Bondage Breaker, Freedom Giver

UV 3561/10000 Bondage Breaker, Freedom Giver I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright (with heads held high as free men). Leviticus 26 v 13 The Lord confirms His covenant of love with us in many ways. He gives us rain in its due season and causes our crops to multiply. It is a metaphor for His blessing hand upon our work so that it will get the necessary support and inputs and so turn out to be productive. Our needs would be met and we will live in security. He grants us peace so that no one can threaten or make us afraid. He will eliminate threats and dangers to our lives. He will empower and equip us so that we can put our enemies-physical and spiritual to flight. He will look towards us with favour and regard. He will dwell in us and among us. This should make us realize that we are actually living and moving in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God exists in us, too. As kings, we decree, rule, war on His behalf. As priests, we pray, praise, worship, commune, teach on His behalf. We are no longer slaves of sin and death. The Lord has broken the invisible cords or chains that held us back as prisoners and slaves. These chains or bands of yoke had made us walk in shame and fear in the past. Now, we are able to walk upright in the ways, word and will of God. This is true freedom. Our spirits, minds and bodies are set free from any limiting belief and restricting habit. We can walk with our heads held high. We can walk with confidence, hope and joy. We have been called out of Egypt, the symbol of our bondage and disgrace into freedom and grace. The Lord promises in His word that He is with us as the Great I am, implying that He will manifest Himself in our lives as wisdom when we need wisdom, power when we need power, love when we need love, strength when we need strength, comfort when we need comfort, peace and security at all times. He promises not to reject us, not to separate His soul from us.

The Rescuer, The Comforter, The Counsellor

UV 3560/10000 The Rescuer, The Comforter, The Counsellor or RCC For you have rescued my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling and falling. Psalm 116 v 8 The uni-verse reflects the faith fact that God is primarily our Rescuer. A rescuer is one to whom we owe our lives. The Lord God rescues us from death in more than one way. The Lord rescues us from encounters with death during our earthly sojourn as well as grants us eternal life in Christ after our physical deaths. Not many experience the first but all can experience the second type of death by faith. I am among the few on the planet who was rescued by the Lord from physical death, not once but twice. Once one is rescued from death or near death situations, we cannot forget the Lord and His saving grace for even a moment. The Lord not only rescues us from mortal dangers but He rescues us from sorrows, troubles, trials. It might be a sickness from which He healed us or a business crisis from which He miraculously rescued us. Nothing is too difficult for Him to do. He saved the helpless Jewish unarmed slaves of mighty Egypt through a series of events. Many in this current pandemic have lost their jobs, their only source of earning. In such situations, we should hold onto our faith and cling onto the Lord and His promises. He who provided for the prophet Elijah in the wilderness food through a raven is able to provide for those who look to Him for help. Finally, in this brief uni-verse, the Lord promises to keep our feet from stumbling and falling. He keeps us from making grave mistakes and errors of judgment that could send our career or our reputation hurtling down. Whatever be the situation, we can take shelter under this promise and surrender the issues we are facing into the Lord’s capable hands to handle. The Father rescues us from eternal death. The Holy Spirit comforts and keeps us from tears and the Son Jesus gives us wise counsel to avoid stumbling and falling for He has walked in our ways and knows it intimately. Even should we stumble and fall, Jesus enables us to stand erect and walk again in His way. The Triune God goes ahead of us to clear the way, to remove dangers, to neutralize the risks, smoothen our paths, remove the obstacles. He also accompanies us every step of the way. We are never alone even if we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Many are experiencing this grace around the world as affected by Covid, they are away even from their loved ones and recovering in isolation.

The Role of Godly Leaders and Prophets

UV 3559/10000 The Role Of Godly Leaders and Prophets Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel ( heir to the throne of Judah) and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God ( Haggai and Zechariah) were with them, supporting and encouraging them. Ezra 5 v 2 Zerubbabel, before whom the mountains were made plain, was a descendant of King David. The mountains, implying huge challenges, were not flattened by natural or physical strength but by spiritual authority, power and prayer. Kings, today are a metaphor for leaders in different spheres of life. We might face several huge challenges in building the kingdom of God but we will be able to overcome by the grace of God. Leaders should never forfeit the grace of God by thoughtless lifestyle, by arrogance, by relying on their own wisdom and intellect, strength or connections. Our worldly adversaries will raise obstacles in our paths but the Lord will help us remove them, one by one. Leaders do not plough a lonely furrow. The Lord will send prophets to encourage and support leaders even as He sent Haggai and Zechariah to encourage Zerubbabel. Unlike Zerubbabel, we are not attempting to build a physical temple but even as Jesus referred to His own body as God’s temple, we are to build the temple inside of us. The Word and our actions in alignment with the word are the bricks and mortar we use to build this spiritual temple. There may be many irritants, obstacles, problems, barriers,setbacks but the Lord will enable us to face and remove these one by one. Whatever we build to honour God, we must have Jesus as its cornerstone who is connected to all we are, say and do. The entire edifice of our lives rests on Him. He is the foundation on which we build our lives as a testament of God. When we have this perspective, nothing we do or say is in vain. God plus us is infinite. God minus us is also infinite, implying that with God all things are possible for us, nothing is impossible. Without Him nothing is possible for us.

