The Alpha of the Narrow Gate

UV 3097/10000 The Alpha of the Narrow Gate

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it

Matthew 7 v 14

The wisdom of God is counter intuitive. If confronted by a choice between a wide road with many people travelling on it and a narrow path with few travelling on it, the average human would always choose the former. Jesus , however, urges us to choose the narrow path. The believer seemingly has fewer options than the free thinker. He or she cannot go to the left or right of the path indicated in the word of the Lord. We do not have the freedom to do whatever pleases us. But this narrow path leads to salvation, eternal life, victory and peace. All are invited to take this path but few choose it. We can enter into the kingdom of God only through the door or gate that is Jesus. Once we enter through faith in Jesus, the path is narrow, difficult and steep. But only a difficult path leads to a beautiful destination.

What appears to be narrow or constricted is actually the widest. We enjoy the greatest blessings of being accompanied by the presence of the Lord every step of the way. The Holy Spirit lights up the path with the help of the word that is a lamp unto our feet. Even if we stumble and fall at times, the Lord helps us again to our feet. The ones who chose the wide road are led by the blind and often fall into the ditch. But we have the benefit of visionary leadership, infinite wisdom , infinite power in the person and example of Jesus. We walk with our hands locked in the hand of the Lord. We are never alone or helpless or clueless.

Once we enter the narrow path of Jesus, there is no going back. As we travel, the path becomes wider and brighter as we go. We actually realize that the purpose of our lives is being fulfilled. We realize that we actually enjoy more freedom on this path for it is not a man-made path. The Lord places signposts and navigational guidance along this path. When we slow down, He encourages us. While on the broad path of this world, we would have a lot more company, there are many snares and booby traps that would leave us hurt, angry, bitter, disappointed, the narrow path is mapped out for us. Though at times, we seem to be walking in darkness, we know for sure that we would soon emerge into the complete light of the presence and power of the Lord.

The Alpha of Mourning

UV3096/10000 The Alpha of Mourning
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5 v 4

One of the distinctions between heaven and earth is that in the latter exists death, suffering, pain and the accompanying sorrow while in heaven, these do not exist. Suffering is inevitable for any person and especially for the believers. Just as we partake in the suffering of Christ, we also partake in the consolation or comfort that Christ received. The Lord sends the Holy Spirit who is the Comforter to strengthen our hearts and lighten our sorrow. Whatever be the cause of our tears or mourning, He changes it to laughter and joy. But before we are comforted, we do go through a period of sorrow, of distress. During this valley season, the Lord stays closest to us and comforts us as a mother comforts a crying child.
We need to mourn over the sins of our past, our wanton rebellion and disobedience of the Lord. Godly sorrow leads to transformation and great blessing. We do not wallow in self pity or guilt but we exchange the grace of the Lord for our misery, weakness, sorrow, pain. We , therefore, emerge stronger and better when we have gone through a period of repentance or of mourning. The Lord will cause inner healing to happen and the hurt or grief caused by a particular act or event will fade away.
It is not only death that we mourn but it could be a disappointment, a failure, a loss, a relationship that has ended. As we cry out to the Lord whatever be the cause, He will reach out and wipe our tears. We should also set aside a time of mourning or of godly sorrow on a regular basis even when everything seems to be going good for us. This will keep us from being spiritually cold or complacent. Such godly sorrow is part of the process of sanctification, growth and fruitfulness we undergo. The Lord uses our times of grief or mourning to also make us instruments or channels of comfort to others who are facing bereavement, failure, loss of any kind. Sharing the apt word of God is the most effective way of comforting the grieving.

The Alpha of Moderation

UV3095/10000 The Alpha of Moderation
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Philippians 4 v 5

Just as the Lord makes Himself evident to people by His acts of mercy and grace, we too should make our faith evident by our gentleness, our love, our unselfishness. Our DNA was corrupted by the entry of sin into the world and into our nature, passed down by our forefathers. But now we need to re-write or over write on our DNA , the DNA or divine nature of God. Just as the Lord is kind to the wicked and disobedient, we too should be kind and gracious to those who are undeserving of such conduct.

The Holy Spirit who indwells us gives us the spirit of self control. We are not to give in to rage or bouts of anger. Our emotions should be under the direction and control of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of self control also implies that we should subject ourselves to the discipline of the Holy Spirit in our speech, our habits, our lifestyle choices. When we speak to people or interact with them, they should know by our demeanour that we are different. We should manifest the DNA or divine nature of Christ in us.

The awareness that the Lord is always watching over us, that He is near at hand will keep us on guard. The faith that He will reward us in due course should motivate us. We are not working towards a crown or reward that is perishable but is eternal. Such an attitude will keep us out of envy and strife. As we submit to the Holy Spirit, He will multiply our inner fruit of character of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and humility. The enemy will always attempt to send in little foxes of pride, envy, bitterness, laziness, spirit of entitlement, greed, the desire to get even with those who have hurt us. The word “alpha” in these meditations imply that as we imbibe the teaching of the Lord, we also need to implement, practice it so that our testimonial lives give evidence of the love, grace and mercy of the Lord.

