Monthly Archives: September 2026

27 BY THE WAY…HOW CAN WE BE SET FREE FROM FEAR?

Christian Life, ,

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever wondered how you can overcome the worries and fears that your circumstances produce? You are plagued by the “what ifs” that come naturally out of the uncertainties you face every day. 

God’s “fear nots” are scattered throughout the Bible just because fear is one of the terrible and seemingly uncontrollable emotions that follow us through life. 

Is it possible to live without fear? 

Fear is the air we breathe when we are without God. It is one of those emotions that both start and follow what we think. We think “what if”…so we begin to be afraid. We are afraid…so who think “what if…” Fear dominates our minds and emotions…so, what we fear becomes true inside us. 

Since our minds are the starting point of our feelings and actions, Paul said that we must begin the transformation of our lives by changing the way we think. We must discipline our minds into new paths of thinking. Can we do that? Yes, we can. Can we change our inside so that we change our outside? Yes, we can!

We are bombarded, day in and day out , by the way the world  around us thinks…social media, mass media, people, world systems…all working together to mess with our minds and squeeze us into ways of thinking that produce fear. 

The problem is that…the more we think the way the world thinks, the more the wrong paths in our minds are cemented in us, like well-trodden foot paths…fear, s and its offspring… anxiety, anger, resentment, bitterness, and so on. With our circumstances comes our natural reactions…all the Bible classifies as “sin” since their root is unbelief. 

We need to develop new ways of thinking…going over the same thoughts repeatedly to form new paths in our minds. Where do we find those new patterns of thinking…nor from the world but from God…through His Word. What He says about Himself and us matters…so much more than what the world says because He is truth. 

Listen to what God said to Joshua…

““Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here is the recipe for a renewed mind and a transformed life. 

Every time you read God’s Word and believe what it says, your mind follows the path of truth. If you do the same thing every day, the foot paths become highways of truth that slowly transform your thinking, your behaviour, and your character. 

It’s not difficult but…it takes time, patience, and discipline and…it is worth every second you spend in the Word of God. 

“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Free! Free from what? Free from the fears, worries, and anxieties that once held you captive and enslaved. 

26 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS LIFE?

Bible Study, ,

Life” in Scripture, is more than physical existence. In the beginning, the first man came alive when God breathed His Spirit into the model He had fashioned out of the ground.  

“Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When Adam chose to live apart from God…making himself the standard of right and wrong, God withdrew His Spirit, leaving the man with physical existence but without the God’s “life” in him. He was “dead”…without connection to the “life” of God in the sense of communication, communion, and the provision of God’s resources in himself or in the generations that followed him. He chose to “go it alone”, and he was, left therefore, solely responsible for his own life and destiny. 

However, the Holy Spirit was still in the world…active in it mostly on the outside of humans…doing His work of convincing people of sin… but the Holy Spirit’s work had become futile. 

God decided to obliterate the human race by a flood because of its utter corruption, leaving only one family to begin again. 

“Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend (rule, judge, or strive) with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The result of the Holy Spirit’s departure from within man was catastrophic. 

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…dead in transgressions and sins…

…gratifying the cravings of the flesh…

…deserving of wrath…

Without the life of God, man is a boundary-less creature…no God-given standards…made of dust…returning to dust…and eternally destined for the trash heap, the fire prepared for the devil and those who follow him, those who fail to fulfil God’s purpose for them. 

When God intervened to reset His purpose for man by fixing the problem of human rebellion, independence, and self-rule…He first removed the obstacle of sin through the death of Jesus. Sin’s debt paid, He, second, restored His life to into lifeless humans. 

What is the source of God’s life In humans? What is it that He put inside us to connect us with Himself? What is the conduit through which He provides His life?

Jesus answers these questions for us. 

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭63‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus explaine that, though human words themselves can do nothing, His words, channeled to us through the Holy Spirit, are the source of spiritual life. 

The Spirit and the Word are so closely interconnected that they work together inseparably…the Spirit, through the Word…bringing life to a dead spirit.  Just as the Father, through the Son, spoke life, by the Spirit, into a dead planet, and into a clay model… so God breathes life into a dead spirit by His Spirit through His Word. 

It’s a mystery! God has chosen to work this way…the Word, which we believe…which we take into our own human spirit, through faith…becomes the conduit through which the Holy Spirit works to connect us to the life of Jesus. Like sap flowing from the stock to the branches of a vine, so the life of Jesus flows into and through us, connecting us to the source of eternal life. 

This life, which the Bible calls “eternal life”, is the life that operates in God’s realm, the life that is present in God’s heaven, His unseen realm where He is present and rules.  This is “the life of the age” that is to come but is also present in us now because we have already been connected to “ the life of the age” by the Spirit in us through His word. 

