Thursday, September 30, 2010

THE HEALING TOUCH
OF
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
Thursday, September 30, 2010

Verse for Today
Exodus 15:26b - For I am the Lord who heals you (Jehovah Rapha).

We live in a world which is physically and emotionally sick. Almost all the people become physically sick several times in their life time and have to approach physicians. Most people also experience some sort of emotional sickness as they go through frustrations of various type in this life. Our physical sickness takes our courage away and often make us emotionally sick, and at the same time our emotional sickness affects our bodies also. There are various causes for these sicknesses that we experience, many of which can be prevented. But we understand that our physical bodies are susceptible to sickness of various kind because we live in a weak body which is vulnerable to environment, age and emotions of various kind. There are several medicines or treatment that can be taken for physical illnesses, but there aren't many effective medicines for emotional sicknesses. But there is a medicine in Gilead. It is a balm and is considered a panacea for all the illnesses of mankind. This balm is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who was Jehovah Rapha and He has been the true healer of bodies and minds of human beings. If we have the wisdom to use therapy with this precious balm, we will be healed of all our ailments. This therapy is available only to those who are washed by the blood of the Lamb shed on Calvary to get primary and fundamental healing of all their sin sickness. Once we are healed of our sin sickness, all related illnesses will continue to be healed by the Great Physician of Gilead who will apply the Balm of Gilead to take away all our illnesses. So when we sense that something is emotionally or physically wrong in us, before rushing to the physicians of this world and to the medicines produced by this world, we need to go to the Great Physician and submit ourselves for Him to deal with our bodies and minds so that we can be whole again. We need victory in our bodies and minds so that we can experience healing in our souls.

Dear friend, our greatest sickness is the feeling that we are sick. But we are genuinely sick some times because of our inability to cope with the environment we live in. Our bodies are subject to decay until we receive the glorified bodies which the Lord will give us. But till that time, we need to live victoriously first in our souls and minds and then in our bodies, experiencing the healing the Lord gives us on the inside. This is the state of being able to withstand the pressures of the emotional environment we are in. We need to be filled with the Spirit of God so that He can use us to respond to the environment as it pleases Him. This is possible if only we are continuously enjoying the healing touch of the Balm of Gilead who is our Jehovah Rapha. We need to experience His divine touch in our souls, minds and bodies to enjoy the healing that we need. Even when we endure physical weakness of various kind, we can enjoy the healing of our souls and minds and thus be contented in the presence of the Lord. In such a situation, we can enjoy the peace that passes all understanding about our conditions. When Jehovah Rapha controls our lives and as we are continuously treated with the Balm of Gilead, we will be at peace with our situations which is the best way to better physical health also. His clinic is always open and He awaits us to submit to His touch. We need to keep the laws of the Lord which will heal our muscles, nerves and bones. For a child of God, there is no healing outside the will of God and outside the touch of God. He heals, but all others only treat us. When we feel weak, we need to go to Him and ask for His touch in our bodies and minds so that we will know the healing of our bodies and minds to be able to continue to do what He wants us to do. Thus we will be in the perfect will of God whether we move around and have an active life or have a quiet life in the privacy of our homes. The Lord is our Jehovah Rapha and He is always with us to give us the healing of our total being for His glory. Sometimes, instead of healing us completely, He appoints doctors like Luke to travel with us in our sojourn to keep us comfortable as we enjoy the kind of health that He gives us. Let us today submit ourselves, body, soul, mind and spirit so as to enjoy the touch of the Great Physician with the Balm of Gilead. Let the Jehovah Rapha, our Lord, touch us and keep us in perfect peace.

Jeremiah 17:14 - Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for You are the One I praise.

Thought for Today
For proper and timely healing, we must heed to the instructions of the Great Physician.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

WATCH OUT!
YOU ARE ON HOLY GROUNDS!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Verse for Today

Ezekiel 48:35 - And the name of the city from that time on will be Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There).

A child of God finds that wherever he or she goes, the Lord is there for them and with them. When the presence of God is in a place or with a person, His power, peace, protection, provisions and preeminence can also be experienced. If such a Jehovah is with us and goes with us wherever we go, we need to find out whether we are making use of the power of the presence of God in our lives. If His power is with us and we can draw from it according to His measure, then we need to have the deep desire to draw from His well which never runs dry. If we draw sufficiently from it, we will be able to live in His power all the days of our lives. If He is with us, His peace that passes all understanding will be with us to deal with all circumstances and situations. But we need to draw upon His peace by filling our hearts with His promises to deal with every circumstance without anxiety about consequences. If He is our protection, we can dwell under His wings and shadow like an eagle protects its young ones. We can then live without fear and fretting, and praise the Lord for the fearlessness that He alone can give us to deal with all our situations and circumstances. If He is our provision, we do not lack any good thing because He gives it to us according to His measure at the right time and place to meet every need. If He is preeminent in our lives, we will be able to give Him the first and supreme place in all that we do, think and decide. Such is our Lord Jesus who is with us all the time at all places. If we live with such knowledge and translate this knowledge into practical living by faith, we would be able to enjoy the Lord and His presence. There is no situation that He cannot handle. There is no problem that He cannot solve. There is no battle that He cannot fight for us. There is no shortage that He cannot fill. There is no tear that He cannot wipe. There is no question that He cannot answer. When we have such a Lord with us, and if He is our 'Jehovah-Shammah', we would do well to live according to the status of His presence in our lives.

Dear friend, are you able to sense the presence of the Lord in all walks of your life each day? Do you feel that He goes with you and comes back with you in all the scenarios that you are a part of? Are you able to handle your situations because He is with you to help you? Even when He seems far away, He is truly near you and by your side. Even when you think that He is not hearing, He is listening to your cries and putting His mighty arms around you to reassure you. He is encompassing you with His mighty presence and that means His power is all over you. He has His fire will around you so that the no enemy will touch you. The enemy will come around you to distract you from confiding in the Lord. The enemy will try to send messages of lies and confusion your way. But at such times, hold on to the Lord by faith and keep talking to the Lord. You are given the authority to use the name of your Lord to rebuke the enemy and the negative thoughts that are brought to you by the enemy. You have every right and opportunity to claim the power and protection of the Lord by faith in the promises of the Lord. His provision of peace is available to you at all circumstances. He is preeminent in you and you are challenged to make Him preeminent in all that you do, think, plan and act. Jehovah Shammah is a fact and a reality in your life today for the glory of God. Jehovah Shammah is available to you to fill your heart and life every moment of your life. Jehovah Shammah is your very life if you care to make Him a reality in your life. This awesome thought ought to make us live in peace and contentment, and live a victorious life each moment of our lives which is the greatest challenge in the life of faith for which are called, separated and sustained. So dear friend, take courage and live like a king and a prince because you are the child of the King of kings. Jehovah-Shammah!

Psalms 23:4 - Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Thought for Today
The Holy Presence of the Holy God is around His children now and forever more.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

MY BANNER OF VICTORY
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Verse for Today

Exodus 17:15 - And Moses built an alter, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi.

God's people are at war with the enemy. The enemy appears in the form of flesh, world and Satan, even though flesh and world are controlled by Satan. The enemy is keen to cause defeat to God's children. They are constantly tempted by the world and flesh to fall into sin. Just as the Israelites had enemies around them all the time who threatened them, God's children have these enemies to attack them and make them fall. When Israelites were attacked, they were given victory by the Lord. So all that they had to do was to obey God and comply with His commandments to fight against the enemy. They had to fight in the strength of the Lord and not in the strength of their flesh because any fight in the flesh will surely end up in defeat. It is interesting to see that these attacks of the enemy were faced by the people of God soon after they were saved through the blood of the passover lamb. They were followed by the Egyptian army and they had to face the roaring red sea. But the Lord gave them victory over these enemies. But that doesn't mean that the attack of the enemy is over with, because as soon as one battle is over, the enemy will appear in another form to fight God's children. The enemy has now appeared in the form of Amalikites who are a picture of the flesh. When they attack, God's people cannot retreat or run away, but face them and fight them in the name of the Lord. When some are fighting, others stand in the presence of the Lord with prayers of intercession on their behalf. When we prevail in prayer, just as Moses' hand was up, we receive spiritual energy to fight the enemy and get victory. When we fight with the enemy, the Lord is our banner of victory because we defeat the enemy in the name of the Lord. But if we do not pray and face the enemy with the power of the Lord, we will be defeated. When the Israelites defeated the Amalakites, there was reason to celebrate through a special time of worship and sacrifice on the newly built alter which was called Jehovah-nissi. This alter is now an alter of victory for God's children.