Living By Every Word

UV 3558/10000 Living By Every Word But Jesus replied, “ It is written and forever remains written,”Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4 v 4 A “four by four” is a term applied to a vehicle that can move on all types of terrain. It is a vehicle that is sturdy, stable and able. It will not turn turtle easily even on slippery slopes or soil. Our four by four is Matthew 4 verse 4. It will enable us to traverse all types of terrain in the course of our lives. Bread is a metaphor for all our physical needs. It is also a colloquial term for money. Though these are needed, our sustenance depends on what is written in the Word of God, the words spoken by God through faithful men through the generations of Adam and Eve. The emphasis is on “every word.” We need to consume the Word, word by word, meditating on one word at a time to discover its inner spiritual nutrients, nuances, meanings and secrets. The same word may mean different things to different people in different situations of life. That is the reason the word is said to be alive, dynamic, sharp, penetrative, double-edged. A single day does not pass without the need to consume food. Likewise, every day and parts of every day should see us eating the word like necessary food. We should not eat it as if it is an imposition, a chore, a burden but we need to enjoy or delight in consuming the word of God. It is authentic, significant and authoritative as it proceeds from the mouth, implying the mind of God. When we consume the Word, the fire of God, the passion, the energy, the strength of God is invested in us. When our mind agrees with the word, we are agreeing that the mind of God, the will of God. We need to chew or masticate the Word as a cow repeatedly chews its cud. Chewing is breaking the food into smaller bits and allowing our spittle to mix with the food and allow the digestion or the breaking of the nutrients into its many parts needed for different parts of our bodies. Similarly, in meditation we break the Word into its smaller parts or bits. This ( the word) also becomes the proverbial bit in the horse’s mouth to control, direct it- the secret to the harnessing of the life -giving, enabling, enhancing, ennobling power of our own mouths. The Word is also medicine that is bitter to taste in our mouths but becomes sweet in our stomachs. It heals us of our inner ailments and prevents it, too. It is both our shield and sword. It is both a defensive and offensive weapon. It can be used to bring down strongholds built on the foundations of lies and half truths of this world. The word helps us prioritise our lives and take decisions that are good for us and others. The Word in our mouths makes us the mouthpiece of God. It is both a hammer and a fire inside us. Unlike earthly food, the more we consume it, it whets our appetite and becomes more delicious and desirable. It is sweeter than honey, more precious than gold. Unlike manna of the old covenant, it can be stored and brought out of our hearts and mouths whenever needed. It has an answer for every question and a key or solution to every real life problem. The promises in the Word are the channels of blessing. It guarantees longevity, productivity, legacy. It assures salvation and eternal life.

The Spirit of Distinction

UV 3557/10000 The Spirit of Distinction Then you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him. Malachi 3 v 18 The Lord God pours the spirit of distinction upon those who serve Him. Those who look to Him for everything in their lives in faith are the ones who serve Him. The Lord will wear such a one tight around His waist like a sash. He declares the faithful to be His special possession, His treasure. He will have compassion on them as a father has compassion on his own son who is obedient and respectful. He pays attention to the very words spoken by the faithful to each other about Him. The presence of God with us distinguishes us. Just as the sun holds the planets in place and in orbit around it by the force of gravity, the Son of Righteousness, Jesus holds us in place and in orbit around Him. Our days and nights are spent in revolving around Him. He energises us, equips, enables and empowers us. Just as the sun depending on its relative proximity and distance from the earth, produces different seasons, likewise depending on our relative proximity or distance, He brings us into different seasons- season of sowing, season of ploughing or preparation, season of harvesting, season of celebration, season of giving, season of healing, season of deliverance. He makes us both a head and a tale( not a tail). Our tale or testimony glorifies the Father even as the Son glorified Him in everything He said and did. The Lord anoints us for leadership and influence. Just as a bridegroom delights in his bride, He delights in us. Just as a bride is devoted to her husband, we need to be devoted and committed to the Lord. It is a covenant relationship in which the Lord takes us under His wings even as hen takes its chicks under her wings to protect them from the predators. The primary wings of protection, healing and upliftment are word and the prayer. The Lord communicates His will for us through His word while we convey our wishes and desires to the Lord through prayer. The Holy Spirit fills us with the assurance that our prayers are heard and are being answered. He strengthens our wills to obey the Father ‘s will and the Son’s word.

Wisdom and Power

UV 3556/10000 Wisdom and Power This is because the foolishness of God (is not foolishness at all and) is wiser than men (far beyond human comprehension), and the weakness of God is stronger than men (far beyond the limits of human effort). 1 Corinthians 1 v 25 Christ, Paul wrote, is the wisdom of God and the power of God. Wisdom is needed to guide power and it is vested in Christ. Christ is also the wisdom from God, the righteousness of God and sanctification and redemption, the plan of God for salvation of all mankind. To many it might appear as foolishness for God to send His Son to die on the cross for us. God cannot be foolish. To many it might appear that Christ was meek and weak and did not resist an unjust and cruel sentence and death on the cross. But to the Triune God this was the only way, the best way to offer or provide justification without compromising on His standard of holiness. Likewise, to many it might appear foolish to follow Jesus, to give up the world for the sake of the Word. But, it is the wisest course, the best option for any human. Wisdom is of many kinds, the wisdom of man, the wisdom of the serpent or the enemy of mankind, the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of God manifested in Christ. Power or strength is also of many kinds: the strength of man, the power of the enemy, the power of wealth, the power of rulers and finally, the power of God. The other forms of power are limited while the power of God is unlimited. Jesus demonstrates or manifests this power with wisdom. We all know that power of any kind corrupts but power accompanied by godly wisdom is incorruptible. Godly wisdom requires that we revere or respect God and His commands, that we embrace His ways. Hence, whatever strength or power that God has given or vested in us, be it a talent, a gift, a position, we need to use it with a sense of accountability to the Ultimate Giver- our Father in heaven. When wisdom and power are balanced and blended, it will end the ills of power.

