Abraham’s life reveals what genuine faith in God can do. This man whom 3 world religions claim as their ‘father of faith’, died in peace, satisfied; full and importantly ‘in faith‘ (Gen.15:15; Heb.11:13ff). The heritage he left for Isaac, his son and us, is pictured by 3 icons: an altar, a tent and a well that symbolize a godly example of faith in God’s promises (Gen.26:25). Spiritual blessings meant more to Isaac than material and their significance can help us find our future, make a mark, and leave a legacy of ‘faith in God’ for our generation. I find it intriguing how…

Psalm 48   This Psalm is an amazing mix of a physical event and the spiritual reality behind it.  We see at different points in the Old Testament where Israel’s enemies have gathered and marched on Jerusalem and suddenly flee. It is debated whether 2 Samuel 10:6-19, 2 Kings 16 or 2 Chronicles 14 and 20 (or some other event) describes the exact event described in Psalm 46:4-8.  The Psalmist does not make it clear.  What is clear however, is that is God who has caused the enemies to flee, and he has preserved his people for a specific purpose.…

A grudge afects everyone emotionally and physically. This article will show you what to do when you get hurt. Can you think of someone who has hurt you so badly that you are finding it really hard to let go of the pain or grudge? As we go through life we all have to deal with feelings of anger, resentment or bitterness when people hurt us. Grudges affect us all physically and emotionally Tracey’s first husband beat her every time he got drunk. After four years of abuse, she left him and got divorced. On a weekend the children were staying…

Did you realise that the UN Declaration of Human rights, includes the following: "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State"?However, in the decades since that declaration was signed by every civilised country, those very countries have turned around and, so far from protecting the family, actually undermined the family by means of taxation, welfare, changes in the financial and debt systems, housing and land issues, employment and work (usually under the guise of "equal opportunities"), education (which means maass brainwashing in many things), and of course…

Paul Wha’s got a great post below on readying your soul for praying through Psalm 47 this week. I was most struck when praying through it by all the exclamation points in the Psalm. God enters his sanctuary and the redeemed blow the roof off the place with mad shouts of joy! I love that. Having spent the last 47 weeks praying through the Psalms, there is no doubt that not every Psalm has joy and exuberance and a wild hilarity to it. The Psalms indeed touch on the whole range of emotions that are a part of our prayer…

MANY people have strong and serious objections to the translation methods and textual basis for the new translations and, therefore, take a strong stance in favor of the King James Version. Others are equally convinced that the newer translations are an improvement over the KJV in their textual basis and translation methodology.The KJV Only movement claims its loyalty to be to the Textus Receptus, a Greek New Testament manuscript compilation completed in the 1500s. To varying degrees, KJV Only advocates argue that God guided Erasmus (the compiler of the Textus Receptus) to come up with a Greek text that is…

1. The other day, I got an email from a "relative" who wanted to tell me of a cousin of a guy that goes to her church who she thinks would be a good match for me (to marry). Let me add here that this relative has laid eyes on me maybe twice in my lifetime and we have actually said hello to each other once. She doesn't know the first thing about me except for what I looked like some eight years ago. Apparently, he "has a heart for Christ and is not too flashy." 2. In my mental…

Psalm 25 (New International Version)  1[a] To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;  2 In You I trust, O my God.        Do not let me be put to shame,        nor let my enemies triumph over me.  3 No one whose hope is in you        will ever be put to shame,        but they will be put to shame        who are treacherous without excuse.  4 Show me your ways, O LORD,        teach me your paths;  5 guide me in your truth and teach me,        for you are God my Savior,        and my hope…

What do you think should be the Christian worker’s main purpose, highest motive and chief end in life? Paul’s exhortation in 1Tim.2:15 was: ‘Do your best to present yourself as one APPROVED unto God, a workman who does not need to be ASHAMED, because you correctly handle the word of truth’. This was also his life’s goal (1Cor.5:9-10) and has become my life’s mission and ambition – to be approved, to trust and seek ‘to please God’. After all, we were created for God’s good pleasure and without faith it is impossible to please God! There are three questions, I almost…

India is known as the land of spirituality and philosophy and was the birthplace of many religions. However, what is often overlooked is that Christianity is India’s third largest religion with approximately twenty four million followers, constituting two point four percent of the total population . It is believed that India received Christianity around the same period as it arrived in Europe, meaning about 2000 years ago. But mission work in India has been met with many different challenges. In order to get a better understanding about how Christianity came to India, it is necessary to trace the historical roots…

