JESUS IS LORD!

Sing praises - play the instrument of your voice!

2011-12-06T22:41:00.003+05:30

Be 'vocal' & sing praises to Jesus...it's a great way to be 'instrumental' in serving the Kingdom of God!

Sympathy or Compassion – what do you have?

2011-08-14T23:36:00.001+05:30

Sympathy says: “You poor thing! I wish I could help.”
Compassion says: “You poor thing! Let me help.”
- Curry Blake, General Overseer, John G. Lake Ministries

I heard in one of Blake’s teachings that sympathy is a soul-level emotion while compassion is a spirit-level ‘emotion’. When you pray for someone to whom you are emotionally very attached and get sentimental while praying, you are actually doing them a disfavour. That’s because you are not giving them your best prayer which comes from your spirit – the compassion-driven prayer. Jesus was driven by compassion. He could not have been emotionally attached to anyone (from what we read in the Bible) except of course his parents and a few others. So the prayer (or commands) that came out from him were spirit-level – the best that he had to offer:

“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." – Mark 8:2

Jesus himself says here that he had compassion on the people. What happened later? He went ahead and fed the multitudes (“You poor thing! Let me help.”).

And of course, we know what success rate Jesus demonstrated with his compassion – 100%!

There is a God…and God’s not there – he’s here!

2011-07-05T22:47:00.002+05:30

I love to play with words. But only so long as it does not hinder in presenting the Truth.

In one of the earlier posts, (I think) I had mentioned that there are 100 billion galaxies in the Universe and that each galaxy has, on an average, 200 million stars. I guess I had read somewhere that if you count 2 stars in 1 second, it would take you 95,000 years to count all of them! But God doesn't need to count them - He created them all. Can you see your own heart? (God can!) You still believe that it exists and beats, don't you? You believe. If you can believe that, then you are certainly capable of believing that God exists and that He keeps everything beating (running) in all of Creation.

So you see there is a God – God does exist. And He’s not there, but here! He is near…at hand. God speaks through the prophet Isaiah in 41:10 in the Bible…

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

If God promises to uphold you with His hand, you can be sure that He is near. So if you are a Christian, this is enough assurance to bring you through any trial. But if you are not a Christian, let me comfort you by announcing that God our Creator deeply loves you and wants to draw you near to Him. He longs for you to know Him, just as you long for your child to call you Daddy or Mummy. You can change your life for the better forever now…read the post Good News Friday to do so.

Couplet on Family Salvation

2011-05-22T23:37:00.002+05:30

Here’s a couplet on family salvation in Urdu (I believe the Lord gave it to me):

Hazaaro Aaftab se Badhkar Roshni Laai Hai; (x2)
Aaj Hamaare Gharaane ne Najaat Paai Hai

Translated, it means:

Brightness Exceeding A Thousand Suns Has It Brought;
Today Salvation Has Our Household Got

If you are praying for the salvation of your family members, you can take inspiration from the above couplet. They say that if you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got. So if you keep asking God for their salvation, it means you are operating from a position of “family not saved.” Rather, if you begin thanking the Lord for their salvation, you acknowledge that you trust God’s willingness to save your family/household.

Led by the Spirit of God

2011-04-16T22:47:00.001+05:30

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." - Hebrews 13:7

I remember those who led me to the Lord Jesus Christ. I got saved through a website www.demonbuster.com. Although I do not agree with some of their teachings on spiritual warfare, God used that website to plant the seed of His Word in me. I was hungry so I ate up that seed and by His grace and through the power of His Spirit, the seed is bearing fruit.

There have been several others who have led me along the Way. Heb 13:7 exhorts us to imitate their faith. Praise God for the solid faith of that uncle (I will keep all the names anonymous) who had lost an eye and has been on dialysis for the last few years. The devil has not succeeded in shaking his faith in God, despite the afflictions. Recently, this uncle's doctor asked him to give a speech to about 60-70 people in the hospital where he regularly goes for dialysis. Uncle got up and shared the Gospel with them. Looks like he has decided to glorify the LORD come what may! By all means, physical fitness is necessary and you should aim for it/preserve it; but what good is it if you are not fit enough to preach the Gospel? This uncle truly gives God a 'Sacrifice of Praise'.

