Goodness & Love

SURELY GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. Psalm 23.6

We live in times when nothing is certain, most of all life and all its goodness that we enjoy. Today you may be in the pink of health, enjoying wealth and everything is going good for you. But about tomorrow you cannot boast! All may turn topsy-turvey. Malaysia is a beautiful country that is prosperous and hasn’t suffered any major natural calamity. But recently, a heavy monsoon came suddenly and our southern states especially were hit with unprecedented floods! Thousands of people had to be evacuated from their comfortable homes to relief centres by boat!

To know that many today are also living in the shadow of losing the loving relationships they enjoy, is most disheartening! Sometimes I get letters from readers who sorrowfully relate the sad tale of spouses who, for some reason or the other, stop loving them and begin to fight and even threaten to separate. Unfortunately, divorces are already common in our ‘so-called progressive societies!’

All these simply show us that we cannot take the goodness and love we enjoy today for granted! We should ever be grateful to God and our country and dear ones for the life we enjoy day by day. We should also develop a trust and confidence in God that will enable us to overcome any trials and testing, before they come!

King David who had gone through all kinds of trouble in life from circumstances and from people around him, learned to trust in his God. He learned that when everything went wrong, he could still trust in the goodness and love and mercy of his God! David as a lad was a shepherd. He was a good shepherd who risked his life often to save his sheep from bears and lions! He saw in his Lord God, a Good Shepherd - One who could be trusted more than he could trust himself or any other. David believed that the Lord was not only a Good Shepherd to him but also a Great Shepherd, for he was the Almighty one! He believed and was convinced of his hope that whatever happened to him, “Surely goodness and love of His Lord will follow him all the days of his life”. Do you know that the Bible says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”? (Heb 11.1). Such was David’s faith.

Dear believer, I do not know what trouble or trial you are going through at this time but you need a vital and living faith and hope in your Lord God almighty. Only these will enable you to overcome all your ills and woes!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me such convincing faith and hope in You so that I can keep assuring myself like David, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”. Amen.

Wisdom vs. Rubies

WISDOM IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES; NOTHING YOU DESIRE CAN COMPARE WITH HER. Proverbs 3.15.

Wisdom comes with age and knowledge by learning. While knowledge makes a man proud, true wisdom makes a person humble! It is wisdom that helps one to put his knowledge into usefulness and profit. Today many, no, all are thirsting and clamouring for knowledge for the simple reason that it is the path to wealth and happiness. My grandson and two granddaughters are already in college though they haven’t crossed their teens!

But knowledge puffs up and hence many even neglect God. Some even feel it is unbecoming and shameful to believe in God and acknowledge Him in life. It has become fashionable to throw God out the window. Some feel that what they are and what they have is attained by their sheer hard work and intelligence. Why then should they acknowledge God and carry Him on their shoulders only to be an unwanted burden?

A worldling could have all the knowledge but only a divine person could have true wisdom. For true wisdom comes from God. The Bible says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9.10). That is the reason we should teach our younger generation to fear God and reverence Him. They should learn to grow like Baby Jesus, “He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk 2.52).

We live in a day when parents blatantly discard the disciplining of their little ones, following the current trend which is unbiblical! Indiscipline is rampant among the older Christians too, showing our lack of divine wisdom! The apostle James tells us the difference between the wisdom from heaven and the earth; wisdom that is spiritual and unspiritual; wisdom that is of God and of the devil. He asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Ja 3.13-17).

Dear believer, constantly read God’s Word and receiving His wisdom will place you in good stead before God and men. Billy Graham, the famous evangelist once said that he reads a chapter a day from Proverbs. If you do that, you won’t bring yourself under God’s judgment for disobeying any of God’s Ten commandments!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, grant me Your divine wisdom that is more precious than rubies; nothing I desire can compare with it. Teach me to apply that wisdom in my life and in bringing up my children. Amen.

Looking For Miracles?

THOUGH JOHN NEVER PERFORMED A MIRACULOUS SIGN, ALL THAT JOHN SAID ABOUT THIS MAN WAS TRUE. John 10.41.

We live in a day when the Christians are clamouring for the spectacular and miraculous! Jesus condemned the Jews for their unbelief because they wanted to see miracles before they could believe. If you are to wait for miracles to place your trust in Jesus, you would die unbelieving! The Lord Jesus Christ would condemn our attitude of hungering for the gift but not longing for the Giver!

