Friday, September 30, 2011

SILENT SAVIOR'S SILENT SAINTS!!

Silent Savior’s Silent Saints!


Verse for Today: Friday, September 30, 2011


Matthew 27:12 – When (Jesus) was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer.


Throughout His earthly ministry, whenever Jesus preached, the people listened silently. When He invited, they came forward. Many of His listeners followed Him and some became His disciples. They heard wonderful words from Him and their lives were enriched. But when He stood in front of the religious and political rulers, they all spoke ill of Him and He stood there silently. He didn’t respond to false accusations and lies spoken by false witnesses. He took no effort to justify His case. He had no arguments to prove Himself. He could have spoken a few words to silence His detractors. But He kept quiet and suffered all of the accusations without any response. One word from His mouth would have smashed all His opponents. But He was more interested in the salvation of their souls rather than winning His case. His safety was not important to Him because He knew that He came to suffer for the sinners. He willingly submitted Himself to their mistreatment and oppression. Over the years, we find the life story of several of His children who suffered silently for the Lord who suffered silently for them. Scores of martyrs of the church did the same that the Lord Jesus did by standing trial silently. When there are false witnesses, it would be difficult for us to go into proving ourselves right. When our enemy uses people to misrepresent us, it would be difficult to prove our innocence. It is tough to straighten out the misinterpretations people level against us because the majority of our listeners will only believe what the enemy make them believe. Sometimes even some of our close associates are made to believe wrong things about us and they are even used by the enemy of our souls to spread falsehood about us. In such situations, it is expedient for the child of God to suffer silently just like our Lord and keep praying to the Father to come to our rescue.

Dear reader, are you being falsely accused by the enemy lately? Is he using even your best friends, kith and kin to point accusing fingers at you which you find difficult to disprove? Are you faced with circumstantial evidences against you which are only assumptions cooked up by the evil minds? It is good for us to know that our Lord knows about it all. Before the Lord, you are not the offender. If you silently suffer, the Lord who suffered silently for you will come to comfort you and strengthen you. Even when the whole world disbelieves you, the Lord knows the truth which ought to give you the peace that passes all understanding. We have a long list of His servants who silently suffered, but never bothered to justify themselves. These include Joseph, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, David, Elijah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and others. They suffered persecution, accusation and threats silently, but continued to serving the Lord without grumbling. There are those who received deliverance from accusations and falsehood, but there are scores of His other servants who are never released from the smokescreen of false allegations. But they declared that they were willing to suffer silently for the Lord who suffered for them. When they stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ, our Lord will have a lot to speak about all who suffered for Him and especially about those who silently suffered. Dear friend, if you are falsely accused, you need to remind yourself that your Lord has gone before you as an example for you to follow. Today you can go to Him and ask for special grace to suffer in silence for Him. Even if the whole world points accusing fingers at you, the Lord will not. He will receive you with open hands and declare your innocence at the right time. So let us be courageous and strong in the Lord when we are forced to face situations of false accusations and praise our Lord for the privilege given to us to suffer silently for our Lord who suffered silently for us.


1 Peter 2:23 – When they hurled their insults at Him, (Jesus) did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to (the Father) who judges justly.

Thought for Today
Silent suffering by a child of God when falsely accused and ill-treated is a fitting response to the love of God demonstrated in silence in front of the Sanhedrin and at the Praetorium.




Thursday, September 29, 2011

PRUNING TO FRUITFULNESS!!

Pruning to fruitfulness!


Verse for Today: Thursday, September 29, 2011


John 15:2 –
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

It is comforting to know that God’s children are branches which are budded on to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true vine. If we abide in Him and deeply imbibing His sap, we will grow in Him and produce the kind of fruit that is seen in Jesus. This is how the world around us will know whether we truly abide in the Lord or not. If we bear such fruit, God wants us to bear much more fruit. We are filled with His Spirit and His Word so that we will bear more fruit. The branches which bear much fruit are pruned so that we will bear more fruit. Pruning is a painful experience because it involves cutting away all the excess leaves which take away the sap which has to become fruit. Leaves show forth the glory of the tree, but leaves alone are not enough for purposefulness for a tree. So the Master Gardner wants to remove those parts of the branches which will result in more flowers and then on to more fruit. A pruned branch gives way to newer buds growing on a branch. Unless a branch is willing to bear the pain of pruning, it cannot end up in producing more fruit. Such painful experiences include sickness, loss, loneliness, persecution, rejection and the like. God allows such painful experiences in our lives so that we will learn patience and maturity. We will then draw closer to the Lord in prayerful dependence and humility which are the characteristics of the Lord Jesus. We will love all that the Lord loves and hate all that He hates. Our lives will be full of the fruit of the Spirit which will be demonstrated through our practical lives. Our attitude, actions and spoken word will then be controlled by the Spirit and will be found tasty by those who link up with us. We will then live above circumstances. We will not be controlled by events around us, but by our faith in the Lord.


Dear reader, if you are experiencing pain and discomfort in your life, it might be because your Lord is pruning you so that you might bear much more fruit. Your fruitfulness will make you praise God for all that goes on in your life rather than grumble. You will be under the control of the Spirit and will respond to pain in your life with patience, maturity and the joy of the Lord. You will then be able to say that it was good that you had gone through sufferings. Sufferings will make you stronger in the Lord and develop greater faith and trust in Him. At the same time, you should understand that the hands which do the pruning are the loving hands of your Heavenly Father. He has compassion on you and will not cut you beyond your capacity to bear it. When He cuts you in the pruning process, He will also give you the grace to go through it. He tells you today as He told Paul that His grace is sufficient for all your circumstance and needs. This grace was experienced by Paul, Peter, James and John in different measure at different times. The same grace was enjoyed by Joseph, Daniel, Jeremiah and David when they went through sufferings of various kinds. Job experienced the most intensive pain that any branch of the vine has gone through, but it made him greatly appreciate the love of God and grow in deeper knowledge of Him. So dear reader, if you are going through pruning, take it with His grace and patience because it comes to you from your loving Heavenly Father who has planned it for your spiritual growth, maturity and fruitfulness. Today you have the opportunity to thank the Lord for the valleys and the tears that He has brought you through and exhibit Christ-likeness in every aspect of your life.


2 Corinthians 1:5 – For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.


Thought for Today
Fruitfulness helps us to forget the pain of pruning.



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

TELL IT TO JESUS!!

Tell It To Jesus!


Verse for Today: Wednesday, Setpember 28, 2011
Mark 1:30 – Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.


When we tell Jesus about our needs, problems and sufferings, there is always a solution to it. He knows it before we tell Him and is prepared to do what is required to help us in our situations. But He expects us to tell Him about it and wait in expectation for great things from Him to help us in our situation. Often we are tempted or habituated to do what we can to handle our situation. We are so prone to depend on our experience, intellect, education, wealth, position, strength of our influence and relationships to solve our problems. We have a whole array of consultants around us who are willing to offer us free solutions most of which are contradictory to each other. Our tendency is to first approach all available avenues around us and when these fail, we tend to go to the Lord as the last resort. Nehemiah is a great example of a man who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem by first and always asking for His help. Daniel had all his counsel and help coming from the Lord as he prayed and asked the Lord. Mary told Jesus about the shortage of wine at the banquet hall at Cana. The disciples told Jesus about the wind and the storm when they were travelling in a boat. Mary and Martha of Bethany informed Jesus about the sickness of their brother Lazarus. They along with scores of other saints through the centuries told Jesus about their needs of varying kinds and found solutions and answers. When the disciples told Jesus about the sickness of Simon’s mother-in-law, He immediately found a solution to her sickness and gave her the desire of her heart to be able to serve the Lord and His disciples. But we can tell Jesus about our problems only if we trust Him and have absolute faith in Him. We must realize that Jesus is always available if we want to avail of His power and strength in our lives and situations.


