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Showing posts from June, 2010

We have sinned

We have sinned I am amazed how much we humans pretend and try to convince ourselves that we are perfect and have never sinned. It comes out clearly in the way we react to other people’s sins. We make such statements as “How could he/she do that?” We also say, “Look at what so and so did”. Most of the time, we block out the memory of our own past sins or even recent (like minutes ago) ones. Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry are at best in helping us forget the reality of our sinful nature by entertaining us with amusement and also glorifying sin. Amusement has a tranquilizing effect whereby you become norm to that side of the brain that asks questions and take things seriously. Please don’t get me wrong, we need to laugh often (since the Word tells us it is good medicine) but the laughter does not have to come from minimizing sin. The World does not want to hear nor confess these words, “We have sinned” because they don’t want to deal with God’s solution for sin wh...

The Ram and the Goat

The Ram and the Goat Some of us may remember our Elementary and High school history lessons of ancient times. I remember studying about Alexander the Great. A great soldier who conquered any one that came against him. He was very impressive. Little did I know that Alexander the Great was prophesied in the Bible to reign. And he did reign and his reign ended abruptly as prophesied in the book of Daniel. In our lesson for today, we continue with the visions and revelation given to Daniel by God. Chapter 8 of Daniel is a continuation and an enlargement of two segments of the visions in chapters 2 and 7. Today we study about the Ram and the Goat and learn more about the Medo-Persian kingdom and the Greece kingdom. Our God who created all things knows all things. God knew exactly when these kingdoms would reign and how they will shape the world through their influence. The Greek philosophy is still influencing the whole world today. Some of it good and some are not so good and/or outri...

The End of Time

The End of Time Why should we care about the end time and end-time prophecies? The answer is simple. It is part of God’s design and it is recorded in His word for us to study and to be unaware of His plan. The world we live in will end and God’s plan is to reconcile (an accounting term) all things at the end. In other words, there is a day of balancing when “all things will be made equal”. Sin will be judged and righteousness and justice will reign. Having been covered by Christ righteousness, I am looking forward to the end because it comes with completion and rewards. We will rule and reign with Christ. This is very exciting and I hope you are looking forward to the END. In Daniel 7, God gave Daniel revelations of the end and the end times. Daniel 2 (the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar) and the rest of chapters 8-12 are pictures of the beginning of the end, the end times and the END. These are difficult and challenging chapters to study so we ask that the Holy Spirit who is our teach...

Pressed On Every Side

Pressed On Every Side Heat is necessary in our lives. The ordinary heat of the oven cooks our food; the heat of the sun grows our food and gives us warmth. There other heats that are necessary but that can hurt us while the same time doing us good. It is the heat of the pressure from within and without. We are like orange. We need pressure to squeeze the juice out of us. As believers in Christ, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given to death for Jesus sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body”. 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10. This was Apostle Paul describing his life and ministry. In Daniel 6, we see that Daniel who had the “Spirit of God...