The way many of God’s people and even their leaders clamour for the miracles and the miracle-workers is unbelievable! Any prophet can come and ‘prophesy’ anything, and God’s people will swallow it without discernment! He would prophesy over a hundred people and if one comes true, only that will you hear! No one ever cares to speak about the ninety-nine that didn’t come true. Sometime ago, a prophetess came and proclaimed that Malaysia would become a Christian nation in 2020 or even before! The word is going across the country like wild fire. But no nation on earth is going to be Christian unless we Christians conquer the people by the sword like some old Mogul emperors did, and convert them by force!

I have been claiming the promise of Psalm 2.8, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession”, for the past 15 years. But I know that the Church is not going to possess the nations or the earth, for the prophetic Word of God says that nations are kept for His final judgment. However, I am persuaded that the unprecedented growth of the Church by more than a hundred thousand per day across the world is in answer to all our prayers, claiming that promise of Psalm 2.8.

Great ‘healers’ come and we fill our stadiums with the sick, the lame, the paralysed and the dying by publicising ‘miracle crusades!’ Almost all who come, go away just as they came! No one is bothered and no one seems to be accountable to men or even to God! Even if one spectacular miracle of healing takes place, still it cannot justify our misrepresentation of the truth!

So, where does all this leave you and I, poor Christians with no miraculous gifts? The testimony of the people about John the Baptist should encourage us. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true." Jesus said about John, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11.11).

All that John did was to use his simple gift – a lonely voice to shout in the wilderness of Judea, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Lk 3.4). Do you want to be great in the kingdom of God? Don’t wait to see or perform miracles but use your simple gifts to serve God and men! It is something you can and must do. Miracles will follow!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for John the Baptist. Now I know that it is faithfulness in the little that You require and not doing the spectacular! Make me faithful in the little. Amen.

Rescued From Darkness

GOD HAS RESCUED US FROM THE DOMINION OF DARKNESS AND BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON. Colossians 1.13.

Our Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship meetings and Dinners are highlighted by testimonies of businessmen. Many of them were saved from their former wicked and wild life of sin, common to the market place of this world. Their testimonies are powerful! These testimonies have helped many of their friends to find salvation through Jesus Christ.

Often you will hear some good old veteran telling his tale of a sordid past in such glowing description that makes one wonder whether he really loved his old sinful life very much! If one hadn’t been such a great sinner, one may feel sorry for himself for not having a thrilling testimony like theirs! Anyway, thank God, somehow their friends who are in similar pits of sin are rescued by the power and grace of the gospel.

Once, I saw a 911 Rescue program on TV. A man had jumped into the river above the Niagara Falls in his disappointment and distress, to commit suicide. But as he neared the thundering roar of the falls, its spray bellowing high above him and shivering in the freezing water of –55 degrees, he had second thoughts! He caught hold of a rock that jutted out of the tumultuous waves of the speeding river. A raft with ropes attached, thrown at him by rescuers was lost by the pull of the falls. A rescue helicopter appeared on the scene and lowered a crew. With great skill and daring they managed to get him to safety, taking an hour which seemed like eternity. Imagine that man sitting in his home that night and telling his family and friends about his miraculous rescue. What would you think of him if he had made slight of the rescue team and even made fun of the whole incident?

I was teaching a class on “Holiness in times of temptation” in a church. I invited written questions for the discussion. One anonymous note read, “I am a saved person. But I had sex with a girl. It was just a little fun! I still love the Lord!” I felt pity for that poor soul. I suddenly realised that it was far better and much safer ‘to exaggerate your sin and its awfulness than ‘belittling it and calling it fun’! God forbid!

In today’s text, the apostle Paul recounts the simple truth that ‘God saved us from our sin’. But he describes it in grave words of great magnitude and meaning. He said, “God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves”. Dear friend, be filled with wonder and gratitude to God. You should never go back under the old dominion of darkness again!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I was dead in my sins in which I used to live when I followed the ways of this world, gratifying the cravings of my sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. But because of Your great love for me and by Your mercy, You saved me by grace! I thank You Lord. Let me never go back into sin again! Amen.

Wall of Fire

I MYSELF WILL BE A WALL OF FIRE AROUND IT, DECLARES THE LORD, AND I WILL BE ITS GLORY WITHIN Zecariah 2.5.

It is good practice for us, believers, to read and learn by heart good prayers and wonderful promises of God from the Bible and use it in our own prayers. Our vocabulary in prayer will enlarge and our ‘influence on God’ in prayer will increase, if I may reverently say so. God upholds His own Word in great honour. He will not let it fall on the ground or out of our mouth without accomplishing His purposes and fulfilling His promises (Isa 55.11).

