iThink

YHWH - The brilliant orchestrator !

2022-09-29T10:46:00.006-07:00

Egypt - the safe haven for the Israelites in the initial years became a place of captivity and oppression all within 430 years..

God orchestrated their entry into Egypt via Joseph and their exit via Moses

Sometimes I wonder maybe ‘Egypt’ provided a fertile ground for the people of Israel to grow in numbers - and the Sovereign God worked that bit out too - maybe a quorum or a number was needed before a people group could be called a nation .This threat led to the Pharoah’s edict to slaughter man-children , 80 years before the Israelites deliverance

Egypt might have provided a lot to the Israelites. From living in the desert to exposure to the most advanced civilisation in the world , it could have slowly swayed them away from the true Lord to the pleasures of the world. I believe that this backslide didn’t happen in a day but over centuries.

So if God leads us into a place, he will do the rest - growth and exposure in all aspects.. even if we feel that the land will oppress us or if its happening in reality (read partiality at workplace or cultural discrimination), God is still in control and will work out his plans (provided we don’t leave Him and cling onto the sensous delights of the land)

So all in all, in 430 years God did the following

Provided Egypt as a breeding ground to increase Israel from a people group of 70 to millions
Brought one of the world’s most advanced empires to its knees
Made Moses realise that Egypts military strategies couldn’t help Israel out - God brought them in and would lead them out
Rekindled fear and awe in the eyes of some of the Israelites.

What’s in your hand ?

2018-12-10T20:41:00.001-08:00

God asked Moses - What is that in your hand ? He of course knew the answer - but He still asked him. Moses had the staff in his hand - the one, which he had used to tend his father-in-law’s flock of sheep for the past 40 years. God used that very staff to perform some miracles - staff to serpent and back, eating the serpent produced by Pharaoh’s magicians, and later it divided the Red Sea , produced water out of a rock in the desert...

The staff in my opinion represented Moses’ labour - God uses what we have in our hand at this moment and performs miracles with it. So when he asks what do you have in your hand - let us introspect and answer - and be honest with it. It might be the staff of our work, or house work or teaching or studying but when that staff becomes the staff of God (Exodus 4:19), it will start changing the environment we are in - God will perform the miracles and change things in our homes, workplaces, politics, society and nation.

So, let’s remember that we all have a staff - let’s be diligent with the work we have been assigned by God and He will use our work to work miracles.

Reference:
Exodus 4:19(b) - Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

Secret Disciples

2018-08-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

As followers of Jesus Christ, many a time we are awed by the prominent men and women in the Christian world. They can be our favorite musician or preacher or evangelist or prophet or author or.. you get the drift, right? Social media updates do give us a real-time status of what these stars are thinking/doing at the moment and most of them have an insane number of followers!

This situation leaves the rest of us - the not so famous, average Joe’s on the road wondering about God’s purpose for us. We start measuring ourselves with the lens of fame and money and the number of followers a certain Christian celebrity has got - more often than not, it becomes a number game. This scenario has enough potential to demotivate even the super motivated and stifle any element of creativity.

In this context, let me take you to a time, approximately 1985 years ago in Jerusalem. His own - the Jews, have crucified Jesus Christ, and all of His disciples but one are scared and have shut themselves in, in fear of the Jews! The concern in the disciples' heart is legitimate - Jesus, their leader is gone, and now they are chicken feed in front of the Jewish leaders. But just about two years ago, these very disciples were traveling along with Jesus, healing the sick and performing miracles!

Looking at the superstar disciples of Jesus, the average Joe then - a new follower of The Way, thinks to himself - Am I relevant in Jesus' kingdom? He has these rockstar disciples with Him who have begun to perform supernatural stuff already and I am just a follower ! Even though Jesus has healed a lot of people, I think Jesus loves these 12 guys the most.

It’s been a few hours since Jesus died and His body needs to be buried, but his disciples are nowhere around. It turns out that not only Jesus had public followers like His disciples, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Lazarus, etc. but he also had quite a few ‘secret’ followers. John 19:38 says that Joseph of Arimathea - one such secret follower of Jesus, went to Pilate - the same guy who authorized Jesus’ killing, and got his permission to bury Jesus. He understood the importance of a proper burial!

