Epistle to the Philippians
While You Can’t, In Him You Can, Evans Olang
Philippians 3:13&14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this is one thing I do, I forget those things which are behind reaching unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ Jesus”
I think that one of the greatest struggles for a Christian is trying to keep up with the Lord. Often times as we walk with the Lord, we get distracted on the way and we loose focus and it takes us time to get back to where we need to be. Also a few people get beaten by their own opinion about themselves especially being affected and infected by their past and so they cannot progress. We know for sure that there is nothing good in man except Christ and in as much as we have failed miserably and we ought to be thrown into the lake of fire, Christ in us cannot deny Himself by casting us away. The fact is we don’t deserve to live but the truth is He has called us His own. We are adopted to be sons and daughters of God. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Write Me Off Yet, Part 1of3, Evans Olang
Mark 5:1-17, vs. 15 “Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid”
We are told of a story of a man in Mark 5, described as a demon possessed man. It’s interesting to note how Mark begins to describe Jesus’ encounter with the man. He came out of the boat and immediately met Him out of the tombs a man with unclean spirit. Read the rest of this entry »
Who We Are In Christ, Evans Olang
Philippians 4:11, “…, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”
I always find it exciting when I discover something new. Electronics always fascinate me. When I discover more of what they can do than what I anticipated brings a smile on my face. Of course there are times I have had something for so long, limited it’s use because I did not know it could do more and I wondered why I did not discover this a head of time, I could have made use of it long time ago. We as Christians also know what we can do, how about those times we are unable to discover what we are made of because we have not learnt to unlock them? Read the rest of this entry »
Living A Lie, Evans Olang
Genesis 32:28, “And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
It’s very easy to be crippled by your own opinions of yourself. Some people tend to add salt to this wound you have created. Instead allowing yourself to be healed, you inflict more pain to yourself. You just can’t see yourself living any way better than the way you already know about yourself. Everything God wants to do in your life is assassinated by what you think of yourself. You keep bringing back to memory what God already forgave you for. Read the rest of this entry »
Sleeping On The Job, Evans Olang
Matthew 13:24-30, “…The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seeds in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way”
The bible likens the Kingdom of God to a sower who sowed good seeds in his field. The gospel is the good seed that was sowed in us and the result was repentance and faith. The gospel (good news, good seed) was sowed in well prepared fields. Everything was okay as he natured his seed, dug around it, watered it and watched over it. This is how a Christian life ought to be, a life of hard work. Acts 14:22 “…strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” Following Christ is hard work. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sieve Reveals, Part 2of2, Evans Olang
Romans 12:1&2, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”.
As mentioned in the last message, the sieve separates what is acceptable and rejected. Paul writing to the Romans starts in chapter 12 by saying “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ACCEPTABLE to God, …”. Could it be that the Romans thought their lives in were in line with God? Like the flour that was not sifted, everything looked ok on the outside until the sieve revealed as we see Paul applying it here. He tells them to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, the next thing is “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and ACCEPTABLE and perfect will of God“. I keep emphasizing the word ACCEPTABLE because I see over and over in my life God exercising His will based on what is ACCEPTABLE. Paul takes the next three and half chapters teaching the Romans what is acceptable Romans 12, 13, 14, 15:1-8. This would mean, all these would pass through the sieve because they are acceptable to God. Read the rest of this entry »
