Thanksgiving

"Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (Lk 23:46) The sayings of Jesus on the Cross were not yet over when He uttered the victorious words, "It is finished." The only begotten Son of God left His home in glory and came into this world to offer His own precious life as a ransom for man's salvation. After fulfilling the perfect will of His Father, remembering Psalm 31:5, Jesus commended His spirit into the hands of His Heavenly Father. No one was able to take the life of Jesus. It was His own freewill offering. We don't need to fear about tomorrow because Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the one who was, who is and who is to come. He is the "A" and the "Z." Jesus said, "I give My sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand...

"It is finished!" (Jn 19:30) All the demands of a holy and righteous God were perfectly satisfied when Christ offered His body without any blemish, and shed His blood without any spot. His was the perfect offering. There is nothing we can add to it because it is just not necessary. Man thought that Jesus was finished, but He shouted victoriously that the work was finished! Salvation comes to us as a free gift because of the finished work on the Cross. A gift cannot be earned, it must only be received. On God's side salvation is all of grace, and on our side it is all of faith. We are not saved "by" good works but "for" good works. Boasting is totally out (Eph 2:8-10). The gospel is a Good News for those who have done their best but failed! The problem of the natural man with human reasoning is in understanding how the greatest of all gifts can be received by simple faith. In his pride and prestige he wants to "do" something and ...

" I thirst!" (Jn 19:28) Christ who told the woman of Samaria, "He who drinks the water that I give shall never thirst," now on the cruel Cross cried, "I thirst!" After sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was dragged to the rulers here and there. He was tortured by the Roman soldiers. He was flogged, and crowned with thorns. He bore the heavy Cross and staggered as He was led to Golgotha. All this resulted in this agonising thirst as He hung on the Cross with his torn body. He refused to accept the painkiller drink offered to Him. Thus He submitted Himself to consciously undergo anguish and suffering. Why did He suffer thus? Christ thirsted that we might not thirst again. He was wounded for us so He might become an "open fountain" (Zech 13:1). The Shepherd was struck but He didn't run away from the sheep. He leads them to "still waters" and satisfies them with "goodness and mercy" (Zech 13:7; Psa 23). ...

"O God, You are my strength; I wait for You" (Psa 59:9) It is only natural to run for shelter and refuge on the face of threat and danger. It's reflex action that's common to humankind. But in this era of swift and lethal weaponry, no place is absolutely safe unless God protects us. Because our times are in His hands and we are in His palms, we must learn to relax in any situation. The profitability of waiting on God when we are threatened and hounded is best explained in Isaiah 30:15,16, "The Sovereign Lord says: Only in returning to Me and waiting for Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength." God's silence and slowness in acting on our behalf when we are under the severe attack of our enemies may be due to two reasons. Either God wants to strengthen us by delaying deliverance or He wants to sanctify us. Taking time to sit before God in self-examination is the only way to experience victory. There may come times ...

"We are not boasting of things beyond measure,  that is, in other men's labours" (2 Cor 10:15) We painfully watch many faith evangelists in Christian TV literally begging people to help pay their large pending bills or the huge bank loans. This does not bring glory to God. One of the Christian broad- casting agencies in India tells of some evangelists who don't even reply its repeated reminders to pay their long dues of airtime cost. One should not do everything and get into trouble. "No one should think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has given to each one a measure of faith" (Rom 12:3). It is good to plan big projects but the Bible cautions us to "sit down first and count the cost" whether we have enough to finish it (Lk 14:28). Expansion in Christian ministries is God's blessing. But don't overtake God. In the parable of talents, all were not given equal number of talents. One was give...

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from Above  and comes down from the Father of Lights" (Js 1:17) The lists of spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible are not exhaustive but only suggestive. There are undoubtedly several other gifts not mentioned explicitly in these lists. Here are some examples— God has gifted many of His saints to compose and sing songs so sweetly and play extolling music. King David was one such unusually gifted person. He was called the "anointed sweet Psalmist of Israel" (2 Sam 23:1). In today's mission world, Mr. Emil Jebasingh stands out as a gifted composer of many missionary challenge songs. A severe fever made Fanny Crosby (1823-1915) blind when she was six weeks old. She died at 92. The Lord unusually gifted her and she composed thousands of hymns which never grow old. "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine"  is one of them. Both in celebration and the proclamation of His praise, God has used arts widely. He f...