It’s incredible to note that the average Joe gets to play a role in Jesus burial and not His famous disciples. Well, that’s not all! Nicodemus - another secret believer of Jesus, who had once visited Jesus at night for fear of the Jews, joined Joseph in the burial service and brought with him hundred pounds of spices- myrrh and aloes. Nicodemus - a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, probably knew that he wouldn’t need 100 pounds of spice for the body but I guess it really didn’t matter to him - he had an opportunity in hand, to serve Jesus and he wanted the burial to be a royal one - befitting a King! The duo applied the spices on the linen - as is the Jewish custom, and wrapped Jesus' body with it.

The secret disciples - the average guys, the not so famous, the not so equipped, found a role to play in Jesus' kingdom right at His burial!

I believe that the message hasn’t changed even after 2018 years since Jesus' birth. Every person in Jesus kingdom has a role to play - the superstars have their roles, and the secret ones have an equal share! We as believers have to come to a place of security with our God-given talents and giftings, and guard our hearts and minds not to be awed to stillness by the superstars in Christendom - for that would be tragic indeed. So, let's be on the job that God has asked us to - for we are serving Him!

Suicide is not the solution !

2013-06-06T10:08:00.002-07:00

I started this blog on May 30, a few days after a very talented kid committed suicide. When I decided to complete the rest of the blog, the terrible news of actress Jiah Khan' s death and Paris Jackson's suicide attempt came in !

Man has never been so desperate and waylaid than now...The current economic situation , the geo-political conditions , societal and work pressure is driving us crazy...And in this world where the unjust thrive and the just scrape through, probably the easiest way out of it is not to face the situation... !

Recently I lost another dear friend of mine ..We grew up together.. I wonder what drove him to such a decision !

When Jesus was tempted , Satan took him up to the holy city Jerusalem , set him on the pinnacle of the temple and and said - If you are the son of God , throw yourself down... Or in other words Jump !!

This act of jumping and the notion that no better solution exists, is what the devil wants you to believe.

Actually, it is a deception / mask forcing a person who is utterly hopeless to accept that he can't do any better.

Is there a problem that can't be solved ? Probably not completely, but yes an interim solution lies.. Even if a solution does not exist, taking one's own life is wrong ! You are playing with something that you have no right of !

In the Bible, we find a character called Job ! He was a rich businessman , yet was righteous. One day all of a sudden , he loses all his 10 kids, his wealth and is covered with boils head to toe. He had come to such a state that his wife who had seen God's glory and blessing in his life , encouraged him to curse / denounce God and DIE !

But Job stood ground , he did not curse God ! He was in extreme pain.. A riches to rags story for his contemporaries.. I guess , he had to endure the same kind of pressure we face today.. societal, family , work / business etc.. I believe Job had more reason , if so , to commit suicide and get himself out of the pain ! But Job chose not to , as he believed that the God he believed in , was greater than his problems !

When Satan had tested him enough, God restored to him, twice of whatever he had lost ! He got double the number of camels, wealth , etc...... God restored him !

a) BEWARE of characters who behave like Job's wife ! They become agents of the evil one to deceive people !

b) Remember that in this world each person has his/her own troubles. You might not have the solution to the problem , but Jesus has ! Would you consider giving your life to Him ? He is real , loving and caring !

You might have tried lot of things, and they would not have worked out !

Try Jesus ! :)

The Garden of Eden

2013-04-09T09:32:00.001-07:00

The Garden of Eden is one that has perplexed many ! Well , this garden does not exist anymore. However, it is mentioned in the book of Genesis and Ezekiel and is the site where God created Man & Woman... Geographically, its location is disputed & has been variously located from modern day Iraq to Lebanon !

But this Garden teaches us a lot... It was here that God made man out of the dust and breathed his Spirit into him. And God saw that man was alone, therefore he put his creation into a deep sleep and created woman out of his rib. He named them Adam & Eve.

Every evening , God came down to the Garden to commune with Adam & Eve ! I can't imagine that ! God coming down to meet and talk and spend time with his creation.. This is simply awesome..

Adam and Eve had learnt to hear His voice. Infact they could hear him walking through the garden and would know that God had come down to meet them...

Afer such a glorious experience with the Lord, Eve gave into the temptation of eating from the Tree of Knowledge and Adam also fell for it.. Why ?? What could be some of the reasons ?

Here are a few that I could think of....

1) When you are at the pinnacle of your walk with God , that is when you are most prone to Satan's attacks ! In other words, He attacks you more when you are closer to God..
Here we see, Adam and Eve who knew God's voice and could easily differentiate His voice from the serpent's voice, easily falling... I mean, they walked with Him. They knew Him.. They could feel Him..

