Discipline Is Not a Dirty Word

All of us have some sort of dream or vision—areas of our lives where we want to better ourselves or achieve more.
Maybe it’s to get in shape or have better physical health. Maybe you want greater financial stability or greater success in your business. Some of you may be believing for greater ministry opportunities.
Whatever your goals are, there’s one thing for certain—it will be almost impossible to get there without discipline and self-control.
There was a time in my life when I would think,
If I eat one of those chocolate chip cookies, I’ll have to eat a dozen. Why? Because I had no self-control…and I had absolutely no faith in myself ever changing.
But here’s the truth: We can change. By the grace of God, we can begin making right choices and developing new habits that will bring us the life we desire.

Know Your Power Source
First and foremost, living a disciplined life and establishing new habits requires a lot more than just will power.
Whatever your goals are, there's one thing for certain—it will be almost impossible to get there without discipline and self-control.
I’ll never forget the time years ago when I heard a teaching about the power of words. That day, I left church and said, “That’s it! I’m going to shut my mouth and not say one bad thing. I’m going to discipline myself!”
You can probably guess how that turned out. Actually, I did manage to keep quiet, but then I realized I was depressed. The Lord spoke to my heart and said, You shut your mouth, but nothing on the inside has changed.
Here’s the lesson: Even when God asks us to do something, we still cannot do it successfully unless we lean on Him. John 15:5 has changed my life. It says, … Apart from Me you can do nothing (NASB).

Take a little time each day to read God’s Word and talk to Him in prayer. Some of my greatest breakthroughs have been the result of simply sitting quietly in His presence, letting Him know that I can’t do anything if He doesn’t make it happen.

You Can’t Have the “Perks” Without the “Works”
Years ago, people were expected to work at their jobs for a long time before getting raises, vacation and special benefits. Today, these things are expected up front. I’m all for people having great benefits, but there’s a sense of entitlement today that can actually hurt us.
I believe a lot of people want the “perks without the works.” In other words, they want to have all of the good results without having to discipline themselves or take any of the responsibility to get them.
Football coach, Vince Lombardi, famously said that he was going to teach his players how to discipline themselves so they could have what they said they wanted to have.
You see, although today we can microwave a meal, there’s no such thing as “microwave Christianity.” Actually, I like to call God’s process “The Law of Gradual Growth.” Why? Because little by little, as we make right choices, He delivers us from our enemies and takes us where we need to be.
Yes, in the beginning, disciplining yourself will be difficult. It won’t feel good and you won’t like it. But every time you make a choice to do the right thing, the next time it gets a little easier. And you get one step closer to your goal.

Truth or Consequence?
The Bible teaches us that wise people think about the consequences and care more about later on than right now.
Yes, you can live a lazy, undisciplined life and still go to heaven. But you won’t have peace, you won’t be happy and, worst of all, you won’t glorify God with your life the way He intended!
I encourage you to start viewing discipline and self-control in a whole new way…as helpful keys to good health, peace, prosperity, great relationships, and the satisfaction of fulfilling your purpose.
And remember, whatever your goal is—whether it’s to get in good physical shape or change a negative attitude—you have what it takes. So start drawing on God’s power to help you achieve it. As you do—little by little—you’

TAKE HEART! JESUS IS IN CONTROL

          

_“And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything ...”(Ephesians 1: 22)_

Our Lord has absolute dominion over all created things.  In today’s text we see Him walking on the sea as if it was dry land.  Those angry waves which tossed the boat of His disciples to and fro, now obey the Son of God and become a solid floor under His feet.  That liquid surface which was disturbed even by the gentle wind bears now the feet of our Redeemer like a rock.  To our poor, weak mind the whole event is utterly incomprehensible.  The man of science will tell us that for material flesh and blood to walk on water is a physical impossibility.  But it was done. To Him who created the seas at the beginning, it must have been perfectly easy to walk over their waves when He pleased.

Dear friends, there is encouragement here for all of us who are true Christians.  First, this incident tells us there is nothing created which is not under Christ’s control.  He may allow His people to be tried for a season and tossed to and fro by storms of trouble.  He may be later than we wish in coming to our aid.  But let us not forget that winds, waves and storms are all Christ’s servants.  They cannot move without His permission.  Psalm 93: 4 says, “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea - the Lord on high is mighty.”  Second, this also shows us the great things which our Lord can do for those who hear His voice and follow Him.  What power Jesus can bestow on those who believe in Him!  To walk on the sea Himself was a mighty miracle.  But to enable Simon Peter to do the same was a mightier miracle still!  So let us be encouraged that the Lord can enable us too to do the things which at one time we would have thought impossible.  He can carry us through the difficulties and trials which without Him we could never have dared to face.  He can give us strength to walk through fire and water unharmed.  We will fear nothing if we walk in the path God intended for us.  The waters may seem deep.  But if Jesus says: “Come,” we have no reason to be afraid because He is our Creator and our Savior.  He will never leave us to be hurt or harmed.

*PRAYER*   : Dear Lord,  all created things are under Your control, and nothing or no one can harm me without Your permission. When I walk in Your path and obey Your commands, You will enable me to do difficult things which I could never do and You will bring me out unharmed.  Amen.

"Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?"

“Pleading the blood of Jesus”

in prayer is a teaching common in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles. When people speak of “pleading the blood of Jesus in prayer,” they are referring to the practice of claiming the power of Christ over any and every problem by using the phrase “I plead the blood of Jesus over _______.” People fill in the blank with whatever they want: “I plead the blood of Jesus over my family/job/thoughts/illness.”

“Pleading the blood of Jesus” has no clear basis in Scripture. No one in the Bible ever “pleads the blood” of Christ. Those who “plead the blood” often do so as if there were something magical in those words or as if by using them their prayer is somehow more powerful.
This teaching is born from a misguided view of prayer that prayer is a way of manipulating God to get what we want rather than praying for His will to be done.
The whole Word of Faith movement, which teaches pleading the blood, is founded on the false teaching that faith is a force and that, if we pray with enough faith, God guarantees us health, wealth, and happiness.
Those who teach the value of pleading the blood of Jesus usually point to the Passover as support of their practice. (It is quite common for Pentecostalism to base its doctrines on Old Testament examples.)
Just as the blood of the Paschal lamb protected the Israelites from the angel of death and led to their deliverance from slavery, so the blood of Jesus can protect and deliver Christians today, if they apply, or “plead,” it.
Those who plead the blood of Jesus often do so in the context of seeking victory over demons. Pleading the blood of Jesus is a way of taking up the authority of Christ over the spirit world and announcing to the forces of darkness that they are powerless. Some base this aspect of pleading the blood on Revelation 12:11, “They triumphed over [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Again, there is no example in the Bible of anyone “pleading the blood,” so in that sense it is not expressly biblical. The phrase the blood of Christ in the New Testament is often used as a metonymy meaning “the death of Christ.” The blood/death of Christ forgives our sin, reconciles us with God, guarantees our inheritance in heaven, etc.

Should a Christian be aware of all that the blood/death of Christ has accomplished for us? Absolutely. Should a believer be thankful for the blood/death of Christ? Of course, and expressing that thanks is good.
Does a believer need to remind God of the blood/death of Christ every time he prays? Not according to the Bible. Do the words “I plead the blood of Jesus” give our prayers an extra kick? No, that’s more superstition than biblical prayer. Pleading the blood of Christ is not needed to defeat Satan.
He has already been defeated, and, if we are born again, Satan has no power over us other than what God allows for His purpose and glory. We have already been “delivered” (past tense) from the power of darkness and “translated” (past tense) into the kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13). No need to continually plead the blood.
Rather than “pleading the blood” of Christ for protection or power, Christians should obey the command in James 4:7, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
The Bible gives us numerous instructions in victorious living in Christ, and pleading the blood of Jesus is not one of them. We have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, and now He is our High Priest and mediator who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). As His sheep we are already under His protection; we simply need to live day by day trusting in Him for what He has already promised and provided.