Dear friend, you and I have the privilege to be victorious in the name of our Lord in our battles with the enemies of our soul. If we prayerfully claim victory, the Lord will give it to us and He will become our banner of victory, our NISSI. It is then the victory of the Lord because He is truly the one who fights for us. It is not because we fight that we get victory, but because we fight in His name and that the Lord fights on our behalf and use us in the fight. In essence we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who is our commander-in-chief and He leads us from victory to victory. So as we hold the banner of victory which is the name and the power of our Lord, we acknowledge that we ourselves are incapable of fighting wars against powerful enemies like world and flesh, but we are used by the Lord to fight with the enemy and secure victory. Thus the Lord lifts our banner high and declares ourselves victorious. So we do not need to be anxious of the war and do not need to plan the battle in our own strength. We have the whole armour of God given to us and we are instructed to use spiritual energy to fight. This energy comes to us from Heaven through prayer. As we pray, the Lord prepares us for the war and trains us in using the armour so that we can fight with the enemy according to the principles enunciated in the Word of God. Thus we are already declared victorious even before we start the war. But the real starting of the war is on the knees as we pray for grace and strength to fight the enemy. Rest assured, dear friend, that when one battle is over, the enemy come to us from another vantage point to drag us into another battle. But as we go to war, the Lord gives us peace and patience, and the faith to trust Him to lead us in the battle and give us victory.. We need not be discouraged because of the battle, but be encouraged and comforted because the Lord is with us and that the battle belongs actually to our Lord. But as soldiers, we need to practice austerity while engaged in war. Our entire focus should be on the war front rather than on our selfish desires or plans which might distract us in the war and lead us to defeat. Let us today engage in the war with the enemy and become victorious which the Lord bestows upon us for the glory of His name.

2 Timothy 2:3 - Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Thought for Today
Children of God graduate from victory to victory as they are engaged in spiritual warfare.

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Monday, September 27, 2010

LONGEST HANDS AND
MOST WIDELY OPEN EARS
Monday, September 27, 2010

Verse for Today
Isaiah 59:1 - Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.

God's people throughout the centuries have experienced that when all hands which promise to help move away, there is one hand that never cease to help in its strength and length. The hands of the Lord are so strong as to accomplish any thing that is required to save the children of God in any situation whatsoever. They are so long as to reach any situation in any place at any time. His ears are always open and operational so as to listen to any of the cries of His children. The Lord is always operational with all His resources and power in His relation to His children, So His children can always go to the Lord, without reference to time or place. They can cry unto Him in any circumstance. His power is always available for their cause and He is ready and willing to use it all for His children. But then why many of us do not get help from Him? It is largely because we do not demonstrate to Him that we trust in Him alone. Often we think that we can go to the Lord and bother Him when we are exhausted with our own skills and intelligence. We wait till our strategies fail so that we can approach Him. So we suffer on account of our futile efforts and human abilities, and lose quality time in the process. It also brings in tremendous heartaches and stress as we try things our way and fail. It creates a lot of apprehension and sometimes tremendous anxiety for us. We tend to wait for our results to come instead of trusting in the everlasting arms and rest, praising Hm for what He is going to accomplish for us. When His ears are open and operational for us, we tend to speak to others whose ears are often deaf for us and their abilities are absolutely useless in our case.

Dear friend, who do you speak to, first, about your needs and difficulties? What comes to your mind when you have a concern or care? Are your thoughts on your strategies or the way of the Lord? Before you call on any one or any thing else in this world, do you call upon the Lord and seek His help? Do you cry unto Him in times of distress and misery? Is He your first consultant on issues and problems? How often and how regularly do you go to Him with your needs? Have you fully understood the might of His everlasting arms and tried to depend on Him alone fully and absolutely? Is your trust proved to the Lord as sole and supreme in your heart? Have you demonstrated this trust in the Lord to Him in His presence? Let us consider if you ever had any instance when His hands were too short as not to reach you in dire need? Have you encountered a time when He helped you only to some extent, and not fully? This is difficult to see because the Lord is always available to His children and He is not a haphazard helper. He helps fully and adequately. Until the famine is over, He is your pot of dough and jar of oil. Until there is another provision, He is your brook of Cherith. Until the storms cease, He is the anchorman of your boat. Until the doors of the dungeon are open for you, He is your preserver who works for you behind the scene. He will not allow the Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar to sleep until you are before them as the sole source of Heavenly revelations. Until the matter is settled, He will not permit Boaz to stop thinking and acting. Until the flood is over, His hands are on the door of the arc. His hands are never too short to save His children whom He allowed to be born in His family through the blood of His Only Begotten Son. He will never forsake us. He will listen to us and fulfill the desires of our hearts, and save us through mighty acts. Today we are privileged to trust in such a benevolent and mighty God and Everlasting Father with everlasting arms and open ears.

Deuteronomy 33:27 - The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Thought for Today
The Everlasting Arms are so long as to reach His children everywhere with timely help.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

THE BENEVOLENT RULER
Sunday, September 26, 2010

Verse for Today
Revelations 4:2 - At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

The vision given to John, which was meant to be given to all the churches in the Age of Grace, is a message for all God's children today. It is a message of good news that our Lord Jesus Christ is the only King in this Universe and that He is seated on His throne. He controls all that is related to us every moment of our lives. He rules and overrules our situations to take glory through it all and to make use of us according to His perfect will. Fortunately we are able to accept Him as the King of our lives. This has enabled us to trust Him for all our needs, whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual. He knows them all and has adequate provisions to meet all needs at the right time. He is the all-sufficient Lord. He our shepherd and our big brother through the adoption that we all are given to join the family of God. Even though the Lord is the King, He walks with us as a shepherd and a friend. He comes to us as water for our spiritual and emotional thirst. He makes Himself available to us as the bread of life to give us life and to sustain it. He is the Lily of the valley to give us the coolness of the valley and the fragrance of life even when we live in this overheated world with the odor of sin every where. He is our teacher in all the lessons that Heaven wants us to learn. He is our comfort and strength in times of restlessness and misery. He is our refuge when we are attacked by the enemy. But in all these spheres, He is also our King to rule and overrule our situations and circumstances. He fights our battles and carries us through the flood, storms, fire and wind. It is the greatest comfort and strength of a child of God to know and experience Him as the Lord and King of our lives so that we will not lack any thing that is spiritually expedient. If He is Lord, then we also have an obligation to allow Him to rule our hearts and lives.

Dear friend, you don't have to feel abandoned because you don't have all the answers to your life problems at the very moment at which we feel the need for it. There is no need to be exasperated as you grope in the darkness of life's situations, because He is the light of your life. Jesus is the King of the Universe and He is also the ruler of your life. Nothing happens to you and yours without His knowledge. All that is happening around you is overruled by Him according to His plan and program for your spiritual welfare and development. He has absolute control over all your circumstances which means that He is the King of your circumstances also. As King, He has absolute power and authority over all that is happening to you. He will use it all to teach you that you have to daily live under His kingship and lordship. He doesn't want you to pick up the impression that you are left alone to suffer or go through difficulties of any sort. When you suffer, He suffers with you. He cries with you when you shed tears. He sympathises with you in all that you go through, as He experienced it all while on this earth in the human body. So He knows the pain that a human body can experience with all its implications. He knows what it is to cry and feel hunger or thirst. When we have such a Lord as the King of our lives, we can confide in Him in all our circumstances. We can go to Him with all our needs and expect His Spirit to speak to us to strengthen us to face the situations. Nothing will happen to you without His express knowledge, and He allows it all to strengthen you to face tougher battles and struggles so that you will come out stronger in your faith and trust in Him. But He also wants us to renew our commitment and total allegiance to Him as the unquestionably absolute authority over all that we have and all that we are. May we gather courage in all our circumstances to move forward because we have such a powerful ruler of the Universe as the King of our lives also!