Prayer becomes the means of communication between us and our “headquarters” in the unseen realm, the Spirit… through the Word…connecting us to the Father. His life, through us, is administered to the world by His spoken word. 

Again, it’s a mystery but…it’s God at work His way…to bring back to life creation and to restore all that is in the world. 

25 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS WISDOM?

Bible Study, ,

The Bible speaks of two kinds of wisdom…the world’s “wisdom” and God’s wisdom. The two are worlds apart. 

“Worldly wisdom is practical knowledge and human reasoning based on physical senses, self-interest, and secular values rather than spiritual or divine guidance.”

“Key Characteristics

  • Self-focused: Prioritizes personal success, comfort, and desires over the well-being of others.
  • Human-centered: Relies on visible facts, intellectual capacity, and everyday experience instead of faith.
  • Temporary: Focuses on short-term gains and immediate happiness rather than lasting peace. 

“Religious Perspective

In Christian theology and biblical scripture (such as the Book of James), worldly wisdom is often contrasted with godly or heavenly wisdom. [1, 2]

  • The Outlook: Religious teachings describe worldly wisdom as driven by selfish ambition and jealousy.
  • The Result: Scripture warns that relying entirely on this perspective can lead to conflict, pride, and moral disorder.” (Google AI)

Worldly wisdom is selfish, self- centred, and destructive. 

“For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.”

By contrast, following God’s wisdom produces godly and unselfish living. 

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Godly wisdom is the practical ability to live and make decisions from God’s point of view, reflecting the character of Jesus Christ. 

Core Foundation

  • The Fear of the Lord: According to the Bible, godly wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. This means having deep awe, reverence, and humble submission to God rather than terror.
  • Application of Truth: Knowledge is gathering facts, but wisdom is using that knowledge correctly in everyday life. 

Key Characteristics

The Bible describes the traits of this wisdom in James 3:17: 

  • Pure: Keeping a clean heart and living with integrity.
  • Peace-loving: Working to create harmony and avoid conflict.
  • Gentle and Submissive: Being reasonable, kind, and open to wise advice.
  • Merciful: Showing deep compassion and forgiving others.
  • Impartial and Sincere: Treating people fairly without hidden motives or favoritism. 

Godly vs. Worldly Wisdom

  • Worldly Wisdom: Relies on human intellect, temporary gains, and selfish ambition.
  • Godly Wisdom: Focuses on eternal values, love, and obedience to God’s will, even when it does not make sense e to the surrounding culture. (Google AI)

The core of God’s wisdom is found in the gospel of Jesus. 

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!…”

To the pagan world, from a human perspective, a good Jew dying as a criminal on a Roman cross made no sense. What difference could this injustice make to an ordinary human?

“…But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent…” 

God stepped in, did something “foolish”, according to human reasoning and, by the very thing He did, shut the mouths of fools!

“…So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe…”

Through human wisdom, not even the “wisest” of humans can ever reach God. 

“…It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom…”

Jews want God to prove Himself by miraculous evidence. Greeks want God to show Himself to them through reason and logic. So…God fooled them all by revealing Himself to the world His way!

“So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength…”

God’s Son, skewered on Roman torture stake, was God’s way…and it works for those who hear and believe what is preached. Jews and Gentiles pooh-pooh God’s way but…those who believe…regardless of their identity…receive the priceless gift of salvation! 

“…Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT

God confuses everyone, both Jew and Greek…and especially those despised by the world’s elite…by saving anyone who chooses to believe what He did through Jesus. 

So…Jesus, a lowly and despised Jew…a nobody in the worldly sense… was and is, actually, the pinnacle and embodiment of God’s wisdom. 

“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the New King James Version…

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

All of God’s wisdom is concentrated in Jesus…all in one package…who is, for us, God’s wisdom in the flesh.

To conclude, from what does this wisdom spring? 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

True wisdom comes alive for the one who listens to God, takes what He says seriously, and acts on it by faith. Until then, His “wisdom” remains nothing but a silly notion, to be dismissed with contempt. 

24 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS A FOOL?

Bible Study, ,

How would you define a fool? A foolish, stupid person who acts in  silly ways, without thinking? 

The Bible’s presentation of a fool is much wider and deeper than that. 

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭53‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Some key words flesh out the concept of a fool for us. 

The Hebrew word for “fool” is “nabal” from the primitive root,  “nabel”, meaning “to wilt” or “to “fall away”. In context, it means to be morally wicked…a disgraceful, vile person. 

“Says in his heart…”. The key to a morally wicked person is his heart…”leb”, the organ that is the centre of life.  Figuratively, the heart is the centre of one’s being, the core of who a person is. When we speak of our heart, we include our minds…our thinking, understanding, and believing as well as what comes from our minds. 

