Friday, May 31, 2019

@ Etude - Fear and Shame

@Etude-Fear and Shame

He said, “ I heard the sound of You walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.

Genesis 3 v 10

The primal emotions of fear and shame, it appears , are interconnected. The first couple hid themselves from the presence of God. After that for the rest of history God hid Himself from man, emerging only to reveal Himself through Moses and the prophets and for a complete revelation in Jesus Christ. The first man and woman were afraid as they realized they had done wrong. The fear of offending God drove them into hiding. None of the things that satan promised them happened- that they would have knowledge like God, to know the difference between good and evil. But the new fallen nature made them both afraid and ashamed. They became aware of their nakedness and were ashamed. New knowledge made them weaker and more vulnerable than before.

Consciousness of sin keeps man from entering boldly into the presence of God. Nothing man can do can free us from such guilt and shame. Even if we live like the best of men and do the best of deeds, we still feel ashamed, guilty, wanting. We are freed from such consciousness of our spiritual inadequacy and unworthiness by the shed blood of Jesus, the full and complete payment for our justification and redemption. Though we are still conscious of our nakedness before God, the clothes of salvation provided in Christ cover us, our sinful nature, our thoughts, deeds and actions. We can once again commune, relate, communicate with God daily, continually and eternally. The sound of the walk of God echoed in His word no longer drives us in fear out of His presence. We are restored to the fullness of the glory that God created us to be. He bridges the gap or the hamartia or shortcoming by His grace. We do not struggle to be fulfilled for we are already fulfilled in Christ and fully filled by the Holy Spirit.

The fear instilled in man by his single act of disobedience is the parent of a myriad other fears that have developed in the human mind. The shame of being unworthy is the parent of a myriad other sorrows and ailments of mankind. The Word is called a double –edged spiritual sword as it deals on one edge with all our fears- fear of death, fear of punishment, fear of curses, fear of diseases, fear of failure, fear of scarcity and so on and on the other edge with all sorts of shame- guilt, inferiority complex, low esteem, depression and so on. We need not shy away from the presence of God but we can delve into His presence whenever and wherever at will. God does not hide Himself from us but stays with us as Immanuel.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

@ Etude- Satisfaction


@ Etude- Satisfaction

The earth sprouted and abundantly produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.

Genesis 1 v 12

After every day of work or creation, God evaluated what He had created and drew satisfaction from the work of His hands. He affirmed it or in other words willed that it continues to exist and flourish. He is not only the creator but the sustainer. Likewise, whatever we attempt in our professions or lives should be satisfying. Life satisfaction is far more significant than mere job satisfaction. True success lies in being able to look back at our lives or at our work and say, “ It is good. I have fulfilled the purpose for which God has created me and sustained me.” We will be able to say it if we put all our God-given potential to use, employed all the gifts and talents and opportunities the Lord placed at our disposal for the service of His creatures of which man is the crowning creation.

The difficulty is that our lives happen not all at once, in bits and pieces, day by day, moment by moment, event by event. We need to piece together the mosaic of ups and downs, the highs and lows, the routine and the eventful, the significant and the insignificant. Not just at the end of our lives but at the end of every day, we need to introspect, examine and evaluate what we did that day. Have we moved a notch, a day closer to fulfilling our life’s purpose. The purpose the Word defines – to multiply and be fruitful. To multiply not just in numbers or in terms of wealth but in terms of peace, the fruit of the spirit, the qualities of character, to be a positive influencer of the ones we work with and live with. We owe it to our Creator, Sustainer, Redeeemer, Affirmer that He draws satisfaction from whatever we think, say and do.

Jesus is called the “Yes and Amen” to all God’s promises. In other words, He is the Lord of Affirmation. He redeems, sustains, encourages and enables us. The promises contained in the Word, (both Old covenant and New) are meant to sustain us, to affirm us, to tell us that we are on the right path despite all the red herrings the enemy throws on our way. The Holy Spirit is given to us to encourage and equip us. Prayer and the Word of God are the means of accessing the affirming, sustaining grace of Jesus, the promises of God, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

@ Etude-The Blame Game

UV 3266/10000 @ Etude- the Blame Game
And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me- she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Genesis 3 v 12

When God questioned Adam as to who had told them that they were naked and whether they had eaten the forbidden fruit, he instantly resorted to the blame game. It was almost as if he blamed God Himself for having given him the woman to be with him. He passed on the responsibility to the woman when he should have provided the leadership and taken the decision himself after recalling what God had charged him not to do. Eve also passed on the blame to the serpent spirit who she said had beguiled and deceived her into disobeying the Lord. We find this blame game today between nations, heads of government, in families, between partners, colleagues and the management teams in corporates around the world. Ownership of onus once a mistake occurs is rare, if ever it happens.

We need to listen to the Head- Christ Jesus, hear the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit reminding us of the word of God that we had learnt and own responsibility for our choices. The buck stops with us and we cannot pass it on. Whatever God has given us, we need to use it with wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment. We need to respect the moral and legal boundaries of choice and not err by crossing it to our peril. In every organization, profession, relationship, there are things we can do and things we just cannot do. We have to steer clear of the latter and stay well within our area of freedom. If we err and fail to do so, we need to face the consequences. Unfortunately, the consequences often affect others and sometimes for generations, together as did the disobedient and careless act of the first man and woman.

Today, the enemy of the human soul does not appear as a serpent but often could morph into another human or even a passing thought in our own minds. He knows best how to exploit the chinks in our moral and spiritual armour. We need to, therefore, arm ourselves with the Word that keeps his influence from penetrating or affecting our decisions. We need to remove our rational or emotional armour and wear the full spiritual armour of Christ. At the end of the day, we should know that the onus is on us to choose what is good and approved by God and not what is expressly forbidden.


Tuesday, May 28, 2019

@Etude- Jealousy


@Etude –Jealousy

But for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry( indignant), and he looked annoyed and hostile.

Genesis 4 v 5

Abel and Cain are a study in contrast. Sibling rivalry begins with them. While Abel was wholehearted in his devotion to God, Cain offered worship grudgingly. Abel was innocent and unsuspecting while Cain was scheming and malicious. Abel’s offering pleased God while Cain’s did not. God was looking at the heart of the two young sons of Adam and Eve. The spiritual serpent who earlier lay outside man and tempted him from outside had now gained entry into the heart and mind of man. He stoked the fire of envy in the heart of Cain towards his brother Abel. Envy moved Cain to anger and hatred of his own brother. The anger mixed with hatred moved him to plot to eliminate Abel.

After killing Abel, Cain acted as if nothing happened and that he knew nothing of the disappearance of Abel. He was not only not being a keeper of his brother but he was the violator, the aggressor. Jealousy or envy, to this day, is like madness. It takes control of one’s self and leads us into destructive ways and actions. People try to destroy the reputation of those they envy even if they cannot physically eliminate them. God told Cain that if he tried he could resist the suggestion of the enemy within. He could master his sinful self but he had surrendered his will to sin. Likewise, in our lives, the tempter, the enemy is crouching at the door of our hearts all the time, waiting for us to open it and let him in through a thought or emotion. We should be guarded and careful every moment not to pursue a thought, emotion or action that is evil. The Holy Spirit warns, rebukes, guides us away from yielding to such temptation and to overcome everything negative and ungodly.

