Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Born Through His Word

YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN NOT OF PERISHABLE SEED, BUT OF IMPERISHABLE, THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING WORD OF GOD. 1 Peter 1.23.

There are many best-seller books in the world. Some are good but not all. But the Bible is the top best-seller every year and of all the years added up together. That is not the only difference between the Holy Bible and all the other publications. The apostle Peter brings out the most important differences of all! It is ‘imperishable! Living! And Enduring!

Most importantly, “you have been born again through the Word”. There is no other book in all the world that can change a person ‘inside out’ and ‘transform him from a common sinner to a virtual saint!’

I have read the Dale Carnegie books like “How to win friends and influence people” and Norman Vincent Peale’s book on ‘Positive thinking’. I owe much of my own personal development to the Dale Carnegie course. These and other books have changed me to much extent. But they could not save my soul eternally. They could change me but not ‘transform me!’ I could not be ‘born again into the kingdom of God’ through these good and motivational books. They all stop short of changing our heart and making us whole and holy like God!

Jesus declared to a respected Jewish leader and teacher, Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3.3-5). Water speaks of the Word of God!

The second most important truth the apostle Peter teaches us about the Word of God is that it is “not perishable seed, but of imperishable, the living and enduring Word of God”.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, testified the same of the Word. Then He cautioned all, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5.17-19).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for saving my soul and transforming me through Your eternal Word. Help me to daily read it and practice its commands and encourage others to do so. Amen.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Rejoice & Mourn With Them

REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE; MOURN WITH THOSE WHO MOURN. Romans 12.15.

For some years I have been writing, preaching and teaching about ‘the ministry of the saints’ in the church. It is a greatly neglected truth about the Church. The ministry to “one another” is mentioned more than 60 times in the epistles alone! The ascending Christ instructed the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, ‘to prepare God's people for works of service’, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4.11-13). If only our ministers and saints would follow this biblical principle and practice!

My roots are in Kerala, India. I come from that ancient Christian community called the ‘Syrian Christians’. History reveals our origin as from the first converts of St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ. In obedience to the Lord’s Great Commission to preach the Gospel to the whole world, Thomas came to India. He landed near Chennai - in the south. Many were converted from Hinduism. Churches were formed and called, the St. Thomas’ Churches.

This exclusive Christian community literally practices what the apostle Paul teaches us today, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”. When there is a marriage or sickness or need in a family, the whole community will be behind them, sharing in their joy or sorrow. Many, especially the relatives and friends from the church, would come and stay with the family. They would even take over the chores of cooking the food and caring for the family and visitors. Many of the burdens of arranging the programmes and executing duties for a wedding or arranging a funeral would be handled by them, relieving the immediate family that is grieving!

In many other cultures, the friends and church members may only come and pay short visits, offering their congratulations or condolences but leaving the family to carry on rejoicing or grieving all by themselves. They do no ministering or bear any responsibility! A casual observer would see the difference in the attitude and behaviour of the ‘Syrian Christians’. They would see their Christian love and charity. That is what the world needs to see. As Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn 13.35). Let the tradition of the Syrian Christians teach and encourage you to practice one of the basic Biblical commands we have learned today – minister to one another in brotherly love.

Currently, thousands of Malaysians are crying out because of the devastation of the recent floods. You can pray, give and help in different ways. A great opportunity is before you to show God’s love and Jesus’ compassion. Begin to act and continue to do so.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, who is so full of love and compassion for the people, teach me how we can follow Your Word and respond to the needs of my fellowmen, especially of the household of faith. Amen.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Word of Christ In Our Heart

CHRIST'S MESSAGE IN ALL ITS RICHNESS MUST LIVE IN YOUR HEARTS. TEACH AND INSTRUCT ONE ANOTHER WITH ALL WISDOM. SING PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SACRED SONGS; SING TO GOD WITH THANKSGIVING IN YOUR HEARTS. Col 3.16.

There is plaque on my table in my surgery with the words, “To have found God is not the end but the beginning!” We live in times when cheap conversions are on the rise and eternal truths are peddled like barter trading – “If you accept Jesus, He will do this or that for you”. Today, we need to proclaim loud and clear the crucial truth, “To have accepted Jesus or said the sinner’s prayer is not the end but the beginning!

In order for you as a believer to have a living and growing relationship with your Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, you should acquire an increasing knowledge of His Word. To know Jesus but not to know His Word that tells of His plan and purpose for you will do no good for you. God’s will for you is revealed only in His Word, the Bible. What you get from the pulpit from your pastor or preacher each Sunday is like a pittance in a beggars bowl compared to God’s Word ! What a pity the vast majority of God’s people of today are satisfied with that! They are far too busy to spend a little time with God and His Word, to get to know Him better and to be fed each day with strong meat for greater spiritual growth. Are you worldly prosperous but spiritually impoverished!

The apostle Peter taught the believers, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pe 3,18). A seed needs to be cultivated – watered, manured – to grow and become a fruitful tree! A new born child needs to be fed and cared for to grow into a mature human being! How then, do you, a believer, expect to grow and become a fruitful Christian for God and among men without taking time to grow in the Word?

Jesus told the twelve disciples who were the chosen apostles and had the privilege of being with Him day and night, ‘You must abide/remain in Me and My words must remain/abide in you’. “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (Jn 15.6-8).

