"But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”(NLT) Ezekiel 3:21

One thing we must always remember as Christians when we stumble and fall on our spiritual journey is found in 1 John 1:8-10; "If we claim we have no sin; we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts (NLT)".

This passage should keep our minds on Christ and His saving blood for our souls. We live in a world where everything is acceptable. The fear of God, nobody speaks of again, and we have relented to seek God’s wisdom. Many of us have taken God’s leniency based on grace in Christ to keep sinning. I am guilty of this sin and I want to believe you can relate to this too.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says: "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ". Thus having received the status of righteousness through Christ’s atonement, we have new lives by putting on Christ. This is our heritage and it must be all that we focus on daily. Sadly this is not the case for some of us. Knowing our hearts, one can understand the constant struggle between the desires of the flesh and the spirit. The reality is everybody can fall sometimes; we only need to find the strength to rise. It happens to everyone. We thank God for giving us Christ as our immunity.

Let us not be disheartened when we fall down on our Christian journey. God knows of this weakness and He encourages us through His word to confess and be healed. When we find the strength to stand firm, let us help a brother or sister who has fallen to also rise. This way we do not only save a soul, we save ours as well and as such God will not hold the person’s death (spiritual) against us. The heart is desperately wicked, let’s be each other’s keepers on the journey to heaven.

Talking it over || More

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body."(NIV) Ephesians 4:25

I have always been a firm believer of talking straight, plain, and not holding back. The majority of conflict I see in marriages and other relationships is caused by a lack of communication. For some reason, many people are reluctant to have the "difficult conversation". The problem is, the longer you put off having that conversation, the more difficult it becomes. I have watched lives ruined simply because people would not communicate with each other. Listen, this is not a test run. God has given us this precious thing called life. We get one shot. It is too short, too precious to be wasted by not sharing the things that bother us; especially with those we love the most.

It is incredible how people tend to get into a pattern in their life. One day they wake up, and they realize things aren't right. They just aren't the way they should be. But rather than sit down with your spouse, your children, your parents, your friend, you simply suppress how you feel and stay quiet. Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. Months then turn into years. The next thing you know, you have grown "apart" from the ones you were closest to. Many people live in the same house with other people, but are like strangers. We communicate on a daily basis as little as possible, and never, NEVER about unpleasant things. Husbands and wives get involved in things like pornography, gambling, drinking and start to build a secret world that they refuse to let their spouse be part of. They become distant. Communication becomes only about those things necessary to get through the day. Young adults get involved in activities they shouldn't be involved in and shut out their parents from their life. Communication is minimal.

Maybe it is time to sit down with your spouse, your parents, your friends and get things out in the open. Tell them how you feel. I am a firm believer that many things can be worked out with honest and open communication. It does not make sense to go around miserable, holding inside the way you feel. Sit down and talk to those you love and begin to work out whatever problems there may be in your relationship. Blending two or more lives together is always difficult because we are each so uniquely created. Without communicating it is impossible. Things will not change by magic, they won't all of the sudden be OK. As a matter of fact, they will only get worse until you sit down with that person you love, and talk through whatever the problems may be.

We don't talk more because we are afraid of what the outcome may be. We live in pain, we live knowing things aren't the way they should be because of the unknown consequences if we sit down and openly talk about our feelings. Listen, pray, and ask God to go before you. Let your faith be real as you trust God with the outcome. Make plans to sit down and have that "difficult conversation" with the person in your life you need to resolve some issues with. There is no day like today. God will strengthen you and be there with you.

Fear not! || More

"But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me" (NIV) Psalm 49:15

Admonitions, encouragement, exhortations are some of the ways preachers help believers to cope with some of the challenges that confront them. No doubt, the world in which we live is full of such unpleasant occurrences and each of us has his own fair share of such experiences. What separates a winner from a looser in this bumpy road of life is attitude.

As we face the reality of oppressions, difficulties and the huge gaps between the rich and the poor, there is often the tendency for some Christians to become depressed and discouraged. In the earlier verses, the psalmist addresses the rich and reveals their follies especially when they neglect the knowledge and fear of God. The consolation for believers is the realization that the calamities that befall people without God and knowledge of salvation will not be the experience. No matter the various fearful events happening around us, as long as we belong to God and maintain good standing with Him, there is nothing to fear. This is the crux of the psalmist’s submission.

The psalmist goes further to encourage believers never to allow the prosperity of the rich to cause any fear or distraction since their end is hopeless. A true believer has a glorious end when his days on earth are over. But until that happens, no untimely death can tamper with the precious souls of true believers. No matter the distractions, the allurements or the intimidation from the enemies of our souls, we have a God who watches over us daily. He is a very present help in trouble, the One who never sleeps nor slumber.

Our own duty is to be faithful to Him, love and serve Him and put our confidence in Him. He never disappoints for as long as we remain faithful to Him. Keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith and you will always sail through the storms of life.

If you keep your eyes on the ball, you will never miss the goal.

Is gambling a sin? || More

"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."(NIV) 2 Timothy 2:1

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 2:3-5

The story is told about an elderly man who retired after many years in the Army. One day a man who knew about his long and distinguished military career decided to play a prank on him. As the old soldier walked down the street with his arms full of packages, the jokester sneaked up behind him and shouted, "Attention!" Without hesitation, the military man dropped his arms to his side, and every package went tumbling to the sidewalk. Without a conscious thought, the veteran was doing what comes naturally for a soldier.

Similarly, as believers in Christ, after having obeyed the Gospel, we should respond in a manner that corresponds with our new life. Our behavior is to be more and more in line with the example of Jesus life. We still must deal with sinful desires, so we need to discipline ourselves to be the kind of person God wants us to be. Like a soldier or athlete in training (2 Timothy 2:3-5), we need to practice repeatedly until doing what's right comes naturally.

Through faith in Christ we are children of the heavenly Father, therefore, let us develop the habit of submitting to God's Word. Then, in every situation of life we will increasingly find that obeying Him is "doing what comes naturally." The longer we walk with Christ, the more we become like Him.

Life, the uncountable gift of God || More