The Inspiration of God

UV 3655/10000 The Inspiration of God Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a LIVING creature. Genesis 2 v 7 ( version ESL) The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and then transformed the inanimate form of man into the animate or living human. The word “human” itself means “from the earth” or ‘humus’, lending credence to the belief we are formed from the earth. All other creatures and all of creation were spoken by the Lord God into existence with their varied colours, shapes and nature. We, humans, alone are formed and shaped by the hands of the Lord God and transformed by His breath of inspiration. Hence, we cannot live or succeed without God. We cannot live without the inspiration of the Lord God. The Word of God is the bread that sustains us but the inspiration of God is our continual source of life. We would not know this without the word of God for no man can convincingly state or explain how we came into being with all our complexities. We are dependent on the Lord for every breath. This is the reason that Jesus also breathed on the dead in some cases of miraculous resurrection. He also breathed on the disciples so that they receive the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit. When man first sinned, the Spirit of God left the body of man and death through sin began to reign and rule in man’s life. He is always under the shadow of death as the Covid 19 viral shroud keeps reminding every human today. We are always 120 seconds away from death for the cessation of physical life happens if our bodies are cut off from oxygen for just two to three minutes The moment we believe and receive the word about Jesus we receive again the life giving breath of God- the Holy Spirit. We are once more sealed with the Holy Spirit- the seal of approval and ownership of God. Having believed and known this – that the breath of God sustains us, we should always be dependent on the inspiration of the Lord God, the inspiration of Jesus, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Everything we choose, everything we speak, do and aim for is to be inspired by the Lord God. He is the source of our light, life, energy, purpose, power, guidance, protection, provision and promotion. Our inner being needs to constantly and continually breathe the Lord God. When we live in this manner, we receive both power and are able to fulfil the purpose of our creation for the Lord God did not create us in His image and further redeem us without purpose.

Chronos to Kairos Moments in Vision Fulfilment

UV 3654/10000 Chronos To Kairos Moments in Vision Fulfilment For the vision is yet for the appointed (future) time, it hurries toward the goal (of fulfilment); it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait (patiently) for it, because it will certainly come, it will not delay. Habakkuk 2 v 3 God has an appointed time for every vision to be fulfilled. The measurable time for human beings is “chronos” while the time God fulfills His promise is “Kairos”. The Lord promises in this uni-verse that “Kairos” will happen in due time. Till then we should wait patiently and faithfully. The uni-verse asserts that it will certainly happen. That even while we are waiting, the Lord is working behind the scenes to bring it to pass. He brings to pass that which we hope for, that which we earnestly seek, that which we need to encourage us. The vision needs to be precise. It needs to be written down. Though we hear it from the Spirit of God, we should take care to write it down in our journal for our remembrance and constant prayer. We must not remain inert or inactive but run with the vision. We should run towards the fulfilment of the vision. It implies that we should do all that lies with us to enable the vision to be fulfilled. We should not try to get ahead of the Lord or the Holy Spirit but run along side. The moment the Lord is intervening in our lives, modifying our plans is the Kairos moment and we should not resent or resist it. We need to be sensitive and yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is so humble and kind that He literally becomes our co-worker in whatever vision we are pursuing. If it is fishing, He will teach us how to fish better, if it is writing, He will inspire us with ideas, if it is policing, He give us intuition to deduce things from the clues available. If it is teaching, He gives us new ideas and clarity of concepts. The Lord has a plan to prosper us, to give us hope and a future. The enemy in contrast has a plan to harm us, to rob our peace, to kill our hope. We should be aware of the latter and cling or cleave to the Lord and His word. Whatever we need to do in the natural, rational or physical world, we need to plan and do it. Simultaneously, the Lord is working things beyond our senses to perceive to fulfill His plan, His vision for our lives. We need to be persistent and work diligently as if everything depends on our efforts but we also need to believe that everything depends on the grace of the Lord. His power works in us and not just outside us. His power working in us and for us is able to do far more than we think, imagine or ask.