When another prospers or succeeds, we ought not to be displeased but rather we should rejoice with him or her. We should know that God does not discriminate and in due course, He would bless us, too with what we deserve or what we need if we remain faithful and whole hearted in our devotion to Him. Jealousy is like a cancer and soon spreads to our entire being, affecting all what we see and do. Jesus came to bring peace and goodwill among all men. He teaches us to be contented with whatever the Lord has blessed us with. Like Abel our sole “soul” desire should be to please the Lord.

Monday, May 27, 2019

@ETUDE - Lust

UV 3265/10000 @Etude –Lust

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3 v 6

The origin of human lust or the illegitimate desire for something apparently good but intrinsically evil and harmful can be traced back to this uni-verse. Most of the human decisions are based on the superficial, not the supernatural. We choose what looks good over what is genuinely good. Being “good for food” appealed to the lust of the flesh, being “delightful to look at” appealed to the lust of the eye and being “desired in order to make one wise and insightful appealed to the pride of life. As Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation, they broke trust or faith with God, their Creator.

Jesus, the Son of God, sent to redeem mankind, in contrast judged things not on the basis of what He saw but He discerned things spiritually and not carnally. We, too need the help of the Holy Spirit to judge rightly and take the right decisions, make the right choices. Jesus resisted the temptations of satan and harked back to the wisdom of the Word of God to resist the lust of the flesh when He was asked to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger after forty days of fasting, the lust of the eye when He was shown the glory of all that lay below and asked to worship satan, the pride of life when He was tempted to jump since the angels would keep His feet from dashing against a stone.

Lust left its consequences and scars on the first couple even as it leaves its disastrous impact on individuals, families and society to this day. Desires in itself are not evil but if one tries to satisfy desires that God has declared to be illicit or illegitimate per His word, then it amounts to violations of His law. What draws the attention of our senses is often alluring and delightful but it requires us to exercise the fruit of self control. Self control does not mean control of self by self but control of self by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit directs, leads and controls our spirits, our spirits lead our minds, our minds lead our bodies and all related faculties, we have true self control.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

@Etude- Deceit

UV 3264/10000 @Etude: Deceit

For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened (that is, you will have greater awareness), and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil.
Genesis 3 v 5

The spiritual serpent ( not just a physical one) is deceitful, subtle and knows how to entice the human being. He tempted the first woman by saying, that if she ignored the command of God and ate the forbidden fruit of knowledge, she would have her inner consciousness opened and she would be able to discern between good and evil. He had deceived the first woman and through her, the man into disbelieving the word of God. Subtly, he had convinced man that God is a liar. That then and today, is the original sin, the cause of our moral and spiritual fall. Man, instead of being able to distinguish between good and evil, has to this day not been able to make the distinction. The enemy knows what we desire in our hearts and will use that to deceive us. Belief in false words and half truths is deceit while belief in the word of God is faith.


It is the Word or Jesus who can open our inner consciousness to make out the difference between truth and falsehood, good and evil. He is the One who gives us spiritual wisdom and insight. The world in contrast is full of deception. All kinds of philosophies prevail that cloud the understanding the mind of man and keep him from the truth. These impart its own version of worldly wisdom that leads us away from peace, good will, true riches and the abundant life. These teach us to ignore the spiritual and moral boundaries God has set to protect us, to secure our own well being.

If we need knowledge, wisdom, insight of God in place of the deceit that the enemy practices, we only need to ask the Lord and He will impart it to us generously, specifically and according to the need. We need to pray to the Lord to open our inner eyes to be aware of what could hurt us and what could help, bless, strengthen us. The brass serpent that Moses had raised on a pole is the symbol that with the death of the Messiah on the cross, the power of the spiritual serpent to deceive and harm us has been crushed. God Himself instead of being a liar and deceiver like the spirit serpent paid the price to take us out of the mess of our own making and bless us with the eternal and abundant life.


Friday, May 24, 2019

@ Etude

UV 3263/10000 @Etude

We are pressured in every way (hedged in), but not crushed; perplexed (unsure of finding a way out), but not driven to despair;
2 Corinthians 4 v 8

Scripture states that we need to 'study the heart with diligence for out of it are the issues of life." The source of blessing and troubles lie in the human heart, that invisible intersection of the reason and the emotions, the thoughts and the desires. The word “earth” has in it hidden the word , “heart.” The human heart needs to be circumcised and devoted to God and God alone. The outer layer of sin and sinful desire needs to be stripped away. The process is not painless but it is not destructive. Sinful desire can be self –destructive. Hence, the pressures, troubles, trials, suffering, tests, persecution that the children of God face are part of the process of weaning us away from the world.

The Lord is interested in our attitudes. We need to do an @etude (where @ means attitudes and etude in French means study) or the study of where our heart lies, our desires, our emotions, our priorities. We observe our heart most accurately in the spiritual mirror of the Word of God. As the Psalmist writes, “Deep (of our hearts) will call out to the Deep (of the Word,Lord, Holy Spirit). “ There are times in life when we feel our prayers are not answered, we feel God is silent. He has not granted our heart’s desire. We feel depressed yet hopeful. We feel alone, but not abandoned for Christ is with us. We feel defeated but do not give up. We feel weak but not helpless. At these times, the Lord is doing a deep work in our hearts. We should cooperate with the Spirit of God by doing @etude and allow Him to access every part of our hearts, our intentions, our motives, our hopes, our emotions, our frustrations, our sadness and anger.

The Lord like a skilful cardiac surgeon will tweak the weak parts of our hearts and make it stronger that our faith will outlast the tests, we will endure with patience. The book of Proverbs rightly puts it that the strength of a man is tested in a crisis. We need to believe that Christ is closest with us in a crisis and imparting to us the grace and strength we need but we lack in ourselves. We need to do an @etude and discover, diagnose if our heart attitudes are right with God. If not, we need to take steps to correct it forthwith.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Battling Heavy Odds with God

UV 3262/10000 Battling Heavy Odds with God
You will not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand and witness the salvation of the Lord who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.

2 Chronicles 20 v 17

Often, we are disappointed and apprehensive when we are outnumbered and face heavy odds. We imagine we alone are fighting a losing battle. But the Lord says in this uni-verse that the battle is His. He will do the fighting for us. He will obtain victory and deliverance for us against powerful foes and enemies. It is not a physical battle but a call to spiritual warfare, to be engaged in prayer on our knees and often, prostrate before Him. The time we tend to spend worrying about the uncertainties of our own future or the power of the enemy we should devote to prayer, worship and thanksgiving for the deliverance and the victory the Lord is fashioning for us in the spiritual realms, not yet visible in the physical.

We should not shy away from the battlefield. We need to take our positions in the trenches of spiritual warfare. Like Elisha’s disciples we need to open our eyes of faith and see the numerous chariots of fire deployed by the Lord led by angel commanders. Like Joshua and his troops of worshippers, faithful, disciplined and obedient people, every day of the week, we only need to go around doing our routine duties, while remembering the Lord is at work behind the battle scenes. We only need to shout that the Lord has given the battle victory into our hands. Of course, we need to blow our trumpets, break our earthen pitchers that hide the flame of the Holy Spirit burning in us. Blowing our trumpets implies that our hearts should resonate with the Lord’s own heart. Breaking the earthen pitchers holding the torch is a metaphor for breaking anything that hides the power of love of God in our lives. It implies letting go of our fears, reservations, doubts and allowing the flame of our faith and love for the Lord to burn freely and fully.