1 Timothy 6:15 - He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of Lord.

Thought for Today
Our King is also our Shepherd, Savior, Bread, Water, Life and the One Who sustains us in all our circumstances.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

THE WEEPS HEARD IN HEAVEN
Saturday, September 25, 2010

Verse for Today
Psalms 6:8 - Depart from me, all who do iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

Even as the Psalmist sings songs of praises to the Lord, the convictions of his heart are reflected in each verse. Some such verses are futuristic, some others speak about judgement on the wicked and still others are a direct reprimand to the evil doers. The child of God has every right to challenge those who do iniquity and ask that they leave them in the name of the Lord. The Psalmist also reaffirms the fact that his Lord has heard his prayers of weeping and sobbing out of bitter pain caused by the wicked. When the child of God shed tears in the presence of the Lord, an assurance comes from the presence of the Lord through His Spirit that the tears are noticed by a merciful Father in Heaven and that there will be corresponding action coming out from Heaven to give answers to the heart-aches of His children. This reassurance comforts, strengthens and encourages the suffering saints to hold on to the promises of the Lord and keep waiting for the Lord's time to act. In such times, it is only natural that the child of God even warns the wicked who oppress them that they had better watch out and straighten out their lives because there will definitely be some action from Him sooner or later. The Psalmist's warning to the wicked is also a declaration of the ultimate consequences awaiting the wicked. This message to the wicked also has an appeal to them to turn away from their wicked ways and do what is right to please God and to walk in His ways.

Dear reader, have you been lately attacked by those who do iniquities? Are you under any measure of oppression which has become unbearable to you? Perhaps you are sitting down and weeping before the Lord because of the pain and the grief which has gripped you? Please know that the Lord sees it all and that He will handle your situation and wipe your tears. Once the matter is submitted to the Lord, there is no more reason to wallow over it. It is time to get up and keep doing what the Lord wants you to do. It is time to take courage because the Lord is on your side. He takes your burden on Himself. He will give you an understanding heart, full of courage that the Lord will deal with the enemy. As we look through the pages of the Bible, we find that many of the children of God who suffered had simply gone to the presence of the Lord and kept their burdens at the feet to the Lord. Once the burdens are kept there, there is no need for it to be taken back and continue to weep or mummer about it. It is time to take hold of the promises of God and proceed further with the mission that is entrusted with us. When we pray and weep before the Lord, we are given a great confidence by the Lord that He has heard the cries and seen the tears. This confidence in the Lord is what keeps us going forward. It thus gives us peace about the matter and takes away our anxiety, fear, confusion and doubts from us. At the right time, just as in the case of the Israelites in Egypt, rescue will come. Its burnt will be upon all who do iniquities against God's people. Then they might realize that touching the people of God is just like touching the Lord Himself and that there will certainly be reactions. When we have such a concerned Lord on our side, who should we fear? Why should we fret and become fearful?

Psalms 34:15 - The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.

Thought for Today
Acknowledging my Lord publicly is the greatest challenge I can offer against my enemies.

Friday, September 24, 2010

REASSURANCE TO THE ABANDONED
Friday, September 24, 2010

Verse for Today
Revelation 2:2a - I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

The greatest comfort and consolation that a child of God has is that His Lord knows him and his situations very well. He knows what our motives and aspirations are. He understands our failures and weaknesses. He is fully aware of the responses that come from us under various circumstances. He knows when we are patient and impatient in different situations. He knows all that we do and why we tend to do it. He sees all our running around, often without rest and relaxation. He is watching us when we go through different experiences. He knows when we are miserable and weary and seek help, but do not know who to turn to. He is near us in all our experiences and situations. This knowledge and constant reminder is one of the greatest strengths of a child of God, to face the daily realities in our lives. Often we do a lot of hard work, but there won't be any one to recognize and appreciate it. Most of our associates won't even bother to know how we are managing and what resources we need to keep going. Often no one will be there when we break down in despair because of what we are involved in for the Lord. On the other hand, there will always be people to point fingers, or to find fault and level unkind criticisms against us. But in all these difficult circumstances, the greatest encouragement always comes from the Lord that He sees it all and that all of these are in His records. He appreciates even the smallest thing that we do for Him and His kingdom. He keeps strengthening us to keep going to accomplish what He wants us to accomplish even when no one else understands and notices. No matter what discouragement we are going through today, let us be comforted by the Lord through His Word that He knows it all and recognizes and appreciates it. He will also reward us for all that we do here for Him.

Dear friend, do you have bitter experiences in the place where the Lord has placed you? Is it true that you are always destined to be criticised, misunderstood, undervalued and unrecognized? Are you frustrated with unkind criticism and fault finding by those around you? The words of comfort from Jesus comes to you today that He knows and sees all that you have done for Him and watching over you as you continue to do more for Him. Perhaps the people around do not have a large heart to accommodate the good things done by you. Perhaps they do not have enough grace to show kindness and appreciation to people like you who do things silently for the Lord. But the Lord is not like that. He has promised that even if someone gives a drink of cold water to a thirsty soul in His name, that person will be remembered and rewarded by Him. The little Israeli girl who showed Naaman the way to prophet Elisha and the little boy who gave his meagre lunch of 5 barley loaves and two small fish to Jesus are not forgotten by God. Their names are unknown to us, but are written in Heaven and their acts of kindness are preached every day somewhere in the globe. He appreciated the man who earned five talents more, and the other one who earned 2 talents more, in the same measure. Those who wage war and those who keep the clothes of the soldiers get the same reward from God. The praying grandmothers, the two-penny widows, the person who gives a glass of cold water, the widow of the last bread at Zarephath, the people who sent Paul out in a basket through a window, are all remembered by the Lord and there will soon be a day of recognition of the millions around the world who served the Lord through great difficulties. So dear friend, please don't be discouraged by your situations and the hyper critics around you. Your Lord comes to you today to remind you that He knows you, your motives, priorities, sacrifices and hard work that you put in out of your love to the Lord. He desires that you don't loose your first love for Him and continue to serve Him in spite of events, circumstances or criticisms around. A day of real reckoning is soon coming and at that time we will hear the "well done" from Him. Let us be prepared and be faithful to receive His commendation on that day.

John 10:14 - I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

Thought for Today
Even when no one understands us, we have the great comfort that our Lord knows us and what we do for Him well.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A REFRESHING TOUCH
Thursday, September 23, 2010

Verse for Today
Revelation 1:17 - When I saw Him I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last".

Apostle John was very much familiar with the Lord Jesus while He was on earth. They lived and moved around together for about 42 months and John had the privilege of getting trained by the Lord Jesus himself. John had seen the glory of the Lord Jesus revealed to him in very many ways, including His transfiguration on the mountain. But the Lord's appearance to John on the island of Patmos was nothing like what John had seen before. Here John saw the Lord as the coming Judge. When John saw Him in His full glory as the true and righteous Judge, he was shocked with disbelief about the depth and height of His glory and John could not simply fathom it. He was terrified, and out of his shock, he fell at the feet of Jesus as though dead. This was probably the greatest moment of truth in the life of John when he was totally dumbfounded by the height of the glory of the Lord, and he just couldn't withstand the awesomeness of the person of the Lord of glory. This scene revealed John's total unworthiness before the Lord. All he could do was to express his nothingness before the greatness of the Lord and fall at His feet. John was also encompassed with the fear of the Lord. John would have thought so much about the terror of the Lord and the future that was awaiting the sinful world. At this awesome scene, we find a gracious Lord. The Lord knew that even though He was revealing Himself to John as the Judge, John had no part in that judgement because Jesus Himself paid it all on the cross of Calvary. Even though John deserved to be like dead in the presence of the glory of the Lord, His mercy was available to John to receive a divine touch from the Lord which would make John come alive and be well equipped to listen to the Lord and to obey His last commandment to write down and dispatch His message to the churches. So gracious is our Lord who would be kind enough to touch us in our weakest moments and revive our souls to respond to His claims on us because He has purchased us with His very blood. John's loneliness has now been taken away and is blessed with divine companionship in the most realistic sense. Such is our Lord who gives us His holy company when we are in dire straits in our lives.

