Clothes With Humility

CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE, "GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."1 Peter 5.5.

It is the proud and those with high self-esteem that wins the day in this world. Even today’s Church seems to have no place for the poor to whom the Son of God came leaving heaven’s wealth and glory to preach the gospel. The urban churches have become the temple of the rich, and the poor with only their two mites to give to God with nothing left to live, are out of place. We seem to have forgotten that we are the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who unashamedly boasted in saying, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Lk 9.58).

One day I shook hands with an ordinary looking brother in a church and said, “God bless you!” He said, “Brother, you are the first person to shake my hand in this church which I have been attending for more than two years! The people seem to have time only for the rich!” God has prospered many urban churches and the members have become rich and even mega-rich. However, let us not forget the Bible has more negative things to say about the rich than the poor and warns us to be wary of riches! It is a pity that the Church has lost its bearing and we even have seminars for the millionaires and for the rich and those who want to be!

One of the tragedies of becoming rich is that wealth spawns pride. The church becomes the place to parade the world’s wealth. Who owns the costliest cars, who dresses in the most fashionable way and even who gives the most offerings, all become points of competition. Your boasting ceases to be in the Lord but in the abundance of your possessions. Your wealth dictates your behavior. Meekness, gentleness and politeness go out from your relationship and instead pride, arrogance and boasting take their place.

An old acquaintance of mine recently sent me a rude letter because he didn’t like something I wrote to him. He mentioned that he was running a very successful business and I believe that was the reason for his outburst. I re-read my letter but I couldn’t find anything purposely offending. But as a Christian, I decided to eat humble pie and do what the Lord taught us to do - "if you…your brother has something against you,… go and be reconciled to your brother” (Mt 5.23). I wrote him a note saying, “I’m sorry if my letter offended you.” Recently, a very gifted young man I cared for in many ways, including giving financial help for two years when he was down, was upset with me for demanding better integrity. Angrily he walked out on me! Of course he has now become successful in many ways. When I quoted to him the above verse, he sent me an SMS saying “I have forgiven you!” I wonder whether that was what the Lord meant when He said, "if your brother has something against you,… go and be reconciled to your brother”.

Pray with me: Dear Lord, help me to clothe myself with humility toward others because You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. Amen.

Blessed Is The Man

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO FEARS THE LORD, WHO FINDS GREAT DELIGHT IN HIS COMMANDS. Psalm 112.1.

‘Fear the LORD’ is not something we often hear in our churches today. Consequently ‘the fear of God’ is not apparent in our hearts and lives! That is the tragedy of today’s generation. We are taken up with the ‘love of God’ all the time that we have forgotten, no, we have not even heard so much about ‘the fear of God’. It is no wonder that you and I have greatly lost ‘our reverence of God’! It is apparent in every aspect of our lives. Because of the lack of the fear of God, we take no delight in His commandments. We do not bother to keep them. The wise King Solomon said long ago, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9.10).

You and I easily and thoughtlessly break the commandments of God because we have no fear of Him. Our hearty and exuberant singing and shouting before a God of love, though it is becoming the saints, have created in us the impression that ‘anything and everything goes with Him!’ We have accepted the attitude that it doesn’t matter ‘how we conduct ourselves’ in His sanctuary or in the homes or workplace, once we have ‘done our worshipping!’

The Scripture clearly teaches what our attitude should be before our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! We are taught, “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; For great is the LORD … he is to be feared above all gods. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth… for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth” (Psa 96.1-13).

What has happened today in our relationship with God is what we see in our family relationships too! Until a generation ago, children loved their parents and feared them. Today, in our eagerness to ‘befriend our children’ (taught by modern psychology), we have failed to inculcate in our youngsters the fear and respect for parents, teachers and elders. A child being a child, fails to understand the ‘double role’ his parents try to play, one of parenthood and the other of friendship.

But you are mature and intelligent and are taught by the Scriptures. You need to develop a healthy understanding and relationship with our ALMIGHTY GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN. You must learn to ‘love your God with all your heart’ and develop a loving relationship. You must also learn ‘to fear God’ and reverence Him.

You should fear the LORD not so much because you are afraid or terrified of Him, even though the Name of God and His presence should evoke awe in You! You should fear the LORD out of love for Him as Father God. Then, you will find great delight in His commands.

Look at the great blessings the LORD will have for you: Your children will be mighty in the land and they will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in your house. Your righteousness will endure forever.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to love and fear You. Teach me when to express my love and adoration. Let me not forget that You are to be feared and obeyed. Amen.

The Word Became Human Being

THE WORD BECAME A HUMAN BEING AND LIVED HERE WITH US. WE SAW HIS TRUE GLORY, THE GLORY OF THE ONLY SON OF THE FATHER John 1.14. CEV

The twelve disciples knew Jesus physically and personally. They also ‘experienced’ Him ‘spiritually’, though only gradually. John explained, “the ‘Word’ (the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only Son) became flesh and made his dwelling among them; ‘they saw His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’”.

Listen to another touching description of the moving experience of the beloved disciple John, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete” (1 Jn 1.1-4).

The risen Lord appeared to ‘the doubting disciple, Thomas’, and told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20.29). There is no doubt that the Lord was thinking and talking about all of us, believers, who have never seen Him yet believe.

Dear believer, this Christmas season by faith, you also could have the same ‘personal and spiritual experience’ of the Lord Jesus Christ as the 12 disciples! Our problem is that we have reduced our religion to mere intellectual knowledge, through hearing and reading of the Word of God. Because of our worldly wisdom and education based on ‘ the reasoning of the mind’, we have developed a mental block, and even disbelief and antagonism about the possibility of ‘spiritual experiences’. Many intellectual Christians, good men they are, want to know God and the Lord Jesus Christ only by studying the Bible.

Often the Scripture tells us of the accounts of believers who were baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit receiving ‘power and great joy’. Listen to what the apostle Peter has to say about the experience that could be ours, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Pe 1.8). Has that been your experience?

In many of our old hymns that we used to sing regularly, there are abundant expressions of our desire for experiencing God and the hope for its fulfillment. We must be pitied of all people if our knowledge of the Lord is only intellectual and never ‘experiential’. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3.6). Through Bible reading, prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit, this Christmas the experience of the disciples could be yours too!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You came to reveal the Father to me. Help me not only to believe in You but to experience You in my daily life.’ Amen.

When They Saw The Child

WHEN THEY SAW THE CHILD THEY KNELT DOWN AND WORSHIPED HIM. Matthew 2.11.

Where are you going to this Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? I know you will not be spending your time in pubs and cabarets, drinking, revelling and carousing. You may be having your own Christmas parties and dinners with family and friends.

We had a Christmas dinner the other day at a friend’s house. It was a wonderful time of gathering of family and friends, taped Christmas music and carols, blessing for the food and a sumptuous dinner and gifts for all to follow. It was past midnight when we knocked off! All in all it was a wonderful Christmas Dinner party. Pity though, there wasn’t any special time set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

I was reading about the Magi, the wise men from the East (some say three), from Matthew’s gospel, “The wise men from the East, went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him”.

That was the first Christmas celebration, apart from the shepherds from the Judean fields who went earlier to Bethlehem the very night Christ was born. Notice the sequence of events as their celebration unfolds. Let that be part of our regular, yearly Christmas festival and celebration. They went to Jesus; they saw the Child; they knelt and worshipped Him; they opened their precious gifts and presented them to Jesus!

Dear Christian friend, consider how you are planning to celebrate Christmas. Think of the immense value of incorporating in our Christmas parties ‘a cake-cutting for Jesus and the singing of the ‘happy birthday song to Him!’ It may be unconventional and even appear odd! But why should it be? Isn’t it a birthday celebration just like any other? Because our fathers didn’t do it, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start!

Most of all, by doing so, our own children who are growing up and our non-Christian neighbours and we ourselves would not miss the real reason for Christ-mas! Think of it. Break yourself loose from tradition! Let us set our focus on Jesus of Nazareth this Christmas season.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I know why I celebrate Christmas. It is Your birthday. Help me to make it centre on You so that all will know it is not just party time but Your birthday celebration. Amen.

A Pregnant Virgin

A VIRGIN WILL BECOME PREGNANT AND HAVE A SON, AND HE WILL BE CALLED EMMANUEL WHICH MEANS, "GOD WITH US". Matthew 1.23

When we part with one another, we often say, “God be with you!” It gives us and those departing from us much comfort and hope. We say that not only when we embark on a distant and long journey but even on a short one, like going out for the day’s work. Our family prays this before we part with one another for our day’s commitments. When someone is in trouble and bearing it alone, we say to them also for encouragement, “May God be with you”.

