writonautics

Once, a scholar asked, “Mentor, which is the greatest principle of life?” The Master replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest principle. And the second is like it: 'Love others as yourself.' All life-giving principles are based on these two.”   (see Matthew 22:36-40)   Love God, Love self and others, and Obey God.  This metonymy was derived from the Lifebook, the Book of Principles – the Holy Bible . Who has a better say on life principles than the Author of life Himself?   King Solomon’s take was this: Fear God and keep His commands, for this is the whole duty of man . (see Ecclesiastes 12:13)   So now, my Top 3 List of Life Principles is complete:  Love God,  Love myself and others, and Obey God.   Life begins and ends with God.   My life principle #1: Love God with all that I am.  How do I love God? By spending time with Him. I have le...

We all have religion, but we are not all religious. Just because we have a form of religion does not mean we are spiritual - even atheists have a devotion, a denial of deity.  ( Psalm 14:1 )      A reputable  dictionary 1  traces this relic of a word to Latin, having the meaning "obligation" and "reverence." It is like open ing a  door to a room full of closed doors, an answer that stirs up a hornet's nest of questions: "Obligation to whom? Reverence for whom?" Help the helpless, and stay clean and free     Research shows that the subject of religion and its derivatives appeared around the 11th century, like religio , religiun, religioun, and  religare . 2  Furthermore, deeper  etymology 3  brings it around the 5th century. We are now confronted with a realization:  I s it the word itself, or the substance that it brings?  The s pelling changes over time, and even definitions vary, but concepts and intentions re...

  My choice of candidate is only as good as when I vote. My vote is only as good as when it is counted. But when the tally comes, my choice is irrelevant – God  decides  who is king.   Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Romans 13: 1 NASB)   Our future does not depend on the person who gets elected, but on the One who sits on the Throne. If God has already decided, then why do I need to vote? This sounds like the clay who talks back to the Potter, “Why did you make me this way?” [see Romans 9:19-20] Let’s admit it: Though we vote according to our conscience, our conscience is formed by information made available to us. We can only know so much about a candidate, but God knows all things. In choosing, our sense of compatibility and personal preference are at work. We like a certain candidate because we feel that we like something about them, or w...

Hey Dads! How about making your kids laugh, while you show them by example how to walk in the ways of the Lord? #Eph6v4 Fathers, do not irritate  and  provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training  and  discipline and the counsel  and  admonition of the Lord. (AMPC)  

  There was the true story of Aaron when ·        he casted a golden calf, and the ·        the people had gone wild - much to the shame of their enemies.   And Moses asked who was on the Lord's side. And to the Levites who rallied to him, he commanded to strap on their swords. (see Exo 32)   Today, in our world, we still strap on our swords, that is, the Bible. In this age of grace, it is not a letter that kills, but one that brings life. We have new marching orders: restoration and reconciliation in the Lord.   Yes, strap your swords - wield the Bible wisely, and win the erring brother over from the dark side.   Our Lord Jesus puts it this way:   If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by ...

The storms of life can come suddenly . But no worries! When our Lord Jesus speaks the Word, these storms will suddenly be calm. Be it a COVID surge, a financial fallout, or both and more, our Savior can save us from them all. “Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded,  “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!”  Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.” [Matthew 8:24-26 NLT]    

#2Chro20v22  NOW when they began to sing & to praise God , the  L ORD  set ambushes against the people who had come against Judah; and the enemy was defeated.     Judah means praise. Now life comes with storms and hurdles that challenge our ability to praise God. They come against our worship. But we fight to maintain our ground to praise the Lord. We just have to praise God all the more.   We've heard the story: King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to lead the army in praise and worship - right in front of the battle-clad army. What a battle plan. What a battle cry!   So this is how we fight our life's battles: On our knees, in prayer and with songs of victory.  

  The use of the Present Tense for past time is found in many verses in the original language of the Bible. Greek writers used it as a story-telling device to emphasize certain and important past actions. The Historical Present Tense gives the effect of making past narratives more vivid.   Consider this verse: Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? (John 1:38 KJV]   Notice how the KJV translators from the Greek text distinguished the past tense "said" and the present tense "saith" or "says." This style is intentional and not a mistake or a lack of a verb form counterpart during their time. My Personal Thoughts Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, so He is also saying, right now, in our present-day situation, "I say to you, 'What are you looking for?'"   Because God exist...

  Christ Jesus is the First Word and the Living Word, and He has the last say. I choose to write my life story in Him. The godly way to be skilled is to be filled with the Spirit.   See, I have called by name ( put your name here ) . And I have filled ( him/her ) with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship… (Exo 31:2-3)   I sit in the counsel of the godly.  (Psa 1:1) I don’t immerse myself in darkness, and then use their wisdom to craft my own. I trust the Lord God that He is the Source.   If there is no godly person to emulate, then let me be the first one that Christ Jesus will raise up for others to copy and exemplify. Be a role model in God's eyes, His standard, and His par of excellence.   Know then that God is always the First One. Remember, Christ Jesus is the Living Word. And because this matter of interest on copywriting is about words, then I put my trust and devot...

At the time of this writing, it's been six to seven months in lockdown due to COVID-19. Life as we know it has never been the same. The whole world stopped. Like me, the average dad lost their job. But that's nothing compared to some fathers, both small and great, who lost a loved one in this crisis. Yes, our different worlds have stopped altogether, by force or by choice, and yet we move on. As the hymnal goes, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow." For believers, we have a different story. Our Lord Jesus makes all the difference! Six to seven doubts and questions We don't live in despair, but we live driven - by the grace of God. At six in the morning and seven in the evening, I found myself engaged in moments of worship, prayer, and Bible reading. I am blessed to be part of a caring church with hardworking pastors that provided an online morning devotions at 6 am and an evening mini-service at 7 pm. Oh, how I needed the Lord more than ever! Although questions...

I'm a team player. But I have limits. There are a lot of occasions that these limits are tested, even on Christmas parties. These scenarios could really dampen the joy of the season, but someone has got to say no. Someone has got to voice out the truth. I choose the joy of the Lord. As it was, for being part of a company management, and being known as a Christian, I was tasked to do an opening prayer and prayer for the food. And pray I did. Then the games began. In a company of mostly women, the guys are always picked. In fact, we were so few that we had to recruit the men from the caterers. But just before this program, my wife sent me a text message. It was very timely. And so there I was, standing in front with my game partner and other players, when my jaw dropped in unbelief as they demonstrate how to execute the game with the balloons. My game partner is a fellow Christian though from another church. Immediately I told her, “I’m opting out...