The Lord God Almighty commanded His servant Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Jos 1.8). Even before that, God told the Israelites, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deut 6.6-9).

Dear believer, do you think that God really wants you to do it? What you think matters little but those who heed it will become great and successful like Joshua! The choice is yours!!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to decide today to make time to let the Word of Christ dwell in me richly so that I may even teach and admonish others with all wisdom. Amen.

Friday, January 26, 2007

I Go Where You Go

RUTH REPLIED, "DON'T URGE ME TO LEAVE YOU OR TO TURN BACK FROM YOU. WHERE YOU GO I WILL GO, AND WHERE YOU STAY I WILL STAY. YOUR PEOPLE WILL BE MY PEOPLE AND YOUR GOD MY GOD. RUTH 1.16.

Once, I was on the phone talking to a young friend whose wedding we attended some months ago. I casually asked her, �How are you and Mike getting along?� Half�jokingly she quizzed me, �Is it always this tough?� We are living in a day when in many Western countries and now in Eastern too, marriages are splitting apart even before the honeymoon is over! An Austrian pastor while conducting a marriage recently said that in his country two in every three marriages end in divorce. Many couples do not want to commit themselves in marriage but would rather prefer �just to live together�!

I consider myself quite modern! I have nothing against the modern trends of the world or that of the younger generation. But I will not budge from the fundamental Biblical principles and practices of everyday Christian life! God-willing, I will still be teaching �Daily Practical Christian living� until the day I rest from my labours or my Lord Jesus Christ comes again in the clouds for me and all those who love His appearing!

I love Ruth! The covenant of marriage was so sacred to her that her commitment even to her mother in law, her late husband�s mother, was total! Today, the younger generation wants to rewrite our old Biblical covenant of marriage, demanding a new freedom for each one to live individually as they like! They also want to separate, if and when things get tough. But, look! Here is a Gentile, non-Christian, idol-worshipping girl who vouched to stick to the promise she made to her husband, though he was now dead! This is �ferocious loyalty� to one�s marriage vows, of which many today know nothing about!

My wife and I got married in 1955. Our only pre-marital knowledge of each other was that we met ONCE, nine months before the wedding day! All the arrangements were done by our godly parents! On the marriage day, we exchanged the solemn marital vows before God and our church. We were exhorted by the Words of Jesus, �You are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate" (Mt 19.6). From that day we knew that our lot was together forever. So we began accommodating each other more and more and we still enjoy our life together!

Young Christian men and women are getting married all over the world everyday. But sadly countless marriages of young and old couples, even that of Christians are also breaking apart! Often the reason is infidelity (unfaithfulness). The immorality, the extra-marital affairs and obscene sexual scenes so rampant in the media are watched by the innocent and vicariously enjoyed by them and they prompt slow and subtle engagement! God save us, our marriages and our helpless children!

Dear married believer, I commend to you, RUTH as your model all through your married life. Read her life-story from the Bible. Repeat the tender words of her immortal covenant once in a while to your spouse in the presence of God! Be true to it and stay together for life and enjoy it!

By the way, do you have such a solemn covenant with your God to begin with? If not make one today! Save your life and your marriage!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, today I make this solemn vow to my spouse, Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.� So help me Lord! Amen.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

God Will Freely Pardon

LET THE WICKED FORSAKE HIS WAY AND THE EVIL MAN HIS THOUGHTS. LET HIM TURN TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL HAVE MERCY ON HIM, AND TO OUR GOD, FOR HE WILL FREELY PARDON. Isaiah 55.7

Whenever one reads this portion, for that matter any portion of the Bible that mentions about the wicked or unrighteous, he immediately thinks of others and not himself! But let us take note that the verse for today is a call, a command from God to His own people, Israel at first, and now to you and I. They often left their God and turned to idolatry and the sins of the wicked nations around them. Most of the prophets that God sent condemned the sins of His own people and called them to return to Him. There was always the promise of mercy and pardon to those who repented and returned.

The problem is that when you and I do wrong and tolerate it, or even relish it, we don’t realise that we are living in sin! We begin to live in a state of ‘make-believe’ that all is well! Because we are God’s people, we assume that God will wink at our sin and we will naturally be forgiven. God’s people, let us not fool ourselves and soothe our souls by such wrong and unbiblical thinking or theology. There are no two ways about it – one for the sinner and the other for the ‘so-called’ saints, like you and I.

Listen to this interesting yet solemn verdict of God on sin and right doing. “The soul who sins is the one who will die. But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.

"But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die” (Ezek 18.21-24).

Hence, if you think that God must just wink His eye at whatever evil you do and simply accept and bless you, He will not do it! Rather, you had better heed the solemn words of the prophet Isaiah and repent immediately if you fall into any sin. Only this will restore your fellowship with the Father and open the way for His blessing and to heaven ultimately,

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I come to You in true repentance and sorrow for my folly and sin. Pardon me according to Your great mercy and give me the joy of Your salvation. Amen.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Be Like A Daniel

THREE TIMES A DAY DANIEL GOT DOWN ON HIS KNEES AND PRAYED, GIVING THANKS TO HIS GOD, JUST AS HE HAD DONE BEFORE. Daniel 6.10.

When you and I are faced with a crisis, we run to God in prayer and even tears. That is nothing great, for even the pagans pray to their gods when calamity comes! What was unique about Daniel was that he was a devout believer in His God. Whether rain or shine, he practiced his religion. He prayed to His God everyday. He prayed to His God even three times a day! He had intimacy with His God and confidence in Him.

