False Brothers

Just as Believers are in danger from false prophets, teachers, and preachers, they too are ‘in danger from false brothers’ (2 Corinthians 11:26). Among the hardships that Paul mentions in his ministry such as ‘being exposed to death again and again’ (v23), ‘beaten with rods’ (v25), and being ‘shipwrecked’ (v25), false brothers feature. In this …

Destiny Diverters

Destiny diverters do not come up to you and say, ‘Hey there, I am here to destroy your life’. They are smarter than that – or so they think. Instead, these nosy people position themselves on the way you take, so that you ‘accidentally’ bump into them. ‘The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined …

Obedience is Sacrifice

‘To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams’ (1 Samuel 15:22). Hence, obeying is sacrifice. It is the ultimate sacrifice one can give to God, because ‘rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, and arrogance like the evil of iniquity and idolatry’ (v23). Sacrifices do not hint …

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 …

The Root of Bitterness

It starts like this; ‘You want something but don’t get it’ (James 4:2). You look around you and see that what you want, others are easily getting- even when to you they don’t seemingly need it. You then start taking offense. Offense because of what you don’t have, what you could have had, or what …

Doctrines of Devils

‘Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils’ ~ 1 Timothy 4:1 Doctrine, a set of beliefs or principles that are passed on. In this world, two broad principles govern every worldview – godly and devilish. In regard to …

Applying Whitewash: The Big Cover-up

One of the imageries that Jesus uses to describe Teachers of the Law and Pharisees is ‘whitewashed tombs’ (Matthew 23:27) which ‘look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean’ (v27). Jesus continues to explain that, ‘In the same way, on the outside you appear to …

That One Unforgiveable Sin

‘And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven’ ~ Matthew 12:31 Jesus spoke these words to the Pharisees with such finality. This was after He had healed ‘a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute’ (Matthew 12:22). After the …

A Faulty Focus

Human beings are good at putting two and two together to draw intellectual, logical and systematic conclusions. But when it comes to spiritual conclusions, we excel at missing the mark. Still, we tend to make spiritual conclusions quicker than the speed of light – to our detriment. Because our spiritual conclusions tend to be erroneous, …

Enemies of the Cross

Who best can define the character of an enemy besides one who was once an enemy? Paul knows too well of the Cross of Jesus Christ, and no wonder he has written most of the Epistles. He also knows too well about being an enemy of the cross. Paul writes of himself, ‘I was once …