The Adonai's Crescent

Why could we not cast it out? *Reference: Matthew 17:14–23* A pattern worth noticing: most of us ask questions of Jesus, or of fellow humans, that come from confusion, fear, ambition, or failure—the disciples ask theirs in the middle of not understanding, not from a comfortable distance. Their failure was not a lack of authority but a lack of dependence—faith diluted by self-reliance, prayer left behind. Jesus turns the question into the remedy: bring the failure to Me, and trust the God who does the casting out. At the bottom of the mountain, Jesus walks into chaos: a crowd, an argument, a father desperate for help. His son has seizures—falling into fire and water—though the text frames it as demonic affliction. The father says he brought the boy to the disciples, "but they could not heal him." This isn't their first attempt; Jesus had already sent them out with explicit authority to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1, 8), and they had done it successfully. It's a breakdo...

Is the Lord among us or not? Reference: Exodus 17:7 NIV “And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?””  The background The Israelites, newly freed from Egypt, are in the wilderness of Sin journeying toward Sinai. They arrive at Rephidim and there's no water to drink. This isn't their first complaint since the Exodus — it follows earlier grumbling about food (Exodus 16) — but thirst brings it to a crisis point. The escalation: The people quarrel with Moses, and their accusation is sharp: "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" (17:3). Moses, fearing they're about to stone him, cries out to the Lord. God instructs him to strike the rock at Horeb with his staff — the same staff he used in the plagues and at the Red Sea — and water flows out for the whole community. The naming: Moses names the place Massah (...

Lord, to whom would we go? You’re… Reference: John 6:68 Grammatically, it’s a rhetorical question. This is a pivotal turning point in John’s Gospel, shaped by the events leading up to it: the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus walking on water, and His teaching at Capernaum on hard subjects — chief among them, that He is the Bread of Life. Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. Now the revelation is unfolding openly, before everyone — this is the open event. Many disciples turned back. “From that time on, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.” The teaching was too hard for them, even though it was necessary. Just because we have never heard or done certain things does not mean there is no need for change — God will change us in His time. This is a moment where, in the history of West Asia, the appointed time of the Lord emerges. The closing verses of the chapter hold the key for us. Jesus asked the Twelve —...

How Have We Learned Christ So Far? Reference: Ephesians 4:17-20 When someone asks, “What are you thinking?” we usually assume we are in trouble, because our behaviour is having consequences. So how would we answer? Paul insists on a Christian walk that leaves the old way behind. These are instructions for Christlike living: no more going with the crowd, no more running with the herd as we once did. We must deal with God, not with the world. Have we lost touch with Him? A reality check is needed . Ignorance alienates us from the life of the Lord, and blindness of heart separates us from His love. When sensitivity is lost, it leads to sensuality, impurity, and wrong behaviour, and our understanding and reasoning become clouded. Hardness of heart is the core issue, and it can turn either way. If we are not careful about how we live, wilful ignorance and blindness will close the door to Him, and we will have no share in our inheritance in Him. Like Paul, we pray: Father God, let us experie...

Real battle, different rules Refer 2 Cor 10:3-6- NIV- For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds . 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. Paul's tone changes sharply in 2 Corinthians 10. After pleading gently for generosity toward the poor, he turns to face his critics, and he is no longer soft-spoken. They claimed he was bold on paper but timid in person, a man who threatened discipline from a distance and would never dare follow through face to face. In short, they questioned whether he had the apostolic authority he claimed. Paul's answer was to describe his ministry as spiritual warfare. The world is unprinciple...

A Prayer to the God of my life Reference: Psalm 42:8 (AMP) - Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song will be with me, A prayer to the God of my life. David was in a difficult situation and difficult circumstances. Yet he was declaring words to his soul, to see beyond the situation he was in, by His Grace, Kindness, and Mercies. He isn't in the temple when he writes this. He's far from it, cut off, surrounded by memory instead of presence . And in that distance, he does something remarkable: he turns and speaks to his own soul instead of just feeling what it feels. He doesn't wait for the ache to lift before choosing hope. He commands himself toward praise while still in it. That's the real shape of trust: he remembers God "from the land of Jordan and the heights of Hermon." Those aren't random landmarks. Jordan is where Israel crossed into everything God had promised, the river of breakthrough, where impossibl...

If God were not in on it Reference Jn 3:12-18 The discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus is very interesting. God knows everything but acts to test us for a moment. This is a controlled dialogue to keep Nicodemus and his views pointing to God; But he was struggling to tune into Jesus's view point. There's something to this. Jesus doesn't dump everything on Nicodemus at once. He moves from new birth (v.3) to wind (v.8) to the bronze serpent (v.14) to the love of God (v.16). He's meeting Nicodemus where he is and drawing him forward—which is exactly the pattern we are experiencing in our own lives , if we let Him to interact. Jesus isn't trying to win an argument; He's trying to bring a man from darkness into light, one step at a time. It's a good catch about the testing dynamic — and there's actually a passage later in John that names it explicitly. In John 6:5-6, Jesus asks Philip where they can buy bread for the crowd, and John tells us directly: "...