A fool is a person, then, who is rotten to the core…who has no moral compass…with a mind that has become so corrupted,  twisted, and depraved that he/she calls “good” “evil” and “evil” “good”!

Paul outlines the process by which people become fools. 

The process begins with a refusal to acknowledge God and, in turn, deliberately and purposefully act wickedly. 

“In the Bible, to “acknowledge” means to deeply know, recognize, and submit to God’s authority and presence in every part of life.” (Google AI)

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

They know the truth, but they push down the Nosie of God by their wickedness by refusing to recognise God’s deity and power through the witness of creation. 

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“They became fools.” They were not fools to begin with, but…they became fools by choice. By rejecting God, they substituted gods of their own making for the real God…gods that were a reflection of their own wicked nature. Their darkened minds produced darkened thinking and, eventually darkness in the core of their being…in their hearts. 

What is darkness?

“In the Bible, darkness represents the literal absence of light as well as a powerful spiritual symbol for sin, evil, ignorance, and divine judgment.”(Google AI)

God’s response to these fools is surprising…He did nothing! He simply let them be and do what they wanted. Their wickedness came to a head in their perverted sexual behaviour…they turned natural, God-ordained sexual activities upside down…men with men and women with women.

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men…

So, God let them carry on but…with a terrible consequence. 

“…and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What a horrible description of a fool, from start to finish! A fool is trash, destined for the fire where trash is burned…

However…despite the lost state of such people in their sin… here is the punch line of the gospel…

God’s grace can reach into the hidden depths of human depravity, forgive the worst of sin and the bring light into darkest human heart. He can transform a fool into a truly wise person because He is God and there is nothing impossible for Him. 

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

23 BY THE WAY…WHO IS THE PROTOTYPE?

Bible Study, ,

We have examined a little of the meaning of the image of God in man. Now we must explore the deeper significance of this image in Jesus, the Son, who is both man and the visible image of the invisible God. 

“Who came first? Is Adam the blueprint of the human Jesus or…is Jesus the blueprint of Adam?”

Even a superficial study of the Greek words reveals some fascinating details about Jesus, the God who became man and who is described as the “prototokos”, the prototype of the first man and every human after him. 

The Bible says that Jesus is the “icon” of God…

“The Son is the image (icon) of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

First, He is the one who makes the invisible God visible to us. When we see Jesus, we see God. 

“Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, He has the character of God. 

“…who being the brightness of His glory and the express image (Greek – character) of His person…,”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭3a NKJV‬

Two different Greek words give us a glimpse of the person of Jesus in His perfect visible expression of the Father and in His identity as the true God in His character.  

Then, redeemed humans are being recreated in His image. 

We know that the image of God was distorted through Adam’s sin…but the defaced image was not lost. It was passed on to the whole human race. Through what Jesus came to do as God’s perfect image-bearer, God has made possible the restoration of His perfect image in humanity. 

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Just imagine that! Despite the catastrophe of sin, God set about restoring His damaged image in us. He did not remove it. He is restoring the image of Jesus in us. 

So, Jesus was not a man born in the image of Adam. Adam was a man created in the image of Jesus. Jesus is the firstborn…the prototype, the blueprint of the first person in the human race…

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn (prototokos…the prototype) among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This truth has massive implications for us. 

How does God restore this defaced image in us? 

…”have put on the new self, which is being RENEWED in KNOWLEDGE in the IMAGE of its Creator.”

This renewal happens by a choice and a process.  Every thought, word, and action is preceded by a choice…either to live as we were in our old sinful selves or to come under the authority of Jesus and to follow His ways. 

The process happens by the gradual moving away from the distorted image and towards the perfect image of Jesus… in character and likeness to Him. “Renewed in knowledge”…the Greek word conveys the idea of becoming recognised. The more we are renewed in the image of our Creator, the more Jesus in us is recognised. That’s amazing!

God and we do the work together. 

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God uses every circumstance, good or bad, to renew the image of Jesus in us. The more we submit to Him in trust and obedience…despite the hardships, pain, and suffering…the more we resemble Jesus. 

Jesus confirmed His perfect likeness to the Father by learning obedience, not by trial and error…but by being obedient in every way as He suffered. 

“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV

So, the writer to the Hebrews counsels them to do as Jesus did…submit to the discipline of suffering which is God’s teacher, taking them through the process Jesus went through to confirm His  obedience as a true son. 

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?…They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬, ‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, I repeat…

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image (icon) of his Son, that he might be the firstborn (prototype) among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There we have it! Jesus, the blueprint…humans the copies…who are spoiled but being renewed… carrying God’s likeness and authority…representing Him in His world…and all moving towards His original plan to have a family just like Himself, living together in harmony on His perfect earth. 

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