Tuesday, November 30, 2010


A Song of Celebration

Verse for Today: Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Psalms 75:9 - But as for me, I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

God's children have something to celebrate all the time because they are the beneficiaries of the greatest blessings from God all the days of their lives. They acknowledge their God as the God of Jacob who was a mere worm and had only disqualifications to be loved and cared for by a Holy God. Such an unworthy Jacob was selected by God by His immeasurable grace. The same grace is shown to all His children by God. So any time a child of God goes to the presence of God, it is only right to go to Him confessing their unworthiness like Jacob. If God could use Jacob, he could use almost any one else. If Jacob was blessed, the same God would bless any one who goes to Him for help. When we are alerted by His Spirit about the extent of grace shown to us by this most benevolent God, we would always want to return thanks to God in a manner which would be a great celebration and declaration about the loving kindness of God. It is amazing that our God is pleased to be known as the God of Jacob, and in the like manner, He is also our God. He has made our unworthiness into eligibility to receive His blessings through the death of His Only Begotten Son on the cross of Calvary. He is a God who looks for the poor in spirit, the spiritually hungry and thirsty people who mourn about their unworthiness. He blesses those who are broken and contrite in their hearts about their sinfulness and are ever aware of their disqualifications. He is a God who welcomes the prodigals and goes after them as their Shepherd. He has abundance of grace with Him that He shows to those who go to Him and seek His help. Such help in abundance is worth great celebration of the declaration of the praise of this great God. He wants our lives to be sacrifices of praise unto Him which is what He expects from us in return for His love demonstrated on the cross.

Dear friend, do you know at least to some extent the worthiness of the Lord and the extent of your unworthiness to receive any thing form Him? Do you feel that you are spiritually poor, thirsty and hungry? Are you mourning over your total and absolute inadequacy to approach God? Remember, our Lord would never despise those who seek after Him and His grace. He gives to those who ask Him abundance of grace. He changes their character, nature, behavior, attitude, desires, priorities, preferences, likes, dislikes and focus to that of His own. He leads and guides them. He makes them princes and priests so that they can rule over their human nature and bring it under strict control of the Spirit of God. At the same time as priests, they are empowered to offer worship to the Lord for who He really is and what He has done for you on the cross to redeem you. We are the subjects of His kingdom of love. We are partakers of all the resources that He has and of the divine nature. We share the joy of the table of the Lord which comprises of all the divine blessings that we inherit through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are given the privilege to have fellowship with the Triune God. His Spirit takes our worship and prayers to the Almighty. When we are filled with His Spirit, He helps us produce fruits which are the very character of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who consume this fruit would want to have it permanently and become born into the family of God. When all of these wonderful and marvelous blessings are bestowed upon us, and when we are made to be conscious of it, we would naturally want to fall prostrate and praise this Lord. We would want to declare the glory and the grace of this Lord and celebrate it with jubilant singing. When we are thus dwelling in the praise of this Lord, we would not have time to establish ourselves in this world. We would rather use the time to train ourselves to reign with Him when He comes back to take us to be with Him forever. Hallelujah! What a Savior! What grace!

Psalms 81:1 - Sing for joy to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

Thought for Today
Declaring the praise of the Lord is the highest occupation that comes our way in this world.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Contentment vs. Complaints

Verse for Today: Monday, November 29, 2010
Psalms 74:16 - The day is Yours, and Yours also the night; You established the sun and the moon.

Any person who makes any thing is naturally its owner. The maker has some purposes behind each item that is made. It is made according to the owner's plan and the owner meets all the expenses. Until its purposes are met, the owner will preserve that which is made and possess it. This is true about the seasons, times and their corresponding boundaries. The Bible emphatically underscores that God is the creator of times, seasons and days with their boundaries with a great purpose. He has made it all for man to live in this puny planet. It seems the solar system is working ultimately for the earth so that man can live here. God wanted man to live happily and so He provided for all that man needed for a peaceful and contented life. But the greed and discontentment of man has paved the way for sin to enter the world and ever since that event, man has lived with some degree of dissatisfaction. God proved to man that only God can provide ultimate satisfaction to man. God created man to work during the day and to rest during the night. God provides almost all that man needs through sun, and give him light during day and night. In spite of it all, God wanted man to remember that God has a purpose in providing all that man requires so that he can be a contented person and be grateful to the provider. It can be seen that our dissatisfaction has caused us to live in competition, conflict and craving for more. Discontentment causes tremendous stress in man's life and makes man susceptible to sickness, and subsequently spend most of what he makes to become healthier. But God is inviting man to live a contented life and glorify Him instead of leading a life of anxiety, stress, tension and conflict.

Dear friend, are you a worrier for yourself or a warrior for God and His cause here on earth? Is your life a series of conflicts and arguments, not only with others, but even with yourself? Is your life one of contentment in what God has given you, or one of perennial dissatisfaction, grumbling and frustration? There is no need for you to live a discontented life and waste the opportunity God has given you to be happy and satisfied. He has given you the day to enjoy His creation and praise Him as you enjoy the provisions for your life, including the salvation of your soul. Your nights are for you to rest and sleep so that you can regain the lost energy, and continue to look at the nature and see His glory in it all and praise Him. He gives us the basic necessities of life to enjoy so that we will use our energies to do what is pleasing to God. He gives us sleep at night when God stands guard over us. He leads us during the day and night by His light through His Spirit and His Word so that we will know how to walk on His pathway towards our destination. If we do not have time to praise Him for all the ways by which He leads us, we would miss the opportunity to be grateful to Him for His provisions for us. Let us thank the Lord for all His provisions for us to live for His glory and enjoy all His creation rather than waste our time running after the mirages of this world from one dissatisfaction to another. Let us be contented people because we are already seated in the Heavenly places where there is no room nor need for complaints and grumblings. If only we know what all things the Lord has given us, we would never want to complain.

1 Timothy 6:6 - But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Thought for Today
True knowledge about all the provisions of God will make us more and more grateful and satisfied.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Your Incomparable Portion

Verse for Today: Sunday, November 28, 2010
Psalms 73:26 - My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The toils of the sojourn of a child of God make them weary and tiring with the heat of the world around them. As the days go by, they might realize the reality that their health is coming down and the confidence of their heart dwindle due to the battles they are engaged in against flesh, world and Satan. But they are comforted by the Word of God that they will be able to get strength and courage to keep going from God because He is their strength and hope. When other helpers fail and the circumstances make journey weary, the Lord comes to help His children. He renews His promises to His children, comforts them and cheers them up to march forward. He also reminds them that they can and are going forward with His strength only. He tells them that if they try to make it in their own strength, they won't be able to make much progress in the journey. Their faculties might fail and capacity might diminish, but the grace and mercy of their Lord will abound day by day to lead them forward. They will then be able to say that they are what they are because of the Lord and Him alone. He makes the way, leads them on the way and take them to their destination. No matter what or who fails us, the Lord will never fail us because we are on His pathways. He will never forsake us because we are His children and our concerns are His concerns. He compensates for all the deficiencies that we will experience on this pilgrimage. He will not disappoint us and leave us destitute on the way. Even if no other doors open for us, His door will be always open. Let us not have the temptation to knock at any human doors, but only at His door which is the Lord Himself.