The Alpha of the Mindfulness of Relationships

UV 3094/10000 The Alpha of Mindfulness of Relationship
Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations
I Chronicles 16 v 15

This scripture reminds us that for the Lord – relationship is the number one priority. In order to continue the relationship with His creatures- human beings, He sacrificed His own blemishless Son Jesus. In contrast, we humans are always ready to sacrifice a relationship in order to advance our other goals of enjoyment or achievement. As a result, our relationships are brittle and break easily. Instead, like the Lord we need to give top priority to our relationship with the Lord. We are to be mindful always of His agape love, His commitment to us reflected in the suffering and death of His blemishless Son on the cross. We become mindful that healthy strong relationships need a heart of love, a willingness to sacrifice and suffer, the qualities to endure.
The love of God endures like His word through countless generations. We should anchor our lives in the love of the Lord and reflect His love in our relationships with other human beings, be it our families, our friends or our foes. Our lives are not only filled with love as we focus our minds on Jesus but it is also filled with the power of the Holy Spirit who raised Him from an undeserved death. It is also filled with hope as we fill or saturate our minds with the hope that the promises of the new covenant.
The uni-verse re-sets our life goals. For the purpose of life is neither enjoyment nor achievement or acquisition but to have a right relationship with the Lord. Once our relationship with the Lord is set on an even keel, all our other relationships will also heal. The two greatest commands Jesus gave that sums up the spirit of the Ten Commandments of the old covenant are both relational: to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, strength and soul and to love our neighbour as ourselves. As we meditate on these commands and are mindful of the character, example, teachings of Jesus, we will cease to be fickle in our loyalty to people. We will cease using people in order to achieve our goals. Such mindfulness of the Word and of the Lord will fill our lives to the point of overflowing with love, joy, power, faith and hope.

The Alpha of Mercy

UV 3092/10000 The Alpha of Mercy
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
Daniel 9 v 9

The Lord God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and quick to forgive. From this character trait of God emerges the leadership precept that we need to be slow to punish and quick to forgive. Only God can be merciful for He is righteous or perfect while all of us have rebelled against His precepts and statutes. But once we are recipients of mercy through the grace of God in Christ, we too are obliged to be merciful to others for their lesser offences against us.
When Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive our brothers or sisters, He said, “Seventy times seven”, implying there is no limit to the number of times we should forgive. The reason is practical for we are also going to be hurt, harmed, deceived, insulted, humiliated by others innumberable times. To be able to do so we need to appropriate the grace of Jesus. The greatest instance of forgiveness and love in recorded history is when Jesus said on the cross as He was dying in agony, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” It does not however mean that we should only forgive those who unknowingly or unintentionally hurt or harm us in any way. We need to forgive those who intentionally or knowingly hurt us too.
Scripture refers to mercy of God as the plural “tender mercies”. It means that the Lord shows mercy to us in numerous ways. He is gracious not to remind us of our wanton acts of rebellion. Though our sins are as scarlet, He turns it white as snow. He wipes our spiritual and moral slates as clean as if we were blemishless or sinless. Likewise, we too are not to hold a record of wrong against others in our lives. Often, this is difficult or humanly impossible but the Lord gives grace as we humble ourselves to acknowledge that we are bigger transgressors and offenders. When we are merciful or compassionate, we are actually imitating Christ.

The Alpha of the Mind

UV 3091/10000 The Alpha of the Mind
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26 v 3

The mind consists of intellect, imagination, emotions and will. The intellect performs the function of thinking and imagining while the emotions cause us to feel while the will moves us to action. The uni-verse above teaches us that the mind that is focussed on Jesus is kept in perfect peace. We have peace of mind- meaning peace of thoughts, peace of imagination, peace of emotions and peace of actions. Since words involve movement of the muscles controlling the lips, we can consider words to be actions. We have peace of expression, too when we focus our minds on Jesus, the Author of our Peace, peace in this lifetime and eternal peace, peace with God and peace with man.
The peace that Jesus gives is not circumstantial peace or peace that is based on circumstances. It is the peace that passes human comprehension. It is the peace that the world cannot take away or give. The mind that is focussed on the promises of the Lord is full of hope and strength. The mind that is focussed on the precepts and law of God stays away from evil. Such a mind is prudent , wise and proactive. Such a person is stable, productive, confident, trusting and trustworthy. He is neither guilty about his past, unsure about his present nor anxious about his future.
The mind that is focussed on the Word that is Jesus is at its peak in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. He being the Prince of Peace rules over such a mind and guides the thoughts, emotions, actions, words into perfection. In contrast, the mind that is focussed on the world is restless, fearful, anxious, unstable, suspicious and untrustworthy. The mind that is focussed on Jesus believes that He knows what is best for that person and that He is capable of doing it and that He wills it. The capacity of the human mind which is enlightened by Jesus is extended in terms of the capacity to think about what is good, noble, perfect, praiseworthy, beautiful, the capacity to feel, the capacity to endure, the capacity to create, the capacity to appreciate. When our minds are anchored in the word, we are in perfect equilibrium. We have the combination of the most powerful weapon and armour on earth - the human mind and the most powerful and enduring weapon in heaven and on earth- the Word.