Yet..... they fell... This means that no matter who you are , even a Superstar in Christ's kingdom.... you can fall !!

And if you think that you cannot, I urge you to ask for God's guidance, that he will open up your blinded eyes ! The Church is witness to numerous born-again stalwarts who have fallen , sinned , disobeyed and dishonored God in numerous ways !

Satan currently uses this as probably the number 1 ploy to " steal , destroy and plunder " ( John 10:10 ) ! I This is his tactic to show to the world that Christians are good for nothing ! They are sexually immoral , ones who don't pay taxes, don't follow the law of the land, have zero integrity etc....

If you are the head of some organisation doing something credible, reaching out to the unreached, honoring and obeying Him, be prepared ! Brace yourself. Be rooted in the Word..

2) We see another stalwart, God's own begotten Son - Jesus , who fasted for 40 days and nights ! He was super close with God and then Satan tempts him thrice... Even rightfully offering Him the nations. Satan only wanted Jesus to bow before him once ....just once..... but He didn't !

One might argue that , it is possible for God but not for man.. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it"

I guess the key for each and every one of us it to be humble before the Lord and to be rooted deep in the Word.

Your spiritual experience cannot stop you from sinning ! Your discernment of the temptation ( with the Holy Spirit's leading) supplemented by the Word of God will !

Suicide ?

2012-10-21T10:37:00.002-07:00

You might not have expected this article at this point in time. But, there is some one higher up there, who loves you more than you have ever imagined.

Your problem might be massive and probably impossible for your logical mind to solve, but before you take that critical step, I just want you to know a couple of truths.

There isn't a problem, relationship, finance, situation which is beyond God's control.. It might very well be out of your control.. A broken marriage, an impossible boss, huge loss in business , kids who dont study. Probably you are trying your best but your grades are falling.. You might have problems galore....I am not saying that it is all going to go away, but I am surely saying that you do not need to carry all of this load on your own... You cannot !

Jesus said - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. ( Matthew 11:28 )

Just give God a chance..Just before you take that extreme step, know that your step won't bring an iota of change to the situation. It would perhaps be a selfish step that you take to avoid the situation.

Do not give into the lie that you are hearing right now... The Devil wants to reinforce the lie that suicide is the the only logical way out.... The only solution......

The TRUTH is that you need God... and He is a God of HOPE. A God of peace. A God who sent His only beloved Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life..

I encourage you friend, to invite God into your life... Just pray this simple prayer... This God whom you are going to pray to is a merciful and a loving God ... He loves you and is waiting with his arms wide upon to embrace you..Would you ask Him to take control over your life...

"Jesus, I acknowlege the fact that I am a sinner. But you came down to this earth for sinners like me. I repent of my sins and ask you to wash me with your cleansing blood. I believe that you sent your only Son Jesus, for my sins. Lord, I accept you as my personal Lord and Saviour... I pray that you would take complete control over my life and the situations that I am in. I surrender everything to you... "

The Bible says - " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me " ( Philippians 4:13)

I am so glad that you prayed that prayer.... Your life is a gift from God and only God has the right to take it away .. I pray that you would use this gift in making a difference in the lives of others....

May God bless you.... If you want to discuss your situation or know more about God...do mail me : sunchristy@gmail.com .

Just in time !

2012-09-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

Imagine a factory which has stockpiled tons of inventory (raw and finished product) in its warehouse. They have invested heavily in procuring those items and it would take them quite some time before the raw material is worked upon , shipped and the company receives its payment….

This practice was being followed by lot of manufacturing companies and most of them were not performing profitably… Then came Toyota, and it beat Detroit hands down.. What were they doing differently than the American pioneers ?

The Japanese were practicing the concept of “Just in time”.. They procured material when needed, hence they did not stockpile inventory and could cut down on lot of “unseen” overhead costs, thereby improving their profit-margins.

We approach God with a beautiful “To-do” task list for Him.. We don’t wait for His plans for us…Instead, we assume that in all our intelligence, our plan is the best for us…

God might us as well smile, when he sees our plans…”Oh, you want a job at Google ?? I was thinking that you might start a company ! “…

And so many a time , we don’t see God working as we want Him to…That is simply because you are too precious in His sight and won’t let you to be a “self guinea pig”…

Just remember those times when you were so desperate for an answer from him , and you waited and nothing happened.. Probably you became sullen and angry … But , God works in the “Just in Time” mode..

