Joel Kwesi Baidoo

No matter how this year has been for you, be grateful that you have seen its end. Let's take stock and celebrate the successes of the year, and pray for a renewed grace to do much better in the coming year. 1 To God be the glory, great things he has done! So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, who yielded his life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear his voice! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son and give him the glory, great things he has done! 2 Great things he has taught us, great things he has done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son, but purer and higher and greater will be our joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see. “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” (Psalm 72:18) Till I come your way again next year, Remain inspired!

"It always protects..." (1 Corinthians 13:7) We are back on our love series. The next feature of love is that it always protects. The Greek word translated as "protect" actually means to have a roof over or to cover. True love does not give undue publicity to the faults and weaknesses of others. Apostle Peter put it this way: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) This does not in any way imply condoning sin. The protective nature of love focuses on helping people become better instead of trumpeting their faults. Consider the following two scenarios: A: Someone identifies a fault of yours and goes about discussing it with others. B: Another person discovers this same fault of yours and comes to draw your attention personally, prays with you and refrains from making it a public discussion. Which of these two people will make you feel loved? The second right? Why don't you practise the same with y...

You know very well how happy you are when you meet people in your life who genuinely believe in you. Such people inspire you and bring out the best in you. That was the feeling when Peter met Jesus. He initially didn't even consider himself worthy to be close to Him. After Peter saw the miracle of the bountiful catch of the fish at Jesus' direction, his own sinfulness shamed him. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8) But Jesus wasn't that kind of man. For many are those who are experts in recognizing the shortfalls and weaknesses of others, but have not the slightest inkling in them to help them up.  "...Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." (Luke 5:10) Jesus saw beyond the weakness of Peter. Today, we can read about all the great works of Peter in the book of Acts because someone believed in him and brought out the best in hi...

Leonard Sylvan Peikoff, a Canadian-American philosopher, once wrote an article entitled, “Why Christmas Should Be More Commercial.” He argued that, “It is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.” Peikoff's worldview reflects that of many secular forces that are advertently or inadvertently waging war against the true meaning of Christmas.  In the US, for example, it was President Bush who replaced the term "Merry Christmas" with "Happy holidays" in the standard Christmas card issued by the White House yearly. President Barack Obama followed suit. In all his eight Christmas cards, the word "Christmas" cannot be found. It is not difficult to notice the secularization and commercialization of Christmas today. For many people, it's just about pool parties, night clubbing, street jamming, and the like.  As Christians with the mandate to possess our nati...

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." (Luke 2:8-9) Of all the people in Israel that blessed night of the Saviour's birth, why were shepherds the worthy recipients of the angelic host? The shepherd's work in ancient Israel was characterized by EXTREME dedication and commitment. Mostly, the youngest boy in the family would have to take up the task of shepherding the family's flock. It takes great humility to be a shepherd. One has to be in constant contact with the sheep, enduring and sharing in their dirt and smell. One has to be willing to abandon the comfort of their home and spend the night with the sheep in the field. Shepherds in those days worked both day and night to protect the sheep from predators and thieves. This required a great deal of vigilance and diligence. And while a group of s...

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem." (Matthew 2:1) The religion of the East was heavily characterized by sorcery, magic and divination. Astrology was very popular in the East. It was the norm for kings to have a team of sorcerers and magicians who advise and provide spiritual direction. The Greek word translated as "Magi" or "wise men" (as translated by King James) actually means magicians or sorcerers.  God, in His manifold wisdom and boundless mercies, not wanting anyone to perish in their sins, revealed to sorcerers in their own practice that the Savior has been born.  In fact, God has left a sign in all cultural and religious practices of men that point to Christ. Anyone who can recognize the sign that the Savior of the world has been born, and submit to Him in reverent worship is wise indeed! The gifts presented to the newborn Jesus by the Magi are also instructive and symbo...

 #BeInspiredToday 20-12-2022 A Punctuation in History The birth of Jesus has permanently altered the course of history in many ways, including how dates are recorded. The current global standard for the measurement of dates is known as the Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII, under whose tenure it was instituted. Both the Gregorian calendar, and its predecessor - the Julian calendar - are based on the supposed birth date of Jesus Christ. It was Dionysius Exiguus, a Christian monk, who first proposed in the year 525 that dates be recorded in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, hence the invention of the acronyms BC ("Before Christ") and AD ("Anno Domini" - Latin for "In the year of the Lord"). In relatively recent times, some have tried to change this with the excuse that it is not fair to other religious faiths. But no matter who likes it or not, the birth of Jesus has become a globally accepted reference point for the reckoning of dates....