Yesterday, I met a brother in Christ. He was so very burdened with not able to see his new born baby & wife for more than a month. And, has been interacting with his loving wife only over phone. And, their plan was to carry on like that for 2 more months before wife and baby come to his house.  I understood the 4 specific causes of his problem from deep hurts of 2 people. Identified 4 antidote principles of Christ bible passages addressing the causes.  We read it together.  Identified couple of activities for him to do aligned with the 4 principles of Christ. Initially, he resisted saying those 2 people really don't deserve such efforts. And, 2 months can go by quickly.  I explained how he needs to do these to love our Lord Jesus more. Finally, he accepted. We prayed together.   He became very happy. He is very excited about doing the recommendation this evening and hoping to reconcile with both people with the help of Holy Spirit.  Just sharing th...

Whenever I come across a principle of this world, like this morning, I saw,  "Good leaders lift others up, not put them down - and that’s how I roll," in someone's status,  I think about the contradictory principle of Christ. This is how I practice Colossians 2:6-8, which many of us memorized in couple of our gatherings,  leader = servant in the philosophy of Christ,  Good servants of Christ lift our Lord Jesus & His teachings up , and then, rejoice in some listeners accepting, getting edified, & growing up in Christ, become sad & pray for some listeners who feel put down, & demand & pray for mercies of our father God to give His spirit of wisdom, revelation, eyes of heart to be enlightened, & power for inner being for all listeners . Anyways, your thoughts? Is anything missed or misstated?

  Question: One church uses attractive lightings and stage settings to get youths to visit them and then prayerfully delivers the word of Christ during sermon.  Another pastor while visiting different places, will ask people to bring him the sick people for healing, and after healing them through prayers, more crowds will gather, and he'll deliver the word of Christ in his sermon.  Someone was telling that the One church should adopt what Another pastor does rather than using worldly attractions to get youths to visit.  But a shepherd of God says this kind of comparison and putting down of one over the other should not be done in testimonies about the works of God and His people.  Can you carefully evaluate? Answer:  When evaluating these two ministry approaches and the critique made against them, the teachings of Christ and the apostolic writings in the New Testament provide a clear, balanced perspective.  Following is a short summary of the evaluatio...

When it comes to Employment vs. Entrepreneurship, the bible portion that gripped my heart was this:  "Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you - although if you can gain your freedom, do so." - 1 Corinthians 7:21  Then 2 questions gripped my heart: At current modern times, can corporate work cutlure be called as slavery? If so, is 1 Corinthians 7:21 advocating entrepreneurship?  Now, let us deep dive in understanding this bible portion, followed by an evaluation of whether modern corporate culture can be classified as slavery and whether this passage advocates for entrepreneurship. Part 1 - Exegesis and Hermeneutics of 1 Corinthians 7:21 1. Exegesis (What it meant to the original audience) Exegesis looks at the historical, grammatical, and literary context to determine what Paul intended to communicate to the church at Corinth in the 1st century AD. *   Historical Context (Greco-Roman Slavery)     *   In 1st-century Rom...

  Some wives think that their husbands are not listening to what they say as they get older. And, wonder about the meaning of husband's love towards them. When evaluated against the principles of Christ in the bible, this way of thinking is *not aligned* with the principles of Christ.   While feeling hurt or lonely when a spouse becomes less attentive is an understandable human emotion, concluding that a husband’s love has lost its meaning -- or that he no longer loves his wife simply because his listening habits change with age -- conflicts with the biblical view of love, covenant, and grace. Following is an explanation based on Christ’s principles, accompanied by biblical references: 1. The Biblical Definition of Love (*Agape*) According to the principles of Christ, marital love is modeled after Christ’s unconditional, sacrificial devotion to the Church. Biblical love is defined by commitment, action, and endurance, rather than perfect human attentiveness or ideal communicat...

As shepherds, our privilege is walking with many through life’s deepest trials and pointing them toward the hope found in God’s Word. For a long time, I relied on a simple personal directory -- short, one-line summaries of each biblical book -- to quickly point people toward scripture during difficult conversations. Refer the following photo:  While these quick summaries are helpful tools, I have come to see that truly shepherding the flock requires a deeper approach. To counsel with genuine biblical wisdom, we must move beyond quick topical fixes. We need to understand the author’s original intent and the message meant for the first hearers.  In 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV), Paul urges us: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” When we take the time to understand the specific context, history, and original purpose of each book, the scriptures open up in a much more profound way....

Is there a fine line between refusing to learn from others and stepping out to innovate? A common feedback when discussing mentorship is that always depending on established ways can lead to mediocrity. Indeed, some of the greatest breakthroughs come when an individual steps away from the crowd to figure things out.  Looking strictly at the NIV Bible and the principles of Christ, we find a beautiful tension between individual initiative and teachable humility. 1. The Call for Individual Initiative & Innovation Christ did not advocate for rigid conformity or passive dependency. Scripture supports the drive to explore and create: * The Mandate of Personal Stewardship In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30), the master did not micromanage his servants. He left them to take individual initiative. The servant who played it "safe" by imitating others out of fear was rebuked, while those who took creative, calculated risks to multiply their resources were rewarded.  * A...