Thanksgiving

"My House shall be called the House of Prayer,  but you have made it a den of thieves" (Mt 21:13) Miracles, signs and wonders will be plenty when God visits His people in revival power. Men with such gifts will be believed and obeyed unquestioningly for what all they say. The preachers may take advantage of the situation and make a business out of it. Religion will be commercialized. Huge sums of money will be raised for the pet projects and self-glorifying programmes of the preachers. Also moneyed people will woo and attract gifted preachers to bless their corrupt businesses. Preachers will indirectly promise special prayers for special offering. This is similar to the forgiveness tickets sold by the Pope for building fund. There will be all kinds of business around the "anointed oil" and "blessed handkerchief." Let's beware of attaching any kind and form of price tag to healing. Jesus said, "Heal the sick... Freely you have received, f...

"You younger, submit yourselves to the elder" (1 Pet 5:5) Obeying our spiritual leaders is actually obeying God. Any act against the leaders is sin against God. When Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, it was the  Lord  who heard it and punished them severely (Num 12:1,2). Submission to elders means the humbling of ourselves "under the mighty hand of  God " (1 Pet 5:5,6). He who says that he obeys God but does not obey his leaders is a liar; the truth is not in him! Leaders are not democratically elected but they are divinely appointed. The relationship between pastors and people must be that of a guru (master) and a disciple. In this discipling ministry to which the leaders are commissioned, obedience on the part of the disciples is indispensable. Once Jesus challenged His disciples, "Why do you call Me `Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Lk 6:46). It's easy to obey a leader who is efficient and charismatic. This ...

"Just as the One who called you is holy, be holy yourselves  in all your conduct and manner of living" (1 Pet 1:15) God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Love, Unchanging and Holy. But the only character that is thrice-repeated in any doxology found in the Bible is God's holiness. We have one example in the Old Testament and the other in the New. In Isaiah's vision the heavenly creatures called seraphim cried to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts!" (Isa 6:3). In John's revelation of open heaven the four living creatures kept worshipping God, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!" (Rev 4:8). To say the word "holy" twice in Hebrew is to describe someone as most holy. To say the word "holy" thrice intensifies the idea to the highest level. In the majority of Greek texts the word "holy" in Revelation 4:8 occurs nine times! Undoubtedly holiness dominates all other characters of G...

"Fear God and keep His commandments;  for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl 12:13) Fear is a powerful force that motivates us to obey. Noah feared God and obeyed Him to build an ark. If he had not obeyed, he would have got destroyed with others in the flood (Heb 11:7). Fear has two components, one negative and the other positive. Fear of punishment is negative. Fear for the person is positive. The negative thing is the worry of consequence. The other one is reverence for the person. For God-pleasing obedience both the dimensions are important. a) Negative fear The first lessons of obedience are usually learnt in the school of negative fear. When God gave Adam a commandment about the tree of knowledge, He warned him, "In the day when you eat of it you shall surely die!" (Gen 2:17). Parents show the cane or threaten their children, "I'll kick you if you do it!" Teachers warn students they would fail if they don't work hard. While c...

"O magnify the Lord with me,  and let us exalt His Name together" (Psa 34:3) The central portion of the Sermon on Prayer is the Lord's Prayer. "Unity in Diversity" is the thread of Indian culture. "Unity is Prosperity" has been our slogan. In the Tamil language, your lips touch each other only when you say "we" and not "I." This selfless attitude for striving towards a common welfare remains the basic concept of our Lord's Prayer. Mt 6:9-13,  "Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever and ever. Amen." Can there be a better prayer? Articulated by the Master in Prayer who had known the Father's mind p...

"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands,  as is fitting in the Lord" (Col 3:18) Obeying your husband is obeying God. "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is Head of the Church. Therefore just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything" (Eph 5:22-24). The Biblical submission expected from the wife is more than respect; it is reverence. It is more than compliance; it is obedience. The true spirituality of a wife is measured by her attitude of submission manifested in her acts of obedience to the husband. This "hidden person of the heart" of the woman is "very precious in the sight of God" (1 Pet 3:4). "For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands" (v5). Any other outward adornment, be it hairstyle, jewellery, white saree...

"For this child I prayed ... He will belong to the Lord his whole life"  (1 Sam 1:27,28) God had only one Son and He sent Him as a missionary-martyr to this world. If you have two children, you have one too many to give away to serve the Lord! Jesus was most precious to the Father (Prov 8:27-30). The Father was ready to sacrifice His daily delight for the sake of the "sons of men" because He "so loved the world" (Jn 3:16). There was nothing more precious to God than His Son. But He spared Him not! (Rom 8:32). Can we do less to save our fellowmen? Isaac (meaning "laughter") was the daily delight of the old couple Abraham and Sarah. When God demanded that they sacrifice their sole joy, Abraham hesitated not a moment because he loved God more than he loved his son. Abraham was rewarded. Abraham got back his "laughter," now sanctified. Anyone who leaves anything for the sake of the Gospel shall receive a hundredfold (Mt 19:29). ...