Whenever and wherever, there is a coincidence of our faith, hope and love with the Word of God, victory in our battles is birthed. That coincidence does not happen accidentally. We need to be at the place of battle, the position of engagement. While manning our positions of responsibility in the battle, we need not panic, be alarmed at the heavy odds against us or the formidable strength of the enemy lines. He can cause us to win against many or few, against ordinary mortals or spirits or giants like Goliath. We need to keep ready and primed our spiritual weapons – prayer, the Word, the inner and strong faith, a keen and clear vision, feet firmly planted and rooted on the ground. We need to see the victory the Lord is giving to us ahead of its actual occurrence. The Lord being with us, in us and for us is the greatest source of our strength and victory.


Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Trusting, Testing and Resting


UV3261/10000 Trusting, Testing and Resting
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Psalm 143:8

A trusting relationship goes through times of testing as well as resting. The sun rises and sets in the same manner every day but the Lord reveals a new dimension of His love every morning. Unlike the sun, He never sets over us. Even when we are going through our darkest moments, our toughest days, our periods of intense testing, He is beside us. In these testing times, His word of comfort brings joy to our hearts. He strengthens us so that we can endure the test. But He does not always test us for He gives us periods of rest. He reserves the best of blessings for His children and reveals it one by one to them. In these periods of rest, we can bask in His love as people do in bright sunshine on a cool day.

The Word of God is like a drink of cool water to a thirsty man on a hot summer day. We feel refreshed, energized, enabled as we make God’s word our words. The Lord gives us both guidance and encouragement through His word. He will show us how to endure the testing times of trials, temptations and troubles as well as how to thoroughly enjoy the times of rest. He will teach us how to avoid the snares or traps of spiritual serpents and enemies who constantly try to beguile us to accept their word over God’s as he did with the first man. He teaches us how to trump over temptations, trample over serpent spirits, triumph over evil. We do not look to the mountains or the mighty ones on Earth for recreation or sustenance or help for He has re-created our spirit being in Christ. Neither the short- lived pleasure of temptation or the long- lived pain of affliction can either attract or deter us from following Christ.

We do not mortgage our souls to the enemy in return for wealth or fame or power but engage our souls with Christ. We lock ourselves into a covenant, a love relationship based on mutual trust and commitment through thick and thin. His word explains to us the length of His love- eternity, the depth of His love-infinity, the breadth of His love- all encompassing, the power of His love – absolute. There is no scope left for doubt, fear, hesitancy, double mindedness, turning back or away.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Holiness-Happiness Optimisation


UV 3260/10000 Holiness-Happiness Optimisation

In that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk (that is, to live each and every day) in His ways and to keep His commandments and statutes and His judgements( precepts), so that you will live and multiply, and that the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to possess.

Deuteronomy 30 v 16 (Amplified Version)

Man has set a goal consciously or unconsciously to pursue his own happiness. Yes, we can pursue happiness but only within the framework of commands and rules set by the Lord God, the Creator and our Redeemer. We need to optimize our pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of His holiness. This will be our safety net and we will not transgress on the happiness of others. The uni-verse promises that we will live and multiply or in other words, live fully or live the abundant life and multiply our blessings, our resources, our relationships, our accomplishments, our descendants. In order that we “ live and multiply”, or in short, be happy, we need to love the Lord or have a personal equation with Him in Christ. We cannot equate ourselves with the infinite, absolutely holy and absolutely just as well as omnipotent God on our own. But, we plus Christ Jesus can stand on terms of friendship or mutual trust with God. Faith in Christ is then, the multiplying factor of our lives. Jesus removes the curse of hamartia or shortcoming and multiplies our blessings, our strength, our capacity or ability.

Once we have a covenant relationship with the Lord God, we need to commit ourselves to walk in His ways all the days of our lives. When we choose to walk in obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the commandments and precepts of His word, we are choosing life and a life of blessings. We are humbling ourselves before God, saying that we lack knowledge, wisdom and understanding to make the right choices on our own or with our own intellects and reasoning. We need to depend on His word and His guidance at every step of our way.

When we please God with our obedience and faithful discipline, He makes our happiness, His business. As the Psalmist puts it, “He fills our mouths with good things” or in other words, He fills our minds and mouths with positive thoughts and words. He ensures that we lack no good thing in our lives. Like even an earthly father reserves the best for his children from what he can afford, our heavenly Father reserves the best for us and having given us what is dearest to His heart, His beloved Son, will He deny us our happiness? We must however, prioritise the requirements of His holiness over our own happiness. In so doing, we actually optimize our happiness and His holiness.

Monday, May 20, 2019

The Real Treasures

UV3259/10000 The Real Treasures
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13 v 13

If faith is gold in God’s economy, hope is silver and love is platinum. It is these heavenly treasures that Jesus asks us to accumulate which neither thief can take away nor moth or rust destroy. Faith enables us to trust God more and more, to enjoy His blessings, to experience and exercise His power and authority on Earth. Faith enables us to deal with all our fears. With faith in Jesus, we can encash all of God’s promises, one by one, as He is the Yes and Amen to all His promises. With faith we can move mountains or effectively remove barriers and obstacles that stand in our way, cast out demons, root out doubts and our insecurity about what we do not know or do not see. With faith, we can buy for ourselves the clothes of salvation and the ability to see and fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.

Till the promise of God is fulfilled, we need to be filled with hope. Even when the odds are against us, we need to sustain our hope. Hope fills us with both courage and joy. Hope fulfilled is sweet to the soul but even the period of waiting is not painful or burdensome. Like gold and silver needs to be purified seven times over, our faith and hope needs to be tested and refined over and over again. These are the real treasures we can use and enjoy for the treasures like gold, silver and platinum cannot buy for us life, health, happiness, joy, peace, healthy relationships and is often the cause for forfeiting any or all of these. But with faith, hope and love, we can buy back lost health, heal broken relationships, resolve issues, solve real life problems, live forever and enjoy heavenly peace or bliss on Earth.

Love like platinum is the rarest and most valuable. It is not shiny like gold but dull. It stays pure and uncontaminated. Our tasting the agape love of God in Christ leads to such love growing out of our hearts. By meditating on the many dimensions of the love of Christ that we have experienced, our own love increases. Just as neither gold, silver or platinum does not react to oxygen in the air and does not rust, we too should not react to the world and so, our love, hope and faith do not decay or deteriorate. Our thoughts, words and actions should be creative and proactive and not reactive. We should keep increasing our reserves of faith, hope and love even as a weight lifter or body builder strives to increase his muscles and strength. The more we exercise our muscles, the more it grows. The more we exercise faith, hope and love, the more it grows, too.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Attitudes and Attributes of the Winning Athlete

UV 3258/10000 Attitudes and Attributes of the Winning Athlete
Now every athlete who goes into training and competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we do it to receive an imperishable crown that cannot wither.

I Corinthians 9 v 25

The crown that Olympic athletes got in ancient Greece was made of olive leaves. It naturally withered in a few days. Yet the athlete who won it had put in several weeks, months or years of training, hard practice and self discipline to win it. He works indefatigably and does not grudge or complain of all the effort he put in just to win something as transient as a crown of leaves. The crowns or prizes we win in this world fade away but the eternal crown that we win as we follow Jesus never fades away. We need to be willing to put in more effort than the Olympic athlete who does everything needed for a few minutes of glory. St Paul showed that kind of self discipline in his life after he encountered God in Christ on the road to Damascus. He subjected his body to discipline. He trained his appetite. He exercised self control in all things. He said “No” to what he had to say , “No” and “Yes” to what the Holy Spirit would have him say, “Yes.”

