He cares for you!

In 1 Peter 5:7 we read “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”. God is caring for you and you can experience his care by handing over your cares through faith. We are commanded to be sober and be vigilant. One aspect of being sober and vigilant is to be humble. The bible says “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”. The manifest sign of humility is submission to God and one to another. In the same passage we also read the warning for the prideful because the devil is roaming like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The second aspect of being sober and vigilant is to cast all your anxieties, worries and cares to God because he cares for you. If you don’t hand over your cares, worries and anxieties you will be burdened by them and can possibly become a potential prey for the devil. In this sermon we are going see how caring God is for you and for me.

                  Many times we don’t understand how caring our God is towards us. One of the reasons why we don’t hand over our cares to God is because we don’t understand how caring he is towards us.  The first way in which we understand God’s care for us is to look at him through his creation. In Luke 12 we read “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barns; and God feeds them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? God is wonderfully taking care of his creation. He feeds them every single day without fail. If you ask why did Jesus begin to discuss about God’s care for his creation, we can find the answer in the same context. If you read Luke 12:13-21, “And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me”. To this Jesus started address “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God”. So here in this juncture Jesus said “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”. We need to trust that we are handing our cares to such a wonderful loving and caring God. We can handle all our cares no matter how great or small it is. 

Secondly, in order to handover our cares to God we need to understand that “Your Heavenly Father knows your needs of life”. In Luke 12:30 we read “For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knows that ye have need of these things”. Our Heavenly Father know our exact needs. Sometimes we don’t even know what our exact need is. There is a beautiful passage in Acts 3:1-8, where a lame man didn’t know his exact need, he thought his need was money to eat food. All the more he was seeking for his need in wrong places. He was seeking for his need in people’s mercy, in visitors of the temple etc. Sometimes we may be like this lame man seeking our needs in wrong places. When you handle your needs, you will be looking for them in wrong places. Maybe you might think your need is wealth, approval of man, getting famous, in marriage, etc. In fact, you may be crying like this lame man not knowing what your exact need is. The lame man’s actual need was to walk. God met that need supernaturally on that day. He was able to walk so that he will never beg to anyone any more.  Likewise, God knows your actual need. He knows you more than anyone could know about you. In Matthew 10:30-31 we read “But your very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows”. No one knows the count of our hairs but God knows. He knows everything about us. 

        We have such a loving and faithful Heavenly Father. Why don’t we surrender all our cares unto him? The cares belong to us until we handover them to God. The Bible commands God’s children to cast all their cares upon him, for he cares for them. Let us make a decision to handover our cares to God. Once you handover your cares to God it belongs to him. God is caring for you! God bless!

Talking to yourself - What is your conversation with yourself?

What are we that God is so much concerned? Its amazing how the holy spirit leads us. 

I would like to share a small incident of a young man I came across. He approached me and said He does not feel like living anymore and wanted to end his life. He twice attempted to give up on himself but miraculously he survived and his only question was “ why am I still alive? Death never falls on me and I do not feel like living but as a final resort I shared everything with my friends but not with my family. My friends do not understand the struggle that I go through but one among them convinced me to meet you and so I have come to you. I do not have big hopes. I did not want to miss the last chance that I might regret.” Every time he travels by train to college, some voice encourages him to terminate himself by jumping off the bridge or fall out from a fast running train. He faces this struggle everyday and is unable to handle the stress he is in. It is very clear that this young boy hears voices that encourage him to die. When I asked him the reason to why he wants to die, his only answer was “ I am worthless. Why should I live? I am a burden for others. There is no hope for me. Even if I desire to sleep, there are conversations happening in my mind.”

The reason I have shared this scenario is that basically we do have a lot of conversation in our mind. This sermon that God intends to speak to you is about the words that we speak to ourselves. Many time we are not concerned about the words that we converse within ourselves. We are concerned to not utter unnecessary words before other. But no one sees ones heart and mind or the conversation you have within yourself. But we all converse. We are so influenced by these conversations that we have within ourselves than the conversations we have from others. It is said naturally out of the fullness of heart, the mouth speaks. Is it possible to change the conversations we have within ourselves? 

In psychological perspective we see that talking to ourselves also known as self-talk is seen by us as an abnormality. We can see certain people talking to themselves with expressions even. 

The only person we has complete control over is oneself. But we do not speak the right way to ourselves. We even talk to ourselves while hateful, disappointing and fearful situations. We rehearse as though speaking to someone near us.  We self-talk while loneliness strikes. We have a control but how do we handle? What is the conversation we have within ourselves? If we could shift those conversations to proper ones or if we could align the conversations to God’s word, definitely the control God gave over ourselves will be effective. It is “I “ who choose. To worship God or not is under ones choice. Choice is the biggest thing God has given you. The choice that we make can be corrupted by our words that is within you. We are very much careful to listen to conversations that come out from others. It is needed. But there is one another thing  which we get deceived of. Some we tend to filter words we speak even in anger. But sometimes we get deceived by the conversation we have within ourselves. “Be not deceit evil communications corrupt good manners” The conversation you have within yourself can corrupt your good manners. God insists us to be aware on this. We have to be very careful. 

Jesus said in Mathew 12: 36 and 37 “ but I say unto you, that every idol word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by the words thou shall be justified and by the words thou shall be condemned” How many times have we taken this verse for the inner conversations? The bible time and again speaks about people who spoke to themselves. This is not psychological but biblical proven that they have conversed to themselves. They have set right certain things within themselves. During situations they have sat alone and conversed with themselves before they could face situations. we will not go unpunished for the words that we speak within ourselves. Such conversations will be accounted as well. When our past is tragic and the past repeats itself, if the situation is that, definitely we will sit and talk within ourselves. The fearful words spoken by others may get repeated within you and you may dwell in those words and you may converse on it. And God says that those words will come into judgment. Because those are the words that will either judge you or condemn you. We should be careful of what runs in our hearts. Let us be consciously aware and work on this intentionally. 

