The Passionate Believer

I have heard once some years ago of the saying that goes like this,  "You can live for seven days without food, you can live three days without water but you can't go on for a single day without hope." The author brings to this book what everyone searches for but is so often neglected - Hope. The book is easily divided into twelve chapters which makes it easy to read and its compact size means you can carry it wherever you go. This book needs to be in the hands of every believer, in fact it needs to be in the hands of every Pastor and christian leader out there. This book is no substitute to the Bible but needs to be next to it. We focus so much on faith that we forget that hope builds on the foundation of our faith. I love the way he explains how faith is here for the 'now moments' of life and hope is a future expectation of the workings of God. The book brings out a few vital aspects which is important for everyone who calls themselves c

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” - Rom. 9 vs 13. (ESV) And also Hebrews 12 vs 5 - 11 "And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yie

Hi everyone, we thought you should get to know some of our team members that work alongside the The Passionate Believer blog and one of them is Sam Machacka who is a regular author here at the blog. The following is an interview between The Passionate Believer and Sam(Co-Founder) of Brink Ministries. We thought you should get to know Sam alittle better and pray for the work that God has entrusted to them. TPB - The Passionate Believer (That's me Shane) S M - Sam Machaka TPB: So, Sam tell us about yourself? SM : I am a husband of one wife and my best friend Mildred. We have been blessed with three wonderful gifts Samantha, Munashe and Joshua who love the Lord, pray and serve with us. We are a tightly knit family that has gone through a lot but have seen the hand of God leading us every step of the way. God has been good and faithful to us and He has done more for us than what we deserve. TPB: What are your hobbies? SM : I love reading, playing chess [though I'm not

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." ( 2 Chroncles 7 vs 14, ESV) I want to disect this verse today because I believe we have lost the true meaning of what it's really saying to us. We use it so lightly these days that we fail to see what God intends for us in this present age. This verse is divided into two parts with 8 different principles. The first deals with five principles concerning us and how we connect with God. The second consists of three parts and how God responds to us when we do connect with him. So let's take a look and see with disecerning hearts what God is saying to us. The First Part: Us - The Created Beings: 1. Identity: "If my people who are called by my Name." This gives us the foundation of our identity, that we are 'called by his Name.' It tells us tha

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” [1 Peter 1:13]  God is a promise keeper and He has never promised something He cannot or will not do because He honours His word above all things. He made promises to the people of old which were fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus [1 Peter 1: 10-12] and there are still more promises that we look forward to and as we await His coming. We need to prepare our minds for action and to be sober-minded; setting our hope fully on the grace that will be revealed to us at the revelation of the Lord.   Why and how should we prepare our minds for action and why should we be sober? The King James version speaks about girding up the “loins of our minds”; “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” giving us a pi

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” [2 Corinthians 8:9]  Believe it or not everyone is rich, and they are busy laying down their treasure either in Heaven or on earth. Everyone is poor and they are either poor toward God or poor toward the world. Both statements are one and the same thing. In 2 Corinthians 8 we see the true apostle of Jesus Paul talking about the grace of God given among the Macedonian churches. They were evidently poor regarding provision and daily supply [2 Corinthians 8:2] and they were not just poor, but the Bible says they were in extreme poverty, yet they overflowed in a wealth of generosity. I have seen this in my own life where help has come from the least likely candidates who have blessed the work of the Lord abundantly and are bearing fruit through their giving. Poverty is a lack of something, and it may be a lack of money or materia