CALL OF FAITH!!

Call of faith!

Verse for Today: Friday, March 15, 2013

Matthew 9:27 – As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

The intense and pressing need for sight moved the two blind men so much as to go after Jesus, crying out for help. They were unwilling to quit or stop crying out because they knew that this was their opportunity and hour of deliverance. They were relentless in their heart-cry for sight. Their passion for sight was so deep as to compel them to keep on calling out as they were convinced that only Jesus would be able to meet their need. Their appeal was addressed to His divinity and humanity. They confessed Him as the eternal Son of God who created them and confessed Him as God who came in flesh as the great grandson of David who knew the pain and misery of human life. They also had unity of purpose as they cried out together in one voice. They were so much committed in their cries as they walked after Jesus by keenly listening to and following the noise of the large crowd which went after Him. It seems as if Jesus came that way just for them. By relentlessly following Jesus until their need was met, they publicly acknowledged the fact that Jesus could certainly remove their blindness. The same Jesus is passing our way today to give us what we need to solve our problems. He will not impose His blessings upon us without our expression of needs and priorities. But He expects us to tell Him what our needs are. We call out to Him because there is no other person to cry unto and no other place to go to. We also know that if we go to Him, He will never cast us out and send us empty handed. Today we are challenged to quit expecting something from the world around us and go only after our God who is willing and able to handle our situations and meet our needs.

Dear reader, are you confronted with the reality of deep and great needs in your life which only Jesus can meet? How desperate are you with your needs? Have you reached a stage where all your efforts at fulfilling your needs have become futile? But there is no need for you to be frustrated because Jesus is available for you today to call out for help. He hears you as you cry out and waits until you express your total helplessness to Him. When you tell Him how desperate you are and how you confess Him as the one and only help in times of your depravity, failure, loss, defeat and despair, He will come your way to meet your needs in the most amazing manner. He is your Shepherd who knows all your needs and has all the resources to meet those needs. Time is not a constraint for Him as He can work in split seconds to meet your needs just as He turned water into wine or fed a crowd of thousands in the desert with meager means. His infinite power prevails over all your needs and brings about a great and astonishing change. His help comes when you are totally helpless. Let your relentless cry with importunity be the mark of your faith and trust. He is a compassionate Lord whose heart melts for you when you are desperate. He never despises you when you keep asking Him, but listens to you with compassion each time you cry out. Today the Lord Jesus is listening to your passionate cry and is ready with all His blessings to be given to you. Keep asking and crying unto Him until He gives you all that you need to serve Him and live for Him.

John 14:18 – I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.   

Thought for Today

Our relentless faith to cry unto God until He answers us is the test of our trust in His power to meet our innermost needs.

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TRANSFORMING POWER!!

Transforming power!

Verse for Today: Thursday, March 14, 2013

Matthew 8:14 – When Jesus came to Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

When Jesus visits us, we are in for great demonstration of His power on our areas of need. Jesus comes our way when we need Him most. He comes to meet our dire needs in our helpless situations. He comes to touch us and to heal us. He is out there looking into our weaknesses, shortages and battlefields. He knows our sick situations and comes as our Great Physician to sustain us and to make us whole again. When He comes to us, He touches us with His own hands and He lifts us up from our predicaments and sets us on our feet again. We do not need to continue to be weak, tired and sick because Jesus the healer is visiting us. He wants us to serve Him and His cause for which He will strengthen us. All the blessings which Jesus showers upon us are for Him to get us for His purposes in this world. But our service to Him is not an obligation, but a loving and grateful response to what He has done for us.  Jesus went to the banquet hall at Cana to meet a need. He went to Bethany to meet a need in the family of Lazarus. Today Jesus comes to us to meet our innermost needs which He knows in its depth and width. He has the right answer to our questions, doubts and confusions. He comes to us when we have a deep desire for Him to visit us. His visit to the banquet hall and the family of Bethany were because they desired that He visited them. When He comes to us, we can leave all our problems and needs to Him no matter how complex it might be because there is nothing that Jesus cannot handle. He has the power to transform our situations and remove all the clouds from our circumstances. Today Jesus is knocking at the doors of our problems waiting for us to open to Him so that He can come in and turn our homes around with His blessings.