How is your relationship with your God? To many, religion is believing in some god and going to some place of worship, keeping observances and traditions. To a Christian, religion must be a ‘relationship with his God and the Lord Jesus Christ’. To be of any benefit, it must be real and constant. Only in the measure in which you develop that relationship, God responds. You cannot develop any kind of intimate relationship with a person unless you are willing to spend time with that person! It is more so with your God.

For most Christians, there is a serious negligence of keeping in touch with their God and developing a constant relationship with Him. Consider your devotional habits and you will soon realise how shallow your relationship with your God is! I do spend a lot of time meditating on the Word of God because I have this ministry of writing devotionals to you. I thank God for the privilege. It keeps me in touch with God. We also have our morning and evening family prayer. However, I am trying to discipline my personal communion with God and seeking His face, like Daniel!

This incident in Daniel’s life never ceases to challenge me whenever I read it. It excites my passion to seek God! Seek You my God, I will! O! Lord! Let me be like Daniel on his knees three times a day, is still my prayer. Then, problems or trials great and small will be of no serious consequence, for my God will take care of them.

Dear believer, won’t you join me! Let us pledge ourselves to bend our knees and heads three times a day to God, however busy we are!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord! You know I love You and want to be with You always! I want to follow the steps of faithful Daniel and develop the holy habit of seeking Your face many times a day! Amen.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

We Will Not Serve Your Gods

"BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, WE WANT YOU TO KNOW, O KING, THAT WE WILL NOT SERVE YOUR GODS OR WORSHIP THE IMAGE OF GOLD YOU HAVE SET UP." Daniel 3.18.

Some years ago, I used to regularly visit and pray for a non-Christian friend of mine who was seriously ill with terminal cancer. I had told him about my Jesus whom I believe is the Only Saviour and the Great Physician! He and his dear wife said that they were willing to believe in Jesus provided He healed him of his cancer. A very natural statement you would expect from non-Christians who do not know Jesus Christ as God!

But the real problem is when devout Christians begin to doubt and think about Jesus the same way the non-Christians do. When they are faced with some terrible situation like a major accident or critical illness, it is natural that they believe and pray that the Lord will deliver them. But the problem comes when God doesn’t. It is then that their faith hangs in the balance!

I had a devout Christian friend who also was stricken with terminal cancer. His dear wife and daughters ardently prayed and believed for a miracle cure. All their friends and the church too prayed fervently. But he was going steadily downhill. One day, I asked the wife what the visiting doctor had to say about his condition. She told me that he gave her husband only a few days to live. Then I told her that she, her daughters and her husband too should be ready to accept whatever the will of God was! At this she was deeply agitated and upset! She asked me, “How could you say something like that when we are believing for a miracle?” The Lord took away the husband. Thank God the family’s faith survived in spite of the setback in their hope and belief!

How different was the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Look at their faith and their stand in the face of impending death in the fiery furnace. Listen to their bold statement of faith to the mighty king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

May the Lord give you such daring faith for you do not know what the future holds. In this world we shall have tribulation for sure. Jesus said so! (Jn16.33).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me the faith that will stand the test of time and trials. Help me to say with the apostle Paul, “to me to live is Christ and to die is gain!” (Phil 1.21). Amen.

Monday, January 22, 2007

The Real Conversion

ZACCHAEUS STOOD UP AND SAID TO THE LORD, "LOOK, LORD! HERE AND NOW I GIVE HALF OF MY POSSESSIONS TO THE POOR, AND IF I HAVE CHEATED ANYBODY OUT OF ANYTHING, I WILL PAY BACK FOUR TIMES THE AMOUNT." Luke 19.8.

The other day at a fellowship, there was a couple who recently accepted the Lord. All were thrilled because two precious souls were ‘eternally saved’ and joined the church and the fellowship. Later, while giving testimony, the brother said sheepishly, “I am struggling with tobacco addiction. I smoke fewer sticks since my conversion. Please pray for strength to stop completely”. We gladly prayed for this dear brother. We asked the Lord to deliver him from his sin of addiction.

Now let us look at Zacchaeus’ conversion and see how different it was. He met the Lord Jesus. Jesus went to his house. He might have made Zacchaeus aware of his sin of greediness and extortion and demanded ‘confession, repentance and restitution!’ It made Zacchaeus stand up bravely and say to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Only then did Jesus say to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham”. It was that great saint, A.W. Tozer, who used to say, ‘The tragedy in the Church of Christ today is that while He considered none saved unless he confessed his sin and turned away from it, the Church is willing to accept anyone with all his unconfused and unrepented sin and shame!’

A preacher said the other day, “We birth babies but they are still born without life or power to breath and live! We need to do what the midwives do, ‘Give a whack on the bottom and let them yell and live!’ ” I think the preacher hit the nail on the head! Jesus “shook up” Zacchaeus and awakened his conscience, dead by sin. Zacchaeus owned up his sin, repented, renounced, made restitution and never went back!

Friend, that is conversion! Jesus converts sinners and saves them! It is a pity that our churches today console sinners and comfort them! Let us beware that it will only bring about nominal Christianity without spiritual regeneration which will lead to eternal death and not life eternal!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, convict me of my sins and lead me to confession and true repentance. Today, I give up all my sin. Keep me from sinning anymore! Amen.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Is The Lord Among Us?

