HE KNOWS AND SEES IT ALL!!

He knows and sees it all!

Verse for Today: Sunday, August 07, 2011
Psalms 31:7 - I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

When we go through deep afflictions and anguish in our soul because of our difficult situations, our hearts seek sympathy and mercy from others. We often wonder if there is any one who knows what we really go through and if someone could do something about it. Many of our situations end up like the experience of Job. There was no one to sympathize with him, and even his best friend and life partner made judgements about his predicaments. Their negative pronouncements seemed to have poured boiled water on to his physical and emotional afflictions. Accusations galore and comfort was not to be found any where. Such responses from nearest and dearest ones often increase the anguish of our souls. But there is a great comfort for God's children in all their afflictions from their Lord who knows it all. Not only that, He sees us and knows our feelings when we suffer physically or emotionally. But He performs several more ministries to meet our needs in such situations. First of all, He strengthens us with His presence where we find joy unspeakable. Secondly He helps us to go through the afflictions and get victory over it all. Thirdly He teaches us the reasons why we go through it all. Fourthly He helps us to learn great lessons in faith during these trying times. Fifthly He helps us to praise Him even in such situations because these have happened with the knowledge of the Lord and that He has permitted it in our lives. Sixthly He increases our faith to trust Him in such situations. He will also helps us to use our afflictions as learning grounds to touch the lives of other believers who go through similar situations. He reassures us that He is with us and that He will never leave us nor forsake us in times of dire need. Thus when our Lord is with us in our situations, He becomes our partner in our afflictions.

Dear friend, if you truly follow the Lord, you will have afflictions and anguish of various kinds. Sometimes these afflictions are caused by the enemy of our souls who manipulates our circumstances. At other times, these might be the consequences of our own actions which are less prudent. We might be allowed to go through tests sent our way by the Lord to help us measure the extent of our faith and to increase our faith to trust Him more. These afflictions might be the chastisement sent our way by our Lord because of our disobedience. But no matter what the reasons behind the afflictions are, the Lord will not forsake us as we go through it. He will not leave us alone, but will be with us to give us the strength to go through it. He will pour out His grace to help us handle the situations. The intensity of the heat of our afflictions would mean greater measure of grace for us to handle it and for us to come out victorious. This was the experience of God' servants like Jacob, Joseph, David, Paul and others who passed through deep afflictions of various kinds. David was in great anguish because any moment in his life, he could have been annihilated by the enemy. But when he learned that his Lord was with him, it helped David to take courage. David learned wonderful lessons as he went through these painful and dreadful situations which helped him to praise God for these experiences. This Lord is with us when we are put in pits, dungeons, furnaces, dens of wild animals, dark valleys, storms, wind and flood of events. He reassures us that His protective hands are around us and that He holds us in the palm of His hands. He sympathizes with us in our situations strengthens us for His glory. Today and every day of our lives, our Lord is with us in all our situations to tell us that He sees everything that we go through and knows it all from its beginning till the end. So let us go forward boldly and courageously with Him even through the valleys of life.

Psalms 103:14 - For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

Thought for Today
The pain that afflictions send our way will be lost in the love that encompasses around us as we are in the Lord's loving hands.

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BUFFER WHEN ATTACKED!!

Buffer when attacked!

Verse for Today: Saturday, August 06, 2011
Psalms 31:20 - You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

God's children are under constant attack by the enemies of their soul. It is no surprise that the world, flesh and Satan, who are our enemies in this world, attack us because we belong to God. These attacks are leveled against us because we live for God by challenging the norms and standards of functioning of the world. The greatest attacks are against those who desire to live righteously as a witness to the name of the Lord. It is the enemies' wish that God's children stumble in their Christian walk. They use temptation as a means to make us fall within our heart. They also use external attacks of intimidation wherever we go. Thus we find false accusations, manipulations, distortions, misinterpretations, misrepresentations, unkind criticisms, gossips and the like against God's children. These are intended to frustrate us and to provoke us to react accordingly. These attacks often cause a lot of damage to God's people. Many servants of God including Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Nehemiah, Paul and others face false allegations and accusations. The enemies used these sharp and powerful weapons against our Lord Jesus while He was physically present in this world. In such situations, God's servants did not respond in kind, but submitted the matter to the Father who hid them in the secret place of His presence. They were sheltered under the wings of the Father. They experienced the shadow of the Almighty to live, and left the consequences of these attacks to the Father. They received the grace to endure these attacks, but didn't retaliate and left it with God who is the righteous judge. Thus they were enabled to continue with their divine mission and the ministry they were engaged in.

