MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT!!

Muscle Development!

 

Verse for Today: Friday, May 18, 2012

Psalms 66:11 – You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.

God wants His children to build up a testimony for Him in this world. He is interested in developing character in the lives of His people and uses them to build His kingdom through them here on earth. They are living stones whom He chisels and shapes to fit into His structure. He allows His precious stones to go through the experience of fire to purify them to the utmost so that they become fit for His building according to His plan. God allows His children to be tempered through toughest experiences in life. His stones go through intense pressure to become gems for Him. These pressures and heat are often unbearable, but He gives them the grace to go through it to become what He wants them to be. Over the years, God’s children have gone through extremely difficult situations and experiences. They have been wronged by the world and are deprived of their civil rights. They have been unlawfully dealt with. Many had to go through flood, fire, physical abuse, imprisonment, mental torture, financial pressure, distress and rejection. Some had gone through starvation and others were separated permanently from their dear ones. Many had to go through brutal persecution and character assassination. Often there is no answer as to why they had to go through it all. But these are the tempering experiences God allows or permits in the lives of His children to make them what they ought to be for Him to use them to build His kingdom. But in every situation, He gives them the grace to go through it all. He fills them with His patience to handle their situations and allow these situations to teach them lessons in life. The prison experiences make them handle loneliness and friendlessness. The burdens they carry help to learn how to carry other people’s burdens. The tears they go through help them to learn how to wipe others’ tears.

Hello friend, are you aware of the goals the Lord has in allowing you to go through tough experiences in life? He wants you to learn life-linked lessons of trust, faith, patience and peace. He wants to teach you how to attain strength and stability during sever trials. He wants you to learn that He is trustworthy and dependable in all your circumstances. In all your trails, He wants you to understand that these experiences are meant not to destroy you, but to build you up. The trials are to see how far you can hold on and how to learn to hold more firmly on the Lord. The most touching truth to learn in times of difficulties is that when the Lord allows it in your life, He is not out there as an observer. He comes to be your companion in your prison cells and will give you rich divine fellowship. It is a time when you both can converse with each other intimately and exchange your emotions. When He allows burdens on your back, He comes to hold those burdens with you. When you go through grief, the Lord comes to share it with you and He even weeps with you as He did at Lazarus’ tomb. To the hungry, He comes in the form of ravens or a poor widow. To the poor, He comes with the richness of His heavenly reservoir. He feeds us better than the birds and the animals and dresses us better than the grass or the lilies. When we are lost in the thickets of life, He comes as the loving Shepherd to rescue us, put us on His shoulders and take us home with Him to be there with Him forever. Today let us appreciate His great purposes in allowing trials in our lives which makes us more and more like Him in our character. He helps us to respond to trials in grace. If He has given you a burden, give it back to Him gracefully and by faith, and He will carry it for you.

Romans 5:3 – But we also rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.

Thought for Today

Trials are the exercises for us to develop our muscles of faith.

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PASSIONATE REBUILDING!!

Passionate rebuilding!

Verse for Today: Thursday, May 17, 2012

John 21:4 – Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

God goes to man in his moments of dire need. God searches after man when he experiences failure, loss and defeat. Our failures and defeats make it difficult for us to seek after God. Our guilty hearts become so heavy that we often sink deep in our defeats and failures. When backslide and end up in defeat and failure, it is often difficult to go back to God though there is always a way back. But as we are in the centre of defeat and failure, our God comes to us to lift us up. When Elijah felt that he was a failure, God dispatched an angel with provisions to revive his sagging spirit. God revived the spirit of Jacob through the chariots of provisions that came from Joseph. Jesus walked with the depressed disciples on the Emmaus road to revive their hearts. When the group of disciples went back to fishing which was a mark of their backsliding, Jesus went after them and met them at the depth of their failure. In their backsliding, they could not catch any fish in spite of their expertise. Their experience and efforts did not lead them to success. But the Lord Jesus did not forsake them in their defeat. He wanted to revive them and bring them out of their backsliding. These disciples once left their profession of fishing and joined Jesus to become fishers of men. It seems they forgot all about their commitment to Jesus and went back to their profession and business. But they soon found that their business without Jesus was bound to fail. In spite of their disobedience, lack of commitment, backsliding and defeat, the Lord Jesus went to revive them and get them out of their failures. Today He comes to meet us at the lowest level of our faith and commitment to revive us and bring us back to Him.   