St Paul dedicated himself to serving the One whom he formerly mistakenly and zealously persecuted- Jesus. He then diligently studied the scriptures to uncover for himself all that was written about the Messiah and satisfied himself that it had all been fulfilled in Jesus. He devoted himself to discussing these things with the faithful and to prayer with other believers. He was determined to become the apostle to the Gentiles even as Peter was apostle to the Jews. In order to do so effectively, He submitted himself to a daily discipline of prayer, studying the scriptures, controlling his desires and reactions to other people, sharpening his tools and communication skills.

St Paul exhorts every believer to have the dedication of a soldier, the fearlessness, the courage, the willingness to confront hardship and challenges head on, to take risks and be bold and brave for the Lord. We are to also have the discipline of the athlete to place ourselves in training in righteousness by studying and applying the precepts and principles learnt from scripture in all areas of our lives. We are to run to win gold, fight to be victorious over all the powers of this world. Gold for a spiritual athlete means love of God while world means love of Word. Like a boxer, we should be willing to take a few bloody blows to our faces but every time we fall, we should be determined enough to stand again. I often used to wonder why wisdom is not mentioned as one of the nine fruit of the Spirit but the Lord revealed that self control which is mentioned is nothing but spiritual wisdom. The Holy Spirit will enable us to exercise self control in all aspects of our lives- speech, temper, desires, habits, relationships.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

The Super Structure of Our Lives


UV3257/10000 The Super Structure of Our Lives

People may build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw

I Corinthians 3 v 12


The eternal, internal and spiritual foundation of our lives is Christ Jesus. Our Salvation in Jesus is our rock foundation. Nothing can change it, nothing can shake it. But what we build on top of the rock foundation is volitional, optional and individual. Since human beings build during good weather and take breaks in bad weather, we are normally building for good times. The real test of a structure comes in inclement weather when the winds blow and the rains pour down. We should build our lives on Jesus to outdo and outlast bad times, when the chips are down. The principles Jesus teaches us are the strong pillars of our lives. Our application of it are the cross beams. Every choice we make should be in reference to the chief cornerstone – Jesus. The Word is our plumb line to test if our walls are straight or being built out of alignment with the Master’s plan.

We should not build our lives with cheap stuff, materials that we can easily get without much effort –like hay, straw or wood but build with what is incombustible, diamonds that are hard to get and also hard or impossible to break, pure materials like gold and silver that have already been purified, tested and certified. We are to build not only to be resilient but to be beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. The super structure build on the strong foundation of Jesus is one of good words, good deeds and not just good intentions. Our good works will be tested with fire of the Holy Spirit who searches our inner motivations, the attitudes of our hearts.

Gold, silver and precious stones are metaphors for what is good, noble, true, beautiful, praiseworthy, enduring, faithful, overflowing with love. Before we speak a single word or do a single action or reaction we should run it seven times through the furnace of our minds stirred by the Holy Spirit and burning with the Word. It would then emerge as the book of Proverbs puts it, “apples of gold in settings of silver.” We build our lives not to impress or win the approval of people but to please God, our Creator and Redeemer. We build our lives so that it is worthy for God to dwell in it. We build our lives as temples of worship on the templates of the Word. We build not to conform to the patterns of this world but the patterns of the Word. For a building to outlast fire, it needs to be fire proof, heat resistant. Our lives should be destruction-proof, sin-proof, compromise-proof, error-proof.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Life Defined and Refined in Christ


UV 3256/10000 Life Defined and Refined in Christ
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2 v 20


For St Paul who was steeped in the Jewish faith, customs and traditions, to break free from these and place his entire trust in Jesus, it was a giant leap. It was certainly more difficult for him than for Peter and the other apostles. Yet, his understanding of the freedom we have in Christ is what enabled him to do so. The cross that was even then and for a few centuries later an instrument of death became for St Paul the ultimate symbol of life. Everything negative or burdensome including following the requirements of the Jewish religious law was crucified in his mind with Christ. St Paul’s revelation of Christ enabled him to completely identify his life with Christ.

Paul put his religious beliefs to death on the cross. He put his ego to death on the cross. He put his fears of non acceptance by fellow Jews to death on the cross. We too need to identify with Christ completely and set no store by religious traditions or any other practice that we used to think could help us earn grace or favour in the sight of God. Now our appeal for mercy and grace in the sight of God rests only on what Christ did on the cross. Faith in Christ is about giving up all our little articles of faith and immersing ourselves completely in the experience of the agape love of God manifested in the willing ascension of Christ on the cross before His ultimate ascension to heaven. In doing so, He created a path, He became the Way for us to join with God, to be one with the Ultimate, Absolute and Loving Father in heaven.

Our act of believing in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and receiving Him into our hearts as our living Saviour and King amounts to our accepting that we are a new creation of God. The first time our ancestor Adam was created painlessly but now each of us is created out of the pain of Jesus on the cross. The intense pain that He suffered should have been ours for each of us to bear. But He provided the way of escape for all human beings. In response to such great love, we need to live as if we are living primarily or only for Christ, that we are living by grace and not by sight or our senses. We need to live a life above that indicated by our limited physical senses. We need to live a life not to seek the approval of men but the approval of God. It is no longer I, me, myself but Christ in me and I in Christ. Whatever I do, I do in partnership with Christ, whatever I attempt, I do with the grace of Christ. If our lives are defined by Christ, it will also be refined by Him.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Versatility and Vitality of the WORD

UV3257/10000 Versatility and Vitality of the Word

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4 v 12

God is invisible and He made Himself visible only in the person of Jesus. He is the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus is also described as the Word by John not without reason for the Word today is the visible expression of Jesus. The Word is described in the uni-verse as a double-edged sword for it is a weapon that can cause life and death. The power of life and death is contained in the Word. It can cause some to stumble and some to rise. It is a deep penetration tool for it can reach where human instruments or even X rays cannot penetrate. It penetrates to cause changes in the intersecting segments of thoughts, emotions, decisions.

In physical life, our basic necessities like food, medicine, weapons, air, water, mirror, shelter, fortification, manual of wisdom are separate entities but in spiritual life, the Word is weapon, shield, food, air or oxygen, food, medicine, mirror, shelter and fortress. The Word is both eyelets, saddle and reins and stirrup for a rider of the horse of life. As a mirror, it gives us an accurate image of ourselves, warts and all. It also gives us the image of Christ which we aspire to turn into. It gives us insight into the character and ways of the Tri-une God. As medicine, it both diagnoses, treats and heals. It imparts wisdom to us even as it inspires us. It is a navigation map of life. The Word is a catalyst and a fuel that burns in our spirits. It is a catalyst for personal growth and change or transformation.

