The Chronicles of Northside

  God always accomplishes His purpose at the right time. During one of the crucial periods in the history of the nation of Judah, the Lord sent His prophet Zephaniah. The result was one of the greatest revivals in Biblical history. Zephaniah, whose name means “the Lord hides,” ministered to a spiritually needy people. Under the rule of ungodly and wicked kings, the nation of Judah was in desperate need of a godly leader who will bring them back to Yahweh. Zephaniah was the prophet whom God used to stir the heart of King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:3-8-35:19). In addition to a prophetic message of judgment on Judah and its neighboring nations, Zephaniah urged the people to call on the Lord. In his call for them to humble themselves before Yahweh (Zephaniah 2:3), King Josiah responded. For this reason, the Lord brought blessing and revival to him and to his kingdom (2 Chronicles 34:26-28). Humility is necessary if one is to come to the Lord. The Lord lifts up the humble (James 4:10) and ...

Praise the LORD for His goodness as Northside Harvest celebrated her 1 st anniversary September 30, 2012 at the Milpitas Community Center! Visitors and friends came to celebrate with us, Ron Shaw and our brethren from Sunrise Valley Baptist Church , our sending church. Below are some of the pictures taken during the anniversary celebration (Thanks to Brother Sonny and family). More are posted in our facebook page. Please continue to pray for us at Northside Harvest as we labor to reach the city of Milpitas with its diverse population for the LORD Jesus Christ.    

News about crime, injustice and violence occupy a prominent spot in our television sets and daily papers. Such news only cause emotional weariness and even anger at the perpetrator of the crime or abuse. Questions come to mind whether or not GOD is still sovereign and in control of this universe. Habakkuk the prophet struggled with the same questions as he himself witnessed evil throughout the nation of Judah. In a series of dialogue between GOD and the prophet, Habakkuk asked GOD Who graciously answered the prophet’s inquiries. Tired of witnessing the wickedness present in every level of society, Habakkuk asked the question: “ LORD, why do you allow wickedness to flourish ? ” (Habakkuk 1:1-4). The LORD replied saying, “ I am preparing the Babylonians ” (1:5-11). Habakkuk followed up with another question revealing the prophet’s confusion: “ LORD, why would You chose a more wicked nation like Babylon to punish Your people? ” (1:12-2:1). The LORD replied saying, “ The Babylonians will ...

In Psalm 62, David explains why he rested on GOD’s protection from his enemies. With GOD as his “rock”, “salvation”, “stronghold”, and “refuge” (Psalm 62:2, 6-8), David found comfort and confidence in GOD saying, “I shall not be greatly shaken” (Psalm 62:2, 6). Similar to the message of Psalm 62 was the herald of Nahum the prophet. Nahum, whose name means “The LORD is my Comfort,” rested on GOD as His stronghold (Nahum 1:7). GOD and His character stand as the basis of his prophetic book. He proclaimed GOD’s judgment towards the cruel and ungodly nation of Assyria and brought comfort to the LORD’s afflicted people, Israel. Nahum’s ministry occured more than a century after the preaching of Jonah. By that time, the nation of Assyria had returned to their evil and wicked ways. They were known for the atrocities they committed against the nations they conquered which included God’s people, Israel (Nahum 3:1-3; Cf. Hosea 13:5). Nahum preached to the Assyrians GOD’s message of judgment and i...

What is true religion? This is a question people often ask in view of the different religions of the world. In a way, the answer to this question was what Micah’s people needed to hear and understand. Micah was a fearless prophet from Moresheth, a small town 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. His name means “Who is like the LORD?” which is the sum message of his book (Micah 7:18). Micah was called to preach for GOD’s people to worship Yahweh alone (Micah 4:1-5). Sadly, God’s people had embraced foreign gods while purporting to worship the LORD. Micah, who comes from the lower class of society, was an ardent defender of the oppressed and a herald of righteousness (Micah 2; 3:8). He proclaimed GOD’s message of judgment against Jerusalem’s leaders (Micah 3:1-4, 9-12) priests, and false prophets (3:5-8). With a series of rhetorical questions, Micah exposed the guilt of the nation of Judah by showing the people their wrong assumption—that is, believing that by performing religious rituals the...

Jonah is often identified with the big fish which swallowed him. For this reason, some assert that Jonah is a fictional character. However, 2 Kings 14:25 and Christ Himself (Matthew 12:39-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32) confirm the historicity of Jonah and his experience. The Biblical narrative begins with GOD commanding Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it (Jonah 1:2). Jonah disobeyed the LORD by going to Tarshish instead of Nineveh (Jonah 1:3). Jonah thought he could run away and hide from the LORD by settling himself at the bottom of the ship (Jonah 1:5; cf. Psalm 139:7-12). Subsequently, the LORD hurled a severe storm after Jonah (Jonah 1:4-13). After Jonah’s revelation of himself as a runaway prophet of GOD, the crew rebuked him and pleaded for the LORD’s mercy. Terrified, they finally decided to throw Jonah off the ship (1:14-15). With the storm ceasing, the ship’s crew worship the LORD (1:15-16). Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and was in its belly for three days and three ni...

How do you feel when you receive bad news? Anxious? Fearful? Uncomfortable? In the book of Obadiah, God’s prophet had the task not of receiving but of delivering bad news. Obadiah delivered a message Edom was not expecting to receive—the bad news of judgment and destruction from the LORD Himself. Edom’s roots can be traced back to its patriarch, Esau (Genesis 25:19-28:7; 32:1-19), the brother of Israel (also known as Jacob – Genesis 32:28). These brothers had a troublesome relationship marked with deceit and hatred. Though they reconciled prior to their father’s death (Genesis 32:1-19), this history may explain Edom’s attitude in not allowing access to its territory when Israel requested passage to the land of Canaan, Israel’s promised land  (Numbers 20:14-20). Edom was a very proud nation. It boasted of its having an invincible fortress that provided protection and security (Obadiah 1:3-4) and of human wisdom (1:8). It also gloated over the misfortune of the Israelites, specifically t...