Dear friend, are you feeling tired and exasperated and feeling intimidated on your sojourn? Do you feel that all your support fail you day by day? At times, are you feeling helpless and go about like an aimless wanderer? But you might not realize that your Lord is holding your hands and leading you forward. He is walking in front of you and walks with you each step of the way. As you walk along, you will be able to enjoy the shadow of the Almighty which will take away your weariness and weaknesses of all sorts. If your earthly faculties fail, the Spirit of God will compensate you with His power which is capable of breaking the rocks and calming the storms and waves. His mercy will encompass around you and keep you strong in His hands. You will be able to see that even when all around forsake you, the Lord will be your portion to claim, possess, enjoy and be a partner, with confidence and courage. You can boldly face any situation without wavering because your feet are strongly placed on the Rock of Ages. The hands that placed the stars on their tracks have placed you on His path in this pilgrimage. So there is no need for you to be discouraged today thinking that all is lost. When earthly strength diminishes, there is the powerhouse of the Lord with you which will give you Heavenly power and strength. When earthly companions or friends fail, the Lord Himself will be your companion. Isn't it wonderful to feel and claim that the Lord is your travel companion and co-traveler, guide, leader, counselor and guard? There is no greater joy than knowing and experiencing the fellowship, partnership and company of the Lord. Remember, when the Lord is with you, the entire Heavenly Hosts garrison around you, with all the resources of Heaven. What a mighty force that will be, even to think about and to feel the presence of this great Lord! May He draw you ever closer today and give you the strength to do what you need to do as you take each step forward. May He draw you closer to Him so as to enable you to claim that the Lord is your portion all the way.

Psalms 142:5 - I cry to You, O Lord; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living".

Thought for Today
It takes Heavenly strength to hold the Lord as my portion because He is too big and powerful for any human strength to hold.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Therapy for Brain Oppression

Verse for Today: Saturday, November 27, 2010
Psalms 73:16 & 17a -
When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God.

When we are confronted with serious concerns, issues and problems, and when we are puzzled, we often consult our human faculties, experience and the modern problem solving experts. But these are often oppressive, because almost any solution in a given situation has a lot of give and take to it. Taking is often like a bitter pill and not the most desirable thing for us, but we compromise. Giving on the other hand is a great sacrifice which we take with a lot of hesitation. So we go for the best scenario of least cost and maximum benefit to us. This process is most oppressive and gives us a lot of stress and often puts us into serious apprehensions. It took some time of brain oppression for the Psalmist when he thought about what would happen to those who reject God, and then he realized that there was another source which will give him the best answer to all his queries and concerns. He realized that he could go to the presence of his Heavenly Father to get all the answers. The Lord's presence is always open and there is a loving invitation to go there at any time and dwell there under the shadow of the Almighty for His wise counsel. The Lord is there to always listen to our queries and give us His mind about all matters of concern through His Spirit and on the basis of His written Word. His answers are perfect and His thoughts are flawless. He has the right answer for all our concerns and problems and solves all our puzzles. His counsel is free because Jesus paid for it all on the cross of Calvary. It is our prerogative to go to Him any time and all the time, and get His response rather than waste our time and energy for consulting with the forces in this world. If we don't go to God for answers, we are the losers, but He also misses the opportunity to glorify His name through us. Had Jesus not been consulted, there would have been no new wine at Cana and there would have been disgrace and loss of dignity in the banquet hall. This opportunity is available for us today to go to the presence of the Almighty for answers to our puzzles.

Dear friend, when puzzled with questions about your own problems and issues around you, do you automatically go to the Lord with your questions or are you habituated to consult the intelligent and experienced sources of the world? If so, you would go into the paths of brain oppression which will result in confusion and chaos, and bound to give answers which are on the basis of human wisdom. But if you go to the presence of the Lord, there is answer to any puzzling situation. His Word is the starting point for any science that the world has developed. Most modern scientific inventions are based on the insights given in the Bible in archeology, architecture, biology, physics, management, medicine and discoveries like energy, petrochemicals and even war strategy. Scientists, sociologists and politicians often consult the Bible for insights on issues they are confronted with. They may not understand the spiritual implications of all of this, but the privilege to understand the spiritual side of issues is given to us who have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us as our great teacher and guide. So when we have questions about the world, the Universe or any of the pressing problems of the world, or any matter in our personal lives, let us go to the presence of the Lord and inquire into His mind in prayer, meditation of His Word and the teachings received from the servants of God. It is accurate, transparent and easily understood. Once we get our minds clear on the puzzling issues that we encounter, it is our responsibility to respond to it according to the will of the Lord. Today let us go to the Lord with all our questions and find answers from Him. Let us not allow the world's wisdom to confuse or sidetrack us, and be focused on the perfect will of the Lord. Let the Lord lead us and guide us to live a life without confusion, and enable us to give total allegiance to all that He reveals to us day by day to guide our lives on His pathway with His perfect peace.

Psalms 119:130 - The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Thought for Today
God's Word in His presence opens our eyes of understanding and throws light to remove confusions created by the enemy on our pathways.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Wonders Behind the Scene

Verse for Today: Friday, November 26, 2010
Psalms 72:18 - Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.

There are many in this world today who claim to have power to perform wonders and miracles. Their predecessors in all the past generations used Satanic power to try to imitate the works of God and thus to impress upon the people around that whatever God does can be replicated by them. But we see that they fail when the crucial testing time comes. This was what happened to the Egyptian magicians and the Babylonian enchanters. While they watched, the power of our God was demonstrated and proved without the shadow of a doubt which made even heathen confess that the God of Heaven and Earth was the only one who performed wonders and miracles. We do not need to go too far to understand this truth, but to take a simple look at the creation of God. But we must be quick to accept the fact that even though all the wonders of God are miracles in the sight of man, to God these are His normal acts to take glory to Himself. God who is above time interferes in time to do things quickly. But even in time, and under normal circumstances, it is our God who does everything for His glory. He can make wine in split seconds as well as in the course of time, but it is all done by Him. God heals in split seconds as well as over a period of time. It is God who blows the wind and stops the wind in a moment or over a period of time. God turns things and situations around to accomplish His special purposes in this world today. He gives sleep to the sleepless and at the same time prevents a king from sleeping so that through the king God's purpose is met. He can make, break and re-do things during a period of time as well as in a moment. He alone works wonders in this world because He alone has the power to do it and He does it as it pleases Him at His will and as per His schedules. As we watch to see how God's plans and purposes unfold in our lives, many of the events that we go through are miraculous which stem solely from God. But our daily chores are also ruled and overruled by the same God to see to it that His purpose in our lives is accomplished. How then can we stop worshipping this marvelous God who works wonders in our daily lives?

Hello dear friend, do you see the wonder working hand of God in your life and in the lives of those around you? It is a fact that if we look at the way things unfold each day to sustain our lives, we can see how God works wonders all the time in the nature that He has created and in our bodies and minds. How many times have you experienced the miraculous working of the Lord in your daily lives? We do not always see how He protects us from evil and from the attacks of the enemy of our souls. How He rules and overrules in our bodies to sustain our lives is unknown to even the best experts of medical science. He works in seasons, environment, air, water and the entire creation for man to live to glorify Him in this world. But sadly man does not take time to understand God and how He works all these wonders and miracles to sustain us so that we would know Him personally and live for His glory. But when we meditate on what He is doing for us each day, we would certainly prostrate before Him and worship Him continuously. This is what we are going to do in eternity, but this life today on earth is a prelude for our life of worship in Heaven. It is also interesting to realize that when we have such a wonder working God who is engaged in looking after us round the clock, we ought to be truly thankful. This truth is so powerful as to move our hearts to live victoriously without fear or anxiety to face the realities of life each day. It is this truth that makes us live as the bond servants and true worshippers of this wonder working God and get ourselves lost in the wonder and awe of Him. That is all that He expects from us in return for all the wonders that He performs for us. We do not even know most of these wonders because under normal circumstances, our God works behind the scene and silently. His mighty acts, though behind the scene, speak so loudly about His loving kindness and infinite mercy towards us. Let us today and each day of our lives give Him all honor, glory, praise, worship, adoration and homage for who He is and what He has been doing for us.

Psalms 71:19 - Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?

Thought for Today
Sincere human minds will see that all that God does is a wonder and a miracle.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Overflowing Gratitude

Verse for Today: Thursday, November 25, 2010
Psalms 71:22 - I will praise You with a harp for Your faithfulness, O my God.

