Saturday, March 31, 2012

UNFADING GLORIES!!

Unfading glories!

Verse for Today: Saturday, March 31, 2012

Luke 12:21 – “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.”

Wealth is a matter of our hope and trust in God. If our hope about all our tomorrows is with God, we will become rich in God and His matters as our priority. When God is our priority, it will be seen in the way in which we live and the goals we carry in life. But if our earthly life is our priority, we live with material posterity as our focus. When we are more concerned about our tomorrows and try to use all our energy to secure more and more means for our unknown tomorrows, we become rich in this world and poor in matters related to God. If Jesus is our treasure in life, we will get ourselves more and more enriched in matters related to Jesus. Such people might be poor in this world, but will be rich in the world to come. Jesus also wants us to understand that He is not impressed in any way by our riches in this world. Jesus wants to remind ourselves that it is not at all wise to use all our energies to store up riches in this world, but instead, we must put all our efforts to store up treasures in heaven. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich and influential man in Jerusalem and he had the riches to bury the body of Jesus in a special tomb. But he could not spend a day with Jesus or suffer with Him. Nicodemus was a learned and influential man in Jerusalem, but he was only a secret disciple who lost all opportunities to spend time with the Lord Jesus. He didn’t even dare to visit Jesus during daylight because he was afraid that he might lose his status and dignity. Today Jesus wants us to live for Him openly and spend our efforts to express our love to Him by using all our energies for Him alone.

Dear friend, are you rich in the world to come? How much are you storing up in heaven? If you ignore the fame and fortune of this world and use your energies to store up treasures in heaven, the world might call you unintelligent and thoughtless. You might become a fool in this world who is not smart enough to enrich yourself with all that will pass away. You might experience the ridicule and mockery of this world when you are not proving your efficiency and smartness by becoming successful. When the world runs after prosperity, you are called to follow an unpopular carpenter of Nazareth who didn’t even have a place to lay His head. But such people who followed Him and lived for Him are the richest people in heaven because they spent all their time, treasures and talents to earn spiritual richness. While we do that, our Lord will meet all our mundane needs to keep us going. He will open the right doors for us to get our daily bread as we serve Him. There is a guarantee that when we mind His matters, He will mind our matters. When we seek His glory, righteousness and kingdom, He will meet our daily needs. This is why we are asked to pray for His glory, kingdom and will, while we seek our daily bread. It is a walk by faith as Abraham did, warfare by faith as David did, preaching by faith as Paul did, serving by faith as Joseph and Daniel did, building by faith as Nehemiah did and assisting by faith as Timothy did. This is the life of faith taught by Jesus and practiced by the Apostles. It is the faith of our fathers and mothers who showed us the way. It is a challenge to live to please God alone in this world. When we are His, all that we have also must belong to Jesus. It is walking on Calvary Road following our Master by taking up the cross and rejecting the fame and the fortune that the world offers. It is the most fulfilling way of life on this side of eternity.

Luke 12:33 – Provide purses for yourself that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Thought for Today

When the world tries to enchant us with its temporal glitters, let us turn our eyes to see the glittering glories which will never fade away.

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Friday, March 30, 2012

NEEDY MEETS THE BENEVOLENT!!

Needy meets the Benevolent!

Verse for Today: Friday, March 30, 2012

Luke 11:10 – For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

God is the ultimate giver who wants to give us all that we need. He has enough and more to meet all our needs. He knows our needs before we ask. But He will not thrust His resources on us until we ask Him. He wants us to prove our deep craving and genuine desire to receive from Him through persistent asking. It is a situation when we realize that we have no other place to go and no one else to ask. He wants to see our zeal in asking Him persistently and relentlessly until we receive from the Lord. He wants us to keep seeking and searching until we receive from Him. Our searching is an expression of our deep craving for what is available with the Lord. It means that we do not go to any other source to meet our needs. It shows that we are also willing to wait for Him to give us at His time. Our deep craving for His resources makes us keep knocking at His door until it is opened for us. We know that He is inside the door and is waiting for us to show our earnest desire that the door is opened for us. We also know that we are knocking at the door of the resource warehouse of the Heavenly Father which is reserved for us. There is no scope for Him to send any one of us empty handed as we ask, seek and knock. He knows what to give us, what not to give and how much to give. There are times when He gives far more than we ever expect as in the case of the fishing disciples. There are times when He gives just enough to meet a specific need as in the case of the bread and meat for Elijah for specific meals. But it is always to fulfill our craving and based on the trust we have on the Lord. It is important that we do no go away from His door after a few knocks or after requesting for something once or twice. God is our benevolent Father who loves to hear us asking Him as He wants to enjoy our total dependence on Him through the ways by which we ask. Today He is waiting for us to ask persistently so that He can give according to His measure.

Dear reader, are you in need of something today? Do you think that it can come only from the Lord? Are you sure that He has enough to give you and that He is willing to give you? Remember, His timing will never be too late nor it will be early. He gives at the nick of the time. When He gives, it is according to your need for that time so that you will continue to depend on Him alone for your future needs. But He is interested in your genuineness in asking by the way you ask, knock and seek. Your asking should be a demonstration of your total dependence on Him and not on your intelligent, health, skills, influence and ability to manage any situation in your favor. Our asking should show to Him that we are genuine in asking and that we do not have any thing to meet our needs. Our asking should be on the basis of our current needs and leaving the future with Him. Our asking should be on the basis of a relationship we have with Him which is not broken. Our asking should be on the basis of our understanding of the depth and height of His reservoir of blessings. When we thus ask, seek and knock, He opens the windows of heaven to give us enough to meet all our needs today so that we can keep asking for our future needs as and when it occurs. We should ask by faith and trust in the all-sufficiency of the richest with the greatest pool of resources and the largest heart of the Father to give to His children according to His dignity and status.

Psalms 20:4 – May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

Thought for Today

When we give our desires and needs to our Heavenly Father, it becomes His compelling benevolence to meet it all according to His riches.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, write to: todayintheword@gmail.com

Thursday, March 29, 2012

IMMERSE IN JESUS!!

Immerse in Jesus!

Verse for Today: Thursday, March 29, 2012

Luke 10:41 – “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things”.

There are many things in life about which we are concerned. Our minds wander about many things in life. Some of these things upset us and some make us anxious. We become guilty of sins of commission and omission, and these are often because of our over-expectations about our capabilities and the availability of time. Sometimes unexpected turn of events disturb us and throw challenges which we cannot easily handle. Even schedules make us anxious. In such a situation, Jesus reminded an anxious and upset Martha that there was no need to be disturbed about many things in life. It was especially unnecessary to be anxious when Jesus was around. The presence of Jesus means that we can leave all that upsets us to Him to handle. When anxieties knock at our doors, we can ask Jesus to handle those situations which give us tensions. There is also greater satisfaction and fulfillment in life when we leave things with Jesus rather than trying to handle it ourselves. Spending time with Jesus is far more precious than preparing a gourmet meal for Him. Jesus also reminds us that many things that we consider important are not spiritually expedient and profitable. What is spiritually beneficial is to spend time with the Lord Jesus. In His presence all our anxieties are resolved. Martha had to learn that big lesson by watching her sister Mary worshipping the Lord on another occasion when she could only be a spectator. This great spirit of worshipfulness has come out of the time Mary had spent in the presence of the Lord. When we get ourselves lost in the wonder and awe of the Lord, our concerns, anxieties and disturbed spirits will give way to true adoration and praise which our Lord deserves.