He appears in the nick of time…Just when you are about to lose hope, he appears and reinforces it ! You have lost your strength and He becomes your strength..

God provided Abraham with the “lamb” , just about the time the knife was about to make contact with Isaac’s skin .God provided the Israelites with their daily ration of “manna”.. nothing more , nothing less… He probably does not want you to hoard stuff around.. He gives you things just when you need it and not when you want it….

Pretty crazy, eh ??

God sent Pharaoh’s daughter, just in time, to baby Moses’ casket.

During the Exodus, the Israelites found that they were sandwitched between the advancing Egyptians and the Red Sea., and they started grumbling against Moses …. God opened up the Red Sea just when the Israelites had lost all hope..

God sent Jesus just in time for us… “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”( Romans 5:8)

And God is going to send Jesus just in time for us…. !

God’s calendars and measures of scale are astronomical.. He plays in the figures of a thousand years and light years… So, our plans are not going to fit into His… Our plans are for a max. span of 80 years…He plans for eternity !

So don’t worry if things are not going according to your plan…He is working …

JIT stretches us…increases our faith, improves our endurance and makes us ready for the next offensive.

Trust in Him, hang in there…. He is a “Just in time” God !!

Drifting / Surging ??

2012-09-02T11:33:00.004-07:00

Ever seen a boat with a powerful engine drifting in the middle of the ocean ?? The skipper is clueless as to how to read a map and in the process has spent all the fuel he had, in all permutations and combinations of reaching the destination....

Many a time, we are like this boat...We are sailing on the "waters of our circumstances"...The waters are choppy... We are clueless about the location of our goal... We are blessed with the best "engines"... i.e. our Spirit...for we are made in His image...but we have very less fuel...We surge a little, and then run out of fuel and the waters do the rest.. We are back where we started...

Are we ready with our maps/ compasses ?

If I draw a parallel, our map is nothing but the Word of God...The map leads us everyday. We need to spend more time reading the map..God's word is a "double edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12) ..It would help us avoid ramming into sand-bars and drifting into strong-currents.. This map is a treasure trove sometimes locked by passwords ! And so when it becomes difficult for us to understand the map , that is where the Holy Spirit comes in. He helps us understand the deep secrets and reveals the mysteries.....1 Corinthains 2:10 says "But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets."

We are not supposed to drift directionless according to our circumstances, but to surge like a speed-craft to the goal...

In order to do so, do we have enough "reserve" fuel ?

Fuel in our walk with Christ is nothing but "prayers" .. Our prayer life defines the "lift" that our boats get when we are sailing on the waters .. Less prayer life...more of resistance....one gets more time to look at the swell and probably at the great sharks lurking around... You start losing your faith.

More prayer...less resistance... Our boat starts lifting over the waters..Circumstances loose grip over the boat...The speed of the boat increases dramatically...Prayer lifts our boats over the waters .... I guess we would be enjoying the wind blowing at our face and praising God even as we overcome..

Is your boat windless ? Directionless ??

Read the best map - The HOLY BIBLE.....Invite the best instructor - THE HOLY SPIRIT into your life, and spend more time in increasing the "reserve" fuel....PRAY

Lets enjoy the ride with Christ....

Praying Daniel

2012-08-05T10:41:00.002-07:00

We are busy...So busy that we forget to call our near and dear ones., forget to help our near and dear ones...forget to PRAY....

We attribute our prayerlessness to our busyness.. But the crazy thing is that, we complete all other activities like washing, bathing, surfing , etc.... but we have no time for prayer.

Let us look into History... Daniel was a Jew who was exiled to Babylonia when King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. The King wanted good looking and intelligent exiles to serve him. So he ordered and Daniel was one of the sons of Judah chosen for the "Royal Babylonian Service". They were to be trained for 3 years in all the knowledge, after which they were to serve the King.

Daniel served King Nebu and his son Belshazzar until the King of Medes , Darius conquered Babylonia. So Daniel gets a new boss.. King Darius instituted 120 satraps to control his kingdom and they were to report to 3 commissioners . Daniel was one of the commissioner. (higher responsibilty- he was faithful )

Now as Daniel began distinguishing himself at work, the others got jealous and they hatched a plan to destroy him. They knew that it would be impossible to implicate Daniel in anything but something related to his God. So they issued an edict with the King’s permission , that no mortal was to pray to anyone but the King.