Was and Now Ephesians 2:7–10 (MSG) Now God has us where HE wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower Grace and Kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all his work. All we do is trust HIM enough to let HIM do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing!! Paul describes two themes from this chapter- 1) Death to Live 2) Division to Unity - It tells us who we were and who we now are — and the distance between those two is entirely the work of Grace. we were dead, Paul says, not struggling or striving, but dead — and yet "God, being rich in mercy," made you alive together with Christ. That word "together...

ASK: Asking, Seeking and Knocking Reference: Jn 16:24 John 1:16 declares a staggering truth: "Of His fullness we have all received, and Grace for Grace." This is not a promise for someday—it is a present-tense doctrine. Ephesians 3:19 speaks of being filled with all the fullness of God. Philippians 4:19 assures us that every need is met according to His riches in the Glory. Mark 11:24 tells us that whatever we ask in prayer, believing, we will receive. Theologically, there is no gap. The fullness is already ours in Christ. So why don't we experience it? The gap is not theological—it is practical and relational. It lives in unbelief, in unprocessed doubt we've never brought into the light, and in asking that stopped—or never started. Fullness has been provided, but access is activated through asking. That is the secret, and it can happen anytime we decide. Jesus makes this explicit in John 16:24: "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will rece...

Living a life of Praise honours Yhwh and brings favour. Reference: Ps 100 Ever wonder how to handle life’s toughest challenges with grace? Psalm 100 offers a powerful answer, inviting us to “enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with Praise .” It’s not just about singing in church—it’s about making gratitude and Praise a way of life. Amen. At its heart, Psalm 100 is a song of joyful surrender. It commands us to "serve the Lord with gladness" and to "know that the Lord, He is God" . But why should we be thankful? The psalm provides the rock-solid foundation for our Praise: He made us, we are His people, His steadfast love endures forever . This recognition of our dependence on Him is key. The Bible shows us that this posture of thanksgiving is the secret to receiving God's favour. Consider Abraham's servant, who when he saw God's provision for Isaac's wife, "bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord" . His immediate gratitude re...

From His fullness - Pleroma Reference: Jn 1:16 - "For from His fullness (plērōma) we have all received, Grace upon Grace. One of the great truths from the Bible is that Jesus has everything we need. Awareness, access, and alignment are the key elements to understanding this passage. If I’m not aware of who God is and what He does for all of us, and that Jesus holds it all, then I won’t bother asking the right things at the right time, in right ways; I’ll end up wandering into unknown territory and uncertain paths. If I’m not aligned with Him through obedience, operating on His wavelength through praise and worship, then awareness alone isn’t useful—it’s like knowing something but not applying it from the right perspective. But if we are both aware and aligned, then access is granted and opened; it seems we won’t need to struggle to gain entry into the fullness and completeness of God’s nature revealed through Jesus Christ. This isn’t transactional , like “do this and you’ll be pai...

τηρήσετε (tērēsete)- you will guard, keep watch over Reference: John 14:15 — "If you love me, keep my commandments" — sits at a hinge point in Jesus's Farewell discourse, right before HE promises the Holy Spirit (the "Advocate"/Paraclete). Root verb: τηρέω (tēreō) — not the more common Greek word for "obey" (peithomai/hypakouō, meaning to submit to authority), but a word that literally means "to guard," "to watch over," "to keep watch". It's the word used for a guard keeping watch at a post, or someone safeguarding a treasure. Love is defined by obedience, not sentiment. Jesus doesn't say "if you love me, feel devoted to me" — he ties love to concrete action. In John's Gospel, love is verifiable; it shows up in behaviour, not just emotion. The Greek verb for "keep" (tērēsete) is future tense and follows a conditional — love isn't presented as a prerequisite for a transaction ("obey...

Moving Mountains: Why Prayer Transforms Everything “Have faith in God,” Jesus said (Mark 11:22). Simple words, yet they hold the key to a transformed life. In this single passage, Jesus gives us the ultimate spiritual equation:  Prayer + Faith + Forgiveness = Transformation.  But why is prayer so essential? Because it forces us to stop looking at our problems and start looking at our Provider. Without prayer, we rely on our own limited strength. With prayer, we tap into omnipotence itself. Jesus makes a staggering promise: “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (v. 24). This isn’t positive thinking; it’s supernatural authority. Prayer is effective because God backs His Word. When we speak to your “mountain” (our debts, illness, broken relationship) in faith, God moves on our behalf. But here is the transformative twist: prayer changes us before it changes our circumstances. Notice how Jesus ties prayer directly to forgiveness:...

God's Spirit is right alongside! Reference: Rom 8:26 MSG - Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. Have we ever been so overwhelmed that words simply escape us? In those moments of deep pain or confusion, Romans 8:26-28 offers profound comfort: the Spirit of God stands right beside us. We are never left to face this life on our own. This passage reveals that when our prayers seem to go unanswered and our understanding falters, the Holy Spirit steps in. He does not remain a distant observer in heaven; He intercedes on our behalf with groans too deep for words, conveying the cries of our hearts in a language the Father fully understands. Hallelujah!!! The beauty of our partnership with the Triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit—lies in His divine perspective and purpose. God sees the greater picture that remains hidden from our limited view. While we often focus on immediate results, He is orchestrating events with an eternal v...

