Thoughts for another day

August 29, 2008.

Today's verse: 1 Cor 4:20. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

It is deplorable that the children of God have today, lost their identity as children of God. Around the world I see scores of people traipsing about not knowing where they are going; lost in the filth the world spews; languishing around in what some people call a beautiful world, bereft of natural beauty that God provided, but the artificial luster man has created, beautiful to behold, yet wasteful and destructive.

If you pause and talk to seemingly happy people, out will tumble the truth of sorrow inside. It could be even you, one of the readers of this reflection. And we know that the truth is bitter gall. On the façade there’s the notion of victory and life but the inside is mangled and dirty and dead. Sometimes, I wonder what’s happening. The empty talk of empty-headed people and the futile babbling of the so-called preachers/teachers and what have you, doing nothing to the parched spirit, except make it drier.

In all this, perhaps you are also undergoing a painful trial, let me say that God Himself tells us His kingdom is not of empty words, but filled with power. It’s a power different from our notion of power. It’s about, a poor person with just one morsel of food, willing to share it with another. It’s about a person saddled with baggage, but ready to take on another burden. It’s about a person disdained by society, yet willing to help the one person who has disdained most, in his hour of need. It’s about forgiveness, despite not being worthy. It’s about purity in the vilest place. It’s about your being needy, yet reaching out in another man’s need.

This is ‘power’ in God’s kingdom. When this power operates, the mighty Hand of our Awesome Father is stretched out and His Great power comes into action. This power has the capacity to tear asunder huge mountains or slap the face of mega oceans to still them. This power is unleashed so that the evil designs of the devil can be torn into pieces. This power is available to you and me; all we need to do is stay connected. Just as a lamp cannot be lit unless connected to the source of electricity, so too we need to be connected and the key to stay connected is ‘belief’ in the Lamb of God who died that we may be alive; a miserable and painful death, so that we can be safe and without misery. Try it my friend, that is, be connected and you will experience His power in your life, I promise.

Thoughts for another day

August 28, 2008.

Today's verse: Deut. 11:25. There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Here is a promise I get thrilled seeing - an absolute assurance of God stepping in when people step into your path menacingly. My friend, we wonder, where is God when wrong happens? Where is the Lord, when we are in trouble and desperately need Him? In fact, I have been asking that question for the past two-three days, seeing my brothers and sisters in Orissa suffering and in hiding – without food or water; in the jungles through constant rain, and open to all sorts of danger. Daytime is fine, but what about night when it is pitch dark! My colleague who is also in hiding, has an eight year old son and a pregnant wife and really I wonder what’s going on in their minds right now as they endure the ordeal. Are children of God to suffer like this?

As a praying person, and one who has seen the awesome power of God, I know that this is the right time for God to work, to flex His arm and miraculously rescue His people. But, I don’t see that happening. Yet, I look at the verse today and am reminded about the solid assurance God Himself gives us in His Word. Remember, God’s Word is permanent, durable and unchangeable. It accomplishes that it was sent for and then returns to God. No matter what the situation in the world, God’s Word accomplishes that, for which it was uttered and it knows no impossibility!

I am satisfied that today; the Lord will rescue these people. I know deep in my being that for sake of discipline and for testimony, the Lord allows suffering in our lives, yet rescues in time. Moreover, what about our sins, which nauseate Him? The above promise is congruent to our uprightness before God. We may fall but we need to get up, get on our knees and pray. We may be miserable before Him, so too our brothers and sisters in Orissa. But they have no need to fret anymore as we stand in prayer and fast, God will, I say it again, God will move, for we have caused Him to move by our persistence.

Don’t you agree that holding on to His promise, we stand as one, for our persecuted brothers and sisters and free them from the devil’s bondage by the power of our God? And the same promise is for us too, when we have a difficult situation in our lives. The promise holds always, we need to, but believe.

Thoughts for another day

August 26, 2008.