Dear friend, are you facing difficult situations in your home and desire that Jesus comes in for a transformation visit? Do you have physical, emotional and economic ills which desperately need the touch of the divine hands? Have you come to the end of the rope attempting to resolve your concerns with your resources, intelligence and expertise? Will you reach a stage to say like Mary of Bethany that had Jesus been there, you would have become victorious in your painful situation? But you need to know that Jesus knows all about your situation and He is tarrying for a while to see to it that your faith in Him and His power is built up and made stronger. If you believe in His power, you will certainly see the glory of God. Just as Jesus visited the home of Peter, He wants to visit your home today. He comes with the full knowledge of your situation and the urgency of your needs. He comes in power and majesty to overrule the problematic situations that you are encountering. He comes with the perfect solution to your difficulty. He comes to touch you with His loving hands to transform your situation. He is perfectly capable and compassionately willing to touch you with His hands and give you the deliverance that you so desperately desire. Today Jesus of Nazareth is coming your way to transform your life and situation and give you a new beginning. Forget the past pain and misery of your life and look forward to the prospective jubilation that will emerge from the touch of Jesus in your situation.  

John 20:26 – Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Thought for Today

If we open the doors of our hearts and homes, the transforming power of Jesus will come in to impact us.

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MILESTONES WITH JESUS!!

Milestones with Jesus!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Matthew 8:18 – When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.

Every milestone that Jesus planned in the lives of His disciples was a learning experience. There are times when we are made to pass through tests of faith to reach His milestones in our lives. If we know that there is impending danger awaiting us on our pathway, we would try to avoid it. So He would not let us know what lies ahead of us, but His presence goes with us to guarantee safety and security. If we ever take a detour to avoid His ways, we would miss a great spiritual blessing. Jesus wants us to learn that every move He orders in our lives is a time to express His power and strength in our lives. When Jesus ordered His disciples to row over to the other side of the lake, He knew what would confront them on the way. He could have prevented the danger from emerging, but He purposed it as an opportunity for His disciples to learn to trust Him in the midst of trials, tribulations, perils and pressures. When Jesus asked that they move to the other side of the lake, He knew that they would certainly cross over. But He wanted His disciples to learn that their journey solely depended on His power and strength and not because of their ability. They were to also learn that when storms and waves beat against their lives, they would need His power and strength to go forward and how He would quiet down the opposing forces. They further learned that they could depend on Him to help them come out of any storms and waves in life. This power is available to us today to sail through the seemingly insurmountable difficulties that we encounter. With Jesus in our boat, we will certainly cross over to the other side.

Dear friend, are you facing some severe storms and violent waves today? Have these storms been unexpected and unprecedented? Are these beating brutally against you and making you bewildered and lose all hope and peace? But there is no need to be alarmed because Jesus is on your boat. His very presence makes your boat invincible by any forces on earth. The power of wind and waves are subject to the sovereignty of God. The enemy of your soul sends storms your way to take away your confidence and weaken your faith. But our Lord will make it a learning experience for you to know Him and His power in your life. He wants you to learn to trust Him in the most unfavorable circumstances and that He is all sufficient all the time irrespective of the severity of the situation. Your difficult situation is His platform to demonstrate His power and to glorify Him. Rest assured that you are sailing victoriously through the severe calamities of life in His power and because of His mercy. He has great plans for your life on the other side of this volatile lake. Perhaps you are faced with the wind of frustration because of delays in life. You might be facing oppression from those around you. Others might be leveling false accusations against you. It is possible that you are the object of hatred and ridicule. You might be facing calamities like ill-health, business failure, conflicts in the family, sudden job loss or unkind criticism from those who are dear to you. But the power of Jesus is available for you to face all of these difficulties and come out victorious. Don’t look at the storms and get frightened, but look at Jesus and sail through. He will rebuke the waves and the storms in your life to bring in peace and rest and take you to the other side of the lake of life.

