“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6: 12
Picture this with me. Imagine you are busy fighting a battle and you are winning and you say “There ! I have won the battle ! I met my office deadlines.. I have the respect of my colleagues .. I have taken care of most of the needs of my family… I have my friends…” And all of a sudden you stop ! And you think “Wait a minute ! Which army am I a part of ?? “ and you look around and you are surrounded by people of the world. You suddenly find yourself fighting the same battles of the world in the army of the world .
This is how my past few weeks has been. I have been so focused on getting things done that all of a sudden I found myself fighting battles of the world. Battle 1 : Sleep . Battle 2 : Office schedules, deadlines, politics . Battle 3, Battle 4… And I actually took this total pause Sunday early morning and thought to myself “Wait a minute ! I’m in the Lord’s army ! These kind of battles are not my PRIME focus ! These are just tiny tertiary things which we will squash by God’s grace as we keep fighting the battles He has called us to fight.
II Timothy 2:4 , “ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
Should I not do my work well ? Of course I should. But when I allow that to become my prime focus its so easy to get consumed by it. We kind of push God on the sidelines and say “Just keep coming along please… I will eventually spend time with You” and then we don’t. Praise the Lord for His amazing grace and love. So patient , so merciful and so forgiving. Love you Jesus. He knows every beat of our hearts :-) The beauty is God’s ways are actually pretty simple - Keep Him first and the rest will follow ! :-) We will get our deadlines in place, we will get all that is required to be done… because its not by might nor by power but by HIS SPIRIT !
God Bless
Monday, December 26, 2011
Its time to choose
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24: 15
Last evening as I was packing my bag to leave from work , I placed my Bible in my bag and right beside that I placed a croissant (bread pastry) and I just took a moment and looked at His word and this piece of bread lying side by side in my backpack. I couldn’t help but question myself “which do I choose more often… To eat for this body or to eat of His word “ :-) Colossians 3: 16 , “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grave in your hearts to the Lord.” It not just about reading our Bibles , its about living it :-) When His word is dwelling richly within us its this whole new lifestyle that we live, because all that we will do will be an overflow of that rich indwelling within us. Now here is the best part … It’s a choice ! :-)
Sometimes it does sound rather absurd .. Choose between living a life where His word dwells richly within us VS living a life where “ME & things of MY interest” dwell richly within me. Of course we would want the former. But then do we make those every moment choices ? Do we choose to forgive others readily remembering the grace and mercy that we have received from Christ ? Do we choose to react to situations the way He would want us to ? Do we let our egos and self image issues get the better of us ? Or do we choose to believe “My Jesus is in full control” and walk in His peace ?
Daily surrender… This is what I have been learning more and more over the past few weeks. Have you ever tried learning to play an instrument ? Unless you practice every day you are not gonna get the hang of it … Give it a week of not touching the instrument and check your status at the end of the week.. not so good :-) And this is just for an instrument. How much more important/essential/fundamental/foundational is surrendering to God daily and crucifying desires of self ? We cannot do it on our own :-) We need Him :-) Every moment and everyday …
Joshua 24: 14, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD.”
Its time to choose… Do we choose to serve ourselves or do we choose to serve the LORD
God Bless
Joshua 24: 15
Last evening as I was packing my bag to leave from work , I placed my Bible in my bag and right beside that I placed a croissant (bread pastry) and I just took a moment and looked at His word and this piece of bread lying side by side in my backpack. I couldn’t help but question myself “which do I choose more often… To eat for this body or to eat of His word “ :-) Colossians 3: 16 , “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grave in your hearts to the Lord.” It not just about reading our Bibles , its about living it :-) When His word is dwelling richly within us its this whole new lifestyle that we live, because all that we will do will be an overflow of that rich indwelling within us. Now here is the best part … It’s a choice ! :-)
Sometimes it does sound rather absurd .. Choose between living a life where His word dwells richly within us VS living a life where “ME & things of MY interest” dwell richly within me. Of course we would want the former. But then do we make those every moment choices ? Do we choose to forgive others readily remembering the grace and mercy that we have received from Christ ? Do we choose to react to situations the way He would want us to ? Do we let our egos and self image issues get the better of us ? Or do we choose to believe “My Jesus is in full control” and walk in His peace ?
Daily surrender… This is what I have been learning more and more over the past few weeks. Have you ever tried learning to play an instrument ? Unless you practice every day you are not gonna get the hang of it … Give it a week of not touching the instrument and check your status at the end of the week.. not so good :-) And this is just for an instrument. How much more important/essential/fundamental/foundational is surrendering to God daily and crucifying desires of self ? We cannot do it on our own :-) We need Him :-) Every moment and everyday …
Joshua 24: 14, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD.”
Its time to choose… Do we choose to serve ourselves or do we choose to serve the LORD
God Bless
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:”
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3: 1
My mom sent me this beautiful card for my birthday today and this is the verse that accompanied it. The moment I read it I just knew I had to share it . We often see this verse quoted on marriage cards. But I want you to look at it a lil differently with me today. We are not here by accident… God chose to have us here in the year 2011 for a reason . Not 1911 not 1811 but 2011… He has orchestrated everything in accordance with His purposes, His choosing, His Holy will ! Wow ! We know the languages we know for His purposes for His glory. We are placed where we are for His purposes and for His glory. God could have put you and me in any part of the world He wanted but He has chosen to place us where we currently are for His purposes
Ephesians 1 : 11-12 , “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory”
Our great great grandparents lived their season and God willing fulfilled the purposes that He had for them. God looks at us and He has His purposes to be fulfilled through our lives. He chose to have us in this present day and place us in different places for His glory . Are we busy trying to fulfill our plans and our purposes ? Or have we realized that we are alive today as per His plan and for His purposes
Father I pray that we may live for Your purposes. Help us surrender all . To You alone be all the glory , all the honor and all the praise !
God Bless
Ecclesiastes 3: 1
My mom sent me this beautiful card for my birthday today and this is the verse that accompanied it. The moment I read it I just knew I had to share it . We often see this verse quoted on marriage cards. But I want you to look at it a lil differently with me today. We are not here by accident… God chose to have us here in the year 2011 for a reason . Not 1911 not 1811 but 2011… He has orchestrated everything in accordance with His purposes, His choosing, His Holy will ! Wow ! We know the languages we know for His purposes for His glory. We are placed where we are for His purposes and for His glory. God could have put you and me in any part of the world He wanted but He has chosen to place us where we currently are for His purposes
Ephesians 1 : 11-12 , “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory”
Our great great grandparents lived their season and God willing fulfilled the purposes that He had for them. God looks at us and He has His purposes to be fulfilled through our lives. He chose to have us in this present day and place us in different places for His glory . Are we busy trying to fulfill our plans and our purposes ? Or have we realized that we are alive today as per His plan and for His purposes
Father I pray that we may live for Your purposes. Help us surrender all . To You alone be all the glory , all the honor and all the praise !
God Bless
Honor your father and mother
""Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise)"
Ephesians 6 : 2
Honor your father and mother. The dictionary defines honor as "to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect : to regard or treat with honor" .
Admiration and respect - This is hard to act out in actions unless it comes from a true heart. :-)
I love my parents so much. But this morning the Lord laid this on my heart and I prayed "Lord teach me to truly honor them". Its not about just supporting them , its not just about being a good son/daughter to our parents ... its about having a heart that truly honors them. And out of an overflow of a heart like that will flow actions that are equivalent.
I cant help but think back of how my parents felt when they first held me as a baby. The sacrifices they made all their life for my happiness , for my comforts.. putting the needs of their children first before their own. How many times as a child have our parents given us their share of something yummy :-) saying "Let her/him eat ... she likes it". And today do we find ourselves so self involved that few minutes sitting down with our parents has become such a big deal ?!
Romans 1 : 28-32 ,"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
I pray that we may have a heart that truly honors our parents. I pray that we will ask God to teach us to honor them.
God Bless
Ephesians 6 : 2
Honor your father and mother. The dictionary defines honor as "to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect : to regard or treat with honor" .
Admiration and respect - This is hard to act out in actions unless it comes from a true heart. :-)
I love my parents so much. But this morning the Lord laid this on my heart and I prayed "Lord teach me to truly honor them". Its not about just supporting them , its not just about being a good son/daughter to our parents ... its about having a heart that truly honors them. And out of an overflow of a heart like that will flow actions that are equivalent.
I cant help but think back of how my parents felt when they first held me as a baby. The sacrifices they made all their life for my happiness , for my comforts.. putting the needs of their children first before their own. How many times as a child have our parents given us their share of something yummy :-) saying "Let her/him eat ... she likes it". And today do we find ourselves so self involved that few minutes sitting down with our parents has become such a big deal ?!
Romans 1 : 28-32 ,"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
I pray that we may have a heart that truly honors our parents. I pray that we will ask God to teach us to honor them.
God Bless
Reaching out in faith and expectation
“When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction”
Mark 5 : 27-29
A little background to these verses. Jesus was on His way to Jarius’s (one of the ruler’s of the synagogue). Now we read in verse 24 “So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.”
Jesus is walking and there is this crowd that’s pressing all around Him and trying to go where He goes. Now where Jesus went miracles happened and crowds were amazed ! Some acknowledged that He was sent by God, some didn’t know what to think and of course there were the Pharisees and Sadducees who went just to try and find fault or trap Jesus with their questions .
Now picture this with me… There’s Jesus walking with the entire crowd pressing against Him and walking. But wait… there is one person among the crowd who has an agenda ! There’s this woman who’s had a flow of blood for twelve years !! Twelve years. And she has tried everything. She has spent all that she had to get well but she didn’t get better. Rather she grew worse !!!
Desperate , desirous to be made well, expecting a miracle she stretches out her hand and touches His garment . In her mind she knew all she had to do was to touch His clothes and she would be made well. So she positions her self and comes up from behind Him in the crowd and touches His garment. And she was healed !!
Was everyone in the crowd perfect and not requiring a touch from Jesus ? How come nothing happened to the rest of the crowds who were practically pressing Him and walking ?
She reached out in faith and expectation ! When we go to church do we go as the crowd ? Just looking to see what God is going to do in other people’s lives ? Do we go just because people we know are going … or do we go in faith and expectation ? When we go into His presence to pray , do we do it as a ‘good Christian’ thing to do ? Or do we go into His presence with Faith and expectation knowing we will receive a touch from Him. Not just physical healing … but bondages being broken , healing for the broken hearted , restoration , renewal , drawing nearer to Him , hearing from Him…
A lot of us have gotten lost in the crowds.. Its time we reach out to Jesus in faith and expectation knowing only He can ! :-)
God Bless
Mark 5 : 27-29
A little background to these verses. Jesus was on His way to Jarius’s (one of the ruler’s of the synagogue). Now we read in verse 24 “So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.”
