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" How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?" -  John 5  Verse  44 (NIV) Praise can come from people or from God, or both.  People will praise you; it's their choice and right to do so. People, including some Christians, may also flatter you. It matters a lot how you handle the praise directed to you . Praise needs to be handled appropriately. You will need to thank everybody who praises you, even those you may suspect to be just flattering you, for the sake of decorum. In the opening bible verse, Jesus warned His audience against accepting praise from one another yet not making any effort to obtain the praise that comes from the Father. What this means is: let not people's praise get to your heart, or head; and seek only the praise that comes from the Father. You can live a good life before God without any of the praise that comes from people; but you cannot do s...

"I have no greater  joy  than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." -  3 John 1  Verse  4 (NIV)   No greater joy. This is how John's children [the Christians] brought him the greatest joy of all time - by  walking in the truth. This is the only way that you too could bring joy to our Lord, Jesus Christ - by maintaining a deeper fellowship with Him, according to His will. It is important for Christians to always walk in the truth. It should be our number one priority, our very life, an indispensable mission in this world. There indeed cannot be an alternative passion for us that should be greater than this. Our hearts must ever burn for the ways of the Lord! If seeing his children walk in the truth brought John so much joy, how much more would it give joy to Christ to see Christians walking in His will and likeness!  Do you desire to please God? If so, then there is no other way you could achieve this except by walking in t...

"If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!" - Galatians 1 Verse 9 (NIV) You need to be careful about the kind of gospel that you embrace. To avoid embracing the other gospels that Paul warned against, you need to be conversant with the gospel that Paul preached, the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, you need to study your bible thoroughly. Paul warned Galatians about some preachers who were in the habit of peddling  'a different gospel'  which is  'really no gospel at all'   (see Galatians 1:6-7) . We have such preachers in our midst today. It's sad. They preach based on motives that have nothing to do with God! Some preach to get personal material benefits, some do so for earthly power and respect. There are various other motives for their preaching. If you know the Word of God, you can quickly tell whether a preacher is preaching a message from God, or from self, or from the world. If a pre...

Your age does not matter. How inspiring! The word of the LORD came to me, saying,  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."  But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you." - Jeremiah 1 Verses 4-7 (NIV) That's the word of the LORD, directed at you; yes, YOU .  The LORD says, "Your age matters not to me. You've to do whatever I send you to accomplish. You may be young, you may not be popular with people, people may be looking down on you on account of your youth, but if I have chosen you, you've to  immediately embark on my assignments without hesitation. " Jeremiah said, "I am only a child." The LORD replied, "Do not say, 'I am only a ...

Some people worship God and idols (other gods) at the same time.  Such people never give themselves time and space to question their actions. Today they are in the assembly of the saints, worshiping God (or so to say); tomorrow they are holding an all-night prayer to other gods, seeking protection and guidance! Look at this: “What agreement is there between the temple of God and  idols ? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people .’" - 2 Corinthians 6 Verse 16 (NIV) Some think that worshiping God and idols at the same time provides some kind of insurance cover. In their reasoning, they say, “You never know what works. If God  doesn't  work for me, idols will; if idols don’t work for me, God will.”   What is God's position on idolatry and people who practise it? Look at this: Then the word of the LORD came to me:   "This is wh...

We normally take an idol to be an image that's separate from us; something carved out of stone or wood. However, the Bible teaches us that an idol could also be something in our hearts ; something that takes all the space within our hearts, relegating God to second, third, or fourth class. It could be a fantasy or some other bad habit. The moment that thing overtakes us and takes all of our attention, the moment that we feel we are imprisoned by it and can't get out, it becomes an idol. Nothing should be your master, except the Word of God. You should never allow alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex, wild partying, et c. to take dominion over your life.  The moment you think you can't escape from them;  they've become your gods! You might not believe that you could be your own idol.  You may have never thought of it in that way. The fact is   y ou could be your own idol .  You could be a self-worshiper, singing all the praises to yourself! Some Christians, when ...

"I declare that I am an example to the world," you may claim. The question is: What kind of example are you? Every Christian should constantly ask themselves this question: "What kind of example am I  to those around me?" It is recommended that Christians examine themselves now and again in this regard. A Christian should be a living sermon or testimony , a walking biblical message , a role model, and a free, human daily devotional . A Christian should be a written message that women, teens, and men alike may all see, read, and be inspired by. The authentic Christian life is a sermon in action. If you live this kind of life, without saying a single word those around you will see and hear your example loud and clear! "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but  set   an   example  for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4 Verse 12 (NIV) Set an example, be exemplary, Paul instructed Timoth...

Apart from being born again, love is what distinguishes the  body of Christ from any other body . After receiving salvation, the next thing that would delight God is for us to walk in  love . That's what I believe. Without love , the Church becomes 'technical' or 'administrative' , a mere organization no different from, say, a local Government authority.  I also believe that the Church can only function in grace only to the extent that it walks in love .  As far as I am  concerned , it would be an impossible contradiction for the Church to operate in grace without, at the same time, walking in love . The grace that we enjoy today came from  love , which was manifested by way of an act of love .  "For God so loved  the world that he gave  his one and only Son,  that whoever believes  in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3 Verse 16 (NIV). God started by 'so loving the world' . "Greater  love  has ...