This is part of my Spiritual Journey and mostly written from notes taking from Sermons, Devotions, Songs and some Sharings. A personal reflections and recollection of sermons I sat through, also, as a sharing platform.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Patience Series by Dr Charles Stanley
Monday, April 8, 2024
Holy Communion and Washing of Feet
I Corinthians 11:26 - 2 Indisputable Points of the Lord’s Supper :-
1. Jesus’ death
2. Jesus’ second coming
https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/what-was-so-important-about-jesus-washing-the-disciples-feet.html
Foot-Washing - John 13:14-15
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
John 13:2
Sunday, March 31, 2024
The Need for Speed
https://www.sempl.si/news/how-impatient-are-you/
https://neurosciencenews.com/impatience-psychology-25622/
https://www.bizspace.co.uk/news/has-technology-made-customers-more-impatient/#:~:text=Interparcel.com%2C%20an%20online%20parcel,in%20the%20last%20five%20years.
Has technology made customers more impatient?
Research suggests that technology is making us more impatient, so how can you make sure your business meets customers’ expectations?
The study found the following average patience times:
- Waiting for a pay rise: no more than 21 months
- Waiting for a web page to load: under 10 seconds
- Waiting for a parcel to arrive: four and a half days
- Sitting in traffic before becoming angry: 13 minutes
- Being kept on hold on the phone: eight minutes
https://www.ohio.edu/news/2020/07/recently-published-ohio-study-reveals-humans-are-impatient-even-down-seconds
Recently published OHIO study reveals humans are impatient, even down to seconds
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=465869
Half a second delay caused a 20% drop in traffic
https://www.gigaspaces.com/blog/amazon-found-every-100ms-of-latency-cost-them-1-in-sales
Amazon Found Every 100ms of Latency Cost them 1% in Sales
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/cracking-latency-in-the-cloud-2/
The cost of Latency
There have been some studies that have examined overall website performance with respect to latency. For example, every drop of 20ms of network latency will result in a 7-15% decrease in page load times.
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/page-load-time-conversion-rates#website-load-time
https://www.bigcommerce.com/glossary/page-load/
In fact, a one-second delay in page load time has been shown to cause a 7 percent loss in conversion and 11 percent fewer page views. For an online store earning $50,000 a day, that one-second delay adds up to more than $1 million in lost sales each year (1).
Sermons of Patience
Lost and Found
The Great Commission
1/3 has not heard of Jesus
1/3 thinks Jesus is no deal for them.
1/3 are saved !
Arise, Asia!
How do we get LOST in this world?
Distractions
Addiction
Materialism
Matthew 15:12-13
Luke 4-7
Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Saturday, March 30, 2024
I killed Jesus!
I Came Across *This Wonderful Reflection For HOLY WEEK* And Would Like To Share This Thought-Provoking Viewpoint With All Those Who Believe . . . . . . .💖.
*"I KILLED JESUS"*
By Christina Mead.
While I read the story of Christ’s Passion and Death in the Gospel of Matthew, *I was looking for Myself in that Story.*
*Which Character Am I ?????* 🤔
*What is God trying to teach me ? ? ? ?*
Well . . . . . . .
I Realise that *I am Every Character in the Story of the Passion and Death of Christ.* And I think that’s The Most Significant Point . . . . . 😐
*I Am The Apostle . . . .*
I am Like Those Apostles : Sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:40). I’m prone and give in to Laziness in the presence of Holiness. I Don’t put up a Fight against the Pull of Distractions or sometimes even Sleep.
