RECHARGING SPIRITUAL BATTERY!!

Recharging spiritual battery!

Verse for Today: Thursday, February 28, 2013

Genesis 32:30 – So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Divine reassurances to man come in the form of prophetic word from God’s servants, written Word, Spirit-to-spirit talk, revelation of God’s glory, visions, dreams and also face-to-face encounter. His personal encounters with His servants are to assure, reassure, strengthen, encourage and forewarn His children in their walk with Him. God comes back often to speak to people over and over again to encourage and equip them to keep going when the going gets tough. God had several such encounters with Jacob before Peniel. But he reached a stage when there was dire need for a face-to-face encounter with God. It was to renew divine promises and reassure its fulfillment. Abraham, Jacob and Moses were specially privileged to see God face to face through special revelation. The revelation of the glory of God led them to keep going during great challenges in their lives. When there was absolutely nothing in their hands as tangible evidence, it was possible for discouragement and disillusionment to set in, followed with doubt, confusion and even unbelief. But during their moments of desperation, God of glory revisited them. When their circumstances were totally against them and when it was impossible to have faith, the revealed glory of God led them forward to accomplish His purpose in their lives. When they were tempted to quit or to digress into detours, the glory of the Lord pulled them back to the right track to keep going. Jacob was revisited by the Lord of glory to fortify him because Jacob had miles to go in his life of faith. The face-to-face encounter of Jacob is a challenge for us to see the glory of the risen, glorified and enthroned Lord through His Word and take courage and strength from His never-changing promises to keep going.

Dear reader, are you at the threshold of a new chapter in your life of faith? Is your faith under attack from the world which demands tangible evidence for your trust in the invisible God and His unfathomable power? Perhaps the long waiting time and the seeming inordinate delays in life make you also puzzled about the promises of God. You might be entering the Peniel of your life in the midst of uncertainties and depravity. But you will not come out of Peniel the way you entered. The God of glory is waiting there to give you a face-to-face encounter to renew His promises which He had made to you at Bethel, Paddan Aram and during your return journey. You probably had quality preparation at your Paddan Aram for the new chapters in your life which are about to be revealed. God has great things in store for you in your unfolding tomorrows. In your Paddan Arams of the yesteryears, you had touched many lives and God used it to demonstrate how He was your anchor and how He made you a blessing. God showed the world how He blesses His chosen vessels because everything Jacob touched turned to be a blessing. But God lifted Jacob up as His prince and elevated him to be able to even bless Pharaoh. Soon you will reach a stage to become a greater blessing to others because God has such great plans in store for you. The uncertainties that the world sees in your life are merely the intermissions God has planned for greater accomplishments for His glory. So dear friend, take courage and continue to meet with your Lord on a daily basis to gaze and marvel at His glory as revealed in His Word. He comes to you today to renew His promises and revitalize your life of faith as you dwell in your Peniel and get yourself enthralled by His glorious power.

Genesis 35:9 – After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

Thought for Today

Our daily encounters with God recharge our spiritual battery to empower, enrich and enable us to live by faith.

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ANGELIC REINFORCEMENT!!

Angelic reinforcement!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Genesis 32:1 – Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

When we follow God’s commandments and leave behind earthly prospects, He meets us on our way to confirm that He will sustain us and take us forward. When we are homeless and depraved, He becomes our dwelling place, strengthen and comfort. We find angelic missions to us when we are down and out. It was at such a time that the angel met with Gideon to call, commission and comfort him. When Elijah was at the desert of discouragement, God sent His angel to strengthen him and revive his sagging emotions and body. Angels rescued Peter from the prison. Angels went to speak to Abraham to renew God’s promises to him to keep hoping and trusting. When we see Jacob at the crossroads of his life, angels went to reassure him of God’s promises and welcome him to Canaan. The angelic welcome was to reassure God’s presence for His homeless tent dweller in times of various emotional and physical needs. There were dangers all around and uncertainties surrounded him, with no kin or friend to support. But Jacob had the promises of God written on the walls of his heart. Jacob’s separation from Paddan Aram was rewarded by God with a heavenly welcome through divine emissaries. For a lonely, friendless and homeless Jacob, the welcome of the angels was most encouraging to keep going. He realized that when God was for him, no other force on earth could be against him. The angelic welcome reassured him of the power and strength of God for him to draw upon to live by faith. Jacob could easily recognize angels because he got used to seeing angels before at Bethel. When Jacob saw the angels, he forgot all about his uncertainties, and became excited about the presence, providence and protection of God for his unknown future. This reassurance kept Jacob going through the dark valleys of life and to emerge as a blessing to others. Jacob challenges us today to open our spiritual eyes to see the angelic protection force and the hand of God around us to keep going when the going gets tough.

Dear friend, there is no need for you to be exasperated because your future looks dim and cloudy. But it is bright when you look at life through the eyes of God. Even if you are directed to go through the dark valleys of life for a time, your Lord is with you to take you forward. His angels welcome you and take you through the steps of faith. Often when you obey the instructions and call of God, there might not be anything for you to hold on to. The world and the enemy of your soul will try to mock you about your foolish decisions to come out of plenty, prominence and prosperity to uncertainty and inadequacy. Your flesh might challenge your decision to follow the homeless and moneyless Jesus Christ and experience depravity and isolation. All help and support might elude you and single you out in the dark avenues of Canaan at dusk. Your nights might not be starry and without moonlight. Your days might be hot and without shadows. But you will live under the shadow of the Almighty and at the side of the cool waters and green pastures of your great Shepherd whose sheep lack nothing good. Open your eyes to see the angelic protection and divine provisions for you. The Spirit of God leads you to the golden promises that are in His Word for you to cling on to as you continue to sojourn in the land of God’s choice for you. Remember, you are moving forward at the call and commission of your Lord and so He will see to it that your needs are met as you continue to be a witness for Him.

