This is a continuation of my previous article called “Who is God”… Here is another example of how God surprises me: About few around years ago 2003 or 2004, I remembered a very intriguing book I had read in the Bible in 1999. You see, before I became a Christian in 1999 in Jordan at the age of 16 I read the Bible from cover to cover. Reading the Bible for the first time was, and still is until today, the most exciting experience I had ever gone through. But one book stood out from the rest like no other to me: the book of Hosea. The book of Hosea stood out to me because being a Middle Eastern young man made the idea of God asking a prophet to marry an adulterous woman a very strange idea to me. So I decided that I was going to read the… read more
Insights
A first glance this colorful paper strip looks just like a normal two sided band of paper, but at a closer look it becomes obvious that this strip of paper is by no means normal in the sense it has only one side—this is called a Mobius strip. A regular paper band has two sides: an outer side and an inner one which you can trace separately. A Mobius strip however has only one side: if you point your finger tip at any point of its surface and move it in any direction you will realize that your finger tip is covering all of its side. Unlike a two sided band you don’t need to take your finger tip off of one side to trace the other. The reason I made this colorful Mobius strip and photographed it, is that recently I’ve been thinking about who God is. Not that… read more
I didn’t take this photo for its photographic value…I don’t think it is a special photograph in the artistic meaning. I took it because of the spiritual value it holds to me. You see, I’ve always loved the moon. It was a photo of the moon that started my journey with photography. The moon has always reminded me of God’s promise to me that one day I will get married, according to His will; so whenever I see the moon I smile because it reminds me of my future wife. “For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods” Psalm 96:4 But somehow I had always treated the moon as a big light bulb in the sky…almost like a huge flashlight installed far away. May be because I always saw it in the night, since in the day I worked in… read more
Recently I’ve become increasingly convinced of these two things: The depravity of my sinful nature and my lack of understanding of true Christianity. This morning the latter was yet again proved to me. Recently I started writing the personal experiences that led to me believing in the Bible and in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the more I thought about what to write the more complex my thoughts became. I even changed the title of my writing twice! I wrote pages and pages that I doubt anyone will bother reading apart from me. This morning I went to Knox College at University of Toronto to photograph it. Knox College provides theological studies and its slogan is: Knox College – Preparing Faithful Servants of Jesus Christ. My main objective was to photograph the chapel which you see in this photo. It was completely empty so after I took a couple pictures… read more
I had a friend who was majoring in biology at university and she used to say often things to the like, “The more I learn about biology the more amazed I become by God because all the works of His hands testify to His existence and ingenuity.†How true, the Bible says in Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.†~ Romans 1:20 When I enrolled in university about a year and a half ago to study mechanical engineering I wasn’t sure what I am going to study will demonstrate much of God’s character, but now I am convinced that His prints are over all things He created directly or indirectly. This occurred to me not long ago when I though about the door…any… read more
Cats are alert to all sounds in their environment, in this case a moving car. For them, being alert to a sound or smell could mean an escape from danger or an opportunity for a good meal. Today I’d like to talk to you about “Being Alert and Self Controlled”. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 God wants us to always be aware because, we have a common enemy whose name is the devil. The Bible describes him as one that prowls (move around stealthily or restlessly as or like a hunter) like a lion looking for someone (you and me) to devour. Now, does this mean that we are going to be scared all our lives, of this prowler? No, but we are going to be aware of this danger and be ready… read more
I can certainly understand why some people do not trust the Bible and the many translations that have been done. With a little understanding of the History of the Bible and how much pain, hard work and dedication that went into making the translations accurate, you would then see that the Bible is the most accurate piece of historical document that man has in his possession. I am not just saying this because I am a Christian, here are the facts, the only book that comes close as far as accuracy is the manuscripts (copies) of “Homer” (writer of the Trojan Horse) These writings were copied 500 years between the times of the original documents. Six hundred and forty three (643) copies still exist and the writings are 95% correct. The original document was written 900 B.C. the earliest copy was done about 400 B.C. Compare those stats to the… read more
Jeremiah was a man that was greatly used by God. Before he was even born, God already had a specific calling and ministry for him. The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.† His name means “whom Jehovah appoints.†The day and age in which Jeremiah lived in was one of moral decadence and spiritual anarchy. Jeremiah lived in a day where the men and women did that which was right in their own eyes. Jeremiah lived in a day much like ours today. I plan to show you some of the similarities of our day and Jeremiah’s day, and I want to give you some simple steps that we as Christians need to take to salvage what is left of… read more
