March 21st, 2021: Who Should We Listen To?

 



March Madness is here. It is my favorite college sports tournament. It didn't take long for us to see a few upsets during the first few days of the competition as Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee failed to advance. I am always skeptical about the team rankings. They don't really mean much when teams have to do or die in one game. The experts sometimes fail badly.

When it comes to how we should conduct our lives, who should be the experts we rely on? Sometimes we are not sure about our faith leaders because so many of them have been influenced by their own political leaning and needs for power. We saw enough of that during the last elections.

Christians need to overcome the ignorance of our own Scriptures. We should not look for shortcuts by listening to self-proclaimed prophets. Some of these prophets are more about profits than the truth of God. We need to depend on God's revelation to understand how He has been dealing with humanity.

When God speaks, it is not about human glory. When God acts, it is not about the benefits of a few. When God corrects, it is for the entire humanity. When it comes to the battle of godliness, let us not count the deception of the evil one and fail to make it to the next round in being with God.

1 Peter 4: 10-11
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."

Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more