There is another brother who has interceded for me quite a lot. He has seen countless miracles as a result of his faith in the Living God. His church's managing committee once asked him whether he had a first class pass to commute in Mumbai's suburban trains. He said he didn't. They asked him to get one, but he refused. He said "the money that pays for my pass is the blood of the saints - they work hard and live out the Word of God. I cannot squander their hard-earned money to commute in comfort." He often goes on house visitations in various parts of Mumbai. Mumbai is one of the largest and most populous cities in the world with a reasonably good but grossly inadequate mass transport system. A local train that is supposed to carry only 1,200 commuters carries 5,000! And to travel this way in 35 degrees Celsius with 80% relative humidity - not an easy task. But this soldier of God chooses the narrow, thorny road as Jesus his Master and Leader is with him wherever he goes (Joshua 1:9). He lives out the verse “I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

My local pastor graduated from Bible College at Baltimore, Maryland. He prayed about God's call on his life and felt the Spirit tell him He wanted him to come back to India - God had a job for him here. He confirmed this with his pastor who prayed about it and felt the same. My pastor has now completed almost 20 years of ministry in India. It's not easy – he's been put in prison once for preaching the Gospel (though Christian evangelism is perfectly legal in India) - in the same Indian state where an Australian missionary was martyred many years ago. He's had a tough job. Life would probably have been much less challenging had he stayed in the comforts of the US. But thanks be to God that he brought him back to India, as our church now has almost two dozen branches all over India and about seven in Nepal!

Why do you think some people seem to be able to overcome all odds? It's not only because they have faith in Jesus. It's because they have the faith OF Jesus!

I thank God for exhorting me to imitate the faith of those who have led me spiritually in one way or another. My real Leader is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who leads me and guides me into all Truth. (John 16:13) Amen.

"Wilt thou be made whole?"

2011-03-27T22:57:00.001+05:30

The famous evangelist Smith Wigglesworth, in a book, narrated the case of a sick woman who was bedridden for years. She told him that God had allowed the sickness to afflict her for His glory. Wigglesworth's reply was something like:

"Yes, you should not sin. If you are healed but do not stop sinning (for example, a patient healed of lung cancer continuing to smoke cigarettes), your sickness will in all likelihood come back - because you did not repent (feel sorry + correct your behaviour) and thus did not break legal grounds for the devil to attack you again. As a matter of fact, your sickness can come back stronger than before and you would end up in a condition worse than before." (Matthew 12:45)

It's time we pulled down devil-erected or self-erected walls between God and us in the area of healing. If you need healing, allow God to heal you. (John 5:6) We know just how many people in this world are sick. Just imagine, if several thousand born again Christians are healed every year and in turn heal several millions of sick people through the power of the Name of Jesus, how many unsaved people would be brought into the Kingdom of God! The devil does not want to let that happen.

Phew! This series has seen 4-5 posts and I would like to thank my readers, especially on LinkedIn, for engaging in intelligent discussions (whether scripturally accurate, I'd rather not comment, because many of these contradicted each other). By God's grace, the number of my readers is increasing. This means I will have to increase the frequency of my posts. As the Lord leads me, I will. Obedience is the key word here. Today it is healing - tomorrow it could be something else. Jesus' command must be obeyed. The Word of God must be preached, taught and ministered under the presidency of the Holy Spirit. And God must be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth. As my pastor sometimes says, "The Holy Spirit is already resident in your life. Now make Him President!"

Well that's it for now. See you in the next post. Until then, God bless you and use you mightily as a blessing for His Kingdom and for His purpose. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Is Sin Related to Sickness?

2011-02-16T23:00:00.001+05:30

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")" Galatians 3

The previous blog post "Does God Allow Sickness for His Glory?" received a great response on LinkedIn. Some readers cited verses to argue that God lovingly (?) uses sickness to glorify Himself. Others cited verses to claim that God never allows sickness for His glory. At one point, it seemed to me like a game of tennis with aggressive and prolonged volleying from one end of the court to the other. So does it mean that the Bible contradicts itself? No! Not if you interpret it correctly.

One question that bothers people sometimes is this: "My friend is saved - her sins have been forgiven and she does not have any unconfessed sin in her life; then why did this sickness come upon her?" When I began this series of posts on healing, I said it was on healing. So in a sense, whether you are sick because you committed sins or you are sick even though you have no unconfessed sin in your life - it does not matter. Jesus did not command "they shall lay hands on the sick who have repented, and they shall recover." He simply said "they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:18)

Once you are healed - or during your healing - if you repent of your sins before God, the sickness loses legal grounds to be in you. But if you have not repented, the sickness can come back to you. But there it is - it can come back. This means it can go. So if a born again child of God commands in faith and with the authority he has, for healing to take place, the healing has to take place. In fact, Jesus did not even ask us to 'pray' for healing. He simply said we would lay hands on the sick and they would recover.

