Mercy & Truth

DO NOT LET MERCY AND TRUTH LEAVE YOU. FASTEN THEM AROUND YOUR NECK. WRITE THEM ON THE TABLET OF YOUR HEART. Proverbs 3.3.

Proverbs is a book that you and I should read regularly or at least as often as possible. It is full of nuggets of wisdom. I love it because it is endearing wisdom. It is wisdom so tenderly passed on from a loving and caring father (King Solomon, the wisest man) to his dear son. It is practical wisdom that Solomon learned through his life’s experiences, both good and bad!

Today’s text teaches you to be always merciful in your dealings and truthful in your actions. It is a reflection of God’s very own character. It is an expression of His dealings with us. Only in God do these two attributes combine harmoniously. The more you read the Scriptures, the better you will understand God’s ways and actions. It will help you to be like your Father in Heaven more and more.

It is a great pity that most Christians show very little mercy to anyone and manifest a lack of truthfulness in their relationships. There are those who show mercy but are not truthful and vice-versa! The Word of God teaches you to be balanced. “Do not let mercy and truth leave you. Fasten them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart”.

It may be possible for us to show mercy to people who deserve it and to some extent to others also. However, often it is very difficult to stand for the truth or be truthful in all situations. It may be awkward, difficult or even dangerous sometimes to do so! I know of pastors keeping quiet about unmarried Christian couples in their churches living together. It is also not uncommon that they do not speak up against Christians courting or even marrying non-Christians! The bible condemns these!

The truth must be tempered with mercy. Where there is plenty of mercy, telling the truth hurts less! But there can be no compromise of the truth. God's Word is Truth. It abides for ever. It does not change with shifting times or culture.

It has been the unwritten code of the evangelicals especially of the East, to abstain from 'social drinking, smoking and the like' for the sake of their Christian testimony before the world. It is also for safety that Christians do not slip into drunkenness and other accompanying vices. It is interesting to note that at the marriage at Cana where the Lord turned water into wine, the chief butler made a revealing remark, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine 'after the guests have become drunk'" (Jn 2.10 NIV). When you serve drink to celebrate there is the possibility of you getting drunk our letting others get drunk!

Dear believer, the truth is that the Bible commands, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5.18). Don't get stuck with the first part of the commandment but concentrate on the second, "Be continually filled with the Spirit" and you will do well! You can live without wine but not without the Spirit of God and His fullness!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, it is not always easy to be merciful or truthful. I need Your wisdom and the Holy Spirit’s strength and enablement to face real-life situations as they come. Amen.

When The Right Time Came

WHEN THE RIGHT TIME CAME GOD SENT HIS SON INTO THE WORLD. A WOMAN GAVE BIRTH TO HIM. Galatians 4.4.

One of the greatest problems that you and I face in this life is that a lot of things do not happen the way we want them to happen. Neither do they happen when we desperately want them to happen! It would seem as though all our prayers and pleadings to God in whom we trust make no difference. We become greatly distressed and disappointed even with God! When many things like this are repeated in our lives, our faith in God becomes weak or we even lose it!

This makes it necessary for us to get acquainted with God, His plans and purposes and His time schedule. There is a crucial verse in the Bible that explains God’s side of the picture and compares it with ours. God revealed to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55.8,9).

In the book, ‘The purpose driven life’, Rick Warren tries to explain that 'you should know that God has a purpose for your life'. You must then strive to follow it instead of your own! That was what God was trying to make Israel understand through the words of Isaiah. They kept doing their own things and got into trouble every now and then missing their destiny!

Today’s Bible text tells us about God’s Son Jesus Christ and His life and destiny. It shows us clearly that it was God’s purpose that was working in the life of Jesus Christ. “When the right time came, God sent his Son into the world. A woman gave birth to him, and he came under the control of God's laws”. In one short verse, the apostle Paul tells it all to us. God’s plan for His own Son was to send Him into the world; as the son of a woman – virgin; to be born as an ordinary man, under the law of Moses. God fulfilled it ‘when the right time came!’

Dear child of God, believe that God works in the same way in your life too! You see yourself ‘troubled by the thwarted plans and long-delays’. You attribute it to God’s unconcern or passiveness in responding to your cry. But keep looking at the life of Jesus, God’s own Son, and gain comfort and confidence. The gospel writers often mention, “in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled – it happened in Jesus’ life” (Mt 1.22;2.15 etc.). It simply means that God was working out His purpose in Jesus’ life according to His plan and schedule!

Take heart believer, no matter what happens or does not happen, and nothing seems to move and time rolls on, God is still on His throne! He will remember His own. He will accomplish all His plans in your life at the right time and in His perfect way!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I believe that You have a plan and purpose for my life, just as You had one for Your Son Jesus Christ. Even as you fulfilled every plan of Yours in His life in the right time, I know You will do so for me too. Amen.

Lying Lips

THE LORD DETESTS LYING LIPS BUT HE DELIGHTS IN MEN WHO DEAL TRUTHFULLY. Proverbs 12.22.

Today we don’t hear people telling one another, “You lied!” We have become very sophisticated and we have learnt to tell ‘white lies’ and get away with it. Yet, you and I need to be careful about telling white lies. Sometimes, people believe us and get the wrong impression. It may hurt the feelings of others or cause embarrassment! It may also create a problem with the children who listen to our white lies. They ‘believe us!’ Worse still, they imitate us.

