The halfbaked Bard

James:1:1 James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This James is the brother of Jesus Christ. The elder of the church. But his address is different. He is humble enough to identify himself as a servant of his own brother. The very person whom he did not acknowledged when they were younger. It was filled with disbelief and skepticism. Mk:3:21 Jn:7:5 But after the resurrection, things started to change.  Acts:1:14 What made James believe? There was a personal encounter.  1 Cor:15:7 But is that all? More than that, James knew about a Jesus that none of us knew. The silent 30 odd years. He saw the perfect righteous sinless elder son, the brother Jesus. That convinced him that Jesus is the Messiah. That He is the Son of God.  An intimate relation with Jesus will instead of swelling us up with pride, will humble us. The more you know Him, the less you will think of the positions, the less you will brood over lost accolades, the more you humble yourself a...

Heb:13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. The sacrifices with which God is pleased are doing good to others and sharing with one another. Selfessness written all over it. No hoarding. When you give to others selflessly, God is pleased. When he prayed for others, Job's situation was changed. Do to others what you want them to do to you. Not with a motive of getting things to be done for you.  But a genuine interest and love to others. The greatest commandment according to Jesus, apart from loving God is, to love your neighbour as yourself. Image credit: https://naturefriendmagazine.com/hand-feeding-birds/

Heb:13:15 Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name. A sweet aroma, a sacrifice pleasing to Him who hears. Confess Jesus' name. Acknowledge His authorship in our lives. A sacrifice of praise. Nothing much sweeter for Him, than His child giving glory to Him, despite the circumstances. Praise is the natural word that comes in the mouth of the believer in all situations. Out of his belief that his Father has got all things in control. It is pleasing for Him to hear. Because it involves trust. And trust is something which pleases God. Let praise be your anthem. In joyous circumstances, let it be an anthem of thankfulness. In difficult situations let it be an anthem of trust and hope. As much as it pleases the Lord, it disturbs the enemy. The devil flees with the shout of praise. Let it be a natural response. Image courtesy: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/studio-mic

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Heb:13:5 Love of money is the root of all evil. 1 Tim:6:10 Not money perse. But love for money is the root of all evil. You will never be satisfied. America's first billionaire John D. Rockfeller was asked, how much money was enough? He replied, "Just a little more."  This endless pit of discontentment and greed will never be quenched. Money is needed. But love of money is dangerous. It will never satisfy. You compromise on the basics and discredit the ideologies when you try to be filled. But it is like drinking salty water. The hunger just keeps increasing. The solution is to be content with what you have. The promise that follows in v:5b-6 gives you the key. Because God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.  So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. W hat can man do to me?  That the Lord is enough. That He will provide. That He ...

Without holiness no one will see the Lord. Heb:12:14 Therefore make every effort to be holy.  Holiness is an attribute that God cannot keep aside. In fact none of His attributes can He do away with. But holiness is of a different league. His love accomodates. His forgiveness draws us to Him. His glory inspissates. But His holiness, He cannot compromise. He is so holy and pure that He cannot accomodate even an iota of sin. He lives in inapproachable light. And man was created in this image of God. But man fell. And now he cannot come to God. Therefore he hid from God. But His love still accomodates. His love still longs for man, for his good. But He cannot let sin go unpunished. He wants to forgive. But He has to deal with sin, because He is holy. He cannot compromise His holiness and include sinful man. But He loves man that He wants to forgive him. He cannot shove sin under. Blood has to be shed. Man has to be punished. Therefore He Himself chose to bear it for man's s...

Let us run with perseverance the race marked for us. Heb:12:1 Because we have examples ahead of us. Because we saw what priorities these examples have set before them and how well they have run. Let us also run like them with perseverance. Jesus looked ahead to the joy that was set before Him and He endured the cross and scorned it's shame, so we too looking forward to the joy of joining with Him, let us endure our cross. Do not grow weary. Do not lose heart. (v:3). Persevere. Keep running in the right direction. Endure hardship and discipline (v:7). Because He is your Father and you His child. He disciplines you because He loves you. To purge you out of all evil that is in you. Do not lose heart. Do not be discouraged.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (v:11). Image credit: https://www.transparentlabs.com/blogs/all/how-to-run-faster?srsltid=Afm...

The world was not worthy of them. Heb:11:38 The world and its blessings eluded them. Fools they look because they chased something they did not receive. The world was not worthy of them. Because of their faith, they deserved much more than what this world could offer them. V:40. God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us, would they be made perfect. Inorder to live with a heavenly or eternal perspective you need to have faith. That eternal perspective is what you are destined for. Without which you are incomplete. And without you heaven is incomplete. Living with a finite perspective of what this world could offer will limit you. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived, that things God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Cor:2:9