It is the Christmas season and I was considering the implication of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ as a babe in Bethlehem. In the Old Testament times, the unseen God was present with His people, though often they did not perceive it. Even Moses, the great leader, when he approached the burning bush, did not know that God was there! Hence God had to warn him that he was standing on holy ground and that he needed to take off his shoes! In the wilderness, on the way to Canaan from Egypt, God let Himself be present with His people by the ‘pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night’. Every time they saw these, the people knew that God was with them. Even then, when problems arose, they were overcome with fear instead of turning to God in the cloud and fire! Their problem was that they still couldn’t see the form of God! Hence they couldn’t put their trust in Him.

It was then God condescended to send His only Son to come and dwell with men so that we could “see, touch and feel” Him for the first time! John the disciple and the others had that experience and hence he wrote, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1.14).

This could be the experience of all those who would care to have a relationship with Jesus. Not only did God send His son to be born of a virgin but He gave Him the name, “Emmanuel” which means “God with us!” Every time we call Jesus, ‘Emmanuel’, we assure ourselves that God Himself is with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

I was speaking to an old friend at a Christmas party at our home. When I asked how things are with him, he replied “Life has its problems!” With God’s Christmas gift in mind, I told him, “That’s why God gave us His Son Jesus whom He named, ‘Emmanuel’ meaning, “God with us!” What more do we need?

Dear believer, Jesus told us before He left us to go to the Father, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16.33). He will never leave us nor forsake us in our trouble. He is with us to deliver us out of trouble or He will help us to go through it! He is Emmanuel, God with us. If you are still not sure, just call out “Emmanuel!” Jesus is our ‘spiritual genie’, if I could say that most reverently, to a generation that is familiar with such idioms. Don’t be mistaken or be too naïve to use it as a magic word! Let your mind stay on Christ, your Emmanuel, God with you.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for You are my Emmanuel – God Himself with me! If God is with me, who or what can be against me? Lord, make that a present reality to me and not mere head knowledge. Amen.

Things You Have Heard Me Say

THE THINGS YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY, ENTRUST TO RELIABLE MEN WHO WILL ALSO BE QUALIFIED TO TEACH OTHERS. 2 Timothy 2.2.

One of my greatest concerns as parents, is to pass to the next generation, especially my children, all that has been entrusted to us by our parents, spiritually, socially, morally and even culturally. It is our hope that they will pass them on to their children and they to their children so that the great heritage we received from our forefathers would go from generation to generation until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again! It is for this same reason that I began writing these devotionals so that an up-and-coming generation of young believers all over the world may be benefitted through the spiritual things that I share with them.

My wife tries to gather our clan of four children, three in-laws and thirteen grandchildren as often as circumstances permit. I am very particular that all of us get occasions to sit together for a meal and thereafter talk things over. I try to make use of these times to pass on all the good things we learned from our godly parents and grandparents. So regular and boring those ‘talkathons’ might be that when their mother/grandmother invites them for a meal, they hesitate thinking that it is for another of dad’s/grandpa’s favourite talks!

I can imagine the great concern the aged apostle Paul had for his son Timothy and other young believers like Titus, Epaphras, Epaphrodites, Mark and many others. He was writing one of his last letters and he knew he was soon going to be with his Master and Lord. He was making sure that they would be faithful men who would teach others the precepts and practices which he passed on to them.

Dear believer, learn from the Lord diligently His teaching. Receive from your fathers and leaders what they have learned from their elders. It is the wisdom of the age handed down from generations which you cannot buy! Godly parents are a heritage from the Lord, just as good children are! What God has given us freely, let none belittle or lose!

God says in His Word, “Listen, my sons and daughters, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. .. Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them” (Pro 4.1-5).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for giving me parents and teachers, both spiritual and physical. Grant me wisdom to give heed to their words and pass them on to others. Amen.

The Lord's Compassions

THE LORD’S COMPASSIONS NEVER FAIL. THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS. Lam 3.22,23.

Sometime ago, my wife and I had the privilege to visit a dear brother and sister from our church. He had been quite unwell off and on for several years. The past few months were very trying for him and his dear wife too because he was in and out of intensive care units of different hospitals with diabetes and a chronic leg ulcer which threatened amputation, kidney failure, heart failure, pneumonia, etc. In addition to all his physical ailments, they were going through serious business problems and losses.

What surprised us greatly was that while they took more than an hour to tell us their sad tale, especially explaining it to me a medical doctor, we never heard a word of complaint about their sufferings. All the while, both the husband and wife were telling of the great compassion and faithfulness of the Lord to them in their times of deep distress.

This made us say to ourselves, “We shouldn’t be complaining after all!” Not that we are chronic complainers! But God knows that every day there are problems and even trials that we have to undergo. If we don’t speak about them among ourselves, there will be no outlet for our pent up feelings! If we do not complain to the Lord and cry out like Jeremiah, we will have no relief!

Remember, it is the Lord who told His disciples, “Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mat 6.34). We can pray everyday as the Lord taught us, “lead us not into temptation/trials, but deliver us from the evil/one” (Mt 6.13). However, some times of trouble do come because it is part of our ‘fallen life’. The prophet Jeremiah lamented to the Lord about his trials and the distress of his people and they were enough to fill a small book in the Bible – Lamentations! But Jeremiah was not a grumbler without trust in the Lord or confidence in His compassion, faithfulness and mercies, like the children of Israel in the wilderness whom the Lord hated in His anger.

I love that wonderful hymn inspired by today’s verse and it is one of the first hymns I learned to play on the piano. I still play it regularly to remind me of the Lord’s faithfulness, love and mercy, to build up my faith to withstand trials and sorrows.

Praise God with me:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been Thou for ever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, -
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Amen

Go & Speak

THE LORD SAID TO ME, “SON OF MAN EAT WHAT IS BEFORE YOU, EAT THIS SCROLL; THEN GO AND SPEAK TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” Ezekiel 3.1.

As usual, I was having my morning walk, meditating on the verse for the day, quoted above. Usually, I pray that the Lord will reveal to me what He wants me to teach others. But today my prayer was different. I prayed that the Lord may impress on my heart the importance of today’s text.

The message was clear and plain! In unmistakable words the Lord was talking to me. He was saying that ‘I should be eating (reading and meditating) the Word before He would entitle me to speak to the people of God!’ I was reminded of the absolute necessity of constantly reading and meditating on God’s Word, if I aspire to preach or teach people for their blessing and benefit.

It is quite a temptation to all the ‘professional’ teachers and preachers to trust in their past accomplishments to carry on their present ministry without the ‘blood or sweat’ any more. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’. They pull out a lesson or a sermon from the file or from memory and dish it out to God’s people! No prayer, no reading of the Word, no careful study and no waiting on the Holy Spirit!

The Lord wouldn’t have anything to do with such preachers or prophets. He called them ‘false teachers and prophets!’ God’s complaint against many of Israel’s prophets was just that. Hear Him rebuke them, “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds” (Jer 23.21,22).

From the beginning, my prayer was that what I write should not be mere teaching or preaching but practical guidance from the Word to the believers, especially the younger generation on daily living in the ‘market place’. I am gladly surprised at the numerous letters of appreciation that I receive from around the world. Here is a comment received from a sister: “I'm looking forward to reading your fresh insights and comments on the goodness of our Lord and also the challenges in our Christian walk today straight from your heart. You've been truly a blessing (like a sharp piece of iron) from the Lord. May you continue to sharpen us to the likeness of Christ with your revelations of the Word and the Spirit of God. Glory to God”. I cannot do this unless I stand in the council of the Almighty for your sake and mine. Help me by your prayers.

Dear believer, you too are called to be the Lord’s witness where He has placed you. But unless you begin to ‘eat the scroll’, the Bible, daily and hear God, you cannot live for Him or speak His Words!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, make me stand in Your council and read Your Word and hear You speak to me day by day that I may live like You before others and speak to them Your Words. Amen.

The Lord Is All I Have

THE LORD IS ALL I HAVE, AND SO IN HIM I WILL PUT MY HOPE. (GNB) Lam 3.24.

It is common human reaction that when we suffer, we either think that God is punishing us for our sins or that we are being afflicted unjustly. It is the same with those who believe in God and those who do not! But those who unflinchingly trust in God and His goodness will survive their afflictions and their hope in Him will ultimately be rewarded.

The prophet Jeremiah is a good example for us who suffer justly or unjustly. He suffered for speaking up for God and prophesying things that his people didn’t cherish to hear. Probably his words that we read today were uttered from the deep muddy well in the courtyard of the King of Judah, into which he was thrown for prophesying the truth. Listen to him carefully and learn how to withstand the test of trials or join with him if you are already in the heat of troubles.