Jesus is walking and there is this crowd that’s pressing all around Him and trying to go where He goes. Now where Jesus went miracles happened and crowds were amazed ! Some acknowledged that He was sent by God, some didn’t know what to think and of course there were the Pharisees and Sadducees who went just to try and find fault or trap Jesus with their questions .
Now picture this with me… There’s Jesus walking with the entire crowd pressing against Him and walking. But wait… there is one person among the crowd who has an agenda ! There’s this woman who’s had a flow of blood for twelve years !! Twelve years. And she has tried everything. She has spent all that she had to get well but she didn’t get better. Rather she grew worse !!!
Desperate , desirous to be made well, expecting a miracle she stretches out her hand and touches His garment . In her mind she knew all she had to do was to touch His clothes and she would be made well. So she positions her self and comes up from behind Him in the crowd and touches His garment. And she was healed !!
Was everyone in the crowd perfect and not requiring a touch from Jesus ? How come nothing happened to the rest of the crowds who were practically pressing Him and walking ?
She reached out in faith and expectation ! When we go to church do we go as the crowd ? Just looking to see what God is going to do in other people’s lives ? Do we go just because people we know are going … or do we go in faith and expectation ? When we go into His presence to pray , do we do it as a ‘good Christian’ thing to do ? Or do we go into His presence with Faith and expectation knowing we will receive a touch from Him. Not just physical healing … but bondages being broken , healing for the broken hearted , restoration , renewal , drawing nearer to Him , hearing from Him…
A lot of us have gotten lost in the crowds.. Its time we reach out to Jesus in faith and expectation knowing only He can ! :-)
God Bless
He sees differently :)
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I Samuel 16 : 7
We read in the beginning of the chapter that the Lord tells Samuel that He is going to have someone else as king instead of Saul and wants Samuel to anoint that someone. So the Lord tells Samuel to go to Jesse the Bethlehemite , for one of his sons will be king. Samuel goes to Bethlehem and invites Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. We read in verse 6 , “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!””
Samuel was convinced Eliab had to be the one. He had awesome stature, his physical appearance was becoming of a king… I mean he had the right profile to be king ! This made total perfect sense. And God said no…its not him.
As we read on we see that Jesse made seven of his sons pass and the Lord chose none of these. 7 sons ! And Samuel had to ask Jesse “ Are all the young men here?”. Then Jesse says yes there’s one more. And that was David.
Two similar but yet different things
· David wasn’t anything like Eliab who had the stature to join the army . And David was the youngest.. He was the shepherd boy . But God says “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”. God doesn’t see as the world sees… He sees the heart
· Now while David was the youngest and yes he was the shepherd boy , the Bible says that David was handsome and was of fine appearance, he had beautiful eyes . Good looking guy too… But that’s not what God looked at … He looked at the heart
Sometimes we are so easily led to go by what we see . Pray we have a heart that’s sensitive to His leading.
When Eliab came before Samuel , Samuel said “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him”… wow he was convinced ! God said no no ….“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Good looking David comes and stands before Samuel. Samuel listens… and God says this is the one.
Bottom line … God does not see as human beings do. His ways are so much higher than ours. He knows every minute thought. He knows the intention of the heart behind every minute thought !
I pray we will have a heart that is sensitive to His leading. When choices and decisions have to be made , may we not make it the way the world does, but make it based on what’s on the Father’s heart !
God Bless
I Samuel 16 : 7
We read in the beginning of the chapter that the Lord tells Samuel that He is going to have someone else as king instead of Saul and wants Samuel to anoint that someone. So the Lord tells Samuel to go to Jesse the Bethlehemite , for one of his sons will be king. Samuel goes to Bethlehem and invites Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. We read in verse 6 , “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!””
Samuel was convinced Eliab had to be the one. He had awesome stature, his physical appearance was becoming of a king… I mean he had the right profile to be king ! This made total perfect sense. And God said no…its not him.
As we read on we see that Jesse made seven of his sons pass and the Lord chose none of these. 7 sons ! And Samuel had to ask Jesse “ Are all the young men here?”. Then Jesse says yes there’s one more. And that was David.
Two similar but yet different things
· David wasn’t anything like Eliab who had the stature to join the army . And David was the youngest.. He was the shepherd boy . But God says “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”. God doesn’t see as the world sees… He sees the heart
· Now while David was the youngest and yes he was the shepherd boy , the Bible says that David was handsome and was of fine appearance, he had beautiful eyes . Good looking guy too… But that’s not what God looked at … He looked at the heart
Sometimes we are so easily led to go by what we see . Pray we have a heart that’s sensitive to His leading.
When Eliab came before Samuel , Samuel said “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him”… wow he was convinced ! God said no no ….“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Good looking David comes and stands before Samuel. Samuel listens… and God says this is the one.
Bottom line … God does not see as human beings do. His ways are so much higher than ours. He knows every minute thought. He knows the intention of the heart behind every minute thought !
I pray we will have a heart that is sensitive to His leading. When choices and decisions have to be made , may we not make it the way the world does, but make it based on what’s on the Father’s heart !
God Bless
Choices
“There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Genesis 39 : 9
The context of this verse is of Joseph when he was bought by Potiphar an Egyptian. God’s favor was upon Joseph and whatever he did he prospered. Now Potiphar had made Joseph overseer of his house. Now Joseph was handsome and Potiphar’s wife approached Joseph and said “Lie with me” but Joseph refused. And it wasn’t just a one time enticement from her. She went on day after day trying to asking him. And one day when no one was around she caught him by his garment and said “lie with me”. Now he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.
When Potiphar’s wife tried to persuade Joseph , it was just him and her around. No one else watching . Joseph could have thought “Who’s gonna know…? Let me give in …” but no , he said “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
How do we make our choices when there is no one around watching ? Its easy when we are amidst fellow believers in our church groups and at that point when we have to make a choice we are easily inclined to Godly choices. But do we do the same thing when we are alone ?
Who we are is not defined by how we are in church or in work or in our families. But who we are when we are alone and its just us and God what are the choices we make. When no one is watching do we still choose to make Godly choices ?
In church there is a prayer meeting , yes lets pray. At home when we have 6 hours free on a weekend , no one else around , would we still choose to pray ? to read His word ? to sit in His presence ?
When sitting in the midst of friends from church , the websites we would browse, the vocabulary we would use vs when we are alone at the home the websites we would browse , the vocabulary we would use ? What are the choices we are making today ?
May we make Godly choices by His grace.
God Bless
Genesis 39 : 9
The context of this verse is of Joseph when he was bought by Potiphar an Egyptian. God’s favor was upon Joseph and whatever he did he prospered. Now Potiphar had made Joseph overseer of his house. Now Joseph was handsome and Potiphar’s wife approached Joseph and said “Lie with me” but Joseph refused. And it wasn’t just a one time enticement from her. She went on day after day trying to asking him. And one day when no one was around she caught him by his garment and said “lie with me”. Now he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.
When Potiphar’s wife tried to persuade Joseph , it was just him and her around. No one else watching . Joseph could have thought “Who’s gonna know…? Let me give in …” but no , he said “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
How do we make our choices when there is no one around watching ? Its easy when we are amidst fellow believers in our church groups and at that point when we have to make a choice we are easily inclined to Godly choices. But do we do the same thing when we are alone ?
Who we are is not defined by how we are in church or in work or in our families. But who we are when we are alone and its just us and God what are the choices we make. When no one is watching do we still choose to make Godly choices ?
In church there is a prayer meeting , yes lets pray. At home when we have 6 hours free on a weekend , no one else around , would we still choose to pray ? to read His word ? to sit in His presence ?
When sitting in the midst of friends from church , the websites we would browse, the vocabulary we would use vs when we are alone at the home the websites we would browse , the vocabulary we would use ? What are the choices we are making today ?
May we make Godly choices by His grace.
God Bless
"Those who seek me diligently will find me"
“I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.”
Proverbs 8 : 17
I love having my nephews come over . They are just so sweet and affectionate. And I especially love the fact that the moment they wake up their very first instinct is to search for me . They come to me with their sweet smiles and sleepy faces and come and sit on me while I hug them and wish them good morning. First thought the moment their eyes open is to hunt for me :- ) . There have been times when I’ve opened my bedroom door to see two smiley faces waiting for me (they would have been standing there just waiting for me to come out ). Children have such purity of heart , the love of a child is wow.
Does God see that kind of love from us ? A heart that just longs and desires for Him ? A heart that wakes up in the morning totally excited for a new day to spend together with Jesus ? This whole passage around Proverbs 8:17 talks about Wisdom. Do we seek His wisdom , do we seek to live today as per His purposes or as per ours ? Does our seeking Him come from a routine of just trying to do the right things or does it come from a heart abounding in love and desiring to draw closer to Him ?
“I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.”
God Bless
Monday, September 26, 2011
Hungry ?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5 : 6
Ever have a craving to eat a particular food ? Like ‘I feel like have a double scoop strawberry sundae’ or ‘ Really feel like eating pizza today !’ :-) I know there are days that I have felt like ‘Feel like eating some yummy chicken tandoori today’ and the best part is when during the course of the day someone invites you over for dinner and guess what they are having ? “Chicken tandoori” :-D Lots of fun !
We read that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled ! So the first question is do we hunger and thirst for righteousness ? I mean this isn’t just a 5 min thirst thing… It’s a craving that comes from within , its this growing desire where you just HUNGER and THIRST for righteousness.
What is this righteousness that we are talking about ? Jeremiah 23: 6 says “In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.” . Wow !
And when we go to Him , we will be filled !
John 6 : 35 , “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”
What are we hungry for this morning ?
God Bless
Matthew 5 : 6
Ever have a craving to eat a particular food ? Like ‘I feel like have a double scoop strawberry sundae’ or ‘ Really feel like eating pizza today !’ :-) I know there are days that I have felt like ‘Feel like eating some yummy chicken tandoori today’ and the best part is when during the course of the day someone invites you over for dinner and guess what they are having ? “Chicken tandoori” :-D Lots of fun !
We read that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled ! So the first question is do we hunger and thirst for righteousness ? I mean this isn’t just a 5 min thirst thing… It’s a craving that comes from within , its this growing desire where you just HUNGER and THIRST for righteousness.
What is this righteousness that we are talking about ? Jeremiah 23: 6 says “In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.” . Wow !
And when we go to Him , we will be filled !
John 6 : 35 , “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”
What are we hungry for this morning ?
God Bless
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What is our very nature ?
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 23: 1
I remember we discussed on this verse very recently. But this is what the Lord has placed on my heart today. When we say the Lord is my shepherd what does that say about our very nature? We read in John 10 : 4-5 , “When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’’
• When the shepherd goes before them , the sheep follow : Simple obedience and complete trust
• They know his voice : Familiarity that comes from knowing , sensitivity to listening
• A stranger they will not follow : Ability to discern
• But they will flee from him : If its not of the Shepherd then run ! No two ways about it .