Dear reader, are you feeling like Elijah, thinking that you are alone? Do you miss the company of God's people for fellowship and sharing? If the world take you away from your dearest ones, the Lord would compensate it all by giving His very personal companionship to you. He will make Himself approachable to you even when He is truly in His glittering glory. He is willing to extend His divine arms, yes, those everlasting arms, to touch you and to raise you up from the doldrums in which the wicked world would have dumped you. Even if all have forsaken you, the Lord is not unfaithful to forget you. He will come near you to show Himself to you in His full glory. He will let you see Him to the extent to which you could even describe Him as John was able to do. Perhaps He comes to you as a loving and caring shepherd. At other times, He comes to you in the form of a raven at the brook of Cherith or a widow at Zarephath, or even as a good Samaritan. Sometimes He comes like an angel at midnight in your prison cell where the world has chained you or like an angel to show you water to drink as in the case of Hagar in the wilderness. He sometimes appears to you like the commander-in-chief of the armies of Jehovah as He appeared to Joshua or by walking on the water for the disciples when they were tossed around and as an anti-firewall for the three Jewish young men in Babylon or shutting the mouths of lions. He comes to you through His Spirit and His Word to reveal His glory to you to take away your weariness, loneliness, misery, pain, poverty, distress and darkness from your way. If you expect a touch of His hands, you need to fall flat at His feet by switching off all your human faculties and declaring yourself a big zero. Then you will experience His touch of revival, fellowship, love and care which will make you stand in His presence and continue to serve Him. All fears will be gone and you will acknowledge Him as your beloved Lord to continue to be in His presence to experience greater depths of His glory to take hold of your whole being. Let us today draw closer to Him, meditate on Him and await to be more and more enlightened about what He means to us. Then all that we see around here on earth will become like shadows in the light of His glorious person. Yes, He is our beloved Lord Jesus, the One who loved us so much and gave Himself for us on the hill called Mount Calvary.

2 Kings 6:16 - "Don't be afraid", the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them".

Thought for Today
The Lord will be with you even in your worst scenarios to revive and refresh your soul.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

THE INVISIBLE SHIELD
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Verse for Today
Psalms 3:3 - But You O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory and the One who lifts me up.

The shield is a protective device to safeguard our areas of concern. It gives a great feeling of security for those who are protected by it. Thus it takes away fear, apprehension, confusion and anxiety. The Psalmist testifies to the fact that the Lord is his shield. If the Lord is our shield, there is no need for any other protection for us. He stands on the way of trouble for us so that the trouble would not affect us. Thus the Lord takes away our fear of the enemy and unfavourable circumstances. As the Lord gives protection to His servant, He also gives him exemplary image and lifts his countenance. These acts of our Lord are especially pertinent when God's people go through slander, gossip and distorted stories about their testimony, character and behavior. They are purposely made to be misunderstood and are misrepresented by the enemy and he also misinterprets God's children. Thus the enemy tries to tarnish the image of the child of God so as to make his testimony and public witness maligned. In all these circumstances, the Lord works to put Himself as a strong and mighty shield around His children to give them protection, safety, security and peace in His holy presence. The Lord lifts up the testimony and image of His children in such circumstances. We can see how the Lord protected Joseph when there was so much insecurity around him. Finally the Lord lifted him up as the most acceptable person in the Egyptian civilization to lead the country in times of peril. The same testimony can be seen about Daniel and his brothers in Babylon. The Lord lifted these brothers up so much that even people in authority feared them. Not only that, the Lord kept their testimony high all through their earthly sojourn. Isn't it wonderful to live under the wings of such a Lord who is our shield? What more can a child of God ask for?

Hello, dear friend, are you at present going through fierce attack from the enemy to trample your testimony down? Do you sometimes feel like Joseph, without any single person to show even a drop of sympathy and being totally singled out? The enemy would have used such ploys to thwart you of your job or your ministry? This was what our Lord Jesus went through for us. We read in Psalms 69 that the drunkards of Palestine used to sing dirty songs about our Lord in their pubs. He went through it all and endured it all for our sake so that His power can be available for us as we go through similar situations. When the enemy attacked apostle Paul, he used a lot of theological arguments to question even Paul's apostleship and his call for the ministry. The enemy made Moses to face severe and unloving attacks from his beloved sister Miriam, the very same person God used to protect him while he was a baby. Joseph was attacked by his own brothers without any mercy. David squarely faced his own father-in-law all alone. But in all these circumstances, the Lord was their shield and He protected them all and sustained them for His glory. Not only that, in front of the people the enemy used against them, the Lord revealed His glory in lifting them up and making use of them in a mighty way. This same Lord is our beloved Lord too. He sees and knows what the enemy is doing against us. He is not going to watch the drama of the enemy for long without getting involved. One of these days, the gates of the dens of lions will open wide. Before long, the dungeon will open and the Pharaoh's people will start looking for a subdued Joseph to make him the Prime Minister of Egypt. But as we read in the 'Hall of Fame of Faith' (Hebrews Chapter Eleven), some of us will have to face the enemy squarely and go through all the tarnishing from him. But we have the blessed hope that He will lift us up and glorify us in due season, and till that time, we will know His peace and joy even when we go through the fierce attacks of the enemy. We have the Heavenly guarantee that He will protect us and that no harm will come our way. As we go through it all, perhaps the world around will stamp us as failures, but the Lord will exonerate and glorify us, and will reward us with crowns for all our sufferings for righteousness sake.

Psalms 28:7 - The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped.

Thought for Today
There is a place of quiet rest and safety near to the heart of God.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

BEWARE OF DETOURS AND SHORTCUTS!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Verse for Today
Psalms 1:6a - But the Lord knows the way of the righteous.

The greatest comfort and courage God's children experience is from the knowledge that the Lord knows their ways. He knows where they are going and what are the difficulties that they will face on the way. It is wonderful to realize that even when they do not know what to expect on the way, they can still keep going forward trusting the Lord who has gone before them. He is the God of yesterday, today and forever, and so knows what lies ahead on the pathway of each of us. Not only that, He goes with His children and clears the way for them. The enemy of their souls will definitely try to create road blocks of discouragement, despair and confusion. The enemy is good at distracting the children of God so that they would take detours and thus slip away from the perfect will and path created by their Lord for them. The Lord has established His directions on the way through His Word which is both a light unto their path and lamp unto their feet. If we focus on the companionship and fellowship of the Lord and use the route map that is given to us, we would not need to fall into the distractions of the enemy. Temptations to be distracted are such that the enemy will use a new strategy to lure us away when one of his earlier attempts fail. He had used it against Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and so many other children of God. We can see many examples of failures and distractions in the lives of many of the children of God which is given to us as a great warning to keep our eyes only on the Lord Jesus and walk with Him. We also have to bear in mind the truth that the Lord knows our ways, and at the same time, it is our responsibility to be on the way and take heed to walk each day of our lives with the Lord. If we fall into the temptations of the devil and allow ourselves to be lured away, we will have to pay a price and suffer consequences as did many of the great servants of God. Their biographies are written as serious red signals for us to keep away from.