Today's verse: Jer. 15:20. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Times are when I feel very weak. Literally done in by the evil plans of the world against me and the way they make me feel - so insecure; and it really eats into the mind making me feel miserable. Then, there are occasions when I really feel the struggle I undergo, in just living a good life; with people trying to attack me, my character or even malign me. Haven’t you too felt the same? And even if I were to focus this message on the current happenings in Orissa, the same frustrations creep in at the wanton acts of pillage and plunder against my brothers and sisters there. A sense of helplessness comes in and I wonder, ‘Lord, what’s happening?’

Then the Word of the Lord in the above verse, comes to me and it is so comforting. Look what the Lord God has to say in it for His people. I ask, are you really His? If yes, how do you know? In answering this, the Holy Spirit comes to my help for He has made me a child of God and enabled me to call Him, ‘Abba Father’ Rom. 15:8. So, obviously I am His and therefore His promise holds good for me. I hence know that He is with me to save me and to deliver me. Now, what greater promise could I have than this that the Lord God, the God of Hosts, El Shaddai, the fount of glory and the Majestic One is with me? Isn’t it marvelous to my senses and to my understanding that God Almighty Himself is there with me?

My friend, our weaknesses are just positions in time, He puts us in, so we may get on our knees and pray. They are meant to break us and be closer to Him. I have to accept them in full and joy in them so that He will joy in me. I remind myself this morning that even if the heavens crumble and the earth breaks asunder, not a hair on my head will be singed for my God is with me. His word says, ‘He will not suffer the destroyer to come into your house to smite you’ Ex. 12:23 and I can rely on His Word for ‘heaven and earth will pass away but His Word will not.’ I have the confidence that my God is always with me and He will not leave me nor forsake me and with Him I am safe.

Thoughts for another day

August 26, 2008.

Today's verse: Ps. 46:1-3. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

It’s of great comfort reading this verse in the face of what’s happening to Christians around the world today, particularly those in Orissa, India, of which I had written about yesterday. God has greatly protected His children, but then again there have been attacks on quite a few and the newspapers say a woman working as a caretaker in an orphanage was burnt alive! In prayer, it was as if the Lord were telling me that when the root of a tree is yanked out, the tree falls and in its fall a few other plants will be hurt, so too, the Lord has yanked off the root of evil and so some tragedy will be there.

I am reminded of what our verse tells us today: God is our refuge and strength…He is present in times of trouble and in our travails, He is with us. Then why should we fear? Yes, sometimes, the water rises up to the nose and we feel overwhelmed. But, then isn’t our God there even in that situation? Can’t He quell the rise of the water, before we succumb to its fury? See, my friend, we may panic in the situation but in calm and confidence in our God, we shall be redeemed. Yes, it might be difficult to tell them who face atrocities, but really, our confidence in our Awesome God has to be there, for if we are children of a Mighty God, how can we crumble under mere human plans and evil work?

I always believe that our God is a Rock and that He is behind each one of us. I rest assured that when the time comes, our Rock who is gently behind us, comes in front with fury when we are threatened. This happens if we are loyal to Him and our trust is in Him. And I pray today that each one of you will make Him alone your trust. He will never leave you in the time of stress. Amen.

Thoughts for another day

August 25, 2008.

Today's verse: Jn. 11:25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

I write this verse in context, even as my heart goes out to the people of Orissa, in India right now. It’s a beautiful place, endowed with natural resources beyond the capacity to mine. Yet, it’s one of the poorest in India and I and many other believers, believe it has to do with the evil of massive idol worship and superstition. Orissa houses probably the largest nos. of temples and deities and is a hot-bed of idol worship. That probably is the main reason for its backwardness, not counting its calamitous relationship with nature seen in abundant rain on one side and drought on the other. Besides, the fury of nature consisting of cyclones, floods, etc. is usually spent on Orissa. And though it could be the cradle of agriculture in the country, it lives in utter poverty and misery.

