By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. - Psalm 71:6   REFERENCE Psalm 71:1-6.   In this 71st Psalm, the Psalmist expressed his abiding trust in God; confident that God would not put him to shame but cause him to escape from every trouble life would throw at him. He took God to be his strong refuge and his rock and fortress. Lastly, he expected God to deliver him out of the hand of the wicked and from every evil plot....

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. – John 4:23-24    REFERENCE John 4:20-24 Worship means to regard with great devotion or to honor as a divine being. The dictionary defines it as, “The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.” To a believer, it means regarding God with great devotion and ascribing worth to Him. Often, in the place of...

All this has come upon us; but we have not forgotten You, nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.  Psalm 44:17 REFERENCE Psalm 44:9-20 The Psalmist here recounts the many trials that the people of Israel had experienced – they suffered defeat in battle, having gone in without His presence, they were plundered by nations and were scattered as captives amongst the nations. Also, they were sold as slaves at meager prices, and they became a byword amongst the peoples; they became a pariah nation, bowing their heads in shame wherever they found themselves. All these are enough storms...

In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. - Psalm 72:7 REFERENCE Psalm 72:1-7 Though this verse is Messianic, it is good that under any king, ruler or leader, righteousness should be encouraged. People who do right and live right should be able to find succor, hope, support and encouragement from such a leadership or government. The righteous, and not the crooked, should shine. However, what obtains mostly today is the reverse. Because most Governments are corrupt and the rulers themselves are perverse, wickedness thrives, and avarice and sin rule. In...

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! Psalm 31:19   REFERENCE Psalm 31:19-24 According to this text, God has goodness stored up for those who fear Him (believers). This promise is not something that God would do later, it is already done. So, no matter what you are going through right now as a believer, you have to understand that there is goodness laid up for you and it is great. God has these ‘goodies’ stored...

"He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly." - Proverbs 14:29 REFERENCE Proverbs 14:29 One Chinese proverb says, “In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone’s letter.” In other words, it is very possible to do stuff, say things or make decisions one may regret in moments of emotional highs or lows. Your capacity for analytical reasoning is greatly impaired in times of emotional extremes. People who swing between sudden emotional bursts tend to live a roller-coaster kind of...

So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” Luke 23:47 REFERENCE Luke 23:27-47 Having risen through the ranks of the elite Roman army, Longinus (as church tradition names him) was a bit rough around the edges, one of those no-nonsense military leaders. He had seen it all, wars, insurrections, massacres, invasions, etc. He had jailed criminals, flogged and witnessed the flogging of many and had been forward in leading many to their deaths by crucifixion. On this Friday that forever changed his life, his brigade was on duty. It was execution...

One of the criminals hanging there began to shout insults at Jesus…But the other criminal stopped him. He said…You and I are guilty. We deserve to die because we did wrong. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you begin ruling as king!” Luke 23:39-42 (ERV)   REFERENCE Luke 23:27-43 (ERV) Amidst overwhelming pain and agony, certain of his imminent death in a few minutes, his thoughts drifted; at least, something to distract him from the rivulets of pain coursing through his body.  This ‘convict on the cross’ began to reflect on his life...

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. Mark 15:22 (NIV)   REFERENCE Mark 15:16-22 (NIV   It was just a day to Passover in Jerusalem. Jews from all over the world came in for the Feast. The buzz on the streets and in the markets was at fever pitch. Adding to the buzz was a procession to Mount Golgotha, on another side of the city. The Romans were leading criminals to be crucified. However, a certain ‘Convict’ made that...

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” Matthew 27:19 REFERENCE Matthew 27:15-22 She wakes up with a startle, sweating and her heart racing. It’s a dream; No, a nightmare. Still lying in bed, she tries to replay the ‘dream’ in her mind, it is foreboding and didn’t seem good at all, her husband is in a bad state…her husband? She quickly turns to the bedside lamp, switches it on and realizes her...