“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
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