*I Am Judas.*
I Am Judas. Jesus has Every Right to call me Both “Friend” and “Betrayer” Barely 30 seconds Apart !!!!! (Matthew 26:46, 50). *My Heart is Fickle and Weak. And sometimes My Commitment to being Jesus’ Friend is Blown Off on the Whim of an Emotion.* 😢
*I Am Caiaphas.*
I Am Caiaphas, the High Priest. *I want Jesus to Prove Himself to Me* (Matthew 26:63). *I want Signs and Wonders to Know that I Really can Trust Him. I Want my Prayers Answered in My Way. I want Concrete Proof over Humble Faith.*
*I Am Peter.*
I Am Peter. Sometimes I Deny Jesus (Matthew 26:72). I Deny Him in the face of the Homeless when I chose to Look Away. *I Deny Him when I am Afraid of Being Judged and Condemned by those around me.*
*I Am The Crowd That Roared For His Crucifixion.*
I Am Part Of That Crowd Yelling “Crucify Him” !!!!!(Matthew 27:21-23). *And I say it Again and Again Every Time I Knowingly Choose To Sin.*
*I Am Barabbas.*
I Am Barabbas. I Am Chained in Sin and Holed up in the Prison of My Own Pride. And Instead of Suffering the Full Punishment for my Sins for which I am Guilty… I Let Christ Take My Place On The Cross (Matthew 27:26). *And I Often Forget to Thank Him.* 😢
*I Am Pilate.*
I Am Pilate. *I Want to Give Up when Life is Too Challenging (Matthew 27:24). I’m Ready to Wash my Hands of Christianity, when Being a Follower of Jesus Means pursuing Virtue over Mediocrity, a Life of Prayer Over a Life of Pleasure.*
*I Am Simon Of Cyrene.*
I Am Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32). *I Suffer Reluctantly.* I Will Take The Cross but I Won’t Seek it. *I’ll Only take it if it’s Been Placed on my Shoulders…* and I Don’t Love It. 😔
*I Am One Of Those Spectators.*
I Am One Of Those Spectators Who Mocked Jesus while He was Hanging on The Cross (Matthew 27:30). How Quickly They had Forgotten All the Good Works HE had Done In Their Cities and Towns !!!!. When Popular Opinion about Jesus Changed, They Followed Suit. *How Quickly I forget The Good HE’s Done for Me !!!! In A Brief Moment of Pain All my Gratitude Vanishes and Is Replaced by Resentment.* 😢
*I Am One of Those Roman Soldiers.*
I Am One of Those Roman Soldiers. (Matthew 27:35). I KILLED Jesus. My Sins were the Reason HE was Nailed to That Cross !!!! It Was My Fault and I Know it.
*But Sometimes . . . . .*
*I Am Also Like That Centurion.*
My Eyes are Opened to Who Jesus Is in My Life (Matthew 27:54). My Heart Accepts The Truth that God Became MAN and Died for ME. And this Knowledge brings me Peace and A Resolution to Mend my Life Fills My Soul. 💖
*I Am One of the Women Standing By The Cross* (Matthew 27:55-56).
When I’m Open to God’s Grace, I can be a Faithful and Steadfast Christian. In the Midst of Pain and Suffering, I Can stay Close to The Cross. Jesus, My Beloved Teacher, Is my Strength. And He’s All I Need. 💖
*I Am Joseph of Arimathea.* (Matthew 27:59).
Again, *Only by God’s Grace, Can I Be Selflessly Compassionate, putting Others’ Needs Before my Own.* Moved by God, I will Use what HE has Given Me, in the Service of Others. My Time, Talent, and Treasure are all for HIM 💖
Sometimes I Am Every Character In The Story of the Passion and Death of Christ.
*I KILLED Jesus.
BUT . . . . . I Am Also The Reason HE Rose From The Dead On Easter Sunday !!!! 🕯⚘🕯⚘🕯⚘🕯
what a glorious end to the Reflection!!
Please continue to keep each other in prayers and blessings.
Share this in order to help others to reflect on their own lives.
Thank You!!
GOD BLESS YOU!!
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Overcoming Temptations
James 1:13-18
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Testing Trial Vs Temptations
God does not tempt us, He tests us.
God tests us to bring out the best in us and cause us to grow.
Devil tempts us to brng out the worst in us and cause us to sin.
Temptations are like fishing hook, once we get hooked, like the fishes, one day we get cooked by the devil. Sin leads to death.
3 Key Applications
1. Flee from temptation
Collection of all sins, little by little.
Flee from Idotary, aldultery, evil desires of youth
2 Tim 2:22
1 The 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil
Don’t fight temptation, flee ftom it!
2. Fight the Devil
James 4:7 Resist the devil, he will flee from tou.
3. Focus on God
The truth of God will deliver us.
The depth the submarine can go depends on how much it can withstand the water pressure.
But there are fishes are at bottom of ocean.
Be like fishes, develop pressure within so we can withstand the pressures from outside.
James 4:7 Submit yourself to God, Resist the devil, he will flee from you,
Psalm 119:9-11
Living according to Your Word. I seek you with all my heart.
Like the middle C in the tuning fork, Christ never changes and be our steer and comfort!