The God Who Stoops to See Reference Ps 113:1-3 (AMP)- Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord. From this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence]. The ancient Psalmist gives us that perspective in Psalm 113. It is a short chapter, but it packs a punch that can completely recalibrate our view of God and, consequently, our view of ourselves. There are days when life feels incredibly small. We get lost in the minutiae of our to-do lists, the weight of our worries, and the echo of our own inadequacies. We look at the mountains we need to climb—the career goals, the relationship hurdles, the personal healing—and we feel like specks of dust at the base of a giant. It’s in these moments of feeling insignificant that we desperately need a new perspective. This isn't a quiet, polite suggestion. It is a declaration of...

The Open Ear of Heaven Reference:: "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry." — Ps 34:15 In a world that so often feels cold and indifferent, this single verse from David’s psalm rings out like a clear, unwavering bell. It offers no illusion of a trouble-free life—David wrote these words after narrowly escaping the wrath of King Abimelech by feigning madness, a desperate act born of sheer survival. Yet, in that dark cave of fear, he grasped a radiant truth: God is no distant watchmaker who sets the universe in motion and departs. He is a living, loving Father whose eyes are ever upon His children and whose ear is always tuned to their cry. The first part of the verse talks about God’s eyes, which speak of knowing, caring, and approving. When the psalmist says the Lord’s eyes are “on the righteous,” it’s not about distant watching but gentle protection. It’s the same kind of gaze described in 2 Chronicles 16:9—“the eyes of the Lord run to ...

 Negotiating!! Reference 1 Sam 1 One thing leads to another—I have heard this phrase many times. When I reflect on it, I am reminded of Hannah in the Bible, who poured out her heart to God with deep sincerity. She embraced God’s Word, hearing it during her family’s annual visit to the Temple, and she cherished those moments in His presence. In her devotion, she spent time with God, laying her desires before Him and making a heartfelt vow to seal her deal with commitment, trusting fully in His promises. As prayer warriors, we need to gather ourselves often with willingness, quietly step away from distractions (a big skill), and enter His sanctuary, where God’s presence dwells. These three things—willingness, quietness, and sanctuary dwelling—are essential for positioning ourselves to commune with the Lord. When we look at Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, we can see all these elements at work, leading to God’s promises, actions, and outcomes. Prayer is a form of negotiation we practice solely i...

Elisha Passed the Test Ref 2 Kg 2:1-14 This scripture tells of the transitional journey Elijah and Elisha shared—walking and talking together. There was a push and pull, but in the end, determination prevailed. What are we willing to cross over for? If you asked Elisha, he would say everything, with all his might. He had watched Elijah closely over the years, never panicking but following with God’s peace alongside his master. Even when Elijah asked him to stay behind while he ran an errand as instructed by God, he refused to leave his side. He remained determined, persistent, loyal, collaborative, and eagerly anticipating this moment. In various significant places, such as the pushback, Gilgal (rolling away our shame), Bethel (where God is revealed), Jericho (walls falling), and the Jordan (crossing over), each holds its own unique meaning. We can relate these moments to our lives and give thanks to God for guiding us through overcoming Gilgal, experiencing Bethel, witnessing the fall...

God has us where He wants us - Breaking Saul, Becoming Paul Reference: Acts 9 Saul, once a fervent religious extremist, was transformed when God chose to claim him and place him precisely where He intended. The journey from Jerusalem to Damascus holds every detail of this profound transformation. It was an intense, 140-mile mission driven by fury to eradicate the followers of Christ—a mission sanctioned by the chief priest and spiritual leader but not approved by the Lord. God will halt what He does not permit , and so Saul was abruptly stopped, stunned by a blinding flash of light. In that moment, Jesus commanded him to go into the city, where he would be told what to do next. God has us where He wants us.... Saul had order, but in a split second, the very people he was leading ended up guiding him after a heavenly encounter caused him to lose his sight. Realizing he had been doing the exact opposite of what was right in the name of religion, he experienced a relationship with God for...

Our God is the Lord who has everything planned out in advance. Reference: Lk 22:1-14 Two contrasting reflections emerge from this scripture: three were trained by Jesus, yet one ultimately betrayed Him, while the other two obeyed and fulfilled His instructions. Our Lord knows and plans everything in advance, including His own death, its method, and its purpose. Passover week was bustling with drama. In Luke 22, the religious leaders and chief priests were practically steaming over Jesus, plotting to oust Him at the first whiff of a chance. Then came Judas, who, thanks to his wandering attention span and a nose for personal gain, left the door wide open for trouble. Instead of keeping his eyes on Jesus and the big plan unfolding before him, he practically waved at the religious crowd with a sign saying, “Use me!” And so, they did—turning him into the perfect bait to reel in Jesus for the crucifixion. On the contrary, Peter and John were receiving every signal, bit by bit, to align with ...