CHASTENING WILL BRING MUCH FRUIT

_“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; …afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit…”(Hebrews 12:11)_ 

An apple farmer was pruning his orchard and piled up all the pruned branches in one corner of the Orchard. One morning he noted a bird building a nest in that heap of pruned branches. Later that day, he tore the nest apart.  The bird flew around, chirping wildly, as if to say, "You cruel fellow!"   The next day the farmer saw the bird again trying to build a nest in the same place. Again he destroyed the nest. All labor the bird had spent in building the nest was lost. The third day the bird started building the nest in a rose bush at a distance. Smiling, the farmer let the bird build.  The nest was finished, and eggs were laid, but before the birds could leave the nest, all the branches in that pile where the bird had twice tried to build had been burned.  The farmer who planned to burn that pile knew that if the bird were allowed to build there, the nest and its little young ones would be destroyed. He chased the bird only to save its efforts and not to make it a waste! What was pain to the bird in the beginning turned out to be a blessing later! So also, our Lord often chastens us because He knows that if we are allowed to go our way, we may be destroyed or harmed. He knows that his pruning and chastening will yield only ‘peaceable fruit’ and not otherwise. And He chooses to chasten not all and sundry, but only those whom He has chosen to be His sons and daughters.

So, dear friends, if the Lord chastens you, if the rod in His hand pains you, do not be dismayed. He is your Father and His chastening is the result of His love towards you. The Bible says, “the Lord disciplines those He loves.” (Vs.6) We, as parents often rebuke our sons and daughters. Our intention is not to grieve them but to groom them. How much more the Lord will groom us with His chastening! Let us be thankful for His love this morning!

*PRAYER*:  Dear Lord, I thank you for chastening me. Whatever you do to me is only to groom me and not to harm me. Let there not be any grief in me. when you use your rod for my own good.  Let me continuously thank you for your love.. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

OBEY THE LORD AND FEAR HIM

_“If  your hearts turn away and you are not obedient...  you will certainly be destroyed.”(Deuteronomy 30: 17, 18)_

After King Solomon, Israel was divided into two. Kings of the northern kingdom followed the example of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin by setting up the worship of the golden calves, and all of them were given to idolatory. The history of the kingdom of Israel is an almost unbroken story of wickedness, king after king coming to the throne through the murder of his predecessor. II Kings 17 gives us an account of the captivity of Israel and also gives us the reason of this punishment. The people of Israel had descended to the very level of the nations whom God had commanded His people to drive out of the land. They forsook the Lord and served the gods of the heathen, walked in their ways and performed all their wicked deeds. Therefore God permitted the king of Assyria to carry Israel away as captive to Assyria, according to His warning given by Moses in Deuteronomy 29:24-28. But long before the power of kings in Israel was taken, God had transferred it from them to the prophets. Out of the darkness of this evil times, two figures stand forth as God’s witnesses showing us that through all the failure, God was quietly working onwards toward His eternal kingdom of righteousness. Elijah and Elisha in contrast of their characters and mission, remind us of John the Baptist and of our Savior. Elijah the rugged prophet of the wilderness dressed in his mantle and leather girdle, suddenly bursts upon the scene in the court of Ahab and pronounces judgment of the Lord. He reminds us of John, dressed in the same manner, at the court of Herod, denouncing fearlessly the sins of that king. (Mark 6:17, 18). Elisha’s was a ministry of blessing and healing. In this he was a type of Christ. We have, moreover in the life and miracles of Elisha a series of most beautiful lessons on Christian life and service. Inspite of this, the kings did not repent but continued in their wickedness. So judgment of the Lord fell upon the people.

Dear friends, God often warns us through His Word or His servants. But if we deliberately chose to walk away from the Lord surely one day we will see His wrath falling upon us. So let us pay heed and repent.

*PRAYER*:  Almighty God, when you warn me through Your Word or through your servants let me listen to You. Before a great disaster falls upon me let me repent. Take away the stubbornness of my heart. Give me an obedient spirit to follow Your precepts. Amen.

WHERE EXACTLY DID YOU FALL, CONFESS TO THE LORD,HE WILL PICK YOU UP

_“The Lord called to the man, “Where are you?”  He answered “... I was afraid  ... so I hid” (Genesis 3: 9, 10)_

In today’s text we read one of the miracles done by Elisha.  As the company of prophets increased in number they did not have enough room in the house where they lived and they wanted to build a place. So they decided to go to the banks of Jordan which were lined with bushes and trees, and cut branches from those trees.  These branches could be used to build their house at least for rafters and flooring of it, supposing the walls to be built of stone.  While they were cutting, the axe-head, that is iron part of the axe of one man flew from the stem and fell into the water.  It grieved him to lose his axe because he could do no more work.  Not only that. It was not his own but he had borrowed it.  Above all, he was poor and not able to pay for it.  When Elisha knew of this, he asked the man the exact place in the river where it fell.  Then Elisha cut a new branch and threw it into the precise place where the iron fell.  As soon as the wood fell into the water, the iron which was underneath came up and floated.  He then asked the man to take it out.  John Mac Nell has drawn a lesson for us from the lost axe-head.  We may lose the sharp axe-head, the power of the Holy Spirit for service, by disobedience, by neglect of the Bible, by neglect of prayer, by neglect of communion, by lack of faith. 

Dear friends,  if you have lost it go back and look for it.  You will find it where you lost it, just there and nowhere else.  When you have found the spot where you have disobeyed, yield and obey just there.  Do not continue at work chopping with the axe-handle.  If you try to do this, you will put in lots of effort but with no results - no chip of wood will fly off at the stroke of the axe. If you have lost the fullness of the Spirit, draw near the fountain of Jesus’ blood to cleanse you from sin and impurity.  The Lord will put away your sin and give you afresh of His fullness.  Never ever try to live and labor without being filled with the Spirit.

*PRAYER*:  Dear Lord, I confess that I have been doing Your ministry without the fullness of Spirit and there is no power in my ministry.  All my efforts are futile. As I draw near Your fountain which never dries up, cleanse my sin and fill me let my service for You be fruitful.  Amen.

OBEY GOD’S CALL, COME WHAT MAY

_“...  Leave your country,  your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”(Genesis 12: 1)_

*God’s call to Abram was not easy for him to follow.  He was 75 years old, established in his community, and tied in closely with his extended family.  God could have said,  “Abram, you can stay in Ur. I’ll be your God and I’ll use you here to fulfill my purpose.”  No.  God told him to leave his familiar surroundings and head off to some unknown destination.  God did not even reveal first where Abram would be going.  Surely, there was no highway,  only a rugged path, and no motels and fast food restaurants.  Abram could not call home and let everyone know how things were going on.  He had to say good-bye once and for all to his country and relatives, and set out to follow God.

Dear friends,  while God may not ask us to leave our country  or our families, He does call us to separate ourselves from all that would hinder our complete commitment to Him.  Sometimes a person may have to make a break with family, which is very painful.  Jesus said in Luke 14: 26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.”  He did not mean that we should despise or needlessly alienate our families.  The Bible is clear that we should honor our parents and love our families.  But Jesus did mean that if our closest loved ones stand between us and Him, our choice is clear.  We must follow Christ.  Recently a young man from Sikh background, Sukwant Singh accepted Christ.  To give up his Sikh identity he cut his hair and beard.  Because of this he was expelled from his community and was rejected by his family members.  Most of us will not face that kind of family opposition to follow Christ.  But even those from Christian homes sometimes face subtle pressure  not to follow Christ fully.  Sometimes parents insist their children not to go to the mission field but take up well-paying jobs.  But the Lord makes it clear.  If it comes to love for Him versus love for family, we must follow Him.  It may result in rejection and persecution. But let us obey God’s Word though it is much easier to disobey.

