Kicking against the Goads!

"It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 9:5). What exactly does that phrase mean? It is not something we often hear in our day-to-day conversation! The ox-goad is a long pole or stick with a pointed piece of iron fastened to one end. The ox is gently prodded and steered in the desired direction using this. When a stubborn ox attempts to kick back against the goad, it will feel more pain because it will drive the pointed end deeper into its flesh.  Saul was by birth a Jew, by citizenship a Roman, and by education a Greek. Jesus likened this proud Pharisee Saul to an ox!  However, when you consider this for a moment, I feel the comparison to an ox was a greater insult to the ox! Oxen did what God created th...

The Unfinished Story!

The book of Acts ends abruptly with Paul in a Roman prison. This book does not record what happened after Paul's two-year imprisonment or how he met his end.  We read about some of Paul's activities only from his epistles.  Why did the Holy Spirit leave it in the middle of 'Paul's story'?  Ray Steadman (Adventuring through the Bible) believes that this book really should be titled "The Acts of the Holy Spirit," or even, perhaps, "The Continuing Acts of the Lord Jesus Christ."  In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit begins the commission of Christ.  Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all J...

Managing the Mind!

Many find it difficult to fall asleep.  We may feel sleepy while watching TV or reading a book, but sleep is gone when the head touches the pillow!  Many thoughts flood the mind and drive it away!  Fears of the future, regrets of the past, anxieties of the present day, the hurts endured, the opportunities missed, and health issues rear their ugly head when night falls!  I fell sick three years ago due to high pressure, and I struggled for almost six months to fall asleep and stay asleep. Once I wake-up in the middle of the night, I will not be able to go back to sleep.  And God taught me many essential things from His Word.  When my mind came to rest in His Word, I was able to accept many thi...

The Laodicean Church

In his book, 'Adventuring Through the Bible,' Dr. Ray C. Stedman mentions some exciting insights about the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation.  He says that the letters to the seven churches are to be studied at three levels:  Firstly, they are addressed to actual churches, dealing with real problems. Secondly, these churches symbolize individual churches during any time in history. We can also recognize the spiritual condition of our Church there. Thirdly, each of the seven churches is to be understood to represent a specific period in the Church's history from the first century until today.  This thought was new to me, and it made a lot of sense. While the Church in Ephesus covered the period from AD 70 t...

The Man who stilled the water!

In the seventies, the Gospel pop song, 'Putting your hand in the hand of the Man who stilled the water' burst on the scene, and it became my favourite.  That song was written by Gene MacLellan and sung by the Canadian singer Anne Murray!  It goes like this:

Put your hand in the hand of the Man who stilled the water;

Put your hand in the hand of the Man who calmed the sea.

Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently,

By putting your hand in the hand of the Man from Galilee.

What a Mighty God we have!

We know that God is a Spirit, but we can better understand God's working when we use phrases like 'The Hand of God.'  The Bible uses this term to refer to God's power, strength, and ability to act in His creation and on behalf of His created beings!  The Psalmist declares in Psalm 119:73, "Your hands have made me and fashioned me …"  The might of His hand was not only seen during the deliverance of Israel and in the conquest of Canaan, but also throughout of history.  We can see the works of His hands in our personal lives in many ways. God's hand convicts us. When Belshazzar saw fingers of a man's handwriting on the wall,  he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave...

The Hand of God!

Many years ago, late one evening, I was taking our dog Bruno out for a walk. Our street appeared deserted, and there were no street lights. As I started walking back home, a stray dog sprang up from somewhere and started barking and chasing us. As I turned around to assess the situation, Bruno, who was on a leash, walked around me, pinning me to a spot.  Bruno was barking furiously.  I froze, looking at the charging dog! Without my knowledge, I shouted, "Victory by the Blood of Jesus!"  The dog who was running at full speed towards us came to about five feet from us and stopped abruptly, and his body was in a semi-circle, as though a hand had just stopped him by his middle! Then he turned and walked away! I still have the...

No Room!

In a Sunday School, the teacher practiced the Nativity play with small children.  A little girl was the Star, and she was excited.  Some little boys were shepherds, and three tall ones were the wise men from the East. One little girl became Mary, and of course, a little boy stood by her side as Joseph.  One little boy was the Inn Keeper.  The teacher had given one small line each to tell the events around the birth of Jesus! The little Innkeeper had to say, "There is no room in my Inn," when Mary and Joseph approached him.  They practiced many times, and it was perfect. Finally, the day came, and the children started their play.  When the time came for the Inn keeper's line, the boy said, "Oh...

Should we celebrate Christmas?

People have many theories about Christmas.  Some say that we should not celebrate Christmas at all because Christmas is not mentioned in the Bible.  No one knows the real birthday of Jesus, and no date is given in the Bible. People say that Jesus was not born on December 25 or anytime around that time.  According to historians, the birth of Jesus probably did not happen in year one but slightly earlier, somewhere between 2 BC and 7 BC, possibly in 4 BC.  Remember there is no year '0', and the years go from 1 BC to 1 AD!  The first recorded date of celebrating Christmas on December 25 is in 336 AD, during the Roman Emperor Constantine's time.  Some say that Christmas has become too commercial!...

His own received Him not!

People wrote letters to communicate in times past. It was way before WAP, social media, and email drastically changed the way we communicate. People exchanged their thoughts and feelings through letters. During such a time, a young man fell in love with a young woman.  Since he was working in a place far away, he chose to express his love through letters.  In one year,  it seems, he wrote 700 letters!  Finally, the day of his travel to his home town came, and so he wrote another letter and proposed marriage to her.  He wrote that by then she should make her decision!  Finally, the day arrived, and he came to see her with a ring in hand and great expectation in his heart. But he was shocked to...