Dear friend, are you disturbed about some real life issues today? Are you upset that things do not move as fast as you would have liked? Are you anxious and irritated when things do not move as you had planned? It is time to hand all these situations to the Lord Jesus who is near you. He is there to make you captivated by His glory. He doesn’t want you to waste your energy on things that are temporal and momentary. On the contrary, He wants you to get yourself lost in His person and in His love. When you look into His holiness, all that glitters in this world will disappear in its brightness. When concerns and anxieties are submitted to Jesus, He will take it all and make it matters of praise to His name. He will give you the strength to do what is to be done and to leave the rest with Him. He will give you the right discernment to handle issues without in any way distracting your mind from matters related to Him. Mary learned that lesson which made her submit her needs, concerns and anxieties to the Lord and relax in His presence. Martha needed a reprimand from the Lord about her anxieties which transformed her life as seen in later events in their family. Today the Lord Jesus is with us to help us handle our emotions in a spiritual way by submitting all our emotions to Him. He wants us to give our anxieties to Him rather than handle it ourselves.

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

Thought for Today

All our anxieties vaporize in the presence of our Lord who cares for us.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, contact: dayintheword@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

CAVE SONGS!!

Cave songs!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, March 28, 2011

Psalms 142:3 – When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.

A dark cave in an unknown land is the most insecure place in the world. It is likely that there are wild animals inside or at the mouth of the cave. The detractors of the servant of God are hunting and haunting him everywhere to annihilate him. There is no way for him to know what the next moments would bring. Such cumbersome situations are sufficient to make any bold person grow faint. It is a time of sagging spirit and loosing hope. But even in such situations, our Lord is with us as He was with David. In the wake of utter hopelessness, there was hope in the Lord who promised deliverance for him. When we feel that the way is shut for us and think that we are at the last lap of our race, He comes to open the most mysterious new ways which He has planned for us. When the enemy tries to shut us off all around, our Lord comes to open another door for us to enter. Even when we do not know the way or see the next step, we find Him as our next step forward. We can put our next step on Him by faith and wait for Him to show us the subsequent steps one by one. Such promises are sufficient to revive our sagging spirits. Abraham faced such challenges several times in his sojourn. Sometimes he got stuck and stopped going forward, but the Lord held his hands to walk forward. Sometimes he took detours, but the Lord came to bring him back. He took Abraham to Hebron, a place of worship and fellowship where miracles were waiting for him. The impossible were giving way to the possibilities of God so that Abraham would continue to be a blessing to the whole world. David learned these truths which kept him going and made him sing sweet melodies to the Lord even in the cave. Today we are given the opportunity to sing these melodies to the Lord and His faithful ways because He causes new ways to evolve and emerge before us a step at a time.

Dear friend, are you a shut-in today and finding yourself stuck on your way? Are you loosing direction as you spend your nights out in a cave-like situation? Are you afraid of the darkness that is inside and outside the cave? Do you fear that your detractors are waiting outside to eat you up? But your Lord will not leave you alone or abandon you at these darkest moments of your life. His promises are your strength when all your strength vaporizes. The promise of His hope is your ray of light in the darkest alleys and valleys of life. When God is with you to take you forward through unknown pathways, He reminds you that He has gone before you to prepare your way. He knows each step of your way and has enough provisions for you to enjoy all the way. His promises escort you in front, back, sides, top and bottom so that no evil will devour you. His glory is around you so that the darts of the enemy will not penetrate you. His joy is your strength which fills you even when there is no hope for a joyful life. He takes away all apprehensions and fills you with hope for the unknown moments that lie ahead of you. His promises will help you to laugh at the impossibilities of the world which threaten to annihilate you. So there is no need to be afraid of the hidden snares which are planted by the enemy on your way, but to simply trust in the Lord to take you forward by faith with songs in the caves.

Psalms 91:11 – For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Thought for Today

We can trust the Lord and His light in the darkest moments of our sojourn.


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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

THE HOLY STUMP!!

The Holy Stump!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, March 27, 2011

Isaiah 6:13 But as the terabinth and the oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.

Our God is a God who gives hope to His people. Whenever there are situations which take away the hope of His people, He comes to give them rays of hope. He recognizes that we loose hope because of disobedience and sin in and around us. Our God shows mercy to people and gives them opportunities to settle their disobedience with Him. He warns people of dire consequences if they live in disobedience and do not come back to Him with repentance. God shows mercy, but will not compromise on His standards. Whoever disregards His Word will have to suffer the consequences of their disobedience. Even those He loves will not be spared of the consequences of their shortcomings and disobedience. But if they confess and repent, perhaps He might relent from destroying them utterly. When the majority strays from Him, He will always have a minority to keep His mission going. We find examples of His grace when He kept a small minority for Himself through the flood. When the vast majority rejected Him, He still kept a Joshua and a Caleb to reach the Promised Land. When Elijah felt all alone, He reminded him of the 7,000 prophets whom He kept for Himself by His powerful hand. Even when God commanded Isaiah to preach messages of warning, the prophet was forewarned about the bleak future in front of him of very few who would remain faithful to God. There is a promise that even when the whole generation of unfaithful people vanishes away, God would still keep a small remnant who would continue to serve Him. This is the message of hope that He wants His children to lay hold of as they see hopelessness around them.

Dear reader, are you discouraged about the extent of lack of godliness that is seen around? Do you get frustrated about the level of disobedience seen even among God’s people as it was during the times of Isaiah’s ministry? Are you experiencing a wave of hopelessness and lack of spirituality around? These are seen around us because of the spirit of iniquity which is growing by leaps and bounds. Lawlessness and disobedience are growing even among the so-called people of God who live by selfish and unrighteous motives and priorities. There is an air of hopelessness because things do not seem to improve, but deteriorate at an increasing pace day after day. Still God wants us to preach, teach and continue to touch the lives of people to see how they would remain faithful to the Lord and His Word. These signs and symptoms of deterioration of the moral environment are increasing day after day and are permeating into the realm of the called out ones also. Through the message to Isaiah, God wants to comfort His true children to be encouraged because He is till on the Throne and that His glory fills everything that is ready to empty itself of the vanity that is around. He wants to remind us to put our hope only in the Lord and not in any other system even in the spiritual realms which are around us. Let us today take a cue from the Seraphs and burn for our Lord. Let us put all that He has given us to His service. Let us use all our energy to praise Him so that our worship will have an impact in the community in which we live. Let us renew our obedience and faithfulness to Him and continue to serve Him so that our hearts and lives will please the God of our salvation. Let our hope in Him lead us forward to run our race and finish our course for His glory.

Psalms 31:24 – Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.

Thought for Today

Our God renews our hope through His Word every day as we live in a hopeless world.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, write to: todayintheword@gmail.com

Monday, March 26, 2012

TOUCH OF LOVE AND FAITH!!

Touch of love and faith!

Verse for Today: Monday, March 26, 2012

Luke 6:19 – The people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

God touches man to bless, heal and strengthen him. It is a touch of grace, mercy and compassion. It is a touch which connects man with the fountain of God’s blessings. It is a touch which makes man whole. But when man touches God, it s a touch of faith and trust. It is a touch to quench his thirst and hunger. It is a touch of affirmation about his dependence of God in his life. It is a touch which expresses his craving for God. It is a touch of desperation. The people of Palestine found that fountain of life and love dwelling among them. This realization changed their lives. They had been craving for love and mercy. They were thirsting for living water as they were tired of the lukewarm water of the broken cisterns of religions, philosophies and the Vanity Fair. It was a thirst which none else could quench. But when Jesus announced the availability of living water, they had no hesitation to approach Him publicly. They resented the religious leaders and the oppressive political demagogue. Their bodies and souls needed healing and they realized that it was freely coming out of the Son of God who lived among them. They saw how power was emanating from Him and there was such a large crowd waiting for Him to touch them. As the waiting was long, the people took the freedom to go and touch Him so as to receive His healing soonest possible. It was not superstitious, but affirmative. They had the faith to believe that a touch on Jesus would be sufficient to make them whole again.