*PRAYER* :  Heavenly Father,  You have called me by name and given me an assignment.  If something else, even my own family  prevents me from obeying Your call, let me not waver.  Give me the determination to go forward  in Your path. Let me seek Your will and not my own. Amen.

POWERFUL PRAYER MOVES GOD’S HANDS

_“... The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”(James 5: 16)_

In a certain town there had been no revival for many years. The church was nearly empty, the youth were all unconverted.  There lived in a retired part of the town an aged man, a blacksmith by trade. He had stammering of tongue and it was painful to hear him speak.  One Friday, as he was at work at his shop alone, his mind gradually became involved with the state of the church and of all the unconverted people. His agony became so great that he was induced to lay aside his work, lock the shop door and spend the afternoon in prayer.  He prevailed and on Sunday he asked his pastor to arrange for a meeting that evening. After some hesitation, the pastor consented.  He told the blacksmith that he was doubtful whether many people would attend the meeting. But according to the old man’s advice, he organised a meeting the same evening.  A large number of people came, and that the prayer hall did not have enough accommodation for all of them.  When everyone gathered,  there was a deep silence for a time until one sinner broke out in tears and asked somebody to pray for him.  Soon another followed and another and still another until it was found that person from every quarter of the town was under deep convictions.  And what was remarkable was that they all said they were convicted in their heart exactly at the same time the old man was praying in his shop.

Dear friends, prayer is the mighty power that moves God.  Abraham was a man of prayer who received great blessings from the Lord.  Elijah was a man just like us but through his prayer he brought down fire on Mount Carmel.  Elisha prayed and life came back to a dead child. Manasseh, the king was a wicked man, and had done everything he could against the God of his father.  Yet in Babylon when he cried to God  he was heard and was taken out of prison and put on throne at Jerusalem.  Let us also be men and women of prayer, and through our prayers  let God bring a great revival.

*PRAYER* :  Heavenly Father,  You have commanded us to ask anything in Jesus’ name and You have promised to answer us.  I pray that You will heal  the sin of my country and the rebelliousness of the church.  Let people be convicted of their sins and be saved.  Amen.

EVERLASTING LOVE OF GOD

_“... I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31: 3)_

God’s Word states clearly that if we sin against God we will reap its consequence.  A recompense will come to us for the evil we have indulged in flesh.  Whether it is blatant, open, sensual evil or whether it is inward - spiritual pride, bitterness or hatred.  It makes no difference. Evil brings its own results.  God tells us that there will be pain and heartache and trouble because of the evil of our past.  We know how the Lord dealt with the Israelites in the past for their sins.  This is the Scriptural principle.  Paul says in Galatians 6: 7, “Don’t fool yourself. God is not cheated.  Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  But behind the darkness and the distress is the everlasting love of God.  As a father’s love, the Lord’s love is tender toward His people.  In Jeremiah 31: 3  the Lord says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”  The word “everlasting” is one of those words which baffle us.  It is hard to define it even in the original language.  It means more than “duration”, more than merely “eternal”.  Let your mind run back to the past over all the years of history and you come to a place when finally you cannot just think any further. Now let your mind run to the future, and you come to the same kind of haziness, a place where you no longer can comprehend what the ages mean  where times and durations are meaningless.  This is the mystery of the Word, everlasting.  It is a word which means, “beyond dimension”, “greater than we think “.  Such is God’s love.  This is what Paul expresses in Ephesians 3: 17-19, “You being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”

Dear friends, God promises to be with us in our pain and distress. He will not allow the hurt to damage us, but He will produce in us the character that He desires.  So let us not try to escape the consequences but go through them with God and come out of them gloriously.

*PRAYER* :  Lord, I have disobeyed You and followed the desires of my evil heart. I am now facing the consequences.  But You, out of Your great love for me will preserve my life.  You will not destroy me but You will enable me to come out as a transformed person glorifying Your name.  Amen.

DO NOT TALK IDLE WORDS

“The tongue has the power of life and death, ...”
(Proverbs 18: 21)

*Words are powerful.  Encouraging words have the power to give hope and joy, and discouraging words spark dismay and depression. In today’s text Jesus was speaking to a group of Pharisees who had just accused Him of being demon-possessed.  Jesus calls them a brood of vipers and asks them, “How can you who are evil say anything good?” Just as vipers have a poison in their mouths, the Pharisees had evil words against the Savior.  Jesus then warns the Pharisees of the coming judgment, at which they will be held accountable for their words.  There is no better judge of a person’s heart than the words he allows to come out of his mouth.  Just as good trees produce good fruits and bad trees produce bad fruits, so does the mouth reveal the condition of our heart. It is not just evil words for which we must give account.  Jesus says every “careless” word can also be used as a judgment against the speaker.  The Greek phrase for this is “rema argos” meaning “careless or inactive or unprofitable words.”  Even the slightest sin, the smallest deviation from God’s perfection will condemn a person in God’s eyes. The Pharisees’ sin was great - they had blasphemed the Lord of glory with their words.  We may not blaspheme but even seemingly insignificant words, sometimes excused as “slips of the tongue” are considered sinful if they do not bring glory to the Lord.  Ephesians 4: 29 sets the standard for us: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  James 3: 8 says how hard it is to control the tongue.  “No man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Dear friends, let us learn to yield our body’s members including our tongues, to the control of the Holy Spirit.  As David prayed in Psalm 141: 3, let us pray to God everyday to set a guard over our mouth and to keep watch over the door of our lips  so that we will not sin against Him.

*PRAYER*  : Heavenly Father,  my words express what is in my heart.  So let me fill my heart with good things - let Your Word richly dwell in my heart.  Let me take out from the good treasure that is inside and give it to others.  Let me not be judged for my careless words on the Judgment Day. Amen.

FOLLOW JESUS’ INSTRUCTIONS

_“... Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”(Matthew 10: 16)_

Here, Jesus instructed His disciples how to do the ministry.  He warned them that they were being sent out “like sheep among wolves”. The world then as now  was hostile to believers - not incidentally hostile, but purposefully hostile.  So then how can we do the kingdom work effectively in this world?  Jesus taught the disciples that to be Christ like in a godless world, they must combine the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove.  Most people don’t mind having their character compared to the dove’s purity and innocence.  But some recoil at the image of a serpent.  When Jesus told the disciples to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves, He laid down a general principle about the technique of kingdom work.  As we take the gospel to the hostile world, we must be wise, avoiding the snares set for us, and we must be innocent serving the Lord blamelessly.  Let us take Jesus as example. He was harmless as a dove in every circumstance.  He lived a pure and holy life.  He acted in compassion and He challenged anyone to find fault in Him.  Three times Pilate judged Jesus to be innocent. (John 18: 38, 19: 4,6).  He was gentle, but was He always gentle?  No.  When the occasion demanded it, He took whip in His hand and chased the moneychangers out of the Temple. (John 2: 15)  The “dove-like” Man of innocence spoke loudly and clearly with His assertiveness in the Temple. Jesus also showed that He was as wise as a serpent in the way He taught.  He knew to discern the differences in His audiences and He refused to be caught in the many traps that His enemies laid for Him.

