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

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

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

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

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