Miah Learns to Write

By: congerdesign at pixabay I have heard of the golden verse in the Bible since I was a kid (John 3:16) and I knew about Jesus Christ because my parents taught me about the Christian faith and always brought me to Sunday school so these truths were ingrained in me from my childhood but I only realized and understood what they all meant recently, about four years ago, and at that point, it all jumped out at me full of meaning and vigor, the Word of God, active, alive, and at work in me. And it has been the most joyful, exciting, fulfilling, and incredible experience I have ever had. For almost 2,000 years this same message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has been transforming lives and turning the world upside down, and I would like to argue that the world has essentially not changed since the ancient times with respect to human nature and the inclinations of the human heart which is I believe the fundamental issue that is central to all dilemmas being faced in every aspect and in e...

I give you all I am For You gave me all of You You showered me with endless grace And now I give You endless praise You bore my sin and shame Took my guilt, took the blame And I received Your perfect righteousness Your great love overflows my heart You humbled Yourself, broken for me Died the death that I deserved That I may be made whole And live my life to the full You sacrificed Yourself to pay my debt To reconcile me to Yourself, I am eternally blessed You bowed Your head and took the crown of thorns That You may bestow on me the crown of life and righteousness There is no greater love than this, no greater honor Than to be called Your friend Let every breath and strength that I have All my inmost being, praise the Lord God Almighty I can but give my whole life to You For everything that I have, You have graciously given I bow my heart before You, O Lord I offer my life to You, I surrender my all to You No words would be eno...

" But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. "  2 Corinthians 12:9 When Paul addressed the internal struggles and problems that the Corinthians were experiencing particularly the emergence of the "super-apostles" proclaiming a different gospel, he gave many accounts of his and the other apostles' struggles with persecution, imprisonment, and threats on their lives all for the sake of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, doing the work of the Lord, obeying the will of God by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and strengthening the different churches that they have established. Paul also indicated that despite all these problems and difficulties they encountered, it was God who sustained them and delivered them from their troubles. God enabled them to speak boldly and enter foreign lands to preach ...

The solution to our daily problems in life is prayer. When we have no idea which way to go or when the problem seems too impossible for us to overcome, that is exactly the right moment to pray and ask God for help and direction. Matthew 19:26 says that all things   are possible with God.  If we can think about that for a moment and grasp it in our mind and heart, then we would find relief that no matter what problem whether it be at home, in the office, or at school, God will always be our ever-present help in time of need ( Psalm 46:1 ). God always hears our prayers and He knows the needs of our hearts before we even ask Him but we need to ask Him through prayer because that is how we communicate with God and it expresses our faith and humility toward God. However, you may ask why is it that whenever I ask God something, I seldom get the answers that I am looking for. Well, God is not a genie who grants our every wish. We have no right to command God to do whatever...

I have heard many times that Christianity is more of a relationship rather than religion. I personally believe that Jesus Christ did not come to the world to establish a religion but He came so that we may have a Savior and mostly so that we can be reconciled with God the Father. Jesus became the way for us to the Father so that we can enjoy a relationship with Him. It is said in the Bible that those who receive Jesus Christ and believe in His name, they have the right to become children of God. So Christianity is really about our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. In my experience, the relationship we have with Jesus is very personal because He knows the problems that we are going through and He offers us help to overcome those problems. Sometimes, the solution to our problems is something that we have to resolve within ourselves like an attitude that hinders us from spiritual growth and blessings or perhaps it is a person whom God wants us to forgive or to a...

The tomb was empty. The cross lays bare for the work that Jesus came into the world to do was finished. Jesus died to save us but it does not end there because after three days, He rose up from the dead and now, we have a testimony to share to the whole world: That there was a man who was sent to the world and did many miracles - healing all diseases, casting out demons, raising the dead back to life - and many believed in Him. He had no sin but He died so that our sins may be forgiven to those who believe in Him and receive Him into their lives. His Name is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Bible tells us that one man died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. Jesus laid His life down willingly as a sacrifice for our sins and God the Father gave Him the authority to take up His life once again. Jesus' sacrifice pleased the Father and He became the way ...

I believe that a Christian's central character which motivates him to do good to those who hate him, to bless those who curse him, and to pray for those who mistreat him is due to  love  which was embodied by Jesus and transcended all boundaries. Being Christian means that we need to know how to love and that we love others just as God loves us, just as Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us unconditionally and when He died on that cross so that we may be saved from our sins if we believe in Him, He thought of us and poured Himself out lovingly. It is such a comforting thought and I think we need to constantly remind ourselves and meditate or reflect upon Jesus and His love for us especially in those moments when we feel so troubled. It will give us the strength that we would need to face our struggles and to overcome because if you believe that Jesus is there for you and He loves you, all fear will fade away. I would like to look at certain passages of Scripture that tal...