In counseling the most important is intentionality. One must intentionally listen to others. One has to force themselves to listen to someone. When I taught my class about intentionality, they were able to practice. I was astonished to see that God has designed us in a way that we are in the image of God and has given us a skill of submitting ourselves that one has command over oneself. It is a wonderful thing that differentiates us from other creation. God has given this skill to all. And that is why non-believers do certain things through will power. It is the benefit of the design God has give us. If this design is failed to use properly, how can we give accountable? We are accountable much more because the word of God is spoken to us. We know Grace is given to us all. Thus we need to be conscious and set things right. 

The following examples of men and woman spoken about in the Bible shows how they conversed within themselves to fight situations they face just as we do. 

David says “ stand in awe and sin not. Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still.” David speaks these words when he is triggered with anger. If you are not conscious about what you communing within yourself, you are going to sin. 

“Blessed the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me. Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.” This is how we conclude every prayer we say. This is a verse spoken by David to himself. He takes command of every being of himself. On ones command, ones body must respond. One ones command ones emotions must settle. That is the command God has given us. On such command David speaks to himself in this verse. He commands his memory not to forget all His benefits. In Psalm 103, David speaks to himself remembering everything God has done for him. David was not a very righteous man. When you read through the book of Samuel and Chronicles, everything he did we disappointed in the eyes of God. But God calls him as a man after His own heart. We have command over our families, if we are teachers we have command over our students and in our profession and the rest we have control over them. But where do we lack finding control? Within ourselves. The only place we have given authority to control is over us and we are not granted permission to take control over others. 

There is another person who speaks to himself. A man named Jacob, the bible speaks about. In his death bed, he speaks about his sons. He speaks to his own soul as said in Genesis 49:6 “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united; or in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.” In this verse he instructs us to speak to ourselves and set limits. As the psalm 1:1 says as well “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” One has to tell himself saying walk not, stand not and sit not. Jacob, man of God converse within himself to not to unite with such people. 

The Bible speaks about another woman of God named Deborah who victoriously says in Judges 5:21 “ The river kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river kishon. March on , my soul; be strong!” The days of Deborah were filled with battles and women were looked down upon. But Deborah strengthened herself with those words and she became the strength to Israel during hardships. In your life, when situations are wrong and we are in a battle, what is the conversation within ourselves? Outwardly we show ourselves that we are hopeful and strong but inside we fear. But when we have a healthy conversation of victory within ourselves, just as Deborah did, you are the winner! We have to align our conversation to the word of God at all times. Before we could speak to others, let us speak to ourselves saying “ Bless the lord oh my soul. He forgives my sin. He is slow to anger. His loving kindness is great.” 

Apostle Paul says about the sufferings he went through in 2 Corinthians 11. But in the end he says “who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?” This was his conversation. This was the reason he was able to face all that happened around him. If he was terrified of such situations, he no longer would have continued his ministry. In spite all sufferings he says that it was never him but Christ who lives inside of him. “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

When you are discouraged, dwelling in a fear of failure, you tend to speak to people and receive sympathy form others. When we have wrong conversation within ourselves, we lose control over ourselves, our behavior changes and actions change. We may even take wrong decisions and be in an unstable mind which will lead to not to speak to God and not read the word of God. But that is when we need to take command of ourselves. Never lose control of yourself for your body. The body may convince you to avoid getting closer to God but never give into it. If you lose control over yourself the body will over take. So have control based on the word of God. Psalm 42: 11 says “ why art thou cast down. O my soul? And why are thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” This is exactly what happens to one who converse within his soul to hope unto God. The end result is God becomes the health of his countenance. If we become strong in this, we are always successful and nothing more is needed. We shall always reign if we have healthy conversation within ourselves. Make your communication right before God. Pick up the word of God and converse.  

1 Samuel 30:6 says “ And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters:  but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” David did not go to his close ones and spoke. He did not do anything to find comfort from others. But David found his courage in the Lord. We always miss the silent time we are meant to have with God. Instead we waste our time worrying and sharing and trying to come up with solutions with the help of others. It is never wrong to find safety among the people of God but before we do that, we need to speak to ourselves and align our conversations to the word of God and then set up a stage to speak with others. 

What are the ways to encourage yourself and speak to yourself?

The Bible says “ Bless the Lord all his works and places of dominion. Bless the Lord oh my soul.” You can speak to your soul looking at the beautiful creation God has created. Read Psalm 103 in a way that you say it to your soul. All this while you might read this verse in a way it is spoken by someone else to you. But read it in a way that this chapter is said by you to yourself. In this chapter David reminds himself of the time when He has brought him out of the troubles of Egypt. He repeatedly reminds his soul that the heaven and earth worship the most high so why do you worry?. “Christ within me is greater than he that is in the world.” Sometimes if the word of God doesn’t speak to you, look to the nature and remind yourself that the creator is greater and full of Glory. 

In conclusion, before we could speak to others and watchful of our words, lets us be watchful of what we speak to ourselves and to our soul. Let us address ourselves before we could get into conversation or advising others. Speak to your heart and be still. Sin not. Sometimes even when our emotions rage, do not let words come out even before you align and speak to your own soul. Bring everything to rest through the word of God. “ Out of the fullness of heart, the mouth speaks.” Our words have the power to kill and to destroy and also give live. So let us align our inner conversations to the word of God. 

Humility and Holiness

The more we think on the word of God the more transformation happens. We renew our mind with the Word of God. Our hearts are going to transform because the Word of God is powerful. One thing that can change your life and mine is the Word of God. We had been discussing on how seeking God enables us to pursue holiness. We need to seek God with all of our hearts. We need to seek God not with half heartedness, not with extra time we have. We need to seek him like a lost diamond ring. We need to seek Him with everything that we have. The more we seek Him, the more we receive  Him. The more we receive Him, the more we long for Him. It never ends. 