Dear reader, are you always conscious of the fact that the Lord has paved out a way for you to walk? Do you appreciate the fact that that He has gone before you to prepare your way? Do you also realize that He has established His lamps for your direction and His light to fight the darkness that prevails over the present world in which you are placed? Are you focusing on the Lord and His light? Do you experience the temptation to walk the shortcuts created for you by the enemy with the express intention to distract you? This sojourn means that we decide to look at Jesus only and not at the wisdom that the world gives us to walk this pathway of faith. It involves a conscious and deep commitment to follow only Jesus and not a mixture of 'Jesus and the ways of the world'. As we walk along with the Lord, we need to continue in our fellowship with Him and ask Him in prayer to help us not to fall into distractions and take detours and shortcuts. We also need to trust Him to take us forward every step of the way. When Jesus knows our way which He has created for us, and as He has gone before us to prepare every step of our way, He has also prepared provisions for every need of ours in the physical, intellectual, emotional and above all in the spiritual realm. The provisions are there to draw upon on a daily basis like the manna which the Israelites enjoyed daily during their wilderness walk. So our walk with Jesus is one of total dependence on Him and on the basis of all His provisions for us. These ought to satisfy us so that we do not need to go to any other field for gleaning, as Boaz instructed Ruth. There is enough for us in His field to fill us to overflowing. Dear friend, the comforting words of the Psalmist that the Lord knows our way ought to strengthen us to walk forward with courage and confidence, and without weariness. Let us walk with Him today and be a blessing to others who are on the same pathway.

Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it".

Thought for Today
The benevolent Father has made provisions for every need of His children as they are on their pathway with Him.

Monday, September 20, 2010

BLOCKAGE OF ANSWERS TO PRAYER
Monday, September 20, 2010

Verse for Today
1 John 3:22 - Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

We often wonder why some of our prayers are not answered. The answer might be delayed by the Lord to strengthen and increase our faith. But it my be also that something is hindering the answer from coming to us. This may be outright disobedience on our part or because we do not do what is pleasing in the eyes of God. He is willing to answer His obedient children and want us to obey Him in all that is revealed to us by His grace. Here God is making us responsible to Him in our relationship with Him. If He is our Father and we are His children through the salvation we have received in Jesus Christ, we have to treat Him as our Father and show respect and love, both of which ought to make us obey Him. Obedience to the Father is a mark of our love and respect to Him. If we do not want to responsibly handle our relationship with the Father, should we expect Him to be responsible in answering our prayers? Delays in getting our prayers answered is also God's way to discipline us. When we do not get answers, we need to examine ourselves to see if we really obey the Lord. We also need to examine whether we truly love Him and His commandments. It is good to ask ourselves whether His commandments are a burden for us. If it is a burden, then it doesn't come out of our love to Him. If we do not do what we ought to have done, it is a sin of omission. If we do what we ought not have done is a sin of commission. Both of these are not pleasing to the Father. He wants us to be obedient and loving children who please the Father and live according to His desires for us. This is the way to reassure ourselves that the Lord will hear our prayers and answer us at the right time.

Dear friend, do you feel that your prayers are not answered by the Lord even after waiting for a long time? If so, it is time to do some soul searching for the possible hindrances in getting answers from Heaven? If it is the purposeful delay of God in preparing you to receive the answer to your prayers, you can take it as His loving and caring way to deal with you. But this is not the possible reason, then there could be something that might be obstructing the answer from coming. One such obstruction is the sin of disobedience. Let us today examine our lives to see if there are any wicked ways in us and if so, let us confess it before the Lord. Once the sin is confessed, the Lord will forgive us, and then there won't be any hindrance for the answer to come from Heaven. But before you expect a blank answer to all your prayers, make sure to discern whether you have asked amiss or asked out of the will of God. In the case of any request to God which is expressly forbidden in the Bible, you do not have any locus standi to ask for it. Furthermore, let us not use our relationship with God as a platform to bargain with God for whatever we want from God. But let us make our relationship a matter of our responsibility to bind us to His heart in love and reverence. Let our lives be thus pleasing to Him. Then we won't be always asking for things, but would rather be praising Him for all that gives us to meet our needs. Let us all bring joy and satisfaction to God's heart about us through a change in our behaviour and attitude towards Him. Let us think most highly about the Lord and think most lowly about us and be ever conscious about our unworthiness. Let us all be responsible to the Lord in our relationship with Him and continue to worship Him with all that we are and all that we have, and be accountable to Him for all that He has already given to us. Let it be the desire of our hearts to obey the Father unconditionally and without any reservation. Let us seek to do only those things which would please the Father and glorify His name!

1 John 5:3 - This is love for God: to obey His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Thought for Today
Disobedient children can never please a father and so should not expect any favours from him.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

CONQUERING ANXIETY
Sunday, September 19, 2010

Verse for Today
1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on (Jesus), because He cares for you.

Anxiety is considered as one of the major causes of sickness. When we are anxious, we tend to imagine the worst scenario in any matter and assume that the worst is going to happen and then imagine about its negative consequences on us and what is dear to us. It creates apprehension and fear and drains our confidence in our God. But we do not often realize that roughly half of what we expect to happen will not happen at all, and the other half will happen any way. So in effect, anxiety is a vain attempt to thwart us of the joy of living in the present and enjoy what God has sent our way and praising Him for it all. Anxiety will create negative reactions in our minds which will affect our bodies and make us sick, and then force us to perennially depend on medicines and treatment. It affects all parts of our bodies, our hormonal system and the various functions of our body. But there is no need to be anxious about the future because we have a loving Father in Heaven who lives for us and looks after our needs, both present and future. While we unnecessarily go into anxiety and despair, our Heavenly Father is busy working on the same things about which we are experiencing anxiety. So all we need to do is to trust Him to look after our future and leave all our future and its events to Him to work on for our good and for His glory. God has given us innumerable promises about what He will do for us, and these promises ought to take us forward without anxiety. He has commanded us not to be anxious about any thing, but leave all our future to Him to handle. So there is no need for us to lose hope and be anxious, like the ungodly and become sick, with heavy dependence on medicines and treatment. Remember, if God has said that He will care for us in all our circumstances, all we need to do is to believe in what He has said, and that ought to settle it for us forever.

Peter, the writer of our verse for today, was prompted to write by the Spirit of God to encourage the weary children of Gold not to be anxious because we can cast all our cares on the Lord. This was what Peter did the night before He was to be executed by Herod. We see that Peter simply cast all his cares on the Lord and slept well, even though he was chained to two soldiers. As part of God's rescue operation that night, God's angel had to wake Peter up to take him out of the prison. As a man who came through such experiences, Peter could write authentically that we can cast all our cares on the Lord because He cares for us. If the Lord cares for us, why should we also become unnecessarily indulged in it? If the Lord is engaged in looking after my affair, all I have to do is to praise Him and to engage in whatever role He assigns for me in its process. Even as we cast all our cares on Him, the peace of God which passes all our understanding will govern our hearts and lives without fretting. When God has asked us not to be anxious, and if we fall into anxiety, it is an express violation of His commandment and an expression of our lack of trust and faith in Him. It shows that we are doubtful that we have such a loving and caring Heavenly Father. It also means that we do not believe what is promised to us by our Father in Heaven. It really shows that our inner eyes are not focused on the Lord, but on our circumstances and our future. It means that we do not believe that our Father is already in our future circumstances and is working on it to make it all work together for our blessings and for the praise of His holy name! So you and I need to confess our lack of trust and faith in Him as sin and ask the Spirit of God to fill us with His peace. Then we will be able to trust in Him which is part of the fundamental faith that He has already given to us at the moment we got saved. We need to exercise this faith and trust, and continue to cast all our cares on the Lord. His shoulders are so strong and broad, and can accommodate all the cares of all His children all the time and handle it all for their good and for the praise of His name! Remember, if we can trust God for our eternity, we can definitely trust Him for our tomorrows as well.

Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about any thing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Thought for Today
Our anxieties make the other creatures wonder whether we have a caring Heavenly Father.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

HIS HANDS ON THE THERMOSTAT!
Saturday, September 18, 2010

Verse for Today
1 Peter 4:12 - Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.

