† Help For Today

Do Not Take Revenge

2008-01-04T13:01:00.001+08:00

DO NOT TAKE REVENGE ON OTHERS OR CONTINUE TO HATE THEM, BUT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. I AM THE LORD. Leviticus 19.18.

I know of a group of Christians who attend a weekly Bible class. Once, they were studying about ‘Love’. The study lasted for several weeks. They learned many Scriptures that taught them to love others and stop hating anyone. They discussed their personal problems with each other.

They also spent much time asking God to help them forgive those whom they hated and for the grace to forgive. After all that, many still said that they found it hard to forgive. Those who were deeply hurt even admitted, “I can’t forgive, neither can I forget!” This only reveals how difficult it is to get along with people who offend and hurt you.

But the Word of God is very clear about how you should react towards those who hurt you. The Bible teaches, “Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the LORD”. Not loving but hating those who are against you and taking revenge on them is the norm of this world. But you who belong to the Lord, should be different in your behaviour towards others. Your actions and reactions are to be guided by the Word of God and not by your old nature. You need to be different! THE REASON – “FOR, I AM THE LORD”, says your God. Recently, a Christian magazine in India requested me to write an article on “the Christian response to the ‘evil and corruption’ of this world”. How can we respond righteously unless we are practicing Scriptural principles?

Another good reason why God asks you not to hate but to leave revenge to Him is because “Revenge belongs to Him!” He is the judge. He judges uprightly. When God punishes, His intention is to correct and not to destroy. If you are to keep hating and take your own revenge, you may punish them ‘less’ because you are weak. Or you may inflict ‘more’ because you are strong!

Dear believer, the worst thing about hating and seeking revenge is that they destroy you in mind, body and soul more than your offender! When you cannot forgive and forget, you lose your peace, sleep, appetite, health, if not definitely your SOUL! For Jesus has told us very sternly, “if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Mt 6.14.15).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to love others as myself and not to hate or take revenge but to leave it to You. Amen.

Others Better Than Myself

2008-01-04T12:59:00.000+08:00

DON'T ACT OUT OF SELFISH AMBITION OR BE CONCEITED. INSTEAD, HUMBLY THINK OF OTHERS AS BEING BETTER THAN YOURSELVES. Philippians 2.3.

Think of it for a moment. Don’t you and I act out of selfish ambition most of the time? Aren’t we self-conceited?

We seldom have the humility to admit that others may be better than us or that we are not as good as they are! The root of most problems and troubles is here. Unfortunately, we Christians are no better than the others in this respect. We create more problems in the Church simply because of selfish ambition, conceitedness and lack of humility which make us think that we are right and others are not as smart as we are.

Dear believer, do you know that almost all of our problems in the home and in the church are caused by an inflated ego? Do you notice that you have no problem with those who are below you! Your problem is always with those who are above you and better than you! Have you recognised this? If not, take a little time and think about it. Your quibbles, whether at home or church or office, are with those above you and in authority! This is wrong!

It is God who places people in authority over you. He does it in His wisdom and knowledge. God commands you to respect and obey authority. God commands, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you” (Ex 20.12). Under no circumstances should you dishonour your parents! Again God demands of you, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5.17).

This doesn’t mean that parents and elders are always right and they never make mistakes. The other day I told my daughter for some reason, “We parents give advice not because we are always right but because we have been wrong many times and learned from our mistakes!” Wise children can correct parents but with due respect. In the same way, church leaders have been wrong before and they still make mistakes. God, who has ordered us to honour them, also has given us specific instructions how to offer correction!

You must follow Christ and learn to be humble. You must learn to consider others better than yourself – not just in words but in your actions too. Because of your accomplishments and position, you often think that you are better than those who do not possess them! I thought that I was ‘better’ than my gardener! On second thought, there are many things he does that I cannot do and some things he definitely can do better! I am learning that I should consider him better than me at least as a gardener and respect him for it. The same truth applies to all! You need to reconsider your relationship with others, from home to church and office. You must learn the right perspectives from the Lord Jesus.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You were God-man. Yet You never ‘thought less’ of anyone, even a leper or harlot. Help me to begin to practice humility and consider all - at home, outside and in the church, better than myself. Teach me to treat all with respect and honour. Amen.

Prosper In All Things

2008-01-04T12:58:00.000+08:00

SINCE THE DAY I HEARD ABOUT YOU I HAVE NOT STOPPED PRAYING FOR YOU. COL 1.9

For the past several years, I have been following the example of the great apostle Paul and praying for all of my dear readers even as he did!

My prayer for you this New Year is the same. I quote it here so that you may know what my prayer for you is and WHAT GOD'S WILL FOR YOU IS! I am breaking the prayer into item by item so that you will know what GOD EXPECTS FROM YOU.

"I ask God:

to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

I pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord

You may please him in every way:

You bear fruit in every good work,

You grow in the knowledge of God,

You be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that

You may have great endurance and patience,

You may joyfully give thanks to the Father,

who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."

Won't you too make it your daily prayer?

I also pray for you as John the apostle prayed, "The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

In order too prosper in all things, you work day and night! You need to work just as hard in order to prosper in your soul! So work on what God desires for you in your life as stated in Paul's prayer. A friend of mine called me up this New Year's day and said, "I have decided to read the Bible through this year, putting aside 20 minutes a day!"

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to work on prospering my soul for I know You will prosper me in all things and in health. Amen.

The Sincere Faith

2007-12-21T13:00:00.000+08:00

I REMEMBER THE SINCERE FAITH YOU HAVE, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also. 2 Timothy 1.5.

Often we visit our daughter and family who live in a town a few hours away. The one thing that struck me most was the devotion the mother and father have for their three children. The saying is no more an exaggeration, “the parents live for their children!” From very early in the morning to very late at night the mother and the father attend to every need of each child. Between the father who is a surgeon and the mother, a full-time home-maker, they make a dozen trips to shuttle the children to school, tuition and music lessons! It is the privilege and duty of every father and mother to take good care of the children God has blessed them with. It is especially so with Christian parents.

Unfortunately, I have seen many a Christian father and/or mother totally disregard and neglect their duty to bring their children up “in the fear and the nurture of the Lord” as the Bible requires.

But in the light of today’s Bible text - “I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also” - let me remind Christian parents, especially the mothers, to pay special attention to the spiritual upbringing of your children. Caring for the physical, mental and material needs of children and lavishly providing for everything they fancy has become the norm for families today. I see this even in Christian families.

Dear believer, the serious question is, 'are you careful enough to impart your most holy faith to your children or those under your care'? I thank God for my godly parents and grandparents. I cherish the sacred memory of my grandmother and mother who were the most instrumental in imparting their faith to me from my infancy. My grandmother even conducted a Sunday School at home for our neighbourhood children so that they too shared her faith! They passed away a long while ago, but their faith abides in most of us even today.

It is said of Susannah Wesley, mother of the famous John and Charles Wesley that she took particular care of each of her 19 children! She fed, clothed and educated all of them with the meager salary of her husband who was a cleric. But what really paid off was the time and effort she put into the life of each one of those 19 children in sharing her faith to them individually. She was particular in taking each child alone with her to do some chore in order to talk to them one-to-one and to share her faith and belief. No wonder, John became England’s most renowned preacher and Charles the equally famous hymn writer!

Dear friend, Christian father or mother, I urge you to emulate my dear mother who was so serious to see her children catch her faith that her rule was, “No Bible reading and prayer, no breakfast!” Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb.11.6). What are you doing each day to impart your faith to your children? Are you only attending to all their other needs?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for not giving equal or more time and effort to imparting my faith in You to my children. Help me to start today! Amen.

God Can Humble The Proud

2007-12-18T09:35:00.000+08:00

GOD CAN HUMBLE ANYONE WHO ACTS PROUDLY. I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just.. Daniel 4.37.

As we were driving back home from the church one day, I asked my wife about a young doctor and his wife whom we know well, “Which church do they attend?” To my surprise, she replied, “They often do not go to church!” He and his wife come from good Christian families. Both are professionals. He is aspiring to be a medical specialist. They were blessed with a baby lately. Everything had gone well for them. That must be the reason why they are so independent! They have it all. They do not acknowledge God’s good hand in their lives. They do not seem to need God!

King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire was one such person, only much greater and mightier! At the height of his power and greatness, one day, he was walking around on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon. He said, "Look how great Babylon is! I built it as my capital city to display my power and might, my glory and majesty." Before the words were out of his mouth, a voice spoke from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to what I say! Your royal power is now taken away from you. You will be driven away from human society, live with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for seven years. Then you will acknowledge that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses” (Dan 4.29-32).

Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human society and ate grass like an ox. The dew fell on his body and his hair grew as long as eagle feathers and his nails as long as bird’s claws. “When the seven years had passed,” said the king, “I looked up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised the Supreme God and gave honor and glory to the one who lives forever. He will rule forever, and his kingdom will last for all time. He looks on the people of the earth as nothing; angels in heaven and people on earth are under his control. No one can oppose his will or question what he does. When my sanity returned, my honor, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom were given back to me. My officials and my noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my royal power with even greater honor than before” (vs 33-36).

When he came to his senses after his humiliation, this is what he said, “Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly”.

Oh! that God would give you the sense to acknowledge His Almighty hand in all that happens in your life and continually give Him praise and glory! Dear believer, don’t be senseless like our young doctor friend or the great and mighty king! Then, God wouldn’t have to humble you or let you be troubled before you acknowledge Him and give Him His due praise and glory.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, often I am tempted to feel that what I am and what I have are by my own merit. I forget to acknowledge You or give You the glory. Forgive me and grant me the due sense to do it before it is too late. Amen.

Build Conscience On The Word

2007-12-17T22:45:00.001+08:00

SOME HAVE REFUSED TO LET THEIR FAITH GUIDE THEIR CONSCIENCE AND THEIR FAITH HAS BEEN DESTROYED LIKE A WRECKED SHIP. 1 Timothy 1.19.

Conscience is a good thing given to us by our good Lord. It is a good guide and all must endeavour to live by it. But many people, including Christians, do not heed their conscience and hence do wrong and wreck their lives. However, your conscience must be guided by the unerring and unchanging standards of the Word of God! There are many good Christians who have had their consciences ruled by what they heard from others, however good or godly they may be!

The Bible says, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10.17). Faith is the substance as well as the assurance of what we believe (Heb 11.1). Your tenets of faith must be founded on the WORD OF GOD ALONE! It is the revealed will of God for us. It should be what guides and rules your conscience. You must read God's Word and set your conscience right according to it. You must live by it. Every word and deed of yours must be guided by it.

We are living in the age of which the same apostle had this to say, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations” (2 Tim 4.3-5).

Dear believer, it is good to have teachers. You may listen to all. But be like the Bereans, “They were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Act 17.11). Read and constantly meditate on the unadulterated Word of God with vigour. I just bought a 'Life application Bible' at my age of seventy plus! Let the Word be the foundation for your conscience. Follow it faithfully.

The Bible warns, "You must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies... In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up” (2 Pe 1.21, 2.1-3).

Be wary of interpretations and opinions of even the most popular teacher! Do not mistake God’s Word for men’s fancy doctrines, teachings or prophecies! Build your conscience on the unchanging Word. Do not wreck your life on rocks that others have placed before you!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to build up my most holy faith and conscience on Your eternal and revealed Word and not on any one's interpretation, and live by it. AMEN.

Love Our Brothers & Sisters

2007-12-17T22:44:00.000+08:00

MAY THE LORD MAKE YOUR LOVE INCREASE AND OVERFLOW FOR EACH OTHER AND FOR EVERYONE ELSE, JUST AS OURS DOES FOR YOU. 1 THESSALONIANS 3.12.

‘Love’ is the greatest theme of the Bible. It is not surprising because God is love (1 Jn 4.8). His greatest expression of love towards us was the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us! (Jn 3.16). Jesus said, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Mt 22.37-40).

‘Lack of love is the root of all problems!’ There are no problems that cannot be resolved if there is love! If you love God, you will obey Him. If you obey God, you will love people. Love does no harm to anyone! The world would be a more peaceful place to live in and life would be more pleasant for everyone.

‘To love’ should be the easiest thing to do but unfortunately it is not. Even the twelve disciples of Jesus had a problem loving each other. More than anything else, Jesus’ greatest concern was that the disciples should learn to love one another. He repeatedly commanded them to love each other for He saw in them continued traits of jealousy and selfishness! Jesus knew that if they did not genuinely love each other they could love none else!

That is why Jesus repeatedly told His disciples about loving each other. He said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (Jn 13.34,35). Thank God that He has not only commanded us to love each other but “God has also poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Rom 5.5). By the love that the Holy Spirit has poured out in our hearts we can and should now love not only those who love us but also those who hurt or even hate us!

Our love will speak more eloquently than all our preaching and professing! It will be more persuasive than all the miracles we may perform. So let us make love our chief aim. The apostle Paul wrote, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor 13:1,2). Think about it and begin to show the genuineness of your love!

Dear believer, “May the Lord make my love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else”. Notice, “each other” (means those near to you) must precede “everyone else!” Our folly is that we try to love everyone else before each other, those who are around us! It doesn’t work that way. So let us henceforth determine to begin where we should start – love the brother or sister whom we see - and ask the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our weaknesses in doing it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, thank You for Your greatest act of love in sending Your Son to die for me. Help my love for each other to increase and overflow so that all may know that I am Your disciple. Amen.

In Everything Give Thanks

2007-12-16T00:25:00.002+08:00

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS: FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS CONCERNING YOU. 1 Thessalonians 5.18

Thankfulness is not a trait we inherit. We need to cultivate it and teach it to our children to express gratitude for kindness received. It is not often that people thank God for His goodness to them. Often Christians are no exception. To thank God for everything and in everything as the Scripture commands is not followed by most. You may feel obliged to thank God for the ‘good things’ He has done but what about the apparently ‘bad things’ that befall you?

The Scripture teaches, “In everything give thanks!” That is a command of God! I remember reading a very long time ago an interesting small book by an army Chaplin, entitled “PRISON TO PRAISE”. The Chaplin began telling his counselees who went to him with complaints of ‘hurt in the field or by families back home’, “Come on! Gives thanks in everything!” The already hurt, poor souls were astonished and flabbergasted and asked him, “Why should we, and how could we give thanks to God when He is causing us hurt and suffering? It does not make sense!” Some had been wounded in the field, some lost friends in battle, others had bad news from home and there were those whose wives were deserting them and going after other men!

The good Chaplin replied, “It doesn’t make sense to me either! But the Word of God says so, and we must obey!” One by one the bewildered soldiers began giving thanks to God in whatever situation they were in. They didn’t exactly ‘thank God for their dead friends, sick parents or deserting wives!’ However, each one began to thank God saying, “Lord, You know my terrible situation. I thank You for it because You asked me to thank You in everything! I don’t feel like it but I do. Sometimes I feel it is crazy but still I do thank You because You have said so!” Wonder of wonders, the book goes on to tell ‘how God in miraculous ways solved many of the impossible problems of the soldiers!’

Here is yet another reason from today’s lesson for you to give thanks in everything: It is “the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you!” That sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? God is in it, so is Christ Jesus and you too! Hey! You better do it! Let us not go against the will of God in Christ Jesus for you and me.

Dear friend, whether you are going through troubled waters and battlefields or not, begin now to obey God’s will for you in Christ Jesus - give thanks to God in everything. Then leave your troubles with Him! Like Habakkuk the prophet on the watch tower, you too may wait to hear and see what the Almighty will say or do! (Hab 2.1). God has promised and surely, He will respond!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to give thanks to You for everything and in all situations I find myself in, be it good or bad, for you have told me so and it is Your will for me whether I feel like it or not. Thank You Father. Amen.

Give You Thanks Forever

2007-12-16T00:25:00.001+08:00

LORD MY GOD, I WILL GIVE YOU THANKS FOREVER. Psalm 30.12.

Once I was having a season of meditation and prayer. It gave me an occasion to think about all the good things the Lord had done for me and my family. It was also a time when I thought about all the troubles and trials that God allowed to come into our lives. For a dozen or so of ills and woes that upset us there were literally countless blessings that God had bestowed on us as individuals and as families.

Reminiscing our lives with all its ups and downs will give us much reason to thank the Lord for all His goodness. Looking back, even our troubles and sorrows will cause us to thank God for them. With hindsight, we have seen the goodness they brought about in our lives. They have caused us to depend on God. They have matured us. We have learned patience and tolerance. Whereas we have enjoyed our blessings very much, we have grown but little because of them. But the positive effects of our sufferings have made us the men and women we are today!

While we suffer or when we are in great need, we may not be in the mood for thanking God. Rather we complain and cry out. But David was different. Even when he was in great distress, we find him having an interesting mixture of attitudes and approach to God. You will find that in today’s psalm. He starts off praising and exalting God. He thanks God for His deliverances. Then suddenly he brings his petition and cry to God for deliverance from his present distress. In the midst of his cry, he sings praises to God. He also calls on others to join him and exalt God. You find him also asserting his hope in God that He will surely bring him out of all his troubles.

One may get the impression that David was confused in his misery and didn’t know what he was doing! Have you felt that way? You just do not know what to do when you are in great distress. Talk about being confused and not knowing what to do or what more to do than crying to God.

We need to have a spiritual strategy of survival or we will be depressed or succumb. Learn from King David. It is not trying your luck doing this or that! It has been tested and proved by David many times. To begin with: Praise God. Thank Him for what He has done. Cry out to God and tell Him your problems. Tell God that you will still trust Him in spite of His lack of response or delay to answer. Tell God what you have learned and experienced Him. Then be still and know that He is God and He will act!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, there are times when I am so distressed that I do not know what to do, in spite of my trust, hope, prayer and cry to you. “Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help" (v.10). Amen.

Loving Others

2007-12-12T18:54:00.000+08:00

Give You Thanks Forever

2007-12-11T12:57:00.000+08:00

Do Not Be Anxious

2007-12-11T12:56:00.000+08:00

DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD. PHILIPPIANS 4.6.

There is a small plaque on my wall that says, “TODAY IS THE TOMORROW YOU WORRIED ABOUT YESTERDAY!” How true!

God acknowledges and the Bible addresses human being’s grave problem of anxiety. God is just like our fathers – they love us so much that not only do they not want us to suffer, they do not even want us to be anxious about anything! They will do everything possible to overcome our trouble! However, God is different from our fathers because He does not keep us from all difficulties and distresses. Rather, He allows them so that by His grace and help we would learn to overcome them and be strengthened physically, mentally and above all spiritually!

At least four times the Bible exhorts us not to be anxious, each time through a different person using different words. It is interesting to note that each time God tells you and I not to be anxious, He also gives us a valid reason for it.

God said through David, “Cast your cares on the LORD”. Then He follows it up with a reason to do so. “For the LORD will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psa. 55.22). In another psalm, David gives another compelling reason not to be anxious – “the Lord, God our Saviour, daily bears our burdens” (Psa 68.19).

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us not to worry. “Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things.” Then He gives us a solid reason not to worry – “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things”. Do you need any other good reason? Here is another! Jesus asked, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Of course the answer is none! So why the unproductive worry? (Mt 6. 27,31.32).

The apostle Paul said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Why should you do so? Because, says Paul, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4.6,7).

The apostle Peter is equally persuasive in asking us not to be unnecessarily anxious, “Cast all your anxiety on the Lord”. Again he too gives us a reason that we cannot discount: “Because the Lord cares for you” (1 Pe 5.7).

Dear believer, we can’t avoid circumstances that cause us anxiety but we are to overcome anxiety. So what do we do when we are genuinely anxious about the things that happen to us? I suggest 1) You go on your knees 2) Keep your Bible open at the above four portions 3) Read aloud each one for God to hear and be reminded of His promises 4) Claim them from God.

I have heard that George Mueller, that great man of prayer of a generation ago, used to do that and get his answers from God! Try it and surely your anxieties will fade away.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me not to worry about anything but to bring all my requests to You with thanksgiving. May Your peace rest upon me as I cast all my cares on You. Amen.

Clean Up Your Lives

2007-12-11T12:55:00.000+08:00

CLEAN UP YOUR LIVES YOU SINNERS. PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YOU PEOPLE WHO CAN’T MAKE UP YOUR MIND. James 4.8 (Contemporary English Version).

The reason often you and I still live in sin is that we cannot ‘make up our mind’ either to make a clean break from our sins and begin to obey the commandments of God, or to continue committing sins! Cleaning up your life and purifying your heart have become doubly difficult because you are “double minded” or you 'cannot make up your minds' about it.

We love our sin! We are not quite decided whether we want to repent and turn away from our sin. So it exerts its evil grip on us. Hence, in order to succeed, we atleast need to have a determination to stop sinning.

Instead of decidedly hating our old sinful deeds, we often try to dabble in our former sin for fun and pleasure. We deliberately make occasion for them! We tempt the devil! We play with sin like a flimsy butterfly fluttering around the fire. We flirt with sin and try to see who wins! Because we foolishly go too near ‘the fire’ we get burned! How often we and even many good men have played the fool and lost!

Do you know why Paul said to young Timothy, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”? (1 Tim 6.11). Timothy was being encouraged to be like the wise young man Joseph - ‘leave our clothes behind if need be and flee from all tempting situations so that we will not fall prey to temptation and sin!’ It is not in the proximity of sin that you should try to be smart and try to “stand firm and resist the devil!” It will prove to be the most dangerous thing to do!

Dear believer, how often have you and I ‘played with sin as with fire and got burned?’ You need to have a desire and a passion for holiness and purity. Like Joseph, we too must be able to say, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen 39.8). You should have the determination not to flirt with any sin. You should not make occasion for it or remain in such situations. Then you can have victory. You can say with Paul, “Thanks be to God! He gives me the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15.57).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me 'to make up my mind to clean up my life and purify my heart.' Let me not flirt with sin any longer. Give me victory over sins that easily entangle me! (Heb 12.1). Amen.

Burdens To The Lord

2007-12-06T08:26:00.000+08:00

TURN YOUR BURDENS OVER TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. Psalm 55.22.

The other day we were discussing in our Home Fellowship the puzzling problem of, “If God loves us so much and we love Him too, how is it we have so much trouble and turmoil in this life?” Talking about troubles, listen to poor King David’s mourning, “My heart is in turmoil. The terrors of death have seized me. Fear and trembling have overcome me. Horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "If only I had wings like a dove - I would fly away and find rest” (vs 4-6). That’s real trouble!

We must realise that being a Christian is no hedge against trials and temptations. If at all, it may only increase because we have joined forces with God to fight the devil. But then, God being Almighty, why does He allow trouble to overtake His children?

Look through the Bible and you will not find an answer that satisfies our minds. Instead of finding an answer, you probably came to the conclusion that God didn’t always remove the troubles of His people, even though He had the power to do so. But when God did not remove the troubles, He gave support and strength to people to go through them.

Through the adversities, God is moulding us into maturity, leading us to perfection and fitting us into His likeness. These are God’s ultimate goals for you and me! While labouring to establish yourself in this world and hankering after material blessings, do not forget that God’s plans and purposes for you is greater and higher.

Thank God, David had made God, “my Rock, my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge” (Psa 144.1,2). Anyone who has no God like David’s to take care of him, will crack up or commit suicide! David knew what to do in times of distress: “But I call on God, and the LORD saves me. Morning, noon, and night I complain and groan, and he listens to my voice. With his peace, he will rescue my soul from the war waged against me, God will listen. The one who has sat enthroned from the beginning will deal with them” (vs16-19).

Dear friend in distress, God is your only hope! He alone is your deliverer. He gives you strength and provides your every need. Your only escape is “to turn all your burdens over to the LORD”. As sure as His eternal promises, “God will take care of you”.

Lead a righteous life before God. “He will never let the righteous stumble”. Apostle Paul said, “the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Th 3.3). All through the Bible times and ever since, all who have trusted Him have found Him faithful! You too will!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your wonderful promise, “Cast all your anxiety (burdens, cares) on him because he cares for you” (1 Pe 5.7). Help me to put them one by one on You and feel the relief and Your care of me! Amen.

Learn To Be Disciplined

2007-12-05T01:25:00.000+08:00

WE DONT ENJOY BEING DISCIPLINED. IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO CAUSE MORE PAIN THAN JOY. Hebrews 12.11.

'DISCIPLINE AND DISCIPLINING’ are the most unpopular words in today's vocabulary. They are the least practised virtues! Indiscipline is everywhere, from families to schools to offices and even in the society! Everything starts with the young and disciplining them is of paramount importance. But, the matter of parents disciplining their children and punishing them when necessary has become a serious and controversial issue today. Even the people of God to whom this should never have been an issue or problem are more puzzled than the people of this world.

The simple reason for this is that from the beginning until the 21st century, we learned from our forefathers and through revelation (from the Creator). But now we learn from the modern theories and assumptions of secular men who do not know the Creator! God does not come up with newer principles and practices for every new generation! His Word is once and for all established in the heavens and let the people of the earth take note!

Read the Bible and you won’t miss the truth that God is a God of discipline. Today’s Bible passage tells us clearly that God disciplines us and explains why He does so and for what purpose! You and I need to know it well so that we will not object or reject God’s discipline in our lives, though painful. We who are so used to objecting discipline, whether from parents or authorities, are inclined to do so with God also.

Disciplining is God’s way of training and correcting you. God will not stop disciplining you because you complain. It ‘puts the fear of God’ in your heart and helps you to do right and stops you from doing wrong! Disciplining is also God’s prescribed way for you to train your children. God will not change His instruction because your popular psychologist says that it is traumatic to your child’s psyche! If you think that your child will become afraid and inhibited because you say ‘NO’ or because you use the rod as God demands, remember, that is exactly what God wants to achieve! They must have the fear of God and of the rod, so that they will be ‘inhibited from doing wrong!’

God commended our fathers for disciplining us. Don’t you think that God will condemn us if we do not discipline our children and train them the way they should go when they are old? (Prov 22.6). Friend, the Bible says, “All children are disciplined by their fathers. If you don’t discipline your children, you are not treating them as part of the family (but as illegitimate children or bastards – other versions!" (vs 7,8). Are you guilty of not disciplining your child? Children and adults too do not enjoy being disciplined. It always seems to cause more pain than joy. But later on, those who learn from that discipline have peace that comes from doing what is right.

As parents who did our best to train up our four children in the way they should walk, we rejoice today, seeing them stick to it by the grace of God. It makes us extremely sad to watch young parents bringing up their children today without control or any discipline whatsoever! They let them be unruly, destroy things, scream, hurt each other and even strike back! God save our children!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, discipline me when I go wrong and teach me to do right. Help me to do the same with my children. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

He Shall Direct Your Paths

2007-12-05T00:01:00.000+08:00

IT WAS THROUGH THE ANGER OF JEHOVAH THAT ZEDEKIAH HAPPENED TO REBEL AGAINST THE KING OF BABYLON. 2 Kings 24.20.

