Many Christians approach the topic of fasting as a legalistic practice, trying to please (bribe) God into favor toward us in some way or the other. But the Bible is more nuanced on fasting than we usually tend to think and practice. In this passage, we learn what kind of Spiritual importance Fasting holds.
In this Sermon on the Mount, we learn what meekness and mourning looks like for person who is part of God’s kingdom, and why it is fitting for a believer to do so.
Bible is clear on how sin needs to be dealt with in Christian life. As we close the series on Jeremiah, we hear the final words from the prophet on what Christian life is and how we are to live it. We learn how repentance is the way to persevere in faith.
What will you do when you are persecuted and your life is at stake especially because of your obedience to Jesus Christ? Most of us can try to be diplomatic and save our lives if we’re summoned by the government authorities. In this passage, God describes how a true disciple remains to faithful to Him in the midst of persecution.
In the Bible, when people disobeyed the Lord’s commandments and acted foolishly, they were often rebuked for their spiritual pride. Any time we behave this way, it could be an indication that our disobedience and reliance upon our own wisdom is a sign of Spiritual pride. In this passage, we learn how we can get rid of Spiritual pride.
The Bible doesn’t shy away from confronting and rebuking our sins committed against God and His people. When such a reminder is given to us because of our sins, God expects all of us to practice repentance. In this Passage, we learn what true repentance is and how can we practice true repentance.
Every local church is a collection of individual church members. Therefore, fostering a healthy church depends in some measure on fostering healthy church members who understand the centrality of living and working together as one body for the glory of God. Most importantly, it requires members of the church to live out the implications of the gospel within the context of a local community.
Christian life is all about turning away from our sins and turning towards God as a way of renewing and strengthening our relationship with Him in faith. This needs to be an integral part of our practical Christian living. Repentance is a way of turning God’s Fatherly displeasure on us into a joyful embrace. This assurance about God’s embrace of us in Jesus Christ is also experienced when we practice godly sorrow by repenting of the sins we have committed against God and His people.
In our culture, Christianity is often presented as a religion of supernatural healing (from diseases, chronic illnesses) and miracles (prosperity, prevention of death, dreams and visions, tongues). It is also seen as religion of prophecy about the end times. All of these gifts are seen as the necessary manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. In this passage, we learn how the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not mainly about tongues, prophecy and supernatural healings, but of Spiritual transformation in our lives through the ordinary means which God appointed.