My Notes

Resurrection This event in history is the most important event. It is all the more important for those who believe in Christ because the resurrection is the evidence of this belief. Verse: ‭1 Corinthians 15:20 [20] But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. This event spurred the apostles and the Christians of today to take this truth to the ends of the church.   Let us go through why the resurrection is an uncontested event in history. This is uncontested because of this passage - 1 Corinthians 15. This is the early credel tradition. How early was this? This is dated back to 31 AD as per Bart Ehrman (Historian). This is within the first year of  Jesus crucifixion.  Compare this with people who existed in history - Alexander the Great. His writing (evidence) was dated 450 years after his death. And this source for Alexander the Great is credible. Hence the credibility of 1 Corinthians 15 far superseds o...

Prayer Lessons from Gethsemane The Jews sang Psalm 113 to 118 on the day of passover. It is likely that Jesus also sang this song on the day he was crucified. ‭ Verse Psalms 118:24 [24] This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. The Lord ordained this day of suffering for Jesus. It is said of this day that "it pleased the Lord". This day started with the prayer at Gethsemane. ‭ Verse: Mark 14:32 [32] They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”  What can we understand about the prayer? Practice of Prayer Posture of Prayer Purpose of Prayer Perseverance of Prayer Power of Prayer Practice of Prayer Jesus prayed all through out his journey on earth. Verse: ‭Luke 5:16 [16] But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.  Here are some quotes from men of prayer "We pray when there is nothing else to do, but God wants us to praye before we do anything at all"  ... Oswald Chambers "No...

 Prayer Prayer is ascension. Just like the critical part in a flight is the take off, the ascending into prayer is a task. We need to reach a certain altitude in prayer. Only then we will see the benefits in prayers.  ‭‭ Verse: Psalms 24:3 [3] Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? In order ascend (climb), we need to understand Cosmic Geography Verse: ‭‭Ephesians 6:12 [12] For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Jermiah prophesied a lot of doom. And he as unpopular because of his message even though this was the truth. But his message was not all doom. He talked about a return after 70 years. It was a message of revival. How long before we can see our revival? And during this time of waiting, there was Ezekiel, Daniel who travailed in prayer. Are we patient in prayer like Danie...

 God's Ways Deception is everywhere. This is because all man has sinned and we all have the sinnful nature in us. And realization of deception if realised late, causes damage. And often deceptions goes unnotices. And so the writter of Hebrews warns us ‭ ‭Verse: Hebrews 3:12 [12] Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.   God's Way is good! The context is when Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. They witnesses great miracles. But they never understood God and His ways. They murmured because of the unbelief in the heart. His ways lead them through times of hunger and thirst. Please remember that the way of God involves testing and teaching. Why was God trying to teach the Israelites? He wants our focus to be on things that are not of this world. We need to be heavenly minded. And God may lead us through this way but God is good! And his ways are good! When we realize th...

 Transformation - Reset the Mindset The methodology that people follow for inculcating change is to reward after the change has been achieved. But not so with Jesus. Jesus gave us salvation and then worked with us for this change. The change message was the first he preached on. "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand" The change/transformation was so radical... from Fishermen to Fishers of men. That is what Jesis did.... but this transformation took time and almost impossible 2 Cor 5:17 "the old has passed away and the new has come" Mat 19:26 "... with people it is impossible... with god all things are possible" There are several people who Jesus changed in his direct interaction with people. There were people who were prostitutes, tax collectors.... the scum of society. They were changed miraculously. They were the people that society had given up on. But Jesus went out of his way ... stopped by the tree and said, "Zaacheas come down". And ...

Willing Spirit God is called us to live life and live life abundantly. That abundant life comes from the Spirit of God that renews our Spirit. And hence David is making this prayer to be willing, to receive the source of this abundant life. ‭‭Verse: Psalms 51:10-12 ‬‬ [10] Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.  [11] Do not banish me from your presence, and‭ take not your Holy Spirit from me [12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. That yielding of the will of man happened in the life of Paul on the road to Damascus. And so we need to be willing to obey to enjoy life. ‭‭ Verse: Isaiah 1:19 [19] If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. When Jesus was on earth, he lived a life suject to the will of the Father. Let us look at three points Willing Spirit Right Spirit Holy Spirit Willing Spirit Make me "willing to obey you" (Psalm 51:12) . This means that you are inclined to the Lord. This is a spiritu...