I have heard my father praying such lofty prayers that were saturated with the Word of God that amazed us. Sometimes we are tempted to take pride in our proficiency in prayer. That is a snare to any saint. But the devout believer, learning and meditating on God’s holy Word, when he pours it out in the sacred presence of the Almighty, His eyes will be opened and His ears will be attentive to him and even the angels will stand in awe! Amazing answers will come from heaven that will delight us and startle the unbelieving world!

We have all claimed today’s promise in our private prayers and used it in our church petitions, “Lord! be a wall of fire all around us and let Your glory shine in our midst!” A little child or one young in faith may say the same thing in such simple words as, “Lord, be with us and keep us safe!” Surely, the Lord will hear that simple cry. But if we do not expect our educated adults and graduates from the universities to speak like a child, why should we continue to be babes in prayer before our exalted God Almighty, seated in His throne in heaven, listening to us? However, you should never be like the Pharisee and boast before God!

The writer of the Hebrews admonished the believers, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!….. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity” (Heb 5.12-6.1).

Dear believer, why not take time and study God’s Word to show yourself approved unto God. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim 2.15). You will please God!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, keep Your promise to me, “I, the Lord, will be a wall of fire all around you, and I will be the glory in your midst”. Amen.

Watch Your Tongue

THERE IS ONE WHO SPEAKS LIKE THE PIERCINGS OF A SWORD, BUT THE TONGUE OF THE WISE PROMOTES HEALTH. Proverbs 12.18.

The other day, I received a rather rude business e-mail letter. There are some people who can not only speak but also write piercing words. I do not know if they are born with that gift or whether they acquired it. Their uncanny ability to say things that hurt the hearer in any context or situation is exceptional. Their words are not like swords which you need to swing at arms-length. They are really like arrows which can shoot you down from a far distance! I sometimes wonder whether the offenders really know that their words are hurting people, even the innocent ones.

There are brothers and sisters who say ‘piercing things’ about each other. Mothers-in-law are famous for hurling hurting words and even abuses at their daughters-in-law. Some daughters-in-law are great matches and by no means innocent. At school and in business circles, it is not unusual for people to cast accusing and even slandering words at each other. Unfortunately, or fortunately, some are tongue-tied naturally and cannot retaliate. They cannot even open their mouths, even to say a good word! I used to be like that! The other day, I walked into a restroom in a hotel after a wedding party. As I opened the door I heard two friends saying something about me. The one who was talking, reacted quickly and said, “We were talking behind your back!” Obviously they weren’t saying anything bad! Watch out for what you say. The walls have ears!

Coming back to the business e-mail that offended me, I wrote a reply giving a piece of my mind but, as usual, I didn’t send it for a few days. After ‘re-wording it many times’ to take the sting out of it, I showed it to my wife and daughter! They too did a good job of editing all the rough edges! Only then did I send it, telling God how pleased I was with myself for my moderation! To my amazement, instead of it pacifying the opponent, it made him angrier and he responded badly.

I looked at my e-mail again trying to figure out whether there was anything still offensive or hurting. With the advantage of ‘hind-sight’ now, I found something which I could have omitted to avoid an adverse reaction. Probably, he wouldn’t have reacted at all, had I not pierced him! I became wiser and the next time, ignoring his slight, I gave him a little praise. It brought about peace between us and to all others involved. I know it brought health to my family and me, and I suppose to my opponent and his family too!

Dear believer, use the tongue God has given you wisely, not to pierce the hearers but to impart truth and wisdom that will guide them.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me if I have hurt anyone with my tongue. Teach me to watch my every word. Let it impart truth and wisdom to the hearers. Amen.

You Are My Glory

YOU O LORD! ARE MY GLORY, AND THE ONE WHO LIFTS UP MY HEAD (NRSV). Psalm 3.3.

What is it you glory in? Or what is it that you boast about? Many people glory in many things. Some don’t even know what they are boasting in or about! I once overheard a conversation among children in the swimming pool in the apartment complex where we once lived. A small kid boasted that his father had two cars. Immediately, his buddy from the same block said, “My father has two apartments!” The list got longer as the two of them kept on boasting to each other. It reminds me of two school children in the States who got into a boasting contest. One was from a Christian family and the other not. Whatever the non-Christian lad boasted about the other could equal effortlessly. Finally, in frustration the non-Christian lad said, “I have three ‘fathers’ who bring home sweets for me and presents to my mother on weekends!” The other boy was put out of the argument for he couldn’t match his friend any more!

