Our Governing Desires, Beliefs and Priorities

UV 3214/10000 Our Governing Desires, Beliefs, Priorities

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood, brass, and for stones, iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and their exactors righteousness.

Isaiah 60 v 17

The fullness of the Earth belongs to the Lord, implying that He is the source of all our resources. We can give to Him only out of what He has given us. In this uni-verse, the Lord promise something more precious and stronger than what we now consider valuable in our lives. The most valuable things on earth like gold is only footpath or pavement in the kingdom of God. There is no scarcity in the kingdom of God.. His is the economy of abundance. He is more interested in how we perfect our character and temperaments. We need to make His peace our Governor or ruler. We need to make His righteousness our highest priority. In contrast to Marxists, we do not give any credence to Material or Economic Determinism. Instead, we believe in Spiritual Determinism.

All the silver and gold in the world belongs to the Lord and He can give to or take it from whom He desires and when He desires. We can recall in this context how Jehovah made the oppressive Egyptians give of their gold ornaments as gifts to the departing freed former Israelite slaves. Hence, it is not materialism or monetarism that determines things in this world. We should therefore not set great store by what we own or do not own in this world. The Lord is able to make all things abound towards us in His time. We need to only focus on His peace or Shalom or salvation. Shalom includes joy, peace, eternal life, success, prosperity, good health, good relationships. We have shalom only in the kingdom of God or the rule of peace and righteousness and not in the kingdom of darkness. When we experience Shalom we taste the love of the Father manifested in flesh and blood in Jesus, His Son, Our Saviour.

Our peace in Christ is governed by the righteousness of God. If we do not do our best to lead righteous lives, we forfeit our peace. It is said that the most valuable things in life cannot be purchased for money. It does not have a price. It cannot be traded for anything else. The Lord gives us peace and attributes righteousness by the grace of Christ. Having said this, the Lord reserves the best for His trusting, believing, obedient children. He does not withhold anything good from us. In fact, He releases one blessing after another on us in the course of our lives. He gives our faith the quality of pure gold instead of brass – an alloy of faith, doubt, fear and greed. Instead of stubborn, adamantine qualities, He builds a refined sensitive nature that responds to the stimuli of the Lord like silver. Instead of a wooden inflexible intellect, He gives us a flexible attitude in the things we need to be elastic about while being firm as iron in matters of belief and principle. Instead of feet of clay or weak foundations, He gives us the strength of a rock solid foundation. Instead of shifting the source of our attention and affection to external objects, our focus is the indwelling Spirit of God who imparts the strength of iron from within us.

The Sign of God

UV 3213/10000 The Sign of God
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as growth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

The Lord may appear to be silent about answering our needs. But He sends us signs to encourage us. To several of His servants right through history, the Lord has confirmed that they are blessed of Him by sending them specific signs that they alone can decipher. The Lord sent the sign of salvation to mankind by causing a virgin, a young unmarried woman Mary to bear the divine child, Immanuel or God with Us, aka Jesus Christ. Only the believer can recognize and accept these signs as faith facts or facts per se but cannot be proven to the sceptic or unbeliever.
In the uni-verse above, the Lord promises to initiate something that will grow organically this year and the next and bear fruit in the third year. The Lord is not a debtor to us. He remembers and rewards us for every action of ours that we have done to honour Him, to obey Him, to please Him. He blesses our sowing, our growing and our reaping. The Lord blesses the labour of our hands and enable us to eat of it. We need to be patient and wait for the time of harvest. He will not sow, plough, fertilize but He will send the rain of His blessings on time. He will fence our efforts and keep the spoiler, the enemy from plundering or causing havoc in our vineyards.

The Lord continually watches, waters and tends to us. But the enemy sends many subtle serpents and cunning foxes into our vineyards- the sources of spiritual fruit in our lives. These serpents and foxes are lusts of different kinds, pride, deceit, false teachings and beliefs, bitterness, egoism and the like. The little foxes slip in if there are big gaps in our fences of prayer accompanied by meditation on the Word of God. Instead of the naive farmer being caught in the snares of serpents and foxes, the diligent farmer sets traps or early warning systems for the intruding serpents and marauding foxes. The Holy Spirit will warn us early enough but we need to be sensitive and responsive enough to listen keenly and avoid the snares. Often we are ensnared by our own thoughts and words. Sin sticks to our skin like blood sucking leeches and only the salt of the word can cause these leeches in the vineyards of our lives to release their tentacles from our skin. When we have crossed all these perils sometimes we come face to face with the roaring lion. Faithful prayer in the name of Jesus can silence the roar of the lion for Jesus is no longer a meek lamb waiting to be slain but the risen Lion of Zion who has defeated our every foe.

The Living Temple of God

UV 3212/10000 The Living Temple of God
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you
I Corinthians 3 v 16
We ought to believe, know and understand that we are the temple of the Living God, that the Spirit of God dwells in us. He walks in us and lives in us. Since we have the Living God dwelling in us, we cannot have anything else competing with Him for our attention and our love. We are temples dedicated or consecrated to Him. The sanctum sanctorum of this temple is our hearts and minds. When we entertain a negative or dark thought or motive in our hearts, we are defiling the temple or committing sacrilege. The temple of God is a place of joy, holiness, peace, goodness. Hence, when we worry over worldly things we are destroying the church or temple of God. When we think, speak or do anything unworthy of God, we are likewise defiling the temple.
We are not however a completed temple but a temple in progress. We are being built by the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Spirit of God. The walls are built erect and straight with the help of the plumb line of the Word. The Word gives us the templates or plans or patterns in which we should organise our thoughts, our speech and communication, our actions and behaviour in such a way as to honour the Lord. The principles from the teachings of Jesus and the books of the Bible are the solid foundation on which our temple is built that nothing can shake and no storm can threaten.
Unlike a physical man-made temple, our living temples are open all the time and never closed. As priests and kings of the Lord, we continually offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving in the temple, our bodies, minds and spirits. Neither fear, anger, bitterness, sadness or any negative thought or feeling should be allowed to enter or remain in the temple. Our words and our works should be carefully planned and executed so that we honour the Lord in all we say or do. The flag or banner of absolute love and ultimate victory flies over the pinnacle of the temple of our lives.

Double Growth

UV 3211/10000 Double Growth
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
Isaiah 37 v 31

If we belong to Christ, then we are the remnant, the filtered residue, the seed of Abraham and the heirs of the promise of God. We belong also to the house of Judah for Judah means “praise”. We continually offer as many praises as there are stars in the sky, as there are sand particles on the Earth and cells in our bodies. We have escaped the wrath and judgement of God on account of the mercy of God. We are the chosen remnant by the election of grace of God. We now have the duty of growing our roots downward into Christ, the Word and growing our fruit upward. We need to grow in two directions- first downward till we reach the bedrock of Christ and upward bearing fruit of the spirit.
If we do not grow enough downward with our roots, we cannot grow enough upwards with our fruit. We need to delve daily , frequently, if not continually into the Word of God. We need to spend time in the presence of the Lord. We need to connect continually with the Holy Spirit and listen to His whispers and promptings, cutting out the din of the outer world. Our roots have to grow deeper and outward till we reach the river of God to draw nourishment and strength. Our roots are not visible but are tested in storms and also tested in the quality of the fruit of character and service. Our fruit in contrast are visible to every passer by. We cannot alter the fruit without minding the roots.
Even the words we speak or write should be potent enough to cause the healing of the nations, which implies a variety of issues, problems, challenges that humanity faces in different parts of the world without exception. Every month like the heavenly trees we should aim to produce a different fruit that is spiritually nourishing to people and delicious to God. The Lord of the harvest as God is called in the Bible owns us, cares for us, fences us and prunes us to produce more and better fruit. When we grow intentionally and intensely downward, we will grow incidentally or automatically upward with all kinds of fruit. As fruit bearing plants, we should also expect stones to be thrown at us- accusations, allegations, insinuations, persecutions, opposition. We can expect the Divine Gardener to take care of us so that we escape all such assaults, attacks. If we give no fruit, less fruit or bitter fruit, we invite the Gardener to cut us down as wood for the fire. As plants of God on earth, we live not to be served but to serve others with the fruit of our lives, our labour and our character. The oxygen we breathe, the manure, the water are the wages we are paid to live and bear fruit.