But the reason I write today, reflecting on the above verse is because, before this week is up, many Christians in Orissa, will have their families burnt, their lives lost, their women raped and their children severely beaten. That’s because last Saturday, one of the main figures behind the hate campaign on the Christians (and the key architect behind Graham Staines’ murder) was shot dead. As Christians, we condemn the dastardly attack on this man, as he too was God’s child and should have come to know Christ and His magnificent love, but alas… Anyway, last December, although he was just attacked, a backlash of fury descended on Christians there, who had to leave their huts and flee to the jungles in biting cold and live like dogs amongst the wild animals, reptiles and rodents; all because they carry the name of Jesus Christ. Much tension prevails in Orissa right now and there's great palpable fear in the heart of the Christians there.

They, our brothers and sisters in Christ, do not know what will happen. They do not know if they will see the morrow. If they choose to run, where could they run? They would be hunted like wild boar and destroyed, for they carry no weapons nor do they know why they are targeted! As a Christian, my friend, I beg you to get on your knees and pray for them. Fast too, if you will. Pray, our awesome God will keep them under His pinions and make them experience His Fatherly love in their hour of trial. Also, pray for their tormentors that Jesus’ love will touch their hearts and they will come to know the One and True God. I’m sure God, the Father of all lights who delights in creating beauty in the most dirty places will bring good out of this, and will smile on His people even as He scripts out His glory.

Thoughts for another day

August 22, 2008.

Today's verse: Deut. 10:14. Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

What is it that we can say belongs to us? Is it our bodies, is it the house we own or the material things we have… What can we really call our own? Is there one thing, which you feel we can call our own?

Men have asked such questions across time and discovered that, there is nothing on earth, which we can call our own, for nothing, is owned by us. It is the Sovereign Lord who has created all and owns all things and only by His working can we get whatever we have. Our word for today says, that the heavens and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s and the earth also and everything in it. What a powerful statement, and how true, for really the Lord God is the owner of everything.

Mankind is but a small speck of dust in the eyes of the Lord. He glorifies us and gives things into our custody. Over time, we forget that it is He not us who owns everything. Like some of those big businessmen who own mega corporations, who over time think they are the owners of everything, including the intelligence they possess, which is intrinsically a part of their brain, a gift of God. They feel they can play with the lives of the people who work for them and also that they are invincible. But, one day, they are gone and then whose corporation is it?

My friend, everything, seen and unseen, is of, and from God and they are but a gift to us from Him. Our strengths, talents, abilities and material wealth are given to us so that we may give Him praise and raise His Name on the earth. And that is the best gift we can give in return for what He has given us.

Thoughts for another day

August 21, 2008.

Today's verse: Mt. 23:25. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Consider this O Christian, there might have been times when we were more intent on doing things on the outside than the inside. For e.g. there was a time when as a devout Catholic, I used to go for Sunday Mass. I used to ensure that I was dressed in my best clothes and impeccable in personal grooming, etc. My focus was myself not the Lord whom I apparently went to serve. At that time, I believe my heart condition was pathetic and needed much cleaning. But if anyone saw me and the body language I used, they would certainly remark and say, ‘this guy is good’. That’s what really mattered to me and pleased me. Later on I realised how foolish I was and therefore today, good dressing and outward behavior, though important do not take primary place.

What is important in our devotion to God is that they look at us and glorify God. When Jesus worked the miracles, people marveled, but the Bible says that they glorified God. In His life too, Jesus’ sole objective was to bring glory to His Father. He was not interested in what they did to Him, but what they did to the Father. In fact His zeal as a man was so much for God that He categorically said, ‘And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven’, notice the first part here.

What we see today is the Lord indicting the people of His time who were also similarly minded in looking at the decoration of the outside rather than the inside, to their own peril. Jesus is rather caustic in the remarks He makes about such people calling them hypocrites because of this nature of theirs. To us also, Jesus is challenging the way we do things. Is it so that we can gain recognition or is it that we may glorify God. He is asking this question to you and to me, right now.

Thoughts for another day

August 19, 2008.