In the process of seeking God, the second important step is humility. In Colossians 3:12 we read,  “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” We need to put on all these . All of this means humbleness. Holiness and all these go together. If we really seek holiness, we need to seek humility. Because God gives grace to the humble. God resists the proud. Isaiah 57:15 says “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” If you are really longing for God to come into your life, what you need to put on is humbleness of spirit. If you have a longing heart, broken heart, if you are seeking God with all of your heart, when you say “Lord I need you, I need you in every area, I need you in my business, I need you in my family, I need you in everything, without you I am nothing"; when you have come to such a place and seek God, that is the spirit of humbleness; that is a broken and humble spirit. And God is there to revive the spirit of the humble. He will bring revival in your heart. God's Spirit will revive your heart. He is there to revive the hearts of the contrite ones. We use things but when they are broken we cannot do anything with it. But when our hearts are broken, God can turn it into a beautiful heart. He heals the broken heart. Nobody is a specialist in healing the broken heart.  Even the world famous heart surgeon cannot heal a broken heart. But God can heal us. 

What is the opposite of humility? Pride. Sometimes, even as Christians this is a problem. We think pride cannot hurt Christians. We all think Christians can never have pride in their hearts. Pride is the first sin in the universe. Pride can come for any person at anytime. You might be at the peak of your holiness, but pride can still enter into your life. In the Eden garden, where Adam and Eve lived, God told them not to eat the fruit. What was the first sin that came in the Garden of Eden? It was pride. Man thought he knows better than God. Man thought he can take better decisions than God. And Adam chose to eat the forbidden fruit. There was no sin earlier in the garden as it was a perfect place. But the sin of pride could enter even in a perfect environment. Pride is dangerous. In Proverbs 13:10 it says, “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” What is contention? Any quarrel, arguments, disturbances, anything related with life comes as a by-product of pride. Pride brings all contentions in families. It brings contention in our hearts. Your heart becomes restless, confused and unhappy because of pride. Your heart will become sick. In Isaiah 14: 13-14 it tells how the devil became the devil. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”, the devil said to himself. Prior to the sin of pride he was an angel. God created him as good. And when the devil thought to himself that he will be like God, he targeted God’s place. The consequence of pride is in the next verse - “ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” When you fall into pride, you are falling into hell. When you give your heart to pride you are in ending up in disaster. It brought a holy angel and took him down to the pit of hell. That’s why it is bringing so much havoc in the world. 

In Ezekiel 31:10-11, we read, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.” The moment we get into pride we will be delivered into the hands of the mighty one. Who is the mighty one? The devil. When your heart is filled with pride and deception, God has to deliver us to the might one. God has no other choice. Because Pride is hell. Judas was handed over to the devil. Judas was tormented.  The root of love of money is all evil but the seed all evil is pride. The Bible says, “pride comes before a fall”. Anytime when we have a fall in our Christian life, we might be exhibiting pride in our lives. In II Peter 2: 4-5 Peter warns his people saying, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” The Bible says, God did not spare the angels when they committed mistakes. God is not a partial God. God is just, righteous and holy. From God no one can get away with any sin. Especially when it is pride, when people committed sin, God did not spare the whole world. The floods came and destroyed everybody except for Noah and his family. 

In Daniel 4:13-16 says, “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus: Chop down the tree and cut off its branches; Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, and the birds from its branches Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze,In the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over him.”

I want to explain a little bit of this verse. Babylon was a great kingdom. The king of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar. And in a vision seen by Nebuchadnezzar, he sees a vision of all the leaves being chopped off from a tree. Pride can bring down a man. If you read the whole  4th chapter of Daniel you can see God is warning you and me. It is not just for Nebuchadnezzar that only a great king can get pride. Even a small kid can get pride. All of us are prone to it. We need to be diligent in seeking God. We need to ask for His grace to protect us from the sin of pride. The sin of pride has terrific consequences. Any other sin can be forgiven but for the sin of pride there is punishment. If we fall into pride, God will resist the pride. But He gives grace to the humble.

In Luke 18:11-12 it says, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Look at the righteousness of the Pharisees. He says “I” have no sin. God did not hear his prayer. God did not hear the prideful. If we see the next two verses, Luke 18: 13-14, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” 

The humble will always be exalted. When you humble yourself in the sight of God, He will exalt you in the right way. God gives grace to the humble. In II Corinthians 11:3 it says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Paul was a great man of God and he worried for his people. He preached the Gospel and many heard the Gospel and got saved. But still he was worried about them because Satan can come and corrupt the simplicity. Simplicity is humility. When humility is corrupted, Satan can easily take-over anyone. Pride will come subtly and it corrupts the mind. The interesting part about pride is, we might think we are humble when we are proud. We might not know that we are in pride. We might be aware of other sins, but not pride. We might be blind to it. Nobody can convict that you have pride. Because it will make you angry. No one can help a prideful person. Even God cannot help. That is why, God resists the pride. In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar became like a beast. His life was miserable. For seven years, God had to leave him alone. He became humble and found there is a king above. He knew that there is a King of Kings ruling this earth. When you fall into pride, it might takes many years to come out of it like the king Nebuchadnezzar. You might attend church, worship God, and have fellowship but your heart will be so sick and thirsty so weak and rigid. We need to humble ourselves. We need to cry to God. 

Colossians 2:18 says, “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” You can really act humble or behave humble but your heart can have pride. We can have deep pride in our hearts and also act humbly. That is the bigger deception. When a proud man thinks he is humble, it is the biggest danger. It is better to know if we are proud or not. Pride is a snare.  A snare is kept for a person who isn't aware. In I Samuel 18: 6-8 we read, “And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tablets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?” Someone got more appreciation than Saul should have and Saul got into pride. He got into a big snare. In the next verse I Samuel 18: 9 we read,  “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” Saul was suspicious and jealous of David from that day on”. The immediate effect of pride is jealousy, suspicion. In I Samuel 18: 10 -11, it says, “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.” 

The next consequence of pride after jealousy and suspicion comes, is the evil spirit taking over a prideful person. God allows him to Satan. Saul started to hurt people. We start to hurt people without our knowledge. Our empathy and compassion will go down. Our hearts will become hardened, sick and angry. A proud person is an angry person. The Bible says Saul was angry with David. One of the sign we have pride is anger. Anger is a sure manifestation of pride. When we have real anger we need to repent. We need to work on it. We cannot live in it and condone and be okay to live with it. The moment we think it is okay to be angry, sometimes we tend to give excuse saying even Jesus got angry. He was Holy to be angry. Our anger is different from the anger of Jesus. Let it never be the excuse for you and me. 