Psalms 18:32 – It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  

Thought for Today

In the darkest valleys of life, God will brighten our vision to reassure us to keep going.

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STRUGGLER TO OVERCOMER!!

Struggler to overcomer!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Genesis 32:28 – “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

Walking in the Promised Land requires new qualifications and character. The calculated life style of the old nature has to give way to the new life of faith. The earthly life style that emanates from Jacob the deceiver has to give way to the overcoming and reigning life of Israel the prince with God. The life of faith seems slow, limping and a failure according to the world’s philosophies. The world writes off those who can’t cope with modern methodologies and approaches. But the life of faith is the life of the victorious overcomer. When the world looks at how fast we run, faith looks at how well we walk by holding the hands of the author and finisher of our faith. At Peniel Jacob is transformed into a reigning Israel. The success that Jacob had with his powerful legs is old story. But his new lifestyle of trust in the Lord created a legacy of faith. All the wealth that Jacob secured was due to his smartness. But the limping pilgrim of the tents challenges the world by faith. Today Israel is in the land of Hebron which tells stories about how God led Abraham as they had fellowship together. Bethel speaks volumes about heavenly vision, call and sojourn by faith. Canaan is the land of the overcomers who have subdued the desire for worldly acclaim and assets. At his struggle of faith at Penile, Jacob had to surrender his powerful legs to His creator God who has taken over the responsibility of his sustenance through faith in Him. Today Jacob has a new royal name, a new motto of faith, a pair of surrendered legs, a committed heart and an overcomer’s character as he sojourns. Jacob came out of Laban’s house as a rich man according to the world’s standards, but at Peniel he inherited all that God had promised his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. Jacob became truly rich with a new name, new character and new walk of faith. Jacob’s transformation challenges us today to walk by faith and be contended with the royal position. Our surrendered hearts overcome all the earthly desires as God enables us to live by faith and trust in Him and His provisions for us.

Dear friend, are you struggling to achieve the temporal fortunes of this world? Are you in the rat race to become great in this world by being smart? Yet you might find no end to your struggles and no contentment with what you have. Jacob had such a lifestyle for over 20 years and found his earthly success to be empty. He had everything this world bragged about, but he was still a struggler and not an overcomer. At Peniel, all his struggles were over. All that he put his trust became meaningless to him as he came face to face with God who made him a ruler and prince with Him. He surrendered his legs, heart and name to God. Thus he started reigning by appropriating all the inheritance that God gave him. His walk became slower, but he walked by faith and held the hands of his Lord. He overcame the human emotions of grief and loneliness by faith. He saw the pathway to God’s greater promises through his son Joseph by faith. God changed his name from a person to a nation chosen by God. It challenged him to change his son’s name from Benoni, a name of grief, to Benjamin, an overcomer’s name. Today God wants to touch your life to make you live as an overcomer of all that pulls you back from a life of faith. Take the challenge and go forward from victory to victory as a reigning prince with God.

1 John 5:4 – For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.

Thought for Today

The surrender and broken servant of God becomes a blessing as he lives to reign by faith.

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TRAVEL ON PROMISES!!

Travel on promises!

Verse for Today: Monday, February 25, 2013

Genesis 28:15b – “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Reassurances of our God are vital for us when we go through the valley of hopelessness. When the world around us abandons us, our God comes after us to reassure us that He will not abandon us. When we are homeless, He comes back to show us glimpses of our heavenly home to revive our sagging spirits. When there is no one around for us to talk to, He comes to us from heaven to speak to us. He sets before us the stairway of prayer with which we can climb up to heaven. He shows us the stairway of blessings flowing from heaven.  God reveals His awesomeness to us in the midst of the darkest nights of our lives so that we can see His glittering glory which takes away the cold, damp and lonely nights of our lives. He reassures us with a route map to go forward and to come back in His will. It is amazing that God had already planned generations for Jacob which will culminate in blessings for all peoples of the earth through the promised Savior. It is amazing that the lone traveler is destined to spread God’s blessings wherever he goes. When God appeared to Jacob, His emptiness is removed. He started out with only a staff in his hand, but from now on he travels with his hands and heart full of blessed promises.  Not only that, God made Himself available to Jacob as his permanent travel companion. Today the God of Jacob comes to meet us in the darkest moments of our lives to wipe away darkness, emptiness, loneliness, fear, anxiety and depravity and fill us with His blessings. He will not leave us alone and will give us all that has been our inheritance in this life and beyond. His peace will go with us on our way and He will lead us to rest in His awesome presence without anxiety and apprehension.

