FROM PIT TO PALACE!!

From pit to palace!

Verse for Today: Thursday, October 18, 2012

Genesis 37:28 – So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

When the world is against God’ children, there is no limit to which they show their hatred to them. They have no hesitation to sink us in a cistern or sell us to gain some filthy lucre for their benefit. They just want to get rid of us so that our righteous living will no longer be an irritation to them. They do such cruelty to us by disregarding all the benefits that accrued to them through us. Joseph’s brothers conveniently forgot that their young teen age brother took all the efforts to travel all alone in search of them, risking his own life. They were unwilling to accept the fact that he was after their welfare and righteous living. Their ears were blocked with a callous conscience not to hear the cries and the pleadings of their brother for mercy. They seemed to want to teach their father also a lesson even when he was sent by the father with love, care and concern. They wanted to shut off any possibility for Joseph’s dreams to come true. Little did they realize that the Lord planned for Joseph to be their savior, but wanted to get rid of him from their sphere of activity! They thought their future would be bright only if Joseph is removed from the scene. But God was not willing to dismantle His plan for Joseph because of their callousness and wickedness. God gave Joseph the grace to go through the process of being in the pathway to His perfect will and so God transformed these events to a positive ending. This God is with us today to transform all the evil manipulations of the world against us into His pathway of grace.

Dear reader, are you exasperated because the world treats us cruelly? Do you feel grieved when they reject you and try to discredit you? When they use you as a commodity traded in the market, are you feeling dejected? Joseph’s experience tells you today to look unto the Lord who will not forsake you. Even when the world means your destruction, your Lord will not let you down. He will transform the wickedness of the world into experiences to mold you to be of use to Him in His divine plan. When you are taken to unfamiliar terrains and through strange experiences, your Lord will be with you. He will give you the strength to resist evil in your life and keep doing good to others. The fear of the Lord will govern your heart to continue to live a righteous life. He will keep you from compromise in holy living. He will help you to focus on the vision He has given you for the future. He will help you to see the bright sun in the midst of dark clouds of opposition, temptation, hatred, ingratitude and vengeance. Dependence on His promises will keep you going forward to accomplish His great purpose in your life. He will make the hating brothers pay you several folds for their livelihood in the days to come, but you will have the grace to give it back to them. God will bring those who hated you to repent and live in His fear. It is likely that Potiphar and his wife would have lived in fear of Joseph after he became the prime minister of Egypt. So did the brothers of Joseph as they fell prostrate before him. Yes, dear reader, your time will come in the will of God when the truth about your innocence and sincerity will be known to others. So let us today travel to unknown territories in life, trusting God to look after our future, with joy and praise in our hearts. Let us trust God to transform our hopeless situation to a new day of bright and glorious hope.

1 Timothy 4:18 – The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen!    

Thought for Today

When we are in the will of God, He will convert even the fiercest schemes of the enemy into ultimate victory for us.

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DWELLING IN GOD'S STOREHOUSE!!

Dwelling in God’s Storehouse!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Genesis 35:1 – Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Easu.”

Jacob once vowed to God at Bethel that he would want to come back to Bethel to settle in worship. Bethel was the house of God that Jacob recognized early in life. It was there that he received the vision of the ladder and the promises of God. It was a place of promise from God. It was the place where Jacob experienced the fear of God in His awesome presence. Bethel moved the heart of Jacob so much so that he vowed tithe to God and to build a temple for permanent worship. But Jacob didn’t spend much time in Bethel as he promised. It can be seen that many of his heartaches that he encountered after his return from Paddan Aram came his way when he was away from Bethel. Staying in Bethel would have given the children of Jacob the kind of spiritual atmosphere and upbringing that they required. Jacob moved from place to place, building houses and tents, but God kept telling him to go to back to Bethel. Apparently Jacob knew the personal difficulties in dwelling in Bethel because there were idols in his household. So Jacob became an occasional visitor to Bethel rather than a permanent resident. The frequent movements have also caused him to find other seemingly convenient places where he worshipped God, but these moves gave him more and more trouble in his family, including bereavement, incest, rape, murder and loot. Jacob’s travels became travails for him and his family. In spite of the failures in his life, Jacob found his God keeping His promises to Jacob. But Jacob sadly missed the tranquility and pace that Bethel promised.