And we read in Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.“

This amazes me....Daniel is a commissioner and he has to control the state , yet he has TIME to pray on his knees and that too 3 times a day.... Are we busier than Daniel ?

I think we are being seriously misled to believe that we don’t have time..It is imperative to understand the origin of this thought.. Satan knows that there is dynamite power in praying and if somehow he is able to keep us busy, then his purpose is solved..

Jesus performed lot of miracles...But he PRAYED even more !! PRAYER is the hotline to communicate with the Father..

Are we still busy to PRAY ???

Influenced by the Jezebel generation ?

2012-08-01T11:45:00.005-07:00

King Ahab (descendant of King Solomon) was one of the most waylaid kings of Israel and he did more to anger the Lord than any ! To top it all , he had a foreign wife Jezebel, who worshipped Baal.

King Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard, which was adjacent to the King's palace. When Ahab asked Naboth, he refused and rightly so because the land was the Lord's and he was supposed to jealously preserve it as the family's permanent inheritance in the promised land. ( 1 Kings 21 )

The King wanted the land but could not wrangle it out . He became sullen and his foreign wife came to the rescue. She hatched a murder plan and signed it with the official signet ring of the King ! The murder plan called for falsely accusing Naboth of blaspheming the Lord and the King. ( He did neither ). She knew the rules.. and the punishment was nothing less than stoning to death.. She used the Lord's name to murder an innocent man, for the whims and fancies of the King.

But what less to expect from a foreigner who had no respect for the God of Israel. She was the daughter of the King of Tyre and in the 21st century , is the image of the "liberated" woman....

In the book of Epehsians 6:12, we read " For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. "

Few things that we can learn from the above story in the Bible are :

1) Your enemy knows the WORD better. Be prepared ! They want to snatch your inheritance...Be a watchdog and safeguard it... It could be anything..Your voice , musical talents, knowledge etc... Ultimately, one has to present a profit statement before the Master - Lord, you gave me so much and this is what I have added to it ! ( Mathew 25:14-30)

2) Don't covet somebody else's stuff ! Ask the Lord for your needs...

3) Stay far from alliances that God has explicitly mentioned time and again..

4) The Jezebel generation is wrecking havoc now. We see a heightened sense of sensuousness in the society... A culture that is liberated ( on paper ) , but is celebrating the Adamic sin of perception and glorifying rebellion.....

In all of this - "Be Holy, as I am Holy" ( 1 Peter 1:16 )

Branded ?

2012-07-29T09:23:00.002-07:00

One day at the coffee bar at work, I overheard a conversation. My friends were talking about clothes..Some of my friends had come down after being onsite for a couple of months. And so they had changed completely., atleast on the outside. They started wearing 'branded' clothes...

I am not advocating what to wear and what not to... , but I started thinking about man's way of looking at things... He sees the exterior.. The colour of the eyes, skin , hair ....etc....Based on some undefined parameters we start grading people...We do it all the time...Unknowingly...

But God does the opposite....He is least concerned about your exterior...He is super concerned about the condition of your interior...Are you branded inside ?

The Pharisees wore the best of the robes and they were alway decked up but Jesus knew them INSIDE OUT.....and He referred to them as "whitewashed tombs".. i.e. they were rotting inside , but externally they were beautiful...( Matthew 23:27)

I urge you brethren, to ask Jesus to come into your life...He is not a thief..He is a gentleman..He won't break open the door...If you are at crossroads and clueless...What better opportunity than this...Give Him a chance, He will change you .... INSIDE OUT.....

When you let God change you INSIDE OUT, the outside also changes.

In the book of Genesis, we read about Moses' encounter with God..He was atop Mount Sinai talking to God and when he came down, His face was radiant and he had to cover his face when he spoke to the Israelites......( Exodus 34:29 )

When Stephen was stoned to death we read that His face shone like an angel... ( Acts 6:15 )

These stalwarts were changed INSIDE OUT, as a result of their encounter with God !

Let us introspect and ask the Lord to give us a new identity...
The Lord says - " I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you " - Ezekiel 36:26

Are you branded with the Blood of Christ ?? Once branded, he will turn us into firebrands for Him .....

The disobedient prophet

2012-07-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

In the book of 1 kings , Chapter 13 , we read about King Jeroboam's act of defiance against God.

