GOD'S ANTIDEPRESSANT!!

God’s Antidepressant!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Psalms 01:03 – (The blessed man) is like a tree planted by the streams of water…. whose leaf does not wither.

When we look around, we can see a lot of lives which are sagging like withered leaves. These lives progressively wither away because they don’t dwell near the cool living water and are not planted near to the water of life. When the poisonous wind of difficult situations blow on it, these leaves sag as they do not have the capacity to withstand pressures. They do not receive spiritual nutrition and water to keep be alive and grow stronger. The people of the world who do not have Jesus in their lives wither away and disappear into a Christ-less eternity. The people of God who keep themselves away from being planted near to the water of life in the Word of God also sag and get depressed because they do not have the time or interest to dwell near to the water of life. Many such lives try to survive on the world’s artificial nutrition for their minds, but slowly their spiritual tenor and texture elude them. Such people succumb to temptations and fall into the worldly ways of living. But Word of God today instructs us to be planted nearest to the water of life. This water is Jesus and His Word which ought to fill our lives so that we will not sag or become depressed. When we are thus rejuvenated by the Person of Jesus Christ and as His life and Word fill our hearts, our lives will become spiritually energetic, vibrant and exuberant. We would be filled with the Spirit and the Word which will become the spiritually sustainable force in our lives. A spiritual diagnosis of our lives each day with the help of the Word of God will reveal how much our lives are spiritually sagging. Today His Spirit invokes us to draw near to the cool waters of our Shepherd and drink to the brink to soak our souls so that we would experience spiritual vibrancy.        

Dear reader, is your life a sagging leaf which ebbs away from the spiritual realm in which you are placed? Are you experiencing spiritual coldness in your relationship with your Lord and His Word? Do you feel the loss of spiritual power to withstand the attacks of the enemy and do you become more and more depressed in life? Is the joy of the Lord in your life dwindling? Perhaps it is time to take a spiritual audit of your life to see how far you are drinking the water of life on a daily basis. Nothing that the world offers you will impact your spiritual life positively. On the other hand, it will only drain you of your spiritual energy and enthusiasm.  The panacea for all your spiritual ailments today is to get yourself firmly planted near the water of life and get yourself sink deep in it. The water of life will cure your spiritual weaknesses and mental depression and will give you the nourishment that you need to grow spiritually. The spiritual water of the Word of God will purge you of the worldly poisons of possessions, positions, prestige and prominence which the world lures you into. It will give you the vigor and vitality that you once had in your life and will enable you to withstand the pressures of the world upon you. Today you are challenged to be deeply rooted in the Word of God to fill your heart, mind and life to guide you as you face the pressures of the world and live to portray the life of Christ in its power all the days of your lives.

Psalms 92:13 – Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Thought for Today

The fruit of our tree of life will reveal whether we are planted on the side of the river of life or not.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Help me to dwell with you in your green pastures and cool waters

to revive my sagging soul from distresses. Amen!

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MEASURELESS SUPPLY LINE!!

Measureless supply line!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Numbers 20:7 – The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.

When we complain and grow in unbelief, it is very difficult for us to see the hand of God at work in our midst. The Israelites couldn’t see how God would give them water in the desert. They didn’t realize that God provides for His children at their place of need. But a life of faith in God demands our trust in what God would do at the right time and place in the right measure. The more than two million people and their cattle required water of the size of a small lake, but their unbelief made them to conclude that it was impossible for such a body of water to come up in the desert. This was because they never understood how big their God was. But God wanted Israelites to ask Him for water and all other needs no matter where they were and God was determined to give it to them to satiate all their cravings. God had already planned to perform a miracle and open a rock to give them water like a lake for all of them and their cattle to drink to the brim. There was no need for Moses to break or beat the rock for water, but to simply speak in the name of the Lord. The rock and the water have been waiting for God’s command to break open to give water to His people. God was there waiting for them to open their mouths wide to drink water rather than use the mouths to complain and murmur. Today God speaks to us to follow the same instruction that He gave to Moses and ask that our needs be met according to the depth of His provisions. It needs trust, faith and patience to wait for God to give to us at His time according to His measure. When He gives, it fully satisfies us as a testimony to His faithfulness and benevolence.

