Smallest Seed

19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened.  So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. [1 Samuel 13] Photo by C D-X on Unsplash .  First, the enemy limited them to inferior weaponry. Second, the enemy eliminated all means of sharpening. Third, it was the enemy who decided what kind of weapons Israel could have. Fourth, only the enemy could sharpen Israel's weapons. Fifth, the enemy decided who could have a sword and who couldn't. They were practically at the mercy of the enemy. Click here for a book review of God's Flesh. It was a useless war where everything was dictated by the enemy. Can you imagine having your enemy sharpen your sword? Not only is that ridiculo

Beware of them. They're out there everywhere to trap people and make them do their bidding. Often, they pretend to espouse love, humility and patience to use them against people they want to control. And yup, it's all about control. They love to control and manipulate, and they won't hesitate to use all the religious arsenal available at their disposal. Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash . For lack of a better term, I sometimes refer to them as boxists . Not boxers. Boxers are expert punchers with their fists. Boxists love labeling people and putting them in boxes. You cannot be yourself and have a right to your own opinion. Nope. They categorize you and lump you with others they think are of the same persuasion.  Box-Type Boxists If you say you believe in eternal security, for instance, they automatically lump you with the Calvinists or Baptists or Fundamentalists. If you worship expressively, they put you in their Pentecostal box. If you believe in holiness, they'd put

The I AM was how God introduced himself to the Israelites in the Old Testament. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that His name was, "I AM who I AM."  Jesus did the same thing in the Gospel. He revealed that "Before Abraham was, I AM," to the chagrin of his hearers, prodding them to stone him. But he got away. Photo above by  JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash . In the Gospel, he did several I AM declarations: I am the Bread of Life I am the Light of this world I am the Resurrection and the Life I am the Gate I am the Door I am the Good Shepherd I am the True Vine I am He I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (you cannot separate these 3) However, these revelations are mere head knowledge until they're EXPERIENCED. I'm sure we all know Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life, aside from his other claims. I'd even dare say that probably most people out there in the streets know this. But knowing without experiencing is nothing. It's not that experience is the best teacher

It's NOT pampering in any sense. Pastoring is leading the flock home after letting it stroll out the pen for a while. Period. No more, no less. That's according to Jesus, our Master. It's definitely not how a lot of pastors do it today, which is pampering . They find out what their church members want or need and carefully make sure they give it to them. So ministry is need-driven (and member-centered), not anymore Spirit-led and Christ-centered. Photo above by Conscious Design on Unsplash . Jesus is the Shepherd and we are appointed as shepherds [1 Peter 5]. And the principle of shepherding in John 10 is that the sheep listen to his voice , not the other way around (it's not Jesus listening to our voice and following us). Neither is it the pastor listening to his members' needs. Pastoring is about minding God's interests alone, not ours or the church members'. Pastors should focus on this. We feed and care for the flock by teaching them to hear and obey H

Miracles and supernatural powers are all from God, and without Him nothing is possible. But to a certain degree God has relegated that power to believers. It's up to us how we use it and when. He has given us the freedom to create options suited to our situation. Photo by Sabrinna Ringquist on Unsplash . It's called the Signet Ring Principle of the Kingdom. God gives us his signet ring in Christ to do as we please as far as promoting his Kingdom on earth is concerned. In his words, Jesus declared, "According to your faith it will be done to you." So our faith is given complete leeway to do everything we think and feel is needed to make known Jesus as LORD, and that faith will be backed up by Heaven 100 percent. Problem is, we do not use this privilege. We prefer our human ways and efforts in ministry. Remember Mordecai being given King Xerxes' signet ring to use as he pleased to save the Jews? It works that way. Xerxes told him to issue laws and edicts as he plea

What power do they have? That's the apostle Paul's measure for authenticity. Some in Corinth seemed to question his apostleship, favoring Apollos over him. But these detractors were all talk--they could argue with high-sounding words and probably used scholarly theologies to refute Paul's teachings. But Paul said talk is nothing in the Kingdom. Zero. Photo by Lopez Robin on Unsplash . "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power," he said. So he wanted to go to Corinth and find out   "not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have." Kingdom is about demonstrating supernatural power. The church should go back to this and not waste time on human theology and titles and degrees on it. The church should desperately seek after supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit that results to supernatural power. For an important spiritual help, click below: CLICK HERE! If you're all talk, you do not represent the

For sure there will be a great deception in these end times orchestrated by the Beast and the False Prophet mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The aim is to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. It is clearly directed against the church, first and foremost, then to the world at large. Photo by Taras Chernus on Unsplash . Elsewhere in the bible we are given hints of how this will happen. Like what Jesus said about wolves in sheep's clothing. And the wide road to destruction. Some people will claim they are the Christ, or the Christ is "there" or "here," and lead many astray. However, no details are given on how this can take place effectively.  I mean, we know for a fact that Christ is in heaven and won't come back till the Second Coming. So how can Christians be deceived with the idea that he is already here? Satan will do it right inside the church. In fact, the deception was introduced even long before and is in progress now. He's using peo