When we think that we are suffering unjustly, or God is afflicting us without cause, then we should cry out to God like the prophet Jeremiah. He told a mouthful to God about his woes. He wasn’t like some pious people who wouldn’t open their mouths and express their distress to God fearing that it might upset Him. Jeremiah wasn’t a hypocrite either. He told God that He was unfair and unjust in causing him trouble and grief when he was bravely facing people and telling them the bad news that God had for them! Jeremiah told God that his soul was downcast because all he hoped from God did not materialise!

But there was one good thing that Jeremiah did. Like all saintly people who trusted in God but still had to suffer, he kept clinging to God. He assured himself saying, “The Lord is all I have, and so in him I will put my hope”.

The saintly suffering psalmist and temple musician, Asaph, once said, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psa 73.26-28).

Dear believer, in all your troubles, problems, difficulties, sickness, pain and even death, remember the Lord is with you. “The Lord is all that you have!” Nothing or no one else can help you! Trust in the Lord and wait for him. He will help you out or take you through!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for You are all I have to trust and to hold on to amidst my present trials. Therefore I will hope in you. Amen.

You Are The Christ

YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. Matthew 16.16.

Once I was talking to a young Muslim boy, the son of a friend. I told him about Christ. But he asked me seriously, “How could Jesus be the Son of God when God did not have a wife?” Not only the Muslims but even Christians have a problem believing in the Trinity – The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Jews of Jesus’ days too had great difficulty in accepting His claim that He is the Son of God. They were waiting for generations for the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed. Their prophets had foretold, “to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isa 9.7).

Having preached the kingdom of God with multiplied miracles accompanying, Jesus once asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." None of them could accept Jesus’ claim that He was the Son of God.

"But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (vs 15-17).

Even today it is the same. If anyone is to know and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Father must reveal it to him. Whenever I witness to people about Jesus and tell them that Jesus is the Son of God, I see the unbelief on their faces! They want a revelation! And they need it!

But the mystery is that God wants you first to believe His Word and accept His Son. Only then does God give you the revelation through the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, you are convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Your Saviour and Lord. Thank God for the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Father, I pray that You may keep revealing Your dear Son to me more and more, both in knowledge and experience as I daily read Your Word. Amen.

Who Have Eternal Life?

JESUS SAID WHOEVER HEARS MY WORD AND BELIEVES HIM WHO SENT ME HAS ETERNAL LIFE. ……HE HAS CROSSED OVER FROM DEATH TO LIFE”. John 5.24.

It is said that the only thing constant in this changing world is ‘change’! The greatest change that you and I will experience in life is ‘death!’ It transports you from this life to the next. But how terrified people are about death!

The Bible teaches that it is merely a “cross over from life to death and to life – eternal”. But only to those who hear, listen and obey the Words of Jesus and believe in God the Father who sent Him into this world to die for their sins. It is He who gives them eternal life.

I know of a sister in Christ who died of some rare immune disease for which there was no cure. She was only in her fifties. I spoke to her mother of 82! She told me in great confidence, “I know that my daughter is in heaven with the Lord. I too will soon go and meet up with her!” What a great confidence and assurance of crossing over from death into Life!

This confidence is something that is shared by all those who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. I may be afraid to die. I may not want to die. But when death comes, I am confident that it will not be the end! I know where I am going and am sure of it! Are you sure of your destination after death? Many people want to go to heaven after death. But they are not sure of going there. They only hope! But you can be sure!

Dear believer, Jesus Christ died and rose again on the third day. He conquered death for you and me. If you have believed in Jesus and if you live according to His Word, He assures you eternal life. He assures you that physical death is only a walk over, a mere crossing from this life to the next.

So much so the apostle Paul said, “to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1.21). If you are a child of God, death is then ‘Home-coming’. I may be sad to leave behind all my loved ones. But I am glad I am going to meet my Father God and my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ whom I have never seen but believed all my life and I eagerly long to see! It will be the same for you if you believe in the Father and in Jesus the Son whom He sent to give you eternal life after death.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for You have helped me listen to Your Word and believe in God the Father who sent You into this world as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for the promise of eternal life. Amen.

Don't Give Up Meeting

LET US NOT GIVE UP MEETING TOGETHER, AS SOME ARE IN THE HABIT OF DOING. Hebrews 10.25.

We all have habits that are different! Some are good, some are not so good and some are positively bad! Here the writer of Hebrews describes the habit of some Christians - “some are in the habit of giving up on meeting together!” They do not go to church for whatever reason they can find!

Why some people do not go to church is because ‘those who are in the habit of going to church regularly, do not show any sign of change in character or life!’ You have heard people comment, “Those who go to church are all hypocrites!” One can hardly recognise them as Christians in the homes or in the marketplace! I have heard people say, “If so and so goes to church, I don’t want to go to church!” Have you ever thought that your life may be hindering others from going to church and even to heaven? What a tragedy that would be?

It should not surprise any one that sinners and hypocrites go to church. They go there because they want to be changed! That is no reason for you not to go to church! If you are honest and live a good life, then you must go to church! The Church needs people like you. But if you are unworthy to go to church, take heart Jesus established the church not for the righteous but for the sinners!

It is in the church that you can hear the Word of God that convicts, converts and transforms. There you learn how to live your life according to the Word of God. There your thoughts, words, and actions are discerned by the Word and the Holy Spirit and you stand to be corrected. In the church, together with all the others like you who are not perfect but fallible, you must meet often. The Bible exhorts you to encourage and help one another to grow in grace and knowledge of the Word and the Lord!

Listen again to today’s text, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching”. If you are in the habit of not going to church, why not obey God’s voice today and begin to go to church. You will see your life transformed and enriched together with others like you.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am sorry for neglecting to go to Your Church and meet with fellow believers to worship and to be taught by You to live lives that are pleasing to You. Amen.

Watch Out

WATCH OUT THAT YOU ARE NOT DECEIVED. FOR MANY WILL COME IN MY NAME, CLAIMING, 'I AM HE,' AND, 'THE TIME IS NEAR.' DO NOT FOLLOW THEM. Luke 21.8.

Lately, I heard of a large healing crusade to be held by an African prophet. Another international prophetic conference is scheduled where hundreds of participants from around the world are supposed to attend. Thank God for everything that takes place that are biblical, authentic and spirit-led.

I attended a Bible seminar on the Book of Jude sometime ago. Jude cautioned believers of the danger of ‘false teachers’ coming in to the Church and deceiving believers. The Bible expositor took some time to teach and describe the character of the false teachers. I thought to myself that today we do not have many false teachers as opposed to the days of Jude and the early church!

As I was driving back home I had second thoughts! I scanned the Christian horizon of the past three decades. I suddenly realised that we need to exercise much caution for the Lord warned us about false teachers and prophets who would even do miracles in His name and mislead us in the last days. There will always be ‘false teachers’ but only ‘the false teachings of today may be different from that of the early church! The false teachers of yesteryears introduced ‘false doctrines about the fundamental issues of our faith – like questioning the uniqueness of Christ or salvation only by faith not works or worship of angels etc.!’

But, what do we see today? Undoubtedly, we have seen in the latter half of the last century a new move of the Holy Spirit in the church which brought a refreshing freedom in all the areas of spiritual worship and practice. But, many are using this liberty to establish their own ‘principles and practices within the church’. There is an increasing influx of teachers who spread ‘all kinds of human-founded and established practices of religion and worship!’

For example, we had a spate of ministers introducing their own but not Biblical ‘Super-techniques’ of ministry as in ‘anointing, prophesy, healing, laying of hands, slaying, laughing, dreams and visions, and even bringing the world into the church!’ Like immature believers of the early church, we too have become so gullible not only to accept without discernment these men but even venerate them!

I am positive and prophetic in my outlook and ministry and I embrace new things readily. But with one important proviso – all must be biblical to the core and spiritually sound to every detail! Dear believer, you and I must be like the Berean believers. We must endeavor to follow their trait in accepting all ‘new teachings and practices’. “They were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17.11).

Pray and practice with me: Dear Lord, teach me to prove all things and hold fast that which is good. Help me to be on my guard and distance myself from all teachings and practices which do not adhere to Your written Word. Amen.

The Spirit Testifies

THE SPIRIT HIMSELF TESTIFIES WITH OUR SPIRIT THAT WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN. Romans 8.16.

Have you ever felt that you have greatly sinned against God and that He is angry with you and will never forgive you? Perhaps you might have felt very guilty for doing something which you yourself consider so bad. You fear that you have lost God’s love and favour!

Often when you are struck by some misfortune or hit by some sickness, such feelings overtake you. You ask yourself, “Why has this terrible thing happened to me?” Satan, our soul’s enemy, is quick to suggest to you, “It is God’s punishment. You have done something wrong! God is angry with you. God does not consider you His child any more!” Already, you are feeling guilty of some misdeed. Sometimes, it may not even be any sinful deed. Perhaps, you were not able to give as much time to God as before in reading the Bible, taking time to pray or attending the Sunday church service! But still Satan tries to accuse you of something or the other. He deliberately tries to make you feel that God has forsaken you as His child!