Turning Famine into Rivers of Abundance

UV 3653/10000 Turning Famine into Rivers of Abundance For thus says the Lord, “ You will not see wind or rain, yet that valley will be filled with water, so you and your cattle and other animals may drink. 2 Kings 3 v 17 The Lord promised through Elisha, the prophet that He would miraculously fill the trenches that he had asked the Israelites to dig in the valley. The king of Israel, king of Judah and Edom were marching to a war against the king of Moab. But en route, they had no water and the soldiers and animals were dying of thirst. At that point, the king of Israel Jehoram appealed to the prophet Elisha, saying that the Lord was handing over to defeat and destruction the three kings and their armies. Elisha commenced a worship of God with music and at the time, the Spirit of God came down on him with power and gave him the leading to dig trenches all round in the dry valley. Elisha prophesied that the trenches would be filled with water enough for the armies. It would happen miraculously without their seeing any wind or rain. The next day, the sun shining upon the water in the trenches made it appear to be blood like and terrified the Moabite army that rivers of blood were flowing caused by the three kings attacks. This demoralized the enemies of Israel and eventually, the three kings defeated and put to rout the Moabites. Likewise, in our lives, the Lord does miracles of provision and deliverance without any outward signs. As long as we remain faithful and walk in the favour of the Lord, He will orchestrate events and circumstances to deliver us and give us victory. Elisha was reluctant to pray or intervene at the instance of the Jehoram who was known for disobeying the Lord. He said that the presence of King Jehoshaphat on the side of the king of Israel influenced him positively. Whatever the Lord has placed in our hands we should hold loosely, ready to let go of it the moment the Lord indicates but to Him and His word alone, we should grip like a leech. He can cause the dry valley to be filled with trenches of water or blessings, provisions, answers to our prayers. When we are in tough and hostile situations, we should come before the Lord and seek His guidance, His intervention, His wisdom. He can end any famine and turn it into rivers of abundance. Any crisis in the life of a person of faith is an opportunity for the Lord to reveal His love, His grace and glory. We only need to turn to the prophetic ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to seek the word of wisdom and word of knowledge in such crisis. He will surely provide. He will surely lead. He will surely guide, protect and deliver us in any crisis.

The Real Exchange

UV 3652/10000 The Real Exchange He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross ( willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice), so that we might die to sin ( becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin) and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you ( who believe) have been healed. I Peter 2 v 24 Peter under the influence and leadership of the Holy Spirit blends the old covenant promise in Isaiah with His own witness of the Anointed One, the Messiah being offered up on the cruel Roman cross as a sacrifice. Jesus as the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls offered Himself as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. We are now immune from the penalty and power of sin though not yet free from its presence. We are now to live for righteousness. By His 39 stripes and the five nail pierced wounds on His limbs, we are healed, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. His blood protects us from a flood of troubles and temptations in this life. We have victory by our faith in His blood being the price and payment for our sins. A spiritual exchange has taken place at a point in history. Though it is spiritual, it is real, it is historic. Since we are bought with a ‘blood price’ of Christ, we no longer belong to ourselves but to the Lord God. His standard of righteousness is our standard or yardstick. The word of God is our measuring rod. His promises and commands are our daily manna. The Shepherd and Guardian of our Souls leads us to the green pastures of His word. The world is a dry and dreary place and our bones are dry from hopelessness that there is no escape from certain death and judgement but the Word releases the oxygen of living hope, the moisture of joy in us so that we become vibrant and dynamic. We are no longer the lost sheep, the wandering sheep but the ever wondering sheep, wondering and pondering on what the Lord would want us to do, where He would want us to go. We are free and not free. We are free from the chains of bondage but we are not free to do whatever we want. Like good and obedient sheep, we listen to the Shepherd’s voice and obey Him. In such obedience is our fulfilment. We receive both healing, blessing, guidance and manifest our love for the Lord. Jesus proved His obedience by allowing Himself to be offered as a sacrifice on the cross. We prove our obedience by carrying the cross of obedience and faith daily. The heavy chains of bondage to sin and death are replaced by the lighter yoke of our commitment to follow the example of Jesus. We only need to nail our sins to the cross. We do not believe in the power of cavalry or human power or prowess to save or destroy us but we believe in the promise of Calvary.