The Alpha of Mediation

UV 3090/10000 The Alpha of the Mediator
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
I Timothy 2 v 4
The word “alpha” signifies a combination of teaching of the word of God and the testimony of man for in the book of Revelation it is stated that only the word of God along with testimony of man leads to salvation of mankind. Hence, alpha gives people an insight not just into the word but the practical and real experience of the grace of Christ in their lives. The uni-verse above speaks about the truth of Jesus being the one and only mediator between God and men. It speaks of His humanity as well as His divinity. His humanity enables Him to understand and empathise with our predicaments and suffering. His divinity makes Him a perfect or complete mediator.
This uni-verse makes it abundantly clear that there is only one mediator –Jesus who mediates our salvation. Neither Mary, the mother nor the apostles and saints through the ages can take the place of a mediator. The moment we think we need one such human mediator, we are saying that Jesus is not good enough for us while both the word and testimony of faithful people states clearly and demonstrated that Jesus is the perfect, complete, irreplacable Mediator. We need a mediator in Jesus as God is absolutely holy and Jesus by His death on the cross gave all who believed in His mediation the right to the eternal inheritance. He made possible a better covenant than the one mediated by Moses. Jesus fills the breach between God and man. He gives us eternal hope and hope in the present life through a better promise and a better guarantee of its fulfillment. A mediator knows both sides to a covenant or agreement he is brokering. Jesus knows the demands of God’s righteousness, the problems of man’s sinfulness, his need for an unfailing way to eternal life, his need to know the truth of God and his desire for the abundant life. He knows the standards of God and the needs of man and in His life, word, deeds, death and resurrection, intercession now at the right hand of God, the Father, He reconciles the two without contradiction or inconsistency.
Jesus as Mediator obviates the need for any other means or person to reach out to God. He manifests to us the nature or character of God, the Father. His mediation makes us children or sons and daughters of God. We can take any question, any issue, any difficulty, any challenge to our Mediator and He will give us an answer, a solution, a word to relieve us of the excessive burden of our situation. This is the reason Jesus defines Himself as the Way (to God and salvation), the Truth of eternal life, the source of eternal life.

The Alpha of Meditation

UV 3089/10000 The Alpha of Meditation
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 19 v 14

The words we speak from are the seed the Lord uses for the next miracle in our lives. But the words need to emanate or originate from a heart of meditation. This is one of the unique verses that speaks about the ability of the human heart to meditate for meditation is normally an activity that we associate with the human mind. When I was in primary school, the class teacher used to tell us to “learn by heart”, meaning that we need to memorise certain things. When we run the word of God again and again in our hearts, we are “ meditating by heart.” Meditating by heart implies that we squeeze every ounce of meaning from each verse of scripture as we run it over and over again in our hearts. Such meditation is pleasing to the Lord and is life transforming. It infuses or transfuses the strength of the Lord, His power, His grace, His love into our hearts. Our hearts are redeemed from its intrinsic wickedness or propensity to sin, unfaithfulness and disobedience of the Lord. Our mouths or our expressions are perfected. We are able to align our hearts, minds and mouths with the truths mined from His word.


Just as the Jordan river originates in the spring of the Qumran caves and then divides into streams or tributaries, the heart, the seat of our treasures gives rise to a river of power flowing from the Word hidden in it. It then divides into tributaries that flow through our mind- intellect, emotions and will to influence all of our lives. Such meditation happens all day long and all night long for the Psalmist says , “How I love thy law- It is my meditation day and night.” If we truly love the word, we will meditate on it day and night and consequently, it will impact all of our being and make our lives impactful for the Kingdom of God.
St Paul interestingly uses the metaphor of the bowels or intestines of his heart. We are to draw our nourishment, strength and salvation from the Word of the Lord daily and not occasionally. Like a cow ruminates or sends its cud as many as eighteen times through its innards before assimilating the essential aspects, we need to run it over and over in our hearts, each time gaining a new perspective, a new insight into the character of our Redeemer.

The Alpha of the HIdden Manna

UV 3088/10000 The Alpha of Manna
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Revelation 2 v 17
If we are attentive and responsive to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, He will give us the hidden manna that will not spoil, that we can store in our hearts and minds forever. The hidden manna is the spiritual food or the daily inspiration we need from the Word of God in order to overcome this world, to resist its temptations, to be strong in the Lord and victorious till the very end. When we eat the hidden manna consistently, the Lord will give us a new name or identity. We will fulfil the purpose of our lives. We become thereby, yet another cornerstone in His living house.