Dear reader, are you in need of the touch of the Lord Jesus to experience healing in your soul and body? Have you been waiting in desperation for long for His touch? He desires to touch you, but wants to give you the freedom to touch Him also by faith any time. You have the opportunity to touch the Throne of Grace any time with your hands of faith. It is when you go to Him with your needs, desires and aspirations in prayer that you touch Him by faith. The moment you take the name of the Lord Jesus in your mouth, you are able to touch Him. But it is equally amazing that even before you touch Him, He knows your needs and situations. Perhaps you feel that you are in a crowd and that He is not able to see you so as to come to touch you. Even if you are in the midst of a million people, He still sees you and knows you by name. Your situation is clearly known to Him and He has an answer to your pressing problems. He enjoys your touch as much as you crave for His touch. Your touch is like the touch of a child on its parent, but His touch is the cuddle that you enjoy in your soul. The hands which created you will allow you rest under His loving arms and hold you firmly when you are intimidated by your challenging situations. Are you afraid of your situation? Go and touch the Lord with your hands of faith, and at the very moment, His divine power will pass through you and offset all your fears and anxieties. Remember, you are always in His hands and at the same time, you have the freedom to turn around and touch your Lord to enjoy His comfort, strength and joy. The complementary touch of both your Lord and you will authenticate mutual love, trust, ownership and possession of each other and build your relationship with Him from strength to strength for mutual enjoyment.

Matthew 9:21 – She said to herself, ‘If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.’

Thought for Today

We have the freedom to touch our Lord with our hands of faith to allow the fountain of His reservoir of love, compassion and blessings to flow through to us.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, contact: todayintheword@gmail.com

Sunday, March 25, 2012

PSEUDO HEALTH AND SICKNESS!!

Pseudo health and sickness!


Verse for Today: Sunday, March 25, 2012

Luke 5:31 – Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

Healthy people do not seek after physicians, but the sick who do not know the extent of their sickness also do not seek help from a doctor. Those who know of their ailments spontaneously seek help. Most of the sick people do not seek help because they do not know that they are sick. Of the six billion and odd people who live on the face of the earth, the vast majority of them are physically sick, but do not know that they are sick. But sadly, a lot of help is available for them to approach health experts. This is true about the spiritually and emotionally sick around us. They do not know that they are spiritually and emotionally sick and so do not approach the Great Physician who is around to help them. He has the Balm of Gilead which is the panacea for all their spiritual and related emotional sickness. He wants to give it to them free of charge, but He will give it to only those who go to Him for help. Only those who admit to Him that they are sick and ask for help will be given the medicine that He has with Him. The Balm of Gilead is free of charge for all who seek help, but it cost the Great Physician His very life. He allowed Himself to be crucified so that through His broken body and shed blood, all the spiritually sick persons will get healing. But the people who pretend to be spiritually healthy will not get this Balm and subsequently remain sick all their life and all through eternity. There is an acceptable time to avail the Balm and there is an opportunity today for them to approach Him before He shuts the door to grace. He also gives medicines to various spiritual sicknesses like backsliding, lack of faith, fleshly thoughts, detours, lack of sanctification and holiness, loss of first love, unclean tongue, lack of spiritual appetite, poor prayer life and poor or no desire for Heavenly Bread.

Dear reader, are you experiencing any sickness in your soul? Do you feel cold hearted in spiritual matters? Are you sick in your emotional realm? Some of your emotional ailments lead you to become physically sick as well. If you are willing to admit that you are emotionally and spiritually sick and need a physician, the Great Physician is near you with help and cure. His name is Jesus and He has panacea for all your sicknesses. It is more most important that you get treated for your spiritual sickness. Once the spiritual ailments are not cured, it will normally lead to emotional sickness and a great deal of your physical ailments also. But healing requires you to admit your helpless estate and total depravity. Only Jesus can heal your spiritual sickness. He will apply the Balm of Gilead in your heart and emotions. His Word is a great healer of spiritual and emotional sicknesses of various kinds. But it is given only to those who are willing to accept the fact that they are sick and need a doctor. There are those who pretend to be healthy when they are only covering up their ailments. There are those who go to the doctor and get medicine, but will not take it because they do not enjoy its taste and find it hard to follow its discipline in their lives. But if there is consciousness about the need to become whole, we need to go to the Great Physician and get His treatment. His medicines are perfectly effective if we take it as per instructions given in His Word. We do not need to pay any price because the Physician pays for it with His life. But we must take His instructions seriously and follow His treatment pattern so that we can become well. Once we are on the way to cure, we will have better spiritual appetite, inner eye sight, digestion of the heavenly food, good breathing of faith and prayer and we will improve our overall spiritual health. Sure enough, we will also progress in better emotional and physical health as well. But if we reject the Great Physician, our spiritual and emotional health will deteriorate and we will go into spiritual coma. No thoughtful person will ever want to reject the free offer of the Great Physician and become healthier and stronger for a satisfying walk with the Lord.


Jeremiah 8:22 - Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?


Thought for Today

The eyesight provided by the Great Physician will enable us to see our spiritual and emotional weaknesses and approach Him for healing.


For further spiritual help and prayer support, contact: todayintheword@gmail.com

Saturday, March 24, 2012

AMAZING DIVINE RESPONSES!!

Amazing divine responses!

Verse for Today: Saturday, March 24, 2012

Luke 5:26 – Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

We witness sad and difficult things each day in this world. These break our hearts and take away our peace. It also makes us restless and wonder about the future of this world and our life in it. But if we listen to God each day through His Word, we would find peace and hope. First of all, the Word shows us the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, we read and understand the mind of God through His Word. Thirdly it gives us instructions about how to face the various challenges in this world. The Word of God satisfies us and drives us forward with courage and confidence in God. When Jesus ministered in this world, the people who listened to Him and witnessed His miracles were amazed because no one else ever spoke like Him or acted like Him. His speech and actions revealed the glory of God. It caused people to praise God for Jesus and the words that they heard from Him. When they heard Him, it was not difficult to realize that He was indeed the Messiah. When they experienced His divinity, they were all filled with wonder and awe. They felt that what they heard were remarkably great things about life, heaven and God. These words of Jesus gave them hope in a hopeless world. In the backdrop of Roman imperialistic oppression, the people found hope for deliverance in the words of Jesus. We have the same privilege today as we read the Word of the Lord coming to us with the same power and magnificence. In our world where there is full of instability, insecurity and ill-will, the Word of God gives us stability, security, peace, confidence, hope and joy. As we read the Word of God, we can catch a vision of the risen Lord on its pages which will fill us with the wonder and awe of the Lord. Its remarkable teachings give us healing, comfort, rest and happiness in spite of our difficult circumstances. It prompts us to worship the Lord and set apart our lives for His service.

Dear reader, if you are thirsty for the Word of Life, the place to go today is to the Lord of Life. In His presence you will be able to read and meditate on His Word which will give you hope for the future. His Word will help you to see the glory of the risen Lord Jesus who is seated on the Throne. His Word will sooth your weary and wounded heart. His Word comforts you in the heat of your wilderness journey. It is the water of life to quench your inner thirst. It is the bread of life to satisfy your spiritual hunger. It gives you direction in the pathways of this crooked world. When you see the Lord’s glory, you will be lost in its wonder and awe and truly worship Him. There is enough comfort to all who go to the Word searching for answers to their queries. Life poses a lot of questions for which the world cannot give any answers because the world doesn’t have any answers. These puzzles can be answered only by God through His Word. There are remarkable truths in the Word which the modern technology cannot understand or evaluate. It makes even the illiterate persons wise. The Word helps us to touch God by faith. The remarkable promises given to us by God in His Word are available to all of us if we go to Him with a contrite heart and humble spirit. Today let us remind ourselves of this great reservoir of comforting truth available for us to enjoy God’s favor. It will make ourselves lost in the wonder and awe of our Lord and saturate ourselves with His beauty and glory.