It is a sad thing and wrong too when we tell lies to cheat people for our own gain. It has become a common practice today. It is a pity that even you and I, Christians, succumb to it in one way or another. Let me tell you something that occurred in our house. We had some problem with our sewer system. It sprang a leak. We called the authorities to attend to it. The men came and looked around. They told me that the tank was leaking and I had to repair it. They said they could do it for me as a private job for a hefty sum! They were in a mighty hurry to get it done. I, being a handyman myself, could easily tell that the leak was not from the tank but the pipe leading to it! I called a contractor who confirmed my guess. What the former fellows did was to tell me ‘a lie’ in order to try and make a quick buck!

Think for a moment before you brand those fellows as rogues and liars. We are all engaged in some kind of business or work. We too are tempted and even prone to do many kinds of deceitful things. I once heard a friend telling a story about a surgeon! The patient had an abdominal surgery. The doctor charged him for that surgery and also for removing his appendix! Some years later he had symptoms of appendicitis and was operated by another surgeon who removed the appendix ‘that was supposed to have been removed!’ I cannot vouch for the truth of the story but the moral is obvious.

Dear Christian, whatever business you are in, beware! The possibilities of telling lies and cheating others for your gain are plenty. Take a few moments to think carefully of your ways and dealings with people. Are you honest in all that you say and do? Making a profit – small or large - is not wrong or a crime. But the Bible teaches us that God is against lying and cheating!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, Your Word teaches me, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who deal truthfully”. Help me to be truthful in all my dealings. Amen.

Do Not Merely Listen

DO NOT MERELY LISTEN TO THE WORD AND SO DECEIVE YOURSELVES. DO WHAT IT SAYS. James 1.22.

When I was a youngster, I used to read the Scripture Union Bible notes, ‘The daily Bread’. I took interest in distributing it to my church members, encouraging them also to read the Bible daily. On its opening page were tips to get the maximum benefit out of the readings: Observe: Is there a commandment to obey? Is there any sin that you should avoid?

These are two very practical things that you should be careful to observe as you keep reading the Word of God daily. Make them your prayer to God that He may give you the strength during the day to practise what you have learnt. I have been careful to take this advice. It has helped to mould my life according to the Word of God.

The same diligence is necessary as you go to church on Sundays and listen to the preaching. You must go prepared and with the expectation to hear God speak to you through His servants. For a half an hour sermon, they prepare for weeks and months, waiting on God and searching His Word. We should at least take the trouble to listen attentively. Keep awake. Do not play with your phone or keep chatting with your fiancé! Open your Bible and look up the references. Write simple notes or scribble the points. It will help you to concentrate. You won't easily forget the message. Don’t feel shy to write, thinking that others would consider you a fanatic or super-spiritual.

The truth is that most of what is preached on a Sunday is forgotten by most people even before they get out of the church and go for lunch! Consider it seriously. Is it God’s desire and purpose for you to hear and forget what He teaches you Sunday after Sunday? Jesus was very concerned about how people responded to His teachings. He told His hearers, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Mt 7.26,27).

James the apostle, having been similarly concerned about believers like us today, said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (Ja 1.22). Dear believer, stop deceiving yourself! Start building your life on the rock of God's Word!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You have warned me and Your Word cautions me not to be just a listener of the Word. Help me to take note and practice what I hear. Amen.

How Short My Life Is

TEACH US HOW SHORT OUR LIFE IS SO THAT WE MAY BECOME WISE. Psalm 90.12.

Some years ago, a friend of mine, a publisher of the Bible and Christian books, visited me from India. He saw my thick devotional files with more than two years of daily writings. He was so thrilled that he suggested publishing it as ‘year books’. We thought of a title for the book. I suggested one: “A Thought for the Day”. He went back and wrote to me that a more interesting title would be “Your Inspirational Thought for the Day”.

I was thinking to myself, “How impoverished my own days would have been had I not gained those inspirational thoughts from the Bible each day!” They say, “You are what you think!” Do you know that a man does not and cannot think of new inspiring thoughts unless he receives it from outside of himself?” Unless you diligently seek something new to think about each day, it leaves you no opportunity for improvement or progress!

I had a small book entitled, “God’s Little Book of Instruction”. Each page contained an instruction from the Word of God. I had placed it in my living room where the family often sits and converses. It was for anyone to pick up and read and benefit. Every day, at least once, I would take it and read a page or two. I did so until someone picked up the book walked away with it!

Look at today’s Bible text. “Lord, teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise”. When was the last time you thought of ‘how short your life is?’ Only a morbid young person or a very old one would think of the shortness of life or about death!

Dear believer, here it is! The Word of God is breaking into your strong and vibrant life full of activities, leaving no time to think about life itself. It is making you consider something that you would never do – the shortness of life! You are encouraged by the Word of God to ask Him ‘to teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise and live wisely!’ Life is short.