Today's verse: Deut. 32:5. They have acted corruptly toward him; to their shame they are no longer his children, but a warped and crooked generation. (NIV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Across generations and time, God has been most gracious, loving and kind in all His ways. He needs that we too be like Him; listen to and obey Him. He requires that we do right and love goodness and walk humbly before Him (Mi. 6:8).

But what have we done? Scores of generations have refused the ways of God. Right from Adam till now, humans, the work of His hand have sought to debase and disobey Him. We have discredited ourselves with our wanton behavior. We have scaled new heights of immorality and today we have the grand realization that homosexuality and the like is just genetic and can’t be helped and it’s perfectly all right. Therefore, the ‘enlightened’ denizens of our world seek rights for them. We pictures of two females getting married to each other and were it not really happening it would be hilarious. But no, they think it’s the best thing to happen to them. What a shame and a calamity on the character of man! God never made a woman or a man to take carnal pleasure with someone of the same sex – He made them to complement each other and be the others’ sufficiency.

We too who are termed Christians are no less. We also have our own little ways of offending God. We cheat and lie and we believe it’s all right to do it. We speak evil language reasoning that it is all right to do that because the whole world does it. Do we not know that we are holy as Peter says… You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Pt. 2:9), then how can we be like the world?

My friend, think how corrupt we are before Him to our shame. It usurps our right to be His children and leaves us prone to attacks from the evil one. If this is true in your life, it’s time to turn around, repent and go back in humility and truth. He’ll accept you.

Thoughts for another day

August 19, 2008.

Today's verse: Rev. 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

We people of God, talk about God’s greatness but how grossly insufficient it is. What can you say about Someone you can’t see but only perceive. With what can you measure the greatness of One who is infinite. Even the length and breadth of the universe cannot confine the One who has created it and were it possible to measure its breadth and width, that would still not enable getting around the dimensions of God.

Then again what can you say about God’s age? In Daniel’s book, it’s said, the Ancient of Days. But how ancient? Can anyone say? None can, for none was or ever will be. He was there before time began. He will be there after time ends. In Isaiah He says, ‘It is I who Am the first and also the last Am I’ adding, ‘My hand laid the foundations of the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call them, they stand forth at once’ (Is. 48:12,13).

It is a great privilege to serve our God for He is not just awesome; He is most merciful and loving. David says in Ps. 63, ‘Thy loving kindness is better than life.’ And truly, when the love of the Lord touches one, he is transformed. All the past is forgotten and things begin anew. The dew of His refreshment is ever so cool and comfortable, that it is an altogether different experience. Take your troubles and your discord to Him and in the twinkling of an eye, He will remove every snare that doesn’t belong to His holy will away from you and even what remains is but to bring you close to Him.

My friend, consider Him a treasure far above any. Jesus spoke of the parable of the treasure a man found in a field. He sold everything he had to buy the field for the treasure therein; so we too need to forsake the illusions of fantasy that this world offers to us. Think of Him as your companion worth a thousand friends. He lives for you and you are but to praise and glorify Him, which is his right due. And in time, He will feed you from the bounty of His table, making you drink of the comfort of His wine and eventually take you into His eternal rest.

Thoughts for another day

August 14, 2008.

Today's verse: 2 Ki. 18:20. Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Here is an interesting question asked by the general of the king of Assyria to the staff Hezekiah, king of Judah had sent. Assyria was very powerful then and had conquered many nations, making them vassals. Few dared war against them; and those that did, were trampled to the ground. Even the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered and destroyed by them. It was now, the turn of the southern kingdom.

The Assyrian pride knew no bounds and is reflected in the way they spoke. They forgot the essential fact that there is a God in heaven and it is He who empowers; this is dangerous as it removes the cloak of protection God bestows on His people. We see how those who challenge the dignity of God have had to bite the dust and fall flat before Him. We know He alone is sovereign and is always there when we call out.