Dear reader, perhaps you are under attack at this moment by the enemy of your soul. First of all, let us understand clearly that human beings are not our real enemies, but are used by the real enemy of our souls for shadow warfare with us. So let us not be tempted to react against the instruments used by the enemies, but let us focus on the enemy and his tactics against us. We have to confirm to our hearts that when we are attacked, we are right with God in the areas of attack. Secondly, let us expect attacks, that too from unexpected corners and, try to live a righteous life with the help of the Spirit. Thirdly, when attacked, let us go and hide in the presence of the Lord where you will find comfort and strength to withstand the pressures of the enemy. Fourthly do not let the attacks deter you from serving the Lord as in the case of His servants like Moses, Joseph, Nehemiah, Daniel, Paul and David. Fifthly let us all live under the control of the Spirit so that our behavior will be directed by Him and that we would not be discouraged. Let us also seek the face of the Lord in prayer and meditation of the Word so that the Lord would fill us with His peace in the worst of situations. Each time we are attacked, let us run for shield in the presence of the Lord and ask Him for strength. Let us focus on the grace of the Lord to meet the challenges of all the situations of attack by the enemies. Let us also enjoy the peace He gives us through His Spirit at the time of dire need. When we are attacked, let us also pray for those individuals who are used by the enemies to attack us. Let us not allow our souls to be downcast and be depressed, but let us thank the Lord for the privilege to live in this world as His witnesses.

Psalms 27:5 - For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will guide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Thought for Today
The presence of God is the greatest buffer for His children against the consequences of attacks by the enemy.

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MORATORIUM ON WORLD'S METHODS!!

Moratorium on world's methods!

Verse for Today: Friday, August 05, 2011

Psalms 28:7 - The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

It is true that God helps humans in so many different ways which are general in nature. But this is different from the specific help that comes to His children in response to their prayers. This response of God to His children is based on their trust in Him. If they do not trust in Him, they might not pray about a matter. But there are people who pray and then do whatever they want to do to accomplish their purposes. These two cannot go hand in hand because if we pray and ask the Lord for help without trust in the power of God to supply the need, our prayer becomes very insincere. But if we have full trust in the Lord to meet our need, no matter what it is, then we should not do any thing that we think is a smart way to accomplish it. When we pray and commit our ways to the Lord with full trust, then there is no scope for us to have anxiety about it. We should not also resort to short cuts, detours or other ways of the world including recommendations to people of influence, bribery, praise or promise of some deed in return. If we resort to these and similar ways, it is very difficult to believe that we have trust in the Lord to provide for our needs in righteous ways. Our trust in the Lord should be demonstrated through the righteous acts that follow with an undefiled conscience and transparent motives. If the Lord finds that we resort to the ways of the world as we also pray, we are not in the will of the Lord. Only when we find that the Lord responds to our trust by fulfilling His perfect will in our lives can we leap for joy and sing hymns of praise to the Lord. Moses did exactly as the Lord commanded him to do and so the Lord blessed his ways. Joseph, Nehemiah or Daniel didn't do anything contrary to the will of God as they trusted Him without reservation. This was why they could experience the Lord as their strength and shield. This Lord is our God who is willing and able to do abundantly for us as we put our total trust in Him.

Dear friend, it is likely that our culture and environment tempt us to resort to ungodly means to accomplish our ends even as we pray to God for help. At the same time, the Spirit of God challenges us to put all our trust in the Lord and wait for Him to accomplish His purpose in us at the right time through the right ways. When there is some delay in accomplishing things, we might get impatient and want to resort to ways which are less than straightforward. This is a situation that we must carefully handle as we keep surrendering our will to the Lord and ask Him to take full control of our lives and circumstances. Our continuous surrender is the continuous sacrifice of our will at the alter as true worship so that our will becomes enthralled in His will and we get ourselves lost in Him. That is when all that happens in our lives become His mighty works of wonder which will enable us to praise Him and sing songs of true gratitude. It is an experience when we do not have any selfish involvement in our lives, but all that happens to us become His acts of benevolence, mercy, grace and compassion for which all credit goes to Him. When He thus works in us, we don't need to be anxious about its consequences, but keep thanking Him for what He does in and through us for His glory. Today let us examine our motives as we pray for God's will in our lives in the light of all that we do to accomplish our goals. May the Lord find us faithful in our trust, prayer and corresponding actions so that our conscience will be clear in our relationship with Him.