In Proverbs 21:24, we read, “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” Wrath is anger. A proud person is an angry person. We can get angry quickly for no reason. We need to cry to God everyday till we come out of anger and pride. A reaction to a pressurized situation can be a doorway to pride. When you react on your own flesh, you will get into pride. Never react in the flesh. The devil will orchestrate conditions in your life where you have to react and you have to get angry. He will justify saying you are right. You will feel like it is your birth right to defend yourself. Most of us we do that and we get into bigger trouble. If you start fighting, God will stop fighting for you. If you stop, God will fight for you. You stand still and see the salvation of God. God will repay the vengeance. You do not need to react. Be humble. God will work for you. If you see in the Bible, most of the cases of reaction are under pressure. Saul was under pressure and he reacted. So many people were under pressure and reacted foolishly. And pride can manifest in self pity. It is not anger alone, but also manifests in self pity. Pride comes in subtle forms. It comes not only in arrogance but also in self-pity, inferiority complex, fear; all of this can be pride. In I Samuel 22:8 Saul says in self-pity, “That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” Saul was in pride and now he is in self pity. Can you see the flip? Pride can also manifest in dissatisfaction. Whatever people do, we might never be satisfied. We think “I need to be taken care of more. I deserve more. I need more attention” God is good to you. God is taking good care of you. He is amazingly guiding you. He has given everything for you. But still a proud person can be dissatisfied. Sometimes dissatisfaction can be a manifestation of pride. We need to humble ourselves. We need to thank God for all the goodness and be content. 

In Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” We need to be patient in our spirit. In Psalms 34:2 it says, “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” The Humble people are very glad. The benefit of humility is huge. We talked about the judgements of pride but if you see the other side, the beauty of humility is so wonderful that we will long for it. Humility is so beautiful and very attractive. Humility is so powerful. 

The Jericho Faith

The Jericho Faith

By Marshal Henry

Introduction

Few stories in the Bible are better known than the story of Joshua and the battle for Jericho. This event stands out because it is a story of God’s people emerging victorious when facing an impossible situation. Although God had promised to give them the Promised Land, the mighty walled city stood in their way. Unless they found a way to bring down those walls, the city could not be taken, and if the city was not taken, the Promised Land would never be theirs. We only need to know one important fact: It was totally impossible to bring down those walls. Totally, absolutely, completely and utterly impossible. I want to talk to you today about your city of Jericho. Maybe today your city of Jericho is some habit you just can’t break because it is surrounded by Walls of weakness. Maybe today your city of Jericho is some sickness or affliction you just can’t get your healing because it is surrounded by walls of doubt or lack of faith. Maybe today in your city of Jericho God has given you a promise or told you to do something but the city is surrounded by a lack of trust in God. Today, my prayer is thatyou can see those walls collapse and you can take your city of Jericho. Remember, Jericho stood between the people of Israeland all that God had promised. Yet God’s people won a great victory that day. How did it happen? Hebrews 11:30 answers with two words. “By faith.” That’s all it says. “By faith.” But the story seems so incredible that we need to investigate further. What sort of faith was “Jericho Faith” that caused the walls to come down? Let me suggest four answers to that question and draw some conclusions.

I.  Faith Despite Tremendous Odds.

Firstly, “Jericho Faith” was a faith despite tremendous odds. The city of Jericho is one of the oldest cities we know. To get there you either travel down through the mountains from Jerusalem or you take the River Road coming south from the Sea of Galilee, running parallel to the Jordan River. The city itself is located not far from the river. The Canaanites built Jericho as a kind of “gateway fortress” to their land. Any invading enemy would have to deal with the great walled city of Jericho. You could not simply bypass it. Jericho was too large and too strong to be ignored. The walls were so high that they seemed to reach the sky (Deuteronomy 9:1). In the last 140 years archaeologists have done an enormous amount of research on the ruins of ancient Jericho. We now know that the city Joshua saw actually had two walls, an inner wall and an outer wall, both built on a slope, making it virtually impregnable to any attacking army. Also, the city was well prepared for a siege, with a spring inside the city walls and the harvest having just been taken in (Joshua 3:15). With plenty of food and water, Jericho could have held out for several years. What could the Jews do in the face of this seeming impossibility? A frontal attack simply would not succeed. They had no way to tear down the walls and enter the city. If they could not skip Jericho, and if they could not breach the walls themselves, what could they do?

Perhaps your city of Jericho is similar. The situation around is such that you can’t skip around neither can you breach the thick wall of unbelief and lack of faith. The Bible says the Israelites held on to their faith despite tremendous odds. Would you hold on to your faith in God despite long odds? There may be overriding reasons to believing in the contrary, but would you hold on? 

II. Faith That Followed a Very Strange Plan.

In Joshua 6 God instructed the Jews to do a number of unusual things, none of which had any military value.

March around the town once a day for six days (v. 3).
March with the Ark of the Covenant (v. 4).
Put seven priests in front of the Ark (v. 4).
On the seventh day march around Jericho seven times (v. 5).
Have the priests blow rams’ horns as they marched (v. 5).
On the seventh time around on the seventh day, have the people shout (v. 5).
When the people shout, the walls will come down (v. 5).
When the walls come down, enter the city and conquer it (v. 5).

Joshua added a few refining details to the plan:

He instructed the people to be perfectly silent as they marched around the city. 
He put soldiers in front of the priests and behind the ark. 
He had the priest blow the rams’ horn continually.

For six days they marched around the city once and then returned to their camp. On the seventh day, at the end of the seventh time around the city, the priests sounded a long blast and the people shouted as loud as they could. Let’s stop the story right here. What are the chances that this particular strategy would cause the mighty walls of Jericho to come tumbling down? Marching. Blowing horns. Shouting. I guarantee you that you won’t find a military expert anywhere who would recommend the Joshua Plan as the best way to conquer a walledcity. Let’s lay it out in a simple equation:

Marching + horns + shouting =??????

What you’ve got so far is a whole lot of noise.  