This kitten is about 3 months old (human time). Here we see her teething on a stem of a Wild Coco Yam Leaf. She was all engrossed in satisfying herself. I have other photos of her actually biting the stem. While this is all natural and safe for the kitten, it brought to mind some of our human tendencies. “I would they were even cut off which trouble you. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:12-14 Believer and unbelievers alike, tend to get engrossed in satisfying our worldly and fleshy needs at times and tend to think that it’s the best thing since ‘sliced bread’. I spoke to a work associate once… read more
Sometimes I wonder why man is so adamant about wiping all mention of God out of society. We have gone so far as to equate ourselves with animals. We are told that our descendants were animals and we evolved over millions of years to be where we are now; with the idea that, given time, we will also evolve into a better species and all the wickedness and immorality of man’s heart will go away. People usually discuss the idea of man being an animal from either an evolutionary world view or a Biblical world view.The evolutionary world view holds that, simple forms of life spontaneously arose from non-life. Through mutation and natural selection, they increased in complexity to multi-cellular animals, to invertebrates, to vertebrate fish. Next, some evolved into amphibians, then reptiles, then birds, and mammals. The standard view of evolution considers each stage more “advanced,” or more complex… read more
Have you ever went to pray but all you could do is cry? Have you ever opened the Word of God but the only book appealed to you was the Psalms because the cry of the psalmist heart is all that you could relate to? Have you ever cried out to God so deeply that you could not say a word? That all you could do is open your hands in surrender? Have you ever tried to hold your tears back until you reach home, go to your room, turned the music up so you could cry all you needed? Have you ever opened your eyes to read your Bible but couldn’t see it clearly because tears were filling your eyes? I am talking about those moments where faith in your Heavenly Father’s wisdom, love, and goodness is the only thing that is sustaining your emotional and spiritual being. Not… read more
I use the DVD cover of “Romeo Must Die” , a movie released in 2000, for illustrating the sacrificial love of God. In the movie, an avenging cop seeks out his brother’s killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father. This was a classic death for love and honor movie. In Jesus’ case, His story is unique. He avenged the wrong Satan did to mankind by giving up His life for us. The fact that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), meant that only someone perfect and without sin could die and be relieved from that death status. Jesus is the only one that could accomplish that task (Philippians 2:6 – Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:), therefore the title, “Jesus Must Die”. In the end of the… read more
One of the biggest battles Christians are facing now, is the battle against an apostate, new age, liberal thinking with the preaching that there are many pathways to God and it does not matter which god we serve and worship; because, after all, they all lead to the same place! I remember about nine years ago one of my friends left the Church because she just could not believe that our Church believed that Jesus is “the only way!”. Some non-Christians ask the question…, “what about those people who worship different gods in the remote parts of the earth and never heard the name Jesus?” The Bible proclaims in Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” The Gospel is being preached to all nations, like no other time in history… read more
Drunkard Inspirational Art: This artwork should be self explanatory – at least, if you’re not drunk. If you are drunk, you will not be able to read it anyways. So, what’s my point? A drunkard must come to some clearness of mind, so that right choices can be made to quit the habit. Some folks can do it through family/friend interventions, others by just, one day coming to their senses and others, they need a supernatural intervention. Either way, the drunkard needs our prayer and patience, and at other times, even our forgiveness. Drunkards also need the Word of God which is like a two edged sword. Why would someone destroy their insides with a poison that brings pain, disaster, false joy and false hope? God need us to always be clear headed so that He can do his work through us. The next side of this equation is that… read more
Are we living our lives according to God’s standards? Are we owning up to our mistakes? Are we being children of the Most High? Everyday we are given another chance to demonstrate the love of God through our lives. We are here only for a short time, do with it as God pleases. Jesus is looking for some good ambassadors to pass on His love and Good News. Ask him for power through His holy Spirit and study His Word. Then, you shall see the fruit of the Spirit raising up in your life and other people’s lives will be affected by yours in the way Jesus intended. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you… read more
In our previous post entitled, “Why Believe in Genesis” , we concluded that the Genesis account of creation can be trusted, because everything that God said He created, we can see with our eyes and they are exactly where He said we would find them and doing exactly what they were created to do. He created the sun, moon and the stars for signs and seasons, days and years, Genesis 1:14-16. He created all life from dust and when they die, they return to the dust, Genesis 3:19. God created different species of animals to reproduce after their own kind, Genesis 1:25. He made man and gave him dominion (power and authority) over the earth and all the animals, Genesis 1:26. He created the heavens and the earth in six days and ended all of His work on the seventh day, Genesis 2:2. We still live and work by that… read more