Dear reader, are you experiencing failure, loss or defeat in your life today? Have you found that your heart is getting colder day by day towards your Lord? Has your commitment to the Lord Jesus diminished a bit lately? Have you gone back in your loyalty and love to Him and become deeply involved in the business of the world? Has the world with its formulae for success captured your heart? Are you dejected because you have become a failure in life? But there is no need to feel frustrated because the Lord Jesus is coming to you today to revive you from your present situation. He wants to reestablish you in your love to Him. He desires to give you what is needed to rebuild your life so that you can serve Him again. He wants to talk to you if you are willing to listen to Him. He comes close to you and makes Himself available to you, but you need to look up and see Him with your spiritual eyes. When you see Him in His glory, His light will brighten your life and take away the darkness of backsliding and cold-heartedness. He wants to talk to you and help you to confess your failure to Him. When you admit your failure, He will help you to get out of the pits of backsliding and worldliness that you would have fallen into. Will you lift up your eyes and see the Lord Jesus who is standing near you? Will you confess your defeated life to Him and ask Him to rebuild you to continue to serve Him? He will give you bread, water and your cherished ‘fish’ to meet your physical needs so that you can go around and feed His sheep and lambs. He is not willing to give up on you and will not allow any force on earth to take you away from His fold. He will turn your failure into success. When Peter confessed His cold-heartedness to Him, He revived and restored him and soon Peter was able to get a great catch of three thousand souls in the spiritual net that Jesus gave him.

Psalms 34:18 – The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Thought for Today

God passionately desires to come and meet us at the lowest ebbs of our lives to revive, restore and rebuild us. 

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SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY PLAN!!

Spiritual Prosperity Plan!

 

Verse for Today: Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Jeremiah 29:19 – “For I know the plans I have about you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

The declaration God Almighty made centuries back about Israel, His people, is relevant to us today. Some of the painful events and experiences they went through made them feel that they were abandoned by God. But those were intended to be learning experiences for them to know their Lord and His ways. When they did not walk according to His will, He disciplined them. In order to keep them away from getting destroyed, He sent them through ways which were far away from their comfort zones for some time. But these were ways by which He taught them to walk by faith and according to His will. Today the Lord declares that He has a great plan for all His children and He wants to take us through His route according to His will. His ways are mysterious to us and we sometimes wonder what good will come out of a difficult terrain through which He takes us. There might be steep hills and deep valleys on the way and there can be crooked bends which scare us off and rough patches which hurt our feet. But these are experiences the Lord has planned for us to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. He teaches great lessons of faith and trust on hard surfaces of life. His way is the way of the cross where mockery, ridicule, criticism, abuse, misunderstanding, misrepresentation, misinterpretations, misjudgment, gossip, cruel plots, depravity and even poverty await His children. These experiences teach us that our Lord leads us through these storms, waves, fire and flood to make us strong in our faith and to develop ardent loyalty in our hearts for Him and His ways. He teaches us how to be able to praise Him in and for all our experiences, whether they are comfortable or otherwise. His plans are for our ultimate spiritual welfare and prosperity and not for temporary material prosperity and worldly welfare which will pass away.

Dear reader, are you going through a time of severe testing of your faith as you walk along with Jesus today? Is the road you are treading rough and tough? Are the sudden bends and contours of the way scaring you and taking away your confidence? Open your eyes to see your loving Lord walking with you by holding your hands. He is taking you through the rough weather to teach you that you don’t walk anymore by the weatherman’s assurances, but by faith in the power, strength and resources of your Lord. When He holds your hand, no matter how rough the way, you will not flatter. This read itself is a class room in faith and you need to trust your Lord to help you take every step. Remember, you are walking according to the plans of the Almighty. He takes you through these rough roads to increase your faith and make you stronger in Him. When there is weariness on the way, you can lean on to the Lord for comfort and strength. He doesn’t want you to see more than a step at a time. He wants you to wait for His light to shed on the way for you to see the next step. He reassures you of every ensuing step through His presence. He has promised to take you to the end because He is the author and finisher of your faith. He focuses on your spiritual welfare and not your worldly prosperity. Till you reach your eternal Home, you are assured that He will meet all your mundane needs in order to facilitate your walk to please Him. Today your Lord comes to reassure you of His great plan for you to prosper spiritually and make you a giant of faith.