Have you been instructed by God to do unusual things, things that seemed strange to you, perhaps had no value at all? How did you respond? We can see similar stories of God commanding unusual things to do in the Bible. Gideon is one example in Judges 6-8 where God commanded Gideon and his 300 men to blow trumpets and break the jar in their hands, and that would miraculously help them win the war against the Midianites. What? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous. Well, it doesn’t according to God. How about Naaman’s healing of leprosy in 2 Kings 5? The prophet Elisha asked him to diphimself seven times in the river Jordan to be healed, and understandably so, Naaman got angry. No one in their right senses would believe that you could be healed of Leprosy just by immersing yourself into water seven times. And yet, when he did he was healed. God’s plans are strange sometimes, and yet when we rightfully believe in him, they work. The question is, would you have the sort of faith that Joshua and his men had despite the absurdity of God’s instruction and command? This is a huge challenge but that is the sort of faith that works. 

III. Faith That God Would Give Them Victory.

Thirdly, we find in Joshua and his men the faith that God would give them victory. We get two hints of this in the story.

1) God said he was going to give them the city.

This is what God said to Joshua before he gave him the plan: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men” (Joshua 6:2). Note the past tense: “I have delivered.” Not “I will deliver.” God speaks of Jericho as having already been defeated. That’s a key point. God is saying, “It’s a done deal. Those walls are coming down. It’s just a matter of time.” Now that shouldn’t surprise anyone who believes in God. He can do things like that. He speaks, and it is done. In a real sense, the battle was over before it was started. God promised to deliver the city, and in due course he made good on his promise.

2) God put himself in the middle of the battle plan.

You might miss this on a casual reading of the text. God put himself in the middle of the battle plan by having the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant as they marched around Jericho (v. 4). The ark was not just another piece of religious furniture, like a table or a lampstand.  The ark represented the very presence of God with his people. Putting the ark out front was like God saying, “I’m going to lead this parade.” All normal military options are now off the table. It’s the people plus God, or if you prefer, God plus the people. Spears and armor don’t matter at a time like this. Let’s redo that that equation one more time:

Marching + horns + shouting + God = “The walls came tumbling down”

It’s God who made all the difference at Jericho. Those high walls were no match for the Almighty. The God who created those stones could easily blow them over. We don’t know exactly how he did it, only that he did it, and the city was then taken by Joshua and his people. Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, that your affliction, your trouble, your situation is no match for the Almighty. When God is in the plan the walls of your city will come tumbling down. 

There was a day when Robert Morrison was a passenger on a ship to China. History records that he was the first Protestant missionary to China. One day the captain of the ship asked a rather disparaging question. “What do you think you’re going to do? Convert China?” “No,” came the quiet reply. “I don’t think I’ll ever convert China. I think God will.” That is the same faith that brought down the walls of Jericho.

IV. Faith That Expressed Itself in Persevering Obedience.

Finally, “Jericho faith” is the faith that expressed itself in persevering obedience. If God is the real hero of this story-and he is-then we face another question. Why did God have the people march around the city for six days, and then seven times on the seventh day? It’s not as if their marching somehow destabilized the stones in the wall. It is, I think, a lesson about the power of God on one hand and the need for persevering obedience on our part. God has so ordered the moral universe that he responds to our faith when it is actually put to work. It’s not passive faith that he honors, but active faith, living faith, faith that actually does something. If you read the rest of Joshua 6, you discover that God’s promises do not equal inactivity. Read it all and you will discover . . .

Diligent preparation (vv. 6-7).
Careful discipline (v. 10).
Patient repetition (v. 14).
Audacious exultation (v. 20).
Complete obedience (v. 21).
Intentional compassion (vv. 23-25)

Think about this for a moment. God could have said, “Sit tight. Don’t do anything. I’ll knock over the walls and destroy the city myself.” Is there any problem with that? No, not really. God is fully able to work with or without human means. But his normal plan is to use people to accomplish his purposes. So even though God caused the walls to fall down, the people still had to march, they still had to shout, and when the falls fell down, they still had to take the city, fighting door to door. And this is the precise point the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand. “By faith” the walls fell down. How do we know it was “by faith"? Because the people of God put their faith into practice by marching around the city day after day after day.

Conclusion: What is “Jericho Faith”?

To sum it all up, what does “Jericho Faith” mean? It means that Joshua and his men acted on the promises of God through obedience and perseverance despite the uncertain and impossible situation around them. To put it in an equation:

Belief + action = Faith

Mere believing does not mean that one has faith. Faith is when he/she acts on the belief. Just as Joshua and his men not only believed in the promise of God but also acted on the commands of God. Similarly, we are called to exercise “Jericho Faith” when we face impossible and uncertain situations in life. We are called to exercise our Jericho faith to breach the walls of our city of Jericho. Let me tell you something very important here. The real battle of Jericho was not with the Canaanites. The real battle was in the hearts of the people of God. Would they believe what God had said? Would they risk public humiliation if the walls didn’t come down? Would they do what seemed absurd (from a human point of view) in order to see God do the impossible?Perhaps we are in the same boat too. Let’s close our eyes and think about it for a minute. Would we believe in what God has promised us instead of looking at the impossible circumstances in our life? Would we continue to act on our belief in God with perseverance even though we are being made fun of, ridiculed and humiliated by others? Where do we find the faith, you may ask? If we move on to Hebrews 12, we find the answer very clearly. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (v. 2). He is the author and finisher of our faith. He starts it and he finishes it. He’s the Captain of our salvation. Just keep your eyes on him.

God Bless Your!

Loving God - Part 3

By Vidhyasankar

We have been discussing on Loving God. This is the continuation of that series. In the previous discussion we saw how keeping God’s commandments and loving God are linked. In this part of the series we will be discussing on the second most important aspect of “What is Loving God?”  We read in Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus answering the question of a scholar: ‘What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the Prophets.” These two commandments are not just very important but there in hangs all the beauty of human life. Jesus never said one is more important than the other but rather the second is same as the first. They are equally vital and have the same degree of importance. In fact, one without the other is not complete. That is the reason why Jesus said, “On these two commandments depends all the law and the prophets”.

