Smallest Seed

Frans Van Heerden Don't just love everybody. Love needs wisdom. This means we sometimes have to be distant, as sometimes we also have to be near. And there's a love that should mix with anger and even judgment. Why do I say all this? Because it's how God is. We should be imitators of God as dearly beloved children, says Apostle Paul. God's love is the best. Man's love is problematic. When God seems distant, it's his love for us. Himself being love , everything God does is love, even when he judges or condemns us. His anger and punishment is love. We have to understand this to apply correct love with others. We don't just love everybody in the way the world suggests we should. The world's idea of love is prone to abuse. And church is sometimes carried away by it. Especially unconditional love. God loves us "unconditionally," but that doesn't mean he lets us off the hook for every bad thing we do. Yeah, he loves us unconditionall...

Pixabay The Jesus Christ living in you (if you have repented of sins and fully surrendered your life to Jesus as your Savior and Lord) is in the order of Melchizedek. You have to realize this. This is apostolic. You have to know the power in this, and how it should work for you. God won't decide this change of priesthood for no reason. Melchizedek passages appear only three times in the whole bible (in Genesis, Psalm 110 and in Hebrews) and yet these appearances are backed up with heaven's emphasis. You'd feel it. Why would the father of faith, Abram, give him a tenth of everything after defeating his enemies? Why not give the tenth to the king of Sodom who also met him after his victory? Be careful who you give your tenth to. Not all kings or priests are from Melchizedek's order. You see, after your spiritual victories in life, two kings are bound to meet you--Melchizedek and the king of Sodom. Abram was careful not to accord Sodom's king with credit ...

I'm always attracted by Jesus' radical simplicity and his preferential option for the poor and weak--although a lot of smart experts continue to challenge this. They say Jesus was middle-class or even a degree above it and actually lived quite comfortably, influenced by the lifestyle or cost of living in nearby Sepphoris, a high-class village for sophisticates at the time. He probably earned his living there, too, they add. Picture above from Stokpic. Well, Joseph's and Mary's offering of a pair of doves for Jesus when he was dedicated at the temple speaks volumes about their status in life. As he grew up he remained being known as "son of a carpenter" and once described himself as someone with "nothing to lay his head on," hinting that birds and foxes were better off than he was because they enjoyed nests and holes, respectively. Jesus purposefully avoided Sepphoris perhaps because of what it stood for--worldliness--because it was where the ric...

Ricardo Esquivel They scorn rich preachers, but they marvel at riches. I always see church people who honor pastors with big congregations and nice church facilities. And it actually all starts there. Pastors with big churches and large memberships get nice cars and houses because they get fat pay checks and get extra respect and honor compared to those who don't. Picture above from  Ricardo Esquivel. The culture and mindset of corruption starts there--when you get respect for your riches, when people bow down to your being materially well off. Material blessings are good--posh house and car, big pays and perks--but everything goes wrong the moment people respect you for them and not for your GOD. If church people respect ministers because of their GOD, then all ministers, small or big, great or common, get equal respect. I've seen how some churches gave unpopular pastors (and who looked cheap in their old clothes) only P500 as honorarium or "love gift" for spea...

Lukas Good leadership is when things get done. Common sense tells you that--that is, the world's common sense. But not the Kingdom's. Good leadership is not just efficient. You can be a good leader though you don't look efficient--at first. Things looked bad in Jesus' leadership initially--people rejected him, the religious leaders said he was a fake, his own disciples ran from him and some even denied him and betrayed him. Was that good leadership? Nope, not by the world's standards. To nonbelievers at the time, it was a sorry failure. Resurrection proved that his leadership was right all along, but the world didn't see how Jesus was resurrected in glory. They even thought it was a scam. Even the disciples didn't believe it at first. You cannot judge leadership until God reveals its real standing. Many "poor" church leadership today will probably be judged faithful by God come Judgment Day, and those approved and rewarded by men judged unfai...

Kristin Vogt When will suffering end? I watched a video on FB about a "senior" blind dog rescued by dog lovers. At once they did everything to put an end to the dog's suffering. They couldn't bear to see him like that--blind, too weak to eat, infected by disease, dying within days. So they lost no time and rescued him, treated him and did everything to make him feel well. I smiled, happy for the dog and grateful to the rescuers, though I didn't know them. I thanked God for them and then wondered--wouldn't God do the same thing if you're suffering? Won't it also break his heart to see you suffering and too weak to do anything? Will he not also act immediately--like how the rescuers did--or even faster? Why do I see many people just suffering continuously? Can God just stand there and watch them? I believe he has all the power to help them, but they just go on suffering. Jesus healed all the sick and showed compassion for them. Yet, today, why do c...

Apostolic 2 here. Another powerful apostolic teaching is the least is the greatest in the Kingdom. Church knows a bit about this but nobody believes it, because you see them all aching to be somebody. They want to hold the highest titles and degrees, positions, have highest church attendance, the mega-est church of all. They're obsessed with greatness. They all look down on small churches. Why? Because churches do not devote themselves to the apostles' teachings--because they don't know what it is. They think it's some optional thing. It's either they don't know what it is or do know but belittle it--because nobody today wants to be least. They're all out to grab titles and positions and to be popularly great in men's eyes. But the Acts believers "devoted" themselves to apostolic teachings, one of which is Jesus' standard of greatness in the Kingdom-- the least is the greatest . Pastors can stay healthy. Click to watch video here. ...