Dear friend, are you experiencing a craving for your mundane needs to be met? Do you get exasperated because you can’t find what you want around you? Have you been waiting for long to meet your needs? Today God reminds you whether you have taken the time to ask Him to meet your needs. You can ask only if you have the faith that God will provide. You probably feel that there is no scientific and logical evidence that your needs can be met where you are situated. But God wants to challenge you to exercise your faith and dare to ask Him to meet your needs no matter what they are. He will definitely answer you and meet your need in unusual ways. He will meet open needs openly and confidential needs confidentially. Sometimes He gives in bits and pieces, but at other times He gives in large quantity, and it is all according to your needs at the right time. He will not let you faint and weary. He will come to your rescue at the nick of time. He gives far beyond your expectations and imagination. It gives total satisfaction now and forevermore. The way God gives today is an indication of how He will give in the future also. It overwhelms us and makes us feel guilty about our unbelief, complaints and murmurs. God’s daily provisions in our lives are to strengthen our faith in His benevolence.  Let us continue to trust our compassionate and benevolent God and confess our faithlessness to Him.

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

Thought for Today

Every gift from God is an opportunity to confess our unbelief and concretize our faith.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Pardon my unbelief and strengthen my heart to put all my trust in your mighty power to meet all my needs far beyond my imagination. Amen!

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IT'S ALL HIS!!

 It’s all His!

Verse for Today: Monday, August 05, 2013

1 Samuel 1:20 – She named her son Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

We serve a God who gives us according to our needs so that His name will be glorified through it all. He gives us the right desires and prompts us through His Spirit to ask Him to give it to us. Thus God enables us to pray for the emerging needs in our lives. But He will give it to us only at His time. So He expects us to keep praying and depending on Him for our needs. Hannah made a vow to God that she will give God’s gift back to Him once she receives it. Hannah had no doubt in her mind that when God gives her a gift, it still belonged to the Giver. She wanted God to remove her resentment at home and prove to others around her that God would give her the desire of her heart. But Hannah was not selfish and possessive about the gift she believed God would give her at the right time. He poured her heart out before God and continually asked for it. She was relentless about her deep desire in her heart and believed that her God would be sufficient to give her the deepest need of her heart. Ultimately when God gave her the desire of her heart, she linked her son’s name with God. She reminded him and others that he was received from the Lord. Hannah gave the son back to God for His service all his life without any hesitation. Today we work with the God of Hannah who is committed to giving us the desires of our heart if our desires are pleasing to Him. When we are His, He wants all that happens in our lives also to be His. Our God wants us to have only that which He gives us and not what the world offers. What God gives us is divine with an eternal legacy whereas what the world gives is temporary.

Hello friend, have you been praying for your various needs and wonder whether these are what God wants in your life? Do you have anything in your life today that is not given to you by God? Perhaps the world would have given you many glittering things to lure you into its vanity. It is also possible that you would have secured a few things out of your intelligent and shrewd smart moves. But your God wants you to have only those things that He is pleased to give you. He knows all your needs and will give it you at His time so that all you have will be His gifts to you according to His will and pleasure. He proved to Hannah that she couldn’t have the desire of her heart fulfilled in her own capacity and smartness. As her dependence on God increased and as she demonstrated it through prayer of importunity, God blessed her with the desire of her heart. But God gave far more than she ever asked for or expected. Today God wants us to be totally dependent on Him and give our desires to Him so that our life would be a platform for Him to bless us with His gifts. All that Hannah had were God’s gifts to her and it was far more than what she asked of the Lord. God wants us to reach such a stage of dependence on Him and receive all that we need from Him. Then we, along with all that we have will belong to our God just as the case of Hannah.  That is when we will be able to say that we are truly His and He is ours to possess, enjoy and worship.

Psalms 23:1 – The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Thought for Today

The heart tuned to God will depend totally on Him for every need at all times and will receive it at His best time.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Help me to confidently say that I have nothing in my life other than what You have given me. Amen!