Dear friends, successful Christian living requires that we strike the optimal balance between the dove and the serpent.  We should strive to be gentle without being forceful and we must be sacrificial without being taken advantage of.  We are aware of the unscrupulous tactics used by the enemy, but let us not be trapped.  Let us live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse us of doing wrong, they may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day He visit us.

*PRAYER* :   Lord, thank You for showing me that the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove are very desirable to be combined in my character.  It is only by such union that I will be able to cope up successfully with my powerful enemies.  Give me Your grace to live so.  Amen.

GRACE, PEACE, SALVATION

_“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5: 8)_

Paul begins his letter to the Galatians with a greeting, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Grace and peace are two precious words both Peter and Paul use to greet those to whom they write.  As time goes on, words such as these are in danger of losing their significance.  “Good bye” does not mean so much as “God be with you!”  Grace is free, undeserved fruit and peace is its fruit.  Both spring ultimately from the Father who gives all men liberally, and both reach the Christian through our Lord Jesus Christ, the medium of divine love.  All that the Father has is Christ’s.  But Paul has much in his mind that he cannot close his greeting with these words.  Something must be said about Christ in order to stamp the essential truth of Christianity on the heart of the Galatians  then and there.  Accordingly he proceeds, “Who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.”  The age in which Paul lived was evil.  There was evil within and without.  Alas!  this is true still.  We each know the plague of our own heart and we see signs of the same moral plague all around. No one is immune.  All are liable to be entangled in the net of iniquity. How can anyone save us without himself being stained?  Thanks to the will of God, even our Father, and thanks to the loving obedience of His Son,  there is way.  Christ has done something for this purpose. Yes.  He has indeed given us excellent precepts.  He has set us an example to follow, but He has done something more.  He gave Himself, His own self for our sins - every one of ours!  Even the worst of the soul can be reached by the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of life and love which flows from the Cross where Christ was crucified.  No wonder that Paul ends with a praise,  “To whom be glory for ever and ever.” 

Dear friends, Christ has given the key of your prison house into your hands.  Take it, use it and be delivered from your bondage and glorify His name through your life.

*PRAYER* :  Dear Lord, I am a sinner and deserve to be punished.  But out of your love for me You gave Your own life as a ransom to save me.  Cleanse me by Your blood.  Forgive me.  Set me free.  Deliver me from the power of sin.  All glory and honor be to You for ever and ever.  Amen.

I IN CHRIST AND CHRIST IN ME

_“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”(Romans 8: 1)_

To be in Christ is to be one with Him by faith. Romans 8: 1 says that those who are with Him are the ones to whom there is no condemnation.  All those who are not in Christ are under the law and its curse.  Luther said, “It is impossible for a man to be a Christian without having Christ and if he has Christ, he has at the same time all that is in Christ.  What gives peace to conscience is that by faith our sins are no more ours but Christ’s, upon whom God has laid them all, and that, on the other hand, all Christ’s righteousness is ours to whom God has given it.”

Dear friends, it is not by human nature that we enjoy this union, since by nature we are children of wrath and without Christ.  The means by which we are united to Christ are on His part by His Spirit and on our part by faith.  He communicates through His Holy Spirit to us.  The Bible says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one in Spirit.”  On our part we receive Jesus Christ by faith produced in us by His Spirit. He dwells in our hearts by faith. Luther said, “Faith unites the soul with Christ as a spouse with her husband.  Everything which Christ has, becomes the property of the believing soul; everything which the soul has  becomes the property of Christ.  Christ possesses all blessings and eternal life,  they are now the property of the soul.  The soul has all its iniquities and sins, they become now the property of Christ.  It is then that  a blessed exchange commences.  Christ who has never sinned, whose holiness is perfect, taking to Himself by faith, all the sins of a believer, those sins are lost and abolished in Him, for no sin dwells before His righteousness.  Thus by faith, the believer’s soul is delivered from sin and clothed with the eternal righteousness of her Bridegroom. What a happy union.!  The rich, noble, holy Bridegroom takes in marriage  poor, guilty and despised spouse, delivers from evil  and enriches her with most precious blessings.  Halleluiah!

*PRAYER* :   Lord Jesus,  You are the Savior, the King and  the High Priest.  You have delivered me from condemnation and I am justified by faith. You have given me kingship and priesthood. You have given Your honor and glory to me. What a great privilege!  Thank You Lord. Amen.

PLEASURE - PROMISE - PRIVILEGE

_“The apostles ... rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”(Acts 5: 41)_

*In Matthew 5:11,12 we read of the last beatitude.  It talks about three things- 1) A Great pleasure - “Rejoice and be glad.”  Jesus never lured His disciples with false hopes of grandeur.  He promised them suffering, persecution and a cross.  Nevertheless He also indicated  that increasing joy would be their continuing experience as they  learned to walk with God.  Someone said, “Happiness among men is an experience based on happenings.”  If events are adverse, the outcome tends to be sad, discouraging and miserable.  If everything goes according to plan, people feel pleased, satisfied and glad.  Christianity does not work in that way.  Joy is not really affected by adverse circumstances  but it depends upon fellowship with God.  Happiness may be destroyed in moments, true joy is eternal.  2) A Glorious Promise - “Great is your reward in heaven.”  There are atleast three reasons for the joy of the Christian.  Firstly, as it is mentioned in this passage we should rejoice when people insult us, persecute us and say all manner of evil against us falsely for the sake of our faith in Jesus because great will be our reward in heaven.  Secondly, Jesus said in Luke 10: 20 that we should rejoice that our names are written in heaven.  John in Revelation 22:4 says that we will one day see the Savior’s face. Then the severity of persecution will fade into insignificance. So, thirdly, we should rejoice in anticipation of the reward for our meritorious service.  An old hymn goes like this, “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus’ Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ, One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, so bravely - run the race till we see Christ.  3) A Grand privilege - for we are walking in the footsteps of all the saints who walked before us.  They were persecuted for their faith and so we should consider it as a great privilege when we suffer for Christ.  Saints suffer for righteousness sake, are in good company!

Dear friends, may the Lord encourage us to be steadfast in our faith, even when hard times come.

*PRAYER*  :   Dear Lord, let me consider it a great pleasure when I am ridiculed and persecuted for my faith in You  for You have promised that great will be my reward in heaven.  Let me feel privileged to walk in the footsteps of the saints who were before me, and glorify Your name.  Amen.

THE PROBLEM OF THE EPHESUS CHURCH

_"Yet I hold this against you:  You have forsaken your first love.”(Revelation 2: 4)_

The Church of Ephesus was solid and grounded in the truth.   It was a church based and built on sound doctrine.  They knew what they believed and they practiced it.  Their purity and service to the Lord was unquestioned, but they had deserted their first love.  They were so much caught-up in duty that they had lost their devotion.  Their labor was commendable but their love was contemptible.  Like Martha, they were so busy that they had no time for Jesus.  Their relationship for Christ was based on performance rather than passion.  They were far more occupied with the work of Christ than with the Person of Christ.  One preacher of the old used to say, “People can be straight as gun barrel theologically, and as empty as a gun barrel spiritually.”  This statement sums up the condition of the Church of Ephesus.  They were straight but they were empty.  The love mentioned here by the Lord is “first love”.  Dr Glen Spencer writes, “It is the honeymoon love of the newly wed.”  Jeremiah 2: 2 describes this love, “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert.”  Israel is pictured here as the loving bride who clings to her beloved bridegroom.  In their desert wanderings the Israelites were separated from Egypt  and totally dependant on God.  At that time they had absolute devotion for Him.  This is the love that Jesus wants and deserves.  Isn’t it astonishing that the Almighty God of heaven so values our love that He misses it when we fail to love Him as we should?  Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22: 37).