Some things that you and I do according to our own wisdom, understanding and perception may turn out for our ruin, even though we hope that good will come out of them! That is what happened to King Zedekiah of Israel. Unlike most of the kings of the southern kingdom, Judah, Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord God. He had determined to send as exiles, the king and all the people from Jerusalem. It is even more distressing to note that King Zedekiah’s ‘wise and patriotic’ rebellion against the king of Babylon was prompted by the anger of the Lord against him. Don’t make God your enemy by trusting in your own wisdom and judgment!

What the young king Zedekiah thought was the smartest move turned out to be the stupidest thing to do!’ But he didn’t know it. It was because he would listen only to the many false prophets who spoke ‘their own words to please the king’. They were not from the Lord! The king wouldn’t listen to the one and only prophet, Micaiah who dared to tell the truth as from God though it was against the king.

There are many today, like King Zedekiah, who have their own ideas and plans and who want to do things their way. They are looking for confirmation from prophets, one after the other. Sadly there are many prophets today, prophesying things that people like to hear for fame or favours! But the truth is that they are as much deceived to believe that their words are from God as those who accept them as their ‘personal prophecy’!

It is not strange that these prophets counselled Zedekiah to go and fight with the strongest empire, because that is what the king wanted to do! But Jehoshaphat, the God-fearing king of Judah asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?" The king of Israel answered, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah , son of Imlah." "The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

Knowing well the king would accept only “yes” for an answer from God, prophet Micaiah echoed the words of the popular prophets. But when insisted, the man of God gave the unpleasant truth to the king – “you will be killed in the battle and all Israel will be scattered and taken exile!” Did the king believe the Word of the Lord? No! The Bible says, “for it was through the anger of Jehovah that Zedekiah happened to rebel against the king of Babylon in Jerusalem and in Judah, until God had put them out of His presence.”

Dear believer, it is not only the disobedient king but even the children of God who could be misguided by the popular prophets. It is even more true today when there is a restoration of the gift of prophecy. The Bible gives you one sure sign of a true prophet of God – he will not be popular or have a pleasing word all the time for you! Hunt for him if you will and take his counsel even if it is against your wish. Better still, seek God and His will from His Word and from wise and godly saints and follow it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am often puzzled not knowing what to do or which way to take! Thank you for Your promise, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Pro 3.6). Amen.

Everyone Must Die Once

2007-12-05T00:00:00.000+08:00

EVERYONE MUST DIE ONCE AND AFTER THAT BE JUDGED BY GOD. Hebrews 9.27.

A colleague of mine lately took a personal accident insurance for a million dollars. This is in addition to the adequate life cover he already has! I asked him what was the particular need for a personal accident insurance policy for him when he doesn’t travel more than 10 kilometres a day? He told me that the agent told him that statistics show that in his age group – the middle aged – the most common cause of death is by accident. In my seventy odd years, I know of only one middle-aged doctor who died in a car accident and he was drunk! It simply proves the common saying that statistics can prove anything you want it to prove!

Whether the common cause of death of the middle-aged men is by accident or not, people of all ages die everyday! In this, the Bible is absolutely right! “Everyone must die once!” My wife is a cautious woman. A dear old friend of eighty died suddenly some time ago. He died without a will. He was intending to make one at our persuasion but death caught up with him and he lost his opportunity. His family is in a quandary now. Hence, my wife told me and all our children that we should make our wills and keep them safe.

Death is common to all and it always comes unexpectedly. We are not sure of many things after death. But one thing is sure, the Bible says, “after death you will be judged by God”. The Bible also clearly states the basis of God’s judgment, “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).

Most of us, even Christians, live lives that please ourselves and do things as though we do not have to account to anyone! If we do wrong and if we are not caught, we think that we have got away with it! No one considers that nothing escapes God’s all-seeing eyes and all their deeds are recorded by Him. Think of it, if you know that there is a camera that sees and records all that you do, would you be doing wrong? Because God’s camera cannot be seen, it doesn’t mean that it is not seeing and recording!

But no man can do right all the time in all things, even if he tries hard. You still do wrong. Thank God, He is willing to forgive you through Christ who died for you on the cross. Mel Gibson’s Hollywood film ‘Passion of the Christ’ was seen by millions across the world. When one man who saw it was asked, “Why did Jesus suffer so much and die?”, he bluntly said, “I don’t know!” Friend, Jesus came and died for your sins and mine. Today, He can grant you forgiveness of sin because He suffered and died for your sins.

Living a right life after confessing your sins also is a great problem. You will find that you need supernatural help. That is what the Holy Spirit does for you. Christ has gone to heaven. He is praying for you and He awaits you there! Therefore friend, you do not have to fear death and judgment anymore. Trust Christ and entrust yourself to Him everyday. There will be nothing to fear!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to live my life in the fear of God for You see all that I do and know even my thoughts and judge me accordingly. Help me do what is right, by the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Look Up To The Sky!

2007-11-30T16:44:00.000+08:00

LOOK UP AT THE SKY WHO CREATED THE STARS YOU SEE? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great--- not one of them is ever missing! Isaiah 40.29.

Many a time what I write in my devotionals are my soliloquies (solitary communion) with my God! This is particularly so when the Bible passage I am dealing with is complex and its meaning unfathomable! At other times, it is about some puzzling situation in life for which I am searching for answers from God for myself. When you feel a oneness with me as you read, it is because you are human like me and we are all in the same boat that is threatened by the storms of life. We are looking for an anchor!

How glad we should be that there is an Anchor for us in our great and awesome God, the creator and sustainer of all things! His mighty power is revealed in the Bible so clearly in many places. He manifested this in His many deeds throughout the history of peoples.

Yet, it is a great puzzle to us today as we face ‘impossible situations’ and God’s help does not arrive as we cry out! That is the enigma (mystery) of our present life of faith. Until our faith is turned to sight in eternity and our doubts vanish, we have to cling on to our Almighty God and His Word. In times of severe testing of faith, you need to reassure yourself over and over again by the unchanging Word that you are not alone. That the Lord God Almighty is with you. He is able to deliver you or take you through! You shouldn’t base your faith on your experiences. The foundation of your faith must be established on the eternal Word of God that abides forever!

In the Old Testament God told His people, Israel, “There is no one like your God, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut 33.26,27). In the New Testament our God is described as “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jas 1.17).

When you are buffeted by the storms of life and your faith in God is wavering and you are full of doubt, read the majestic description of our incomparably great God, in chapter 40 of Isaiah's prophecy. The words of the prophecy is most eloquent and beautifully poetic, yet extremely truthful. The Lord God knows your problems and pain and he hears your complaints and cry. Here is what He says to you, “Why do you complain that the LORD doesn't know your troubles or care if you suffer injustice? Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts” (vs 27-28).

Dear believer, the next time or maybe even now as you are sorely perplexed and puzzled over your trials and you are wavering in your faith, why not get out somewhere in the open at night and “look up to the sky! Ask yourself, ‘Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great--- not one of them is ever missing!" Do not come away until you are convinced that 'Your God is great and He knows you and He is able to lead you', and begin to praise Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, my problems overwhelm me! But let Your power and love amaze me and cause me to cry out, “Lord, I believe You can help me. Increase my faith. Help my unbelief!” Amen.

Don't Rely On Own Wisdom

2007-11-30T16:43:00.001+08:00

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART. NEVER RELY ON WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW. Proverbs 3.5.

If you need wisdom, read the Book of Proverbs. Even if you do not read it daily, make it a point to read a few chapters now and then! It is bursting with wisdom – divine wisdom. Some say the wise King Solomon collected all the wise sayings of the world and made it into a book. The frequent mention of his son, suggests that Solomon wrote it mainly for his own son. However, as you read through it, you will come to the realisation that it is not merely man’s wisdom but Divine Wisdom! Look for instance at the proverb, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro 9.10). No worldly wise man would admit to such a divine statement!

Much of the sayings and teachings are about seeking, acquiring and applying the wisdom of God in one’s life. Solomon was desperate in pleading with his son to listen to him and to his mother, and to learn wisdom from them. Having learned invaluable lessons through real-life experiences, and many of them through mistakes, the anxious father pleads with his son not to repeat what he encountered. The saying that ‘history repeats itself but man never learns’ is very true. But it is utter foolishness for a man to repeat his own foolishness or that of his father!

Have you ever thought why you repeat foolishness, ours or that of others? Consider today’s Bible text – “NEVER RELY ON WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW”. Most translations have it as, “never lean on your own understanding”. It is natural that you make your decision based on what you know or what you have heard! But the truth is that the information or knowledge on which your decision is based may be flawed or totally wrong! We live in the ‘information age’ and we get all kinds of knowledge through the media, literature and especially the internet. However, only those who are wise know that the information we obtain may be right or wrong and act accordingly.

But when you read the Book of Proverbs from the Word of God, written by inspired writers, it is distilled and pure wisdom from the mind of God and from the oven of life. It can never be wrong. Hence, listen to Solomon when he says, ”My child, don't forget what I teach you. Always remember what I tell you to do. My teaching will give you a long and prosperous life… “Never rely on what you think you know” (vs 1,2). Instead, he counsels him to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart”.

Dear believer, in an age when there are all kinds of voices calling for your attention and compliance, you need to decide on the course of action you are going to take on any issue. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than everyone, even God's Word. Simply obey the LORD and refuse to do wrong. Relying on the instruction of God’s Word and the wisdom of divine maturity will be your salvation instead of sorrow and disappointment.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to trust in YOU with all my heart and never rely on what I think I know! Help me to daily read and meditate on Your Word so that I will obey it. Amen.

We Are Equal

2007-11-30T16:41:00.000+08:00

THE SHARE OF THOSE WHO GO INTO BATTLE MUST BE LIKE THE SHARE OF THOSE WHO STAY WITH THE SUPPLIES. 1 Samuel 30.24.

The text from the Bible that we are considering deals primarily with the soldiers, those on the battlefield and others in the barracks. It was a splendid principle that David set up for the army. But it has a parallel in our modern-day family and society life.

Sometime ago, I was writing the manuscript of my book on “witnessing in the market place”. The work of women in the house and mothers at home seemed to me as important or even more important than the work the men folk accomplish in the offices. But, how do we Christians consider our womenfolk who stay at home and hold that front for us? We men are out working all day and night and we leave our children entirely under the care of our wives. For long, they have been subjugated, doing supposedly ‘a menial kind of task’. They were belittled by the common name we gave them – ‘housewives!’ It is time that we Christians take a radical step toward the proper recognition of our wives and mothers.

A good principle to apply could be borrowed from the rule that David prescribed for his army. We Christians are in the Lord’s army. While the men are on the battlefront our women are holding the fort for us! They are not only the keepers of our belongings but more importantly they are the keepers and trainers of our children. They must be given equal status and more respect than ever.

The duties they perform, the responsibilities they carry and the blessings they are capable of bringing are enumerated in the excerpt from my book given below: “There are few places as strategically important to us as our homes where mothers work. It is their workplace or ‘marketplace’. Hence they form more than half of the world’s workforce. It is there that the lives of our future generations are moulded and their destinies settled for this world and for the next! If only the world had never coined that belittling name ‘housewives’ for that noble and honourable profession of ‘mothers and homemakers”, we would have given them more respect and mothers would have had more self-pride.

Homemakers or mothers should be proud of their profession for it is their divine calling! They should consider their homes their God-ordained domain and thank God for it. Every member of the family is a gracious gift from your Father in heaven to be loved and cherished with utmost care. It is the mother’s divine duty to pray for, feed, clothe, guide, train and help each one to develop to his or her highest potential in God. Together with her godly husband, she must accomplish this.

When her worldly, non-Christian counterparts swear and curse at every chore they have to do, the godly mother must view each task as a deed done unto God and a divine duty performed for the welfare of the members of her ‘home church’. The Lord has made her ‘the lady bishop or pastor’ of her little flock and she must give God an account for each one. In the measure of the gravity and responsibility with which she accepts and discharges her God-given duties, she will be respected by her family members, her church and the society, and richly rewarded by God!”

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You created us man and woman and gave us our separate functions to perform. Help us to mutually respect and equally share our rewards. Amen.

God Will Forgive

2007-11-27T15:45:00.001+08:00

I WILL FORGIVE THEIR SINS AND FORGET THE EVIL THINGS THEY HAVE DONE. Jeremiah 31.34.

I came to know the Lord as my Saviour as a small boy through my mother and grandmother who were godly, praying women. Naturally, there weren’t many 'so-called great sins' that I had committed before that! But there were enough bad things I had done! I was a child of God and I knew as a child of God, I shouldn’t sin. But I had just started my life as a boy and I knew that I was going to confront all kinds of temptations and sins one by one. So I always prayed to God to keep me from sin. When I did sin, I quickly asked for forgiveness. I know that God has forgiven all my sins, since my youth upwards!

I am particularly glad for God’s promise in today’s text: “I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done”. Remember prophet Micah saying, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic 7.19). God Himself said “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isa 43.25).

That is what God in His grace, mercy and forgiveness has done with the sins we have confessed to Him. But, do you ever remember some of your worst sins against God? I do. It always makes me sorry. But never should I feel guilty because God has done away with them!

God’s Word says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1.8). See, God not only forgives the sin that we confess but He goes ahead to purify us from everything that is not right in us! How good it is to confess whenever we sin! Unfortunately, seeking God’s forgiveness doesn't seem to be a priority with you and I. We assume that it is God’s duty to forgive when we sin. But only when you ask are you forgiven!

There are Christians who are in the habit of going back often and resurrecting their past sins which God has buried and doesn’t care to remember. If you are one of them, then you must stop doing it! It is an affront and insult to our God. The Scripture says, “Who is a God like you? You forgive sin and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people. You will not be angry forever, because you would rather show mercy” (Mic 7.18). However, if you happen to remember and feel sorry, it's alright. But you do not have to ask forgiveness for them nor keep remembering them anymore!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to keep rejoicing because You have forgiven and forgotten all my sins from my youth up! Help me to keep short accounts with You daily. Help me to forgive others as You have forgiven me. Amen.

No More Curse

2007-11-27T15:44:00.000+08:00

NO LONGER WILL THERE BE ANY CURSE. THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB WILL BE IN THE CITY. Revelations 22.3,4.

It is a terrible thing to fall under the curse of man and worse still that of God Almighty! Have you heard people say, “There is a curse on that family!” or “That place is under a curse!” It is not an uncommon remark by people, “That man is under a curse. Whatever he does, does not prosper!” People fear the curses of others. I have heard parents curse children, and do it lightly! It is wrong to curse children, even if you do not mean it! It may never happen but it could affect the behaviour of children.

But when pushed to the extreme people do curse! It was what Adam and Eve did. They made their God curse them. God had created them. He put them in a beautiful garden to live and enjoy its fruits. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen 1.28). God frequented them and they had wonderful evening strolls daily.

It was their greatest folly to have antogonised such a Maker, their Lord God and friend. He was no tyrant! There was only one thing God commanded them: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen 2.16,17). Satan deceived Eve and told her not to take God’s warning seriously but to go ahead and do what pleased them! They did!

Disobedience brought a curse instead of blessings from God. To Adam God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Gen 3.17-19).

From that fateful day, all men and women have begun to experience the effect of the curse of God – pain, toil, thorns, thistles, sweat and eventually death! All of us are smarting under the curse of God on our sins. But the Bible says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Gal 3.13). Hence, dear believer, don't be afraid of any curses, whether God's or man's! Go to Jesus and He will remove all curses! You do not have to find another mediator!

The book of Revelations give us this wonderful news of a coming day! “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” Let Jesus remove your curse and set you free to serve Him in this life and reign with Him in the next.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to stop listening to the devil and bring God's curse and punishment on me. Help me to obey You and start experiencing Your blessings instead of the curse! Amen.

Resist The Evil

2007-11-26T00:15:00.000+08:00

PLACE YOURSELVES UNDER GOD’S AUTHORITY. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL RUN AWAY FROM YOU. James 4.7.

There are many ‘good Christians’, and even mature ones, who struggle with sin! They cannot get rid of it. The writer of the Hebrews calls it, “sins” that easily “beset us”, “clings to us so closely”, “easily ensnares us”; “easily entangles us” (Heb 12.1 various versions). Sounds familiar? There are many new Christians also who cannot overcome their sinful habits. Why can’t we get rid of our sins?

At the same time, we hear astounding testimonies of criminals and crooks, the immoral and the perverts. They tell of their wonderful stories of “instant salvation of their souls and also from the sins that kept them captives!” The drunkard vomits at the smell of liquor as he passes by a pub! The chain-smoker wretches at the puff of cigarettes! The sex maniac hates the sight of the brothels he frequented! Everything happened all at once when they accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

What then is our problem? The problem is “US”. You love your sins and hold on to your bad habits and wrong desires. You don’t want to give them up! It is said of the Lord Jesus Christ, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Heb 1.9). The crooks and sinners who get miraculously converted experience salvation from sin and from their love for sin. This is because God anoints them with His Spirit and the bondage and slavery to sin is instantly broken!

I remember counselling a young drug addict brought up in a Christian family. He had tried many times to stop his habit but failed. Rehabilitation centres couldn’t do him any good. Then, I found out his problem. He wanted to run his own life! He didn’t want to submit to God’s authority. Dear believer, you cannot win alone. You need God. You need the help of the Spirit of God, which is freely available.

The Word of God says, “Resist the Devil and he will run away from you”. I get ‘unwanted visitors’ at our clinic sometimes. I have told my nurses to drive them away. They manage to do that fairly well. But there is a tough ‘drug addict’ who never leaves. Every time they have to call me to drive him away! He taught me a wonderful lesson. Now I know why the devil doesn’t run when I try to drive him out by myself! He is not afraid of me. So I do what my nurses do, “I Call the Boss!” I am like that small boy who said, “When the devil comes knocking at my door to tempt me to steal the jam, I ask Jesus to open the door! Immediately, he scoots off!”

While you must 'resist the devil', there are times when you must flee from him and his temptations and escape! "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim 2.22). Remember, that is what the brave young man Joseph did when sorely tempted to commit adultery with Potiphar's bewitching wife! That cigarette, that alcohol, drink, that drug, that bad habit, whatever it may be - they are temptations from which you better 'run once and for all'. You cannot get rid of them little by little.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to hate sin and love righteousness. Deliver me from evil and the evil one! Set me free from the sin that clings to me. Amen.

Careless Talker

2007-11-26T00:14:00.000+08:00

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY AND PROTECT YOUR LIFE. A CARELESS TALKER DESTROYS HIMSELF. Proverbs 13.3.

It is a good practise in many churches to have altar calls for prayer. The leader invites members to go forward to be prayed for. My aged mother was fond of going to receive prayer for fresh blessings from God! One Sunday, I remember praying for two youngsters, a boy and a girl. Each asked me to pray specially for family unity and peace.

I emphasised to them the importance of ‘forgiveness’ for unity and peace in the family. Two parties at least are involved in the issue of

‘forgiveness’ - you and the other person or persons. As far as you are concerned, it could be as simple as to “Just forgive”, if you are serious about it! Don’t make it a big deal. Through Christ, God has forgiven whatever wrong you have ever done.

Dear believer, therefore you are obliged to forgive others. Even if you do not want to, you have no choice. Jesus equated 'God forgiving you' to 'your forgiving others!' He taught us in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others their sins!” He went on to emphasise the imperative need of forgiving others by saying, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Mt 6.14,15). It is natural that when you have forgiven someone, in due course he may begin to respond. Make sure that you don’t keep irritating the person by giving lectures on ‘your great act of forgiveness!’

I counselled the youngsters: “Once you have forgiven your family, you must be careful how you talk to them and what you say!’ The tongue is the major culprit in causing strife and division. The apostle James calls it a “fire” among the members of the body! He says, “no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas 3.6,8,).

Yes! No natural man can control his tongue. But the spiritual man, the renewed and regenerated man could and should by the Holy Spirit who abides in Him. Once, I attended the wedding of a young man with a chequered past. At the wedding dinner, two members of his family began yarning about his sad past! But they were not careful to observe that the bride’s sisters were also at their table. What problems and family turmoil this unwise wagging of tongue would have caused is anyone’s guess!

You need to be careful of what you say about others. It could destroy them. But as the wise King Solomon said, it could destroy you too! “Be careful what you say and protect your life. A careless talker destroys himself”. No one has ever got into trouble by 'not' telling tales! It is good not to say anything evil about any person! If you have something good to say, say it! If you have nothing good to say, “Shut up!”

The Bible says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Psa 133.1,3). Dear child of God, to God it is important that you live in love and harmony with your brother and sister and family members. It is a good testimony before others.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to think before I talk about others. Let me tell only things that contribute to peace. Help me say only things about others that the Lord would approve. Amen.

Just Be Faithful

2007-11-26T00:13:00.000+08:00

THE ONE THING REQUIRED OF CHRIST’S SERVANTS IS THAT THEY BE FAITHFUL TO THEIR MASTER. 1 Corinthians 4.2

It seems very funny to me now that when my grandfather encouraged me to become first in my Standard One class, I retorted, “Grandpa, but isn’t that being selfish?’ I have ‘become a man’ and having imbibed the values of the world, there is no end to my dreams and greed too! Whereas, when young I didn’t ‘aspire to be anything’, today when I see a champion, - we see plenty of them on TV - I want to be him! I haven’t been to a Formula One race – I hate the heat, the traffic jam and the crowd. But I wouldn't mind replacing Michael Schumacher on the podium! And of course, if I had just listened to the greatest preacher, evangelist or even singer (I can't sing for nuts, as they say!), I still cherish a secret desire ‘to be them!’ I have a feeling you too have such secrets! We are human! We should have some dreams anyway!

Friend, God has raised simple saints and made them great. He still can and will do it, if He wants to and if you will give yourself unselfishly to Him. The Word of God reveals that ‘we could and we should aspire to be ‘bishops’ (overseers, elders, leaders and deacons) in God’s Church. Do you know that you are encouraged to do so? “The saying is true: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task” (1 Tim 3.1). I trust you will. But note that 'the office and the designation' call for the work and the responsibility and not just the seat and cassock (attire)!

Dear believer, for a moment forget about your dreams and aspirations, good or bad or extreme. Think about the talents that God has already given you, according to your ability! Listen, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Rom 12.6-8). There is a vast variety of gifts. Do you have any of these? You MUST have at least ONE!

The other day, I heard a thrilling story of a disappointed and disillusioned ‘gospel tract writer’ escaping suicide. It put sense into me. May it do the same to you. This poor servant of the Lord envied the glare and glamour of platform preachers! He pitied himself and stopped writing tracts for 15 years because ‘no one knew’ him, a simple tract writer. One day, a man stopped him from jumping off a ferry boat on a raging river. It so happened that this man was a famous evangelist who had been ‘saved’ by a tract! It was this disappointed man who had written the tract but had thrown the stack away into the river in disgust and disappointment 15 years ago! The evangelist had kept the tract in his pocket and was looking for the writer!

“The one thing required of the servant is that he be faithful to his master with his talent”. Are you? It is your faithfulness that counts and not greatness! Commendation from God is greater than the recommendation of men!

Pray and pratcise with me: Dear Lord, the Bible tells me that You have given me a talent to use for You and others. Help me to recognise it and use it faithfully. Amen.

Labour For The Lord

2007-11-20T14:20:00.000+08:00

CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED FROM DEATH, AS THE GUARANTEE THAT THOSE WHO SLEEP IN DEATH WILL ALSO BE RAISED. 1 Corinthians 15.20.

ONCE I gave the message at the funeral service of a very dear old friend and fellow servant of the Lord. He was only a few weeks away from his 85th birthday!. At the age of 50+, he took optional retirement and began serving the Lord and the church ‘full-time!’ Relentlessly, he laboured ‘almost single-handedly’ and built one of the finest churches in the land, in membership and building. It was heartening to hear from the younger leaders of the church how this man had brought up and moulded each of them from their Sunday School days!

None of us who spoke or testified about this man expressed any disappointment at his passing away into the presence of the Lord in glory. Our reason was solid, “Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised”. We had the assurance that our dear brother will rise again in the last day when “the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes 4.16).

The immortal words of that soldier of the Lord, Paul, were quoted by some, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim 4.7,8).

Easter was just round the corner. The message of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour was already in the air. As we lowered his mortal remains into the grave, we were looking up into the cloudy sky wishing, “Come Lord Jesus. Come soon bringing all Your saints with You. Come and take us too, to be with You!”

Fondly remembering my dear friend Henry's faithfulness and arduous labour for the Lord and the people, I had only one last thing to do. I did it. Quoting the words of the apostle Paul I encouraged all his friends gathered in the chapel, “So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, (like dear Henry) since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless” (v.58).

Dear believer, ‘No labour for the Lord and His kingdom, no lasting gain!’

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, however busy I may be in my daily life, help me to seek first Your kingdom and do what is right, laying up treasures in heaven, which will not be lost! Amen.

Have You Found God?

2007-11-19T16:10:00.001+08:00

IF YOU SEEK HIM HE WILL BE FOUND BY YOU. 1 Chronicles 28.9.

No one can understand the heart of a father when he gives his son some significant counsel, unless he too is a father! Here King David was giving his son, Solomon, the king-designate, the command to build a temple for His God. It was David’s one great desire to build it for His God whom he loved with all his heart. Great was this one man’s love and devotion to God in spite of all his fallen man’s human traits. When the LORD sought out a man after his own heart to appoint him leader of his people, the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY said, “David is a man after My own heart!”

The only desire the dying king David had for his son Solomon, the new king of Israel, was that ‘he would come to know his father’s God and be faithful to Him!’ I know the heartache of many a godly father whose sons and daughters did not follow their footsteps of seeking God and loving and serving Him faithfully.

We were delighted to welcome to our home once, the evangelist son of a good friend, a great Indian evangelist and ardent church planter. The boy did take an excursion into the world of sin in spite of his background. But the gracious Lord brought him back from his unbelief as he sincerely sought after Him.

Dear friends, that is God’s precious promise to you. Read carefully today’s text from the mouth of a man like David, who knew and experienced what he said, “If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever”. What David told his son Solomon was the same thing the Lord Almighty has promised, “When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, I will let you find me, declares the LORD” (Jer 28.13,14).

How do you seek God? ‘Seeking God’ is a common cliché among Christians. It can mean anything from attending church; praying sometimes; reading the Bible occasionally and that may be all! Or it could be, and of course it should be, as David said, “My son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts”.

Dear believer, ‘it is time that you make a break from your mediocre Christian life. It is time to seek your God with the desperateness of David!’ It is time you begin to serve Him will all your heart. Whatever you will achieve or accumulate in the world will all be lost and forgotten when you are gone! Only one life and ONLY what is done for Christ will count! David is not remembered for his kingship but his love for God.