There are times in our lives when we run out of words to thank someone who has done something great for us. At such times, our words are supported by body language of various kinds. The Psalmist is faced with such a situation when he found out that the Lord has done great things for him and that He has been faithful to the uttermost all the way relentlessly. Such faithfulness is unseen among humans. And it is all the more astonishing because the faithfulness of God is not extended to man in return for something man has done for God. Even when man doesn't deserve any thing from God, He has exhibited total and absolute faithfulness to man because God has promised certain things to man and His promises are on Himself. The God of truth stands by what He says He will do, but when man understands the depth of it, he find that he is short of words and expressions. So man takes the help of musical instruments to support his emotions as he tries to express his grateful heart before God. This is the context of why the Psalmist is using a harp to underscore his gratefulness to God. Some times our body might shake a bit or eyes either remain closed or twinkle with tears of gratitude when we express our thankfulness to the Lord. At such times, we want to tell the world what the Lord has done for us in so many different ways, and might want to keep on speaking about the benevolence of the Lord and the power of His unchanging promises. The sky and the earth will be removed and even the most powerful and influential people might change their words. But the Lord never changes and is the same yesterday and today and forever. His promises are always 'yes' because if even an iota of it changes, God's reputation will be at stake. Are we not glad that we have the privilege to serving such an unchanging and perfectly faithful Lord in this life!

Dear friend, have you found the Lord utterly and absolutely faithful? Is there any time in your experience when He did not keep His promises? If He is the unchanging Lord, have you acknowledged it to Him and thanked Him immensely? Is your life one of abounding gratitude to God for all that is happening in your life, or do you have the tenacity to think that part of your achievement is because of your smartness and intelligence? We must understand that God's ways are far above that of ours and His acts far outsmart the best that man can create. Not only that, when God does something in our lives, He takes full responsibility for its consequences also. As God leads you day by day, all He expects in return is to see that you are truly and sincerely grateful to Him. If you are grateful, God wants you to express it in as many ways as possible, personally and in the presence of other people. You may praise God in the company of God's people for their encouragement and confidence to keep on trusting in the promises of God. You may also testify to the faithfulness of God in the company of people who do not know God personally in their lives, so that it will be a challenge for them to take the right steps to get to know and trust in this Lord. Those of us who have experienced this absolutely faithful Lord in our lives several times should turn out to lead a life of thankful praise and our expression of gratitude ought to be the best advertisement for the faithfulness of God. We do not need to be embarrassed about praising God openly and can follow the example of king David. He had no hesitation to publicly express his emotions to the Lord in the open when the whole of Israel was watching. He never felt loss of dignity because he openly expressed himself before the Lord because he was so deeply moved by the faithfulness of God to him. Let us be challenged today by the zeal with which David praised God and how he used musical support to enhance the power of his expression of thankfulness to the faithfulness to God. God surely saw his heart and commended him because he was a man after God's own heart.

Psalms 71:14 - But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.

Thought for Today
A heart overflowing with gratitude seeks to abound in praise.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

You are a Wonder!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Psalms 71:7 - I have become a marvel to many, for You are my strong refuge.

There are times when a child of God is written off by the people around because of the unbearable challenges that he or she goes through in life. They think that we will not make it to the other side of the lake and that we will be sunk deep down in the sea of life. They do not expect any thing good to happen to us because we are often not as smart as they are and our means are different from theirs. But as they wait and watch, like the islanders waited for Paul to drop dead with a snake bite, they are amazed that we are still around. Many in Babylon thought the three Hebrew young men would never survive the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar or that Daniel would never come out alive from the lion's den. It was hard for the onlookers to expect David to be alive after the encounter with Goliath or Saul. It was unthinkable for Potiphar and his wife to see Joseph come out of the dungeon and even to become their boss. Joseph's brothers were flabbergasted to see him alive and well and rule the Egyptian civilization as its second in command. No one thought John would come back alive from Patmos. Our situations are also often very similar to these servants of the Lord. But we are sustained through the fire, waters, dens of people who behave like lions, storms, snake bites, Roman imperialistic oppression or persecution of various kinds by the marvelous grace of our Lord. To others it is a miracle that we keep going as a witness to the Lord in this world. They marvel at the great deliverance we experience, but we only praise our Lord for rescuing us from experiences like that of the red sea. For us, it is the hand of the Lord which is always extended to save His beloved children from all peril. He is our strong refuge and bulwark and He keeps performing mighty and powerful acts for us so that we can continue to fulfill His purpose for us in this world. Some of the onlookers wonder how it is possible for us to be alive and continue in this world basically because they do not know the power of our Lord.

Dear friend, have you seen surprise and shock in the people around you as they watch the way the Lord delivers you from all snares? Have they been able to see how the Lord works as our refuge? This is the greatest demonstration of the power of our Lord exhibited in and for us every day. The people around know very well that we in ourselves do not have the strength to withstand the pressures of the enemy and the difficult situations that we are confronted with. So when we testify to the power of our Lord and communicate it to the people around, they would have awareness about how strong a refuge He is to His people. All these notwithstanding, we often have our own tense moments as and when we go through the difficult situations that we are in. But even when we do not seem to find any quick escape, and sometimes when all hope seem to be in eclipse, we should not forget that we are still in the hands of the Almighty. Without his permission, no one can touch us because we are His special people. It cost Heaven its best to redeem us. God the Father had to allow His Only Begotten Son to become like one among us for a short period so as to make our redemption possible. It cost our Lord Jesus His very life to redeem us. When we are thus redeemed, we are also sustained for the glorious future that is planned for us. Our difficulties are the crucible for us to go through so that we can be tempered in our faith and strengthened in our trust in the Lord. This is how our hope for eternity is built up. When all hope is gone, there is still hope for us in the Lord because He is overseeing our affairs which are part of His plan for us to grow in our trust in Him. Yes, we are often a marvel or wonder for the people around us because of the way the Lord delivers us in difficult situations. He is our refuge in all our situations for His glory. The Lord uses our lives as a testimony to His wonder working power and takes glory to Himself.

Psalms 107:15 - Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness, and for His wonders to the sons of man.

Thought for Today
What we experience as the wonders of God are His loving kindness to His beloved children.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Seekers and Finders

Verse for Today: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Psalms 70:4 - Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified".

Those who seek God are always able to rejoice and be glad in Him because they always find Him. They that search for Him find Him near to themselves. When we knock at His door, the benevolent God always opens for the knockers. But if we seek after the 'gods' of this world, they cannot be found even though they make us believe that they are always available for us. They give us the illusion that they are there, but are only a shadow. They create their own mirages and give false impression of their existence, and utterly disappoint the seekers. They offer possessions, positions, prestige and prominence which they promise will satisfy us, but these will only make us thirsty for more and plunge us into perennial thirst. What they offer has a great price to pay, with our time, efforts, abilities and commitment, and yet what is offered gives utter frustration. What the world offers is something that looks real, but is only a shadow. Those who seek happiness sometimes go after the entertainments of this world and become frustrated because such happiness is artificial, hollow and momentary. They make people laugh at cheap jokes which are like a vapor or bubble that disappears within seconds. All the possessions this world gives look real, but are momentary and finally we have to leave it behind without even knowing as to who will enjoy it after we are gone. But what is found in God is everlasting, eternal and permanent. It never disappears over time, but stays with us in this world and is translated into eternity with us. King Solomon found this truth out very late in his life and so he only could lament about it at his twilight years. All through his youthful life, he ran after what the world could offer. He didn't use the wisdom God gave him and went after the mirages. But he had an opportunity to come back to his senses like the prodigal son and settle with God. But his father David knew very well that all who seek after God definitely and certainly find true happiness and contentment. Such people would be able to live a life of praise. They have the experience of magnifying the name of God who is the be-all and end-all of all that they are and have.