THEY TESTED THE LORD SAYING "IS THE LORD AMONG US OR NOT?" Exodus 17.7.

How foolish and shortsighted the Israelites were to doubt their God and ask a silly question like “Is the Lord among us or not?” Of course, they were in a dire predicament. They were thirsty because there was no water in the desert, even to quench their thirst. Worse still, their little ones were crying out for water! True, they exaggerated their situation a little when they grumbled to Moses saying, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"

You may ask how the Israelites could have forgotten the presence and power of their God in such a short time? It was just the other day, their God divided the great Red Sea and turned its depths into dry land for them to pass through. He saved them from the pursuing Pharaoh and his mighty men. They also witnessed the destruction of Egypt’s army and chariots and horses by the pounding waters of the Red Sea that closed on them at the Lord’s command. Now all they needed was a small stream in the desert! Couldn’t they have trusted in the Lord who had done all those marvellous things for them since the day He got them out of the cruel hands of the Pharaoh of Egypt?

Often times, you find yourself in the shoes of the disbelieving and grumbling Israelites. A little trouble comes and you forget all the great things the Lord has miraculously done for you in the past. Like the Israelites, you too begin to grumble against the Lord. Worse still, you begin to voice your doubts and disbelief in God. You may not be asking, “Is the LORD among us or not?" but you question, “Where is the Lord when I need Him?”

Was the Lord not with the Israelites? Yes! He was, always! The Lord never left them even for a moment, though they sinned against Him and provoked Him to anger many a time in the wilderness. They hadn’t learned to trust in the Lord enough to trust Him in all circumstances. They trusted Him when He was there to provide their every need. When there was a moment of delay or events did not turn out as they expected, they distrusted their God and turned their back on Him.

Is that what you too do? Don’t be like the faithless Israelites! Believe that the Lord is with you always for He promised, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28.20). Trust Him for the great and miraculous things He has done for you and your family in the past. Recount the times the Lord has healed you; the occasions when He has delivered you from difficult circumstances; and the good things He has blessed you with all your life. Remember them and continue trusting in His goodness, whatever the present or future may bring.

Hear the words of the Lord, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at ( the waters of ) Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did” (Psa 96.7-9).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I hear Your voice. Let Your Holy Spirit help me not to harden my heart when trials come or doubt Your presence or Your power to deliver me or sustain me through. Amen.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

We Do Not Lose Heart

SINCE THROUGH GOD’S MERCY WE HAVE THIS MINISTRY, WE DO NOT LOSE HEART. 2 Corinthians 4.1.

One Sunday morning, after a time of beautiful worship in songs and choruses in our church, the speaker, a long-time missionary from the States who is serving the Lord in Hong Kong, spoke to us. He had identified with the Chinese taxi drivers he was working with so much so that he spoke fine Cantonese and relished Peking duck and even snake soup!

That is beside the point. He spoke clearly and directly from the words of the Lord in Acts 1.8. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses". Like us, worried about the situation of our times and asking questions about the future to every preacher and prophet, the disciples once asked the Lord, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1.6,7).

Our missionary-preacher who had given his life to serve the Lord and the people at the age of 17 and left his homeland to spend most of life in Hong Kong, challenged us with strong words. He repeated clearly the words of the Lord, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth”.

We worship the Lord in our comfortable churches every Sunday very heartily. We speak and pray in tongues, having received the baptism and the ‘gift of the Holy Spirit”. We know it and we boast of it! But where is ‘The Holy Spirit’s power that you are to receive – the power to become witnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ? You cannot be a truly Spirit-baptised and Spirit-filled believer unless you have received the power that makes you a witness for Jesus Christ everyday and everywhere – it is that clear and simple said Jesus! Think about it dear believer!

What I read about Bobby Moffat, a pioneer missionary to S. Africa in 1817, challenged me greatly. It is told that as a boy, he placed himself on an offering plate during a church service, for he wanted to give himself to the Lord to serve Him!! What is it that you give to the Lord as your offering? Our coins, notes or yourself? O! that you would give yourself!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, compel me to place myself afresh on the altar each Sunday and renew my commitment to be Your witness to all I meet, in the power of Your indwelling Spirit! Amen.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

We Gladly Suffer

WE GLADLY SUFFER BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT SUFFERING HELPS US TO ENDURE. Romans 5.3. CEV.

No one gladly suffers, not even Christians! The reason is that suffering brings pain, sorrow and loss. The natural reaction to suffering is irritation, complaint, grumbling - against their 'fate' or God / gods'. Many become bitter towards life and obstinate and rebellious towards others. They have no source of consolation. They see God as cruel, uncaring and unconcerned.

The apostle Paul here speaks from his own experience. Through all his 'sufferings, tribulation or afflictions', he learned how to 'endure the suffering or persevere in the midst of it or just be patient through it' (as translated in the different versions of the Bible). Because of these godly
qualities produced in his life by his numerous sufferings, he learned to suffer gladly and even rejoice in suffering.

Here in today's text, the apostle Paul includes us and speaks for us also, "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope". We many not rejoice in our sufferings. However, it does produce in us slowly and steadily, every one of the traits Paul mentions above!

