Guard My Mouth

You have probably heard it said, “Think before you speak,” and also “silence is golden.” These are very meaningful expressions because many times we seem to either “lose it” or “blow up” when we become angry, frustrated, or irritated. In his prayer for godliness, King David asked God, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3). David seemed to have been in some distress as in his prayer he asked God, “Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds” (Psalm 141:4). We use […]

Good News

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again, and eternally conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave.  Religion cannot save anyone. Good works cannot save anyone. No one can save anyone. Only Jesus Christ can, because this was the express purpose for which He came into the world.  The gospel means that we are all sinners before God, who is holy, just, and righteous and under the sentence of eternal separation from God. Because of God’s unfathomable love for us, He sent the Son into the world to […]

Godliness

Godliness is “reverence and respect for, and devotion to, the God of the Bible. Godliness is being spiritually-minded, that is, always doing that which is well-pleasing to God. This involves my thinking, my attitude, my actions, my reactions, and generally speaking, my behavior. Is it possible to be a christian and not be godly? The answer is definitely yes. After listing several christian virtues that will supplement our faith, the Apostle Peter concludes, “Whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:3-10). Godliness is also […]

God created the heavens and the earth

The very first message in the Bible is about God and the fact that He “created the heavens and the earth.” This is most significant because the holy scriptures begin with God and with God as Creator. Also, establishing the fact of His existence as God. The text clearly shows that no “creation” existed before God began creating the heavens and the earth. The Bible states “The earth was formless and empty with darkness all over” (Genesis 1:2) Note: God created the “heavens” (plural) and the “earth” (one earth). Psalm 100:25 says. “In the beginning [God] laid the foundations of […]

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a very interesting “broad’ subject. There have been lectures on it and many articles and books have been written accordingly. What then is forgiveness and how does it affect us? The Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness and why christians must forgive.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes gives a forgiveness as follows:- “to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone) : to stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong) : to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed)” Admittedly, forgiveness is not easy […]

Faith

What is faith? Faith is described as “Complete trust or confidence in someone or something or some cause.” We live in a very humanistic, secularistic world where most people are not interested to know the “only true and living” God or His Word – the Bible. The fact is that God can be known by those who are interested to know Him in a very personal way and what He is able to do for them.  The Bible gives us many great and wonderful examples of people who had real faith in God the Creator of the universe. The letter […]

Do days have a voice?

As a unit of time, a day is a twenty-four hour period, which will remain as long as our earthly life lasts. Each time the clock strikes midnight, a new day is dawning, equipped with its own issues, lessons, and opportunities. We must regard each day as valuable and useful because there is no time like the present. The future, at best, is most uncertain. It is said that each of us lives “a day-at-a-time,” because just about everything is subject to time.   No one can guarantee what a day has in store. However, we can be assured that […]

Content

To be content means “being in a state of satisfaction and peaceful happiness.” The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). To be content begins with the understanding that everything around us – the things we can see, feel, touch, and handle are at best temporary. Paul also wrote to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 […]

Considering Nature

It was a sunny mid-morning in San Antonio, TX  on April 25, 2018. While sitting in my backyard enjoying the cool and quiet of the day, I observed the grass with diminishing traces of overnight dew barely glistening in the sunshine.  I then took a a cursory glance of the various shade trees and shrubs around with their leaves and branches slightly fluttering in the cool breeze. There were a few birds and butterflies zipping around, while a couple of squirrels making their way along the top of the fences. After that I curiously looked heavenward and witnessed small patches […]

Conscience

What is “Conscience?” What purpose does it serve? Does everyone have it? Conscience is the English translation of the Latin word “conscientia” meaning knowledge. Conscience is described as “The inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action” (dictionary.com). Every human being is born with a God-given conscience. The word conscience occurs at least 31 times in the Bible.  There is hardly any reference to the conscience these days, unlike bygone days. Some time ago one would hear statements like these, “let conscience be your guide,”  “do not stifle your conscience,”  […]