Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Month: January 2011 Page 2 of 3

Knowing Knowledge

By

On January 18, 2011

In Christian

Hosea 4:6 cautions that “God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to have an yearning to know Jesus Christ and that such knowledge supersedes all else (Philippians 3:7-10). But what if you already know that Jesus Christ is the Only begotten Son of God and that He is the only means to getting right with God, because He paid the sacrifice of our sins with His life? What next?

Think about this, if you needed a blood transfusion to stay alive and a friend of yours stepped in to give his blood to save your life, what would your attitude toward that person be? For a lifetime and more, you would be grateful to that person. Jesus’ blood was shed so that there could be remission (forgiveness) of not only your sin and mine, but that of the whole world. With this knowledge must come gratitude and love and with increased knowledge must come increased love (Philippians 1:9).

So to know the truth (knowledge of Jesus Christ) is freedom from destruction; a.k.a. life and love and to not know knowledge is destruction; a.k.a. death.

Philippians 1:9 (KJV)
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

Hosea 4:6 (KJV)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: …

I have a dream … Free at Last!

By

On January 17, 2011

In Christian

America celebrates January 15 as a federal holiday in memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American clergyman, activist and influential leader in the African American civil rights movement, who is perhaps known best for his oratory prowess and his iconic speech ‘I Have a Dream’ in which he expressed his desire for all men to be free from the slavery of racial prejudice based on skin color. In fact, the speech ends with the words, “Free at last!, free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Just as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, that all men who are created equal (in the image of God) be free for any discrimination, so as well, the God of the universe desires that no one be discriminated from the Salvation gift made possible by the act of His Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He wishes that all come to repentance and that none perish (2 Peter 3:9). The Bible states that God does not slumber not sleep meaning that He is  ever-vigilant, but just for a moment, if you were to imagine that God did dream, what would His dream be? God’s dream would be that ‘man and woman is truly free at last; free from the slavery of sin and its wages, which is death.‘ Jesus expressed this when he said ‘Whoever commits sin is the servant (slave) of sin.’ (John 8:34). And when you know the truth (and Jesus said that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life), the knowledge of the truth of putting your trust in Jesus shall make us free from being slaves to sin and death. Whomever the Son of God (Jesus Christ) sets free, is free indeed.’ (John 8:36).

In other words, only in Jesus Christ is true freedom at last, and all who have believed in Jesus Christ can confidently say – “Free at last!, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” If you have not believed in Jesus Christ, you should consider doing so right now, and become part of the fulfillment of God saying, ‘I Have a Dream!’

John 8:34-36,32 (KJV)
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Will Jesus have the need to whip you or me?

By

On January 14, 2011

In Christian

One of the few emotional recorded incidents of Jesus Christ that catches a lot of attention was his act of righteous indignation and zeal, wherein he challenged the political and religious powers of His time on earth, as he entered into the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and using a whip drove those who were involved with selling and money changing out of the temple, overturning their money tables and proclaiming, “You shall not make my Father’s house (Temple), a house of merchandise/business/trade/marketplace.”

While this may seem like a one-time incident, hidden in this account, is the application of what transpired that day, which is aptly relevant in our lives today. The Bible states that we are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). But the question that then remains is “What is going on within this Temple of God?” Are we busy with the business of trying to make ourselves some gain or are we about the Father’s business, as was Jesus (Luke 2:49)? In other words, if Jesus was to look into us, His Temple, would He need to do some Temple cleansing in you/me? Would Jesus have the need to make a whip and drive out the elements in us that don’t bring God the honor and glory?

John 2:13-16 (NLT)
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem.
14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.
15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.
16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Purpose driven life

By

On January 13, 2011

In Christian

When asked, as to how he would spend the time, if he had only forty-eight hours to live, actor Will Rogers promptly replied “One day at a time.” Chief Justice Oliver W. Holmes had the same response, “One day at a time” when asked at age ninety he was asked as to how he would spend his life, should he have to relive it all over again. Dr. Spencer Johnson in his acclaimed book, entitled the “The Present” ends his book by stating that the main character of the book gives herself in the end “The PRESENT” but captures that living in The Present, learning from The Past, and planning for The Future is not all there is. It is only when you live with PURPOSE and respond to what’s important about the Present, Past and Future, that it all has meaning. Living with purpose means not just knowing what to do, but why.

Our Christian walk with God must be a life of purpose. It should be a purpose driven life. We must not only know what we ought to do, but we must also know why. The Bible teaches us what we ought to do. It tells us that the whole duty of man(kind) is to fear (revere) God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), loving God and in total surrender and loving man as they would themselves. But why must we do this? We must totally surrender to God revering Him and following His commandments, because He [Jesus] totally surrendered everything He had, making Himself of no reputation to be the sacrifice for our sins and to save us from eternal death and separation from God (Philippians 2:7). We must love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and we must do so until our time on earth is done or his return, whichever is earlier. This may seem like a daunting task, but when we seek God’s guidance, asking Him to teach us to make each day count, “One day at a time”, our life’s journey that may seem long, in reality would not be.

An inscription on an ancient sun-dial impressed the following:
“Time WAS is past — thou canst it not recall.
Time IS thou hast — employ thy portion small.
Time FUTURE is not, and may never be.
Time PRESENT is the only time for thee!”

Let us give ourselves the present of the Present, and pray that God teaches us to number our days and make them count.

Psalm 90:12 (KJV)
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Be like prudent Paulus

By

On January 12, 2011

In Christian

Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul, was ministered to by a false prophet named Barjesus (also known as Elymas, meaning sorcerer). Elymas was perverting the right ways of the Lord and attempting to turn the proconsul from the faith. Sergius Paulus is however said to be a prudent man; he desired to hear the word of God from God’s servants (Barnabas and Paul) and summons them. The false prophet who was attempting to spiritually blind the mind of the proconsul, opposes Barnabas and Paul, and is punished by God to be blind physically. When Sergius Paulus saw the power of the Lord manifested, he was astonished and he believed.