Dear friend, are you a seeker of true happiness and contentment? Do you knock at the door of the Lord each day for making you contented with what He has given you so that you could make your life one of perennial praise for this Lord? Have you lately been tempted to go after the mirages of this world which offer instant happiness through entertainment or technology to challenge your intriguing mind? You must realize that all that we see around is a passing show, vapor or smoke, and will disappear in no time and finally lead you to frustration. But all that the Lord offers is everlasting happiness which increases day by day in its intensity in your experience. This kind of a life of happiness is available to us if we seek the Lord because if we have Him who is the source of all bliss, we will have unexplainable joy and excitement starting with this life which will be with us throughout eternity. The Lord has abundance of happiness to give to those who seek Him and earnestly ask for it. The happiness that He gives is in spite of situations and circumstances. It is peace in the midst of storms and clouds. It is joy in the midst of the roaring of the enemies around to devour us. It is joy which replaces all our tears, fears and apprehensions. It is excitement about the experience of Heaven that we are able to enjoy even while we are here on earth. When we thus have the Lord and all His heavenly blessings in its fuller measure, we would be able to continue to praise Him and magnify His holy name, for He is the ultimate source of this happiness. Let us today seek all that we need from the Lord and receive it from Him by faith. Let this joy reflect in our practical lives for others to see so that they will also want to attain this happiness. Remember, He makes Himself available to any one who seeks His face.

Psalms 63:7 - For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

Thought for Today
He seeks and saves us so that we can search and find in Him true joy in life.

Monday, November 22, 2010

PRISONS MADE PRISMS

Verse for Today: Monday, November 22, 2010
Psalms 69:33 - The Lord hears the needy and does not despise His captive people.

The Word of God confirms the heart of God through the experience of all His children all the time. King David learned about mercy and compassion in the heart of God and heard so much about it from his previous generations. But he realized through his varying experiences that whatever he learned about his God were absolutely true, as proved day by day in his own life. Our God does not despise the needy and the poor. He will not forsake the poor in spirit who go to Him admitting their inadequacies and utter depravity and ask for help. God knows that many of His beloved children are prisoners of the forces of the world and their spiritual enemy, and some are imprisoned by their own flesh which is a chief agent of the enemy. When His children suffer in the hands of these enemies and the difficult circumstances created by them, God has compassion over them. He hears their heart cry for a release and timely deliverance. He sees their tears and meets their needs. Many of God's choice servants were prisoners of different types. Jacob was a prisoner of circumstances who lost all his freedom and had to run away for life and became an exile. His son Joseph was a literal prisoner for almost a decade in Egypt. Jeremiah was a prisoner because he stood for the truth and spoke the Word of God courageously. David was an exile for several years and ran for his life like a stray dog. Peter, Paul, Silas and others were literally prisoners. John was an exile and the Baptizer was in the prison. John Bunyan was a prisoner for Jesus and George Matheson was a prisoner of blindness all his life. There are scores of others who have been in prisons because they belonged to the Lord. There are many who were put in prisons without any cause and some were set up and eliminated from the scene by circumstances. All of them have gone to the Lord and presented their needs and situations to the Lord. He doesn't despise them, but give them the strength to convert their prisons into prisms through which the glory of the Lord reflects. In these prisons, they testify to the power of the Lord and make it an opportunity to welcome fellow prisoners or guards to the kingdom of Heaven. These prisons thus become centers of spiritual miracles and prompt these saints to sing and praise the Lord.

Dear friend, are you a prisoner of circumstances complicated by the enemy of your soul and his agents? Do you feel suffocated by the suspicion that is created by these enemies to tarnish your testimony and image? Remember how the agents of the enemy tried the same strategy against Joseph and Jeremiah who were innocent, yet thrown into prison! The Baptizer was put in prison because he stood for the truth and preached the truth even to the kings and rulers! It doesn't matter what the people around you think about you. It matters most what the Lord thinks about you, and so trust in the Lord to exonerate you at the right time. Some of the Lord's prisoners have to wait until they reach the Bema to be exonerated and recognized, but a few are declared innocent here in this life itself. We will have to leave it to the Lord, but to continue to do what He wants us to do even in the prisons so that His kingdom will enlarge. These prison experiences are often Satan's way to dislodge us and make us unusable in our faith. But let us confide in the Lord and tell Him all our heartaches and ask Him to give us His power to become victorious in spite of the efforts our enemy makes to taint us. The Lord has enough of comfort, blessings, courage and strength to give us to keep going. Even in a situation of captivity, we have ministries to perform and lead people to the Lord. We have to comfort the weary and the discouraged saints with the courage with which our Lord encourages us. During our times of loneliness in our captivity by the circumstances, we can still go to the presence of the Lord to recharge our spiritual batteries and gain courage and confidence to fulfill the Lord's purpose even in the prisons. This was what Joseph, Jeremiah, Paul and John did and what scores of His beloved children are doing even today. Many of God's choice servants are still preaching the Word and encouraging others from the prison cells of circumstances, sicknesses, poverty, loneliness, rejection, misrepresentations and hyper-criticism even from co-believers. Let us follow the pattern of the Man of Sorrows who sends even a thief to paradise even while He was suffering on the cross.

Psalms 69:35 - For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.

Thought for Today
When the enemy tries to lock a child of God up in the prisons of circumstances, the Lord converts the prisons into prisms through which the glory of the Lord will reflect.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

DELIVERANCE FROM ENTANGLEMENTS

Verse for Today:
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Psalms 68:20a - God is to us a God of deliverance.

Deliverance is the need of all captives. When the captives are weaker than those who captured them, they need someone to come from outside to deliver them from the cruel hands of the forces who oppress and threaten these captives. The enemy of our souls tries to make us captives of our circumstances, attitudes, habits or influences of various kinds. He knows that He cannot make us his captives because no one can pluck us out of the hands of the Lord who is our sole owner. So the enemy uses his agents to capture our minds and put us into fear, anxiety, habits, attitudes, behaviors and frustrations to slowly take control over our spiritual lives. When we become slaves to these forces, they make us do what they want us to do and thus we are slowly made puppets in the hands of these emotions and practices. But there is no need for us to allow ourselves to be captives because we are made free by the blood of the Lamb of God. We are purchased with the highest price that could be offered for a human soul and that is the very life of the Son of God. So when these captives come to capture and defeat us or manipulate our situations and relationships, we need to be careful. We should realize that we are unable to deal with these forces of the enemy in our own strength. We need the strength of the Lord to face these tactics of the enemy and become victorious. The Lord has made His power available to us through His Spirit. The power of the Spirit is the greatest power in this Universe and if we get ourselves filled with the Spirit, we will be able to deal with the enemy no matter what strategy he uses to defeat us. When we submit ourselves in the hands of the Lord, He will use us to fight His battles and make us victorious over these forces of frustration, depression, anxiety, anger, habits, attitudes and conflicts which are all agents of the enemy. If we persist in prayer and allow the Spirit of God to fill us, the Lord will deliver us from the hands of these forces which try to devour us. The Lord is our deliverer and He gives us freedom from all these entangling sins and hindrances, but it is made use of by those who crave for it and submit themselves to Him to give us victory.