One more thing - those who fatalistically accept sickness saying it is God's will for them to be sick; these people still go to the doctor to get treated. Why? If you do not want to tolerate the sickness physically, then why should your Father who formed your inward parts (Psalm 139:13) tolerate it? Wouldn't He pull out all stops to ensure you got your healing? As I see it, it is basically a matter of indoctrination and sticking to your guns. But at all times Truth must stand. We children of God here on Earth, need to enforce God’s will (the Truth) here as it is in Heaven.

In the next post, we will discover why even sinners (saved and unsaved alike) can be healed even though they may have unconfessed sins in their life. Later, we will also see that the original promoter of sin was the devil - not God, Adam or Eve.

Praise the LORD!

Does God Allow Sickness for His Glory?

2011-01-14T23:22:00.002+05:30

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

Not convinced? Try this verse:

"If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Luke 12:28

Or...

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?" Luke 11:11

Would I allow sickness to come upon my son for my glory? I certainly would not. And mind you I am a normal human father, one who is not the Creator of this universe. Do you think our Heavenly Father, who has made all the mountains and the valleys, the seas and the fields, and the 100 billion galaxies; and most importantly the Father who gave His Son Jesus as a sacrifice to pay for our sins - would such a loving and great God be glorified and be happy watching His creation - including His born again children - writhe in pain?

On December 30, 2009, I lost my cousin brother to leukaemia. The side effects of the chemotherapy - hair fall, weakness, galloping infection…do you think God rejoiced in his suffering? My uncle spent his fortune behind the treatment - 4 million Indian Rupees - close to US$ 85000 (which is quite a lot of money here in India). I don't think my cousin's suffering brought God any glory. You might ask, "What about John 9:3 and John 11:4?" Well, at that point of time, Jesus had not yet sacrificed his life. The event in that verse took place in between Isaiah 53:5 ("But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.") and 1 Peter 2:24 ("Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."). As you read this, Jesus has already died, been buried, been resurrected, presented his blood in Heaven before the Father, come back to Earth and ascended to Heaven. It is really finished! In fact, it is almost time for his return for the Rapture!

True, unsaved people cannot command sicknesses to go away as their sins are not yet forgiven. But we as believers can pray for them - in fact, we are commanded to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover - and thereby prove that what we preach is the Truth. The Old Testament says in Isaiah 54:17, that the heritage of the servants of the LORD is such that "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." Jesus said (in the New Testament - John 10:10) that "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." If no weapon formed against Old Testament saints would prosper, do you think God would allow anyone to form a weapon against New Covenant Christians and then allow it to prosper too - so that He would (?) be glorified…?

Well, I could possibly go on for many more pages. I will…but we will split these up into a few more posts. So do keep commenting. I can gain greater insight and do my bit so that the Body of Christ (of which I am a part) is built up and strengthened by the Word of God and by praise and worship that are done in Spirit and in Truth.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T08:38:00.003+05:30

Wish you a Merry Christmas! Whether you are a new or old visitor, if you do not know much about Jesus, read Good News Friday - you will learn a lot about God. Also visit a wonderful site called All About God - most of your questions about God will be answered there. If you want all questions to be answered, proceed from that side to pick up a Bible for yourself; because we speak to God through prayer, but God speaks to us through His Word - the Bible. God bless you!

Is Healing in the Atonement?

2010-12-17T20:35:00.003+05:30

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. - 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20

Today I want to start a series on one of the most controversial topics in the Church - whether or not healing is in the atonement of Christ. To start with, re-look the above verses and study them. In fact, from my study of the Bible (and indeed of life) so far, I have come to the conclusion that healing is in the atonement. Let me explain why I think so…

Note: This is not a discussion about whether or not the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still in operation. This series deals primarily with whether bodily and soul-level healing are the (new) birth right of every born again child of God.

We have been bought with a price. The first part of this verse says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. By all accounts, it means our physical body and not the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is in us - God gave Him to us. So we do not belong to ourselves. We are purchased with a price. If our body were not purchased with a price, how could it be God's property? It would still have to be Satan's property or our own. But it is God's property. Next point… If the body is the temple, can sickness dwell in the house of God? Jesus said:

"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' " Matthew 21:13

So clearly, sickness (symbolic thief) does not have a right to dwell in the temple of God. What should you do if you spot a thief where he should not be? Evict him, or call the police and throw (cast) him out. Well, then, if there is sickness in the body or mind of a born again Christian, it needs to be thrown out in the name of Jesus Christ or have the police (pastor, elders etc.) cast it out through prayer and/or commands, again in Jesus' name.