The Returning Leper

UV 3651/10000 The Returning Leper One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying and praising and honouring God with a loud voice; Luke 17 v 15 One out of ten lepers healed by Jesus returned to Him to thank and glorify Him as God. He was the least likely one also to return, being a Samaritan and not a Jew. Scripture records that he lay face downward at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him (over and over). He was overcome by gratitude at being made whole again. He attributed all the glory to God. He never stopped thanking Jesus. Jesus did not say that His power and ability to heal had healed the leper but He said, “Your faith and your confidence in God’s power has restored you to health.” He must have never stopped worshipping, thanking, glorifying God with every breath and every moment of the remaining part of his life. Even to this day, out of ten people who hear a message and are blessed only one would deign to return to the messenger or to God to thank Him. No wonder that only one out of ten people are truly happy or blessed in this world. Only one out of ten enterprises in this world succeed in achieving its purpose. The proportion like the Fibonacci code running through all of creation seems to be true of the human response to something good to great that has happened in our lives. Till we get the blessing, we pant like deer or like a dog for a biscuit, and the moment we have the miracle, the relief from pain or trouble, the victory or success, we tend to forget. Indeed, what we put on the back burner indicates whether we burn for God or for our own limited desires. When we receive eternal life in Christ, we should realize that we, like the lepers in the story, have been healed of spiritual equivalent of leprosy. Leprosy is said to be a metaphor for the human condition of being insensate to sin and evil due to the deterioration of our spiritual and emotional nervous system. Salvation of our souls by receiving Jesus into our hearts and souls is the equivalent of healing of such spiritual leprosy. Hence, the first anointing we receive is the leper’s anointing. This is the reason that Jesus tells the ten lepers who called out to Him to have mercy on them from a distance, “ Go and show yourself to the priests.” On being examined by the priests, they were to be anointed with oil as a sign of confirmation of their healing. Nine lepers did not return for they took their healing from the incurable, deadly disease for granted. They probably were rushing off to make up for lost time, to catch up with their families, farms or business, friends or whatever they would like to return to now that they were normal, like anyone else. As for us, nothing we ever did or can do would restore us to a right relationship with God. Therefore, like the returning leper, we should ever be grateful, constantly rejoicing, humbling ourselves by prostration before the Lord who has restored us, continually worshipping and praising God with every breath and every moment. Whatever else happened or did not happen in our lives, whatever other blessing we are seeking, this is enough reason for us to return again and again to the Lord, beholden, grateful and joyful.

Balanced and Godly Decision Making

UV 3650/10000 Balanced and Godly Decision Making And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what his ears hear; Isaiah 11 v 3 This uni-verse is a prophetic description of the coming Messiah Jesus. He is One who is wise as He not only fears the Lord God, His Father but delights in such fear. His actions, choices and words were shaped by such wisdom and fear of God. He did not rely on His human perception, His human senses of sight and hearing, or His own thoughts. He relied on the Spirit of God and the Word of God. His decisions were guided not by His five senses like most of us do but by supernatural guidance and wisdom. Following the model of Jesus, we ought not to rely on our own senses and perception, or on hearsay or what we see. Our understanding and knowledge based on these are partial and often, distorted. People tell us their version of the truth, garnished by what they would like us to think and do. Every decision we make should be preceded by prayer, godly counsel, guidance of the Holy Spirit and the peace of Jesus that gives us a sense that we have made the right call. Our yardsticks to measure would then be, righteousness and justice. The world asks us to go with our hearts and trust what it says. But the word says that our hearts are deceitful. If we trust in our own minds, we are fools. If we follow our own desire, we are led into folly and sin. Hence, scripture says there is safety in a multitude of counsel. Hence, in addition to prayer preceding decisions seeking the Lord’s guidance and wisdom, He does not preclude us from seeking godly as well as expert advice in any matter. In my life, whenever I sought such advice, I did not err but when I kept my counsel to myself, I erred badly. No one human has a monopoly of wisdom. Hence, when we are informed of the perspectives and views of different persons concerned with a particular matter or decision we are considering, we get clarity and a more balanced view of the pros and cons of that decision.