Dear friends, regardless of their great achievements, the Ephesus Church had failed in this most important task. No matter what else we may accomplish, when we fail to love our Lord with all our heart - we fail most miserably. Duty without devotion does not satisfy our Lord.  If our service is not carried out because of our love for Christ, our service will not amount to much.

*PRAYER*  :   Lord, I remember those wonderful days when I was first saved.  I read my Bible and prayed passionately. I delighted in having fellowship with Your people.  But I feel that I have left my first love now.  Forgive me.  Help me to serve You out of love rather than out of duty.  Amen.

CHRIST IS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

_“Christ ... entered heaven itself,  now to appear for us in God’s presence.”(Hebrews 9: 24)_

*In Hebrews  8: 1 we read that Christ is our High Priest.  What does that mean?  We are told very plainly in the Word of God that sin cuts off people from God.  No sinner can approach God. His way to heaven is closed.  So how then can a sinner go to God?  In the Old Testament, the high priest whom God appointed would go into God’s presence once a year after he had made sacrifice for the sins of the people.  He would offer the blood of calves and goats not only for the sins of the people, but also for his own sins  for he too was a sinner.  He then would go into the holy place, then on beyond the veil into the holy of holies where the Ark of the Covenant rested.  Here was the mercy sent, and here, God met the people through the high priest who was the mediator.  But today our Lord Jesus Christ has made it possible for all sinners to approach God.  Jesus is our High Priest, our representative before the Father.  He entered into the heavenly sanctuary, God’s presence, bearing the blood of His own sacrifice to cleanse us from our sins and to give us eternal salvation.  He shed His blood for us on the Cross for “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”(Hebrews 9: 22)  When this High Priest had offered once for all the sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10: 12)  He said on the Cross, “It is finished.” (John 19: 30)  All His work of redemption had been completed on the Cross, hence now He is sitting with the Father.  He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9: 26)

Dear friends, Jesus our High Priest is at the right hand of the Father at this moment making intercession for you and me. (Hebrews 7: 25, 8: 1, 10: 2)  He has now gone to appear for us in God’s presence. (9: 24) That is why we have boldness to enter into the holiest Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way. (10: 19,20)  What a great privilege we have!  So let us boldly draw near the throne of grace to find grace and receive mercy in the hour of need.

*PRAYER*:    Dear Lord Jesus, what confidence it gives me to know that You are sitting at the right hand of the Father, as the High Priest, interceding for me! Forgive me of all my iniquities cleanse me by Your blood shed on the Cross and accept me as Your own. Amen.

DO NOT LET THE GLORY OF THE LORD DEPART..!!!

_“Then the glory of  the Lord departed from over the threshold of the  Temple  ...”(Ezekiel 10: 18)_

“The glory of the Lord” seems to be the key phrase to Ezekiel.  It occurs twelve times in the first eleven chapters.  Then it does not occur again until chapter 43.  The “glory of the Lord” departed from the Temple at Jerusalem by the idolatry of the people.  God said, “Because you defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices,  I myself will withdraw my favor.  I will not look on you with pity or spare you.” (Ezekiel 5: 11)   In Ezekiel 8 we see Ezekiel in a vision transported to Jerusalem and there he saw four kinds of idolatry that were practiced in the Temple courts; people were worshipping the sun, with their backs to the sanctuary while their faces were to the East.  We see the glory of the Lord gradually departed from the Temple.  First it left the inner sanctuary. It went up from above the cherubim where it had been and moved to the threshold of the Temple. (10: 4)  Thence to the east gate (10: 18,19) and finally glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the Temple and moved out of the Holy City to the Mount of Olives. (11: 22,23)  Then the captivity came.  This was Ezekiel’s message to the nation.  Their captivity was a result of their sin.

Dear friends,  this is just what can happen to us.  We can grieve the Holy Spirit and resist Him until He is quenched and our heart becomes like a ruined temple deprived of its glory.  In I Thessalonians 5: 19 Paul says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” and in Ephesians 4: 30, he says “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  We grieve the Spirit when we do not allow ourselves time to read the Word or pray.  We limit the Spirit when we refuse to be clean vessels through which He can work.  We resist Him by allowing idols to be in our hearts.  But just as God’s judgment on sin is certain and severe, His redemption is equally certain when it is welcomed by the human heart.  Ezekiel’s message closes with the promise of future glory. (Ezekiel 43: 2, 44: 4)  The same is true of every individual.  God’s blessing returns to each one of us when we return to Him.  Is it not time for us to forsake all idols and seek the Lord with repentance?

*PRAYER* :    Heavenly Father, I have grieved the Holy Spirit many times by defiling my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.  I have not walked according to Your commandments.  Forgive me.  Lord, cleanse me in and out so that Your glory will abide in me always.  Amen.

MAKING DISCIPLES FOR CHRIST

_"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”(I Corinthians 13: 13)_

It is necessary that the older and mature saints of God, disciple and mentor young Chistians to walk in the ways of our Lord Jesus.  In disciplining people, what are the primary values we should seek to build in their lives?  Is it to help them develop a strong prayer life, or a disciplined pattern of Scripture memory?  Or to be faithful witness to the lost?  Very possibly, but more important than all these is to help them form deep convictions in three fundamental areas: faith, hope and love. (I Corinthians 13: 13)  First, hope.  Hebrews 11: 6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”  We need to encourage a young Christian to demonstrate his faith in God by willingness to even go into the fiery furnace, as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Second, hope.  Hebrews 11: 13-16 says, “All these people ... did not receive the things promised;  they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth...they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one.”  We need to exhort the person to have a “pilgrim mentality”.  His life should demonstrate the fact that he understands the transitory nature of our earthly existence and the importance of investing in the eternal.  Third, love.  In II Corinthians 5: 14,15 Paul says, “Christ’s love compels us, ... that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”  A disciple’s life should be so impacted by Christ’s love that he is compelled to live a life of loving service rather than gratifying his selfish desires.

Dear friends, it is not just enough to advise others, but the best way we build these qualities into the life of another person is by modeling them first in our own lives.  So let us live as Jesus lived and influence the young disciples for the Lord.

*PRAYER* :  Dear Lord,  let me not just teach a young Christian seeking to become Your disciple to walk in faith, love and hope, but let me live as a role model before him.  Let me imitate You in my words and deeds, and let this  motivate him to live a witnessing life.  Amen.

GOD LOVES A COMPASSIONATE HEART

_"... Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”(Matthew 25: 40)_

An old cobbler felt his faith was growing weak.  One winter morning he prayed, “O Lord, please visit me today.”  He finished praying with the conviction that God would answer his prayer and would come to his humble shop that day.  He started looking frequently out the window, expecting the Lord to arrive any moment.  As he was watching he saw his neighbor, an old man, leaning against his shovel, shivering in the cold.  He opened the door and called the old man, “Come in and warm yourself with a bowl of soup.”  The old man returned to his work sometime later, warmed by the food and drink and by the cobbler’s kindness.  Later, the cobbler saw a woman pass by his window, carrying a baby in her arms wrapped in a thin blanket. The baby was crying because of the cold.  The cobbler opened his door and called to the woman, “Please come inside, warm yourself and your child.”  When the woman came inside, the cobbler gave her a much thicker blanket than the one she had to cover the baby.  The woman left a few moments later, warmed by the cobbler’s gift and by his kindness.  Scenes like that were repeated several times throughout the day as the cobbler watched and watched for the Lord to come to his humble shop.  Night arrived and still he waited.  Finally, disappointed, he locked his doors and turned down his lamp.  “Lord”, he said, “I prayed for you to come to my shop today but you didn’t.”  Suddenly his room blazed with warm light.  He heard a voice and knew immediately that it was the Lord’s.  “I came, cobbler”, the voice said. “And you fed me.  I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.  I was a stranger and you invited me to your home.  I was naked and you gave me clothing - for when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters you were doing it to me.”

