion by his faith.

Of course Jesus could heal his servant by himself, and let the man just watch, and be a spectator. But God choose to involve the man in the performance of the miracle, by using the man’s faith. Perhaps in that way, God wanted to grow the faith of the centurion. It was like Jesus was saying, ‘Let us do the miracle together’.

Our faith in God and the miracles he does in our life, validates and shows respect towards the actions of God in our life, and the miracles he does. When God uses our own faith in him, to do a miracle, our faith is the respecting part of the miracle of God.

If God did just the miracle without involving us and our faith, which he often does, we would just be the spectators of that miracle, and there would not be our faith involved to the respecting part from our side, for that miracle. 

Is it possible that God wants to do a miracle in our life, in the same way, just as he did for the centurion?

God’s Will for Us-John 21:18

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God’s will for us, is not always pleasant and not everything is bed and roses. God’s guidance for us will be sometimes where we do not want to go, and it will hurt. But it will still be a blessing for us and for the glory of God.

For Peter, the will of God was to glorify God by particular way of dying, somewhere where Peter did not want to go.

Christians have to stop having the idea, that if God is guiding us into something or to do something for him, then that must be always smooth and pleasant, and there will be not trouble. Just the opposite. There are plenty of examples in the Bible, where God has led various people who he used in a powerful way, but who at the same time, had plenty of suffering and troubles, while doing the will of God.

Just to mention the Old Testament prophets, who were called from God to proclaim the words of God to people. They suffered all sorts of trials while serving God and fulfilling their call.

What makes us think, that we will not have trouble or difficulty, if God is clearly guiding us or calling us to do something. Yes he cares for us, and protects us, but Jesus also promised us, that we will have trouble in this world, and we will be persecuted for our faith and for doing righteousness.

Under the Law or lead by the Spirit?

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In the twenty-third chapter of the book of Joshua, we read again how the Israelites were warned that they must keep the Law given to them by their former leader, Moses. They were also forbidden to marry or to mix with other nations lest their faith be compromised. God had promised them many blessings yet […]

Under the Law or lead by the Spirit?

Zeal for God Romans 12:11

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God wants us to be zealous for him, and for serving him – Romans 12:11.

But, we have to realize, that just being zealous for God, is not enough. We can be very ambitious to serve God, and do things for God, but if our doctrines are not in agreement with the Word of God, and if we have embraced the wrong way of thinking about the things of God, our zeal for God is missing the target. We can be zealous for the wrong thing.

We have to strive to be zealous for God, but with the right doctrine and knowledge of God, and knowledge about God, and the things of God. 

We can be like golden vessels in the hands of God, used for his purpose, only when we align ourselves with the correct knowledge of God, and with the revelation from heaven.

There thousands of different doctrines about God and his Word, and some of them are far away from heaven, and some are straight from heaven. But the revelation from heaven can never be wrong. It is always true. 

We have to be zealous for the revelation and knowledge which the Holy Spirit gives, and observe and test the doctrines of men. There is a revelation about the Word of God, and doctrines about the Word of God. The revelations is always 100 percent true, while the doctrines or some of them are not always true.

May our God and Father give us more knowledge and revelation from heaven, about him and his Word, and help us be zealous for the right thing, in the name of Jesus!

Religion vs. Truth-Mark 2:7

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Although Jesus was speaking the truth because he is the Truth, those people did not have the revelation from heaven to be able to see and understand that truth by the help of the Holy Spirit.

They had a doctrine and religion and a lot of legalism but not a heavenly revelation about what Jesus was saying and doing. Today we should be careful that we do not dismiss a spiritual experience of other Christians as not valid, just because it does not fit our doctrine.

They may have a revelation from the Holy Spirit which we do not have. And the only way to understand correctly the Word of God, is by revelation from the Holy Spirit because the Word of God is from him. The rest is about theology, doctrinal interpretation, legalism and philosophy. Yes Theology has its own importance and place in the body of Christ, but there is also a revelation from the Holy Spirit for the body of Christ too.

 

God’s Ways are Mysterious-Matthew 2:13

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We logically would think that the angel would protect Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus from Herod but no, he instead told them to go to Egypt. Could not the angel supernaturally stop Herod killing baby Jesus? Yes he could. But that is not the way God wanted to happen. Most people would assume the angel supernaturally would protect the Son of God.

But God’s ways are mysterious for us humans to understand, because his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. It is similar in many ways for many things happening in our lives. We think that this way is better or the other way, but somehow, God has a different way and choice for us, which could appear to be not the choice we would make, but nevertheless, he makes the best choices for us, even when they seem mysterious.

How to Be Patient-Colossians 1:11

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Do you want to have a lot of patience, and be able to endure the challenges and difficulties in life even more?

Then ask God to fill you with his power.

One of the reasons God is giving us his power, his anointing by the Holy Spirit, is to enable us to live and do his commandments. 

Apostle Paul says in Colossians 1:11 that when Christians are strengthened with God power, then they will be able to be more patient and to endure.

The Christian life is supernatural, and doing the commandments of God, is only possible, by the anointing and the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not a matter of will and decision. If it was a matter only of will and decision, then we as Christians, would fall flat on our face, many times, unable to do the commandments of God. 

It does not mean that we never brake the commandments of God, we do sometimes, but it does mean, that the Holy Spirit in us, enables us by his grace and power, to do what God has commanded us, even in the most challenging situations in our life. That is how, those who lost their life, because of persecution for their faith, were able to be faithful even to death, by the power, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, abiding in them.

We are giving the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the Bible says that the anointing abides in us. 

One of the reason for the anointing to be in us, is to enable us to be more like Jesus, and to live like Jesus, when he was on earth. 

Apostle Paul also said, that he can do all things, through Him who gives him strength. 

We need the power of God in us, to make us endure hardship and be more patient in difficult times. We can not do it on our own.

The power of God in us, can relate and enable more patience in our life. 

So, the power of God, is not only for doing miracles in our life, but also for shaping our character, making it more like the character of Jesus.

In Colossians 2:23, Paul shows that men made rules, can not make a person fight against the sinful nature in their body, regardless of who made the rules, or what rules they are. Only the power or the anointing of the Holy Spirit in us, can help us do that. That is how we become more patient too.