Over the past couple of weeks the Lord has been teaching me on Simple straightforward obedience. Sometimes we get wrapped up in so many things that we forget our basics of simple obedience and trusting God completely . Where He leads may we follow. Even its unfamiliar territory , even if it means walking away from that pasture which seems lush green … Trust Him ! He knows best ! He sees more than we can and He knows more than we will ever be able to comprehend.
Develop a relationship with Him . Its not a once a week hearing His voice. Its an every day every moment thing ! Its an ‘abiding in Him’ relationship. When we do that , we just know His voice. We know the difference between when we hear a strangers voice and when we hear His voice.
If something is not of God then no point contemplating and trying to twist scriptures to suit our convenience. If its not of God then NO. May we be well rooted in His word and choose with His wisdom.
With this, when we live lives trusting the Lord to be our shepherd , we will never want .
God Bless
Psalm 23: 1
I remember we discussed on this verse very recently. But this is what the Lord has placed on my heart today. When we say the Lord is my shepherd what does that say about our very nature? We read in John 10 : 4-5 , “When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’’
• When the shepherd goes before them , the sheep follow : Simple obedience and complete trust
• They know his voice : Familiarity that comes from knowing , sensitivity to listening
• A stranger they will not follow : Ability to discern
• But they will flee from him : If its not of the Shepherd then run ! No two ways about it .
Over the past couple of weeks the Lord has been teaching me on Simple straightforward obedience. Sometimes we get wrapped up in so many things that we forget our basics of simple obedience and trusting God completely . Where He leads may we follow. Even its unfamiliar territory , even if it means walking away from that pasture which seems lush green … Trust Him ! He knows best ! He sees more than we can and He knows more than we will ever be able to comprehend.
Develop a relationship with Him . Its not a once a week hearing His voice. Its an every day every moment thing ! Its an ‘abiding in Him’ relationship. When we do that , we just know His voice. We know the difference between when we hear a strangers voice and when we hear His voice.
If something is not of God then no point contemplating and trying to twist scriptures to suit our convenience. If its not of God then NO. May we be well rooted in His word and choose with His wisdom.
With this, when we live lives trusting the Lord to be our shepherd , we will never want .
God Bless
Conversations or one way Monologues?
“And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer”
II Samuel 5: 25
English class in school was probably the most relaxed of all my classes. Learning grammar , types of speech , conversations… Well I decided to google the word conversation and this is what it means : “Conversation is interactive, more-or-less spontaneous, communication between two or more conversant”
Nice isn’t it. Its interactive and spontaneous ! Now does this describe our life of prayer ?
David did as the Lord commanded him. Wow Just check out verse 19 “And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”” In verse 20 we read that David defeats them. Now the Philistines came up yet again and we read in verse 23, “And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees.”
When we talk to God are we just focused on telling Him things “God I need this , fix this , do that …” or do we go into His presence with a heart that wants to hear what He has to say ? Do we go into His presence saying “Here I am Lord “ or do we go into His presence in a frenzy and say “Lord I’m getting late for this… So if you have something to say tell me now in 5 mins else I’m gonna take it like that”
God is not a magic Genie , nor is He solely a safety buoy that we want to keep as a Plan B. No . He is the great I AM ! He is Jesus Christ the only true living God. He is the Holy of holies. Wow ! And into His presence can we go freely because we have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ ! Wow !
Are we listening to what God has to say ?
God Bless
II Samuel 5: 25
English class in school was probably the most relaxed of all my classes. Learning grammar , types of speech , conversations… Well I decided to google the word conversation and this is what it means : “Conversation is interactive, more-or-less spontaneous, communication between two or more conversant”
Nice isn’t it. Its interactive and spontaneous ! Now does this describe our life of prayer ?
David did as the Lord commanded him. Wow Just check out verse 19 “And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”” In verse 20 we read that David defeats them. Now the Philistines came up yet again and we read in verse 23, “And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees.”
When we talk to God are we just focused on telling Him things “God I need this , fix this , do that …” or do we go into His presence with a heart that wants to hear what He has to say ? Do we go into His presence saying “Here I am Lord “ or do we go into His presence in a frenzy and say “Lord I’m getting late for this… So if you have something to say tell me now in 5 mins else I’m gonna take it like that”
God is not a magic Genie , nor is He solely a safety buoy that we want to keep as a Plan B. No . He is the great I AM ! He is Jesus Christ the only true living God. He is the Holy of holies. Wow ! And into His presence can we go freely because we have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ ! Wow !
Are we listening to what God has to say ?
God Bless
In the service of The King
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. “
John 15 : 16
John 15 : 16
One of my friends dropped me a mail where he mentioned ‘SS’ sounds like secret service ! And my sis c
ommented saying she has always been reminded of Secret Squirrel (SS) which is a 1980’s cartoon that we used to watch as kids. I found both sounding pretty cool ! :-) Our badges that we wear at church when ushering or volunteering have “In the service of the King” written on it ! Wouldn’t have it any other way ! :-)The cartoon character Secret Squirrel reported to his boss Double Q and they worked for the International Sneaky Service ! LOL ! But hey do we realize we have been appointed by God himself !! The Lord of hosts , the Holy One , the great I AM , the alpha and the Omega… HE appointed us ! Secret Squirrel just had probably a couple of gadgets inside his trench coat. We on the other hand have the entire Armor of God, we have the Holy Spirit ! Secret Squirrel was fictional. We on the other hand have been given the responsibility that will have a very very realistic impact for ALL ETERNITY !!
My 4 year old nephew when he started seeing for himself the power of prayer , he asked me “Are you feeling sick” and I said “no ” … it was only later that I found out that he wanted to know so that he can have an opportunity to pray for the sickness to leave ! :-) Child like faith and child like boldness. Do we have that ? We know our God is the only true living God. We know the word of God is living and powerful. Hebrews 4; 12 , “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. Wow ! But do we live our lives that speak such a testimony ? Do we live what we believe ?
Do we abide in Him ? Or have we been carried away by the ways of the world ? Are we bearing fruit or has our entire focus shifted solely to our appraisals at work and what our friends in college think ?
We don’t strike a business deal with God . Its not a calculated relationship nor is it a safety jacket that we think “ok I better do this just in case …”. It’s a loving living real relationship. Its us abiding in Him. Its having a heavenly inflow in our lives that will outflow to those around us. Its knowing who we are in Christ. Its living every moment by Him and for Him. Its about enjoying His presence , relishing His word .
Ambassadors of Christ , ransomed by the blood of the Lamb , sealed by the Holy Spirit , in the service of the great I AM !! – It doesn’t get better than that !
God Bless
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
He can heal your scars
“And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”
Luke 7 : 37- 38
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of a woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”
Are you carrying scars with you this morning ? Are you carrying hurts and a heavy heart ? Is there a part of you that’s been clouded by shame and disgrace ? The Lord is able to heal Your scars and take away all your shame. We serve such an awesome God.
We read in this passage of a woman in a city who was branded to be a sinner. This was a woman who was treated with disrespect and carried shame and disgrace. The moment she knew Jesus was there in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and washed His feet with her tears and wiped His feet with the hair of her head. Can you imagine the brokenness of this woman ? While people focused on the value of the oil , Christ focused on the value of her tears. To the people around they saw a sinner and one of them thought :If this man was a prophet he would have known what kind of woman is touching Him. In other words they wouldn’t have even let her come publicly anywhere near themselves. To Christ He saw brokenness and said to her “Your sins are forgiven”
Isn’t God awesome !
The people condemned and judged and saw her as a sinner. Jesus on the other hand saw her for who she will be…Forgiven ! When God lifts us up , He really lifts us up ! :-) Lets read Matthew 26:13 , “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” In memory of ? Her !! God is so good ! His love is incomprehensible.
Are you struggling ? Is there this secret part of your life that is just shrouded with shame and disgrace ? Come to Jesus … Come to Him with all that you are and give yourself to Him ! The world will always be ready to judge and condemn. Come to Him ! Broken as you are , give yourself into His hands… surrender every part to Him. When He forgives, He forgives ! :-) Only He can lift us up from the miry pits that we have fallen into . Only He can heal every scar .
God Bless
Salt and Light
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5 : 14
I remember in high school as part of our Chemistry lab work , we had to guess the salt given to us based on the color of the flame. This was called the “Flame Test”. For example if the salt was copper sulphate then the flame would be very blue with a tinge of green. Typically Zinc salts are more on the green side…. So once we put a mixture of the salt into the fire , the color of the flame would help us identify “oh ok I have this salt”
Reading in verse 13 we read that we are the salt of the earth . And in verse 14 we are the light of the world ! I wonder if a Flame test was done on us what color would our flame be ? What would our light show ?
Verse 16 , “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” . What does our light show to the world ? It shows who our Father is ! Do people around us see Him ? When we are shining for Him , people around us will see that and give not us but our Lord Jesus the glory .
Coming back to the Flame test :-) We read in 1 Peter 3: 13 “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”
What will a flame test of our life show today ? Has our foundation been Christ or has it been things of the world ? Are we shining for His glory or have we been trying to shine for this world ? Are we the salt of the earth ?
God Bless
Soar : Let Him carry you
“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40: 31
They shall mount up with wings like eagles. Wow ! Awesome isn’t it . Whenever I hear this verse being read out or being sung as a song , I always get the immediate picture in my head of me soaring through the skies. Seems so fun !
I actually read a little on how do eagles mount up/soar. Its pretty interesting, they allow wind currents to carry them :-)
When we wait on the Lord , our strength shall be renewed … we will be soaring and mounting up because He will be carrying us through ! When we wait on the Lord we will know when we are to mount up and soar , when we are to run and when we are to walk :-)
If we are running when we should be soaring and if we are walking when we should be running … hmmm not the best thing to do and I’m sure the outcomes may not be very desirable :-)
Proverbs 3: 5-6 “ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
When we wait on the Lord and trust Him …wow … our strength will be renewed.
‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
God Bless
Bad start ? So what ! Hold on to Him !
“When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 3 : 4
Do bad starts mean bad endings ? Ever felt “Oh no my day started off this way… I’m sure its gonna be a bad day”
A lot of us start getting this notion “Oh I knew this was God’s will and then I started it off but then this went wrong and this came up “ or sometimes we stray away from God’s will and then we realize and repent but we still hold on to fears saying “Oh I did this wrong and I have done that … will God really love me ? Will He use a wreck like me ? “
Difficult starts… Turmoils… Confusions…Do we allow bad starts to define the rest of our journey ? Do we turn from our ways and hold on to Him and His ways ? When we are walking in His will and when circumstances seem tough, do we still hold on to Him or do we start contemplating and doubting ?
Lets look at Moses. He was born in a turbulent time. It was a time when Pharaoh had ordered the midwives to kill any sons born to the Hebrews . In such a time as that God positioned God fearing midwives who would not listen to Pharaoh. Now Moses’s mother carefully concealed him and kept him with her till he was 3 months old. For those who are parents or have nieces and nephews you know how much noise a baby makes. So it wasn’t an easy job. Good and easy start ? Nope…Moses when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew , he struck the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. When the Pharaoh heard of it , he sought to kill Moses. Easy good start ? Good decision ? Nope.. And he fled from Egypt and went to the land of Midian.