Psalms 62:8 - Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

Thought for Today
Trusting in the Lord puts a moratorium on pursuing any other means to accomplish our goals in life.

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THE REJECTED GO FOR A BANQUET!!

The rejected go for a banquet!

Verse for Today: Thursday, August 04, 2011
Psalms 27:10 - Though my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

It is an extreme situation when a father and mother forsake their child. Yet it has happened so many times in history. Some forsake their children when they do not have the means to bring them up. Some others forsake their children because of conflicts of various types in the family. There are others who are forsaken by their parents because of their faith. Then there are those who are forsaken by a previously loving husband or beloved wife or even loving children. Experiencing the rejection of one's own parents and other members of the family is an extremely difficult situation for any one to handle. But a child of God can take courage in that even if all around us forsake us, our Heavenly Father will not forsake us. He might spank us because of disobedience. God's Holy Spirit is grieved when His children do not heed to His promptings. But God will never reject or forsake His children. Not only that, He will receive any child who goes back to Him in true repentance as in the case of the prodigal son. We have the promise that if we are rejected by our families for the sake of the gospel, we will have the privilege of finding the household of God who love us and receive us as their own. When we can no longer call our parents, 'daddy' or 'mummy', the Lord gives us godly Christians whom we can address as parents. The Lord reminds us that rejection by parents is very rare and extreme and difficult to bear. But even if they reject, He will never reject us. The Lord wants to comfort and encourage us that if we loose relationships for righteousness sake or because of our faith, or because of the evil that prevails in this world, He will give us special grace to handle our situations. He will treat us in a manner far greater than our dear ones. When all others depart from us and leave us, as experienced by Joseph, our Lord will not, and He will be near to us to strengthen our souls and take away our loneliness.

Dear friend, are you thirsting for love today? Do you feel lonely and deprived of caring relationships? Have you experienced rejection and resentment from those who are nearest and dearest to you? Do you experience hatred from those you truly love? It is possible that sometimes even the households of faith reject you or hate you. It is likely that there are misunderstandings and misinterpretations which make people think that you are a villain and an enemy. Perhaps it will never be possible to clear all wrong impressions people would have created about you in the minds of those whom you truly love. But you can be rest assured that your Lord understands you well and that He is the only righteous judge. When others reject you, He will hold you closer to Him and put His nail-pierced hands around you. He will wipe your tears away when you weep. He will give you holy boldness to face your difficult situation with confidence. He will comfort you with songs for the lonely nights and brighten your days with rays of love. He will be far more than a father or mother to you. His love to you will be far better than the love of siblings or the brethren in the household of faith. When you are rejected, the Lord will receive you with warmth. He will take you to His banquet house to fill you with His joy. You will also be comforted with the testimony of scores of God's children who have gone through similar experiences. Today the Father is asking you to go to Him to tell Him about your heartaches and loneliness. He will receive you and give you peace, patience and faith to hold on to Him. He will make your days brighter and give you restful nights with songs in your soul. So cheer up, dear reader, for the Lord is on your side and He will re-build your life with His resources so that you can become a solace to the rejected people around you.

Isaiah 49:15 - "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you".

Thought for Today
The Lord will transform the burdened hearts of His rejected, despised, misunderstood, hated and forgotten children and fill them to overflow with His peace.

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CONFIDENCE TO ASK!!