Dear friend, have you made it a pattern of life to spontaneously tell Jesus about all your needs and not to any one else? Perhaps these needs are too personal that you might find it difficult to tell others about it in the form of a prayer request. For Jesus, none of your needs is too great. He has enough and more resources at His disposal to meet all your needs and solve all your problems. He wants to help you out in your time of dire need. He lives for you and works for your good because you are His personal concern. He is interested in and committed to you and your needs all the time. But He expects you to tell Him about your needs. If we exhibit importunity in our prayer, He will sense our deep anguish and seriousness in getting an answer from Him. Nehemiah completed his task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem by telling the Lord all the needs. Paul told the Lord about his needs in the ministry, his personal needs, his desires for the Lord, needs of the churches and believers. George Muller fed thousands of orphans only by telling the Lord about the needs. Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, C.T. Studd, Charles Finny, D.L. Moody, Watchman Nee, John Knox, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Amy Carmichael and other saints told the Lord their needs and found answers. There are scores of other unknown men and women who took it as a principle to tell only the Lord about their needs and found Him utterly and absolutely sufficient in meeting their needs. He beckons us today to go to Him. He waits for us and is keen to meet our needs as we tell Him. His priority is our priority. He would not suffer us to live as orphans in this world and wants the world to know that we are looked after by Him. So let us make use of the opportunity available for us today to go to Jesus and tell Him about our needs and wait for Him to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory.


John 2:3 – When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”


Thought for Today
It is our privilege to tell Jesus about our needs and His pleasure to meet all our needs immeasurably beyond what we ask for or imagine.




Tuesday, September 27, 2011

TEACH ME, LORD!

Teach Me, Lord!


Verse for Today: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Luke 11: 1 – One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”


Desire to learn is a good attitude. It comes from our confession of lack of knowledge or skills in something. When this desire is expressed to the Master Trainer, we are sure of getting the best learning experience. This was the privilege of the disciples of Jesus. When they realized that they didn’t know how to pray effectively and appropriately, they went to Jesus and requested that they be taught how to pray. Jesus readily agreed and gave them a blueprint of prayer. Just like these disciples, we all need to learn from the Lord about the various aspects of Christian life. He has outlined all our lessons in His Word. He has appointed His Spirit to be with us to teach us in all truths. But we need a deep desire to learn from the Master. We must to admit our poor understanding of the vital truths in His Word. We must go to Him and express our inadequacy in all humility. We should also find time from our busy schedules to sit in the presence of our Lord so that we can be taught by Him. We should also commit ourselves to learn our lessons and put it into practice. Our desire should be like that of the deer which pants for the brooks. We have to admit that Jesus is the greatest teacher. If we learn from Him, we do not need to go elsewhere to learn. Philosophies and religions have all tried to teach man things which are contrary to what the Lord wants them to learn. Today there are more people going after the newer religions and philosophies of this world and still remain empty in their hearts. But if we learn from the Lord Jesus, it would completely satisfy us and give us proper directions in life.


Dear reader, are you desirous of learning life changing spiritual lessons today? Do you have a craving to learn eternal truths from the Lord which are embodied in His Word? Perhaps you need to unlearn a lot of half-truths and errors which you would have learned from the many other teachers and gurus of this world. Life also would have taught you bitter lessons which would have made you suspicious of realities in life. But the Lord Jesus wants to teach you all truths about life eternal and life here and now. He will teach you how to pray, give, love and to touch the lives of people with His message of salvation. Your learning has to start and end with the Lord at His school. He will teach you all the truths which are spiritually beneficial. These truths will quench your craving for eternal things. But you need to admit your ignorance to the Lord and humbly sit at His feet with great expectations just like Mary of Bethany and in a spirit of obedience. Our Lord is not a task master, but a Shepherd and He teaches us in His ways by walking in front of us. He is our best example in all the lessons that He would like us to learn. We should have the humility to acknowledge Jesus as the source of our learning and praise Him for the magnificent ways by which He engraves the truth in the walls of our heart and prayerfully give living witness to these truths. Today let us go to the Lord and tell Him of all our deficiencies and ignorance and ask Him to teach us. Let us also ask Him to give us the grace and aptitude to translate these lessons into our lives so that we would be the spiritual inscriptions that the people around us will read.


Psalms 86:11 – Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.


Thought for Today
If we learn and practice all that the Lord teaches us, there won’t be any excess in our speech, actions and attitude.



Monday, September 26, 2011

RESIST AND REBUKE FEAR!!

Resist and rebuke fear!


Verse for Today: Monday, September 26, 2011
Psalms 118:6 – The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?


God’s children often meet with threats and intimidations from powerful people. These people are used by the enemy of our souls to weaken us and plant fear in our hearts. Seeing their strength, power, influence and riches, we tend to become afraid of what they might do against us. Our minds then work overtime to project all the negative things which will happen to us because of them. Thus our hearts become frozen and loose our confidence in life. Sometimes we are tempted to resort to dependence in our ability to counteract the enemy which is bound to fail because our strength is no match for the enemy of our souls. But we must quickly realize that we are not alone in this situation and that our Lord is with us. When we are challenged by the enemy, our response should be to look unto the Lord. When we face victimization, our reaction ought to be to go to the Lord and tell Him about it. When we are misinterpreted, our only consolation is to approach our Lord. When we find ourselves all alone in the battle, it is our prerogative is to seek asylum in the presence of our Lord who will never leave us alone nor forsake us. So there is no need for us to succumb to fear and discouragement. The enemy uses fear and discouragement to defeat us. When Daniel was threatened and challenged, he was not afraid, but went to the Lord to submit his petitions. Joseph went to the dungeon and continued to minister to the needs of the people around him rather than become boggled down with his situation. Paul did the same when he was under tremendous political, religious and social pressure and related threats to his life. David was humanly helpless, without support and resources, but he trusted in the Lord to see him through his difficult situations. These men of faith challenged their enemies by holding on to the Lord in absolute trust and simply believed that nothing will happen to them without the knowledge of their Lord who had special plans for them. This Lord is with us today to ward off all fear and phobia from us and put confidence and courage in us to keep going in spite of insurmountable circumstances.


Dear reader, are you experiencing threats of various kinds in your situation? Is the enemy influencing your circumstances and the people who deal with you to make your life miserable? Are you foreseeing dangers planted in your future and relationships by the enemy to create difficulties for you? Is your circumstance fearful and threatening? You have an anchor and a tower of strength in the Lord at such times. His heavenly hosts of angels are around you to protect you from the snares of the forces of the world which victimize you. You must realize that unless the Lord permits, no force on earth can touch you. It was because the presence of the Lord was with them that no one could hurt the interests of Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah, David and Gideon on their pathways. Today the Lord protects us with His presence, power and promises. His presence gives us the peace that passes all understanding. His power safeguards us from the snares of the enemy. His promises give us hope to keep going in spite of hindrances and intimidations. Fear as an emotion is a tactic of the enemy to weaken us and make us loose our confidence and courage in the Lord. We can resist fear and other emotional tactics used by the enemy in the name of our Lord. When fear comes knocking at the doors of our hearts, we must rebuke it in the name of our Lord. Our faith should challenge the evil forces around us in the name of our Lord and claim victory in every intimidating circumstance posed by the enemy to weaken us. Today let us cling on to the Lord and His promises and honor our Lord with our feeble faith in Him which He will honor by keeping us out of all fears and entangling discouragements in life.

