Random Articles
Wisdom in Being Honest
(Copyright 2023) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) True Christian fellowship must be based on light. We can walk in true and deep fellowship with one another only if we are willing to walk in the light (1 John 1:7). This involves a willingness to be ourselves with each other – avoiding all sham and hypocrisy. This is how God intends Christians to walk with one another. Remember, the first sin publicly judged by God in the early Church was hypocrisy (see the story of Ananias and Sapphira recorded in Acts 5:1-14). “The world is full of lonely, tense, fear-ridden and neurotic […]
Victory Over Evil Thoughts
(Copyright 2023) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) Every young person is sooner or later tempted by unclean thoughts. The sexual urge being stronger and more aggressive in men than in women, men face this problem much more than women do. In Mark 7:21, Jesus listed evil thoughts as the first things that proceed from the heart of men. The hearts of all unconverted men are equally wicked and so the description Jesus gave is true of all. Unclean thoughts plague the mind of the morally upright man as much as they do the mind of the adulterer – even though […]
The Truth About Speaking in Tongues
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation (change)” (James. 1:17). God never makes a mistake, He never changes and He gives only perfect gifts. Therefore when He gave the gift of “speaking in unknown languages” (“tongues”) to the church on the day of Pentecost, He knew exactly what He was doing. The gift of “tongues” was a perfect gift. God has not changed His mind about the gift, for He never changes. God knew the controversies that would surround this gift in the 20th […]
Three Aspects of Love in Your Marriage
(Copyright 2022) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) 1. Love expresses appreciation:There is a whole book on married love that God has included in the Bible – the Song of Solomon. Consider what the husband says to his wife here in Song of Solomon (from various verses in the Message Bible): “You’re beautiful, my dear love, from head to toe – beautiful beyond compare and absolutely flawless. You’re as lovely as the ravishing visions of my ecstasy. Your voice is soothing, and your face is ravishing. Your beauty, within and without, is absolute, my dear friend. You’re a paradise.” “You’ve captured […]
Cleansing Ourselves from Hidden Sins
(Copyright 2022) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) It is very easy for a believer to be ignorant of his true spiritual condition if he does not live before God’s face. This is clear from the rebukes that the Lord gave to the leaders of the seven churches in Revelation. To the messenger (elder) of the church in Laodicea, he said, “You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). “Everything that is in Jesus is ours – all His purity, all His goodness, all His patience, all His humility etc.” God allows different situations to arise in our […]
Circumcision of the Heart
(Copyright 2022) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) Many old covenant rituals have a fulfilment in the new covenant. Circumcision was a very important ritual under the old covenant. Surely, such an important ritual must have a significant spiritual meaning in the new covenant – and it does. “God wants us to be circumcised in heart so that we can love Him with all our heart.” Its meaning is described for us in Philippians 3:3, 4: “We are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh”. These three expressions are […]
Leaders who see the Glory of Jesus
(Copyright 2022) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) The true church can be built only by those who, like Jesus, are willing to give up everything for it. “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph.5:25). Everyone who wants to build the church today must pay the same price – the total sacrifice of one’s self-life every day. There is no easier way to build the Body of Christ. We see this principle from the beginning of man’s history. “God was thereby showing that His house can be built only by people who have this spirit of total sacrifice. They alone will build […]
Differentiating Spiritual Power and Soul Power
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) In 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15, we read of “the natural (soulish) man” and “he who is spiritual“. There is a vast difference between a soulish Christian and a spiritual Christian. Human cleverness cannot understand this, as it says there: “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.” The mind and the spirit are as different as the eye and the ear. And just as […]
Being Faithful in the Time of Temptation
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) God has allowed Satan and our lusts to be so strong, so that we don’t ever imagine that we can conquer them with our own strength. We are compelled to seek for God’s power. The Israeli spies saw themselves as grasshoppers when they saw the size of the inhabitants of Canaan (Num.13:32,33). Yet Joshua and Caleb trusted in God’s power and entered the land and slew those giants. We need that spirit to conquer ALL our lusts. So, keep saying, in faith, “I can, and I WILL conquer Satan and all my lusts, through […]
The Financial Policy of Jesus and The Apostles
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) Jesus has given us an example in money-matters that all who serve Him, and all churches must follow. When Jesus worked as a carpenter, up to the age of 30, He earned His living – honestly, without ever cheating anyone and without ever getting into debt. “Every servant of the Lord must ensure that he manifests the attitude of Christ in relation to money.” Thereafter, He was in full-time ministry for the next 3½ years. During this period, He had some strict principles in financial matters. His apostles followed those principles exactly and rigidly. The church is […]
Coming to an End of Ourselves
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) It is only when we have come to a thorough end of ourselves, that we are ready to come to the Lord. Jesus invited people saying, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden” (Matt.11:28). Jesus does not invite everyone to come to Him. Here we see Him inviting only those who are sick and tired of their sin-defeated lives. The prodigal son came back to his father only when he had “spent everything” and “no man gave him anything”. Then only did he “come to his senses” (Luke 15:14-18). We can […]
Make Jesus Lord of All
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:14, “Thanks be to God Who leads us always in His triumph”. The Living Bible paraphrases that as, “Thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, He has triumphed over us”. So, God must triumph over us in every area of our lives, for us to live in triumph. One day every knee will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord (Phil.2:10, 11). But right now, the knee of every desire within your flesh must bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. Those lusts that rule you must […]
All Goes Well with the Godly
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) Every step of your future life will be guided by God – if you decide to be a godly person. It is the one who honours God who gets the best in life – not the clever one, or the rich one, or the genius, or the one who gets lucky breaks in life. All insecurity regarding the future comes when we do not choose godliness as a way of life. So, decide to honour God at all times. He will then give you the best spiritually, and at the same time, all that is necessary […]
Living for The Glory of God
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) “To Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End, the First and the Last. And so, as all things of an eternal nature originate in Him, they find their consummation in Him too. All things were created by God to bring glory to Him. This is not because God selfishly desires our glory. He is completely self-sufficient in Himself, and there is nothing that we can offer Him that can add to His sufficiency. When He calls us to seek His glory, it is […]
Attitude of Gratitude
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) God preserved my life when I was tossed from my moped onto the railway track one day in August 1993. The person operating the railway-gate was a novice and lowered the second bar before I had crossed it and so it hit me on the chest and knocked me down. I lay on the railway track, unconscious for a while – I don’t know for how long. Someone picked me up before any train came along. I now feel like one who has come back from the dead (for my fall could have been […]
Becoming a Blessing to Others
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) In Matthew 14:19, we see the three steps to becoming a blessing to others: (1) Jesus took ALL the loaves and fish;(2) He blessed them; and(3) He broke them. “It is only as you also allow the Holy Spirit to break the strength of your own will that you will become spiritual.” Then the multitude was fed. This is how the Lord wants to make you a blessing to others too. You have to give Him everything first, as the little lad there did. Then He will bless you with the power of the Holy Spirit. Then He will break you through many […]
Fulfil Your Specific Ministry Effectively
(Copyright) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) In the Old Testament, the prophets spoke about a remnant among God’s people. They spoke about how in a time of spiritual decline among God’s people, there would be a few who would remain faithful to God. The theme of the Prophets was restoration. “The more we come into fellowship with God’s heart, the more we will share His burden.” For example, Hosea spoke about spiritual adultery and God’s unchanging love. Habakkuk spoke about the conflict of faith and triumph of faith. Zechariah’s burden was the movement of God’s people from Babylon to Jerusalem. Haggai’s burden […]