Yield to Wield

UV 3210/10000 Yield to Wield
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Isaiah 41 v 15
The weapons of warfare are not of the flesh, that is neither made by human beings or made to harm human beings but are spiritual and mighty to bless them. We ourselves are threshed like grain to separate the chaff, the dross in our character and lives. We are then transformed into powerful, sharp, threshing instruments in the hands of the Lord. Our prayers are the teeth that threshes the lofty strongholds for they are “ mighty through God to the pulling down of (spiritual strongholds), the casting down of dangerous imagination, arguments based on human logic and philosophies, every proud and therefore, false thing or idea or organisation that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God and instead, to set people free by bringing them into willing and wilful obedience of Christ.
By prayer and the Word of God, the spiritual mountains (problems, oppression and challenges) and mountain fortresses are levelled out through spiritual attrition and erosion. Little by little, we chip at these powerful strongholds and overcome these by the power and grace of the Lord. We also systematically reduce the hills that obstruct our vision and our lives to chaff that is blown away by wind and time. In this manner, the mountains or high places are turned into valleys and the valleys or the people of God who are oppressed are lifted up as mountains. We do not do these things on our own strength but it is the Lord’s doing as we yield our lives and hearts to Him to use as He pleases. When we so yield, He wields us as a carpenter uses a saw. Believers are meek people clothed or armoured and armed with the might of God.
Hence, we are not door mats to be constantly stamped on but powerful spiritually. As the Lord says, “ It is not by might or by power but by My Spirit.” Whatever we do in life is by means of the Spirit of God. He is our transport, our translator and our transformer. He is the One who gives us teeth to chew on the word and digest it. He is the One who sharpens our teeth or our tools, gifts and skill set so that we are effective in the service of God and of humanity. We are sharpened on the whetstone of His word. We are used to cut down the foundations and pillars of the kingdom of darkness in this world. We only need to lean on these pillars as Samson did and the Lord will bring down the strongholds of evil and ignorance, arrogance and deceit.

Five Reasons To Practice Positive Fear

UV 3209/10000 Five Reasons Not to Fear
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41 v 10
The Word of God is the secret solution that we should drink thrice a day like medicine. We will be greatly strengthened when we drink of the God-provided solution to all of man’s ills. In the above uni-verse, the Lord gives us five reasons not to fear anything- that, He is with us, that He is our God, that He will strengthen us from within, that He will help us from without by changing circumstances, that He will uphold us. These five reasons are like the five fingers of the right hand of God holding us up. The Lord asks us not to fear, not to fear our enemies, not to fear disaster, not to fear death, not to fear failure, not to fear the future and the unknown, not to fear for the future of our children. He promises in this uni-verse that He who is Immanuel and the Great I Am is with us. He will not disappoint us. He will not forsake us. He will not give up on us. He will not fail us. As Ebenezer, He helps us. The character of God as delineated by the Word inspires confidence in Him and neutralises or negates disillusionment, frustration and disappointment. The presence of God defuses stress and tension. The help of God guarantees victory. The strength He gives us enables us to endure hardship and troubles of different kinds, to overcome both temptation and trials. The supporting hand of God delivers us from disasters of different kinds.
The Lord God is the source of our security. He is the One who upholds us when we seem to be sinking. Jesus held the hand of Peter as he sank in fear in the water he was attempting to walk on. It implies that even when our faith fails, when fears threaten or overcome us, the Lord will stretch His right arm to hold us up, to lift us out of our despair. He lifts us out of the miry clay of this world which is slippery and filthy and places us on the rock of Jesus. The Lord knows that we are dust but He transforms us. He equips, enables and empowers us. He works out His glory out of our many weaknesses. He strengthens us with might in our inner being. Like St Paul, we can affirm in faith, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthen us.” We gain confidence to face intractable, difficult or impossible situations. Christ is our Redeemer not just from sin and death but in all the practical situations of life.
Fear , as someone defined it , can mean either forget everything and run or forget everything and rise. The glory will rise upon us even as we forget the cause or source of our fear and focus on the Lord, His presence, His word, His power, His love. When Gideon was visited by the angel, he was hiding from the Midianites in fear. But the word of the Lord brought by the angel strengthened him. The angel addressed him in the opposite terms from what was the reality- “ O mighty man of valour..” When we daily drink of the word, the spiritual solution to all human problems, we too become transformed into ‘mighty men of valour.” Instead of grandstanding, we can take a bold stand for the Lord in the real life situations we face every day.

Five Reasons Not to Fear

UV 3209/10000 Five Reasons Not to Fear
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41 v 10
The Word of God is the secret solution that we should drink thrice a day like medicine. We will be greatly strengthened when we drink of the God-provided solution to all of man’s ills. In the above uni-verse, the Lord gives us five reasons not to fear anything- that, He is with us, that He is our God, that He will strengthen us from within, that He will help us from without by changing circumstances, that He will uphold us. These five reasons are like the five fingers of the right hand of God holding us up. The Lord asks us not to fear, not to fear our enemies, not to fear disaster, not to fear death, not to fear failure, not to fear the future and the unknown, not to fear for the future of our children. He promises in this uni-verse that He who is Immanuel and the Great I Am is with us. He will not disappoint us. He will not forsake us. He will not give up on us. He will not fail us. As Ebenezer, He helps us.
The Lord God is the source of our security. He is the One who upholds us when we seem to be sinking. Jesus held the hand of Peter as he sank in fear in the water he was attempting to walk on. It implies that even when our faith fails, when fears threaten or overcome us, the Lord will stretch His right arm to hold us up, to lift us out of our despair. He lifts us out of the miry clay of this world which is slippery and filthy and places us on the rock of Jesus. The Lord knows that we are dust but He transforms us. He equips, enables and empowers us. He works out His glory out of our many weaknesses. He strengthens us with might in our inner being. Like St Paul, we can affirm in faith, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthen us.” We gain confidence to face intractable, difficult or impossible situations. Christ is our Redeemer not just from sin and death but in all the practical situations of life.
Fear , as someone defined it , can mean either forget everything and run or forget everything and rise. The glory will rise upon us even as we forget the cause or source of our fear and focus on the Lord, His presence, His word, His power, His love. When Gideon was visited by the angel, he was hiding from the Midianites in fear. But the word of the Lord brought by the angel strengthened him. The angel addressed him in the opposite terms from what was the reality- “ O mighty man of valour..” When we daily drink of the word, the spiritual solution to all human problems, we too become transformed into ‘mighty men of valour.” Instead of grandstanding, we can take a bold stand for the Lord in the real life situations we face every day.

The Resurrection Cycle

UV 3209/10000 The Resurrection Cycle
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
2 King 20 v 5
The prophet Isaiah had just warned Hezekiah that he should set his house in order as he was going to die. The king had hit a wall in his life. He did not avoid the wall. Instead, the king turned to the wall and prayed with tears reminding the Lord how he had served Him faithfully with a perfect heart. Before the prophet left the outer court, the Lord heard the tears and words of Hezekiah and sent the prophet Isaiah back to him with the fresh word he had received from the Lord. Likewise, when we turn to the wall of Jesus and pray with sincerity and tears, the Lord will send us a fresh word to strengthen, encourage, revive and heal us.
It is interesting that the Lord refers to Hezekiah as His captain. Yes, whatever be our leadership position, we are captains of the Lord. We are wearing our caps on account of the anointing or the sovereign choice of the Lord. We should discharge our responsibilities as a sacred trust given to us by the Lord, the King of Kings. Whenever we see an obstacle, a barrier, a wall that seems insurmountable, we need to turn back to the true Wall of our strength, protection and provision, Jesus. He will enable us to run through a troop of the enemy and to scale the wall however insurmountable. We only need to keep our hearts perfect before the Lord. Our attitudes should be right or we may miss the grace. Hezekiah’s attitudes of humility, devotion, sincerity and faith moved the very heart of God who revoked the sentence of death upon his life.
I recently hit a wall in my career. It seemed insurmountable. I turned to my Wall –Jesus and He sent a fresh word to me to encourage me, to revive my hope. He said, “ On the third day, it will happen that which people told you is impossible.” I call this the Resurrection Cycle for Jesus died and rose again on the third day. Accordingly, on the third day, we received the good news of having crossed the wall. That which was dead and had no chance of happening, the Lord brought alive. He removed all barriers and obstacles. He also gave a sign on the third day to confirm His word and His will. In the case of Hezekiah, the Lord healed him of a fatal disease. On the third day, he received a sign to encourage him when the shadow cast by the sun went back ten degrees to confirm that the Lord will heal him. The Lord God revels in doing the impossible for He is God.