Dear friends, the Lord views the kind deeds we do to others as acts of compassion toward Him.  Everyday we come across people who are in dire need.  Some approach us for help, but many do not.  When we get an opportunity to help them, let us do it with all our might and bring glory to the Lord.

*PRAYER*:  Heavenly Father, You are a compassionate God who is always concerned of the poor, the forsaken and the aliens.  Let me also be kind and compassionate to them.  Let me not be hard hearted or tight-fisted, but let me show Your love generously to all who need it.  Amen.

BE FAITHFUL ALWAYS

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; ...”
(Proverbs 3: 3)

A story is told of a village in a part of the world that is rainy for a
short period of the year and dry throughout the rest of the year. One
year the village elders announced a plan. Everyone in the village was
to bring a vessel full of water during the rainy season and pour it in a
large tank in the centre of the village. Then when the dry season came
and water was scarce, they would still have water and they would all
share equally the water in the tank. The villagers all cheered the elders
and agreed to the plan. The rainy season came and went, dust began
to settle on the village, the ground began to crack from the dryness and
water became scarce. Then the day arrived when the elders agreed
that the tank should be opened and the precious water should be shared
among the villagers. Everyone gathered around the tank with buckets,
and a spirit of celebration was in the air. With great enthusiasm the
elders opened the tank and discovered that not a drop of water was to
be found inside! Only then it was learned that not one of the villagers
who had agreed to the elders plan had poured a single vessel full of
water in it. Each had assumed that his or her vessel of water would
not be missed and so the water tank had sat empty throughout. What
a pity! The village was as usual without water in the dry season.

Dear friends, it is easy to think that no one will notice our
unfaithfulness. It is easy to skip class or a meeting. It is easy to decide
not to fulfill the promise we have made to a friend. It is easy to promise
money to someone and then pretend to forget about it, thinking that
“no one will notice” or “it is no big deal”. But remember, unfaithfulness
does not hurt only those who are depending on us, it hurts us too. If
each of the villagers had brought his or her vessel full of water, that
water would have been returned to them all. Psalm 18: 25 says that to
the faithful, the Lord shows Himself faithful. If we are faithful, we will
receive faithfulness back from God. Not only that, people will respect
us for our integrity.

*PRAYER*: Dear Lord, let me not be unfaithful to anyone. Let me not think that
no one will notice me, and deceive others by doing irresponsible acts. Your eyes are
always watching me whether I am faithful to You and others. I will receive the
due reward from You for my every deed. Amen.

THE PRECIOUS AND POWERFUL WORD OF GOD

_"For He spoke,  and it came to be;  He commanded,  and it stood firm.” (Psalm 33: 9)_

The Word of God is precious to His children.  It is like a compass that guides people of God through desert of this world.  The psalmist says in psalm 119: 105, that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path.  It is like a rudder as we sail the uncertain seas of life. Psalm 33: 4 says, “The Word of the Lord is right and true.”  Those who read  that Word, honor the Word and live by the Word, know how precious the Word of God is.  From His Word we can discern His will for the course of our lives and we can find out how we are to live day by day.  How precious is His Word !  Let us praise God for that.  Secondly, His Word is personal.  In His Word we learn about the Lord Himself. His Word is His revelation of Himself to us and to the world. Without reading His Word, it is impossible for us to know the nature of God. How else could a holy, transcendent, eternal God reveal Himself to man; only through His Word!  God so longed to reveal Himself to humanity that He revealed Himself in the pages of a Book.  Not just any book!  God has chosen to reveal Himself in the pages of the Word of God.  Let us praise Him for His Word because it reveals the nature of God to us!  Thirdly, God’s Word is powerful.  In Psalm 33: 6-9, the psalmist reminds us that everything we see around us was spoken into the existence by the Word of God.  Everything visible and invisible, everything large and small, everything far and near came into existence through the Word of God.  In Genesis 1: 3 God spoke for the first time and light appeared out of the darkness.  All through Genesis 1, God kept speaking and great things kept appearing.  His Word has power then and has power even today.  So let us praise Him for His Word for it is infused with divine power!  It will stand though the entire world is against it.

Dear friends,  let us rejoice in the Word of God because it is precious, personal and powerful.  Let us never pass a day without reading and meditating it.

*PRAYER* :  Heavenly Father,  how precious is Your Word to me; it guides me, comforts me, rebukes me.  Your Word is powerful that it heals, creates and recreates. Through Your Word I know about You.  Let me never neglect Your Word but meditate it daily.  Amen.

GIVE ME A THANKFUL HEART O LORD

_“Give thanks in all circumstances, ...”  I Thessalonians 5: 18)_

Each of us should pray daily the following petition which is found in the Anglican Order of Service.  “We beseech Thee to make us truly sensible of Thy mercy and give us hearts always ready to express our thankfulness, not only by words, but also by our lives in being more obedient to Thy holy commandments.”  Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5: 18, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”  Each word in this verse has a precious truth to ponder.  “Give” is a sacrificial word.  The Acts 20: 35 says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  Hebrews 13: 15 says, we are encouraged to “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.”  How much we enjoy the benefits so freely and fully bestowed upon on us by our Lord. !  Shouldn’t we take time to meditate upon all His goodness, and praise Him from whom all blessings flow?  Second word is “Thanks”.  Thanksgiving for all things is never out of season, for we have always so much to be thankful for.  Gratitude pleases the bountiful Giver.  With an unknown author let us sing, “A thousand blessings, Lord, to us Thou dost impart, we ask one blessing more, O Lord - a thankful heart!”  Third word is “in”.  The Apostle did not say, “Give thanks for all circumstances.  Certain calamities overtake us for which we cannot kneel down and express gratitude.  But we can give thanks “in” them because we know that our all-wise God never makes a mistake and that what He permits must be for His glory and for our good.  Fourth is “all circumstances”.  Here, again Paul did not say in “some” circumstances  but in “all” - in everything.  We find it easy to be grateful for the good things of life but not for the  bitter cup.  Yet the dark threads are as needful as the threads of gold and silver in God’s pattern for our lives. 

Dear friends,  as those who are the Lord’s, besides being grateful for worldly blessings, we need to be thankful to God always for He has chosen us in His beloved Son even before the foundation of the world and that He sent Him to make atonement for our sins.  How much greatly privileged are we!

*PRAYER*  :    Dear Lord, help me to sing like the Saint, “Through dark and death, through fine and frost, with emptied hands and treasures lost, I thank Thee while my days go on.”  Let me thank you in all circumstances; let me thank you above all for the greatest gift of salvation.  Amen.