The hidden manna will be sweet in our mouths and bitter as medicine in our stomachs. It will nourish our inner being with the love, power and hope of the Lord. We should cherish and relish it more than our necessary food. The hidden manna is the inner meaning of scripture that the Holy Spirit will enable us to extract like gold nuggets from a gold mine. As we partake daily of the hidden manna, the joy of the Lord will be our strength, our cause for rejoicing, the secret of our overcoming the challenges, the temptations, the trials, the suffering we face in this world.

Weakness is a part of human nature. The strength to overcome comes from the Lord and His word. The hidden truths and secrets that the word contains is capable of enabling us to be victors in life’s great struggles. We need to hide or store the treasures of wisdom we gain from the word in our hearts and minds and use or teach it aptly as the circumstances arise. It will help us overcome the hidden lusts and pride of our own hearts and prepare us for the Lord and His work.

The Alpha of Mammon or Money Matters

UV 3087/10000 The Alpha of Mammon or Money
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16 v 13

Money , it is said, is a good servant but a bad master. Therefore, we are to love and serve God while we make money our servant. Scripture warns us in no uncertain terms that the love of money is the root of evil. Hence, though we need not hate or despise money even as we are not to hate or despise our servants, we should ensure that the love of money does not enter our hearts. A sign that we do not love money is when we are contented with what the Lord has provided for us and we do not spend an undue amount of time either relishing the abundance of money we possess or worrying about insufficient money.
Our priority must be the Lord, His kingdom and His righteousness. Once we are so focussed on the Lord as our Master and Provider, He will provide whatever we need in our lives. Hence, either our sense of security or lack of it should not be hinging on the amount of money we have access for. We need to be thankful that our needs are met. We should not be greedy or desire an inordinate quantum of money. We should open our hands to help others in the kingdom and in the wider world who are needy. There is nothing wrong in earning more money but the more we earn, the more we should give to the needy among us.

Learning to invest money in the righty kinds of investments is not ungodly. Instead, the parable of talents narrated by Jesus talks about four servants whose faithfulness and wisdom were tested in how they handled the sum of money given to them by their master. The Lord in fact will bless our money so that it gets more mileage than the money that is earned in wrongful ways. We should be careful in the way we spend money, not spending it in such a way that it is either wasteful or merely to show off in lavishness. The Lord expects us to be generous to the poor and needy, to fellow believers who are in need for a kingdom cause or for their own family needs. When we give generously and often, the hold of money on our lives and hearts is loosened and broken.

The Alpha of Malice

UV 3086/10000 The Alpha of Malice
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
I Peter 2 v 1
God created the world with all its beauty to be a wonderland but mankind has made it “malice in blunderland”. People are caught up in so many forms or manifestations of hatred and malice- racial, religious, class-based, caste-based, language-based, ideology-based and so on. Much of the violence and conflicts in this world are due to these forms of malice and hatred. Soon after sin came into this world, envy caused Cain to kill his own brother Abel. A moral failure grew to become a full blown crime within a generation of creation.

We have been saved not by corruptible things like the silver, gold or precious things of this world but by means of the incorruptible seed of the word of God. We are not born again by the corruptible seed of man but the seed of God. These two aforesaid statements mean that we are able to overcome both environmental influence as well as genetic influence. As “born again” believers of Christ or a new creation, we are to re-gain the innocence of the new born child by casting away all forms of malice- like deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander and so on. These arise due to our former lusts and pride that controlled us. But now that we have come into the grace of God through Christ, we share in His power to lay aside or do away with all forms of malice and instead be charitable to all, especially our enemies, those who oppose us without reason, those who attack us without provocation. We are to have the understanding of the mature adult but the innocence of the child in matters of lust and evil. We have to be careful what we store in our hearts for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. If it is full of the love of God, we will speak wholesome, helpful words not hurtful or harmful words. We will not allow our mouths to be fountains of duplicity, using the same tongue to praise God and to revile or malign man.
The uni-verse states that we can as easily as taking off our clothes, remove the traces of malice, envy, deceit, greed, pride from our lives. Instead, we should wear the shining armour of light or righteousness that the Lord gives us in the salvation experience. We need to be sensitive to the presence of these sources of malice in us, the surfacing of the iceberg of our old nature and use the axe of the sword of God- the word to chop it off. We have access to the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, power and self control at work in us to make it possible and easy.

The Alpha to Magnify God

UV 3085/10000 The Alpha to Magnify God
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Philippians 1 v 20