Once a fellow Christian in his fifties, a good believer and active in the church, told me he had a desire to own a Mercedes Benz! Of course, I know that he glories in his God. But he wanted to glory in his car too! He asked me “What car do you drive?” When I told him I happen to drive a Benz, he asked, “How did you come to own one?” I said, “It was simple. When I started my private medical practice, a friend of mine, a Mercedes Benz salesman, came to me begging me to buy a car so he could fill up his quota for that month!” Partly to oblige him, I signed up and the next thing I knew, there was a Benz at my doorstep!

I told my Christian friend, “If you glory in the Lord, He will glorify you! You don’t have to go after things, God will send them your way if He wants to give them to you!” Not that He will give everyone a Mercedes or a BMW! The psalmist said, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psa 37.4).

A little later, a doctor friend of mine met me in the church foyer. He told me, “You look good! You look younger every time I see you!” I told him genuinely, “The only reason I can give is that it may be because I glory in my God all day!” Then, he said, “Honestly, you look fit and agile, as if you are only fifty-five!”

My godly father, the late Mr. P V George wrote a book at the height of his life and career, entitled, “The Unique Christ”. He had a photo of his in the book and underneath was his favourite verse from the only version of the Bible available then, King James, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal 6.14).

Dear believer, learn to glory only in the LORD. Let nothing else take His place in your life. He will glorify and honour you.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. Lord, let it be so to the end of my days. Amen!

All One In Jesus Christ

YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS. Galatians 3.28.

I live in Malaysia where I migrated to from India in the late fifties. It was interesting to see the Malays, Chinese and Indians mixing so freely. No one was fearful or worried about the other. But old fashioned mothers from the village used to instill fear and suspicion in their little children about the other races! Even today this is happening and unfortunately not just among the poor and uneducated!

We live in a global village with cosmopolitan cities and towns. We are no longer segregated from one another or live in communal and cultural settings with boundaries that separate us. A lot of prejudices and fears have gone because of the sheer necessity to co-exist and survive. Yet, during certain occasions, we still see in our communities the ugly head of segregation and prejudices arising!

It was the same in the days of the early Church also. The Jew, the pagans and also the Christians, were against each other, for even religious reasons. The Lord Jesus spoke against it and acted deliberately to demolish such racial, cultural and even national hang-ups! The apostle Paul, who was a fanatical Jew and hated everyone else, was transformed by the power of the love of Jesus Christ. He cast aside his prejudices for all.

The churches of the first century were formed when the Jews and the Gentiles were converted to Christ through the preaching of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Asia Minor (Middle East) and Europe on many of their perplexing issues. One of them was obviously a ‘racial and national prejudice' that separated the new believers in the churches.

He wrote, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (vs 26-28).

It is beyond belief how this truth has brought freedom from all former fears and prejudices among the believers around the world today. When true believers gather in our churches on Sunday for worship, they ‘hug and embrace each other’, even strangers! We have become totally oblivious of each others race, colour, language and nationality!

Each time we celebrate the Lord’s communion and eat of the same bread and drink of the same cup, blessed emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross, how forcefully we are reminded of the unity that we have in His body, the Church!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, please remove from me all vestiges of racial prejudices and fear. Fill my heart, by Your Holy Spirit, with the love of God for all. Amen.

What Will Happen Tomorrow?

YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW. James 4.14.

Once while having dinner with some Christian friends, we heard about the following incident. A devout Christian heard that a ‘prophet’ from a neighbouring country, who did not know her, had prophesied something sinister would happen to her. Being anxious to know what calamity lay in store for her, she set out looking for the prophet!

Wanting to know the future is a common desire with all humans. That is the reason why we have soothe-sayers, astrologers, crystal gazers and fortune-tellers. But the Lord God Almighty strictly forbids us from indulging in all such things. The Bible condemns it. The Lord commanded His people Israel, “Let no one be found among you who… practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you” (Deut 18.1012).

You and I are often tempted by the desire to know the future. There was a time I amused myself by reading the newspaper column, ‘What the stars foretell!’ I knew it was rubbish, for half the time it would tell ‘good things’ and the rest of the time ‘not so good!’ I found it somewhat like the ‘weather forecast’, most of the time incorrect! Becoming wiser and also knowing the Scripture better, I kicked the foolish habit!

But what is surprising is to see Christians, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, trying to turn today’s prophets and the gift of prophesy into something like fortune-telling. They do it not so much to know the will of God but to know what the future will bring – riches and prosperity! It is unusual for anyone to seek prophets who foretell ‘bad-tidings’!