WARNING! DO NOT BE DECEIVED

_“He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; ...”(Isaiah 44: 20)_

The Bible is a mirror into which a man can look and see his likeness. Or better still, it contains a gallery of pictures showing the nature, progress and end of a life of sin.  The desire of the Spirit is to lead the sinner down the line until He confronts him with an image of himself, and then cause him to repent by showing him a verse or a chapter. There are many sad descriptions of sin in the Bible.  The words “asleep”, “lost”, “blind”, “deaf”, “dead” are all scriptural figures to illustrate the state of a man out of Christ.  One of the striking phrases is found in Isaiah 44: 20 -  “He has a deluded heart.”  It does not say that he is deceiving anyone, but has been deceived himself.  It is powerful and heart-sickening description.  The word “deceived” alone is a volume in itself.  The chief deceiver of course is the devil.  He is constantly at work deceiving countless millions who do not have spiritually illumined mind. Satan first deceives a person - he denies hell or puts it out of his sight. The fact of sin paying wages or bearing fruit is banished from the sinner’s thoughts.  Forms of pleasures are shown all along the path of evil and waiting with smiles for the traveler to approach.  If the deceived soul could only look up and see the awful look of triumph that Satan has it might be rescued. But how sad!  They fail to penetrate the deception and go on their blinded and deceived way.  Another description of this character mentioned in this verse is “mislead”.  This would indicate that the person had once been in the right way.  He has started out all right, ran well for a season, and then, encountering the deceiver in some form or manner, he has been “misled”.  It is pitiable to see many in the church and in the community have been thus drawn away.  Their strength has been strapped away as God has departed from them.

Dear friends, let us not be deluded by Satan, who prowls around like a roaring lion to devour us. Let us not lose our soul to eternal death. When  the Spirit of God convicts us  let us be quick to repent.

*PRAYER* :  Dear Lord, let not my heart be deceived by the temptations of  Satan.  Let me not fall into the trap set before me and be ruined. Let me not allow myself to be misled by the deceiver.  Let me follow Your Holy Spirit’s leading and walk in the path of righteousness.  Amen.

KOINONIA - FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND ONE ANOTHER

_“If  anyone loves me,  ...  My Father will love him,  and we will come to him and make  our home with him.”(John 14: 23)_

The word for fellowship in Greek is “Koinonia”, which means to share in common. As believers all of us share in common the life of Christ.  The Law was the old covenant.  It could not save any man because all it did was to reveal sin to man.  Man could not get rid of sin by his flesh.  So God brought a new covenant - the covenant of grace. He saved us by grace and He put His Spirit within us. (Ezekiel 36: 26, 27)  Therefore since God’s Spirit is in us, we all are sharing God’s Spirit. That is fellowship.  God is inside us and is having fellowship with us. God included all, not only the Jews but also the Gentiles who called on His name into His fellowship.  This is clearly explained in Ephesians 4: 3-6. Paul writes in verse 3, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Then he says that there is one body. As far as God is concerned, there is only one body of believers irrespective of Jews or Gentiles.  We are all one body in Christ Jesus.  Second, one Spirit.  There is only one Spirit.  It is essential that blood flows to every cell in our human body in order to keep it alive.  So also, one Spirit courses through every member of Christ’s body which has Christ as its Head.  Third, one hope of our calling.  The blessed hope of every single Christian is eternal life.  Our hope is that when we die, we will be absent from the body and present with the Lord.  Fourth, one Lord. There is only one Lord, one Head, Jesus Christ who purchased us all by His own blood, of whom we are the members.  Fifth, one faith.  There is one faith, which comes from hearing the Word of God. Sixth, there is one baptism, one union - the baptism of the Holy Spirit and above all one God and Father who is over all and through all in all.

So dear friends, let us cast off all differences between us and be in fellowship with everyone accepting one another with the love of Christ.  Let us be united as members of one body with Christ as our Head.

*PRAYER*:   Dear Father, help me to remember that I, along with my fellowbelievers, am the member of one body, of which Jesus is the Head.  Let us forget all difference of opinions and accept one another with brotherly love.  Let there be unity and harmony among us always.  Amen.

DO YOU HAVE THE ASSURANCE OF ETERNAL LIFE?

_“I write...to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”(I John 5:  13)_

Once Kay Arthur asked a Roman Catholic nun to come to Reach Out ministry.  But she said, “You are Protestant and I am Catholic, and if I come, will you try to convert me?”  Kay said, “No I am not going to convert you.  I am simply going to teach you about God’s Word.”  So she came.  But the next day, the nun told Kay, “I just don’t belong here. You are all different here.  I don’t fit.  I have got to go home.”  Kay said to her, “Before you go home, let me ask you a question.  Suppose you were to die and stand before God and He would ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven? What would you say?”  The nun said, “I have given You thirteen years of my life and You have to let me in.”  Kay replied, “That’s the wrong answer.  You cannot say to God that He must let you into heaven because of what you have done for Him” and Kay invited her to read I John. The first two verses of I John say that the eternal life was with the Father and then was manifested to us - it was seen and heard and felt and then it was proclaimed.  This eternal life was a Person - Jesus. Then in Chapter 5 verse 13, John says, that those who believe in the name of Jesus the Son of God, have eternal life.   This epistle reveals to us that those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God will not have eternal death but eternal life when they die. It separates the “sayers” from the “doers”.  Those who say that have eternal life, and those who really do.  For instance, the catholic nun had gone through rigorous training. She had served the Lord for thirteen years.  She said that she had eternal life but later after the Bible study, she found out she did not.  Then she received Jesus, the Eternal Life and she was transformed. 

Dear friends, I am not saying that if you are a Catholic that you don’t have eternal life.  I am saying, “You may be a Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile, it does not depend on the church or denomination to which you belong. It depends on whether you have fellowship with Jesus.  Fellowship is sharing in common your lives to Jesus.  It is sharing in Jesus Christ’s life.  Jesus in you and you in Jesus.  You may be a Protestant but if Christ is not in you, you do not have eternal life.  Do you have Christ living in you?

*PRAYER*:   Heavenly Father, my entry into heaven does not depend on whether I am a Catholic or a Protestant, or to which denomination I belong.  If Christ is in me, I have eternal life.  I cannot suffer eternal death.  Since I have a ticket to heaven, You will not deny entry.  Thank you Lord.  Amen.

HELP THE SEEKERS FIND THE TRUTH

"...  Sir”,  they said,  “We  would like to see Jesus.”(John 12:  21)_

The Greeks were great travelers.  They were driven by wanderlust and by the desire to find out new things.  And old proverb said, a Greek will never rest himself nor will he ever let anyone else rest.  “You Greeks”, said one of the ancients, “are like children, always young in your souls.”  Far up the Nile to this day  there stands a great Egyptian statue on which a Greek tourist, even as modern tourists do, had scratched his name.  Barclay writes, “The Greek voyaged for trade and for commerce of course, but he was the first man to wander for the sake of wandering in the ancient world.” Not only that, the Greek was more than that.  He was characteristically a seeker after truth. He always went after philosophy after philosophy, religion after religion, teacher after teacher in search of truth.  He was a man with a seeking mind. These Greeks mentioned in today’s text were in Jerusalem at the time of Feast. And how were they interested in Jesus and what made them come to Him?  It was in the last week of His ministry that Jesus swept the money-changers and the sellers of the doves from the Temple courts. The Greeks who were at Jerusalem would have certainly visited the Temple at that time. J.H. Bernard writes that perhaps those Greeks would have actually witnessed the tremendous scene when Jesus had driven the traders from the Temple court, and perhaps they wished to know more of this great man who could do things like that.  Whatever it is, this incident is one of the greatest in the spiritual realm, for here is the first hint of a gospel which is to go out to all the world. We may wonder why the Greeks went to Philip with their request.  “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”  We do not know the right reason.  Barclay writes that because Philip was a Greek name they would have thought that a man with a Greek name would treat them well. But since Philip did not know what to do he approached Andrew. And Andrew who always played the role of an “introducer” led the Greeks to Jesus.

Dear friends, there are many seekers around us who seek for the truth.  When any of them approach us, let us  with the guidance of the Holy Spirit introduce Jesus, the Truth to them with clarity and simplicity.

*PRAYER* :  Dear Lord, in this world around me I see so many people running to various places to seeking the truth.  With the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, let me talk with them the right words and introduce Jesus to them who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Amen.