And now in Chapter 3 we read of the burning bush. Wow … Just picture that , God calling him “Moses, Moses” and he said “ Here I am”. . As we read through the life of Moses ,we read in the first half of the verse of Exodus 33:11 “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Wow ! Amazing journey right ?
Do we choose to hold on to circumstances or choose to hold on to God?
God Bless
Do you see yourself as He sees you?
“Behold you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.”
Song of Solomon 1: 15
Those in the IT Sector/Project Management field are probably familiar with project tree cartoons. This is an improvised version :-)
Do we see ourselves the way Christ sees us ?
God looks at us as His beautiful bride. The bride in Song of Solomon mentions in Chapter 1 and verse 6 “Do not gaze at me because I am dark” . How does her beloved describe her “You are beautiful my love”. :-)
Ever feel like you are useless ? Feel like you are not good looking and have low self esteem ? Seem prone to making certain mistakes over and over again ? The devil likes convincing us of things we are not !!
Don’t let the devil rob you of your inheritance by His lies ! Learn to realize how God sees you. You are the son/daughter of the most High ! You have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ. You cannot be bound by sin because God has set you free ! You can overcome by His grace !!
We are set apart as holy and called to live holy lives because our Father is HOLY ! We will not degrade our bodies or take it for granted because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. All that we are is to be for His glory !
The truth and reality is God loves us with an everlasting love ! Christ conquered sin and death ! He is also a just God ! If we have been walking in sinful ways , its time to repent and turn to God ! If the devil has been clouding your mind to lower your worth remind him of who you are because of who your Father is … I read a wonderful quote the other day “If the devil reminds you about your past , just remind him about his future” :-)
Its time to rise up ! May we learn to see ourselves and see others as God sees and may we live our lives as God would have us live.
God Bless
Song of Solomon 1: 15
Those in the IT Sector/Project Management field are probably familiar with project tree cartoons. This is an improvised version :-)
Do we see ourselves the way Christ sees us ?
God looks at us as His beautiful bride. The bride in Song of Solomon mentions in Chapter 1 and verse 6 “Do not gaze at me because I am dark” . How does her beloved describe her “You are beautiful my love”. :-)
Ever feel like you are useless ? Feel like you are not good looking and have low self esteem ? Seem prone to making certain mistakes over and over again ? The devil likes convincing us of things we are not !!
Don’t let the devil rob you of your inheritance by His lies ! Learn to realize how God sees you. You are the son/daughter of the most High ! You have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ. You cannot be bound by sin because God has set you free ! You can overcome by His grace !!
We are set apart as holy and called to live holy lives because our Father is HOLY ! We will not degrade our bodies or take it for granted because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. All that we are is to be for His glory !
The truth and reality is God loves us with an everlasting love ! Christ conquered sin and death ! He is also a just God ! If we have been walking in sinful ways , its time to repent and turn to God ! If the devil has been clouding your mind to lower your worth remind him of who you are because of who your Father is … I read a wonderful quote the other day “If the devil reminds you about your past , just remind him about his future” :-)
Its time to rise up ! May we learn to see ourselves and see others as God sees and may we live our lives as God would have us live.
God Bless
Consecrated Vessels
“Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.”
Daniel 5: 3
King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords . When he tasted the wine he commanded that the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar (his father) had taken out from the temple in Jerusalem be brought. And when they brought the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple the king, his lords, his wives and his concubines all drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
Now these were vessels that were consecrated for the temple. They were set apart. And the king decided to use them for drinking wine and gave them to be used by his lords , wives and concubines. Depending on the translation some Bibles say in Verse 4 “in the same hour” some versions use the word “Immediately” the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. The rest of the chapter is a very interesting read , please do check it out..
Belshazzar knew how the Lord had dealt with his father Nebuchadnezzar , yet he did not humble himself. He brought the vessels of God’s house and drank wine from them. And he praised the gods of silver, gold, iron, wood and stone; and the God who holds his very breathe in His hand He never glorified. In verse 30 we read, that very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
When we say we have surrendered our lives to Christ we need to understand that we are consecrated vessels. We have made a decision to leave what is dishonorable and live a life of a Christian (a follower of Christ)
II Timothy 2 : 21 “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
Be careful to ensure that the world doesn’t rope you in into things that are dishonorable.
II Timothy 2: 22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know they breed quarrels.”
God Bless
Is it based on my works ?
“Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,”
Romans 9 : 32
For those of us who wear glasses, there are some things that can become a challenge. Like driving a bike in the rain ! (remove glasses cant see , wear the glasses cant see either ! – Need wipers !!). Another fun thing is a haircut. I went for a haircut last week and of course I had to take off my glasses during the haircut and voila the mirror becomes blurry. So I really have no idea to the finer details of the haircut, like the angle of the cuts with every snippety sound of the scissors. It does take faith that the stylist will give a good haircut or really good hair where you know that no matter how bad the haircut it will grow back pretty fast ! :-) Well by God’s grace I did get a pretty good cut ! Praise the Lord (Yes I did pray before she began cutting my hair :-) )
What did I have to do to get a haircut ? I just had to drive myself over to the stylist’s shop and that’s about it. The stylist took the pain of getting trained in the profession years ago , have a great shop set up in the heart of the city. Everything all set . It would be very silly on my part if I took credit for the hair cut saying ‘Oh guess what , my hair looks so great all because of the me ! My good hair is a direct result of my driving skills of the car’ … Doesn’t make sense really right ?
So is saying that our works will get us to heaven !
Ephesians 2 : 4-9 , “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”
God Bless
He must increase, but I must decrease
“He must increase, but I must decrease.””
John 3: 30
All of us desire that He increase and we decrease. We pray that , we sing that … but for a lot of us, we never do anything about it . We want to have the same lifestyle our way , have the same schedules our way , but still want God to increase.
We want God to work in our lives the way He worked in Paul’s life , in Daniel’s life but we don’t have the life of prayer that they did ! We like to have discussions about God , but don’t take the time to sit in His presence to listen from God.
While technology is a blessing , many of us have unfortunately used it to substitute our personal prayer time with God. We think “Oh I listen to Gospel songs and the sermons as I drive to work” , “I have verses sent to me on my phone” , “I read XYZ books this week” … that is awesome. These are all wonderful things that are meant to edify us and be a secondary source . The primary source has always been and will always be His presence and His word. Our personal time with Him cannot be substituted with anything else.
The world will drive us to be busy and have overly cluttered schedules - Handle with great caution !
As we start a whole new month by God’s grace , I pray that He will increase in our lives and we will truly decrease.
God Bless
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Throw away your garbage
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice.”
Ephesians 4: 31 (The Bible)
The tiny illustration though funny is a reflection of most our lives. We choose to carry bitterness in our lives , we choose to carry unforgiveness , we choose to carry hurts and anger. And like piled up garbage it becomes smelly and heavier over time. Nothing good can come from accumulating garbage. It is meant to be thrown out. The same is with bitterness and anger and clamor and malice and slander. It needs to be put away from our lives totally,
If we don’t put it away, we are going to be just so loaded with all that garbage that we would have lost sight of God and things of Him, because all that we see is bitterness , all that we hold on to is unforgiveness. Its time to throw the garbage out !
The only thing we are called to hold on to is Him and His Holy word !
Some of us (including me )say “Oh you don’t know… I was so good to them , I never did anything wrong , and at the end they did this , and they said that “ or for those of us who get stuck in traffic “I was on the right lane and that other person just cut me off “ , or when in a supermarket we say “That lady just cut right in front of me .. how could she do that and I was waiting in line for 10 minutes… I spoke my mind and put her in her place “ !!! At the spur of the moment we think that just because we were not in the wrong , that gives us a right to demonstrate clamor and anger and then we carry on that bitterness.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2 : 22-23, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to Him who judges justly.”
Jesus Christ in whom there is no sin , when He reacted in that manner , how do you think we ought to be reacting then ?
Some of us think “oh that was Jesus ! God is Holy and He can react like that . Why should I ?”
1 Peter 1 : 16 , “since it is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy”
What are we holding on to ? Its time to let go of the garbage . Its time to understand who we are in Christ .
God Bless
Ephesians 4: 31 (The Bible)
The tiny illustration though funny is a reflection of most our lives. We choose to carry bitterness in our lives , we choose to carry unforgiveness , we choose to carry hurts and anger. And like piled up garbage it becomes smelly and heavier over time. Nothing good can come from accumulating garbage. It is meant to be thrown out. The same is with bitterness and anger and clamor and malice and slander. It needs to be put away from our lives totally,
If we don’t put it away, we are going to be just so loaded with all that garbage that we would have lost sight of God and things of Him, because all that we see is bitterness , all that we hold on to is unforgiveness. Its time to throw the garbage out !
The only thing we are called to hold on to is Him and His Holy word !
Some of us (including me )say “Oh you don’t know… I was so good to them , I never did anything wrong , and at the end they did this , and they said that “ or for those of us who get stuck in traffic “I was on the right lane and that other person just cut me off “ , or when in a supermarket we say “That lady just cut right in front of me .. how could she do that and I was waiting in line for 10 minutes… I spoke my mind and put her in her place “ !!! At the spur of the moment we think that just because we were not in the wrong , that gives us a right to demonstrate clamor and anger and then we carry on that bitterness.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2 : 22-23, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to Him who judges justly.”
Jesus Christ in whom there is no sin , when He reacted in that manner , how do you think we ought to be reacting then ?
Some of us think “oh that was Jesus ! God is Holy and He can react like that . Why should I ?”
1 Peter 1 : 16 , “since it is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy”
What are we holding on to ? Its time to let go of the garbage . Its time to understand who we are in Christ .
God Bless
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
It is that simple !
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Matthew 18: 1
There was a show that I watched really long ago called Candid Camera. Its where they plant a hidden camera and then check people’s reactions to bizarre situations that they set up The other day they had a rerun of the show on TV and what they did was they had a big bowl full of 1 dollar bills in a shop. And next to the bowl they had a sign ‘Free Money ! Each one can take one bill’. Its free money right, you would think that everyone would grab a dollar and the bowl would be empty in lightening speed. But guess what ? When people passed by and read the sign they did funny things . Some smelt the money , some lifted up the money against the light to check if it was real, some laughed and went away and not a single person took the money. In their minds it was just too good to be true. Time passed by and no one took even a single bill. Finally a child came by , read the sign , knew it was ok to take the money , put her hand into the bowl and took a dollar and went off happily on her way ! :-)
Matthew 18 : 1-4 , “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Oh if everyone would have had the simplicity of thinking like a child :-) As we grow up we tend to over complicate things and over analyze things . We forget basic simple truths. We start letting things of the world dictate our principles and our lifestyles instead of being founded on one thing and one thing alone – The Word of God.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6: 23)! It’s a gift… Its free. Jesus Christ already paid the price . And all we have to do is stretch our hands out and take it.