Dear reader, are you dwelling continuously in the presence of God and leading a life of repentance, confession and worship? Do the greatness and fearfulness of the presence of God move you to live reverently? Are you able to leave aside all the material blessings that the world offers and to stay close to the heart of God? Are there unfulfilled vows from your part that are still pending in the presence of God? Jacob’s life of misery as he moved about without continuously dwelling in Bethel is a great challenge for us to get back to God in the inner chambers of our lives.  If we come back to the House of God at Bethel, we would find fulfillment of all the desires of our lives. Our return to the presence of God means that God gets us for Himself and we get God for ourselves. He will then become the intangible answer to all our longings in life. It is His presence that gives us all the desires of our lives. When we gaze at the beauty of our risen Lord in His glory, it would find fulfillment in our lives in the wake of all our inner needs. He becomes our everything and our all, and we become satiated with Him. If we digress from His presence, God might still keep His promises to us because of His faithfulness, but we will miss His best in our lives. He will also speak to us through the troubles that we get into because we no longer linger in Bethel for Him.  Today Jacob’s wanderings speak to us about the urgency to get back to Bethel in our spiritual standing and dwell there so that we would enjoy His best for our lives. Bethel will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory.  Let us today draw closer to the Lord at Bethel and enjoy His glory and leave all our cares to Him to handle.

Psalms 84:4 – Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You.

Thought for Today

When we continually dwell in the presence of the Lord, we dwell inside His storehouse of all the blessings He has kept for us.

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CRAVING FOR TRUE BLESSEDNESS!!

Craving for true blessedness!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Genesis 32:26b – But Jacob replied, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”

When we see the Lord face to face, we would realize how poor we are in spite of our material wealth. It is in His presence that our nothingness and utter inner poverty will be exposed. As we have a true encounter with the Lord, we would see our emptiness and our need for true blessings from the Lord. Our vision of our Lord will fill our hearts with His glory that we would have deep longing to be filled with Him rather than with the things of this world which will pass away. Jacob had such an encounter with the Lord one night at Jabbok when he was all alone, devoid of all that he had secured in life. There he saw his emptiness and worthlessness and wrestled in his soul with the Lord in faith. There Jacob reached a spiritual state where he was not willing to settle with anything less than true blessedness from the Lord which became the keen desire of his heart. Jacob realized that the Lord alone would impart true and lasting blessing which his heart craved for. He persisted in his encounter with the Lord with deep desire to be blessed and stayed put until he was truly blessed. The Lord responded by changing his name which portrayed what God expected him to be. There his physical strength was broken and made worthless. Jacob was devoid of his strong leg with which he escaped from his problems in the past. After receiving true blessing, with his last straw of physical strength withdrawn from him, Jacob was only able to walk by holding the hands of the Lord. There Jacob found that he had to walk by faith and no longer by sight. Jacob’s encounter with the Lord challenges us today to go to Him with a contrite heart full of genuine desire for true spiritual blessings from Him.

Dear reader, have you had a true encounter with the Lord when you were able to see your nothingness vis-à-vis the fullness of His glory? Have you gazed at His blessedness which is yours for asking and desiring? If you are genuine in your craving for true blessing from the Lord, you need to be with Him all alone with importunity, patience and persistence. You have to tarry with the Lord and confess your nothingness to Him and ask that you be filled with Him and nothing else of this world. But when you do that, you must be willing to receive whatever the Lord is pleased to give you and acknowledge it with gratitude. When the Lord thus blesses you truly, you will have the Lord and nothing else in this world. That is when you are able to claim Him as your Jehovah-Jireh who provides for all your spiritual, emotional and physical needs according to His riches in glory. When He is with you, fills you with Himself and promises to lead you, it would make you fully contended in all circumstances and situations. Such a life would fill your heart with praise and make you hold firmly on the Lord to walk forward. It was such a Jacob who became Israel and was even able to bless Pharaoh, the richest ruler of his time. Today you are challenged to desire and seek such a personal encounter with the Lord and be specially blessed in your relationship with Him. It will enable you to live a life of true faith and bless even those who falsely think that they are blessed in this world. Today it is your privilege to live by faith and be a blessing to all whose lives God helps you to touch.