Confidence to ask

Verse for Today: Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Ephesians 3:12 - In (Christ) and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Confidence is an attribute that is often ruptured by circumstances and experience. But confidence is unavoidable to make progress in life, as it is very difficult to attempt any thing in life without it. But confidence is strongly attached to faith and they go together. Faith gives us confidence to go forward in the midst of confusions and conflicts. Faith is developed in us through the object of our faith which is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus that we received salvation of their souls. It is through Jesus that God has made all heavenly resources available to us to draw upon for daily living. We are also given the freedom to approach God with full confidence. But it is up to us to avail this freedom to meet all their needs and the challenges of life. If we do not make use of the freedom that is given, we will not have any right to complain. Often we do not exercise our freedom because we do not grow in our faith and thus are short of confidence. This is a truth which we do not easily admit, but cannot deny also. Our inadequacies and losses are often because we do not go to God by faith and exercise our freedom to ask Him with confidence. We have every right to ask our Father in Heaven for all that we need to live a life of faith in this world. God has given us promises to meet every need, but if we do not approach Him with confidence, we will not utilize these promises. Today the Spirit of God reminds us to go to God with confidence and courage and ask boldly for His resources to be delivered to us at our point of need.

Dear reader, are you conscious of the depth of resources which are stored up for us in God's resource centre? As you meditate on the riches that are awaiting you to draw upon, you will be overwhelmed at the vastness and enormity of it. These are all made available for us to enjoy provided we go to Him by faith and confidence. First of all, we need to believe that this heavenly resource centre is a reality. Secondly we have to acknowledge that these resources are for us to draw upon. Thirdly we have to believe that we are given the freedom and privilege to draw upon these resources without limitation. Fourthly our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to ask so that He can give us. Fifthly He has given us faith in our hearts through His Spirit to enable us to ask with confidence. Sixthly we are enabled by the same Spirit that if we ask, we will be given the best that we would ever receive. Abraham received all that he asked for, and he used it all so that God's blessings might flow to the whole world through him. Paul asked for the resources of God so that it would be used for the furtherance of the gospel. John asked for it and he was able to see it outlined in front of his eyes. Simeon asked for it and he was enabled to hold the embodiment of all the promises in his hands at the temple in Jerusalem. Hanna asked for it and she received it four fold to use it for the service of the Lord. David asked for it and was filled with songs of praise to sing in the night and daytime. We can also have all that we want so that we can use it all for His glory and not for our selfish desires and wrong priorities. Today if we look into the heavenly resource centre, we will be filled with the wonder and awe of it. It will then enable us to ask in faith and with confidence so that we would receive it abundantly. Let us today ask by faith and in confidence with great expectations, and we will not be disappointed at all.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Thought for Today
God's resources are for His children to use it all for His glory and not for their selfish interests.

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THE LORD OR SOMETHING LESS?

The Lord or something less?

Verse for Today: Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Psalms 27:8 - When You Said, "Seek My face," my heart says to You, "Your face O Lord I shall seek."

We are prone to seek after things that we think we need or solutions to our problems. We desire that our unfavourable circumstances might be changed for the better. When the enemies confront us, we seek deliverance and victory. But the instruction from the Lord is that we seek after Him and His face first and foremost. Usually the eyes of the servants are focused on their masters for favor. But how many times do we deeply desire the Master rather than what the Master can give us or how the Master's solutions to our problems? The earthly things that we get from the Master can only give us temporary relief because soon another situation of need would emerge. But if we seek the face of our Heavenly Master, we would first and foremost get the Master in His glorious majesty to fill our lives with His glory, and along with Him we would get His favor in all that we do and are. His glory will shift our focus from our situations and needs to Himself. We would thus be seriously involved with His service and worship and devalue our needs. Thus we get lost in His love and grace, and our focus becomes Him and not our cares and burdens anymore. Our anxieties will melt away in the magnificence of His person. We will then forget about ourselves and get lost in the wonder and awe of the Lord and abandon ourselves on Him. On the other hand it is possible to ask the Lord for certain things or solutions to meet our needs, and He will give it to us. But that will only be a need-based search for the Lord and not the seeking of the Lord out of our deep desire for Him. This deep desire to seek His face and not bother about our situations and needs is a higher level of relationship we should seek after. Today the Lord is asking us to seek His face and with it, all our mundane needs will also be looked after by Him.