Since the Word is alive and active, the Lord speaks to us through the Word. It is real and practical in all of life’s situations. It is the way to anchor into the Rock of Ages- Jesus. The Word fills our lives with the oxygen of hope that sustains us. The Word is wholesome or holistic and hence, it impacts and benefits spirit, mind and body. The Word teaches us to optimise holiness with happiness. It is the water of eternal life that quenches our thirst for the eternal truths. The word is comprehensive as it covers our need to justify our past or make right our past deeds and misdeeds, to strengthen us for the present moment and to prepare us for the future and beyond into eternity. The Word is a guide to our relationships. The Word contains history, law, morality, philosophy, poetry, prophecy and is hence, versatile and absorbing. The Word is the salt that causes the leech of sin in all its forms to let go of us. The Word counsels and instructs us on the paths we should take. The Word is a plumb line to show us if we are building the walls of our lives erect or crooked. The Word is the light of our lives and brings us out of the darkness and ignorance of this world. The Word moulds and shapes the attitudes of our hearts. It is the insurance that our lives need. The Word is also a hammer and sharp edged instrument that breaks spiritual strongholds. It is also a fire that can both destroy what needs to be destroyed and create what needs to be created. The Word is the crystallised form of God’s power waiting to be released into the world.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Stellar Leaders in Pole Positions


UV3256/10000 Stellar Leaders in Pole Positions

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Deuteronomy 28 v 13

The Lord created man for “dominos” or headship, leadership but we need to first accept Him as our immediate and ultimate Leader. When we do so, He makes us His Tabernacle of Peace- or T.O.P. God revealed or manifested Himself as the leader of humanity in the coming in flesh and blood of His Son, Jesus. Jesus is the password to life, leadership, management, the Passover from death to life, from darkness to light, from folly to wisdom, from ignorance to knowledge, from curses to blessings, the passport to heaven, the kingdom of God or the rule of God on Earth. As the password, He unlocks the secrets of life and leadership. As the Passover, He has paid the price, the cost of purchasing eternal life for us. As the passport, He gives us instantaneous access to the presence of the Lord. Jesus is the way for leaders to excel.

When we give priority to the word of God on a daily basis, when we carefully study and observe or obey the commands, believe and claim the promises of the Lord, we are equipped to be leaders. The Bible is certainly the best leadership training material and the best leaders in world history like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa have been deeply influenced by it. They learnt how to avoid the pitfalls of leaders by avoiding the failures and mistakes of biblical leaders and likewise, to emulate the good example of Jesus and other leaders. They did not swerve to the right or the left but stayed on course like arrows till they hit the target or the objectives set for them or set by them. Power, even absolute power would not corrupt such leaders for their hearts are always tuned to be right with God- to be meek even if powerful.

The uni-verse tells us that we are destined for leadership and not just ordinary leadership but for the top positions or the pole positions. It also tells us the Lord plays an active and continuous role to move us into the top positions. Before He does that He prepares, trains, enables, equips us to be faithful leaders as He did with Moses, Joseph, Gideon, Deborah and many other biblical leaders including the apostles of Jesus. We are not meant to be tail enders or the insignificant leaders who hold up the tail but the frontline leaders. We are not losers but winners and overcomers. We do not run away from responsibilities or challenges. We tread difficult paths in order to encounter the impossible at the end. Circumstances might change at the toss of a coin but our commitment will not flag. Heads, we win. Tails, also we win. But what we desire most is to win souls for the Lord.

Monday, May 13, 2019

Rock and Roll

UV3255/10000 Rock and Roll

Then He said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17 v 19

In this uni-verse spoken by Jesus Himself, we see the intimate connection between faith and healing, faith and wellness. Jesus had healed the ten lepers who cried out to Him but only one came back to Him to thank Him. Faith is about thanking the Lord for all the grace and blessings we have received. Being grateful to the Lord ushers in wellness into our lives. The Samaritan leper came back to Jesus, praised God with a loud voice while the other nine who were presumably Jews just took their healing and did not thank Jesus or praise God. He came back and fell at the feet of Jesus. I too spend a few moments every single day lying at the feet of Jesus, thanking Him for wellness, healing, deliverance, blessings and His grace and mercy. When we do this every day, we are ready to rise and go into the world and be a faithful witness for Jesus.

This morning I had the privilege to pray for the healing and grace to bear for an old friend whose husband has lost all his faculties except his hearing due to an auto-immune disease. I could not answer her question why such a fine human like her husband who is generous and large hearted should be afflicted with such a deadly disease. But I told her I could pray for his healing and for grace for her to bear such enormous hardship. I read to her the portion from the gospel of Matthew of how Jesus healed a paralytic after forgiving his sins. When Jesus was challenged by the priest as to how He could forgive sins as only God can forgive sins, He proved He is God who heals by commanding the man to rise, take up his mat and to walk. When we are challenged by an impossible situation, Jesus takes us to the next level of faith. The Word of God, the authority of Jesus meets our faith halfway to cause the miracle of healing in cases where modern medicine cannot heal.

Faith is more powerful or effective than medicine. When the physician gives up, the Lord takes it up. Combined with the Word, faith can help us deal with any situation and heal any disease. Jesus asked the ten lepers to show themselves to the priests as it was required in Jewish law to prove that we can subject ourselves to the normal course of treatment even as we seek the healing touch of the Lord. Since we do not know the cause of many happenings in our lives, nor the future course of events, faith fills the gaps in our knowledge, gaps in our control of situations. Jesus has proved Himself to many right through history that He is a reliable Person in whom we can repose our total faith and trust. He is the Rock who gives us the strength to roll through all life’s situations.

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Protection from Error and Terror

UV 3254/10000 Protection from Error and Terror
In righteousness you will be established. Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

Isaiah 54 v 14

Since we humans are not having a righteousness of our own but only an appearance of it, we are established in the righteousness of Jesus. Our integrity in Christ is to be beyond reproach, beyond question and unshakable. As we believe in the absolute righteousness of Jesus, we too will receive grace or enablement to walk or live in accordance with His teachings, precepts and example. It is on account of the righteousness of Christ working in us that we become the salt of the earth, the light of this world. Like salt, we remain humble, crystalline or clear in our character, beliefs and principles. Like salt or NaCL is the combination of two deadly or poisonous elements, the Lord will neutralize the poisons in our lives and make us salt that is fit for consumption and wholesome living, not the kind of salt that is dirty and torn in the rubbish dump. Like good salt, we endeavor to make the lives of others tasty or hopeful and worthwhile.

The Lord has freed us from the yoke of oppression of the enemy, of the tyrant of our souls. He sets us free from all fears. Nothing can touch us or harm us. The Lord will keep all terror of day or night far from us.  In short, the Lord protects us from error as well as terror, error being harm that begins from within us while terror is harm that comes from outside us. He is an internal as well as eternal and external shield. We should only cling to Him like a leech instead of allowing sin to stick to us like a leech. The Word of God acts as the salt to remove the grip of the sin-leech on our lives.
              

When we are set free from the grasp of sin, lust, pride, deceit and fears, we are God-ready or ready to live the abundant, eternal, fulfilled lives in Christ. Like Elisha, we have the double anointing, an external anointing to lead, equip, empower, enable us from outside us and an internal anointing to strengthen and guide us from within. We will not longer fear for our lives, be exhausted and demoralized like Elijah. When we live so close to God that He is closer than our own skin, both error and terror are repelled or repulsed. We are primed, poised and prepared to taste victory and command deliverance.

The Yeast of Influence

UV 3253/10000 The Yeast of Influence
He told them still another parable: the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.
Matthew 13 v 33

God wants His children to be Very Influential Persons and not Very Important ones. The purpose of life apart from being saved by faith in His Son Jesus is to be positive influencers par excellence in this world. The uni-verse that contains one of the shortest of parables implies that we should veritably be the yeast of influence in this hardened world to soften hearts and minds. The Son rises in the yeast. He is the One who causes us to be uplifters of the souls of mankind.

While we are to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees or of religion and hypocrisy, we are to welcome the yeast of the Word of God. Faith in God softens the hardened heart when we first experience the agape love of God expressed through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are to be the yeast that causes hope to rise in the hearts of people around us. Faith influences and impacts all aspects of our lives. No part of our lives can be excluded from the influence of Christ.

