The halfbaked Bard

Col:1:13-14 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves; in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We couldn't rescue ourselves. We were bound to be in darkness. Both in this world and for eternity. From there Christ has rescued us into the kingdom of the Son. Redeemed. Forgiven. Entirely His doing. He willed and He acted. v:12.  He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints, in the kingdom of light There were people greater than us, smarter than us, saintlier than us. Not that they have not been chosen. But I have been chosen. Undeserving as I am. And why did He do this? Love is the sole reason. Not to establish a kingdom. Not to recruit faithful and efficient people. Simply because of His love to me. Simply because He had compassion upon my plight and did not want to lose me for eternity.  Thank you Jesus. Image credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/concept-of-salvatio...

Rom:1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel. You are ashamed of something when either that particular thing doesn't have any inherent value or when you don't value it. Something which you consider precious, infact you will project, you will highlight, rather than ashamedly you will try to hide. How do you present the good News of Salvation to others. Or making yourself known to others and a passionate lover of Jesus, depends on how much you give value to Him. It is not that He doesn't have value, but how much you value Him in your life. He considered you as the most valuable prized possession. You are His signet ring. But here we are worse than Judas who betrayed Him for thirty silver coins. We betray Him for acquaintances and applause. Priceless possession is being prized low. Really low. Let people know that you are a serious lover of Jesus. Use all means to proclaim boldly that you have been redeemed,  y the one who is passionately in love with you. Let us no...

He was a devout, God fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. Acts:10:2 Cornelius, a captain of the Italian regimen was a good man, pious and God fearing. He prayed regularly. He gave gifts to the poor.  But still he needed Jesus. Being good is pertinent. Being religious is good. But that will not take you anywhere. You still need Jesus. All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God. Because all have sinned and and fallen short of the glory of God. If there is anyone who thinks, you can please God by your righteous acts and good loves - you are thoroughly mistaken. You still need one more thing; one more person. He is the one who makes you righteous and acceptable before the Father. No other things, or person will enable you stand before Him. For He is the righteous and holy God. And we are wretched. You need Jesus.  Image credit: https://forallsaints.wordpress.com/2024/02/04/cornelius-the-...

Mark:1:1-8 John the Baptist preached the gospel - plain and true. v4: He proclaims about repentance and turning to God to be forgiven. v7: He proclaims that Jesus is the only way. Acknowledging my sinfulness is the first step to salvation. By nature I am sinful. By my choices I am sinful. Realisation that I need forgiveness is the next step. And only God can give that. I need to turn to God to be forgiven. And finally Jesus is the only way to reach to God. He is the only way that this forgiveness is practicalised.  Once I can approach God, through the forgiveness granted on the cross, of the sinfulness of mine, then the beautiful amazing journey starts. Have you taken this first step? If not, all other efforts are wasted  Image credit: https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/what-does-gospel-mean/

Eccl:7:29 God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.  God created man in his own image and likeness. Pure and holy. Upright and righteous. Loving and caring.  But man fell. Through one man's sin all of mankind has fallen face flat. Mankind rebelled. He said he will have his own way. The self centred; selfish marred way which is sinful and which goes down the spiral. Mankind has ousted righteousness and consciousness from the center of his heart. Anything which seems right to him, he calls it freedom to choose. He redefined right and wrong. Now in the name of freedom, there is equivocality, there are no lines drawn.  Hence because of rebellion, mankind is going down the path from bad to worse. His standards and etiquettes are being degraded more and more. And he is going farther and farther away from the center; the holy; the love; the Triune God.  As he is sliding further and further helplessly; there i...