Dear reader, are you a lonely traveler without a place to sleep and a person to talk to? Have you become a friendless destitute in this dark world and going around with anxiety about your future? But remember that your God is with you even in the darkest nights of your life. He has kept open His heavenly home for you to go to with your prayers. He has established a stairway of prayer for you to go up and receive His power and strength to live to fulfill the purposes God has established for you. God has appointed His angels to come down the stairway to bring you comfort, peace and reassurance. In the darkness around, God illuminates your vision to see His awesomeness. God Himself comes down to speak to you to reassure you about His wonderful plans for you. He will not leave you alone until all His promises are fulfilled in your life. He will expand your horizon and help you to make an impact for God wherever you go. He wants you to move around, dwell in many places, meet many people and touch many lives as He desired for Jacob. You will be given newer experiences to know God better every day. He will change your name, behavior and character to that of a man or woman who has seen God face to face. Your sagging expressions will turn into exuberance and thrill. God will make you a blessing wherever you go. You might be looked upon as a rolling stone who gathers no moth of materialism and fame in this world. But your spiritual tenor will speak to people to remind them about God’s faithfulness to all who trust in Him. Today God wants you to trust Him for your unknown tomorrows which have all been planned and prepared by Him to work for His glory.

Psalms 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.   

Thought for Today

In the darkest nights when we are alone, God comes to revive our sagging spirits with His thrilling promises.

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WELLS BY FAITH!!

Wells by faith!

Verse for Today: Sunday, February 24, 2013

Genesis 26:32 – That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”

The enemy of our souls will always try to deny us our rights and privileges in this world. When circumstances, situations and people take away what rightly belongs to us, we tend to fall into the pits of depression or revenge and thus waste our spiritual energy. Isaac is a great example of a man who was unwilling to get into the pits that others dug for him. When there was contest about what was rightly his, Isaac moved away to find water in fresh wells. But sure enough the enemy’s agents went after him with false claims. But the relentless Isaac attempted to dig more wells by faith and thus defeated his contestants. God rewarded him for his simple faith and patience. By faith, Isaac forsook Esek (argument) and Sitnah (hostility) and moved on to Rehoboth (open space) and finally reached Beersheba where His God helped him found water. He learned that arguments and hostility might make him win the battle, but lose the war. He left his rights behind by faith because he knew that when he hands his situations to the Lord, He will lead him to fresh fields with fresh blessings. He believed that the God of his father Abraham will not deprive him of water. He also believed that His God will rule and overrule circumstances and situations to meet his basic needs. Isaac set an example of a man of faith who knew the joy of giving up the temporal which leads to disputes. He believed in the God of Rehoboth and Beersheba to help him find newer wells and fresh water. Today our God goes before us to show us the way to fresh supplies He has prepared for us. He teaches us to leave the temporal behind and go forward with faith to find new avenues He opens for us.

Dear friend, are you frustrated about the way your situations and circumstances deny you things are rightly yours? The world comes to contest us when we live by faith. God leads us to go forward and find new doors that He opens for us in His grace. What the world has not understood is that they will not be able to defeat us in the temporal because our focus is eternal. When circumstances and situations come to thwart us of our territories, our faith will lead us to newer fields where God has kept newer blessings for us. The enemy might fill the wells that we dig or put up claims for all our achievements. But God will lead us to newer wells of blessings that are unknown to the world. When the world lives by fortunes and luck, we live by faith and the leading of our God. Today we are in His open field which is eternal. He gives us enough for today and will give us the rest when we reach our eternal home on the basis of His oath of grace on Calvary. As we move to the new open space of Rehoboth and on to Beersheba, our Lord will show us water in the new wells that He provides for us. It is His well and His water which we receive by faith.  Isaac’s well of faith at Beersheba speaks to us loudly of the water of faith that is waiting for us today. When we search for our livelihood in God’s open fields, He will lead us to His quiet waters and green pastures. He has enough water for us to quench our thirst. Let us by faith receive what He provides for us for today’s needs and trusts Him for the next drink from the fresh water of life in His well.

John 7:37 – “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”

Thought for Today

The world cannot deny us that which we inherit by faith in our God.

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CAMELS ARE COMING!!

Camels are coming!  

Verse for Today: Saturday, February 23, 2013

Genesis 24:63 – (Isaac) went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

God has promised that if we take our hands off our situations, He will show us how He rules and overrules it according to His perfect will. We are also promised to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and remain in His will for Him to grant us all our needs. Isaac was brought up in a spiritual home where truths about the promises of God were experienced. He knew that his father had sent out Eliezer to find God’s choice for his life partner. It has been around six months since Eliezer was gone in search of the person God had already prepared for Isaac. While Isaac waited patiently for God’s choice to come to his life, he used his time meditating on God’s ways. His sanctified imagination would have enough reasons to praise God for what God was doing in and for his life so that he can continue to be a blessing to the whole world. It is also wonderful that Isaac didn’t look around for God’s choice, but looked up to see what God would send his way. When he saw the ten camels coming his way, he knew that His God’s choice was coming to him. He looked by faith, went to the entourage by faith, heard the amazing story of God’s magnificent leading by faith and met the choice of God for him by faith. Rebekah was Isaac’s reward for seeking after God and His righteousness and waiting patiently for God to act at His best time in His unique ways. Today God is looking for His willing and surrendered children who commit themselves to seeking after His will so that He can give them His best.

