Hope and Fear

Fear is not the fruit of the Spirit. But hope is. Fear is natural when things are falling apart in life and around us. Hope is a God given attribute and is an attitude that we all should have and it will prevail making us victorious. Fear lives and feeds on fear. Hope lives and feeds on hope but it is critical to differentiate that real hope can't be found in us but from our Provider.

Is religion the cause or solution for societal scourges

After seeing the kind of injustices and inequalities that prevail in this world, I am of the opinion that most, if not all geo-political problems have a religious cause or root to it. That's indeed sad because all religions teach a particular way of life that practices 2 central themes - Faith in God and Compassion to people. If practiced correctly, conflicts have to be a rarity. But conflicts have become the norm, when people become more religious in today's world. Its ironic and is a dogma.

That should tell us all something. Either we don't love and have faith in our God or we are incompassionate or both. When we point our finger at others we feel vindicated and excuse ourselves for the problems around us. We may not be the cause of the problem directly but we are a part of the problem if we don't put our mark to solve it by practicing our religion rightly.

It may be right to say that improper practice of religions in today's world is the cause of most geo-political problems and division in societies. Religions are good by foundation but preachers distort the practitioners.

When we don't, but yield, HE does

We attend a Evangelical Mega Church in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. The Vineyard as its called has a very gifted and dedicated main pastor named Rich Nathan. We are going here regularly and giving to this church our financial offerings for nearly 3 years but have not been a initiated member yet (no particular reason).

Last week there was a surprise move by the church. Due to the growth of the church which is about 500 new members a year they would soon reach capacity in the main Westerville campus. They are planning satellite campuses around Columbus and the very first they are planning is right across our house in the Davis Middle School. We as a family are a little ovewhelmed with exhilaration...even today....

All I can say is God's ways are unthinkable and His will when we yield is overwhelming and filled with exhilaration. When we don't move but yield HE does.