Psalms 27:1 – The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Thought for Today
Resist fear and rebuke it in the name of the Lord and see that it evaporates from us.



Sunday, September 25, 2011

ARE YOU STAYING OR LEAVING??

Are you staying or leaving?

Verse for Today: Sunday, September 25, 2011


2 Timothy 4:10 – Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.


There are many zealots in faith who passionately follow their masters. But over the years, their passion turns cold and their zeal taken away by extraneous factors like position, possession, power, prestige, prominence and popularity. They fall a prey to such attractions which promise instant elation and satisfaction of their egoistic mind. Their eyes become blind to the spiritual realities that they clung to once upon a time. Demas was one such zealot who was willing to identify himself with Apostle Paul and was part of a missionary movement. But the world entered him and he ran after the filthy lucre to make him rich and famous. He sadly lost his vision and passion for the Lord Jesus, deserted the suffering Apostle rather than identifying with his sufferings for the Lord. While his brothers Crescens and Titus labored for the Lord as Apostolic delegates, Demas went after the soap bubbles of wealth and fame and the resultant false sense of satisfaction. Demas is a great warning to us today to keep away from the riches and fame promised by the world and Satan. Our flesh might desire such comfort zones and push us forward to capitalize on such opportunities. Someone might advise us that this might be an opportunity the Lord has brought to us. But those who go after riches and fame drink from those broken cisterns the world offers but never quench their thirst. The more they have it, the more they will crave for it. Demas was like some of the disciples of Jesus who decided to go back from Him even after tasting His glory. Let us today take the warning from the life of Demas to ward off any such temptation to become rich and famous. Let us not go near these attractions sold in the Vanity Fair which is a tactic to lure us into becoming their slaves.


Dear friend, are you like Titus and Crescens who served the Lord till the very end or like Demas who has deserted the Lord and His Apostle? The enemy who sells fame and fortune in the vanity fair of this world will try to attract you to buy from him. But it will surely cost you the life and the plans God has for you in His field. The enemy will slowly dim your eyes and take away your capacity for spiritual discernment. He who tempted and led away people like Lot, Gehazi, Achan and Demas will try to make you also stumble. You will be given intelligent reasons why there is nothing wrong to go after the world to make some extra unrighteous mammon. We are instructed to be content with food and clothing and to live for the Lord by practicing austerity. Our security in this world is not the fortune that we find in the Vanity Fair, but in the Lord and His immense riches in Heaven. What we are offered in the Vanity Fair is not blessings from God because we are already blessed with all the blessings of the heavenly places. Our God shall supply all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. So let us not succumb to temptations to desert the Lord’s business because if we look after His business, He will look after our needs. Let us not be tempted to go for the extra that the world offers, but go the extra mile for the Lord who went forward a few more steps for us in Gethsemane and walked the Calvary Road. By rejecting the filthy lucre offered by the world, let us once gain show our allegiance to the Lord and His cause. Let us reaffirm full contentment with the little that we enjoy here on earth from the Lord and wait for a day when He will bestow upon us all the glittering glories of Heaven, over and above the rewards that He will give us at His Judgment Seat.


John 6:66 & 67 – From this time, many of (Jesus’) disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. “You do not want to leave too, do you”? Jesus asked the Twelve.

Thought for Today
The world offers soap bubbles to lure us to itself whereas the Lord has already given us His riches in glory.




Saturday, September 24, 2011

CALMING THE STORMS OF LIFE!!

Calming the storms of life!


Verse for Today: Saturday, September 24, 2011


Mark 4:37 – And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so that the boat was already filling up.


Our lives often get into fierce gales which are so powerful as to try to break our lives. These gales appear without notice and that too from unexpected corners. We are often caught unprepared to face such wind. The wind rocks our boats and fills it with water and makes it sink. Our lives will then be like the boat of the disciples where Jesus was travelling. The very presence of Jesus is the special reason why we are buffeted. The enemy of our souls tries to weaken our lives and threaten us of serious danger. Our very existence will be put in doubt when the wind blows and rocks our boats. Our immediate response to such dangerous winds and waves is to become anxious and loose our confidence. In our exasperation, we will try to do what we can based on our experience and smartness which often fail miserably. When everything fails, we will start praying to the Lord to intervene. The Lord knows the wind, our spot in the sea and how dangerous our situation is. He knows what to do to save us and our boats. But He expects us to express our helplessness to Him and ask Him to come to our rescue. He is capable of handling the wind and the waves because it was He who created these elements and forces and knows that these forces will obey Him. But He wants to remind us to be prepared to meet such eventualities in life and always go to Him for rescue. He wants us to acknowledge our total dependence and reliance on Him to save our lives. Our dependence on Him depends on the level of our faith in His power and willingness to save us in such dangers.


Dear friend, today you are reminded by the Word about the fact that even as Jesus is in your life, you are susceptible to dangers, most of which are caused by the enemy of your soul to buffet you. Some times, the Lord takes you through such storms and winds to teach you basic lessons in faith and trust in Him. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate the glory of our Lord as He reveals His power to intervene in our affairs. Perhaps right now you are going through such times of gale, storm, waves and the breaking up of your boat. It might be in your realms of temptation, job loss, financial difficulties, false accusations, misunderstanding of your integrity, misinterpretation of your acts or words, friendlessness, loneliness, family life, church life or poor health. No matter what it is that you are faced with, you must remind yourself of the fact that the Lord is in your life and He is with you right now. He will not run away and leave you alone to handle your situation, but will be with you to strengthen you. If you ask Him by faith, He will intervene and stop the wind and the waves from shattering and swallowing you up. He will remove the dangers that you foresee in your situations. He will also remove the fear that you are gripped with and will fill you with His joy which will be your strength to go through the present situation. The Lord was with the disciples in the boat and He stopped the gale. He was with Peter as he was about to drown in the lake when he tried to walk on it. He was with the Jewish nation whenever they thought that there was no hope for them. He was with Patriarch Jacob and his son Joseph when they went through tough situations. He delivered David from all his adversities. He gave personal escort to Daniel and his three brothers when they were in danger in lion’s den and in the fiery furnace. He never left John alone in Patmos, nor forsook Paul through shipwreck. This Lord is with us today even as we go through mighty wind, fierce storms and powerful waves and He will take us through it and bring us out safely as we learn great lessons of faith and trust in Him.


Mark 4:39 – (Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Thought for Today
The Lord is with us in the storms of life and will take us out of it through His power for His glory and our comfort.



Friday, September 23, 2011

FILLED WITH PEACE - NO ROOM FOR TROUBLES!!

Filled with peace - No room for troubles!


Verse for Today: Friday, September 23, 2011


John 14:1 – Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in (Jesus).