Whether young, middle-aged, or older, you need to realise that life is short and decide to live wisely and make full use of it! I was shocked to hear of the sudden demise of a young successful business man at thirty-nine! I am greatly saddened when I see Christians who have grown in wealth and fame but gained nothing worthwhile in life! Had they read today's verse and prayed to God earnestly, “Lord, teach me how short my life is, so that I may become wise” how different their lives would have been!

Dear fellow believer, you ought to be inspired by a new thought each day to make your life exciting and worthwhile. Read God’s Word everyday and meditate on it. It will inspire you with challenging thoughts and will transform your life! You need to live wisely from cradle to grave in order to make the best of life and enjoy it. That is why Jesus said, "Man shall live not by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Lk 4.4).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for “You came in order that I might have life---life in all its fullness” (Jn 10.10). Teach me how short my life is, so that I may become wise and keep following You. Amen.

First Seek Your Face

IN THE MORNING LONG BEFORE SUNRISE JESUS WENT TO A PLACE WHERE HE COULD BE ALONE TO PRAY. Mark 1.35.

Have you heard people say, “I have so much to do tomorrow that I have to get up very early and leave home”. Perhaps that is the way you approach the busy and tough times that are on us! How different it was to men of faith, like Martin Luther and John Wesley! It was Luther they say, who made the famous remark, “I have much work to do tomorrow and I need to get up early and spend two extra hours with God!” Wesley was the same in his pursuit after God and His will. The men and women who have experienced their God personally and intimately know the importance of seeking God’s face before anything they do or even say!

The psalmist King David said, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water (Psa 63.1,2). Nehemiah, the cupbearer (like a confidant) for the Persian King Artaxerxes, looked sad one day and the king asked, “Why is your face sad?..What is it you want?" The Bible says, then Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven and answered the king! (Neh 2.1-5).

Blessed are those who long for their God and seek Him early in the morning of each new day. Blessed are you, if we will look for Him diligently and enquire of Him before you set out to do things, small and great. That is what the Lord Jesus did while He was on earth as a man. He prayed alone to His Father early in the mornings for guidance, He prayed all day when He needed help and He prayed all night long when pressured by decisions.

Dear believer, how then could you begin your day without committing it to God? I dare not! There is no better way for me to impress on you the dire need to seek God each morning before you begin your day than to quote a poignant poem by an unknown believer:

I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish,

That I didn’t have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,

And heavier came each task.

“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask!”

So I woke up early this morning

And paused before entering the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord Jesus, let me know the blessedness of committing my day to You before I begin. Teach me to seek Your face before I decide to do anything. Amen.

I Am The Light

JESUS SAID I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE AND WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS. John 8.12

In our civilised and progressive world of today who will not admit that they live and walk in darkness? For that matter, we church-going Christians too have a problem with this. We think that our lives are alright. That is only because no one sees our inside and we have learned to hide it well, even from those closest to us! No one will suspect that we too fit into Jesus’ description, “on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Mt 23.28).

When Jesus came into the world, it was ‘light coming’ to light up our lives and deeds – good and bad! John says, “This is why people are condemned: The light came into the world. Yet, people loved the dark rather than the light because their actions were evil. People who do what is wrong hate the light and don't come to the light. They don't want their actions to be exposed. But people who do what is true come to the light so that the things they do for God may be clearly seen” (Jn 3.19-21 GW).

Some years ago someone stole our garden table and chairs. They came at night when all were asleep and the lights were out. Why blame the thieves, don’t we too do the same in many ways? You would always try not to do wrong in public. We tend to do all the bad things in secret. Many do it in the dark of night when no one sees them!

A young pregnant wife in a neighbouring country found out that her bright politician husband was recording naked pictures of their maid and viewing them privately in the middle of the night. A young engineer in town was having an affair with a pretty girl and one night he raped and murdered her! Men and women and youngsters are out on the streets and in pubs and nightclubs until the wee hours of the morning, eating, drinking, and indulging in vices.

Dear believer, look into your life. Though you are a Christian, don’t you still indulge in all kinds of wicked deeds, great and small? We need the light that dawned in Bethlehem – JESUS, to throw His searchlight into our hearts today. He only can reveal what is in you, however saintly you may think you are! Once, he looked at the faces of the crowd and said, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man”(Mt 15.19).

Only when you open your life to Jesus who claimed, "I am the light of the world," will you see the darkness in your heart and the wickedness of your deeds. You will hear Him say to you, "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness." That will be the end of your walking in darkness and sinning, even in private. Be a Christian not only in 'word but in action!' Keep following Jesus closely. His light will keep shining in you and on you giving you no occasion to walk in darkness and sin!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, Let Your light shine in me and show me all my open and secret sins. Help me to walk in Your light always that I might not sin against You and others. Amen.

Read Through Bible

I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN THE PRIZE FOR WHICH GOD HAS CALLED ME HEAVENWARD IN CHRIST JESUS. Philippians 3.14.

Many Christians, sad to say, have no aim or purpose in their spiritual life! Big corporations have targets, plans for achieving it and budgets, essential for success. The small businessmen too make their plans, however modest they might be. Why, you too need to do it for survival today! You will be in a great financial muddle if you do not plan and budget. Many are spending foolishly beyond their means because some profit-orientated financial institutions send them free credit cards!