It is good for you to learn from the aged apostle James as to how you ought to face your unknown future! He says, “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? …Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that” (Ja 4.13-15).

James as an apostle and teacher, knew all about the prophets and the gift of prophecy in the church. If he wanted the believers to seek after prophets to know about their business prospects or other future affairs, he would have told them so. Rather, James wanted the believers to trust in the Lord Himself. He wanted them to believe in God’s leading and seek His blessing, as they faced the unknown future. The function of a New Testament prophet the apostle Paul states, ‘he who prophesies edifies the church’ (1 Cor 14.4).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your gracious promise to me, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it” (Isa 30.21). Help me hear You and not men! Amen.

Help Me To Run

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT IN A RACE ALL THE RUNNERS RUN, BUT ONLY ONE GETS THE PRIZE? RUN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO GET THE PRIZE. 1 Corinthians 9.24.

Have you watched the Olympics? I am sure you have! The sprinters dash for the finish line with all their strength and passion to win. You watch so excitedly with eyes fixed on the runners in the front. In a moment it is all over. The competition was so intense and close that you could hardly make out any gap between the gold and silver medalist! Have you noticed that in fact all in the pack were right behind the winners, only a fraction of a second away! How sad I sometimes feel for all those who did not win but put in years of hard training day after day!

Dear friend, you too are in a race – a spiritual race of running after the Lord Jesus Christ for a crown, not of gold but imperishable and in heaven. Thank God in this race all who run can receive that crown – not just one person! But the question is, “Are you running the race with such fervency and diligence as these athletes? They run for their life just to win a small round gold medal? We run for gaining Eternal life! But unlike them, we take no regular time for our spiritual exercises - meditating on God’s word and fellowshipping with God in prayer. We do not keep ourselves fit and agile for our spiritual race by shedding the extra weight of sin and bad habits.

The problem with you and I is that we do not consider ourselves in a ‘race’ like the apostle Paul. Rather we take it like a leisurely evening walk! We do not prepare ourselves. We have no aim or goal. We take no care. We simply go along any and everyway, kicking the dust on the road and getting dirty! We even pick up unwanted things that attract our attention and add to our weight rather than shed some burden! Some even get lost!

Dear believer, how long will you be on this listless spiritual walk when the whole Scripture exhorts you to buck up, throw your sinful burden away, hit the track and run for your life each day? The writer of the Hebrews also reminds you that Christian life is a race. This is how he puts it! “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. …. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb 12.1,4). Have you? Why not?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I pray that You may shake me up today from my lazy spiritual walk with You. Hit me with the reality that it is a race in which I could ‘gain or lose’ my eternal life! Help me begin to run today, casting away all my sinful burdens! Amen.

I Rejoice In Obeying You

I REJOICE IN FOLLOWING YOUR STATUTES AS ONE REJOICES IN GREAT RICHES. Psalm 119.14.

A couple invited us along with many of their friends for their ‘house-warming’. They had just completed renovations to their old house. God had blessed them with the finances and they rejoiced in being able to turn their home into a beautiful place to stay. We had a thanksgiving service and dinner party.

A friend of ours bought an expensive new car. He took us for a drive and showed the many modern gadgets it had. He rejoiced in the blessing of the new car that God had given him. We shared in his joy.

A young couple had a grand wedding in our church. We missed the happy occasion because we were overseas. Later, the ‘thrilled’ parents of the bridegroom showed us the wedding photos to share with us their rejoicing which we had lost out! It was fabulous, to say the least. We were so glad for them, our long-time friends!

We had the privilege to be invited to witness the baptism of a young Christian. It was a simple event. The young man had come back to the Lord after a period of straying away, which was sad. But this time, he decided to obey the Lord in the waters of baptism. We rejoiced with him and his wife.

A Christian couple who were courting were living together. They thought that it was all right to do so because everyone was doing so! But when they were told that it was against the clear teaching of the Word of God and therefore sinful, they decided to get married. Not only the two but everyone who knew them and loved them were happy for they obeyed the commandment of the Lord.

The joy over the material blessings compared to the rejoicing in fully following the commandment of the Lord is indescribable! The rejoicing in the heart and the expressions of the couples who obeyed the commandments of the Lord were something that all the riches of this world could not buy or give! It was simply ‘celestial and divine’, beyond description. It surpassed all the joy that this world could give! We remembered what the Bible says, “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches”. Surely, it would have triggered much rejoicing even in heaven among the angels in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, may Your Holy Spirit ever prompt me and persuade me to obey Your commandments. Let there be no greater joy in me than obeying and following Your Words. Amen.