Human heart is prone to trouble because of internal and external causes. We are often troubled because of unfavourable circumstances, situations and events which are beyond our control. Our hearts become burdensome because of intimidation by people or forces around us which we are unable to handle. We become agitated when unexpected events shatter our hope and shake our emotions up. These create internal emotional entanglements in us like fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, confusion, disillusionment and perplexity. Jesus acknowledged to His disciples that even though these internal and external forces might trouble us, we should not let it influence our emotions, behavior and attitude. In other words, we need to develop a counter force in our hearts against these troublesome forces which try to shatter our confidence and plunge us into despair. This counter force is faith which we need to cultivate in our hearts. This faith is not self confidence, positive thinking or firmness in our beliefs, but our confidence in our Lord who is able to give us His strength and power to handle the causes of trouble which try to beat us up. Such faith is planted in our hearts by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. In order for the Spirit to plant the Word of faith in our hearts, we need to read and meditate on the Word of God and allow it to sink deep into our hearts. As we meditate, the Spirit will apply the Word to our hearts and reveal the glory of our Lord to us and generate faith in our hearts. So when doubt or confusion comes to knock at the doors of our hearts, we will be unshaken and confident in the Lord and His power. Our faith in the power of our Lord will thus help us to prevent the powers of darkness from influencing us to get troubled.


Dear friend, are you troubled in your heart because of internal or external causes? Do you fall a prey to doubts, confusion, intimidation and anxiety and get your heart troubled with fear and hopelessness? There is a panacea for your troubles which is hope and faith in the Lord Jesus. If we allow Jesus to rule in our hearts as our Lord, and if we give Him full freedom over our emotions and thoughts, He will take full control over our hearts. Let each and every thought that emerges in our hearts be in subjection to the Lord. Let us not give any room for troubles to come in and take control over our emotions. Let us fill our hearts with the Word and ask the Spirit to fill us with Jesus. If the Word says that the Lord will look after our affairs, let us believe it with our whole heart, soul and strength and give evidence to it by not allowing anxiety and despair to creep into our hearts. Let us allow the Word of God to stand guard at the doors of our hearts. Let the Word prevent us from hearing the words of the enemies of our souls. Let our eyes not see any thing that is contrary to seeing the glory of the Lord Jesus. Let us not permit the enemy to drop in any thoughts of doubts and confusions into our hearts. Let us keep our minds from developing doubts and phobias by putting our hope in the Lord. This was how Abraham waited by faith for a quarter of a century for Isaac. Joseph had the same faith for over 13 years when he waited for his dreams to become a reality. Let us follow their path and put our faith in the Lord and keep our hearts and minds from getting troubled because of the external and internal environment which the enemy of our souls will use to trap us into trouble our hearts and thus drain us of our faith in our Lord.


John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.


Thought for Today
When God’s peace that passes all understanding fills our hearts, there will be no room for troubles of any sort to enter us.




Thursday, September 22, 2011

THE LITTLE MAJORITY!!

The Little Majority!


Verse for Today: Thursday, September 22, 2011


Luke 12:32 – Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.



Size and number are serious concerns for people in the world. They are always after the biggest, tallest, fastest, greatest and the like. There is a craving to be better than others. People groups find greater sense of security if they are more in number than others. In all their social gatherings, they want to be in largest possible groupings. Sometimes God’s people also desire big numbers and feel insecure when they are fewer than others. When the disciples of Jesus were insecure that they were a small crowd, Jesus encouraged them by telling them not to be anxious and afraid because of their size. Jesus called a large number to be His disciples. There were also those secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. But most of them left Him and only eleven relatively low ranking people stayed with the Lord till He was arrested. But the Lord asked even these eleven to leave if they wanted. He was prepared to establish His kingdom even with the smallest group of followers. He was more concerned with quality of discipleship rather than large numbers. Even though He addressed large crowds who came to Him, most of them left Him. He was left with the small group who were committed to follow Him. They were not a formidable force against the mighty Roman Empire and the Jewish religion. But Jesus was pleased with the small crowd whom He affectionately called ‘little flock’. He trained them and used them to turn the world upside down. They were used to lay the foundation for His church here on earth. They were used to complete the writing of the Scriptures. He poured out His Spirit and His power over them and demonstrated it through miracles and wonders. He used them to challenge the order of the world system and showed that it would all vanish when His kingdom will remain forever.


Dear reader, are you amazed at the way the Lord uses small groups in different parts of the world to accomplish His purposes on earth? If you examine the history of missions, you will realize that Christianity has spread all over the world through small groups of two or three gathered in His name. They were willing to go in His name and gather unto His name. They were persecuted, suppressed and oppressed, but their small number made it easier for them to survive. They are His sheep and He is their caring and loving Shepherd. He walks in front of them and makes sure that all their fears in their sojourn are removed from their pathways. His staff is sufficient to ward off all the enemies and lead them through the hills and valleys, the highways and byways and the difficult terrains of this world. Our Lord is the security, safety, buffer and anchor of His people. He will never leave them nor forsake them no matter what the circumstances are. He leads them through dangers of various kinds and in the wake of attacks of the enemies. He gives them water to drink and food to eat on a daily basis. He also gives them spiritual food so that they would grow in His nurture and admonition. He is their guide, counselor, lamp, light, friend, philosopher, strength, protector and shield. They rest in His shadow and are safe under His wings. They look unto Him for all their emotional, physical and spiritual needs and He fills their lives to full satisfaction. He is their every thing and all, both great and small. He is their heavenly Bridegroom and the lover of their soul. So His children do not have any reason to be afraid even when they are alone or small in number and size because they know that with the Lord, they are the majority.



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 little flock with the Lord on their side is the greatest majority in this world.





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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

SYMPATHETIC SAVIOUR!!

Sympathetic Saviour

Verse for Today: Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Hebrews 4:15a – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.


The intercessory ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ for us encourages us to live and keep going in spite of our failures and weaknesses. He knows that we are dust and are susceptible to fail in spite of best desires and intentions. Prophet Isaiah and Apostle Paul acknowledged this and declared their weaknesses and failures in the presence of God. They could not think of themselves nothing other than wretched and woeful people as they approached the Holy God in His glory. So they went to His presence in utter penitence and confession. But their Lord did not scold them or find fault with them. Instead, they were purged by the Lord with His Word which was a benevolent act to help and strengthen them. When Peter disowned the Lord, all that the Lord did was to look at Peter which was an act of compassion and love. Jesus wanted Peter to acknowledge the gravity of what he did and repent. The look of the Master made Peter confess his sin and weep bitterly. When Peter went back fishing, the love of the Lord went after him to fill his cravings, but restored him back to faith. When we fall and fail in our spiritual life, our Lord Jesus makes intercession for us before the Father in Heaven and helps us to get restored through His Word and Spirit. He knows our weaknesses and sympathizes with us. He forgives our weaknesses and failures and draws us to Himself to rebuild us. His strength is made manifest in our weaknesses so that all that we are will be acknowledged because of Him and not because of our merit or capacity to do good. When we go to Him and confess our failures, He will always forgive us. He invites us to go to Him unconditionally. If we have burdens, we can go to Him and place our burdens on Him. If we are tired, we will be strengthened by His Spirit. When we are depressed, we will be revived by His Spirit. When we are weary, He will give us rest. He knows each of us with our weaknesses and will empower us through the power of His resurrection and make us stand strong for Him.