The Bible tells us, “all who received Jesus, to those who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1.12). You know that. But now that you are going through some trouble, Satan takes the opportunity to begin questioning your relationship with God as His child. The greater your trouble, the greater you doubt God’s love.

That is the time the Holy Spirit comes to your help, if you have genuinely accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour. The Bible says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children”. Furthermore, God’s Word says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father" (v.15). Thank God for His Holy Spirit.

I have mentioned about my encounter with cancer. I fasted for three weeks and prayed for a miracle. My family joined in earnest prayer. But there was no miracle and I had to have a major surgery! I confessed all the sins I ever committed, even those old ‘forgiven and forgotten ones too!’ I felt like my Lord in the garden of Gethsemane as I cried out like Him, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” (Mt 27.46). But, I knew and believed that I am God’s child and that He would never forsake me. My confidence came from the Scripture that says, “The Spirit himself was testifying with my spirit that I am God's child”.

Dear child of God, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble!” If you are going through any kind of trouble, don’t doubt your Father’s love. Don’t let Satan or even your own conscience accuse you of any wrong. Simply confess all sins and God will forgive and He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Trust the Holy Spirit to testify to your spirit that you are God’s child!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your Holy Spirit who helps me to call You “Abba Father”. Let Your Holy Spirit testify to me that I am Your child and remove my every doubt in times of distress. Amen.

God's Love Unshaken

THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS BE SHAKEN AND THE HILLS BE REMOVED, YET MY UNFAILING LOVE FOR YOU WILL NOT BE SHAKEN NOR MY COVENANT OF PEACE BE REMOVED," SAYS THE LORD, WHO HAS COMPASSION ON YOU. Isaiah 54.10.

Some years ago when I was suddenly diagnosed with cancer colon, my world crumbled! Being a doctor, I knew what awaited me. During those traumatic days, I happened to find the chorus: “Though the mountains may depart and the hills may be removed, my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of love shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion for you”. I learned to play it on the piano and never ceased to sing until the terrors passed away!

It was a dream come true to be in Banff, Canada once! I had read about Banff as one of the most beautiful places on earth and I desired to visit it! Nestled in the lap of the surrounding high and lofty Rocky Mountains, this little ‘Alpine’ town was beautiful beyond description.

Early in the morning, before the sun was up, I was seated on the open terrace of a quite Japanese Inn, my head turned upwards and eyes glued to the pinnacles of three rocky mountains that overlooked us. It was the middle of summer and there was no snow on the mountain-tops. The barren rocks were piercing into the bright blue skies above.

Not only did they look immense but ‘eternal!’ God only knows how many eons ago these rocks erupted from the belly of the earth through volcanic explosions. There they stood before me, challenging all odds and determined to last forever! There I sat humbled by the majesty of these mighty mountains. Their ‘eternal’ nature engaged my attention, filled my mind and occupied my thoughts. I said to myself, “If these Rockies are eternal, how much more “Eternal” is their Creator?”

I cherished my lofty thoughts and remembered the words of the psalmist, “I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psa 121.1,2). The Lord God Almighty, the Maker of the very mountains before me is eternal in every way. The Lord’s might, wisdom and knowledge are eternal. His love is eternal – everlasting. His mercy is eternal – endures forever. His forgiveness is eternal – never-ending. His favour is eternal – lasts forever. His grace is eternal – ever-flowing down. His compassion is eternal – never ceases. His faithfulness is eternal – from generation to generation. His blessings are eternal – new every morning.

The sun was already high in the sky and it was time to go up those mountains by gondola! I do not think there ever was a moment when I failed to gaze upon those hills and think of our “Eternal God and Everlasting Father” during our time in beautiful Banff and drive through the Rocky mountain Parkway! How I wish I could re-visit Banff and the Rocky Mountains in the fall and early spring to behold their beauty and be overwhelmed by the greatness of our Creator!

Dear believer, why not make some time and visit one of your hill-sites to gaze leisurely at its beauty and praise the Creator?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psa 90.2). I praise You and worship You. Amen.

Pray For Your Country

SEEK THE PEACE AND PROSPERITY OF THE CITY TO WHICH I HAVE CARRIED YOU INTO EXILE. PRAY TO THE LORD FOR IT, BECAUSE IF IT PROSPERS, YOU TOO WILL PROSPER. Jeremiah 29.7.

Malaysia celebrated its 50th Merdeka (Independence Day) on 31st August. The government encouraged the people to fly the national flag to show their patriotism. But as the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur bemoaned, the response was feeble!

I had some spare national flags with me and I passed them on to some friends so that they could fly them in their homes or stick them on their cars. But one said, “I am not going to fly any flag! Why should I, when I am discriminated at work, deprived of opportunities and promotions, and receive no privileges like some others. I am treated as a second class citizen in my own country!” He is not the only person who feels so and expresses his dissatisfaction towards his country and the government. Unfortunately, the two predominant ‘immigrant races’, though citizens, do feel the same way.

My thoughts went back to about 2,600 years ago when the Israelites, the people of God, were exiles and slaves in Babylon. Surely, they hated their fate. They disliked their masters who oppressed them. They had prophets (false) who prophesied and encouraged the people to hate the land of oppression.

Hear what God had to say to His people in those circumstances. His words through the prophet Jeremiah would come as a surprise and is a lesson to all those people of Malaysia who are so disappointed about the nation and its government - “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Notice that it is God who has placed you where you are. He knows all your circumstances and is aware of your disadvantages and disappointments. He sees from heaven everything that is happening to you. Believe me, what He did before to his Old Testament people long ago, He will do again for you, His child!

But you must obey God’s Word, for it is true and applicable to all generations. With all the limitations and deprivations that exist, God has still blessed you in your land and prospered you. Begin therefore to praise God and pray for the nation and its leaders. You are a citizen of the country and be proud of it. Celebrate all the good that you are enjoying. Nothing can always be good in any country. So tell God what is wrong and ask Him to put things right. He will do it in His time for He is still ‘the God of Israel and of all nations’’. You could and should voice your criticisms and complaints through the newspapers or write or e-mail to your parliamentarians. Some good will come. Let your children grow to be proud of their land and enjoy its peace and prosperity, as you pray with them for the country.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You want me to pray for my country, seek its peace and prosperity. Help me to do it for the good of my family and myself and all the people. Amen.

Woe To Me!

WOE TO ME! I CRIED. "I AM RUINED! FOR I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS, AND I LIVE AMONG A PEOPLE OF UNCLEAN LIPS, AND MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING, THE LORD ALMIGHTY." Isaiah 6.5.

Have you ever been to St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican City, Italy or St. John’s Cathedral in New York or Westminster Abbey in London? If you have, then you will know the awe that overwhelms the worshipers and even the visitors to these sanctuaries built for God! The sheer majesty, beauty and stateliness of these edifices of worship makes one feel and even fear the very presence of the Almighty God! When you are in these ornate sanctuaries, you are at once overcome by the ‘awareness’ of the Holy Presence of God, like Isaiah that day in the beautiful temple King Solomon built for the God of Israel. It is as if you are ushered into the very Presence of the Almighty God!

Don’t misunderstand me! The mighty God is present even in the humblest place of worship that we make for Him! But, you must admit that in an ordinary shop converted to a place of worship on a Sunday, one has to use quite a bit of imagination to get the same kind of appreciation and awareness of the presence of God, and to evoke a similar kind of awesomeness and fear! But blessed are those who desire and achieve it!

Now imagine the young prophet Isaiah going into that beautiful and awesome temple of God, maybe on a Sabbath day! In addition to all the usual worship and sacrifices, that day, he had ‘a vision of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!’ He describes it for us, “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs… calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke” (vs 1-4).

O! How I desire and pray that you and I too may have such ‘heavenly visions’ each Sunday in our churches, as we gather in the Presence of the Living Lord God Almighty and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Spirit and truth! Then, what happened that day to Isaiah will happen to you and I too!

Each new Sunday, you will see God as He really is – exalted and glorified and worthy of your whole-hearted worship! You will see yourself too as you really are – sinful and unclean and unworthy to be before His throne! You too will cry out like Isaiah, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Each Lord’s Day, God will do a fresh cleansing and you will be clean. Isaiah said, “The LORD says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool” (Isaiah 1.18. GNB). You will also hear God making a fresh call on your life and giving you a fresh mandate for the ensuing week! You will say like Isaiah, "Here am I. Send me!"