Dear friend, if you haven’t found God yet, or you haven’t found Him satisfying, it is because you haven’t sought Him and searched for Him with all your heart. Why not seek Him NOW?

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You called me saying, “Come to me and I will give you..!” Lord, I come with all my heart. Fill my inmost being with You and let it overflow to others too! Amen.

Their Eyes Were Open

2007-11-16T19:05:00.000+08:00

THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM, BUT HE DISAPPEARED FROM THEIR SIGHT. Luke 24.31.

My wife and I often get upset as we witness the dire need of the people in the Church and in the world around us. We get depressed when we recognise our sheer impotence as Christians to rise up and meet those needs in the mighty name of our risen Lord Jesus. Didn’t He send us into the world to be His witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1.8). He said, “As the Father has sent me so have I sent you into the world” (Jn 20.21). Jesus said, “The works I did and even greater works than these you will do!” (Jn 14.12). The last words of the risen Lord to us was, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28.18).

Each Sunday, thousands of us worship the Lord in our churches singing and shouting to the Lord with a loud noise, making melody to Him with our musical instruments. I honestly believe we are seeking the presence and power of the Almighty One to be manifested among His people.

I pray to God, “Lord God, we are doing our very best to exalt You and give You all the glory. We can do nothing more. But now it is up to You to rent the heavens and come down in power and mercy and visit us in our low estate. Let Your glory fill this place as You did it for Israel. O! that Your outstretched arm and mighty hand may once again begin to work for us as it did for them. Come Lord! Touch each one of us at the point of our need and restore and satisfy us!”

Often as we break the bread and drink of the cup of communion, we sing longingly, “If now, with eyes defiled and dim, We see the signs, but see not Him; O may His love the scales displace, And bid us see Him face to face!” (C H Spurgeon 1866).

But how wonderful and satisfying it would have been if, 'Jesus sat down with us, took the bread, and said the blessing; then broke the bread and gave it to us. Then our eyes will be opened and we will recognise him, and he will disappear from our sight!' But He had said, "I will not part take of the wine until I come in My kingdom". But think of it, if He drops in and does for us what He did for those two disciples, what a day it will be! What a dream come true!

It is my prayer (it has always been!) and I believe it would be the prayer of all His people, to give us an all-transforming experience of that of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Their eyes were opened and they recognised the risen Saviour Jesus Christ! Think of them before they saw the Lord, and after He met with them and they recognised Him.

Dear believer, that is what will happen to you when you have a personal encounter with the risen Lord! There will come a power from the Lord that will take you past your sorrow, pain, disappointment and disbelief to unspeakable joy in knowing that He is alive and with you! God is your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psa 46.1).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, every time I enter Your holy temple, let me come with a passionate desire for my eyes to be opened that I may see Your presence and power! Amen.

Reconciled To God

2007-11-16T01:28:00.000+08:00

GOD HAS RESTORED OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM THROUGH CHRIST, AND HAS GIVEN US THIS MINISTRY OF RESTORING RELATIONSHIPS. 2 Corinthians 5.18.

I know of a woman who said about her sister-in-law, “She never wanted her brothers and sisters and family members to live in harmony! For herself, if she was friendly with some, she was against the others!” It is sad when people and families do not want to live in peace and harmony, loving and helping one another.

This chequered relationship with one another began with our broken relationship with God. It all started at the very beginning of man’s history. Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God. But when they disobeyed God and sinned against Him, that relationship was broken. But God has restored your relationship with him through Christ.

Cain offered a sacrifice which pleased him – the best of his crops, instead of offering a sacrifice from the flock, as God had shown him. “On Cain and his offering God did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? (Gen 4.5-6).

Friends, sin breaks your relationship with God. You suffer the consequences of your sin. It doesn’t end there. You become angry with your brothers and neighbours. That is what happened to Cain. He got angry with his brother Abel. Abel didn’t do any wrong to Cain. Yet out of jealousy, Cain picked a quarrel with him. It led to the murder of Abel.

By dying on the cross, Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God. The apostle Paul says, “God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”. Now, you are to do your utmost to live in harmony with your brothers and neighbours. You are to be reconciled with everyone. You also have the ministry of reconciliation to help others to mend their broken relationships. You are to make every endeavour to bring reconciliation between people, in families, the neighbourhood, society, nation and the world. The Word exhorts us, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men” (Heb 12.14). The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Mt 5.9).

Dear believer, you need to live in a vital relationship with your God. In today's ultra-busy life, you must make every effort to read God's Word daily and keep in touch with Him in continuous prayer. If you do not read regularly and know God's Word you will not know how to live a righteous life. You will disobey God and live in a broken relationship with Him. It will lead to wrong dealings and relationships with others.

True relationship with God can grow and mature only by keeping in continuous contact with God through His Word and prayer. Then, you will be a peacemaker in your family, neighbourhood and church, and not a 'peacebreaker'.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, keep reminding me that You have reconciled me to God by dying for me on the cross! I am given the ministry to reconcile others to God and one another and not to quarrel or create strife. Amen.

Two Criminals Beside Jesus

2007-11-14T13:30:00.000+08:00

THEY CRUCIFIED CHRIST, THE CRIMINALS ALSO, ONE ON HIS RIGHT AND THE OTHER ON HIS LEFT. Luke 23.33.

Have you tried to picture the scenes in your mind when you read the Scriptures? It is a good thing to do. The people and places and events will become vivid and focused. Everything sticks in your mind and you do not easily forget.

I can easily visualise the crucifixion scene as I read the Bible because in 1972 we had the rare privilege of standing on Mount Calvary. The locals called it ‘the place of the skull’ for, from a distance, the hillside has the semblance of a skull. Try imagining the scene in your mind. It will do you good to picture in your mind what you are reading. It is interesting as well as helpful for understanding and remembering! See the huge wooden cross at the centre. The Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to that tree. See His mangled body, blood-stained all over by the scourging and the piercing of the nails on his hands and feet. Water and blood gushing forth from His side when the soldier thrust his cruel spear! His thorn-crowned head hung over his bruised shoulders that carried the cross!

Suddenly you hear these words from a criminal hanging on the cross on his (right) side, “Don't you fear God at all? Can't you see that you're condemned in the same way that he is? Our punishment is fair. We're getting what we deserve. But this man hasn't done anything wrong”. Turn around and you see that he was speaking to another criminal who also was crucified on the other side of Jesus. This man speaks up again, this time to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.”

We can never forget the scene. Three crosses on Calvary. Jesus hung between the two criminals. But the truth is that one died still a criminal for he never repented but only reviled the Saviour. The other admitted his fault and sought forgiveness from Jesus. The response from Jesus was immediate, “I can guarantee this truth: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Dear friend, the Bible says, 'we are all like the two criminals' beside the cross of Jesus. But 'It is up to you to be like the one you choose to be!’ You can acknowledge Christ who was crucified for you as your Saviour. You can let yourself be with Him 'now and day by day'. You can let Him live in and through you moment by moment. It will be like paradise on earth now, and in the hereafter!

Once the apostle Paul pictured himself beside the crucified Lord and said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2.19,20). The choice is yours – reckon yourself to be crucified with Christ and be with Him here on earth and after life in paradise. Don’t forget the other thief. He never repented of his sin; never called on Christ. Though he too was by the side of Christ, yet he died and went to hell!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I too have to take sides like the two criminals crucified beside You. Let me repent and die with You to my wicked ways of the world. Let me live in the power of Your resurrection. Amen.

Bear Jesus' Cross

2007-11-13T23:48:00.001+08:00

A MAN NAMED SIMON FROM THE CITY OF CYRENE ..THE SOLDIERS FORCED HIM TO CARRY JESUS' CROSS. Mark 15.21.

We find fault with the disciples because they left their Master to suffer alone the ridicule, the persecution and the crucifixion. How could they have thought only of their own safety? Why didn't they stick with their Master in His darkest hour of suffering? At least Peter, who had a little earlier told the Lord, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you", should have remained with Him! (Mt 26.32).

The disciples were not with Jesus on that fatal night of trial and the terrible day of crucifixion. Had they been with Jesus there would have been no need for the soldiers to force an alien, Simon from Cyrene, to carry the cross for Jesus! They could have easily helped the poor exhausted Master to carry it along. They could have wiped His sweat, blood and tears. They could have comforted Him. Probably the soldiers would have scourged and flogged some of them, which would have reduced the number of stripes Jesus received! Peter, John and James, who were the closest to Jesus, could have been there to bear the cruel cross under the weight of which their Master fell again and again. Jesus had already warned them of the terrible things that would happen and they could have braced themselves up to be with their Master and even dared to die with Him! What a privilege it would have been!

There were no disciples when Jesus needed them. What a blessed opportunity the disciples missed because they left Jesus and ran away for their own safety! A foreigner, Simon the Cyrene, had to carry the cross for Jesus. Some say that he and his two sons, Rufus and Alexander, were among the disciples! If they were, what a distinction and divine privilege Simon had to be ‘the co –bearers of the cross of the Son of God!

Today, you may not be called to bear Jesus’ cross but there are many brothers and sisters of ours who are burdened with their heavy crosses. Dear believer, don’t be misled by the preaching and teaching that God's plan for you is 'health, wealth and happiness in this life!' 'Terrible times will come' in some measure for every child of God. If you are not in it now, you only have to see the suffering of your fellow believers and the reality of life will strike you!

There are many in great need and they are struggling along alone. Jesus expects you to go alongside and lend a helping hand in whatever way you can. The Lord once said about certain people, "They will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me' (Mt 25:44,45).

It may be said to the shame of the affluent Christians of today that the 'Unbelieving' business people are the greatest aid-givers to the three quarter of the world's billions who are starving and suffering! They are taking the place of Simon the Cyrene which you and I should! It is time that you begin to ACT!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, what a great privilege Simon had to bear Your cross. Today, we are given the privilege to bear one another’s burden. Help us to follow Simon’s example and help them out as doing to You. Amen.

You Ask & Will Receive

2007-11-13T23:46:00.000+08:00

JESUS SAID, “I TELL YOU TO ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE. SEARCH, AND YOU WILL FIND. KNOCK, AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED FOR YOU.” Luke 11.9,10.

Many Christians do not take these words of the Lord Jesus Christ as a literal promise! I am afraid, you and I also take these words of the Lord with ‘a pinch of doubt!’ Probably we are not to be totally blamed for it! Many of our prayers have gone ‘unanswered!’ How then, can we really believe ‘the blanket offer’ of the Lord to ‘hear all our prayers?’

If Jesus had qualified His promise and said, ‘Some of the things we ask for, we will receive’, we could have easily believed! But Jesus makes a categoric offer with no bars or limits! According to that promise, you and I have asked for many things, fully believing that we would receive them. But we haven’t! So not to shake out faith too much, we take the easy way out. We pray for whatever we want. If we get them, we thank God for them. When we do not receive what we ask for, we are sad and disappointed and try to forget about it! But we slowly lose our faith in the promise. We faint and we do not persist in our prayers. We no longer have the faith to do so.

Dear friend, instead of losing faith in the Lord’s precious promise to answer your prayers, you must fully believe it. Don’t make your faith dependent on your experience. Rather, put your trust in a faithful God and His unchanging promises. Jesus laboured to explain the need for you to believe and persist in prayer in order to receive answers to your prayers. In order to emphasise it, He described prayer by three different terms: Ask; Seek; Knock. It is not mere repetition. He was telling that you could and should increase the intensity of your prayer. He then reassured us by saying, “Everyone who asks will receive, etc.” Jesus encourages you to brace yourself up in prayer and go ahead and keep asking, seeking and knocking!

So persistent was Jesus in His insistence that you should ask and keep asking. Hence, He also added a simple example from everyday life. He told 'how a sleepy, reluctant man' would get up at midnight and give you, his friend, whatever you asked and much more, because you kept asking and knocking!

The Lord could have stopped with that story, but He didn't! He knew you and I needed more convincing arguments that touched our very skin! He said, "If your child asks you, his father, for a fish, would you give him a snake instead? Or if your child asks you for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit (good gifts) to those who ask him?” (vs 11-13).

Instead of losing your faith in prayer, you need to try and understand ‘why your prayers are not answered!’ It is because you think that your prayer is answered ‘only when you get what you asked for!’ You need to keep believing that ‘God keeps His promise and answers ‘all’ our prayers’. God’s answer could be ‘Yes to what you asked' or 'Yes the way He thinks it good for you in the final count' or 'Wait'. God cannot say ‘No!’ Do not take ‘Wait’ for a ‘No’. Keep praying! He will always give something better in His reckoning! If God does not keep His promise, He cannot be God!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to believe that You always keep Your promise and answer my prayers. Help me to keep on praying and not faint. Amen.

Walk With God Daily

2007-11-07T16:59:00.000+08:00

EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE DARK VALLEY OF DEATH, BECAUSE YOU ARE WITH ME, I FEAR NO HARM. Your rod and your staff give me courage. Psalm 23.4.

We have become a generation of 'X-TREMES' (even EXTREMISTS!) in everything and every way! During my recent trip to the UK, I happened to see a copy of an 'EXTREME YOUTH BIBLE' in a church I attended! Hollywood is inventing 'the extremes' but God is Lord over even the 'extremes!'

Notice the 'EXTREMES OF LIFE' that could confront God's people as described in today's well-loved and well-known Psalm! The Psalmist David says, "Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no harm. Your rod and your staff give me courage. Another translation has it: “Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me”.

Dear believer, it is good for you to be ‘PRE’-PARED for all 'extremes!' It will help you through if you ‘PRE’-LEARN how to overcome and outlive the most difficult situations when they come! But you need to know the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You need to make him YOUR Good shepherd. You need to let him lead and guide you day-by-day. You need to walk with Him through the green pastures. Have you ever walked through a beautiful park with lush green grass and tall verdant (luxurious leafy green) trees and ponds with lilies, golden carps and cascading fountains? Have you strolled along with your Guide and Companion sharing your exquisite delight? Your soul is refreshed. Your mind is renewed. You feel like a new person. That is what the Good Shepherd will do for you, if you will let Him!

You need to learn to 'daily walk' with your Lord. You can do so in a park or garden, however small, or on the balcony of your apartment! Perhaps, you could take ‘a ride with Him’ in your car on the way to work or taking the children to school or going to the market. If nothing works, try ‘walking with Him through the Scriptures’ as you read your daily devotions! You have to make a start and learn to spend some quiet time with Him. You need to do it deliberately. Our days are getting busier and we are always surrounded by people, work or noises from the radio and TV, with no rest or quietness for our souls and spirit!

Dear believer, you need to experience walking with the Lord all the more because your good days will most certainly be overtaken by bad ones. None will escape them. They could be as bad as the psalmist says, “the valley of the shadow of death”. Some are still in that valley and smarting! The fire is on, the flames are rising, the furnace is hot. It is beyond your ability to handle. There is none to help or able to deliver except the Shepherd. The first SMS I received as I landed at the KLIA airport was from a desperate brother whose father is in his terminal state of cancer!

But if you have learned to walk side by side with the Good Shepherd all the way and have known His constant presence, then you will be sure that He is with you even when you walk through the darkest valley. You may fear the evil that has overtaken you. But imagine the Good Shepherd with His rod and staff in His hand walking beside you. Imagine Him using His rod to ward off the evil that surrounds you. Picture Him putting out His long curved shepherd’s staff to protect you from all evil. It may be a valley of shadows that will last for a time. He will comfort you. He will protect you. He will take you through. Or, it may truly be ‘the valley of death’ for you or for a dear one. Still the Good Shepherd will not leave you. He will comfort you with His presence and staff, in your agony and pain and carry you to ‘the other side’ safely! Make the LORD YOUR GOOD SHEPHERD today, and everyday!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, be my Good Shepherd. Let me walk with You daily in green pastures and the darkest valleys, knowing that You are with me to comfort and carry me through. Amen.

Walk In Your Commandments

2007-11-06T09:14:00.001+08:00

Make me walk in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Psalm 119.35

This has been my prayer from my younger days – that was over 6 decades ago! It still is my prayer everyday! For I have found that with all my desire and determination, it still is difficult to obey the Lord, especially when on every side I am tempted by every kind of temptation!

When I got saved, I began to like and love God’s Word. I knew it was good teaching and it was profitable. There is much wisdom in it for right living which pleases God and wins man’s approval. I realised that it is ‘a light to my path and a lamp to my feet'. But reading everyday and meditating on it ‘day and night’ as God commanded did not come to me easily or quickly (Jos 1.8). Keeping the instructions of the Word was yet another matter! If reading the Bible was difficult, obeying the commandments was a constant struggle. It is so even today!

I felt like the apostle Paul during his early Christian life. “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out…For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. …When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am!” (Rom 7.14-24).

Do you know that the psalmist King David too knew the power and pull of sin. He experienced the disobedience, defeat, the consequent judgment of God and the tragedies that dogged his life. He realised that there had to be a solution, a deliverance that came only from God, the Giver of the Law.

But he knew that it had to start with a deep and passionate love for God and His law. It led him to delight reading and meditating on it day and night (Psa 1.2). When we constantly read, then the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word will make it ‘the sword of the Spirit’ which can fight 'the tempter and the temptation' and give us victory (Eph 6.17). Jesus did it!

Dear friend, King David makes a desperate plea to God, “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments.” When we delight in God’s Word and pray like David prayed and cry like Paul did, God will fulfill His promise. The Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them” (Eze 36.26,27). DO IT LORD!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, thank You for Your Word. Help me read it daily and to memorise it in my heart. Thank You for giving me Your Spirit. Let Him make me walk in the path of Your commandments. Amen.

For Those Who Trust In Him

2007-11-05T21:18:00.000+08:00

But I will bless the person who puts his trust in me. Jeremiah 17.7.

Did you notice that the above promise of God starts with a “BUT”? The Bible is full of the promises of God for every occasion and all needs. BUT, all of God’s many promises for blessing are conditional! There is no blanket offer for everyone. God is good BUT He offers His blessings only to those who trust and obey Him. Even life eternal is offered to all freely BUT it is only to those who trust and keep trusting in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Saviour.

BUT there are many who are more anxious for His blessings than having a deep commitment to God. They blindly hope that because God is merciful and gracious, they too will receive all His blessings. Yes! The Bible says, “God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt 5.45).

BUT the ‘blessings that matter, that are real, that cannot be taken away from us or lost, that make us spiritually rich and cause others to be blessed by us and those that bring glory to God Himself’, are only for those who trust in God. The prophet Jeremiah describes one such person, “He is like a tree growing near a stream and sending out roots to the water. It is not afraid when hot weather comes, because its leaves stay green; it has no worries when there is no rain; it keeps on bearing fruit (v 8).

There are many ‘fair weather Christians’. When everything is going well, they trust in God. BUT when the sunshine is gone and the weather is not fair, they stop trusting in God because of the trials of faith. There are even those who, because of God’s rich blessings, begin to trust in them and stop trusting and depending on God. They even leave God and go after the blessing He has given them.

BUT God knows those who trust Him fully. They trust God not because He blesses BUT because HE IS GOD! God blesses them because they trust Him at all times. Sunshine or cloudy, rain or draught, they still keep trusting in God. In today’s text, God promises to bless such ones. Are you such a believer? You and I could be!

You and I need to decide to grow near the RIVER THAT FLOWS FROM THE THRONE OF GOD. It is full and overflowing with LIFE-GIVING WATER. BUT you must put your roots deep into the river of God by READING THE WORD OF GOD. You must make time to swim in the river and drink deeply THROUGH PRAYER. Be like prophet Ezekiel who at first was like the others playing in the shallow, ankle-deep water. BUT he decided to go deeper to knee depth, then to the waist until he was in the deep waters of the river which carried him afloat! (Ezek 37). Is that the picture of our spiritual lives?

You and I could be like the ‘Sunday Christians’, satisfied and PLAYING CHURCH in the shallow banks of the RIVER OF GOD. BUT, you can go deeper and deeper through decision, determination and discipline. Then, you will know the blessings of God. Friends, I am not talking about earthly blessings – like health, wealth and pleasure. God will give those and more. I am talking about ‘spiritual blessings’ which many do not know of!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I will always trust in You. Let Your blessings flow over me. I thank You for You have promised “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psa 23.6).

Logs In My Eye

2007-11-02T23:17:00.000+08:00

First take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Luke 6.42.

This is part of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus preached from the shores of the sea of Galilee at the onset of His ministry. Through the beatitudes and the teachings on various practical issues of life, Jesus laid out the Kingdom Principles. They were not only very different from that of the world but they were in direct opposition with the world.

Just as in Jesus’ days, many people today are quick to criticise and slow to commend! By a simple yet vivid analogy, the Lord illustrated to us this truth. Doesn’t it stand to reason that you cannot see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye, when you have a plank or beam in your eye? Yet, how often and how easily we do this which even the Lord condemns!

It is time that you and I take seriously these basic teachings of the Lord about our daily life and begin to practice it. When you get into the habit of criticising everyone for everything, you must take it as a warning sign! It is time for a real eye-check. The beam in your eye has blinded you! You cannot see your fault anymore! Like King David, the man after God’s own heart, ask the Holy Spirit, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa 139.23,24).

We often criticise people and even our leaders before everyone except them! IT DOESN’T DO ANY GOOD TO ANYONE. WE JUST HURT THAT PERSON AND OURSELVES! We do it because we are cowards and are neither concerned about the issue nor care for that person! If we did, then how good and beneficial it would have been if, even before we told anyone, we had taken it to the LORD in prayer to set things right.

If the matter needs to be pursued then take it to the person with love and humility. Or atleast, you should speak to someone who could approach the person about the matter. By doing so you would have spared the person from folly, exonerated him, and even saved the situation!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, there are ‘logs in my eye’ and they have blinded me from seeing my faults. Please help me to keep removing them. Let me not be quick to seek the specks in everyone’s eye and try to remove them but pray that You will do it for them too! Amen.

We Need The Air

2007-11-02T23:16:00.000+08:00

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85.6.

Every living thing needs constant regeneration and restoration for its growth. If not, it will soon die. Our Creator and Sustainer God has designed all living organisms to regenerate and be revived continuously. In order to steadily grow and be renewed, everything needs a constant supply of essential things like food, air and water! It is so with us human beings too!

Do you know that our spiritual life is also very much like our physical life? It needs to be constantly revived and restored! It is your responsibility and mine to take care of our souls, just as we are to take care of our bodies. Believe me, just as our bodies will die if not fed, our souls also will surely die if not fed! Today, many souls are dying spiritually due to starvation, while their bodies are fattened by over-feeding!

Your soul and mine needs ‘spiritual food, water and air’ to be renewed and revived. The apostle Paul teaches us that when we are spiritual babes we may feed on ‘milk’, but as we grow, we need to consume ‘strong meat’. ‘Spiritual milk and meat’ for the soul come only from the Word of God.

Dear believer, are you feeding yourself daily on God’s Word? Do you make time to read and meditate on the Word that feeds your soul and revives it. Job said, “God’s Word is my daily bread!’ (Job 23.16). Many are those who never get their milk or meat from the Bible and are not revived daily because they do not make the time to read and meditate on it! That is why many in our churches are as good as dead spiritually – never growing, producing fruit or reproducing!

You cannot grow without ‘air’ too, dear believer! Prayer to God is often compared to the air we breathe physically. You need to spend time in ‘prayer to God each morning, evening and at noon; it will keep you alive and well and also in tune with God!’ The Bible goes further and exhorts you and I to ‘pray always in the Spirit’ (Eph 6.18). In every version of the Bible, the word ‘Spirit’ begins with the ‘capital letter S’. It means the Holy Spirit. If you do not know how to ‘pray in the Spirit’, ‘ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to pray!’ He will put words in your mouth. How else could the Spirit intercede through you? “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express”, God promises (Rom 8.26).

Our souls need ‘the Living Water’ – the Spirit of the Living God! Let us thank God not only for the gift of His Son Jesus Christ but also His Holy Spirit to abide in us always! But have you ‘received the Spirit’ consciously like you did Jesus so that you know the Spirit is in you and works in you?’ Friends, it is not ‘doctrine or theology but practical Christianity’ that we need! The apostle Paul says, “You be continually filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5.19). Only Jesus can fill you so! Remember Jesus pleaded in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (Jn 7.37,38). He will quench your thirst and fill you to the overflow!

Pray with me: Dear Lord, I will make time daily to meditate on Your Word and to pray. I come to You! Keep me filled to the full by Your Spirit. Let my whole being be filled with Living Water that revives and satisfies my soul and overflows to others. Amen”.

Seek The Giver

2007-10-31T14:26:00.000+08:00

Give your servant a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong. 1 Kings 3.9.

At Gibeon, the LORD appeared to King Solomon during the night in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon said, “Give your servant a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong.” Mind you, Solomon was only a lad! He had just assumed a man’s job – of being a king. Wasn’t it a sensible and wise request? Probably not the kind you and I pray everyday!

Let us consider God’s favour on Solomon. Wouldn’t you like to have God appear when you are in some kind of great need? Though we believe in Solomon’s God, we think that He is so remote, unapproachable and often difficult to contact. Let us try and learn some great and lasting lessons from this incident of God appearing to Solomon.

Solomon, of all King David’s sons (some were older and more handsome than him), was determined to seek the LORD GOD of his godly father. Though already a king, we see him going all the way from Jerusalem to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. He had a great desire to know the Lord and had a heart full of love for Him. He made time from his important kingly schedule to seek after God. He was also so lavish in his offerings to God.

Compare Solomon with us. We can’t find a few quiet moments to be with God each day. We don’t even offer a few words of sacrifices of praise to Him daily, let alone parting with our money or using our talents! Do you wonder why your God is so distant and impersonal and you do not find Him when you need Him? Solomon was in the right place doing the right thing that pleased the Lord. God came to meet him!

Though God hasn’t appeared in person or in a dream, we have experienced this presence and intervention of God in our lives many a time as individuals and as a family. The Bible says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isa 55.6). The Lord once told Israel, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29.13).

Do you know what your problem is? You seek the ‘gift and not THE GIVER!” You do not seek God or offer praises to Him like Solomon and you wonder why God was so partial to him to meet him and offer him ‘whatever he wished!”

Dear believer, start today to be like Solomon (during his younger days) and you will be surprised when God meets you. When He comes He will give you all that you need!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for me for not making the time to seek your face each day with devotion and sacrifice. Give me a hunger and thirst for You! Amen.

Give Thanks To The Lord

2007-10-30T12:48:00.000+08:00

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD AND PRAISE HIS NAME. Psalm 100.4. NIV.

Psalm 100 is a song that encourages us to give thanks to the LORD. Even though the author is not mentioned, it follows King David’s style! He is one who outshines all others with his heartfelt love for God, reverence for who He is and gratitude for all that the LORD GOD had done for him.