Manifestation of the Lord

UV 3649/10000 Manifestation of the Lord He guards the feet of His godly (faithful) ones, but the wicked ones are silenced and perish in darkness ; for a man shall not prevail by might. I Samuel 2 v 9 The Lord guards our feet. The feet are considered the least and last part of our bodies but the Lord cares for it. He guides our feet. His word is a lamp unto our feet as to which direction we should take in our lives, the very next step we need to take. The wicked are the ones who disregard the Lord and His word. They will be silenced and will perish like the beasts of the wild. They live by the rule of the jungle that might or power is right. Their eyes are fixed on gain, pleasure, glamour and power. They flaunt their strength and boast of their might. They want to have their own way. But the Lord has ordained that they shall not prevail. The faithful are humble, repentant, fearful or reverential towards the Lord and they heed the word of God. They do not seek to please themselves or the ones who are mighty among men but to win the favour of the Lord and to continue to walk in it. The face of the Lord shines down upon such as these like the noonday sun. The Lord watches over them day and night. Even if they stumble, the Lord helps them pick themselves up and walk again. He goes ahead to remove any obstacles their enemies have placed on their paths. The Lord manifests or celebrates on behalf of His chosen the power and might of His hand. He hides us as an arrow in its quiver, He hides us in the palm of His hands. He follows us like a faithful shadow We need to pray to the Lord to “manifest” Himself in our lives. He will then reveal His power, His wisdom, His love, His grace, His mercy, His justice, His sovereign will in different areas or aspects of our lives. Our lives and our testimonies are but a celebration of such manifestations of the Lord in us, through us, for us. Unlike the wicked who perish, we flourish and live forever after our earthly sojourn. In short, our lives are as contrasted with the wicked or unrepentant as day from night. The Lord shines on us, day and night, without interruption or pause.

Wonderful Power, Authority and Government

UV 3648/10000. Wonderful Government, Power and Authority For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9 v 6 This uni-verse is spoken as if Mary and Joseph were saying it many centuries after Isaiah wrote the prophecy. Everything about Jesus is Wonderful- the prophecy nearly a millennium before, the conception by the Holy Spirit of an yet unmarried young woman, the immaculate or virgin birth without human intervention. The prophecy was not that He will be part of the government of the kingdom of God on earth but that the power and the responsibility of government squarely rested on His shoulder. He was named ahead of time. His titles were given ahead of time – Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. No human would ever have such titles. The last title given to Jesus is Lord Amen in the book of Revelation, implying that He had fulfilled the prayer and hope of all people. He is the One who causes all prayers to be heard and answered. To focus on just one word WONDERFUL: Jesus possessed/possesses wonderful wisdom beyond His age and beyond the ages. His attributes or qualities are wonderful. His words were wonderful. His actions were wonderful. His miracles are wonderful. The greatest miracle He did when His body was dead when His Spirit did the impossible of impossible by raising Him from the dead. Each miracle had a meaning and a purpose. He changed water into man- proving the mastery over matter. He is the Master of the Banquet of life and can provide what we need. He healed the royal official’s dying son. He has power over disease. He filled the fishermen’s empty nets with fish. It proved He can provide abundantly. He cast out an unclean spirit, proving His authority over demonic spirits. He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of fever instantly by just holding her hand. It proved His touch could heal even less deadly sickness. He healed a leper, proving He can cure the incurable. He healed the centurion’s servant, proving He could just speak the word and people would be healed. He raised the widow’s son, proving He has authority over death. Jesus did many other wonderful miracles: He stilled the storm, proving He has authority over the fury of nature. He cured the man possessed by many evil spirits, proving He has authority over all spirits and they obey Him. He cured the paralytic after forgiving His sins, proving His authority to forgive sins. He resurrected the synagogue leader’s daughter by taking the girl’s hand proving His touch could resurrect the dead. En route, when a woman with bleeding touched the hem of His robe, she was instantly healed, proving that His touch could heal anyone even secretly. He healed two blind men who called out to Him, proving He could restore sight wonderfully to the blind. He healed a mute man, proving He has authority to restore speech and hearing. He healed a man who was invalid for 38 years, proving He has authority over chronic diseases. He healed a man with a shriveled hand, proving He has authority to heal, restore and make whole any withered part of anybody. Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, proving that He has authority to multiply scarce resources. He healed a Canaanite woman’s daughter of demon possession, proving He had compassion on any human regardless of religious or racial background. He healed a deaf man, proving that He has authority over hearing and can heal by just speaking one word, “Ephphatha” or open. He healed a blind man by just applying a salve of mud and spit, proving that even His saliva has healing power. He healed a boy with epileptic fits due to demonic possession, proving He could set free anyone from physical as well as spiritual ailments. He healed a man born blind, proving that He can heal even the physically challenged who have a handicap from birth. He healed a man of dropsy or physical swelling of his body, proving He can heal any inflammation. He healed ten lepers, proving He can heal people individually or in groups and He can heal the incurable. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after three days, proving it is never too late for Him to act or heal or resurrect the dead. Jesus’s words to the fig tree caused it to wither to its roots, proving the fierce power of His judgement, too. Jesus healed the high priest’s servant’s severed ear, proving He can restore even dismembered organs miraculously. He forgave the prostitute showing that His mercy and compassion is as wonderful as His power and authority to counsel, heal, restore, judge and resurrect. No one in any human government anywhere has such power, authority, compassion and wisdom. Hence, He is called WONDERFUL.

