Thanksgiving

"The just shall live by faith" (Hab 2:4) Martin Luther (1483-1546) in the beginning of the 15th Century thundered, "The just shall live by faith," and shattered the superstitious beliefs, corrupt religious practices and meaningless ceremonies of the medieval Church. We celebrate Reformation Day today in remembrance of this phase of restoration of Biblical truth. This golden text occurs in the Bible for the first time in Habakkuk 2:4. The meaning of this text in the context is, "Let come what may, the people of God will survive by the hidden faith in their hearts." Dr.C.I. Scofield (1843-1921) of the famous Reference Bible calls this text as the central truth of the Scriptures. The name Habakkuk means "one who embraces." It depicts the depth of Divine love on degraded humanity. It is this inexplicable love that made God to send forth His only Son into this world of sin and suffering. The importance attached to this truth about faith ...

"God's great works are too marvellous to understand.  He performs miracles without number" (Job 9:10) In times of tribulation, we provoke God more by our words than our deeds. Because, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mt 12:34). It is the "why" and "what" questions which disturb our equilibrium and make us pour out words of impatience while suffering. There will be calm in spite of storm if only we know "who" is in control. Job said, "When God comes near, I cannot see Him. When He moves on, I do not see Him go" (Job 9:11). He trusted God "who" was in control even though he could not see Him. God is light and He is in the light. This is only one side of divine revelation. Solomon the wise had known the other side. He once prayed, "O Lord, You have said that You would live in thick darkness" (1 Ki 8:12). Glittering light and pompous show will there be where earthly kings are seated. It...

"I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall  so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one"" (Ezek 22:30) The power failure in the Church today is due to Prayer failure. Churches which boast of the Sunday morning attendance must mourn the attendance in the midweek prayer meeting. Even prayer meetings have more of preaching, planning and partying than praying. Isaiah laments, "He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor" (Isa 59:16). He told God, "There is no one who calls on Your Name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You" (64:7). Our Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray, but who teaches the art of praying in Church or seminary? Preachers are interested to get people write to them for prayer, but who teaches the people to pray for themselves through situations? There is nothing wrong in helping others in sickness and sorrow (Js 5:14), but we preachers have an awesome resp...

"Reject profane and old wives' fables,  and exercise yourself rather to godliness" (1 Tim 4:7) Deception is the most undiagnosed disease in the Church. The worst thing about deception is that the deceived persons will not know that they are deceived. The number of the deceived is increasing at an alarming rate as we approach the end of the age. When the disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?," His very first statement in reply was, "Take care that no one  deceives  you!" (Mt 24:3,4). He added that even the very elect might be deceived (v24). Recovery from deception is extremely difficult. Prevention is better than cure. That's why Jesus said, "See, I have told you  beforehand!"  (v25). Let me suggest here a few safeguards against deception—   * Give top priority to Bible meditation among the other disciplines of devotional life. The Bible admonishes us to go to the presence of God...

"O taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psa 34:8) There are several questions people ask about salvation from sin by Christ. If someone says that he will get saved only after all his questions are answered satisfactorily, it is very likely that he will never get saved. Mere intellectual knowledge never saved anyone. Is it not foolishness if someone refuses to use electricity until he understands all about electricity? However here are the direct answers from the Bible for some of the commonest questions and excuses—  I am religious enough; is it not enough? "Unless you are converted and become as little children you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mt 18:3)    Is it not enough if I harm nobody but always do good to others? "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts" (Lk 16:15) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not is us" (1 Jn 1:8)   Will a G...

"Godliness with contentment is great gain!" (1 Tim 6:6) A very important lesson we learn from the obedient life of Abraham is his contentment with less. "By faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents" (Heb 11:9). A comfortable city-dweller is now in the deserts. He left towers for tents. He faced too many odd situations. But we don't see any trace of murmuring in his story. The delay of the fulfilment of God's promise did cause some despair to Abraham. Nevertheless he resisted the temptation to complain. He politely prayed, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless?" (Gen 15:2). Our disobedience very often stems from our impatience. We set aside God's will and sail away in a direction of our choice. We come to our senses only when weeds wrap around our head (Jon 2:5). But Abraham, after he had patiently endured, obtained the promise (Heb 6:15). In this age of quick results and in...

"The message of the Cross is the power of God to us  who are being saved" (1 Cor 1:18) The power of the Gospel is what initiates our Christian life. Apostle Paul unashamedly declared to those in Rome, the political capital of the then world, "The Gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16). It applies equally to all, whether a religious Jew or an intellectual Greek or an illiterate tribal (v14). No religious ritual however sacred, no logical reasoning however sound, or no tradition however ancient can save a man. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only power that God uses to bring men and women into eternal salvation. The story of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely a historical event. It's a message of power. It transforms instantly  "the vilest offender who truly believes!"  The Gospel is not just a narrative. It's a Person. It's Christ. "Christ is the power of God...

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 Jn 1:8) An oft-quoted Bible verse in Christian discipleship programmes is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!" But the new disciple soon finds out that atleast in his case this Scripture is not experienced. He wonders why. He dares not ask others about it. He struggles within himself, sometimes even for years, without finding a satisfactory explanation. He worries whether he is the lonely struggler. If no one gives him a clear teaching on this subject, he settles down for the status quo and even thinks that such promises in the Bible are applicable only to deluxe editions of Christians. May be, dear reader, you are in such a condition. The total change promised in this text seems to be out of your reach. You are however constantly bothered by the question, When will I ever change? Spiritual rebirth through...