At that time, too, Hezekiah and his people did not know what to do before the raging might of the Assyrians. They did exactly as God wanted them: prayed and left the Assyrians to face His wrath. The Assyrians knew not the faithfulness of Hezekiah and his people with God. They thought they could conquer Judah as they did the others. Their question, ‘on whom do you trust…?’ was pretty stupid if I may say for the Assyrians should have known that they trusted in the Living God, the Master of the Universe. A little homework and they would have learnt of the wondrous ways, God moved with them. But because they had conquered the northern kingdom, their boast knew no bounds and they thought they could do the same with the southern kingdom.

Eventually, we read that God humbled the Assyrians and routed them completely, even ensuring that their king died at the hands of his own sons! Friend, our trust is in the Living God who has given Himself to us as our Father and He is formidable in any situation we face in Life. David called Him the ‘Rock’ and so do I, for really, in any danger or calamity, He stands as a ‘Rock’ to safeguard us. He is the Lord our God who neither sleeps nor slumbers and His eyes are always roaming the earth to discover us worshipping Him and pleased, He becomes our shield, whether we are communing with Him or not.. I pray your trust will be always in Him and Him alone for then you will see your redemption, most awesomely wrought about.

Thoughts for another day

August 14, 2008.

Today's verse: Is. 26:12. …for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The way human beings go about things in the world, someone might think, there is no God and it’s on autopilot. Can it be possible? Very interesting thought, no?

Imagine, things going on by themselves (of course, in perfection), everything happening according to schedule (except accidents, but whoever said, accidents don’t happen!) and there never is a breach in the order of things. Day turns into night and night into day and time moves on…nothing gets stuck and so on and so forth. Closer home, you have your own calendar of events unfolding with meticulous precision. Why those alone, take your body, imagine your heart beating by itself, never skipping a beat, except in rare cases, all by itself.

Oh, this story of wonder can go on but I took a top, not the old ordinary one, but the new mechanized, calibrated and rounded to perfection one, and I made it spin, not with a rope but with a gadget that came with the pack. And you know what? It stopped spinning after just a few minutes, confounding me. Look at the earth spinning endlessly around its axis and around the sun and it always does and never goes out of orbit, and if that happens automatically, then why did my top not spin. Maybe those peddlers of reason for everything, the scientists, also know this, how stupid of me to express doubts on such trivial matters!

My friend, left to the world, we’d soon be doing things, believing there’s no God. The reality is, there is a God and His Name is Jesus. He holds the world in His hand and orchestrates all events, whether the movement of huge galaxies across the canvas of the universe or the life beat a tiny ant, floating on a twig in a river! God is in all and works all things in us. He enables what we do and we complete them by His strength. His is the power holding us, and His are the arms we fall into as soon as we rest in the earth. Things across the earth happen according to the wielding of the baton of the Master Conductor of the Universe. That’s our verse for today and that’s why we know…He loves us and all is well. Don’t believe it? Try controlling your heart beat.

Thoughts for another day

August 12, 2008

Today's verse: Jonah 4:11. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The book of Jonah, more than anything else, is a metaphor on Jesus’ burial in the belly of the earth for three days - a similitude to Jonah in the belly of the fish for a similar period. Other than that, a few truths are seen in the Book making eminent reading particularly, the re-direction of the truant prophet to the task on hand, signifying no escape from the office God gives us, apart from His salvation and mercy.

Our verse today, reflects God’s understanding and the boundless mercy He shows when people repent. A reading of Jonah reveals that Jonah is first of all led to the path God wants him on, albeit via an unusual route. Upon Jonah doing that, prophesying the doom of Nineveh, we see the people, even the king, repent and humble themselves. Exactly what God had sent him for. Because of this God relents and does not send the threatened destruction. But, rather than be pleased, Jonah is upset that the prophecy he had proclaimed against Nineveh will not be carried out. In the depth of self-pity, he feels done in and insulted by God before the Ninevehites, so much so that he pleads death. And then through another experience, God drives home to him, the point that He, being God, needs to be compassionate to His people while saying that the people don’t even know their left hand from their right!