A believer sees his Father's hand in his sufferings. He has confidence in the wisdom and goodness of God. He concedes that it is necessary for his own good to be afflicted. He experiences its subduing, submitting and even the restraining power of suffering on his sinful passions.

Through your suffering patience and perseverance, Christian character and hope are sown in your life by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is the means by which these are implanted in us. Often, afflictions are the means of promoting it, when they are sanctified. This had been the experience of the apostle Paul and numerous saints throughout history. It has been the experience of my wife and myself over the years! But truthfully, we haven't yet attained St. Paul's maturity to say that we rejoice in suffering and we do not know if we ever will! But it will be worth it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You have warned me, "In this world you will have trouble!" Help me to take heart in my sufferings, because You have overcome the world and its troubles for me and You can make me an overcomer (Jn 16.33). Amen.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Overcome Evil With Good

DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD. Romans 12.21.

When I was a small boy attending my grandmother’s home Sunday School, on a prize-giving day, a teacher taught us the above Bible verse. In simple words and with little tales he managed to make us understand its meaning. Ever since, this verse has had a profound effect on my life. I hope it will have the same effect on your life too!

Evil of all kinds abound and we are constantly surrounded by it. We, as Christians, must learn early enough in life that you should not be overcome by it. A couple of years ago, we had a very nice English, expatriate couple as neighbours. Anytime, new neighbours came, we made it a point to visit and befriend them. They decided to ‘adopt’ a puppy for company for they had no children. The only problem was that the little fellow started to bark, sometimes incessantly, whether day or night! It was getting on our nerves but we didn’t want to displease them. Then at last one day we let them know.

The good thing about it was that unlike most Easterners, these Westerners didn’t get upset or angry or try to retaliate because of our complaints. They came to our home and we talked about it over a cup of tea! By the way, they are only ‘nominal Christians!’ It surprised us that they behaved better than many Christians and even obeyed the precepts of the Bible more than many ‘church-going spiritual Christians’! Surely, you and I have much to learn from such neighbours!

A long time ago, we had to make a choice between behaving like the people of the world doing ‘tit for tat’ or showing the character of God’s children - ‘not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good’. Some time ago, an acquaintance of ours made some uncalled for and even false statements about me in respect of some social commitments of mine. He even wrote letters to people who were involved. I discussed this with a lawyer friend of mine and we drafted an official letter and sent it to him. Instead of becoming convinced of his misdeeds, he reacted even more furiously.

Not knowing what to do next, my wife and I prayed about it. We agreed to respond the way today’s verse teaches us. Probably I should have done this the first time! Anyway, I wrote a nice letter to him and to all those whom he had contacted. In it, I even praised him a little for some good deeds! That helped to diffuse the situation!

The wise King Solomon said, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Pro 15.1). That is exactly what happened in our situation! I trust that you will keep today’s Bible verse in your heart and respond to life’s difficult situations according to its teaching.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to keep Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You or my neighbours. Amen.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Teaching The Young

THE OLDER WOMEN CAN TRAIN THE YOUNGER WOMEN TO LOVE THEIR HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2.3,4.

I was discussing the other day the role of the older generation in the life of the younger ones and I was surprised at what I heard from a mature, well-educated, Christian professional of the younger generation. He was only voicing the general opinion that prevails: “the older generation is outdated in their thinking and what they have to say is not relevant or applicable to the modern day life-style!” Some even go to the extent of saying that the teaching of the Scripture is old-fashioned and they need to ‘update’ it according to the times and culture of the changing world!

But the Scripture makes it very clear that what God taught our fathers and even forefathers directly through the Word and by experience are very relevant to the generations that follow. The Word of God gives clear command to the older generation to teach and train the younger ones the ways they have learned from God during their lifetime.

In today’s text, we have one such specific command to ‘the older women or mothers’ to train the younger women. What are they to teach and train? “To be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God”. Nothing could be more ‘old-fashioned than what the Word of God expects them to be, in the light of the modern day women’s lib and the lifestyle of women today! Surely God knew that! Nevertheless, He gave this command. He does not want the older generation to be silent or even condescending. If they do, they would be sowing the seed of self-destruction of the new generations. God forbid they do that!

Our eternal God expects the older generation of men and women who have tasted the goodness of the Lord and seen His severity, to fearlessly continue teaching and training the younger ones in the eternal and unchanging Word of God and the standards of lifestyle it set for the believers for all times!

Dear young believer, if the counsel and instruction of your old-fashioned parents are in accordance with the irrevocable Word of God, they will never be out-dated and irrelevant. The Words says, “Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck” (Prov 1.8,9).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, Your Word can never be out-dated. Give me the courage to be true to its teachings and practices in the midst of the changing lifestyles of a world that is destined to perish with its Godless philosophy! Amen.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Truth Will Set You Free

YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE. John 8.32.

Once in our church, we were running a course on ‘Personal holiness and temptation’. I was preparing the lessons from the text book when I came across the story of this young man who kept saying to his teacher, “But you don’t know how great MY temptation is!” He was living in sexual sin with women, always excusing himself thinking that he alone was born a super stud!

The teacher gently said, “I appreciate that!” Then he asked the young man, “But would you look with me at the Word of God?” He took a verse and showed him, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Cor 10.13).

The teacher told him “See! God says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man’. But you say your temptation is stronger than others! Someone must be terribly wrong – you or God!” For the first time, confronted by the truth of God’s Word, the young man conceded, “All along, I fooled myself into believing that my temptation was far greater than that of others. Hence, I kept on giving in to my temptation and sinning! Today, I quit!”