Plug and Pray

UV 3555/10000 Plug and Pray Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become tired or grow weary; There is no searching of His understanding. Isaiah 40 v 28 We cannot find God’s grace or power or mercy by searching for He has to reveal Himself. He revealed Himself fully in the person of Christ, the One anointed to save all mankind by His strength. Jesus proved Himself stronger than the strong one- the enemy of our souls. He liberated us from his clutches and from his bondages of sin and death. Jesus proved Himself stronger than death. He resurrected after a cruel death. Hence, by trusting Jesus and His word and entrusting our lives to Him, we are greatly strengthened. To the extent we admit in prayer that we need His grace, His strength in the areas of our weakness, He steps in even as He stepped into the boat of the terrified disciples in the midst of the storm at the middle of the Sea of Galilee. The world, as it were, is caught in a great storm paralleling the Flood that destroyed all mankind barring the family of Noah that trusted God and His promise to preserve them. Today, our Ark is Jesus, an Ark not made by human hands. Like St Paul, we need to boast of our weaknesses and hide in Jesus till the storm is over. Our weaknesses and vulnerabilities instead of being causes of shame are the reasons we resort to take refuge, comfort, shelter, cover in the Rock of Ages. Today, we are tired of being confined in our homes, tired of observing all kinds of precautions, tired of the statistics of death being reeled out day in and day out. Children cannot play freely. We cannot visit our loved ones living away from us. We are tired of the prevailing confusion in how to deal with it. At this juncture, Jesus strengthens us. He shows us His love. He inspires hope in us. He builds our faith. He reveals His understanding to us. Jesus empowers us through His word, by prayer, by means of the Holy Spirit. He energises us. He renews us with power and strength. Like young eagles we can fly into His “Sonshine” to renew us in the spiritual equivalent of Vitamin D- devotion, dedication, discipline, diligence and determination. We have access to His power at any time, in any situation. He gives us strength to deal with our existential challenges as well as our eternal quest for love, peace, redemption. He gives us the clarity of wisdom to choose the best options with unerring understanding and even should we err perchance we relied on our own limited understanding, we can always return to Him as chastened children.

The Practice of Righteousness

UV 3554/10000 The Practice of Righteousness If you know that He is absolutely righteous, you know (for certain) that everyone who practices righteousness (doing what is right and conforming to God’s will) has been born of Him. I John 2 v 29 Mere knowledge is not enough to confirm our spiritual re-birth in Christ. We need to practice righteousness as Christ did. We need to abide by His will. Once we are born of God, we need to grow downward with our roots and upward with our shoots and branches in all directions. Growing downward with our roots requires us to absorb more and more spiritual nutrients and life enhancing water from the Word. Growing upward requires us to bear the nine spiritual fruit that the Holy Spirit engenders in us. Growing downward is invisible while growing upward is visible. Mere physical or intellectual growth is not God-ordained. We need to grow like Jesus during His childhood on Earth, not in knowledge but in wisdom-the application of godly knowledge. Whatever we learn from Him has to be tested in the crucible of our experience. When we do so, we grow in the favour of God. Our influence as salt ( invisible) and as light (visible and manifest to others) will keep expanding. Our territory of responsibility will also increase as we grow. It is not enough for us to know that God is perfect but we should aim to be perfect like Him, imitate Him in all we do. As we aspire for perfection, the Lord will enable us by His grace to practice righteousness, to be just, to be humble, to be self controlled, to be unselfish, forgiving and helpful to others. He sends us the Holy Spirit to remove the barriers to understanding God’s will and from doing it. He strengthens our spirits, wills and hearts, to overcome our inherent weaknesses and the temptations of the enemy.