Dear reader, are you concerned about finding God’s will in the vital areas of your life? Are you impatient and restless to see why things are not working out according to your desired time frame? But you have to first of all trust God to search and find His choices for you in terms of job, life partner, dwelling place, ministry, friendship, fellowship, healing and the like. His time is never late or early as He works based on divine calendar and clock. Secondly, God is working for you behind the scene and He will reveal His will at the right time. God has chosen the best for your life to meet all your needs in the physical, emotional, social and spiritual realms of life. Thirdly, God expects you to demonstrate your trust and faith in Him by meditating in His presence and leave your choices to Him. He doesn’t want you to get exasperated by looking around. He wants you to look up to Him to reveal His will for you. As you look only unto Him, He will send His choices to you which will amaze you to praise Him because what He gives is always far superior to what you would have found on your own. His choices will be need based and appropriate for your situation and personality. His choice is prepared and groomed by Him to give a spiritual balance to your life. One of these days, His ‘camels’ will come with good news which will enable you to receive His choices and lead you to accept and acknowledge it with praise. What God finds, prepares and brings to you will always be best and it will be proved over time as you enjoy the blessings which accrue through it. God will not deny you His best if you trust Him.  His delays are not denials. He waits to prepare you to receive His best in your situation.  Today is another opportunity for you to meditate on what God is going to do for you and wait patiently for Him to bring it to you as you look up to Him.

Psalms 37:7a – Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Thought for Today

If you are still and waiting in God’s presence, you will not grow weary, but will be renewed and refreshed to receive His best. 

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ESCORTS FOR FAITH!!

Escorts for faith!

Verse for Today: Friday, February 22, 2013

Genesis 24:27 – Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned His kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.

God has revealed His character to His children through all His dealings with them. In His kindness, God called out Abraham from an idolatrous background and gave him a land, multitudes of generations and qualified him to be the friend of God. All the promises given to Abraham are fulfilled without change which proves His faithfulness. God keeps reminding us today that if He doesn’t deal with us in kindness, we would not get any blessings from Him. He keeps forgiving our shortcomings and weaknesses out of His kindness. He will not abandon His promises as He is faithful in His covenant with us. His faithfulness to us is His character which will not be altered because of our lack of faithfulness to Him. When Abraham depended on God to show him the person who is to take the mantle of blessings forward, God showed the way. Every detail of the identification of Rebekah was worked out by God because He had marked her out as the link between Abraham and the promises of God. When Abraham trusted God and sent his servant, his faith was honored by showing the way clearly. God was kind to send His angel beforehand to show the way.  God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Isaac were revealed through the leading of Eliezer to the house of Rebekah. Rebekah had the faith to go and become the wife of an unknown man who was far away. The God of Abraham shows His kindness and faithfulness to His children today and leads and guides them on His pathways. When we are tempted to digress or take detours, His Spirit speaks to us and shows the right way. When there are clouds of doubts and confusions, the wind of the Spirit blows it away from our hearts. His Spirit equips us to depend on Him to keep going. As we keep walking by faith, His kindness and faithfulness walk with us as personal escorts. When we are accompanied by His kindness and faithfulness, there is no need for us to waver and fret, but walk boldly towards the next milestone in our lives.

Dear reader, do you get agitated as you set out from one milestone to the other wondering how you would reach there? Are you being battered by the winds of apprehension and anxiety about the next step in your walk? Remember, your Lord is walking with you and He is holding your hands firmly. His angels have gone before you to prepare your way. His Spirit is dwelling in you to give you direction. His precepts are written in your heart as guiding principles. His kindness and faithfulness are your escorts to make sure that all His promises become a reality in your life. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Paul experienced God’s kindness and faithfulness throughout their lives of witness. He dealt with them in kindness and provided all the grace they needed in all situations and circumstances. He delivered them from destruction and pulled them out of their detours. He showed them the way and sustained them on His path of kindness and goodness. As they were tested in the school of faith, He was benevolent and not a taskmaster. His faithfulness was shown to them by meeting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Eliezer saw God’s faithfulness to Abraham even in his own path as he was sent out to meet Rebekah who was already chosen, prepared and waiting for God’s time. Today God’s kindness and faithfulness walk with us as we tread on His pathways to newer milestones of faith.

Isaiah 42:16b – I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.

Thought for Today

God in His kindness overrules our failures and keeps His promises to meet our needs according to His faithfulness.

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AN ANGEL ON EVERY STEP!!!

An angel on every step!

Verse for Today: Thursday, February 21, 2013

Genesis 24:7 – The Lord, the God of Heaven,  will send His angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

When we are in the perfect will of God, we will be able to see how God works in our every step. This truth is vital today as it was centuries back when Abraham lived. Abraham was sure about the way God would lead him in the marriage of his son Isaac. In fact, Abraham could sense in his soul about the choice God had already made for his son. He was so confident as to send his servant to identify the girl and bring her to Isaac. He knew that God would send his angel to show his servant the way. Abraham had such visitation of angles in his life before. So he was confident to send his servant to go forward by trusting in his master’s God. Abraham knew that the choice for Isaac was already made by God in His infinite wisdom. He believed that God had already prepared the person who was to become the link in the promised blessings to the whole world. It was only a matter of time to meet that person and invite her into Abraham’s family. So there was no doubt in Abraham’s mind about the way his God would guide. We find such realities in divine guidance in our daily lives today when God sends His angels with commission to prepare our way. As we take steps of faith, God would have already prepared our next step to put our feet down. God prepared Rebekah and helped Eliezer to meet her and bring her to Isaac. Today we find that God prepares our steps in His infinite wisdom and leads us through those steps with commitment and faith in our hearts that He will guide us further.

