Pete's Blog

What God says is more important than the way we feel. What Jesus has to say to us is more important than our current emotional state. Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight myself in your statutes: I will not forget thy word.” God’s promises are not mottos that we can hang on the wall, they are rather checks we can take to the bank. God’s promises are absolutely sure. He wouldn’t throw away a book full of pre-signed checks, God has pre-signed these checks to us. God’s promises are absolutely certain to gain remittance when we cash them. God’s promises always pay back. We should always be ready to learn more about what God has promised to us, and claim what it says in them. Remind God of what he’s promised to do.  “Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding.” Proverbs 3:13 Reading the Bible, studying it, listening the sermons, going to church and hearing the preacher and if possible, questioning the teacher afterwards, or in a small group or bible s...

On the eve of his death in Gethsemane, Jesus was "greatly distressed and troubled" (Mark 14:33) and said to his disciples, "My soul is very sorrowful, even unto death" (Mark 14:34). For Jesus, death was not a great friend but a dreadful enemy, because it would separate Him from His Father. He did not face death with the composure of Socrates who met death peacefully as a friend. When confronted with the reality of death, Jesus cried to God saying: "Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36). The Bible speaks of the decomposition of the body. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were deprived of the tree of life and hence of physical immortality (Gen. 3:22; Rom. 5:12). It is, therefore, man’s lot to return to the dust of the ground (Gen. 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:7). Paul speaks of the earthly house of our tabernacle being “dissolved” by death (2 Cor. 5:1). The Greek term for “dissolve...

John Chrysostom was around at the turn of the 5th century AD, he  lived and died preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. His preaching led to his posthumously assigned surname, Chrysostom: "golden mouth." The same preaching also exiled him twice, the second exile being three years under armed guard which would lead to his death.    He became known as "John the golden-mouthed" because of his anointed preaching. It was said that  Preaching improves me,” he once told his congregation. “When I begin to speak, weariness disappears; when I begin to teach, fatigue too disappears. Thus neither sickness itself nor indeed any other obstacle is able to separate me from your love... for just as you are hungry to listen to me, so too I am hungry to preach to you.” And people loved to hear him preach, historical records of his preaching say:  "As he advanced from exposition to illustration, from Scripture to practical appeals, his delivery became gradually more rapid, his...