Dear friend, are you being made a captive of certain attitudes, behaviors, anxieties, frustration, negative thinking pattern or proneness to conflicts? Is the enemy use any or all of these to make your life miserable like a captive in a dark dungeon with feet in stocks so as to hinder all freedom for you to live as a child of God? Do you feel that you have become least useful to the Lord because of these bondages? There is no need for you to continue to live in this bondage because your Lord is your deliverer. No matter how long you have been in bondage, He can deliver you from out of the clutches of these entanglements and encumbrances. First of all, you need a craving to get free from these dungeons which have taken away your joy in the Lord. He is not only the Savior of your souls, but also your Deliverer from all entanglements so that you can enjoy freedom from the control of the forces and agents of the enemy of your souls. When He convicts you of your failures, go to Him in true confession and repentance. Help yourselves to be washed by the Word of God by soaking yourself with the Word. Ask that you be filled with His Spirit so that the controls of your lives will rest solely with Him. This is the deliverance that He wants to give you in all areas of your life so that you will be a free person to live for the glory of God in the power of the Lord and His Spirit. True deliverance belongs to the Lord. No effort at reforming the human nature through training in Psychology will help you. What you need is to grow in the likeness of the Lord Jesus daily and that is possible only when you allow the Lord to transform you. Today let us get deliverance from all areas of bondage that we are in. Let us allow the Lord to break our bondages and entanglements, and make use of us for His glory so that He can make use of us to help others who are in similar bondages.

Psalms 32:7 - You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Thought for Today
We will enjoy true freedom from entanglements only if we allow the Lord's hands to deliver us.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Mutual Inheritance

Verse for Today: Saturday, November 20, 2010
Psalms 68:9 - You gave abundant showers, O God; You refreshed your weary inheritance.

Our Heavenly Father showers abundance of goodness on His precious and beloved children. When they are parched because of the heat of the weary land through which they sojourn, His showers cool them off. His rain gives them living water to drink. It refreshes the bodies and minds of His children. God's children look up to Heaven from where the rain comes. If they look for rain from any source in this world, they would not get it. All that this world promises is a series of mirages which end up in perennial frustration. But God's showers of goodness gives them qualitative contentment. God's showers include His promises, His precious Word and all the goodness that He sends through His Spirit. One of the greatest reasons why these showers of blessings are sent to them is that the children of God are God's inheritance which He secured in His eternal wisdom, mercy and grace by transacting the very life of His Only Begotten Son on the cross of Calvary. So when God deals with His children, He deals as they are His precious and priceless possession. How wonderful it is that the Almighty God, the creator and sustainer of this universe considers us as His precious inheritance. In the process of sending His blessings to us, God has given Himself to us as our precious, marvelous and loving Father to possess and to cherish. We look up to Him for all our needs and seek His help in all that we attempt in this life. We express our indebtedness to Him through the sacrifice of our praises to Him and commit to live for His glory alone. God is our inheritance as our loving eternal Father through the rebirth that we are privileged to experience. At the same time, we are His inheritance through the death of His Son on the cross to purchase us as His special people to possess and to cherish In essence we owe it to God to possess Him as our inheritance and live for Him while He possesses us as His inheritance and keeps us safe and secure in His grace and love. This is the most beautiful of all the relationships that exist in this Universe, and it is designed for eternity.

Dear friend, are you making use of your relationship with God in your daily life? Do you consider Him as your inheritance and live in such a way that your relationship with Him is the most important in this life of yours? Are you seeking His help, support, strength, grace and mercy as you take each step in your life day after day? Do you look up to the Heaven for all your help to come from, in the form of the showers that He sends your way? Do you crave for His showers and torrents, or are you going to the broken cisterns of this world to quench your thirst? The water this world gives is contaminated and will make you spiritually sick and weak, and will cause you to slowly but steadily drift from His path. If you drink the water of power, possessions, positions, popularity, prestige and prominence that this world offers, it will defeat you spiritually.. Let us each day look expectantly at Him for all the help we need. Let us exercise our hope in faith to get all that we need from Him for which we need to look up to Him. He sends rains at the appropriate time. Only those who wait on Him will get what He sends their way. Only those who seek will find Him. Only those who knock at His door will have the opportunities open for them. If you search the precious things that come from Him, you will find it. But if you seek after the riches and the seemingly glittering things of this world, they will definitely disappoint you. The satisfaction this world offers is a hollow without any substance and quality in it even though the world will offer it to us in very attractive wrappers, bright colours and beautiful designs. But they will not stand the test of spiritual quality and will make you feel sleepy in the vanity fair of this world. Let us seek after the showers of blessings offered by the Lord on a daily basis and live with the greatest satisfaction that He offers for our spiritual welfare. As the Lord showers daily blessings on us who are His inheritance, let us shower authentic worship on Him who is our Heavenly inheritance.

Deuteronomy 11:11 - But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.

Thought for Today
God's showers of goodness soak us in His blessings and refresh our souls as we walk through this weary land.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Songs in the Lonely Nights

Verse for Today: Friday, November 19, 2010
Psalms 68:6 - God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity; only the rebellious live in a parched land.

The greatest bondage in the lives of human beings is loneliness. It is worse than living alone in an island with no possibility for any contact with any other humans in the world. One can be lonely even in a crowd. This is the feeling of being all alone and not having any one to communicate with. It is a situation of friendlessness. It gives one a sense of detachment from others. It is as if one is desolate, and is isolated from others, with no one to share or express any human emotions with. This happens for geographical reasons, but also because others isolate and reject us from their communities. It is perpetuated when the enemy of our souls maligns and misrepresents us, to create and to keep a wall between us and others around us. The enemy wants to frustrate us so that out of our feeling of solitude, we would lose togetherness and thus push us into despair, to ultimately slip away from faith and trust in God. The Psalmist had to go through such experiences when he was made to run around like a stray dog and live in caves, wilderness and mountains. But he had the privilege to trust in the Lord who broke his bondage of loneliness. Even in his solitude, the Lord gave him company and fellowship and made him rejoice in the Lord. It was in those years that the Lord enabled David to pen and to sing several sweet songs of salvation and write melodious hymns about the grace and mercy of the Lord. The Lord also renewed His promises to David that His love would make even the desert a cool garden and green pasture. David learned that with the Lord, even prison is a palace and desert is a banquet hall. He also had the assurance that the promises of the Lord will come true according to His divine plan and that the Lord would pull him out of his place of loneliness and make him live in the warmth of a home where there is immeasurable prosperity and goodness. David also learned that even in a palace, the rebellious and wicked sinners live as if it is a prison and a desert. But David enjoyed Heaven in a desert while his detractors lived in palaces which were places of torment.

Dear friend, do you feel lonely today? Perhaps you are a prisoner of your situations and that you are friendless. Perhaps there are very few who understand you and sympathize with you. It is likely that others including fellow brethren think that your situation is God's punishment on you. You probably find that all around you is only misrepresentations and misinterpretations. There might be people who would not like you to ever come out of your sad situations. But even there, the Lord is with you and He is your refuge and comfort. He will see to it that your prisons and loneliness are times of great spiritual blessings like the experience of Paul in the Arabian Desert or Peter and Joseph in the dungeons. Perhaps you are going through times like that of Job when even the best of friends come to find fault and not find reasons to pray with you to strengthen your soul. It might be a time when the enemy of your soul would come and whisper in your ears that there is no hope for you and that you will end up in these caves or dungeons. But remember that our Lord has great purposes in even permitting you to be alone for a time. It is used by the Lord to teach you that His fellowship is sweeter than that of the company of any number of people around you. He gives songs in the night even in the dark dungeons of life. It was in the prison that John Bunyan wrote the best of his works including "The Pilgrim's Progress". It was in prison that Paul was blessed with the writing of some part of the Bible. Most of the greatly comforting Psalms came out of the lonely days and nights the Lord allowed David to go through. Let us today thank the Lord for the sweet songs in the night that He gives us when we are in the parleys of solitude. So let us not waste our loneliness and detachment, but use it to commune with the Lord and receive great revelations about the beauty and the glory of the Lord who was once a lonely man for us on this earth. He will teach you wonderful lessons about how to convert your friendless nights to Heavenly bliss. Your prison cells of loneliness will become prisms through which the glory of the Lord will be reflected. We will soon be in our Heavenly Home which will take away all our loneliness, wipe all our tears and give us inexplicable joy and satisfaction.