Dear friend, are you at the crossroads of life today, wondering which way to turn? Your intelligence and experience might point towards the smartest and the quickest way. Your friends might show you the easiest way. But if you consult the Lord God of Heaven, He will show you His way. You don’t need to know how it would work out, but you need to take steps of faith as He has already commissioned His angels to go before you to prepare your way. They will guide you every step of the way to make progress in your sojourn. God will fill you with insights about your future steps, one at a time and one day at a time. You should not be impulsive and jump ahead of the angel, but wait for God’s plan to unfold. Then you will see the amazing revelation of Rebekah unfolding in front of your eyes. God’s preparation and plan for your steps are mysteries until you take each step. Even as you go forward and experience each unfolding step, you will be able to see how God was preparing those steps much before you even thought about it. Then you will be amazed to see that it is far more excellent and magnificent than you would have ever expected. Eliezer was thrilled to see that his steps were ordered of the Lord to take him to magnificent situations far beyond his expectations. At the same time, it would not be a shock to him because he had known his master’s faith in action and his master’s God. Eliezer who knew about the miraculous birth of Isaac and the sacrifice on Mount Moriah would not have much difficulty to meet Rebekah in amazing circumstances. Today there are many wells, water jars, willing and committed Rebekahs, homes and receptions God has prepared for your upcoming steps of faith. His angels are working ahead of you so that you can take God-ordained steps of faith with far reaching impact and implications.  

Psalms 37:5 – Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this.

Thought for Today

When God has marked out our pathways and sent angles to prepare our way, we can take our steps forward with confidence and courage.

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CHALLENGING FAITH!!

Challenging faith!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Genesis 22:5 – Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Ardent faith leads to determination and boldness in all circumstances because the object of faith is realistic and unmoving. Strong faith is based on the object of faith and not on the follower of faith. Those who have experienced the object of faith will demonstrate a lifestyle that reveals how their faith has made them bold to face events and incidents in their lives. Abraham experienced such a faith in his life because he had seen God who was the focal point of his faith. He had the privilege to believe on God and put his entire life at stake on the glory of God and subsequently on the promises of God. He found his God faithful to the core in all His promises. When it was ultimately fulfilled in Abraham’s life through the promised son in the most unfavorable circumstance, it strengthened his faith further. He believed that if God could give him a son, there was nothing else impossible to his God. So Abraham believed His God to fulfill all His promises through that son no matter what God demanded of that son. Abraham believed with his whole heart, soul, life and strength that even if that son was to be sacrificed, the promise of making him a blessing to the whole world would still be fulfilled. This boldness of faith made Abraham tell the servants that he would certainly and surely come back with his son after the sacrifice. For he knew that if such a miracle of resurrection doesn’t take place, God’s promises would not hold true which to Abraham was an impossible. He knew his God so well as to believe that He would perform more miracles to sustain his son Isaac and make him fruitful. Abraham knew that Isaac was given to him totally and absolutely out of the benevolence and power of God. This promise was the beginning of a chain of events which will continue till eternity dawns for which Isaac had to continue to live as a miracle child. These truths dawned on Abraham and gave him the strength to sacrifice Isaac boldly and believe that he would come back with Isaac. Today the God of Abraham challenges us to commit all our situations to God and His promises and live boldly a day at a time.

Dear friend, are the demands placed on you by God making you wonder whether His promises will be fully realized? Such confusion will come only from the evil one and not from God’s Spirit. So if you are haunted by pessimistic impressions about the promises of God, it is time to take such doubts, confusions and apprehensions and crucify, kill and bury it at the foot of the cross. If the thought of doubt comes back, it is best to keep repeating the exercise of crucifixion of the negative thoughts. Abraham had such doubts in the past, but they got buried under the altar at Hebron when he kept worshiping, sharing and enjoyed intimate fellowship with God. His faith evolved as a long process which culminated in the birth of Isaac in the total impossible circumstance to lead Abraham to believe on all the promises of God. It is the result of long walk of faith with God where he tasted and knew God intimately. Today we are invited to such a fellowship walk of faith with the author and finisher of our faith to learn about His unchanging ability, willingness, power, strength and resourcefulness to keep His promises to us in our rough patches of life to take us forward as His witnesses in this unbelieving world.

Hebrews 11:19- Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.  

Thought for Today

God’s promises are beyond the laws of nature and we are challenged to believe it and experience it as miracles.

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HIGHER GROUND!!

Higher ground!

Verse for Today: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Genesis 19:27 – Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he stood before the Lord.

Our meeting place with the Almighty God is always on the higher ground. It is a place of spiritual height where we are privileged to behold the glory of our God and hear His voice. It is a place where we have received His great promises. It is the place where we get ourselves lost in the wonder and awe of His eminence and magnificence. The higher ground elevates us to the heights of spiritual encounter with Him and gets His vision about what He would do around us and through us. The higher ground will fill us with the awe of the Lord and live humbly as His servants. But it is also a place of prayer where we are able to speak to the Lord just as Abraham did. We have the freedom according to His grace to dialogue with Him about our spiritual burden for ourselves and others. Abraham used such freedom to intercede for Lot and at the same time, he enjoyed promise about his own family. It was from this higher ground that Abraham was able to see the way God fulfilled His will about Sodom and Gomorrah. From there Abraham was able to see by faith how the Lord would have delivered Lot and his family from destruction. Abraham couldn’t have desired to stand on any other ground because none else would have given him the kind of spiritual experience and privilege to stand with God. Today when we bend our knees to pray, we reach that higher ground where our God comes down to listen to our prayers. He comes down to the holy ground of prayer where our tears are wiped and burdens exchanged. It is there that He treats us as mothers cuddle and comfort little children. Today our Lord invites us to go to the higher ground to meet with Him to enjoy divine fellowship and a time of sharing. It is the shadow of the Almighty here on earth and our dwelling place on His green pastures.