We must be like prudent Paulus. We must not merely accept what the false prophets teach. We must desire and seek to hear the word of God and when God’s power is manifested and observed, we must believe, so that it can be said of us as well, as it was of Sergius Paulus, that we are prudent.

Points to ponder:
Do you/I desire to hear the word of God?

Acts 13:6-12 (KJV)
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Be like prudent Paulus

By

On January 12, 2011

In Christian

Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul, was ministered to by a false prophet named Barjesus (also known as Elymas, meaning sorcerer). Elymas was perverting the right ways of the Lord and attempting to turn the proconsul from the faith. Sergius Paulus is however said to be a prudent man; he desired to hear the word of God from God’s servants (Barnabas and Paul) and summons them. The false prophet who was attempting to spiritually blind the mind of the proconsul, opposes Barnabas and Paul, and is punished by God to be blind physically. When Sergius Paulus saw the power of the Lord manifested, he was astonished and he believed.

We must be like prudent Paulus. We must not merely accept what the false prophets teach. We must desire and seek to hear the word of God and when God’s power is manifested and observed, we must believe, so that it can be said of us as well, as it was of Sergius Paulus, that we are prudent.

Points to ponder:
Do you/I desire to hear the word of God?

Acts 13:6-12 (KJV)
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

A sinner magnet

By

On January 11, 2011

In Christian

Luke 15:1 records the parable of the lost sheep. It states that the publicans (tax collectors) and sinners drew near unto Jesus in order to hear him. This led to those who were self-righteous to murmur that “Jesus communed with sinners.” At this juncture, Jesus narrates the parable of the lost sheep to imply that the “never-giving up” God would go after even the one sinner who is lost as would a good Shepherd after a sheep that is lost.

And hidden in this account is the fact that publicans and sinners were attracted (drew near) to Jesus. They came near Him in order to hear Him. What was it that they wanted to hear? Jesus was recognized to be teacher from God for His words were accompanied by miracles (John 3:2). The disciple of Christ correctly recognized that solely in Christ were words of eternal life; words that assured hope for the hopeless (John 6:68). He did not condemn anyone, evidence of which we see in His encounter with the adulteress woman, as He expressed this vocally, stating “I do not condemn thee, go and sin no more.“ Sinners came to Christ as they could hear only from Him words that could save and sanctify them. Jesus was a sinner magnet!

Points to ponder:
1. Do those who don’t know Christ Jesus (the lost sheep) draw near to us to hear us, as they did with Jesus?
2. Do we have the words of eternal life i.e., the Gospel of Jesus that condemns no one who puts their trust in Him and gives hope to the hopeless?
3. Are you and I a sinner magnet? Jesus was one!

Luke 15:1 (KJV)
1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

John 8:10-11 (KJV)
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Love is a verb

By

On January 10, 2011

In Christian

One of my favorite musical groups is the Grammy and Dove award winning Christian band, dc Talk and I often listen to their song “Luv is a verb”. A verb implies action and so what could the verb ‘Love’ imply?

The word ‘Love‘ can be substituted by the word ‘Give‘.  Irish missionary  and founder of the missionary school, Santhosha Vidhyalaya, where I schooled from Kindergarten to Fifth grade, in her biography is quoted to have said “You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.” “To love” means “To give.”

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:23). In other words, If we love Jesus, not only will we GIVE our lives for Him but we will also GIVE UP our lives for Him and in doing so, we will keep His commandments.

The two greatest commandments which is to Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and to Love your neighbor as you would love yourself (Matthew 22:37-39), can be rephrased to express “Give to the Lord your God, all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” and “Give to your neighbor (one another) what you would like to be given to yourself.” Love is a verb and that is to “give.”

God so LOVED the world, that he GAVE, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ for the redemption and salvation of mankind (John 3:16).
You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.

Urbi et orbi – Mission Field

By

On January 7, 2011

In Christian

The Latin phrase, ‘Urbi et orbi‘ literally means ‘to the city and to the globe’. Essentially, this phrase can be used to describe the mission field of a Christian. The commandment commission was given for all who believe in Jesus Christ, to be his witnesses and to go and teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe ALL the commandments of God (Matthew 28:19-20). But how do we go to all nations? Acts 1:8 gives us the pattern. It states, ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.‘ This describes the mission field of a disciple of Jesus Christ. It starts with the city (Jerusalem), then the region (Judaea), then cross-cultural geographies (Samaria) and finally the globe (uttermost part of the earth). In other words, all nations can be reached by reaching locally, regionally, cross-culturally and globally, i.e., Urbi et orbi is our mission field.

Are you/I on the mission as commanded? We can start with our city! To the city and to the globe; Urbi et orbi.

Veni vidi vici – By Christ Jesus

By

On January 6, 2011

In Christian

Veni vidi vici is a Latin phrase that means “I came, I saw, I conquered.”  Come to think of it, this sums up the mission of Jesus Christ. He came from heaven unto earth (John 3:13) to be an atonement for sin (Romans 5:11) and to offer his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), to bring many sons [and daughters] unto glory (Hebrews 2:10). He saw the world with a heart of compassion for they were like a sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34), under the bondage (law) of sin and death (Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:2); a truly plentiful harvest but few laborers (Matthew 9:37). He conquered death, its power and vanquished the devil (Hebrews 2:14-15) by rising from death and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2), the Father, awaiting our response to put our trust in Him, and believing in Him, so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16).

Have you trusted/believed in Him?
Have you heard Jesus say to you, ‘Veni vidi vici’?

Page 2 of 3

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén