Smallest Seed

Dappered You know the story---there was a wedding at Cana and wine ran out. If you carefully study the passage, you'd see that Mary, Jesus and his disciples were somewhere near the servants when Mary urged Jesus about the shortage of wine. After Jesus told Mary, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come," we see Mary immediately talking with the servants. "Do whatever he tells you." This means they stayed where the servants were. I'm sure we wouldn't find the servants sitting at one of the banquet tables reserved for guests, and definitely not at the presidential table. Where were the servants? Most probably in the kitchen, right? Or even in the "dirty" kitchen. Here's another proof Jesus and his disciples and mother were in the kitchen. When Jesus was ready to turn water into wine, he told the servants to fill the six stone jars with water. Definitely, this scene could not be taking place in the main re

lovemo.jp This is a vital principle in God's Kingdom---your ministry should look very much like the ministries God approved in the bible. Or more aptly, the ministries he himself ordained. All these ministries had one Kingdom DNA and therefore the same characteristics. They all looked the same in spirit, though they had their distinguishing marks, which were also provided and designed by God. When people were asking about John the baptizer's ministry, note what they said: They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." [John 1.21] John's ministry looked very much like the ministries of the prophets of old, particularly Elijah's. In another instance, Jesus told his audience that if they were willing to believe it, John was the "Elijah to come," [Matthew 11.14]. There is no exemption---if you claim to be doing God's work, your ministry shou

iStock You must grow spiritually in Christ, no doubt. No growth means no life. No life means no part in Christ, whatsoever. And Jesus said the main reason why someone would have no life in him is because he refuses to eat Jesus' flesh. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [John 6.53] And what does it mean to "eat the flesh of the Son of Man"? The context is clear. It's about swallowing Jesus' radical teachings---like eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He taught them: "This bread is my flesh...whoever eats this bread lives forever."  Then later he told them what it all meant: "Whoever eats me (or feeds on me) will live because of me." He even hinted on how he also "ate" the Father (he lived because of the Father). All this eating business proved too much for some of his disciples so they left him for good. In other words, they were stuck to earthly teachings a

Shutter Stock We all know the story. A rich, young ruler went to Jesus to ask how to have eternal life. Jesus didn't tell the young man to receive him as Savior but told him to obey the commandments. Neither did Jesus say, "you must be born again" as he did Nicodemus. Queer. Didn't Paul tell us no one could be justified by the works of the law? Yet Jesus said eternal life is through obeying the commandments. And James said the perfect law leads to freedom [1.25]. So, which is which? Jesus told us no one has the right to delete the importance of the law because he did't come to abolish it but to fulfill it. In fact, your standing in God's Kingdom depends on your attitude about the law. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5.19] We'

Equipment World You are given eyes to see and the spiritual ability to enter God's Kingdom [John 3.3-8] so you can be part of it. Once you're part, then you can share it with others. You cannot share what you do not have. Fact is, you cannot share what you haven't seen. In ministry, you have to see the Kingdom and enter it. So you have to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, first and last. Evangelism Share your Kingdom faith with as many. Ask God's guidance about it, particularly who you'd share it with. Sometimes, God wants specific targets. Only the King knows who is fit for the Kingdom so you have to follow his lead about who to share the Gospel with and who to disciple. Many are invited but few are chosen. The prophet Samuel was sure it was Eliab who would be king but the Lord said Eliab seemed kingdomly only in appearance but not in essence. We should share the Gospel with everyone, but at times the Lord would zero in on an individual

Flickr Among clear Kingdom teachings we find in the Gospel is how real happiness is really about compassion. The world often pictures a happy person as one who travels a lot and enjoying posh vacation resorts in the world, eating in fancy exotic restaurants, wearing the best apparels, riding the most expensive cars, owning huge mansions, etc. And all these could be a lot fun, really.  But the Gospel (the good news of the Kingdom) never highlights these things as true fun or happiness. It tells us real fun is what Jesus spoke about in the Beatitudes, which defined the life of Jesus Christ. And foremost among what the Gospel considers real fun is that happy are the poor in spirit . Jesus was the picture of a happy man, although he didn't travel the world or caroused day and night, or shopped till he dropped. Being poor in spirit means you find a lot of happiness in whatever you have or find before you. You're so easy to please. You don't need to look for other thi

Because most churches today are merely concerned of external aesthetics (how beautiful everything in church looks), they belong to what I call the LoGOTO ministry. Nice building, program, income, membership, music, activities, ministries. Nice all, as far as the physical eyes can see. King Saul was concerned about looking good on the outside (LoGOTO). Though he understood the principle of seeking the Lord's favor first before doing anything [1 Samuel 13.12] to win big battles, he did it the wrong way. He felt compelled to do it himself instead of letting Samuel do it. It's important to seek the Lord's favor to win battles, not seek blessings. Many churches just seek blessings but lose spiritual battles. However, there is a Kingdom protocol for getting God's favor. First, worship must be done God's way. That time, the requirement was that only a priest could offer burnt offerings. Saul was not a priest so he should've let Samuel, priest and prophet o

questionsfacingmen.wordpress.com "Go tell that fox!" said Jesus one time. "Fox" is a crafty or tricky person, like how unscrupulous politicians are. It's not a good word to describe the top leader of your nation. Jesus was referring to King Herod who supposedly wanted to kill him. Not very nice of Jesus, was it? Well, not very nice of Herod, too. Jesus was frank and honest. He wasn't one to flatter people with nice but inapt words. When Jesus spoke, you always got what you deserved, although his grace made sure you didn't get it full-swing. Most pastors have been accustomed to being too nice to people, sometimes even overly too nice to the point of aiming to over-please everyone at all times. In fact, most ministries are actually PR organizations designed primarily to keep people feeling good about themselves and pampered and spoiled---so they'd keep coming back to church every Sunday. I've always wondered why Jesus was different. H

www.the-philippine-travel-guide.com I also like to title this article, "How a Church Becomes Obsolete" or "How a Church Becomes Useless." Most church people do not understand that Jesus' ministry---what he did in the bible---is the model. It is the highest and most superior. It is most advanced. Some ministers think that we ought to improve on what Jesus did. They think that Jesus' ministry was too simplistic, so they need to do something better, something more sophisticated, yet make Jesus' ministry its "foundation." Actually, it should be the reverse---all our ministries today should veer towards having the form and essence of Jesus' ministry. Our ministries should gradually transform or metamorphose into a Jesus' ministry. So, you'll easily see how our ministries should get rid of a lot of non-essentials---buildings, programs, aimless activities, entertainment, gimmicks, titles and degrees, seminary, bible school,

www.jw.org UNSEEN GOSPEL. Most of us just read past it and miss the rich Kingdom insight it reveals. My first question is, why did Jesus do it---tell Peter to throw out the line to get a four-drachma coin from the mouth of the first fish he'd catch? Why not do a job and earn a living just like everyone else? Here's the passage: After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.  “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. T

www.123rf.com UNSEEN GOSPEL. Among often missed points of the Unseen Gospel in the bible is how God favors the least. Everybody reads about it but almost no one really sees it. Jesus emphasized how the least among us is the greatest, and anyone who wants to be great or first must be servant of all. And yet no one wants to be least. They all want to be great. Fact is, today you should aim at being the boss to be great. The only sure way to greatness is if you make it to the top. The world does it like that, and so does the church. Everyone's after being great but hates being least. The world says you cannot be great by being the least. But God says you should be the least to be the greatest. Who do you believe? Who does the church believe? Jesus was Least Jesus believed it with all his heart and came here being the least. He started and ended ministry by remaining the least. So he became the greatest in the Father's eyes. He never bothered about greatness. In fac

www.gabriellejaviercerulli.com People like hearing about God's love and grace and mercy. You see them flocking en masse in churches that teach nothing but these three and related matters. And indeed, God is rich in love, in grace and in mercy. In fact, God is love. But all these will have true meaning only in the context of Jesus' most hated teaching--- giving up everything . If not, they will remain mere motivational topics to keep people comfortable and challenge them to do more in church---not offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Offer Our Bodies This is the whole point of worship and service---to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. What do we mean by  living sacrifices ? It does not mean tiring ourselves out in ministry doing this and that, going here and there, being seen on stage and being super active in church. The passage says, "offering our bodies as living sacrifices,  holy and acceptable  to God, which is our spi

Would you join this church? www.123rf.com Would you have joined Jesus' ministry if you'd been there? Especially if you saw how he had no church building, no riches, no property, no formal education, no formal clothes, no titles or degrees, and no home---not even a pillow to lay his head on? A poor pastor? On top of that, the popular church leaders with the big ministries all denounced him. One time he declared: Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. [John 7.38] Today, we realize the power of this passage because we already know it comes from the Son of God. But back then, it came from a poor carpenter who had no finances or bank account or property to back up his claims.  You looked at him and you saw someone looking just as poor and helpless as you were, probably even poorer---and later you'd see him abandoned by his own disciples and haplessly nailed on the cross. Today, church people clap