“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “Are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:37-38 My Father would often tell me that this passage would always deeply move him. Consequently, that was one of the reasons why he would always wake up one hour earlier than he had to for work in order to pray and spend his devotional time with God. The Apostle Paul wrote to the...

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 Driving past a Christian church I saw a poster that stood out to me. It read: “I am Barabbas.” As I drove my car back home, the words of this poster echoed in my mind. It was as if I could hear the multitude yelling: “Release Barabbas and crucify Jesus!” Suddenly, as I kept hearing those words, I realized that I was that criminal. Just like Barabbas was a...

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 Love is a profound feeling that everyone wants to experience, possess, and caress. Many poets and famous writers across time have written about love. Artists have used their brushes to convey what they believe love us. Great composers have composed beautiful melodies that speak about love. However, although their work is beautiful, every one of those poets, writers, artists, and composers express love in an imperfect way because humans are imperfect beings. Perfect love, incomparable love, and pure love...

For many years, farmers used a tool called Tribulum, which was used to separate the weeds from the wheat. Currently, we use the word tribulation which is derived from the artifact that the ancient cultivators used to separate the good wheat for their harvest. In the same way, God uses the tool of tribulation (Pain and suffering) to mature, equip, and sanctify us of all the spiritual weeds in our lives. When Thomas Dorcey’s wife died in labor, Thomas felt completely alone in such terrible agony, and in his despair he exclaimed: “God, where are you? Why did this happen...

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.”1Timothy 6:20-21 The popular ideologies of our time completely contradict and are incompatible with what the Word of God says in scripture. From sexuality to philosophy, from incorrect theories that are called sciences to finances, the world has utterly rebelled against what God has established. Oftentimes, we might have felt like we had to reevaluate our faith or at least reevaluate the application of...

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6As human beings, we are prone to plan our own lives. We set goals that we want to achieve, we work hard to obtain material goods, and we struggle to gain the approval of others. We strive to get promoted in our jobs in order to achieve either a higher income or a higher social status. However, working towards all of this fills our hearts with anxiety. In this frantic...

"Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." -Luke 22:25-27It is difficult to maintain a servant mentality these days. More and more...

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all of my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits”103:1-2 An integral aspect of our Christian life is worshipping God. However, in moments of turmoil and confusion when we do not understand what is happening, it becomes extremely difficult to worship. In these moments, there is no space in our hearts for worship and we tend to complain, become discouraged, and deeply sad. King David set a wonderful example of this. He was a man that experienced many painful moments in his life however, in...

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay...

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 5:1-2 The new year has begun and many of us have resolutions we want to accomplish. As followers of Christ, we should take a moment to think about what we need to change in order to be more like him. In this passage, Paul encourages us to be imitators of God as his beloved children. These words are very difficult to understand. How can we...