Loving God is not just an abstract idea, it has solid theological instructions as to how and what it means to love God. The second commandment clearly tells us that “loving people is like loving God”. In other words when one truly loves God he will truly love people. It is a blatant deception to say, “I am very good at loving God, but I am not truly a people loving person”. The truth is that our deep love for God is displayed through a deep love for people (neighbor).

Now, is loving our neighbor a command of the Old Testament? Yes, “love your neighbor as yourself” is not just a New Testament concept.  We can read the heart of God on loving neighbor in Leviticus 19:9-18. In Verse 17 &18 it says “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”.

Additionally, loving neighbor is fulfilling the law of God. In Romans 13:8-10, we read this: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourselves.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Moreover, most importantly, loving neighbor is choosing life.  We read in proverbs 19:16 “Whoever keeps the commandments keeps his life; he who despises His ways will die”. We are doing a favor to ourselves when we choose to love others. It is not a legalistic love for the other but a true heartfelt love for others. A True love for the other is choosing life. In John 7:38 Jesus says, “He that believeth in me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Our calling, then, is to have the rivers of living waters flowing out of us, but, unfortunately when we stop loving others we become a stagnated pond. When we choose to love others, God’s love will reach out to others and will make a difference in their lives. Loving others will bring healing, comfort and freedom to us and others. This is choosing life. In John 4: 21 we read “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother”. God’s word encourages us to love one another. Let us seek the face of Jesus and ask for his grace to live the life that he has called us to live. God bless you!!

Loving God Part 2

By John Marshal

“LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH”

Introduction

Have you discovered how easy it is to say, “I love God,” but how much more difficult it is to actually live up to those words daily both publicly and privately, particularly if we included the words, “with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? And considering the signs of the times we live in, it's going to become even more difficult to follow through on that commandment. Jesus calls this “The most important” commandment on two separate occasions, one in Mark 12:29-30, and the other in Matthew 22:36-37. This, as some might assume, is not only a New Testament command but an Old Testament one too. In fact, Jesus quotes it from Deuteronomy 6:5 which says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. This is known as the Shema, taken from the first word “hear” in Hebrew. Modern Jews consider the recital of the Shema both evening and morning to be one of their most sacred duties. Some have tagged the Supreme Command of Deuteronomy 6:5 the “all-command,” because of the word “all”. There is no room here for divided affections or allegiance. As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” in Matthew 6:24. This most important commandment is what we’ll be meditating upon today. We’ll be meditating upon questions like “what does it mean to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength?” “On what basis does God command us to love him?” “How do we make this important commandment a reality in our lives?” Let’s close our eyes for a moment before going any further and ask God to speak to us as we meditate upon his Word together, shall we?

What does it mean to Love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength?

Before asking the question “what does it mean to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?” firstly, let us understand the meaning of the word “Love” in our passage (Mark 12:29-30) as this is at the heart of our question. The concept of love that is spoken of here is very important, the word for love in the Greek is a particular kind of love. It does not just mean some kind of transient feeling of affection or desire towards someone or something, but is far deeper than that. 'Agape' love is a self-giving love, and implies not just a desire or feeling, but a decision of the will to be committed to someone or something. It is a love that endures even when times are difficult and feelings may not remain as they once were, and involves a total commitment on the part of the one who is loving another. This is the kind of love that God has for us, which will become very important for us later in this message. Having defined what love is in this context, let’s ask, “what did Jesus mean when he said, “love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength”? An easy way to answer this is to say that Jesus is clearly meaning that we love God with everything that we are, above everyone else, and above everything else. We are to commit everything to God, and bring everything under His control, giving ourselves to Him entirely for the rest of our lives.More specifically, there are a number of areas covered by these four words - they imply that we should love God with all of the following:

• our Desires – that we conform our desires to those which will please and honor God

• our Affections - that we love those things that God loves

• our Purposes - that we pursue those things that God would have us pursue

• our Will - that we choose that which is good in our lives

• our Feelings - that we subject our feelings to the truth of God’s Word

• our Character - that we pursue holiness, godliness, and purity

• our Time – that we spend our time wisely

• our Money – that we spend our money with accountability to God

• our Thoughts - that we meditate on the truth of God’s Word, and live every day in the light of it.

• our Talents – that we willfully use our talents for the glory of God.

This means that the love we’re called to must be wholehearted, life-encompassing, community-impacting, exclusive commitment to our God. This truth means that every closet of our lives needs to be opened for cleaning, and every relationship in our lives must be influenced. This call to love God this way destroys any option of being one person at church and another person at work. What you do on the internet needs to be just as pure as what you do in Bible-reading. The way we talk to our parents needs to be as wholesome as the way we talk to our pastors. There needs to be an authentic love for God that starts with God-oriented affections, desires, and thoughts, that permeates our speaking and behavior, and then influences the way we spend our money and how we dress, and drive, and our forms of entertainment. Whether we’re eating or singing, jogging or blogging, texting or drawing, love for God is to be in action and seen.

Does this seem like a tall order to you? Absolutely it should - this is the first and great commandment, and is the pinnacle of what it means to be a Christian! All through the Bible we’re shown that God isn’t after half-hearted disciples - people who will honor Him with some of their time, money and affection - God wants fully committed, cross-bearing people who will give absolutely everything for Him.

On what basis does God command us to love him?

God has not called us to conjure up this life-consuming love for Him out of thin air. It isn’t primarily a test of our will-power as to whether we can achieve this level of love for God.He commands us to love Him based on several facts. Let’s consider a few here.

Firstly, he commands us to love Him based on His love for us. The Bible says in 1 John 4:19 that we love because he first loved us. Whether it’s the Old Testament or the New, God’s issue of commands follow the same pattern – demonstration of love followed by an invitation to obedience and faithfulness. What does this mean for us? Well it means this: Our love for God is primarily a response to the incomparable love that God has shown us in His Son Jesus. As Jesus died on a Roman cross, paying the penalty for our sins, there was literally nothing more that He could give us - there is no greater love than a man laying down his life for his friends. This is of course the essence of the Gospel message - though we were far from God, sinners and His enemies, though we were completely unworthy of God’s love and acceptance, He chose to send Jesus into this world to give Himself for us. It’s as we come to recognize more and more just how great the love of God for us really is that we are enabled to love Him in return. So, I wouldn’t personally call this a “command,” although it is, but a friendly invitation to faithfulness. 

