Exhortations for The Soul

In the Bible, there are many instances where God spoke specifically to a number of people and used some people to deliver a particular message to specific people.   Like many of us today, when God speaks, we obey. But there are many who are reluctant for whatever reason and there are many who choose to obey only some of the instructions at any given time.   There are accounts in the Old and New Testaments that we can refer to. There’s the story of Moses when he received from God the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Exodus chapter 19 verse 3 down to Exodus chapter 20 verse 21.   Specifically in Exodus 19 verses 3 - 6 reading from the NLT version, ”Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will ...

  We are two weeks into the New Year, today being January 15th. And while some persons would have stepped into 2024 excited about the successes of the previous year and confident about the tremendous possibilities that lie ahead, truth be told, there are some persons who brought their old selves, their problems, their negativity, their pride and selfish tendencies rolling into even today. For some people, especially Christians, the realisation that God has brought us through another cycle of life, is a fleeting moment of gratitude when they’re not out having fun. 'Thank You Jesus for another year'. 'I will be a better person this year'. 'I won’t let anyone disturb my peace and steal my joy'. These words roll off our tongues like nothing. But all too soon, they slide right back into the malaise, the lackadaisical behaviours, the compromising, the bad habits, the putting off of being better, the stubbornness and 'oh I’m not going to be the bigger one, they wro...

At the start of every year, we find a lot of people making what is called New Year’s resolutions. It’s generally about personal goals or commitments to improve aspects of their lives. So common resolutions typically include to achieve better health, become more fit, learn new skills, or many would decide to make some other positive lifestyle change. The problem is, many people do not quite achieve these targets because they do not set realistic and achievable goals. How many of you, year after year, have made a decision to stop smoking or drinking alcohol or cut back on some of unhealthy habit? What about a decision to begin to exercise by going to the gym or spending more quality time with your family and friends, deciding to travel more, take up some academic studies to improve in your career, things like that. And here’s one for me, because I always say I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but during any given period in my life, I would decide and actually start a regimen of saving ...

According to the Gregorian calendar, today is Monday January 8th, 2024. We are already a week into the New Year, but since it’s my first day back from vacation, I’d like to take this opportunity straightaway to wish each of you a Holy Spirit filled New Year. I truly hope you had a blessed Christmas as well. We certainly continue to give God thanks that we are still here on the land of the living and like me, I believe you would have renewed your commitment to the Lord. So, it’s another go round, if the Lord wills, as we countdown to December 31st, 2024. I did a bit of research to understand how this Gregorian calendar came about and it took me back to 753 BC or Before Christ, when the Roman calendar was being used. I understand that the original Roman calendar had only ten months and 304 days in the year in the 7th century BCE or Before common Era. The calendar evolved over the centuries and by 45 BCE, it was reformed into the Julian calendar, which led to the development of timekeepin...