Learn from Psalm 100 the many reasons for giving thanks to God and praising Him. 1) It is God who made us. 2) We are His. 3) We are His people. 4)We are ‘the sheep’ of his pasture. 5)The LORD is good. 6) His love endures forever. 7) His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Turn for a moment to another psalm of David, Psalm 103. Here he calls to his own soul and says, “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” Then he gives a number of solid reasons why his soul should praise the LORD: 1) For all His benefits. 2) Forgiving all his sins. 3) Healing all his diseases. 4) Redeeming his life from the pit – death. 5) Crowning him with love and compassion. 6) Satisfying his desires with good things. 7) Renewing his youth like the eagle's.

This is only the beginning of recounting the reasons to thank and praise the LORD. Read on and you will find some of the greatest and the most intimate reasons for endless praise and worship in gratitude to the LORD. Listen to the most tender reason for any one of us to Bless the LORD, which I love most and quote often - “for as a father has compassion on his children so the LORD has compassion on us!”

There is one other important reason to give thanks to the LORD. It opens God’s heart and heaven’s windows to pour out answers to our anxious prayers! This is what the apostle Paul teaches us, “Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayer and make your request while giving thanks” (Phil 4.6).

I have long learned Psalm 103 by heart and I have taught it to my children and their children! Why don’t you too try to learn it by heart so that you won’t forget the many reasons you have to thank and praise God? Have you read the book, that old book of the early Charismatic movement, “Prison to Praise”? Yes! Prayer can open prison's doors. Praise and prayer, like fasting and prayer, can get you out of whatever prison you may find yourself in now or at any time!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, there are many reasons to pray because of my needs but surely there are many more reasons to thank and praise You before I make my requests and petitions to You. Amen.

To Be Like Joseph

2007-10-29T12:58:00.000+08:00

DO NOT BE DISTRESSED AND DO NOT BE ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES FOR SELLING ME HERE, BECAUSE IT WAS TO SAVE LIVES THAT GOD SENT ME AHEAD OF YOU. Genesis 45.5.

Joseph was a good man though he made his mistakes and suffered for it! But he learned precious lessons that made him Christ-like, through the pit and the prison God allowed him to go through. The one good thing we learn from him is that he never wavered in his faith in his God. He endured it all with good humour and great honour. He overcame every situation and excelled in all the jobs he was forced to do! He was proud to do his very best in the most adverse and humiliating circumstances. What a man and what great lessons he has to teach us who also at times have to face such challenges or even worse ones than Joseph encountered.

Today’s lesson reveals to you and me the character of ‘the man of God’ that Joseph was. I like the way the Bible reveals Joseph’s story. What fascinates me is that it is recorded a number of times that “The LORD was with Joseph”. I have always wondered whether it wasn’t another way of saying “Joseph walked with God” as Enoch did! Maybe it was just the grace and favour of God on an unfortunate victim of other peoples’ jealousy and wickedness that “God was with him”, encouraging and strengthening him all the way!

Whatever it was, here was a man of God who experienced the goodness and kindness of God through a life of agony, insult and suffering. He had learned his lessons well through the ‘misfortunes’ God allowed and which he could endure because His God was with him. They took Joseph from ‘prison to throne’ and above all else enabled him to share in the character and will of God!

Hear those immortal words from the mouth of this ‘man of God’, Joseph, to his brothers who hated him to death and sold him to slavery but were now standing before him begging for food! “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”

Do you see the Christ-likeness in Joseph? I hear in Joseph’s words, the prayer of the Lord Jesus on the cross to the father in the hearing of those who crucified Him, ‘Father forgive them for they do not know what they do to me!’ The apostle Peter, understanding the mystery of God’s will, told the Jews, “This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead” (Acts 2.23,24).

O! that you and I might know the will of God in every situation, favourable and adverse, so that we could react like the Lord Jesus Christ and Joseph, with confidence in God and His purposes for us!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord Jesus who on the cross freely forgave those who crucified You, help me to understand that no man can thwart God’s plan. The good as well as the wicked will only serve God’s eternal plans for His own children! Dear Lord, enable me to hold on to God even in the most trying times. Help me also to be gracious like You and Joseph to forgive my offenders without grudge! Amen.

Either Life or Deatth

2007-10-29T12:57:00.000+08:00

TAKE TO HEART ALL THE WORDS I HAVE SOLEMNLY DECLARED TO YOU THIS DAY. Deuteronomy 32.46

It is interesting to note that the Word of God, the Bible, is the only book in the world that reveals the mind and will of God for all people. Unlike other books written by men, the Bible, God’s Book, tells many great and wonderful things about itself. The Psalmist says, “It is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet”. It simply means that by reading it you can get direction and guidance.

Today’s verse contain words spoken by Moses, the great man of God, to the people of Israel. There was no written Bible at that time. God spoke to Moses and he spoke to the people. Later these were written down and saved for posterity, by God’s grace. What Israel had in writing during Moses’ days was probably only the TEN COMMANDMENTS written by the finger of God and handed to him on Mount Sinai. Moses recorded for the people THE SOCIO-CEREMONIAL LAWS which also the LORD ALMIGHTY gave to him.

Hear what Moses told the people about those COMMANDMENTS AND LAWS: “SET YOUR HEARTS ON ALL THE WORDS WHICH I TESTIFY AMONG YOU...IT IS YOUR LIFE!” How true it is! God’s Law is life and keeping it gives life! To the Israelites, it was literally true as the punishment for breaking most of those LAWS was death – often by stoning! Today just because the Lord has postponed judgment for our sins, don’t be mistaken, judgment will come!

Adam and Eve went against God’s Word and lost the privilege to live forever. They received God’s curse, and sorrow, pain and death became their portion. Cain broke God’s Word and killed his brother and was cursed. Pharaoh went against God’s Word and lost his life and the lives of his people. The children of Israel disobeyed God’s Word and a whole generation of over 2 million people lost their lives in the wilderness. The mighty Samson lost his life like a fool, for he blatantly disobeyed God’s Word and committed adultery against God. King Saul lost his kingship and kingdom when he disobeyed God’s Word. Solomon, the wisest king and whom God loved, lost God’s favour when he ignored God’s Word and increased wealth, wives, horses and ‘gods’. Friends the list is endless!

The great pity is that we know the Word of God and the inevitable consequences of breaking it and yet how lightly we take the Word! How foolishly we break it. King Saul at the end of his life bemoaned, “I played the fool with my life!” Are you playing the fool by taking lightly God’s Word and disobeying it carelessly? The Bible says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal 5.7,8). I know of too many dear believers who have messed up their lives and are still messing up by deliberately going against God’s clear Word! I would to God that they repent!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me by Your Spirit to keep Your Word and live by it because “YOUR WORD IS EITHER LIFE OR DEATH TO ME!” Amen.

Cleanse The Temple

2007-10-29T12:55:00.000+08:00

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? 1 Corinthians 6:19

Jesus went to the temple at Jerusalem. King Herod had built it as the original temple built by Solomon had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Every Sabbath Jesus was in that temple or some other synagogue to worship and teach from its precincts. He called the temple His Father’s house of prayer. He saw traders of sheep, oxen, birds and everything else needed for the temple worship and sacrifice. There were also moneychangers to help people with exchange. It was convenient for the people and profitable not only for the traders but also the priests!

On one of His visits to the temple, Jesus could no longer tolerate the shouts of the traders, the bargaining by the people, the bleating of the sheep, the bellowing of the cattle, all the litter and the clamour of the moneychangers! He decided, ‘enough was enough!’ Making a cord of flax and whipping it around, He chased everyone saying, “You have turned my Father’s house of prayer into a den of thieves!”

Do you know that the apostle Paul calls your body and mine, ‘the temple of the living God’ for His Holy Spirit lives in us? Have you ever thought of how much filth and dirt is stacked up there? How many unholy thoughts, sinful imaginations and all intentions of evil against God and our fellow beings fill us? Wouldn’t it look more like a ‘garbage can’ and smell like one to Jesus? We have become so used to it like the garbage collectors, but not Jesus! He has been patiently tolerating the stench everyday, thus far! But one day His patience will wear out!

If we won’t cleanse our body and soul through repentance and seeking forgiveness, He will come one day with His whip and do it by force. It will be painful and sad but it will be for our own good! But if you still refuse to stop sinning, then your end will be with all the wicked in the fire of Hell. Do not be deceived thinking that there is no hell or that God is too kind not to cast you there! Jesus made it so clear through the parable of Lazarus and the rich man that your eternal destiny could either be in heaven with God or in Hell with the devil (Lk 16.23,24).

But blessed are you and I if we look in the mirror of God’s Word and find out what garbage is in us and cast it away daily by repenting and by confessing. Our problem is that we do not consider our sin – SIN! We make excuses to continue sinning! Like King David, acknowledge your sin. Then God will forgive and cleanse you. The Holy Spirit will enable you to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD! It is a pity that even to those who pray daily, seeking forgiveness is not an essential part of prayer. In what we call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us how important it is to seek the Father’s forgiveness daily! He knows we are prone to sin and need forgiveness.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your patience with me and not ‘whipping me in anger’ for all that I do that displeases You. Lord, my sin is ever before me and I repent of it now. Please forgive me and give me a clean heart and life, by Your Spirit. Amen.

Show Proper Respect

2007-10-24T11:36:00.000+08:00

SHOW PROPER RESPECT TO EVERYONE. 2 Peter 2.17.

The other day, I was told about the behavior of a 4 year old child from a grandmother. The child refused to wear the clothes his mother had picked. The reason, it was not his choice! He yelled and screamed at his parents and started pulling his mother's hair. All this was performed in front of elderly guests who happened to be staying with the family. All the parents did was to start making excuses for the boy's behaviour. Where in the world has discipline and training children to behave and respect parents and elders gone from Christian families? This is only the tip of the iceberg!

Recently the Christian parents of an adult, educated daughter gave me a letter written by her to her retired uncle and aunty. The letter exuded deadly venom that would kill a thousand people or at least knock them unconscious! Obviously their family and personal relationship had been pretty sour for years and there were upsetting incidents lately. But doesn’t the Bible teach, “In your anger do not sin”. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4.26,27).

A generation ago these things would not have happened even in pagan families! The unwritten law was, “Children are to be seen and not heard!” Parents seldom chit-chatted with their children, let alone played with them. Then things began to change. Parents and children became buddies. The societies and cultures that practiced filial piety and obedience made a turn around. The parents relaxed on disciplining their children and seldom were they taught to respect elders and strangers. Saying ‘No’ to a child was not sound psychology and ‘the rod’ was thrown out the back door!

What does the Bible teach you about how you and your children should treat your parents, relatives, friends and even strangers? The Ten Commandments are binding to all people of all ages. The fifth commandment demands ‘honour your parents’. The other nine teach us to honour God and respect others and their rights and property. Jesus never set aside the commandments. He came to fulfill even the spirit of the law!

What does God teach us about bringing up children in any age particularly ours when they are already under the influence of the corrupt media and wanton peer pressures? “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Pro 22.6). “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Pro 13.24).

We are living in a day when there is a proliferation of sermons, seminars, lectures, courses, counselling etc. etc. Many spend fortunes attending them! But if our attitude is that ‘we know better’, then even God cannot help us or our children. As I was writing this, ‘the verse of the day’ appeared on my computer screen and it read, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Pro 26.12).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, teach me to honour You and respect all people, especially parents and older people. Let Your blessing flow on me and my family as I do so. Amen.

Clay In Potter's Hand

2007-10-23T13:42:00.000+08:00

CAN I NOT DO WITH YOU AS THIS POTTER DOES?” DECLARES THE LORD. "LIKE CLAY IN THE HAND OF THE POTTER, SO ARE YOU IN MY HAND ... Jeremiah 18.6.

I have dreams and plans for my life. But the trouble is that even though God loves me so much and I love Him too, I feel that God has not helped fulfilled all of them! Do you feel the same way? Most people do! Sometimes, things work out fine and I will be excited and praise God. At times, things work against me and I feel miserable and depressed. I know God is for me but it seems as though He is against me!

What has gone wrong? For one thing, I do not quite understand and believe what God said about ‘my plans’ and ‘His plans’ for me. He said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” declares the LORD (Isa 55.8,9).

It is good to have plans for our lives. But it is better to believe that God has far better and higher plans for us! If it is so, you must be prepared to accept whatever God has planned for your life. Sometimes, you may have to go through hard, difficult and painful situations in order that God may accomplish His plans in you!

God says, He is the potter and we are the clay. He has the ownership and also the ability to make something beautiful out of your life, more exquisite than all your dreams and expectations! “Didn’t I tell you that if only you believe, you will see the glory of God,” Jesus told Martha. She was standing at the tomb of her dead brother Lazarus, totally distressed and disappointed. Jesus didn’t heal him and save his life as she and her sister Mary had plainly expected. Didn’t He love them? But Jesus had to let that terrible death happen so that not only Lazarus, but even Martha and Mary could experience a miracle in their lives!

Dear friend, you may not see the plan of God for you and the hand of God on your life at this moment! With all the problems that you are facing, it may not look like He is doing much to help you? But God is doing just the right thing with you. Remember, you are only the clay in his hand. He has all the right to do whatever He wishes in your life. You may complain and cry. That kneading, rolling, squeezing, carving and oven-baking are awful to endure! There is nothing that you can do!

But one thing God assures you, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29.11). Dear discouraged and disappointed believer, JUST BELIEVE GOD AND STICK ON THERE WHERE YOU ARE! Like as a Potter, let Him do what He wants. Wait to see the glory of the end-product. It will be beautiful beyond your wildest dreams! God knows what He is doing. Accept that difficult, even impossible situation. Don’t sulk! Don’t give up! Wait defiantly, until God comes and transforms everything! He will, for He is the Divine Potter! Praise Him for it while you wait! Sing if you can!

Pray with me: Dear Lord, You said, You are the Potter and I am only the clay. I can only wait while You are making and remaking me through my very circumstances. Amen.

The Tree of Life

2007-10-22T16:05:00.000+08:00

IN THE MIDDLE OF ITS STREET WAS THE TREE OF LIFE. Revelation 22:2.

The ‘tree of life’ is a mystery to all of us. However, it is good to know what the Bible teaches about the ‘tree of life.” We see it first in the centre of the Garden of Eden. It was one of the two trees in the middle of the garden, the other being ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. The LORD told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge and that the day they ate it they would die! It will forever be a mystery and a wonder why Adam and Eve didn’t go first for the fruit of the tree of life which would have given them the privilege to live forever! It was not forbidden. Instead they ate of ‘the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil!’

Aren’t we all like our first parents, always wanting to eat the forbidden fruit (or do the forbidden thing)? How true the saying, ‘the forbidden fruit tastes sweeter to our natural sinful senses!’ But, beware, ‘sin is crouching at our doorstep’ when we disobey any of God’s laws.

Back to Adam and Eve, maybe God didn’t want them to eat the fruit of the tree of life first because he foreknew that they would go for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil anyway! In His mercy God didn’t want sinners to live forever in their sinful state increasing the judgment on them. So the Lord drove them out of the garden and set the cherubims to guard the tree of life and stop them from eating of it and living forever.

We read again about the tree of life in the book of Revelation. It grows on either side of the river of life which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. It will bear a different fruit each month and its leaves are for the healing of the nations (Rev 22.2). Whether we eat of the tree of life or not, we will live forever!

We possess eternal life through THE FRUIT OF ‘ANOTHER TREE!’ Let us turn our attention to this ‘OTHER TREE’. For all of us sinners, the children of Adam, God in His love, mercy and grace has provided ‘A TREE ON MOUNT CALVARY!’ The apostle Peter says, “JESUS HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;” (1 Pe 2.24).

The way to THIS TREE is always open and you and I are invited by God to come to it and be saved and blessed! Have you been to the TREE OF CALVARY WHERE CHRIST JESUS BORE YOUR SIN AND DIED THAT YOU MIGHT BE FORGIVEN AND RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE? If you haven’t, I beg you by the mercy of God, RUN TO THAT TREE ON CALVARY – THE CROSS OF CHRIST!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for the tree of life on Calvary on which the Lord Jesus bore my sins and died. Lord, forever lead me to the foot of the cross, to find forgiveness, eternal life and rest for my soul. Amen.

Who Are We In Christ?

2007-10-19T12:22:00.000+08:00

FOR WE ARE GOD'S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO. Ephesians 2.10. (NIV)

The above statement by the apostle Paul about our lives is not so easily understood unless you read it in a modern English translation or better still in a good paraphrase, like the ‘Living Bible’. I have it here in the ‘New Revised Version’. ‘We are what God has made us. He has created us in Christ Jesus for good works. These, God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.’ I have taken the liberty to split the original long sentence into short sentences for easy understanding.

We are living in an age when many have ‘identity crises!’ They ask, “Who am I? Why am I here? What is the real purpose in life, if there is one?” Not only the youngsters but even older ones are often perplexed about these things. Presently, you may be going through tough times. You may not have found your ‘physical and more so spiritual niche’ in life!

You and I may have times of perplexity when we are not sure of what is happening to us! You may be all upset and despairing! It is not strange or wrong at all! Great prophets like Moses who divided the Red Sea and Elijah who brought fire from heaven on Mount Carmel and raised even the dead, had such crises. Once Elijah cried to God, "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors" (1 Ki 19.4). God fed him once by the ravens and then by the angels. God revealed Himself to Elijah in a special manner. The Lord spoke to him to cheer him up and reveal His purpose for him.

Here in today’s verse, we have one of the surest Word of God for your life and mine! “We are what God has made us. He has created us in Christ Jesus for good works. These, God prepared beforehand to be our way of life”. If you have any perplexity or fear that you are not in the right place or find yourself in deep trouble, this is God speaking to you today!

Use the verse and keep asking god to fulfill in you all the good purposes for which He has created you! The Psalmist praised God saying, “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me” (Psa 138.8). The Lord will do it if you will only surrender to Him and desire to do His will. He will touch your life and transform it. You will reach out and touch other lives by the power of His Spirit.

Pray with me: Dear Lord, there are times of anxiety and distress when I feel no purpose in life or doubt it! Help me to take hold of Your promises and claim then one by one and feel fulfilled when You answer me. Amen.

Why The Thief Comes?

2007-10-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

THE THIEF COMES ONLY IN ORDER TO STEAL, KILL, AND DESTROY. I HAVE COME IN ORDER THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE---LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS. John 10.10.

Sometime ago, my wife and I spent some time with a family friend and his wife. We hadn't seen them for many months. They were in their eighties. The wife had a stroke and was bedridden. The husband was frail and losing his memory. As our friend greeted us, he said, ‘This morning we remembered you by name in our prayer!” It humbled us indeed to know that godly friends are praying for us! He and I sat reminiscing about the Lord’s goodness to both of us. When we parted, I prayed for him and his wife.

He was saved as a young man. He grew up with the Lord and in the fellowship of the church. Being fervent in serving the Lord, he took an early retirement at the age of 50. Then on, he served his church and the believers full-time until 80. It was only at the ripe old age of 84 that he retired fully from church work. Like the apostle Paul, they too finished their race and have gone to glory to be with the Lord whom they faithfully served so long!

He lived such a full and satisfying life only because he accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord of his life when he was yet a self-willed young man living in a big city. His life was changed. His directions and interests changed. He began to obey God rather than pleasing himself and living in sin with his buddies! He walked the straight path and God prospered him and used him for the blessing of many. How true were the words of the Lord in his life, “I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness.”

But it was with great regret and sorrow that we talked about his only son that day. Born in this good Christian family, to devoted parents, he followed them to church. He was brought up in the fellowship of the church and through the Sunday School and Youth ministry. Instead of giving his life fully to Christ like his father, He let ‘the thief and robber, the devil’ take control of his life. The young man let the devil destroy his life! He didn’t study well, messed up his life with his worldly friends, and picked up habits that destroy one’s career and prospects for life.

Friend, remember Jesus' warning, “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness”. Give your life fully to the Lord. Many Christians are prepared to give Jesus only part of their lives. No! Give your all to Jesus. Let Him make you live your life to its fullest! Don’t let the devil rob your life and destroy it for now and eternity!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You came in order that I might have life---life in all its fullness. You died on the cross and gave me a new life. I give my life fully to You NOW! Amen.

Reading & Obeying The Word

2007-10-17T15:16:00.000+08:00

CHRIST NEVER VERBALLY ABUSED THOSE WHO VERBALLY ABUSED HIM. When he suffered, he didn't make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly. 1 Peter 2.23.

Watch just one current TV movie and you will know how differently people behave today than the Lord Jesus Christ. People abuse those who abuse them. They shout at those who shout at them. They threaten those who threaten them. They cheat if others cheat them. They snub those who snub them. They hate those who hate them. They strike those who strike them. They withhold courtesy from those who are not courteous to them. There is nothing that they don’t do to retaliate! ‘The disease’ is spreading, especially among our young, impressionable generation and the vulnerable in the society. The devastating effect of the senseless and scrupulous mass media has become global.

If only the people of this world indulged in these things, it would be bad enough! But when the people of God, the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I, are the perpetrators, what hope is there for the world?

The attitude and action of our Lord Jesus Christ portrayed before us in our Bible text for today is clear for all to see. Dear believer, take a little time to quietly think of the reaction of our Lord in that most difficult situation he faced in life! Let it challenge you. Let it expose your attitudes, actions and reactions. If you act like the people of this world, may the Holy Spirit convict you of your wrongdoings. Let Him bring a strong desire in you to follow the lifestyle of your Master and be like Him in all situations.

This life-changing or character transforming experience comes only by ‘continually walking in tune with the Spirit of Christ, listening to his correction and counsel’. It is not the product of a moment’s desire but the fruit of a daily walk with Jesus by watching Him in the gospels.

Dear friend, have you ever thought ‘why you are commanded to read and meditate on God’s Word daily?’ It is because God wants you to note what is taught and practise what you learn. God wants you not to turn either to the right or left but walk in the way He shows you from His Word daily. Christians all over the world listen to sermons from God's Word every Sunday. They flock to attend all kinds of preaching, Bible Studies and seminars. But they are the same forever! Like the proverbial ‘water on the ducks back’, nothing seems to sink in and take root and change their inherent character flaws!

Remember, Jesus once told His disciples, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But 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 7.24-27). You can be that wise builder if only you make your decision today!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, Your Word has warned me, ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves’ (Ja 1.22). Help me to obey your Word and begin to act like You towards others. Amen.

Pray For Authority

2007-10-16T15:45:00.000+08:00

I URGE THEN FIRST OF ALL THAT REQUESTS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSION AND THANKSGIVING BE MADE FOR EVERYONE, FOR KINGS AND ALL THOSE IN AUTHORITY. 1 TIM 2.1,2

There is no country under the sun where the rulers are altogether righteous and just! From East to West in every nation the people are subjected to the wickedness of evil rulers and only in degree it varies! The apostle Paul who lived under the rule of the most cruel and corrupt Roman government, urges us to adopt the right attitude and action, as Christian citizens of our country.

For some years now, the Church in many countries has been endeavouring to bring not only salvation to the perishing peoples but also liberation from the evils of secular governments. We have seen programs like, "Love Singapore / Sydney etc. etc." In Malaysia, the national churches have had a "Forty day fast and prayer" for the nation for a number of years. It was interesting to note the churches lately announcing that there is going be a "Run for the Nation" soon!

In spite of all the adverse situations that the local Christians have to undergo today, about which everyone complains about, there is so much to thank God for His sovereign intervention in the affairs of our land. Our nation is a 'declared' Muslim State. Yet there is much freedom of worship and liberty to hold even large Christian gatherings in the biggest public stadium in the land for worship and the declaration of the gospel. There is hardly any reaction from the government or authorities or even the Muslim public! This is happening while in our neighbouring Muslim nations and especially in the Arab world one cannot even take in a personal Bible, let alone hold Christian services even in private homes!

In spite of all this, it a great pity that the Christians of this nation, even the leaders, often speak evil and ill of the government and those in authority over them, whenever they meet! The hatred they spew out is beyond comprehension! The tales they carry are numerous and many of them are unauthenticated. It makes a thinking Christian wonder, didn't our master teach, "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" (Mt 5.44-46).

There seems to be a great degree of inconsistency in what we as Christian citizens of this country do and say! The seriousness of the question the apostle James asked the believers should warn us against continuing the spread of evil against our rulers, ".. the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be" (Ja 3.8-11).

Dear believer, listen to the apostle Paul's words of apology as he unknowingly made a caustic remark to the High Priest, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people." Shouldn't this cause the bad-mouthing of our leaders to stop? You should take heed to what the apostle urges you to do, 'First of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority ". Prayer changes MEN!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me lift up holy hands and with my mouth pray and intercede for those whom You have placed in authority over me that they may be just, righteous and fair. Amen.

Let's Call To The Lord

2007-10-12T16:49:00.000+08:00

THEY CALLED TO THE LORD AND HE ANSWERED THEM. Psalm 99.6.

The other day, I was talking to a believer in the church who was retrenched from his company. He was in great distress. He couldn’t find a job to keep his family going. I told him, “We have so many CEOs, managers and proprietors of companies in our Church. They could easily get you a job!” With a sad face he said, “Yes! We may have all the big guns but nobody is there to help when one is in need. You are wasting your time and breath asking them for help!” So no one bothers to ask them. They may have their reasons not to help but still it is great pity!

But God is our ever-present help in trouble (Psa 46.1). Have you ever wondered why people, especially the desperate and the needy, pray to God? Why do they seek God’s help? It is only because everyone knows God answers prayers! He answers the prayers of even the unbelievers who are praying to idols in their ignorance!! If God didn’t answer prayers or He couldn’t answer our requests, no one would have continued to pray to Him. But God does hear our prayers and answers us. The Psalmist David said, “Because you answer prayers, people everywhere will come to you” (Psa 65.2).

The Bible is a continuous testimony of people of all walks of life whose prayers and petitions the Lord answered. It is full of the stories of princes and peasants; kings and rulers and prisoners in the dungeons; the rich and the famous and the destitute widows and orphans; people in trouble and those in sickness, whose prayers were answered by God. In the gospels, none that came to Jesus with any request went away disappointed. He helped them all. The history of the Church during the apostolic days and since then, is an unbroken record of people calling on the Lord and He answering them.

Friend, dear believer, you may be in some kind of need. You have more than enough proof to show that God hears your call; he listens to your cry; and answers your requests and prayers. Often you doubt whether God will or can answer your ‘difficult prayers!’ They may be difficult for you and even be impossible for you! But not for God!

Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19.26). If you know it only as a doctrine or teaching, it is of no benefit to you. You need to know it as an inviolable truth! You need to experience it every day in life. Only then will the doctrine of the ‘omnipotence of God’ (almighty power) become a reality in your life.