If you need to make careful plans for day-to-day successful living, how much more seriously do you need to plan for succeeding in your spiritual life? Or, do you consider your spiritual life of no great significance that you can forget about it or put it aside! Do you know that ‘the prospering of your soul is more important to god than you prospering in health and wealth?’ Listen to the prayer of the aged apostle John, “I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 Jn 2).

Dear Christian, why don’t you join the great apostle Paul and say, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”. God has called you to be a winner in your race, following the Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest encouragement is that all who run diligently will be winners. In God’s kingdom there are no losers if only you keep running! Don’t look back! Forget about all your faults, failures and the lapses that might have come in your life. With God, only your future counts. He wants you to make the best of it. He wants you to plan for your todays and tomorrows. God wants you to climb up with eagles’ wings to higher heights and reach nearer to Him! That’s all that matters to Him. In the end that’s all that will matter to you too!

The only way you can get closer to God is through reading and meditating on His Word and through times of secret prayer! Whether you have never been a regular reader of the Bible or you read only occasionally, forget the past. Make a new start. Most Christians have never read through the whole Bible once! Once I was cleaning up our store in the surgery. Guess what I found: an old certificate of passing my medical degree! Did I become a doctor without reading my text books? Dear believer, don’t you think that you as a Christian ought to read your Bible once atleast?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me read through Your Word once. All I have to do is to take 20 minutes to read three chapters a day! Two chapters from the Old and one from the New Testament. Lord, help me to make time to do it and not to give up. Amen.

By Your Sacrificial Death

YOU (JESUS) WERE KILLED, AND BY YOUR SACRIFICIAL DEATH YOU BOUGHT FOR GOD PEOPLE FROM EVERY TRIBE, LANGUAGE, NATION, AND RACE. Revelation 5.9. (GNB)

Most of us worship in churches were we see only people of the same colour, race and language. Many live and die in the same church (thank God for their faithfulness and perseverance) and seldom visit any other church in their locality. Since we do not travel far and wide, we probably have never been to a church in another nation, race, colour, culture or language! To many it may be news that there are over 2.5 billion Christians and 1.5 born again believers all over the world. You may be surprised that all of them worship the same God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit as yours. Even if some are aware of it, very few have actually experienced the thrill of being in ‘a multi-national, multi-racial, and multi-language congregation or gathering’.

Those who are shielded by their own small and narrow church life may sometimes feel that they are ‘the only true church and Christians’ that exist. Surprisingly, most churches consider all the other churches in town as ‘false or cults’! It is a pity that pastors are fearful of their flock visiting other churches for any reason and do not encourage it!

It will be a life-time experience for all of us to be in a gathering of a few thousands of believers. It would do you great good to attend some ‘citywide Christian meetings’ at times and get a feeling of heaven! The visits I make to the different churches in my country and sometimes overseas gives me soul-stirring experiences. It makes me think of the heavenly scenes described in the Book of Revelation, chapters 5,7, 19. Read these passages and let it help you to expand your spiritual horizon and see a picture bigger than your own church!

Let us go with the apostle John and get a glimpse of what he saw in heaven and even try to get lost in that vast multitude that worship God on the throne, “I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev 7.9,10).

What you have just experienced should remove from you all prejudices about colour, cast, creed, culture, race, language and open your mind to the ‘oneness we have in Christ’. Together let us praise God for His Son Jesus Christ, and sing. “You were slain, and by Your blood purchased us to God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign over the earth” (5:10,11).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to shed my prejudices about other believers and begin to accept all in love. Help me to acknowledge ‘Your sheep in other folds’ about which You told us (Jn 10.16). Amen.

His People Will Worship God

HIS PEOPLE WILL WORSHIP GOD AND WILL SEE HIM FACE TO FACE. Revelation 22.3.

We, even the Christians, have only a wishy-washy idea about what heaven is like and what we are going to do there all through eternity. Some think that we will be singing praises to God and worshipping Him all the time and doing nothing else. Even if it is going to be all worship, it would be ‘worth-ship-ping’ because ‘Great is the Lord, and greatly to be worshipped and His greatness is unsearchable”, as the psalmist said. My daughter when she was young thought it would be 'boring!' At my age now I feel it would be 'the most enjoyable thing' to do!

But there is much more that you will be occupied with in heaven. To most of us who have loved the Lord Jesus without even seeing Him, it is going to be the most glorious time. We will see our Lord face to face! I often pray, “Lord let me see you just once, while I am here on earth”. It is one of my greatest desires. When I hear testimonies of saints like Sadhu Sunder Singh who had seen visions of Christ in His glory and brightness, I am thrilled at the prospect of seeing Him. What a great consolation it is to ordinary Christians like me that even if we miss seeing the Lord in this life, we will see Him face to face in heaven!

Enoch walked with God three hundred years, then he was no more because God took him. There was not 'enough' of God for Enoch and there wasn’t 'enough' of Enoch for God, though they walked together for three hundred years on earth! They wanted to be together forever! Only if you are walking with God by faith everyday here in this life, would you desire to see Him face to face one day and live with Him forever and never lose sight of Him! Heaven will be the place for you.