The yeast of faith in Christ has to be mixed proportionately in all spheres and aspects of our lives so that we lift up or glorify God in 360 degrees. We should not carry any part of our unused potential or gifts to the grave. If we do so, we are like the unfaithful servant who buried the one talent that he was given. Instead of complaining that we do not have more talent or skills or abilities, we need to be faithful in using whatever the Lord has placed in us or with us. One talent with dedication and the grace of God can do the work of ten without the multiplying factor of faith, the grace of God manifested in Christ, the anointing and enablement of the Holy Spirit.




Thursday, May 9, 2019

Our Hotline Connection


UV3252/10000 Our Hotline Connection

This is the one who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “ The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, “Prepare the road for the Lord, Make His highways straight.”

John 3 v 3

This uni-verse a throw back to Isaiah 40 v 3 proclaims the fulfilment of prophecy that a messenger would be sent ahead of the Lord, the Messiah. Just as a person in authority or a king has a messenger or herald going before him to prepare the way, to warn bystanders in the way, John The Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus. John had two messages in one that is relevant to this day- prepare our hearts for Jesus and then live a life worthy of the Lord. We prepare our hearts by repentance or godly sorrow at what we have done and not done, our sins of omission and commission. We then resolve not to repeat these, to make amends and to walk on the straight paths of the Lord.

God’s ways being much higher, infinitely higher than our knowledge, understanding or perception, He sent Jesus as the Way, the Highway that led all mankind direct to Him without any detours. Jesus is now our hotline connection with God. We are to hear His words and walk according to it. This is the reason John the apostle calls Him the Word. Any and every issue we can now go direct to the Lord. He is the Yes and Amen to all God’s promises. Hitherto we lived according to our own lights, according to what we understood of the world and of ourselves and others, but hereafter, we live in accordance with the "High Way" of the Lord, the precepts, priorities and values of the kingdom of God, the principles and priorities of heaven. To live on Earth with the values of Heaven is the most adventurous, challenging, risky as well as most blessed and rewarding life anyone can ever live.

. What this uni-verse entails is that we need to directly relate to the Almighty through only one Mediator who mediated our salvation, comprehensively or in all its aspects. We are to commit ourselves to a life of continual change for the better in accordance with the Word. The change of heart or attitudes need to be reflected in changes in our thought, words, actions, reactions or behavior pattern. When concrete hardens, it takes all types of misshapen forms. Likewise without a wise Mentor like Jesus, our lives and our heart attitudes harden in misshapen forms. Now that we have Jesus in our hearts, we need to allow the work of the Spirit of God to break these misshapen forms and mould us to the imagus Deus- or the image of Christ.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

You-You Faith


UV 3251/10000 You-You Faith
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both adversity(misfortune) and good (prosperity, happiness) proceed?

Lamentations 3 v 38

We can co-relate this uni-verse with the verse quoted by Jesus Himself in response to the temptation of satan to convert stones into bread , “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. “ The words of God according to this uni-verse sets in motion both adversity and prosperity. When we hold the word of God in our hearts and speak it from our mouths, we are releasing strength in ourselves and others to bear adversity or to develop endurance and to enjoy prosperity without losing focus. The Word is alive and active to our life situations. It is practical and dynamic to adapt to both adversity and prosperity. The word is the leitmotif or the continuous thread that connects the disjointed parts of our lives, the good and the bad times. Both pleasure and pain become meaningful for we are amenable to learn during both these seasons. Like a chequer board, when we are on the white square or times of prosperity we prepare for the black square or times of adversity and vice versa. Like Joseph, in times of abundance, prepare for famine. We are not time servers but God’s servants. We place our relationship with God far above our mundane circumstances and do not allow our faith to swing like a pendulum. Instead, we find our anchor or the source of our strength, equilibrium, stability and peace in Jesus. Our faith is not an “yo-yo” faith but a “YOU-YOU faith” that expresses dependency on God at all times. Further, our faith anchor is tied or chained in an unbreakable way to the Word of God. Every verse we learn, claim, believe, apply, obey, meditate on is a link in this chain. No wave of prosperity or undercurrent of adversity can displace, misplace or replace either the chain or the anchor.

The Word exhorts us to rejoice in all circumstances whether adverse or prosperous. We need to rejoice in prosperity and offer unto the Lord continually praise, thanksgiving and worship. We are filled with godly joy or the peace of heaven or bliss. When we undergo fiery trials, difficult days and circumstances, we are asked to rejoice again. During such times, our minds and bodies may be in agony or great pain or discomfort but our souls or spirits are even more intimate or close to the Lord. Our souls are greatly strengthened and we are sanctified through such suffering like gold or silver in a furnace. Our faith is tested at such times. If we are truly faithful, we are able to sing, “All is well with my soul.”

God is not only the King of good times but He remains on the throne in our bad times or times of adversity. His words are equally applicable and relevant in both good and bad times. The Lord does not wantonly or willingly bring sorrow to our lives nor will He allow it beyond our strength to endure nor does He subject us to suffering endlessly. His redemptive grace or power is available to us at all times. Adversity is also needed to prove the faithfulness of God. Unlike people, He does not leave us or forsake us in times of adversity. He sticks to us thicker than glue, closer than our own skin. His words become deeply meaningful and effective in healing the wounds of our hearts, the deep scars that human eye cannot see.

Monday, May 6, 2019

The Software that Makes our Hardware Work Well


UV 3250/10000 The Software that Makes Our Hardware Work Well
For Ezra had set his heart(resolved) to study and interpret the Law of the Lord, and to practice it and teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Ezra 7 v 10

Ezra was a scribe who specialized in studying the first five books of the Bible. While Nehemiah handled the hardware of building the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra was given the responsibility of training people in the software. Scripture gives the software of life- how to live with purpose and power, connected or related to the Creator. Our bodies and brains are the hardware. Ezra realized the vital importance of scripture and resolved to study and interpret it. He practiced it and taught the precepts, principles, rules to the people of Israel. When Ezra read the scripture, the people listened with reverence and were moved to tears of repentance. Repentance is godly sorrow that leads to personal change. But after the reading, there was festive celebration or godly joy. The Lord blessed Ezra with favour in the sight of the king Artaxerxes and gave him all that he needed. Scripture needs to be studied every day, interpreted every day, taught or listened to once a week and practiced every day. Like any other habit, we need to initially consciously practice the precepts of scripture before they become automatic, second nature to us.

It is nearly ten years since I resolved in my heart to study the scriptures daily, interpret it, observe or practice it and derive from it the underlying principles, concepts, precepts of life, leadership and management. During this time, the Lord has granted me all that I needed and kept me from all manner of illness or strife. Many of the readers of uni-verse have testified and given feedback that my interpretation and application of scriptures gave them comfort, strength, encouragement and blessing. The Lord has also testified that , “My sheep are being fed from shore to shore, nation to nation.” In addition to the meditation on one verse or uni-verse, the Lord has enabled me to extract nearly 3500 precepts of leadership, management and life after study of the scripture which inspires and gladdens the hearts and minds of many.