"When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray  to your Father who is unseen; then He will reward you openly" (Mt 6:5,6). With the renewal of interest in the subject of intercession and spiritual warfare has come the practice of organized walks across the streets of cities and towns called Prayer Walks. Is this right? First and foremost, it must be pointed out that, according to Jesus, prayer must be essentially offered in secret (Mt 6:5,6). He condemned the intentional habit of certain religionists of His day who loved to pray "on the corners of the streets." According to Jesus, the secret of prayer was praying in secret. Rarely do we read Him praying in public. Even for the sick He never prayed in public. He simply healed them. When Paul saw the city of Athens full of idols, he did not organize a Prayer March. Instead he reasoned with people daily in the marketplaces (Acts 17:16,17). When Peter was imprisoned, the believers did not march ...

"You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" (Mt 23:24) Jesus used this proverb in His last sermon while rebuking the hypocritical religion of His day which emphasized the externals and evaded the essentials. Gnats were perhaps smallest among flies. The camel was the largest land animal in Palestine and ritually unclean. Jesus is seen terribly angry in the entire 23rd chapter of Matthew. He pronounces "woe" atleast eight times. He addressed the religious leaders as "hypocrites, blind guides and fools." Today's Christianity is not much different from the Jewish religion of Christ's day. We can only follow what our leaders preach and not what they practise (Mt 23:3). The leaders are hard on people but soft on themselves (v4). They wear special dresses for recognition (v5). They are after titles and positions (vv 6-12). When the leaders stop growing in the things of God, they would block the growth of the people also (v13). Preachers rob wido...

"I will worship toward Your holy temple... for You have magnified Your Word above all Your Name" (Psa 138:2) Undeniably these are days of restoration of praise and worship. New songs and choruses are composed and set to contemporary music. The worship time is getting more and more lively, and people are excited about it even in the non-charismatic churches. This is welcome as we are preparing to meet our Bridegroom in the mid-air. The ceaseless activity of saints of all ages in Heaven would be worship! But the worrisome fact is that praise and worship take too much of time in the services leaving very little for the exposition of God's Word. Eventhough worship can be a time of preparation for the congregation to listen to the sermon, it is commonly observed that in emotionally-charged meetings people get physically exhausted and are not fresh enough to hear the message. In this situation the speakers move into extempore preaching and as a result the people don...

"Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of  My love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may shower righteousness on you!" (Hos 10:12) The meditation and study of God's Word has played a vital role in the revivals or restoration movements recorded in the Old Testament. The revival under King Josiah and that under Ezra are examples (2 Ki 22:8-11; Ezra 7:10). Amos prophesied of days of famine, not of bread or water, but of the Word of God (Am 8:11,12). I believe these days are already upon us! We hear only stories and experiences from many pulpits and very little exposition of God's Word. News of the preacher's latest overseas trip becomes the body of the sermon. Comparing Scripture with Scripture has become a lost art. People want everything light—light music, light reading and light sermons! The resurrected Christ missed no opportunity to expound the Scriputres to His disciples...

"Joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents" (Lk 15:7) Though large crowds were flocking to hear Jesus and to be healed by Him, He never lost touch with individuals and their needs. He was never too busy for a Nicodemus or a Zacchaeus. He was more concerned about the one lost sheep than the ninetynine safe ones. Every Christian must be a "personal" soulwinner all his life. Anytime is soulwinning time and anyone is a soul to be won. That is what Jesus reiterated by winning the thief on the Cross! We are wasting too much time, money and energy in mass crusades, not understanding the limitless possibilities of personal evangelism. D. L. Moody (1837-1899) was a great crusade Evangelist but he said, "There is nothing like hand-plucked fruit!" The laws of a Nation may ban mass crusades, but who can stop personal evangelism? If only each one in the Church could reach one outside, the Church growth will defeat all imagination. Take for example a congr...

"Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own desires,  and enticed" (Js 1:14) The first two sentences each newborn babe in Christ should learn are, "Yes, Lord!" and "No, Thanks!" The first one is his instant response to whatever God says, and the next one his immediate reply to whatever Satan suggests. Adam as the first man of the human race was defeated because he failed to say, "No, Thanks!" to the devil, whereas Jesus the Second Adam leads humanity in triumph because He outrightly rejected Satan's suggestions. We will have a comparative study on this today, so we may not blame anyone or anything for our failure.   Bodily cravings Jesus overcame the temptation when He was really hungry after forty days of fasting, whereas Adam and Eve failed even when they had all the fruits and vegetables at their disposal (Mt 4:2; Gen 2:16). God has given us enough and more. We must learn to be content. Be content with your wife, y...

"Only in returning to Me and waiting for Me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength" (Isa 30:15) God is never in haste because all things are under His sovereign control. This knowledge will keep us from panicking. Abraham's impatience brought forth Ishmael. The perfect will of God therefore gave way to His permissive will. Till today the descendants of Ishmael are wild against the chosen people of God (Gen 16:11,12). It is folly to expect instant results just because we walk in the will of God. A "little while" in divine economy may mean anything between one day and one thousand years. Once we know what we are doing is the perfect will of God, we must stay put — "living by faith" (Heb 10:38). We must not bail ourselves out by means of our resources. God allows crises in our lives not to break us, but to make us; not to destroy us but to develop us. He is out to improve the quality of our lives. Today is World Standards D...

"I wish that you all spoke with tongues" (1 Cor 14:5) Speaking in tongues, that is speaking in languages unknown to the speaker, is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:10). Unfortunately it has become a controversial issue in Christendom. It is because of the extreme views people hold on this subject. For some, this gift is everything, whereas for others it is nothing. Both are wrong. There is no direct teaching as a doctrine in the Scriptures that speaking in tongues is the only sign or evidence of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, there are ample examples of people speaking in tongues when they were baptised or filled with the Spirit. All the 120 disciples who received the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost spoke with other tongues (Acts 2:4). When the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his family the Jewish believers who had come with Peter "heard them speak with tongues and magnify God" (Acts 10:46). When Paul laid hands on ...