I remember once a young believer told me that his tobacco addiction was so great that he could not overcome. But you have the help of the Holy Spirit who by His mighty power raised Jesus Christ from the dead! What lie the devil has put in your mind to prevent you from knowing the truth! You say, ‘Your anger and outburst are ‘inborn’ and you cannot help it; the bad mouthing and sarcasm you rail at your brothers and sisters are beyond your control; the sexual sin and the extra-marital sex you live in, you cannot get out of!

Let the truth from God’s Word sink in you so that it will set you free: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5.19-21).

Dear believer, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal 6.7,8).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, please impress Your Word on my soul that I will be set free by its truth. Let me not give in to Satan’s lies that keep me sinning against You and Your Word! Amen.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Being A Christian Employee

EMPLOYEES, WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AS WORKING FOR THE LORD. COLOSSIANS 3.23.

Before a Christian worker picks up an issue with his Christian employer on what the Word of God expects of him, he should stop a while and continue to read the instructions God gives to him or her! The Scripture is never lop-sided. Its teachings are comprehensive and complete. No one should get one part of any teaching and forget its main substance! If you want to learn about any doctrine or subject from the Scriptures, you must scan through every passage that relates to it to get a full understanding of God’s mind and wisdom. You may want to look into the different versions and even search the dictionaries to be accurate in your understanding.

Now to all of us who are employees or staff or workers in any capacity and are subject to the employers or authorities, there are specific counsel and corrections in God’s Word to us. You should check your conduct and work ethics in the light of the Word of God. It has been my own experience that Christian staff or workers are more demanding and often unreasonable and lack punctuality and are even unreliable. They try to take advantage of the Christian boss and demand that they should be granted leave every time they have a personal need or there are church meetings and events. If the worker is from the boss’s church, it is even worse for he will be accused of not helping them in their spiritual life! The rest of the non-Christian staff work regularly and make no unnecessary demands. It is only natural that they begin to complain if special privileges and concessions are given to their Christian counterparts! The worst scenario is that they quarrel with you for any petty reason and leave you without even a notice and go and malign your name! I am thoroughly disappointed by the Christian workers that not only am I scared to employ them but I caution my friends against employing them just to help them out! What a tragedy!

Dear friend if you are working in a secular employment and your boss happens to be a believer, obey him in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. If your work does not allow you to go for all the church meetings, camps and retreats, either you have to forgo them or find another suitable job. You should not take advantage of your believing boss or seek favouritism. You must work harder, more efficiently and set an example to the non-Christians. They should see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me by my conduct, action and words to provide opportunities to others to know what I believe and Whom I believe and seek to please. Amen

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Masters, Be Fair & Just

MASTERS BE FAIR AND JUST IN THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR SLAVES. REMEMBER THAT YOU TOO HAVE A MASTER IN HEAVEN. Colossians 4.1. GNB

The other day, I was told that a young lady comes home from work at 4 am. She works in a busy advertising agency. They have deadlines to meet. Her boss wants to see that everything is done in a hurry. Another young friend of mine works as an accountant and comes home on many nights as late as 8 or 9 pm and goes to work again early in the morning. These mothers do not get to see their little children before they are put to bed by the maids or husbands. They are off again before the children are awake in the morning.

The whole commercial world has turned topsy-turvy. There is a huge hunger for massive profits and corporations are pressing their employees for excessive and unreasonable hours of work. I read in the newspaper the other day, that a big bank in town had made over 2 billion in profits this year, compared to one billion last year! What do you think the CEO is planning for the next fiscal year? Double or triple the profits mostly by overworking the existing staff!

In the civil service, the employees work ‘8 to 4 or 9 to 5’, or about eight hours a day. Any extra hour of work is considered ‘overtime’ and they are paid double for it. There is no such rule in the commercial sector. The authorities insist that the subordinate staff work only a maximum of 48 hours a week in many countries. In order to circumvent the rule, the commercial sector promotes the staff to the executive level and avoids paying overtime!

Some bosses get to work very late after their morning golf but they sit at their desk late into the night. No one is to leave the office before the boss leaves, whether they have work or not! Whether slaves or employees, the teaching of the Word of God is, “Masters, be fair and just in the way you treat them”.

If the ‘masters, CEOs and bosses’ do not obey the Word but take unfair advantage of their staff, then, the staff, especially Christians, individually and collectively may begin to exert gentle pressure for their legitimate rights. It is not right for a man or woman, especially one with a family and children, to be kept in the office beyond reasonable hours. Many women are CEOs today and they treat their staff harsher then the men! All these injustices must cease.

If you are a Christian boss, then begin to obey God’s Word. Treat your staff and subordinates justly and fairly. If you are a Christian staff or worker, re-consider your priorities about family, personal devotion and spiritual activities. Pray and make changes in your job if the situation is impossible. Take a job with less work and stress and perhaps less pay. But whatever you do, when you are at it, work much harder so that you can finish faster and get home to be with your family. Those of you who are on your own, decide on ‘what is enough!’ Don’t push yourself and others beyond the limits, just for personal financial gains. It is not worth it because you will lose your health, your spouse and children, and even your God!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your Word is a light to my path and a lamp to my feet. It instructs me about every area of my life. Help me to take action to safeguard my family and above all my spiritual life. Amen.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Spiritual Growth Parameters

WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH. PROVERBS 29.18.