1 Chronicles 4:10a – Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory!

Thought for Today

True blessedness comes from the Lord when we encounter Him with a contrite heart in persistent prayer of importunity.

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BOUNCING FROM CISTERN!!

Bouncing from cistern!

Verse for Today: Monday, October 15, 2012

Genesis 37:23 – So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him off his robe and they took him and threw him into a cistern.

We are confronted by a world which gives us evil in return for the good things we do for it. This chief agent of our enemy is busy plotting against us to destroy us. It wants to deprive us of our standing and will do everything possible to strip us off our testimony. Our enemy is jealous of the blessings that we receive from the Father. We are often an inconvenience to them because we react to their evil ways and refuse to join in their wicked ways. They forget that we love them and seek after their welfare. They refuse to acknowledge our good gestures and sacrifices for them. It is unimaginable that a 17-year old would go search for his nomadic brethren for days together risking his own life. Joseph definitely came to his brothers with love from their father. But they hated and rejected him and refused to recognize him as their brother. They wanted to eliminate him because his very presence was repulsive to them. This is the kind of response that we can expect from those who pretend to be our brothers or sisters. One can imagine the extent to which the hatred of his brothers would have hurt Joseph. They greeted him with contempt and mockery and with their brutal plan to eliminate him. He cried and begged them for kindness, but they despised him all the more. It is hard to reconcile with the fact that while their own younger brother was crying for life, the elder brothers had the tenacity to enjoy a meal. But the God of Joseph was with him even in the cistern to sustain and strengthen him. God had a plan for Joseph and He fulfilled it no matter who tried to sabotage it. The God of Joseph is with us today in our difficult circumstances when the world tries to forsake us in its dark and deep cisterns.

Dear reader, are you exasperated in life because of the hatred and contempt you face every day? Are you facing evasion, rejection and resentment from those who are around? Perhaps you are in a damp and cold pit of financial difficulties, joblessness, difficult boss, unfriendly colleagues, envying neighbours, failing health, emotional abuse or baseless accusations leveled against you by those whom you love. You probably feel that there is no way to escape out of your current predicaments. But rest assured that your Lord is with you in the pits where the world has shut you off. Your Lord has a plan to get you out of the pit to make use of you as a fit instrument. His deliverance will come at an unexpected moment. His ways are mysterious and miraculous. He will appear at the right time to take you out through the tunnel of life into splendid platforms to continue with your special ministries for Him. Remember, your Lord rules and overrules your circumstances to deliver you from the evil schemes of your enemies.  But it is for you to wait for His time to come so that you will see His deliverance in your life for the praise of His name. Today you need the grace to wait patiently for the Lord’s time to come to deliver you. Today is the day of trust and faith in the God of Joseph to take you forward even when the world writes you off. There were many occasions when the enemy wrote off God’s servants like Daniel, Jeremiah and Paul, but the Lord brought them into limelight again. He is faithful to fulfill His plan for your life also and will not forget you. The resurgence of Joseph is a challenge for us today to trust the God of Joseph to take us also forward in spite of the seemingly most intimidating and hopeless circumstances we are in.

Psalms 46:2 – Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.  

Thought for Today

The world might put us into broken cisterns, but it will not be able to sabotage the plan God has for us.

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Oh! I AM UNWORTHY!!

Oh! I am unworthy!!

Verse for Today: Sunday, October 14, 2012

Genesis 32:10a – I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant.

