Showing posts with label Belief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belief. Show all posts

Friday, July 24, 2020

Michelle Obama in her Own Words.

"I admit: I am louder
than the average human being 
and have no fear of speaking my mind. 
These traits don't come 
from the color of my skin but 
from an unwavering belief in 
my own intelligence."
- Michelle Obama.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

On Justice & the Kind of Life God Wants.

I recently found this gem the other day and thought to share. While it's particularly important for Christians, I also think it's something everyone should consider. So it is from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. Basically, God told the prophet Isaiah to pass on a message to the Israelites. The Israelites always acted very pious, God said. They would go the Temple every day and even seem happy to learn about God. They carried themselves as though they would never abandon God and like they wanted to be near Him. And when there was silence from him, they would protest:
we have fasted!
we have been really hard on ourselves; denied ourselves of life's pleasures just to please you!
why are you NOT impressed, huh?!
why do you act like you don't notice?
Sounds familiar? I bet it does. You are fasting and praying. You serve in Church. You can quote the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. You can preach the devil back to hell. So what's up? Why does God not notice it?
Well that's because while you are fasting, you are exploiting and oppressing your workers. While you are fasting, you are fighting with the whole world, and keeping malice. So you do the rites, and fast for 150 of the 365 days in the year. But God is like, nah, that kind of fasting will get you nowhere. That kind of lifestyle really doesn't please him. What kind of fasting does he want, you ask.
"No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." -  Isaiah 58: 6-7.
If you go on in that passage, it continues to say "THEN..." meaning after you do all of the above, will you experience true healing; will your godliness lead you forward; will the glory of God protect you. It is THEN that the Lord will quickly (it specifies) answer your call.  When you feed the hungry, and help those in trouble, your light will shine out.
In other words, less of you and more of others. We can see that justice, mercy, and compassion matter to God a lot. And again, we see that hypocrisy really irritates God. I'll give another instance; this time in the new testament. Jesus was dragging the Pharisees and calling them hypocrites and stuff. And then he mentioned how they do everything right, they were careful to tick all the boxes. They would even tithe the tiniest income they earned. BUT, they would ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. I'm not even kidding, Jesus called those the MORE IMPORTANT [THAN TITHE] aspects of the law. He then reiterated that while tithing was and would always be important, justice, mercy, and faith were more important.
Coincidentally, I was just joking with my dad and sister recently that while no one person can be angry about all injustices, it's important and dare I say, it's our responsibility to care about justice. There has to be something; one thing you care about. Pick that one thing and run with it, in whatever capacity you can. Is it giving the less privileged? Maybe this year instead of another useless birthday photo-shoot, you can instead ask your friends to give on your behalf? Someone on Twitter once suggested calling your local school (board) and asking to offset some lunch debt for kids. Maybe it's your time you can give: to your own family, your friends. Something...just remember God really cares about it.  Also remember you can't just consistently live for yourself and yourself alone.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Don't be like the Hypocrites.




“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and
on the street corners to be seen by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room,
close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you.  
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,
for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need before you ask him".

Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV).


Thursday, September 3, 2015

You are Worthy to be Adored, O Lord.



“Help me to understand that only a few things really are necessary in life. And when you get right down to it, only one: to sit at your feet…listening…looking into your eyes…and loving you.

Thank you for the privilege of sitting at those nail-scarred feet. Grant me the grace never to regard that privilege casually, nor to neglect it, but to come there humbly, and to come there often…because you are worthy to be adored O beautiful Savior…because you are worthy to be adored.” 

– Ken Gire.

Friday, July 24, 2015

A Painful Truth.


"Better to be awakened 
by a painful truth 
than to be lulled to sleep 
by a seductive lie.” 
– Dr. Phil McGraw.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Miracles Happen on the Platform of Hard Work.



Remember the paralyzed man in the Biblical Capernaum, how he was carried by four of men? They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, yet the men refused to give up. They made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. Among other things, it was their hard work along with faith that impressed Jesus who then said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”



What about the wedding at Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine? Most times, people don’t refer to the efforts of the servants who had to fill six stone jars to the brim with water, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

And lest we forget the encounter a widow had with Prophet Elisha. The prophet could have performed some “abracadabra” to make the jar become multiplied in numbers. Rather, he directed her to first go get a lot of empty vessels (which she borrowed from neighbors). It was only then the poor woman was able to fill all the vessels with oil.  

Out there are too many folks who are practically folding their arms while waiting for some miracles to happen in their careers, marriages, relationships, business ventures and life generally. They call it faith. But ask them what they are doing to bring about the manifestation of their faiths and they glare at you as if you are of little faith. They see great things happening in the lives of others and automatically attribute them to some mere luck. If only they can move closer to behold the other persons’ many painstaking efforts.