The Bible is the word of God. And the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Its right there for us… something so wonderful , something so powerful… Do we pass it by ?
God Bless
Matthew 18: 1
There was a show that I watched really long ago called Candid Camera. Its where they plant a hidden camera and then check people’s reactions to bizarre situations that they set up The other day they had a rerun of the show on TV and what they did was they had a big bowl full of 1 dollar bills in a shop. And next to the bowl they had a sign ‘Free Money ! Each one can take one bill’. Its free money right, you would think that everyone would grab a dollar and the bowl would be empty in lightening speed. But guess what ? When people passed by and read the sign they did funny things . Some smelt the money , some lifted up the money against the light to check if it was real, some laughed and went away and not a single person took the money. In their minds it was just too good to be true. Time passed by and no one took even a single bill. Finally a child came by , read the sign , knew it was ok to take the money , put her hand into the bowl and took a dollar and went off happily on her way ! :-)
Matthew 18 : 1-4 , “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Oh if everyone would have had the simplicity of thinking like a child :-) As we grow up we tend to over complicate things and over analyze things . We forget basic simple truths. We start letting things of the world dictate our principles and our lifestyles instead of being founded on one thing and one thing alone – The Word of God.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6: 23)! It’s a gift… Its free. Jesus Christ already paid the price . And all we have to do is stretch our hands out and take it.
The Bible is the word of God. And the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Its right there for us… something so wonderful , something so powerful… Do we pass it by ?
God Bless
Ready to make a proclamation ?
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”
Psalm 23: 1
This is probably one of the first verses we must have memorized as a kid. This verse is more than just a statement. It’s a proclamation ! The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
When He is my shepherd why would I ever need to worry
When He is my shepherd why would I ever be anxious
When He is my shepherd all I need to do is be tuned to His voice
When He is my shepherd He goes before me and leads the way
When He is my shepherd , though sometimes the grass may look greener on the other side I will still follow Him because He knows what’s best and He sees and knows more than I do
When He is my shepherd , I shall not want because He knows everything that I need , more than I know myself
I pray this will be a proclamation in our lives. May people all around us see us as living testimonies of this proclamation – The Lord is our shepherd !
God Bless
Everlasting
“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds”
Psalm 36: 5
His faithfulness is not dependent on our faithfulness. His righteousness is not dependent on our righteousness (which are filthy rags).
In this world, one of the greatest covenants a man/woman can make is that of a marriage. Marriage is life long commitment. And when a man/woman take their marriage vows they say ‘till death do us apart’.
Romans 8:38-39 , “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Wow ! Isn’t it awesome that we have the love and faithfulness of Christ which even death cannot do us apart !
“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds”
God Bless
Psalm 36: 5
His faithfulness is not dependent on our faithfulness. His righteousness is not dependent on our righteousness (which are filthy rags).
In this world, one of the greatest covenants a man/woman can make is that of a marriage. Marriage is life long commitment. And when a man/woman take their marriage vows they say ‘till death do us apart’.
Romans 8:38-39 , “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Wow ! Isn’t it awesome that we have the love and faithfulness of Christ which even death cannot do us apart !
“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds”
God Bless
"Prayer is to a Christian what love is to marriage"
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
John 15 : 4
My second nephew Aryan is 4 years old. I think the most difficult thing I could ever ask him to do is ‘sit quietly in one place’ . I can ask him to do this or do that and he would do it with utmost obedience. But sit still ? Pretty difficult. My oldest nephew Rohan is 8 years old and now as he is growing up its easy for him to sit quietly in one place. He understands why we ask him to do so , he understands him sitting down would make the younger one quiet down too.
I found myself over the last two weeks behaving like my second nephew Aryan. It was a struggle for me to sit down in quiet times with the Lord. It comes so easily for me to do things for Him but it became very difficult for me to sit down quietly in His presence and just listen .
There is a reason why we need to sit quietly in His presence. In His presence there is renewal , revival , restoration and revelation.
In today’s verse we read that a branch cannot bear fruit by itself. If we really want to be walking every step in accordance to His will then we need to be abiding in Him every step of the way J
And this constant communion with Him comes from a life of prayer
A wonderful man of God wrote “Prayer is to a Christian what love is to marriage: It is a decision. You choose to pray as you choose to love. And its not something you do for the first three months of your marriage. You must choose to love every good morning, every bad morning, every wonderful weekend, every tiring weekend; and endlessly. And so it is with prayer!”
“Abide in me, and I in you” – For some of us God is calling us to be still and learn to enjoy just drinking from His heavenly throne. For some of us God is calling us saying ‘Don’t selectively leave me out on certain aspects of your life”. We cannot choose to have God in some areas of our life and then decide to push him out of our lives in certain other areas. If we believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord then this life that we live is ALL HIS!
The vine and the branch… Christ and us …. Is this truly how we are today ?
God Bless
John 15 : 4
My second nephew Aryan is 4 years old. I think the most difficult thing I could ever ask him to do is ‘sit quietly in one place’ . I can ask him to do this or do that and he would do it with utmost obedience. But sit still ? Pretty difficult. My oldest nephew Rohan is 8 years old and now as he is growing up its easy for him to sit quietly in one place. He understands why we ask him to do so , he understands him sitting down would make the younger one quiet down too.
I found myself over the last two weeks behaving like my second nephew Aryan. It was a struggle for me to sit down in quiet times with the Lord. It comes so easily for me to do things for Him but it became very difficult for me to sit down quietly in His presence and just listen .
There is a reason why we need to sit quietly in His presence. In His presence there is renewal , revival , restoration and revelation.
In today’s verse we read that a branch cannot bear fruit by itself. If we really want to be walking every step in accordance to His will then we need to be abiding in Him every step of the way J
And this constant communion with Him comes from a life of prayer
A wonderful man of God wrote “Prayer is to a Christian what love is to marriage: It is a decision. You choose to pray as you choose to love. And its not something you do for the first three months of your marriage. You must choose to love every good morning, every bad morning, every wonderful weekend, every tiring weekend; and endlessly. And so it is with prayer!”
“Abide in me, and I in you” – For some of us God is calling us to be still and learn to enjoy just drinking from His heavenly throne. For some of us God is calling us saying ‘Don’t selectively leave me out on certain aspects of your life”. We cannot choose to have God in some areas of our life and then decide to push him out of our lives in certain other areas. If we believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord then this life that we live is ALL HIS!
The vine and the branch… Christ and us …. Is this truly how we are today ?
God Bless
"your faith has made you well"
““What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 18 : 41-42
When we read the entire passage from verses 35-43 we read of a blind man sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he asks what’s happening and they say Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. And he cries out “Jesus , Son of David, have mercy on me!” . People around him start rebuking him and ask him to be silent but he cried out all the more “Son of David have mercy on me.”
This blind man had heard about Jesus and when he hears of the fact that he is passing by he seizes the opportunity and cries out. People around were obviously upset. In their view “Jesus is passing by and this blind chap is creating chaos” But that didn’t stop him. He pressed on .And the reason why he never gave up was because he was sure of one thing – if there was anyone who could heal him , it was JESUS !And yes his cries didn’t go in vain. Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him . And He asks him “”What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.“”Wow ! Isn’t that amazing ? We read in verse 43 “And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him glorifying God. And all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
· When we pray and cry out to Him , its going to sound foolish to others
Are you interceding in prayer for a friend ,for a family , for a community , for a state , for a nation ? Press on . People are going to say “You have been praying for 5 years for that family’s salvation… they are not going to change , why do you bother ?” . Press on … don’t give up. He is able there is no doubt about that ! Keep praying ! People are going to say “Oh if you pray for the state of Orissa do you think there will be a change just because you prayed ?” … PRESS ON !! Its not we but He who makes the difference. We cry what He places on our hearts .. we cry in obedience to His word … we cry because our hearts break for what breaks His heart.
· When the rebukes get loud make sure you cry louder !!
Be prepared for satan to be up to his slimy tricks of saying “He is God ! who are you that he will listen to you ?? Don’t you remember all your sins ? You YOU YOU of all people are praying for breakthough ? Ha ha ha …”
Make sure you shout back even louder “I have been ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, sealed by the Holy Spirit , I am a son/daughter of the Most High , I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ . My God has washed away all my sins and as far as the east is from the west so far have my transgressions been removed . And He will answer my prayers not because I am righteous but because He is righteous . I am who I am because of the great I AM in me !!”
· Have faith not because of what you see but because of who you know – Jesus !
This man was a blind roadside beggar. All he knew was probably what people spoke about as they walked. But that was enough for this man to have undoubting faith . He didn’t have to see a sign or a miracle to know that Jesus could heal. He knew all he had to do was cry out beyond the rebukes and he would have his healing that day , because hey Jesus was there !!
· Glorify & Follow Him
He not only had faith but he was also faithful . He followed him and glorified him. And when all the people saw it they gave praise to God
God Bless
Luke 18 : 41-42
When we read the entire passage from verses 35-43 we read of a blind man sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he asks what’s happening and they say Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. And he cries out “Jesus , Son of David, have mercy on me!” . People around him start rebuking him and ask him to be silent but he cried out all the more “Son of David have mercy on me.”
This blind man had heard about Jesus and when he hears of the fact that he is passing by he seizes the opportunity and cries out. People around were obviously upset. In their view “Jesus is passing by and this blind chap is creating chaos” But that didn’t stop him. He pressed on .And the reason why he never gave up was because he was sure of one thing – if there was anyone who could heal him , it was JESUS !And yes his cries didn’t go in vain. Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him . And He asks him “”What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.“”Wow ! Isn’t that amazing ? We read in verse 43 “And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him glorifying God. And all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
· When we pray and cry out to Him , its going to sound foolish to others
Are you interceding in prayer for a friend ,for a family , for a community , for a state , for a nation ? Press on . People are going to say “You have been praying for 5 years for that family’s salvation… they are not going to change , why do you bother ?” . Press on … don’t give up. He is able there is no doubt about that ! Keep praying ! People are going to say “Oh if you pray for the state of Orissa do you think there will be a change just because you prayed ?” … PRESS ON !! Its not we but He who makes the difference. We cry what He places on our hearts .. we cry in obedience to His word … we cry because our hearts break for what breaks His heart.
· When the rebukes get loud make sure you cry louder !!
Be prepared for satan to be up to his slimy tricks of saying “He is God ! who are you that he will listen to you ?? Don’t you remember all your sins ? You YOU YOU of all people are praying for breakthough ? Ha ha ha …”
Make sure you shout back even louder “I have been ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, sealed by the Holy Spirit , I am a son/daughter of the Most High , I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ . My God has washed away all my sins and as far as the east is from the west so far have my transgressions been removed . And He will answer my prayers not because I am righteous but because He is righteous . I am who I am because of the great I AM in me !!”