This message is for us too. In our self-righteousness, we decree punishment for others from God. God says vengeance is mine (Deut. 32:35), but we demand it of God and that too in the way we think it should be. We feel God, who knows all, is denying us ‘justice’ as we call it, but that isn’t the case. Rather it is the sublime display of God’s mercy. If we were to think a little deeper, we would understand the meaning of mercy. If God, despite all my sins is merciful to me, shouldn’t I also be merciful to others?

The saga of God’s mercy is filled with the unthinkable in the myriad ways it touches us, even in the loathsome pit we’re in, as David cries out in Ps. 40 ending with, ‘But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks of me…’, so as to seem unreal, yet is more real than reality itself. Which is why He’s God and the reason, across the world, people are willing to lay down their lives for Him, as I am sure you and I, are.

Thoughts for another day

August 11, 2008

Today's verse: Haggai 2:7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Yesterday, in a Bible Class, somebody set forth a point, ‘In the New Testament, we see Jesus full of compassion and readily forgiving even the worst sinner; whereas, in the Old Testament, we see God punishing His people and destroying nations, kingdoms, people at will – why?’

I need to be God to answer the question, but like they say no harm in trying (not to be God, but answer the question in a divine perspective). When I think of God and the ways in which He cared for His people - He did not bother about the enemies of Israel. He even asked the Israelites to completely destroy all their enemies. See, God has created all and He can destroy all, as He did at the time of Noah. So I believe that when it comes to things concerning Himself and His own, He is willing to go any length when even a few 100,000 people don’t matter to Him and we see how He destroys the Egyptians drowning them in the Red Sea. In fact, God even says that He created Pharaoh to work His amazing work through him and gain glory (Ex 9:16, Rom 9:17). Isn’t this amazing? For those of you who think how cruel God is, don’t you feel that God can do what He wants with His own creation? After all, doesn’t man do what he wants with what is not his creation like destroying the earth, for example?

In today’s verse, God makes a similar promise. The glory (and treasure) belonging to Him in this world are scattered among the nations, who render it to idols made of mud, wood, stone and metal; and now God says that He will shake the nations and bring them all into His house, the sacred temple (Rev. 21:26). It is bound to happen as it is the unalterable Word of God and for us who wait to seek the glory of God, we shall surely see it happen and we shall see it with our own eyes. Amen.

Thoughts for another day

August 8, 2008

Today's verse: Ps. 37:4. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The above is a marvelous promise of our Father God. But, for most of us beset with myriad problems and other burdensome issues, delighting in the God doesn’t come as a natural extension of personality or nature. We labor over it. The question is how do we delight in the Lord?

We need to look at the life of David who was used of God to write this promise in the psalm. David was a man who always held looking up to God as a privilege. When the story of David starts in the Bible, we read of the account of Goliath. Now, Goliath troubled the Israelites so much that they stood in awe of him. But when David was confronted with the situation, he said, ‘who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? You see how David changed the situation with the introduction of God in the picture and that He was their Leader’.

Forging an association with God whereby He’s always in our lives may be termed as delighting in Him. But leave alone doing that, we do the foolishness of questioning the premise that God is our all and He is there to help us. One of the ways we do that is by fretting and worrying our heads off. In the process, we lose, and then of course thump the blame on God. God is certainly not amused by our behavior but He lays great stress to His covenant, marked by the blood of His Son and He forgives.

Yet, when we show confidence in Him in the way we live and accept all He sends us – rain or shine, laughter or sorrow and so on, then we are delighting in Him and then His hand comes forth and touches us in unique ways in blessing, whereby our desires are granted. See, when Solomon delighted in His ways by asking for wisdom, God not only gave him that, but also fulfilled every desire in his heart! Isn’t it time we did the same?

Thoughts for another day

August 7, 2008

Today's verse: Hab. 3:17 - 19. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

When I read the above verse, a deep sense of awe fills my heart for it evokes in me the comfort of trusting my Lord. At the same time, it makes me despise myself too, because of the times I didn’t rejoice in Him when things didn’t go right.