Those who see the worthiness of God will be able to see their own unworthiness and inadequacies. In the light of the glory of God, we become only shadows without any substance or shape. His greatness is so vast and at the same time, His kindness and faithfulness to His children far surpass all our expectations. He transforms all our disqualifications into opportunities and blessings because of His surpassing grace, kindness, compassion and faithfulness towards us. He doesn’t treat us according to our sins of omission and commission, but treat us as His beloved children. But we recognize His greatness and benevolence only when our eyes are open. If our eyes are dim because of our own ago, self righteousness, worldly merit, smartness and qualifications, we would not be able to see the favors that come from the Lord.  Some are blinded by sin, worldliness and materialism and are puffed up with pride and arrogance and subsequently unable to accept the reality that it is God’s mercy that we have reached thus far. In the life of Jacob, Bethel made a great difference. His vision changed because He saw the Lord and heard Him speak. He received promises from the Lord and kept going as per God’s guidance. Today when Jacob looks back, he can see that all that he had came from the Lord. He is a humble and broken man who acknowledges all that he has to the faithfulness and kindness of God. The more blessings Jacob received, the more he was conscious his own unworthiness. When Jacob goes to the presence of the Lord, he realizes that his very standing is on the kindness of God and he has no hesitation to acknowledge it. God expects all His children to live with such realization about Him and about themselves and give glory to Him for all that we enjoy in our lives.

Dear friend, are you able to see the vastness of the blessings God has given you in life? Your spiritual life, the opportunities He has given you to touch the lives of people and the livelihood that feeds you and your family are God’s blessings. The family of God of which you are a part is a blessing from the Lord. The spiritual children God has given you are His favor. Your own family is God’s special blessing to you. Your very life is His great gift to you with your health and intelligence. When you go to the presence of the Lord, you will be able to see all that you have as God’s benevolence to you. But as you see the greatness of God, you will be able to see how it has pleased Him to give you all that you have as gifts because He has been kind and faithful to you. David, Gideon and Paul felt the same way when they came to God’s presence. They acknowledged it all to the faithfulness and kindness of God to them. Such a realization takes away your pride and arrogance which are embodied in your sinful nature and makes you humble and contrite in your spirit. It causes you to genuinely confess your unworthiness and attribute all worthiness to God. As you draw close to the Lord by shedding your pride and keep acknowledging Him as the sole giver, you will be able to depend on Him for all your future needs. But it demands that you renew the vision you have about your Lord and His faithfulness, and keep renewing your dependence on Him. Your confession of your unworthiness and His faithfulness makes your life God-centered which causes each of His gifts to you to praise Him and live expectantly for greater blessings from Him.

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.    

Thought for Today

The acknowledgement about all that we are and have as gift from God comes from a humble, broken and contrite spirit.

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ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED!!

Accepted in the Beloved!

Verse for Today: Saturday, October 13, 2012

Genesis 31:5 – (Jacob) said to (Leah and Rachel), “I see that your father’s attitude towards me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.” 

God’s children are often resented and rejected by the world they live in. We are taken advantage of when we serve with them for a livelihood. Our contributions to their cause is rarely understood or accepted by the world. They know how to make use of us for their advantage and when they do not want us any more, they have the tenacity to show negative attitude towards us. Jacob was confronted with the reality of resentment and rejection after he served his father-in-law for twenty long years. Jacob saw that Laban’s face changed towards him and that the first love and affection were gone. Even though it saddened Jacob, he quickly regained courage in realizing that in the midst of deep resentment, God was with him and that His face was still shining on him. Jacob realized the extent of blatant resentment, rejection, hatred and contention he faced from someone he served and loved. Even at such times of pain of rejection, Jacob learned that His God would not let him down. God would be with Jacob and would shower His blessings upon him during such valley experiences and would keep blessing him.  When Jacob emerged from this sad experience, God sent His holy angels to meet Jacob with divine exuberance and warmth. The God of Jacob speaks to us today that even if the whole world rejects us, He will be with us and will never leave us nor forsake us.

