It’s dangerous to be half-hearted. God wants us to be full of zeal and the fire of God. Let’s go all the way. Elisha was a mighty prophet who had a double portion of the anointing that was on Elijah. Whereas the Bible records 7 miracles done by Elijah, Elisha did 14 miracles. Elisha wasContinue reading “Don’t Stop Halfway”
Tag Archives: jesus
Mixing Faith with God’s Word
The word of God was preached to ancient Israel, but it did not really help them. The reason for this is that the word of God was not mixed with faith inside them when they heard it (Hebrews 4:2). They didn’t really believe what God said. The word of God contains infinite power. But theContinue reading “Mixing Faith with God’s Word”
Sons of Zadok
In the New Testament, all of God’s people are priests (1 Peter 2:5). All God’s people are to serve him, and we all have an important ministry to fulfill. Being a priest of God is one of the most important things we can do with our lives. In the Old Testament, some priests were faithfulContinue reading “Sons of Zadok”
Operating in Your Spiritual Gift
Spiritual gifts are miraculous operations of the Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes in Jesus has at least one spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Peter 4:10). Some Christians have multiple spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts begin to operate within us after the Holy Spirit comes inside of us when we are born again. After this, whenContinue reading “Operating in Your Spiritual Gift”
House Churches or Church Buildings?
Throughout the New Testament, God’s people gathered in house churches. In fact, the only place where church meetings happened in the New Testament is in homes (Acts 2:46; Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2). There are no examples of any NT church meetings happening anywhere else. Sometimes the early Christians evangelized inContinue reading “House Churches or Church Buildings?”
Breaking Bread
The church is on a journey to become the glorious and spotless bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:27). She is getting ready for the marriage supper of the lamb (Revelation 19:7). The church prepares for this glorious supper by being conformed to the word of God. As she obeys the word, she is sanctified and cleansedContinue reading “Breaking Bread”
God Loves Us
Knowing how much God loves us is foundational for our spiritual health. We need to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). We can only know the love of God, which is beyond our knowledge, through the help of the HolyContinue reading “God Loves Us”
Hearing and Doing God’s Word
Jesus tells us we should not just hear God’s word, but we should do it. We should do what God says because he told us to do it. He is our Lord and Master, and therefore whatever he says is what we should do. It’s healthy for us to obey God: it blesses us, andContinue reading “Hearing and Doing God’s Word”
Stir Yourself Up to Take Hold of God
As God’s people, we need to stir ourselves up to take hold of God. We should not be spiritually lazy and passive, just waiting to be acted upon by God or by other people. We need to exert ourselves spiritually. Sometimes no one stirs himself to take hold of God (Isaiah 64:7). No one rousesContinue reading “Stir Yourself Up to Take Hold of God”
Clean Spiritual Clothes
All Christians are wearing spiritual garments. In fact, everyone in the world is wearing a spiritual garment of some sort, whether he is a believer or an unbeliever. These clothes reflect our spiritual condition, but they are invisible and can only be seen in the spiritual realm. God can see these garments, angels and demonsContinue reading “Clean Spiritual Clothes”
The Sacrifices of New Testament Priests
The Bible says that everyone who believes in Jesus is a priest (1 Peter 2:5,9). There is no clergy and laity distinction in the New Testament, but every Christian is a priest. Being priests is one of our basic identities, and it’s who we are in God. Being a priest is a high calling, andContinue reading “The Sacrifices of New Testament Priests”
Refiner’s Fire
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a furnace. They were three men who refused to compromise their faith in God. They refused to bow down to false religious practices, even it was going to cost them their lives. They knew that false religious activity that is not based on God’s word is demonic, andContinue reading “Refiner’s Fire”
Obedience Over Desire: Seeking God with an Honest Heart (Jeremiah 42)
A Message from Matthew: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). In Genesis 15, God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants. After hundreds of years of Egyptian oppression God told Moses: “I haveContinue reading “Obedience Over Desire: Seeking God with an Honest Heart (Jeremiah 42)”
Clash Between True and False Religion
Jesus often mentioned how the old religious system is a hindrance to what God is currently doing in the earth. Throughout his ministry, Jesus clashed with religious leaders who felt threatened by his radical teachings. This clash between true and false religion has happened throughout history, and it happens still today. It’s important to understandContinue reading “Clash Between True and False Religion”
God has exalted His Word Above His Name
The name of God is very high, but the word of God is higher than his name (Psalm 138:2). We will explore how God’s word is higher than his name in this important message. What is God’s name? The name of God refers to his nature and person. It is who he is. The nameContinue reading “God has exalted His Word Above His Name”
Love is the Basis of Faith
Throughout their journeys, God provided all the Israelites needed. They had miraculous food everyday, and water flowed for them out of a rock. Their sandals did not wear out, even though they were walking through hot deserts for years (Deuteronomy 29:2-6). They saw the pillar of cloud and fire every day and night, and GodContinue reading “Love is the Basis of Faith”
Will Jesus Find Faith?