Dear friend, are you weak and weary today because of the burdens of failures, weaknesses and inabilities that you carry in your daily life? Perhaps you are carrying your burden all by yourself and that makes you weary and lonely. But there is no need for you to carry your load all by yourself. Your Lord is willing and able to carry your heavy load if you let Him do it. He will not scold you for the weight that you have in your life. Perhaps it is because of your special situation that you are forced to carry the load. Perhaps you mismanaged and messed up your affairs through impulsive behavior and immature decisions. It might also be because others have pushed you into the present mess that you are in. It can also be because of the changes in your environment. In all of these, you and your kith and kin might find fault with you. But your Lord will restore your life from your past mistakes and situational changes in your life so that you can live a victorious life. But He wants you to allow Him to handle your affairs. He expects you to give Him a free hand to restore you the way he wants according to His divine wisdom. He wants you to consult Him when you make decisions. He wants you to make Him your priority on a daily basis. As you go to Him, the Lord will be very sympathetic and considerate to you. He will be like a bridge over troubled waters for you. He will carry you in His hands when you are unable to cross the high tide and the fiery furnace of situations. Today the Lord invites you with a heart full of sympathy and compassion to help you live a life of rest and peace if you are willing to hand your life over to Him.


Psalms 103:8 – The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.


Thought for Today
God comes to His children out of sympathy and love to help them out of their failures and bring them to restoration and victory.



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

FAITH DRIVES DOUBTS AWAY!!

Faith drives doubts away!


Verse for Today: Tuesday, September 20, 2011


Mark 9:23 – “If you can?”, said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes”.


Our human minds are prone to doubt. When we doubt, we loose our confidence and courage in facing situations. This is true as we go to God when faced with hindrances, mighty opponents and emergencies in life. Even when we pray, there is sometimes an element of doubt in our minds as to whether it will be possible for us to overcome the situation. This drains us of our confidence to face the situations that concern us. But the Lord wants us to be encouraged today in that our simple but true faith will certainly produce positive results. This is because we put our faith in the Lord who is able to do everything for us. Our doubt is often due to our feeble faith. It is also due to the external evidences that we quickly seek after. There was no doubt in the mind of Elijah even when he found no clouds at the first report. As he prayed, he kept sending his servant 7 times to keep checking because he knew that the clouds will come. He was not concerned if there was huge cloud, but even a tiny cloud as big as the palm of man’s hand was sufficient for him to believe that it would bring forth rain because he believed in the Lord who created cloud. No matter how many years it took to fulfill his dreams, Joseph had faith in the Lord who gave him dreams and so he waited patiently for 13 years without doubt. The greatness of Abraham was that he had such faith in the Lord as to wait for Isaac for a quarter of a century without doubt. Moses knew even before he left Pharaoh’s palace that the Lord would use him to release his brethren from the clutches of Egypt. The Phoenician woman had full faith without the shadow of doubt that the Lord was capable and willing to heal her son, and she got what she believed in. The centurion had the same faith without doubt. It is such a faith that the Lord demands from us if we trust Him as we claim. Faith demands that we burry our doubts. Faith expects us to take God’s promises seriously. Faith declares war on doubt. Faith originated from God and it is given to His people through His Spirit. Faith is based on the promises which are given in the written Word. Faith cultivates hope in us which will culminate in its fulfillment. Faithless life wanders from doubt to discouragement and reaches despair and finally ends us in despondency.

Dear friend, is your life based on faith or doubt? Are you sometimes haunted by doubts and confusions which lead you to anxiety, apprehension, tension, stress and finally to hopelessness? Doubt comes to you from your human instincts and it will lead you to mistrust others and lead you to paranoia. A doubtful person becomes unstable in all his ways and will find it very difficult to make decisions in life. Once decided he will often have rethinking and will go back to doubt again. Instead, God wants us to put our faith in Him and trust Him to take us forward in life and then take the first step by faith. This is one of the central themes that we find throughout the Bible. God declared that He will never forsake those who put their trust in Him and demonstrated the result of trust through innumerable events. Faith is planted in our hearts by the Spirit and the Word and will help us to grow in faith. But we have the responsibility to allow faith to grow through our willingness to believe in God’s power and strength to fulfill His promises. We have a long list of great men and women of God who have gone before us as examples of such great faith in the promises of God. We are admonished to follow their path and believe with our whole heart and mind that our God is faithful, and continue to live on the basis of such faith. Thus doubt will give way to confidence and courage to face our unknown future and praise God for even those events which are yet to take place in our lives.


Matthew 21:22 – If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.


Thought for Today
When doubt comes and knocks at the doors of our hearts, we should ask faith in the Lord to answer the door.




Monday, September 19, 2011

A TRANSFORMING CRUCIBLE!!

A Transforming Crucible


Verse for Today: Monday, September 19, 2011


2 Corinthians 4: 8 & 9 – We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.


The cost of following Jesus Christ in this world is quite high. Our faith makes us the enemy of the powers of darkness. The world becomes our foe and every system that controls this world will oppose us. There will be physical, psychological and social pressure of various kinds on us. The great servants of God who became martyrs were intimidated in all these ways and were brought to the brink. They were misrepresented, misinterpreted and falsely accused of horrible offences. There were those who went back because the cost of becoming a disciple was too high, but at least a minority was willing to stick their necks to the guillotines of this cruel world. They proved with their lives that the enemy can only suppress and oppress our bodies and emotions, but cannot touch our spirits. They could not stop the mouths of these disciples from proclaiming the truth. These disciples were willing to go through the crucible of suffering. They could not stop living for the Lord and suffer for Him who suffered for them. They knew that in spite of all the pressures and persecutions, their passion could not be crushed and their commitment shattered by these oppressors. Apostle Paul was one such disciple of Jesus who knew this truth very well. He never kept his mouth shut and stopped preaching. When they locked him up in a dungeon, he started writing. His epistles are read by people in about 2,000 languages in the world today. His writings are researched and studied by millions of devotees of Jesus throughout the last 20 centuries and billions of sermons have come out of his epistles. Yes, the oppressors can put pressure and pain in us, but they cannot stop the power of gospel demonstrated through the lives in which Jesus lives on.

Dear reader, are you suffering for the sake of the gospel that you preach and live day by day in this world which belongs to the enemy of the gospel of Jesus? Do you suffer in the hands of the governments, religions, philosophies, political movements, social activists, fundamentalists and fanatics? Are you oppressed because of your stand for Jesus? Are you denied justice in schools where you study, places of work, neighbourhoods, business world and even among your kith and kin? Have you become an outcast? No matter who opposes us and what they try to do against us, ultimately we are on the victor’s side. Our victory in Jesus is already written in Heaven and no force on earth can alter it. They will oppress us and put maximum pressure on us. They might deny justice to us and discriminate against us. We might become a prey to prejudice, bias, favouritism and hate crimes of different types. But they cannot touch our souls. When they persecute us, our Lord will fill our hearts with the peace that passes all understanding and give us security and stability. We need not be drawn into frustration because we know that our destiny has already been determined and secure in the hands of our Lord. If the world abandons us, our Lord will draw us closer to Him and hold us in His hands even when we have to go through the dark valleys of life. He will be our shield when we are under direct attack. When they drain us off our physical strength, we will be filled with heavenly strength from His Spirit to make us bold and unshaken to stand strong for the Lord. When we are shut in by the world, the Lord will open the vistas of Heaven to give us glorious visions about Him and fill us with hope for all that He has in store for us in our heavenly home. So we can be bold like Paul and say that in spite of all that the enemy will attempt, our victory is already confirmed by the Lord. This truth ought to make us go forward without getting perplexed in the battle with the world and live as true disciples of Jesus.


2 Corinthians 4:16 – Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasted away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.


Thought for Today
Our warfare with the enemies of gospel starts from victory when our enemies fight a loosing battle with us.




