John 8: 31-42, (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)

In the course of my ministry, I have come across many people who have been enslaved to sin. These are generally good people who strive to do better but they cannot. They find themselves caught up in a sin they very much enjoy and at the same time they really want to get out of. They cannot get out of the sin because the sin has held them bondage. There also have been instances where by the repercussions of getting out are very grave. It is very easy to put ourselves in situations like these. Many people who get addicted to drugs will tell me they wanted to just try it once and then they got hooked up. I have also heard something like this, “I just wanted to have casual sex with her and now she has turned to gum, she wouldn’t let me alone.”

As Christian people, Jesus has liberated us from the slavery of sin and has given us the freedom of righteousness. If we turn around and enslave ourselves, we would be ejected from his family. A slave has no permanent residency in the Master’s house. However, sons and daughters do. As Jesus tells us in John 1:12 that by virtue of our belief in him, we are his sons and daughters, let us maintain this identity.

In what ways am I a prisoner to sin?

Luke 6: 12-19 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)

One of the things we learn from Jesus Christ, is his deep life of prayer. Throughout his time of public ministry, he always tried to withdraw from the crowds to pray. Jesus was a very busy man – great crowds followed him. He created time from his busy schedule to pray, because he understood the power of prayer and how effective it is to his ministry. Sometimes we excuse ourselves that we are too busy to pray. May be we are truthfully too busy to pray. How long do you think you can go without prayer? When prayer is not part of our lives, we begin to see our work stressful, empty and dry. This leads to approach other things for fulfillment: drugs, sex, pornography, alcohol, etc. It is prayer that would make our work fresh each day and would make all that we do fruitful.

In the gospel, Jesus is about to make a major decision. He is going to appoint his disciples. He spent the whole night in prayer so that he would make the right decision. When you are confronted with major decisions in your life, do you spend time in prayer?

Prayer:
Lord, we are very busy people. We do not have any time for you and we have no desire to pray. Accept us just as we are and teach us how to pray. May the rhythm of daily life become a prayer, glorifying your presence every moment of our lives.