Why should we, as Christians, continue to believe in the genesis accounts of creation? We grow up in a society that teaches us about evolution and that the world began from one big cosmic bang and that our ultimate origins are from cosmic dust that fell from space to the earth and formed a primordial soup which eventually, over millions of years, formed all life here on earth. Some Christians believe that the evolutionary process may have been used by God in His creative process. Some have started to blend both ideas, but God did not proclaim in His word, that He used such processes to create anything. Human beings are born with the innate sense of discovery, we want to know how the entire universe and the earth came to be, how it all began?, why we are here? and who made us? Why is that? The book of… read more
Genuine and Bogus Blacks in The Bible: If you hear anyone saying that Christianity is a European religion, just lovingly, but firmly remind them of its place of origin in the Middle East (Jerusalem) and it is critical for Black Muslims and people in general to know that Islam was not the original faith of Africans. Christianity was introduced to Africa in all likelihood in the 1st century AD through the ‘Ethiopian Eunuch’ mentioned in Acts 8.27, an official in the Royal Court of what is now modern Sudan. Additionally, Christianity was accepted by The Royal Court of Ethiopia and became that country’s official religion from the 4th century AD, some 300 years before Islam even began in Arabia in the 7th century AD. It is incontestable that we have a genuine Black person in the early Church leader in Antioch referred to as ‘Simeon called Niger’ (Acts 13.1). In Simeon’s… read more
Black History Month: Awkward Reflections: Over the last five hundred years, Christianity in Africa and in most countries with people of African ancestry, has been charged with outright racism (when non-Blacks headed the hierarchy within denominations) and with inverse racism (when Blacks headed the hierarchy within denominations). To these charges the Church has had to plead ‘guilty’ or ‘guilty with explanation’, not, regrettably, by its own volition but in response to external pressure, not readily but reluctantly. The awful reality is that racism and inverse racism are still within sectors of the Christian Church and in societies where Christianity is the dominant religion, like the Caribbean region. To what extent this is true, is open to guesswork since, to the best of my knowledge, there has not been any definitive research done on the current levels of racism and especially inverse racism in any country within the Caribbean. There is… read more
Time is Almost Up Wallpaper: Many people ask, “Are we in the last days?†Well, to be honest, I certainly think that we are. Does this belief mean that every Christian should sell what they have, quit their jobs and move to the mountains to wait on the Lord? No, because that would be un-Biblical and just plain stupid. I would say this though, it’s time for the complaisant Christians to re-evaluate their walk with God and start running the race to save as many souls as possible. The signs are all around us, in the news and in our everyday lives. One doesn’t have to look far to see that time is winding down. ” This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers,… read more
Signs and Wonders Wallpaper: Signs and wonders are what some search for today when it pertains to believing in God and trusting in Him, but if we see signs and wonders, will it turn us away from our sins and make our faith stronger? What if the signs and wonders are not reliable and the question is…, why are we searching for these signs? Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” When Jesus walked the earth, He performed many signs and wonders, He healed the sick, He gave sight to the blind and many more miracles that astonished everyone, but did everyone believe in Him?…No! This proves that signs and wonders will not satisfy our ultimate spiritual needs. 2 Thessalonians tells… read more
A Little Perspective Wallpaper. One of my first elective classes in college was Psychology 101, on the first day of class, the teacher came in and introduced himself and started an introductory speech that I found had nothing to do with the topic of psychology. He was explaining that religion on a whole, has got it all wrong and that religion teaches that they have the answer to man’s problems; he went on to say that the Bible in particular is just a book of myths and fables and we should not place our trust in it. He then went on to say that the Bible has many errors! Example, the Bible teaches that the world is flat!! Obviously I was very shocked that he was saying these things to the students. The teacher seemed very uninformed and had a lot of prejudice; he obviously did not study history. Historians,… read more
Another Gospel Wallpaper. Never before has there been such a spread of apostasy in the Christian Church, such a gross turning away from the true Gospel of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Some televangelist spread the word in such a sweet fashion, but if you are not rooted in the Gospel, you may be lead astray by comforting words or led to believe that Christ is there just to provide your every “want” in life or he is even here just to make you… Rich!! I heard a guy speaking on the radio a few days ago, he said “every time we sin we must go back, repent and be baptized, so that we can have a fresh start”..uh!?! I guess we would need to have a baptism pool installed in our back yards, because we sin every day sometimes without knowing. The simplicity of the Gospel is… read more
Unbridled Power Wallpaper. In times of distress we can soon forget the power of the God we serve, but if we take time to read His words we are easily reminded of His awesome power! Job was reminded about the power of the horse. This reminder came in the form of simple rhetorical questions, that made Job think. If we look at God’s creation we see the almighty power of God on display and the only thing we can do in return is praise Him and be uplifted in our hearts. This powerful God we serve promises to never leave us or forsake us, He is greater than any trial that may come our way, so keep on holding on and place your trust in Him. Did you give the horse its strength? and clothed his neck with thunder? Can thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory… read more