HOUSE BLESSED BY THE LORD

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. ...”(Psalm 127: 1)

Solomon, the author of this psalm tells us that unless God builds our house, our efforts in building it are vain.  We might think, “How can God stoop down from heaven and build a house?  After all, isn’t this something we can do for ourselves?  It is simply a matter of making a plan, gathering materials and putting them all together.  Why does God need to be a part of house building?”  But what we should know is God makes no distinction between what is sacred and what is secular. He is interested in every kind of work that we do.  There is no work from which we can exclude God.  And so God cares very much even when we build our houses. First He is concerned with how high a priority we place on our houses.  For some people, having a house of their own is a goal which is absolutely consuming.  The husband and wife may both work to earn the needed money.  They may in the process, neglect their marriage and their family.  But God has a very clear word as to our priorities in this matter.  In Matthew 6: 31-33  He says, “So do not worry saying, “What shall we ea?t” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  Second, God also cares about our motives in building a house.  A house is a symbol of status in our society.  We desire the best house we can buy in the “right” part of town.  If our security is somewhat intertwined with earthly possessions, then we are trusting in materials things and not in God.

Dear friends,  when we engage in building a house without God, our house-building is vain.  When we have wrong priorities, wrong motives or wrong methods, God is not building our house with us.  God cares about what we do, why we do it and how we do it.  When we neglect our fellowship with God and with our fellow saints and are totally involved in house-building, it may divert our energy from seeking God’s Kingdom to building one of our own.  Let us not replace the temporal with the eternal.  Let us give priority to God in everything we do, including house-building.

*PRAYER* :  Dear Lord, let me give You the top priority in house-building.  Let me not neglect my fellowship with You., and let me also not neglect my family in my attempts to build the ‘best’ house in the ‘right’ place.  Bless my efforts so that I will enjoy the blessing of my new home. Amen.

COMMITED TO GIVE TO THE LORD

_“ And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”(2 Corinthians 8:5)_

Giving comes naturally to some people. But committed giving is the privilege of even fewer people! Commitment in giving can never come through, without sacrifice and liberality. Sometime back a small congregation wanted to build a new church building for themselves. They asked the members to pledge the share they would be willing to give for the new building over the next three years.  A poor washerwoman who belonged to the church sent in her pledge card with a commitment of five thousand rupees.  The pastor and the deacons just couldn't believe she could give so much as they knew her poverty. They told her, "We know that you love the Lord and want to give for the new building but we also know that you cannot afford to give so much in three years to the building program.  We know that you wash clothes to make a living. Please do not bother!” She replied, "No, I wash in two places a day, but I've got another place I can wash.  I've turned it down because I've been so tired, but I've decided to do it for the next three years, in order to give that extra money to the building program."  Then she continued, "Don't cheat me out of this privilege!"  So she took the additional wash job and called it "the Lord's wash."  That is commitment! That is liberality! That is sacrificial giving! In today’s text, Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth with the example of the Churches in Macedonia, namely those of Philippi and Thessalonica. Their commitment to the cause of the gospel made them give even amongst their suffering, that too, with abounding liberality.

Dear friends, let us check up our payments towards God’s ministry and towards God’s people and needy brethren. Are we abounding in our giving and are we willing to give sacrificially? Are we willing to work that extra hour to earn for giving and not for saving or spending?

*PRAYER*: Almighty God, You have been so good to me and have belssed me graciously.  I thank You for all blessings. Now, extinguish my selfishness that I may give with abounding liberality towards the work of building up of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Do we really have authority over the devil as some movements claim ?

We have no authority over Satan in ourselves, but God has all authority, and He fights on our behalf.
Our response to Satan’s attacks should include submitting our lives to God, living in a holy manner, praying for God’s protection, and resisting sin. When we place ourselves under God’s protection, Satan has no authority over us.
He will flee. In addition, we can respond to the devil’s temptations as Jesus did.
All three times Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, the Lord responded by quoting God’s Word (Matthew 4:1–11).

If Jesus defeated temptation through Scripture, we should certainly rely on the Bible to overcome Satan’s temptation in our lives. It’s not called the “sword of the Spirit” for nothing (Ephesians 6:17).

The apostle Paul reminds us that Satan’s power will not last long. Romans 16:20 promises, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Stand firm in the Lord, and you can live in victory over Satan’s schemes.

No More Fear

Fear is false evidence appearing real. Their is a difference between the truth and the fact, the truth can never change but the facts will always change.
The truth is that you were healed by Jesus 2000years ago but the fact is sometimes you feel sick. The truth changes fact.
1Peter 2:24 says, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Salvation goes beyond what we feel because feeling are subject to change but the word of God will never change in spite of the way we feel. 1Peter 1:24 (ISV) says, For “All human life is like grass, and all its glory is like a flower in the grass. The grass dries up and the flower drops off, 25 but the word of the Lord lasts forever.” Now this word is the good news that was announced to you.

The truth is that God disarmed the devil and empowered us to live a life of victory.
Colossians 2:15 (AMP) says, [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].
This is good news for those that have been living in fear, no more fear our enemy is powerless.

No more fear of death because death, poverty, failure, stress, depression, oppression, diseases and rejection was conquered by Jesus Christ on the cross.

The thing that had made us captives was captured therefore we are living free from fear and death.
Ephesians 4:8 (KJ2000) says, Therefore he says, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

The love of God has conquered all fear of sin and death. We live free from fear of the devil and so we are living in the liberty of the glorious God because He has perfected us in love.
 1John 4:18 (MSG) says, There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life--fear of death, fear of judgment--is one not yet fully formed in love.

Do Christians have the authority to rebuke the devil?

 There are some Christians who believe they not only have the authority to rebuke the devil, but also they must be about the business of rebuking him continually. There is no biblical basis for such a belief. Satan, unlike God, is not omnipresent. He can only be in one place at a time, and the likelihood of his personally harassing individual Christians is miniscule. Of course, he has legions of demons who do his bidding, and they are everywhere seeking to destroy believers’ testimonies. It should be noted here that the Christian cannot be possessed by a demon in the same way people in the Bible are described as being possessed.

As Christians, we need to be aware of the reality of the presence of evil. As we struggle to stand firm in our faith, we must realize that our enemies are not merely human ideas, but real forces that come from the powers of darkness.
The Bible says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).


Clearly, God has allowed Satan significant amounts of power and influence over the earth, at least for now, and always within God’s sovereign control. The Bible tells us that Satan prowls around like a lion in search of prey, looking for victims to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is the power at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God (Ephesians 2:2). Anyone who is not under the control of the sovereign God is under the control of the devil (Acts 26:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Born-again Christians are no longer enslaved to Satan or to sin (Romans 6:6-7), but this does not mean we are immune to the temptations that he puts before us.


The Bible does not give Christians the authority to rebuke the devil, but to resist him. James 4:7 says to "submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Zechariah 3:2 tells us that it is the Lord who rebukes Satan. Even Michael, one of the most powerful of the angels, did not dare to accuse Satan, but rather said, "The Lord rebuke you" (Jude 1:9). In response to Satan's attacks, a Christian should appeal to Christ. Instead of focusing on defeating the devil, we should focus on following Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and trust that He will defeat the forces of evil.


It is not necessary for a Christian to rebuke Satan because God has given us His full armor to stand against evil (see Ephesians 6:10-18). The most effective weapons we have against the devil are our faith, wisdom, and knowledge about God and His Word. Christ, when tempted by Satan, answered him with Scripture (see Matthew 4:1-11). To gain victory in spiritual matters, we must maintain a clear conscience and have control over our thoughts. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).