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Showing posts from March, 2021

Harry & Meghan : Culture War in Cameo? - Part 01

Cameo (def.): A short description that easily encapsulates a situation It was not my intention to watch or blog about Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were interviewed with Oprah Winfrey. Even before the interview was aired in March 2021, there was already much emotion and verbiage. This increased after the showing. With so many voices speaking out, why join the fray? Simple! As a teacher, it was obvious that the Sussex story is a perfect object lesson of the culture war in cameo. The more we can ‘understanding the times,’ the more we will be equipped to plan and lay hold of our God-given future. If nothing else, the amount of international attention to Harry and Meghan shows that interest is the British monarchy is not fading out anytime soon. Millions watched the two hour interview and the commentary has not ended, much of it fiery on both sides. This is only just the culmination of intense scrutiny of the couple, that began with their engagement, May 201

Ravi Zacharias Scandal Part 01: Where to We Go from Here?

    Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted — Galatians 6:1 Oh no! Here we go again. A popular apologist, author, and evangelist, a recognised high-profile Christian leader, with a large international following, was credibly accused of sexual harassment. Although he died in 2020 and cannot answer for himself, the overall evidence appears to be irrefutable - photos, text messages, and testimonies. An independent law firm investigated the matter and confirmed that the accusations were valid. As a result, his ministry had to issue a massive apology, change their name, and remove all materials in the person’s name. On top of it all, the deceased’s denomination posthumously revoked his ministry credential. The man in question was Ravi Zacharias (1946-2020), founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Please note it is not o

Divine Delay or Divine Denial: What’s Next? Part 02

  We continue to look at the topic of divine delay or divine denial: What next? After all, many of us have prayed hard in the face of Covid-19, riots, social unrest, including in the US election, etc. What is God doing in all this? A valid question. Last month, we offered the following assessment: God hears and is pleased with our prayers, but He wants us to develop a persistent and prevailing attitude in prayer. On these points I want to quote from best-selling author and master intercessor, Dutch Sheet, in his Give Him 15 post for 1 March 2021: As intercessors, we must be strong in perseverance. Whether interceding for a person or a nation, it often requires a prolonged season of time to see results. This is not because it takes a while to convince or motivate God, but our prayers are releasing His power into situations to change people ’ s thinking, stop demonic activity, release life, and more. These things require a persistent release of power until they are fully accompli

The Seventh Commandment - Part 02: Adultery & The New Testament

  Last time we began to look at the Seventh of Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20 : You shall not commit adultery. Put more positively, you shall pursue sexual and moral purity. The sins of fornication and adultery are not merely physical acts, they can be metaphors for idolatry and the worship of false gods. Human sexuality is very powerful and handled properly is of benefit to the community and beyond; mishandled and it courts disaster. Let’s look at it now from a New Testament perspective. NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE Since Jesus Christ and the New Testament are full of ‘grace and truth,’ you might expect that it would be less severe regarding adultery than the Old Testament. After all, His opponents brought to Him a woman caught in the very act of adultery. They reminded the Lord that Moses commanded that adulterers should be stoned … but what do You say? (Of interest, why was the woman brought for execution and not the man? - John 8:5 ). Christ’s sterling reply? Whoever is sin

Elijah is Coming: Why Study the Book of Malachi - Part 01

… And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers — Malachi 4:6 (last verse in the Old Testament)   INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI   In the last book of the Old Testament, we have a message from a little-known prophet with some very strong convictions. He speaks in favor of honoring God’s covenantal conditions, criticizes automatic and hypocritical worship, idolatry, and divorce. Tithes and offerings are given a strong endorsement as part of faithfulness to God. By the time of Malachi there was a fully functioning second temple in Jerusalem with all the sacrifices reinstated. Despite this, both priests and people have backslid and are ripe for prophetic rebuke. This sounds familiar: Nehemiah had a similar observation when he came from Persia to visit Jerusalem: corrupt priests, unpaid tithes, intermarriage with heathen people. Then, in the very last chapter of the book, which is the last chapter of the Old Testament, it takes us to la