good news

CALLING ALL CHRISTIANS

October 29, 2025 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Someone once asked Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” If you read the story in Luke 13:22-30, you will see that the person asking Jesus about this is most likely a Jew who feels certain that he is saved. And Jesus is once again upset about the arrogance and aloofness of the person asking, practically brushing him aside and saying “Away from me, I don’t know you.”

Here we have another confrontation where Jesus surprises the audience and reminds them to take their faith in God to a much deeper level than they have been superficially doing.

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“THIS IS ME!” — Have You Made Up Your Mind About Jesus?

January 6, 2025 by Eddie Leave a Comment

When the prophet Isaiah described the event of the coming of the Messiah, he actually composed the script of what the Messiah would say when he would finally arrive. And that speech would go something like this: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. … (and so on).” (Luke 4:14-21)

However, it was only after approximately 700 long years later, when a man stood in a synagogue in Nazareth, thumbed through the scrolls of Isaiah, and when he found this passage, He read it aloud, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME because he has anointed ME to bring good news to the poor.” He closed the scroll, and said to everyone: “THIS IS ME.” His name? JESUS.

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JESUS GRIEVES WHEN PEOPLE PREFER HEALING RATHER THAN RESTORATION OF SOULS. Sayang.

October 4, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

In the words of Jesus, what is the good news that Jesus Himself came to proclaim? This is not a test, but in case you can’t decide which of the many things he said was the good news tagline, here it is. The good news is that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Other than giving that message through powerful preaching and teachings and parables, one of the ways that Jesus used to proclaim and validate the good news about the coming of the Kingdom was through miraculous healings. Of course, Jesus healed many miraculously because of His genuine compassion to those who were suffering. But His miracles were actually His way of giving people a foretaste of the ultimate healing and the blessing of complete restoration that would come when He returns in glory as King of Kings. And just as John the Baptist did, Jesus instructed people to repent and be ready for the kingdom of God. This combination of teachings and miraculous healings was His master plan to get people to repent and be ready for the ultimate victory of His Kingdom.

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“THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.” What does that mean for us today?

July 11, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Imagine what life would be like in this modern day and age for a person living in a land totally ruled by a king? Of course not all kings are the same. There are good kings and there are awful kings. But imagine a king so powerful, yet most benevolent, full of love and compassion for the people and equally loved by his people. Not only is the king a ruler who puts good order in the land, but he also cares for and invests in the wellbeing of every single person and family belonging to his kingdom. Because of his power and influence, no problem, no situation would be so big that the king wouldn’t have the capability and resources to solve and even anticipate all sorts of problems, and the king is able to work always for the good of those in his kingdom. Wow!!

I suppose that every person who belongs to that kingdom would be very very secure, would be completely at peace and would have no worries in the world. Sana ol, right?

Now, imagine further, that outsiders – those who belong to other lands or other kingdoms – are welcome to be part of this awesome kingdom, without much bureaucratic red tape, with the only condition being loyalty and allegiance to the king. I bet you there will be a long long line of people applying for visas to be permanent residents of that kingdom. Right?

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BEING A DISCIPLE and BECOMING A DISCIPLER

May 26, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Our passage today is the last passage from the last chapter of the gospel by Matthew. This passage is usually called “The Great Commission”, when Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This passage from Matthew is very similar to the last passage of the last chapter of Mark’s gospel. And in Mark’s version, he adds a little detail saying that after Jesus gave these instructions, He was lifted up into heaven. While that ascension of Jesus is indeed a marvelous spectacle (and how we wish we were there to witness it), we want to relish these words of Jesus because they were the LAST words He ever spoke in person, and I encourage you to continue to reflect on these words in the coming days so that you will appreciate how much importance Jesus wanted to place in these words that He left for His disciples, and for you and me and all mankind.

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