Psalms 16:6 - The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

Thought for Today

There is a remarkable message from God today to help us handle all the challenges, issues and concerns we are faced with.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, contact: todayintheword@gmail.com

Friday, March 23, 2012

CHALLENGE OF A ROOFTOP!!

Challenge of a rooftop!


Verse for Today: Friday, March 23, 2012


Luke 5:19 – When they could not find a way (to Jesus) because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered the paralytic on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.


Our faith is often tested by hindrances which stand on our way forward. If our faith is weak, it is likely that we get discouraged and withdraw from our path rather than go forward to newer vistas of leading by God. That is why we need to ask Jesus to increase our faith just as the disciples did. The faith of the relatives of the paralytic is a reprimand to all the skeptics who were in the crowd. The effort they took to sideline the hindrances is commendable. even when crowd and the house itself blocked them from reaching Jesus to meet their urgent needs. They knew that if only they reached Jesus, their needs would be met without the shadow of doubt. Their faith was so strong that the crowd and the house didn’t pause any more hindrance to them, but it was seen as opportunity. Their faith led them to the necessity to look for a new way to reach Jesus. They didn’t bother about the consequences of breaking open the roof of the house and the damages their ‘faith’ would cause the house owner. Their desperate faith found a way to reach Jesus. No matter what hindrances we might find on our way to exercise our faith today, Jesus wants to challenge us to take giant steps to overcome the hindrances to reach Him. Jesus wants us to avail the opportunities that are in front of us rather than retreat because of the hindrances.

Dear reader, are you getting discouraged about the hindrances you face today in your life of faith? Are circumstances, people and things posing roadblocks for you to go forward? When your faith is challenged, you need to exercise your trust in the Lord and go forward in the ways that the Lord shows you. The problems you face in your home, workplace, neighborhood, school or church might discourage you and compel you to stop or retreat. But you have to overcome the hindrances by faith. Take a cue from these men who carried a hopelessly sick person to Jesus and how they defeated the circumstances, people and things to reach Jesus. Their faith was such that the Lord Jesus commended them for it. You must defeat doubt, confusions, circumstances and roadblocks by faith. You need not be concerned about the consequences your outright faith would cost others because the Lord would turn it around to be a great challenge to them. Your faith will speak loudly to others around and make them also approach Jesus for their life-linked problems. When you thus trust the Lord without regard to consequences, your Lord will perform miracles in the lives of others. Why don’t we take our spiritually paralytic kith and kin to Jesus so that He can release them from their spiritual sickness. If you know of people or circumstances that would need a touch of Jesus, it is time you take it to Him. Jesus will make radical change in any of our situations if we take it to Him and place it right in front of Him. He already knows your situation and has a plan to intervene in your scenario to make it right, but would like to give you the opportunity to exercise your faith about it. He will meet your challenge and make mends in the areas of burden in your heart.


John 11: 40 – Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”


Thought for Today


When our situations pull us back from approaching Jesus, let us exercise our faith and force the walls of hindrance open to go to Jesus to present our needs to Him.




For further spiritual help and prayer support, write to: todayintheword@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

WITH OR WITHOUT SIGNS!!

With or without signs!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Psalms 86:17 – Give me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

In exasperation, a child of God under attack from the enemy might cry out for God to send some signs of His favor. Often when we are confronted with things that are not positive in life, our enemies are the first to clamor that even our God has forsaken us. David’s enemies thought so and that was why they felt it right to keep on pursuing and pestering him. The enemies of Daniel were looking for reasons to attack him and endanger his life. Apparently there was no sign of God’s interference to block him from being thrown into the lion’s den. The enemy started celebrating the end of Daniel’s life, but little did they realize that God was at work behind the scene to spare the life of His beloved servant. While the Hebrew youth were in the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, those who waited for them to be burned were able to see the wonderful sign of the presence of the Lord with them in the furnace. To the utter surprise of everyone including Jonah, the Lord had a plan to rescue him through a fish. Yes, sometimes a sign appears to reassure us, but whether there is sign or not, our Lord is working behind the scene to rescue His children. It is interesting to see that David was not praying for a sign for him to grow in confidence, but for the enemies of God and His people. The sign was to put the enemy to shame. David also acknowledges that He has experienced God as his help and comfort all his life. Every child of God is able to join David to affirm their confidence in the Lord who has always stood with them and never put them to shame. Today His acts of comfort and help are our strength to keep going even when the enemy awaits our doom.

Dear reader, are you seeking the overt support of the Lord in your affairs through a sign for the sake of your enemies? Perhaps the signs are slow to come by and you wonder why things are not moving fast in your affairs. But you know for sure that your Lord will not forsake you and that His arm is never too short to help. At the right time, His help will come and you will enjoy His deliverance. All who wait for your doom will be put to shame when the Lord reveals His mighty acts and demonstrates His mighty power. Our Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. He makes our cup overflow with His goodness. His favor is always with His children and all His resources are for them to enjoy. He has helped you in the past whenever you were in tight corners. In your distresses, He came to comfort and encourage you to keep going. Today He is with you to take you forward in spite of the attacks of the enemy from all corners. His help will come at the right time to deliver you from all difficulties. He sent help to deliver Joseph from the dungeon where he was under bondage for righteousness sake. When the Lord’s signs appear, all your enemies will be in for a shock as in the case of Joseph. Today you are victorious and are declared more than a conqueror. But it is not your victory, but the victory of your Lord which He granted to you because of His love and compassion.

Isaiah 55:13 – Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.

Thought for Today

Signs or no signs, our Lord works to deliver us from the attacks of the enemy for His name’ sake.


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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

FAILURE TRANSFORMED!!

Failure transformed!


Verse for Today: Tuesday, March 20, 2012

John 21:5 – So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”

Failure is one of the greatest challenges to cope with in human life. It is very difficult to admit our failures and we often resort to excuses for lack of success. But the backsliding disciples of Jesus were willing to admit their failure. Their answer to Jesus was sincere and true. They were willing to admit their failure even to a ‘stranger’ because they didn’t recognize the enquirer to be Jesus. But their spirit of honesty and willingness to admit their failure led them to receive a commandment from Jesus to try out another approach to fishing. It is likely that they had done this many times during that night of utter failure. But their utter desperation made them to listen to others. Had they not accepted their failure, they would not have received such an advice. Many times we do not make progress in our walk because we are not willing to admit that we are slow or late. We try out self justification because our self would not like to admit failures and losses. Only when we admit that we have lost our way will we be able to find the right way. The failure of these disciples would have stirred up their consciences to open up their hearts to seek a way out. A right attitude to failure is the sure way to reach success in life. Only when Israel admitted their failure at Ai were they enabled to succeed at Ai at the second time. David admitted his utter failure in spiritual life that led him to regain the kingdom and continue to rule from Jerusalem. Abraham admitted his failures in going to Egypt and it helped him in his future life. Jonah admitted his failure to obey and accepted the punishment for it, and his confession led him to great success in the ministry in the future. If we go to the Lord with our failures and present the broken pieces of our lives, wrapped in the rags of life, and present it to the Lord, He will rebuild us for His glory.

