kosarajuraj

There are certain things God is not going to reveal. And that is good news. Who wants to believe in a God that they can put in a box and completely understand? Not me. You can take a bucket down to the ocean and dip out a bucket full of water. Everything in that bucket is ocean, but not all the ocean is in the bucket. Amen? And with our bucket-size minds, we are never going to know all there is about God. I’m not. You’re not. Nobody is. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” So I got to thinking...individuals feel the weight of guilt, and nations feel the weight of guilt, the world feels the weight of guilt....and the world will stagger under the weight of the guilt at the end of the last days... is THAT the feeling I've been feeling lately?            ...

The giants in our lives usually start out small too. Often they begin with an attitude that says, I can handle this. It is just a drink here and there. It is just having one with the guys after work. It is just a glass of wine with Italian food. Then, after a while, it is a drink to unwind at the end of a long day. Then it is having a drink in the morning. Pretty soon, it is not being able to get through the day without a drink. People who don't plan on ending up this way end up this way. Like Goliath, our giants start small, and they get big. That little area we thought we had control of now has control of us. That little thing that once was a pest has now become a relentless giant, and we don't know how to defeat it. We don't know how to bring it down. He has determined our times and dwelling places. Unlike an author or painter who steps back from their created work once it is finished, God desires a daily relationship with us. We have a choice. We can rel...

In the heat of emotion or personal turmoil it is easy to make foolish promises to God. What seems to us a very spiritual act of devotion turns out to be a faithless attempt to exploit God's favor and power. Instead, we should rest in the certainty that God loves his people (Zechariah 8:2). It's written all over Scripture, and especially in Jesus' life and death. We can depend on God's love alone. We do not need to manipulate him to show us love and kindness. Is there a desire in your heart that seems overwhelming? Do you want something so bad you'd give up almost anything for it? Are you trying to make a deal with God, "If you just give me this one thing, then I will . . ."? Let Jephthah's experience be a warning to you. Making a deal with God isn't what God wants for you. Ask God to give you open hands and a patient heart. Give to him the desires you have, and trust him to respond with what's best for you. The Bible promises that Go...

What idle moments are there in your life? Those are the times that often lead to real spiritual struggles. Idle moments are when anxiety can fill our minds, when lustful thoughts can invade, when bitterness and anger can rise to the surface, when fear can paralyse us. Those very moments that lead to the greatest struggles in our spiritual lives can be turned into one of the greatest sources of spiritual growth as we begin to give those idle moments to God. The time in the car, or lying awake in bed, or in between classes, or waiting in the doctor’s office, or watching TV. In a sense, we all have giants that we encounter in life. By giants I mean those seemingly insurmountable problems and issues that we have tried to bring down but have only grown stronger with the passing of time. For some people, it may be the giant of fear. For others, it might be the giant of a personal sin. For still others, it might be the giant of addiction. Our lives are like tempest-tosse...

There is a story about a wealthy man and his only son who travelled the world together collecting priceless paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and many other masters. Tragically, the son died at war while rescuing others. Distraught and lonely, the old man dreaded the upcoming Christmas day.  Christmas morning, a young soldier knocked on his door and said, “I’m a friend of your son. I’m one of the ones he rescued.”  Then the soldier presented a picture he had painted of the son. Though the picture lacked genius, the brokenhearted father saw the features of his precious son and immediately valued this painting above all the masterpieces in his home. Every day, the father gazed at the portrait and told his housekeeper of his great love for it. When the father died, the art world buzzed with excitement over the sale of his extraordinary art collection on Christmas day.  The first item offered was the painting of the son, but no one in the self-important crowd wou...