The All Seeing Eye in The Sky

UV 3647/10000 The All Seeing Eye in The Sky Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him ( and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience), Psalm 33 v 18 Yesterday, I was in a function in which a drone was hovering high overhead, watching the proceedings and the participants from the sky. But in reality, if there was any threat on the ground, the drone could not do anything to prevent it except to alert personnel watching the screen. Unlike that eye, the Lord is our eye in the sky. The Lord looks down upon the earth and sees the hearts of all people. He understands what they think and do. He has determined that even a large army or power like a horse cannot save a man. But, His eyes are upon those who live and express their awe of Him. Those who trust Him fully and rely on Him for salvation in all things. He promises to rescue our lives from death and keep us alive in famine.. ( in place of famine, read, believe and claim). He preserves us in a pandemic like the present Covid 19 one that has taken millions of lives around the world and affected all eight billion people in some way or other. It is interesting that the Psalm says that in proportion to our trust, faith, hope in Him, the Lord releases His love and kindness into our lives. For every human or personal problem, we have a promise from the Lord- even one for famine or pestilence. The only precondition or requisite is that we stay close to Him in each and every circumstance, not stray far from Him or try to hide from His gaze. If we do so, He might momentarily take His gaze off us. We need to examine ourselves every day and check if we are living or walking in accordance with His word and will. Nothing in all creation or in the spiritual world is hidden from the Lord. His gaze penetrates our hearts and minds. He protects us by swooping down like a mother eagle protecting its nest with young in it. Like the young eaglets in the nest we are not able to see Him, sense Him or even be aware that He is watching over us. But unlike these creatures, we are aware in our hearts that the Lord is near and He wards off every threat from every predator in the spiritual and natural world, even the invisible microscopic virus that is now ravaging the world. The heat of His presence, our clothing by the Holy Spirit is sufficient to disinfect us and keep us from being infected or affected. Our faith is the only armour that even microbes cannot penetrate. The word in our mouth is the sword of fire that destroys every threat and releases the proportionate grace of the Lord.

