Step to Christ: The Test of Discipleship

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17.

A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. Christ said to Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8. Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work upon the human heart. That regenerating power, which no human eye can see, begets a new life in the soul; it creates a new being in the image of God. While the work of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible, its effects are manifest. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, the life will bear witness to the fact. While we cannot do anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with God; while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling within us. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts.

Caffeine & It's Hidden Sources

When most people think of caffeine, coffee, tea, chocolate, or colas usually come to mind. Yet caffeine often shows up in unexpected places, hidden in everyday products we may not realize contain it.

As someone who avoids caffeine, I’ve often found limited options when spending time with friends at local coffee shops. Believing I was making a safe choice, I once ordered a Starbucks Strawberry Açaí Refresher—only to later discover that it contains 45–55 mg of caffeine from green coffee extract.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant in the world. While many rely on it to boost alertness and concentration, it also carries risks that vary depending on the amount consumed, how often it’s used, and individual sensitivity.

Echoes of Creation in Chinese Characters

The Chinese written language is among the oldest and most enduring writing systems in the world. Unlike most languages that use phonetic alphabets to represent sounds, Chinese characters are logographic, with each symbol representing a word or meaningful concept. The earliest forms were pictographs, simple drawings of objects such as the sun, a tree, or a person. Over time these drawings became stylized and were combined to express more complex and abstract ideas, yet the system has always remained rooted in visual symbols rather than sound.

The origins of Chinese writing stretch back more than 3,000 years to the Shang dynasty, with oracle bone inscriptions from around 1200 BCE being the earliest known examples. This makes Chinese one of the oldest continuously used writing systems in existence. Unlike other ancient scripts, such as Egyptian hieroglyphs or Sumerian cuneiform, which eventually faded from use, Chinese characters have endured and adapted. Because the writing system is not directly tied to pronunciation, it has served as a unifying force among speakers of many different dialects, acting as both a cultural and linguistic bond through the centuries.

Scholars and missionaries have noticed that some of the oldest Chinese characters seem to preserve themes found in the book of Genesis. For instance, the character for "temptation," merges the symbols for a WOMAN and TWO TREES, echoing the story of Eve and the serpent. Similarly, the character for “boat” joins the symbols for EIGHT, PEOPLE,  and SHIP, which parallels the eight persons saved in Noah’s ark during the flood.

Ministry of Healing: With Nature & With God

The Saviour's life on earth was a life of communion with nature and with God. In this communion He revealed for us the secret of a life of power.

Jesus was an earnest, constant worker. Never lived there among men another so weighted with responsibilities. Never another carried so heavy a burden of the world's sorrow and sin. Never another toiled with such self-consuming zeal for the good of men. Yet His was a life of health. Physically as well as spiritually He was represented by the sacrificial lamb, "without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:19. In body as in soul He was an example of what God designed all humanity to be through obedience to His laws.

Steps to Christ: Faith & Acceptance

As your conscience has been quickened by the Holy Spirit, you have seen something of the evil of sin, of its power, its guilt, its woe; and you look upon it with abhorrence. You feel that sin has separated you from God, that you are in bondage to the power of evil. The more you struggle to escape, the more you realize your helplessness. Your motives are impure; your heart is unclean. You see that your life has been filled with selfishness and sin. You long to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be set free. Harmony with God, likeness to Him—what can you do to obtain it?