Being Thankful

I'm thankful,
for the breath that I breath,
for the life that I live,
for the ground that I walk on

I'm thankful,
that each day is new,
that forgiveness is free,
and that my sins have been paid for

I'm thankful,
for the trials that I face,
for the wisdom that I gain,
for the path He leads me through

I'm thankful,
that I know why I'm here,
that I know where I'm going,
and that I've got a purpose to live for

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

When the Fisherman don't fish

Regardless of our situation, as disciples of The Lord we are all called to be fishers of men. However, what happens when the fishermen don't fish?

1. They Fight amongst each other



Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. - Matthew 20:20-24




2. The become judgmental and religious



Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. - Matthew 23:1-4




3. They Run Away



A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him."

But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said.

A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them."
"Man, I am not!" Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."

Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly. - Luke 22:56-62




4. They Forget



Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. - John 21:1-3

When fishermen do fish....

1. They will spend more time studying the Word


2. Their prayer life will increase

Listen to the full sermon this was based on here

Why aren't the mountains being moved?

He(Jesus) replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
-Matthew 17:20

I don't know of anyone who can make a mountain move by just walking up and speaking to it. The simply reason for this is because no one would really believe that's possible.

Some people look at the above verse and think that it talks about how little faith we have, not even as much as a mustard seed. Some other people, including myself, tend to believe that this verse is talking about how little faith we need. If a mustard seed sized faith is needed to move a mountain, how much less is needed to solve our day to day problems.

It's just a matter of simply obeying and trusting. No magic needed. No shouting and stomping needed. Just a simple quite prayer of faith, will move our mountains and create history.

Spiritual gifts are not for the spiritual elite

It's a common belief among us Christians that spiritual gifts like tongues and interpretation, working miracles, healing the sick, etc, are for a select elite group of super-spiritual individuals. God thinks otherwise.

God never meant for elitism. The gifts are freely given for and in-aid of soul-winning. All gifts flow from 'The Gift', which is the Holy Ghost. Therefore, every spirit filled believer has the potential to operate in the gifts. It's just a matter of activating them.

'But I'm not good enough to be used like that'

If everyone waited till they were perfect to be used by God, there wouldn't be anyone actually doing anything. The blood of Jesus didn't just cover our sins, He removed them. Therefore in God's eyes we are holy, in spite of all that we have done.

All God wants from us is availability.

Miracles Require Faith

Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Mark 6:4-6

Miracles require faith on the part of the recipient, as well as from the miracle worker. It's really a team effort. Even in the case of the crippled man with Peter and John at the Gate Beautiful, the man had some sort of expectancy:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk.

Acts 3:1-8

The Compassion of Jesus

Reading through St. Mark's Gospel, it's hard not to feel the press of the crowd, the desperateness of the people, and the overwhelming miracles. This book shows The Lord having no time to rest. Wherever he went, crowds followed.

Despite his constant attempts to stop people from telling about Him, news traveled like wildfire, and crowds numbering in 4 figures were constantly following Him around.

Even when the Lord tries to withdraw to a remote place for some rest, the crowds still follow:

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

- Mark 6:30-34

There would be a point to which any other man could take this kind of constant pressure, but The Lord didn't see it as pressure. He saw it with eyes of compassion.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized why The Lord's attitude was so different from that of some of us. Preaching the Good News and healing the sick was what He came to the earth to do. It's a life lived with a single focus. It's a passion being followed with everything in Him.

What we sometimes tend to do is treat the work of the Lord like it's a moonlighting job. There's no passion involved, rather only a sense of duty. That is very ironic, considering the fact that we devote more passion and time to things that are of no eternal value.

A one track mind certainly seems like a good thing.

History of Religions

Here's a nice quick visual history of the spread of religion: http://mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf?a=3

Some things about the life of Jesus

Some things I realized about the life of Jesus while reading the gospels.

Jesus loved His quiet time.

In the gospels, we constantly see The Lord withdrawing into solitary places, especially early in the morning, to have His quite time in prayer.

Although He had a close circle of disciples, He was never into elitism.

The Lord loved to mix with the common people, and the "sinners", whom the hypocritical pharisees made sure to stay away from.

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick - Mark 2:16

He always attracted a large crowd.

Where the Lord went, a large crowd always followed, mainly because of His miracles, but also because of His authority in the way He taught and acted.

He was practical.

The Lord wasn't one to uphold senseless tradition at the cost of helping someone. Even though it was against the law to heal on the sabbath, He did it anyway.

He always had authority

Whatever He did, it was always with authority. Whether He taught, healed, or performed miracles, it was always clear to the people that He had authority.

Lifehouse: Everything - Skit

This video touched me no matter how many times I see it.

Enjoying the Journey

"Just enjoy the Journey" - Rick Maricelli

The more I thought about this, the more refreshed I felt, and the more I thought about why I felt refreshed, the more I realized that it was because of knowing the destination.

It's like going on a road-trip. You can have hard times, like when you run a flat in the middle of nowhere, and you can have some really fun times, but all in all, the journey is enjoyable because you know where you are going. You know you won't be stranded on a side-road with a flat tire forever.