Faithful Boasting

UV 3646/10000 Faithful Boasting Thus says the Lord, “ Let the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his (temporal) satisfactions and earthly abundance; Jeremiah 9 v 23 Boasting is a psychological need of man in order to boost his morale. We all do it subtly or openly in order to boost our sagging morale or to inflate our egos. Hence, when someone claims to be the richest person in the country or the world, the strongest man in the country or world, it is boasting. History shows that those who boast get bested, busted, booed or booted. Even Alexander with the epithet , the Great had to bite the dust before the spectre of early death. The brainiest guy in my class for whom there was little competition even nation-wide or perhaps world-wide died recently. The strongest guy in my IPS batch passed last week after a sudden illness. Reminders not just of our own mortality and vulnerability in a world affected by the Covid pandemic but a pointer to set greatest store not by such optics, metrics and extrinsics but to knowing our Creator who alone can redeem us. We cannot, therefore, boast (even secretly in our inner man) of our wisdom, our skills, our strength, our power, our status, our family, our attainments, our wealth, our influence, our race, our nationality or our religion. We can only boast or claim to understand, believe and know the One who not only created us but took upon Himself the responsibility to redeem us from our vain ways. We can only claim and take pride in the claim that we know that the Lord is the only One who practices love, kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth. That we revel in such things as these, the ‘intrinsics not the extrinsics’ of life. For the Lord God has revealed that He delights in such intrinsics. We draw our sense of satisfaction and fulfilment only in the Lord God. All things of this world that are otherwise vain and empty in themselves, a mere chasing of the wind or of shadows of life, become gain and purposeful, powerful and meaningful in conjunction and conjugation with God. When we boast in the Lord, it is not empty or futile for the Lord can do all that He claims. He can fulfill every promise in His word. The more we subtly and openly boast of our personal knowledge of the Lord the more our faith expands for the more we will experience His love, mercy, power and grace. We can freely boast in the Lord when our hearts are circumcised, when our own egos are sacrificed on the altar of praise, worship and thanksgiving of the Lord. Nothing is impossible for the Lord and hence, nothing is just an empty boast. Our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit and the rivers of life giving water will flow therefrom. We live not in the flow and overflow of our own vain thoughts and emotions but in the flow and overflow of the love of God.

The Double Edged

UV 3645/10000. The Double Edged Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 14 v 9 The word of God and indeed, the leadership of God is double-edged. It implies that the same word, that can be a source of blessing for one due to his trust and obedience of that word, will be a source of pain and suffering for the one who does not trust and obey, who chooses to rebel or disregard it. Hence, Christ Himself is called in the word as the cause for blessing and salvation for many but also a stumbling block for the one who disbelieves and rebels. The wise and discerning will realize these things, according to the uni-verse, and knowing that only the ways of the Lord are absolutely right, walk in them. The wise count the cost of belief and obedience against the cost of disobedience and disbelief and choose the former as the better way to live, the best way to live, the only way to live. The wise surrender the option to disbelieve and disobey or rebel. Every step we take in our lives we should check against the plumb line of the word, if it is right in the eyes of the Lord. If we do not, we are akin to the dumb, the beasts of the wild that live according to instinct. The word says that if we do not have the wisdom to understand these things clearly, we can ask the Holy Spirit, we can ask for wisdom and understanding. We need to understand the very purpose of life is God-realization. Jesus is our sufficient bridge to realize God in our lives. We cannot afford to be double minded or doubtful about the way of God to God- Jesus. When we are spiritually wise and discerning, we receive a double portion of anointing, a double portion of blessings, a portion for our lifetime on earth and a portion of eternal blessings in the hereafter. Though we stumble and fall seven times, we will rise on the wings the Lord provides us in faith. The book of Hosea reiterates that “For want of knowledge, lives are destroyed.” This knowledge is not the knowledge of man that causes us to rebel and stumble against God. This knowledge are the double edges of the sword of the Spirit. It cuts our flesh but liberates our spirit.