You Heard My Cry

IN MY ALARM I SAID, "I AM CUT OFF FROM YOUR SIGHT!" YET YOU HEARD MY CRY FOR MERCY WHEN I CALLED TO YOU FOR HELP. Psalm 31.22.

Have you ever felt ‘cut off from God’ or that ‘God has forsaken you? Do not think it is anything strange or even uncommon! Many good Christians have felt that way especially when they were going through some great trouble, deep distress or sudden calamity. Only one who truly believes in God and is assured of His love could feel something like that! Do you think that an atheist who does not believe even in God’s existence can say that, though sometimes he may be forced to by circumstances?

No one knows the occasion when David wrote this psalm. King David of Israel, even though he was one of the great kings of the olden times, had gone through much trouble from his enemies, serious sickness and even enmity from his own family! This time David was in some dire situation. He cried out to God as he had always done. He told the Lord how and what he exactly felt! He was no pious bigot, spiritual hypocrite or simple fool to ignore the facts of life and not tell God what was happening to Him – something that God already knew anyway!

It is good for us to cry out to God. Often it is of no use to cry out yourself or to people. It may be a good release of your emotions and good for your health and well-being. Your fellow believers and your church may help but most times they may not and certainly they cannot do so always! You need to cry out to God alone who can help!

What troubles are you going through now? Do you feel that God has forgotten you while he is favouring everyone else? Are you dejected and disappointed that God hasn’t heard your prayers? In your alarm, tell God like David, "I am cut off from your sight!" Lord! it looks like You have left me in my dire state. It is hurting. The greatest hurt, O Lord is that You are not there when I need You! All Your promises have failed me. All my prayers have gone unheeded!

Dear believer, it has been the repeated testimony of saints that when they cried out to God, He never failed to respond, though he might have tarried for His own reasons. They all have testified with David, “Yet the Lord heard my cry for mercy when I called to Him for help”. Not only in life with all its problems and troubles but even in death, God will give you the confidence. Remember David’s words, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”. Proclaim loud to yourself, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psa 23.4,6). Don’t entertain the devil’s lie that, “God has forgotten you!”

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, please assure me of Your love. I am deeply distressed. Come and help me so that I could say with King David, “the Lord heard my cry for mercy when I called to Him for help”. Amen.

The Man Who Trusts In You

O LORD ALMIGHTY, BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TRUSTS IN YOU. Psalm 85.12.

What would you consider as true blessings from the Lord? We live in a day when people consider themselves blessed by God when He favours them with plenty of money, good health and much happiness! Once I heard a preacher say that he would have preferred ‘God sending him some baskets of gold instead of cucumbers’ which a poor farmer had brought to him as a gift! Sometimes one wonders whether you trust in the Lord because you desire His gifts and not Him!

But, here are the sons of Korah whose hearts yearned and fainted for their God! Their hearts and flesh cried out for the living God. They trusted in Him as the Almighty One and hence they wanted to see Him in action! We believe in God and we pray to Him. We hope that the Lord will answer. There are times we are disappointed when answers do not come or are delayed. Very much like Jacob of old at Penial, they clung on to the Lord and would not let Him go unless He blessed!

Dear friend, by reading this lovely psalm, let us learn to emulate their love for the Lord God Almighty and their faith and confidence in Him. To them, heaven, God’s dwelling place, was most lovely. They desired to be in His temple. No wonder they said, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (v 10).

My wife and I were discussing about a young Christian couple who are in deep trouble. We had encouraged them to go to church regularly on Sundays. But they don’t because they want to rest on Sunday! How many Christians are there who don’t make time for God or his sanctuary only to find themselves in deep trouble? It makes one wonder where the church has failed and why it loses these precious souls in the first place! Or was it all their fault that they never had any great love for God like the sons of Korah? Or did they fall away from faith because of the trials of life or temptations?

Take the warning from the apostle Paul, “Let him who stands beware, lest he fall”? (1 Cor 10.12). Trials and sorrows will assail us. But like these godly men, the sons of Korah, let us call on the Lord, “Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one” (v 8,9). God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb 13.5). But will you forsake Him as some do?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me a deep and passionate love for YOU and not for anything You could give me! Keep singing that love song to God, ‘I need thee every hour most holy One! I need thee, O! I need thee, most gracious Lord!’ Amen.