The One who Performs All Things

UV 3208/10000 The One Who Performs All Things
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me
Psalm 57 v 2
When we cry out to God, He promises to undertake for us that for which we seek His help. In fact, He himself will perform all things on our behalf. He cannot fail us as His commitment is total, His power is awesome and unlimited, His knowledge is complete, His wisdom is deep, unfathomable and infinite. He is able to do that which He promised us. He is ever faithful to His every promise. We need to cry out to Him not in an attitude of doubt or fear or despair but out of hope, faith and confidence. No one can thwart what He has planned or thought of doing for us. But the moment we doubt His love or His ability or His faithfulness, we begin to sink like Peter sank in the water as he walked towards Jesus.
Our own past testimonies as well as that of others encourage us to trust the Lord. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to stir our faith as the angels used to stir the waters of the pool of Bethesda to cause healing to whoever first stepped in soon after. The five porches of the pool of Bethesda stands for five principles – faith in the existence of God, faith in the ability of God, faith in the grace and mercy of God in Jesus, prompt and persistent prayer accompanied by the knowledge of the word and the promises of God and finally, attributing all praise and thanksgiving to God before, during and after our prayers are heard and answered. We need to fan our faith into full flame and allow the “unconsuming fire” of the Holy Spirit to set our hearts and minds on fire. The Word provides the match to ignite that fire in us but the fuel is the Spirit of God. Our tongues should always be attuned to speak words of faith and not of doubt or of of fear or anger or bitterness of any other kind of negativity.
The word “unto” in the uni-verse is very significant. All our prayers and thoughts are to be directed unto God alone. Likewise, when the Lord accomplishes what we need or had sought in prayer, all praise, thanksgiving, glory, honour should be directed back “unto Him” alone who by means of His power, His love, His wisdom, His grace, His justice , His mercy working in us is able to do far more than we can think, ask or imagine. The words “Most High” implies that God should be uppermost or top priority in our lives. He is the chief source of our strength and our delight. His will is sovereign in our lives and we willingly and gladly trust His will for our lives in all things and submit to it. It does not mean however, that we do not put in any diligent or persistent efforts in whatever we are doing. Despite doing our best with whatever we know, the Lord whom we know personally takes care of the unknown factors in everything we attempt. It also does not mean that we will succeed in everything we attempt but that even if we fail, the Lord turns that for our immediate or ultimate good in ways we cannot foresee.

God's Leadership

UV 3207/10000 God’s Leadership
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
Deuteronomy 32 v 11.
God leads man as an eagle takes care of its young. We are as vulnerable not just when we are infants or very young but all through our lives. He stirs us our nest or disturbs us in our comfort zones so that we have to venture out to fly. Even as we seem to be going into free fall with no safety net under us, He first flutters over us with a watchful eye. Then, like the mother eagle, swoops under us at the right height and speed to catch us on the pinions of her wings. He then bears us on His wings. He nourishes and strengthens us with His word. He places His word in our mouths for us to chew or meditate and assimilate. The Lord trains us to fly in this manner. When we are young and face threats from predators, He rushes to our aid. Though we make our nest on lofty heights, we remain humble for we know that without the Lord to sustain us, we would fall from perilous heights.

Even when we know how to fly, He circles around us with an eye on us. His eye instructs us where we should go and where we should desist from going. As we pray and wait on the Lord and wait for the fulfilment of His promises to us, He renews our strength like the older eagles that retreat to a rocky shore, shed all its torn and tattered old feathers and grow new ones and new wings. We too have the two mighty wings of prayer and the word with which we can mount to heaven and descend too at will. Our powerful beaks and talons are the spiritual gifts and powers the Lord imparts to us from day to day and experience to experience. With these we can triumph over all formidable foes, the forces of nature and the supernatural. We can wage spiritual warfare and catch the serpent of subtle temptation in our beaks or talons and take it to a different level where we prevail and not the enemy.
When we prepare for a meal of worms, the Lord prepares for us a sumptuous meal. He delights in satisfying our needs. We only need to be part of His flock and not lone rangers. We also need to take the same care we get to the weaker ones in the flock. We need to reflect the same leadership qualities of firmness with humility, power and compassion as the Lord has shown us all our lives. We need to be aware and vigilant of the ways of the enemy and pray always that neither we nor our loved ones and the not so loved ones become his prey. We fly high over the roaring lion, our common enemy and show our heels or our talons to him. We too stir up the young or inspire, mentor, guide them to take our place in due time.

Being a Part of the Household of the Lord

UV 3206/10000 Being a Part of the Household of the Lord
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 56 v 5
Every believer finds a place of honour in the house of the Lord. He has also given us His name which is everlasting. We are His sons and daughters and we have the right and privilege to dwell in His house. As the father of the prodigal son celebrated his return with joy, the Lord celebrates our return to Him after having moved far from Him. Now He remembers us and will never leave us. His love surrounds us like walls of a room. Everywhere we go and everywhere we look, we find His love. We do not need to worry about our legacy or about a memorial so that people remember us after we are gone for the Lord has raised a living memorial for us.
He prunes the branches of our faith and life but He never cuts the root of faith, the personal bond we have with Him. He will make us an eternal excellence, the source of joy for many generations. It renews our minds when we remember all the things the Lord has done for us from our early childhood. We need to speak to our children about the paths the Lord has brought us by to where we are now. The names of the Lord are given to us so that our specific need is met with the specific dimension that the name signifies. For instance, Jehovah Jireh means He is a Father who provides for us, Jehovah Nisi means that He is a Father who make us victorious. We are co-heirs with Jesus in the House of the Father. A son has authority in the house of the father. Likewise, the Lord God has given us authority in His house.
Ours is not the obedience of a servant, the obedience that comes from fear but from love. When our ways are in congruence with the ways of the Lord, we enjoy harmony and peace. When it is not congruent, we suffer the consequences and scars of our acts of disobedience. The Lord has created us to be stars in His house and not to be scarred or scared. As humans, we thirst for the company of those we trust. Likewise, we have an inner thirst for the Lord in whom we place our trust and confidence. Just as we have rights in the household of the Father, we have responsibilities. The onus is on us to live up to His standards and expectations. We have the help of the Holy Spirit who is called the Remembrancer as He remembers us to the Father and reminds us of the Son. We disown or deny Him like Peter did before the rooster crowed thrice if we fail to live up to His standards and principles. Our enthusiasm for the Word is a sign and evidence that we take our sonship seriously.

The Open Gates of Our Lives

UV 3205/10000 The Open Gates of Our Lives
Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought
Isaiah 60 v 11
Just as the city of Jerusalem had eight gates and the Eternal City has twelve gates, our lives have many gates. Incidentally, the eighth gate, The Golden Gate of Mercy Gate is walled up or shut in Old Jerusalem city today. It is no longer needed as Jesus, the Gate of Mercy has opened access to the mercy seat of God at all times. Like the gates of the Eternal City are always open since it is always day there and there is no night or darkness, the gates of our lives are always open. Those who enter the gates of the Lord never want to leave while it is always open for more to come in. Open gates signify welcome to all. No one is excluded. The invitation is to all. The Lord is sending caravans of His blessings through these gates. For both health and wealth come from the Lord. The wealth of the nations flow towards the chosen ones of the Lord. The wealth may not be material or monetary or may not be merely monetary or material- it is the totality of the blessings the Lord reserves for us. The invisible hand that guides the heavenly market mechanism is the Lord’s. He opens the gateways of our minds and pours joy in place of sadness, wisdom in place of folly, strength in place of our weaknesses. The open gates also mean we are always open to wise counsel by cultivating and maintaining an open mind on the things we do not know for sure.
The twelve gates of heaven have a symbolic meaning. Each made from a single pearl. A pearl as we know is formed out of the pain and suffering of the oyster in response to an irritant, a thorn in its flesh. If it is to be such a gigantic pearl as to make a gate, it must be enormous suffering that leads to its formation. The gateways of the blessings and the things that are beautiful in the eye of the Lord in our lives are constituted out of our most painful experiences. Once these beautiful gates are formed, they remain open as the enemy cannot enter. The light of Jesus or the word of God repels the enemy, defends the faithful, overpowers the offenders, those who want to smuggle in untruth and false doctrines or illusory ideas. Traders and foreigners have access through the gates of any city. Likewise, there is always a fair and fruitful exchange between us who believe and those who do not believe. Since the Lord’s presence is with us at all times, it is apt to praise, thank, revere and worship Him every waking hour.
The open gates imply that we now have complete freedom, freedom from fear, freedom from fear of eternal death, freedom from fear of enemies, foes, persecutors. We have nothing to fear, nothing to hide. The previous verse speaks of walls being built. These walls symbolise the defence we have from all fear in Jesus. We have freedom even to leave but we choose to remain in Him. He blesses us night and day. Good and bad events may alternate in our lives like day and night but the love of Christ like a powerful radiant light sustains us through thick and thin. Since the tabernacle of the Lord is now located within us, we continually enter His presence every time we praise and thank Him for His awesome nature, His amazing grace, His abundant provision, His everlasting love and His endless patience.

The Hiding Place

UV 3204/10000 The Hiding Place
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalm 32 v 7
The Lord is our first, only and ultimate hiding place. There is no safer place than the bosom of the Lord. He is our only refuge from our oppressors, enemies, foes. He preserves us from the snares of death and of temptation. He rescues us from our troubles. We remain unscathed though we pass through fire and water. Though the enemy comes like a flood, the Lord repulses him and defends us with His right hand. Scripture states that our lives are hid in Christ with God. We are like sharpened arrows in His quiver. We are spiritual weapons in His hand but we ourselves are shielded by Him. Indeed, “ Salvation belongs to the Lord, the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb.” It implies that the Lord is enthroned in the midst of our trials and troubles and only His sovereign will is executed.
The first man and woman after falling from grace into sin hid from the presence of God. We should however continually seek His presence and hide in Him as a child hides in the folds of the robes of her parent. He protects us from the proud, the arrogant, the wicked, the envious and the devious. We hide in Him when we spend time alone with Him in prayer and delve deeper into His word. Scripture states that blessed is the man who finds his refuge in the shadow of the Lord. The presence of the Lord is always upon us like an invisible shadow. Our awareness of His presence will keep us from fear, doubt, hopelessness, loneliness and despondency.
There is something overwhelming in everyone’s life from which he or she wants to hide. In this context, Psalm 91 is a veritable Life Insurance Policy for it promises that if we hide in the Lord, the hunter will not find us or harm us. He will protect us and preserve us from the snares or traps of the hunter. He protects us from deadly plagues or epidemics. “A thousand shall die beside us, ten thousand at our right hand but it shall not come near us.” It also promises that we need not fear terror by day or night. He protects us from sudden death. We will only see the just reward of the wicked and unrepentant who oppress us. He promises that as we hide in Him, no evil will befall us or overtake us. We are under His protective wings, His wall of fire around us, His angels surround us. We have several layers of protection and security. He gives power to trample underfoot the “lion” meaning the open assault of the enemy as well as the “serpent” or the subtle attacks of the enemy. As we hide in Him, He sets him high on a rock or a position of strength and impregnable security. He answers us as we call on Him. He will be with us in trouble and walk us through it. He rescues and honours us. He satisfies us with longevity and with eternal life. Imagine we have all these benefits just for the one act of hiding in Him. I can testify that all these promises were fulfilled in my life as I hid in the Lord: He preserved my life from drowning in the sea. He protected me when eighteen people died all round me in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination by a powerful “human bomb”. Thereafter, He protected me from being disgraced in any way. Instead, He honoured me by enabling me to be the only civil servant to be selected for the flagship prestigious British Gurukul Chevening scholarship rolled out on India’s golden jubilee in 1997 to select twelve future leaders of the country. He enabled me to be the first world-wide to create new concepts, techniques, disciplines like Equilibrium Thinking , Friends of Police, Excenomics. He enabled me purely by His grace to win the inaugural Her Majesty, the Queen’s Award for Innovation in Police Training and Development in 2002.

Pray-Plan-Act

UV 3203/10000 Pray-Plan-Act
Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
Jeremiah 32 v 19
We, humans, are often swayed by what we see or what we feel. What we can see, touch, taste physically constitutes a small percentage of the totality of life. The unseen and the unknown occupies more than 80 per cent of reality. We are fearful and perplexed by the large chunk of the unknown in our lives. This explains why the Pareto ratio of 20/80 rule predominates in life. Unlike God, we have partial or fractional knowledge of both good and evil. God in contrast works with hundred per cent. Nothing is unknown or hidden from His all penetrating eye. The Lord judges the reins of our hearts, implying He sees what controls or drives us. A man can hide from others the secrets of his heart but before the Lord it is transparent. We stand naked before the Lord. He sees all that we think, speak and do. His knowledge of us is far greater than we have of ourselves. The Lord sees what we do and rewards us according to our deeds. He is just and rewards us for our faithfulness. He reserves glory, honour and peace for the people whose heart is perfect towards Him. He uses as a man would use a magnifying lens to focus on and magnify His name. The positioning of “counsel” before “deeds” implies that we should first seek all the counsel of the Lord before venturing on any new project or take any decision. Even the Lord spends time in contemplation before plunging into action. Like Jesus we should pray-plan and then act.
The Lord revels in coaching, training, instructing, guiding and leading us. He counsels us on the way we should take. We need to consult Him on every decision we take. His knowledge being total and His wisdom infinite, He will put us on the right track. We err when we rely on our own limited knowledge, wisdom and judgement. As we pay close attention to His instructions, He removes the barriers in our paths. Hence, people who truly know the Lord personally cannot be ordinary people. When the Lord finds them, they are ordinary people but He turns them into extraordinary people with extraordinary wisdom and accomplishments, not necessarily in the worldly perspective but they are esteemed by the Lord.
The Lord shows Himself strong on behalf of anyone whose heart is wholly committed to Him. Scripture says that the Spirit of the Lord is roaming around the whole world looking for such individuals whose heart is perfect towards Him. They empty their hearts of everything sinful, lustful or vain. The Lord manifests His grace and power in the lives of such individuals in a variety of ways. He raised the shepherd boy David to be a great king of Israel and the forebear of the King of Kings and Messiah- Jesus. He transformed the ordinary fishermen who were disciples of Jesus into the world’s most influential and respected persons. He transformed the fearful Gideon into a brave leader and general.

Wonderful Counsellor, Sure Deliverer

UV 3202/10000 Wonderful Counsellor, Helper, Healer, Deliverer
For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling
Psalm 116 v 8
The Lord has not only delivered our bodies and minds from temporal death but He has delivered our souls, our spirits from eternal death. He has delivered us from sorrows and tears and brought us to the living fountains of water- the Word or Jesus. He has kept us from falling and failing. He has lifted us up when we stumbled and fumbled. His is the unseen but powerful, gracious and merciful hand that upholds us. Even capitalists believe that there is an invisible hand that guides the market mechanism in this world. How much more should we believe, acknowledge and thank the Lord for His hand of protection, guidance and leadership in our lives.
Many of us are “wisdom-idiots” in that though we are gifted with above average or exceptional intelligence and abilities, we do not show or use an iota of God-given wisdom and land ourselves in a lot of unnecessary trouble. The Lord not only saves our souls but He redeems us in practical ways from these blunders we have unwittingly waded into. The enemy wants to drown us in a flood of tears but the Lord is compassionate and keeps intervening to pre-empt, to pull us out of such predicaments. The Lord delivers us from such pits and places us on a rock to stay, as the Psalmist David sang. He knows that though He has made us able, we are not stable in our emotions, our desires, our decision making, our relationships. Even on a diurnal scale, we swing like a pendulum depending on our company, our counsel, our whims and moods. The Lord lends us His strength to stabilise us.
When we are put in tight corners either of our own making or due to the adversary’s machinations, the Lord wipes our tears and proves to us that He is sovereign and mighty even as He is merciful and ever ready to forgive us. Our tears are like liquid prayers and touches the heart of the Lord. No tear is wasted and it is written in scripture that He collects our tears in vials like humans store perfume. As this uni-verse hints, sometimes our tears cloud our vision and we take hasty decisions that make us stumble. Sometimes we stumble or take decisions without consulting the Lord and His word and that causes tears in our eyes. Some of the choices we make have the danger of plunging our souls to moral or spiritual death. But, Jesus, the ever reliable Redeemer remains faithful to His promise to be our helper, wonderful counsellor, life coach, executive trainer. My own life is a testimony to the fact that the Lord has delivered my soul from death, my eyes often from tears and my feet as often from stumbling. The sequence is usually – the Lord first redeems our souls, then He delivers us from tears and stumbling. Sometimes, it does happen that our tears and mistakes lead us to Jesus. A friend of mind recently messaged me asking if I can refer her to an experienced counsellor as she and her husband were going through a trying time in their lives- her husband, a naval officer, suffering from ALS had deteriorated in health, lost his voice and the use of his limbs. I first referred her to Jesus, the historic and eternal wonderful counsellor, the Master Psychologist even as I dipped into my contacts to put her in touch with a trained psychologist and counsellor.

The Presence of God

UV 3201/10000 The Presence of God
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Exodus 33 v 16
We are distinguished from the rest of mankind by the presence of the Lord with us. This is our USP or Unique Saving Proposition. We are separated unto Him, set apart as a holy people, made holy by faith in Jesus. The Lord is near us all the time and we can call Him unto us in all things in reverence and prayer. His presence is with us as we hear His voice and obey His covenant. Even as He is faithful to the promises of the covenant, old and new, we are to be faithful to the commands of the covenant, old and new. We need to be seeking His presence, His blessing, His guidance and His leadership all the time in all aspects of our lives. He rejoices or exults in being involved in our affairs. We are a peculiar people whom He treasures over all the people on the earth.
The Lord’s presence ensured victory and deliverance for the Israelites from all the perils and hardship of the arduous journey through the desert to the Promised Land. Problems and challenges of this life may appear as millstones around our necks but are truly milestones in the path of the pilgrim’s journey back to God. The Lord ‘s presence, implying His love, His grace, His power and mercy are manifested in different ways as He either helps us solve these problems or gives us the strength to endure it with faith. The name given to Jesus being “Immanuel” or “God with us,” Jesus is with us all the time, 24 x 7 to enable us, equip and empower us. The presence of Jesus made a difference at the wedding in Cana as He solved the issue of scarcity. His presence at the tomb of Lazarus brought the latter alive. His presence with the disciple in the boat during a storm kept it from capsizing. When His presence is with us, miracles are in the natural course of things and are to be expected, healing and deliverance are to be expected. His presence in our lives not only solves our personal inadequacies but fills us with peace and joy even in troublesome circumstances for it is written in Psalm 16, “ There are everlasting pleasures and joy forevermore at His right hand.” It means that If we have a strong connect with God through Christ, we will be joyful in all circumstances, continually praying, thanking, thinking and praising Him.
The Lord assured Moses that He would go with them and give them rest. Rest implies victory, confidence, courage, peace, assurance. The Word of God is double edged as it deals with our existential doubts and our existential fears. It penetrates our hearts and minds and heals it at the very point doubts and fears begin and grow. The presence of God with us and in us gives us times of refreshing and renewal. His presence envelops us in 360 degrees. We find protection, provision, promotion in Him. The presence of God in the Israelite camp was as a thick pillar of cloud that moved ahead of them, guiding them on the path they should take. It was as a fire at night giving them warmth and light. Today, the presence of God is invisible but we sense the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we hear a voice behind our ears, telling us- take this path, not that – provided we are prepared to listen, sensitive and responsive. Our hearts determine whether we hide from the presence of the Lord or distance ourselves from Him or draw near to Him with boldness and confidence.

Transforming Our Fundamental Patterns

UV 3200/10000 Transforming our Fundamental Patterns
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God
Romans 12 v 2
This uni-verse states that we can not only improve ourselves by renewing, refreshing, rejuvenating, invigorate our minds with the Word of God but we prove the existence and reign of the One who is good, acceptable and perfect in the sight of God- Jesus. He being the prototype, the One who has declared us by virtue of our faith and His grace to be good, acceptable and perfect in the sight of God, will transform our thoughts, emotions, words, actions and will or our decisions and its implementation so that these are in alignment with the perfect will of God.
The Word of God also has a salutary effect on human imagination so that it is used in creative and not destructive ways. In the absence of the Word’s influence upon our minds, our imaginations are played upon by the invisible enemy who flits in and out of our minds at will as the gateways of the mind are always open. Such destructive imagination fills our minds with imaginary fears that paralyse us. It turns dangerous illusions into reality. The wildly popular book “The Secret” opens these dangerous portals so that the personal demons of the individual roam free and cause havoc with lives and their decisions as well as emotions are side tracked. The books of Ayn Rand, the Harry Potter series and others in the genre of New Age philosophy whether fiction or non fiction opens these dangerous portals of the human imagination. Nothing we think, speak, do is in isolation but is part of a pattern with many elements in it. A change in one element causes changes in the other elements or constituents of the pattern. This is what is known in modern management parlance as paradigm but the misnomer is that we cannot shift the paradigm as management gurus say- we can only alter or change our paradigms with the help of Our Creator and Redeemer. When we conform to the Word or Christ, the patterns indicated in the Word of God become the patterns of our minds and of our lives. For instance, we adopt the pattern of love of Jesus, the pattern of forgiveness, the pattern of diligence, devotion, determination, dedication, discipline as against the pattern of bitterness of the world, the pattern of revenge and retribution of this world, the pattern of fear, the pattern of indiscipline and indulgence of this world. One set of destructive patterns are replaced by the patterns of eternal life.
We, however, are directed to conform to the image of Christ in us which amounts to transformation of our communication with God, ourselves and others. We gain the power to order our conversations and conduct to that it is productive, fruitful and pleasing to the Lord. Our heart or inner attitudes are also in conformity with the essence of the beautiful attitudes extolled and explained by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. The Word also gives us the authority of our Divine Author who wrote out the script of each of our DNA’s to command, refute, rebuff, rebuke, subdue our personal demons and drive these out of us. Every human has a choice to conform to the world or to the word, to the world or to Christ Jesus. The process of renewal with the word is continuous, focussed and persistent. As we renew our minds with the Word, Jesus becomes the anchor, the fulcrum of support, the source of strength and victory in our lives.

Many Shades of Invincibility

UV 3199/10000 Many Shades of Invincibility
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Jeremiah 20 v 11
Jeremiah, the prophet was lamenting his oppression by many foes and adversaries. But suddenly, the Spirit of God convicts him that though he was oppressed, forsaken, depressed, dejected and derided, the Lord God is with him as El Shaddai- the mighty God. He had shared his cause or his sorrow with the Lord in prayer and fasting. The Lord responded by consoling and comforting him that he was not fighting his battles alone nor was it a losing battle. The enemies might be mighty, many and formidable but the Lord was with him as a terrible warrior.
Likewise as the Lord is with us as a mighty warrior, none of us need to be worriers. The Lord God is the rock that is “higher than I “ as well as any of the people or faceless forces confronting or surrounding us at any time in our lives. The Lord gives us the assurance that our persecutors and oppressors will not prevail. We will not be put to shame while the same cannot be said of them. They will not prosper in their wicked schemes against us even as Haman was hung on the same gallows he had prepared for Mordeccai. The wicked and oppressors will fall into the very pit they dig for us. Though they appear powerful and unshakeable now, they will stumble and fall by their own weight. They have no rock to hold onto unlike us. He, the Lord God will fight on our behalf. The confusion, shame and utter defeat of the adversaries will remain an eternal testimony for the glory of the Lord and to augment the faith of believers world- wide. We are the apple of His eye. If anyone touches us, they are trying to touch the apple of the eye of God. The banner He holds over His beloved, the believers, is not just of love but of manifold or victory at many levels- over death, sin, shame, pain, sorrow, persecutors, confusion, ill health, curses, violence, crimes as well as accidents or mishaps.
The Lord will give us the peace that passes understanding even in the midst of our struggles and oppression. We will have clarity. We just need to hold our peace and remain prayerful, watchful and wise. He will prosper us in our ways. We should not retaliate for we would be taking the judgement of the Lord into our own hands. Instead, we should pray and bless our persecutors for as Jesus said, “They know not what they do.” They do not know against whom they are fighting. The Lord is pleased when we plead for mercy for them. We need not wince with pain or mental agony for the Lord is Jehovah Nisi, the Invincible One. We should always affirm with faith and hope that “He who is in us is greater than they that are with them.” The Triune God is the source of our three phase power of spirit, mind and body. He gives peace to our spirit, clarity to our minds and health to our bodies.

The Wisdom to Manage Strength and Power

UV 3198/10000 The Wisdom to Manage Strength or Power
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Daniel 2 v 20

Daniel praises God with this uni-verse after He revealed to him the dream of the king Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord manifests His power and wisdom in the lives of ordinary people like Daniel to reveal His extraordinary nature, His immense love for human beings and to give them an extraordinary testimony. Only God is blessed with both power and wisdom, strength and understanding. The Hebrew names of the Lord like Jehavah El Shaddai, Nissi, Jireh, Tsidkenu, Rohi, Elohim, Adonai reflect the might coupled with the infinite wisdom of God. Power rarely comes accompanied by wisdom among earthly rulers. This is the reason the statement that power corrupts is absolutely true. Most earthly rulers and administrators have a measure of power or strength to execute things but do not have the commensurate wisdom. People do not have understanding matching or commensurate with abilities, turning the latter into "lie-abilities" or abilities that appear to be strengths but are cause of weaknesses and failures. Like a horse is controlled with reins, our strength or power should be harnessed to wisdom which constitutes the reins of the Lord. The Word of God becomes both our reins and the paths in which we should run or use our strengths.

Though the Lord is all powerful, He manifests only the level of power that is needed. He carefully calibrates with His wisdom, the extent of His strength that needs to be released in a particular situation, not one bit more. In the scale of things, the Lord values His wisdom more than His power or strength. Likewise, He exults when we humans seek wisdom more than power. But history of the world is a record of humans in the pursuit of the love of power. Instead our pursuits should be marked by the power of love. Love is the wisdom of God. Due to such love, the wisdom of God might appear to be foolish or weak in the eyes of the world. For instance, the all wise, all powerful Christ submitting to the most terrible form of punishment invented by humans might appear foolish or weak as if He had yielded or been defeated by the enemy. He had immense power at His command. He could have called legions of angels to rescue Him from the captivity of the earthly rulers but His love and wisdom constrained Him from using such power. Round One appeared to have been won by the enemy and earthly rulers who had condemned Him to death but the third day on, the purpose of God became clear and accomplished. The power of death was defeated forever. The payment for all sin was made. Resurrection power was hereafter available to all humans. All humans could hope to live forever and in the knowledge of God’s love and the hope of eternal life.
The wisdom of God is the source of great strength. It is sharply distinguished from human or intellectual wisdom. It is a higher order of strength than strength itself. Without it, our strengths become a source of weakness in our lives. If we seek the wisdom of God and ask Him for such wisdom, scripture promises us that He will give it to us generously or abundantly. Power or strength should always play second fiddle to the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God is not imparted at one shot to people. Even though Daniel was wise, he had to seek the wisdom of God in specific situations as these came up. Likewise, we need to seek situation-specific wisdom in our lives on a daily basis.

Godly Sorrow versus Worldly Sorrow

UV 3197/10000 Godly Sorrow versus Worldly Sorrow
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5 v 4
I just received a mail from a classmate and friend that in the past few years, he had suffered some setbacks in health and was going into depression. His friends helped to pull out of such depression. Depression is like a deep pit from which we cannot emerge or climb out on our own. As human beings, we have no permanent enemies other than sorrow and anxiety. But Jesus is the great Comforter. When He enters our hearts, sorrow and anxiety will flee from us as defeated foes. Scripture says that godly sorrow is for our benefit while worldly sorrow leads us to the pit of destruction. The Holy Spirit is the initiator of godly sorrow. Godly sorrow is true repentance that causes us to change for the better or improve in every domain of our lives. It leads us to take practical steps to conform to the image of Christ in us. It gives us the inner strength to endure the sorrows that we can do nothing to change.
While worldly sorrows cause us to be weak, godly sorrow strengthens us from within. We are anointed with grace and power to overcome our inner weaknesses. The joy of the Lord or an inexplicable peace that comes from the presence of the Lord in us overtakes our hearts and minds. In place of our erstwhile weaknesses and afflictions, the joyful spirit replaces our mourning. He turns our mourning and groaning to song and dance. The mournful rhythms of death are replaced by the rhythms of eternal life. The Lord girds us or covers us with the clothes of His salvation. A peace that passes human understanding envelops us and we become oblivious to the circumstances around us. The Lord replaces our regrets with fulfilment and hope, our tears with laughter.
When we are more concerned about what pains, grieves, hurts the Lord, He will be more concerned about what hurts, upsets, grieves us. Our tears become the seed of a future good. The Psalmist puts it beautifully when he says that the Lord collects our tears in a vial. When we sow in tears, we reap in joy. When we are so comforted, restored, assuaged, praise and thanksgiving continually flow from our hearts and lips. Praise and thanksgiving are therefore, signs and symptoms that we are spiritually alive. The uni-verse states that we shall be certainly comforted even as the Lord heard the cry of the barren Hannah and from her raised a great prophet Samuel. Even our nearest and dearest may not discern what troubles our hearts and minds but the Lord sees through the mist in our eyes, deep into our innermost being. He reaches into the deep recesses of our souls and gives us comfort, release, relief, breakthrough and deliverance.

Complete Concern

UV 3196/10000 Complete Concern
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands
Psalm 138 v 8

The Lord is concerned with our personal well being. He perfects or completes us through our faith in Him. He is consistent in His love, faithfulness and mercy towards us. We are the loving work of His hands and He will therefore, never let us down or let go of us. His eye and His hand is always upon those who fear or trust and believe Him and His word. The world is full of darkness and is His word that is the light that helps us navigate through this world. The word light in the spiritual lexicon is a synonym for love.
He makes all things complete for us. No aspect of our lives is neglected or ignored by Him. But we should not place Him in such a position that He has to compete with the world or anything or anyone else for our attention. He is even interested in helping us with our personal ambitions as long as it does not clash or go against His will and His word. We were slated for our final promotion for quite some time but someone seemingly in the know of things told me, “It is impossible. It will not happen now.” There were many obstacles like the huge boulder at the cave grave of Jesus. But, I prayed that the Lord will send His angels or messengers to remove the huge boulder at the mouth of those who oppose. I believed it will happen in three days which I call the Resurrection cycle since Jesus died and rose on the third day. Yesterday, while I was in His sanctuary, I received the good news of our promotion. As it is written long before civil services came into being in this world, “Promotion does not come from the East or the West. It comes from the Lord, Our Maker and Sovereign Ruler.”
The amazing thing about the word is that it holds good for every generation of mankind. The only prerequisite is a little faith. Mountains or life barriers are levelled either by giving our feet the strength to climb it as easily as a plain or by chipping it to level and even ground. Life knows many barriers but the power of faith has no limits or barriers. Without barriers in the different domains of life that we have to traverse, our faith can neither be tested, honed, proven or rewarded. The Lord proves His concern for us even in the intimate details of our lives by being involved in helping us cross these barriers, whether professional, personal or familial.

Dealing with Doubt and Fears

UV 3195/10000 Dealing with Both Doubt and Fears
But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
John 6 v 20
In three gospels, we have the account of Jesus walking on the water. In the gospel of Matthew, Peter attempts to walk towards Jesus on the water and begins to sink after a step or two. Jesus then held his hand and asked him, “ Why did you doubt?” We too can walk on water or attempt to do something difficult, risky or impossible. We may appear to sink and drown but the Lord is at hand. The presence of the Lord with us is sufficient to protect and preserve us from drowning in our troubles in the world.
As Jesus is with us, we need not be afraid of dying or drowning. We need not be afraid of anything. The key is not to doubt the identity of Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, not to doubt His power and willingness to save us in any perilous situation of our lives. Jesus tells us the reassuring words, “ It is I.” In these three short words, Jesus manifests Himself as the One who saves us from any and every situation. He is Alpha and the Omega. Once we have faith and trust in Jesus, no fear or worry or hopeless can ever imprison us.
In fluid situations, the Lord holds our hands and encourages us. He upholds and lifts us. There is no one else we can completely depend on in crisis situations. In place of our fears, He fills us with faith and courage. Doubt and fear are the two great barriers to our experiencing the saving power or the grace of God. Thomas doubted Jesus, Peter feared. We need to submit our every doubt and fear to the Holy Spirit who will then work to remove our doubts and fears. Jesus is confident He can help us handle our fears and doubts. Adam and Eve doubted the words of God and fell into sin. Having fallen into sin, they felt guilt and feared punishment. So they hid themselves from the presence of God. Jesus sets us free from our doubts and fears by coming to us at the moment of our doubt or crisis. His sudden appearance scared the disciples but His words re-assured them. We too can effectively deal with our fears and doubts by listening and believing in His words of assurance. This is the reason the word is described as the double edged sword of the spirit. One edge deals with doubts about who God is and the other deals with our doubts about what He can do- our fears.

Truthful and Spiritual Worship

UV 3194/10000 Truthful and Spiritual Worship
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
John 4 v 23
This uni-verse distinguishes between true worship and false worship. Our Father in heaven seeks true worshippers in whom the fire of the spirit of worship, the sacrifice of praise and the joy of thanksgiving is always lit in their hearts. The Holy Spirit lights and keeps this fire fuelled and burning. Jesus by His own redeeming sacrifice made it possible for both Jew and non –Jew to know the Father personally, to know His heart, to receive the Spirit of God into their hearts and lives. Till then worship happened only in temples built with human hands but now worship happens in hearts shaped by God. It is not religious worship or ritual but spiritual worship. The honest worshipper knows in his heart that he is not even worthy to offer worship to the Father but he has been declared worthy by Jesus to experience the love, power, grace and majesty of the Lord.
The freedom to worship God in our spirits opens our lives to immense blessings. We no longer rely on a priest to lead and worship on our behalf but we ourselves are priests or Levites before the Father. The extensive grand clothing and vestments and ornaments that the Levitic priest was adorned with are a metaphor for the amazing blessings and grace that true worshippers are adorned with. As we worship and offer the fruit of our lips, our words are anointed to bless others and the world at large. Our hearts are the sanctum sanctorum of the living tabernacles our bodies and minds are called to be under the new covenant. Worship is not confined to a particular time or space, modes or postures, but includes all aspects of our lives. To worship God as Eternal Father means loving all others as brothers and sisters. Hence, worship has not only a vertical dimension but a horizontal dimension covering our relationship with our fellow beings.

The Living Water

UV 3193/10000 The Living Water
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God
Psalm 42 v 2
Living in this darkened world, our souls often become parched as dry land that cracks up in a famine. We are then most thirsty for the hope of eternal life that the living God gives us. The Word of God is described as the living water that can help us live life strong and victorious as it quenches our inner thirst. When we store the Word in our hearts as a camel stores water in its hump to endure the heat of the desert, we are enabled to be resilient, hopeful and we are able to endure great hardship. When we speak the rivers of life-giving, life-sustaining and life enhancing water that flows from our hearts are the Words of eternal life that Jesus gave us. The word is the pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne or the mouth of God and of His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us navigate this river. This river empties into the ocean of God’s agape or unconditional love- Jesus.
In the absence of God, our lives would be just a vale of tears. We would be flooded with sorrows and drowning in our own tears. We would be oppressed and defeated by the enemy. It is the fountain of blood of Jesus that washes us clean and the fountain of living waters of His word that refreshes us, renews us, reinvigorates us, imbues us with power, purpose and meaning. We no longer need to go around moping or mourning or wallowing in self pity. The living God does not want us to wilt in front of our challenges and problems. But He desires us to call out from the depths of our hearts to the depths of His heart.
Though our thirst is satisfied, we are not satiated or saturated for we can drink even more and keep drinking or meditating on the Word of the Lord. Our minds should not be like broken cisterns that do not retain the water poured into it. Our hearts should be like the hart that longs for the refreshing water of a river flowing through the forest of life. The water is crystal clear like a mountain stream as it is pure, uncomplicated, simple to understand and apply to our lives. As we imbibe the water of life, the Lord fills us with wisdom, joy, peace, power and grace. Life is no longer too heavy an yoke for us to bear. The Psalmist in this uni-verse asks the rhetorical question, “ When can I meet Him?” The Word answers that we can boldly enter His presence through the Blood of the Lamb. We can meet Him any time and all the time for He is with us and in us as Immanuel. We have 24 x7 access to the Living God and the Living water. We can keep returning to Him for our every need. The word “thirst” means a deep, persistent and crying need. The Word contains the spiritual seed to meet our earthly as well as eternal need.

The Old Versus the New

UV 3192/10000 The Old versus the New
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ephesians 4 v 22
Our old nature before we believed and received Christ into our hearts and lives was corrupted by lusts of the flesh and of the mind. We were deceived like our first father Adam to think that the fulfilment of these desires would make us like God. We were deceived by the liar into lying. Anger, bitterness, envy, pride took root in the human heart due to such deception. But, this uni-verse exhorts us to put on the new man re-born through faith in Christ. Salvation is compared to a full set of clothes or armour that leaves no part of us naked or exposed to the enemy. Salvation or eternal life then is not only the prize that we receive at the end of a life of faith and faithfulness to God’s word but it is our conduct in this world.
Our conduct and our conversation ought to blemishless or blameless. We have to pass our thoughts, our motives, our words, our emotions through several filters provided by the word of God so that the end product is refined and faultless. We may fail often but as long as we repent and try harder depending on the grace of God or His power working in us, we are on track. We should take care not to feed the old man and to feed the new man. Like an iceberg, the old man lies largely submerged and surfaces whenever we let our guard down. The Word acts as a double-edged axe to keep chipping away at the submerged old man and to strengthen and establish the new creation nature in us.
St Paul writes of his own struggle with his old nature. He wrote that “ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith in Christ.” This implies that our new life is lived by putting to death our former self and crucifying the lusts and pride of the former self. We no longer live, judge, take decisions based on our senses and our human wisdom but by the wisdom we have through the Holy Spirit in Christ. Like houses that have three phase power connections, we need a three phase power connection with the Triune God in order to live a life of faith in Christ. In the race of life set before us by Christ, speed is not the consideration. Doing better than others is not the consideration. We are to be faithful to our calling and run by His grace in such a way as to complete it. If we complete the race by running patiently, by consistently moving forward in faith, we have won the race.