Sunday, September 18, 2011

BANQUET FOR THE LONELY!!

Banquet for the lonely!


Verse for Today: Sunday, September 18, 2011


Revelation 3:20 – “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me”.


When man lost his fellowship with God through offences, he became hungry and lonely. He had no one to have deep fellowship and no one to provide him with the kind of food which would satisfy his cravings. He also came under bondage and lost his capacity to seek help from God. But God took the initiative to help man to take away his cravings and satisfy him and also to provide him with fellowship. Thus God wanted to take away man’s loneliness and take him to a banquet. This experience of joyful feasting of all the heavenly blessings is available today to the sinners. But as we live in the sinful body, all God’s children go through the experience of loneliness which makes them spiritually weak and weary. The Lord Jesus is the best friend of the lonely people who comes to us to fill our lives. He is the song of the lonely. He gives fellowship to them. He takes them to the heavenly feast in His banquet hall. He gives them all that they would need to satisfy their craving for all that their souls would desire so that they would not need to go to any other source. The world’s sources will give lukewarm waters from the broken cisterns of this world which will make life empty and frustrated. This was the experience of Lot which made him more and more exasperated day by day and plunged his life into one of saddest embarrassment.

Dear reader, are you lonely for fellowship today? Do you feel all alone? Have you become friendless? But you have a friend in Jesus who wants to give you fellowship and invite you to His banquet hall with all heavenly blessings which you can be freely enjoy and become fully satisfied. When you feel lonely, friendless and abandoned by all, you need not get frustrated because your Lord will not forsake you. He is the friend of the friendless. During the earthly ministries of our Lord Jesus, He spent most of His time with the poor and rejected people in the society. He touched their lives and became their friend. He transformed their lonely lives to become joyful. He gave such grace to Peter, Paul and Silas when they were in prison. When Daniel spent a night with the hungry lions, He was there to give him the peace that passed all understanding. When the three Hebrew young men were alone in the furnace, He went to give them company. Joseph and Jeremiah enjoyed His fellowship in the dungeons of life. Perhaps you are alone in a hospital room or abandoned and cheated by people and pushed into solitary confinement in a foreign country for no fault of yours. May be you are serving in an offshore platform or mine facility and feeling frustrated without fellowship. You might be in a location far away from home and feeling homesick. No matter what your situation is, the Lord is with you and He will fill your heart with Himself. You will be able to speak to Him even though He is invisible to your naked eyes. When you read and meditate on His Word, He will reveal His glory to you. He will fill your every desire with Himself and strengthen your soul in times of weariness. He will take away the heaviness of your heart and fill the vacuum with His grace and peace and lead you forward moment by moment. If you are made lonely by the world because of your stand for the Lord, He will give you friends in the household of faith to enjoy fellowship. Soon the Son of righteousness will shine upon you in your dark dungeon. Remember, loneliness has produced greatest hymns and works like The Pilgrim’s Progress. Many of the Epistles of Paul came out of his solitude in a dungeon. May God grant you the grace to transform your time of loneliness that He allows in your life to be a time of rich ministries of great impact in other lives.


Psalms 68:6 – God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.


Thought for Today
In times of loneliness, our Lord reveals Himself to us in His glory to fill us with heavenly joy, peace and hope for a brighter tomorrow.




Saturday, September 17, 2011

MY SAFETY AND SECURITY!!

My Safety and Security!

Verse for Today: Saturday, September 17, 2011


Psalms 140:7 – O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, You shield my head in the day of battle.

Acknowledging the sovereignty of the Lord in our lives is a matter of great comfort and strength for God’s children. It stems from the fact that the Lord delivers His children from the snares of the enemy and keeps them as the apple of His eyes. He gives them victory in all their battles according to His sovereign will and at His best time. He is acknowledged as the strong deliverer of His children as His strength is far superior to all the powers of darkness put together. No power in this universe can overcome the strength of the Lord which encompasses around His children all the time. He delivers them at all times in His own way. Some of us are saved from getting into trouble. Some others are kept safe as they go through trouble. There are those who are allowed to endure the perils of the troubles with His abundant grace to come out of it without bitterness. But all through the trouble, the Lord covers the heads of His children by making Himself their shield. When their heads are covered by Him, they are spared from the thoughts of unbelief, doubt, confusion and faithlessness entering into their heads. As He covers their heads, they are covered by His Word which is the Lord Himself. This is the reason why the Lord asked His disciples to dwell in His Word continuously. If we thus abide in His Word, the Word will strengthen our hearts and minds and fill us with the glory of the Lord so that the attacks of the enemy will not weaken our minds. We must understand that the greatest battle today in this world is for our minds and not for our bodies. So we need a buffer for our minds which can only be possible if we saturate ourselves with His Word. The Word will strengthen us and fill our hearts with faith and trust in the Lord so that we would not fall a prey to unbelief, doubt and confusions, but will be kept strong in our faith in the Lord and His promises.

Dear friend, your heart and head are made secure today from the tactics of the enemy to weaken your faith and trust in the Lord. If you take time to surrender your thought life to the Lord and allow only the Word of the Lord to grow in your heart, you can be rest assured that your mind will stay securely on the Lord. Then none of the fiery darts of the enemy will baffle your mind and shake your faith. The Lord stands guard at the door of your heart to block you from being weakened by the enemy. His Word and His Spirit will also be door keepers of your life. Thus your heart and life will become a fountain of faith, trust, courage and confidence in Him. This doesn’t mean that He is not committed to grant you physical protection. He will protect your body also because it was purchased on the cross of Calvary through His precious blood. So the Lord is certainly your strong deliverer from all snares of the enemy and He shields your body from getting hurt. His angels also encompass around you to see to it that you are protected from the attacks of the enemy. At the same time, He safeguards your spiritual interests by making you strong in your faith. When the enemy sends out his darts against you, the Lord will stand between you and the dart so that the tactics of the enemy become ineffective. The Lord performs all these ministries for us because He is full of compassion, love, kindness, grace and mercy which He extends to us all the time. But for us to enjoy these blessings, we must put all our trust in Him, and should not lean on to our human understanding. When we put our faith in His strength and power to deliver us from all the attacks of the enemy by becoming our shield, we will be able to enjoy His deliverance and live with confidence in Him. May that be our experience today and every day of our lives because we have His assurance that we will be safe in His arms and secure on His shoulders!


Psalms 33:20 – We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

Thought for Today
We are called upon to enjoy ultimate safety and security in the Lord who is our shield and deliverer.




Friday, September 16, 2011

REVEALED AND HIDDEN MIRACLES!!

Revealed and hidden miracles



Verse for Today: Friday, September 16, 2011



Psalms 136:13 & 14 – To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder, His love endures for ever, and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures for ever.


When we read about the miracles performed by our God, we are astonished and we marvel at it in seeming disbelief. Its account itself is magnificent. But what would have been our reaction had we been actual witnesses of it? It is hard to explain how the beneficiaries of these miracles handled the thrill of it at its occurrence. They would have been excited and emotionally elated and would have shouted out the praises of the Lord. They would have watched the divided Red Sea in utter disbelief and would have been lost in the wonder of it all. But then it would have taken them tremendous faith to go through the middle of the sea to the other side. The distance would have been a few miles and would have taken several hours to cross. They would have realized in utter amazement that the fierce sea is standing as a wall on either side of the pathway. Humanly speaking, there would have been a lot of apprehension for the people to cross the sea. There could have been disbelief and intimidating and frightening thoughts until each person has crossed the sea and landed on the other side safely especially when they realized that their enemies were following them. In other words, it would be tough to go through a miracle and get oneself lost in the wonder of it all. It certainly requires tremendous strength in our souls to experience the thrill of a miracle which takes place right in front of our eyes. Abraham would have had that thrill all his life whenever he saw Isaac. Jacob would have found it so thrilling to look at the face of his beloved Joseph in Egypt. Israel would have found the thrill of watching the ruins of Jericho. Daniel would have looked at the lions and got lost in the wonder of their non-response to him. The three Jewish young men would have experienced the wonder of not getting burned in the furnace.