The way to do it is to keep asking God for everything you need and all the time. The more answers you receive from God, the more you will trust Him. When God works in small things, your faith will begin to grow! When He performs miracles now and again in answer to your prayers, then your faith grows in leaps and bounds. The more answers to prayer you receive, the more you will trust God. The more you will begin to tell others like King David, “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). They too will come to the LORD for His help!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, from of old You had been faithful to all who called on You. You have always heard the prayers of those who trusted in You. Hear my cry and answer me in Your mercy and grace. Amen.

Facing Death

2007-10-12T07:21:00.000+08:00

WHILE JESUS WAS STILL SPEAKING TO JAIRUS SOMEONE CAME.. AND SAID, "YOUR DAUGHTER IS DEAD". Luke 8.49.

When I was a final year medical student preparing for my exams, I received a telegram from home to say that my dear ‘father had suddenly died!’ I was 5,000 miles away from home and I couldn’t possibly go and be with my beloved mother and 5 younger siblings out of 10. I was the eldest son. My father was a preacher and pastor. He had a sudden heart attack and died while he was praying at a large gathering!

Even though I suddenly lost my beloved father, there was one consolation for me. Whereas my family members were there to witness his death and feel the pangs of this sudden loss, it was quite different for me. I wasn’t there to see him go! I was absent from home and hadn't seen my father for more than 2 years. For me, it was more like ‘before he was at home far away, but now he is in heaven farther away!’ Death and separation really didn’t make much difference in that situation.

This is basically what the apostle Paul told us, “to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 2.5). We all should know what ‘death’ is in reality - a transition from our mortal life on earth to life immortal in heaven. This should take away our fear of death. Even though you do not wish to die, you must be prepared when death beckons! As for our dear ones who die, the truth about death and resurrection should take away our hopelessness though we despair!

Paul taught the Thessalonians about the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the transformation of the living saints at Christ’s Second Coming. Then he said, “With these words, comfort and encourage one another” those who are bereaved and grieving (1 Thes 4.18).

Death comes, sometimes suddenly and at other times, in due course. All meet with death and encounter the death of others! Even, we Christians cannot escape death. The Bible tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9.27). Even though the risen and living Christ is with us, still we die. It was while Jairus was with Jesus and He was on the way to heal his daughter that she died! Can you imagine that? But Jesus raised the lass! Dear believer, it tells you the truth that while God allows death, Christ guarantees resurrection! Therefore let us comfort one another.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me face death, whether mine or that of dear ones, with courage, knowing the truth that ‘to die is to be with Christ, which is far better!’ Amen.

Run To Jesus

2007-10-10T13:28:00.000+08:00

PETER AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE STARTED FOR THE TOMB. BOTH WERE RUNNING. John 20.2,3.

I know of a young family in deep distress. Both the husband and wife are keen Christians. They were involved in some ministries in the church. But tragedy has struck them. Their first child, a son, is autistic and unmanageable. The wife had to leave her job to look after him along with two other children. The husband lost his well-paying job. He hasn’t been able to find suitable employment since. Then the wife too became seriously ill with a debilitating disease!

You and I may not be in such bewildering situations. But we do face difficulties of various degrees and often we are at our wits end! There are times we just do not know what to do! Let us look at Peter and the disciples for a moment. No one could have been in a more disappointing and distressing situation than the disciples at that time. Jesus, their master and leader whom they believed to be the Son of God for three and half years, had been persecuted and crucified. The one who was their support and help for the present and hope for the future was dead and his body was now lying in the tomb! When He was there they didn’t have to take care of themselves. He provided even for their taxes! He was the Messiah, the anointed deliverer. They were even planning to be his ‘ministers without portfolio’ when He restored the Kingdom and began His rule. Some were even trying to book their seats on Jesus right and left when He sat on His throne in heaven.

Now, all of a sudden, everything changed! Helpless, hopeless and fearful of their very lives they sat behind the locked doors of the ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem. Then came Mary Magdalene with the terrible news that even Jesus’ body was stolen from the tomb! What did these desperate men do? “Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”. They ran to where they could find Jesus – dead or alive – the tomb! They didn’t know that Jesus was alive. They didn’t believe that He could rise up again. But they wanted to be where they left Jesus' body!

Their only desire was to reach Jesus! Dear believer, your only hope even in the midst of the most serious calamity is to run and get close to Jesus. You may not know whether He will deliver you or not. But you can be sure that He will take you through your problems. He is your Saviour who is alive. Death could not keep Him. The grave could not hold Him. There was nothing that could stop Him. He is the conqueror of all. Just to be near Jesus, to be with Him is your greatest comfort. Run!

He is your Good Shepherd. You shall not be in want. He makes you lie down in green pastures, he leads you beside quiet waters, he restores your soul. He guides you in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil, for He is with you; His rod and His staff, they comfort you. Believe it and keep running to Jesus! (Psa 23).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I will run and come to You in my distress. I want to be where You are. I thank You for never leaving or forsaking me. Amen.

Beloved of The Lord

2007-10-09T11:38:00.001+08:00

A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN, "YOU ARE MY SON WHOM I LOVE; WITH YOU I AM WELL PLEASED”. Luke 3.22.

I am my father’s first-born son and he loved me. My grandfather took special interest in my upbringing. I was named after him, Benjamin. I still remember him showing from the Bible the prophecy about Benjamin, “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders” (Deut 33.12). I did my best to please my parents and grandparents in response to their love, not that I never did wrong!

I am now a father and grandfather and I love my four children and grandchildren! They love me too. When my children were young and dependant, they did things to please me. Now that they are old enough and mature, they look after themselves. However, it pleases me when they still care to listen to my fatherly counsel, even if they make their own choices!

Reading about the Heavenly Father God’s response to His Son Jesus Christ for His willing obedience, I was greatly thrilled. Jesus argued with John the Baptist to persuade him to baptise Him. He said, “This is the way it has to be now. This is the proper way to do everything that God requires of us”. They both went into the waters of the Jordan and John baptised Jesus.

The Father’s response was immediate. Even as Jesus came out of the water, ‘heaven was opened’ and ‘the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove’. And ‘a voice came from heaven’: ‘You are my Son, whom I love’; ‘with you I am well pleased’. I love it! Our obedience to the Father can be inconvenient, costly and even painful, but what a blessing it brings! Heaven opens! The Holy Spirit comes down and abides in you! God speaks to you! And what Words! “This is my son! I am well pleased with you!"

Friend, in the final analysis, the only way to please your Heavenly Father and to be filled with His Spirit and receive the blessings you and I desperately need is to obey – ‘to do everything that God requires of us’. No amount of service or sacrifice will do! Notice that Jesus hadn’t done anything great thus far – the gospels record nothing that he did before that! Yet the Father said, “I love you!” and called Him “Beloved” and said, “I am well pleased with you!”

Oh! That you and I like Moses may consider God's pleasure in us greater blessing than the riches and joys of the world! May we follow the Lord’s path of perfect obedience to the Father in everything! There is no greater blessing than to be the ‘Beloved of the LORD!’ Dear believer, strive for it through increasing obedience to His Word.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me such a craving to do everything You require and to be called ‘Your beloved’ and to hear You say, ‘I am well pleased with you’. Amen.

I Have Set The Example

2007-10-08T00:40:00.001+08:00

I HAVE SET THE EXAMPLE AND YOU SHOULD DO FOR EACH OTHER EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE DONE FOR YOU. John 13.15.

Some time ago we had our national election. The ruling party won overwhelmingly! May the Lord guide them to rule our country with justice, righteousness and equity. It was interesting to see the publicity campaign by the candidates for election. Each one was trying his best to outdo his opponent by promising the electorate the best service possible. But the electorate were not easily fooled!

You and I by nature want others to serve us. We are unwilling to serve others. For us Christians, our Master is our supreme example in service to others. It is true that He came to die for our sins and save us from its penalty, offering eternal life. But He made it very clear that He came to serve humanity. For He said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mt 20.28). You, His disciples should never forget that.

Jesus saw the attitude of the people and of His disciples. He clearly told them that He came to change them for the better. Read what He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” (Mt 20.25-27).

Days before His crucifixion and before He left the disciples, Jesus washed their feet. It was their custom for the slaves to wash the master's feet before their feasts. But here the Master washed the disciples’ feet. It was a genuine act of service. But it was much more than that. It was a lesson in service to one another. It is a lesson for you and me too! That is why Jesus said, “I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you”.

I am amazed at the lack of willingness of people to help or serve others. We are unwilling to leave our comfort zone and go out and offer help to those in need! Pity, it is very much the same in the church, among friends and in families too. You expect everyone to talk to you politely and considerately. You want all to come to your help and attend to your needs. When someone fails to respond, you find fault with them easily.

You do not heed what Jesus taught us, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7.12). It is time that you make a start to change yourself. It is up to you to make the first move. Don’t ever say, “Let others do it first!” From today, begin to do what the apostle Paul taught you, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2 4,5).

Dear believer, be on the lookout for the needs of others! Respond to them as the Lord would! That is true discipleship. That is authentic Christianity! The Lord Jesus has set you an example! He expects you, no, commands you to follow it. Follow you must, to obey and please Him and be the salt of the earth!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me of my selfishness. I am not prepared to help anyone but myself and my family. Holy Spirit, help me to follow the Lord's example from today and to make a deliberate effort to serve others. Amen.

The Lesson of Jonah

2007-10-07T23:33:00.001+08:00

JONAH WAS GREATLY DISPLEASED AND BECAME ANGRY. Jonah 4.1.

God sent prophet Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh and ask them to repent of their great wickedness. He refused to go and got into a real mess in the belly of a whale in the deep sea. He even caused the big fish to have ‘a tummy ache and vomit!’ Having suffered punishment for disobedience, Jonah decided to go and preach to the Ninevites.

The result was one of the most successful crusades in all the history of evangelism! Obey God and do ‘what pleases Him instead of what pleases you’ and you will see miracles happen! The whole city of one hundred and twenty thousand idle-worshippers, together with their king, fasted for three days, repented and turned to God! But, Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. Can you imagine that?

Sometime ago a rapist father was set free by a judge because of the lack of proper evidence submitted by the prosecutors. The NGOs and the Womens’ groups especially, became very angry and voiced their protest aloud. They had good reasons to be upset because they were afraid that he might continue to rape others!

But Jonah’s situation was different. He was much like the ‘elder brother of the prodigal son’, displeased and complaining on his return to the father’s house! Have you ever felt pity for the elder brother? I must admit, I have felt so and even thought that the father was rather unfair! The problem with Jonah, the prodigal’s brother, and also us is the same. We are interested only in us and in receiving all that we can from God. We are saved. We have the father’s house, His fellowship and all His many blessings. Our attitude often shows that we do not care what happens to all the others who are sinners! Won’t we be very happy if all evil doers just perished from the face of the earth! We would enjoy a safer and better world!

If only we know the heart of God and His love for the wicked and the sinful, we also would be like God, “He is patient …, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (Pet 3.9). You and I would greatly desire like God and pray constantly that “they all may be saved!” (1 Tim 2.4). O, Lord! Give me such a passion for sinners!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me a heart like Yours so that I would begin to love and care for those who are far and near to me but living in sin and idolatry, and plead for their salvation more than for greater blessings for myself!

Why Christ Died?

2007-10-07T23:31:00.000+08:00

CHRIST DIED TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS AS THE SCRIPTURES PREDICTED. He was placed in a tomb. He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted. 1 Corinthians 15.3,4.

You and I are simple folk who do not know much theology! Thank God for what we know. But we should always strive to know more about our faith. Yet, be sure that you do not lose your simple faith in the graveyard of ‘controversial theology’ that is of no profit and even destroys faith!

The apostle Paul was one of the most prominent theologians. Apart from the things he learned from eminent scholars, his knowledge came by divine revelation! He is the one who wrote much of the theology and doctrines of Christian faith. They are contained in the epistles. Many of his discourses are complicated and beyond our simple understanding! But in today’s lesson, we have the apostle coming to the level of a simple believer and teaching him the basics of biblical truth!

In just 2 verses, he tells us the foundation for our faith. He says, “I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received: ‘Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted. He was placed in a tomb. He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted’ ” (1 Cor 15.3,4).

All that you need to know for your salvation is that Christ died for your sins. He was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit on the third day, and gives you new life in that power! However, you should go on to learn all that is in the Word of God, Old and New Testaments. But be sure that you do not forget the fundamentals of your faith.

Sometimes believers get side-tracked by their Bible study. Seeking knowledge becomes the issue and living it out escapes their attention. You shouldn’t forget God’s purposes for you. Likewise, while chasing miracles and supernatural gifts we should not lose our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Miracles without Christ are worthless! Gifts without the Holy Spirit are useless. Though knowledge, gifts and miracles are essential to ministry, often we only get puffed up by these. We make use of them to bring fame and fortune to us and not to glorify Christ.

Dear believer, though the world doesn’t know it and only few believe it, our faith hangs on the simple yet profound truth, “Christ died for our sins and rose again for our justification!” My dear late father and a faithful servant of the Lord had only one desire, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6.14).

The other day, I went out for lunch with one of my sons. While paying our bill we noticed the lady cashier wearing a cross on a chain! My son asked her, “Are you Christian?” She said, “Yes”. It turned out that she too attends our large church! I mused within myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be a good idea for all of us Christians to wear a cross for others to know that we belong to Christ?’ But then, it would be better for us and the world if you and I would ‘wear Christ’ in our everyday life!

This Lord's day, dear friend, you have the unique opportunity to celebrate the death and resurrection of your Saviour Jesus Christ. Make it a fresh occasion to get a touch from the risen Lord who will be present and walking in midst of the congregation!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank You from the depth of my heart for dying for my sins. Enable me to live in Your resurrection power each day and be Your witness. Amen.

Whenever I Call You

2007-10-03T14:52:00.000+08:00

ON THE DAY I CALLED YOU ANSWERED ME, YOU INCREASED MY STRENGTH OF SOUL. Psalm 138.3.

Often my devotionals come out of my own meditations and they reflect my experiences of God. I am not writing it for ‘writing-sake’. Neither is it a mere endeavour to 'produce' or teach others something. The daily devotionals come out of the hot furnace of my ordinary experiences of the ups and downs of life, which are very much like yours! I trust and pray that my experiences of God may continue and be shared with others as long as He grants me life and strength.

In your ‘good times’, you have the tendency to enjoy it by yourself. You forget to let even God share such times! At such seasons you feel you can manage things yourself. The need for God is not present. Hence you do not experience God!

It is in the dark valleys and deep shadows of life that one meets with God. There you are afraid. You cannot see clearly. You feel helpless and even lonely. You have to turn to God. You realise that He alone can help! The deeper the darkness, the more you seek God. When you are really in the shadows that threaten your very existence, seeking God turns desperate. Prayer assumes a greater importance. Importunity replaces the casual prayer routine. The ‘bless me and mine’ stuff will not do! The situation is desperate and your call to God also has to be desperate!

King David was in such a state when he penned this psalm. Hear him say, “On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul”. It was not a mere prayer or ordinary cry. There was no more strength left in him to face his situation. Life was impossible. He could not exist or continue in that circumstance. He knew that strength, help and deliverance had to come from the Lord God Almighty and no other sources which he called, ‘gods!’

Have your ever come to such a situation? Are you in a situation like that presently? I find myself in such predicaments now and again. I feel the need for God and His help acutely. It makes me turn to Him with all my heart, soul, mind, body and strength! Have you ever thought how you and I could ever turn to God and love Him with our whole being, as He requires in the very first commandment? To some it is a puzzle; an impossibility! It will never be in valley of shadow of death!

It is adversity that draws you near to God. The greater its heat and pressure, the nearer you draw to the Lord. Suddenly, you who could make no time for God in prayer or Bible reading, find hours to cry to Him! Whereas you couldn’t delay or skip one meal in order to prepare yourself to meet God, now you are ready to fast and pray! That is what distresses and disappointments are meant to do! Dear saint, learn from King David. Be like him. Delight yourself in the Lord. He will not only hear you and answer you but He will give you the desires of your heart which you haven’t even uttered aloud!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I need You. I cry to You. I thank You for You will hear my cry and answer me, just as You heard David. Amen.

How To Complain

2007-10-03T14:51:00.000+08:00

THE PEOPLE BEGAN COMPLAINING OUT LOUD TO THE LORD ABOUT THEIR TROUBLES. WHEN THE LORD HEARD THEM, HE BECAME ANGRY, and fire from the LORD began to burn among them. Numbers 11.1

You and I may wonder what was wrong with the Israelites complaining about their troubles? After all, they were in trouble. Weren’t they complaining to the Lord? Why then did the Lord become very angry and burn some of them to death? Can’t we make legitimate complaints to the Lord, especially when we are in trouble? I was rather puzzled about it, until I read this passage from some other Bible Versions. Here is one: “The people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of Jehovah”(ASV).

It is good for us to learn from this passage “how to complain or not to complain to the Lord when we are in trouble!” Troubles, we will have in this life. Remember, Jesus told us so. It is our common experience. Hence, we need to know how to make our complaints to the Lord wisely. If we like the Israelites do it foolishly, it will bring destruction on us rather than deliverance!

What was wrong with the complaint of these people? Listen to their boast about the food they ate as slaves in Egypt, in the hearing of the LORD! “If only we had meat to eat! Remember all the free fish we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic we had? But now we've lost our appetite! Everywhere we look there's nothing but manna!" (vs 4-6). Worse still, did you hear what they said about the manna God gave? The manna was from heaven, the food of the angels which the Lord sent each day to their camp! Is it any wonder that the Lord was burning with anger and destroyed many?

How then are you to complain to the Lord about your troubles so that He will consider your trouble and deliver you? In the same passage, you find their godly leader Moses too taking his complaint to the Lord because of the people. The murmuring crowd was about to kill him for bringing them into the desert from Egypt. Listen to him carefully. “LORD, why have you brought me this trouble? How have I displeased you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Am I their mother? Did I give birth to them? Are you really asking me to carry them in my arms - as a nurse carries a baby - all the way to the land you promised their ancestors with an oath? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying for me to give them meat to eat. I can't take care of all these people by myself. This is too much work for me! If this is how you're going to treat me, why don't you just kill me? I can't face this trouble anymore” (vs 11-15).

Dear believer, do you notice the difference between Moses and the grumblers? Moses told the Lord the truth! As they say, “The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!” There was no false accusation of the Lord. His complaint was long and grievous. But there was no lie or even exaggeration like that of the people. The Lord understands your plight and pain. He will tolerate your cry of distress and disappointment. Tell Him as it is. Don’t accuse Him of injustice or fault!

The apostle Paul has taught us clearly how to make our complaints or petitions to God. He wrote, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Phil 4.6). Learn to do it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am in trouble. You know all about it. But for my own comfort let me tell it to You. Listen to me in mercy and compassion and deliver me. Amen.

From The Lips of Children

2007-09-28T23:04:00.000+08:00

FROM THE LIPS OF CHILDREN AND INFANTS YOU HAVE ORDAINED PRAISE! Matthew 21.16.

The other day at a home fellowship, a young mother made her three children recite Psalm 1 before us all. The children were all under 6! The youngest girl was only 3 probably! In an age when even older and mature Christians do not know any psalm or Scripture portion by heart, how did these little ones achieve their little feat? Their young and busy homemaker mother took the time and the trouble to diligently teach her little ones Bible verses.

This reminds me of the days when I was a child. We were eleven children. My godly parents and grandparents were very strict and they made us learn Bible verses by heart. No one could have their breakfast unless he completed his devotion. If one didn’t learn his verse, he had to miss the food. My grandmother ran a Sunday School in our home for the neighbourhood children. Every Sunday, all the children had to recite the given Bible verses. Marks and prizes were offered as incentives!

It is no wonder that many of us who came from such a disciplined and divine background had the privilege of learning by heart many Bible portions. Today, they come in handy when we need them. They are a boon and a tremendous help when teaching and preaching! Thank God for such parents with godly vision and divine passion who brought up their children and even infants learning to praise God using the Scripture.

You cannot praise God using ‘His language and Words’ unless you take the trouble to learn the Scripture by heart. Unlike the older generation, today's believers pray long prayers but all are their own words and there are no Words of God! Not only our choruses but even our prayers must be bathed in the Scripture verses. Psalms are specially written that we might use them to praise God.

Dear believer, make the time and take the trouble to hide God’s Word in your heart. Young parents and older ones too, you must have the burden and the foresight to make your infants and children memorise verses of the Bible. Then they will be able to bring delight to the heart of their Father in heaven by appropriately praising Him. We may boast of our own vocabulary and eloquence to please the God and move His heart and hand. But to really please God and move Him to act, you must learn to employ ‘His own Words’. They are perfect for praise and petition!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to ‘learn Your Word so that I may praise You’, bring pleasure to Your ears and stir Your heart to act on my behalf (Psa 119.171). Amen.

Don't Gratify Sinful Desires

2007-09-27T15:28:00.001+08:00

LIVE BY THE SPIRIT AND YOU WILL NOT GRATIFY THE DESIRES OF THE SINFUL NATURE. Galatians 5.16.

My wife told me today about a friend of hers who was celebrating her birthday. Apparently she said that she is ready to die and go because the world is becoming more and more wicked. But that is no surprise when we note the apostle Paul's description of the last days in his second epistle to Timothy, chapter three. Wickedness of every kind will abound he said! That is what we see today. Don't you and I too struggle with our sinful natures. We are saved and probably have been Christians for a number of years! But the struggle continues! It may come to you as a consolation that the apostle Paul too had the same struggle for some time in his early Christian life. In the epistle to the Romans in chapter 7, he describes vividly the mortal struggle he was waging against his old sinful nature.

You will learn from Paul the way to victory through Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit’s power. “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing…So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members”. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 7.18 – 8.2).

We are so blessed by God that He has given us His Holy Spirit to abide (stay) in us. As children inherit their earthly father’s property, we have inherited our Heavenly Father’s Spirit. It is His job to work in us and by His incredible power remove our sinful nature and produce the nature of Christ!

All religions teach us to be good but they provide us no power or help to be good! But we Christians have the distinction of having the Spirit of God to dwell in us always. God wants us to keep the Law and the commandments. But God knew that in our fallen human nature it was not possible. Through the blood of the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ, God has forgiven our sins. By the power of the Spirit He has put in us, God enables us to do the impossible – live like Christ and keep the law!

It is a fatal mistake for you and I 'to keep trying' not to do evil! We cannot, as Paul found out! All your determinations and deliberations won't deliver you! That is why God wants to do it for you. Your victory over your sin comes only through Jesus Christ. But we must respond to the working of the Holy Spirit in us. How do we do that? Listen to Paul.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” How do you live by the Holy Spirit? The apostle explains, ‘be led by the Spirit’. Again he says, ‘keep in step with the Spirit’. It simply means: Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you. What He asks you to do, you do. What He asks you not to do, you stop doing. That is all you have to do. The Holy Spirit will give you the power to do this. If and when temptations to sin or to give in to your sinful addictions come, call on the Holy Spirit to deliver you. The pity is that to most Christians 'the Holy Spirit means nothing!' You know the Holy Spirit exists! But only for name-sake and He has no consequence in your life. Dear believer, it is by the Holy Spirit that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, who are in heaven, is present with you today! It is through the Spirit and by His incredible power at work in you that you are expected to live a life of victory on earth! Not by yourself! Trust Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You know how I struggle with sin. Help me to stop struggling and simply trust in the Holy Spirit and seek His power to overcome my sin. Amen.

Silent Before God

2007-09-26T14:10:00.000+08:00

IF ONLY YOU WOULD BE ALTOGETHER SILENT! FOR YOU, THAT WOULD BE WISDOM. Job 13.5.

Our generation has become the most noisy of all. We love noise. Our fathers loved silence. That’s why they came up with the saying, “silence is golden!” We don’t speak any more. We shout! Have you seen any TV programmes lately? Why do wives shout at husbands all the time when it is not true? Why is it parents and children cannot talk without yelling? Why is it that patients shout at their doctors? Why do doctors shout at each other rather than discuss issues rationally? Court scenes are episodes from Wild West dramas and lawyers have shouting matches. Have you seen a sane concert in recent times? Scantily clad, madly raving performers scream at the top of their voices and the frenzied crowd yell and shout that no one can hear anything!

We have brought the noise and din into the Church! We have lost our concept of solemn worship of an awesome and holy God and substituted it with a festival mood. Yet we find a somber distinction between the two as you read God’s instruction in the Bible to His people of the olden times. I believe that God Almighty is calling us back to the heart of worship. A pious pastor of a church had enough of the din and noise of his congregation in the name of worship! He ordered his music director to have no music during the church service for a month!

The result: the music director came to realise what ‘the heart of worship’ was! He wrote the song, “When the music fades, all is stripped away, And I simply come…I’ll bring you more than a song, For a song in itself is not what you have required.. I’m coming back to the heart of worship, And it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus. I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it, When it’s all about You, Jesus!” This chorus is now sung worldwide in churches. Pity we sing it with no less noise from the electronic sound system and with even greater shouts from the congregation! We are a 'peculiar people!' When we sing or read psalms that call us to 'shout to the Lord' we keep silent! When we are to 'be still before the Lord and know Him', we shout!

The psalmists, the sons of Korah, echoed the voice of God, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psa 46.10,11). In today’s text, we have the plea of the exasperated Job who was already tormented and had to tolerate also the ‘never-ending self-righteous talk’ of ‘the friends’! He said in desperation, “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom”. Our silence may speak louder than words, even to the Lord!

Dear friend, you and I who are so used to all the sound and fury at home, in the marketplace and now in our churches also, need to consider, “Is God Almighty speaking to you through the mouth of Job of old?” Does He want you to be quiet before Him and just listen? If the prophet Isaiah had been noisy like us in the temple of God, he would have missed the heavenly anthem of the seraphim and the touch and voice of God! Think about it!

I put myself on a ‘silent mode’ with fasting and prayer regularly so that I would stop hearing my voice or man's voices BUT HEAR THE LORD! Dear friend, I want you to respond to God’s plea, “If only you would be altogether silent”! That would be wisdom and you will hear God! This in no way should deter us from the celebration and festivities that we may enjoy at other times because of our rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. There is a time and a place for everything!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I hear Your call. Help me to make time to be silent before You. I want to know You and hear You afresh each time I draw near to You. Amen.

Upheld From Birth

2007-09-25T13:04:00.000+08:00

BY YOU HAVE I BEEN UPHELD FROM BIRTH…MY PRAISE SHALL BE CONTINUALLY OF YOU. Psalm 71.6.

As I crossed over into another year in my life I was meditating on today’s verse. I began to recapitulate the numerous, miraculous deliverances of God in my life. How true the testimony of the psalmist, “By You have I been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You!” Every conception and birth is a miracle and mine was no exception. Thank God for His hand that formed me!