Psalms 107:30 – They were glad when the sea grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.

Thought for Today

When Jesus is in our lives, no force in this universe can stop us from reaching the milestones determined for us by Him.

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OVERCOMING TURBULENCE!!

Overcoming turbulence!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Matthew 7:25 – The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

The foundation of our lives reveals how we overcome the various turbulence in life. Only those lives which are founded on the Rock of Ages will stand the test of turmoil. The lives which are built on faith and trust in God will stand in the midst of adversities. If we have ardent and unshakable faith in the promises of God, we will come out victorious through the most troublesome circumstances. The rain of blessings will sometimes raise the streams of life which become a threat to our existence. But if we trust in the drops of blessings from above, we will learn to keep looking up with faith to survive the tempests. If we swim along the currents of the stream and depend on its water to make us float around, it is likely that we will be tossed around. But if our lives are built on the strong foundation of the promises of God, we will not be battered with the blowing of the wind of doubt, confusion, unbelief and uncertainty. If our foundation rests on unstable and lose human opinions and feelings, we will not stand the test of winds of frustration, financial crunch and failing health. Sometimes the wind of opposition, unfair criticism, misunderstanding, false propaganda and blackmailing will hit us hard. But if we trust in the power of God to withstand these pressures, we will keep going forward. Today let us face our difficult circumstances in the strength of our foundation of God’s promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Dear friend, is your life strongly founded in the power of God’s promises? When you face a new wind, storm, flood and the billows of life, is a comforting Word popping up in your heart to strengthen you? If you are not well built on the Word of God, your adverse circumstances will lead you to frustration and depression through doubt and confusion. If God is your foundation in life, you will be capable of withstanding the pressures against you. So when adversity bangs on us, let us keep trusting in God and His promises and renew our confidence in Him. The enemy of our soul will try to uproot us through adversity. When adversity lasts long and makes our situations cloudy and dark, our faith will lead us to the Rock of Ages. He will make us fearless and confident. The sound of the wind blowing against our windows of eyes and ears might make us wonder what is going on around us. But God’s promises will illuminate our inner eyes to see the glory of God in the midst of turmoil and turbulence. Paul had such a vision of the Lord during the shipwreck on his way to Rome. Peter had such confidence in His Lord that kept him from wavering only a few hours before his scheduled execution. Daniel had such courage and strength in His God when he was in danger of imminent devouring by hungry lions.  Today let us renew our trust in the Rock of Ages who is the foundation of our faith. Let us refresh our hearts with the power of the promises of God as we face newer and newer storms in life. Let us keep going in the strength of our foundation and keep believing in His power to help us withstand the flood and the storms that try to devour us. With Jesus as our anchor, we shall overcome all adversities because of our sure foundation of God’s promises.

 Psalms 46: 2&3 – Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Thought for Today

The life that is built on the Rock of Ages can withstand the pressures of any turbulent situation.

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DELAYS, DENIALS AND DELIVERY!!

Delays, denials and delivery!