Focus on Jesus

UV 3644/10000. Focus on Jesus But when he saw ( the effects of ) the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14 v 30 As long as Peter had faith in Jesus, as long as he fixed his focus on Jesus and His words, he could walk on water. The moment he took his gaze off Jesus, the moment he doubted the word of Jesus that he could walk on water, he began to sink. It was natural for Peter to fear, after seeing, feeling and experiencing the fierce winds that made the waves rise. He experienced the fear of death. But, when Jesus held his hand, Likewise, we are able to “walk on water” implying that we can experience many wonders or miracles in our lives that are beyond rational explanation. We are able to do so only as long as we focus on Jesus. Jesus is the locus or the center of the circle of our existence on which we depend. Hence, Paul wrote, “Fix your eyes on the author and the finisher of your faith..” He is the one who begins or the alpha of our faith and of our lives. He is also the finisher or the omega, the last letter, the last word of our faith and of our lives. Finisher also has the meaning of guarantor. Someone has quipped that “None of us will come out of life alive.” Jesus guarantees that we will come out of life alive. When we see, feel, experience turbulence, we should reach out to Jesus. When we want to experience the supernatural, a miracle, we should not trust our own senses or reasoning or past experience. Even when we show signs of weakness or doubt, Jesus is there to reach out His hand and save us even as He reached out and saved Peter from sinking in the water. When circumstances are overwhelming and we are threatened, scared, nervous or fearful, we only need to cry out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.” We rely not on our reason, our senses, our intellect or our abilities but we rely on Jesus as Author and Finisher. He who is the author of our lives is also author of our faith. We are the temple of God to which He comes. We cannot go to Him for He is holy, infinite Spirit. A building like a temple needs first the structure to be built and then it is embellished or finished well, worthy to be a house of God. Jesus not only builds the structure but He completes or finishes the temple. Like Peter we should not let our attention be captured by the effects of our circumstances. Our faith cannot be shaken by the winds of circumstances as we are rooted in the grace of the Lord. In good times or bad times, we fix our focus on Jesus. The enemy tries to distract us and make us loose the focus while the Holy Spirit enables us to continually focus on the Word. Focussing on the author implies trusting in the power and authority of Jesus. Focussing on the finisher implies we have faith that Jesus will ultimately help and save us in any situation. We will begin well, endure and finish well when we continually focus on Jesus as the ultimate and immediate center of power, authority, ability, grace and mercy.

The Water and Fire Experience

UV 3643/10000 The Water and Fire Experience When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43 v 2 The mirror verse for this uni-verse is in Psalm 66 v 12 which says, “ You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” The Lord shapes our character and our testimony through suffering of first, water and then, the ordeal of fire. But He promises to be with us in the midst of the water and the fire, in the throes of suffering like the fourth One who the king Nebuchadnezzar declared looked like the Son of God walking in the fire with the three friends of Daniel- Meshach, Shadrak and Abednego. The presence of God with them kept them from being seared or even singed by the flames of the fire. He allows us to go through water and fire for our purification, our edification, our sanctification and His glorification. People who witness or hear about our coming through unscathed, not drowned, not consumed by the fire, not harmed in any way will know for sure that God is real and He is with us for He alone can do such things. We could not have survived but for the help of the Lord. This uni-verse has immense personal significance in my life for I was once drowned in the sea and revived through CPR by my own boss. The Lord gave him the confidence and the ability to revive me. After that I went through fire, in the human bomb assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Lord preserved my life though I was badly injured. He did not allow it or ‘death’ to come near me for He was nearer to me. The Lord allows us to go through the furnace of afflictions so that our faith in Him comes forth like refined gold. In the mirror verse quoted above, the Lord also promises to bring us after the suffering by water and fire into a place of abundance. Affliction of this kind will not visit us again. He promises to reward our faith. He promises to bring us into a place of security and protection. He promises to bless us with the abundant or eternal life, a life abundant in hope, in peace, in joy. The stories of the conquests and deeds of mighty kings will pass into oblivion but what God has accomplished in saving us will be etched in golden letters in eternity to strengthen the faith of others. God does not promise us the absence of problems or trials by water and fire but He promises His presence with us in the thick of it. His presence with us or our personal relationship with Him is the guarantee of safety and prosperity or security, synonyms for abundance. Hence, we have hope before we go through such great suffering, patience as we are enduring or facing it and joy after we come through safely.

The Call to All Round Excellence

UV 3643/10000. The Call to All Round Excellence This is a faithful and trustworthy saying: if any man (eagerly) seeks the office of overseer (bishop, superintendent), he desires an excellent task. I Timothy 3 v 1 To be a leader, it takes excellence. To be a leader in the kingdom of God, it takes all round excellence, in public life as well as private life. An overseer or supervisor in the body of Christ needs to be blameless, beyond reproach. He should be a good teacher or communicator both by precept and example. He should lead an orderly family life with no whisper of immorality. He ought to be always wise in his conduct and speech, responsible, mature and balanced. He should be generous with his time and resources, making himself available to the members or those he leads and serves. A leader should be not addicted to any substance. He should be calm, self controlled, gentle. He should command both his temper and his tongue and bring it under the control of the Holy Spirit at all times. He should be free from the lust for money and be financially ethical. He must not be proud, arrogant or conceited. Rather, the man of God who leads should be humble and modest. He does not want to draw attention to himself and is content to be in the background in any conversation or interaction. He should train his own children to be well behaved and respectful. His family is his first ministry. The leader should be esteemed not only by believers but by people outside the church. He should be careful not to fall into any kind of temptation for he is always the target of the enemy who desires to discredit and dishonor any child of God. This requires him to follow the maxim of Jesus, “Be as shrewd as the serpent and as gentle as the dove.” He should be rooted in the word, focused on the locus, the Lord and His word. He not only stores the word in his heart but brings it out aptly on occasion to use as either a sword or as a shield. Finally, the godly leader in pursuit of all round excellence is not given to indolence or laziness but is diligent, determined and industrious, seeking to do or give his best in all circumstances and all tasks. He does not rely on his own abilities or wisdom but depends on the counsel and grace of the Lord.