Most heartbroken people adopt the view that there comes a time when love becomes pointless especially after risking it all countless times only to lose everything in the end. So they become fearful and somewhat skeptical of loving someone again, hoping to finally find their true love, and end up being deceived due to their vulnerability which develops through desperation. Some people close themselves off completely from love because they had one or multiple bad experiences with the wrong people. But I would like to encourage you to open yourselves still for love, only you would find that there is a more consistent, fulfilling, and genuine love than what anyone else can give us and that is the love that Jesus has for us. I remember that, before I became a Christian, I had this struggle wherein I searched for love in the wrong places and ended up being in a worse position than I originally was because I was in constant fear of uncertainty, of heartbreak, of failure, and of what ...

In remembering what Jesus Christ did for us 2,000 years ago, I think it is also necessary for us to know what Jesus came into the world to do. We know through reading the gospels about the miraculous signs that Jesus did in His ministry. All of these He did to fulfill the mission that the Father sent Him into the world for and also due to His unconditional love for us. He even said that the greatest act of love was for a man to lay his life down for a friend which Jesus exemplified by going to the cross for the salvation of all men through faith in Him. Today, I had quite a peculiar encounter with someone who shared to me about his doctrine and beliefs and at first, I was at ease with the direction of our discussion but as we moved forward into the meat of our conversation, I started to become wary of what he was trying to tell me. I knew he had good intentions and he was definitely trained well to share his beliefs through the Bible but what he was sharing to me had some relat...

When we read the four Gospels in the Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - we get a narration of the life of Jesus as He dwelt among men. He showed miraculous signs to them, taught profound lessons and reproof that came from God the Father. And ultimately, showered the people with love especially those who needed it the most such as sinners, women, sick people, outcasts, and those who have no other hope in life. Jesus became the Light for us all when He entered into the world and went to people. Jesus was not like the ordinary king of men but He was the King who approached His people and cared for them. He stepped down to our place, touched countless lives, healed and restored thousands or more people, and He gave us love, peace, joy, and all things that the world cannot which are those referring to the spirit, that which is deeper than our physical needs and perhaps more of the need for God in our lives. In this way, I am able to say that God is personal and He cares for o...

As we near the celebration of Holy Week, let me draw you upon this thought: the Son of God who justly sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven came down into a sinful world and showed us His love by laying Himself down at the cross so that our sins may be washed through His blood. He loves and cares for us and the Bible takes note of this when the apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:7 : "Cast all your anxiety upon the Lord because He cares for you." We could not start to comprehend by reason the fact that God sent His only begotten Son to save the world by taking upon Himself the judgment well-deserved by the world so that the way may be opened for us toward reconciliation with the Father. Jesus did all that and more when He came to the world and when He left, He made a promise that where He is going, we cannot follow now but we will follow later ( John 13:36 ). Throughout the Bible, God's faithfulness and loving kindness has been exhibited in the live...

Would you believe that God still works miracles even to this very day? Yes, He does! Just as Jesus, when He came to the world, made blind eyes to see and the lame to walk, healed all kinds of diseases and cast out evil spirits and set people free. He still does it because He is alive and He is moving in the lives of His people, showing His power to be true and His love to be enduring. Countless miracles happen still to this very day as with the testimony of Pastor James Baker's wife, Genie Baker. They visited Jerusalem and came to the pool of Bethesda. This was where Jesus healed the invalid man who had been waiting there for 38 years in one of the benches to take his turn to wash in the pool and get healed. When Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk, he was completely healed. In the same way, while sister Genie was sitting on one of those benches, she felt a burning sensation in her lower back which had been causing her pain for most part of their trip. She aske...

Today, our pastor delivered the last part of a series titled "CHRISTLIKE" which we have taken up for the past four weeks. Now, we reach the final riveting message regarding our spiritual walk with God and how Jesus modeled the life that we ought to live. The last topic ties the past three messages together and befits the call to be like Christ in every aspect of our lives but more importantly focusing on Jesus' unwavering commitment and devotion to the Father. Perhaps the biggest struggle that we humans have in our lives is honoring the commitments that we have made before God, before other people, and even those that we make for ourselves. Something we often fail to do is to stick it out until the end because when the pain of fatigue sets in or when we fail to see immediate results of our labor, we start to think that all our effort have been for naught. It is worthless to continue especially if the path of our lives become steeper and more difficult to trav...

I have something wonderful to share about how amazing the true living God, our God who is the Father of Jesus Christ who redeemed us from sin and death because He loves us. Last night, I was eagerly preparing for a report that I was to present today and at that point I had not finished reading the references and materials that I gathered to give a detailed presentation in my class. I actually was not able to read everything about my topic but I simply prayed to God that whatever His will is for me that may it be done in my life. I asked for His wisdom to understand my topic and the courage to express what I know through words. I asked that He help me to say the right words and to connect the dots. I trusted God that whatever was going to happen today, I can rely and lean on Him that He will carry me through it and that He will give me the needed understanding and composure to deliver my report well in the class. So when I got up this morning, I prayed again to God for His gu...