In Habakkuk’s prophetical book, we find Habakkuk questioning God. Rather strange, because, man is in no position to question his Maker for he doesn’t have anything that may even compare to the super intelligence of God. Even then, God answers and reassures him. Habakkuk in response, sings Him an eulogy from which is today’s reflection. What’s striking is the utter confidence the prophet has in Him. Though years have gone by, God even today, reassures us softly in our hearts, of His presence and His graciousness. When we listen to His voice carefully, we come to understand the worth of His promises.

Like the prophet says, ‘although the fig tree not blossom, neither fruit be in the vines, or whatever wrong happen, he will rejoice in the Lord and joy in God’s salvation. So too, I pray, man trust God fully. This much I can tell you, mere trust in God is enough to lift our drooping spirits and cheer us in the worst situations. Remaining in the aura of God and trusting in His mighty strength can do wonders for us.

I’ve heard as well as seen God’s awesomeness in things He does for us. Bankrupt people have regained their riches, those terminally ill have leapt out of their beds and thrown away their support implements. Sinners have turned a new leaf and humans have found joy that bubbles ceaselessly from within. Such is our God and with Him comes the assurance of a full life. He has promised this and He will keep His promise, come what may. Therefore, I too declare that no matter what happens, I will joy in the Lord for He is my strength and the Rock of my salvation.

Thoughts for another day

August 6, 2008

Today's verse: Mic. 4:5. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The above is one of the most wonderful ways of expressing our allegiance to our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Israelites had collected before God in remembering His divine goodness showered on them, Joshua recounted all the marvelous deeds our beloved Father had done, from the time He had, with a powerful hand, brought them out of Egypt, making a spectacle of Pharaoh till the time, He had delivered the Promised Land to them. Finally, Joshua challenges them to abandon their gods, which are no gods and serve the Lord. He even dares them to decide that day who they would serve; and as a finale said that classic statement which every Christian needs to say: As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Decide today who you want to serve, and in whose name you want to walk. Whether it is in the name of the gods of the world and that could mean even mammon, or the One True God, Jesus Christ. There are many incentives to walk in His Name. The greatest being the gift of salvation He has given us by shedding His own blood. He then gives us the guarantee of always being with us in saying, ‘Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.’

Our God is good and He cares for us. He is attentive to every little sigh that can escape our lips and every little moan that we may utter. He delights in every smile that escapes our face and every laugh coming from our lips. God’s eyes are focused upon every thought of ours and He is good enough to forgive those that are evil. With God, there is no full stop but a comma. No matter how far we have gone, He can always guide us back. No matter, how difficult the situation, God can make a way and redeem. He is able to bring out a song in the most awkward situation and enable the flow of blood in the most blocked vein.

He who created us is very concerned about us or else He wouldn’t say, ‘I have carved you in the palm of My hand.’ He is very near to you, more than you can think. And in acknowledging His graciousness, make this declaration today, ‘though others may walk in the names of their gods, we shall walk in the Name of the Lord our God.’ Amen.

Thoughts for another day

August 5, 2008

Today's verse: Eccl. 11:5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

The other day I was watching a channel on science and they were talking of the progress science has made and how much man knows and that everything is in the grasp of man. I was literally taken aback because I was thinking of the so many things man doesn’t know; does he know what’s going to happen next! Still the boasting, etc.

As a question to all those trumpeters of knowledge (pls. don’t get me wrong, I am not against knowledge per se, but knowledge that tries to seek independence from God.) is provide the answers that God asks Job in chap. 38, 39 & 40. I bet they can’t because the human brain can only surmise and encapsulate from ‘what’s there’, it can hardly fathom that which isn’t there. Science has progressed to the extent, it can explain only how a thing happens but can’t answer why it happens, nor can stop it from happening!

And so we have our verse today, mentioning the same, that is, our knowledge does not span the instance nor the happening of the growth of the baby in the womb. How then can we know what’s there in the mind of God, who has made all. So magnificent is God’s knowledge, that although blind Bartimaeus was sitting by the side of the road and crying out, Jesus heard him amid the din in the crowd following Him (Mk. 10:46-52).