And if you think sickness - a state of 'less than perfect, divine health' - can legally be in a believer's body (other than as a result of sin), it means imperfections can be tolerated in the house of God. Then even a handicapped lamb (or a sinful Jesus) could be offered as a sacrifice in the temple. Then the very basis of our Christian faith would be voided! People would say, "Why get cleansed of sin - you would anyway make it to heaven!" So if you believe that bodily healing is not in the atonement, do you know what it implies?

Ahead in the series, we will look at other sensitive issues like:

Does God sometimes allow sickness to come upon believers for His glory?
If Jesus is not the answer to our sicknesses (that is, if Jesus is not enough to heal us), should we worship another 'god' to get healed?
Is sickness totally unconnected to sin (despite being the result of sin)?
Are medicines to be avoided if you believe in diving healing (consult your doctor!)?

What has been your experience? What do you think? And what do you think the Bible says? Keep visiting this site. I would love to hear from you!

Don Moen's India Tour a Big Hit

2010-12-01T22:35:00.003+05:30

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. - Psalm 96:1

Gospel music star Don Moen's tour of India this year was a big hit! He conducted a concert and a 'Worship Seminar' each at Chennai, Shillong and Mumbai.

I attended the concert at Mumbai since I live in Mumbai. It was a "Wow!" experience for me right from the time I reached the venue to the time I got back into my car. The stage, the sound, the choice of songs and the audience participation - all were of a very high level. To top it all, Don Moen and Team's performance was excellent! The best part though, was that Jesus Christ was glorified throughout - a great practice session before we worship him forever into eternity. I often feel that one of the reasons why eternal life is eternal is because eternity is what we need in order to thank, praise and worship the Living God! Anything short of that simply wouldn't do.

Coming back to the event, the tour was organised by The Friendship Club (TFC). TFC is a charitable trust that conceives and manages events surrounding the projects they undertake, like the current Project Friend.

A bit about Project Friend…

Project Friend is an initiative to help cancer patients cope up with tough times. It is not restricted to Christians. It covers cancer patients irrespective of religious affinity. TFC believes that cancer patients, especially the terminally ill, have multiple needs. Not all of these can be met by their families. What use are family members if they cannot support the patient emotionally simply because they are forced to look for funds to treat their loved one? TFC solicits charitable donations for Project Friend from various sections of society (in return for an annual membership to TFC) so that the funds collected can be used to arrange for day care nurses, medicines and other such needs. The TFC team can also periodically visit the patient and pray for them as well as counsel them. Who knows - some or all of them can actually recover completely and may even get saved in the process!

I request you to keep the TFC Team and Project Friend in prayer so that precious human souls on the road to an eternity in hell are saved and spend that eternity in Heaven instead - in the presence of God our Creator. I know how important it is, because just December last, I had lost my first cousin - my best friend - to leukaemia. After all, those other cancer patients too are somebody's first cousins - somebody's best friends!

How Do We Renew Our Mind to the Word of God?

2010-09-07T22:04:00.003+05:30

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Carrying on from the previous post Why Satan Hates You, we can renew our mind to God's Word by reading it, hearing it, studying it and doing it.

The word hearing in the above verse in the original Greek actually means rhema - the spoken Word of God. So when you give of yourself to God's written Word, He speaks to you and confirms that written Word - the Bible - thereby helping you apply more of "the measure of faith" that He has already given you.

Remember, the Word of God is one the weapons in your spiritual armour. It's the sword - you can wield it to defend yourself and others from Satan. You can also use it to attack and take the fight to the Enemy, because attack is often the best form of defence. But to be able to wield any sword effectively, you must practise using it. How much more, then, the Word of God! And when you practise enough, you will develop a reputation of being a 'commando for Christ' working for his Commander-in-Chief, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ!

Why Satan Hates You

2010-08-23T23:11:00.003+05:30

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…" - Psalm 23:5

When Lucifer fell from Heaven, he lost all his privileges. God breathed into Adam and created Eve from his rib; and gave them "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen. 1:26, 28) Then Adam and Eve too 'fell'. But God covered them by killing an animal and using its skin. God thus made them (and not Satan - formerly known as Lucifer) His chosen ones. Sure, Satan was not amused.