Just as we need a small magnifying lens to focus the light of the sun onto a specific object to warm it up or to burn it, believers of Christ are like the magnifying lens through which the word or light of the Lord is magnified and focussed on different objectives in this world. St Paul after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus submitted his entire being, his body, mind and spirit, his past, present and future to magnify Christ whom he demeaned, attacked, hated and persecuted before. He did it with the same vigour and commitment. He was ready to brave any danger or risk, confront any challenge in his mission to glorify the same Christ.
The members of our bodies which is the tabernacle of God are to be each used by us in such a way that it magnifies the Lord and in no way put us to shame. We are to use our tongues, our talents, our thoughts, our targets, our temperaments to glorify the Lord. The Latin phrase “ Soli Dei Gloria” means that the glory be only to the Lord and Our God. We are to magnify the Lord by life and by death. Many of the apostles of Jesus glorified God even in the manner they faced death. We can have different objectives to focus on in life but the ultimate purpose is to glorify God and Him alone.
In order to glorify God, we need to be bold or courageous like St Paul. He faced death and great tribulations, suffering and risks in his many mission trips to different parts of the then known world. As magnifying lens, the power or energy or light does not emanate from any of us but from Christ and Christ alone. When we commit our objectives to Him, remain still and do whatever diligence requires of us, the power and grace of God will begin to operate in our bodies, minds and spirits to produce awesome results that will bring praise, honour, glory and thanksgiving unto the Lord. We need to ask ourselves what is the greatest objective that the Lord has set for us to magnify His name and then follow through with the necessary efforts with earnest expectation or zeal and with hope and fullness of assurance that the Lord is at work in us to do that which we cannot think of, ask or imagine.

The Alpha of Lying

UV 3084/10000 The Alpha of Lying

I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love
Psalm 119 v 163
The enemy made the first man and woman, Adam and Eve to believe the lies he spoke. They gave up their love for the words of God which was the law of life. Mankind has similarly replaced the truth of the law of God or His word with lies. When we remove faith in God or F from LIFE, it becomes a lie. A lie has a short life. Its power is short lived. The first lies believed by man led to man losing out on the paradise of the Garden of Eden. Eden was turned into a den of evil. God sent Jesus who personifies Truth to restore mankind back to truth and life eternal. The words of Jesus are now the law to us that we love and live by.

Like Jesus, we need to hate lying. Instead, we need to love the law of love that Jesus gave us in the two commandments He gave us. Lying is destructive, misleading, deceitful while the truth of the law given by Jesus preserves us, blesses us, guides us, leads us, strengthens us. The enemy builds his strongholds on earth using a pack of lies. Jesus builds our lives on the cornerstone of truth and love. Instead of lying we need to speak the truth in a spirit of love. Often, when we speak the truth, we have to pay the cost but the cost of lies is far greater. We should send our words through the filters of the word of God before we speak a word so that we do not lie.
The way to avoid lying is to love the word. The word has power to break all deceitful habits of speaking and living in our lives for lying consists not only of what we speak but how we live. Lying caused Adam and Eve to hide from God in the Garden of Eden. To this day, we hide from God due to our guilt when we lie. The way out is to confess our lies and do our best with the help of the Holy Spirit to come clean.

The Alpha of Lust

UV 3083/10000 The Alpha of Lust
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
James 1 v 15
Not all desires are lust. Only desires that are illicit or illegitimate constitute lust. The three forms of lust were present in the first temptation of man – lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and pride of life. The forbidden fruit was marketed by the enemy of our souls as good for food, pleasant to the eye and would make man as wise as God. The illicit desire for something to satisfy our flesh, satisfy our desire for beauty and satisfy our desire for the power of knowledge and wisdom is the seed of all sin. It begins as a tiny desire in our hearts and minds and grows and becomes full blown. When an illicit desire is given flesh and bone through our actions to realize or fulfil it, it takes us to the point of no return- death.
The illicit desire has to be nipped in the bud at the point of conception. It should not be fed and nurtured so that it grows in our hearts and minds such that it takes over our lives. The Word or Alpha gives us the ability to recognize as soon as it knocks on the door of our hearts that it is illegitimate, expressly forbidden or not approved by God. Scripture warns us that the enemy is always crouching at the door of our hearts waiting to slither in, when our guard is down. The human heart being the seat of all desires is therefore, to be guarded with diligence. The Lord will bless, nourish, grow and fulfil the desires that are legit so that our joy is overflowing. In contrast, lust robs us of our inner peace. It loads us with an unbearable weight of guilt once we yield to it.
We cannot and should not give life or voice to our evil desires while our godly desires are to be encouraged, nurtured, nourished till these are realized. We know if a desire is evil or good and godly only when we test it against the touchstone of the word. Our conscience will also warn us when we yield to lust. The Holy Spirit also speaks to us and gives us the power to overcome the temptation of the three types of lust. Lusts are like powerful gusts of wind that take ships off course to wreck themselves on the rocks.

