House2HouseMD

Gratitude will Un-Shackle You We are familiar with the catch phrase, “Your attitude will determine your altitude”. There is some truth to that. There is even a better catch phrase, “Your attitude of gratitude will determine your wholeness, wellness and total healing”. Jesus wants us to learn the power of gratitude in making us whole and setting us free from the shackles of an un-ending pursuit of more stuff instead of being satisfied with God’s provision at the present. What is the point receiving a great miracle when you can’t acknowledge and thank the maker/giver? You can still feel empty inside even upon receiving the greatest miracle of healing or whatever else you prayed for. In addition, Jesus wants to teach us how to exercising our faith through simple obedience and the need for gratitude as an aspect of faith. Luke 17: 11-19 11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had lep...

Offences, the Offender and the Offended May be you have not thought about it in this light, but classes of people make their living and are well paid because of offences. In fact, if there were no offences, there will be no lawyers, judges, small or supreme courts. Some of us reading this are lawyers by profession, so you may understand this better. It may even surprise you to hear that lawyers are in an ordained profession and some are gifted by God to be good lawyers. Don’t worry about a few bad apples (I don’t mean New York lawyers) and every profession have those any way even in my trained profession of accountancy. Some accountants can cook the books too and we have seen it in Enron and other companies. When it comes to offences and being offended, Jesus is telling us, “get over it”. It is a fact of life. You and I will be offended and will offend others. So, what else is Jesus saying regarding this undeniable human dynamics? What are our responsibilities and what should be o...

Divorce and Remarriage Our topic today is a hot and controversial one. From the onset, I acknowledge that the body of Christ is divided on this topic and many do not want to discuss nor talk about it. But if you were attending Church service in the New Testament times and Jesus was the pastor preaching, all that we have been reading in the Gospel of Luke are his sermons including divorce and remarriage. In that case, let’s hear directly from Jesus on this topic of divorce and remarriage. Let’s go into this study with the background statistics that puts the rate of divorce in America at about 50-51% for the general population. The unfortunate thing is that the rate of divorce is no different in the Church or among those who claim to be “born again” Christians. I therefore enter this study with most humble attitude that says I am equally as vulnerable as you in keeping my marriage intact. Luke 16: 13-18: 13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the...

Be a Shrewd Operator The recent melt down on Wall Street calls to question the greed of our capitalistic system. Corporate executives of commercial and investment banks and mortgage companies and individuals in the “Main Street” are all to be blamed. Everybody was in the greed business – to have more of what they are not entitled to. The individual wanted a house he can not afford and the bankers wanted interest they are not entitled to because they knew from beginning that these were bogus loans people could never be able to pay. This brings us to this weeks lesson on the parable of the shrewd manager (operator).This is one of the most misunderstood parables but not to Jesus who told it. Are we to use dishonest means to acquire wealth and then turn around and give it away in order to make room for heavenly reward? What are we to do with the wealth/resources God has put in our hands knowing there will be an ultimate world-wide melt down and we can’t take our money with us when we di...

The “Un-Prodigal” Son We have heard so much about the “Parable of the prodigal son” in Luke 15. I am not sure if that should be the appropriate title for the parable as you may see in some Bibles. There were three main characters in the parable, the Father, the prodigal son (I prefer the lost son) and the “un-prodigal” son (the older of the two). What exactly does Jesus want us to understand from the parable? The younger, prodigal son asked for his portion of riches from their father. He went away and spent all of it in rebellious living with the “street boys and girls”. He finally came to his senses because he had hit the rock bottom (eating what pigs eat). In every day life, sometimes the only way for us to come to our senses is to reach the bottom. Be careful about stopping people from reaching their bottom. We often stand in the way of God who has all things under control in the lives of His children. The prodigal son came back, asked for forgiveness and repented of his sins. An...

Exclusive to Ourselves Country clubs are social groups organized for various reasons for the enjoyment of its members. Usually, they are suburban clubs with facilities for golf, other outdoor sports, and social activities. In America, membership in the country clubs is often for the rich and well connected. The clubs all have requirements for membership. Their requirements often are for exclusion and limitation for member rather than for inclusion and the welcoming of many. It was not long ago (in the 80s) that it was discovered that one of the country clubs in the Washington DC suburbs excluded certain races like blacks from membership. This discovery made news because it was clearly against the law to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender and age. Racial discrimination may still exist in some country clubs but secretly practiced. Of course I do not have proof since this is not our focus here. There is however, an on-going exclusion that you and I engage in and the Ph...

Total Commitment Even to Die Last week, the nation observed a moment of silence in memory of the 7th year after the terrible, hideous act of 9/11 that ended the lives of over three thousand. This terrible act that brought to the ground the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York will never be forgotten. We continue to pray for the maimed survivors and the families of the deceased that God will comfort and heal them of their wounds and deep pains. American has learned so much from this event and we see the lasting effects in tightened security and many other areas of our lives. Though a terrible event, there is one positive lesson of 9/11 we can learn. The perpetrators and like-minded followers display for us, the true meaning of a disciple. Please hear me out. What I mean is that we see the highest level of commitment required of disciples or followers. These guys are committed to their leader and principles even unto death. We all agree that their commitment is for the w...