We are living in a day when every one has a vision or ambition or purpose in life. From kindergarten kids to the corporate leaders it is the same! But it will surprise any honest Christian leader that their people are the only ones on this planet who have no such plans, not for this life but for their spiritual welfare!

The beginning of the year is a good time for you and I to take stock of our spiritual life and to assess our progress and plan for our future. Here is something I drew up for our Home Fellowship. You should use it as a guide and plan for making progress during this year. Plan to grow from where you are now to the very top, with God’s help!

A PROGRESS CHECK AND VISION (EXPECTATION) FOR THE YEAR 2007 AND BEYOND!

(circle appropriate ones)

SPIRITUAL GROWTH PARAMETERS:

1. PERSONAL DEVOTION
a. BIBLE READING regular irregular sometimes seldom
b. BIBLE STUDY regular irregular sometimes seldom
c. PRIVATE PRAYER regular irregular sometimes seldom

2. SUNDAY MEETING regular irregular sometimes seldom
Preparation yes occasional no;
Punctual yes / occasional / no;
Participation yes / occasional / no;
Tithes yes / irregular / no;
Sermon application yes / occasional / no

3. AREA OR HOME FELLOWSHIP regular irregular sometimes seldom

4. DAILY PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN LIVING good / not so good / trying / not trying

5. MINISTERING TO OTHERS: ( Tick: 1=regularly 2 =sometimes 3=none)
Intercession ( 1 2 3 ) Fellowship (1 2 3 ) Contact ( 1 2 3 )
Encouragement (1 2 3 ) Practical help ( 1 2 3 )

TRY TO FIND A CHRISTIAN FRIEND AND WORK AS A PAIR for effective implementation:

N.B KEEP THIS SLIP IN YOUR BIBLE AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT EACH MONTH! IT WILL BE A GOOD CHALLENGE TO YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, you desire that I bear fruit and more abundantly. Help me to constantly strive to progress in my spiritual life. Help me to find a friend so that we could be of mutual encouragement and help. Amen.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Our Declaration of Faith

WE MUST CONTINUE TO HOLD FIRMLY TO OUR DECLARATION OF FAITH. HEBREWS 10.23.

It is still early in the new year into which the good Lord has allowed you to enter. As a medical doctor and a social leader, let me remind you that you are one of the truly fortunate ones in this world of ours. Want, sickness, sadness and calamity haunt the human being in many places! Do not forget God’s favours to you. Even more, let not the goodness of the Lord make you forget Him! The simple reason I remind you of this is because on every side I see God’s people blessed by Him becoming so busy that they neglect their God.

The other day, I was in a Chinese Restaurant with my family. The place was full. Business was brisk. But I noticed the prosperous owner with his huge smoky joss sticks swaying at the altar of his god and all around the place. He did it in deep reverence and gratitude to his gods, and regardless of the hundreds of clients eating, drinking and chatting away. I drew the attention of my family and asked, “Do you think any Christian would dare acknowledge His TRUE AND LIVING GOD like these people whom we call pagan idol worshippers?” They knew the answer and we kept looking at him!

Two things your God asks you to concentrate on this year and in the years to come. Read today’s portion below.

1. You must continue to hold firmly to your declaration of faith (v 23). Build up your faith. Don’t lose your faith as many are! Are you daily making any effort to grow by reading God’s Word and by prayer? If not, why not? For there is no escape (vs 26-31).

2. You must also consider how to encourage each other. You must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming (v 24,25). Just as much as you can lose your faith, your fellow believers in your group can too! God is commanding you twice in this portion alone to encourage and minister to one another. Atleast 60 times, this “ministering to one another to edify the church” appears in the New Testament. Shouldn’t you begin to do something for others to help them in their faith? The God who asked Cain in Eden, “Where is your brother?” will one day ask you the same question? What answer would you give? Start today before it is too late.

I would to God that our churches and leaders and all our members would take heed of God’s command and warning and begin to respond from the very outset of 2007. May the Good Lord bless our souls much more than our health and finances this year!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4.18). Amen.

Friday, January 5, 2007

All Souls Are Mine

BEHOLD ALL SOULS ARE MINE …THE SOUL WHO SINS SHALL DIE. Ezekiel 18.4.

One Sunday morning, we went to church as usual. Ours is a big church with a crowd nearing 1,800 people at each service. It is a thrill to shake hands with many, knowing that we all belong to the people of God. There is a wonderful sense of joy to be in the midst of hundreds and thousands of people who are ‘saved’. They are all people who had been sinners – ‘small sinners and big sinners’, if there is anything like that! We were all destined to die in our sins for that is what God says in today’s text: “THE SOUL WHO SINS SHALL DIE”. We all have escaped ‘spiritual death or second death or separation from God eternally’ because God has graciously forgiven all our sins as we accepted Jesus as our Saviour.

We came out of our church and drove through the crowded streets passing along the jungle of tall apartment blocks where thousands upon thousands of our city people live. I felt sick in my soul when I thought that most of them do not know our Saviour and they are living in their sin. I felt sad and frustrated thinking of the verse, “THE SOUL WHO SINS SHALL DIE”.