The Alpha of Laziness or Lethargy

UV 3082/10000 The Alpha of Laziness or Lethargy
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
Proverbs 12 v 24
In simple terms, this uni-verse means that we need to work hard to be a leader while laziness will hold us in bondage to many bad habits for the sins of Sodom were pride, gluttony and laziness coupled with an indifference to the suffering outside the city. This is the reason that laziness or lethargy is equated with destructiveness. Laziness or idleness will cause the roof of our lives to sag and leak if it does not come down on us. The Lord exhorts us to work hard and to be enthusiastic or full of the energy of the Lord. The book of Proverbs calls a lazy person as “lazy bones” as such a person does not leverage on his strengths for bones are made strong so that we can stand and work. We cannot bury our talents like the unfaithful servant in the parable of talents narrated by Jesus. We are to build on the foundations or resources, abilities, opportunities given to us.
A lazy person gives up easily while the determined will strive through many obstacles and challenges. Lazy people are not willing to feed their minds and spirits and neglect the word of God and indeed, all that can make them wise and successful. The lazy are full of vain desires and are not willing to work hard to obtain it. They live a delusionary existence and entertain an exaggerated sense of their own intelligence and importance. Unlike a farmer they are not willing to sow, plant, water and wait for the fruit or crop in due season. Unlike an athlete, they do not show any sense of discipline or dedication in their lives. Unlike a soldier, they are not willing to face challenges, take risks or strengthen themselves through hard training to take on life’ s battles.
In contrast, the diligent and faithful work as if they are working for the Lord. Even when not supervised, they do their very best in whatever they do. The diligent take rest in between bouts of hard work while the lazy work in short spells between hours of rest. The diligent know that if there is no pain, there is no gain while the lazy keep hoping for a lucky break or windfall. The lazy are satisfied with turning in work of mediocre standards while the diligent are always seeking to excel what they last achieved. The lazy are complacent and keep sliding downwards while the diligent are intent on learning more and improving their lives and that of others around them.

The Alpha of Lordship

UV 3081/10000 The Alpha of Lordship
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created
Revelation 4 v 11

Scripture states that Jesus is worthy to receive all power, honour, glory, riches, wisdom, strength and blessing. He is indeed the source of all power, honour, glory, riches, wisdom, strength and blessing in the entire universe or world even as the sun is the single source of energy to keep all species alive on our planet. He is the Creator of all things and for His pleasure, we are created. Yet, He suffered much pain, agony, extreme anguish on our account. Even as we lived for our own pleasure in our ignorant past, we now live and exist for the pleasure of the Lord. He is declared not just as Saviour, a loving Saviour but He is the awesome King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Lordship of Jesus implies that He enjoys number one place in our lives. We owe Him our reverence and our complete obedience.
The Lordship of Jesus means that while we are now children of God by faith and grace of Jesus, we are also servants of God. Unlike the lords of our world, He needs not an outer show of obedience out of fear but an inner obedience of thought, word, emotions and deeds out of love and gratitude. Yes, even our emotions are to obey Him. Normally, our emotions like anger, fear, hatred control us but we need to subject these powerful emotions to the control of the Lord. The Lord has a first claim over our time, our attention, our love, our resources. We acknowledge that He is sovereign and unchallenged in our lives. We surrender the totality of our existence to Him in an attitude of trust and love.
The Lordship of Jesus means that we learn and obey His will implicitly and explicitly. We humble ourselves like He did and we serve others with love as He did. The Lordship of Jesus means that all we are and all that we own or have belongs to the Lord. We reserve the best for Him and we use all our talents and opportunities to serve, glorify and make Him known, His power manifest, His will explained. Jesus becomes our grand obsession and we feel His presence in our life all the time. We listen and respond promptly to the promptings and whisper of the Holy Spirit.

The Alpha of Love

UV 3080/10000 The Alpha of Love
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
I Corinthian 13 v 4
Though love is sublime and noble, it manifests itself in practical and real ways just as God showed His agape or selfless love for humanity by sending His only begotten Son Jesus from the comfort and glory of heaven to live among sinners, to die for sinners. Love is the essence of the character of God. It is the wisdom of God that makes Him gracious and all forgiving even though He is all powerful and perfect. Love is ready to pay a price for the one loved. We should be willing to give up our happiness or comfort for the sake of the people we love. In other words, we are ready to endure suffering patiently and without complaining.. Love is reflected in meekness, kindness, gentleness and consideration for those who are less fortunate or privileged than us. It implies the absence of pride, envy, strife, contention and resentment.
St Paul wrote in his famous love chapter to the Corinthians that love is not about performance or an outer show of emotions or of acts of ostensible charity or religiousity or of achievement or acquisition. It is a moment to moment surrendering of our own egos to the Lord to enable us to be useful instruments and channels of blessing. Love is about overlooking a multitude of offences as if they never occurred. It is about not storing up resentment or bitterness at real or imagined wrongs and grievances against other people. It is about being patient and hopeful in difficult circumstances and with difficult people.
Love is about not being vain or boastful in our communication. In keeping our conversations and communications wholesome, helpful and edifying the faith of others in God and man. Love is about not feeling superior to others or in not making them feel obligated for any help or favour done to them. Love is principled and founded on the righteousness of Christ. Love is consistent and faithful. It fulfils what it sets out to do and just as Jesus never fails, love never fails. Love in our relationships is what makes life meaningful and purposeful. All the attitudes and attributes of love are manifested in the love of Christ and we will do well to imitate His love.