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Spiritual Maturity 2 - Marks of Maturity
- A Pure Love
- John 13:34-35 love the way Jesus love
- 1 Cor 13:13
- Romans 13:10
- Eph 4:15
- A Good Conscience
- (1 Tim 1:5) Greek : Suneideseos "to know with"
- (1 Tim4:1-2) Conscience defiled/seared/corrupted - heart hardens - God outguard - no longer feel guilty (go on sinning)
- (Titus 1:15) (Hebrews 5:14)
- (Hebrews 4:12-13)
- James 4:17 Clear Conscience VS Good Conscience
Clear Conscience = done nothing wrong / done something wrong, repented and stop sinningGood Conscience (Spiritual Maturity) = not only done nothing wrong + actively pursuing what is right
3. A Sincere Faith (1Tim 1:5) Sincere in Greek: "Anypokritos" which means "without hypocrisy" and "without pretence".
- (Hab 3:17-18) (Rom 4:18-21)
- True faith (put your faith in what God says)
- Hebrews 6:11-12 Time we pray until we see the breakthrough, there's always a period of waiting, trial of faith (waiting room) hardest room to be in, waiting for God, breakthrough and unfulfilled purpose that requires robust Faith.
- Waiting in Greek: Two dimensions
1. Passive and surrender, let God do things.2. Active: holding/clinging on, refuse to let go
Spiritual Maturity 3 - Hindrances to Spiritual Maturity
As soon as we became Christian, we are recruited into the army, as soldier of the cross
1. Satanic Oppposition
- need for deliverance
- As a Christian, we are enlisted into an army of God
- Who are we fighting against ?
- 1 Peter 5:8What
- Eph 6:10-12
We need to depend on the Blood of Jesus when dealing with the devil.
2 Main Tasks of the devil :-
- To stop you from becoming a Christian
- To hinder your walk with God from serving God with all sorts of bondages.
Luke 10:17-19 Satan fell like lightning from heaven.
2. Soulish Oppression
- Mind
- Will
- Emotions
- Living by the soul, by the flesh, in sin
- Sanctification taking place
- I am saved, I am being saved, I will be saved’
- My spirit is saved, my soul is being sanctified, my body will be renewed
- We have the Holy Spirit, does the Holy Spirit has us?
What is a soulish orientation
1.Mind (think)
2.Will (want)
3.Emotions (feel)
which made our personalities, soul
sanctification
My mind, will and emotions are not concecrated yet, do not conform by the living world, soul is being sanctified
The body will not be renewed but our soul is renewed day by day.
3 Manifestations
1. The mind operates with Soulish wisdom
1 Cor 2:10-16
When the Holy Spirit is in charge, our mind is renewed
James 3:12-18
wisdom is the life within in humility - humble life
Who is wise and understanding among you ? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Such wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, demonic
wisdom that comes out from soul is earthly (human ideas) - demonic, unspiritual, which we defends with soulish energy eg: cults
Where you find Godly wisdom operating, people are in harmony and unity.
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
2. The will is ruled by stubborn self-content
Self-pride, centre of our lives is not God, God is the way, not our way.
The carnal man thinks of I, me and myself as the key person.
3. The emotions are easily stirred by circumstances
Mood-changing Christians, Hi Hi, Dry Dry period
Over sensitive, easily offended
Psalm 42:5-7
James 1:13-15
Matt 16:24-25
Gal 2:20
Gal 5:25
Psalm 42:5-7
Spirit telling own soul (emotions, will, mind) get in line, align to the Lord
people don't take attention, we upset, seek other sensation.
I AM SPIRITUAL MAN
Walk in spirit not by flesh
James 1:13-15
Key: If flesh is not there, Satan has nothing to do there. Die to ourself, die to our flesh, then we follow Him, go back to the cross! Key to Spiritual Maturity
Matthew 16:24-25
Galatians 2:20
Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
HABIT
Christlikeness is the endgame of Christian Discipleship.
- Must experience Transformation by applying God’s Word in our life
- How to apply the Word of God unless you read the Word - spiritual discipline, easy to start but difficult to continue
- Spiritual Discipline as Spiritual Delight then only its sustainable.
- We must have spiritual hunger that give us spiritual Delight
- Only Holy Spirit that gives us spiritual hunger.
END GAME= CHRISTLIKENESS
must experience transformation (Romans 12:2- do not conform by this world, but transformed by the renwing of mind, so that we may discern what is good, pleasing, God's will to us.
Word + Spirit