Thanksgiving

"Christ left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly"  (1 Pet 2:23) Jesus was perfect in His words. If He Himself was so misunderstood in His day, how do we expect that we can escape the cross of misunderstanding? How Jesus handled misunderstanding and injustice gives us atleast three valuable lessons. a) "God is on the Throne!" "You may misunderstand Me, but My Father in Heaven knows My heart. You may mistreat Me, but My Father in Heaven will vindicate Me. You may be sitting on the Prime Minister's seat or the President's chair, but the one seated on the throne in Heaven is My Father." This was the mental response of Jesus to misunderstanding and mistreatment. Look at the answer He gave to Pilate: "Pilate said to Him: Do You not know that I have authority to crucify You, and authority to release You? Jesus answered: You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from  above! " (Jn 19...

"The Lord will not permit the godly to slip and fall!" (Psa 55:22) King David's life experiences in history had a prophetic reflection in the life of the Son of David. King David mourned, "It is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it... But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance!" (Psa 55:12-14); "Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me" (Psa 41:9). The lot of Jesus was the same. Jesus handled the hurts from friends by confidence in God and love towards them. a) Confidence of Security The devil literally entered the heart of Judas and enticed him to betray his Lord. It was no ordinary thing. For Jesus it was more than a sword piercing through His heart. But He was not agitated. He stayed calm because He KNEW that "the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God" (Jn 13:2,3). No doubt...

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I will fear no evil" (Psa 23:4) From day one Jesus knew that He had come to die. But when the hour approached, He got "deeply depressed." He handled the fear of death with two powerful weapons— a) Prayer of Commitment When fear of death gripped the Lord, He offered a prayer of commitment that is unparalleled in history. He said, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Mt 26:39). The fact that He repeated the same prayer thrice speaks of His dead earnestness. The Father God was so pleased with the prayer of His Son that He sent a special angel from Heaven to strengthen Him (Lk 22: 42-45). His feeble hands, fainting knees and faltering feet received strength to stand up and face whatever (Heb 12:12). Another truth to be learnt here is that the responsibility to pray is primarily on the sufferer. "Is anyone a...

"The righteous may trip seven times,  but each time they will rise again" (Prov 24:16) In His encounter with Jacob, God told him, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" (Gen 32:28). But the Bible continued to call him Jacob (e.g. Gen 33:1). Our "old nature" is not eradicated from us. We have to live with our "old man" all our life. No one but Paul was frank and honest enough to acknowledge this fact: "I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't... If I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it" (Rom 7:18-20). He found out that victory over sin is only by "considering" constantly that we are dead to sin, and giving preference to the new man in us to make choices (Rom 6:11). In this lifelong warfare, there need not be bu...

"The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life  are not of the Father" (1 Jn 2:16) If we indulge in the works of the flesh, we are sure to miss the leading of the Holy Spirit. Sensuality and spirituality are opposed to each other and the battle goes on constantly in our hearts (Rom 8:12-14). We may read the Bible, say our prayers and go through all the disciplines of Christian life. But if we don't learn to say no to sinful desires, we cannot say yes to the Spirit's directions in our life. Our sinful nature cannot be eradicated from us but we can be emancipated from it by the Spirit of Life (Rom 8:2). We must constantly reckon our old man as dead. This is more than an occasional meditation. Rather it's a conscious moment-by-moment assertion. This inner victory is fundamental to fight other battles outside of us. The "good and acceptable and perfect will of God" is made known only to those who refuse to be conformed to the f...

"All athletes practice strict self-control...They do it to win a prize" - (1 Cor 9:25)    Some youngsters, when they get saved, start spending their evenings and all leisure time in prayers, Bible study groups and such spiritual activities. A few others find it difficult to leave sports and games. Some wonder whether the time they spend for sports instead of the soul is a waste. Is there a Biblical answer to this question? Though the Bible does not directly encourage sports and games, it nowhere condemns it. By using many examples from the field of sports and games Paul and other Scripture writers explained spiritual truths in the Bible (Eph 6:12; 1 Tim 6:12; 1 Pet 1:4; Heb 12:1,2; Js 1:12). Sports and games have many positive effects on the participants. A good sportsman is known for the discipline of his body, that is so vital to Christian life (1 Cor 9:24-27). Then there's obeying of the rules. In Christian ministry also, it is not "what" but "...