Dear reader, is your life an overwhelming failure and are you getting intimidated by the feeling of failure and loss of dignity because of it? Are there failures in your family, business or employment? Today God is looking for prophets, evangelists, parents, wives or husbands, children, Sunday School Teachers, counselors, youth workers and preachers who have encountered failure so that He can make them whole again. He will accept the broken pieces of your past life or ministry and put it together in a special way to be of use to Him. He will restore your life to its new shape according to His design. If you have lost time and opportunity, He will grant you newer opportunities which are for greater glory to His name. He will revive your sagging spirits and give you new vigor and vitality to attempt newer avenues of ministries and activities for the furtherance of gospel. He will compensate for all the losses with a mighty wind of blessings. But you have to admit your failures and confess it to Him. You must confess your backsliding past and surrender the rest of your life at His alter so that your life will once again become a sweet savor of worship to the Lord. He will then use you in greater vistas of life for immeasurable blessings for the praise of His name.

Lamentations 5:21 – Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.

Thought for Today

When God restores us, He would wipe away our past failures and impute newer strength and vitality in our endeavors.

For further spiritual help and prayer support, contact: todayintheword@gmail.com

Monday, March 19, 2012

COME! DINE! BE SATISFIED!!

Come! Dine! Be Satisfied!!

Verse for Today: Monday, March 19, 2012

John 21:9 – When (the disciples) landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

When we are out in the ocean of life trying to get a good catch, we can find our Lord already having a catch for us and is waiting for us to go to Him. He knows that our immediate concern is for food and drink and He prepares it for us. He doesn’t need to catch any fish because He is the owner of it all. He knows what our immediate needs are and provides for it all at the right time. The disciples were backsliders, but He didn’t use that time to scold them. He first of all took care of their tired bodies and strengthened them. He gave them all that they wanted. Their nets were filled and tummies were also filled. Thus when they were ready, He conversed with them and brought them to a point of contrition and confession. His ultimate concern was to restore their souls, but He didn’t ignore their need for restoration of their bodies. He used the opportunity to remind the disciples that He was sufficient for all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In our times of discouragement, depression, deprivation and disillusionment, our Lord comes to welcome us to His presence where there is provision for all our needs to be met according to His riches in glory. He knows these needs well in advance and prepares to meet the needs at the right time. He doesn’t deal with us according to our iniquities, but according to His mercy and grace. He is a compassionate Lord who will not reject us in our times of need, but meets our needs and help us to settle matters with Him. He is the God of new beginnings and so will want to wipe our past failures and disobedience so that we can start on a new slate. Today He is waiting for us to go to Him with broken hearts and lives with all our needs and get it all satisfied according to His standards for lasting fulfillment and contentment.

Dear reader, are you going through a time of desperation and depravity about your failures and losses in life? Do you feel abandoned and forgotten by everyone around you? Even if all others forget you, the Lord will not. Even if a lake full of fish disappoints you, the Lord will not. Even when you catch a lot of gold and silver from the ocean of life with your own effort, they will not satisfy your soul. Only when the Lord meets your needs can you be fully and meaningfully satisfied. What He gives far exceeds what others offer. Often the other sources disappoint us and send us empty handed even after we struggle all night, but our Lord will be there at the right time to meet our basic needs. When we are in dire need, our Lord will prepare a table for us in unusual places and warm our hearts and bodies. Our eyes will be filled with the sight of the blessings that our Lord spreads before us. He is committed to meeting all our needs and to satisfying us fully. But He wants us to love Him not for what He gives us, but for who He really is and what He has done for our souls. He is the Lord who supplied food for Elijah at the right time each day through His unusual messengers. He fed His children throughout their wilderness journeys of 40 years. But even after they came out of the wilderness, it was He who fed them. The Lord who satisfied the needs of Peter and the other disciples is with us today. All we need to do is to recognize His place in our lives and sit at His presence and draw from His reservoir to our satisfaction.

Psalms 107:9 – For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Thought for Today

The daily bread that the Lord supplies gives us greater satisfaction than the countless wealth that we amass from this world.


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Sunday, March 18, 2012

JOURNEY MERCIES!!

Journey mercies!

Verse for Today: Sunday, March 18, 2012

Psalms 84:7 – They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

A long walk for a whole lifetime often wanes away one’s strength, patience and motivation. It is often seen that many who start well do not finish the course. The long engagement often drains them off the motivation. Considering the experiences of tears, heartaches, disappointments, clouds, darkness and the unexpected attacks from the enemy often challenge our zeal and enthusiasm. The distractions created by the enemy are at times very debilitating. In spite of it all, the child of God keeps walking in full trust in the Lord who has called us and who leads us day by day. When we lack energy, He keeps supplying the necessary spiritual energy for the walk. As the demands for consistency in walk increase, He keeps motivating us through His Spirit. When we go through setbacks, He comes to cheer us up. When we loose hope, He comes to reignite the lamp of hope in our hearts. When we are weary, He is there to give us heavenly bread and water to drink. When we faint, He holds our hands and sustains us on the way. Even as we walk, He helps us to lean on to Him for rest. This is a walk by faith and not by sight. It is victory every step of the way as we are led step by step by the Lord. We walk in His strength each step of the way and go from strength to greater strength. When the going gets tough, the strength poured into our hearts also increases to sustain us and to keep going. It is a walk on Calvary Road and there can be many difficult moments on the way. But we walk in the footsteps of the Master who takes us through the journey to its culmination and will accomplish His purpose till our course is completed.

Dear reader, are you a weary traveler walking on the narrow ways of life? You have chosen this way because of your love for the Lord and want to walk after Him. You may remember that even entering this way was tough as you had to struggle through the narrow and wicket gate. Do you remember how you were compelled by the glory of your destination as you started this journey? Remember how you had to leave all your personal belongings outside and walked all along with full dependence on the Lord! You have willingly denounced the broad way which was close by and was a very attractive option. But the narrow way is full of difficult terrain with dangerous bends and steeps, with tests of faith at every corner and bend. You can see people like Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Gideon, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John and Paul and many others ahead of you, as their way of walking is a great inspiration for you. But the greatest comfort comes to you from your Lord who is with you. He is teaching you each day to walk in His footsteps. The heavy old rugged cross on your shoulders must be cumbersome and tiring. But you are walking in the strength of your Lord who carries your burden for you. Your load is on His shoulders as well. Not only that, you are also on His shoulders and close to His chest. His hands are around you and His is holding you by His hands. His Spirit keeps energizing you to walk and His words comfort and encourage you. Each day more and more strength is added to you to sustain you on your walk to take you to your destination. Your Lord’s reservoir of energy for your walk will never exhaust and He will replenish you to the brim. Your hope is in the Lord who is your absolute guarantee that you will not be a dropout on the wayside. Today this hope is rekindled and flared up in your heart to keep looking unto Him who is the anchor of your soul and the beacon you can look up to and march forward.

Psalms 138:3 – On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.

Thought for Today

God’s sojourners are guaranteed sufficient divine strength to sustain them every step of the way.


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Saturday, March 17, 2012

PRIVILEGE OF SUFFERING!!

Privilege of suffering!

Verse for Today: Saturday, March 17, 2012

Philippians 1:29 – For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him.

There is a price to pay for all decisions we make in life. In some we pay more than the other and decide to go to it because it is too precious to our hearts. In order to derive satisfaction out of a particular matter, we are ready to spend a fortune. It should not be different with regard to our faith in the Lord Jesus. Our faith is not expensive to us to start with because Jesus paid the entire price for our salvation with His life on the Cross of Calvary. But when we enter into faith, it demands our whole body, soul, spirit and life. Our faith makes us forsake things in life which are based on sight. Our life on earth becomes temporary because we have put our faith in things which are eternal. We live here as salt of the earth which irritates those around us and prompts them to persecute us. But as salt is not for itself, we tend to suffer persecutions of various kinds without grumbling. We are also appointed light of the world which makes us burn for Jesus. Burning is a painful experience but it is for others to see God’s light in a dark world. Our faith thus demands that we willingly and joyfully go through persecution and sufferings. We are faced with physical and emotional sufferings including loss of dignity and even means of livelihood. We often experience innumerable inconveniences because of our faith. Our faith sometimes demands that we give up what would have been justifiably our portion in this life. We cannot adopt the world’s methods for a gain because of our faith. We cannot say what others say for temporary gain because Jesus would not be pleased with it. When our faith is challenged, we would often have to suffer loss of privileges for the sake of our Lord who gave up His position in heaven for us. We will have to give up certain things in life without a fight, competition or argument with others. We give up and give in for the sake of our faith which is too precious for us to compromise for.