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BLESSING FAITH!!

Blessing faith!

Verse for Today: Sunday, August 04, 2013

Genesis 48:14 – But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the first born.

Patriarchal blessings starting with Abraham had great spiritual significance. Among other things, these blessings signify God’s emphasis on the second birth. Jesus explained this truth as He spoke to Nicodemus and underscored the need for a person to have second birth. From the beginning, God showed clearly the hopelessness of the first birth without a second birth. He chose the second person in the families of Adam (choosing Abel’s worship), Abraham (choosing Isaac instead of Ishmael), Isaac (Jacob instead of Esau), Jacob (rejecting Reuben and his two brothers and choosing Judah) and Joseph (Ephraim instead of Manasseh). Jacob knew the spiritual significance of the order of birth as he was a recipient of such a blessing from God. Even when Jacob had very poor natural vision, he had not lost his spiritual vision to give the higher order Patriarchal blessing to Ephraim, the second son of Joseph. He crossed his arms to make sure that God’s perfect will regarding blessings will go in the divine order. Today God’s spiritual blessings go only to those who are born again. Jacob demonstrated great spiritual insight and spoke to each of his sons about God’s plan for their lives.  Jacob rose to such spiritual heights at Peniel where he became a new person through spiritual brokenness. His old inclinations were broken by the hand of God. His old name signifying success through human tactics was replaced with a life reigned by faith. So his heart became a stream of spiritual insights and revelations. Jacob started his life in conflicts, alienation, rejection and frustrations, but he ended his life well in faith. His life challenges us to live by faith and become fountains of the richness of God’s grace.

Dear reader, are you tossed around with changes, ups and downs, long waiting and the accompanying uncertainties? But as long as you tread with the Lord on His pathways, these uncertainties do not matter at all. What is important is to keep dwelling with the Lord in His sanctuary imbibing in His worship and doing His will. The people around will probably find you an unsettled person in life, but they do not realize that you are on the move with your Lord. We do not have a resting place here on earth, and we are only passersby. Our duty is to dwell and walk with the Lord and do His perfect will. We are instruments in His hands to touch the lives of people around for His sake. With all the sufferings that Jacob endured, he was instrumental in carrying his faith in God to a heathen country so that the people of that country could taste godliness. But sadly they rejected Jacob’s God, but it was in Jacob’s credit that he was able to extend God’s blessings to the people and the rulers of Egypt. Jacob had the tenacity to bless Pharaoh in the name of his Lord and to keep his faith till his last breath. His burial was also a testimony of the living faith he had in God. Jacob was materially poor, but he was spiritually rich and he passed his spiritual wealth and faith to his children. Jacob lived to enjoy the spiritual blessings till the end and passed it on to posterity. The life of Jacob today challenges us to hold on to the Lord throughout our sojourn and exercise our ardent faith in all circumstances. Our Lord will surely hold our hands each day as we touch the lives of people by faith.

Hebrews 11:21 – By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Thought for Today

God desires that we begin and end our lives by faith and become a blessing in other lives.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Help me to trust You each day to live by faith and keep touching the lives of others around me. Amen!

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PRINCE ON CHARIOT!!

Prince on chariot!

Verse for Today: Saturday, August 03, 2013

Genesis 45:21 – Joseph gave (his brothers) chariots, as Pharaoh has commanded, and also gave them provisions for their journey.