The Alpha of LIfe

UV 3079/10000 The Alpha of Life
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deuteronoy 30 v 19

Jehovah said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”. Jesus said to us, “ I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.” Hence, putting the two together in the light of the above uni-verse, Jesus is the LIFE that God has set before us. We have eternal and abundant life in Jesus. WE are exhorted to choose life or Jesus so that both we and our children will live forever. To corroborate this, we have the record or evidence from both representatives of heaven and of the earth. When we choose Jesus, we are choosing a life of blessing. The blessing of the promise of Jesus lasts beyond a thousand generations or for all eternity.
The word “life” does not signify mere physical life but the life of the spirit. The spirit that God first breathed into man and made him a living soul is restored to us. We can now relate to God as our Creator and Father. God has chosen us from the beginning of time but here and now we are to exercise our choice. We are co-creators of that choice. This choice puts us on the way back to the Lord. This choice we make freely and willingly will determine if we learn all the truths of life. We are no more in darkness and ignorance as to the purpose of life. We are also not bereft of the power of God to fulfil our potential and purpose of life.
When we choose Jesus as our way to God and as the whole and revealed truth of God, we become heirs to all the twelve blessings of being, doing and having declared in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and we are protected from all the 39 curses of being, doing and having declared in the same chapter. Jesus is the way of redemption for mankind on earth in the course of our lifetime as well as for eternal life beyond earth in heaven. It is also interesting to note that according to Roman penal law, Jesus, the sinless One was given thirty nine lashes. The thirty nine stripes or lashes that left lacerated bleeding wounds on His back are meant for our redemption from earthly curses even as His death and resurrection on the cross is meant for our eternal redemption and to guarantee the continuance of our life in heaven. The totality of the need of man is met in the person of Jesus. The only pre-condition to enjoy all the blessings is obedience that comes not from human tradition or man-made rules or compulsion but due to faith and free will of the individual. The volitional belief in Jesus as our Redeemer is tantamount to obeying the entire law of Moses. We move with one decision from the earth’s economy of scarcity of goodness to heaven’s economy of abundance of goodness. This is the reason, Peter Drucker, who is hailed as the Father of modern management when asked why he chose to believe in Jesus said, “ It is the best bargain one can get.”

The Alpha of Liberty

UV 3078/10000 The Alpha of Liberty
And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts
Psalm 119 v 45
It is said that while knowledge is power, wisdom is liberty. When we diligently seek , study and do what the word of God asks us to do, we gain wisdom and thereby, live in liberty from the bondage of sin. To live on earth under the laws of heaven is the kingdom of God on earth. The ultimate liberty is not political, economic or social but spiritual freedom. We learn the truths of eternal life that no other person or book or experience can teach us. Knowing the truths of eternal life and understanding the will of God gives us liberty. We can no longer be bruised by the enemy of our souls.
Scripture says that we learn the will of God precept by precept, line by line. Precepts are guidelines for conduct, for communication, for relationships. Every day as we apply our hearts and minds to learn, understand and do in accordance with these guidelines our lives are set in order. Scripture says that the steps of the righteous man is ordered by the Lord. We are set free as we walk in the paths indicated by the word from all types of inhibiting fears, guilt, afflictions. The foremost fear we are set free from is the fear of death thanks to the Resurrection of Jesus. The bondage of sin and death are broken in one blow by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The enemy’s will is to have us confined, restrained and in bondage to him but the Lord’s will is that we live the abundant life, a life of liberty and full of joy.
We are set free from the burdensome traditions of man, of religion and superstition. The Lord has set us free to fulfill our purpose and potential in Him. Our faith in Him Is liberating. We are liberated from the tendency to try to please all other people. We now have to only please one person and that is the Lord Himself. We are set free from all earthly worries. We are set free from being anxious about the future. We are also set free from boredom and loneliness as we are in constant communion and fellowship with the Tri-une God.

The Alpha of Leadership

UV 3077/10000 The Alpha of Leadership
For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
Psalm 31 v 3


The Lord as our rock and fortress is our true leader. He is the source of both spiritual strength, vision, provision and protection. True leadership is God-led leadership and godly leadership. The purpose of leadership is to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide them into the paths of peace, righteousness and eternal life. Jesus dismissed the worldly models of leadership in one sentence, “The blind leading the blind.” Like the blind who do not know where they came from, where they are and where they are going, the world’s leaders do not know where they came from, where they are and where they are going. Such blind leaders lead people into the ditch of history and of life. They are blinded by the lust for power, ambition, selfishness, pride and arrogance.

The name “Jesus” means “He saves”. Once He saves us, He leads us daily not into temptation and evil but away from darkness or evil. He shines the light of His truth on our lives such that the shadows of death, diseases, curses are driven away. As the Psalmist David wrote, “He leads us besides still waters” of His word to feed us with hope and knowledge of His love. The worldly models of leadership are built on the cornerstone of power and exploitation while the God-led model is one of love and service.
Worldly leadership is always afflicted by shortcomings or hamartia while Godly leadership is marked by abundance of grace, peace and joy. Worldly leadership is prone to folly and failure while godly leadership is marked by “hyperbole” or exceeding expectations, goals, targets. Worldly leadership relies on knowledge while godly leadership is more about wisdom. Godly leadership is transformative. Worldly leadership relies more on the intellect while godly leadership relies on the spirit. Godly leaders are open to supernatural communication, revelations, intuition and divinely granted insights. The former rely on their physical charisma, their abilities and natural skills while godly leaders rely on the grace and power of God, knowing that their own abilities and knowledge is limited while the power and love of God are equally infinite.