It's like cycling through heavy rain, with mud splashing on your face. It's hard and it's muddy, but you actually enjoy the experience, because you know you're not going to be in the rain forever. You're going to be home soon, drinking some hot coffee, reminiscing on the journey.

So, whatever you're going through in life right now, sit back, and just enjoy the journey.

The Privilege of Repentance

Yesterday I heard someone say that "Repentance is a Privilege", and that got me thinking about how true that was.

In the world's judicial system, there is no allowance for repentance. If a criminal doesn't show remorse for his actions, he will get a harsher sentence, but just because he repents, he won't be acquitted. Heaven's judicial system works pretty much the same way. If you repent at the white throne judgment, you will not be pardoned.

If you've watched enough TV you would have seen how the authorities will cut deals with condemned criminals. Freedom in exchange for information. They give the authorities what they want, and the criminal will get a clean slate in return. That's a privilege some get (at least in the movies).

God, in his infinite love, has granted this privilege for everyone on earth, wanting nothing in return. Whatever ever anyone has ever done, acquittal is just a prayer away. We just have to repent, and the blood of Jesus will cover all out sins.

Judgment is still there, condemnation is still there, the only difference is, it's not on you anymore. Jesus Christ took it on himself.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13

Character: the measure of who we are

One definition for character goes like this:"the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions".

Character is who we are when the facade has been stripped away. My pastor was preaching this morning about how our character is the only thing we are going to be taking to heaven with us. Everything else is pretty much a means to an end.

He went on to say that character deals directly with our integrity. Integrity, deals with what we do when no one is looking. It deals with what we do behind closed doors. What we think in the dark corners of hour minds. A wise man once said that a virgin is not necessarily virtuous. It might just mean that they just didn't get an opportunity.

True character is tested under fire, just as gold is refined inside a fiery furnace. True character comes out when we are pressed against a rock and a hard place, just as juice comes out of an orange, water out of a sponge, and toothpaste out of a tube.

The journey of life is not on a straight road. Therefore just as you wouldn't go off road on a Ferrari, the facade we may be keeping will not hold all the time. No matter how hard someone tries to hide their true character, it will reveal itself every once in awhile, and when it does, people will take notice.

So, it goes without saying that integrity determines how effective our testimony is. It determines if non-Christians will call us hypocrites, or if they will call us Godly. It determines if we can boldly go before the throne of God, or if we will hide behind our doubts and fears.

The God of Hope

Today ends the book of Hosea in my 'Bible in a Year' plan. In the book of Hosea, God pours out the grief in his heart. He is heart-broken over how Israel ignores Him and seeks other gods. How they revel in evil and forget about Him.

God is God, the ruler of the universe. With one word He could bring about the destruction of Israel. How many rulers in this world have not done anything when people have opposed them? What judge will give a second chance to a convicted criminal?

Yet, our God is Love. He's not full of love, he is love. So despite all that Israel has done against Him, and all the punishment that Israel deserves, God offers a second chance.

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips....-Hosea 14:2

I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. -Hosea 14:4

This gives me comfort, and it gives me hope. Our God is one who will look past our mistakes, and look past our inadequacies. All we have to do is just turn to Him. God not only does second chances, He does unlimited chances.

Sow for yourselves Righteousness

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. -Hosea 10:12

Righteousness is something that needs to be sown. You don't sit back and wait to be made righteous.

The blood of Jesus sanctifies us. His blood makes us holy, taking away all our unrighteousness. However, righteous living is something that has to come out of us. It's something we need to sow.

On the flip-side, the next verse says:

But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors - Hosea 10:13

So the principle is simple:

If you sow righteousness, you will reap unfailing love. If you sow wickedness, you will reap evil.

This is a truth that's usually always on the back of my mind. To make it effective however, I've decided from today to bring it to the front, and keep it there.

I remember all their evil deeds

A question that most people ask at some point in their lives is 'if there is a God why does he let all these horrible things happen in the world?'. Atheists use that question to say there is no God. Dis-heartened believers use it saying all is hopeless.

Anyone who sees the big picture however, will realize that things are different. Consider this verse from Hosea:

They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. - Hosea 7:1b-2a

I remember as a kid my grandma used to tell me of a big book in heaven where everything I do is recorded. I don't know which format the angel's uses to store their data, but everything is actually being tracked. The security agencies of governments go to great lengths to keep track of what its people are doing, how much so will God, who rules over the whole earth.

Just like criminal cases take a long time to close, God's judicial system is a complex one. Apocalypse will bring with it the white-throne judgment, where every man will be held accountable for what he has done. But even before then, people who commit crimes get their just rewards. They're constantly watching their back. They are happy on the surface, but not really satisfied.

This doesn't of course apply only to the thieves and murderers. All of everyone's actions will be remembered, and each one will be held accountable. What will I do if I was held accountable for every evil thing I ever did? I'd go to hell, that's for sure. That is why I'm so thankful for the Blood of Jesus. To quote one of my favourite hymns:

What can wash away my sins,
nothing but the Blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again,
nothing but the Blood of Jesus