When tribulations and trials come our way, we wonder why we face these. We are often surprised that we have to face these difficulties even though we are God's beloved children. Some of us ask God as to why He has sent such difficult situations to them. Some go to the extent of doubting God's love to them. Some pray for immediate release and if they don't get a quick relief, plunge into despair and disillusionment. But when we probe this matter in the Word of God, we are able to realize that these experiences are not to be considered as strange, but as purposeful interferences in our lives by God to discipline us or test us in our faith. When adversity strikes us, we are exposed to tough times by the hand of God to test our faith and trust in Him. Our spiritual ability to withstand the pressures of life are tested by God to see how He can further build us up. So He sends us through storms, waves, thunder, lightening, fire, steep valleys and afflictions. Such moments are often times of loneliness. We rarely find words of comfort from any one around. There will always be people who will attribute our sufferings to our failures and flaws and resultant punishment from God. In as much as these might be true, God also tests us purposely to help us grow in our faith and trust in Him. But He knows our capacity to withstand these trials and so will not give us beyond our limit. Remember, when the Lord allows you to be in the furnace, His loving hands are always on the thermostat. Our responses to these tests of afflictions reveal our real attitude to tests and to the God who sends it our way. He expects us to see what lessons we can learn from such experiences for our use in the future and as a testimony among others about the faithfulness of God towards His children. So it is fundamental for us to learn that tests are not strange things which happen to us, but purposeful and planned interference of the hands of the Almighty with a divine purpose.

Dear reader, are you going through a tough time in your life today? Are you finding your situation very intimidating? Do you feel despair that you are not able to get a release from your situation which is making you nervous? Are you feeling that God seems to be far away from you and that He is not answering your prayers? If so, please do not be alarmed about your situation which is the hand of God, to test you our of His love for you. His tests are not tests of punishment to tear you down, but a constructive process to build you up. He is testing to see how far you can go with the present tests and trust God to teach you some big lessons which you might not learn otherwise. Tests also give you patience to wait for God's time for the desired release. Tests are opportunities for you to learn that your Lord is in full control of your life and that He will never forsake you. When you walk through the valley, He will be with you and will hold you in His hands. He will protect you under His wings and make sure that nothing will harm you. When you go through the lion's den, fiery furnace, red sea, dungeons, broken cisterns or flood, the hand of the Lord is upon you. He will watch over you so that no harm will come upon your way owing to these tests, but will strengthen your faith in the Lord and His promises. Let our prayers be such that the trials be used by the Lord to teach you greater lessons. May we not be tempted to waste these trials. May the tests make us draw closer to Him and help us to hold Him firmly by faith. May it be a time when it will be proved to us that we are still in the will of God and that we are being trained to handle even greater challenges for the Lord.

1 Peter 1:6 - In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Thought for Today
God's School of Faith administers tests of fire and water before awarding supernatural recognitions.

Friday, September 17, 2010

PLAN WITH THE MASTER DESIGNER
Friday, September 17, 2010

Verse for Today
James 4:15 - Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that".

People love to plan their future in very many ways. They imagine a future course of action and decide on a course of action to reach the goal they set for their lives. This plan often drives them forward. They do not have any hesitation to use their own methodologies and strategies to reach their goal and feel that they much achieve what they desire in their future lives. But God desires that man finds God's will in his life and follow what God wants to have in his life. God wants man to do only what He wants for Him. As a matter of fact, God has a plan for each person and wants him to learn what this plan is and act accordingly to reach the goal God has for him. This plan is for God to use him for His glory and draw him closer to God. But such plans may not be successful according to the world's standards. Man plans to do things and accomplish these plans by using any means. But God wants man to use only His means and His resources. God also wants man to do things according to God's schedule for man. God wants man to be patient and waiting, and walk according to the pace at which God leads and guides man. But we often see man running ahead of God and His schedule for man and run into a lot of troubles and heartaches. God wants man to start his walk starting from the foot of the cross where God's Son gave His life for man so that the lost man can be found out. When we surrender our lives to God after seeing the crucified Savior and acknowledge Him as our Lord, God starts to reveal His plan to us. But God reveals it all a step at a time so that at each step we can trust Him to lead to the next step. This is when we learn His will for our lives and walk according to His divine plan.

Dear friend, are you walking according to the plan of God for your life here on earth? Have you spent considerable time in God's presence to ask God to reveal His will for your life? Remember, God is your Father and He has a great plan for your life. He wants you to know His plan for you and live accordingly. But it will be revealed a step at a time, as you obey each step and wait for Him to show you the next step. This pattern of your walk is paved by the Lord in order to make sure that you do not stray away from His path. He knows how the enemy of your soul is trying his best to use his destructive strategies to distract you from God's path. But God wants you to consult with Him in all your ways and acknowledge Him as the captain of your boat. He wants you to seek God's ways and plans for you and follow obediently. He uses His staff and rod to make sure that you are well disciplined in your walk. These tools are for your good so that you will not go astray. He wants to lead you to His green pastures and cool waters so that you will find rest in this weary land and on this narrow way. God's ways are the best and the most enjoyable and if we walk in His paths, it will satisfy us. We will walk in the coolness of His wings and reach the best that we could for His glory. Let us endeavor to spend considerable time each day to ask Him to teach us His ways and reveal His plans to us so that we will be able to walk in it for His glory.

Psalms 25:9 - God guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

Thought for Today
God shows His ways to those who diligently seek Him and hold their hands to walk with Him each step of the way.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

GO DOWN TO GO UP
Thursday, September 16, 2010

Verse for Today
James 3:10 - Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Pride is the characteristic of man that God hates more than any thing else. This is because pride was the sin of Lucifer which made him Satan. When he deceived Adam and Eve to commit sin, they also wanted to be like God and disobeyed God's commandment. Thus the sin of pride came to man as part of his sinful nature. It is so easy for man to be proud and that too in any of his achievements. It is in our nature to be proud about who we are, what we have and what we have done. We love to brag about it so that others will know about it and eventually heap more and more appreciation on us which will give us a feeling of elation. But God abhors pride and He deals with man's pride by making him humble. This was what God did to Nebuchadnezzar, Uzziah and others. God used them as part of His plan, but when they showed pride, they had to be dealt with. It is true that the proud will not ask God anything in prayer and will feel that they are OK. They do not want their needs known even to the Father in Heaven. The proud will always find time and place to exhibit their merits and knowledge. They think that they are better than others and will seek opportunity to prove it. They would not take help or support from others. If they are criticized, their ego is ruptured and that makes them react worth anger and haughtiness. God knows very well that any one who is not willing to accept the salvation freely offered to him, is rejecting gospel because they are too proud to accept their sinfulness. But when Jesus came to this world to die for mankind, He demonstrated that the perfect man is always humble. This can be seen by His humble birth, living and death. He attracted people to Himself not through a publicity campaign about His miracles, but because the people found Him different from the religious leaders of that time who were uniformly proud and arrogant. We also find that all the men God used were humble people, because God can use only those who are humble. Many of those men were not humble when they were selected by God, but He worked on them and made them declare their emptiness before Him before they could be given missions by God.

Dear friend, do you feel that you are humiliated and humbled by the circumstances? Do you feel that you have been deprived of the kind of position or power that you ought to have? Please do not be discouraged at such humiliations. God is interested in your utter humility so that He can lift you up to responsibilities that He wants to give you. He is making you break down before Him in utter humility like that of Moses. Remember, he was a proud young man and his pride even made him commit murder. But it took him 40 years to learn humility in the wilderness and then only God could use him to redeem Israel from Egypt. God has commanded man to be humble and declare his total unworthiness to be of use to God. Such people are tested by God to measure their humility. Unless we are humble, it is impossible for us to be of use to God because God detests pride. When we are truly humble, our humility should reach a stage when we should not even have the temptation to feel that we are humble. Such an attitude comes to us when we see our own total inadequacy before God. This change in attitude will be ours when we sit in the presence of the Lord and His Word and allow His Spirit to break us in our fleshly thoughts and imaginations about ourselves. We need to cry before God that we are wretched people, as did Isaiah and Paul, and submit to the Lord to be dealt with by His fire to burn any thing that has even a smell of pride in us. When we thus crucify and kill our self with its aroma of pride, the Lord will lift us up and use us for His glory. Our testimony will then be like that of David and Jacob about our humble beginnings and how we have reached thus far, only because of the Lord. That is when the Lord gets all glory for all that we have done as we declare ourselves as unworthy servants.