By the way, Jeroboam was the first King of Israel (Northern Kingdom) after the 10 tribes of Israel revolted against King Rehoboam ( son of King Solomon ). So, King Rehoboam was left with Judah ( Southern Kingdom). Jeroboam erected "golden calves" as images of god , one each at the northern most of city of Dan and the southern border town of Bethel, urging the people not to go up to worship at Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, but to bring their offerings to the shrines he had erected. ( In this act , we see history repeating itself . Can you remember something similar that Aaron did when Moses went up the mountain for 40 days and nights ). So Jeroboam led Israel into sin.

And in the first verse of the chapter we read Jeroboam offering sacrifises at the self constructed shrine at Bethel. We see a man of God who comes up , cries against the altar and says - “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” (1 Kings 13:2 )

King Jeroboam is not pleased when he hears the prophet crying judgement over the altar he had made and stretches his hands commanding the guards to seize him.. But, his hand dries up ! The altar splits apart and the ashes pour out, just as the prophet had said..The King entreats the prophet to pray to God to heal his hand..The prophet does so and he is healed. The King asks the prophet to dine with him, but the prophet refuses as the Lord had commanded him - ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.

Now comes the twist...

The sons of an old prophet living in Bethel , come upto him and tell him all about what had happened that day. The old prophet searches for the man of God from Judah and finds him sitting under an oak tree and invites him to his house , however he refuses as the Lord had asked him not to. Then the old prophet LIES and tells him - “ I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” ( verse 18 )

The prophet from Judah goes along with the old prophet and has food at his place and then the Word of the Lord comes to the old prophet - “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have ^[m]disobeyed the ^[n]command of theLord, and have not observed the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’” (verse 21-22). The prophet from Judah resumes his travel and a lion finds him on the way and mauls him just as the old prophet had prophecied...

Lets pause and ponder...

The prophet who had just prophecied against Jeroboam, who had prayed for the healing of his shrivelled hands , is no more... As I think about this situation, I come to the conclusion that if the Word of the Lord had come to him once then he should not have paid heed to the old prophet's words. Or, he should have enquired of the Lord before believing the old prophet...

Many a time, we hear something from the Lord and then somebody else ( prophet, teacher, pastor, mentor etc..) comes and tells probably the opposite.. Whom do you believe ?

Am not asking you to challenge them but to do your homework..Ask the Lord ! God being a just God wont give 2 conflicting reports ! "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" ( Numbers 23:19)

Do not sell your conviction for somebody else's lies ! There are only 2 possibilities... Either we have not heard the voice of the Lord correctly or the "influencer: has not. Isn't it better to be on the safer side ?

There is one simple short-cut solution for such problems..... Ask the Lord !

The Wisest King

2012-07-19T09:46:00.007-07:00

In the Bible, we read of a very famous character by the name Solomon . He was King David's son. David was a shepherd who was handpicked by God to be the King of Israel. One day King David saw a very beautiful lady and wanted her. He sent the lady's husband to the forefront of the enemy lines and secretly hatched his murder. He then took Bathsheba as his wife. Solomon was borne out of their love.

After Solomon was anointed King over Israel, He offered a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord at Gibeon. The Lord was pleased with him and appeared to him and asked him his wish.. Solomon asked for Wisdom ! He did not ask for riches nor for long life or the end of his enemies. God was pleased with his wish and said - "Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you" ( 1 Kings 3:12)

King Solomon's tales of wisdom started spreading like wildfire and very soon King Solomon became a superstar king. "Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt" - 1 kings 4:29.30

King Solomon took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife. He positioned this alliance as a political move. Slowly and steadily we see King Solomon's heart swaying towards other foreign women of Moab , Edom, Ammon, Heth(Hittites) and Sidon . (1 Kings 11)

The Lord had commanded the Israelites not to associate with them( either ways ) , for they would surely turn the Israelites' s hearts after their gods ! (1 Kings 11:2)

As he grew old, Solomon was so much ensnared by these foreign women that he agreed to build places of worship for them. The same superstar King who had built a Temple for The Living God and to whom God had appeared twice , was now building high places for demi gods ! And the Lord was angry with Solomon (1 Kings 11:9)

Please do not misunderstand my motive as I write this. However, we can certainly learn few things from his life.

a) We cannot bask today in yesterday's encounter with God. We need to ensure that we are hearing His voice daily. If Solomon who was full of wisdom, was led astray, who are we ? Solomon had two encounters with God... Are we having our daily encounter with God ? It is with these encounters that "course corrections" take place in our lives.

b) When God says NO to something , let it remain a big NO, not a small no....Please do not cover it under the garb of financial security , mutual benefit or political alliance...Even if Solomon had more wisdom than any mortal , that wisdom was foolishness before God . It is therefore wise to obey God's voice... Are you obeying Him..Do you hear Him ?? Are you spending enough time with Him, today ??

c) Please do not look upon superstar evangelists, preachers,worship leaders, teachers, pastors, healers.....