Dear reader, are you facing rejection, resentment and hatred from the people who are close to you? Are they showing it through their actions and expressions of various kinds? When they turn away, your God would turn to you and shine upon you. When they show hatred, God will show more love and compassion to you. Perhaps you are confronted with an unfriendly boos or colleague who resents you. Your neighbor, friend or even a family member might show unfriendly face to you. It might even come from the household of faith. You might find resentment in your ministry which would be hard to bear. It could be due to selfish motives, jealousy, competition, misinterpretation and misrepresentation. It might be due to wrong perceptions. It is likely that the enemy of your soul is using others to hurt your feelings and frustrate you in life. In the midst of such situations, your God comes to you today to encourage you. He is with you to give you fellowship and show you how dear you are to Him. Even if the whole world forsakes you, He will not. He will not despise you, but will strengthen you with His Spirit to face the unfriendly situation and animosity that you are faced with. If there is negative attitude from your associates, go to the cross of Jesus to see the grace that flows from the friendless moments that He endured for you. He was friendless, but still had the joy of the Lord which filled His heart. He was betrayed by a person who was with Him for over three years. His beloved disciple ejected Him publicly three times and all His disciples ran away from Him in times of greatest distress. When Jesus was bound and accused falsely, none who loved Him stood with Him, but they all ran for life. Jesus who knew what it was to experience resentment and rejection is with you today to reassure you that He will be with you always even when everyone resents, rejects and forsakes you. This ought to fill your heart with praise today and make your life  a fountain of joy and love.

2 Timothy 4:16 & 17 – At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me …………………………….. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength………………

Thought for Today

The rejected Christ is our best Friend in times of rejection and resentment in life.

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THE WELL OF LEADING!!

The Well of Leading!

Verse for Today: Friday, October 12, 2012

Genesis 29:2 – There (Jacob) saw a well in the field with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well.

It is amazing how God leads His children to His plan for them. We read in the Scriptures that the well has been a link for God’s children to find their way forward. Eliezer got the link with Rebekah at a well. Later Moses found his link with Zipporah at a well. Jesus gave the water of life to a Samaritan woman at a well. These three women found their way to the family of God at a well. They were hard-working women who went to a well to fetch water. But they all found the water of life. The well was a place where God revealed His will for these three women. Jacob would have been probably influenced by the story of how his mother Rebekah was connected with Eliezer at a well. But it is sure that God Almighty led Jacob to the well where he would be connected to the family of Laban to be united with Leah and Rachel to be the builders of the House of Israel. So it was no mere accident that Jacob went to the well at Haran and met Rachel. Looking back at all the events of Isaac’s family during the past, one could see how God used particular events to take Jacob out of Canaan to connect him with the mothers of the House of Israel through whom Jesus would come to this world. Jesus came with the water of life to quench the spiritual thirst of all His lost sheep at the well of living water which was opened at Calvary. Today God leads all of us to the point of salvation through mysterious ways so that we would all become part of the church of Jesus Christ through His death on the cross and thus become part of the bride of Jesus Christ. So it was no accident that Jacob went to a well to start the series of events which would open the way for Jesus to come to this earth to save us. Let us therefore acknowledge the hand of God in all the ways He leads us day after day to accomplish His purposes for us in this world.  

Dear reader, are you at the cross-roads of your life today? Are you wondering where God is leading you today and what purpose it would meet when you reach certain intersections in life? But if you had a vision of our Lord at the Bethel of your life, and if you are proceeding as per His instructions and promises, you would be led further to be at wells of blessings in life. When you reach each milestone, be patient and do not panic because your Lord has gone before you. He will lead you a step at a time. He will use you to touch the lives of people. He will give you enough linkages to keep going forward in His purpose. The scroll of your life will unfold a bit at a time, but you do not need to be anxious because the scroll is in the hands of your Lord. If you are committed to His will, whether revealed yet or not, He will lead you by His hand each step of the way. You will have to trust Him to lead you through His green pastures. He is in charge of your life if you have given it to Him. Then it is His prerogative to meet all your needs, keep you safe and secure and take you to another milestone in your life. Remember, our Lord has a definite purpose in taking you to the present ‘well’ in your life. He will not let you stay there, but will lead you to other milestones a step at a time and to thus accomplish His purpose. As you keep going, you will certainly realize that your Lord is working in you to make you a blessing to the poor and the rich through spiritual blessings. Today you are challenged to recognize God’s hand in your present situation. It might look uncertain to you, but your Lord knows why you are there and when He will move you to the next milestone for His name’ sake.

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

Thought for Today

Every milestone is a stepping stone to another when we walk with God.

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