I can clearly remember how the Lord delivered my cousin and I from drowning in a local river when we were yet small boys. While at college, I was saved again from drowning in a deep well into which a friend pushed me. He thought I could swim! During one vacation a friend and I went for a walk along a railway track. We came to a bridge that spanned a mile-wide river. In our enthusiasm, we decided to cross. Before we could cover a few hundred ‘sleepers’ we heard the whistle of an oncoming train. We ran back for our lives and we were saved from being crushed by the train, if not drowning in the deep river. I remember the nasty attack of chicken pox the students suffered while in the medical college. I suffered but not as much as my friend on the next bed in the hospital! Praise God for both of us recovered without complications. All that happened while I was still in India.

In Malaysia, we have had half a dozen nasty car accidents – not because we were bad drivers! Each one was serious enough to either write off the cars or for them to have major repairs. Our very first accident was the worst. Our car skidded and spun and hit a coconut tree, turning upside down like a turtle! But none of us had any injuries or broken bones. But our son and only child at that time had a concussion. Thank God he regained consciousness and has been well ever after!

Then there was the occasion when in a London hospital I had an angiogram, just for a checkup. The cardiologist was the best available but I had a heart attack which almost killed me on his table! Thank God, he provided the best cardiac surgeon available and my life was saved by an immediate bypass surgery. To cap it all, some years ago, I was ‘incidentally’ diagnosed of colon cancer, a killer disease which never gets detected until it has spread all over and it’s too late to operate or treat! God made available the best surgeon, a Christian friend of mine too!

My family and I were some of the very few people who lived through the trauma of the collapse of a multi-story tower block which killed many people. Our tower got spared though only 20 feet away from the one that fell! Each member of the family can tell his or her own stories of God's great goodness and deliverance! With all these experiences of God’s miraculous acts and many others, more than I can count, who else could echo the words of the psalmist better than I, “By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You.”

Dear friend, if you feel as though ‘God is not doing anything for you’, why not find some time to sit quietly and think of the many ‘forgotten’ blessings of God in your life and begin to praise God! Your faith will rise and you will ask and receive great and mighty things from God!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, how much I praise You for all Your wondrous works in my life! I can confidently look for greater things from You for You remain the same forever! Amen.

I Will Never Abandon You

2007-09-25T13:03:00.000+08:00

GOD HAS SAID I WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU OR LEAVE YOU Heb 13. 5 .

Many years ago a dear aunt of ours was admitted to the hospital with cancer. Before that I had been meditating on the above promise of God for sometime! So when I laid my hands on her and prayed along with my wife, I claimed this wonderful promise of God for her.

She had been a believer in the Lord from her childhood. She had tasted the goodness of the Lord many times and in manifold ways. She had experienced the promises of God in life’s many difficult situations. There had been many a time when the good Lord had delivered her from all her fears and troubles. Not surprisingly, there were many other times when the same Lord instead of delivering her, helped her to experience His presence and carried her through tough times! Were as confident as she was that at that most difficult time towards the end of life’s long journey, the same Lord God will not leave her or forsake her! He didn't! He took her!

I have lived more than three score and ten years and am nearing eighty! My family and I have experienced “the abiding presence of the Lord and His miraculous power” in times of distress and diseases which were without number. We could boldly say to any of you going through sickness, financial trouble, any kind of tribulation or distress that our God is faithful. We can testify with millions, nay billions of believers, who have trusted in God through the ages, and with the apostle Paul, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.” (2 Cor 1.20).

Dear friend, just believe it for it is written in the Word of God:. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb 13.8.) "The righteous will live by faith” (Rom 1.17)

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for Your promise: "I will never abandon you or leave you." Help me to confidently say, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid” – no matter what! Amen.

Be Careful How You Think

2007-09-21T11:59:00.000+08:00

BE CAREFUL HOW YOU THINK; YOUR LIFE IS SHAPED BY YOUR THOUGHTS. Proverbs 4.23.

Have you ever been pestered by bad or even evil thoughts? I am sure you have! You cannot escape it, neither can you help it. But you can deal with it! You need to know ‘how’ and practise it. We cannot summarily dismiss these thoughts from our minds. The more you struggle to get rid of the thoughts, the more your mind will be thinking about them! The thoughts might even lead you to sin.

There are two biblical and effective ways you can deal with wrong and evil thoughts. The apostle Paul told the Colossian believers the secret. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Col 3.5). There is no other decisive way to deal with evil thoughts and desires but to “kill” them as soon as they enter your mind! That’s how serious it is. But it may not be as easy as you think. They won’t easily go away. The more you do not want to think of those things, the more you will be thinking about them! Have you experienced it? What are we to do then?

The apostle counsels us to take the second step. “Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things” (Phil 4.8). We have a ‘one track mind’. We can think only of one thing at one time. The moment we introduce a new thought, it will replace the old one! You have experienced this I am sure.

There is yet another way to deal with evil thoughts. Remember the brave young man, Joseph? When the temptation was so strong, he thought of God and His commandment. He thought to himself, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (Gen 39.9). But that was not enough. He did more than trying to change his thoughts. He deliberately changed the situation where his thoughts would have continued to be evil, leading to sin. He ran out and caused the offending circumstance also to be changed.

Dear believer, you who are bothered by thoughts that belong to our earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language, must renew your mind and thought according to our new nature which is of God (Col 3.5,6).

You must also make it your regular habit to fill your heart and mind with things pure and praiseworthy. Reading, meditating and learning by heart God’s Word are good ways of doing so! It will also help to guard you from sin (Psa 119.11). Remember today’s text, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, may Your Holy Spirit help me to be careful of what I think. May Your Spirit guard my mind and thoughts from evil. May He help me to fill my heart and mind with Your Word. Amen.

Did A Foolish Thing?

2007-09-20T22:54:00.000+08:00

YOU DID A FOOLISH THING," SAMUEL TOLD SAUL. "YOU DIDN'T FOLLOW THE COMMAND OF THE LORD YOUR GOD. If you had, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently. 1 Samuel 13:13.

One of the reasons why you and I disobey God is that we don’t think of the consequences of disobedience. When we were children, our parents used to tell us, “If you do that, you will get a beating!” Most of us obeyed because we feared the caning. The naughty ones tried their luck and disobeyed. But when they received their punishment, they realised their foolishness.

However, God doesn’t execute judgment immediately when we disobey Him. But, He has reserved punishment for the judgment day. This has created in you and I the feeling that however much we disobey God, there will be no punishment. We feel that we can go against God’s law with impunity. We think that our God is a forgiving God and He will not punish us.

Read how the LORD revealed Himself to Moses. “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Exo 34.6,7).

We have a God who is good and loving. Listen to what He says about how He deals with our sins. “He forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin”. Thank God, He does not hold it against us forever. But He also said, “He does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”. It simply means that God will not hold against us our sins forever, if we have asked for His forgiveness. He will not even remember them any more (Heb 8.12). But because He is a just God, He said that He will not leave the guilty unpunished. This punishment or consequences of our sin will dog us in this life though not in the life to come, for we are forgiven! The tragedy is that the punishment extends to “the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”.

It is a serious thing to sin against the Lord. Many of us ‘flirt’ with sin, thinking that we can ask forgiveness and the Lord will ‘wink an eye!’ The story of King Saul’s disobedience to God brings out the tragedy of disobedience. Samuel told Saul. "You did a foolish thing. You didn't follow the command of the LORD your God. If you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently. But now your kingdom will not last”.

Dear friend, that is what happens when you sin. You become foolish. You forget that sin has dire consequences here on earth even when you are forgiven. You do not remember that it could affect your generations to come! When you seek genuine pardon, God forgives! But beware! God being just, does not take away the consequences of sin to us and to others!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, often I am so foolish and disobey Your laws, forgetting the consequences to me and to others. Give me wisdom to be like Joseph and Daniel and the determination to obey You at all cost. Amen.

See The Harvest Field

2007-09-20T08:01:00.000+08:00

DON’T YOU SAY “IN FOUR MORE MONTHS THE HARVEST WILL BE HERE?” “I'M TELLING YOU TO LOOK AND SEE THAT THE FIELDS ARE READY TO BE HARVESTED”. John 4.35 091907 131304

The other day, at our Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship, we were excitedly giving testimony. All testified to the grace of God that we had experienced in our lives over the years. Everyone was overjoyed because they had found Jesus Christ. Most of them had come to the Lord from ‘non-Christian’ backgrounds, worshipping idol gods!

I was struck with amazement when one of them, a man in his forties, talked about the seriousness with which he has been praying for the salvation of his parents and family members since his conversion. He said that every Friday, he has been fasting and praying for them for many years. Now not only his parents are saved but most of the others in his family are converted! I thought that he had been possibly fasting one meal on a Friday! When asked, he said, “Not one meal but he fasted all three meals on Fridays!”

This brother had caught the spirit of evangelism of Jesus! Food was of no concern! Souls were precious to him! Very much like Jesus! Neither his busy business nor his crowded personal agenda made him put away his deep concern for the salvation of precious souls!

Jesus purposely went through Samaria so that He could witness to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well in the city of Sychar. He and the disciples who walked from the Judean countryside to Sychar that morning were exhausted and hungry. The disciples went to the city to buy food. Jesus was resting, sitting by the well. Then came the woman. Though tired and hungry, He wasted no time to testify to her about ‘the Living Water’ that could quench her thirst forever!

All over Judea the farmers were saying, “There are four months to the harvest!” They were sitting and waiting for the harvest, doing nothing – waiting for the 4 moths to pass by! Jesus told His disciples not to be like these farmers. He said the HARVEST OF SOULS was always ready. He warned them: ‘Only if you lift up your eyes will you see men and women in dire need everywhere!’

What were they supposed to do then? Jesus told the disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” As they began to pray, Jesus called His twelve disciples and sent them out to testify and minister to the people in His authority. He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Mt 9.36 – 10.1).

Friend, you must pray as never before for the perishing souls all around you wherever you see them! They may not appear to be ‘perishing’ and may even be ‘enjoying their lives!’ Don’t be misled by the devil. You must begin with agonizing prayer. Then go in the power Jesus has given to you and witness and minister to the people in whatever way you can!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, grant me the passion and compassion You have for the needy and lost. Help me to pray passionately for the people around me and minister to them in Your power. Amen.

Live By Faith

2007-09-18T23:38:00.001+08:00

LOOK AT THE PROUD! THEIR SPIRIT IS NOT RIGHT IN THEM, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY THEIR FAITH. Habakkuk 2.4.

I do not know how anyone can live today without faith in God! You only have to read the newspapers and see the TV news and you will know that our lives are in danger and our situation unpredictable. A dear friend of mine called me up as I was having dinner with the family and said, "My father feels ill and is vomiting blood!" I told him to take his father straight to the hospital emergency! Sickness, accident, injury and death, attacks from robbers and criminals, rape and even murder are becoming commonplace in most countries. Our financial situation is also vulnerable. Retrenchment, business failures and losses, bad debts and bankruptcy, all are taking a toll on our minds and body. All the affairs of our life and even life itself are not in our hands. Then, who else holds them?

The apostle Paul said, “In God we live and move and have our being';… For we too are his offspring” (Act 17.28). Only those who are humble enough to live by faith in God can say that. They are the ones who make every effort through the Holy Spirit to live right lives. They are the ones acceptable to God. They are the ones who not only live for themselves but care for others too!

You cannot handle all the adverse situations in your everyday life because they are often beyond you. When you are faced with impossibilities, what do you do? Where will you go to? Who is there to help you? Friends can help us only so much!

How often I have come across people with genuine needs, like sickness, lost jobs, no money to sustain the family, financial crisis, bad debts and many more. They seek our prayers and sometimes help too! On many occasions I have wished I could pray and also help out! It was just the other day, I shared with my wife, “If only I had the power and the money to help everyone in all situations and tell them, ‘Don’t worry we make all things right!”

No! No man can help! They cannot help themselves. But God can help you! The righteous know it. They humble themselves and put their trust in God! They learn to live by faith! God accepts them. As for the proud, they trust in themselves. They boast that they can do anything they want to. But it turns out to be only words with no effect. When everything goes well, they are happy and proudly boast of it. But when troubles come, they are left helpless. They crumble and even commit suicide. Worse still, God will be against them for their pride! Sometimes God uses such circumstances to draw them to Himself! Praise the Lord!

Dear believer, the righteous live by faith in God and do not trust in their own strength or wealth. Humbly seek God in your distress. God hears your call and will answer you (Jer 33.3). He keeps His promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you… So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone or anything do to me?” (Heb 13.5,6).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to live day by day by my faith in You alone and not in myself or anyone else! Let not the situations of life shake my trust in You. Amen.

Jesus Sees Your Troubles

2007-09-17T23:57:00.000+08:00

JESUS SAW THAT THE DISCIPLES WERE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE. HE CAME TO THEM WALKING ON THE SEA. Mark 6.48.

A dear old lady, a member of our church came to me after our Sunday worship. She told me crying, "Tomorrow I am going to face a deep financial crisis. Please pray for me!" People go through a great deal of trouble. So do you and I! There seems to be no end to it! We are puzzled as to ‘why we have so much trouble when we are the children of God! Shouldn’t we be always safe and sound? Don’t we have a great God who has given us many promises to deliver us from all our troubles?’

Yes! All the good promises of God are all there in the Bible for us. But we seem to have forgotten that at the same time our Lord Jesus Christ forewarned us before He left, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16.33). He also told us even as He ascended to heaven, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28.18,20).

Therefore, dear believer, you must pluck courage in every trouble and face it with the confidence that God is on your side and the Lord Jesus is always present with you! Look at today’s Bible passage and see how Jesus responded to the troubles the disciples were in. They were caught in a terrible storm on the sea of Galilee. This is how Mark describes it: ‘Jesus saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. He came to them, walking on the sea”. Jesus got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were astounded. They were delivered from drowning in the sea.

The story sounds very much like the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. Listen to what the Lord said to Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo 3.7,8).

Dear believer, you may be in a lot of trouble. That’s not surprising! Jesus has forewarned you. But you can trust Him to deliver you from your trouble or take you through it. Jesus sees, He knows, He is concerned and He comes to your help. Of this you can be sure! Jesus will keep His Word! The psalmist said, “God is our present help in trouble (Psa 46.1). Keep on trusting! Cry out to God! Say like poor old Job in his great distress, "Though God slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13.15).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, the testimonies in the Bible and that of many others give me confidence in You and Your promises. They are proof to me that You will be my help too in my time of trouble. Amen.

About Material Possessions

2007-09-14T22:01:00.000+08:00

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT HAVING A LOT OF MATERIAL POSSESSIONS. Luke 12.15.

The other day, a friend of mine who is an architect came to see me in my office. While conversing, he told me about a doctor whom we both knew. He was retuning from visiting the home of the doctor as he was commissioned to build him a new house. The architect took some time to describe the wealth of the doctor. He possessed many houses and much land. He has a dozen or so vintage cars that were parked all over the place. Now, he plans to put up a house costing a few millions!

It was quite natural that later on, in my quiet moments, I contemplated about the conversation I had with my friend about the wealth that doctor accumulated during his life-time. I also thought of what I had gained! I have everything I need which God in His grace had provided for me during my life-time. Yet, the thought that ‘I didn’t make’ as much as the doctor my friend mentioned, nagged me occasionally for some time!

As someone said, “Our God has a sense of humour!” For, it was when these random thoughts of material possessions overtook me that today’s Bible verse came up for my meditation. “Life is not about having a lot of material possessions”. Jesus also said, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed”. In order to prove His point, Jesus told the parable about “the Rich Fool!”

“A rich man had land that produced good crops. He thought, 'What should I do? I don't have enough room to store my crops.' …I'll say to myself, “You've stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” “But God said to him, 'You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you've accumulated?' That's how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God” (Lk 12.16-21).

Jesus told the people, “Everyone in the world is concerned about the things in life, but your Father knows you need them. Rather, be concerned about his kingdom. Then these things will be provided for you. Don't be afraid... Your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your material possessions, and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out! Make a treasure for yourselves in heaven that never loses its value! In heaven thieves and moths can't get close enough to destroy your treasure. Your heart will be where your treasure is” (vs 30-34).

Dear friend, while Jesus demanded some to sell all and follow him, for most of us it a call to total contentment in Him before all things worldly. The apostle Paul taught, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and traps and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Tim 6.6-11). Don't be eager for money and devote all your time and energy for it. Discipline your life to seek His kingdom first!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to stop thinking always of having more of this world's riches. Let me trust You for all my needs. Help me start sharing what You have given me with those who do not have! Amen.

God Showed His Love

2007-09-12T23:59:00.001+08:00

GOD SHOWED HOW MUCH HE LOVED US BY HAVING CHRIST DIE FOR US, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE SINFUL. Romans 5.8.

Have you ever heard a non-Christian saying that his God loves him? Or he loves his God very much? Every year at a Hindu festival, we see well over one and a half million devotees climb more than 200 steep steps to reach a mountain cave to pay homage to their god. Hundreds of them perform all kinds of penance to please their god. They pierce their bodies and faces with sharp iron rods and hooks, and some carry very heavy objects of worship on their heads. But they do not endure this torture because of their love of their god or his love for him!

In stark contrast, the Bible reveals that God Almighty “IS LOVE!” (1 Jn 4.8). He is love personified! He loved and still loves all men. The fullest extent of God’s love is expressed in our Bible text for today, “God showed how much he loved us by having Christ (His only Son) die for us, even though we were sinful”.

The true extent of God’s love for you and me, the apostle Paul reveals to us by his argument: “No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person” (v 7). But none of us were good or honest! We were sinful! It was then, that God loved us and let His only Son Jesus Christ die for us. He repeats his argument again by saying, “Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful” (v.6).

Why did the Great and Mighty God love everyone in this world without exception? The Bible tells us “God so loved the world (people) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3.16). We were destined to perish because of the consequence of our sinful lives. We broke God’s righteous laws. We disobeyed Him. We incurred His wrath. We deserved God’s punishment. But God loved us and didn’t want any of us to perish!!

All these are clearly revealed by God in His Word so that we are without excuse in knowing the truth. There is no need for anyone to ‘search for the truth anymore’. You only have to believe the truth and accept it. This is how the Bible sets the simple truth of our sin and salvation: 1). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3.23). 2). “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6.23). 3). “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10.13). (This is called “The Roman” Way of Salvation!).

Dear friend, now it is up to you to respond to the amazing love and grace of God to you. I trust you have done so. If not, today is the day! The Bible says, “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! (2 Cor 6.2).

You are already saved from your sin but you may have sinned again! If you are afraid of God’s anger and punishment, here is a promise from God, “Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God” (Rom 5.9). Make a genuine confession of your sin to God. Ask Him to deliver you from sin and temptation daily (Mt 6.13). He will! If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (1 Jn 1.9,10).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I thank You for loving me and giving Your only Son to die for me. It tells of the great love You have for me. Help me to love You with all my heart, and obey you in everything, all of my days. Amen.

Submit To One Another

2007-09-11T23:49:00.000+08:00

SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO ONE ANOTHER BECAUSE OF YOUR REVERENCE FOR CHRIST. Ephesians 5.21.

Independence is something this generation values greatly! All nations want to be independent. All people want to be independent. And it is good to a certain extent. We train our children and subordinates to be independent. Women have become very much independent today! However, if you and I do not understand the limits of our independence and appreciate the value of inter-dependence, we will be in deep distress. It is so in every walk of life, from home to society to the nation and the world.

As far as our spiritual life and conduct is concerned, we find in the Scripture a totally different and even contradictory principle! The apostle Paul instructs you and I to “submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ”. For such a statement to come from a man so fiercely independent is nothing but the Spirit of Christ working in him! Unless the same Spirit begins to work in us too, we will find it impossible in this day and age of independence to submit to one another and especially, authorities!

In today's Bible passage, we are first given some general teaching about submission in the context of the Christian home and spiritual household. Paul being a very practical Christian, highlights specific areas of life and conduct. Notice that we are taught “inter-dependence rather than slavery!” Otherwise you will miss the divine point and become a vicious opponent of ‘submission to one another’ which the Scripture demands!

The other day, my wife and I were to attend a meeting of a Christian Organisation. We were to discuss a proposal to split our group into three because of the rapid expansion of our city. However, our group being still small in number, we were doubtful of the feasibility of survival if we did split! Hence some were not in favour of a split.

At the meeting several members spoke for and against the proposal to split. The reasons for having more groups seemed to outweigh the arguments against. Hence, those of us who did not favour this move earlier, agreed with the others. We unanimously agreed to have three groups instead of continuing with one! Each of us could have stuck to our independent views and not have submitted to the views of the others. But for the common good, we submitted ourselves to one another for the cause of Christ.

Dear believer, this is what the Lord exhorts and expects us, the members of His Body on earth, to do! We are all created with independent thinking and we have our own ideas about everything! But as members of Christian families and churches we need to learn to 'agree on the essentials' and 'agree to differ on non-essentials' and still work together for our common good'!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You submitted Yourself to the Father’s good will. Teach us to submit to one another and live in peace for our common good, out of reverence to You. Amen.

They Hear & Accept The Word

2007-09-11T23:47:00.000+08:00

THOSE ARE THE ONES ON WHOM SEED (GOD’S WORD) WAS SOWN ON THE GOOD SOIL; and they hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Mark 4.20.

I am glad you read the Bible just as I do. Many Christians do not read the Bible even though they possess it, often many copies of it! Sometimes it is difficult for you and I who read the Bible to understand it. You need the Holy Spirit, the ‘real author’ of the Bible, to help you. If you pray like King David, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psa 119.18) before you begin to read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will help you to understand.

When Jesus began to speak to the people about the kingdom of God, they couldn’t understand Him! To add to their confusion, Jesus began to speak in ‘parables’. You would have thought that Jesus did this in order to help them to understand the truth better. But on the contrary He said, ‘everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding” (vs 11,12). The Truth is only for those who seek!

That is what the disciples did. They asked Jesus explain what they couldn’t understand! “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables” (v.10). You too need to ask the Lord to explain to you what you do not understand when you read the Bible. You need to be alone with the Lord to give Him time to teach us! Don't run for the Bible notes or seek the opinion of others before you search the Bible in prayer!

This parable of the ‘Sower and the Seed’ is the first Jesus ever told the people. Jesus taught the disciples the meaning of the parable. He also told them they needed to understand this parable to understand all the others! It is imperative for you and I to understand this parable well for the simple reason that if we don’t, we will be like the others, “ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding”.

Jesus was teaching here, what kind of people we should be in order for the Word to thrive in our lives. We are typically of four types. 1) Like the roadside – never listens to the Word well 2) Like the rock – no interest to react to the Word 3) Like among thorns – lets worldly things choke the Word and kill it 4) Like the good soil – receives the Word and allows it to grow and bear fruit even to a hundred fold!

Dear reader, what kind of soil are you – your heart? When you hear the Word of God, whether by reading it or through someone teaching or preaching to us, ‘something must happen in you!’ Jesus told clearly what God expects of you – “hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold”.

Early in life, I made it a point to make a mental or written note of what I hear or even read! The reason? I want to get something that will change or better my life and make me a better person! That is why I always carry a pen and a diary. Now I carry a PALM Digital Diary!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me ever hear the Word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Help me fulfill Your expectation for me. Amen.

Taste & See God

2007-09-10T23:36:00.000+08:00

O TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD; HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM. Psalm 34.8.

Sometime ago my wife and I were quite concerned about our daughter’s new business venture. There have been a few setbacks through no fault of hers. We had been praying very fervently for her and her project. We expected everything to be smooth sailing because we had entrusted all to God.

With each obstacle, we have been going back to God and asking Him to help us through. As we talked about these things, we both felt that this is a time of testing for our daughter. It is after all, her project. We only lend her physical, moral and spiritual support. The primary responsibility is hers. This naturally entails her going to God on her own and taking her problems to Him. She has to find help in time of need for herself from the throne of grace. Others can help only so much and no further, especially when it comes to seeking God and His help. SHE HAS TO TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD FOR HERSELF!

Our daughter had a steady job with a reputable agency and the had been smooth. The challenges to faith were rare. Now she is faring through uncharted territory. Each new task and every hardship is a challenge to faith in the Lord. We have come to realise that these are her trials of faith and not ours!

Like a loving father who deliberately pushes his little son into the pool so that he would learn to swim though he may struggle, the Lord lets us go through deep waters, dark valleys and fearful shadows. He teaches us not only to survive but to overcome, He proves to us His constant presence and the strength of His staff! He is faithful! Remember, the Lord will take us through only such experiences of life that are common to all those who trust in Him!

Soon, our daughter and all others who trust in the Lord will be able to say like David, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble”. Dear child of God, are you passing through deep waters or dark valleys? Remember, the Lord has put you there! He is there with you! Trust Him. He will take care of you and your situation!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me in all my troubles so that I too can say like David, “O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him”. Amen.

Giving To God

2007-09-10T23:35:00.000+08:00

GIVE CAESAR WHAT BELONGS TO CAESAR , GIVE GOD WHAT BELONGS TO GOD. Mark 12.17.

Most people have a problem with paying their taxes. They feel that they are being swindled by the government out of their hard-earned income! ‘I have worked for every penny. Why should I pay anything to the government. It has done nothing for me. It has no right to take anything from me’. That’s what most of us think and say!

Jesus laid out for you and me an abiding principle about taxes in today’s lesson. We must get it fixed in our minds so that we will not be guilty of tax evasion. Jesus plainly said, “Give the emperor Caesar (the government) what belongs to him, and give God what belongs to Him.” He didn’t give any reason except to show the people the inscription on the coin they brought to Him. There was Caesar’s head.

Caesar represented the government and all that it was doing for the people and the country. To run the government and provide all the various services and amenities for the people, much money is needed. Only when the citizens pay their taxes will the government have the finances for these. No minister or politician will pay out of his pocket and spend it for the people. They need to pay their taxes but they can seek legitimate exemptions and rebates.

While there could be excessive taxation by an unscrupulous government, usually the taxation is based on the budget necessary for all the public utilities and services. You have the right to vote for a good government and see that we pay only just taxes. But taxes we must pay! That is due to the government. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's”.

While dealing with taxes to earthly governments, let us not forget the more important teaching of the Lord, “Give to God what is God's.” About giving a part of our substance to God, we have clear teachings in a number of portions of the Bible. Not giving a ‘tenth or tithe’ to God of whatever He gives us, He calls “robbing God!” ( Mal 3.8-10). The apostle Paul taught the Corinthian believers to keep apart a portion of their income for the week. They were to give it as an offering on the Lord’s Day. If you do that regularly, you will not be burdened large sums to pay out or end up not paying your tithes! Strangely, we often count our taxes and even our tithes as losses from our pockets! They are not only a gift of gratitude for what you received from God but it is also adding treasures in heaven!