"We are not, as so many, adulterate the Word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God" (2 Cor 2:17) "The Word of the Lord was rare in those days!" (1 Sam 3:1). This was one of the darkest periods in the history of the people of Israel. I am afraid those days are upon us again. We have more preachers and hear more sermons now than any time in the history of the Church. But where is the "message" of the Lord? The rarity of the message of the Lord in our modern pulpits can be first attributed to  money.  The message of God in general is clearer and more definite from the mouths of preachers who are materially poorer than those who are affluent. Three snares which have fatally trapped many servants of God are gold, girls and glory. Riches top the list of these three. Manipulating people to milk money from them has become commonplace. A young boy swallowed a coin. A little girl standing nearby shouted, "Send him ...

"We (the apostles) are ready to punish all disobedience  when your obedience is fulfilled" (2 Cor 10:6) John the Baptist must have learnt obedience from his parents who were "walking in all the commandments of the Lord, blameless" (Lk 1:6). His ministry in turn was "to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just" (v17). He accepted to baptise Jesus only when the appeal was made on the basis of fulfilling God's righteous commandments. Jesus began His ministry only at thirty years of age. Until then He was practising a walk of obedience before the Father. Approving His spirit of submission and obedience, the Father testified at the commencement of His ministry, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Mt 3:17). Evangelism means calling people to "obedience to the faith" (Rom 16:25,26). Disobedient men and women are disqualified to proclaim the evangel. They will only bring dishonour to the Name of God among...

"I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock  shall be scattered" (Mt 26:31; Zech 13:7) Though all Christians will have to pass through trials and tribulations, those in Christian ministry and leadership will be the primary target of the devil. We don't remove a tree by plucking off leaves or cutting off branches. The axe will be laid at the "root" of the tree! Having been in Christian leadership for over three decades, I would say that those in leadership positions must not be envied but pitied. Godly leaders never came up to their positions by their choice or grabbing of seats. More often than we think, God puts them there more or less by compulsion. He would not accept their excuses to assume such responsibilities (Ex 4:10-13; Jer 1:4-8). Constant weight of responsibilities, sleepless nights due to pressures and problems, frequent travels, hectic schedule, pressures due to unrealistic expectations of people, non-cooperation and strife amo...

"In that Jesus Himself has suffered, being tempted,  He is able to aid those who are tempted" (Heb 2:18) To overcome temptations, look to Jesus. The answer is in Him. He was tempted like us "in all points," but He overcame (Heb 4:15). "He is able to aid those who are tempted" (Heb 2:18). On our part we are to first surrender the organs of our body as a living sacrifice on God's altar (Rom 12:1). We are no more ours. We are bought with a price. We belong to God. Make a covenant with your eyes that you will no more look at someone lustfully (Job 31:1). Present your hands to God so it may not touch the forbidden. And your legs not to go where Christ Himself would not go (Rom 6:13). And so on. Remind yourself of this commitment each morning. The power to say no to sin is yours by the indwelling Christ. You are dead, buried, raised and seated with Him (Rom 6:3,4). Meditate on this fact of identification with Christ as often as possible. To rec...

He rejoiced having believed in God with all his family" (Acts 16:34) It is such a joy to have an atmosphere of faith at home. Abraham's obedience was not only personal as an individual but also collective as a family. It is more difficult for a woman than for a man to leave a settled home life. Though the Bible does not clearly spell out anything concerning Sarah at this stage, it is well implied that she wholeheartedly agreed with Abraham when he told her of God's call to leave Ur. She embraced Abraham's call as her call too. We will have many more thousands ushered into mission fields if only the spouses would thus cooperate. Generally God calls the husband. The wife must follow her head. I cherish the phrase, "By faith Sarah also..." Not only in the call of God to leave Ur but also in His commandment to offer Isaac, Sarah stood heartily with Abraham to obey God. Abraham's rising up early in the morning to go to the place of sacrifice was by n...

"Our Father who is in Heaven!" (Lk 11:2) When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He pointedly told them whom they must address: "Our FATHER in Heaven!" (Lk 11:1,2). This was not a casual statement but a deliberate teaching. In the parallel passage in Matthew chapter six, see how many times Jesus uses the phrase, "Your Father" (vv 1,4,6,8,14,15,18,26,32). He linked every spiritual discipline, like praying, forgiving, fasting and alms-giving, to the Father. After resurrection He sent word to the disciples, "I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" (Jn 20:27). I cannot understand where, when and why Christians slipped into the habit of addressing Jesus directly in prayer and closing it in Jesus' Name! We can't ask Jesus in Jesus' Name! Illogical! Referring to the dispensation of the New Covenant that would begin with the death of Christ, He pre-taught His disciples,  "In that d...