Life Blog

I believe in Christ. But before I came to believe in Christ, there were people who constantly ministered and witnessed to me that indeed Jesus Christ is real. During that time I had many questions. I had doubts. And it was a struggle in me of whether I will believe these people. Although I attended the Bible studies, my heart was not really in it and I was telling myself, anyway this is for God, and if these people are in error then let God have mercy upon me and rescue me from their hands, because I was staying in my brother’s Flat and I had no choice but to constantly attend the Bible study at his place and go with them to Church every Friday. Worship services here in the Middle East are held on Fridays as do the Muslims. And so that went on. But as for me, I continued with my personal reading of the Bible as I used to in the past. As time went on, things started to change. The songs they played in Church started to move me to tears. The lady Pastor went around during the Praise an

Col 2:12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. The word operation was translated from the Greek:   G1753 ἐνέργεια energeia en-erg'-i-ah From G1756; efficiency (“energy”): - operation, strong, (effectual) working. This gives us an idea of what goes on in the spirit realm when a person comes to Christ. The Scripture says, we are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God... the energy... the effectual working of God.  Here is what happens in the spirit realm, believers are risen from the dead by this energy - the effectual working of God. And it is made to pass through the faith of this energy. Now, this clearly tells us that this is not Man's faith, it is God's faith.  Notice the first part of this Scripture. It says, Buried with Him in baptism. This is where Man's faith is in operation. Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God. The act

A message I sent to a friend who is quite inclined towards Calvinism. : ) I was recently introduced by a friend to this guy who is new here in Qatar. I invited him to church and it turned out that he was a Primitive Baptist. Primitive Baptists also adhere strongly to the doctrines of Election and Predestination and we had quite a lengthy discussion on this topic already. It is not that I don't adhere to the doctrines of election and predestination, but the differences lie in how we see the manner it was carried out. And it seems to me that the Calvinist view is that the Lord hand picks His sheep. I don't see it that way and I don't think it has Scriptural basis. I believe it is just an assumption from Scripture. How one becomes a sheep I believe is not by hand picking. It is illustrated in the verse below: Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed wit

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. There are 2 kinds of faith, one is Abraham's kind of faith: Rom 4:22-24 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (23) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; (24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; And the other one is faith which is the gift of God: Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. The first one is necessary for imputation of righteousness and the second one is necessary for power that overcomes the world! For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith!

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. A very simple yet so profound truth that we must not forget: we are new creations in Christ. We are not the person that we were before we came to know Christ. We are a new person, a new creature in Christ. This is very foundational and very, very important. Many Christians tend to dwell on the Cross. They stay there and never want to be removed from there because the Cross meant the forgiveness of sins. And that is true. But the very purpose of the Cross was not the forgiveness of sins, but rather, to condemn sin. A Christian is not a sinner saved by grace as some denominations teach. And that phrase, sinner saved by grace, is never really found in the Bible. A Christian is not a sinner. We were sinners before we became Christians, but when we became Christians, we put on the new man. Religion would tell you that you are not worthy, how that you are

By looking at Creation from a bird's eye view, perhaps we can have a hint and understand better the work which God has created. In the beginning God said, Let us make man according to our image. (Gen 1:27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And throughout the Bible, looking from a macro level, we can see that the purpose of God for man was not changed. God has it in His heart to make us like Him. And the things that has happened in the past and those that are happening now and will still happen in the future all add up to that end. But we cannot really say that God has authored everything that takes place because even right now, we know we are free to do whatever we want, and we know that we do it by ourselves only and not by some controlling force from the outside. We can be persuaded and moved by some external forces, but still the decision to act is solely attributed to the individual. God has foreknowle

There was this woman who felt she was really called by the Lord for the ministry. And the more she thought about it, the conviction just grew all the more. And so she started inviting friends to her place for bar-b-que and a little bit of the Word. She did that for several times and eventually it became a Bible study group. Most of the people that were invited never bothered to come back, but a number of them did stay on. And so as they continue to invite other friends, the group began to grow, until one day, this woman realized they were already big enough to start a church. And so they did. There were a couple of guys who could sing and play music and so they led the worship while the woman took on the pulpit. People came and people were blessed. People turned to the Lord, and lives were changed! People were baptized with water and with the Spirit, people got born again! The ministry was now fully established. Then certain men came and said, Ha! This church is certainly pollu

(Isa 1:2)  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. (Isa 6:10)  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (Rom 11:11)  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. (Rom 11:22)  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Rom 11:25)  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (Rom 11:26)  And so all Israel sha

There is no Christianity without the Holy Spirit. Shall I say that again?  There is no Christianity without the Holy Spirit.  Christianity is a living thing.  It’s not a religion.  Most of the world thinks it’s a religion but it’s not.  Christianity is the living, pulsating, life of Christ in a human being.  Christianity is the outworking of divinity in humanity.  It is a revelation of Christ in and through you.  Are you hearing this?  It is the everyday walk of God through you among human beings.  Christianity is the word of God alive in human flesh.  This is all so far removed from religion.  When you study your Bible, you not only get information, you get revelation.  And then beyond that, is the fact that that word which you read; which you study in the Bible; the revealed word of God; becomes one with you as you digest it spiritually.  In the same way that the food that you eat; the physical food that you eat becomes one with your body; it gets into your system and is responsible

Though it is true that Satan may no longer be able to deceive us: Mar 13:22  For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. We ought to give the more earnest heed: Heb 2:1-3  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.  (2)  For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;  (3)  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

The ministry of the Word is an all important principle that every Christian should take to heart. In the book of Acts we read: Act 6:4  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. But what is ministry of the Word? It is summarized in Psa 107:20. Psa 107:20   He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. And so the whole ministry of the Word, the purpose for which it was sent was SALVATION! The Word is able to do that because the Word is powerful. Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword , piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Ecc 8:4   Where the word of a king is, there is power: a