Look upon Jesus ! ( John 3:14 )

Comfortably numb ?

2012-06-29T08:07:00.001-07:00

Most of us live a mechanical life..We travel in the same bus, frequent the same restros, hang out with the same group of friends, but the same brand of soaps etc... We somehow get a sense of security in all these actions..

We are comfort seekers !

Moses tried to help God and then had to leave the comfort of the Egyptian palace. Lo, he lands in the desert and becomes a shepherd. He becomes so humble that when God asked him to lead the Israelites out, he found himself "one with a stutter". God has amazing ways of shaping people.

I guess God does not like us to be in the "comfort" zone. Comfort rusts...It starts sapping out our vigour...We start decaying....

Nehemiah left the comforts of the King's palace to build the walls...

Abram left Ur - a prosperous city in Babylonia, and walked out of comfort, trusting in God .. He later became the Father of Nations.

Esther left her royal comfort and confronted the King for her people's lives and they were saved.

Jesus left the"heavenly" comfort of sitting at the right hand of God the Father, came down to this earth - His footstool and blessed us with the gift of Salvation. ( Acts 4:12 )

Can we expect God to write about us on similar lines ?

Are you in a comfortably numb state today? I guess we should get out of our comfort zones and move as he leads us. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
Resistance is natural..but the One who has overcome the world is with us...

His checklist has only 2 fields - Availability and a Contrite heart.

Are you ready to be His hands and feet ??

Nehemiah's enemies - they exist even today !

2012-05-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Off late, I have been reading the book of Nehemiah and am in love with this character. A guy who perhaps was born in a foreign land, served an alien King, yet his heart was in Jerusalem. He also faced lot of hurdles as he went about his mission. The problems that he faced then are equally relevant today if not more. I love the way he tackles them.

He was the trusted cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes. He lived in the royal palace and enjoyed choice food at the King's table. As we read in the first two chapters in the book of Nehemiah, we understand that God burdens his heart to the point that he weeps and mourns for days.The reason for his grief is that the Lord' Temple at Jerusalem is no more and has been reduced to rubbles by the Babylonians. This is the first destruction of the Temple. He asks forgiveness for the sins commited by the entire community and the lack of obedience. Basically we see an intercessor.

His action plan : To face the King and tell him about the burden.
God's action : God made it all favourable. He worked in the heart of the King. (Proverbs 21:1)
King's action : He grants Nehemiah's request to rebuild the wall asks Nehemiah for a time frame.

Here we see God acting after Nehemiah acted. Most of the times we expect God to take the first step. Nothing wrong in that but something is definitely wrong if we are all faith and no deeds. (James 2:20)
If the Lord is asking you to do something , be strong and take the first step.

As I write this, I too am going through a similar condition.

Enter Sanballat and Tobiah. These guys are the villains here. They wont help anybody nor would they let anyone do the same.

1) They make fun of Nehemiah's initiative. Even a strong practising Christian would get angry when some adversary of his taunts him and says - See, what you are doing is nothing. Even a fox can break this initiative of yours. (Nehemiah 4:3)

Nehemiah's strategy - Nehemiah did not respond. Avoided conflict. He let the work do the talking. Did not want human approval rather trusted on God and acted on his approval. Your plan would seem small but in the hands of the Creator, it is nothing less than a dynamite. It can change the course of things..

2) Sanballat and Tobiah tried to instigate Nehemiah. They welcomed him for discussions. They even bribed a guy to prophecy against Nehemiah. The logic here is - destroy the leader's reputation to stop the work. (Nehemiah 6)

Nehemiah' strategy : Here we see Nehemiah responding cautiously. He turned down the invitations for discussions each time. When the guy bribed by S&T party came and prophecied , Nehemiah understood that he was not from the Lord. Nehemiah was always close to God and listenened to him.