Psalms 139:17 – How precious to me are your thoughts, O God; how vast is the sum of them!

Thought for Today

God’s thoughts and plans for us are for us to prosper in the spiritual realms of life while He looks after all our needs in the emotional and physical realms.

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HORSES, CHARIOTS OR LORD?

Horses, Chariots or LORD?

 

Verse for Today: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Psalms 20:7 – Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

The world is fascinated with speed and strength. Chariot focuses on fast movement and is mark of the status and dignity of its owners. Horses focus on their power and strength to pull others with it. When chariots and horses are combined together, they are invincible with unbeatable technological conglomeration and fusion to achieve what people and kingdoms want. Their owners trust in their capacity to deliver what they desire at the fastest possible pace. Charioteers boast in their victory in battles with great pride because of their powerful horses. They mock and undervalue those who do not have such technology and consider others as weak and bound to fail. The world despises a child of God for his weak and humble armor of prayer, brokenness, repentance and humility. But his armor is fare more powerful than the world’s chariots and horses. His armor has already been tested at Calvary by his Lord and proved to be far more potent than the powers of Roam Empire. He trusts in the Lord who made the heaven and earth. His boasting is in the might of his Lord who is able to accomplish far more than what the chariots and horses of the world can achieve. Where the chariots and horses of this world fail, the Lord accomplishes things with meager means. He brings fire from heaven to burn the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. He feeds a man through ravens and a poor widow. He feeds several thousand people with five meager barley bread and two small fish. He turns water into the best wine at the wink of an eye. He heals in split seconds. He raises the dead, makes the lame to walk and the blind to see. He wins wars without a sword or a chariot. He melts stone-hearted people and makes saints out of them. He doesn’t need the technology of the world to accomplish great things.  Today He lives to attain great and impossible things for His children without the aid of chariots and horses, but with His mighty hands. When we take His name in our mouths, His power is demonstrated for us in this world and in our lives. When we pray in His name, great things happen without worldly power or technology.

Dear reader, are you bewildered because the enemy of your soul is using his chariots and horses to fight with you? Perhaps your enemy is demonstrating his power around you to scare you off your pathway. But the invisible hand of our Lord is always with you. He demonstrates His power for you at the right time. He fights your battle with the same power with which He created this universe. His angels are always around you with drawn out swords in their hands. The Lord works much faster than any technology that man has ever invented. Our instruments are weak and meager according to the world’s standards. We fight our battles and win our wars on our knees rather than from chariots. We have victory when we put our undiluted trust in our Lord. We put all our faith in Him when our situations are impossible. We put our trust in the invisible armies of God who work for us all the time. The enemy shows us his power and strength through his chariots and horses to shake our confidence. But when our spiritual eyes are opened by the Lord, we will be able to see the chariots of fire and the swords that turn that are around us. Our Lord uses us as we become fit instruments in His hands for spiritual warfare. Our victory is declared and our future is secure. Our foundation is the Rock of Ages who will never be shaken. Our resources are spiritual and heavenly with guaranteed success. Our ammunition may be humble and weak in the eyes of the world for which they ridiculed us. But they are capable of victory over the fastest chariots and the most powerful horses of the world.

Psalms 46:9 – (The Lord) makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shield with fire.

Thought for Today

The world’s most potent and sharpest ammunition is no match for the humble and meager armor of God.

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COOL SHADOW!!

Cool shadow!

