Thanksgiving

"By this My Father is glorified, that you may bear much fruit;   so you will be My disciples" (Jn 15:8)  In response to the rain the field must bring forth fruit. Rain is from above. God pours His blessing on us so we may be fruitful to Him. We must be productive to avoid backsliding. The rain typifies God's Spirit, God's Word and God's Grace. Let's briefly study the expected response from us on the receipt of each of these blessings.   God's  Spirit  is rain. This demands a twofold response. First our character. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22,23). The Holy Spirit is out-poured on us that we may bring forth these fruits. If instead we still continue to be manifesting "the works of the flesh" (Gal 5:19-21), we are bearing "thorns and briers" only. Every effort must be taken by us to cooperate with the Spirit to produce

"Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit..." (Zech 4:6) In these days when so much of Christian activity is carried out by mere human strength and skill, we need to have a fresh look at Jesus to learn how He ministered. Luke, a doctor as well as a historian, explains the secret of Christ's ministry: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). Jesus emptied Himself of all His own power and strength and received the power of the Spirit, thus giving us a pattern. The Word of the Lord to one of God's servants of old was, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts" (Zech 4:6). The sooner we learn this truth the better. Christ's dependence on the Holy Spirit was manifested by the fact that prayer was His top priority. He spent 40 days in fasting and prayer before His 40 months of public ministry. He came out from the wilderness "in th

"When Christ suffered, He did not threaten to get even. He left His case  in the hands of God, who always judges fairly" (1 Pet 2:23) The trouble with us today is that we want a 707 flight to the Promised Land without walking through the wilderness. Our impatience only learns patience through the thorns of delay and darkness. Though the entire earthly life of Christ was one of suffering from the cradle to the cross, His sufferings intensified infinitely during the final days. Read through the last chapters of the Gospels. His patience stands out. Peter, who was an eyewitness of all the mistreatment and suffering his Master experienced, wrote later, "When you do good and suffer for it, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Pet 2:21,22). How could Jesus be so patient in suffering? Because, He knew that everything

"I have singled Abraham out so that he will direct his sons  and their families to keep the way of the Lord" (Gen 18:19) Happy family is but an earlier Heaven! Sadly the devil has robbed families of joy and peace by offering substitutes. But God desires each family to experience happiness abundantly in every area of its life. It was perhaps to indicate this concern of His for families that His Son Jesus performed His first miracle in a marriage party (Jn 2:1-12). From this first century incident of Cana we can pick out some lessons today and tomorrow, for a happy home.   Presence of Jesus Jesus was "invited" to the wedding! (v 2). This made all the difference. The first secret of a happy home lies here. The presence of Jesus cannot be taken for granted. His presence is promised on condition that two or three shall "gather" in His Name (Mt 18:20). There was a time when it was hard to find Christian homes without family prayer. But nowadays so ma

"I will declare Your Name to My brothers;  in the midst of the congregation I will praise You" (Psa 22:22) One of the favourite texts used often in charismatic worship meetings is Philippians 2:10,11, "At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Undoubtedly this is a very appropriate text for worship. But we tend to lose sight of its closing words: "To the glory of God the  Father ." The meaning is, all worship must ultimately be to the Father. We are to worship the Father "by" the Spirit of God and rejoice "in" Christ Jesus (Phil 3:3). "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Col 1:3). "We bless our God and Father" (Js 3:9). In fact, Christ also joins us in praising the Father! He tells His Father, "I will declare Your Name to My brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You" (Psa 22:22; Heb 2:11-

"Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor 11:1) The Bible teaches us to be "followers of God as dear children" (Eph 5:1). Jesus was exactly like His Father. He bade His disciples, "Follow Me" (Mt 4:19). Then comes the third stage. Apostle Paul urged his converts, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor 11:1). The teaching of the Scriptures confirms that this chain should not be broken but continue from generation to generation. A chain smoker cried, "Don't tell me why; show me how!" We are desperately in need of men and women who can lead by example. We have often heard preachers say, "Don't look at me; look at Jesus!" This is nothing but escapism and sheer hypocrisy. Concerning such debasing examples among the religious leaders of His day Jesus warned the people, "Whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their deeds" (Mt 23:3). On the oth