Dear reader, are you called upon to suffer loss and pain in this world because of your faith in the Lord Jesus? Perhaps you are made a scapegoat by others to gain things which are important to them. They may persecute you emotionally and socially by ridicule, gossip, misrepresentation and distortion of facts. There might be situations when you are to pay back that which you had not borrowed from anyone. When you take a strong stand for the sake of the faith which is precious to you, it is important that you are willing to pay the price. But this is not to be considered a punishment. It is a privilege to publicly pay a heavy price in life for the sake of our Lord who paid the greatest price on the Cross for us. The price we pay for the sake of our faith is an indication of our love and allegiance to the Lord Jesus who demonstrated His total allegiance to us when we didn’t deserve it. The sufferings in life that we are called upon to undergo for our Lord is the greatest privilege we have in this life to demonstrate our love to Him. We should not be surprised when we are persecuted by this world. Sometimes the sufferings come from our own family, employers, colleagues or even those in the household of faith. We will have to sometimes say goodbye to possessions, positions, prestige and popularity for the sake of our Lord who gave up everything for us. But these sufferings are only for a short time, and are nothing when compared to the joy that He has poured into our hearts. The privileges that we have in the presence of the Lord are so great that they are never a match for the insignificant losses we might encounter in this life. Let us enjoy this privilege of sufferings for our Lord and show total allegiance to Him who suffered for us because He loved us.

2 Timothy 3:12 – In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Thought for Today

Suffering for faith is an opportunity to show the world that the Lord Jesus is more precious to us than any thing else in this world.

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Friday, March 16, 2012

PUT HIS SHIELD ON!!

Put His Shield On!

Verse for Today: Friday, March 16, 2012

Psalms 18:35 – You give me Your shield of victory, and Your right hand sustains me; You stoop down to make me great.

It is not difficult to understand that a shield will help one to escape defeat. Any one who is willing to use the shield of God is considered to have already been declared victorious because the enemy’s darts will never penetrate the shield. This shield is God Himself. If we allow ourselves to be covered with the power of God, we can be absolutely sure about safety, security and sustenance. As we hide behind God who is our impenetrable shield and allow His awesome and mighty hands to hold us, we would not have any room for fear, anxiety and apprehensions in life. When we face the enemy of our soul with his agents, we would be confident because of the great protection through God’s shield. But we will enjoy the cover of the divine shield only when we are willing to wear the shield by faith. We are behind this shield positionally, but we must use it practically to make it a reality in the various avenues of our everyday life. It means that we confess that we do not have the capacity to weather away the darts of the enemy. We must confess that we are weak and helpless without His shield. If we confide in our own smartness to escape the enemy, we would find failure and loss. Only when we accept our emptiness before the Lord and ask Him to come to our rescue will His shield becomes a reality in our lives. All our competencies must be broken into pieces, declared powerless and absolutely ineffective. All our skills must be crucified and declared dead and buried when we seek God to become our shield. Our Lord stooped down to make us worthy to wear His shield. We cannot wear His shield as long as we are proud and unwilling to admit our spiritual poverty. He helps us only when we stoop down, confess our inadequacies and uselessness. When we crucify ourselves with Christ, our weapons of self also get crucified and declared null and void.

Dear reader, are you confronted by the enemy with his darts of doubt, unbelief, confusion and self-sufficiency as you walk along the pathways of life? When you doubt your Lord, you become increasingly cold hearted in your relationship with Him. These darts are the enemy’s strategy to keep you from total dependence on the Lord in the challenging situations of life. Today the Lord is near you to reveal His armor of the shield of faith to you and encourage you to put it on. He wants you to take full cover in His hands for total sustenance. He is challenging you to see how He stooped down to give you greater privileges in life because He loves you. Positionally you are covered by Him and are in His hands. But practically you must make it a reality by putting all your trust in Him. It demands that you recognize yourself weak and helpless. You must admit that weapons of your flesh are totally ineffective and useless. These weapons of the world will give you a false sense of safety and courage, but will surely lead you to defeat. Your Lord wants you to go to Him to admit your helpless estate and declare yourself defeated in all that you are and have and surrender it all to Him. He will then put the divine shield on you and keep you under His shadows. As long as you depend totally on the Lord, you will be able to enjoy the safety of His shield. You will experience the power of His hands only so long as you take refuge in Him. Today it is your blessed privilege to see the Savior who has stooped down to make you victorious. He is near you and wants to help you to march from victory to victory. Those who have depended on Him have never been ashamed or forsaken. Their hearts will be kept safe from the darts of doubts, confusions and unbelief and they will be sustained in fearless walk with Him.

Psalms 18:2 – The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Thought for Today

God comes down to make me great and takes me to greater heights of trust and faith in Him.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

HIS TESTING HANDS!!

His Testing Hands!

Verse for Today: Thursday, March 15, 2012

Psalms 66:10 – For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver.

Our God is interested in refining us so that we would be without blemishes. He is committed to testing us in our faith and trust in Him. His knowledge about us is perfect and He knows all our strengths and weaknesses. His tests are for our own sake. He leads us through tests that He has ordained in our lives. He teaches us trust as we go through the tests. He helps us to evaluate ourselves through these tests and learn lessons about the trustworthiness of our Lord and the lack of faithfulness on our part. As He tests us, He sends us through various experiences which are new every time. He proves to us that we need to put our total dependence on Him in all our situations. As we progress in our sojourn, the intensity of tests will be greater. But the Lord expects us to grow in our dependence on Him to weather away the challenges we face during the tests. As we go through tests, our enemy sends temptations to us to quit or to denounce our faith. He sends doubts and confusions our way to make us waver in our trust in the Lord. But our Lord reminds us that His intentions in the tests that He sends our way are for our good. These tests are meant to refine us so that we would glow for the Lord. When there are blemishes of sin, mistrust and lack of faith in us, the Lord would not be able to use us for His cause. So He sends us through fire or water to purify us. He turns the thermostat of our situations up and intensifies the heat. But we must realize that throughout the process of purification, our heavenly Silversmith will not leave us. He will be with us to strengthen us. He will cheer us up and tell us that this heat is good for us and that we will be in the heat only for a little while. He will also tell us that the more He purifies us, the greater will be our usefulness for Him. The heat of the refining process will be offset by the comfort our Lord pours into our hearts. He will teach us patience as we go through the refining process. After we go through it all, we would certainly see that it was good that we had gone through the heat and the flood of His tests.

Dear reader, are you going through some tough tests today? Is the heat increasing hour by hour? Are you feeling alone when you go through the present tests that the Lord sent your way? Remember, the Silversmith is always with the silver as it is in the fire. He never takes His eyes off or keeps away from you while He purifies you. The heat is just right to purify you and will never be more than the grace He gives you to take it. He cannot use you unless He keeps sanctifying you through His methods. Well-meaning silver will never fear fire because it is imperative that you are purified by it. Our Lord purified Job and he came out blameless even in the eyes of Satan and Job’s friends. The process of purification increased the usefulness of Apostle Paul. The greater the heat, the sweeter were the songs of praise that came out of David. The purification process through the Red Sea made Israel sing a sweet song of praise. Joseph had to be prepared through intense tests for greater responsibilities in Egypt. Through it all, he became mature, patient and conscious of the pathways the Lord allowed him to go through for the preservation of the lineage of the Messiah. Dear reader, the world has yet to see why you are going through the present experiences. But your Lord knows what He is doing in you and why He has been allowing the heat of the tests that He has sent your way. But through the tests, He will also give you the grace to bear the heat and come out purer and nobler for His name’ sake.