It is amazing how God picks up His prince from the doldrums and puts him on a chariot to continue his sojourn! We see Jacob in the depths of dire spiritual, emotional and physical needs. He was depressed and he lost hope about God’s plan in his life. He also lacked food for the sustenance of his family. But God didn’t want him to continue to live in the depths of frustration and despair, but to live in victory. God has already prepared a dwelling place for him where all his physical needs would be met. God made way for him to be reunited with his beloved son Joseph. God wanted him to reach the pinnacle of his spiritual experience when he would be able to impart blessings on his children who would head the twelve tribes of Israel and carry his legacy forward. He would be fortunate to see the offspring of his son Joseph and adopt them as his heirs. He would soon see the way his son Joseph has been lifted up in this world and among his brothers in fulfillment of Joseph’s teenage dreams. Added to it all, God even prepared the chariots of Pharaoh for Jacob to travel. At this point in his life, Jacob had nothing better to ask for. All his burdens were being lifted up and all his questions were answered. God even made Jacob to bless Pharaoh, the richest emperor of the world at that time. We are today amazed at the way God lifted up Jacob His chosen vessel. God wanted him to live as a prince and not simply hold a name. God was to prove to Jacob and the world that His princes would travel by faith in the chariots of His promises here on earth. Today God reassures us that if we trust Him, we would live to reign in His spiritual kingdom victoriously. Soon He will move us into His millennial kingdom.  

Dear friend, are you reigning victoriously for God today or sinking deep in the miry clay of despondency? God has great plans for you and He wants you to lift up your head over the cluttering despair that tries to entangle you. He wants you to know that despair is a thorn that the enemy plants in your soul, but your Great Physician will pull it out and make you free of pain and misery. He wants you to reign as a spiritual victor over your circumstances which are debilitating and distressing. He wants you to travel on the chariots of great promises which your Lord sends you day after day from His eternal Word. You have unfinished spiritual task to take up for God and to further prepare your generations to claim the promises of God. He wants you to continue with your sojourn by faith and capture new territories for God. Today He wants to give you His provisions which are prepared for you for daily use. You must move forward a step at a time trusting God to lead and guide your future initiatives.  Your God will never plunge us into despair, but will only lift you up as He did to Jacob. Today the God of Jacob is on our side and He is working for our sustenance and strength. We must take steps of faith and experience how He meets all our needs from His reservoir in all our circumstances and situations. Let us ride on the chariots of provisions which the Lord has brought to us today and live like princes of God.

Psalms 46:11 – The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Thought for Today

We have to climb up out of the depths of despair by faith in order to travel on the chariots of God’s promises to newer heights of victorious living.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Hold my hands and help me out of the depths of my distress to ride on your bright promises. Amen!

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DIVINE SIGNAL!!

Divine signal!

Verse for Today: Friday, August 02, 2013  

Genesis 41:1 – When two full years have passed, Pharaoh had a dream.

God’s dreamer not only dreams, but interprets dreams on behalf of God. Joseph believed that one day his teenage dreams will come true. He knew God intimately and believed what has been promised to him through dreams will come true. He knew that His God was powerful to speak to other people through dreams and would use him to interpret dreams. Even after the cup-bearer of the Pharaoh found Joseph’s interpretation of his dream to come true, he was not grateful to Joseph to work to release him from the prison. But God would not forget Joseph. God used dreams to reveal Joseph’s divine wisdom and to find a window for Joseph to express it in the life of Pharaoh. Through this incident, God spoke to Joseph and reassured him that even when people forget his cause, God will not. At the right time, God would work things out through incidents in the lives of people and upcoming changes in nature that He was in control of the lives of His beloved children. God proved to him that Potiphar, cup-bearer of the king and his own kith and kin might forget him, but God will not. It is amazing that God made all the people Joseph served to become his servants in a little while. God disturbed Pharaoh’s sleep and peace until Joseph was settled in life for the sustenance of his family would be guaranteed. These developments in the life of Joseph speak powerfully to us today to trust God for His every move in our lives. When years pass by silently, we see that our God is still at work quietly behind the scene. He is preparing people, circumstances and events to accomplish his purpose in our lives. We must continue to serve Him wherever He has placed us and wait patiently for His time to come to lift us up. His delays are not inactive and passive, but full of preparatory activities to fulfill His divine purpose in us. We should not jump ahead of God, but must wait for His time to come for us to act according to His will.