Dedication and Edification in Troubled Times

UV 3553/10000 Dedication and Edification in Troubled Times If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die we are the Lord’s. Romans 14 v 8 For St Paul, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” He regarded death not as something to be dreaded but as a promotion, a blessing in order to be fully united with Christ in the spirit. At the same time, he did not seek to hasten his departure or death. As long as the Lord wanted him to live in the flesh, he submitted himself to live in accordance with his will. The only motivation for him to want to live was Christ and the only reason he wanted to die was Christ. He had fully identified himself with Christ. Now, as the world-wide pandemic continues to claim lives and there are nearly 450000 deaths world -wide and about four thousand deaths per day world-wide, we too need to affirm as Paul did, “For us to live is Christ, to die is gain.” For to fear or abhor death is to be stung by death daily and to admit that Christ died and rose again in vain. Christ, being the Resurrection and the Life, accompanies us while we live and resurrects us in the spirit when we die. When we maintain such a faith-based attitude and also confess it with our mouths, the enemy cannot attack us with the weapon of fear. Christ covers us in all situations, whether we live or die. This should give us courage, fortitude and hope to face each new day, each new challenge in these difficult times. The declaration at the end of the uni-verse that “ we are the Lord’s” gives us the assurance that we are the Lord’s responsibility and He has the ability to protect us while we live and redeem us when we die. Everything we aspire and do is aimed upwards towards the Lord even as mountain peaks point towards the sky. The totality of our lives, our hopes, our efforts, our work, our future, our past, our eternity is surrendered to the Lord. We do not hold back anything in our own hands. It does not mean however that we remain passive, inert, irresponsible, careless but while doing all that lies with us to do in terms of diligence, we trust the Lord without reservation, with our whole hearts and minds. Whatever happens whether up or down, health or sickness, trouble or peace, it is for our good, for our best from an eternal perspective. It means total dedication for total dedication is a precondition to complete edification.

The Reversal of Yardsticks and Priorities

UV 3552/10000 The Reversal of Yardsticks and Priorities So those who are last ( in this world) shall be first ( in the world to come), and those who are first, last. Matthew 20 v 16 Life is not a race to be won but God’s grace to be availed. It is not about competing with others for a prize but completing our faith and our purpose in life. The eleventh hour faith worker who worked little is given the same wage of salvation as someone who toiled from the first hour. It is not our quantitative work but our qualitative commitment that wins the favour of God. Once we have God’s favour or grace, everything else will fall in place. If we do not have the favour of God, that implies that we are either ignorant of God or we chose to ignore Him. Then, we are pitted against God and His will for our lives. Hence, such a situation is like pushing against a mountain. The winner takes all is a very unjust premise that prevails in human affairs. If someone applies for a job interview along with hundreds of competitors and only he gets it and the others return empty handed, it is unjust. In the kingdom of God, no one returns empty handed. The Lord has a blessing for everyone. We cannot complain that someone got more than us even though he worked less or for less time or with lesser impact. It is the Lord who decides in His wisdom and justice who gets what and when. There is a reversal of the values and priorities of the world in the kingdom of God. Instead of complaining or being unhappy with our lot, we should be thankful and joyful with whatever the Lord has placed in our hands or in our lives. This is the secret of happiness, of having a pleasing attitude towards the Lord, of being contented. We should not be envious of either the wicked of this world or the righteous who seem more blessed than us. We should not drive our stakes too deep into the soil of the earth as if we are camping here forever. We should be ready to move to the heavenly kingdom at short notice.

Immanence, the Source of Eminence

UV 3551/10000 Immanence, the Source of Eminence “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”- which, when translated, means, “God with us,” Matthew 1 v 23 Immanence is the source of our eminence. Eminence is a geographic term that means the peak of mountains. It is a metaphor for greatness, extreme experience, massive influence, leadership. Unlike the concept of many that God is present in all including material objects, this uni-verse states that God is present with us, with us who believe in His Son, who came into the world to be with us, died for us, live in us. Immanence or God with us is the source of our power, influence, health, blessings, peace and rejoicing. God is no longer the distant one on the mountain which only Moses could approach. The good news is that He is with us. If He who is absolutely powerful, absolutely loving, absolutely gracious is with us, who or what can be against us. Neither death nor riches nor poverty nor folly nor sin can any longer separate us from God, our Creator, Protector, Redeemer. God, becomes the source of our provision, the source of our victory, the source of our vindication. Since, He is with us, we have no lack. No lack of strength, resources, wisdom, inspiration, hope, significance. No one can be greater than us in terms of strength or power. The enemy, the strong one can no longer play with our lives. He is bound and defeated in Christ. The Son Jesus is the eternal bridge connecting us with God. Using this bridge we can cross the eternal chasm to be with God any time and beyond time in eternity where the sun does not rise or set and there is no need to measure time. Love, power, grace, mercy are available to us without measure or limits through immanence. Since God cannot be contained or limited to our limited faculties and bodies, He fills us and overflows. He replaces “hamartia” or shortcoming or limitations with overflowing or abundance. Only our faith, our ability to see, feel, hear, communicate with the Invisible God sets limits to our human experience of God. Hence, Paul writes, “ Rejoice in the Lord always and again, I say, Rejoice!” Though we delight and rejoice in many things as humans, our highest, most intense and recurring rejoicing is in the Lord, in the faith fact that He is with us. He is no longer far removed from us that we can only imagine Him. He has revealed Himself in His fullness in the person, work and word of Jesus. Like Jesus pointed all His glory back to the Lord God, His Father in heaven, like mountain peaks point upward to the heavens, we point all that we do, all that we are, all that we attain or achieve to the Lord.

