Thanksgiving

 Luke 19   26  “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. Per Paul, we are God's co-workers. God has Blessed us with talents and gifts so that we can be a Blessing to others. When He assigns a work to us , could be small or big always give your best. See how you can constantly improve and complete it successfully. Never remain stagnant or give excuses and not do the work. Matthew 9 :    37  Then he said to his disciples,  “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;   End days are nearing and Gospel message has to be taken to all people. Fresh revivals should occur  in every place, every family, every individual.  So joyfully and prayerfully join hands with God and be part of His wonderful work. Sharing Gospel message doesn't always need to be public speaking. It can be as simple as a blog like this or sharing a Bible verse or ...

Luke 18 (NKJV) 10  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   11  The Pharisee   stood and prayed thus with himself,   ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.   12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’   13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise  his  eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’   14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified  rather  than the other;   for everyone who exalts himself will be   [ a ] humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” God despises proud. And we immediately think ah! I don't have pride. I am not proud of the Blessings I have received like materialistic stuff or personal or family achievements but I give Glory to God in all those instances....

Hannah's prayer from I Sam 2:1-10 .  prayer reminds us on giving Thanks and remain Thankful when our Prayers are answered. Most of the times, we wouldn't thank God or spend time with Him once our Prayers are answered as much as we would have spent when we had been Praying and waiting for that Blessing. I Sam chapter 1 tells us how much Hannah suffered without the Blessing of Child and how amazingly God changed her shame to Praise. This prayer highlights thanksgiving, giving Glory to God and most importantly faithful affirmations of God's promises and who God is. If you look at Luke 17:17-19 we see only one leper coming back and thanking God. Its not that God expects thanks its our relationship with Him matters most especially once our Prayers are answered. Prayers of praise can be best learnt from King David, take any of the Psalms all will start and end with Praises to God. David will crib about his issues , express his worries, frustrations but he will always ensure he i...

  Matthew Chapter 1 verse 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”   Right from Genesis if we see God always wanted to be closer to man and have a fellowship with us. But, it was man, who walks away from God. Still God did not give up on us rather He came to this world to be with us. And this promise that He fulfilled is not just for few days or few years but always as He says in Matthew 28:20. We see this prophesy in Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. – This was a prophesy to King Ahaz as a sign to trust God and not to seek Assyria King’s help. But Ahaz dint. It’s difficult at times but when life makes us to question our faith let’s try not to be like Ahaz but in any sit...

Whenever I read Mark 11 my focus had always been on Jesus speaking about the importance of belief and faith in action (verse 22 to verse 24). But, while reading that chapter today my attention was drawn towards verse 12 to verse 14.  12  The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.   13  Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.   14  Then he said to the tree,  “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” I was surprised to see Jesus getting angry not just that but, he cursed the fig tree which is quite unusual of Him. The big question I had in my mind was - why will Jesus curse that fig tree knowing that it was not the season for figs. The only thing that came in my mind was that fig tree had leaves and it was deceptive but cudnt quite connect the two. gotquestions.org set the context for me by explaining th...

The Lord's Prayer The whole Christian world (Churches /24 x 7 Prayer / Christian leaders) recently started buzzing about this Prayer. So, what is this Lord's prayer? I wanted to share about this Prayer which is super special for me always.  This is more of my understanding of this great Prayer and how I feel about it. This special prayer was first taught to me by my mom when I was a kid to say every morning and evening. Being raised in traditional Church, saying this Prayer became a religious practice during school days. But after a time understood the actual meaning of this prayer and started saying it whole-heartedly on daily basis. Many a times I have felt I don't know what to Pray and how to Pray for certain scenarios and all those times I have prayed Lord's Prayer and trust me it was the best times and the answers I received were just amazing. This prayer does not have vague words, right structuring, right themes and words - A perfect prayer or you can eve...

"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...

"Backbiters are worthy of death" (Rom 1:30-32) Speaking ill of another person in his absence is called slander or backbiting. We don't help anyone by this act. God has commanded in the Law, "You shall not go as a talebearer among your people" (Lev 19:16). The reason He gives is, "I am the Lord!" In other words, God hates backbiting. We may justify ourselves saying, "After all, I am telling the truth only." Imagine God revealing our sins to others! It was true that Noah was lying naked in his tent because of drunkenness. Ham his son, instead of covering his dad, told the matter to his brothers. The result was that Ham inherited only curse! (Gen 9:20-27). "Love covers multitude of sins!" (1 Pet 4:8). Lovelessness is the root cause of backbiting. Love rejoices not in evil (1 Cor 13:6). We don't realize that it is God who first hears what we speak when we slander against anyone. Backbiting grieves the Holy Spirit because i...