Dear friend, are you getting impatient at the slow pace of developments in your life? Remember, the Master Designer who is at the controls of this universe is the same Lord who is controlling your life also. He has a grand design for your life which He will carry forward according to His wisdom, pleasure and schedule. Perhaps you feel that you are forgotten by all and sundry, but rest assured that your Lord will never forget you nor ignore you. He will not forsake you for a moment. His plan for you is based on His wisdom and understanding of the pace at which you grow spiritually. As you pass each milestone in your spiritual life, newer vistas will be opened for you. What God expects from you is to simply wait for newer opportunities, but to be faithful in whatever ministries you are entrusted with. At the right time, God will send divine signals for you to move forward in His will. His design for your life will unfold day by day. He doesn’t expect you to sit and wallow over your present plight, but to use it as a bridge to cross over the troubled waters in front of you. Each step of your way forward will be determined by His perfect will and He will hold your hands. Today He is processing you for greater vistas of life of faith and will lead you onward in a magnificent manner.

2 Timothy 4:18 – The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom.

Thought for Today

Your prison cell is God’s workshop to chip, chisel and remold you for greater usefulness.  

Prayer for Today

Lord: Help me today to take my eyes off my present miseries and focus on Your great plans for my life which are yet to be revealed. Amen!

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REIGNING BY FAITH!!

Reigning by faith!

Verse for Today: Thursday, August 01, 2013

Genesis 37:34 – Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.

Our circumstances often dump us in the deepest valleys of depression and grief. We dwell in the depths of grief in utter hopelessness and self pity because of hard situations. Jacob went through such a valley of tears for years without any comfort because he thought he had lost his beloved son Joseph. Even though Joseph’s brothers separated him from his father out of jealousy and hatred, the good hands of the Lord worked behind the scene to turn it into the family’s good. But while Joseph’s brothers lived in guilt and their father lived in agony for years together, God was preparing Joseph to be the savior of the family from extinction. God was also reshaping Jacob’s life to be a blessing even to the Pharaoh. It was true that Joseph went through many dangers, but God protected him everywhere and preserved his life for greater blessings. God was also working on his teenage dreams and changed his circumstances to fulfill it. Even though Joseph’s brothers hated him all the more for his dreams, the fulfillment of those dreams finally worked for their salvation. In all of these turn of events, God worked behind the scene to protect, preserve and provide for Jacob and his family in order to fulfill His eternal plans for them. It is true that Joseph and Jacob had to endure a lot of pain and misery, but it turned out to be for their blessings and sustainability. So it was time for Jacob to draw closer to God and spend more time in His presence rather than dwell in the depths of depression and hopelessness. Depression, self pity and extended grief make us physically and emotionally weak, but faith and trust in God will revive our spirits to come out of the doldrums of misery. Today we are reminded by the story of Jacob and Joseph that we must fight battles of depression and find victory through faith in Jesus.

Dear friend, are you deeply distressed about the wind of sad events that beat against you? Is it taking away your hope, peace, sleep and appetite? Are you in a state of despair as you wallow in the valley of dejection with no hope of any restoration? If so, you can look at the Lord’s face for hope because your hope is built on Jesus, the Rock of Ages. While you are desperate, God is working in your life to lift you up from despondency. He understands your situation and the bitter experiences you are going through. It is likely that you are experiencing pain because you believe the misrepresentation someone has played on you as done by Jacob’s sons. It is also likely that you are on a tough training turf through various uncertainties and persecutions by your Lord to build up your character as in the case of Joseph. He is teaching you to look to Him and not to any human beings.  Help will come at the right time from your Lord. It might take thirteen years of training in the school of patience for Joseph to become ready for the Lord to open the next chapter in his life. It might take even longer for Jacob to know that there is still hope in the Lord for his future. Jacob was to live like a prince, enjoying God’s blessings and rein his emotions rather than behaving as if all hope is gone.  Today the God of Jacob and Joseph is with us to teach such lessons in our life of faith and to keep us going towards the goals He has set in His agenda for us.

Psalms 116:7 – Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

Thought for Today

When God lifts up His curtain of time, we will see how He was active in our background to shower His blessings upon us.

Prayer for Today

Lord: Strengthen my faith to believe that all my situations will work together for my good and Your glory. Amen! 

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