James 1:3 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Thought for Today

The Lord is with us through the tests and keeps us in His hands so that we will not know the weariness of the process.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES 'HIM'POSSIBLE!!!

Impossible becomes ‘Him’possible!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Romans 4:18 – Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

When he met God, he was an ‘exalted father’ Abram. God lifted him up to become Abraham, the ‘father of many nations’, but he was still a childless ‘father’. But when God called him a father, it meant that he was going to be a father by faith. Abraham had to experience the reality of the meanings of these two names at God’s time for which he had to wait by faith. He waited until it was absolutely impossible for him to become a father. But God kept His promise to make him a father in its true sense by giving him and Sarah a son by the name Isaac. Isaac was both a son by promise and a son by faith. Isaac was a miraculous gift Abraham received from God. Isaac was the link for Abraham to find the meaningfulness of his new name that God gave him. Isaac was the channel God prepared to bring Jesus to this world to save mankind. So Isaac could not be born like any other child, but had to be born strictly as a child of God’s promise. Isaac was born when all hope about his birth was gone. But it was a time of hope against hope for Abraham to believe that all promises of God will be fulfilled. It was not easy to believe that this promise would be a human reality. It was beyond human capacity. But when human capacity failed, divine capacity came alive. When it was impossible to believe, God gave Abraham the enabling to believe. When it was meaningless according to human standards to keep on waiting and believing, God gave them the faith to wait with patience and hope. God proved through the life of Abraham and Isaac that His promises are always ‘yes’ in Him. Just as Abraham said ‘amen’ to it wholeheartedly, He expects us to believe in His promises and live to practically demonstrate our faith, belief, hope and patience.

Dear reader, you might be waiting for a long time for God’s promises to be fulfilled in your life. You are probably challenged by the environment to think that it is unreasonable to expect these promises to come true in your situation. Remember, faith starts operating when reason fails. Faith is proved right when all else fails. Faith finds it possible to believe in the most unreasonable things in life because the God of the impossible has promised it. God’s Spirit fills us with the capacity to wait and continue to believe without giving up. There is no need to have faith if something can be done by human effort. Nothing can be done through human effort to bring faith to fulfillment. When faith works, reason will argue against it. It was impossible to think that a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seah of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. It was impossible to think that five small barley loaves and two small fish will feed five thousand and odd people. It was totally unreasonable to think that a dead man would rise up again or a dip in river would bring forth healing. It is unreasonable for a man to stay overnight with hungry lions and come back unhurt. Today God leads His children through such experiences which are unreasonable to human mind. The world laughs at us when we say that our Lord will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. Modern technology or educational system mocks at a child of God who believes in and waits for God to work things out which are impossible and unscientific. But today that is how He leads each of His children and supplies our every need. He wants to challenge us to believe on His promises. Our lives become a challenge to science, technology and reason to believe that our God reigns in the seemingly impossible realms of human life.

Romans 4:20 – Yet Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.

Thought for Today

God promises to do the impossible and the unreasonable to accomplish His purposes in our lives.



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

GLOOM TO GLORIOUS HOPE!!

Gloom to Glorious Hope!


Verse for Today: Tuesday, March 13, 2012


Acts 7:55 – But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

When the enemy stands around with the intent to commit atrocities against us, it is likely that our spirits sag and we fall into depression. When the world gnashes its teeth at us, we become bewildered and exasperated. Their threats send shock waves to us and grip us with the fierce consequences of their wrath. Sometimes we take a flight and run away from the scene. At other times we try to fight with them. But when the enemy thus becomes successful in attacking us emotionally, we still have a more powerful anchor to depend upon. Our anchor is in heaven and we have the privilege and opportunity to look unto Him for help. Thus when we focus our attention on the Lord and not on the power of the enemy, He will show us His glory and power and generate faith in us. We will then be in a situation like that of Jacob in Bethel where he saw the angels coming down and going up on a ladder. It took away all his fears and uncertainties. Stephen was given a great vision of the Lord Jesus and His glory which made his face shine like an angel. The vision took away his fears and pain. The power of the threats and the gnashing of teeth of the enemies vanished from his eyes and instead the power of the glory of the Lord filled him. It made him worshipful and forgiving. He had no animosity or ill-will towards his detractors and he was filled with the joy of the Lord. When we are confronted with angry mobs who try to annihilate us, it is our blessed privilege to look unto the Lord and see that our pain and anxiety melt away in the power of His glory.


Dear reader, does your stand for Jesus annoy the mob around you? Are they using all the arsenal in their possession to destroy you? Perhaps they have found you a great inconvenience and want to get rid of you. Perhaps your saltiness and Christian character have irritated them and made them uncomfortable. Such forces are probably busy right now at your work place, school, neighborhood, family at large or even in your Fellowship. You are probably experiencing threat to your very existence. They tried this against Joseph several times and found success to some extent, but eventually Joseph became the boss of all of his detractors. They used this technique against Daniel and his brothers in Babylon and thought they achieved their vicious goals, but failed miserably. Their detractors went down the drain just as they planned it for God’s children. Haman tried this unsuccessfully against Mordecai and found fatal reversing from the hand of God. Jezebel tried it against Prophet Elijah, but while he went to heaven, she proceeded to eternal hell through a miserable death. But what our detractors receive from God does not comfort us and our response has to be prayer for salvation for their souls. The challenge for us today is whether we will have the grace to look unto heaven at such times of intense tension, pressure and fear. We need the Lord’s grace to pray for our enemies and those of our associates who desire our doom. When we pray for those who threaten to annihilate us, our focus is on the salvation of their souls and on the grace of our Lord towards them. This will break our bondage of emotional entanglement of fear and craving for retaliation. It will release us from all anxieties about the consequences of their anger at us. Ultimately, no matter what the enemies try against us, our Lord will rule and overrule the situation to take us forward according to His plan and program.

Psalms 34:5 – Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.


Thought for Today

When we are tempest tossed by the treachery of the enemy, our look unto the Lord will fill us with His glorious hope.



Monday, March 12, 2012

WATERWAYS TO WALK!!

Waterways to walk!

Verse for Today: Monday, March 12, 2012

Psalms 77:19 – Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

Waterways are not for walking, but for sailing. But God makes it possible for His children to walk through turbulent waterways without fear or anxiety. These volatile pathways are created by God and so they are bound to obey Him to allow His children to walk on it. Jesus showed that it is possible to walk on water and made Peter walked on it. The paths through rough seas and mighty waves are a training ground for God’s children to learn trust and faith in Him for the impossible. We are led by the Lord through waters and seas to learn faith in His power. In order to give us firm footing on water, our Lord who created water walks in front of us to mark out His footprints. He alone is able to control its volatility for us to tread on it. It is a walk by faith because sight will keep us off and kill our courage to even attempt to walk that way. The pathways the Lord paves for us on these waters are invisible for others. But He makes our spiritual eyes see His footsteps on it. Our faith in His power to pave our ways through these waters of life will open our spiritual eyes to see His footsteps on the waves. His light and lamp will work as our road map for us and His beacon will be our guiding light to go forward. But He shows us only one step at a time which is sufficient for us as we are expected to travel by faith alone. If our trust on Him is genuine and sincere, there is no need for us to see the second step until we would have covered the first step that He has shown us. There are always pressures in these sea billows which threaten to swallow us up. But the Master of the seas holds us in His mighty hands and so sea or waves will not swallow us. The fierce waves will only threaten to make us afraid and shake our faith. Our travel through these billows is a great challenge to our faith which we can take boldly as we cling on the author and finisher of our faith. We move forward according to His travel plan and pace. It is a joyride with Him and not a series of steps in hesitation and doubt.