· Have faith not because of what you see but because of who you know – Jesus !
This man was a blind roadside beggar. All he knew was probably what people spoke about as they walked. But that was enough for this man to have undoubting faith . He didn’t have to see a sign or a miracle to know that Jesus could heal. He knew all he had to do was cry out beyond the rebukes and he would have his healing that day , because hey Jesus was there !!
· Glorify & Follow Him
He not only had faith but he was also faithful . He followed him and glorified him. And when all the people saw it they gave praise to God
God Bless
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Grain or Chaff?
“But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
I Chronicles 21: 24
The entire passage from verses 18-30 is about how the Lord commands Gad to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and how David pays the price for the land though Ornan asks David to take it with no cost.
An Altar on a threshing floor
Of all the places where God could have commanded an altar to be built , He chose a threshing floor. Why a threshing floor ? A threshing floor is a place where sheaves of grain would be spread across the threshing floor. Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle, or horses) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks. After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet.
Wow ! Isn’t that what an altar is for ? It’s a place where we die to self. It’s a place where we say “Lord here I am … separate me from the husk of the world…”. Its a place of sacrifice ! It’s a place where we are consumed completely by Him !
It is going to cost us
David said He would not offer to the Lord anything that costs him nothing . Wow… I pray that really hits us today. We have somehow gotten ourselves to a form of convenience. We pray ‘when its convenient’ , we attend church services ‘when its convenient’ , we help people ‘when its convenient’ , we decide oh I’m not of this world ‘when its convenient’.
Presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to Him , laying ourselves out on the threshing floor - laying ourselves on the altar is not going to be convenient – that’s why its called a sacrifice J Its going to take a lot out of us…
Matthew 3: 12 , “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Are we going to be found as separated grain at His feet or will we be found as chaff?
God Bless
I Chronicles 21: 24
The entire passage from verses 18-30 is about how the Lord commands Gad to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and how David pays the price for the land though Ornan asks David to take it with no cost.
An Altar on a threshing floor
Of all the places where God could have commanded an altar to be built , He chose a threshing floor. Why a threshing floor ? A threshing floor is a place where sheaves of grain would be spread across the threshing floor. Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle, or horses) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks. After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet.
Wow ! Isn’t that what an altar is for ? It’s a place where we die to self. It’s a place where we say “Lord here I am … separate me from the husk of the world…”. Its a place of sacrifice ! It’s a place where we are consumed completely by Him !
It is going to cost us
David said He would not offer to the Lord anything that costs him nothing . Wow… I pray that really hits us today. We have somehow gotten ourselves to a form of convenience. We pray ‘when its convenient’ , we attend church services ‘when its convenient’ , we help people ‘when its convenient’ , we decide oh I’m not of this world ‘when its convenient’.
Presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to Him , laying ourselves out on the threshing floor - laying ourselves on the altar is not going to be convenient – that’s why its called a sacrifice J Its going to take a lot out of us…
Matthew 3: 12 , “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Are we going to be found as separated grain at His feet or will we be found as chaff?
God Bless
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Quoting or Living ?
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2: 20
Ok we all know what a circle looks like . Generally a circle is used as a representation of completeness . With that perspective I feel that for many of us our application of a lot of scriptures to our life has been a semi circle :-) and I thank God that He is teaching us to apply the word in completeness.
Let me explain… I remember as a kid I went through this phase where I was afraid of the dark. Oh you should have seen the scriptures I would quote. Hey good lessons thought at home and at Sunday School – Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world , Its no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me J
But I think even as grown ups or college kids we still are in the same habit of quoting scriptures in a time of need rather than living the scripture . When waiting for that exam result , when waiting for that promotion , oh we make sure we tell the devil not to mess with us because we are His and that Christ lives in us. And the moment we have our answered prayer where does that all go away ?
Are we living the word ?
· I have been crucified in Christ needs to be a 24*7 application in our lives.
· Its no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me needs to be a 24*7 application in our lives
Whether people hurt us, whether we get stuck in this terrible traffic jam and someone hits the car , whether people falsely accuse us , come what may… Do we live , do we react , do we speak , do we desire as Christ who lives in us ?
Are we just quoting scriptures or are we living them ? Its time to grow
God Bless
Galatians 2: 20
Ok we all know what a circle looks like . Generally a circle is used as a representation of completeness . With that perspective I feel that for many of us our application of a lot of scriptures to our life has been a semi circle :-) and I thank God that He is teaching us to apply the word in completeness.
Let me explain… I remember as a kid I went through this phase where I was afraid of the dark. Oh you should have seen the scriptures I would quote. Hey good lessons thought at home and at Sunday School – Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world , Its no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me J
But I think even as grown ups or college kids we still are in the same habit of quoting scriptures in a time of need rather than living the scripture . When waiting for that exam result , when waiting for that promotion , oh we make sure we tell the devil not to mess with us because we are His and that Christ lives in us. And the moment we have our answered prayer where does that all go away ?
Are we living the word ?
· I have been crucified in Christ needs to be a 24*7 application in our lives.
· Its no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me needs to be a 24*7 application in our lives
Whether people hurt us, whether we get stuck in this terrible traffic jam and someone hits the car , whether people falsely accuse us , come what may… Do we live , do we react , do we speak , do we desire as Christ who lives in us ?
Are we just quoting scriptures or are we living them ? Its time to grow
God Bless
Dare to be Foolish !
“And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars.”
Judges 7 : 16
This is something that the Lord has been pouring into my heart this week : His ways are not our ways :-) What the world deems as strategic to make an impact , what the world deems as successful is so drastically different from the way God works. The world goes by self… self strength , self knowledge , self strategies. The ways of God goes by His strength , His knowledge and His wisdom.
We all know the story of Gideon where from 32000 people God decided to use only 300. Think about it … 300 people instead of 32000 and then hand them trumpets and empty jars with torches in it !! Makes sense ? By worldly standards not at all !! But we read of the victory that God gave Gideon. Isn’t the ways of God so amazing ! We serve a creative God ! :-)
Now here are some key points…
· Gideon listened to the Lord
· Gideon did exactly as the Lord had commanded
Some of us want the victory but don’t want to listen to what God has to say. Rather we spend all our time telling Him what we would like Him to do .
Some of us listen to what the Lord says but don’t obey it to the dot. What if Gideon had said ‘Ok Lord I hear what you are telling me . Yes You will give me victory , but you know what Lord , 300 men is just too less , I’ll take 3000 Lord … See I’m not taking 32000 , but I will just take 3000’. See the difference ?
Are we willing to listen to the Lord ? Are we ready to do exactly what God asks us to do ?
Even our every day life may sound so foolish to the world . ‘You don’t go to clubs and dance ??? You don’t drink ???‘ , ‘You don’t give false bills for your taxes ? everyone does it , do you think you are some saint’?? , ‘You love praying and reading your Bible ‘ ????
Dare to be foolish to the world ?
God Bless
Judges 7 : 16
This is something that the Lord has been pouring into my heart this week : His ways are not our ways :-) What the world deems as strategic to make an impact , what the world deems as successful is so drastically different from the way God works. The world goes by self… self strength , self knowledge , self strategies. The ways of God goes by His strength , His knowledge and His wisdom.
We all know the story of Gideon where from 32000 people God decided to use only 300. Think about it … 300 people instead of 32000 and then hand them trumpets and empty jars with torches in it !! Makes sense ? By worldly standards not at all !! But we read of the victory that God gave Gideon. Isn’t the ways of God so amazing ! We serve a creative God ! :-)
Now here are some key points…
· Gideon listened to the Lord
· Gideon did exactly as the Lord had commanded
Some of us want the victory but don’t want to listen to what God has to say. Rather we spend all our time telling Him what we would like Him to do .
Some of us listen to what the Lord says but don’t obey it to the dot. What if Gideon had said ‘Ok Lord I hear what you are telling me . Yes You will give me victory , but you know what Lord , 300 men is just too less , I’ll take 3000 Lord … See I’m not taking 32000 , but I will just take 3000’. See the difference ?
Are we willing to listen to the Lord ? Are we ready to do exactly what God asks us to do ?
Even our every day life may sound so foolish to the world . ‘You don’t go to clubs and dance ??? You don’t drink ???‘ , ‘You don’t give false bills for your taxes ? everyone does it , do you think you are some saint’?? , ‘You love praying and reading your Bible ‘ ????
Dare to be foolish to the world ?
God Bless
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Dont let satan steer you off course
“He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
Genesis 39 : 9
A little background to this verse. Joseph having been sold by his brothers had been brought down to Egypt where Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh had bought him . When we read through chapter 39 we see of how God was with Joseph and the house of Joseph’s master was blessed because of him.
Now Joseph was handsome and we read in verse 7-9 , “And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house and he has put everything that he has in my charge. ”Potiphar had given Joseph command over everything . Whatever was his was Joseph’s.. We read in verse 9 “nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife” Just that one thing. Now just picture this… You are doing your work as God would have you do . And then Satan comes around with some form of temptation and says ‘Just this … Try just this… This one thing only … Do this one thing…’ . Interesting isn’t it that its always just that one thing that can change the entire course !
When we read the Genesis chapter 2 we see how God gave Adam full charge of everything. Whatever Adam called every living creature that was its name. Very cool ! The only thing he withheld was the fruit of that one tree. And what did satan do ? Genesis 3 : 1-4 , “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said , ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden neither shall you touch it, lest you die. ‘ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will surely not die.” .
Living in the garden of Eden where God would go walking in the garden – wow can you just imagine that ! That one thing that would change that course … That one thing… Satan went ahead to tempt them.
Coming back to Joseph , that one thing that was withheld came to taunt him. In fact we read in Genesis 39 : 10 , “And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.” Joseph was a man who honored God . God’s favor was so evidently upon him , yet he had to face this temptation day after day and conquer it every day. Satan wanted to change Joseph’s course . We read in John 10:10 that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. We need to understand that very well. Whenever faced with temptation , whenever you get stuck at that crossroads we need to understand that nothing good can ever come from dishonoring God . NOTHING !! Satan has only one agenda and that is to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to rob you of the plans and purposes of God in your life. He wants to steer you off track as much as possible.
But you know what ? We have been called by the great I AM to overcome !! We read in Genesis 4 : 7 , “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you , but you must rule over it.”
God Bless
Genesis 39 : 9
A little background to this verse. Joseph having been sold by his brothers had been brought down to Egypt where Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh had bought him . When we read through chapter 39 we see of how God was with Joseph and the house of Joseph’s master was blessed because of him.
Now Joseph was handsome and we read in verse 7-9 , “And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house and he has put everything that he has in my charge. ”Potiphar had given Joseph command over everything . Whatever was his was Joseph’s.. We read in verse 9 “nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife” Just that one thing. Now just picture this… You are doing your work as God would have you do . And then Satan comes around with some form of temptation and says ‘Just this … Try just this… This one thing only … Do this one thing…’ . Interesting isn’t it that its always just that one thing that can change the entire course !
