Jojo Agot

The Reason Why We Fast

The Pharisees’ idea of fasting was to deprive the flesh in order to strengthen the spirit. They were focusing on the wrong thing. Jesus was telling them that fasting is not about depriving yourself. Rather, it is about desiring [Jesus] more.

The idea of preferring Jesus over anything else baffles the mind. I must admit that for the longest time I thought of fasting as nothing more than legalistic self denial: to beat the flesh so the spirit can be strengthened, to deny my cravings so I could tell my body that he is not the most important part of me. Continue reading The Reason Why We Fast

Christmas Posts that Grabbed my Attention

Some Christmas posts to chew on as we subside from the aftermath of the Christmas parties and brace ourselves for the New Year celebrations.

David Mathis on the three kings who visited Jesus:

I’m not eager to play the spoiler here, but these dudes aren’t kings. They are pagan astrologers, not too far from what we’d call sorcerers and wizards.

Gandalf and Dumbledore are coming to worship the baby Jesus.

These magi are not respected kings but pagan specialists in the supernatural, experts in astrology, magic, and divination, blatant violators of Old Testament law — and they are coming to worship Jesus. Continue reading Christmas Posts that Grabbed my Attention

When We Sin in our Celebrations

“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” Job 1:5

What Job did early in the morning after the family festivities, we should also do as we are about to conclude our Christmas celebrations this week. In the midst of all the cheerfulness and parties, it is so easy to slide into sinful actions and forget our character as Christians. In festive celebrations like Christmas, we probably hope to get away with a little deviation from our usual virtuous living and hope that not many people would mind. Continue reading When We Sin in our Celebrations

Sustained

Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…

He upholds the universe by His powerful word. He upholds everything in this created world by virtue of His spoken word. Not one atom is out of kilter; not one particle performs outside its designed purpose. Every single cell, every single organism, every single creature acts out the purposes God created it to do. And all these they do according to the spoken word of God that binds them all together and ordered them to exist in perfect ecological unison.

Don’t you think it amazing that the power that holds the planets and the smallest particles together is the same power that saved you from the fires of hell and the temptations that damage the soul? Don’t you think it praiseworthy that the power that ordered the universe to existence is the same power that sustains your weary heart in its darkest, most trying moments? Continue reading Sustained

Bumper Sticker Christians

Myles Kantor on nominal Christianity:

[Today], religion is often about personal sentiment and preference instead of doctrine and obedience. The preacher Paul Washer has stated in this vein:

“When you take a look at American Christianity, it is based more upon a godless culture than it is upon the word of God.”

“Most of our Christianity is based on cliches that we read on the back of Christian t-shirts. Most of our Christianity comes from songwriters and not the Bible. Most of what we believe to be true is dictated to us by our culture and not the Bible.” Continue reading Bumper Sticker Christians

Why People Reject the Historicity of the Bible

In his book Church History: A Crash Course for the Curious, Christopher Catherwood made a very interesting observation. He wrote that people have no trouble accepting the historicity of Julius Caesar’s accounts in the Gallic Wars, a book that he purportedly wrote about his conquests in what we now know as France. The problem is that the earliest existing manuscripts of his account on the Gallic Wars were published 900 years after the death of Julius Caesar.

The Bible, on the other hand, has thousands of proofs that are archaeologically precise. It is referenced in many other writings in that period, both in Christian literature and in secular writings. Interestingly, despite the overwhelming body of evidence that favor the authenticity of the Bible, people still consider it as scientifically unproven. Continue reading Why People Reject the Historicity of the Bible