There are two ways to live life- according to a random script or according to specific scripture that guides our decisions, emotions, relationships, communication, behaviour patterns. One cannot be a reader of the Bible without being a practitioner. One cannot be a practitioner of biblical values and teachings without being a leader. A Bible reader is by definition a leader. He leads people into the knowledge and love of God. This is the equivalent of leading people into the promised land or the land of promises, the land of the living hope in Christ. The book of Daniel in the last chapter states that" Those who are spiritually wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever." Scripture contains ten commands but ten thousand promises to fill our lives with hope even in the most hopeless and desperate situations. Scripture is not meant only for reading but for study, meditation and practice. The more we read, the more inclined we are to study it, the more we study it, the more we meditate on it day and night, the more we meditate, the more we memorise it, the more we memorise it, the more we practice it, the more we practice it, the more blessed and blessing we become to this world we live in. We need to incorporate or make it part of our lifestyle and incarnate it or make ourselves examples of people who live out the scripture. Ezra found favour with God, king and people of Israel. We too when we incorporate and incarnate scripture will certainly find favour with the King of Kings, authorities and people of all walks. We are to delight in scripture more than fine gold or the most delicious of wild honey. The reason is that though gold is valuable, it cannot teach us the values of life, though honey is delicious and nutritious, we are satiated if we take too much honey. The more we study Scripture, the more hungry we become for more. We are not satiated but our appetite grows.

Sunday, May 5, 2019

DNA

UV3249/10000 DNA


And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6 v 13

The Lord does not tempt anyone. But if we are overly blessed in one particular aspect, for instance – extraordinary intelligence or physical attributes, strength or wealth, we may be inclined to rely less on the Lord and more on ourselves, causing us to be proud, independent, stubborn. Even as Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He was preparing to deliver us from evil and its consequences. In fact, by His death and resurrection, He has delivered us from all evil. His power has released us from the power of sin though the presence of sin continues around us. The power to overcome temptations comes from the Lord, the Holy Spirit who constantly reminds us of our covenant and of the Word of the Lord.

IF we know Jesus as Lord, Saviour and King, He has set us free for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The term “The way” is not defined precisely so that His grace is available to us for all life’s situations. He is the way to salvation, success, joy, fulfilment, righteousness, freedom, healing, deliverance, wisdom, power, justice. He is the One who is, who was and is to be, implying that He is sovereign and enjoys absolute power in all domains and realms of human activity. We invite the rule of God in all aspects of our lives. We cannot have Him in one area of our lives and shut Him out of others as it is impossible to prevent the sunlight to spread everywhere to dispel darkness.


The shadow of evil in our lives that blights all that we think, speak and do is replaced by the shadow of the Almighty. The God-man gap is bridged by Jesus. Now that we share godly attributes as we, too, are children of God, we begin to share the power of God. The more we exercise the power of God, the more we accomplish for the kingdom of God and advance the glory of God. We become instruments to deliver the world of evil. We continually combat evil at two levels- evil within us and evil around us. Evil as the word indicates is a byproduct of the devil while good is the byproduct of God. When we consistently aim to do good and do good, we acknowledge the God or Christ nature in us and deny the evil nature. Our faith in Jesus alters our DNA where DNA which mean devil nature altered to divine nature.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Focus on the Locus

UV 3248/10000 Focus on the Locus with Passion

(looking away from all that will distract us and ) focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfector of faith(the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith into maturity), who for the joy (of accomplishing the goal) set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God(revealing His deity, His authority and the completin of His work).

Hebrews 12 v 2

Jesus demonstrated laser-like focus and blazer-like passion, the two things anyone needs to fulfill his mission or purpose in life. The gospel writers recorded that He set His face like flint towards the cross. His love for mankind caused Him to volunteer to pay the price for all sin of all mankind as the perfect sacrifice that makes all imperfection perfect in the uncompromising sight of God. God, the Father’s nature is not to compel anyone against his or her will. He would not have compelled Jesus against His will. Once Jesus accepted the challenge to travel from His Heavenly home to the dust and grime of the Earth, He did not allow satan or his machinations to divert or distract Him on His mission. He was filled with the consuming fire or passion of God. He manifested, celebrated or reflected that spirit of the best of mankind- single minded dedication combined with whole hearted devotion to God. We too need to be filled with such passion that burns up anything that can side track us, anything that disturbs our zeal for God.

Jesus disregarded the shame of the cross, He decided to bear its pain. He focused on the crown of glory He would receive from the Father, the Authority in heaven and on Earth. The spectre of pain, shame, loneliness wherein He would be cut off from the fellowship of the Father and the Holy Spirit for the first time in all of eternity ( God would be forsaken by God), the betrayal and desertion of His friends, the agony of His earthly mother Mary, the mockery of the Roman soldiers and the contempt of the Jewish religious leaders, the despising even by the condemned prisoner dying along with Him on the cross, the smug smile on satan’s face did not keep Him from the scepter of righteousness. Absolute righteousness and power had been stripped off Him to make Him not just a token payment but an absolute payment for sin, failure, shame, misery, ignorance, weakness, curses, sorrow. His mission accomplished, no longer would these have an absolute grip on humanity, individually and collectively. Jesus is both the purpose, the power, the center of our universe, the very locus of the circle of our existence. The vacuum in our hearts is filled, the gap in our words and deeds is filled, our lives are fulfilled in Jesus.

Now we are required only to focus on the locus, the starting point of a new history, a new story, a new life. Are we to focus on Jesus on the way to the cross, the dying Jesus, the dead Jesus on the cross or the resurrected Jesus who has come into His glory? The locus of our lives now is the resurrected Jesus who has come into His glory, who has full authority on the right hand of the Father in heaven, who intercedes or pleads on our behalf even now as satan brings accusations against us. Jesus has cancelled the handwriting of judgement against us. He has declared us, “ Not guilty as charged. Innocent for all eternity.” Having been so freed at such a heavy price to the deity of Jesus, the image and authority of Jesus, we are to free ourselves from the burdens of this world that hamper us and either slows us down or hinders our growth and progress as well as the enticements and temptations, the lure of this world, the sinful pleasures and conceits of this earthly life. We are to consign these to the flames of the consuming fire that burns in us, the Holy Spirit sent to us by Jesus as a sign and by His signature or authority to seal us and fill us with zeal. The Lord runs beside us as our Coach, our Encourager, Our Enabler to remove hindrances that are placed in our way by the enemy of our souls.

Joy, Hope, Patience and Prayer


UV 3247/10000 Joy, Hope, Patience and Prayer
Constantly rejoicing in hope (because of our confidence in Christ), steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer (continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength),


Romans 12 v 12

This uni-verse is a practical as well as spiritual credo for anyone to practice. The word “ rejoice” has the sense of a person bouncing in joy, bouncing back from sadness, failure, rejection, losses. It is not enough to be joyful sometimes but to keep rejoicing not due to our circumstances being perfect or joyful but despite circumstances and situations of life. Our faith, confidence, and trust in Jesus, His love, His commitment to us, His covenant promises to us, His awesome power- all enable us to rejoice in the Lord. Such joy in the Lord enables us to be patient in our troubles, knowing that it will one day end and we will be overcomers or victors in the battles and struggles of life.

We are either bouncing up or bouncing down. Whether up or down, we are steadfast and fervent in prayer asking for guidance, wisdom and strength. When we are bouncing up, we ask the Lord for wisdom to be humble, gracious and helpful. When we are bouncing down, we ask the Lord for guidance how to come out of the adverse situation. When we are bouncing up, we ask for strength to sustain us at that level. When we are bouncing down, we ask for strength to bear it if we remain down or we ask for strength to rise, to overcome, to come on top of our circumstances. Hope, joy, patience are important ingredients in our walk of faith.