James 4:6 - God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Thought for Today
Humility is a virtue a person will lose the moment he thinks that he is humble.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

ROCKY FAITH TO RESIST WINDY DOUBTS
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Verse for Today
James 1:6 - But (one) must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

The extent of bold asking is the result of knowing the depth of the need and the capacity and willingness of the giver. If we are in deep and utter need, we would be bold to ask, provided the person we are asking is absolutely willing to give us what we are asking for and has all the resources we need. But if we ask with doubt, it might be because we do not feel the need so deeply or because we have doubt about the person's capacity to give. There are a lot of people who have the capacity to give, but are not willing, and at the same time others who are willing, but too poor to give. But God doesn't come under both these categories. He is both willing to give to His children and capable of giving because He has inexhaustible resources. When this is so, why are we not asking as we ought to ask? Why do we hesitate and doubt the giver? It is because we do not have the kind of faith that we profess in God, the greatest giver. Perhaps we are not quite sure about his capacity because we do not probe in His Word about His heavenly resources, apart from all that is there in this Universe. All He has are for His children and He is quite willing to give provided they ask. He is out there waiting for us to ask on the basis of full faith and confidence in Him and His willingness to give. He is a compassionate and merciful Father who is full of loving kindness for His children. He doesn't want us to be like paupers in this world. He doesn't want us to go and knock at the doors of the world and its agents to give us, for He knows that we will get wrong things from those sources to distract us from our pilgrimage.

Dear friend, are you asking your benevolent Father in Heaven to give you all that you need to live for His glory and honor? Have you probed the depth of His resources in Heaven? Do you know the Father closely as a benevolent Father who is the greatest giver to mankind? Do you know that He has already given His best in Heaven to man and so do you think He will ever withhold other mundane things from His beloved children? Why should you doubt Him and His capacity or willingness to give? Perhaps you are not seeing what He has already given you. If so let us today look at what He has in store for us and see it with our spiritual eyes. Once we see and believe the great barn house in Heaven, it will fortify our faith to be able to go to the Father in faith. If we are ever tossed around, let us ask Him to strengthen our faith as did the disciples of Jesus. If we seek rest in His green pastures, He will protect us from being tossed around by the mighty winds of doubts which come from this world which smell doubt and confusion. When we have faith in the Father and His resources, we will be able to laugh at the impossibilities of this world and challenge the doubts cast by the winds which come from hell to stall us from going forward. Our Father is faithful and all His promises hold as good as they have always been. His power and strength have always been unchanging no matter what changes are encountered in and around us. Today let us go to Him and confess our doubts and unbelief, and ask Him to fill us with His Spirit who is the Spirit of confidence and hope. Let us hold the hands of the Father which hold us firmly, and go forward to challenge the winds of the world and ask the Father boldly and get our needs met.

Jeremiah 29:13 - You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

Thought for Today
Knowledge of the Holy One and faith in His capabilities will make us bold to pray.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

TESTS IN THE SCHOOL OF FAITH
Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Verse for Today
James 1:2 & 3 - Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

It is very difficult to find people who enjoy tests, trials and evaluations. Man would always like to think that he is OK and that all's well with him. He knows very well that his true nature, motives and attitudes will be found out in any test that he is made to go through. So the general tendency is to avoid tests. It is seen that people need to be coerced to go through tests. We rarely meet people who seek and enjoy opportunity to going through tests. This is because these tests will give them an opportunity to show their real self, capabilities and inner worth through tests. Tests also reveal their weaknesses and areas which desperately need improvement. The examiners of these people also usually make tests a trial and make it as difficult as possible. This is the major difference between man and God. When God tests a person, He would make it an opportunity to find out the best in man. It is not to make man feel troubled in the process. The secret of tests is to give man an opportunity to prove themselves so that God will be able to give them greater responsibilities. It will give people a way to know where their faith stands and see what can be done to strengthen their faith. How to learn this truth well is a great challenge before a child of God. It is important to know that God's intention in giving them trials and tests is not to harm them, but to strengthen them further and to teach them more lessons in "God's School of Christlikeness". When a person goes through tests, it gives that person maturity and patience which prepare them to go through greater tests and trials. There is no need to fear tests because it is given by a loving Father to His beloved child to give them a chance to measure their faith to themselves and to God. There is always a reward awaiting those who go through tests and come out victorious.

Dear friend, are you going through some trials and tests at the moment? Is the test hard and the process painful? Do you feel like quitting because the test is too hard for you to handle? Remember, you are still in the hands of the loving Father who is only trying to test the strength of your faith. When you experience a victory in your Christian life, there will soon be another test to see how far you have grown. Christian life is a series of tests, one after the other. Even if you fail in a test, the Lord will not disqualify you, but will help you through His Spirit to see to it that you learn some new lessons from it and that its ill-effects will not negatively affect you. It will thus be a learning experience for you to do better the next time. Even as you take the test, the Lord is with you and He is watching over you. When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and Paul went through tests, the Lord was with them and looked after them well so that they went through each test and came out with some new learning experiences about the Lord and His faithfulness. Any one whom the Lord wants to use mightily will go through tests to see how they can be taught big lessons to face more severe tests in the near future. If you don't go through the lower levels of tests, you won't qualify to go through higher levels of tests. Joseph had to go through a series of tests for 13 years before the Lord found him fit to become the Prime Minister of Egypt. Abraham had to go through a series of tests to qualify to be the "Friend of God". So, dear friend, go through the tests and trials the Lord sends your way joyfully. Trust in the Lord to give you victory and a few new learning experiences about Him and His ways. Through it all, He is preparing you to take new responsibilities. If the tests are from the Lord, there is always a divine purpose behind it to be fulfilled in your life. So let us consider it a great joy when our faith is tested today. Let us pray for endurance so that we will not falter in the trials and will come out knowing the Lord a little better than before the test, and that the Lord will take glory out of this experience of ours.

Isaiah 48:10 - See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Thought for Today
God's tests are administered by the loving hands of a compassionate Father who keeps us as the apple of His eyes.

Monday, September 13, 2010

RECIPROCATING THE COSTLIEST SACRIFICE
Monday, September 13, 2010

Verse for Today
Hebrews 13:15- Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of the lips that confess His name.

It is natural to expect us to express our gratitude to others for favors received. Any one who doesn't respond to helps received is considered an ungrateful person and this is not considered an appreciable quality in most cultures of the world. Even animals express their thanks to some extent through certain gestures. If so, how much more are we expected to appreciate what God does for us! When we receive various blessings from God, we are expected to acknowledge it qualitatively. Ultimately it is the internal gratitude that is most important. If there is true internal gratitude, it will find its expressions of various kind. We can pretend to be grateful to man and might get with it. But this is not possible with God who sees our hearts and motives. If we do not mean it, it would not be accepted by God as thanksgiving. God expects us to be truly grateful to Him for all that He has done for us and what He does each day for us. And God expects us to express our true gratitude through the fruit of our lips which are used while alone and in the presence of other people. It is thus an acknowledgement that the benefit received is not obtained through any of our smartness and qualification. We must accept the fact that we are utterly unqualified to receive any favor from God because we lost all our privileges through Adam and Eve. So what we receive is unmerited favor which the Bible calls grace. When grace is received, it deserves far greater and deeper expression of gratitude. It should involve some sacrifice rather than simple and empty words which do not cost us any thing. Any sacrifice should cost us something that we could have enjoyed ourselves, but are willing to forgo for the Lord who showed so much of grace to us. If He has given His best to us, we are to give our best to Him. If He has come into time and seasons for us, we are to at least give Him our best of times for Him to use the way He wants. If He showed us mercy, we need to show mercy to others who deserve it. If He has given us peace, we need to share this peace with people who do not enjoy the peace of God.