Song of Songs 2:4 - He has taken me to the banquet hall, and His banner over me is love.

Thought for Today
When I commune with the Lord all alone in a dungeon or cave, these become Heaven for me.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Evershine Face

Verse for Today: Thursday, November 18, 2010
Psalms 67:1 - May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us.

When we approach God for His blessings, He deals with us in grace and show unmerited favour to us. If He considers our spirit of rebellion and past disobedience, it would be difficult to show favor to us. But He doesn't deal with us according to our iniquities. In spite of our shortcomings, failures and coldness of our hearts, He shows mercy to us. In His mercy, doesn't give us what we really deserve because of our rebellious hearts. He is a merciful Father who shows kindness to us and lifts us up from our dungeons to place us on a Rock. We exist today only because of His grace and mercy and not because of our qualifications. We go to Him in prayer not on the basis of any of our qualifications, but on the basis of His abundance of grace and mercy. Any of our qualifications is only stained. When we confess our sins and failures, God forgives us and when He forgives, He forgets it also. He works in our hearts through His Spirit to go to Him with this awareness which makes us humble and broken before Him. He doesn't despise a broken and contrite heart, but shows kindness and grace. Not only that, He makes His face shine upon us so that we would see light in His light to go forward on the pathways shown to us by Him. His paths are always for our good and for His glory. He wants us to walk with Him and to follow the footsteps that He has left behind for us to keep track of. His ways are perfect and His paths are glorious. When He makes His face shine upon us, we will receive His light which will take us through the dark alleys of this world. His face is full of kindness, love, compassion and grace and He bestows all His favors to us irrespective of our past. It is because of His favours that we are not destroyed. So our lives should be one of deep gratitude to Him for the favours that He extends to us on a daily basis. We must also realize that He is more important than any of the favours He bestows upon us. So let us praise Him primarily for who He is and then for all that He does for us.

Dear friend, are you confronted by dark clouds and blinding alleys in your life? Are you groping in the darkness to see which way to go through in the challenges of life? Is there a pressing issue for which you desperately need counsel and direction from the Lord? He is the light and He spreads light on our pathways. In Him there is no darkness. His face shines upon us to give us leading and guidance. Because His light shines on our pathways, we are able to see the right pathway in and through Him. In the dark corridors of life, if we can see Him walking in front of us through the light He sheds on our way, we don't need to look for any other guidance, but only unto Him who is the author and finisher of our faith, and thus walk diligently after Him. If we do so, we would not loose our way. He shows us the way with grace and will not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity. He shows us loving kindness and leads us in the right path, and will never confuse us or put doubts in our hearts. These pathways that He presents before us are not the paths of the wicked and the evil doors, but the paths of righteousness. His paths demand that we walk by faith and not by sight. When he shows us the way, we must understand that He is the way and the only way. So if we know Him intimately and see Him as our guide, we do not need any other light or direction. We go the way He has gone, and that is the way of the cross. It is the way of suffering for Him and that is the way marked out for us to tread. It is the way of light and so it is bright. If we see it dimly, we need to clean our eyes or our reading glasses. It is the way on which we walk with the Lord and so we would not know the weariness that it gives us. As walk with Him, we enjoy His favours of grace and mercy and walk in jubilation and gratefulness because we are called upon to walk with the Lord and be a blessing. Let us today enjoy the favours which shine upon us from His face and walk soberly, with confidence and courage which He gives us.

Psalms 27:8 - When You said, "seek My face", my heart said to You, "Your face, O Lord, I shall seek".

Thought for Today
The radiance flowing from the face of the Lord is the greatest driving force for us to go forward in His path.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A LISTENING FATHER

Verse for Today: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Psalms 66:19 - But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.

It is very refreshing and comforting to know from experience that all our utterances of prayer, supplications, cries and requests have reached the ears of our God. When we pray, we normally close our eyes so that we will not see any other object around us and that our attention will not be distracted by any one or any thing around us. As we close our eyes, we focus on the Lord and see Him in front of us, keenly listening to our prayers. While we pray, we see the Lord as a person in front of us by faith and submit all our prayers to Him knowing fully well that He is listening to the voice of our cries. His ears are always open to our prayers. He listens to us even though He is the one who helps us to pray through His Spirit who indwells in us. He knows all the emotions behind each word we utter in His presence. Interestingly, He already knows all about the prayer we submit to Him and start acting on those requests of ours. Some times, it is puzzling to us whether the Lord has heard our prayers or not, largely because we wait for a long time for answers from Him. But we need to understand that when we submit our prayers to the Lord, our part is over and the rest is His, even though He would have started working on our requests even before we started to pray. As we pray, He fills our hearts with His peace and love and gives us the assurance that He has heard our prayers. This is why when we pray, we get a deep comfort and peace in our hearts that we have unburdened ourselves to the One who is able to do exceedingly more than we would ever anticipate or deserve. This truth is proved time and again in our lives and the lives of His other children of God around us. We can read about all that He has been doing for His children down through the centuries in the Bible and in the biographies of His children who have gone before us. We also listen to it in the testimonies of His people.

Dear friend, do you get the reassurance at each time you pray that the Lord is hearing your prayers? Is your heart filled with the peace that passes all understanding that when you prayed, He has heard your prayers and that the answer will come at the right time? When you go to the presence of the Lord in a prayer meeting, you are actually meeting with others like you who also look to the Lord and receive reassurances that their prayers are heard. We keep going to His presence with other believers to pray together because we have the testimony of each other that He hears our prayers. We also know that all prayers are answered one way or another. It is like little children asking their parents for various things in life. The parents know what is best for them and what is not expedient, and give them what the wisdom of the parents would suggest. If our earthly parents know what to give at what time to our children, how much more does the Heavenly Father know what His children need at what rate and at what time? This is the reason why He gives us what we have received so far in life, and at the same time not granted some of our requests. Are we not grateful that He has not given some things that we had asked amiss? Elijah was surely happy that the Lord did not end his life at the shade of a broom tree, as he had prayed. The Lord had better and greater plans for Elijah and was not ready to end His life, but to extend it so that he could accomplish what God had planned for Him. This is true in the lives of all His children. God gives them what they need in His eyes in order to accomplish His purpose for them in this world. This is the basis of answering our prayers by the Lord. So, dear friend, don't be discouraged if you have not got answers to all your prayers exactly as you have desired, but be content with the way He leads you in spite of your utterances before the Lord. He has His best for you in His mind and will give it to you at His best time for your greatest blessing. As you wait for His answers, He keeps giving you the reassurance that He is listening to your prayers and the answers are on their way, and eventually you will know how kind He is in giving you what He wants for you.

Psalms 66:20 - Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His loving kindness from me.

Thought for Today
Heaven has a record of every prayer we make, and eternity will reveal how and why God's answers far exceeded our mundane requests.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

HOUSE OF GOODNESS

Verse for Today: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Psalms 65:4b - We are filled with the good things of your House, of your Holy Temple.

A child of God is a truly happy person because he has a Father who has an eternal home which is full of good things to meet his every need. So God's children abound in all the things that they enjoy from their Father's house. They have privileges in their Father's home and there is a great inheritance kept for them. They have access to all that is there in Heaven through their Lord Jesus Christ. Even while they are here on earth, they have the privilege of being seated in the Heavenly places and are blessed with all the blessings of the Heavenly places. As soon as a person accepts the Lord Jesus as savior and Lord, he or she has direct access to the Father's house and can start enjoying all the blessings of Heaven. They can have the joy of the Lord which becomes their strength. They imbibe into all the power that is theirs through the Holy Spirit. They are strengthened by the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God's royal priesthood, His children go to His house, the Holy Temple, to offer sacrifices of praise to the Father. When we thus appropriate and enjoy all the good things which are kept for us in the House of the Lord, our life becomes one of excitement, thrill, contentment and expectancy. Our life becomes a life of perennial praise, singing, worship and intimate fellowship with God. It is a life of close walk with the Lord into the depths of the character and beauty of God and to get lost in the wonder and awe of this great God with whom we dwell. We are under His wings and kept under His shadow. We are protected from the evil forces in this world which is going to be destroyed. It certainly is a great privilege to know this God who is our Father and to live for His glory here on earth as if we are living in Heaven.