Verse for Today: Monday, March 11, 2013

Matthew 7:6 – Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

We must ask those who have the capacity and willingness to give us to meet our needs. We must seek after the source that is a never ending stream of goodness. We must knock at the only right door which will open to give us with love and compassion. Our asking should be continuous and not casual. Our seeking should be till we find what we are looking for. A casual knock at the door is insufficient to prove our faith. Keep knocking till the Person inside will be convinced that our knock is out of real need and desperation. Our asking, seeking and knocking must come out of faith in the giver to give to us according to our needs. The only source which fits in with all these descriptions is God who is always willing to give us and opens His warehouse for us. We will certainly find Him when we seek after Him. When we ask amiss, it will not be given to us because the Giver knows that it is not good for us. Sometimes there is a gap between asking and receiving because it builds up our faith and prepares us to receive what has been prepared for us. Some doors will not be open because God in His infinite wisdom knows that it is not good for us. But He will open another door at the right time. These prospects demand that we grow in patience and become mature as we ask, seek and knock at the door of God. We are not to usurp into take for ourselves what we like or what is best in our eyes which might end up in destruction. Some gifts that God gives us are like bitter pills which are good for healing our infirmities. Some are for us at a later date because we are too early for it at present. Our persistent asking, seeking and knocking will express genuineness and seriousness in our requests and desires. Ultimately God gives us His best at His best time in His best measure out of His benevolence for our blessing, growth and development.

Dear friend, are you a persistent seeker after God’s perfect gifts for you? Do you ask consistently and with importunity and do not give up until you get a response from God? Have you ever grown weary in your knocking at God’s door and given up too soon? But if you know how benevolent our God is, you will have no hesitation to continue to ask Him to fill you to the brink and wait in great expectation for Him. Your asking, seeking and knocking are not for a few things or opportunities for you to enjoy, but for you to see your God revealed in greater glory in all the answers to your prayers. He reveals His glory as He answers you in the affirmative, negative or delay. When we are confronted with negative answers or instructions to wait, we see the God of grace who pours our His compassion for us to accept His answer gratefully. God’s denials demand as much praise from us as for his delays and quick delivery. This is because He knows what is best for us and helps us to ask for it. He forgives our immature and impulsive prayers by not granting it to us even when it looks genuine at the outset. That’s why Paul received a negative answer for a prayer for healing and Elijah was denied his demand for death, both of which ended up in praise for His name. Today we are admonished and challenged to keep on asking, seeking and knocking until we get God’s most compassionate, considerate and loving response for His glory and our contentment.

Romans 8:25 – But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Thought for Today

Prayer leads us to wait patiently for God’s answers while we praise Him for His delays and denials.

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VICTORY OVER WORRY!!

Victory over worry!

Verse for Today: Sunday, March 10, 2013

Matthew 6:27 – “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Worry is a negative emotion which causes damage to us by tearing us apart. It crushes us emotionally with dire physical consequences. It damages our minds, takes away our confidence in life, increases our tensions and drains our energy. It pushes us to indecision and increases our stress. It has the capacity to impact our glandular system, digestion, joints, muscles, heart and affects our entire body to make us sick. Jesus warned His disciples not to worry about anything. He asserted that worry was useless and counterproductive. It grieves the Spirit who dwells in us because worry is the expression of our unbelief in God’s promises. When we leave our entire future with God and trust in His promises for eternity, there is no scope for us to take back a few of those moments and indulge in worrying about it. Worry makes us wonder if our Heavenly Father who promises to look after all our affairs is in charge of our future. Worry takes away our confidence and trust in our Father who feeds the sparrows and adorns wild flowers with beauty and elegance. Worry seems to say that even when we enjoy God’s salvation, we can’t trust Him for the next few moments or days in our lives. It is true that the wind of situations try to blow against us and the storm of circumstances try to uproot us. But we are built on the Rock of Ages and that no force will destroy us. So when worry comes to knock at our lives, we must be able to ask it to get lost in the name of the victorious Jesus in whom our future is secure.