Throughout the ages, God kept assuring His people of a Saviour whose Kingdom would never end. And through His Son Jesus, God promises to exalt us too, as is written in Romans 8:17:

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;"

Now just think of this. God seats you at a table in Heaven. He prepares the table with the finest things you can imagine consuming. That not being enough, He anoints you with oil. And when all this happens Satan and his fellow evil spirits stand as mute spectators. The glory that would have been theirs is now yours, even though you did not deserve it. Just imagine their frustration! They cannot do anything - it's too late. If you're a born again Christian, you're already seated in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus - you are a joint heir with him!

Satan's only chance to prevent this from happening (as best as he can prevent it!) is until a human being is saved. Once you're born-again through turning your life over to Jesus, the devil's time is up. He cannot attack your spirit. So his next best targets are your soul and body.

When you're born again, Satan & Co. takes notice of you and swing into action. Whether you survive and thwart the attacks will depend on whether or how much you renew your mind to the Word of God. We will look at this in the next post.

Word of God Bearing Fruit in Nepal

2010-07-25T19:49:00.007+05:30

"…and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Nepal is probably the world's only officially Hindu country. My India isn't, as it is a multi-religious and non-theocratic State. Now this small country Nepal, with a population less than that of my hometown Mumbai (Bombay) is receiving the Lord Jesus…and how!

Greater Grace World Outreach (www.ggwo.org) has planted 18 churches in the Himalayan country, famous for the Mount Everest. You'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that many of Nepal's believers actually live in mountainous caves, hours away from 'civilization'. Recently, our pastor narrated the story of a Nepali pastor from the Praja tribe. This pastor is just 28 years or so and has a family to support. He cannot leave his family behind for years to attend Bible College. So he stays with his folks for a month and goes down to the city for a month. He will do this for the next 3 years, in order to get trained up in the Word of God and carry it back to his folks up in the mountains.

This may not sound too difficult to do. Except when you consider that:
• To reach the city, he climbs down the mountain on a 9-hour journey on foot.
• He climbs down the mountain on which he lives, then climbs up the next peak, then down it, then up the next and then down that one too.
• Along the way, he crosses a river - crossing it 17 times, at its various bends.
• In the rains, the river gets flooded chest-high. So the young pastor wades his way across the river, holding his bag up in the air, as it contains his Bible, books and clothes.
• After his 9-hour descent, he reaches the highway.
• He changes into a dry pair of clothes and takes the bus to the city, which is another 8 hours away.
• He will stay there in the church building with a dozen other pastors in the same room, until better facilities are available.
• He will go back up the same way he came, after investing a month in formal Bible study…
• …all this, to carry the Good News to people just like you and me, so that if they accept Jesus, they will continue to live in Heaven even after they die physically on earth.

The conditions are so tough, that some tribal children have probably never even seen a car. If they want to see one, they must walk their way down to the highway, which is 9 hours away. Pastor remarked that one day, when we get to Heaven, we will probably see a spirit shining like a star; and when we ask Jesus who it is, he will tell us it's that tribal pastor from Nepal, who labored - and not in vain.

Jesus - The Turnaround Expert

2010-07-14T17:30:00.004+05:30

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Everything is not perfect in this world because Earth is not Heaven! Every adult I know has some problem or the other. And the bad news is that we cannot become children again. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ invites us to hand over our heavy burden to him.

Jesus changes lives!

Jesus has changed - transformed - the lives of billions of people over the ages, some of whom I know personally. Like my uncle, for instance. He was deeply in debt, but when he earnestly prayed to Jesus and began attending church and studying the Bible, God cleared his debts in a matter of a few months.

There's a youngster who was suffering from AIDS. He faithfully prayed to God and began attending prayer meetings at my family friend's church. He was healed completely within a few months! Medical tests confirmed that he was free of AIDS. He even married after that. Now he attends church and you must hear him pray. I am convinced that the Spirit of God gives him utterance as he prays fluently and just right, quoting Scripture!

One pastor I know was a local rowdy trained in martial arts, until he gave his life to Jesus. Now he has been the world over, preaching the gospel. There was a time, he said, when he could not go to sleep at night unless he had hit someone. The Lord has turned his life completely around and dealt a body blow to the devil in this pastor's life! "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

So if you think your life can do with a makeover, let that makeover artiste be Jesus. He knows a thing or two about turning lives around for the better. He did it for Mary Magdalene, for Saul (Paul) and for me. He can do it for you too. He is the true turnaround expert!

Sack vs. Sword

2010-06-25T11:52:00.005+05:30

"...a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table." Matthew 26:7

In an earlier post, we discussed about crucifying the flesh through the Word of God. Here, we demonstrate it using an analogy - a biblical one, in a way.