Secondly, he commands us to love him not for His sake, but for ours. Sometimes people ask me why does God demand worship and adulation from His creatures; is he a praise maniac like a tyrannical mafia boss? Absolutely not! He wants us to obey Him because when we are in a loving relationship with Him we discover ourselves in the process; we come to who we truly are. Since He’s our Creator, Sustainer, Savior and King, everything we have comes from Him. He’s the one who knows the purpose of our design and existence. When we live according to the purposes of the designer we perform our best. Look at David for instance! He loved God’s Word and treasured it as though it was His greatest treasure. God’s commands for David was as sweet as honey. David obeyed God not merely because God demands it, but he knew that obeying God’s commands is a gift from God that contains secrets to successful living. As a result, more than fifty percent of his writing was about the importance of God’s Word and commands. No wonder he was called “a man after God’s own heart.” Now, having discussed what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and the basis by which God issues this command, the next obvious question is: “how do I make this a reality in my life?” 

How do I make “Loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength” a living reality? 

In other words, how do I love God with whole-hearted, life encompassing, community impacting devotion on a daily basis,both publicly and privately? One of the ways Jesus answered this question can be found in the parable of the “Vine and the Branches” found in John 15: 1-8. In this parable, the "vine" is Christ Jesus, the "vinedresser" is the Eternal Father, and the "branches" are the Lord’s disciples. We can infer from the context of John 15:1-8 that "fruit" symbolizes good deeds, characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus says in John 15:4: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." The New International Version says, "Remain in me, as I will remain in you." The Amplified Bible says, "Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you." But the obvious question arises, what does it mean to abide in Jesus Christ as the branches in the vine? I believe three things are implied: connection, dependence, and continuance.

First, connection. Abiding in Jesus first of all means having a life-giving connection to him. A branch is connected to the vine, and a vine to the branch. This is what theologians frequently describe as “union with Christ.” Notice that this connection, this union, is mutual. We abide in him and he abides in us (v. 4). If there is no connection, there is no life, no fruit.

Second, dependence. Abiding also implies dependence. This aspect of abiding, unlike connection, is not reciprocal. The branch is dependent on the vine, but the vine is not dependent on the branch. The branch derives its life and power from the vine. Without the vine, the branch is useless, lifeless, powerless. Sap flows from the vine to the branch, supplying it with water, minerals, and nutrients that make it grow. And believers receive the “sap” of Christ’s grace through our life-giving connection to him. We are completely dependent upon Jesus for everything that counts as spiritual fruit (v. 4). Apart from him, we can do nothing (v. 5).

Finally, continuance. Abiding also involves continuance. In fact, “abide” (Greek, meno) means to remain, or stay, or continue. For example, in John 1:38-39, two of the disciples who first encountered Jesus asked him “Where are you staying?” They wanted to know where Jesus made his residence. The word “staying” is the same word translated “abide” in John 15. To abide is to reside. To abide is to continue, to stay, to remain. This shows us that another aspect of abiding in Jesus is remaining in Jesus. This simply means that we go on trusting, that we keep on depending, that we never stop believing. In summary, to abide in the vine means to be united to Jesus (connection), to rely on Jesus (dependence), and to remain in Jesus (continuance).

That leads to a final question: how do you abide? If abiding in Jesus involves ongoing daily dependence on him, what does that look like? Jesus himself tells us. We abide in Jesus by letting his words abide in us (v. 7) and by abiding in his love (v. 9-10). To put it simply, abiding in Jesus doesn’t require advancing beyond the gospel to something else. It doesn’t demand a crisis decision or a mystical experience. It just means keeping the words of Jesus in our hearts and minds, so that they are renewing and reviving us, shaping and sanctifying us, filling and forming us. And it means keeping ourselves in his infinite, enduring, sin-bearing, heart-conquering, life-giving love.

Conclusion

So, as I close, if you have a great desire to love God with all that you are, with heart, soul and mind, let me urge you not just to try harder but to soak yourself in the love of God for you. Remind yourself daily of the amazing sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as you do so, may He by the power of the Holy Spirit, empower you to lay down your life for Him as He laid down His life for you.

What is Loving God? - Part 1

Loving God

What is Loving God? This is certainly a deep ontological question. The bible, time and again, tells us that Loving God is the whole duty of man. We can read in Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one LORD; And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thine soul and with all thy might”. It is very interesting to see that God of the Universe is commanding his people to love him with all heart, soul and might. We can also see that this command proceeds further even into the New Testament. But the question that every sincere Christian has is: what does it means to love God in such an intense way? 

Jesus Christ in John 14:15 said, “If ye Love me, keep my commandments”. In a sense Jesus is saying that “keeping his commandment” is loving God. Now, one may ask why are loving God and keeping his commandment linked? It looks like God is tyrannical in demanding a deep love for him, but it is the other way around. By digging deep into the word of God we can understand the true meaning of the command. One aspect of why keeping the commandments is linked with loving God is written in Proverbs 19:16, “He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; But he that despiseth his ways shall die”. We can understand from the above verse that our own soul is kept if we remember to keep the commandment; our true enjoyment of life is at stake if we neglect the commandment. In Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, we can read how life and death are connected based on our decision to keep the commands of God. In verse 20 we read “That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” It is very clear that when we cleave to God through abiding we receive true life.

Let’s explore a little deeper as to how keeping the commandments helps us in choosing life instead of death. We know very well that sin not only destroys our own lives and families but also the lives of entire humanity. Sin has the potential to destroy and it cannot be ignored as harmless. Being sensitive to God’s word helps us keep away from any known Sin. The bible says, “How can a young man keep himself from sin but by taking heed unto your word”. Psalmist says, “I have your word hid in my heart so that I wont sin against thee”. Most of us have this question “how can I obey Gods commandment?” or “where do I get the ability to pursue God’s commandment?”