The Alpha of the Law

UV 3076/10000 The Alpha of the Law

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night
Psalm 1 v 2

Moses due to his extreme anguish and anger at seeing the people of Israel disobeying the law given by God had dropped and broken the stone tablets on which were written the ten commandments. Yet the ten commandments have survived to this day, influencing legal systems in all nations. It shows that the law given by God cannot be broken. Only people break themselves against the law of God. As believers, we are called to walk in the path of light, the path of law. Every step should be in conformity with the law of God and the Lord has provided a way out by confession and repentance whenever we err knowingly or unknowingly in breaking His law. Our attitude in approaching the law of God is not that it is a heavy burden but one of greatest delight. We should delight in the word more than most men delight in great riches of gold and silver. We should thirst for the word like a new born child thirsts for pure milk. The law is the only source of our growth, sustenance and salvation.
When we earnestly seek out the nuggets of truth in the word, mine it and apply it in our lives, we are in effect seeking the kingdom of God and His righteous character first. The Lord promises to prosper us in both peace and progress as we do so. We do not just take the word into our minds but into our hearts. We hide it there so that we do not sin against the Lord. Disobedience of His laws results in inevitable loss. Since His law is embedded in our hearts, we are able to meditate on it day and night. His word is a life-giving and life-enhancing sword stuck in our hearts. It produces not pain but pleasure in our inner being.
We can consume His law and find both strength and pleasure in it more than our necessary food. As we eat His law, He fills us with His supernatural power. He strengthens our bones or the foundations and framework of our lives. We gain His eternal wisdom to make choices and decisions that impact lives. The law does not imprison or confine us but it gives us greater freedom. The law sets us free from the bondages of sin, curse, our weaknesses and failures. Knowledge of the law of God is what turns blind leaders into visionaries and makes them wiser than their enemies, teachers and elders. We are protected from the follies of pride and lust. We become God’s lawyers and advocates. He gives us sound judgement and discernment. We also become teachers of the law who teach with authority since we know the Author personally and intimately. When we delight in the law of the Lord, He too delights in us. The joy or delight of the Lord becomes our source and basis of strength. When we learn the law of the Lord, we learn how to communicate with Him and how to communicate for Him. In the absence of the law of the Lord that is inerrant and infallible, man keeps shifting the goal posts of life and declares what is illegal today as legal tomorrow. There is neither stability nor consistency of the standards of man. In contrast, the law of the Lord is absolute, unchanging, consistent and predictable. At the same time, the law of the Lord is dynamic and can be adapted to changing times.

The Alpha of Labour

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UV 3075/10000 The Alpha of Labour
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour
Ecclesiastes 2 v 10

Labour has its own rewards. The Lord has ordained life such that we enjoy the fruit of all our labour. When a person works hard and earns profit, it is his God-given portion to enjoy the results of his work. The Word has a lot to say about work. Though work came into being due to the fall of man and man had to work the land in order to produce food to eat, it can be a source of great blessing. Scripture rebukes people for laziness and idleness even as it praises diligence, industry, the application of intelligence and talent to improve life for oneself and others. The idea of the protestant work ethic comes from this teaching. The purpose of work is not just to earn money for ourselves but to blessed and to be a blessing to others by rendering service and help to others around us.
We got to not only work hard but work smart. Our creativity and productivity are more significant than mere drudgery or the willingness to put in long hours of work without rest or leisure. Spending time on sharpening the saw while cutting wood is a metaphor for development of our soft as well as technical skills. Working not just alone, ploughing a lonely furrow but in teams for the very word team means, “together everyone achieves more.” Involving the Lord in our work and not excluding Him thrills His heart and blesses our work abundantly for He is able to do far more than our natural skills or talents. Scripture states that it is He who gives us the ability to produce riches.
Many of us treat God as an ignoramus in our respective work spheres but there is no knowledge or ability that is beyond Him. Asking the Lord for wisdom to execute our work effectively and efficiently could help us surmount dangers, risks, threats, challenges and failures in our work place. In any sphere of work, the Lord is the Number one Professional- the Best Police Officer who knows who has done it right from the start, the best doctor who knows the diagnosis and the cure to any disease or ailment, the greatest Teacher who knows and imparts the lessons of life that no one else can teach, the greatest Psychologist and Trainer, the greatest Engineer, the greatest Administrator, the greatest Scientist and Technologist who founded the earth and the universe, the greatest astronomer, the greatest horticulturist, the greatest historian, biologist and so on. The Lord blesses our work to make it successful, productive, useful, profitable and enjoyable. He does not want us to turn into workaholics but provides us the space and balance to take rest and renew ourselves in Him through prayer, worship, meditation.