As we know, Judas Iscariot, the traitor, was in charge of the sack containing money. When the woman with the alabaster poured out the perfume on Jesus, Judas exclaimed what a waste of money it was, and that the perfume could rather have been sold and the money distributed to the poor. He said this because his heart was filled not with the love for God, but with love for money.

There is a lesson in it for us. For a moment, imagine yourself to be a sack with silver coins in it. The more you hold on to the coins in it, the more they will hold on to you. Rather, let the sword - the Word of God - tear apart the sack and remove from it everything that comes in the way of deep communion with God. Maybe I say this to myself, but let the sword cut through the sack and transform it into the hand that wields the sword - the believer's hand. This will help us to not only to hear the Bible, but also to do the Bible; to progress from studying the Word to applying the Word. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22

What Does 'Amen' Mean?

2010-05-25T23:17:00.004+05:30

The word 'Amen' appears several times in the New Testament. In fact, the last word in the entire Bible is 'Amen' (Rev. 22:21). Sometimes though, while praying, people tend to take the word for granted (as I used to). But the word is highly potent.

One of the meanings of 'Amen' is "so be it." 'Amen' is also another name for Jesus. The significance of the word in prayer is this:
* We pray in Jesus' name and
* We believe that our prayers are heard and answered. (Mark 11:23 - KJV)

Doing this, we release our faith into our words; i.e. we charge the prayer with our faith in God's ability and willingness to hear and answer our prayer. "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James 1:6-8 - NKJV) Of course, the prayer would need to line up with God's will as expressed in His Word. Once we take care of that, we have the assurance that God has heard our prayer and answered it instantly. It may take some time to manifest depending on certain factors, but we can be sure that our effort and application of faith has borne fruit.

So the next time you say "In Jesus' name, Amen," put all your faith in Jesus into those words. Follow it up by waiting upon God without doubting. And the favourable result will be yours to see. Amen! :)

Tap into God's Blessings Today!

2010-05-06T21:41:00.019+05:30

There was a time in my life when I was jobless for over 6 months. My mother would cry out to God, saying, "Lord, please bless my son. Give him the job that he so badly needs. Do not test him so much. How much more testing will you make him go through?" My wife would pray on the same lines. Their feelings were sincere. But their approach was inaccurate. Read on to find out why.

God has already blessed you
God already blessed me with all that belongs to Jesus – his inheritance – the moment I got saved. If you're born-again, that holds true for you too. Everything that you will ever need to get you through life was deposited into your spiritual bank account the day you were saved (2 Corinthians 9:8: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."). But God will not withdraw any portion of it and place it in your hands. You must do that. They say, "God gives every bird its worm, but He does not throw it into its nest." How true! Using the authority of the name of Jesus as a born-again child of God, you can actually believe something into existence, so long as it is God's will too. I have seen miracles happen when I prayed this way - cheques, interview calls, freelance assignments, healing and health and much more. If you are born-again, the power is in your hands. God gave it to you. So, then; aren't you already blessed?

Unused loaded guns
What happens when an enemy fires at a soldier? He returns fire. The soldier uses his loaded gun to do what the gun was loaded to do - fire! So, when confronted with life's challenges, would you let your spiritual armoury turn into a museum? Or would you stand on the promises of God's Word and chase your troubles out in the name of Jesus, never to return? I would certainly do the latter, having seen the results for myself.

What next?
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Proverbs 18:21)
The words you choose and speak (confess) determine to a great extent what your reality will be. If you keep praying a complaining prayer, you will reinforce a negative reality for yourself. So choose life-giving words that are based upon the Word of God - the Bible. That's the first step. The second - and particularly important one - is to believe that what you have confessed has come to pass. Jesus said, "…whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them (believe in the present tense), and you will have them (will have - future tense - 2 minutes, days or weeks etc.)." (Mark 11:24) God put that verse there because He knew how crucial it is for us to use the power He gave us, if we want to see His promises manifest in our lives.

Believe…
Let's say you are believing God for a healing and someone comes up and asks you, "Hi, how are you feeling today?" What should you say? This is what you should say, "By Jesus' stripes I am healed!" (1 Peter 2:24) and believe in your heart and with your heart every word of that statement.

…and Receive
Imagine this: You pray for God to bless you. God drops a ball filled with blessings from heaven. If you could physically see God drop that ball, would still ask God to act and release His blessings upon you? You sure wouldn't! You would confess His Word and receive and catch that ball and thank Him for it. Admitted, you can't see the Blessing Ball with your physical eye, but you can see it spiritually through the 'eyes of faith', if you choose to. So go ahead. Confess the Word, catch the Blessing Ball…receive the manifestation of God's promises in your life and rejoice!