God can hear the cry of a forsaken child, lonely and uncared for in the farthest corner of the earth. He knows the haplessness of fish that are caught in the net and also understands the cries of a baby just born. O you, beloved of God, bear well in your heart this fact that God knows what you are going through. He understands every sigh that escapes your lips and knows the pain tormenting you. And He will not leave you nor forsake you. It’s just that He is waiting for you to allow entry into your realm and work out His magnificence in you. Could you open the door and allow Him entry?

Thoughts for another day

August 4, 2008

Today's verse: Is. 30:15. In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Traits belonging to the Almighty are: rest, peace, quiet, order, symphony, harmony and such like, because, He resides in them. Elijah understood it well, even as he ran away when Jezebel threatened to kill him; that too after the amazing way in which God worked in destroying 450 prophets of baal (1 Kings 19). God meets Elijah in the stillness of a tiny whispering sound on mount Horeb.

When a man soothes himself and is quiet, his mind is in a state where he can sense God’s presence, for God is found in stillness. His Word says, ‘Be still and know that I am God’. God’s knowledge is obtained only when the human brain refrains from thinking, it’s a difficult exercise (because the world tells us to always think) but with the Holy Spirit, it’s possible. People discover God in countless situations and myriad ways, but only in an atmosphere of silence. The stillness needs to be in the heart more than in the natural environment, for e.g. even on a busy sidewalk as you walk by, you could find God, just as you would find Him in the still, transparent and clear waters of a stream, flowing gently, far away in the woods.

And when we find God, the weakness that engulfs us is suddenly gone. The problems that tore at our minds vanish. The windows of refreshment open up and the meadows of pleasure warm the eyes as we see our difficulties removed. My friend, the aura of God’s presence is awesome. I have personally experienced it in falling down on my face and seen the beauty of His being, which soothes my nerves and calms my tremors. In the stillness of the moment in which you commune with Him, all you can grasp is His awesomeness and beauty.

I have discovered how my fears just melted away and how He promised me that all is well, despite my health speaking the contrary. Yet, time has proved the truth of His Word and I now rest beside cool waters, looking to my shepherd and into those eyes so beautiful that a song of praise oozes out of my heart. Praise You my God, I sing, for in You all is well.

Thoughts for another day

August 1, 2008

Today's verse: Hos. 12:4. Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Sometimes when in prayer, I reflect upon the power of God and it’s availability to us humans. I hear of many healings in testimonies and many lives transformed by God’s power. Then again I hear of powerful events in the lives of people when they invoked God and the note-worthy interventions of God in the lives of ordinary people. All this makes my mind burst with pure hope in the Lord and I wonder how I can make God’s power come alive in my life. Perhaps, today’s verse and a reading of the background of the verse will allow some illumination to me and of course to you my beloved in Christ.

Let’s go back to the time of Jacob’s wrestling with the Angel. We know that his mind was clogged with fear then. He was filled with tremendous anxiety: a man with wives, children, livestock and property fleeing from Laban, moving towards Canaan, the land of his father and toward Esau, his brother. Dread filled him for he remembered how he had cheated Esau and he didn’t know what to do. At this time, an Angel of the Lord, that is, the Lord, came and Jacob struggled with him. Jacob would not let God go, but persisted till the time, the Lord asked him, to allow Him to go. But Jacob agreed only if He would bless him and God did that.

Now here is a lesson to learn: of the power, of persistent, heart rending prayer to God. I call this ‘moving prayer’ for it translates into a kind of passionate intercourse with God, moving Him to act on your behalf. A situation when, you are so troubled that you tug at His heart. A circumstance of utter desperacy where without God’s supernatural power, you know you are sunk. And so you tremble in utter supplication. Adopting a stance of, ‘I will not move Lord, till you bless me.’ What a prayer. An act of mere man that pleases the Almighty so much that He yields. Strive my friend to break your heart in prayer that He tells His angels, ‘Now I must look upon him down there, who brings Me to tears!’