The Bible says in heaven such devout followers of the Lord will not only see Him but also "rule with him forever!” Hey! Isn’t that a great prospect to be kings and priest to God and to reign with Him! And that too, for people like us who have probably never been near a king and know nothing about ruling with Him and for Him. It is not quite clear whom we shall rule over. But when you read what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians believers, it will boggle your mind. “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? …Do you not know that we are to judge angels--to say nothing of ordinary matters?” (1 Cor 6.2,3). No one will dare ask us under whose authority we judge and rule because, “God's name will be written on our foreheads”. The prospect of heaven is so great that you and I shouldn’t feel sorry for having to leave this earth!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, open my eyes to see and my heart to perceive what You have prepared for me so that while still on earth I will set my affection on things in heaven, where You are. Amen.

I Will Give You Back

I WILL GIVE YOU BACK WHAT YOU LOST IN THE YEARS WHEN SWARMS OF LOCUSTS ATE YOUR CROPS. IT WAS I WHO SENT THIS ARMY AGAINST YOU. Joel 2.25.

God is able to make good what we have lost or suffered. You may not have thought about it but God is behind everything that happens to you. Today’s Bible reading reminds you of it very clearly. In the thick of all your ‘doings and busy schedules', it is quite possible that you may have slipped back spiritually or even gotten away from God without noticing it!

Surprisingly, God has all the time in the world for you, in spite of governing the universe, and He has taken stock of your life. He has found out what you should have discovered in the first place. There have been serious lapses in your life. God has ‘weighed' you and I in His balance and found us wanting!’ (Dan 5.27) There is much more that God expects from you. He has given you the potential for it. When you do not respond to God in your blessings, He will turn against you and bring loss and suffering.

Sadly the only way God can draw your attention to Him is by touching your life and situations. Whatever you are going through now is His doing. He may be forcing you to turn to Him and trust Him. If you will take the time and ask Him to search you, He will. You haven’t made the advances you should have made in your walk with God, relationship with Him, and likeness to Him. You could be giving God much more time in building your relationship with Him in prayer and Bible reading. You could be giving more to God from what He had graciously bestowed on you. Your love and relationship with fellow Christians and others could be much better. You could spend a bit more time for the service of God and man than spending it all on your business and seeking your own things.

Dear believer, listen carefully to what our God has to tell you, “I will give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops”. However, there is a process. "But even now," says the LORD, "repent sincerely and return to me with fasting and weeping and mourning. Let your broken heart show your sorrow;.. Come back to the LORD your God” (vs 12-13).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You see me altogether and nothing is hid from You. It is You who is behind every situation in my life. Forgive me for not being committed to You or even turning away from You. I turn back to You. Give me back that which I have lost! Amen.

Seeking God's Face

DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISCOURAGED FOR I THE LORD YOUR GOD, AM WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. Joshua 1.9.

Life is full of challenges and it is riddled with burdens and anxieties! If it is not disaster, it is disease or demands on financial resources or delayed deadlines, or simply one crisis or another that crops up each day. We are traversing new grounds everyday which we have never covered before. Much of it is unchartered territory. What lies ahead is unknown!

The Word from the God of Israel and Joshua brings us fresh encouragement, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go." The Lord knew exactly what terrible situation poor Joshua was facing. For He said, "My servant Moses is dead. Get ready now, you and all the people of Israel, and cross the Jordan River into the land that I am giving them. As I told Moses, I have given you and all my people the entire land that you will be marching over. Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you. Be determined and confident, for you will be the leader of these people as they occupy this land which I promised their ancestors”.

But the promise of God comes with a condition as it always does. “Just be determined, be confident; and make sure that you obey the whole Law that my servant Moses gave you. Do not neglect any part of it and you will succeed wherever you go. Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the LORD your God, am with you wherever you go" (vs 7-9).

Some older versions of the Bible use the word, 'Meditate' as you read God's Word. The other day, I read in the news papers that the Buddhists are teaching people to 'simply meditate on nothing with an empty mind' to cast away mental stress. For those who are accustomed to it, it is easier to mediate on something as sublime as God's Word than on nothing!

Dear believer, however busy you are, try to spend a few quiet moments reading God's Word and meditate on it, sometime in the morning, before you begin the day. Let the Spirit of God comfort and strengthen your heart and mind. How could you face difficult situations or proceed to unknown territory when you haven't sat quietly a few moments before the Lord God Almighty and hear Him say to you, "Do not be afraid or discouraged for I the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go!"

It is because of the imperativeness of seeking God's face that I have been persisting in my endeavour to send SMS DEVOTIONALS to the 'no time' generation to greet them each morning, though it is costly and time consuming!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to seek Your face before I begin my day and be strengthened by Your Word to face its challenges and anxieties. Amen.

Neither Hot Nor Cold

I KNOW YOUR DEEDS THAT YOU ARE NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. I WISH YOU WERE EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER! Revelation 3.15.

Do you know that the Lord knows all about you and me? He is intensely interested in what you are and what you do? Many have the wrong notion that to be a Christian is to go to church on Sundays, sing songs, give tithes (not all!) and listen to the sermon only to forget the whole matter when they walk away!

The Bible tells us that God keeps a book in which He records all our deeds whether good or bad! One day, He will judge us according to what we have done! (Rev 20.12). “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5.10). The apostle Paul, as a good and faithful shepherd of God’s people, having mentioned about the judgment to come said to the believers, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (v 11).