When Jesus taught, “Give to God what is God's”, He didn’t mention money! Money is but a small part of what God demands from you. He demands your 'all!' You belong to Him - your body, soul and spirit. Your 'all' is really your time, talent and treasure. God doesn’t want your treasure or a tenth of your money if you are not willing to give yourself to Him first! Many Christians spend all their time for their work or business and neglect God and even their family. Some spend all their time on themselves or on their family at the expense of God! Both are wrong. A young Christian businessman told me that he has not been to church for three years for he has to work on weekends!

Dear believer, don't forget this basic principle which Jesus taught you and it will be well with you! “Give Caesar what belongs to the Caesar, and give God what belongs to God.” You should be finding ways and means to obey God and not find excuses not to do so. Remember that wise saying, “Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul?” Give each one his due: God, the government, family, self, work or business, boss and others!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, thank You for teaching me to pay my taxes and give my tithes to God – in time and substance. Amen.

To Serve Like Jesus

2007-09-06T08:20:00.000+08:00

THE SON OF MAN DIDN'T COME SO THAT OTHERS COULD SERVE HIM. HE CAME TO SERVE. Mark 10.45.

Everyone wants to be served. But no one wants to serve. It is understandable in a world of masters and servants and employers and employees. Those who serve say they are slogging for others and get no fair remuneration. Hence they begin to work for themselves and become their own masters. But soon they find that they are the worst ‘slave masters’ of themselves and others. Now they work to death for money and more money!

When we consider work, even service, there is too much emphasis given to remuneration or income. No doubt it is important. We need money to live comfortably and to bring up our children and it is far too expensive today! But the pity is that today’s generation has totally forgotten that whatever work one is doing, his primary function is to serve the people and the community. The civil service, the service providers and the business people too, must be basically engaged in providing service to the people. If you are merely working for money and not for people, you make money your God!

You, as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, must learn from Him the service mentality. We should not only talk about it in our churches but we must practice it in our homes and marketplaces. We must set an example to others in serving the people. Those who have realised this basic responsibility to serve one another and the society will approach their job or business from that perspective. They will become a great help to people, especially the helpless! ‘People’ must come before ‘money’. Though people may pay for your service or commodity, your primary concern must be their benefit.

Dear believer, learn from the Saviour, the compassion He had for the people especially the poor, needy and the suffering. The gospel writers mention on many occasions that the Lord’s heart was filled with compassion for the people. You must learn to combine the servant-spirit and the compassion of the Master and carry on your work, job, profession or business. It is more so if you are involved in any spiritual ministry. People will notice and talk about it and the news will spread if they are pleased with you. You will be sure to succeed in whatever you are doing. Our Father in heaven will be glorified. The Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted in and through us.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to begin to be like You, serving others and not wanting to be served all the time. Let me do it with Your servant-spirit and compassion. Amen.

God Is Sovereign God

2007-09-05T11:23:00.000+08:00

GOD CHANGES THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS, HE REMOVES KINGS AND RAISES UP KINGS. DANIEL 2:21

During my lifetime I have seen evil men rise to political and military power, cause colossal havocs and pass off the scene. Even good leaders leave records that include mistakes and weaknesses.

The first chapter of Esther shows us the pride of King Ahasuerus, head of the mighty Persian Empire. He hosted an elaborate festival designed to display his riches and splendor. After 7 days of partying, the king gave orders to his servants to bring Vashti, his queen, before the revelers so they could see her great beauty. But Queen Vashti refused to come. It humiliated the great king of Persia (v.12-18).

Ahasuerus was furious and sought counsel from the wise men of his kingdom. They advised him to remove Vashti as queen and "give her royal position to another who is better than she" (v.19). God used these royal antiques to place a Jewish girl in a strategic position to preserve His people from destruction.

God's name is not mentioned in the entire book of Esther, but the message in chapter 1 comes through loud and clear: God can bring good out of everything, even when flawed and mistake-prone humans are involved. He is the real power behind the throne.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You are the king of kings and the Sovereign God, who can raise up princes and presidents from even commoners and remove them from power when they go against Your will, even as I (we, Your people) pray. Amen.

Adapted from 'Our Daily Bread', RBC Ministries

Don't Walk As They Walk

2007-09-04T08:14:00.001+08:00

YOU SHOULD NO LONGER WALK AS THE REST OF THE GENTILES WALK, IN THE FUTILITY OF THEIR MIND. Ephesians 4:17

There are people all around us whose lives have no meaning or hope. They're caught in the web of sin, living "in the futility of their mind" (Eph 4:17). Our role, as followers of the Lord Jesus, is to demonstrate that the life of faith does make sense. In the midst of a world of aimlessness and despair, we are called by the Lord and taught to live with purpose and hope. We must!

It's frustrating to talk to some people about God, Jesus, and salvation. They shrug you off by saying, "I am O.K. I lead a good life and do no one any harm. I even do some good! I do not need to believe in God! You have your belief and I have mine."

How do we respond to such people? Yes! Admittedly what they say is true. So you begin to wonder whether they need to change their life or religion! But when you think of the change believing in God and Jesus Christ brought about in your own life, you begin to think again! It has transformed you from a sinner to a saint. It has given your life meaning now and for eternity. You live in constant fellowship with the Lord. He always guides you and leads you in every situation, easy or tough. You need to tell them and show them that your belief in Christ makes sense.

When you show people the difference Jesus has made in your life, they will see that their life too can have meaning and purpose. In the book Papillon, the main character dreams that he is on trial. The judge says he is being charged with the most terrible crime that a person can possibly commit. When Papillon asks what it is, he is told, "The tragedy of a wasted life." "Guilty!" says Papillon, weeping. "Guilty."

Dear believer, have you found meaning in life and are you living each day with a purpose. Even in your secular or mundane job, you can find purpose and live with a sense of accomplishment. You will find recognition in the eyes of the Lord, even if no one around you notices and acknowledges!

Everyone has the right to live a fulfilled life here on earth and Jesus only can provide it. It is your God-given obligation and privilege to provide him or her with that opportunity by your life and words. A Christ-like life can be the world's Bible.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me not live like the people around me who do not know you. Let my life and good works so shine before men that they may want to follow me, as I follow you. Amen.

Tit For Tat Behaviour

2007-09-03T12:25:00.000+08:00

IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY FEED HIM, IF HE IS THIRSTY GIVE HIM A DRINK. Rom 12.20.

I was at a function the other day where I met an old acquaintance. She said she was going for a major operation the next day. I told a friend that we could go over to her home which was not very far away, and pray for her. The person remarked, “Why should we? She doesn’t care for us or our prayers or good deeds very much anyway?”

I was thinking about today’s Bible text, “As the scripture says: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink … Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good”. The thought that stuck in my mind was, “How often we read the Scripture and relish it but we don’t have the slightest intention to obey it!”

In the book of Proverbs we see this same instruction (25.21). Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, we have the Lord teaching us the same thing (Mt 5.54). You have read these many times and know it by heart. You have heard many preachers preaching and teaching you the same thing from the Bible. But the truth is that to most of us these are only ‘good teachings’ to hear. You might even wish that some others whom you know, who hear it will begin to practise it! For you, you are content with the hearing! You have no intention heeding God’s Word and obeying it! How else could we explain our contradicting behaviour?

Dear believer, if you have a problem in dealing with people who are ‘difficult or offending’, you should take special note of our Lord Jesus Christ’s words. “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5.43-48).

That is practical Christian living! It is not your loud singing or prayers on Sundays! Aren’t you deceiving yourself thinking that you are a good Christian when you are not even willing to behave better than the pagans who do not believe in God? At the judgment seat of Christ, many will have to give account for their ‘tit for tat’ behaviour here on earth and for not obeying the Lord’s teaching! It is what you do TODAY that determines the outcome of that DAY!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for not taking Your teaching seriously. I have been behaving like a pagan and not Your follower! Change my attitude and my actions, Lord. Amen.

May Your Will Be Done

2007-08-30T13:03:00.000+08:00

MY FATHER, IF IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THIS CUP TO BE TAKEN AWAY UNLESS I DRINK IT, MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE. Matthew 26.42.

Loud and even boisterous worship and fervent and even forceful and violent prayersare becoming common in today's Charismatic churches! This may be a welcome change from ‘the old-fashioned, emotionless approach’ to God. But, I am afraid it is creating among us a somewhat ‘patronizing and even belligerent attitude’ in our approach to God! We assert ourselves before God. We assume that He must and will hear us. The Almighty must condescend to answer us because of ‘our boldness!’

True, the Bible encourages us to be bold as we approach the throne of grace (Heb 4.16). The Lord Jesus even told us, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it – the violent will take the kingdom of God by force” (Mt 11.12). But I believe ‘that violence’ is not merely using loud voices or forceful actions! The Lord was teaching and encouraging a holy and reverent fervour in our prayers, petitions, testimony, preaching and all other spiritual ministries.

The real issue is, “How serious are you in seeking God? How importunate are you when you pray? Is your passion consuming, when you are making a request to God? What if your prayer is not soon answered? Will you be still lingering at the throne of God until He condescends to hear? Until He answers us, according to His will and may not be according to our requests!

Dear friends, it is not the decibels of your voice or your violent gesticulations that matter to God or move His heart! It is the holy passion of your soul for God and the things you ask of Him. Surely God will respond to men and women with such passion! But mind you, God is not hoodwinked or easily persuaded. No! Not even the devil is afraid of our whims and fancies. Holy men of old cried out to God and their prayers were heard. Dear old Hannah, a godly woman, went to the temple of God and stood up and prayed at its doorway. She was vexed in her heart and she cried out within her. Her poor soul was open towards her God in whom alone she trusted for help. No words came out of her mouth! Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel and the prophets too humbled themselves, fasted and prayed. Such prayers God has never refused!

Yet, dear believer, we need to learn the precious lesson of submission in the wake of our passion and boldness! It is what our dear Lord taught us in the garden of Gethsemane! He, though He was the Son of God, yet He learned obedience through His submission to the Father’s will. We need to learn the same obedience to the Sovereign will of God. Your will is not always God’s will! His will is good, perfect and acceptable! Only those who follow the footsteps of the Lord will know it! Stick close to Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, teach me to follow You closely up on the mountain top or through Gethsemane to Calvary and to learn to submit to the will of the Father in all things. Amen.

Lead Me In Right Paths

2007-08-29T13:03:00.000+08:00

AT HIS WORD THEY SHALL GO OUT, AND AT HIS WORD THEY SHALL COME IN, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation. Numbers 27.21.

Have you ever felt like me, having great difficulty in making decisions? The more important the issue, the more difficult it is. Of course, the problem is that I do not know what the outcome of my decisions would be in the long run. No one wants to make a mistake and ruin his life!

The children of God, the Israel of the Old Testament times, were on their way from the Egyptian slavery to the land that God had promised to their forefather Abraham. They were in the Sinai desert. No one knew the way, not even their leader, Moses. After the death of Moses, his servant, a young man called Joshua, was to lead the people. But how was he to know which way to go, for he had not passed that way before? (Jos 3.4).

That was when the LORD gave him this command. “You shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim before the LORD; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation."

Israel had the Urim or Thummim, the two sacred objects that the Lord had ordained and given the priest to inquire His will. For the LORD had said, “Put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart ..Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD” (Exo 28.30).

We have no such sacred objects or a special person to find out God’s will for us in any matter, however great or small. There were prophets in the Old Testament times to whom the kings went to seek God's direction, especially for the nation. In the New Testament too, we have 'the gift of prophesy and prophets. But we have no instructions to seek the prophets for guidance or examples of believers going to them for direction from God! But the Lord has not left us without help. Listen to his promise, “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).

Dear friends, the condition for the LORD’S guidance is “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Pro 3.5,6). Because of my lack of wisdom and knowledge of the outcome of my decisions and actions, out of fear and more so of trust, I take all things to the Lord in prayer. My wife and the family too join. At times we fast and pray for guidance. I take such a long while to make up my mind to act that my wife gets frustrated and says, “You never make up your mind!” I retort, “I am waiting to know God’s mind!” Even after all that, at times we make 'mistakes', at least we think so! Who knows, the Lord may be thinking otherwise!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am only a child of Yours and I lack wisdom. You have asked all who lack wisdom to come to You, so I come! Lead me in the right paths. Amen.

Christ Gives Me Strength

2007-08-28T12:41:00.000+08:00

I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH. Philippians 4.13.

When you are young, it is natural to feel that ‘you can do anything you want!’ It may be just a youthful boast. Older ones too, who are well and strong might also feel they can do anything! I too feel I can do many things! But at my age I cannot cope with all the things the youngsters do!

The apostle Paul was already quite old. He had some incapacitating sickness which made him dependent on the believers. To top it all, he was a prisoner in a lonely cell in Rome, chained to two soldiers, day and night. He couldn’t go anywhere freely or do anything he wanted!

So hopeless was his circumstance and yet the apostle wrote these words to the believers at Philippi, “I can do everything!” Have you ever wondered how someone in Paul's situation could utter such boastful words? The reason, he gives in the second part of his statement, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. The Contemporary English Version (CEV) correctly puts it in the order of its emphasis, “Christ gives me the strength to face anything”.

My dear friends, these are days when we face both the goodness of the Lord and the wile attacks of the devil. We experience it in our families, our extended families and friends, and among our church members too! Everyday is filled with gains and losses, success and defeat, health and sickness, joy and sadness and even life and death. No one is exempt. Sometimes the righteous suffer the most. It could be that the devil can’t stand the righteous rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness, like as in the life of Job!

Dear friend, you and I need to learn the secret of trusting in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ, come what may! We need to gain the power in our inner man that comes from the continuous fullness and power of the Holy Spirit alone. Here is Paul's secret of “How to be filled continuously by the Holy Spirit”. Listen carefully for many do not know how! “Be filled with the Spirit - by reciting psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs for your own good. Sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts. Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Many feel and even boast, they are 'spirit-filled'! Their lives show that they are not! Being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit is not automatic to any Christian! It is a divine process! It takes time and serious effort. But it is God’s promise to you.

Then and only then can you say with Paul in every situation in life, “Christ gives me the strength to face anything” and experience it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to claim Your promise to fill me continuously with Your Spirit. Help me to do my part. May He strengthen me to face my everyday challenges, however tough. Amen.

Take Away Discrimination

2007-08-27T14:33:00.001+08:00

WE CANNOT DO WITHOUT THE PARTS OF THE BODY THAT SEEM TO BE WEAKER. 1 Corinthians 12.22.

In our day and age we still hear public complaints about discrimination according to race and colour in the marketplace. Discrimination among peoples is the curse of the society and nations. The discrimination between the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated or less educated, the fair and the dark-skinned, raises its subtle head in every society in one way or another! It has been the cause for race riots and massacres in many nations. The issue is being addressed by the nations but much is still undone! Maybe because the discrimination between the sexes has suddenly cropped up as a major issue of our times, the greater and more urgent need to stamp out discrimination among the peoples has been dwarfed and even pushed aside!

Regrettably, there has been and still exists many types of discrimination even within the Church, the Body of Christ, also. But the Scripture demands equal acceptance of all. The Church of Christ should take the lead and show the world Christ’s way to equality for all!

In his letter, the apostle James addresses this issue in the early church with honesty. “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here's a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? You have insulted the poor.” (Jas 2.1-6).

The Corinthian church too had the problem of discrimination. But it was a matter of some having the ‘so-called greater or higher spiritual gifts’ than the others. Naturally those with the higher gifts expected greater honour! The members gave it to them! Those with ‘lesser gifts’ were looked down upon! The apostle Paul condemned this among the believers.

The discrimination on the basis of race and colour seen in the world is noticed in the Church also! In certain countries, churches are established according to the colour and race of the worshippers. It is not always that ‘the fair’ frowned on the dark-skinned. The coloured too have shown much contempt and hatred toward ‘the fair’!

The apostle Paul was the greatest exponent of ‘the oneness of the Church’. He compared the Church to “the Body of Christ. “Christ is a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts”. "We cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker". “All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it” (1 Cor 12.12-14; 22, 27).

It took a lot of courage and initiative from Jesus, a Jew, to walk through the land of the hated Samaritans, called ‘the dogs’, and to talk to a fallen Samaritan woman who was considered ‘a pariah’ even by her own people. You are His followers. Dear believer, act like Jesus in your daily dealings with everyone! Deliberately, begin to show love and compassion, not discrimination!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, there are discriminatory tendencies in me. Take them away. Let me not be prejudiced by race, colour or status, but love all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God's Love For The World

2007-08-24T13:27:00.000+08:00

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. John 3.16.

The golden thread that is woven through and through the Bible is ‘THE ETERNAL LOVE OF GOD FOR YOU AND ME!’ The broken chord in the Bible is ‘OUR NEVER-ENDING SELFISHNESS AND SIN!’

I was going to write that the Bible begins with man’s sin and continues with God’s response in love to save us through Jesus Christ His Son. But that would have been like putting the cart before the horse. For the Bible begins with God’s love: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” for man as his domain (Gen 1.1).

This is how God Almighty first revealed Himself to Moses, “He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex 34.6,7).

Nehemiah prayed to God, “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Neh 9.17).King David praised God by saying, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. ..But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psa 86.5,15).

In that wonderful psalm, David describes God thus, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (Psa 103.8-13).

The climax of God’s love is expressed in those beautiful words from the mouth of our dear Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. The epitome of God's love is Jesus Christ's death on the cross for all people. The demand of the cross of Christ is that you His follower should live giving your life for others.

I happened to view a CNN programme entitled, "God's Warriors". It showed the hatred and atrocities carried out in the name of God, by the Jews, Muslim and the Christians. What a misrepresentation of the love of God it is to teach that 'you become God's martyr and enter heaven instantly when you kill others and yourself too!' Dear believer, the more we are confronted with the problem of our sin and selfishness, the more we should dwell on the delivering power of the love of God through Jesus Christ. It should be the constant theme of our meditation day by day here on earth and our continuous refrain in heaven.

Pray with me: Dear Father, I thank You for Your great love that made You send Your Only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sin and grant me life eternal. Amen.

Which Acted Like A Neighbour?

2007-08-23T12:22:00.000+08:00

WHICH ONE OF THESE THREE ACTED LIKE A NEIGHBOUR TOWARD THE MAN ATTACKED BY THE ROBBERS? Luke 10.36.

The other night, a lady journalist was attacked by robbers while she was returning home after a function. Some ‘good Samaritans’ helped her. There will always be crime, violence and victims and rescuers too. But who ever connects ‘receiving eternal life’ to helping out a wounded victim of robbery?

If you, a Bible believing Christian, were to answer that question that Jesus was asked, “What must I do to receive eternal life”, what would you have said? Without batting an eyelid or thinking twice, you might have quoted the Bible verse (that is if you know your Bible), “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16.31). While this is very true, there is much more to inheriting eternal life than a mere profession of faith in the Lord, as this parable of the Good Samaritan reveals!

Just like today, there were in the early church too, people who professed faith by their mouths but did not show it by their actions. The apostle James was deeply concerned about the lack of love and concern among the believers in the church. Hence he teaches you that your faith must be reflected in our actions. You must love God and obey His commandments. BUT you must equally love people and help them!

Listen to the arguments James puts forth to encourage us to work out our salvation by our deeds to one another. He brings out practical issues of life and asks, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

He continues, "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do….You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" (Jas 2.17-20).

This ‘Good Samaritan’s story’ which Jesus told in the context of gaining eternal life should stir your spirit to be ‘pro-active’ to the needs of people all around you. You do not have to go on a mission to Cambodia to do good to the helpless! You who call yourself Christian should seriously consider ways and means to be of practical help to all those in need around you, especially believers.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You have said, “The poor you have always with you”, meaning that they need my help! (Mt 26.11). Help me to look not only to my own needs, but also to the needs of others (Phil 2.4) and begin to help them. Amen.

Worship of False Gods

2007-08-22T11:29:00.000+08:00

GET AS FAR AWAY FROM THE WORSHIP OF FALSE GODS AS YOU CAN. 1 Corinthians 10.14.

Many of us have no time to think about our God. We do not spend a few moments each day with Him. We don’t devote some time daily to read His Word. We care little to talk about Him to others. It is true that most of us do make it to church on a Sunday to worship our God, but that is about all we have to show that we have a God!

If we are not so focused about the One whom we call God, that is because there are ‘other things’ in our lives too that ‘take the place of God’. These are ‘false gods’. We are exhorted to get as far away from the worship of such false gods. What are these false gods that come into our lives and take the place of God and make us worship them?

Money is a false god. You and I need to get far away from worshipping money. We should set right our priorities in life. Make money your servant. Don’t let it not be your master or god, making you slog for every penny! The greed and love for money in comparison to your affection for your God will show who you worship – GOD OR MAMMON! (Mt 6.24).

To some their ‘god’ is their belly! Do you know anyone like that? The apostle Paul did. He said, “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things” (Phil 3.19). There are Christians who love food so much that they eat all the time and ‘sacrifice their lives at its altar!’ As a medical doctor, I am glad that this generation is different and most are body and figure conscious! Only few still make ‘food their god’.

But by becoming ‘physically’ conscious, many young and old folks too have made ‘figure and clothes their gods!’ There are children too young and grown-ups too old who are forever fiddling with their dress or appearance, as if the whole world is watching them. How can you think of YOUR GOD if you are so preoccupied in your mind with WHAT YOU WEAR AND HOW YOU LOOK?

Sex can become an obsession to many and immorality and perversions the way of life. The snares are many and more subtle with the advent of the mass media and the internet. We cannot avoid these everyday temptations. But whether your mind and your time are given over to these demoralising ways determines if they have become ‘your gods!’

Pray with me: Dear Lord, false gods are all around me and they are powerful. Many are worshipping them. Help me to get as far away as I can from the worship of any false gods. Amen.

Seed On Good Soil

2007-08-22T11:28:00.000+08:00

THOSE ARE THE ONES ON WHOM SEED (GOD’S WORD) WAS SOWN ON THE GOOD SOIL; and they hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Mark 4.20.

Many Christians do not read the Bible even though they possess it, often many copies of it! Those who read find some portions difficult to understand. You need the Holy Spirit, the ‘real author’ of the Bible, to help you to understand it. If you pray like King David, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psa 119.18), before you begin to read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will help you to understand.

When Jesus began to speak to the people about the kingdom of God, they couldn’t understand Him! To add to their confusion, Jesus began to speak in ‘parables’ or stories. You would have thought that Jesus did this in order to help them to understand the truths better. But surprisingly the gospels say, ‘everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding” (vs 11,12).It is a mystery!

But the disciples always asked Jesus about what they couldn’t understand! “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables” (v.10). We too need to ask the Lord to explain to us what we do not understand when we read the Bible. But you need 'to go to the Lord’ and give Him time to teach you!

This parable of the ‘Sower and the Seed’ is the first Jesus ever told the people. Jesus taught the disciples the meaning of the parable. He also told them they needed to understand this parable to understand all the others! It is imperative for you to understand this parable well for the simple reason that if you don’t, you will be like the others, “ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding".

Jesus was teaching what kind of person you should be in order for the Word to thrive in your life. We are typically of four types. 1) The roadside type – never listens to the Word well 2) The rocky type – hard ground for the Word to take root 3) Like among thorns – lets the care and anxiety for the material things and lust choke the Word and make it fruitless 4) Like the good soil – receives the Word and allows it to grow and bear fruit up to a hundred fold!

What kind of soil are you – your heart? How do you receive the Word whenever you hear it? Do you listen carefully and put it into practice? The Lord expects you to be like the good soil! When you hear the Word of God, whether by reading it or through someone teaching or preaching, ‘something must happen in you!’ Jesus told clearly what He expects of you – “hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold”.

Early in life, I made it a point to make a mental or written note of what I hear or even read! The reason? I want to get something that will change or improve my life and help me to be a better person! That is why I always carried a pen and a diary. Now I carry a PDA!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me ever hear the Word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and even a hundredfold. Please fulfill in me Your expectation. Amen.

The Lord's Coming

2007-08-17T16:06:00.001+08:00

THE LORD WILL COME FROM HEAVEN WITH A COMMAND, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. 1 Thes 4. 16

Many of us go to church regularly. We listen to sermons and read the Bible. We get to know many things about this life and the life to come. However, there is much ignorance among the Christians, church-goers, about the many important things that the Bible teaches.

For instance, how much do you know about the ‘Second Coming of Christ?” What do you know about your life after death? What do you know about the future of those dear ones who are dead and gone? The knowledge of many, maybe even yours, at best is patchy and vague. Many in the Corinthian church were ignorant about these things. So are today's believers! We ought to thank God for the apostle Paul for giving us instructions about these and many other matters pertaining to our present Christian life and our future.

One of the major events in our Christian calendar which is anticipated, and it may not be in the not too distant future, is the SECOND COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! It may be ‘before or after’ THE GREAT TRIBULATION (yet another future event to be fulfilled), depending on what teaching one follows. There are enough verses in the Bible to support both sides! But that is no reason for you to forget the PROMISED RETURN OF THE LORD. It is mentioned several hundred times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Sad to say, because many are rooted in this world, they have long lost their anticipation of the return of the Lord! Is it so with you?

About His coming, Jesus told His disciples long ago, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority" (Act 1.7). But it is most imperative that you should know that Jesus is certainly coming back and what happens when He comes! Hear the apostle Paul: “The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord” (vs 16,17).

Life has been more than busy for me as a doctor, surgeon and Christian worker. It has been good too! I want to enjoy it as long as I can. Yet, it has always thrilled me to read about the Lord's return. It will be exciting to hear “the shout of the Lord from heaven, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God” and to see “the Lord descend from heaven!” That will be enough to make the earth tremble, the graves of the saints to be opened, the dead to be raised to life and the believing saints to be transformed and all to fly up to meet the Lord in the heavens!! What a day it will be! Dear believer, don’t let the Day of the Lord catch you like a thief because you are too busy here on earth!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I may be busy in this life and seldom think of Your return but let me never lose sight of it and the hope of meeting You and the glory that awaits me. Amen.

Everyone Was Amazed

2007-08-17T16:05:00.000+08:00

EVERYONE WAS AMAZED AND PRAISED GOD, SAYING, "WE HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS." Mark 2.12.

We are living in days when increasing millions all over the world are believing in ‘gods’ who are mere idols. They carry them on their shoulders, bow before them and worship them. They attribute ‘supernatural powers’ to them to answer their prayers. Multiplied millions go to special shrines and pay homage to their gods for the miraculous answers to prayers!

It amazes me that in such an age there can be a large section of the Church that call themselves ‘Liberal Christians’ and do not believe in the ‘supernatural’. They do not believe what even the 'idol-worshipers believe – that God answers prayers! They do not believe in the miracles of the Bible, even the virgin birth of Jesus or His resurrection from the dead. It makes one wonder why they should believe in a God at all, if He cannot and will not work miracles!