Dear friend, what do you seek today from the Lord? Are you focusing so much after your situation and needs or is your heart longing for Him who alone can satisfy your life's desires? Material needs emerge and re-emerge all through our lives and there is no end to it. Needs or situations will appear and recur all the time with different intensities. If we seek the Lord for these, we will be focusing on getting something from the Lord. Naturally there is a question as to whether we want our needs met from the Lord or whether we need the fullness of the glory of the Lord Himself in our lives. Our Lord desires that we seek after Him, His kingdom and righteousness rather than meeting certain temporal needs. He examines our hearts to see whether there are any among His children who truly seek after Him. He is the ultimate satisfaction for human minds. When He thus fills us with His glory and goodness, we would have diminishing desires for the earthly things. Such people who are filled with the Lord and His glory seek after Him to fill their lives in greater measure. This is the secret of knowing Him, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering. He wants His seekers to go after Him like the deer pants for streams of water in a dry land. When we grow in our knowledge of His person, our lives will be contented like parched grounds soaked with cool water. It is then that our lives will become breeding ground for trees which are planted by streams of water and yield fruits in season. When we get Him to fill our lives, we are actualized by His glory so as to shed it abroad. In His glory, all our desires and personal agenda become shadows and we will be filled with deeper thirst for Him.

Psalms 63:1 - O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Thought for Today
Things or solutions to problems meet a temporary and recurring need, but the Lord fulfills all the desires of the depths our hearts.

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COURAGE WHEN BESIEGED!!

Courage when besieged!

Verse for Today: Monday, August 01, 2011
Psalms 27:3 - Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war broke out against me, even then will I be confident.

The boldness granted to God's children in the wake of most intimidating threats and opposition is most exhilarating. Such boldness can never be human because no sensible human being can ever be bold when confronted by threat of strong and large armies with intense warfare. The boldness comes from the Lord Almighty who is on our side. Their intimidation will attack our level of confidence and fill us with the fear of what might emerge as a result of the war that looms large in front of our eyes. The fear will grip us to imagine out the consequence of the attack of the enemy. What can one man do against an army? The world's answer is in the negative, but for the Lord it is not impossible. Perhaps David would have learnt about how father Abraham won a war against the armies of several kings with 318 men. He would have also known how Gideon won a war with 300 men. But more than all of these, his heart confided in the Lord who is the captain of the heavenly hosts. David also knew that when Soul killed a thousand, he has been enabled to handle ten thousand. All these have been accomplished by David without any military training. He didn't even know how to wear a military uniform with arms. But he could always go in the name of the Lord which proved to be the most powerful weapon against all the wiles of the enemy. When David meditated on the power of the Lord and what He has promised to do for His children, all fear was gone. He was able to face the unknown tomorrows of life with all its potential threats because He knew that the Lord was with him. This Lord is with us also today as we face the enemy of our souls with his great army of detractors. The vision of the Lord and the faith in His power to deliver us will definitely take us forward in all circumstances.

Dear friend, what kind of opposition and intimidation are you faced with today? Your enemies might be far stronger than you are, but your Lord is far more powerful than all your enemies put together. He is the captain of the heavenly hosts. One of His soldiers is sufficient to handle millions. No force of the enemy is a match for the weapons our Lord has and He has given us these weapons to use. If we take His orders to use His arms in our war-like situations, our victory is certain. As we look unto the author and perfecter of our faith, He will fill our hearts with His glory so that we will not be overpowered by the intimidating thoughts and fierce looks of the enemy. When Goliaths are against us or when Sauls are around us, and even when we are forced to stand in the presence of the Abimelechs of this world, we can fix our eyes on the Lord and fill our hearts with the holy fearlessness and boldness that He gives us. He will replace our fear and trembling with His joy and peace. He will take our confusions and doubts away and give us confidence and strength. He has given us the Spirit of courage. His valour ought to govern our hearts and minds no matter who is against us. If we open our spiritual eyes and fix it on the Lord, we will be able to see the captain of the Lord's armies with His horses and chariots of fire around us. Such a heavenly vision will take any fear, confusion, doubt and anxiety from us and fill us with confidence and courage in the Lord to march from victory to newer victory over our circumstances and thought life.

Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Thought for Today
If we see the awesomeness of the glory of the Captain of the Heavenly Hosts who is with us, we would not be afraid of our enemies or situations.

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