Exhortations for The Soul

The writing is on the wall Family. What is it saying to you? What is it saying to me? Many of us here have gone through what seems to have been the worst times of our lives. Perhaps it was bankruptcy, maybe it was a serious illness, a breakup of your marriage. Perhaps someone close to you would have died. Perhaps you would’ve seen your children either go to jail or being strung out on drugs or ending up in mental institutions. Rough, tough, hard days, that you never thought that you would make it through.   For some of us, these days are over, while for others, you are still going through. But through it all, I can imagine the question being asked: after this what then? Then there are other people who are going through life without a care, seemingly, in the world. It’s all about partying, travelling and having fun, making money at all costs, rolling with the popular crowd, all without any regard for God. I want to suggest to us today, me included, that it is time for us to take a s...

The Bible is widely regarded as one of the most popular books of all time.   In fact, with over 5 billion copies sold, it is the best-selling book in history. On average, the Bible sells about 100 million copies every year - physical copies and digital downloads. Bible apps, such as YouVersion, have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times, making the scriptures accessible to a global audience through smartphones and tablets.   Research has found that Bible sales tend to spike during times of crisis. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a notable increase in Bible purchases as people sought comfort and guidance during uncertain times.   Thanks to organizations such as the Gideon’s, we have seen free copies of the Bible in hotels, hospitals, and schools around the world. Individual books and selected passages of the Bible have been translated into over 3,000 languages. The New Testament is fully available in over 1,500 languages, while the complete Bi...

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” That’s Genesis 1 : 3 - 5 and I read from the King James Version of The Bible. You would know this to be the beginning of The Creation Story, when God made the heaven and the earth.   The Word of God tells us that the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” That’s verse 2 of Genesis chapter 1 . In His wisdom, God saw there needed to be light in this world He was creating. So light is a good thing. Never mind today that this world is again shrouded in darkness. As Christians, we are called on to add light to our circles. For us, light represents several key concepts: 1. Divine Presence and Glory: In the Old Testament, God's presence ...

For our exhortation today, we are looking at true worship versus vain worship. When I look at this title, it is always for me: Why does there have to be a qualifier or emphasis placed on the word worship? Isn’t worship supposed to be authentic? How can worship be negative?   I’m thinking if you’re using the word worship, it must be positive. Much like the word Christian. If you’re a Christian, there should be no need to say I’m a true Christian in order to separate yourself from other Christians who you deem to be false.   The reason I don’t subscribe to that is because I believe it should be automatic that worship and Christian, just as an example, do not need that sort of descriptive precision. If our worshiping and it’s not true, you’re really not worshiping. And if you say you’re a Christian and you’re not living the life, then you’re really not a Christian. But truth be told, because of the nature of the world today, we have to understand that counterfeits exist because t...