Jesus revealed the fundamental difference between man and God when He said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19.26).You should not be foolishly persuaded by those ‘Christian unbelievers’ to believe in a God who cannot work miracles. Instead, you should go back to the Bible again and again and discover and rediscover the almighty power of your God in the Old Testament and that of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

When Jesus came and began performing miracles, healing and casting out demons, the people thronged around Him. The gospel writers mention in a number of places, “many believed in Jesus because of the miracles He did!” Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast (one time) and many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name (Jn 2.23). At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go”. Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him (Jn 11.43–45).

One of our greatest problems today is that we conduct with great publicity ‘MIRACLE CRUSADES’ and proclaim that every illness will be healed and all woes will be gone! But unfortunately, nothing great happens! We also engage in similar ministries in smaller measure in all our churches and individually too. But people do not see the awesome power of God in our midst! Naturally, those who are disappointed do not believe. The unimpressed spectators go away disappointed! People need the LORD! But many are looking for the miracles they need!

Dear believer, It is about time that the unbelieving people begin to see incidents like what we read about in today’s text, “The paralysed man healed by Jesus got up, immediately picked up his cot, and walked away while everyone watched”. Only then will everyone be amazed and praise God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this”. It will happen only when we believers become committed and honest in seeking God and His power. The Lord has declared, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, "the LORD" (Jer 29.13,14).

Pray and practise with me: Dear LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (Hab 3.2). Amen.

The Example of Phoebe

2007-08-15T15:47:00.001+08:00

PHOEBE HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME. Romans 16.2.

In an age when everyone wants only to be masters and not servants, it is good to sing now and again at our gatherings the chorus, “Make me a servant humble and meek; Lord, let me seek all those who are weak; and may the prayer of my heart always be; make me a servant, make me a servant today!” It will be a strong reminder to us, followers of Christ, that we also need to be like Him. Jesus called the disciples together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20.28).

Follow through the Bible and you will find that ‘Whoever served God and His people, He raised them up to leadership’. That is the divine criteria to be ‘exalted or lifted up’ in the kingdom of God. The Bible tells us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Pe 5.6). Not only that, we are also clearly told, “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished” (Pro 16.5).

The Bible condemns a selfish spirit. The apostle Paul taught, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2 5-5).

In life and ministry or service, the Lord Jesus Christ must be our supreme example. “He came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk19.10). In doing so, He tirelessly worked day after day and did good to all. Then He also gave up His life for others! It is not in our human spirit or mentality to humble ourselves and serve others. We need to imitate Christ and cultivate it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Even the twelve disciples who were with Jesus did not show humility but expressed the desire to be ‘at the top’ even in heaven – seated at His left and right! (Mk 10.37).

Dear believer, notice in today’s Bible text the apostle Paul describing a dear sister, Phoebe, who was unlike most of us! “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me” (vs 1,2). Oh! That these words may describe your life and mine here on earth and be the epitaph (inscription) on our tombstones! Remember, for that you must begin to do some service to someone today, with God's help!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, (You have to) make me a servant humble and meek; Lord, let me seek all those who are weak; and may the prayer of my life always be; make me a servant, make me a servant today! Amen.

The Great High Priest

2007-08-14T23:33:00.001+08:00

YOU HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST WHO HAS GONE INTO THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD---JESUS, THE SON OF GOD. Hebrews 4.14.

The first time I read from the book of Hebrews that “we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God---Jesus, the Son of God”, it didn’t mean much to me. Those of us who belong to the Evangelical churches have ‘never seen’ a priest, let alone a bishop or Archbishop or the Pope. Hence it is difficult and even impossible for us to think of Jesus as our Great High Priest!

As for the Jewish converts to whom the epistle of Hebrews was written, they had no problem in understanding this and seeing Jesus as their ‘new Great High Priest’. They were surrounded by priests in their temples. The priests accepted the sacrifices and offered them to God on the altar on behalf of the people. The priests spoke to the people the words of God. They also had the High Priest who entered the ‘holy of holies’ and offered the sacrifice of Atonement once a year.

You need to grasp the Person and the Position of Jesus Christ as our 'Great High Priest'. Only then can you begin to receive the full blessings of His ‘God-ordained’ office of the High Priest (Heb 5.6). Knowing Jesus as our Great High Priest in heaven before God is very different from knowing Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. We need to know that it is actually Jesus as our High Priest who presents our petitions to God! We need to know Him as our High Priest who has spoken God’s Word to us! The apostle Paul explains the priesthood of Jesus in these words, “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2.5).

When we pray and make our petition to God, we always end up saying, “all this we ask in Jesus’ name!” Have you ever thought why the Lord Jesus asked us to do so? For one thing, Jesus knew that He only is our mediator and High Priest. He taught us to present our prayers to Him or to the Father in His name. He would then, offer our prayers to His Father. Jesus knew that our standing with God and acceptance were always in Him, through His righteousness. He was ‘the Son in whom the Father was well pleased’. His prayers Jesus said, "the Father always hears” (Jn 11.42).

Remember the times you have gone to some pastor or leader for prayer because ‘your own prayers’ were not answered? It is all right for they too are our ‘mediators’ before God, only they are human. Indeed, we all are repeatedly exhorted to intercede and mediate to God on behalf of each other. But Jesus, the Son of God is our only 'High Priest and Mediator between God and us. The next time, and why not every time, not only you pray in Jesus' name but also ask Him to pray for you. The Bible says, He is already doing it without our asking because He knows our needs. “He lives in heaven today to make intercession for us” (Heb 7.25).

Dear believer, before you go to any special pastor or leader for prayer for your needs next time, remember to go to your own High Priest who is greater than all pastors and priests. Jesus understands every weakness of yours, because he was tempted in every way that we are (Heb 4.15).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me to know You as my Great High Priest. May I have the confidence to approach God's throne through You. There I will receive mercy and find grace to help me just when I need it. Amen.

God So Loved The World

2007-08-14T23:32:00.001+08:00

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. John 3.16.

The golden thread that is woven through and through the Bible is ‘THE ETERNAL LOVE OF GOD FOR YOU AND ME!’ The broken chord in the Bible is ‘OUR NEVER-ENDING SELFISHNESS AND SIN!’

I was going to write that the Bible begins with man’s sin and it continues with God’s response in love to save us through Jesus Christ His Son. But that would have been like putting the cart before the horse. For the Bible begins with God’s love: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” for man as his domain (Gen 1.1).

This is how God Almighty first revealed Himself to Moses, “He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex 34.6,7).

Nehemiah prayed to God, “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Neh 9.17)

King David praised God by saying, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. ..But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psa 86.5,15).

In that wonderful psalm, David describes God thus, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (Psa 103.8-13).

The climax of God’s love is expressed in those beautiful words from the mouth of our dear Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.

The more you and I are confronted with the problem of our sin and selfishness, we should dwell on the delivering power of the love of God through Jesus Christ. It should be the constant theme of our meditation day by day here on earth and our continuous refrain in heaven.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forever, I will thank You for Your great love that made You send Your Only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sin and grant me life eternal. Amen.

Use Honest Scales

2007-08-14T23:31:00.001+08:00

USE HONEST SCALES HONEST WEIGHTS, AND HONEST MEASURES. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt. Leviticus 19.36.

We were starting a kindergarten. We got the place all done up, including the air-conditioning. The place was insured because it is the routine thing done in business. But we were in for a big surprise; someone broke in and stole all the air-condition units. The first thing friends told us was, “It must be the people who installed your units!”

Dishonesty in business is rampant in every country and in all societies. “Honesty is the best policy”, they say. But today, the accepted philosophy in the marketplace is, “One cannot survive in business unless you practice lying, cheating and crookedness!”

Sad to say, we Christians too have mostly accepted this ‘new age business ethics’ and many have taken it as a matter of course. The only difference between you and the non-Christian businessman or professional is that he cheats ‘without a conscience’ while you cheat ‘against your conscience’. But as time passes, you too begin to practice all the deceptive ways of the business community. You too lie, cheat and rob with impunity. Your conscience has become immune to the inner voice of God. Your principles and practices made you ‘compromise with the Word of God’ at first. But now you are ‘blatantly breaking the Laws of God’. And still you consider yourself to be a good Christian in the marketplace! You are even witnessing for Christ to your business associates who are non-Christians, with a genuine concern for their souls to be saved from sin and hell.

How do I know these things and why am I writing about them? The simple and genuine reason is that I too am in the marketplace as a medical professional, facing the real problems of survival as a Christian businessman! I need not tell you about the great many complaints against doctors and hospitals of malpractices, overcharging and even cheating the sick and vulnerable!

The good old days of honest professional practice or business dealings are gone forever. The madness of making money for the sake of excessive luxury and incredible wealth has necessitated the price hike of everything necessary for life. Just to graduate from a university today you need up to a few hundred thousand dollars and to become a doctor, the cost may reach more than half a million! You and I have to make enough money to afford these essentials and much more if you go for the luxuries of life. The vicious effect is that, from the labourer to the landlord and the trader to the professional, all have escalated the price for their services and commodities. The pity is that every one complains against the other and no one is happy!

Having explained how we got into this mess, there is one thing we Christians should be absolutely careful about. You cannot violate God’s unchanging Laws and standards of conduct. All of you who are in the marketplace, listen to the voice of God in today’s text and obey it, “Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. Obey all my laws and all my rules, and live by them”. The reason, “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt!” (vs 36,37). It is in His power to prosper you without your having to cheat and rob others!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You are the One who brought me out of all my wants, needs, sadness, suffering, sorrow, pain and loss! It was not by cheating for crookedness. Make me honest in all I do. Amen.

Wounds of A Friend

2007-08-09T12:34:00.000+08:00

FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND, BUT THE KISSES OF AN ENEMY ARE DECEITFUL. PROVERBS 27:6

Nobody ever likes counsel that goes against their own plans! In the olden days, one had very little choice but to accept the counsel of those 'above' him. But today, we have freedom of the individual, even little children! Kids call 911 if the parents rebuke! Everyone is free to think and do what they like! Seldom do people seek counsel or heed it! However there has been no other time like ours when counsellors and counselling courses abound! Why? Ask yourself!

I am a 'great reader' of the "Daily Bible Notes' since my youth. I used different ones at various stages in my life. I have learned much and am now able to teach and preach from the Word. But basically, it taught me the habit of having my devotional time daily! I still do it! Some years ago, I read the following from 'Our Daily Bread' about criticism, not so much counselling, and it is worth passing on to you. Read and be blessed and bless others.

After a church service in which the minister had preached about spiritual gifts, he was greeted at the door by a woman who said, "Pastor, I believe I have the gift of criticism." He responded, "Do you remember the person in Jesus' parable who had the one talent? Do you recall what he did with it?" "Yes," replied the woman, "he went out and buried it" (see Mt 25:18). With a smile, the pastor suggested, "Go, and do likewise!"

If criticism is not given lovingly and with an honest desire to help, it can be cruel and destructive. The words of Lev 19:17, "You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him," are preceded by warnings against spreading slander and nursing hatred.

You can determine when you should criticize and when you shouldn't by asking yourself three questions:

1. Am I motivated by a desire to help the other person?

2. Am I planning to face him honestly, but gently?

3. Am I doing this for the Lord, or because I enjoy being critical?

If your goal is to help, if your motives are loving, and if your desire is to please God, then go ahead and criticize. If you can't pass these tests, keep quiet.

We're building up or tearing down in everything we do;
Are we in the construction gang or on the wrecking crew?
He has the right to criticize who has the heart!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me a heart of love and concern for people when I open my mouth to criticise or counsel. Amen.

What A New Creation

2007-08-09T12:32:00.000+08:00

IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST, YOU ARE A NEW CREATION: EVERYTHING OLD HAS PASSED AWAY; EVERYTHING HAS BECOME NEW! 2 CORINTHIANS 5.17.

In our Gideon International monthly magazine, testimonies are printed of people from all backgrounds who get saved just because they happened to read a copy of our Bible placed in Hotels and motels or given to them!

I have reproduced some short but remarkable testimonies below to prove the truth of the Bible verse quoted above for today’s meditation. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Venezuela. Colemente Marquez. A street bum and drug addict. Wanted to kill himself by jumping before an oncoming truck. Someone gave him a New Testament (NT). He sat by the highway and read it. The power of the gospel saved him from suicide and also straightened his life.

Detroit, USA. Frank Swastek. A drug addict in college. Someone gave him a NT. He read it and got saved by its power. He became the pastor of a church.

Pennsylvania USA. Art Adams. 29 years a smoker. 26 years a drunk. 17 years on drugs. Read a Bible in a motel. The gospel is still the power of God to save!.

Columbia. A criminal in prison stole 10 New Testaments to make cigarettes and smoke. He glanced through the last one. He got saved by the Word of God. He died as a missionary.

Zambia, Africa. President Chiluba. A political prisoner. Hated his persecutors. A pastor gave him a Bible. It transformed Chiluba’s life. He became the first Christian president.

Manila, Philippines. Hubert Carmona. A taxi driver and gangster. A tourist gave him a NT. To learn English he read it. The power of God’s Word saved him. He became a pastor and has planted a host of churches and trains pastors.

Pandung, Indonesia. Paulus Sabardi Cipto. A muslim motor trishaw puller. Imprisoned for drug peddling. Read a Bible in the prison. Its power changed his life. Witnessed to his family and villagers. Started a church with 65 people.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Elengovan. A young Indian drug addict and criminal. In prison about 20 times. Finally happened to read a NT distributed in prison. Its power saved and transformed him. He is a member of a large church for many years and now a social worker.

The apostle Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1.16). Dear friend, have you been saved by the power of the gospel? If not read it from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Once saved, the Word of God will still continue to act powerfully in the lives of those who read it daily, bringing success and prosperity, both spiritually and materially. God told Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Jos 1.8).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, stir up my heart to read Your Word daily and be blessed and become a blessing to others. In Christ’s Name. Amen.

Keep Myself In God's Love

2007-08-08T00:03:00.000+08:00

KEEP YOURSELVES IN GOD'S LOVE. Jude 21.

God loved all the people of the world and sent His only Son into the world. He came and lived with them and told them about the Father's love. He loved us while we were yet sinners. Christ loved us and died for our sins while we were all enemies to God through disobedience. God still loves us even though we continue to disobey Him and go against His commandments.

You and I take the love of God for granted! Though God’s love is unconditional, He pleads with us by His mercy that we return His love. In today’s Bible text, we have this command and caution, “Keep yourselves in God’s love”.

How do you keep yourself in God’s love? How do you keep loving God and show your love to Him. The Bible tells us the secret. ‘This is love for God: to obey his commands’ (1 Jn 5.3). Jesus told His disciples, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn 14.15).

Long ago, the fierce Amalakites went to fight against Israel. God sent King Saul to war against them. He fought valiantly and defeated them. But he took the spoils which God commanded him not to do. God sent prophet Samuel to him and asked, “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?” Samuel told Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15.15).

Today, we give the least premium for obedience to God. We would rather tell God all the nice things about Him; sing wonderful choruses to praise Him; do work in His name and for His church and people. But you forget that God asks and even commands you only one thing: Obedience. If you want to keep yourself in God’s love, if you want to show your love to Him, then you must obey His commandments.

Dear believer, learn from the life and fall of King Saul. Samuel said to him, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD” (v.23, 26).

Much like us, Saul disobeyed the Lord, but he still wanted to carry on the worship as usual. But the Lord rejected him as king. The Spirit of the Lord withdrew from him. Saul lost God’s love and fellowship – because he disobeyed. Let it not happen to you!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, teach me that obedience is better than worship. You even reject worship without obedience! Help me to obey You and keep myself in Your love. Amen.

No Fear In Love

2007-08-08T00:02:00.000+08:00

THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE. BUT PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR, BECAUSE FEAR HAS TO DO WITH PUNISHMENT. 1 John 4.18.

People say, “Only the fearful believe in God!” They fear evil happening to them. They fear that ‘the gods’ or God will be angry because of their wrongdoings or for not pleasing them with gifts. At times, you and I also succumb to such 'pagan' thinking! After believing in Christ and knowing that we are now the children of God, we still harbour such wrong thoughts about God! How could we?

How often when something bad or some accident or calamity befalls you, your first thought is, ‘Ah! It must be God punishing me for some wrongdoing!’ If you are habitually doing wrong and disobeying God’s commandments, then you have good reason to think so. You must find out what evil you have done and confess it to God. He will forgive you. But you must be genuine in your confession. Don’t keep repeating the same sin again! Seek God's help to succeed.

Dear believer, You are a child of God. God loves you. His love is so great that God sent His only Son to die for you while you were a sinner. Now that you are saved and you belong to God, you don’t have to fear that God will punish you or strike you down for whatever wrong you have done or might do! God’s love for you does not change whether you have sinned or not. If you confess your sin, your fellowship with God is restored and is intact. God's promise is: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn 1.9).

In order to drive out ‘the fear of God’ from your life, you need to know God’s love. The Bible says, “the LORD, he is good; his love endures forever” (Psa 106.1). You need to pray for the Holy Spirit’s help “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3.18,19).

In order to drive out ‘the fear of God’, you need to love God. The Bible says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Lk 10.27). The Lord Jesus asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these others do (more than everything)?" He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” (Jn 21.15). The Lord asks you also the same question. Won't you want to reply like Peter? Then begin to show your love for God by spending much time with Him in reading ‘His love-Letter’ (the Bible) and talking to Him (in prayer). If you do, slowly your fear of God and His punishment will begin to disappear!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, may Your Spirit help me know Your love and to love You as I ought to so that I will have no fear even when fearful things happen. Amen.

Creator of All Things

2007-08-03T14:57:00.001+08:00

WHAT A LARGE NUMBER OF THINGS YOU HAVE MADE, O LORD! YOU MADE THEM ALL BY WISDOM. THE EARTH IS FILLED WITH YOUR CREATURES. Psalm 104.24.

Our grandchildren once spent a night with us in our family home. None wanted to sleep early. They all came to our bed and wanted to hear old tales about us and our family. They didn’t want the bright lights and so they switched them off. All of them shouted with one voice, “Look at Grandpa’s ceiling!” We had decorated it to look like 'the bright night sky with luminous stars and planets and even flying comets spread all over!'

The strange thing is that no one had noticed our artificially created ‘amazing sky with all the heavenly bodies’ until the lights went out and all silently gazed at the ceiling! It forcefully reminded me that unless you and I deliberately pause in the midst of our hectic days and nights and search for the glory of our God and the greatness of His creation, we shall never find them! What a loss it would be! You will miss the wonderful opportunity to witness God’s wonderful creation and worship Him for the greatness of His wisdom and works! You will never get an occasion to witness what King David saw that day and be reminded of all the many and diverse things, great and small, our wonderful Creator has made for us to take delight in!

I complain to my wife that there is one thing that I miss in our present beautiful home God has graciously provided. As before, I cannot get a full view of the beauty of the evening sunset (unless I spend my evening in our bathroom, which I often do!) or see the glory of the moonlit and star-spangled night sky! I miss all that David has described in this beautiful psalm about God’s wondrous creation and the opportunity to be filled with awe and praise to God our maker.

I used to take our family on holidays to scenic countrysides and often deliberately chose the most winding roads that scared my wife. Its picturesque beauty bewitches me! Though I love to drive but because it is not safe to watch the scenic beauty and not concentrate on the roads, others take the wheel from me! It is not unusual that I burst out singing, "Then sings my soul my Saviour God to thee, how great thou art!" and others join in.

Dear child of God, unless you ‘redeem the time’ from all the other important things that need your immediate attention, you will never see God or witness the beauty of His creation. Your worship of God, if at all you find time for it, will be bare and bland singing of the usual stereotyped songs and choruses and nothing more! Take time to 'see God' and make time to 'worship Him!'

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, my Maker and Creator of all things, help me to make time to worship You and rejoice in everything You have created for me to enjoy! Amen.

Against Wicked Spiritual Forces

2007-08-03T00:26:00.000+08:00

WE ARE NOT FIGHTING AGAINST HUMAN BEINGS BUT AGAINST THE WICKED SPIRITUAL FORCES in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. Ephesians 6.12.

The number of people in distress in our large church of about 8,000 is beyond belief! One wonders how we could have so many believers with so many problems each week! When people with needs are called out to be prayed for, ‘a small army’ comes out! Many are sick. Some come in proxy for those desperately ill and dying. There are those in wheelchairs. Lots are there with dire financial needs. People with marital or children’s problems are not few. Trouble in the workplace is common. People with anxiety and depression abound.

Seeing this pitiable sight every week and engaged with others in praying for them, at times I myself feel distressed and even depressed. My wife and I share this mutual concern and make frequent intercessions for them. We also pray for the vast number of God’s suffering people all over the world, known and unknown.

We question God, “Why do you give so much trouble to Your people? Why is it that many are in deep distress and others suffer and some even die?" A distressed sister asked the same question. Then she answered her question herself by saying, “It must be that the devil is attacking me!” All trials need not be from Satan, we are the cause for some!

However, what the apostle said long ago is a solemn fact which we tend to forget! “We are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age”. We have always had ‘a kind of knowledge that all evil and sickness are from the devil’. But it didn't bother us much!

Dear believer, you need to realise that your spiritual temptations and trials and sometimes your physical and material struggles are ‘from the wicked spiritual forces’. Job’s woes would tell us that. It is time you begin to use ‘all the armor that God gives us’ in order to gain victory over Satan and get deliverance from your physical and material woes. Don't fight your battles alone in your strength. You cannot leave the ‘fight’ against your sickness to the physicians and medications believing that the battle is ‘only physical.’

You need to know the spiritual weapons God has made available to you and use them. Try to make use of them increasingly: "Know the truth and be truthful. Be right with God. Be a witness for the gospel of Christ. Hold on to your most precious faith. Be saved through the gospel. Read the Word. Use the Word as Your sword against Satan, as Jesus did. Above all pray, ask God to deliver you from the Evil One".

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, You taught me to pray, “Deliver me from the evil one/evil”. Help me to fight him when he attacks, with the weapons You have given me. Amen.

Rejoice In Tribulation

2007-08-01T17:03:00.000+08:00

IT MAY BE THAT JEHOVAH WILL LOOK ON MY AFFLICTION, AND THAT JEHOVAH WILL REPAY ME WITH GOOD. 2 Samuel 16.12.

One morning on my way to work, I was thinking about this verse from the Bible - the pleading of King David to his God during his affliction. I happened to pass by the home of a dear friend who just had an operation. He was still in the hospital and so I had a chat with his wife, a dear old Christian sister who is known for her trust in God and life of prayer.

She was going through much affliction of her own and that of her family. She didn’t know why she was having more and more trouble every time she walked closer to God and was a witness for Him. She said that it is as if the devil was hurting her more because of this! David might have felt the same, I thought to myself. He expressed his agony and hope in God by saying, “It may be that Jehovah will look on my affliction, and that Jehovah will repay me with good”.

But dear fellow-believer, to us this is not just a hope and prayer as it was for David but a sure promise. The Word of God assures us of the blessings and benefits of the afflictions we suffer here in this life. You need to know this so that you do not despair in your afflictions, like the dear sister. For the sake of sanity and spirituality too, we need to develop a positive outlook from the Scriptures towards our afflictions. Only the promises of God and His grace can give us strength to face our trials which are many!

The Bible assures us that ‘our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all’. Therefore, we must ‘fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Cor 5.17,18). If not for that blessed promise, ‘the eternal glory we receive will far outweigh our afflictions’, there would have been no meaning to our sufferings. God would not have allowed His children to suffer!

The Bible also teaches us that ‘our afflictions are the testing of our faith’. Though painful, it develops perseverance and makes you mature and complete, not lacking anything’ (Jas 1. 2-3). The apostle Peter says, through afflictions, ‘our faith, though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed’ (1 Pe 1.7).

So, instead of pining and groaning, which are common, we are encouraged by the apostle James to ‘consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds’ (Ja 1.4). In a similar manner the apostle Peter also tells us, ‘greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials’ (1 Pe 1.6).

Dear believer, in times of distress and depression there is great relief in deliberately expressing joy loudly in word, song or music! I have made it my daily habit! I have often proved it effective to burst out in songs of praise like, ‘Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee, How great Thou art!’ It might have startled my family or patients on the operating table! But they are better off with a happy husband or doctor!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, sometimes I am greatly weighed down by trials and afflictions. May Your Spirit sustain me and cause me to rejoice in tribulation through Your promises. Amen.

On Things Above

2007-08-01T00:32:00.001+08:00

KEEP YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE NOT ON WORLDLY THINGS. Col 3.2.

Everyone has worked hard for a living right from the days of Adam and Eve. But today, even they would turn in their graves if they ever could perceive how hectic our lives are! Just to eke out a living, some are slogging most of the day and well into the night. With both parents having to work, children hardly get time to spend with them. A bank executive told me while having our Sunday lunch, "The expectation by the bosses for the employees to perform is so great that they many are cracking up!" Even the Christians are not exempt! How difficult, if not impossible it is for us to keep thinking about things in heaven because our minds are too preoccupied with the things of this world! But that is the Lord's command to us!

Much like the apostle Paul’s admonition today, Jesus too cautioned His disciples about worldliness instead of a heavenly outlook! He said, “Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you. "So don't ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt 6.32-34).

Seeking first the Kingdom of God and fixing our minds on things above which are the only things that last makes sense when you realise the outcome is in God's hand. Hence He tells us, “It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the LORD provides for those he loves, while they are asleep” (Psa 127.2). What this means is that it is not by our ability that we meet our needs. They are God’s gracious provision! Not so long ago, millions of chickens (more than 25 million) were culled because of the bird flu in the Asian countries. My wife and I were greatly upset to see the poor farmers having to destroy their poultry and lose their precious livelihood! How forcefully we are being reminded that heaven holds the key to our daily bread on earth!

I believe all the more that these are the very reasons why we are commanded in the Scriptures to “Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things”. It is an attitude of the heart and exercise of the mind that we need to cultivate deliberately and possess. It won’t come naturally or easily. Just a simple thing like praying three times a day like Daniel of old you find it hard to do when you try! I have tried setting the alarm on my watch to remind me. But when it goes off, I may be in the midst of an operation or consultation and I am not free to pray!

Dear believer, how then will you keep your mind on things above instead of worldly things like everyone else? The apostle Paul tells us the secret in another passage. Have a new mind or renewal of the mind or transformation of the mind, by the Holy Spirit. Only He can set our minds free from the cares and covetousness of the world and help us to fasten them on heaven! If you do not learn to do that, even little by little, but remain burdened with worldly things, you will never be ready for heaven when your call comes! I thank God for old age, for it slowly makes you loosen your grip on earth whether you like it or not. It prepares you for heaven! But, dear believer, your call could come anytime! You too must prepare, even now!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, help me not follow the world, always thinking about earthly things. Instead, help me change the way I think. Let me deliberately take time to think about You and heavenly things. Amen.