No Prophetic Message From Man

NO PROPHETIC MESSAGE EVER CAME JUST FROM THE HUMAN WILL, BUT PEOPLE WERE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THEY SPOKE THE MESSAGE THAT CAME FROM GOD. 2 Peter 1. 21 (GNB)

These are days when there is a resurgence of the gift of prophesy, as with the gift of tongues. I believe that some of the prophesies are truly Holy Spirit inspired and revealed, but not all. The reason being, God Himself warned His Old Testament people of false prophets who were many! Again in the New Testament where the apostle Paul teaches about the gift of prophecy, he tells the Corinthian believers, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge” (1 Cor 14.29). If all prophecies were true, there would be no need to judge!

I pray often and sometimes with fasting and tears that the Sovereign Holy Spirit may grant me and my fellow believers all the nine gifts of the Spirit. We need not just tongues and some prophecy!’ We need faith, miracle and healing as well. I long to be able to minister to the vast number of those in dire need in the church and in the world. When someone insists that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit have been withdrawn, I find it difficult to accept it. The argument that we now have the written Word of God and therefore there is no more need for the gifts is not tenable! The mere possession of the canon of the Scripture is no cure for all the diverse and distressing needs of the people! What we need today is a fresh outpouring of the Spirit on all people as God promised!

However, I am sadly aware that only rarely do we see those genuine gifts of the early church today. We cannot blame God for it, only ourselves! I believe that it is our ignorance about the Spiritual gifts and our lack of desire and longing for them that are our stumbling blocks! I would to God that the more physical, material and spiritual afflictions and calamities we see around us, the more we would press against heaven’s door for a fresh outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit on us!

We should be vexed in soul and spirit greatly as we witness the multiplied afflictions of the saints and the sinners of our world. But instead of ministering to those desperately needy people, many of the ‘great prophets and prophetesses, local and foreign’, are sparing no time or effort to utter ‘prophetic words’ about financial windfalls or wonderful holidays abroad or children scoring top grades in studies! I believe this is a misuse of spiritual gifts, if at all they are! When most people in the church are clamouring for such ‘material prospects’, what else can you expect?

Some years ago, a well-known ‘prophet’ was brought in by a Christian organisation to give a financial talk. The place was packed! He advised all to buy ‘gold’ because he had a revelation from the Lord! Lately, one world-renowned prophetess came and prophesied a boom time for the country in a few years! Neither Jesus nor his apostles prophesied of such ‘mundane matters of wealth and prosperity’. Instead they predicted times of testing and trials and even great falling away from faith, climaxing in the ‘Great Tribulation’ of the end times.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I pray and long for the gifts of the Holy Spirit for myself and others. Many are those who need a touch from You through us, ‘one another’, as members of Your church! Amen.

Your Father Knows Your Need

YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM. Matthew 6.8.

What great confidence this promise should afford us and how great an encouragement it should be to you and me in our daily prayer life! There are some who say, “If God already knows what we need, then there is no need for us to pray!” But in today’s passage, the Lord dealt with that myth by encouraging us to pray and even teaching us how to pray for our daily needs. When you read from the Bible about prayer and learn what the LORD Jesus teaches about it, you will find it to be very simple. It is so straightforward that even a little child could understand and begin to pray!

I am interested in prayer and I am always eager to learn more about prayer. It is because I want to pray better and of course I want to get all my prayers answered – prayers for myself and for others. It is also because of the disappointments and frustration I experience when ‘I don’t get some of my important prayers answered’. I often wonder why it should be so when the Lord told us that prayer is just ‘asking God and receiving!”

Let us take a fresh look at the things about prayer that the Lord Jesus taught and seek to follow them. They are fundamental to your prayers and essential for God’s answers.

“When you pray” - You and I must pray and continue in regular daily prayer if we expect answers from God.

“Do not be like the hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full” – You and I must be sincere when we pray and pray to God and not for people to hear, if we want God our Father to answer!

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” - You must find a definite place so that you can pray in secret without being disturbed and pray there regularly. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Hypocrites love to pray in public but saints pray in private!

“When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans”. They think they will be heard because of their many words – Be natural and tell your Father what you need. There’s no need to beat around the bush! Doesn’t God know even before words are out of your mouth? He knows all the details!

“Do not be like them” for your Father knows what you need before you ask him – Repeating the same words or the same thing in different words are what pagans do. Praying by rote or rosary is not what God wants. Let your prayer be humble, straight to the point and from your heart.