Dear friend, are you experiencing the miracle of the leading of the Lord through daily events like the sea billows, fiery furnace, devouring lions and the taste of true vine out of water? Do you simply experience it as some fairy tale or are you filled with the thrill and wonder of what God is doing in your life especially when you don’t deserve it at all? Do you experience the excitement of God’s hand in your situations and circumstances? Do you fully fathom what He does in your life to sustain you each moment and provide for all your needs? Perhaps it is nice to meditate on the miraculous deliverance from the perils of earthly life and the traps of the enemy that He grants in your life. If we know the full dimensions of what He does for us, it would be too overwhelming for us to contain the thrill, wonder and the resultant gratitude. It would turn our moments with the Lord absolutely amazing and at the same time fearful as we experience these miracles He performs in our lives. It is an awesome experience to go through these great wonders and miracles each day, many of which we do not even realize. He leads us through these magnificent miracles each moment in our lives. Each moment He sustains us through His acts of protection and meets our needs which to us are amazing and unbelievable. To understand this, we only need to look at the functions of our body and see if any thing less than a miracle will make it work so smoothly for years together without major breakdown or maintenance. He has built it with the capacity for self-maintenance. Look at the way we breathe and see how each breath is a miracle without which we stop living. When we deeply understand each of these miracles, it would help us to be humble and broken before the Lord and fall prostrate before Him in repentance and contrition. Such an experience of true brokenness will lead to true worship, sacrifice of our self, absolute consecration of all that we are and have, and be lost in the wonder and awe of His magnificent glory which is at work in us and our situations. He does it all because of His immeasurable lovingkindness, mercy, grace and love for us. Can we ever mistrust such a wonderful Lord? Can we ever give Him any thing less than our best so as to enjoy His best in our lives for His glory and honor?



Psalms 136:4 – To Him who alone does great wonders, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.



Thought for Today
God’s lovingkindness is demonstrated covertly or overtly in our lives wonderfully and miraculously.








Thursday, September 15, 2011

BLESSING OF SLEEP!!

Blessing of Sleep!


Verse for Today: Thursday, September 15, 2011


Psalms 121:4 – Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.


Sleeplessness is considered as one of the most serious sicknesses that man is encountered with. There are so many physical and psychological reasons for man’s difficulty to sleep. God gave man the ability to sleep so that he can refresh himself and get back to his responsibilities and duties. Sleep gives rest for the body and the mind without which it is impossible to lead a healthy life. But when man becomes a slave to circumstances, things and people, and when his heart is full of anxiety, tension, stress and fear, he looses his ability to sleep. Even when the body craves for rest, the mind is not able to rest and relax which leads to insomnia. When it becomes a problem, man resorts to medicines to aid in sleeping which make him under the bondage of medicine also. But we must understand that anxiety, stress and fear that man experiences are largely due to spiritual reasons. When we are able to trust our God to look after our eternity, we should also be able to hand all our affairs and our tomorrows over to Him as well and rest. At that time, our peaceful mind will help us to sleep and forget all our burdens. When the Lord carries our burdens, why should we burden our minds with it? When we have a God who is capable of handling all our concerns far better than us, why should we keep ourselves awake, think about its possible negative outcomes and remain sleepless? There is no need for both God and us to be awake at the same time to handle our situations. Our situations are often far beyond our human capacity to handle. Our efforts to manage our present and future affairs often fail because these are far beyond our ability and intellect. Not only that, when the only person who has the capacity to manage our affairs promises that He will take care of our it, why should we both try to handle it? Why should we mess up our affairs when God can straighten it out for us?


Dear reader, are you lately experiencing difficulty to sleep? Is sleep deprivation one of your problems because of the stress, anxiety and fear that have gripped you about your future? Perhaps you are worried whether your past deeds would catch up with you! But if you have confessed your past to God, He will forgive you and forget your past. He will never dig out your buried past because He is interested in your present and future life. The consequences of your past might catch up with you, but He will give you grace to handle it without stress or fear. God can take away your fear if you confess it to Him. He will deal with the situation or object that causes you fear. He is able to relieve you of your stressful situation and give you peace and rest while He handles the causes of your stress. The Lord performs these ministries for you 24/7 while you to go to rest and sleep, and then go on to discharge your duties. There is really no reason for you and the Lord to be awake at the same time as He never sleeps nor slumbers! With this great assurance, let us today hand over our stressful, anxious and fearful situations, things, relationships and events to the Lord and take our hands off. Let us ask the Lord to give us the faith, peace and strength to trust Him to handle all our affairs which try to deprive us of sleep and rest. Each time these affairs keep coming back to ignite our emotions and memories, let us give it to the Lord. Let us repeat this exercise till our faith in the Lord will solidify and crystallize on His mighty power. After all, if we can trust the Lord with our eternity, can we not trust Him for our tomorrows? Let us today go to sleep in peace and rest in the Lord while He works for us and when we awake, let us find Him in perfect control of our situations.

Psalms 4:8 – I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Thought for Today
Our God who is faithful to give us eternal salvation will also give us peace and rest for daily living.




Wednesday, September 14, 2011

LIGHT TO PREVENT STUMBLING!!

Light to prevent stumbling!


Verse for Today: Wednesday, September 14, 2011


Psalms 119:105 – Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.


Lamp and light are required for the night traveler who has no other way to see the pathway. For a child of God, this world is a dark place like the night. As he travels through this dark world, if he doesn’t have enough light, he might lose his way and get stranded. But the Lord will not abandon His child and will make sure that he has enough light for the path as well as for the feet to see properly and go forward. This guide for the path and the feet is the Word of God which is eternally secured in Heaven. It gives the traveler light to discern the right way. It also helps him to see each step of the way towards his destination. In this world, unless we walk circumspectly, we will falter and stumble. We need to see the pathway with the light of the Word. We also need to see the next step which is shown to us by the lamp. The darkness is fierce. There might be traps prepared for us on the way by the enemy of our souls. There could be wild animals to attack or terrorize us. To thwart these schemes of the enemy, our Lord prepares our way and shows us each step of the way. He also gives us the faith to trust Him to show the way. He is with us to help us see each step forward with His light and lamp. His Spirit who indwells us will lead us to the right direction given in the Word for each of our situations and circumstances. The Word is invested in our hearts so that we can meditate on it day and night to prevent us from faltering during the sojourn. We need to be diligent and watchful to make sure that we do not stumble and must trust the Lord and His Word to keep us going.