Dear friend, are you aware of the depth of privileges you have as the precious child of the Father in Heaven? Do you realize that you have free access to all the goodness this Father has for all His children and it is yours to possess and enjoy. So there is no reason why we should live as if we are paupers in this word. We might be looked at as poor in the material realm, but we are rich in Heaven because all the resources of the Father are ours. The riches, positions and prestige of this world will have no permanency and will disappear one of these days, but what is awaiting us in the House of the Father will never fade or wrinkle. These blessings are beyond estimation and far above any human imagination. The mysterious thing is that these blessings are available for us here and now. They are available for us to live daily by drawing from it according to our desire and need. God's peace that passes all understanding is available for us for daily living in the context of turmoil and conflicts of any order. God's love is available for us to live in a world of hatred, terrorism and wars. God's unspeakable joy is available for us in this world which is buying entertainment with money in order to be happy. He feeds the sparrows and dresses up the lilies of the valley. He has fed prophets through ravens, and paid taxes for His children through coins which came form the mouth of fish. He multiplies one lunch into gourmet meal for thousands of people. He turns well water into the tastiest wine in split seconds. He converts the bitter water of marah into sweet mineral water of the highest order in no time. He opens vast oceans for His children to walk on dry land. He is the God of the impossible and leads His children victoriously through fire and water, and keeps them safe even in the dens of hungry lions. He is our Father and all that we want are in His Treasure House in Heaven for us to draw upon by faith and live joyfully day by day. So there is absolutely no scope for His children to fret or wallow over petty things. Today let us live as princes and princesses because we are children of the great King.

Psalms 84:4 - Blessed are those who dwell in Your House; they are ever praising You.

Thought for Today
The Great King's children ought to live today not as paupers, but as princes and princesses and be a blessing to all whose lives they touch.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Satisfaction above Circumstances

Verse for Today: Monday, November 15, 2010
Psalms 63:5 - My soul is satisfied with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

It is very difficult to find satisfaction in life when a person is in very unfavourable circumstances and when there is no scope for any comforts in life, . An experience in a desert even for an hour can easily take away the contentment of a life time. But that is not the case with David who is writing from a desert that he is fully satisfied where he was and with what meager resources and comfort that he could lay his hands on. Why these words of utmost satisfaction come out of David is because he is able to enjoy the presence of God even in a desert. He is most concerned about the contentment and joy in his soul and not about the comforts for his body. As his soul communes with the Lord in the heat and thirst of a desert, the soul does not even think about such external things, but only about the spiritual environment he is enjoying in his soul. The renewal of his soul took away the spirit of grumbling and put him in a state of highest level of satisfaction as if he is in the best banquet hall of the palace of a king. Not only that, his spiritually renewed mind makes him sing songs of praise to the Lord for His leading, guiding and the special grace extended in the worst of circumstances. For David, the Lord was far more important and sufficient than his external environment. He felt that when He had the Lord and His presence with him, that was far greater than any thing else that he could desire in life. When he looked into the dusty and hot environment of the desert through the eyes of the Lord, he could not be more joyful, as if he was in the cozy parlours of a royal palace. Such an attitude is the result of total submission to the will of the Lord. The Lord expects all His children to enjoy the highest level of intrinsic satisfaction in all circumstances because the presence of the Lord makes a whole world of difference wherever they are.

Dear friend, are you by any chance in a dusty, hot and miserable situation like that of the Psalmist? Do you find your environment very difficult to cope with? Is the heat of the situation making you feel weary and frustrated? If so, it is time you remind yourself of the fact that your Lord is with you where you are now. His presence makes your environment something like Heaven here on earth. Wherever the Lord is present, that is His Holy Presence which is Heaven. So when we realize that the Lord is there with us in our difficult circumstance, we should be able to find satisfaction. That was the experience Paul and Silas had even in a dungeon which made them sing songs and worship the Lord even when their bodies were badly bruised and their feet were in stocks. Paul wrote joyful letters to fellow believers to be exceedingly joyful and happy in the Lord from the worst possible dungeon in the Rome. The opportunity to be deeply contented in all circumstances is a special grace given to us by the Spirit which we need to make a part of our attitude and thinking. If we are able to sing and thank the Lord for all the circumstances whether they are good or bad according to human standards, these circumstances will be like Heaven for us. This is because the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is there with us and His presence makes it Heaven and it will drain us of all our grumbling. Remember, there is no room for any grumbling, complaint or murmur in Heaven, but only joy. So David is challenging us to live above the mean circumstances of this world and convert it into paradises because the Lord is there with us. Such contentment is the best advertisement for Heaven which emanate from the bright countenance of hope and peace in each of God's children and it should make others crave such contented life.

Philippians 4:12 & 13 - I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do every thing through Him who gives me strength.

Thought for Today
True contentment depends on our attitude and not on the material things that are in our possession.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

PARTIAL or TOTAL FAITH

Verse for Today: Sunday, November 14, 2010
Psalms 62:8 - Trust in (God) at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

We are admonished by the Psalmist, on the basis of his varied experiences with the Lord, that it is always good for us to trust in the Lord at all times. It is often seen that when we are in trouble we trust in Him, but in good times, our trust goes down in quality, substance and sincerity. Not only that, when we do not get a quick fix of our problems through some supernatural interference from God, we often become impatient and start interfering in our matters ourselves, and subsequently mess it up. But the Psalmist wants to remind us that we must trust in the Lord at all times. So we must first of all understand that our Lord is the same for us at all times. Our good times are as much a gift to us from Him, as His presence and nearness for us at the s-called bad times. Our bad times are not bad times per se for us to suffer, but times permitted by our Lord to teach us valuable lessons of trust and faith in Him. The message from the Psalmist underscores another important lesson from his experience that no one else is worth our trust and faith at any time. At hard times, other forces try to challenge us about our faith in the Lord, and sometimes even mock us. These forces even entice us to use the world's ways to solve our problems and try to teach us to trust in our natural faculties and abilities. They want us to learn lessons to solve our problems from world's wisdom, education and money power. But it is guaranteed that these methods and techniques are not expedient for a child of God. This is because we cannot put our legs in two canoes at the same time. Either we should go the way of the Lord and trust Him fully or go our way and pick up all the consequences of our actions. To those who want to solely trust the Lord are given another admonition by the Psalmist to pour out our hearts, heartaches, feelings, emotions, complaints, difficulties, exasperation, doubts and confusions to the Lord. He will give us a patient hearing. He will give us the assurance that He will attend to our needs and handle our case according to His wisdom. In the meanwhile, He will also give us the peace that passes all understanding to keep on trusting Him to believe in His promises and His might to be able to solve our problems, carry our burdens and handle concerns.