"This, then, is how you should pray,” said the Lord, and gave us what we know as the Lord’s prayer – which is to be ‘Our prayer to the Father’.

We have the simplest of prayers here, taught by the ‘Master Pray –ER’ Himself in today’s passage. I never cease to wonder at its simplicity and straightforwardness and pray it often.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, teach me to pray like You. Help me to pray like You. Father in heaven who sees and hears my secret prayers, grant me the things I need in life, which You already know. Amen.

Set Minds On Things Above

SET YOUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON EARTHLY THINGS. COL 3.2.

These days, increasingly we are hearing ‘the voice and message of the world’ in the Church! Economics and financial issues and even politics, have become burning topics of sermons and seminars. It is not without reason, for most of the urban churches today have become the cradle of the rich, famous and powerful. There are no poor in our churches and if there are, they are ignored! Looking at the urban churches of today, those with discerning minds cannot but concede that we may be truly in what may be called the ‘Laodicean period or state’!

The risen Lord who walked in the midst of the Laodicean church had this to say to the leaders, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. …You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev 3.15-17).

I once heard a preacher earnestly encouraging the people in a large and prosperous city church to spend time with God that they may hear His voice and get direction for their lives. But it so happened that all his illustrations were about how God frequently ‘gave words’ which when the people obeyed, they gained vast riches and greater prosperity and health!

In contrast, I remember a small church in the city where I once preached. It was a church of the poor, working class believers. Their theme for that year was, ‘Be you holy, because I am holy!” They invited me to teach them ‘lifestyle personal evangelism’ in their eagerness to reach out to the lost.

Wealth and honour come from the Lord (1 Chr 29.12). You needn’t seek after it. It is high time that the church of Jesus Christ and its leaders seriously consider ways and means to separate themselves from ‘the world and its lusts - interests’. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the things you need will be added to your life” (Mt 6.24).

Dear believer, the Word of God clearly states, “greed is idolatry”. But it has entered the Church by the backdoor, camouflaged in the present-day prosperity gospel and millionaire seminars!! See how greed is equated in the Bible with all other serious sins! Dear believer, you are cautioned , “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived” (Col 3.5-7).

We need much spiritual wisdom and courage to live in this world and not to be of this world; to walk on the earth but be heavenly minded! But it is possible to the one who believes and acts! Will you?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, , let me not be entrapped by the snares of the riches of this world that I have no time to labour for the riches of heaven through reading Your Word, prayer and ministering daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rend My Heart

REND YOUR HEART AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS. RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2.13.

There is an alarming rise in the incidence of ‘superficiality in spiritual things’ in our churches that frightens devout leaders and believers too! It was very much so in the days of Joel, the prophet amidst the ancient people of God, Israel.

When God spoke to them through Joel and condemned them for their sins, they responded only with a ‘superficial conviction and repentance’. According to their custom, they ‘rend’ their clothes, which was the usual manner of expressing sorrow. God saw through the veneer of their external attitudes and recognised what was in their hearts. Through Joel, God accused them of their hypocrisy and insincerity. He told them in stern words, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God”.

What about you and I today? Are we ‘playing church and religion’ like the old Israelites? The other Sunday during a solemn church worship, there was a young couple, married or not I don’t know, who were hugging, cuddling and caressing all the time, disturbing those around them! It is not a few who answer their phones loudly or send SMS unashamedly during the service. Talking to one another and joking while singing songs are very common among the youth. There are adults who pay no attention to the preaching or simply sleep and snore even! Many are those who ‘hear but do not hear’ so that their minds are blank and the Word does not benefit them!

There are times when you and I raise our voice or hands when we pray but we do it out of practice or in our eagerness to impress others! There are those who ‘lightly’ practice slaying people or ‘making them fall’ to the ground. There are people who make it a habit to ‘fall at any suggestion’ but without any spiritual or physical effect whatsoever! Some capitalize on prophesying because there are always those who hunger for a ‘word from the Lord’ whether they take note of it and obey it or not! We engage in speaking in tongues in a very glib manner not realising that it is a divine manner of conversing with the Lord.

Thank God there is still a good number who worship the Lord in spirit and truth. One would find here and there sincere souls shedding tears as they sing with the joy of the Spirit. However, observing the spiritual stage of today, it is time for you and I to hear afresh what Joel had to say to Israel, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing”. There is calamity everywhere, even in our own lands! It is God’s megaphone to call us to attention to Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times when I am like the Israelites, rending my clothes but not my heart. You look at the heart. Make me honest and sincere in my heart in all that I do in Your presence. Amen.