The Tree of Life!

The story of the Bible begins and ends with the 'Tree of Life'! It is amazing to see the 'Tree of Life' in the first creation story and the New Creation! Tracing the tree through the Bible provides us with the opportunity to reflect on God's unfolding plan to restore his creation and our place in it. The 'Tree of life' is mentioned four times in Revelation, three of which are in the final chapter. In the book of Genesis, God placed the 'Tree of Life' in the midst of the Garden of Eden.  It was guarded from Adam and Eve but did not disappear after the fall.  Instead, it was safely relocated to the Paradise of God.  After challenging the church at Ephesus, the Bible says in Rev 2:7, "To him who overcomes I will giv...

Behold, I stand at the door and knock!

Long ago, I attended a youth retreat, and in that retreat, the main speaker challenged everyone to share the gospel with others.  He demonstrated how we could strike up a conversation, talk about our sinful state, the need for a Saviour and then present Christ as the Saviour.  To help us through this process, he gave us seven Bible verses.  If someone is ready to read the Bible, we can take them through by following those seven verses!  I used it diligently many times! That set ended with Rev 3:20, where it says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me."  If we looked only at this verse, we...

The Seven Blessings of Revelation

Many consider the Book of Revelation a scary book or a complex book that cannot be understood.  Not that I know everything, but I believe we have to make an effort to understand it since the Lord has given it to us.  When I read the book during my quiet time, the seven blessings or beatitudes embedded in this apocalyptic literature struck me! Revelation's message tells the church and the tribulation saints that they need to be happy because of their position in Christ.  In his Exegetical Notes on the book of Revelation, David Fields says that the seven beatitudes of Revelation are placed there by the Holy Spirit to encourage us. If we see things the way God sees them, we will get a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ even am...

Beware of false Teachers!

In the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus taught the disciples about the end times.  After Jesus spoke prophetically about the destruction of the Temple, the disciples asked him two questions!  They asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3).  Jesus Himself taught about His return in this passage and what we must do in the period of waiting so that we may be ready to receive Him at His second coming.  Jesus has given two important commands for us to obey – do not be troubled and do not be deceived! (Matthew 24:4,6).

Jesus said we would hear about wars, rumors of wars, but the end i...

The Doctrine of Works!

The great reformer Martin Luther, who was the champion of the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, never felt good about the epistle of James. Martin Luther called it an "epistle full of straw" in the preface to his 1522 edition of the New Testament and put the book in the appendix. He preferred Paul's wording of the faith-works equation: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28).  Men who claimed salvation through good works surrounded Luther.  It is no wonder he felt that James was contradicting the Gospel of Grace! But James was not rejecting Paul or the gospel of Grace.  James was saying that what we believe should reflect in how we live!  

Nothing is Impossible with God!

At one time or another, we have all met someone who has been on fire for the Lord in the twenties but have fallen away from the faith later on. Some of us may have a person like that in our family itself.   There may be many reasons behind such falling away from the faith.  Sometimes, the hypocrisy and failures in the lives of those who appear to be righteous shake their faith.  Sometimes the death of the near and dear shakes their faith. Sometimes personal sickness drives them away from the faith.  Whatever may be the cause of their disillusionment, the sad reality is that they cannot see a loving God behind everything.  And it is heart-breaking to see them alienated from God. 

Zeal for good works!

Today I saw a picture of Ms. Mamata Banerjee lighting a candle to a photograph of Mother Theresa.  The sari worn by Ms. Banerjee struck me.  It looked exactly like the sari worn by Mother Theresa!  The article said that the life of Mother Teresa inspired the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee.  Mother Teresa's life was one of simplicity, sacrifice, and service, and it had motivated Ms. Banerjee to devote her life to the people of West Bengal. What a testimony!  A person's life should inspire others to do good works, irrespective of where God had placed us!

The believers in Crete lacked leadership and were suffering as a result. Paul w...

The Heart of Paul!

By the time Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, Timothy had been ministering to the church at Ephesus for some years.  Timothy had been a faithful co-worker to Paul and "a true son in the faith" (1 Tim 1:2).  They shared a unique bond.  Paul wrote 2 Timothy from a dark and damp Roman prison cell, just before he died in AD 67. Paul understood that ministry would only become more difficult for Timothy with Nero in power and without Paul to encourage him. Sometime after this letter from Paul, Timothy was indeed imprisoned for his faith (Hebrews 13:23). Paul knew that Timothy's task as a Pastor of teaching sound doctrine and encouraging believers to live their lives well for the sake of Christ would of...

The Charter for Christian Living!

Paul has many lists of dos and don'ts for his readers - sins to be avoided and fruit of the Spirit to be desired. Paul advises not only Timothy but also every believer.  But what Paul writes to the churches of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16- 22 is something like a charter for Christian living – "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil."   I believe if we can order our life this way, we will be saved from many heartaches!

We should a...

The Doctrine of Salvation

Salvation is through faith in Jesus alone, and it is free!  This is the message of the Bible.  By our works, we cannot obtain it.  Only the blood of Jesus can take away our sins and makes us worthy of Heaven!  Until Jesus saves us, we are trapped in our sins and separated from God.  But salvation does not just stop there.  Salvation has three phases: Justification, sanctification, and glorification!  When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are justified, that is, wholly forgiven of all sin and clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Thus we are saved from the penalty of sin.  When a believer dies, Jesus receives them.  This is glorification, a...