Dear friend, today you have the freedom and opportunity to be adventurous by climbing to the higher grounds where our God will meet with you. Let’s go there with our burdens, tears, problems, difficulties, pain, misery, failures, losses and defeats. He will meet with us at the place of intercession and interactive prayer where we can share all our cares with God. He will take it all away and give us His peace and joy in return. Once we pass it all on to the Lord, there is no reason for us to carry it again. If we trust Him with all our tomorrows and our eternity, there is no need to continue to carry it ourselves. Our Lord has very broad shoulders to carry all our burdens all the time. Perhaps you are burdened today about your job situation, financial crisis, business failure, ruptured relationship, physical ailment, unkind criticism and false accusations. But your Lord will take it all from you if we are willing to hand it over to Him. He carries it away from us so that our load will be lightened and our pain reduced. He comes to us to listen to our cries for help. He has all the resources that we need to meet our needs and resolve our burdens. He gives us the freedom to speak to Him as our best friend in need and friend indeed. Just as Abraham, Moses and David took advantage of the opportunities at the higher ground, let us draw near and share our burdens with our Lord and dwell there with Him at the higher holy ground.

Acts 7:33 – Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Thought for Today

When we climb the mountain to higher ground to meet our God, we will rise above all our earthly cares.

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UNBELIEF AND FAITHLESSNESS!!

Unbelief and faithlessness!

Verse for Today: Monday, February 18, 2013

Genesis 19:26 – But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

God’s call is always to go forward. God pulls us back from wrong ways and puts us on the right track so that we can go forward. When we are in wrong places, His Spirit will speak to us about the need to get out. There were ample opportunities for Lot’s family to get back to Hebron and have fellowship with God and His servant Abraham. But they refused to get out of Sodom because the wealth and the comfort zones of Sodom were so compelling and tempting. Still God gave them one last chance to get out of Sodom and its imminent destruction. God’s angels pulled them out by their hands and put them on a safe track towards a mountain for refuge. God instructed them that they should not look back at what God wanted them to leave behind. But Lot’s wife had her heart tangled in the web of fortunes of Sodom. She couldn’t take her heart with her as she got out. God was not pleased with such double minded attitude when her heart was in Sodom while she was physically out. God wanted her to have faith in Him alone and in what He will be able to provide for them. Had Lot’s wife ran forward without looking back, the grievous sins of her daughters would have been avoided. She had to pay the heaviest price for her unbelief and stark disobedience. She stands as a warning about the consequence of disobedience and faithlessness. God makes it abundantly clear that without faith we cannot please Him no matter what else we do. Today He asks us to take a hard look at the pillars of faithlessness in our lives and become fearful about the awesomeness of our God and His call for obedience.

Dear reader, are there salt pillars in your life track which speak loudly about your lack of faith? How many times have you looked back to the things in this world that you have left behind by faith? How many times have you forsaken the commandments of the Lord to leave behind the world and its pleasures, prestige, prominence, possessions and popularity? As we live in the age of grace, we still have the privilege to settle matters with our Lord. But we must realize that the opportunities we have lost are lost forever and will not come back to us again. Still God in His mercy and benevolence will give us new opportunities if our confession and repentance are genuine and transparent. Until the door of grace is shut by the Lord Himself, He will pardon our unbelief and faithlessness. Calvary can still cover our sins of faithlessness and unbelief and open doors to walk into newer pathways of faith to please Him. In His infinite mercy, God might still reduce the heavy price one has to pay for disobedience in the past. If you confess your faithlessness, He will wash you with His Word and fill you with His Spirit to enable you to walk the royal mile of the King of your life. Let us take a hard look at all the salt pillars of our lives and ask the Lord to dismantle it in His infinite grace and give us newer tracks of faith. He wants us to confess to Him that His is the only track of true blessing, lasting peace and rest. When we thus follow the path of faith, our Lord will go before us and meet all our needs. He will give us the strength to climb the mountains, as in the case of Caleb, and establish towers of faith and trust in our lives for others as signboards to guide them on the forward path.

Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Thought for Today

If we fix our eyes and hearts on Jesus, we would be able to overcome the temptation to look back or retract.

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REIGNING BY FAITH!!

Reigning by faith!

Verse for Today: Sunday, February 17, 2013

Genesis 17:15 – God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.

