Journey to God in Small Steps

People can have different interpretations of the Bible. We can have varying  exegesis - how one understands what the context of the text was and what the first intent of the original writer was - and different hermeneutics - how one would interpret the word. What is it really trying to say to the reader? " Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,  for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures   every day to see if what Paul said was true  (Acts 17:11). "  Examining scriptures is a very delicate thing to do and one that has to be established in a new believer for him or her to grow and keep her from running into false truths. He or she can learn a thing or two from the Berean Jews in Acts 17:11, who examined the Word of God daily and read it carefully with fervor. There were also some fundamentals the early believers were devoted to. " They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching  and to fell

My blog yesterday entitled God's Hand in the Sanctification Process  was about the premise that God has to intervene in our sanctification process to mold and purify us because we can't deal with internal issues such as pride on our own. It's like we can't say to ourselves, I've already confessed pride and the issue is already gone. God still has to work to make it complete. The premise was mainly inspired by A.W. Tozer's spiritual wisdom in "The Pursuit of God," first published in the U.S.A. in 1948.  A.W. Tozer was, in my own words, a hard-core follower of Jesus Christ. One of the strengths he had is he really sought to be filled with God's presence and practiced it daily. I guess that's why the title of his spiritual literature, a classic one, is such a giveaway of what he himself experienced in daily life. He just pursued God everyday. One of the reasons why I gravitated to his wisdom was also because of my personal experiences with Go

God is the starter, worker and finisher of our sanctification - the process where we are becoming Christ-like in holiness and righteousness. This world and our bodies will still have their fallen nature but God has promised that he has equipped us with everything good to be able to do his will. " His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)" The ultimate test right now is whether we cooperate with God's work in our lives. There are cases where the sanctification is instant like when you confess an area and Jesus sets you free from that bondage.  These can be external habits that can immediately stop once you come to Christ. And there are cases for example in the case of pride - a very internal and delicate issue - that takes God's hand not just inside you but also externally through your circumstances to bring into fruition His work of making one n

I would like to honor two heroes of the faith today - Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. Two very distinct and unique individuals that have moved history with their contributions and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mother Teresa is a Catholic nun who received a call from God to be his representative to the poor. According to blogger Jenna from Caring Catholic Convert : " On September 10, 1946, while traveling by train from Calcutta to a religious retreat house in another city, Mother Teresa realized that she was being called to serve Jesus in the poorest of the poor. She also received locutions and visions where Jesus asked her to form the Missionaries of Charity and recruit Indian nuns.     Jesus told her the following:  “I want Indian nuns, Missionaries of Charity, who would be my fire of love amongst the poor, the sick, the dying, and the little children. . . .” The chief motivation behind the Sisters of Charity was not to engage in social work but -- instead -- to ado

Products and services have disclaimers. Would you believe Journey to God in Small Steps has too? Would you care to be humored a bit if there was such a thing as a disclaimer for what I write and not write? Disclaimers help us from overpromising and setting the right expectations of what people can receive from our products and services. Here is a sample statement of what Journey to God in Small Steps intends to be for its readers and what it does not intend to be. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMERS 1. Journey to God in Small Steps is a personal inspiration blog written to provide examples, teachings, and stories of faith that are connected to the author's life. Therefore, it is not all-encompassing in its teachings and is not intended to be. 2. Journey to God in Small Steps is a supplement material only to confirm one's understanding of God's works. It i

Acts 11:9: " The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. " This is the word of the Holy Spirit to Peter in a dream about God extending the gift of salvation to the Gentiles, those who are non-Jews and not part of God's chosen people, the Israelites. Faith in Jesus Christ allows a woman who was once impure to be declared clean, pure and holy. Regardless of how many times the enemy can hurl an accusation or how many times people remember a woman's past, to Christians and to God, that woman is now clean and no one can ever call her impure again. She belongs to God's people and will be protected by the Lord, his people and heaven itself. Such release we have received from God - to no longer be named names or be disqualified for the credits reserved to the righteous. To have our pain completely healed. To no longer be tarnished by the treatment of other people towards us. To release us from the insecurity an

God is Lord even in our darkest moments. When the pain seems to be unending, when we don't know which way to turn, when we run out of resources to go to, He is there. At times, we can ask, "Why is this happening to me?" "Why me?" and no answer seems to satisfy. We want to crawl back to our couch hoping and praying for an answer, desperate as our world seems to go out of control, not knowing what to do and for the first time in a long time, not knowing where to begin to solve our problems. If the Lord is taking you to such a place, I pray you will not lose heart, for the valley season does not last forever (according to God's timing) and it does not have to define you. Your worst moments don't have to define you anymore than your good moments define you. During my darkest valleys, God brought me to a word from Dr. Alyn E. Waller, author of Enjoy Your Journey: Our Quest for a Deeper Relationship with Christ. Dr. Waller   says that for us to enjoy l