Category: Insights

I was there to for the thanksgiving celebration, but I got quite a few surprises. I didn’t expect to receive so much attention. Presents, 40+ genki people singing happy birthday (at the same time!), and even three cakes! I definitely have to get to the gym and work off some of that food. But the fun will stick with me.

Thank you so much to everyone for your kindness, I really appreciate you. It is so great to celebrate life.

The NKJ version says

1 John 2:9
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.

Got me thinking about who a brother is. Is it a countryman, another believer, a family member, any other human being? Here’s from the God’s Word Translation-

1 John 2:9
Those who say that they are in the light but hate other believers are still in the dark.

A believer should demonstrate that they are a Christian.

1 John 2:4
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1 John 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—

I preached on Sunday about How we are eyewitnesses of His glory. Here again, like Peter, we see John talking about how He saw Jesus in the flesh doing what history records and he is also a historical witness

2 Peter 1:16
The Trustworthy Prophetic Word
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

1 Peter 3:21
Baptism, which is like that water, now saves you. Baptism doesn’t save by removing dirt from the body. Rather, baptism is a request to God for a clear conscience. It saves you through Jesus Christ, who came back from death to life. GWT

I know a group that does proxy baptisms for dead people. The problem is that they are gone. Here in the above translation it seems to me that if baptism is an act of the conscience, I wonder how can we act for someone else’s conscience.

“1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”

How About God’s Word Translation on this one…

“1 Peter 3:18
This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit.”

“James 4:14
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Live life like today is your last day. Treat people well, be a blessing, keep your promises, be competitive but don’t trash others because what you do will come back to you.

On 18 August 2013 a dear friend passed. He was 41 years old with a wife and a child. Too young to going to be with God. It was premature. Was it God’s plan that he leave so soon? Absolutely not! Why did he pass? We don’t know, but he’ll surely tell us when we meet him in heaven.

Life is a vapor. What does that mean? It means like a vapor, we appear and we’re visible. But like that vapor, in a very short amount of time what suddenly appeared and is visible will suddenly disappear and fade from peoples memories. Our time is limited. We have to make good decisions.

Let you time on the earth be a testimony of God’s goodness to those around you. Influence someone to go from the darkness to the light.

Hebrews 3:19
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.