deeperthanyesterday

     When we were having our discussion group yesterday, one by one shared their thoughts on the preaching. I shared that once God's love is inside of us and we experience the fullness of his love, we can't help but share it with others in a variety of forms. It may be words of encouragement, praying for someone, or doing acts of service. When we are doing that, we know it is out of delight, not of duty or obligation. It is not forced because we know, in the first place, that the motivation for how and why we do those things comes from the compelling love of God. "As disciples, this love should also be the most powerful motivator of what and why we do things for Christ and the Church." 1 Without this kind of love, the extent to which we show our care or love for others would be temporal or even inauthentic.      The beauty of sharing the love of God with others is explained powerfully by John's saying, " By this, everyone will know that you are my disciple...

     While running I asked my brother (my officemate named Ali), "In your language, how do you say 'God is great? Or you just want to praise God and express your worship to him because he is just simply great?" He responded, "Allah akbar". He then continued, "It means - 'God is big and he sees everything'"      Later on, I asked, "How do you say that you just appreciate God and want to thank him for everything, for the creation, and your life"? He answered, "Alhamdulillah". He added, "It means - 'I appreciate God'".      After running we had a short discussion about faith, Christianity, and the Trinity. The discourse went well and he seemed sincere to know more about the relationship between God and Jesus. He even asked why Jesus is the only one qualified to save mankind and wash all the sins away but he is just human.      God's love for us is exemplified through his unconditional love through his only...

 " Love is the key to operating in all the rest of the fruit of the spirit ". 1 This is true because without love it is impossible to be joyful about yourself and even about what you are doing. It must start inside and it will automatically continue outside. If people haven't experienced real love then it is not joy but it is only happiness that is primarily based on happenings.  " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ..." 2   - Galatians 5:22      The love that is being referred to here is the kind of love that God has demonstrated and revealed to mankind through Jesus Christ. It is not friendship love, brotherly love, not even romantic love. It is truly unique and raw in its purest form because it originated from God. Without this love, the qualities of the Spirit which are being demonstrated in this verse cannot exist.      Without experiencing God's love one couldn't have the everlas...

     If you have a car, you need to change the oil for maintenance. The metrics used in determining the proper timing is either the kilo meter reading from the last oil change or every six months. Oil change is essential to keep the car healthy and to be able to move. It is necessary.      Another example of changing oil comes into my mind while typing this is the fries at Mcdonalds. During my tenure there years ago, we ought to change the oil for the fries. Oil can't never be the same oil again and again for a period of time. It has to be fresh. It is necessary.      The act of anointing the head with oil in the bible is in Psalms. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." 1 - Psalm 23:5      When we receive anointing, it a form of assurance that we have his blessings.      Anointing in the New Testament is exemplified by the Holy Spirit. Const...