When we read the Genesis chapter 2 we see how God gave Adam full charge of everything. Whatever Adam called every living creature that was its name. Very cool ! The only thing he withheld was the fruit of that one tree. And what did satan do ? Genesis 3 : 1-4 , “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said , ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden neither shall you touch it, lest you die. ‘ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will surely not die.” .
Living in the garden of Eden where God would go walking in the garden – wow can you just imagine that ! That one thing that would change that course … That one thing… Satan went ahead to tempt them.
Coming back to Joseph , that one thing that was withheld came to taunt him. In fact we read in Genesis 39 : 10 , “And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.” Joseph was a man who honored God . God’s favor was so evidently upon him , yet he had to face this temptation day after day and conquer it every day. Satan wanted to change Joseph’s course . We read in John 10:10 that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. We need to understand that very well. Whenever faced with temptation , whenever you get stuck at that crossroads we need to understand that nothing good can ever come from dishonoring God . NOTHING !! Satan has only one agenda and that is to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to rob you of the plans and purposes of God in your life. He wants to steer you off track as much as possible.
But you know what ? We have been called by the great I AM to overcome !! We read in Genesis 4 : 7 , “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you , but you must rule over it.”
God Bless
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Who is our King?
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before His God, as was his custom since early days.”
Daniel 6: 10 (New King James version)
Who is our King ? A little background to the context of this verse. Daniel was appointed as one of the governors by Darius. We read in Daniel 6:3 , “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” Of course everyone else was envious and wanted to bring him down but they just could not find any fault in him. So they got the king to sign a decree that for 30 days the people would only petition before a statue of the king and should not serve any other god. And if they were found doing so they would be cast into the lions den.
So here is an order that comes from king Darius , Daniel’s boss . Daniel didn’t think , “Hmmm ok Lord , you gave me this job , so hmmm its only 30 days right , I will talk to you quietly with no one seeing , you know everything right Lord. I need to do what my boss says else I will lose my job , well in this case worse , I will be cast into the den.”
I really wonder what lame excuses I might have given if I was in Daniel’s position. But this is what Daniel did. He knew that he belonged to one person and one person alone – The Holy God Almighty. He knew his first and foremost obedience was to his God. He knew there would be no compromise on his communion with God . He knew who was his boss , his King !!
Do we understand that we are not citizens of earth but are citizens of heaven ? Do we truly realize that above everyone and everything in this world our heart our mind our everything is to do be in obedience and love to Him ?
How much have we compromised ? How much have we allowed the world to be our king and ruler ?
We are in the world but not of the world . May nothing nothing nothing ever draw us away from our relationship with Him.
Daniel could have said , “oh Lord you know my heart , you know I love you , so that’s all that counts , don’t mind for these 30 days…” No no no ! He would always pray and give thanks to God in such a manner and nothing could ever make him compromise even a tiny bit of his walk with God.
You know because of Daniel’s decision what was the outcome ? Darius wrote a decree in verse 26 , “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end.”
Wow ! If we would not compromise on our walk with God can you imagine the outcome ?
God Bless
Daniel 6: 10 (New King James version)
Who is our King ? A little background to the context of this verse. Daniel was appointed as one of the governors by Darius. We read in Daniel 6:3 , “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” Of course everyone else was envious and wanted to bring him down but they just could not find any fault in him. So they got the king to sign a decree that for 30 days the people would only petition before a statue of the king and should not serve any other god. And if they were found doing so they would be cast into the lions den.
So here is an order that comes from king Darius , Daniel’s boss . Daniel didn’t think , “Hmmm ok Lord , you gave me this job , so hmmm its only 30 days right , I will talk to you quietly with no one seeing , you know everything right Lord. I need to do what my boss says else I will lose my job , well in this case worse , I will be cast into the den.”
I really wonder what lame excuses I might have given if I was in Daniel’s position. But this is what Daniel did. He knew that he belonged to one person and one person alone – The Holy God Almighty. He knew his first and foremost obedience was to his God. He knew there would be no compromise on his communion with God . He knew who was his boss , his King !!
Do we understand that we are not citizens of earth but are citizens of heaven ? Do we truly realize that above everyone and everything in this world our heart our mind our everything is to do be in obedience and love to Him ?
How much have we compromised ? How much have we allowed the world to be our king and ruler ?
We are in the world but not of the world . May nothing nothing nothing ever draw us away from our relationship with Him.
Daniel could have said , “oh Lord you know my heart , you know I love you , so that’s all that counts , don’t mind for these 30 days…” No no no ! He would always pray and give thanks to God in such a manner and nothing could ever make him compromise even a tiny bit of his walk with God.
You know because of Daniel’s decision what was the outcome ? Darius wrote a decree in verse 26 , “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end.”
Wow ! If we would not compromise on our walk with God can you imagine the outcome ?
God Bless
Monday, April 18, 2011
Deal with it at the roots
“But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.” Luke 13: 8 (New King James version) Its been quite a few weeks that I haven’t been able to get the Verse for the Day mails out on a regular day – to – day basis. Its amazing how patient and loving our Father is :-) His love is so indescribable. Its been an interesting couple of weeks for me where I have learnt so much. And here is what the Lord has placed on my heart for this morning and I pray that it will speak to all who read this . Deal with it at the roots ! Here was a tree that wasn’t bearing fruit. And when the keeper pleads for not having the tree cut down, ,he says that he will dig around it and fertilize it . Another version mentions the verse like this , “And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.” He was going to the roots. ·
- Dig all around it – preparation
- Put the manure – enrichment
Not spending time in His presence ? Not reading His word ? Struggling with bondages of sin ? Deal with it at the roots ! If our problem is not spending time in His presence (remember we are talking about the King of kings and the Lord of lords, angels cry out Holy Holy Holy ), if we are allowing things of the world get in our way of spending time with Him, we need to dig at the roots ! Where is our heart truly ? Have we made God our Wish list granter ? Have we forgotten truly who He is ? Have we forgotten who we are in Him ? May we dig around and prepare our hearts and allow Him to enrich us with His word and Spirit.
If our problem is struggling with bondages of sin , deal with it at its roots. Hooked to pornography ? Cut off your net connection , throw away your computer , disconnect your cable . Dig all around ! Let Him enrich your life ! Spend time in His presence and with friends whose mind is set on things above.
Worried about financial situations at home ? Anxious about your future ? Deal with it at the roots . Do we truly trust God or not ? Have we been walking in His ways or not ? Are there things in our lives that need correction ? Have we been careless in what God has given us ? Dig all around ! He will enrich our lives with wisdom and He will direct our paths.
If we look on the inside of ourselves and all we see if discontent , bitterness , worldly desires and cares then how can we expect an outwardly fruit of the Spirit to be borne ? How will that ever show ?
However , if we have been feeding on His word , spending time in His presence; when we look on the inside and see things of Him , then for sure what’s on the inside will automatically spring forth fruits to be shown on the outside for His glory.
God Bless
The simplest call to answer : COME
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (New King James version) Ever noticed that when things get busy , or when a lot of things need to be done what do we do ? we keep doing more things ! :-) We think we can handle it , we know so many things need to get done . If you were planning a party or some event and were knee deep into it and someone walked up to you and said ‘Why don’t you just sleep and I will take care of everything ‘ we would probably say , “Are you crazy ? I have all this information in my head, Only I know what has to be done….” Lord, bless us with a willingness to give it all to You ! When I read this verse the picture I get in my head is this . Christ standing there with open arms saying “Come, let me take care it all for you” and then we standing right across Him saying “ Really Lord ? I don’t think you would understand though… “ And this is exactly what we are saying every time we decide not to lift it all to Him and try to work on our own strength and our own council. We read in verse 29 , “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” Christ is telling us to drop it all down ! Whatever burdens we have been carrying on our own till now put it all down… you don’t have to carry it. All those hurts , anxieties of the past , present and future, all the bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, disappointments, fears… Let it go. It was never our burden to carry. We just decided to lift it all ! When we cast it all upon the Lord , He causes us to rest. And the yoke that He lays upon us is easy ! And you know what the best part is ? The word of God says ‘Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” All we need to do is be willing to listen and learn from the great I AM ! It doesn’t get easier than that !! :-) Troubled ? Worried ? Anxious ? Overwhelmed ? Confused ? Your soul will find rest when you come to Him ! Its an open invitation ! COME :-) Psalm 18 : 32,” It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.” God Bless
Have we become Tax Collector Christians ?
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4: 31 (New King James version) “Its very easy to teach a kid stories and all . Try telling them about the gospel .. that is what makes the difference and its not easy” – This is a statement that someone told me 7 years ago that still rings so strongly in my mind. It does make me to carefully reexamine what I do . I love the corporate social responsibility groups that I have been blessed to work with in the companies I have worked over the past 7 years. However though my initial years were spent in just making a social difference, over the years God is pruning me to understand that it doesn’t stop there. They need to know the Lord ! I can be the most friendly person on the team. However if my life has not been testimonial of the God whom I serve I have failed. Sometimes we like to keep a ‘generic’ attitude at work. The “God, Faith’ topic is becoming a taboo word in work circles. If someone asks ‘do you go to church every Sunday??’ we might even say a timid ‘yes’ and then change the topic. When someone says ‘Hey I got some receipts that we can use for our taxes ‘ we would actually take them and quietly decide not to use them so that we are still ‘cool’ like our colleagues and yet we have not done anything wrong. When our boss says ‘Hey I am adding this line and that line to your resume so pretend that you know it’ , we go ‘oookkkk’ and then pray ‘Lord forgive us’. When we see people around us heading towards paths of destruction , we tend to think ‘ok I am not walking down that path so that’s enough, let me just be quiet and let them do what they want’. This is not what we have been called to do. God has appointed us as watchmen. We are the ambassadors of Christ, ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, sealed by the Holy Spirit , in the service of the great I AM !! We are not placed in our work place just to be a silent spectator. But everything about us should speak out of the God whom we serve. We read in the second half of Titus 2: 10 ,”…that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” Our phone conversations, our behavior in meetings, our conversations over lunch, they way we handle our work , the way we regard our colleagues …. Every thing … in ALL things we ought to adorn the word of God ! When we read Acts 4 , we see Peter and John had been brought into custody and severely threatened . They were being forbidden from speaking at all or teaching in the name of Jesus. Wow ! Not a very conducive environment right ? But yet we read the moment they were released they gathered together and prayed. We read in Acts 4 : 29 , “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants with all boldness they may speak Your word,” There will always be struggles, there will always be challenges , but HE causes us to rise above them all in the boldness and peace that comes from Him and Him alone. I pray we may not be “silent Christians” (only talk about God when in a Christian environment, else shy away completely in every aspect) , I pray that we may not be “Tax collector Christians” (good to only those who are good to us , patient only to those who are patient with us…). I pray that the Lord will rise us up and mould and shape us to be truly hearers and doers of His word , walking according to the purposes of Him that He has laid out for us even before the foundations of the earth God Bless
Words of our mouth
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 (New King James version)
“‘I saw a buffalo travel so fast that at one point it even overtook my car on the highway !! “ . A buffalo overtaking a car ? On the highway ? Impossible ! Nope… Its true… Scroll down to the end of theis post to see the proof :-)
I think all of us have a lawyer kind of thinking pattern within us. We are so convicted that lying is wrong. We are so convicted that cheating on taxes is wrong , we are so convicted on so many things that we try to find loop holes to make what we are doing seem right (or at least we try to convince ourselves of it :-) )
Did I see the buffalo travel faster than the car at one point ? Yes . The points I chose to omit , the buffalo was in a carrier and I had slowed down to take this picture. Play on words. We try to play on our words and get away with a lot of things… Here is the point we often forget … HE KNOWS ALL !! He knows the meditation of our heart.