MORAL : Take the first step. You will find lots of Sanballats and Tobiahs after you take the first step. Don't befool yourself by listening to them or answering them. If we start listening to them, half of their work is done.. Concentrate on your goal.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few " - Luke 10:2

More Talk, Less Walk ??

2012-02-09T01:53:00.002-08:00

Today, we have fiery preachers,teachers, worship leaders etc. but many a time their personal lives tell a totally different story ! Lets talk about our personal lives..Are we the same inside out ?? If not, we are advocating the principle of More Talk and Less Walk...in other words, nothing less than being hypocrites !

Are we so convinced that it is mere people whom we want to impress and not God ?

Let us look at Jesus' way of doing things.

Jesus said - "I am Way, the Truth and the Life". He got angry when the Temple was used by people for trading , and flogged them out of the premises. The Truth was that it was a place for Worship . He acted !

He walked the extra mile with two disciples (who did not recognise him), after advocating the principle.

He left his family way before he was crucified , after explaining to his disciples that inorder to follow him one must leave his family, take up his cross and follow him.

What a perfect teacher ! One who led not only by words but equally by actions !!

Are we ready to walk the talk ?

It is pretty difficult .........

yet Jesus did !

iDecide

2012-02-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

We make thousands of decisions everyday.Quite of them are as simple as deciding whether to buy a particular brand of milk while others can be quite complex like deciding a particular university for higher studies.

But have we pondered about the extent of our decisions on other people's lives ?

For eg, your colleague at work is being wronged every now and then by your boss. The poor chap is afraid to defend himself. Would you dare to speak for your friend ?

The stand that you take today defines somebody's tomorrow.If we look into the Bible, we see a few interesting characters who also faced similar situations.

Daniel vowed not to defile himself with the King's royal food and so he helped 3 more friends of his.

Esther defied all protocols and confronted King Xerxes to plead for her fellow Jews .She could have died in the process !

Mordecai- Esther's uncle refused to bow before Haman as he knew that only God deserved his reverence.

Jesus said - "You are the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13)

We as believers wait for somebody to change the system around us, failing to understand that we are the change that the world needs today. Jesus asked us to walk the extra mile for our brother. Are we ready to do that extra bit ?

Standing for the truth is difficult , painful and most of the times alienating.In the end , it does not matter because,

We are His-story makers !!

Creation !

2011-10-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have often wondered at the magnanimity of things around us. We often marvel at man-made mammoth creations., for eg - Space-shuttles, Aircraft Carriers, The Typhoon class of submarines, the Monster trucks, erstwhile WTC towers, Pyramids, etc....

We stare at them and stand amazed at the intelligence of their human creators.

However if we stop at the level of the human creator and do not pursue to find the source of the creativity, i.e. the Creator, we are sinning. We are taking what rightly belongs to God ! It is not our creativity, but His ! Not our talents, but His ! As Jesus mentioned in the Bible- Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's !

We read in the book of Genesis that God created Man in His own Image ! I like the word "image" , a lot ! In computer parlance, if one does not have a particular software but has the image of it, he can use it to burn a disc , in turn which can be used as a software. This image can be given to one's friend and the disc that he generates would also have the same software.

Back to Genesis. As God created man in His own Image, we still have his Image on us !!

Stay! Think ! Lot of us are so depressed and jealous when we see others doing some stuff really well.

You too have His Image on you !! You cannot be useless, ugly,

Manier times we see what is evident- the exterior stuff ! However, the Image is for things inside ! Character, Love, Honesty, Passion, Integrity etc...!!

It is His Image working in us ! He is the source ! The Author and Finisher of our faith !

God & Science

2010-02-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Man has been inquisitive since "creation"..When he saw fire for the first time, he became afraid, but then his inquisitiveness led him to it & he mastered the art of making a fire. If we turn around and see the innumerous gadgets around us, we find that it is & only because of man's thirst for more.These gadgets give an impression as if we are in control., & that we have control over circumstances..

However, human inquisitiveness has not explained a "GOD" like figure.For him, it is all about evolution from a distant source. Look at the irony, he can see better & beautiful things around him which suggest that there is something superior than him, both in power & creativity..

Therefore, are we really progressing ? The more we try to make ourselves comfortable , the more we harm our environment.Global warming, earthquakes, tonadoes & likes..We are mining minerals from the earth's belly to the surface so as to use it for our gadgetry..Wait, pause, think..Man needs matter to create stuff..Then how great must be the God who created this matter..

There is a God....This is especially for all atheist scientists....