Urim and Thummim: Right Decisions and Judgements

‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord’ ~ Proverbs 16:33 One of the priestly garments God instructed to be made was the breastpiece. He says, ‘Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions’ (Exodus 28:15). The breastpiece was a double-folded linen with ‘four rows of precious stone on it’ …

Finding Your Roots

‘At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail’ ~ Job 14:7 If you were a tree, what type would you be? Among the various imageries the Bible uses to describe human beings, one of the key illustration is a …

Appearances of Delay

‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it’ (Ezekiel 22:14). God has spoken many things to us chiefly through His Word and in our personal lives as well. But when it comes to seeing them actually happen, some seemingly take longer than expected. We then invoke the proverb like the house of Israel, …

Principles of Giving and Receiving

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ ~ Acts 20:35 ‘Give and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap’ ~ Luke 6:38 Besides life, God gave man charge of the earth. He said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing …

True Ministers and Believers

The Church, which is the body of Christ, ought to be ‘perfectly united in mind and thought’ (1 Corinthians 1:10). But currently, divisions are rampant. Beginning with the various denominations, differences occur begging the question, ‘Is Christ divided?’ (v13). When we talk of unity in the Church, the focus is usually directed to Believers. Little …

Sharing in the Sins of Others

‘But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me’ ~ Deuteronomy 3:26 One of the things Moses recalls about Israel’s exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, and their wanderings in the desert was how he himself suffered because of the people’s rebellion and sin. Like a constant …

Thorns, Bristles and Briers

A few of David’s last words were, ‘But the sons of Belial (Satan) shall be all of them as thorns cast away, because they cannot be taken with hands. Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie’ (2 Samuel 23:6-7). When God …

Spiritual Soldiers: Drinking from God’s Hand

When Gideon had to downsize his army of 32,000 men to 300, God gave him a criteria to use. This was an important battle. Not only was it Gideon’s first battle, but it would be a turning point for the Israelites whose freedom was stifled, as they were subjects to the Midianites for seven years. …

Finding Your Why

A riot has broken out in Ephesus. The goddess Artemis (Diana) is facing threat due to Paul’s mission of spreading the Gospel in the City. Already, there are converts to Christianity and since Artemis cannot defend herself, a silversmith called Demetrius mobilizes craftsmen saying, ‘You see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and …