Be A Mentor, Not a Tormentor

UV 3550/10000 Be A Mentor, Not a Tormentor The things, (the doctrine, the precepts, the admonitions, the sum of my ministry) which you have heard me teach in the presence of many witnesses, entrust ( as a treasure) to reliable and faithful men who will also be capable and qualified to teach others. 2 Timothy 2 v 2 St Paul in this verse was charging or commissioning Timothy whom he had mentored. Likewise, we who are followers of Christ need to entrust the work of sharing God’s truths to others. The precepts, warnings, doctrines are priceless treasures that equip people for every life situation, including facing death in a pandemic. The qualities of the mentees are enumerated by Paul as reliability, faithfulness, ability to teach others. He places credibility before ability, qualities before qualifications. Timothy was first exhorted by Paul to be strong and empowered in the grace of Christ Jesus. He called him to lead a life of discipline, endurance of hardship that might come his way. The grace of Christ is sufficient to empower and equip us with the abilities we need to be witnesses for Him in this world. But, we also need to work hard on our skills as communicators and leaders of the flock. We should keep enriching our understanding with insight into the precepts and truths of life and of God. Matters of faith are not taught just orally but by example. Paul emphasizes that the truths were imparted in the presence of many witnesses to show that he lived by the principles and precepts he taught. He practiced what he preached so that people saw the truth in action, impacting, healing, delivering, changing lives all around. For this is the way, Jesus, the Teacher of teachers taught, by consistent faith, practice, discipline and with the authority and grace of God.

Protection Against the Lion and the Leech

UV 3549/10000 Protection Against the Lion and the Leech And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you always to save you and protect you,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 15 v 20 Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, aluminium, manganese, nickel or zinc. Likewise, when the spiritual qualities of faith, love, joy, peace, hope, humility and self control combine, we become very strong like bronze. We derive strength from all these properties. The Lord, then, builds us brick by brick, with every word of His that we imbibe and assimilate to become a wall of bronze. Since we become the target of many forces and agents of evil, we will be involved in many battles. This uni-verse promises with certainty that such forces and persons cannot prevail against us. As long as we take our stand on the truths of our faith, the Lord is with us as a mighty warrior, an impenetrable shield. This ensures external protection against the assaults of the roaring lion. The “Great I Am” is with us all the time and through the rest of eternity. His presence is sufficient to protect us. He promises to save us and protect us. We only need to retain our “saltiness.” We are the salt that brings out the flavour of God in every aspect and dimension of life. Jesus asked the rhetorical question, “ If salt loses its saltiness, what can make it salty again. “ We need to take more of the Word into our hearts and minds to remain high quality salt. Just as salt releases the clutches of the tentacles of a leech, the Word releases us from the clutches of the tentacles of sin and of the risks, threats, dangers, challenges, obstacles of this world. The leech always wants more. Hence, the word will release us of this desire for more and more and give us a sense of contentment. This is internal protection against temptations of money, lust, pride, pursuit of pleasure, power and fame. It is protection from the subtle attacks of the leech. Since we are protected from the lion and the leech, we become strong, resilient, brave, confident, joyful people. We understand how much the Lord loves us that He protects and saves us in this manner. This fills us with a sense of quiet assurance and calmness. We become fearless and unperturbed by enemies on both sides of the bronzen wall – external enemies, internal enemies. Every human and indeed, every nation has a fair share of both. Internal enemies rob us of our peace and joy while external enemies threaten our very existence. The Lord makes us a bronzen fenced wall against both internal and external enemies so that we are victorious, peaceful, strong, joyful, fruitful and secure.

Firewalls

UV 3548/10000 Firewalls “For I,” declares the Lord, “ will be a wall of fire around her (protecting her from enemies), and I will be the glory in her midst.” Zechariah 2 v 5 God does not erect firewalls around His chosen, beloved but He Himself becomes a wall of fire around them. He protects us from invisible enemies, known and unknown enemies, mortal and spiritual. We need to prepare for the battle. For instance, in this global battle against Covid, we cannot avoid taking precautions like wearing masks, using sanitizer and maintaining physical distance but we know that ultimately, our protection, preservation and victory in the battle does not come due to the precautions and preparation we have made in our battles but due to the grace and love of the Lord. While Jehovah, the Father revealed that He is the I AM, Jesus, the Son revealed that “I am the Light..” He will reveal our threats, dangers, enemies so that we can avert it. He revealed that “ I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.’ Jesus is the way of escape, the way to fulfilment, the way to salvation, the way out of every problem and challenge. He revealed that “ I am the True Vine, “ so that we remain grafted in Him and are able to bear fruit for His glory by His grace. He said, “ I am the Bread of Life,” so that we can sustain ourselves and meet our every need in Him. He said, “ I am the door of the sheep.” We can enter the presence of God every time through His name. He said, “ I am the good shepherd,” and hence, we can rely on Him for comfort, healing, protection, provision, guidance. At all times of night and day, in every season of our lives, we can experience these seven dimensions of the grace of Christ in our lives. Fire has both creative and destructive properties. Likewise, God is a creative fire for those who approach Him through the Door of Life, Jesus. He is an implacable destructive fire for those who oppose, attack the ones who have entered the Door of Life. The Lord protects us like the apple of His eye, the most intimate and protected part of a person. He does not regard us as people who are distinct from His own body. The uni-verse states that not only does He protect and preserve us but He promotes us for His glory. Then, how does one explain the death of many faithful believers of Jesus even in the current global pandemic? If He choses not to protect us, He redeems us. He liberates the dead from their bodies in order to redeem them as they have finished their run for God. These have been promoted to receive the unfading crown of glory that comes from living a life of faith and serving the Lord in whatever task we are called to do.