Dear friend, have you been sacrificing any thing tangible for the Lord who has given you far more than you ever expected and far greater than what you deserve? If not, in Heaven's language, you are considered an ungrateful person. Even if we do our best in terms of sacrifice for Him, it would never match what He has done for us. So it is unthinkable when we do not do at least what we can. But this deserves a deep commitment to the Lord who gave Himself for you. It needs true love to Him for loving you even when you were unlovable. It demands true spirit of gratefulness and a sense of what you have enjoyed from Him. Such a life itself will be one of sacrifice on the alter so that the old self will be dead and the new person living in you will do any thing possible to demonstrate true love, loyalty, allegiance and commitment. Unless you give yourself to the Lord in return for His love and grace, He will not be satisfied because He wants you and not some coins that you might drop in the offering box. As a matter of fact, whatever you give to Him as material things, or a part of your time, it will never match what He has done for you. This thought ought to motivate you and compel you to give yourself and all that you have as a sacrifice of praise at His feet. Remember, He wants you more than what you have as a true expression of your love to Him. The Law of the Old Testament demanded a tenth of all that God's people had, to be submitted as part of their worship, but the New Testament of love demands ourselves first to be followed with all that we have. Once we give ourselves to Him, we would have given all that we have also. Let that be the kind of sacrifice of praise we offer at the feet of Jesus as a mark of our gratitude to Him for all that He has done for our souls.

Psalm 50:14 - Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High.

Thought for Today
The love of God demonstrated on the cross of Calvary will not be satisfied unless we give ourselves and all that we have as a sacrifice of praise.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

LIVING IN THE FUTURE
Sunday, September 12, 2010

Verse for Today
Hebrews 13:14 - For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

There is an assumed longevity for all living things on planet earth. This is true about civilizations, cultures, religions and philosophies. None of these endure forever. Ancient civilizations produced cities and systems which have gone in the memory land and remain in history books. These cities and civilizations were created by people of a certain age who have also disappeared from the scene forever. Any thing which man claims to be his own has an assumed life expectancy just as that of man himself. Nothing in this world is permanent and perpetual, except the life principles which God instituted. These life principles are going to last eternities because life doesn't end in itself. Those who have received eternal life from God through Jesus Christ will continue that life in Heaven and those who have not accepted the free offer of eternal life from God will be in the bottomless pit where they will endure the suffering of their souls forever. There is nothing in between these two eventualities. So those who put all their hope in what they make in this world will be utterly disappointed because these will not last forever. This is the reason why we need to have an eternal goal in life which we can choose here and now. Those who want to invest their God-given time, talents and treasures will be able to do so in eternal things like character, righteousness, hope and love. These are qualities which they can transfer to the eternal city that God has built in Heaven for His precious children who are bought by the blood of the Lamb of God. They can invest all their resources on other lives so that these lives will also be built up for the eternal city. This city is called the Heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God and city of perfect peace. Once we reach there, our misery, weariness, pain, separation, exasperation, frustrations and stress will all be removed from us and that we will be in a state of perfection. There will be no night or darkness there and that no one will have any wants or needs. This is the city of reality and it is on its way according to the schedule of God for His redeemed people.

Dear friend, what is your hope in life? Is your hope centered on the changing material things in this world? Perhaps it is built on your investments and assets here on earth. Perhaps it is based on your human achievements in fame, fortune and fraternity. But as we see around us in our own generation, these things do not last even a life time. Perhaps they last the active years of a life and then we ourselves will be able to watch how it is all fading away from us. But there is a reality which is coming up after this life and we are given opportunity to prepare ourselves for that life. For God's children, the future life is given to them positionally even now and they are able to experience the peace and tranquility that Heaven offers as a foretaste of what is to come. If we do not indulge in the future life with its hope and splendour positionally, we won't be excited about its coming and the unfolding of events which indicate the signs and symptoms of the ushering in of that eternal city. This reality will definitely have its impact on our daily living and our philosophy of life. It will be seen in our priorities and decisions which will be pointing towards what is more important to us right now. There is a blessed expectancy for all the children of God as they await that blessed city and the life it offers. When you and I look forward for that city and the preceding events, we would forget about ourselves and our cares for daily living and get lost in the wonder and awe of those future events and prospects. Let this hope control our lives and leave us without cares. Let us put all our cares on the Lord to keep us in this hope day by day.

Hebrews 11:10 - For (Abraham) was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Thought for Today
Living in the future is the privilege given to us even today because our future has already started.
HONORABLE DISGRACE
Saturday, September 11, 2010

Verse for Today
Hebrews 13:13 - Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.

Unconditional allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ involves the willingness to go through the experiences He has gone through for us here on earth. But even when we are willing, we may not be able go through all the ill-treatment and mockery that He underwent for us. At the same time, we can show our loyalty and allegiance by bearing the disgrace that He bore for us to the extent possible. When we see Him thirsting on the cross, we could be willing to be in positions and situations where we would not have any water or at least clean water for some time. When he opened His hands and allowed it to be nailed, we can also show our loyalty by depriving ourselves of all that we have in our hands in this world including our possessions, positions, power and prestige. When He was willing to be made like a fool for us by the soldiers, we can also be willing to be fools and unintelligent people for the sake of our Lord. When He went a few steps ahead in the garden of Gethsemane for us, can we also not go a few steps forward to suffer and work for Him? When He was willing to have no place to lay His head when foxes had their holes and birds of the air had their nests, can we also be willing not to have any permanent places of rest for us while living for Him in this world? When He was willing to be disrobed by the soldiers, can we be satisfied with minimum clothes for Him in this world? When He offered His body and His blood for us, and established the Lord's Supper as a memorial of these, can we offer Him our bodies and blood to suffer at least some hardships for Him? When He had to go outside the Jewish camp to suffer for us, can we be willing to go out of our comfort zones to suffer some hardship, disgrace, shortages, discomfort and shame for Him? When we are willing to take such a life style, the world around us will call us fools for the sake of our beloved Lord.

Dear friend, are you truly loyal to the Lord Jesus who showed His absolute loyalty to you by dying a shameful death on your behalf? He was friendless and lonely for you on the cross. No one stood with Him in His hours of darkness. Will you be wiling to go through such experiences of loneliness and friendlessness or Him? Remember, your way to show loyalty to Him is to go to Him outside the camp, without any embarrassment and shame and tell Him how much you love Him. He is not at all impressed by people who say, "Lord, Lord", but wants people like you to give evidence to His lordship over you and your loyalty and allegiance to Him which are evidenced by your willingness to suffer for Him. He has called us to be His true followers and not superfluous talkers. He wants us to live a life that is contrary to the values of this wicked world and prove to Him that we mean business with Him and will do everything possible to suffer disgrace for Him without hesitation or retreat. The Lord is not interested in making you somebody great or famous in this world. He is not trying to make you the richest and most popular person in your community or country. He is only interested to see if your world would see your Christ-likeness and exchange you for wicked people like Barabbas. If you are concerned about high standard of living, quality of life, self esteem, status and recognition in this world, please remember that the Lord has promised you nothing of this sort. He is not even offering you a sleeping mat and pillow, but hardship, sufferings, persecution, loss, failure, character assassination, hunger, thirst and total discomfort as His follower and wants you to prove to Him your total allegiance. Let us today be less concerned about our comfort zones, but on how to prove our allegiance to the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 6:14 - May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Thought for Today
We carry the cross and follow Jesus to suffer and be executed by the world which is the ultimate way to prove our loyalty to the Lord Jesus.