Once, my wife and I attended the wedding reception of a friend. A couple with their two little children came and sat at our table. We made friends and during our conversation I noticed a little cross pendent on the wife’s neck. That provided an open door for witnessing. I asked her husband who was next to me, “Are you Christians?” He smiled and said, “My wife and children go to church but I don’t”. As we continued conversing, the lady said, “You should hear my little daughter and son pleading with their father to go to church with them”. They tell him, “If he doesn’t, they won’t be able to see him in heaven!’”

O! that the Lord would give you, who are saved, a passion for the souls of people around you – your relatives and friends! Friend, you will see them in hell tormented if you don’t pull them out from its gates. Jesus said it so believe it! (Lk 16.23), Listen to the apostle Paul, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Cor 9.2). Go ahead and do it! Be it by your prayers, tears, actions and words too!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You came from heaven to seek and save me from my sin and the torment of hell. You gave Your life for me. Lord, help me to do everything possible to save others who are around me. Amen.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Before I Even Speak

BEFORE I EVEN SPEAK A WORD YOU KNOW WHAT I WILL SAY. Psalm 139.4. (CEV)

We had our evening prayer around our dinner table. I thanked God for many blessings including our creation – wonderful and mysterious. Later, as I was telling my wife that God has marvelously made us out of billions of different cells with all the complicated DNA etc. all functioning in precision, she said, “When God spoke, everything including man came into being!” Being a medical scientist, I remarked, “But He must have had the blue print in His mind!” She added, “Isn’t it hard to believe that Some One created it all?” I said, “To a scientist it must be harder to believe that nobody rather than Some One did it!”

Later as I sat reading today’s Bible text, it was a fascinating revelation of God which was both consoling and encouraging. “Before I even speak a word, He knows what I will say, but with His powerful arm He will protect me from every side”. Soon it was bed time. I cast all my anxious thoughts on my wonderful Creator God. Soon I was in deep slumber like a babe!

In today’s psalm, a song of King David, he lays down this great doctrine, ‘That the God with whom we have to do has a perfect knowledge of us, and that all the motions and actions both of our inward and of our outward man are naked and open before him’ (Mathew Henry). So often when you are faced with pressing problems of life and wonder ‘where God is or whether He knows our situation’, it is good to turn to this wonderful psalm and assure yourself of the “omniscience ” (all-knowing character) and the omnipotency (all-powerful character) of our God.

If this God created me in my mother’s womb ever so mysteriously that the scientists wonder at the marvel of my body and mind, why shouldn’t I trust Him to take care of me? The psalmist says, “God’s thoughts (about me) are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine” (v.17). When you are going through trials and temptations, the revelations about God in this psalm may not make much sense. But keep believing it is true, for it is the Word of God! It has to be true! Listen to the apostle Paul’s argument, “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom 3.3,4).

Why don’t you make a strong commitment to trust God at all times, come what may!” He has promised “never to leave you or forsake you!”(Heb 13.5).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I trust in You and entrust all my cares to You. Keep me through all life’s temptations and trials. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Teaching Our Children

WHOEVER TRUSTS IN THE LORD SHALL BE SAFE. Proverbs 29.25

After the United States was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, President Bush called on Congress to create a Department for Homeland Security. The job of this agency was to do everything possible to keep its citizens safe.

Do you have an “internal security plan” for your household to keep others from endangering you and your children? Our world is full of easy access to harmful outside forces. You and your family are constantly bombarded by every kind of evil in the name of news, information and entertainment! How do you protect yourself and your family, especially the vulnerable children?

Apart from the evil influences affecting your character, today’s mass media is simply killing your precious time and stopping you from doing things useful and profitable. Lately, I heard the lament of some parents about how their brilliant boys who passed their school finals with all distinctions, did very badly in their college examinations. The reason, ‘the English Football League matches’ aired for the foolish world to sit up and watch day or night! Twenty-two white burly guys chasing after a ball and scoring a few goals! They make mega bucks while the rest of the world is becoming poorer in health and wealth! Parents should discipline themselves to shut their TVs off and take away their children’s hand phones while studying. Discipline them to concentrate on their studies!

Here are some suggestions for your spiritual safety and that of your children which I gathered some time ago:

1. Take charge of the media. Instead of allowing makers of TV programmes and movies to dictate what you watch and hear, use biblical guidelines to evaluate the language and morality of what you and your children see and listen to.

2. Check out their friends. The standards of your children's friends may not match yours. Make your home a haven where their friends are welcome. It'll help you get to know them.

3. Build shields. By teaching your children biblical principles and encouraging their faith, you'll help them to be discerning and to build inner shields that will protect them from the common dangers they face today.

Dear Christian parent, you have to take control of your life and that of your family, especially that of your growing children. ‘The parents know best’ is certainly true when your family is still young. You make the rules and let your children obey them. When children are still too young to know what is good or bad for them, it is only foolish to sit and discuss terms with them! The fundamental and basic rules for families are the same anywhere in the world. You won’t go very wrong in enforcing them in your household. I heard of a young lad who was busy negotiating with his parents about his future! What are parents for anyway? To take orders from kids? No! It is to train up a child in the way he should go so that he will not depart from it when old (Prov 22.6). May the Lord help you this new year and always.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, when the popular trend today is not to discipline children at all so that they will not be ‘inhibited in life’, help me to discipline myself and my children according to the precepts of Your unchanging Word for the safety of our own souls. Amen.