Month: May 2018

The apostle John was the longest living apostle among those who were personally associated with Jesus. As such, he was the one privileged to pastor and give guidance and direction to the Christian Church of the first century. No wonder, he with Peter and his brother James were among those who have been blessed with so many special privileges which were not given to the other nine- because of the need for these experiences and special manifestations for the particular work they were going to do in their future work.
John had to contend with the Gnostics, Judaizers and other false teachers of his day who were avowed enemies of the church. In his first epistle written to the church, he talks about the spirit of the antichrist and antichrist himself who was already out in the world to wreak havoc to the church and the believers. John warns the believers that while there are manifestations of the true spirit, there were a lot more of the evil kind that are out in the world who were out to deceive them with their cunning delusions and false teachings. Thus the necessity to “try every spirit” whether they are of God.
The apostle exhorts the Christian believers that they need to stay in the truth and keep faith in Jesus, the Son of God who came to be manifest in the flesh. And whatever power, strength or wisdom these spirits may have, they can always be safe in the shelter of the Almighty. In fact he declares: “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4.
To John, the Christian faith is simply trusting in the power of God. The world is full of evil. It is cursed because of the results of the work of the evil one. But we need not fear, nor should we be afraid. In whatever size or shape the challenges or problems may come to us, God is bigger than any of them. Let us remember John’s reassuring words, “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”
The Holy Spirit abides in us. That is enough. With Him, we can take care of any problem the devil may throw upon us. Let us take John at his word. The Holy Spirit in us is greater than anything there is in this world that may be against us!

Due to their disobedience and negligence of God’s commandments, God allowed the people of Israel to be taken into captivity in the land of Babylon. It seemed unjust and harsh especially considering that the Chaldeans didn’t fear God and were known for their cruelty and savagery. How could God even punish them using as an instrument a nation that was even more wicked and vile than they were?
Their captors egged them on to sing the songs of Zion while they were in this land. But how can they even do that when they knew Zion was totally desolate and forsaken and here they were, living as captives in a foreign land? And so they hanged their harps on the willows by the rivers of Babylon as they wept and lamented their seeming hopelessness.
But God instructed them through His prophets to remain in captivity and live their normal lives. They were to build houses, have their sons and daughters marry and be given into marriage and to plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
The amazing thing about this experience was that though they were in the land of captivity, God continued to be with them. No, He has not given up on them. They were going to be there for a time and in God’s own sweet time, He will visit them and bring them back to their land. In fact I find in this instance one of the most reassuring and hopeful promises in the Scriptures when God says through His prophet Jeremiah (29:11): “For I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord: plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you hope and a future.”
That’s what is so amazing about God. Due to our disobedience and rebelliousness towards His will, He may allow us to go into the land of captivity- of ill health, financial setbacks or failed relationships. He is not going to perform a miracle to save us from suffering the consequences of our wrong decisions and stubborn will. But He does not leave us there. He does not give us up. We are so precious to Him and He assures us of His continued care as He insists whoever touches us “touches the apple of His eye.” Zechariah 2:8.
So let us not get discouraged however our situation may be- whether going through a storm or walking through a dark valley. Let us continue to trust in Him because indeed, He knows the plans He has for us and these are plans that are not meant to harm us but to prosper us- and to give us hope and a future. There is hope even in the land of our captivity. In God’s own sweet time, He will visit us again and bring us back to our own land.