Pray and practise with me: Dear LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, each Sunday, help me to be conscious of Your awesome and holy presence as I enter my place of worship. Help me also to see myself as I am! Cleanse me afresh. Let me hear You and respond like Isaiah, ready to do Your will. Amen.

A Man's Heart Plans His Way

A MAN'S HEART PLANS HIS WAY, BUT THE LORD DIRECTS HIS STEPS. Proverbs 16.9.

Some years ago, my wife and I took the two thousand-mile drive from Seattle, USA to Jasper in Canada through the winding Rocky Mountain Parkway and back in just seven days. It was quite a challenge! As we drove along the never-ending mountainous pathway, for no apparent reason, I heard myself singing the words of the well-loved hymn by the famous blind Christian song-writer, Fanny Crosby:

“All the way my Saviour leads me—What have I to ask beside?Can I doubt his tender mercyWho through life has been my Guide?Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,Here by faith in him to dwell—For I know, whate'er befall me,Jesus doeth all things well.All the way my Saviour leads me,Cheers each winding path I tread,Gives me grace for ev'ry trial,Feeds me with the living Bread.Though my weary steps may falter,And my soul athirst may be,Gushing from the rock before me,Lo, a spring of joy I see!”

I have a feeling that the words of this song came to my mind because I was trying to accomplish the impossible task of enjoying the wonderful scenery while trying to drive along safely on those precipitous roads! It was quite a feat and the left-hand drive which I was not used to, compounded the danger.

You and I are daily continuing on our pathway of life, full of the unknowns and the unexpected. Yes! Our hands may be on the steering but it is not we who drive! Often we think that we are in control but we are not! It is God who controls our lives through all the ‘good and bad!’

Blessed are those who have realised and acknowledged it, and go on in life singing, “All the way my Saviour leads me!” The Bible says, “A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps” (Pro 16.9).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for it is not I who is in control of my life but YOU! You cannot and will not make a mistake! I commit my life to You! Amen.

Glorious Appearing of Jesus

LOOKING FOR THE BLESSED HOPE AND GLORIOUS APPEARING OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Titus 2.13.

The way everyone lives today gives one the impression that we are going to be here forever! No one thinks there is an end to life even though death is staring at us all the time; nor is there an end to the world though it is never rid of troubles! If we go by what we see and hear, the last thing anyone, including Christians, is looking forward to is “the glorious return of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ!”

The Lord had talked to the disciples specifically about His return. When He ascended into heaven, it was told again to the disciples by two angels that appeared to them. Here is the story: “When Jesus had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1.9-11).

This made the early church look forward for the ‘return of the Lord Jesus Christ’ with eager expectation.

Let me suggest to you 2 blessings that will accompany those who keep expecting the return of the LORD, which many believe today is imminent.

You will purify yourself from sin and worldliness. The apostle John wrote, “We know that when the Lord appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 Jn 3.2,3). Dear friend, if you are living in sin or you are immersed in the world and have become worldly, remind yourself that ‘the Lord is coming!’ You don’t know when. But it is nearer, much nearer than in the first century. It could be any day! The thought of the Lord’s appearing will help you purify yourself and make yourself ever ready for Him! That’s what prophet Amos cautioned us long ago, “Prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4.12).

You will receive a crown of righteousness. The apostle Paul tells us, “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim 4.8). This is absolutely fantastic! If you keep longing for the Lord’s appearing, you will receive a crown of righteousness! Do you know why? Because you will try to do what is good and upright!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for the promise of Your coming. Help me to long for and prepare myself for Your coming, doing what You have given me to do in the meanwhile. Amen.

Let Us Run With Determination

LET US RUN WITH DETERMINATION THE RACE THAT LIES BEFORE US. Hebrews 12.1,2.

The longer I minister to the Christians, the more I see that many have no proper concept of the ‘life to which God has called us in Christ Jesus!’ The people accept Christ and join the church and that is most encouraging to all ministers! When they come in, there is great jubilation and celebration! Why not! For Jesus said, “I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Lk 15.10). When ‘the going is good’, they stick on! Many enjoy the church and regularly attend services. Some even take part in the church activities. That’s all Christianity means to many.

The problem is that most church members don’t seem to have made any serious ‘life-long commitment to Christ and to the church!’ We labouriously bring in people through the front doors of our churches but many are walking away through our back doors unnoticed! One of the greatest tragedies of today is that when about 100,000 are reportedly added to the Church daily, we have no clue as to how many are deserting the Lord!

In my book, QUIT BEING A SUNDAY CHRISTIAN! BECOME A DISCIPLE!, I compare commitment to Christ and His Church to an ideal marriage – life-long! No desertion and no divorce! When Jesus called His disciples, beginning with Peter and Andrew and James and John, He said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4.19). The gospels say, “They immediately left their nets and followed Him” (v 20). At another time, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’ (Mt 16.24).

You have a choice to make, either to ‘follow Jesus’ or ‘not to follow Him!’ If anyone decides to follow Jesus, it has to be a life of self-sacrifice or denial of self and self-interests, and a life-long commitment to follow Him through sheer determination!

Dear believer, it is your decision! No one can force you to follow Christ for He Himself forced none! Once you decide, then you must follow Him day by day, with a dogged determination all your life. Don’t be like those whom I happen to meet in the market-place now and again. I ask them, “Where have you been? What happened?” They say the same thing, “Oh! Too busy!” or “I just lost interest!”

God doesn’t want such a calamity to happen to you. The Bible cautions and challenges you, “Let us run with determination the race that lies before us”. It tells you how you can do it. “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end”.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me hear Your call loud and clear, “Follow me..” O! Holy Spirit, help me to follow Jesus closely, my eyes fixed on Him alone! Let not the world cause me to desert You, ever! Amen.

Amen

AMEN. Matthew 6. 13.

To conclude the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, He added the word, “AMEN”. To all the various petitions that are made to the Father in heaven, we are taught to affix “our AMEN”. Amen is a word of Hebrew origin expressing consent or strong agreement. It means “verily, certainly, so be it.”

“Our Amen is in the token of our desire and assurance to be heard. Amen refers to every petition going before, and thus, we are taught to knit up the whole in one word. “It is good to conclude our prayers with some warmth and vigour, that we may go from them with a sweet savour upon our spirits” (Mathew Henry). It was the practice of old, as we will see below, to say, Amen, audibly at the end of every prayer. It is a commendable practice, provided it is done with understanding, liveliness, and inward aspirations that correspond to our outward expression of desire and confidence.

It began with the old Testament people of God, Israel, as we see in the Psalms. After making a petition for the nation and praising God, the psalmist who wrote Psalm 106, called on the people, saying, “Let all the people say, ‘Amen! Praise the LORD”. It is probable that this word was used by the worshippers in the synagogue to signify their assent to the prayer that was offered by the priest or the rabbi. It was so continued in the early Church. Remember, the apostle Paul taught and exhorted the Corinthian believers not to indulge in the public usage of ‘the gift of tongues’ without interpretation. He said, it would only lead to confusion and lack of understanding and participation. Therefore, he said that the hearers could not say “Amen!” to their words or prayers! (1 Cor 14.16). It shows that the members were used to saying “Amen” to the prayers that were offered in their midst.

It has become the common practice of most Christians and churches to end their prayers with the word, “Amen”. Some say it in their hearts and minds. Some just whisper. Others shout it heartily, loud and clear for all to hear! It is definitely an encouragement to the one who prayed to hear and know that all were in agreement to all that he asked of God in prayer on their behalf! It would even spur those who pray to make their prayers audible and clear to all so that they too could share inwardly and audibly too and say ‘Amen’ at the end! No doubt our Father God who hears all this, would heartily enjoy our unity in hearts and exuberance in words.

Dear believer, be attentive to every prayer and join heartily in loud ‘Amen’ for God and man to hear. Wouldn’t it be wonderful that even if all may not offer prayers, that everyone could actively participate in the petition to God by joining to say “Amen” in culmination? The next time a prayer is made to God, don’t be afraid to say a loud ‘Amen’ with conviction!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, be moved in mercy and grace towards our prayers and avenge us, Your elect, who cry out to You day and night. Answer speedily as we unite in hearts and minds to say ‘Amen’.

Do Not Keep On Babbling

WHEN YOU PRAY, DO NOT KEEP ON BABBLING LIKE PAGANS, FOR THEY THINK THEY WILL BE HEARD BECAUSE OF THEIR MANY WORDS. Matthew 6.7.

We should all know what to pray and how to pray! That is why Jesus taught us how to pray at the request of the disciples. We should all be praying the right way the Lord taught us and get answers from our Father. If we do not get answers, it should not be because of our wrong way or words. But if God does not answer because it is not His will, then we need to learn to submit to it.