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Jesus told a parable about a woman who was being harassed by an evil person. The woman sought justice from a judge. The judge wouldn’t help her for a while, but the woman kept knocking at his door and didn’tContinue reading “Will Jesus Find Faith?”
Sympathy
Jesus sympathizes with us (Hebrews 4:15). He feels the same things we do – if we’re sad, Jesus is sad. If we’re happy, he is happy. He shares in our emotional state. Jesus is able to sympathize with us because he took on our flesh (Hebrews 2:16-18). He went through what we did while heContinue reading “Sympathy”
The Power of Jesus’ Name
This is a message from Matthew: The name of Jesus is central to the Christian faith. It represents not only the identity of the Savior but also His divine authority, power, and ability to transform lives. Throughout Scripture, we see that Jesus’ name holds unparalleled significance, offering believers access to God’s power, healing, salvation, andContinue reading “The Power of Jesus’ Name”
True Satisfaction is Found Only in God
Jesus calls out to the people of the world – If you are hungry or thirsty, come to me and be satisfied (Isaiah 55:1). The only one who can truly satisfy us is God. Everything else in the world will leave our souls empty. God calls out to the poor of the world – ifContinue reading “True Satisfaction is Found Only in God”
The Lord is Our Strength and Song
When the Israelites came through the Red Sea, the water was a wall on both sides of them, and they walked through on dry land. The Egyptian army chasing after them was drowned. This was an astounding miracle. After this, they said, “God is our strength and our song, and he has become our salvation”Continue reading “The Lord is Our Strength and Song”
Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
One of the basic things the Lord requires of us is to be merciful (Micah 6:8). We are to be as merciful as God, and God is very merciful (Luke 6:36). Jesus said that mercy is more important than sacrifice (Matthew 12:7). Living religion is more important than dead religion, and caring for people isContinue reading “Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment”
Dangerous Desires
In the beginning, God placed Adam in a beautiful garden. This garden was full of delicious fruits, beautiful plants and flowers, precious stones, and rivers. God also planted a unique tree in this garden – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was aContinue reading “Dangerous Desires”
God Sees Us
Hagar had a hard life. She was a servant who lived in a tent with her nomadic masters. She was used as a surrogate mother by her employers, and she became pregnant by her boss. After Hagar became pregnant, there was strife in the family, and her boss’s wife became envious. She had regrets forContinue reading “God Sees Us”
True Humility
Humility is one of the most important virtues of the Christian life. The world doesn’t understand true humility because it is contrary to the world’s way of doing things. We can’t learn humility from the world. We must learn it from God. Our word humility in English does not fully capture all the different meaningsContinue reading “True Humility”
WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS LIBERTY
“The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Lord Jesus Christ became a life-giving Spirit after rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:45). After his resurrection he came to his people by the Holy Spirit. He still comes to us today by theContinue reading “WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS LIBERTY”
A Steady Diet of God’s Word
At the end of the age, some Christians will not be faithful to God, and as a result they will face a famine of God’s word (Amos 8:11). When God’s people face a famine of his word, they become spiritually weak. The word of God is the spiritual food that we need in order toContinue reading “A Steady Diet of God’s Word”
The Spiritual Aroma of a Christian
The Bible says that faithful Christians produce a spiritual aroma. This fragrant aroma produced by Christians is the smell of Christ, and this smell is pleasing to God. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For weContinue reading “The Spiritual Aroma of a Christian”
Overcoming Discouragement by Walking Forward in God
God says to strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12). Spiritually, when a person’s hands hang down and he has feeble knees, he is discouraged, tired, or might even be wanting to give up. Hands do things. When a person has weak hands, he doesn’t do the things that heContinue reading “Overcoming Discouragement by Walking Forward in God”
Gentleness
God has many characteristics like power, holiness, love, and glory. We can draw on these divine characteristics in order to become like Jesus. His Spirit is inside us. So when we feel weak, we can draw strength from Christ who can do all things. When we need wisdom, we can get it from God becauseContinue reading “Gentleness”