Uniqueness -the Stamp of God

UV 3191/10000 Uniqueness –the Stamp of God
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
Isaiah 46 v 5
While human beings go for standardisation in order to manufacture anything on a mass scale, God is not only unique, He makes all things unique. No two creatures of the same species are exactly the same, no two humans even if twin are exactly the same, no two leaves or fruits or trees are exactly the same. Even the heavenly bodies like stars and planets are not exactly the same. God revels in uniqueness. This uni-verse extols the Lord for His incomparable nature, His uniqueness in heaven and on earth. Since He is unique and each of us is unique, our relationships with each other and with our Creator and Redeemer are also different from the other or unique. Our testimonies or life stories of the experience of the grace, power, truth and mercy of the Lord in our lives are unique.
The Lord is not only unique, He is non pareil or without equal in the universe or in heaven. We cannot compare Him with any other person. We are in awe of His greatness and yet He is more approachable and accessible at all times than any other person, living or dead. The open book of nature as well as the good book- the Bible speak of His love being without par, His generosity, His mercy, His grace and His power. It pleases Him when we find unique ways to extol Him, pray, praise and worship Him. He does not need our worship but for us as unique creatures on whom He has stamped His unique image, worship is a daily necessity for the blessings that come from such worship sustains us, enhances us, inspires us and elevates us.
Equating God with something other than His own authentic image is infra dig. It lowers or debases us. Hence, when we call a man a fool or a rascal, the Word of God warns us that we are insulting the image of God in him. The Lord is absolutely powerful but He is extremely restrained. He rarely intervenes in our lives without our invitation or appeal to Him. Exploring our own uniqueness is a way of discovering our God-given purpose and God-shaped destiny in life. The variations in our moods, emotions, thoughts, aspirations, actions, expressions are so great but the constancy of faith anchors us in the sea of change around us. Scripture or the word of God , too is unique. The very same words or context or import of meaning cannot be found in the pages of any other book. Though it is like the heavy chain that holds an anchor of a sea going vessel, it does not weigh us down or imprison us. It liberates and empowers us.

Carrying and Caring

UV 3190/10000 Carrying and Caring
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46 v 4
The Lord commits in this uni-verse to carry us all through from the womb through our journey in this world, through the seven stages of life right into ripe old age, death and beyond. As a woman carries her child in her womb, He carries us, not just for nine months all through our lives. Since He has made us, He takes the responsibility to carry us. Death is the point of delivery from the uterus of this universe into the heavenly kingdom of the Father. We come into the fullness of the new life or re-birth we experience when we believe and receive Christ into our hearts and lives.
This kind of assurance from our Creator gives us cause for complete peace and zero worry. We need not have the kind of feelings the people of this world face when they confront the vulnerabilities of childhood, the convulsions of youth, the uncertainties of middle age, the insecurities of old age. At every stage of our faith-based life, we are building on rock, on infinite strength, infinite wisdom, infinite love and grace. The Lord knows He is responsible for our lives from beginning to end and He responds to our prayers, needs, feelings and thoughts. He owns us and never disowns us even when we tend to stray from Him and His ways.
If we carry His word in our hearts, He will always carry and care for us. Jesus carries us on His shoulders as a parent carries his or her child, as a shepherd carries the young lamb. He is protective, caring, loving and competent. We are never alone, uncared for, neglected or solitary. He is attentive to our most unspoken, unknown and intimate needs. For a believer there is no such thing as self actualisation for it is the Lord who fulfils us and it is not of ourselves. His security and self esteem needs are also met completely in Jesus. He does not find satisfaction in achievement or accomplishments but dedicates these to the Lord. The scarcities and challenges of his life are opportunities for his faith to be exercised and for the grace of God to be manifest. He sees the unseen but all powerful hand of the Lord acting behind every move and happening in his life. The cares of this world are meant to prove the caring and carrying of the Lord.

The Seer of God

UV 3189/10000 The Seer of God
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully
Psalm 24 v 4
The back up of patience is character, the back up of joy is hope, the back up of confidence is ability, the back up of courage is faith. A godly character manifests itself in the things we do and do not do. A person who fears God and desires to cultivate a pure heart and character, keeps his hands clean from bribes, from stealing, from shedding blood in violence. Scripture states that a person who steals or takes bribes allows a curse to enter his house to destroy it from within. A person who keeps his lips pure alone can remain a priest before God. He should use his words and his knowledge to preserve genuine faith in God and therefore, he helps to preserve and sustain life. He should not make false promises or raise his soul in worship or reverence to that which he knows not to be the Creator and Redeemer.
Jesus promised that , “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” When we wash our hearts every day with the word and lead a testimonial life, we have the grace to see God. It does not mean that we will literally see God but we will see God in everything we do and in everything that happens to us. We will perceive the mercy, grace, love and power of God at work in practical ways in our everyday lives. We continually experience the presence of God in our hearts and nearest to us at all times. Our souls become extensions of the kingdom of God on earth. We do not have to search for God anywhere for He is Immanuel –God with us and within us.
The presence of God with us blesses the work of our hands and the words of our mouth as well as the thoughts, emotions and intentions of our innermost being. We develop the patience to wait for His answers to our prayers in the time of His favour. We have the courage to face and endure anything as He is with us as a mighty warrior. He anoints our lips and makes our tongues like sharpened swords of fire, our mouths the scabbards. He keeps our eyes from tears and our feet from stumbling. He gives us unction or divine enablement in our functions. In short, the Lord beatifies our character and beautifies our lives. We yield ourselves as clay in the hands of the Divine Potter.

Being A Star

UV 3188/10000 Being A Star
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength
Revelation 1 v 16
The Lord Jesus has the amazing grace to turn zeroes into heroes. He holds us up as stars in His mighty right hand. The “seven stars” are not just symbols of the seven angels of the seven churches as explained by John, the revelator. It is a metaphor that all or complete dimensions of our lives are in the safe hand of Jesus. Unlike the rest of the world who do not yet trust Him, we who believe Him and His word yield willingly to the grip of His hand upon us and do not struggle to move away. We remain heroes as long as we depend and feed on the words from His mouth. His word penetrates every pore and part of our being like a sharp sword. It causes healing, wholeness, blessing, deliverance, victory everywhere it penetrates and touches. We are like the two olive trees in the prophet Zechariah’s vision whose branches are constantly dipped in the golden oil, a metaphor for the Holy Spirit, flowing from the seven pipes of the golden lamp. Our whole lives in Christ are an experience of intense spiritual immersion but we remain in this natural world just like trees rooted in the soil. Like olive trees, we bear fruit in our character and in our deeds. Even our leaves or our mere words will cause healing of people who hear them.
We obtain grace or favour from the resplendent face of Jesus even as we draw strength from His hand upon us. As our eyes are transfixed on Him, we are transfigured like the vision of the apostles when they saw Jesus conferring with Moses and Elijah. As stars we are called to be the wise who lead many into righteousness as prophesied by Daniel. As stars, we dispel darkness in this world by our words, deeds, prayers and the exercise of the authority vested in us as His viceroys on earth. The Lord will anoint our tongues with His fire so much so our tongues become a double-edged sword of fire and our mouths become the scabbard holding the sword. Our tongues are double edged as we should use it to subdue forces of darkness in this world with our Christ given authority and awesome power even as we use it to lead people into faith, righteousness, hope, grace and healing. Our close communion with the Lord would cause His radiance to also pass onto our own faces even as Moses’ face shone after He communed with Jehovah.
Moses climbing mountains to commune with God are a metaphor that when our challenges are as insurmountable as mountains that is the time our communion with the Lord is the closest and most impactful. I recently drove up to a hill to view through a powerful telescope the heavenly bodies and the stars that are placed in the universe as symbols of the infinite power and majesty of the Creator. I saw a thick cloud or nebulae of stars of the Orion in addition to the moon, Jupiter with its bands, Saturn with its golden ring around it. The presence of the Lord is also like a thick cloud around us though it is not visible to our naked eyes or souls. In addition to the stars, there are heavenly bodies like the planets that shine with borrowed light. The radiance from our lives light up the lives of others around us. The star metaphor also has an important lesson for all of us that we should finish well by continuing to shine in this world and beyond and not crash like comets. If we constantly obey the will and word of God, we will be held in our place in our due orbits. When I was young, I was inspired by the Chinese proverb, “Aim for the stars and hit the treetops.” But in the light of this uni-verse, Jesus tells each one of us, “Aim for the stars and be a star on earth and in heaven. “