Dear friend, have you trusted the Lord for all your needs and situations at all times? If there were times when you switched your trust from Him to your intelligence, experience, skills, money power or human faculties, it is time you go to Him to repent for the trust you put in your own self. If you trust Him only on certain occasions and not at all times, you need to once again go to Him and renew your total, absolute, unconditional and unreserved trust and faith in Him. It is important for us to remind ourselves that if we do not want to trust the Lord fully and totally, why should we expect the Lord to do any thing for us? So let us make sure that we grow in our trust and confess any lapse from our side about our unconditional trust in the Lord, and renew our trust with confession of our failure to do so. If we thus remove the hindrance of lack of trust in the Lord, we will have given the Lord the freedom to come and rescue us from our perils. Either we should trust the Lord fully or not trust Him at all. He doesn't appreciate double minded persons and would look at us as hypocrites if we trust in the Lord and at the same time trust in other things and in our own merit. So let us today go to Him and confess our lack of trust in Him and hand our lives with all our needs and situations to Him to handle it Himself according to His wisdom, resourcefulness and timing. We then have the freedom and opportunity to pour out our hearts to Him in our absolute helplessness. He will hear us, honor our sincerity and childlike faith, and handle our situations. This is the way for Him to get all the glory for all that happens in our lives. This was how the Lord took all glory for all the good things that happened in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul and other saints down through the centuries. Shall we go to this refuge of ours all the time to pour out our hearts and submit our situations and needs to Him and wait for Him to act on our behalf so that all glory for all that happens to us will go to the Lord alone?

Psalms 55:17 - Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

Thought for Today
Our level of trust in the Lord reveals whether we believe Him to be our only refuge or not.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

TOWER OF ROCK vs. TOWER OF SMOKE

Verse for Today: Saturday, November 13, 2010
Psalms 61:3 - For You have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

Continuous and open confession to the Lord about what He means to us is a great way to reinforce our faith in the context of confusing and distracting thoughts. These thoughts come to our hearts from around us as we face fierce opposition from the enemy of our souls. When we know that the Lord is our refuge, the enemy will try to make us doubt the capability and strength of this refuge to save us from the attacks of the enemy. Nebuchadnezzar once challenged the strength of this refuge when he spoke to the Hebrew youth in Babylon and learned the big lesson that the Lord as a refuge is mightier than he expected. The kings of the enemies of Israel challenged the people of Israel several times to think that Jehovah, their refuge, will not give them the promised level of protection. But they all had to swallow their words through bitter defeat in the hands of this Great Jehovah. Perhaps the pit and the dungeon would have spoken to Joseph several times that no one could ever get him out of there, but the Lord proved Himself to be the potent deliverer for him. Paul and Peter had the same experience of going through the challenges of the enemy, but the Lord accomplished His great purposes through them. He has always been a strong and mighty tower for His children to confide in and enjoy safety, security, joy, peace and stability. Satan knows fully well the power and might of the Lord, and he knows that God will always be refuge for His children, but he would still use all possible means at his disposal to confuse and shake the confidence of God's children. So our singing to the Lord about our confidence in Him as our refuge and tower work to reinforce our faith in Him. We cannot and should not trust in the financial security that the world gives which is like a bubble and might break any time. Our health can fail us unexpectedly. Our friends might leave and plunge us into loneliness. All the security this world can offer are fog or smoke screens which are seen for a moment, but disappear. But our Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. Even when the whole world forsakes and ignores us, He will continue to be our refuge and tower of strength. He never changes nor will He ever withdraw any of His promises. He cannot change His character and He is always faithful in keeping His promises.

Dear friend, is your faith shaken in any way because of the enormity of the situation you are in? is there doubt or confusion in your mind about what the Lord can and will do for you? Do you think He is too far from you that you are not able to hold Him and His promises and claim them for you? Remember, the Lord has been the refuge for His children all through the ages and He will never hide from any one of them in the midst of trials and temptations. He would never allow you to go it alone and be defeated in the hands of the enemy. He is always available for you to go to Him and hide in His tent to take refuge, for there is no other refuge who is able to hide us with maximum security and safety. If you are facing arrows of gossip, distortion, misrepresentation, resources crunch to meet daily needs, rejection by friends or relatives, loneliness, brutal and unrealistic criticisms or failing health, you don't need to be alarmed because your refuge is always available for you to go to and enjoy the security that He provides. He is your tower which cannot be penetrated by any of the wiles of the enemy. The enemy might contaminate or darken your circumstances for a short while, but Lord will be there as the Sun of Righteousness to brighten your pathways and lead you forward. When you put your trust in Him and His promises, He will strengthen you in your faith through His Spirit to take your eyes off the enemy and his wiles and focus on the Lord. You are made more than a conqueror through your Lord who gives you His powerhouse to draw from. So, dear friend, don't be discouraged because of the dark clouds in your horizons. Trust in the Lord and He will brighten your path and take you forward, holding your hands in darkness. No matter the storms, waves, dark clouds or the howling and roaring of the wild animals around you, there is no reason to be afraid because you are in the tent of the Lord who is your refuge and tower of strength.

2 Samuel 22:3 - The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior.

Thought for Today
World's refuges are all refugees who prey on the resources God has created, but the Lord is the only Refuge for Ages because He is the Rock of Ages.

Friday, November 12, 2010

BANNER OF PROTECTION

Verse for Today: Friday, November 12, 2010
Psalms 60:4 - But to those who fear You, You have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.

When God's children are exposed to the various circumstances and situations in this world, the Lord is their banner. It is a banner of truth because this banner is the declaration that they are already victorious. It is a banner of protection against the bows and arrows of the enemy. It is a banner of invitation which encourages His children to take shelter under the banner. It is a banner of announcement about the great victories the Lord has secured for His children so that they can look at the banner and take courage as it helps them to count their past blessings. It is a banner which will stand for ever and will not need to be taken down as it does not anticipate any loss or failure. It is a banner which dances in victory in the midst of the winds which blow against it. It is an eternal banner which no force in this world can erode or weaken. It is the Lord's banner and this banner is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This banner of confidence, strength, promises, victory and power is specially hoisted for all God's children to go to and confide. There is a special coolness in the shadow of this banner where we can all dwell without fear or anxiety. We declare our allegiance and loyalty to this banner as we gather around it all the time. It is the banner of truth which declares the unchanging character of God and His great promises. When we are protected in the shadow of this banner, God's children have no reason to fret. The enemy might be around us and they might be doing all that they could to distract us and create tension and anguish in us so that we would take our focus out of the banner of victory. But none of the arrows of the enemy has the power to penetrate the enormity of strength of this banner. So let us take courage today and enjoy the coolness of this banner of love, confidence, strength, hope and peace. Remember, our Lord is the banner, Jehovah Nissi!

Dear friend, let us today understand that even though we are in the enemy territory, we are under a Heavenly banner which is our Lord Jesus. So we do not need to be afraid of all the sabre rattling of the enemy. They can do nothing to us because we are under the truth of the promises of the Lord. Not only that, Heaven has made public declaration of our victory and our future more than 2000 years ago on the cross of Calvary. No matter who the enemy is and what his tactics are, he is a defeated enemy and his verdict has already been declared. Our banner keeps declaring the enemy's plight and future and that is why he is trying to see if we can be at least distracted and lured to be anxious for a few moments and thus loose our grip on the truth which is embodied in this banner. So dear friend, please do not look at the bow or arrow of the enemy. There is no need for us to be alarmed about the enemy's preparation for war or the might he tries to exhibit in front of our eyes. Let us not be confused by looking at the aberrations that he tries to create in our circumstances and situations. Instead, let us look at the Lord who is our banner of victory. He is the victorious One. He has already won our battles for us. Today our battles are against the tactics of distraction which the enemy sends through the manipulation of our situations and through the relationships which we have in this world. In all these circumstances, let us not loose heart, but put all our faith and trust in the Lord of truth whose promises for us are as true as the Lord Himself. Let the truth about His banner give us renewed confidence to go forward today and forever more. The Lord has brought us to His Heavenly Banquet Hall of protection and blessings and His banner over us is His immeasurable love for us to enjoy today without the shadows of anxiety, fear and despair. This is the day the Lord has made for us to enjoy His grace and so let us make a joyful victory noise under His banner.

Song of Songs 2:4 - He has taken me to the banquet hall, and His banner over me is love.

Thought for Today
Jesus our Heavenly Banner is our greatest protection against all the wiles of the enemy.