GOD's Next

Image from DepositPhotos. Here's Part 1 And have you ever noticed how Jesus is seldom seen praying in the Gospel? Checkout Matthew. In chapter 5, when he saw the crowds approaching, he told the disciples to sit on the grass because he was about to teach them. And what did he do first? He said "Blessed are the poor in spirit" right away. He didn't pray first! Don't we always first pray before we do anything in ministry? We do. We love opening and closing in prayer. But Jesus never did. He just went on doing things. With a big crowd aching to listen to your sermon, I bet you'd pray first before you preach. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and he will lead you by the right path, says Proverbs 3.6. The NLT has it more powerfully: Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. So why didn't Jesus do it? Then right after that, we see Jesus in the 8th chapter healing a man with leprosy. Now, imagine yourself in front of a leprous m...

Image from ShutterStock. It was because his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray that Jesus gave them a sample prayer. That's according to Luke. But what if they hadn't asked him? Would he still teach them? And, did he use the "prayer formula" he gave his disciples? Well, it was supposed to be a  prayer formula, some experts say .  They even came up with the acronym ACTS with it, saying A is for adoration, C for confession, T for thanksgiving and S for supplication. Prayer is supposed to follow that pattern---wherever they got the idea. There are several accounts in the bible of Jesus praying. Odd that he never used the so-called prayer formula . Like, when he multiplied bread and fish to feed 5,000 and then 4,000, he didn't use ACTS. Or when he resurrected Lazarus or when he agonized in the garden of Gethsemane. I've also been thinking---would Jesus teach his disciples prayer if they hadn't asked him? Probably. And probably not. Jesus often taugh...

Today, they assign just anyone in position in the modern church. As long the person has titles, degrees, has passed certain denominational requirements or has leadership potentials recognized by men (or by the flesh), he is put in position and rules from there, even if he is not recognized in heaven as one. The Lord said listen to them but do not do as they do. “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach." [Matt.23.2-3] There are two kinds of leadership in the church---earthly and spiritual. The first is man-made, the other God-made. It actually started in Israel in the Old Testament. For instance, King Saul was man-made while David was God-made. Saul was anointed with oil from a flask (man-made container) but David was anointed with oil from a horn (from an animal God created). What makes you a man-made leader? Basically, it's when ...

Image from Can Stock Photo. Not many catch it in the bible. They've probably read past it a thousand times already but the thought never caught their attention. It never exploded in front of them, unlike how it did in front of me about 10 years ago--- All is Christ . Yup, all is Christ, said Paul to the Colossians. In a way, we are all Christ . Got you nervous now? A lot of God's truths can make you nervous, if only you look more closely and take them more seriously. Problem is, most Christians and pastors read the bible just for doctrinal purposes. Worse, they read it to debate over their denominational differences, to prove who's more biblical or intellectual. We're the body of Christ on earth. If, say, someone's body is dismembered and pieces of it are found (and, say, the guy's name is Tom), we'd say that this dismembered hand is Tom's and this dismembered toe is Tom's and this dismembered eye is Tom's. And so forth. It's something like...