In John 14:23 we read, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, He will keep my words”. The truth revealed from the above verse is simple, ‘God’s love enables us to keep Gods word’. Only God’s love will continue to keep our hearts burning to pursue him and His Word despite tricky situations and circumstances. The bible says God’s love is poured in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, a deep desire to keep Gods word or his commandment is a sure sign of loving God. We cannot say I love God but I don’t want to keep his commandments! We also cannot think that keeping God’s commandment is an option for a Christian. In John 2: 4 we read “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him”. In First John we read that we cannot hate someone and love God at the same time. Sometimes we can deceive ourselves without knowing we are deceiving ourselves. God’s word should be the top priority for a Christian. God is loving you and me with all of His heart, with all of His soul, and with all of HIs mind. Let’s trust God’s love for us and let’s pursue him in keeping his word. God bless you!

PRESENCE OF GOD

The bible says, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." The word “presence of God” is a very mysterious and interesting concept in the Christian community. What is “presence of God?”Though “presence of God” has a wide variety of meaning, we will be discussing some important aspects from the scriptures. Firstly, the bible says, “His presence is awesome and powerful.” We read in Psalm 68:8 "The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. In the Old testament, we read that the presence of God was very powerful and terrific such that the people of Israel didn't want to get near it. On the other hand, we also read in Psalm 16:11 "thou will shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore". God’s presence is not only powerful but also has fullness of joy. he next logical question that could possibly follow is: "where is the presence of God?" To this bible says in Isaiah 6:3 "And one cried unto another, and said Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts: The whole earth is full of His glory"; and we also read in psalm 139:7 "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or Whither shall I flee from thy presence"? And in Jeremiah 23:24 we read "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord, do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord". 

God is omnipresent and his presence is everywhere but why then are people not able to recognize his presence? Even Christians sometimes are unable to recognize the presence of God. The classic illustration can be read in 2 Kings 6: 15-17 where Elisha and his servant were living in Dothan. Elisha was doing such a ministry where he could clearly tell the things what the enemies of Israel were talking in their bedchamber. At one instance, the enemy King got angry and sent horses, chariots and a great host to capture Elisha. When the servant of Elisha saw the great host that compassed the city he trembled with fear and cried to Elisha. Possibly he would have said “we are finished.” But Elisha, interestingly, was unperturbed and said, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them". Looks like Elisha’s servant was not convinced with the prophet’s hallucination.  And in 17th Verse we read "Elisha prayed, and said “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see; the bible says “the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha". Many times we pray for God’s presence to be with us but we seldom believe his presence is with us. The bible says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you". His unseen presence is not recognized many times in the midst of our busy life. 

Secondly, we need to be conscious of his presence to enjoy the blessings of the presence of God.  We can see in the life of Joseph; he constantly lived a life with a consciousness of the presence of God. When temptation came he was conscious of the Gods presence; he said, "how can I sin before God". No wonder the bible says, "God was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man". Similarly, we can see Daniel who lived his life with the consciousness of God’s presence. 

Thirdly, we can read about the tangible presence of God in Exodus 40:34: "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the lord filled the tabernacle". There is a tangible experience of the presence of God where we can experience God’s presence in such a realistic manner. In John 17:21-23 we read, "that they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." What a wonderful passage. Many times we don't experience these verses because we haven't believed the last phrase: “God the Father loves you as much as he loves Jesus.” We need to trust to experience the fact that “God loves you and me as much he loves Jesus Christ.” God’s love is so true and real and we need to believe this love wholeheartedly. 

The bible says in Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden him from you, that he will not hear". When we live a sinful life it is we who separate ourselves from God. It’s incorrect to believe that God won’t hear us. Look at the life of prodigal son, he walked away from his father’s presence and started to embrace unhealthy lifestyle. When he came to his lowest point of his life he would have thought that his father would have forgotten him. But the truth was that the father was waiting for him. Our loving God is waiting for you and me to come back and experience his loving presence. In His presence there is fullness of Joy. 

As you read this email if you think you are faraway from him, repent and turn to your loving father he is waiting to hear your prayer and restore everything that you have lost. May the Lord fill us with his glorious presence. God bless you!

Thought and Thinking

BY VIDHYASANKAR 

We all know the famous saying that, “We are what we are because of our thoughts.” What we think ultimately shapes our perception of our world.

Most of us don’t care much about our thoughts because we’re busy living our daily lives—lives filled with ambitions, work, unmet goals, cares, worries, problems in our relationships, and a preoccupation with our own pitfalls and weaknesses.

Dwelling on such things can gradually become a thinking habit, and that habit can shape our personality. No wonder the Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.”

We become whom we deeply desire to become by changing our thinking. Transformation of thought results in transformation of heart because the Bible says man thinks with his heart. Our thoughts drastically affect the joy, peace, and happiness of our daily life. Not only that, our thoughts affect our future happiness and even the happiness of others around us. 

Scripture says that God judges people based on the thoughts and intentions of their heart. Hebrews 12:4, for example, teaches us that, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

God’s word encourages, helps, and empowers us to think right thoughts, which leads to peace, joy, and life everlasting. Scripture guards, transforms, and purifies our thoughts. “The word of the Lord is upright and pure,” says Psalm 33:4. Reflecting on God’s word will transform our lives and the lives of those around us. According to Psalm 1, a blessed life depends on our meditating on God’s word day and night. In other words, God wants us to be preoccupied with his thoughts in order to live a joyful, peaceful, and pure life. His words are gracious, loving, and beautiful.

Psychologists emphasize that the secret to a successful life is positive thinking. No doubt this is part of it. But many who are “successful” are not happy. The reason many who are successful aren’t happy is that the secret of happiness is rooted in the pursuit of pure thoughts. I am personally encouraged by Matthew 5:8 (GNT): “Happy are the pure in heart.” God loves us so much, and he graciously gave us his words to realign our thoughts with his thoughts, which in turn will transform our heart.

In John 6:63 we read, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” We also read in John 15:3-5, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

God calls us to pursue both positivity and purity in our thought life to become truly successful and happy.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).