CPR

UV 3547/10000 CPR Both riches and honour come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. I Chronicles 29 v 12 The Lord is the One who blesses people with riches and honour. The reference is not just to material or monetary riches but spiritual riches, emotional riches, intellectual riches. When we humble ourselves before Him, He promises to uplift and honour us. His sovereign will prevails in our lives. He rules over us with His immense power and authority. He gives strength to face this life’s challenges to everyone who approaches Him. He gives us victories in our daily struggles. David offers this spontaneous praise towards the end of his career and his life. He had tasted of the Lord’s goodness and power for he had started life as a humble shepherd. But the Lord anointed him with power and grace to become a champion fighter against Goliath. Likewise, as we depend on Him, He gives us strength to slay our Goliaths. Despite His great achievements and victories, David humbles himself to acknowledge his own humble beginnings by asking, “ Who am I and what are our people that You should bless us so?” He realizes that whatever he has is only given by the Lord. The hands of the Lord are sufficient to raise us up. There is no honour that He is not able to confer if it is His will. There is no resource that He cannot give us if it is His desire. We only need to align with His will. Like a little compass’ s needle moves in accordance with the much larger magnetic field of the Earth, we need to move in the direction He indicates to us through the agency of the Holy Spirit. If we seek first or give top priority to the Lord and His work and word in our lives, there is nothing too difficult for us, every need of ours will be met in Him. Imagine that hands that were so powerful were allowed to be nailed empty handed to a cross and we will understand the dimensions and dynamics of the love of Christ as Creator, Protector-Provider and Redeemer (CPR). He who is so mighty and omnipotent made Himself powerless on the cross for the sake of humanity so that we become worthy of His riches, honour, power and might. He did it to confer greatness and honour and power on us, to share His divine power and character with His redeemed.

Availing Grace to Be Strong and Brave

UV 3546/10000 Availing Grace to Be Strong and Brave So now, let your hands be strong and be valiant; for your lord Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them. 2 Samuel 2 v 7 David was anointed king of Judah in fulfilment of prophecy. Likewise, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be kings and priests in God’s kingdom. We should not be afraid of doing what the Lord has called us to do- to rule over the kingdom of darkness and extend the kingdom of Light. Our hands should not be weak but be strong and ever ready to execute the will of God on earth. Our past is dead. Our sin is dead. Our old nature is dead. Our new nature in Christ is alive. Hence, we should be full of courage and strength. It is not a reference to physical strength but the spiritual strength or grace of Jesus in us, working in us to do that which is beyond our imagination, expectation or asking. David was first king of Judah before he could unify the kingdom of Israel under him. Judah or praise of the Lord will go ahead of us to end our struggles ( Israel). Whatever be the situation we are confronting, the Lord wills strengthen us by giving us the peace that passes understanding. He gives us peace in our hearts as the Prince of Peace rules in us. He gives us peace in our homes and families. He gives us peace in our streets and cities and nations. The uni-verse also says, that we are to be brave and strong in the present moment. It is not to be postponed or delayed. As priests we worship the Lord continually like David. As kings, we exercise authority in His name. As priests we stand in the gap between the world and the Lord and intercede for the people. As kings, we wage spiritual warfare and claim victory over all powers and princes of darkness. We are not guilty about the past, fearful of the present or anxious about the future. We are focused on representing the Lord in the present and being victorious for Him. We are not waiting a future utopia for the kingdom of God, Jesus declared is already here.

A Double Blessing To Be Peaceful and Joyful

UV 3545/10000 A Double Blessing to Be Doubly Joyful He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat. Psalm 147 v 14 Peace and provision are the double blessings the Lord has given us in Christ. The uni-verse evokes the image of a heavenly feast we partake of in the presence of God. The Word of God is compared with the finest wheat. It has a flavour and taste of its own. He gives us peace therefrom for our homes as well as for our nations wherein we are born or live. He sends His word which fulfills His will expeditiously in our lives. For all these reasons it is appropriate for us to praise and worship the Lord in our hearts and in our homes. He heals the pain of our hearts, the areas of need which are not yet satisfied, the quests that have not been fulfilled, the questions not yet answered. It is good for us to wait for Him to reveal His will in these matters, too. His capacity to satisfy is unlimited, infinite, unimaginable even as the universe comprises of stars without number and stretches beyond any astronomers’ imagination. The Lord does not delight in those who exult in their own wealth, power or achievements. He delights in those who humble themselves before Him and look on Him alone as the fountainhead, the source of all blessings. He strengthens such as these in security, in health, in all that they need. The precious promises of God strengthen us with hope and courage even as we battle difficult situations and circumstances of our lives. He provides what we need even as he provides for the birds and beasts in the wild without too much effort on their part. The Word says that He provides for us while we are yet asleep.n Hence, we need not waste a moment to be anxious about any aspect of our lives. We need not be anxious about the future of our children for the Lord is more concerned about them. We need not be worried of what we will eat and drink. Instead, we must enjoy the peace and joy the Lord gives us as these are choice dishes He has placed on our tables, in our lives. Peace and prosperity or well being go hand in hand and the good Lord knows it better than any of us for He knows how we are created. The word says, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again, I say, rejoice!” It implies we should be thankful, joyful foremost for the peace we enjoy and then, we should also be grateful, joyful for the seeds or grains of blessing or well being He has sown in our lives.