Name often denotes a person’s character and what that person might become in the future. God has changed the names of people and expected them to behave according to the significance of the new name. When God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, it was meant to be prophetic and futuristic. God wanted the childless Abram to become the father of many nations because God had planned for him to have a male child. God also had great things to talk about Sarai’s future. God knew that she would be a mother and that some of her grandchildren will become kings and rulers. So it is natural that Sarai would no longer stay as a ‘mocker’ or a ‘contentious woman’ as her older name would mean. As the would-be grandmother of kings and rulers, she ought to be called a ‘Princess’ and so God changed her name to be Sarah. The change of name was a strong message of confirmation to Sarai and to Abraham about their future. They were to believe in the future plans God had for them and take these new names by faith and start behaving like the father and mother of great nations and great kings. Sarah was to become the great grandmother of kings like David and Solomon and the King of Kings. Sarai’s unbelief had to give way to faith that God would perform a miracle in her life and make her a princess. Abraham had to treat her as the ‘queen mother’ because God would bless her to become royalty. This name change is a great challenge to both Abram and Sarai to put their faith in the God of the impossible to accomplish His great purpose in and through ordinary people like them. Today God wants all His children to put their faith in Him and behave like spiritual princes and princesses because we are the children of the Great King. When we behave like royalty, our entire outlook to life will change and we will be filled with confidence and courage in the most trying circumstances in life.

Dear friend, are you behaving like a prince or princess in life today or are you a slave to your negative thoughts and depressive ideas in life? You are no longer to live as a slave to circumstances and situations and write yourself off. You might be coming from ordinary and simple background, but in God’s eyes you are a ruler in His kingdom. He expects you to dictate to your negative situations in the name of Jesus and get victory. You should not allow the negative situations and circumstances to depress your heart and life. As a ruler of God’s resources and opportunities, you ought to rise above the ranks of a subdued person to a commanding prince or princess. You are already seated in the heavenly places with Jesus Christ and are spiritually reigning with Him. In all areas of your life here on earth, you are to reign by faith and accomplish great things for the King of Kings. Every evil force will have to be subdued by faith and every worldly influence must be defeated. You can face all the impossibilities of life and command it to be removed from your pathway as you follow Jesus according to His commandments. Every decision you make will have to be a royal decision taken for the King of Kings whose glory ought to be your priority in all your movements. Remember, you are called to reign and be victorious. Let us not be subdued by negative situations and circumstances, but become victorious over it all by faith in our King who rules over everything.

2 Timothy 2:12 – If we die with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him.

Thought for Today

By faith we can live to reign with Jesus in all our situations and circumstances victoriously.

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LEANING BY FAITH!!

Leaning by faith!

Verse for Today: Saturday, February 16, 2013

Genesis 15:6 – Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

Usually people go to God in prayer with a long list of needs, desires and priorities. But Abram seemed to have received a list of intimate blessings that God prepared for him. When Abram left his home and homeland, God promised him a better homeland here on earth and a home beyond the horizon. Abram was a childless ‘exalted father’ and God promised to make him a ‘father of many nations’ and a blessing to the whole world. What more can a person desire in this life? But Abram was expected to appropriate these promises by faith. In other words, God wanted Abram to lean wholly on Him for the fulfillment of these promises. Abram believed God because he saw God’s glory while in his homeland of Mesopotamia. God’s glory captivated his heart and vision to compel him to obey the divine call to the new homeland which personified the new home God had already prepared for him beyond the horizon. The vision of the God of glory helped him to circumvent the hindrances on his way to finally reach the homeland which he was to appropriate by faith. In the meanwhile he was able to meet face to face with Melchizedek which gave him another evidence of the living God of glory. So when the God of glory promised Himself to Abram as his great shield and reward, the past visions became alive in him to see that the God who appeared and reappeared to him was worth his faith, trust and belief. There was no more shadow of doubt about the power of God’s promises to Abram. Then Abram leaned completely on to the God of glory and put all his trust in Him. Abram put his faith in God and not so much in the promises of God because his faith in God also included His promises and not the other way around. Today God appears unto us through His Word and renews all His promises to us to challenge us to believe on Him to fulfill it all for His glory and for our good.

Dear friend, are you after the promises of God or do you really get fascinated with God irrespective of His promises? Would you have followed God even without any of the promises about the mundane things in life? Is your God worth His glory or only His promises of tangible things in your life? Are you tempted to give greater weightage to the things that you can get from God rather than His glorious person? Job found God worth all that He has always been in His glory even when he suffered untold misery, isolation, loneliness, loss, disloyalty, false accusations and depravity. Joseph found his God worth following even when he was faced with hatred, pit, false accusations and unlawful imprisonment. Daniel saw his God faithful to risk going to the lion’s den. Peter and Paul found their God worthy of worship and service in spite of all the bitter experiences they encountered. Today our God wants us to find Him worthy of our worship and service not because of a few things He gives us daily, but because of His captivating glory. Abram met such a God in His glory and got himself captivated by His greatness and leaned on to Him completely. He decided to put life at stake with the glorified God whom he met and took His words for its worth. So God put Abram’s faith into his account in life which made Abram righteous in God’s sight. Abram found the greatness of the God of glory and believed every syllable that was pronounced by Him. Today we are challenged to believe every syllable that is pronounced through His Word and lean completely on it to be fulfilled in our lives.

Romans 1:17 – “The righteous will live by faith”.

Thought for Today

Faith is when we lean completely on to God and His promises and nothing else.

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VAST PROMISES!!

Vast promises!

Verse for Today: Friday, February 15, 2013

Genesis 13:14 – “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look to north and south, east and west.”

