The consistent argument that is causing such division within the Body of Christ concerning the pandemic seems to be whether or not we truly love others. For if we did, we would wear masks, we would stay at home, and we would quietly obey our government. The presumption is that if we really cared about others, we would lay down our rights, turn the other cheek, and willingly submit to the governing authorities. Our sacrificial love for others has become the benchmark for those who claim to be Christian during the lockdowns and reopening of our country.
The problem with this line of reasoning is that compassion that is based on a lie – even half the truth – is not really God’s compassion. Love that is blind and unaware of all the facts opens a door to deception Continue reading →
Yesterday (Easter Day) was a scary day as “unbalance” was the word that brought me to the hospital.
After waking up fresh and ready for the day to come and the happy moment with my loved ones, suddenly while watching a sermon at the Tomb Garden, the world started to rolling around like a merry-go-round! Scary as panic took over for my and I felt totally out of control. It was as if my body took over and decided to do its own thing with an uncontrollable reaction of throwing up! After an hour or so we decided to call the doctor and we were asked to come to the hospital.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Silent Saturday, names so significant defining the days in the history of our faith!
I try to understand the emotions and tension on the day of Jesus’ “death”.
The pain of His family, the despair of His followers, the struggle of His betrayer…
While death was the actual physical situation and silence was the result, the earth in real was trembling. As grieve and disappointment was the obvious situation, the battle, hidden for the most of them, actually started and hell broke loose as it had to let go its fiercely grip on mankind.
Whatever the reason or hidden agenda is behind the worldwide paralyzing-panicking crisis, somehow I hope you understand that our Heavenly Father is not passive in this issue!
Many times, in the Old Testament when He is planning to address the Israelites because of disconnection or disobedience, the best way to get their attention was by a famine, in whatever form!
Life needs a center, a core, an axis to revolve around and anchor our physical and philosophical existence. Whether we like it or not, we all center our lives around something – it might be family, career, money, or sex, or ego, or an addiction. There is some element that will drive our life path forward toward good or ill, whether we’re conscious of it or not. So Christmas is a time to consider what we want the center of our lives to be, and we want a center we can trust. Continue reading →
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. Matthew 5:15
For the past 3 years my family and friends have organised a Christmas celebration for the people in our little village in the countryside and the surrounding villages. We call the celebration: ‘Jul i Fagerhult’. Everyone is invited through personal contact or an invitation that we put in their mailbox. Continue reading →
“No site in Jerusalem affected me more than the western wall.”
– Edward Wilmot Blyden (1866, African American Author; – From West Africa to Palestine; 245)
The Western Wall, sometimes called “The Wailing Wall”, is known throughout the world as a Jewish place of prayer. Jews have been praying here for centuries, still weeping over the destruction of the Temple or reciting ancient prayers, looking for the Messiah. Many will write their prayers on paper and stuff them in the cracks of the wall to keep their prayers continually before God. Continue reading →
Families are beginning to be drawn to come together and be brought back into God’s true order as the basic model for all governance and production in the kingdom of God.
Adversity and lack of wellbeing are negative factors that are being used as a trigger toward changing the hearts of many people. The stress, loneliness, sadness, and confusion of disorder turns the hearts of people to seek God’s order in life. The experience of love relationships is necessary for abundant, peaceful, and meaningful life.Continue reading →
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” — Matthew 18:15
It’s impossible to get through mature adult life without navigating personal oversights and offenses. No normal person enjoys conflict, and every normal person wishes they could avoid it. And many of us do our best to do so. But mature Christians in particular don’t have an option, biblically speaking, to live honestly and sincerely in the world.
Those of us who don’t enjoy conflict come up with a bevy of rationalizations to avoid the difficult conversation we know deep down we ought to have. Maybe we’ll make it worse. We might hurt someone’s feelings. Continue reading →
For the past days a wonderful, refreshing, pure sound is filling our house as I “bumped into it” unexpected and surprisingly. To be honest, you need it “every now and then”, the fresh new inspiration by the frequency of sounds that are charged by presence, longing, beauty and purity…. mainly when the familiar (beautiful but still familiar) songs don’t do and are in need of new and fresh inspiration.
And so, CityAlight, a wonderful group of young worshippers from Australia popped up and challenged us to get their 3 CD’s, the digital version of course. It started with this beautiful song:
And yes, every word touched us, encouraged us and even challenged us as they loud, very loud (my wife’s reaction on destined sounds on destined moments) filled our living room and started to lift us up, back to the needed level of faith, truth and expectation of a God that is ALWAYS for us in whatever battle we find ourself.
Well, its not going to be a long post but just a meaningful grateful THANK YOU to this wonderful fellowship of people.
Search for yourself, listen to the songs, to the “Story behind” the songs, expressing such a beauty in longing for HIM!
Their statement: The sound of a church singing has preceded almost every great revival in church history. The church is God’s witness and representative on earth. Is there any wonder that a tremendous power comes about when the representative voice of God in the earth is singing.
We desire to get out of the way so the truth upon which all our songs are built can properly shine. We pray that the lyrics and melodies of these songs would fix eyes and hearts and minds on Jesus. We pray that our songs might join the many thousands of songs written through history to encourage the church, and when they have played their role, to make way for the next ones. And we rejoice that one day the only name left standing will be the name of Jesus, as it should be.
Yours together in Jesus’ service, The CityAlight Team
Thank you guys, we love you and looking forward to “see” your “sound of Heaven” touching the Earth!
“We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than one who believes. You can almost be as stupid as a cabbage as long as you doubt.”
Dallas Willard
The world has made an idol of reason, polishing it with perpetual questioning. This has got into the church. However attractive the vulnerability in which it is packaged, doubt is not a virtue in Christian leadership. Faith comes by hearing, chewing and feasting on the word of God and without faith it’s impossible to please God! Whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
I am both haunted by and pulled to answer with my very life a question that Jesus once posed:
“When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1)
Uncertainty has become odiously trendy in our grey, postmodern, western culture of intellectual idolatry. Thomas did not get a medal from Jesus for his honesty and stubbornness, neither does he appear in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame. Yes, we all have seasons of wrestling with truth. Notwithstanding healthy occasion for vulnerability, this is our moment to peel away from the public platform and earnestly seek the face of God.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t endorse woolly talk. He is never political. Apostolic love in the New Testament was never co-dependent, but backboned, brazen and bloody self-sacrifice on behalf of lost people on their way to hell without repentance and faith.
I believe that church leadership in the west needs to throw out all trendy, political, uncertainty and demonstrate plain faith and godly authority! We are not called to be doubting, intellectual analysts heavy on opinion, but simple messengers, who fear God and not man. I’m not that interested in your opinion Mr. church leader, I want to hear the word of God on the matter! In this next season, I believe that favour and anointing is going to come on men and women without guile and with plain speech. Love is pure. The shepherd-less flocks of the world don’t need to be pandered to but saved by and led through and out of darkness by a revered company of incandescent men and women who know their God and hold aloft the light of His word, come what may.