Dear friend, is worry your constant companion in life? Is worry attacking your faith, trust and confidence in life and sinking you deep into the miry clay of tension and negative thought pattern from which you find it difficult to get out? But Jesus will get you out of your tendency to worry if you seek His help. If you believe on His promises with all your heart, mind and strength, He will take you forward through the avenue of faith to higher ground. He will give you the capacity to keep trusting in His promises. Just remind yourself with the promises of God and confess that you believe in it wholeheartedly. Keep confessing your unbelief and lack of ability to trust in His promises. Trust in His strength and power to release you from worrying about your future. Keep believing in His mighty power to overrule all your cloudy situations. When you focus on God’s promises and pray for strength to believe it, the Spirit of God who wrote those words will reveal the glory of Jesus through those words and illuminate its power to your heart. You will then be granted the capacity to believe that it shall be done in Christ. You don’t need to know how it will happen, but its mechanics will be worked out by God. It was for Elijah to believe that God will sustain him and simply wait for God’s means to appear in the form of a raven or a widow. It was for Abraham to believe that God was going to give him a son and wait until that son would appear in God’s time. Today the God of Joseph, Gideon, Peter and Paul is working for you behind the scene to fulfill His promises. He has brought you so far and met all your needs. He will surely meet all your needs on all the days of your life according to His riches in glory. Today He is asking you to trust Him for all your tomorrows and believe in all His promises no matter how complicated and cluttered your situation might be.

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

Thought for Today

The clouds of worry will disappear when the brightness of God’s promises shine in our minds.

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RIGHT CRAVING!!

Right craving!

Verse for Today: Saturday, March 09, 2013

Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Satisfaction is one of the criteria for happiness in human life. But satisfaction depends on the type and depth of our cravings. When our cravings for the things of the world increase, different means are sought after for its fulfillment. But such satisfaction is momentary and short-lived. The dissatisfied human life is filled with continuous attempts to find fulfillment for the unending cravings. The world offers bubbles of satisfaction through tempting goals and seemingly attractive means. These goals generate cravings for possessions, positions, prestige, prominence and popularity. But we find that the more we have any of these, the greater is our desire for more of it. But God comes to man to offer him total satisfaction if his cravings are for the eternal things. If man is hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God to be fulfilled in his life and the lives of others around, God will fill such lives to satisfaction. If we drink the lukewarm waters from the broken cisterns of this world, we will be thirsty for more of it. We will become slaves to these temporal earthly mirages and will go to any extent without ever finding an end to it. But if our desire is for God’s priorities in our lives, God will fulfill it through His Spirit and Word. God desires that we draw closer to Him and live by faith in Him and His promises. He desires that what is right in His sight becomes right in our eyes also. Thus we will be willing to lose any temporal gains the world offers. If we have such a hunger for godly living, God will strengthen us to live a godly life in our generation as in the case of Noah, Job, Joseph and Daniel who lived among people who craved for the temporal.

Dear friend, do you have a hunger and thirst for divine things in life? Are you craving for temporal gains of this world which neither lasts nor satisfies? There are many who went the world’s ways and found themselves in its trap. People like Lot, Gehazi, Achan, Solomon and Demas went the ways of the world and surrendered to its bondage. But they all found that the cravings of the world would only yield pseudo satisfaction. The consequences of running after the pleasures and possessions of this world are very high and it leaves us empty with the scars of sin in our lives. But those who spend time in the presence of God and become saturated with His Word will find their hearts filled with God’s priorities for our lives. The more we crave for God’s righteousness in our lives and in the lives of those who are around us, the greater will be the opportunity God gives us to drink more from His stream of living water to full satisfaction. We will then have a deep craving for our spiritual welfare and that of others around us. God wants us to surrender ourselves as fit instruments in His hands for Him to use us to touch the spiritually hungry people who are under the grip of anxiety, lust, conflicts, anger, stress, loneliness, isolation, rejection, depression and resentment. If we are adequately surrendered to His will, He will fill us with His Spirit to enable us to apply the Balm of Gilead which will take away all the sickness of the soul in the lives of people around us. Let us today desire to become God’s instrument for righteousness in others’ lives rather than pawns in the hands of the world for more and more filthy lucre which will never satisfy us. Remember, when God fills us to satisfaction in the eternal, He will surely meet our temporal needs according to His riches in glory.

Isaiah 32:17 – The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence for ever.

Thought for Today

Right spiritual diet will generate deeper cravings to touch other lives for God.

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