We are learning about the second mistake that you and I may make when we pray. Let us look at how the different translators put it in our various versions so that we can grasp the general idea for our benefit. Here they are: “do not keep on babbling like pagans” NIV; “don't talk on and on as people do who don't know God” CEV; "do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long” GNB; “do not babble vain words, as the nations” MKJV; “do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do” NRSV; “do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” KJV; “do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do” NASB.

Praying to God is like going to our father and telling him what you need! Simple and straightforward! Perhaps you may add words to express the urgency. That is all! Should you babble, talk on and on, or vainly repeat the same thing in different ways? NO!! Many of the prayers of the Bible are very short and the Lord’s own prayers are the shortest!

Why then do we make a show of our vocabulary and a farce of our requests to our Father in heaven? He already knows our needs. He doesn’t need to be coaxed! He is only too willing to give good gifts to His children. Often Christians make a ‘hoo-hah!’ about simple things, taking ten to fifteen minutes just to pray for a straightforward need. Have you heard the joke about unnecessarily long prayers? Someone said, “I asked so and so to pray for my safe journey. He took so long to tell God all about the journey from start to finish that I missed the bus!”

Imagine a fellowship meeting where there are twenty people, each one with a need. If each prayer takes 10 minutes, the prayer session alone would take 200 minutes or three hours and twenty minutes! Someone has said about public prayers, ‘If anyone prays for one minute, pray with him; if he prays two minutes, pray for him; if he prays for three minutes, pray against him!’ Even if people do not pray against him, it wouldn’t be surprising if they are ‘not with him!’

The prayer that Jesus taught us to pray included worship, petitions, confession, requests and praise and has only 66 words and takes less than 60 seconds to pray! Let your public prayers be short and without frills and our private prayers ‘all night if you are serious’, like the Lord’s!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You know everything, even better than I. Teach me not to lengthen my prayers for the sake of making them long. Amen!

Go Into Your Room & Pray

WHEN YOU PRAY, GO INTO YOUR ROOM, AND WHEN YOU HAVE SHUT YOUR DOOR, PRAY TO YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN THE SECRET PLACE. Matthew 6.6.

We have spent about a week studying “the Lord’s Prayer’ and its implications and practice. I trust it has been of value to you and that you have begun to pray daily.

Before we leave the Lord’s prayer, let me stress on some of the important issues related to prayer which the Lord highlighted for us to take note of and act upon. They will help you and me in pursuing prayer effectively and to expect a positive response from our Father in heaven.

When the Lord began teaching His disciples ‘to pray’, He started off by saying “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”. You may ask, “Every time I pray, should I get into my room and shut the door and pray secretly to God?”

This reminds me of asking a brother in ‘full-time ministry’ with whom I was associated, about his prayer life. By the way, all responsible pastors and leaders should not leave things to chance as to how the believers fare in their spiritual life! This brother told me, “I am always praying!” That sounded wonderful. The Bible commands us to, “pray without ceasing or continually” (1 Thes 5.17). But on further enquiry, he told me that he has no “special time or season of prayer fellowship with God!” What a tragedy!!

It is not easy to have a ‘special time of prayer’ daily, especially today when all are busy and loaded with more things than we can accomplish in our 24 hours! BUT, when Jesus tells you to do something, ‘you better obey, whatever the cost or how difficult it may be!’ He knows what is best and necessary for you. What the Lord asks you to do, He will help you to do! ONLY YOU MUST HAVE THE WILL TO DO!

Let me suggest to you ‘3 Ds’ which will help you to obey Jesus and pray as He taught. Wait to see what wonders it will do in your life!

1. DECISION. Say to yourself now, “I WILL DO IT!”

2. DISCIPLINE. Fix a convenient PLACE AND TIME! (Gradually try to offer at least half an hour in your 24 hours for God! Mind you, one tenth of all you have is God’s. That is 2 1/2 hours a day!! Read Malachi 3.8-10).

3. DETERMINATION. Stick to your schedule and NEVER GIVE UP. Failing for one day is no reason to stop forever but to start again and again and again!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, if You asked me, “when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place”, it is because I need to do it! Forgive me for not obeying you. Help me to start doing it today and to never stop! Amen.

Don't Be Like The Hypocrites

WHEN YOU PRAY, YOU SHALL NOT BE LIKE THE HYPOCRITES. Matthew 6.5.

You may know ‘what to pray’ but be ignorant of ‘how to pray’. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in response to their request, it is interesting to note that He prefaced it with certain instructions as to ‘how to pray or how not to pray’. He did it because He noticed the pitfalls in prayer of the religious people.

Pay attention to what Jesus taught about prayer so that you do not make the same mistake and lose God’s answers that you desperately need! Here is the first of those instructions. “When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men”.

Do not fall into the trap of ‘wanting to impress your hearers by your ability to pray’! Your prayers are for God’s ears. If you are praying with others, they too need to hear to join in your request and say ‘Amen!’ You can be loud but not haughty; bold about not arrogant. Do not make the mistake of addressing our prayers to men rather than to God. Prayer is pleading to God and not a sermon to the people. Jesus warned of such prayers saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” - peoples’ praise but not God’s attention or answers.

Do not search for flowery words and high-flown clichés’ to impress people and hear them say, ‘it was a good prayer!’ Pray in order to please God and seek His favour for you and others. Let there be humility and no traits of arrogance and pride that would intimidate people and even God! However, everyone should learn to articulate and pray well, especially using or claiming God’s own Words and promises, as you mature in your spiritual life.

Dear child of God, read and learn some of the prayers of the saints of the Old Testament. They are simple yet sublime and full of humility and honesty before God. The prayers of the New Testament, especially that of the apostle Paul, are inspired and magnificent. There are times when we are led by the Spirit of God and we cannot but help to intercede as He helps us (Rom 8.26). That is when we may burst into ‘sublime and superlative prayers’, like the apostle Paul praying on behalf of the believers and for them (Col 1.9-14). Learn to pray ‘right’ to receive your reward!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for teaching me ‘how to pray’ and get answers from the father’ and ‘how not to pray’ and lose my reward. Amen.

Yours Is The Glory Forever

FOR YOURS IS THE GLORY FOREVER. Matthew 6.13.

Our prayers often tend to be a list of things we need! We go to God with that list as we go to the supermarket! But Jesus taught us to begin and end our prayer to our Father in heaven with praise and worship. On our own, you and I would never have been able to do it with such awesome and exalted words of worship and praise. Jesus knew this and so He taught us. See how He concluded the prayer by saying, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”.

We are to acclaim, “For Yours (God’s) is the … glory!” You and I haven’t witnessed the ‘glory of the Lord’ like His Old Testament people, Israel. It was Moses who first saw the glory of the Lord and the account goes like this: “There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God” (Exo 3.2-6).

How I wish I could see the glory of the Lord for once! Then, I would know how distanced I am from Him because I am sinful and He is holy! When we take off ours sandals of sin and filth and stand alone on our holy ground, we will hear the Lord saying, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”. What confidence it would inspire in us as we make our requests to Him.

Every time Moses and Joshua entered the tent of meeting (with the Lord) in the wilderness, we read, “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exo 40.34,35).

Dear believer, if you desire to see the glory of the Lord, like Moses, you too must go to and enter ‘our Tent of meeting’ with the Lord. It’s that place Jesus described to us before He taught us the Lord’s prayer. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”(Mt 6.6.).

Oh! Let the reality of God make you and I hide our face like Moses before Him. By faith let us know that He is also our Father in heaven to whom we have been praying. Let us assure ourselves and declare that He is the Lord of glory and He can and will answer our prayer!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for You have promised to meet me in my secret place. Let your glory be shown to me. I thank You for your promise to reward me openly! To You be the glory forever. Amen.

Yours Is The Power

YOURS IS THE POWER. Matthew 6.13.

Everyone likes praise. Our God delights in our praises, the Bible says. It is not that He needs our praise but He knows that it is good for us to be grateful and express it! It will keep us humble and enable us to acknowledge that we are nothing and we have nothing and all we have is from God, even our very existence. We are still with the closing doxology (praise / worship) in prayer the Lord taught us. “For Yours (God’s) is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”. Today we will try to understand why the Lord wanted us to pray ‘For, Yours (God’s) is the…power!’

Jesus taught us the things we should ask in prayer to our Father in heaven. Some are temporal but others eternal. Some are mundane (earthly) and others spiritual. Whatever the nature of our requests or however difficult it seems to us, Jesus taught us to trust in God’s power to accomplish them. So, Jesus wanted us to conclude our requests with words that affirm our faith in our Father and in His power to answer us.