"You must be ready all the time.  For the Son of Man will come when least expected" (Mt 24:44) In His discourses on the end-time Jesus emphasized watchfulness in prayer over anything else. "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is" (Mk 13:33; Mt 25:13). Jesus might have known that in these days there would be a slump in prayer-time. The world is busier than ever. In spite of so many modern gadgets to do things faster, we don't have so much spare time as our forebears. Everyday it's hectic. The casualty is always the prayer-time. In the Bible, watching and praying are often mentioned together (Lk 21:36; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2). The saying goes, "He who prays sins not; He who sins prays not!" In these days when sin abounds, prayer is the only way of escape. Martin Luther (1483-1546) testified, "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day." As our work increa...

"I don't seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me"  (Jn 5:30) Man considers self-willed life as freedom. But wisdom cries out, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Prov 14:12). Therefore, "Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek God's will in all you do, and He will direct your paths" (Prov 3:5). More often than we think what we seek in prayer is God's endorsement of our own plans. We think that once we mention our plans and desires in prayer, they are automatically sanctioned by the Almighty. We then go about launching our programs boastfully. The Bible condemns this kind of life in the strongest possible terms: "Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is: If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (Js 4:13-16). We should speak thus with a godly fear. We are at times so obsessed with o...

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness  of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Phil 2:3) Divisions in Churches are sometimes around personalities or due to various doctrinal emphases or disputes or differences of opinion. Though it is Christ who redeemed us, some people stick around personalities: "I am of Paul... I am of Apollos... I am of Cephas." And there is yet another group — an interdenominational denomination—"I am of Christ" (1 Cor 1:11-13). Paul was perhaps well aware of this problem well ahead and that was why he didn't baptize too many people. Thank God for a preacher like Paul who did not keep a record of baptisms! "I do not know if I baptized any other," he said (v16). If Jesus had baptized people, they would have claimed that their baptism was superior to others. So He let His disciples do the baptizing (Jn 4:1,2). Divisions may also be due to various doctrinal emp...

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name"  (Jn 14:26) It is thrilling to meditate on the following list of comparison between Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit: « Jesus Christ is God's first comforter; the Holy Spirit is God's second comforter. « Jesus Christ is compared to a Lamb the gentlest of all animals while the Holy Spirit is compared to a Dove the gentlest of all birds. « Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are holy and they both teach us holiness. « Jesus Christ is the Theme of the Scriptures; the Holy Spirit is its Author. « Jesus Christ is received by faith; we believe and receive the Holy Spirit. « Jesus Christ was rejected by many Jews; the Holy Spirit is rejected by many Churches. « We confess Jesus Christ with our mouth; we speak in tongues after receiving the Holy Spirit. « Jesus Christ is the price of our redemption; the Holy Spirit is the seal of our redemption. « We pray in the Name of Jesus and in the power of the Ho...

"If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile,  you are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:17) Christ is given "the Name above every name" (Phil 2:9; Acts 2:32,36) because of resurrection. In the Name of Jesus we have the victory! "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe" (Prov 18:10). It's a bunker no scud missile can penetrate! The Name of Jesus is the "Patriot" that intercepts the enemy's missiles, not missing one! David warned Goliath, "you come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the  Name  of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel!" (1 Sam 17:45). In the Name of Jesus, demons will have to flee (Mk 16:17). The Resurrected Christ lives in us (Gal 2:20). He our General is greater than the one in the world (1 Jn 4:4). Jesus triumphantly declared, "I've overcome the world!" What words of cheer to the army in the heat of th...

"The fool has said in his heart, There is no God!"   (Psa 14:1) Scientific inventions like Cable TV, Cell Phone, Satellite and Super Computer make many people, especially youngsters, in the 21st century to doubt the very existence of God. "Science or Scriptures?" is a question that constantly challenges the mind. The Bible is not against Science. The Bible in fact agrees with true Science. The Bible abounds in scientific facts. It declares that the world is round (Isa 40:22). Even thousands of years before, the Bible has stated that the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7). We have learned from the Bible the scientific facts such as the stars in the sky cannot be numbered (Gen 15:5), and there is oil in the valley of Siddim (Arabia) (Gen 14:10). The Bible has also mentioned that iron is taken from the earth (Job 28:2) and that molten glass is cast into moulds (Job 37:18). Surely God who has created Heaven and earth knows all this! Many eminent Scientists ...