stephen-on-bible

Who doesn’t agree that one of the greatest problems we are facing today in interpersonal relationships is unhealthy communication? Who doesn’t confront difficulties in family, in workplace and in neighborhood because of lack of good communication? Who isn't aware of the fact that conflicts in relationships are usually flared up due to ill-mannered communication? In spite of so much of advancement in technical communication isn't man still lacking the discernment to speak well? There are surplus books on communication in our day but nothing like the wisdom we find in that Old Book which is as old as sun and as fresh as the dawn. Indeed all communication skills echo the truth we find in the Holy Scripture. Have you miserably failed like me in apt communication and struggling to improve your attitude and skills for healthy communication? Then join with me in considering and obeying the following exhortations of the Scripture: B IBLICAL P RINCIPLES FOR H EALTHY C OMMUNICATION Guard...

In conversing with your spouse or vice versa, does this question sound familiar, “Why don’t you answer to the point?” I was planning to go to Operation Mobilization library to spend the entire day to study and write. It takes one-hour drive from my house or even more depending on the traffic. To me this journey is often hard, for it is a busy road and I cannot avoid pollution and traffic hassle. So as I was getting ready and informed my wife about my day’s schedule, she curiously asked me, “Are you coming back in the afternoon?” Boom! “What on earth are you asking,” I thought to myself. That questioned annoyed me beyond reason. Think—by the time I go there, after traveling hard, I will be just two hours ahead before afternoon. And this woman, I thought, is asking me whether I will be coming back in the afternoon, as if it is something behind the house. After hearing her, I blurted out, “How can you ask me such a question? How do you think I will come back by afternoon?” What a...

(Continuation of Part 2) Teach Jesus Christ had given the commission to His disciples to teach people to obey everything He had commanded. He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). If the task of fulfilling the Great Commission applies to every Christian then every believer has the responsibility to teach and equip others. Discipleship includes teaching and this is not confined to the professional ministers only. In the early church of the New Testament every person was a functioning member, not a mere attender (1 Cor. 12:27; 14:26). It wasn’t ‘one man over others’ but ‘one another church’. They were teaching and exhorting one another (Col. 3:16; Rom. 15:14). In the epistle of Hebrews, the inspired author rebukes the Jewish Christians, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teac...

(Continuation of Part 1) THE GREAT DIVISION Now how can we make disciples? Did Jesus give us a basic pattern? Of course, He did. He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). It is important to note here that the command to make disciples is followed by, connected to and contingent upon two participles—“baptizing” and “teaching.” It is obvious here that making disciples is done by baptizing the people in the name of Trinity and by continuously teaching them to obey Christ’s commands. Regretfully, the Great Commission has not only become the great omission but also the great division. In fact, I must say the Great Commission has become the great omission because of the great division. Why do I make such an assertion? When I take seminars on the New Testament Ministry, I often ask the pastors and the believers, ...

Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) One of the greatest responsibilities the Lord Jesus Christ has left to the church is to go and make disciples of all nations. This is not just the responsibility of the pastors, evangelists, teachers and preachers but of every Christian saved by the grace of God. This is not an option but a command. Hudson Taylor, a sacrificial missionary to China, rightly said, “The great commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.” THE GREAT OMISSION Not doing what we should is as serious as doing that which we shouldn’t. Omitting this Great Commission is as sinful as committing adultery and murder! In saying this I am not br...

Chinappa Moses David! He wasn’t popular. He wasn’t polished in education. He wasn’t prosperous. His work wasn’t professional. He wasn’t even a preacher. He didn’t possess any fascinating expertise according to the standards of the world. On the contrary, he was born to a poor family on October 24, 1940. He lost his father when he was a child. Life wasn’t easy for him. He was brought up under rugged circumstances. He was unloved, abused and neglected. He worked as an ordinary bus driver till the last day of his existence on earth. So what makes me to write about this person? Why should you read about this man? It’s because he was a great Dad. He is my wonderful Papa. He was a strong, diligent, tough, loving, not to mention handsome, man I knew. He was a great person of my family, leaving an indelible influence on my life. In memory of his birthday on 24th October, having an honor of being his son, I thought to share about my Papa with few dads with a hope that they may be blessed throu...

7. Blame Game Genesis 3:12, "The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Genesis 3:13, "And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Hubert H. Humphrey, the thirty-eighth Vice President of the United States, once said, “We believe that to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.” If what Hubert said is true then politics began in the Garden of Eden. The first man and woman were great politicians in blame game. It is no wonder to see this attitude in men and women today. When the Lord God asked Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate" (Gen. 3:11-12). If we observe carefully, it seems Adam blamed two persons. He first blamed God. He said, “The woman whom You gave…” It appears Adam was blaming God for giving Eve to be with him. Perhaps, he is saying, h...