A dear friend of mine, a good young Christian, is in severe financial difficulty. He has an incapacitated child too! He has lost jobs; tried businesses without success and now is unable to meet the needs of his family. Friends have tried to help him. His church home fellowship has done their bit and given up. He is still in bad shape. I am doing my best in different ways to solve his problems. But, I don’t have the power to help him out of his situation! But it is nothing impossible with our heavenly Father. For his is the power!

Power belongs to God, the Bible says. The psalmist says, “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God” (Psalm 62. 11). King Solomon prayed, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all” (1 Chr 29.11,12). In Revelation we read, “I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” (Rev 19.1).

Dear child of God, He has all the power to answer all my prayers! And that of the whole world which is in need! Do you believe it? Then tell it to God, your Father in heaven. Jesus has encouraged you to believe that God is a far better and much greater Father to you than your earthly father who loves you and wants to do everything possible to help you out of all your troubles but does not have the power to do so! (Mt 7.11).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, for You have the power to answer all my prayers. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

For Yours Is The Kingdom

FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM. MATTHEW 6.13 (MKJV)

There are about two hundred independent nations in the world today. We see more and more kingdoms of men being established on earth and their will being done in every nation. In these times, we Christians should not only pray, “Your (God’s) kingdom come’, but be asserting in our hearts, ‘Yours (God’s) is the kingdom’. If we are not careful and consistent in doing so, we will be overwhelmed by what is happening around us and in the world. We will lose our faith in God and the hope that one day soon, He will establish His kingdom on earth.

The kingdoms of the earth belong to the Lord God Almighty. But strangely, God has given authority to Satan for a time. He is setting people against God and ruining their lives through self-will and sin. The Bible calls Him, ‘the prince of this world’. Remember, once he tempted Jesus! “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’ ” (Mt 4.8-10). Though the devil had the power to offer Jesus ‘the kingdoms of this world’, Jesus knew that God had the ultimate power and say. He is the only One to be worshipped, even by the Devil.

You and I are to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. To submit to the devil and to give in to his deception is to bring defeat in your life! Instead, you must keep asserting that the kingdom belongs to the Lord - “Yours is the kingdom!” Our declaration will build up our confidence in God and His authority in the world and in our lives. Then, whatever happens in the world, or even to us by the evil devices of the devil, will not shake our faith in the ultimate victory that is ours through our Sovereign Lord God Almighty.

In the book of Revelation we read - The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11.15).

Dear believer, even as you are assailed by the temptations and evils of the devil each day, keep affirming “Yours in the kingdom”. You will build up your confidence and trust in God and His will, and overcome evil.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I acknowledge that Yours alone is the kingdom. May You reign in me and make me do Your will. Amen.

Deliver Us From Evil

DELIVER US FROM EVIL. Matthew 6.13.

Once I went over to visit a Christian family who wanted counselling and prayer. They were obviously attacked by the Evil One! Describing the behaviour of their grown up son, both the parents told me that when he is in a rage, he looks and acts like a ‘devil’.

The Lord faced many situations like that during His ministry. It is no wonder He taught us to pray to the Father in heaven, “deliver us from evil”. Many new versions have it as “deliver us from ‘the Evil One’”, as it seems to convey the concept in the original. To me, both deliver me from ‘evil’ and the ‘Evil One’ are equally important. It is the ‘Evil One’ that brings ‘the evil’ on you and me. He is the ‘One’ who makes you and I do evil too!

Everyday, you and I and the whole world are inflicted by the Evil One with all kinds of evil – violence, crime, sickness, calamity, pain and even death. Whether some of them are committed by people or due to natural causes or calamities and disasters, the Bible reveals that they are all through the instigation or initiative of the Evil One. The sad story of the righteous man Job of old is proof enough of this.

Once during a flight home after a ministry trip, when I was high up in the clouds, my thoughts turned to the dramatic scene in heaven where Satan contended with God. He got God’s permission, not once but twice, to unjustly inflict Job! Suddenly I realised that through the story of Job, God was graciously opening the heavens for a little while and letting us witness things beyond our common sight and hearing. God was showing that it is not He but Satan who is the author of all evil.

For His own special reason and in His divine wisdom, God allows Satan to inflict evil on us. Nevertheless, Jesus encourages us to pray to our Father to deliver and protect us from the Evil One and all evil. My wife and I pray this prayer every day as we witness the tragedies of people around us and in the world.

Dear believer, you and I and the whole world need to be delivered from the evil that people commit and also that Satan inflicts on us. Our heavenly Father has the power to deliver us. You should pray daily so that you and others may escape from all evil and especially the Evil One, with the Father’s help.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, deliver and protect me from evil. Amen.

Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation

DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION. Matthew 6.13. (MKJV)

Notice today’s text in the New King James version. It says, “Do not lead us not into temptation”. This would give you the impression that it is God who leads you into temptation! But the Bible teaches us clearly that, “when tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (Jas 1.13).

The apostle James explains ‘how and why’ we sin? “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (Jas 1.14,15).

While God doesn’t lead you into temptation, the Bible teaches that He can both ‘allow you to be tempted or keep you from being tempted!’ Look with me at today’s text in two other versions of the Bible which make these principles clear: ‘Don't allow us to be tempted. (GOD’S WORD VERSION) ‘Keep us from being tempted’ (CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION). Both are in God’s power and so we pray, “Do not lead us into temptation”.

Think of some sin that you have committed in the past. You told a lie, stole money, or committed adultery. Had circumstances been different, you wouldn’t have been tempted and committed those sins. Think of Achan not having seen ‘the tempting gold bar’ (Jos 7.21) or King David not having spotted ‘the tempting bathing beauty, Bethsehba!’ (2 Sam 11.2). Here lies the importance of praying to our Father every day, ‘Lead us not into temptation’ or ‘Don't allow us to be tempted’ or ‘Keep us from being tempted’! Don’t take this prayer lightly. Jesus wouldn’t have asked us to pray this prayer if it wasn’t for our safety. Keep praying it without ceasing and you may stay away from sin!

One other point of importance to us is: The word ‘temptation’ is translated ‘trial’ in some versions. Trials are our common experience. They may be severe at times. The Lord teaches us that we can and we need to pray to our Father in heaven to ‘keep us from trials’ or not to allow them in our lives! Surely He will deliver you from many.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for teaching me to pray daily, ‘Lead me not into temptation (and trials)’. Hear my prayer O, Father, Amen.

Give Us Our Daily Bread

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. MATTHEW 6.11

The whole world is labouring for its daily bread. It had been so from the beginning and it will be so to the end. Only that the sweat and struggle for it are increasing day by day. Our forefathers worked for their bread during day and rested at night. But today, with the advent of artificial lights, we are now truing our nights also into day and toiling twenty-four hours to feed our stomachs and pamper our tastes for luxury. No wonder, it is taking its toll on our lives and we live shorter lives and unhealthy ones too.

The time has come for everyone, especially we Christians, to re-think the philosophy of life. Instead of following the ‘herd instinct’ of our present times we need to re-define the purpose of our lives and the reason for our labour. During the days of the Lord Jesus on earth, he noticed that everyone, the Jew and the Gentile, the believers and the pagans alike, were living hectic lives labouring for their daily needs.

Jesus cautioned His disciples and said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? .. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Mt 6.32,32).

Dear friend, while we all have to work for a living, we do not have to live to work day and night to feed our appetite for wealth. We must work hard and earn enough for us and to share with others in need, the Bible says. The Bible clearly teaches, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph 4.28). If you do not work, you should not eat, the apostle Paul said.

Dear believer, if you have little or no time to read your Bible and pray each day, to attend your church on Sundays, spend time with your spouse, children and friends, pursue your hobby or exercise your body, then you are too busy! It is time to say to yourself, ‘Enough is Enough’. Stop killing yourself working for money that will perish with you and start living and enjoying what you already have!

Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” He told them to set priorities in their lives and trust their father in heaven for all their needs. He said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”( Mt 6.25, 33,34). Jesus was talking about your Father in heaven providing your daily needs.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to set my priorities in life right and live and work with divine wisdom, trusting in Your goodness and not in my labour. Amen.

Your Will Be Done

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. MATTHEW 6.10.

You look around and what you see everywhere in the world is that people are doing whatever they ‘will’. No one is concerned whether what they do is right or wrong, good or bad for themselves or others! Do you know that all this started with the first man, Adam and his wife Eve, in the garden of Eden? God had told them clearly what was His will for them and that it was good for them. “The LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen 2.16,17). The Lord gave them a beautiful and bountiful garden full of trees with all kinds of fruits which they could freely eat. But He did not allow them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because He knew that knowledge would only destroy them!

But Adam and Eve decided to carry out their own will through the deception and encouragement of Satan. They disobeyed God’s will. It brought pain, sorrow and death for them and for all their progeny! For from that day, people began to follow their own will in defiance of God. The outcome is the destruction we are bringing on ourselves through our individual and collective pursuit of self-will and disobedience to God’s will!