LIFE’S storms are unavoidable. Some storms are very sudden. In my own life it happened in August, 1978. My husband, Edwin, came back from his office at about 1 pm. After lunch, as he was sleeping his home call came all of a sudden.   I had just then returned from the school and was able to see him breathe his last. What a storm it was!  God never explains to us why storms blow in our lives! He is the giver of life, and He has every right to take away His own. Our question now is how to…

If you want a nice academic discussion about the two principal views regarding why share prices fluctuate, go to: http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.php/Kellogg/article/agreeing_to_disagree/One view is the "rational expectations" one, which opines that the market rationally analyses all news in relation to a company, and decides....The other is the "differences of opinion" model, which believes that different market players come to different conclusions about a company and that it is the "clash of views" which eventually results in a particular level of demand for a company's shares (thus determining the price of the shares).Unfortunately those models won't give you much real insight into the…

‘But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.’ Mark 4:20.As a child, I often heard my mother use Jesus’ words (thirtyfold, sixty and hundred) when she asked for God’s blessings on us, her children.To a child’s mind, the numbers were magical – the quantum of increase was stupendous. Bearing fruit is a blessed experience.No man can hope to lead a fruitful life before God by deciding to not walk with Him. John 15:4 says without Jesus we can do nothing leave…

Give without expecting the golden rule to return the favour. Serve without the need for appreciation. Let your work be inspired by sincerity and not just the drive to succeed. Take time to hear people out, and not just the ones who speak your language. When you fall in love, let it be unexpected.Sometimes, you find beauty in what is ugly on the surface. You can find treasure if you take the time to look deeper. God doesn't judge you based on what people think of you. So don't let yourself judge others because they don't look as polished on…

Clearly, enough of the big boys do not believe that the economy is improving, or they would not be putting their money into gold.An alternative explanation is that momentum trading has gone mad once again, expanding further the bubble in the gold price.A third explanation is that investors are becoming aware of the constraints on growth (and therefore returns), and are therefore searching for more reliable returns - or at least security.Probably all three factors have contributed to the rise in the gold-bubble.Will be interesting to watch how big the bubble grows and who gets hurt when it collapsesPrabhu Guptara

Can you believe that there are people who think they do God a favor by serving Him? They think that God needs them to do His work. That God cannot do it without them. It is ridiculous. Have you ever seen Jesus beg anyone for help? Never! God doesn't need any human to do His work and His work can go on without anyone. Just look in the Good book. Did you hear about how God can use anyone but also anything for his glory."As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and…

Last week, I was in UK. As I landed in London and was waiting for a connecting flight to Northern Ireland, I picked up the morning newspapers and was quite surprised at this report “Only Marriage can mend broken Britain” Read it for yourself – BBC, Daily Mail, and also Christian Institute.Justice Paul Coleridge was addressing the UK parliment and compared ‘meltdown’ in british families with global warming and cancer behind all social evils. He said result of family breakdown would be distastruous to the nation. He even advocated government to do more for the families to end the social…

(A discussion on Michael Jackson’s song Man in the Mirror)Lyrics Youtube videoI’m Gonna Make A Change,For Once In My LifeIt’s Gonna Feel Real Good,Gonna Make A DifferenceGonna Make It Right . . .As I, Turn Up The Collar On MyFavourite Winter CoatThis Wind Is Blowin’ My MindI See The Kids In The Street,With Not Enough To EatWho Am I, To Be Blind?Pretending Not To SeeTheir NeedsA Summer’s Disregard,A Broken Bottle TopAnd A One Man’s SoulThey Follow Each Other OnThe Wind Ya’ Know‘Cause They Got NowhereTo GoThat’s Why I Want You ToKnowI’m Starting With The Man InThe MirrorI’m Asking Him To…

Life is not a playground, it’s a battlefield! Many Christians are victims of life’s trials and temptations instead of being victorious over them. From the well-know story of Caleb (Jos.14: 6-15) there are at least three characteristics in him that can challenge believers today to be more than conquerors through Christ1. Caleb was Directed by a Cause for God (v.6-9)Caleb had a quest in life – it was to ‘wholly follow the Lord’. He noted how forty years ago, when sent as a spy by his leader Moses into Canaan, God had promised him an inheritance in the land. Caleb…

does it have to be impossible?is it too much to ask?is the adventure too much to handle?or will we stick to wearing a mask?the mask that says we're bettersociety's civilized claimor is it that change just frightens usand we don't stand to gain?what's left is below the surfacehushed tones and smiles all aroundbut there's a remnant willing to contendto seek what was meant to be foundfor if we throw up our hands in defeathang a white flag on the window sillimpossible will remain just that--simply impossibleBenita Joy