 

Verse for Today: Monday, May 14, 2012

Psalms 63:7 – Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

It is very difficult to imagine that a person can find comfort in a desert. But the experience of David speaks to us about the rest and the comfort God gave him when he was running through the desert for fear of his enemies. David was running for life because King Saul and the enemies of Israel were following him. He was opposed because of jealousy and competition. David was found a moral and graceful threat to those around him. They couldn’t appreciate the way God was using him as a blessing to others. They didn’t understand that he was part of God’s plan for them and their country. He had already saved God’s people from the enemy countries and the threat of Goliath. But without any valid reason, he was chased by all who became his enemies. David was forced to stay in forests, caves and even in deserts to escape the attacks of the enemy. He had his share of despair and fear. But in times of trouble and apprehension, David trusted in the God of Israel who spread His wings over David and gave him courage, faith and confidence to keep going. David had to overcome opposition by faith and trust in the Lord each and every moment of his days of isolation and fear. He could go to the presence of God even while he was in the desert. He could enjoy peace and rest in a desert which was the greatest blessing he enjoyed during those days of turmoil. Under the shadow of the wings of the Lord, David enjoyed spiritual blessings which were sufficient to strengthen him to handle all his unfavourable circumstances. The God of David is alive today and He will sustain all His children who go through deserts in their lives under His wings of protection, provision and peace.

Dear friend, are you going through the heat and the roasted sandy storms of a desert in your life? Are you fearfully running for life when you are chased by the enemy of your soul by using people who are close to you? If you are loosing confidence in life, you are reminded by the Lord today that even in the desert, you have the wings of the Lord above you. His wings are your shelter of love, peace and power. His wings give you a cover from the enemies and enhance your confidence, peace and rest. All your weariness in life will be taken away by the coolness of the shadow of the wings of the Lord. Under His wings, you will find solace for your heart near to the heart of God. He will keep your heart from fear and anxiety. He will fill you with His love and peace and will carry your cares and burdens. He will keep you under His wings until He changes your situation. One of these days, He will subdue all your enemies under His feet as in the case of David. You will enjoy His deliverance as in the case of Daniel, Gideon and Joshua. His wings of protection will be upon you as it was for Jeremiah, Peter, Paul and other disciples. You are guaranteed a comforting sojourn through the wilderness because you will be always under the wings of the Almighty. You can cast all your cares upon Him and relax. Today you are reassured by the Lord to make you dwell under His wings with spiritual nourishment, emotional fulfillment and physical protection. It is a life of faith and fellowship with the Lord your God even when the whole world challenges your faith and the power of God over you.

 Psalms 91:4 – He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Thought for Today

The desert experience is worth the trouble when considering it as an opportunity to enjoy the cool shadow under the wings of the Lord.

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SONGS IN SOLITUDE!!

Songs in solitude!

 

Verse for Today: Sunday, May 13, 2012

Psalms 62:5 – My soul, wait in silence for God only; for my hope is from Him.

God’s children are constrained to suffer in silence for the sake of the testimony they bear. In times of fierce attacks from the enemy, we often find ourselves in tight situations when there is no one else to sympathize with us or listen to us. There are times when whatever we do for the Lord will be misinterpreted and misunderstood. Our burdens and concerns for the Lord are often seen differently. The enemy will use people to undervalue all that we stand for and struggle in. The enemy knows that the best way to stop us from doing what we do for the Lord is to use people to attack us and our motives. The Israeli people saw the capabilities of David in facing and killing Goliath. Instead of using his skills, grace and commitment to God for destroying the many more Anakites who lived in the land, efforts were used to annihilate David. He should have been the commander-in-chief of the army of Israel, but he had to run away and live in caves and in enemy territory with fear in his heart. There was no one to comfort and strengthen him. David realized that he was engaged in spiritual warfare, and he kept committing himself to the Lord. He realized that the best course of action was to keep silent and wait for the Lord to act. In his moments of fearful solitude, David communed with the Lord and talked with Him in prayerful songs. David knew that he could put all his hope in the Lord and wait for the Lord to act at the right time to deliver him. David found peace in the presence of the Lord. He knew that when he was under attack by the fierce enemy, it was best to keep on suffering in silence.