But from the day man fell in sin through self-will, God has been making provision to save us from self-destruction. By the sacrifices of animals through the centuries, and ultimately the One Eternal Sacrifice on the cross by Jesus Christ God’s Son, He put away sin and death for all those who were and are willing to believe in Him and obey His will.

Dear believer, let us be honest. You who pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” can expect it to be happen only if you increasingly allow the will of God be done in your life. The more you pursue your own ways and the less you follow after the will and ways of God, you will not see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. But when you increasingly submit to God’s will and help others too to do it, His kingdom will advance on earth.

Remember Jesus. Not in Eden but in another garden, Gethsemane, Jesus was faced with the greatest trial and struggle of His life. There, He set us an example to follow. He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Lk 22.42).

Dear believer, be willing to pray like Jesus everyday. With His help, begin to obey God’s will and do the things that please Him and not yourself.
Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for doing things my way and not according to Your will or even against Your will. Help me to want to do Your will and not mine and give me the strength to do it! Amen.

Your Kingdom Come

YOUR KINGDOM COME. MATTHEW 6.10.

I am sure you have prayed now and again, “Your kingdom come”, as I have. Let us pause for a moment and think about what we have been praying for. Are we really concerned about the kingdom of God? Do you really want and expect God’s kingdom to come? Or are you too involved with this world that you don’t have any time to care about God and His Kingdom? It may be quite natural because what you see is what you are concerned about and what affects you is what is important to you. But we, as God children and people of God, need to develop a Kingdom perspective. If not, it is meaningless to profess that you are a Christian!

Jesus came “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. “The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” We have repented and believed the good news. Therefore our lives are to be different from the people of this world. Our priority should be ‘the kingdom of God’ and not this world. Jesus saw that the Jews, the ‘then people of God’, were as anxious and as involved with the things of this life as the pagans who had no God. He warned them and said, “Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Mt 6.31-34).

Jesus wants us to live our ordinary lives in this world. But He wants us to be God’s kingdom-minded and involved in it. Before He ascended to the Father, He prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (Jn 17.15-17).

You might not have been mindful about the Kingdom of God because of your preoccupation with this present world. But the very reason why the Lord included, “Let Your kingdom come”, in that short model prayer, compels you to make it the priority of your daily life. Remember, Jesus as a boy of twelve told His mother Mary, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"(Lk 2.49). It is time that you take heed and do things that show you belong to God and not to this world!

Dear believer, you will never be a loser if you obey the Lord and begin to seek first the kingdom of God and start living as its citizen doing God’s will. When you do that, the promise of the Lord to you is “all the things you need in this world will be given to you” – for your Father knows what you need.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, in the midst of all the hurry burry of this life, help me to be mindful of the fact that I belong to Your kingdom and that I must always be careful to do things to please You and advance Your kingdom. Amen.

Hallowed Be Your Name

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME. MATTHEW 6.9.

Our prayers would have been so self-centred and mere mundane requests had it not been for the Lord teaching us to pray! How privileged are we because the Lord Jesus opened the windows of prayer and showed us how sublime and extended it could be, that it would reach all heaven and the earth.

Prayer is defined in the ‘dictionary’ as simply ‘asking or making a request’ - to God. But in the model prayer, the Lord taught that before we approach our Father with our pleas we should seek first, God and His glory! What a revelation! He emphasised this to the disciples further by telling them that before they seek their own earthly needs, they should “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these (worldly) things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6.33) It is ‘the Kingdom principle’ by which you are called to live as the disciples of Jesus.

So, the Lord taught us to begin our prayers ‘by hallowing’ the Father’s Name! It is to glorify the Father’s Name. Many Christians are unfamiliar with this aspect of our faith and spiritual life. The Christian creed and catechism clearly state that the first and foremost purpose of our existence is to glorify God our maker. That should be the chief aim of your life.

Some of the important prayers of the Bible either begin or end (or sometimes both) by hallowing or glorifying or exalting God . The apostle Paul’s prayers excel in praise and glory to God the Father. “To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Phil 4.20), is a frequent expression in his prayers. The prayer of the apostle Jude is a classic example for us to follow, “To him (God) who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1.24,25).

So it was in the best tradition of the saints and based on the fundamental principle of our faith and according to the passion of His own life that the Lord taught us to begin our prayers ‘glorifying our Father in heaven’. It will do well for you therefore to spend a little while praising God and glorifying His Name before you venture into your own requests. After all, when you think of it, the things that we need and what we are going to ask for are ‘nothing impossible’ to our Father, who is the Sovereign Lord God Almighty, who is the maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all that are in it!

So, dear believer, take time to sit still in the presence of your Father in heaven and let your mind concentrate and your thoughts centre on Him and His greatness and glory, and thus hallow His name. It is not through the mere mouthing of the words , “Hallowed be your name”, as a magic phrase that God is glorified but in the devotion of your heart, mind and body. Let Him be pleased with you to answer your prayers.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, be pleased as I sit still in Your presence and centre my thoughts on You and offer You glory, praise and honour. Please answer my humble prayers. Amen.

Our Father IN HEAVEN

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. MATTHEW 6.9.

We are so privileged that the God to whom we pray, after all, is also our Father. Jesus taught us that He is in heaven. He is also our ‘Heavenly or Divine’ Father. Unlike our ‘earthly fathers’, who the Lord said are ‘evil’, the Father in heaven is ‘all together good’.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus repeatedly asks us to pray and assures us of answers from the Father who knows our needs. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Mt 7.7-11).

Heaven is the dwelling place of God our Father. He is enthroned in heaven and worshipped by myriads of angelic hosts who obey His commands and minister to us. Unlike your father on earth, your heavenly Father, because He is God Almighty, knows all your needs and that of all the peoples of the earth. He has the power to meet them. Do you know that from heaven He sees you, hears your prayers and comes down to answer you? Listen to what God had to say to Moses about His response to the cry of His people who were slaves in Egypt. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..” (Exo 3.7,8).

Though our Father in Heaven responds to our cry, sometimes, answers do not come quickly and the way we expect. It is not just our own experience but it had been so for God’s people before us. The great prophet Isaiah once cried out to God, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! …Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways” (Isa 64 1-5).

Dear believer, keep praying to your Father in heaven. For He sees all things, hears everyone, and comes down from heaven to answer your prayer! Jesus told his disciples a parable (of the widow and the unrighteous judge) to show them that they should always pray and not give up! For Jesus also said, “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly” (Lk 18). Don’t give up! For you are praying to God who is your Heavenly Father!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You are my Father in heaven and You are my God. You know all things. You are Almighty. You are merciful and kind to hear my cry and answer me. Amen.

OUR FATHER In Heaven

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. Mat 6.9

A young businessman who had recently accepted Christ through a crisis, once told me that he ‘didn’t know how to pray’. He said that he was intimidated because his Christian friends could pray ‘long and fantastic prayers!’ I had to tell him to forget about his friends and learn to talk to God ‘as you would talk to your own father’. Only now, you are talking to ‘your Father in heaven!’

The disciples saw Jesus praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." Dear believer, no one might have taught you to pray, like they did in those days. But don’t be disheartened. You have “The Spirit who helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Rom 8.26). The Spirit also helps you to pray. He also enables you to call God, Abba Father!” (Rom 8.15).

Jesus told the disciples, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11.27). He came to reveal God our Father to us. Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. He taught them to call on “their Father in heaven” and pray to Him and tell Him the things He taught them to say.

Jesus knew that prayer was the means to be in touch with God His Father. Hence, praying was important to Him. Jesus constantly prayed. He prayed early in the morning, during the day, at night, and at times, all night. It is interesting to note that often Jesus addressed His prayer to ‘the Father’, while in the Old Testament and the New Testament people called on ‘God Almighty’. What a difference! The mention of God inspires awe – fear, but addressing God as our Father endears Him to us and removes all fear. That is why even a child can pray.

How important to you is your prayer? Are you accustomed to praying to the Father regularly? Or do you call on Him only when emergencies turn up or you have some great need? You don’t wait for a crisis to go to your father to talk to him, do you? Prayer is your privilege and honour. It puts you directly in touch with your Father God in heaven - not sermons or even church attendance! I lost my dear father over fifty years ago. I lost my privilege to talk to him. But I will never have to lose touch with my Father in heaven, as long as I have breath to pray. Use the means of prayer and be in touch with your Father, as often as you can. You don’t need time and space to call on Him. But don’t neglect to find a place and the time to pray everyday.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, thank You for revealing God Almighty as my Father in heaven. Thank You for making prayer as simple as making my requests to my Father. Amen.