Use It Or Lose It

UV 3544/10000 Use it Or Lose It Jesus explained, “ I tell you that to everyone who has ( because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely), more will be given; but from the one who does not have (because he disregarded his gifts from God), even what he has will be taken away. Luke 19 v 26 Whatever we have is a gift from God. Hence, if we are faithful in using, investing and multiplying whatever we have, we are rewarded with even more. If we neglect what we have, then what is gifted to us by God will eventually be taken away from us. The minna coin that the master of Jesus’s parable of talents gave has two sides- on one side, is fear of the Master in avoiding what is wrong or displeasing to Him and the other side is love of the Master in doing what is good and pleasing to Him. We please God when we carry out both sides of the coin in everything we desire and attempt to do. The one who kept his resources and talent idle and in fact, buried it had a poor assessment of the Master’s character. He was not grateful for what he received and instead, grudged the fact that he was given the least. The Master being all knowing knew that this servant could be trusted the least and gave him the least. Hence, whether we are given little or more in terms of resources, talents or responsibilities, we should hasten to use it. If we don’t use it, we would lose it. If we stretch our abilities and use it for the glory of God, He will certainly bless us and increase it. We are to give a rendering of accounts to the Lord and Master for all that He has given us- time, health, opportunities, education, resources, network of friends and contacts, technology and so on. Our passion for the Lord should manifest in two dimensions- our fear or respect and reverence for the Lord and our love, desire to please the Master. Everyone is also given a spiritual gift like wise counsel, healing, deliverance, teaching, vision, prophecy and so on. If we prove ourselves faithful in using this gift to bless others, the Lord will expand His grace towards us and increase either the depth of our current gift or give even more anointing and gifts.

Being Established and Anchored in the Lord

UV 3541/10000 Being Established and Anchored in the Lord. The Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from all evil. 2 Thessalonians 3 v 3 The key words in this uni-verse are “The Lord is faithful.” By implication, we are not faithful. We have faith but it swings up and down like a pendulum, depending on what happens to us or around us- our circumstances. But, the Lord promises to establish us on the rock foundation of the Rock of Ages – Jesus. He establishes us even as the enemy tries to destabilise us with evil planned against us. The Lord leads us out of evil and keeps us from ALL evil. The emphasis is on ALL evil. The Lord is able to perceive ahead of time any evil that is afoot and He proactively and actively delivers us from it. Jesus is our “ good root”, our strong foundation. The enemy though strong or powerful cannot overcome the strength of our faith, the foundation or root of our lives. We grow downward in our roots into Christ and upward in our fruit. The only way the enemy can get us down if we willfully like Judas choose to betray Jesus, to follow His suggestion. Jesus gave us two clear commandments to love God selflessly and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The enemy does not give commandments for He does not have the authority. He neither created us nor sustains us. Hence, He operates through suggestions. The suggestions might often come from our own thoughts or our own voice. The Covid pandemic has destabilised the world. We are told to keep our distance from our neighbours. But, we can increase our proximity or our intimacy with the Lord. His word is the best prophylactic along with prayer against all evil. We can depend only on the Lord for our sustenance and protection. He both guards and guides us on our paths. Hence, we need not fear any evil. We draw our sense of security from our faith in the Lord and His word. The more time we are investing in the Word and in prayer, the more we are anchored in Him, the more secure and established we are in Him.

Increasing Dependence Increases Strength

UV 3540/10000. Increasing Dependence Increases Strength For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you will have wars. 2 Chronicles 16 v 9 The Lord is the “eye in the sky”. He sees not just all that is happening on earth but He sees our hearts and knows the extent of our commitment, our reliance or dependence on Him. Asa, king of Judah relied not on the Lord but on his ally, the king of Aram or Syria. This offended the Spirit of God and He allowed wars to rise against Asa. Asa had forgotten how the Lord had delivered him and Judah from a larger and more formidable army of Ethiopia and Lubim. Likewise, we too often forget how the Lord had delivered us in the past and act foolishly based on our human reasoning. The Holy Spirit roams all over the world looking for people who are fully committed to the Lord and strengthens such as these. We need to check our level of commitment or dependence on the Lord. Do our eyes shift from the Lord to look for support from our worldly friends and contacts? Like Joshua, we must be totally dependent on the Lord, not relying on our own insight or wisdom for a moment. We should know that the Lord who has been so faithful to us so far, will continue to strengthen, support and deliver us from our mortal and invisible enemies. In every generation, the moment the Lord sees a person with the commitment of Abraham or Noah or St Paul, He chooses to be with them, bless them, enable them, equip and empower. The more we rely on Him, the less our own hopes and expectations will be belied. The more we believe and trust Him, the more victorious we will be in our life’s struggles and temptations. The Holy Spirit will pour a double anointing of His power and grace upon us, strengthen us from within and tweak the circumstances around us. When we are so surrendered to Him, He will make us more than conquerors. In real life, the more we depend on another, the weaker we become but the more we depend on the Lord, the stronger we become, the more victorious we are.

