Thanksgiving

"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 among...

"Man shall not live by bread alone,  but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt 4:4) Fasting is not dispensational. It's a spiritual discipline for all times. That's why Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said, "WHEN you fast" and not "IF you fast!" (Mt 6: 16). This Sermon is not a dispensational lecture of Christ. Rather it is the Magna Carta for Christian living. Jesus called fasting an "act of righteousness" alongwith giving and praying (6:1,2,5,16). We are not saved "by" works of righteousness but definitely "for" works of righteousness (Eph 2:9,10). The Pharisees tithed and we teach tithing as the minimum for Christians. And they fasted twice a week (Lk 18:12). What shall be our practice? Neither tithing nor fasting is explicitly commanded in the New Testament, but who can deny their need and relevance today? These are days when what's obligatory becomes optional. That which is optional...

"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...

"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14:6) There are many who are Christians for generations but they have never experienced personal salvation. They regularly read their Bible, say their prayers, attend the Church Services, and so on. But they would not be in a position to give an instant "yes" answer to the question, "Are you saved?" In the same way, there are numerous non-Christians we attend Gospel Campaigns and listen to Christian radio or TV programmes regularly, without ever coming into a personal experience of salvation. The reason is that these sincere people have never been told the simple steps to God's great Salvation. Today can be your day of Salvation if you follow these three simple steps—  Accept! Accept that you are a sinner before God. Our so-called good characters may even be a hindrance for our personal salvation. Our own righteousness is like filthy rags before God (Isa 64:6). May be you are free from apparent ba...

"If I am a father, where is the honour due to Me?" (Mal 1:6) Even though the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal in deity to God the Father, they subject themselves to Him in their roles. This solemn truth is ignored these days in the spiritual world. In some circles, they only talk about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and end up with another Jesus. In others, they always talk about Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, and end up with a different spirit. The Father is forgotten! It is God the Father who planned redemption for mankind. Even though we read that Christ Jesus "came" into the world to save sinners, we must not forget that He was actually "sent" by His Father into the world (Jn 3:16,17). It was the Father who conceived the plan of redemption but the Son accomplished it (Jn 6:38-40). All sins are primarily against God the Father. "For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of th...

Don't we know that... 1] Lord's prayer address directly to " Our Father in Heaven ..."? (Remember, this was taught to us by Jesus Christ!) 2] Holy Bible condemns people worshiping anything created by God Himself (and/or) created by man? 3] Anything outside the scripture (Holy Bible) is man made, and hence against God!  4] Is anywhere in Bible, Christians are asked to worship statue and/or painting or anything other than GOD? 5] Are not apostles Barnabas and Paul chosen to preach to Gentiles... tore their garments when people tried to worship him? ( Acts 14: 11-17 ) 6] What the angel of God told John when he tried to worship the angel ( Revelation 19: 9-10 )? questions to ask ourselves - 1] First of all, are we really fearing God? how can we make sure? 2] why do we need a statue / picture... to see... to believe? --- Did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, or any prophets...saw God to believe in Him? 3] Is there anyone who has seen God? --...