If we want to see the vastness of the promises that are given to us by God, we must lift up our eyes and our heads and look beyond. Often our shortsightedness leaves us with limited vision. But God wants us to look beyond the nearest and see the vastness of possessions kept for us to claim by faith. God didn’t want Abraham to limit himself to where he was, but to walk around the land which has been given to him and his descendants. From each vantage point, there was so much to see which was far beyond his expectation, imagination and comprehension. The vast land was given to Abraham as an inheritance. It was a reward for his faith and trust in God and the boldness he exhibited in leaving his ancestors’ earthly possessions behind for the Promised Land. We often face the problem of narrow and near vision about the spiritual blessings that are kept for us by God and live as paupers. Our vision often guides our decisions, priorities and desires. But God wants us to look beyond the limited spectrum that we often see. First we must believe that our blessings are far beyond the earthly and the immediate. Secondly we must have the desire to see what is in store for us by God. Thirdly we must lift up our eyes from looking at the earth below. Fourthly we must open our eyes and look. Fifthly we must lift up our heads and look. Sixthly we must look to all directions around us. Seventh, we must believe that it is all ours. Eighth, we must believe that it is all kept for us to appropriate by our Father in Heaven. Lastly we must take steps of faith to appropriate it all by faith. There are so many promises kept for us to claim for everyday living by faith.

Dear friend, are your eyes focused on the earth below your eyes? But your God wants you to live by faith and appropriate all that He has kept for you to enjoy. Just as God promised Abraham, He has kept wonderful promises for each step of your walk. But if your eyes are locked up on the earthly, you won’t be able to see the vastness of God’s promises. You can claim these wonderful promises if only you see them which demands the release your eyes from the earthly and the temporal. God’s promises are timeless in power, validity and universal. These promises are given to us by grace. We have the freedom and right to claim it for our walk each day of our sojourn. But they are available to us if only we walk by faith. God keeps His word in all that He has promised. Not a syllable from His promise would go unfulfilled. All God’s promises are powered by the Spirit of God. In his times only Abraham was privileged to enjoy these promises because he was the only one who had the faith to walk according to the promises. Lot was with him for a while, but he went away to the earthly and the fertile according to the world’s standards. Lot had no idea about the vastness of God’s promises that have been kept safe for those who put their faith in a promise-giving and promise-keeping God. Today God invites us to lift up our eyes and heads to see the vast promises of God and claim it by faith to live a heavenly life here on earth to enjoy all the blessings of the heavenly places.  

Genesis 13:17 – “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Thought for Today

The eyes that are unlocked from the earthy and lifted up will see the vastness of God’s promises to claim by faith for everyday walk.

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MARAH TURNS SWEET!!

Marah turns sweet!

Verse for Today: Thursday, February 14, 2013

Exodus 15:23 – When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place was called Marah.)

Our anticipation and great expectations sometimes sour in our mouths when we get bitter experiences in life. Such disappointments make us sometimes wonder why we are led to bitter spots in life. The Israeli sojourners were taken by surprise many times by their wilderness experiences. When they found the Egyptian army following them to annihilate them and at the fierce Red Sea which made them stuck on the way, they were frustrated.  Their thirst which culminated at a bitter water source made them exasperated. Each of these situations made God’s people to grumble rather than handle it by faith. Of course the past trials ended in miraculous victory secured for them by God which ought to have made them turn to God in prayer at Marah. Instead they grumbled against God and the journey they undertook. They forgot the past victories and the miraculous deliverance from the tyranny of Egypt. God expected them to grow spiritually and exercise faith as they progressed in their journey, but they were still at the lowest ebb of their spiritual ladder. They didn’t have the faith to trust the God of the Passover and the Red Sea to believe that He would find a way out at Marah into sweet. God went a step further to make water sweet which is far beyond what one would expect from normal drinking water. Today we must understand that Marah is a test to see how we would respond to bitter experiences in life. If we trust God, He would make our Marah experiences better. Our God makes our bitter experiences better to quench our thirst to refresh and revive us.

Dear friend, are you at the crossroads of bitter experiences in life lately? Are you finding it difficult to see why things are stark opposite to what you expect or desire? Are you frustrated that wherever you go, you find bitter and painful experiences in life and wonder why you are made to go through it all on a regular basis? Your tough experiences are the testing times God sends your way to strengthen your faith. God is interested in how your faith grows day after day and whether you respond to events and incidents by faith or not. He wants to know if you learn from past experiences to keep trusting God to lead you forward. He has delivered you from bitter enemies and formidable seas in life. So when the new enemy of thirst confronts you, God is trying to see whether you would pray and ask Him to make the water better rather than grumble about the bitterness. When the creator of waters is with us as the captain of our entourage, we should trust Him for water to drink rather than allow ourselves to lose hope and get agitated. He has already prepared a way to transform our bitter experiences to better and sweeter blessings. He will not allow us to break down with thirst and hunger. By faith we can expect something better from our Lord. Let us not fall into the temptation of grumbling which comes from our unbelief and faithlessness. We murmur out of our sheer forgetfulness about all that our Lord has done for us in the past. He will not let us be destitute in the wilderness of life. Our Lord knows all about our bitter experiences. He will give us the faith to trust Him to make the bitter waters of life better and sweeter to quench, nourish and revive us to keep marching forward.

Exodus 15:27 – Then (Israelites) came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Thought for Today

Our God transforms our Marah experiences into sweetness and leads us further to Elim experiences of springs of water with palm trees.

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