The Holy Spirit is our active partner in refueling our hope, augmenting our faith, renewing or refilling our joy, reinforcing our strength. He is a faith multiplier. Through faith in the word that He keeps reminding us of, our hope is increased, our joy is topped up, our strength is renewed and our patience is extended. The exhortation in the uni-verse to be patient in affliction shows us that life in Christ is going to be often a rough ride but we should develop the resilience, remain buoyant in hope. We should avoid extremes of taking God for granted when things are normal or going just fine, blaming Him and complaining when things are not going well and ignoring Him when everything is just perfect. When we are down, we should realize that it will end sometime sooner or later, that the Lord has allowed it to test our faith and increase our endurance and patience. Praying at all times for wisdom, guidance and strength will supply all that is deficient in our live. Jesus is the best model for us to emulate. He was hopeful as He focused on the crown of glory the Father reserved for Him once He patiently endured the suffering that He had to undergo on the cross. He rejoices as He contemplates the victory that He has fought and won for all believers in all ages. He prayed at all times in all types of situations. St Paul imitating Jesus also considered the people He was ministering to as the “Fount of His joy”. We too should set up in faith several fountains of joy in our hearts, minds and lives, the very thought of which will fill us with hope and joy as well as produce the patience to endure afflictions or trials.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Leadershift


UV 3246/10000 Leadershift
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ (that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Saviour), he is a new creature(reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit); the old things (the previous moral and spiritual condition) have passed away. Behold, new things have come (because spiritual awakening brings a new life).
2 Corinthians 5 v 17


A small shift in belief results in a big shift in perspective and a massive shift in emotions, energy, goals, priorities, relationships, achievements and contributions. This is what is called leadershift- our allegiance and alignment shifts from earthly blind or partly blind leaders to the full vision Jesus. When one first believes in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, the shift in belief causes tremendous changes in perspective- it changes from the purely temporal to the eternal perspective, that one is living not just for earthly gains but for an eternal kingdom. It also presages and ushers in changes for the better in habits, in attitudes, in self discipline, in emotions. Our stony hearts that are spiritually dead and inert are replaced by hearts of flesh that respond to the things that are not tangible and yet real. The Holy Spirit shapes and sculpt our character like a patient sculptor as He chips away at our hubris and lusts. The Word or Christ renews our minds- intellect, emotions and will. Spiritual wisdom and not worldly knowledge begins to inform our decisions and choices.

Simultaneously, as the new man is being formed in us, the old man is passing away. A kind of spiritual resurrection is taking place deep inside us. We begin to hear the voice of God where earlier we were listening only to our own voices or the voices of others around us. We develop the sensitivity to hear even the whispers of the Holy Spirit and to feel His gentle nudges. Our hearts begin to sync with the heart beat of our Creator and Redeemer. Our eyes begin to see beyond the physical, beyond the visible, beyond the three dimensions of current reality. Our goals and priorities change. Our energy, our ability to persist beyond a certain level of difficulty takes an upward shift. Our belief in the possibility of the miraculous and the supernatural intertwining with our natural efforts gives us a fillip in whatever we are attempting.

We no longer live for ourselves and ourselves alone. We develop a compassionate heart like Christ’s. We look to the well being of others and are willing to go the extra mile for others. People no longer exist to be used by us but have a value of their own like us. We no longer judge others by their outward appearance or by the specks in their eyes. We become self critical and are ready to accept correction without taking offence. We believe that nothing happens by chance but by the invisible but guiding hand of the Lord. We accept that He teaches us as much by adversity as He gives us joy and happiness in times of prosperity.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Signs, Science and True Wisdom


UV 3245/10000 Signs, Science and True Wisdom
Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters(false prophets), Making fools out of fortune tellers, Counteracting the wise and making their knowledge ridiculous.

Isaiah 44 v 25

Once I read in the newspapers that an astrologer predicted world- wide disasters due to the lie of stars. I wanted to expose the lie and so I prayed to the Lord to cancel the disasters predicted, to frustrate the signs, to confound the false prophets and fortune tellers. Often our own natural intelligence is a block to understanding God and to gain higher and deeper and true wisdom. What we need to know is that the knowledge and wisdom of God is complete and total, the knowledge and wisdom of the enemy consists of lies and deception and what we know and understand is only partial and very limited. Even the best of technology or science is not able to fill our hearts with peace or joy. It does not help us to find the purpose of life nor to fulfil it Our false and superficial knowledge shuts out the grace of God. The powerful and learned have their own set of signs and superstitions. The Lord frustrates the design of the enemy of our souls. From the womb to the tomb and beyond, He is engaged actively in the business of saving us. The initiation of our understanding the wisdom and character of God is through faith but its consummation is through experience.

The Lord also counters or nullifies the shrewd stratagems of the wise and the cunning. He unmasks their hidden intentions. He confirms the word of His servants and executes the plan of His messengers. He does not let any of their words to fall to the ground in vain. When we disagree with the word of God we are trying to make Him out to be a liar as satan did with the first man and woman. We too miss our bliss when we disbelieve the word of God and conversely, when we affirm our faith in His word, He vindicates us, He provides evidence for our faith. Human knowledge is based on the precept- seeing is believing while the Lord operates on the precept that believing is true seeing.

The Word we believe in – we should hold it firmly in our hands as a man would wield a sword. No one should be able to wrest it from us for our rest from evil depends on our stance of faith. Reason and knowledge do not take a back seat but sits along with faith as a good navigator sits beside a driver, reading and scanning the maps, pointing out the direction, the speed to drive at according to the nature of the terrain, the likely obstacles or natural hurdles that are coming up before they do.

When Luck Ran Out but Blessing Remains

UV3324/10000 When Luck Ran Out but Blessing Remains

And there was a young man named Eutychus(“lucky”) sitting on the window sill. He was sinking into a deep sleep, and as Paul kept on talking longer and longer, he was completely overcome by sleep and fell down from the third story; and he was picked up dead.

Acts 20 v 9

The young man was probably named like most of us in the hope that he would live up to his name of being lucky. But luck has no role in the life of a believer of Christ. Luck and Lucifer have three common starting letters. Nothing happens by chance. The young man should not have been sitting where he was not meant to be sitting – the window sill. He should have moved away as Paul was talking longer and longer and sensed his own attention was wandering. Indeed, we humans have a very short attention span when it comes to listening to the voice of God or the Word. The lesson to be learnt from the short episode of Eutychus is that we need to be careful, diligent, proactive in everything we do.

Eutychus ran out of luck and fell three storys to his death. But the Lord gave St Paul the faith that he could raise him back to life. Paul’s embrace gave the young man the equivalent of a spiritual CPR and he was revived. The natural often accompanies the supernatural but the supernatural has power to supercede the natural as the resurrection power of Jesus working through Paul awakened the young man as if from a deep sleep.

Luck is uncertain, faith is certain of the things we hope for in Christ. Luck deserts us when we need it the most while faith is our strength in times of distress and sorrow. We rely on the grace of Jesus to be blessed, not to be lucky. The young man’s spirit was willing but his flesh was weak and caused him to fall asleep. The disciples also were chided for falling asleep by the Master in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were admonished , “Watch and pray.” Praying or listening to the word requires us to be watchful, alert, vigilant, proactive, strong in the spirit. We need to focus on the locus- Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to augment our strength to overcome our natural instincts to slack off, to relax, to dose off, to be distracted.