Crucifying the Flesh - Take God's Help!

2010-04-27T12:50:00.023+05:30

"Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." (Ps. 118:27)

I was watching Daystar the other day when Pastor Tom Deuschle began preaching on crucifying the flesh. In the Old Testament days, he said, there were hooks that would bind the flesh of the sacrificed animal to the altar.

The altar speaks of God, The flesh speaks of worldly desires that consist of lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life. (1 John 2:15-17)) With so much of stress-inducing factors around us and temptation to consume in the hope of being 'happy', people miss out on real joy (read Happiness vs Joy). True joy comes from crucifying the flesh and being in communion with God. And the key to communion with God is to be rooted in His Word. His Word is the hook that binds us to Him. The flesh is naturally inclined to get swayed away from God. But the Bible helps us stay centred in God.

Unlike the sacrificed animal flesh, our flesh has life in it. Keeping it hooked requires an act of will. Standing on the promises of God's Word is the surest way to bring our flesh into subjection to our will and in line with God's Word. The Bible holds the key. God has magnified His Word above all His name. (Psalm 138:2) Praise the LORD!

Tele-evangelism and The Great Commission

2010-04-19T21:47:00.002+05:30

"…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Tele-evangelism has put the gospel vehicle in top gear. Missionaries through the centuries have sown the seeds of Jesus' Great Commission the world over. Many have even lost their lives in the process. As we head closer to the Rapture and Jesus' return, the Good News is spreading through T.V., radio, the Internet and other electronic media. Bad news is transient - it keeps changing with the headlines, "on the hour, every hour." But Jesus Christ's finished work communicated across the globe is reaping a harvest, seeing which the Enemy can only gnash his teeth in frustration.

Getting back to tele-evangelism… Some of my favourite tele-evangelists are Joseph Prince, Andrew Wommack, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Dinakaran and Pat Robertson. Who are yours? And what do you think of tele-evangelism?

Andrew Wommack Free Stuff

2010-04-08T23:07:00.004+05:30

Andrew Wommack is one of my favourite tele-evangelists. I have begun to appreciate his teaching even more since I began using the free stuff put up on his website www.awmi.net.
You can check out teaching material in text and audio formats. The audio teachings probably run into hundreds of hours, covering topics like "A Better Way to Pray," "Revelation Knowledge" etc. Don't miss the 4-part series on healing, titled "God Wants You Well." Those 4 hours of solid teaching have actually opened my eyes in many ways.

There are doctrinal differences with the church I attend. But I believe that there really is only one doctrine - the doctrine of Jesus Christ as taught by the Holy Spirit. Andrew Wommack teaches boldly yet without sensationalism. I'd suggest you go check out his website and get built up!

Easter Egg and Jesus Christ

2010-03-30T15:32:00.004+05:30

Is there any connection between the Easter egg and Jesus Christ? Well, none that I can think of. What, then, is Easter?

Most of us know that Jesus Christ died on the Cross 2000 years ago. That day was a Friday. Jesus died according to prophecy - to take the sins of all mankind upon himself, so that "whoever believes in him should not perish (die) but have everlasting life (in Heaven)." (John 3:16) Not everybody though, is aware that he rose from the grave on the third day - a Sunday. That day happened to be the day on which people from many cultures celebrated a festival called Easter. They worshipped a fertility goddess and used the egg as a symbol of fertility. So the Easter egg has no connection with the central message of the Bible.

The Bible is a collection of 66 books with a single theme: God's love for us so deep, that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) And Jesus walked out of the tomb on Easter Sunday, in a resurrected body - one that could pass through locked doors! To all those who receive Jesus as their personal Saviour (one who saves) and Lord and repent of their sins; God promises a similar indestructible body even though they may die physically. That's the only theme of the Bible: forgiveness of sins and salvation through belief and faith in Lord Jesus Christ.

So should we celebrate Easter? Well, that depends on what you want - fertility only, or
fertility plus everything else plus eternal life! The choice is yours to make… This post can help you make that choice.

Psalm 128's Promises for You!

2010-03-18T14:56:00.008+05:30

"Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways." (Psalm 128:1)

Okay. So you fear the LORD reverentially. You try your best to obey His commandments. But what does God promise to do for you in return? Let us look at the answer one verse at a time.

Psalm 128:2
"When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you."