Dear reader, are you being tossed around by the enemy of your soul and being pushed into situations which are difficult to handle? Is the enemy buffeting you with accusations and misinterpretations of all your behavior? But the Lord wants you to know that all His children who served Him faced similar situations. Joseph, Moses, David, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and Paul had to go through sever attacks from the enemy who wanted to dilute their ministries. The enemy tried to stop them through multifarious strategies. But all of them kept silent and waited for the Lord to smooth their pathways of service to the Lord. The enemy wanted to frustrate them out of the service they were rending unto the Lord. His strategy was to upset the purpose of God through His servants by leveling arguments against them and undervalue their mission. All of them learnt that it was best to remain quiet, commune with the Lord and put all their hope in the Lord and His power.  Today David shares his experience with us that when we remain quiet and put all our hope in the Lord, He will still use us to accomplish His purpose in this world. When our circumstances silence us, we would still be able to speak to the Lord in prayer. No one will be able to take away our freedom to convert our solitude to singing sessions. Even our groaning will be registered as our heart cry before our Lord who will act at the right time to turn the darkness around us to bright light.

Psalms 62:1 – My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.

Thought for Today

When the circumstances tame our tongues to be silent, we can still speak and sing to the Lord in our solitude.

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SAILING THROUGH MIGHTY WIND!!

Sailing through mighty wind!

 

Verse for Today: Saturday, May 12, 2012

Matthew 8:26 – Jesus replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

It is an obvious fact that winds and wave blow against God’s people. They come at totally unexpected times. No one expects that a mighty wind of opposition, conflict, failure or loss to blow against us when Jesus is with us. The target of the wind is the reputation of Jesus and the peace of His children. The enemy of our souls wants to create evidence to frustrate us and weaken our faith by proving that it is no use being with Jesus. The enemy tries to weaken our faith by showing us that our life with Jesus is no guaranteeing that there will be no wind or wave. He uses circumstances and situations to create doubts and confusion in our minds. Our enemy wants us to be grumbling people rather than a people of praise and joy. We are made to wonder why we have troubles when Jesus is with us. We tend to become afraid of our situations and expect the worst scenario to emerge in our lives. Doubt begets unbelief and it will lead to fear and hopelessness. At such times, we must learn to look at Jesus who is with us rather than focus on the waves and the wind which blow against us. We must also realize that the waves on the outside cause waves of fear, anxiety, doubt, confusion and despair on the inside. These unexpected challenges tempt us at times to complain to Jesus that we are perishing. We must realize that nothing will happen to us without the knowledge of the Lord. He is with us to prevent us from perishing. He is our co-passenger on our boats of life to take us to the other side of the lake of life. His presence guarantees our safe passage through the winds and the waves.

Dear reader, are you going through a great testing time in your life when mighty winds, strong waves and powerful mass of water blow fiercely against you? Is the very sight of the roaring of the sea of life sufficient to make you fearful and loose confidence? Are you being shaken in your faith and are you groaning with a trembling heart? Today Jesus wants to ask you as to how you can be afraid when you know that Jesus is with you in your boat? Your situation shows you that you are unable to handle it yourself. Your strength, capacity, expertise or knowledge is often insufficient to weather way the winds which blow against you. So your faith ought to wake up to the reality that it is best to tell the Lord Jesus about it and leave it at His feet. Our faith demands that we leave all our fears with Jesus and ask Him to handle it. Our trust in the Lord must take us with all our problems to the feet of Jesus and leave it there for Him to straighten it out. Our plea for help is the open confession of our inability to handle our situations. It is also our declaration of His mighty power to save us from our predicaments. As we go through the storms, we might loose hope and wonder why it has come our way. But our Lord wants us to learn that it is part of His plan to teach us faith and trust in Him. He knows what He will do and knows when to do it to save us. But He starts to work when we reach our wits end. When we are helpless, He becomes our help and His words become mightier than any storms which blow against us. He also wants to demonstrate to us that the storms and the wind that He created will obey His command. Our Lord will not allow the winds which are His servants to hurt and destroy His beloved children. So let us wait for Him to interfere in our troublesome, miserable, fearful, painful and apprehensive situations and bring peace, stability and joy.

Psalms 107:29 – He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

Thought for Today

Storms and waves come and go, but God’s children are sustained through it by Him.

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