Words4Wonder Blog

James 4:17 “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them”  One belief that is really corrupting our generation is that one sin is greater than the other.  We compare our sins with other people and believe that because we don’t behave the same way as others, we are more righteous,  neglecting that Jesus’s resurrection makes us righteous in the eyes of the Lord.  This isn’t me excusing righteous judgement, but as a culture we need to self-examine where our judgement is stemming from.  We need to stop conditioning our minds to the belief that if we commit that sin instead of that other sin, that somehow, we escape the consequences.  The truth is that all sin leads to a consequence, and in order to understand why we shouldn’t place a sin above another, we must first know what sin is, how does it affect us and God,  and what are the consequences.  Apart from blaspheming t...

Genisis 1:27   “ So God created mankind in his own image , in the image of God he created them”   If you asked me this question when I was younger , I probably would have assumed you were talking about the ph ysical attributes of God. I envision God to have white hair, a white beard and all the other facial featu res of a man. Without context, i t’ s ea sy to make this association, but if we look at the root of the word “image ” , we get other words like “nature” and “likeness ” . Ch ronologically, God made us in his image (Genisis 1:27) before he formed us (Genisis 2:7): clearly showing that our likeness and nature are more important than the formation of our body (in other words flesh)   So, in simplicity, being made in his image means we share the same characteristics of God, not physical, but internal. But still, what does that mean?   We can’t truly understand our nature and likeness, if we don’t understand God’s nature and likeness. Luckily for us, ...

Hebrews 4:15   “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet he did not sin”   Sometimes when we sin and fall short, it’s very easy to feel like we can’t go back to God. For me, the reluctancy lies in the bel ief that God wouldn’t accept me with open arms: that somehow God’s righteousness separates me from my sinful nature. If you have ever had this thought, remember that Jesus’s death broke that separation. Because of him we can go back to God boldly . Today I want to go in more detail as to how Jesus’s death brings life to our relationship with God every time we fall short, because we will.   The Bible is very meticulous with its word choice , being very intentional with it’s vocabulary. Looking closely at the word “empathise ”, I find it quite interesting why no other word was used. Words like “understand” or “sympathise” could have been used but it wouldn’t ...

Romans 8:39 “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus our Lord”  Growing up in school, I was known as the guy that was good at basketball.  Being good allowed me to make friends, gave me a self-esteem, and gave me a social protection.  After a while, I built my identity around basketball.  I started to think that people only liked me because of my ability to play.  My thought process derived that without this sport, I somehow wasn’t valued as a person.  Outside of basketball, I viewed myself as insecure, unconfident, and unloved.  The idea of Love has been skewed.  Overtime we have made our own interpretation of what this concept would mean, and I am guilty of it too.  For me, growing up with very selfless people, my idea of Love is depicted through action.  I rationalised Love as something to be worked ...