God promises you that if you honour Him, He will bless your work and the wages you earn. You will be content with your work and your earnings and the tide will be in your favour. Remember, walking in His way (in this verse) includes being faithful in your tithes and offerings. You cannot rob God (read Malachi 3) and expect things to "be well with you." The Bible clearly warns us, that "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked." (Gal. 6:7)

Psalm 128:3
"Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table."

I have personally experienced this. I do try to obey the LORD in all respects. The result is mine to see - my wife is one of the hardest-working and smartest women I have come across (just like my mom!). And when I watch my son ride his tricycle around the table as I type away on my laptop, this verse speaks to me all the more. You realise that the Bible is indeed what it claims to be - the Living Word of God. It has breath.

Psalm 128:4
"Behold, thus shall the man be Who fears the LORD."

Here, God re-states what He promised in the preceding verses. He tells you that He's really serious about blessing you by fulfilling these promises. And He wants to convey that to you. Hence the need to have this verse here.

Psalm 128:5, 6
"The LORD bless you out of Zion And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!"

God will surely open the windows of Heaven if you walk in the way the He leads you to. In fact, he already opened the windows in a broad sense by sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit!
'Jerusalem' here signifies you - your body - your life. 'Israel' denotes your family. As Jerusalem is the chief city (not capital) of Israel, so are you the representative of Christ Jesus in your family (even if the others are saved too).

The LORD promises that each day of your life will be a good day. He promises you with good health and a long life - at least enough for you to see your children's children. I have literally seen this promise being fulfilled by God. A deliverance minister I knew spent most of his energy serving God by healing others. He probably did not take adequate care of his own health with the result that he died of heart trouble at the age of 49. But by that time his elder daughter had already delivered a baby girl. Amazing, isn't it? God will never back out of His promise if you are faithful, because it's not just an agreement or a contract - it's a Covenant relationship!

His promise to shower blessings applies to your family too if you abide in His Word (read Acts 16:31). When the LORD makes promises, He keeps them! That's a good reason to do what Psalm 118:8 asks us to do:

"It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man."

4 Purposes of Marriage

2010-03-06T16:23:00.030+05:30

Carrying on from the previous post, marriage can be said to have 4 chief purposes. They apply to us today as much as they applied to Adam and Eve thousands of years ago!

Companionship: God did not want Adam to be alone or lonely. [And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Gen.2:18)] Though every creature had a mate, Adam did not. So God created Eve to be Adam's help meet and friend forever.
Raising of children: "Be fruitful and multiply;" (Gen 1:28) was God's command to Adam and Eve. He has equipped us with all the resources we need to to procreate and raise children for His glory.
Intimacy: They say intimacy spells "into+me+see!" That's true. In Genesis 2:24, we see that God purposed for a man to be joined to his wife (not his girlfriend or his fiancee or his 'boyfriend') and become one flesh. Such joining and becoming one flesh was only to be within the confines of a Biblical marriage covenant. But it doesn't stop at that. Intimacy also means you share your deep fears, joys and traumas with your spouse. Marriage allows you to be intimate in every sphere of life, while at the same time giving a healthy space of solitude to your spouse.
Security: In live-in relationships, there is no legal security. You cannot force your partner to co-habit with you. But when you truly love your chosen life partner, you want to give and receive a sense of security, that your bonding will be life-long. Only marriage can provide that. God knew we would need this security and so created the institution of marriage.

God is truly amazing, isn't He! He cares so much for us - for our physical, emotional, biological, social and spiritual needs. And He's given us everything we will ever need to meet these needs. He's truly Jehovah-jireh!

Great Marriages Make for Great Families

2010-02-23T15:30:00.005+05:30

At one of our Sunday services, I heard a beautiful statement that still echoes in my ears:
"Great marriages make for great families and great families make for great churches."

How true! Billy Graham's wife Ruth was once asked if they ever argued and if she ever thought of divorcing him. She said they argued many times, but she never thought about divorce. But yes, she did think once about murdering him! Honest lady, indeed.

Well, no one is perfect. Love as a feeling is transient. So when you base your affections upon the emotion of love, you are vulnerable to its opposite - hatred. But love as a virtue is perfected by Jesus Christ himself, who died for us so that we could have happy marriages; so that our relationships could be healed through faith in him. And when we learn to love our spouses like he loves his Church, we too can walk in perfect love for our spouses. This is especially true for husbands, who the Bible says, should love their wives "just as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it." (Eph.5:25)

Before I upload the next post, let me step back and assess if I love my wife the way Christ loves the Church!