Author: Jojo Agot

Pastor at Victory. Faculty and adviser at Every Nation Leadership Institute (ENLI). MA in Theology and Mission at Every Nation Seminary.

Lothlorien

JRR Tolkien’s description of Lothlorien sounds like a description of heaven:

The others cast themselves down upon the fragrant grass, but Frodo stood awhile still lost in wonder.

It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name. All that he saw was shapely, but the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as if they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever. He saw no color but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them and made for them names new and wonderful.

In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or spring. No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth. On the land of Lorien there was no stain.

J.R.R. Tolkien, LORD OF THE RINGS, The Fellowship of the Ring

Be Willing to Fall to the Ground

If you want to grow in your spiritual life and rise above your circumstances today, follow the unusual path of Jesus. Die to self first. Be willing to fall to the ground. Shed off your old self. Mortify the body of sin. Be buried.

Only then can you rise above the pit of destruction. Only then can you be resurrected to new life. Only then can you be made new. Only then can you really grow to become the new person God created you to be.

Many Christians don’t grow much NOT because of lack of spiritual nurturing or unfriendly spiritual environment but because of their unwillingness to die first.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Luke 13:18-21: The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast.

These two parables are talking about two sides of the same coin. The mustard seed speaks of the outward growth of the gospel of Jesus. We Christians only need to go outside and plant it in the lives of the people. Simple as that. The Lord will take care of the growth and the expansion. Our job is to plant, that is, to speak and live out the Word; His job is to make it grow.

The parable of the yeast speaks of the inward growth of the gospel in our lives. We Christians only need to read our Bibles and pray everyday. We only need to incorporate the truths of the Bible to our daily lives. Then the Lord will take care of the inward growth. He will increase our faith and bring us to maturity without even us knowing how. Continue reading Two Sides of the Same Coin

If You Are Single

If you are single…

Take comfort in the fact that two prominent Bible figures were single men: Jesus and Paul. Now take a deep breath and let that fact sink a little deeper.

Why is this simple fact so remarkable? Because for the first time in world history and in literature, being single became a legitimate way of life. Before these two men appeared on the scene, going to war, getting many wives and begetting many children were the ultimate symbols of manhood.

Then Jesus came. And then Paul. And these two men showed all the single people of all generations all over the world that there is no shame in being single. It’s not a sprint, folks. We will eventually get there. Just lighten up with all the obnoxious teasing. Just because we laugh doesn’t mean we enjoy it.