The Multiplier of A Variety of Riches

UV 3539/10000 The Multiplier of A Variety of Riches But you shall remember (with profound respect) the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8 v 18 When we bow before the reign of God in our lives, acknowledging that He rules over us by His sovereign power and authority, we are blessed with a vision of His rainbow even as Noah’s covenant with God was confirmed by a rainbow. The rainbow is God’s palette in the sky displaying that His promises hold good in seven distinct but intimately connected domains of our earthly lives – the spiritual (violet) , intellectual ( indigo) , emotional (blue), material (green), psychological(yellow), relational (orange) and physical (red). When we love, worship and adore Him with all our hearts, He blesses us in all these seven domains. We enjoy riches or wealth in all seven domains. It is the Lord who gives us the power to multiply riches in all domains of life. It is the Lord who gives us physical health. Health is real wealth and much more vital than material wealth. It is the Lord who blesses us with good and healthy relationships with our spouse, children, wider family and friends. It is the Lord who gives us the emotional riches of joy and positivity. He is the One who boosts or encourages us so that we have nothing else to boast about. He blesses our work, our hands and our ideas so that we take up productive projects. He gives us our intellect and stimulates creativity within through divine inspiration and leading. He blesses us with all spiritual blessings from the heavenly realms in Christ. It is exciting that apart from the Old and New Covenant, we can make personal covenants and commitments to the Lord. We do so by solemnly asking the Lord in faith to help us with specific challenges, by making vows or commitments. When we lift a particular promise verse before the Lord, we are asking Him to make a personal covenant or inviolable agreement with Him on that issue or matter. For instance, if we pray over Psalm 91 verse 14, “ I will satisfy you with long life and after that, give you eternal life.” It has two terms of agreement- longevity and eternity. We are agreeing with the Lord that we should have longevity and eternal life in Christ. If we say, “ I am afraid, I might die young,” we are disagreeing with God’s word and agreeing with the enemy who wants to cut lives short before we fulfill God’s will and purpose or realize our full potential.

Increase and Decrease

UV 3538/10000 Increase and Decrease I will multiply on you man and animal; and they will increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly, and I will do better (things) for you than at your beginning. Then you will know (with great confidence) that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 36 v 11 The Lord promises to make us even more prosperous post- Covid than before. He will multiply us and cause us to increase and be fruitful physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally and spiritually. He Himself inhabits our souls and occupies our hearts. He promises to do better things for us than before, than at the beginning of our faith walk with Him. He does it to boost our faith and increase the impact of our testimony of His faithfulness. Hence, we can look forward with hope, courage and confidence at the future, at our latter days. He will send the latter rain as a heavy downpour not as the shower of blessings we had experienced at the start of our journey with Him. The Lord strengthens us to face our challenges and He establishes our work and proves our words. He does not let any of it be in vain or fall to the ground without result or impact. He keeps us from lurking evil from within or without. As the days pass, we should be increasingly optimistic and joyful, not depressed or gloomy. We should deal effectively with anything that blocks or divides our blessings. It could be doubt, regrets, fears, hurts, bitterness, disappointments. The Lord will turn the weapons of the enemy into sweetness or sources of glad tidings. Our focus, too should be to “be better, feel better, do better.” In other words, we must keep excelling in whatever we put our hands or minds to. On achieving any measure of success, we should turn it into praise and glory to the Lord. The more blessed we are, we should humble ourselves more before the Lord. This is the only way to avoid pride and defeat the temptation to take the glory for ourselves. He should increase and we should decrease as time passes on.

The Guarantor

UV 3537/10000 The Guarantor You shall serve (only) the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and water. I will also remove sickness from among you. Exodus 23 v 25 When we respect, revere, adore God and God alone, we are serving Him. Service to God is genuine and sincere worship from the depth of our souls. When we do so, He gives us three amazing promises contained in this uni-verse and partly in the next verse; first, He will bless our bread and water. In other words, He blesses our provision for life, the material and the spiritual victuals, too for bread and water are metaphors for the WORD OF GOD that we should eat or consume, digest and assimilate and the Spirit of whom we should drink. We should drink of the water that will never make us thirst again, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. The second specific blessing He promises, which is most relevant and needed by everyone in a world afflicted by the Covid pandemic and the thousands of deaths resulting therefrom, is that He will remove sickness from among us. We do not have to fear the virus like the rest of the unbelieving world. To this add the promise in the next verse that He will enable us to fulfill our days on earth. It implies that we will live fully and wholly for the days that the Lord intends that we live on this planet before we shift residence to our eternal and permanent home in heaven. The next verse also holds the promise that we shall not be barren or unproductive. We will be fruitful and blessed in all that we attempt. Our work will be established and we will not be working in vain. We will enjoy the fruit of our labour. The promise that our children will not suffer miscarriage or be barren implies that the Lord will continue our line through our physical and spiritual offspring into the next generation. No one but God can give these guarantees of long and fulfilling life, of abundant provision, of continuity of our lineage, of healing and removing sickness from our midst. Jesus is the Guarantor of the promises given by Jehovah, the Father. The Holy Spirit is the One who reminds us constantly of these promises in our difficult situations of life. God’s promises cover the entire gamut of our needs from the basic or physical to the material, monetary and spiritual. All He needs from us is whole hearted devotion to Him.