Dear believer, the Lord looks at your life. What will He find? What will He say? Will what the Lord said be true of you, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot”. It should shake you up and make you take stock of what you are actually doing with your life!

We all are doing fine in our lives. With hard work and God’s grace and help, most of us are abundantly blessed. But that is not what concerns the Lord most! He wants to know, “How is it with your soul?” Are you growing in the likeness of the Lord! Are you fruitful in the work of the Lord and to the people?

Do a quick self spiritual health check:

- Do you love the Lord with all your heart? Is He first before everything in your life?
- Do you listen to Him by reading the Bible and meditating on it daily?
- Do you take time to speak to the Lord in prayer?
- Do you give tithes of what you receive from the Lord?
- Do you give any support to your church other than attending it on Sundays?
- Are you involved in any of its vital activities - Cells or Home Fellowships?
- Are you ministering to others - physical and spiritual?

Dear fellow-believer, if you cannot honestly say “YES” to these things to the Lord, you need to give special attention to His solemn warning today: “I wish you were either one or the other!.. because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me hear Your solemn words clear and loud. I have heard it before but I never knew its terror. Help me to do the works You are looking for and receive Your reward and escape judgment. Amen.

If We Confess Our Sins

IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO GOD HE WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM ALL OUR WRONGDOING. 1 John 1.9.

A young friend of mine had been in the clutches of drugs, smoking and minor crimes for many years. He didn’t pursue his studies because of his wayward life. Obviously he didn’t listen to his parents or concerned friends.

He comes from a devout Christian family but he kept away from the church and Christian influence which made things worse. He had short spells in rehabs but they were of little use. Many times he had been challenged to commit his life to Christ. But he wanted to run his life on his own, as he used to say!

Then he met a girl and fell in love. He wanted to marry her. He promised her and everyone else that he would definitely change this time, though he had never been able to do so before! All of us want to believe him with all our hearts. But it is natural that there are genuine doubts against all the good hopes and prayers!

Hence, I told him as I had done before, “You cannot change yourself. You have tried! But Christ can change you! All you have to do is to confess your sins to God. Then God will keep His promise, “God will forgive him his sins and purify him from all his wrong doings”. The Spirit of God will empower him to do what he could not do himself all these years. Not only will all his sins be forgiven, he will be made a new creation in Christ Jesus! Old things will pass away. All things will be made new! (2 Cor 5.17).

Dear friend, if you haven’t experienced this miracle of life transformation, then let me invite you “to come to your senses at last like ‘the Prodigal Son’ of the Bible” (Lk 15.11). God has brought you to your present situation. It may be so extreme like the prodigal in the pig’s pen, starving. Or, God may have brought you, like this young friend of mine, to a most exciting stage in his life! God has brought a girl to love and to cherish in his lonely, defeated life.

Remember, God puts you through different situations in life to bring you to your right sense, when you stray from Him. I trust that you will say like the prodigal, “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Lk 15.18). Instead of doubting your intentions like men do, God your loving Father will say, “let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (v 24).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let my circumstances bring me to my senses that I will know that I am lost without You. Help me to say, “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you”. I know You will trust me and set me right. Amen.

Do Not Be Afraid

AN ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM AND SAID "JOSEPH DO NOT BE AFRAID." Mathew 1.20

Even if you are not a TV addict, you would have probably seen the programme from Hollywood known as ‘Fear Factor’, parts of which sometimes nauseate spectators! Robust young men and women stick out their neck and life to prove that they have no fear! But fear is a common factor in everyone’s life!

In our church we pray for people who come forward for special prayer, as most churches do. I have noticed that one thing they all express is fear of their distressing situations. They find no escape and are afraid. There was once a single mother with two teenagers who found it difficult to cope with life alone! Another was a young man in financial difficulty. There were others with serious sicknesses. These are all typical of the troubles and trials that you and I face. Because we cannot solve them by ourselves, and sometimes even by our fervent prayers, we become fearful.

It is such a great comfort that Our heavenly Father knows all our fears. Over fifty times on different occasions to various people in the Bible, we read that the angels and even the Lord Himself appeared and said, “Do not be afraid”. When Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, many of the kings of Israel, Joseph, Mary, the disciples, the apostles and others had divine encounters, they all heard almost the same words of comfort and encouragement.

The psalmist king David had fears of foes and woes all his life. In his great distress he penned that most comforting psalm – 34. He said, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears…This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble (Psa 34.4,6).

Dear believer, if you think that your fears are great, then think for a moment of Joseph and Mary, the parents of our Lord Jesus Christ! The pious young carpenter was engaged to the most God-fearing girl in Nazareth! The next thing she knew and Joseph heard was that she was pregnant! But they had no premarital sex which the youngsters of today take for granted! Joseph was a God-fearing and obedient youngster and wouldn’t have dared to violate Mary’s chastity. Mary, they say, was one of those strict virgins of Israel who, like her companions, kept herself pure and wished and prayed to become the mother of the Messiah!