Hello dear reader, are you longing to know the will of the Lord in different areas of your life? Do you feel intimidated by the darkness that is around you? You need to remind yourself that the Lord has made all provisions for you to walk fearlessly and with confidence. His road map is absolutely reliable, and we should know how to use it properly. It is the Word that is given to us to read and meditate day and night. If we do not take time to meditate on it, we would sidetrack and become spiritually weak and powerless. Thus we would develop doubt and confusion about which way is right. Once we start questioning the will of God, we would grieve the Spirit of God who is the writer of the Word. The enemy of our souls will make our lives so busy as not to find time to read, meditate and study the Word. If we take time to study and plan a trip that we take to an earthly destination, how much more do we need to prepare for our pilgrim way? When God has already given us the Word which is our instruction manual, it is our responsibility to use it effectively. When we have a light and a lamp given to us, it is up to us to use it to see properly to walk towards our destination. Those who ignored it have experienced tremendous heartache because they have ended up in taking detours. Abraham took a detour to Egypt and ended up with painful consequences. Jacob took another detour and had to suffer for over 20 years. David went the wrong way once and its consequences touched so many lives and ended up in sorrow and irreparable damage. These are all warnings for us to watch out lest we will also stumble. Let us today use the lamp and the light of the Word to learn which way to turn as we tread the path of pilgrimage. Let us walk after the Master in His footsteps and in His light so that we would not go astray. There is no greater thrill than walking with Jesus on His path!


Psalms 36:9 – For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light, we see light.


Thought for Today
The Lord has given us His light and lamp and holds our hands so that we would not lose track and go astray.




Tuesday, September 13, 2011

SCHOOL OF AFFLICTIONS!!

School of Afflictions!



Verse for today: Tuesday, September 13, 2011



Psalms 119:71 – It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.



God has different schools to teach His children valuable lessons in life. He teaches them His Word through it all so that they can apply it in their situations and get victory in life. There are different disciplines that we must learn in God’s school and it takes a lot of time and patience to learn it all and grow spiritually. The school of afflictions teaches us to praise God in all situations. He teaches us patience, forgiveness, trust and faith so that we can use these in different life situations. He taught Abraham patience over a period of a quarter of a century to wait for God’s time to receive what was promised. He taught Joseph for 13 years to see how his dreams were fulfilled. He made Hannah wait patiently and kept praying for her desires. He taught faith and trust in Him in the lives of Daniel, Esther, David, Gideon and the disciples. They were taught through pain, loneliness, intimidation, false accusations, injustice, depravity, threats, gossip, insult, ridicule and persecution. In the school of God, they were all tested also by Him. Abraham was tested to see if he loved the Lord more than Isaac. Joseph was tested throughout the 13 years of his early life to trust Him even in the worst scenarios. Daniel and his friends had to go through several tests of their faith and commitment to the Lord. The disciples had many tests to take through their times with the Lord Jesus. But as we learn, we have to also be tested by Him to prove whether we have translated our learning to practice. The more we are taught, the more we will be tested. We need to graduate in all the classes of our spiritual growth so that He can give us greater responsibilities in His vineyard.



Dear friend, are you learning some new lessons in the school of afflictions of the Lord lately? You probably find that learning requires your whole mind, soul and life. Whatever you learn has to be translated into action. He will give you the strength and courage to translate your learning experiences into practice. Are you currently going through some tests that the Lord sends you way? Are you murmuring about the tests or happy to go through it? If you do not take the test, you will not graduate and progress into a higher level of spiritual life. If you do not pass the tests, the Lord will not be able to trust you with newer and newer responsibilities and roles in your spiritual life. Of course, you need faith to go through the tests. These tests are not to hurt you, but to build you up. You get a chance to prove to the Lord that you are committed to Him and have absolute faith in Him no matter what He sends you through. Abraham had such a faith to even sacrifice his only son Isaac without regard for the consequences. He obeyed the Lord and expressed His gratitude and love to Him by going through the test. Thus He earned new titles as the father of the faithful and a friend of God. The disciples of Jesus learned valuable lessons as they went through the wind and the storms in the sea. Paul went through innumerable tests in life which taught him lessons and equipped him for greater ministries. Let us today ask the Lord to teach us lessons through the experiences that He allows us to go through. These experiences are designed to strengthen us and not to persecute us. The afflictions that he allows in our lives teach us greater lessons in our life of faith to trust the Lord more intimately. The Lord gives us grace to go through the afflictions and learn newer lessons. Today let us thank Him for the valleys that He allows in our lives which will prepare us to climb mountains that are at the end of the valleys. Let us today climb newer heights in our spiritual lives by faith just as Caleb climbed mount Hebron.


Psalms 94:12 – Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord; and whom You teach out of Your law.



Thought for Today



God’s school of afflictions gives the greatest opportunity to learn about His glory which shines in the midst of darkest clouds.








Monday, September 12, 2011

THE SINGING PILGRIM!!

The Singing Pilgrim

Verse for Today: Monday, September 12, 2011



Psalms 119:54 – Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.



A child of God is a pilgrim in this world. He has a destination and he is on a race to reach there. But his pilgrimage is going through this world which is like a wilderness and he treads the enemy territory. During the sojourn, he is given direction by the Lord so that he will not lose his way. This world is filled with the heat of life with all its tensions, battles of nerves, stress, anxieties and tumults. There are also a lot of distractions created by the enemy of our soul. The world offers shade and water to drink for the weary traveler which is proved to be deceptions to somehow lure us to go astray. But the pilgrim realizes that this world is not his home, and that he is given a temporary lodging here by the Lord. The night rest allowed by the Lord is a time of preparation for him to continue with the journey, and not a time of vacation and leisure. But during these nights the Lord gives him sweet songs of hope and faith to sing as he falls asleep. These songs are the means of powerful spiritual rejuvenation for the traveler to renew great expectations which lie ahead of him. As he sing these spiritual songs, his heart is strengthened to draw closer to the Lord in his love and devotion to Him. But when the morning dawns, he gets up to get going forward because he has miles to go. One of these days, his journey will end and he will be with his Lord whom he has been awaiting to see expectantly. He knows that he doesn’t have any permanent abode in this world and that his home is in Heaven. Each night he sing these sweet songs of salvation and praise the Lord for bring him thus far. The Lord who has brought him so far is faithful to keep him going till he reaches his destination.



Dear friend, are you tired of the travel through this weary land? It is likely that the hot wind of the pressures of life which blow on you might make you thirsty. But remember, you are walking with the Lover of your soul on whom you can lean on as you feel weary and weak. He prepares a table of blessings for you even on this journey so that you can partake from the heavenly feast of all the blessings that the Father has prepared for you to enjoy. These heavenly blessings will take away all your weariness and frustrations. There is enough for you to drink to quench your deepest thirst and plenty to eat to satisfy all your longings at the feast of the Lord. You are also reminded to watch out for the tactics that the enemy will use to lure you away from the temporary house of your pilgrimage. Some in the past have been lured away to become popular (Demetrius), wealthy (Demas), prestigious (Lot), greedy (Soul), opportunistic (Shimei) and covetous (Simon the Sorcerer) and they stand as warning signals for us to live carefully. Let us sing the songs about the faithfulness of our Lord and find comfort in Him rather than taking the detours the world offers. Let us not take our eyes off the Lord and get off His track. Let us trust Him to meet our needs of all kinds and not through the shortcuts offered by the gods of this world. As we keep singing to the Lord, His showers of blessings will be upon us to cool us down in the heat of this sojourn. Let us count our blessings of the past and look forward for His leading and guiding each step of the way so that we can live joyfully, lacking nothing in this world.



Psalms 77:6 – I remembered my songs in the night; my heart mused and my spirit enquired.



Thought for Today
There is a song in the night for God’s children to sing when we are in the dark valleys of life to comfort and strengthen us till the morning breaks.