Dear reader, are you aware of the ride you are taking with Jesus through the swallowing waterways of this world? The billows might threaten you and shake your standing. These waves will try to create fear and anxiety about the consequences of the rolling billows over you. But they will not swallow you because your Lord will not allow it. You are safe in His hands and carried on His shoulders. He will not allow you to sink in the deep waters because you are precious to Him. When the billows threaten to role over you, the Lord will give you the strength and courage to face it with a smile rather than fear and anxiety. He will give you joy in your heart and praise in your mouth even for the waves. If there are no waves, you will not learn how to face the challenge to travel through it. When waves beat on you, it is your privilege to demonstrate the Lord’s strength in your life to weather away its threats. The smaller waves are a training ground for you to learn how to expect and face even greater billows. As you make progress on the waterways of the Lord, the enemy of your soul will send greater waves to increase his threat to your faith. But when the pressure of the billows increase, there will be abundance of greater grace, peace and joy in your heart from the Lord. Joseph, David, Nehemiah and Paul experienced series of rough weather in their walk of faith, but the Lord equipped them to face it all and strengthened the muscles of their faith in Him. Today the Maker of the universe is walking in front of you to show you His footsteps on the sea billows to train your feet to walk through it all by faith.

Psalms 94:18 – When I said, “My foot is slipping,” Your love, O Lord, supported me.

Thought for Today

The Lord opens my eyes to see His footsteps on the waters of the seas of life to walk on it by faith.




Sunday, March 11, 2012

PILLAR OF GOODNESS!!

Pillar of Goodness!

Verse for Today: Sunday, March 11, 2012

Psalms 27:13 - I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

The greatest antidote to despair and despondency is to believe on the goodness of the Lord. When we look back to the years that we have trod with the Lord, there are enough and more reasons to put all our trust in the Lord. The miles we had walked with Him only leave us with adequate reasons to keep trusting on Him to lead us further. Sure enough, there were ups and downs in the past. We would have sailed on the billows of rough seas and traveled through dark valleys of life. There would have been experiences of fire, flood, wind and waves, along with times of threat from people who behaved like wild animals. It is likely that we had several experiences of uncertainties about livelihood, health, family and children, but the Lord led through it all with His goodness. These are the milestones for us to remember the faithfulness of God in our lives. When we passed through tempests and earthquakes in life, our Lord was with us to protect and preserve us. When the enemy fought us tooth and nail in the emotional and spiritual realms of life, our Lord kept us under His wings. When the heat of the desert was so high as to parch our throats with thirst, our Lord comforted us under His cool shadow and gave us the living water to quench our thirst. When we are under the juniper tree with all hope lost, He came to us with comfort and encouragement to keep going. When all seemed lost, our Lord was with us to reassure us that nothing good will ever be denied to us. He confirmed to us that if we had lost anything for Him, He will compensate it all with interest when we reach the Father’s House. So if despair knocks at the doors of your hearts today, answer the knocks with a long list of faithfulness of our Lord in the past and His innumerable promises for our future.

Dear reader, are you experiencing increasing hopelessness in your life? Are your circumstances such that the future looks bleak? This is a terror tactic that the enemy of our soul uses often to make us bewildered about our future and push us into despondency and loss of faith. But the Lord wants you to take a walk with Him in the memory lane of your life to see the milestones of His faithfulness to you. Start counting these milestones of blessings, deliverance and victories that He had blessed you with. It is time to once again praise Him for the past provisions that you enjoyed from Him. When you start praising Him for the past, the enemy will flee from you and you will once again be relieved of the fear that gripped you about your future. It is an undeniable fact that the Lord who has brought us so far will not forsake us on the way today. The enemy only tries to tear us down and frustrate us to despair and despondency. He will never build us up, but will only try to steal away our peace and trust in the Lord. So let us be confident in renewing our faith in the Lord who sustained us and brought us so far. He who is faithful to bring us so far will be powerful enough to take us forward to our eternal destination. So we can be confident in our Lord and renew our faith and allegiance to Him for all our present and future needs. If you are in the ashes of your burned up plans and desires, you are challenged to believe like Abraham in the Lord who can bring beauty from the ashes. He will continue to shower His goodness on us in the days to come and hold our hands to walk the miles of His faithfulness in the future.

Psalms 31:19 – How great is Your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You.

Thought for Today

God’s goodness in the past is assurance enough that more goodness is on the way all the days of our lives.


Saturday, March 10, 2012

DISMANTLING HINDRANCES!!

Dismantling hindrances!


Verse for Today: Saturday, March 10, 2012

Hebrews 11:30 – By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

Consistency in faith is the evidence that faith is strong and relentless. True faith doesn’t fall back with time. True faith gives us hope for the future as God’s promises are fulfilled in our lives. True faith is full trust in the power of God to perform the seemingly impossible things in our lives. True faith doesn’t withdraw after attempting to do something for the Lord because the task seems insurmountable. True faith can penetrate the toughest hindrance that comes our way. Human wisdom would have identified several smart ideas to defeat a strong city like Jericho with thickest possible walls. It would have meant toil, sweat, persistence in battle, bloodshed and loss of lives on the part of Israel. But true faith accomplished victory without the loss of a single drop of blood on their part. For the impatient and impulsive mind, seven days are too long to simply walk around a strong city wall without any battle. For those without faith, the seven days of walk would have been a sheer waste of time and energy. It would have meant granting the enemy seven days to prepare for battle against Israel. But little do they realize that the seven days of persistent victory march would have demoralized the enemy and increased their fear. The persistent faith of the people of God is a result of ardent trust in the words of the Lord in whose power and strength they started the circuit ride. Today we are challenged to possess such persistent faith in the power of the Lord to hunt down the greatest hindrance in our walk with Him. When God performs great victories for His children, He often makes us partners in the spoil. So when God accomplished victory against Jericho, He gave the people persistent faith to walk around and capture the city and thus become participants with God in this great miracle. Jesus made a little boy a partner with Him in feeding the five thousand. He wants us to take the step of faith and go forward as partners with Him in handling the hindrances. Doubt has no room in the realm of faith because God has already accomplished victory for us and it is only a matter of time for us to go forward and appropriate it.

Dear reader, are you wonder struck about the mammoth walls of hindrances that are in front of you? Is there any doubt creeping in your mind about how to circumvent these walls, mountains, seas, rivers and deserts? Caleb climbed Mount Hebron by faith in his old age. Noah escaped the perils of flood by faith through the building of an ark which took several years to complete. Abraham became the father of the multitude by waiting in faith for a quarter of a century. Joseph put his trust in God and kept himself in faith for thirteen years for his dreams to be fulfilled. It was the same challenge the people of Israel had when they had to capture Jericho. God had already fixed a time frame for them to capture the city of thick and strong walls. All they had to do was to put their wholehearted trust in God until His moment of truth was reached. Seven days and thirteen marches around the city would need a lot of persistence. But the enabling comes from the Lord to circle around the city on those seven days, trusting in His power by faith. He gives patience to keep marching without seeing any visible mark of progress except that the finishing line was fast approaching. He gave hope and filled their sanctified imagination with a preview of the fall of the city by faith. Today the Lord gives us hope to put all our faith in Him to accomplish great things in our lives. If we trust Him, we will receive the faith and hope to obey His commands to capture what He has promised and penetrate the thick walls of hindrance that we see in front of us. Let us commit ourselves to put our faith to action to govern all our activities, plans, priorities and desires for God to accomplish even the seemingly impossible things in life for His glory.

2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Thought for Today

Faith leaves all hindrances to God to handle and wait for His finish line.

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