What great fears might have overtaken the most favoured couple of Nazareth! Their lives crumbled. Their marriage was on the rocks. They were about to lose face before the village people. To poor Mary, it could have even been death by stoning for fornication (adultery). It was then, their loving and caring Father in Heaven came into their fear-ridden lives. He sent the angel Gabriel himself, the chiefest and mightiest in heaven, to allay poor Mary's fear. Another angel was sent to Joseph and said to him, “Do not be afraid!”

Dear friend, whatever be your fear today that cripples your life, just trust in God. I reminded one young man as I prayed for him, “If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you can be sure God will add to your life all the things you need!” God is faithful. You need to be faithful! You will then somehow hear God say to you, “Son/daughter, do not be afraid!”

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am so fearful of my situation which is beyond my control. Let me hear Your Words, “Do not be afraid!” and be comforted and encouraged like Joseph and Mary. Amen.

Because Abraham Had Faith

BECAUSE ABRAHAM HAD FAITH HE LIVED AS A STRANGER IN THE PROMISED LAND. Hebrews 11.9.

Suppose you had a rich father. If he promised you something, it is natural that you would be waiting to receive it. If it were a very important thing in your life, like a car or a house, you will all the more be anxious to obtain it. If time goes by and the promise does not materialise, you will be disappointed. You will lose faith in the promise, even if it is from your father.

It was different with Abraham. God had promised him a land and a posterity. Abraham believed God. He left his father’s house trusting in God’s promise. He took his family with him on this faith journey. He went from place to place as the Lord led him through circumstances. Abraham was content to live in tents with his wife Sarah. It was always from one tent to another, all his life. He went through all the hardships of life but God was with him. There were times when God delivered Abraham from trouble. At other times, God preserved him through trials. God never left him and His promises never failed. God gave him the son He promised. The promised son, Isaac came after 25 years! He gave Abraham’s descendents the promised land. It took 450 years or so for his descendents to possess the land, Canaan. No wonder the apostle Paul tells about Abraham, “So then, he is the father of all who believe” (Rom 4.11).

A friend of mine was struck with a deadly cancer that was fast bringing his life to an end. He decided to claim the promises of God like Abraham! He purposely took the name “Abraham”. God preserved his life a few more years during which he testified to the faithfulness of God.

Dear believer, you need not change your name to Abraham but surely you need to have his faith every time you turn to God, claiming His promises. You must keep going forward in faith like Abraham, even if there are delays and there is no sight of any fulfillment. Abraham’s life reveals to us that God will always be true to his promises to His children, often during their life but at other times after their lives! Nothing is impossible with God.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, my faith is weak. When answers to my prayers claiming Your promises are delayed, I doubt and become distressed. Lord, grant me an unwavering faith like that of Abraham’s. Amen.

Your Joy Be Complete

I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MAY BE IN YOU AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE. John 15.11.

Everyone wants to enjoy life. The kind of joy that people often look for is ‘earthly joy’. This is the kind of joy that Christmas and New Year celebrations bring! For daily merry making now they have come up with 'Happy Hours’ for working people in many places! But such happiness depends on one’s situation and circumstance. Good health, great wealth and much prosperity contribute to this kind of joy. But at best this joy is temporary and transient!

The Lord Jesus Christ was talking about a different kind of joy! Jesus was telling the disciples about a new relationship with Him and the Father which is fostered through abiding in or reading His Word continually. True and abiding joy comes only from a firm and living relationship with Jesus Christ on a daily basis through His Word. No one or nothing can take that joy from you!

Jesus said that He is the true Vine! We are the branches. It is a vital connection with Him and not merely following after Him. We can have this spiritual relationship. But we must maintain this relationship and connection daily – moment by moment. It is not an occasional thought of Him or prayer to Him, nor a weekly meeting with Him in the church on a Sunday morning! The condition for this new and vital touch and constant relationship with Christ is that we must abide in Him, the true Vine.

The only way that Jesus suggests here for you and I to abide in Him is by letting His Word abide in us. How do we let His Word abide in us? By regularly and even constantly reading God’s Word! You will become increasingly fruitful. The Father will be glorified in you. Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”. When you, ‘abide in His Word’ and obey His commandments, there is great joy in the Lord’s heart. He loves us more for it! It will cause our joy to be complete.

Dear believer, the Lord has commanded, “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” (Jos 1.8). God even told how to teach it to your children. “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.” (Deut 6.6-9). They too will have the Father's love and joy.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to bring joy to Your heart by abiding in You by reading Your Word. When You share that joy with me, my joy will be complete! Amen.

Live As Jesus Did

IF WE SAY THAT WE REMAIN IN UNION WITH GOD, WE SHOULD LIVE JUST AS JESUS CHRIST DID. I John 2.6.

Many people get freaked out on Christ, Christianity and the Church! Their reason - the Christians they know are all ‘hypocrites and crooks!’ It is a pity they lump all ‘the good and the bad Christians’ into one and express a grossly biased ‘bad opinion’. Strangely, no one does that to the Hindus or Buddhists or even the atheists!

The whole problem is that the people of this world expect the Christians to live like Christ. The people seem to have the idea that Jesus Christ was a good and godly person. He was a good teacher who taught all to be good – loving God, loving others and doing good. When they do not see the followers of Christ living according to His teaching, they blame Christ’s Church and not so much the culprits! We must admit that many of us are a bad publicity for Christ, the Christians and the Church.