We may say the most wonderful things, but if it comes from a heart that is filled with bitterness , or anger or unforgiveness then it doesn’t matter what is said. He looks deep within ! Now the converse of this is not true – saying negative things but having a good heart is ok ! We read in Matthew 12: 35-36 , “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” We read in Ephesians 5: 4 that foolish talk, coarse jesting should not even be remotely associated to us.
When we get together as friends in the office , in college how are our words governed ? When we pray and know that every word spoken is heard by the Holy of holies, the great I AM , we know that the angels are around , we know that by the authority given in Christ Jesus to us , demons will tremble … when we know all that in prayer , why do we think at other times of the day that our words do not make a difference ? 
‘Lord we pray Father that You will govern our every word and our every thought . Teach us Father to be able to truly surrender every aspect our lives to You. In Jesus Name , Amen’
God Bless
You are here for such a time as this , are you ready ?
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (New King James version) ‘For such a time as this’ – These are the words that have been ringing in my head over the past few weeks. We look at the life of Esther and we see how wonderfully God orchestrated every aspect of her life. And then the time came for her to rise up for her people. We read in Esther 4:14 that Mordecai says that if Esther does not rise up , then surely deliverance will come from another place. God will have His plans fulfilled. The question here is ‘Do you want to be a part of it ?’ When we flip through channels on our TV sets, flip through the newspaper , look at the way the world is going …. Do we see what God sees? Do we His lost sheep for whom He paid the price for on the cross ? Do we see our brothers and sisters who have the future of eternal death facing them ? God loves the people around us as much as He loves us J That neighbor who keeps annoying you ? Yes God loves him as much as He loves you …. That teammate of yours who tends to get on your nerves , yes Jesus shed His blood for her . The people who switch lanes within inches of your car ? They have been created in the image of God ! God has placed each of us in different positions , in different circles , in different locations , skilled differently , gifted differently but in the oneness of His body. We are where we are for such a time as this ! Will we rise up ? When see people around us who might perish , will we put aside every fear , put aside every bit of self … will we rise up and intercede for them ? Will we go the distance for them ? Will we remain completely silent or will we share the love of Christ to them ? Esther fasted and prayed with her people and she rose . And we read and see what the Lord did ! We have been pruned, refined , grown and strengthened by Him for such a time as this … what will you do ? God Bless
Worried about getting married? Dont be !
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139 : 14 (New King James version) For those single and waiting for the Lord to lead , keep waiting , keep holding on . His works are marvelous !! :-) Continue to seek Him. He knows what we need of and when . He will provide. We have woken up this morning by His grace and for His glory. Awaken in good health , our families doing good. We have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Wow praise the Lord. While so many things keep happening in the world His protective hedge is around us and His mighty hand upon us. Verses 5-6, “You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” The literal meaning for the word hedged is enclosed. Wow . Just try picturing that ! Don’t you just want to give God a great big hug ? :-) True there will be pressure all around , true there might be people who start talking unwanted or negative things… true true true… But you want to know the greater truth ? His word ! He is faithful . Psalm 34: 4-5 ,”I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.” I honestly do know what its like . Every time I call up my parents they have this one thought always running in their hearts ‘When will I see my daughter married.’ People asking my parents or asking me ‘So when are you getting married’ and I have one response ‘When God ordains it’. Do not try to decide something on your own strength or wisdom. Lean on Him and His understanding. He will lead, He will guide. Hey we are the apple of His eye ! He shed His blood for us ! He loves us with an everlasting love. Do not lose faith when it comes to things of marriage. It doesn’t matter what your need is this day … it could be marriage related , it could be financial , it could be a job ... .Trust in Him , hold on to Him , lean on Him and His understanding. I had gone out for lunch with my brother and family around six months ago when my second nephew who was 2 and a half years old then said he wanted juice . And then he pointed to a bottle of aquafina (mineral water). My brother patiently explained to him ,’No baby that is water its not juice’ and he wanted to give him juice which was in another bottle. But my nephew refused . He was quite adamant that the aquafina did contain juice. Well after a couple of minutes my brother handed him the aquafina (mineral water) bottle and my nephew took one sip and said ‘water’ . Ha ha ha. Wait upon the Lord ! He knows what we need of and He knows what to give us. Don’t hold on to something just because you think it’s right for you. Seek Him and find out what He has decided what’s right for you. Psalm 34: 8-10 ,” Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” God Bless
Whats the goal on our heart ?
“”Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6: 19-21 (New King James version) Last evening I found myself stuck in traffic. And in the city where I am at , vehicles come within centimeters of hitting your car and cut across and try to squeeze ahead. I kept pondering ‘Lord how am I ever going to be a Christian driver?’ . This is what the Lord laid in my heart “What’s your goal?” Have you ever heard of a ‘slow cycle’ race ? The objective is all cyclists have to pedal as slowly as possible. The person who reaches the finish line last wins ! Now if that was my goal , I would gladly let people cut across me, I would consistently hit my brake and let people overtake me (the people trying to squeeze in between the two inch gap between my car and the next ! ;-) ) And you know what ? I would be happy. Depending on our goal our entire perspective changes ! And this is for something as simple as driving down a road. Every day , every moment … what is the goal that we are looking to ? Philippians 3: 14 , “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Its so easy to get distracted and tied down by the cares of the world. Have we gotten sidelined in focusing on treasures of this earth ? Do we understand the goal ? Do we understand we are citizens of heaven ? God Bless
Monday, February 14, 2011
The gauge check
“But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.””
Mark 4: 8 (New King James version)
Every time before I leave from my parent’s place , the first thing my Dad does is check all the gauges in the car. Fuel ? Check , Coolant ? Check … Water for the wipers ? Check , Oil is clean ? Check , Tire pressures ? Check. My parents live two and a half hours away from where I stay in the city and work. So before I make the drive , my Dad makes sure the car is all ready to make the trip.
The parable of the sower is a parable most of us are o so familiar with . Here is a check we need to see against our own lives… Are we bearing fruit ?
As we read the parable from Mark 4: 1-9 we read that when the seed has fallen on good ground it yields crop … How much ? Thirty fold, sixty fold and some even a hundred fold !! That’s bearing fruit. We hear the word , understand it and bear fruit of it .
So here is the gauge check for today
-> Do we feel good only for a while when we hear the word of God and then does it all fizzle away ? We are on the wayside and have given Satan easy access to different aspects of our lives
-> Is our fruit bearing only as long as everything is convenient ? Do we fizzle off at the first sign of trouble ? Is our fruit bearing driven by circumstances ? We are on rocky ground and are not deeply rooted
->Do we find the cares of the world , the demands of the world choking us and preventing us from bearing fruit ? We are among thorns
-> Are we bearing fruit thirty fold, sixty fold and even a hundred fold ? We are on good ground , well rooted in His word
What is our gauge indicating today ? We cannot say we are on good ground and not bear fruit .
Lord work in us Father. May we be a fruit bearing generation for Your glory
God Bless
Not to be Served but to Serve
“And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”
Mark 1 : 7 (New King James version)
Here is a man filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. A man of whom was prophesied in the Old Testament. He was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. His life was dedicated to preparing the way for the coming of Christ. We read in verses 4-5 , “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.”
We read in verse 7 that he says he is not even worthy to stoop down and loose the sandal strap of Jesus. I want this to really hit home today by God’s grace. This is a man of God filled with the Holy Spirit totally dedicated to doing the Lord’s will. And he humbles himself to the point of being considered unworthy to even loose the sandal strap of Christ.
A lot of us think that the ministry we are involved in or the little things we do make us worthy . Some of us get into this mindset that ‘Oh I have sacrificed so much of my time and my effort for Christ…’ We need to get this basic fact really clear… we are unworthy to even touch His feet. He is the Holy of holies , He is the great I AM , He is the beginning and the end. It is He who makes us worthy. It is His blood that has ransomed us and now we are heirs in Christ.
This past week I was busy with a conference happening at church and honestly it was so easy to get into the mindset of ‘Oh see Lord what I am doing for you … I am sleeping for only 2 hours just for you’ and God really convicted me of this thinking. Praise the Lord for our Father who is so loving to His children that He corrects and prunes us with love.
Its not by works…Its by Grace !! He doesn’t need us … we need Him :-) God used a donkey to talk to a sorcerer :-) I’m so glad that God allows me to be used for His glory. Sometimes we get into this mindset that we are doing God a favor by reading His word, by praying … No no no … May the Lord correct us and prune us. His word is living and powerful.
We read in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
God Bless
Mark 1 : 7 (New King James version)
Here is a man filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. A man of whom was prophesied in the Old Testament. He was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. His life was dedicated to preparing the way for the coming of Christ. We read in verses 4-5 , “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.”
We read in verse 7 that he says he is not even worthy to stoop down and loose the sandal strap of Jesus. I want this to really hit home today by God’s grace. This is a man of God filled with the Holy Spirit totally dedicated to doing the Lord’s will. And he humbles himself to the point of being considered unworthy to even loose the sandal strap of Christ.
A lot of us think that the ministry we are involved in or the little things we do make us worthy . Some of us get into this mindset that ‘Oh I have sacrificed so much of my time and my effort for Christ…’ We need to get this basic fact really clear… we are unworthy to even touch His feet. He is the Holy of holies , He is the great I AM , He is the beginning and the end. It is He who makes us worthy. It is His blood that has ransomed us and now we are heirs in Christ.
This past week I was busy with a conference happening at church and honestly it was so easy to get into the mindset of ‘Oh see Lord what I am doing for you … I am sleeping for only 2 hours just for you’ and God really convicted me of this thinking. Praise the Lord for our Father who is so loving to His children that He corrects and prunes us with love.
Its not by works…Its by Grace !! He doesn’t need us … we need Him :-) God used a donkey to talk to a sorcerer :-) I’m so glad that God allows me to be used for His glory. Sometimes we get into this mindset that we are doing God a favor by reading His word, by praying … No no no … May the Lord correct us and prune us. His word is living and powerful.
We read in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
God Bless
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