Friday, June 19, 2015
Why Muslim Dr. Nabeel Qureshi Converted to Christianity
This is a powerful description as Dr Qureshi tells about his journey to Jesus.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
What is your wish?
We often have heard the words "What is your wish?" in the context of a genie in a bottle, but surprisingly this is basically what God said to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5. It is also similar to what Jesus said to the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you" in Mark 10:51.
Solomon's Legacy
As I was reading through 1 Kings and came to this verse, it gave me pause and made me think, "What would I ask for if I was in Solomon's place?" Solomon was a young king and he asked God for wisdom to help in ruling God's people. God was pleased with the request since he didn't ask for wealth or long life (which is the typical type of response when we think of the genie scenario), so God said he would give him wealth and honor in addition to the wisdom he requested. If you are familiar with the life of Solomon you know that though he was the wisest man and extremely wealthy, that in the end these didn't help him and that he was led astray to worshipping false gods because of his many wives who worshipped them.
My Choice?
So in considering this question for myself, I realized that wisdom is good but it didn't help Solomon in the long run. At the end of it I thought that I would want to have a close and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and have him deep in my life. If I have Jesus, that is all that I need. He is better than riches, wisdom, long life, success, honor, a great legacy or anything else. Jesus is the source of life. He is the only one who can change me, forgive me, transform me and more than that, he loves me!
As Moses said, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Ex 33:15). He didn't want to be without God's presence. When Jesus asked if the disciples were going to leave him Peter said “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69 NIV). Peter recognized that only Jesus had life and without him he would have nothing.
So Lord Jesus, I want you! I need you! I want only you!
What is your choice?
To you reading this, what is your response? What is your wish?
Solomon's Legacy
As I was reading through 1 Kings and came to this verse, it gave me pause and made me think, "What would I ask for if I was in Solomon's place?" Solomon was a young king and he asked God for wisdom to help in ruling God's people. God was pleased with the request since he didn't ask for wealth or long life (which is the typical type of response when we think of the genie scenario), so God said he would give him wealth and honor in addition to the wisdom he requested. If you are familiar with the life of Solomon you know that though he was the wisest man and extremely wealthy, that in the end these didn't help him and that he was led astray to worshipping false gods because of his many wives who worshipped them.
My Choice?
So in considering this question for myself, I realized that wisdom is good but it didn't help Solomon in the long run. At the end of it I thought that I would want to have a close and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and have him deep in my life. If I have Jesus, that is all that I need. He is better than riches, wisdom, long life, success, honor, a great legacy or anything else. Jesus is the source of life. He is the only one who can change me, forgive me, transform me and more than that, he loves me!
As Moses said, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Ex 33:15). He didn't want to be without God's presence. When Jesus asked if the disciples were going to leave him Peter said “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69 NIV). Peter recognized that only Jesus had life and without him he would have nothing.
So Lord Jesus, I want you! I need you! I want only you!
What is your choice?
To you reading this, what is your response? What is your wish?
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Back in the Saddle :) - Genesis 13 - Let God Be Your Provision
It has been a while since I posted last, but I had seen some interesting things in my daily Bible reading that I wanted to capture, so I figured I may as well capture it on the blog :)
I'm reading in Genesis now and yesterday I was reading in Genesis 13 and I saw an interesting principle in Abraham's actions.
In this chapter Abram (who God later re-names to be Abraham in Gen 17:5) and his nephew Lot had grown wealthy in possessions and had many flocks and herds and they were grazing too close together and it was causing conflicts between the herdsmen. So Abram proposed that the two of them separate (separation for peace-sake).
A Curious Choice
What I find to be interesting is how Abram did the separation of the land. He told Lot to choose first and whatever was left over, Abram would have. The interesting point is that Abram was clearly the older and leader of the two, yet he allowed the younger one to have the first choice of where he lived. Clearly the "where" you choose has a large impact on prosperity and ease of life - after all in real estate the keys are "location, location, location." In our normal worldview and training, the leader would choose first and choose the best for himself. Or if he wanted to be "fair" Abram could divide up the land in such a way that there were two groupings that were approximately even in their amount of "well watered plain" and hills and mountains. But Abram did neither and allowed Lot to choose first. Lot of course choose the "best" area that was "well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord" and Abram was left with the hilly/mountainous areas.
Two Signs of Faith and Wisdom
Two things then happen in the text that indicate the wisdom and faith of Abram. First off we see the spiritual dark side of Sodom who are "great sinners against the Lord." Sometimes things that look very good from a natural view are actually bad when viewed from a spiritual view. Many people when making decisions about where to live focus on the job or the material provisions of the area and don't focus on the more important spiritual question (not so much if the area is evil, but more if that is the place where God wants them to live). Secondly God appears to Abram and tells him to look around to the north, south, east and west and that all he could see (which included Lot's land) God would give to his descendants. I recognized that Abram, rather than trusting in what he could see (choosing the best looking place) or trusting in his own ability and wisdom (dividing up the land somehow equally), chose to put his trust in God, knowing that God would provide for his future and that he didn't need to fight or push or struggle to make it happen. Abram chose not to worry about his future provision or place of living, but rather to trust in God who he knew would take care of him.
Amen! Lord Jesus help us to trust in you completely with our future and our finances and let us find our belonging, hope and provision in you!
I'm reading in Genesis now and yesterday I was reading in Genesis 13 and I saw an interesting principle in Abraham's actions.
In this chapter Abram (who God later re-names to be Abraham in Gen 17:5) and his nephew Lot had grown wealthy in possessions and had many flocks and herds and they were grazing too close together and it was causing conflicts between the herdsmen. So Abram proposed that the two of them separate (separation for peace-sake).
A Curious Choice
What I find to be interesting is how Abram did the separation of the land. He told Lot to choose first and whatever was left over, Abram would have. The interesting point is that Abram was clearly the older and leader of the two, yet he allowed the younger one to have the first choice of where he lived. Clearly the "where" you choose has a large impact on prosperity and ease of life - after all in real estate the keys are "location, location, location." In our normal worldview and training, the leader would choose first and choose the best for himself. Or if he wanted to be "fair" Abram could divide up the land in such a way that there were two groupings that were approximately even in their amount of "well watered plain" and hills and mountains. But Abram did neither and allowed Lot to choose first. Lot of course choose the "best" area that was "well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord" and Abram was left with the hilly/mountainous areas.
Two Signs of Faith and Wisdom
Two things then happen in the text that indicate the wisdom and faith of Abram. First off we see the spiritual dark side of Sodom who are "great sinners against the Lord." Sometimes things that look very good from a natural view are actually bad when viewed from a spiritual view. Many people when making decisions about where to live focus on the job or the material provisions of the area and don't focus on the more important spiritual question (not so much if the area is evil, but more if that is the place where God wants them to live). Secondly God appears to Abram and tells him to look around to the north, south, east and west and that all he could see (which included Lot's land) God would give to his descendants. I recognized that Abram, rather than trusting in what he could see (choosing the best looking place) or trusting in his own ability and wisdom (dividing up the land somehow equally), chose to put his trust in God, knowing that God would provide for his future and that he didn't need to fight or push or struggle to make it happen. Abram chose not to worry about his future provision or place of living, but rather to trust in God who he knew would take care of him.
Amen! Lord Jesus help us to trust in you completely with our future and our finances and let us find our belonging, hope and provision in you!
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