For some strange reason, people do not expect those of other religions ‘to be good’. They can go to the temple or places of worship but need not live good and exemplary lives. Even if they live as crooks and criminals, they are not branded as bad Hindus or Buddhists or Muslims! No one expects them to live differently from others, leading good lives because of their religion or their leaders!

Whatever people may or may not say is not so important to you and I. But we need to know that our God, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church have certain expectations of us, His children. It is high time that you, as a follower of Jesus, take a stand to live like Christ. You cannot live as you please and do what you like and continue to be Christians! I just taught at a church camp 'What it is to be a Normal Christian and how to live it.'

Today’s Bible text says, “if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did”. God is our Father in heaven and we are His children on earth. We live among others who have no such knowledge or relationship with God. Hence it is expected of us, is incumbent on us, to live as Jesus lived.

The apostle Paul tells us of God’s expectation, “you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Phil 2.15).

Dear child of God, if you so live no one will ever call you a hypocrite and you will be a credit and a witness to Jesus to the people you come across.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to remember always that I am Your child and that You expect me to be like Jesus Christ Your Son in everything I say and do. Amen.

Log Out of Own Eye

YOU HYPOCRITE! FIRST TAKE THE LOG OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE, AND THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE CLEARLY TO TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR BROTHER'S EYE. Matthew 7.5.

Surprisingly, you and I have an uncanny skill of finding out the fault in others. Even from childhood we develop it without being taught! Listen to the little ones in your home and see how quick they are to report to the parents about the wrong things their siblings have done? We carry on this trait and by adulthood we become experts in spotting the faults and failures of all others. By some strange twist of character, we also acquire the innate knack not to observe even the most obvious and blatant failures and faults of our own.

My wife and I like our home to be spick and span. Everything must be in its place and look perfect. We do not extravagantly decorate our home but all those who visit us usually remark, “How clean and beautiful the place looks!” It is therefore natural that we have become very observant of the untidiness in other homes and are quite intolerant of it! We may not tell people to their face but we will criticise them harshly between ourselves!

Lately, I had a shock when I noticed that some of the chairs in my surgery were old and torn! It had been so for some time but I didn’t notice it! But had it been someone else’s surgery in such a shabby state, I would have been criticising and complaining about the doctor to my wife! One day I came to my senses! I felt guilty for leaving my things in such bad state.

This is only a small incident of no great significance. But think about it! How quick we are to spot the many sins and wrongdoings of others when we ourselves indulge in them with impunity! We judge them and criticise harshly as if we are never guilty of such evil.

Jesus saw this inconsistency in the religious leaders and condemned it. He said, “You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye”. The Lord warned, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.”

Dear believer, therefore, let you be quick to judge yourself and slow to condemn others. Let us be strict and harsh with our sins and follies but lenient and gracious towards others. Let us correct ourselves before judging others and condemning their wrongs.

Pray and practice with me: Dear Lord, help me to stop judging and criticising others rashly. If I am guilty of the same wrongdoing, help me to stop indulging in them before condemning others. Amen.

God Is The Potter

O HOUSE OF ISRAEL CAN I NOT DO WITH YOU AS THIS POTTER DOES? DECLARES THE LORD. Jeremiah 18.6.

I am an amateur artist! I have a number of oil and water paintings in my house and in my surgery. One of my hobbies is to keep touching up my old paintings and make them better and more attractive! This is especially true of my old and faded paintings. By the way, I am attaching the very first painting I did when I was a medical student – a reproduction of the ‘Head of Christ’ by Warner Salman.

The reason I mentioned about my paintings is that I believe an artist is a miniature creator in the fashion of the Great Creator. He is always at work to make and remake His creation. God does that at will with all the things of nature and the universe. But when it comes to man, the pinnacle of His creation, He is unable to do it! The reason – God has given him a free will. Now, man has to allow his Creator to mould and remould, or make and remake him.

Dear believer, I trust that by the marvellous grace of God, He has granted you the wisdom and the good sense to acknowledge that you ‘like sheep, go astray all the time’ and even get marred. You know that you are constantly losing the beauty and likeness of your Maker. We are becoming unfruitful and even useless for ourselves, others and our Maker. Keep asking God to give you the humility to let Him ‘bend you, break you, mould you and remake you!’ Countless people including believers are proud and independent and want to go their own way, even when they know it is taking them to misery and destruction. They won’t let God take control of their life and destiny. They won’t let God remould them.

The Lord took the prophet Jeremiah to a potter’s house. There he was shown how the potter took the initiative to remake the clay that was marred in his hand into another vessel of beauty and usefulness. The clay didn’t resist for it couldn’t. Then, God said, “Go and tell Israel what the potter was doing to his marred pots”. The Lord asked Jeremiah to plead with His incorrigible people to let Him remake them! Yet, they refused. Dear friend, won’t you let God do His work in your life today and every day? I keep touching up my old paintings and they look more and more beautiful all the time. I know that my ‘Painter/Potter' would do the same with you and I day after day, if only we will let Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, make me willing for You to bend me, break me, mould me and make me more and more into Your likeness everyday. Amen.