The Reason for Our Strength and Courage

UV 3642/10000 The Reason for Our Strength and Courage Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Deuteronomy 31 v 6 Moses in his final exhortation of Israel spoke the words of this uni-verse. He had led Israel from captivity through the desert to Canaan, the promised land. He exhorted the Israelites that they should be strong and courageous. The reason for their strength and courage and victory Moses attributed unequivocally to the fact that the Lord their God had gone with them. He further asserted that the Lord would never fail them or abandon them. They did not have to fear their enemies, however formidable. They did not have to feel disappointed with temporary reverses. Indeed, strength and courage are synonymous. Our faith and trust of the Lord is the source of our strength and courage. Like the Israelites under Moses, we do not rely on our physical or intellectual prowess or abilities but on the Lord. If we focus on the locus, Jesus, the Logos or the Word, the Lord will fill us with strength and courage. We should not allow fear or regret or disappointment sidetrack us. Fears and worries are the locusts that feed on our strength and joy. The Word or Logos therefore says, “ The joy of the Lord is my strength.” As long as we delight in the Lord and His presence with us, His personal relationship with us, we are spiritually strong and hence, bound to be mentally, emotionally and morally courageous. Courage enables us to take a stand for the Lord. When we stand for the Lord, no man or array of forces can stand against us. As He was with Moses and Joshua, He is with us. He is with us as a mighty fortress, as a great warrior, as an impenetrable shield, as a victorious sword or invincible weapon. Even if we think that we have only the wall to our back, He holds our rear. He will not leave us or forsake us. He will not give us up or give up on us. We must stick to Him like a leech. He will fortify or strengthen us from within. He will also send us assistance or reinforcements required to withstand the enemy. Under the new covenant, He has made us more than conquerors like Moses or Joshua. For unlike conquerors, we do not have to fight or shed our own blood. Unlike conquerors who can be defeated or overcome by death in battle or due to natural reasons, spiritual death forever, death has lost its sting for us. It cannot hurt us for Jesus has overcome death. Death has been swallowed by victory in Christ. Unlike great conquerors, we, therefore, do not have to even fear death.

God Governance

UV 3641/10000. God Governance There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, (He shall rule) on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9 v 7 The responsibility to govern or rule over the hearts of all humans is given to Jesus, the Son of God. As His name and titles indicate, He has the power and attributes to impart wisdom, to do wonders, the might to save. He is the King of hearts who will establish peace therein. He upholds justice in all the earth and vindicates the righteous by faith. His governance will keep increasing in our lives as we yield our hearts and more of our lives to Him. He rules not just as a King but as an Everlasting Father who never leaves nor forsakes His children. He rules not by the power of fear but of agape love. His power and majesty is manifest in our daily lives in a variety of ways, in the quiet word of wisdom as well as in mighty deeds of deliverance. He has an army at His command to send to our aid at any time of our need or His choosing. His love is zealous and jealous. He will ensure His will is done, His word is executed with the sharpness and effectiveness of a sword. He is the One who walks us through our destiny. He leads us to our salvation, not our damnation. He fills our hearts with His peace, the peace the world cannot give nor take away. He rules not with external decrees but by creating deep change inside us. He makes us long for His peace, His love, His justice, His righteousness. When we thirst like deer in the desert of this world, He satisfies us abundantly. We only need to be singleminded, wholehearted and sincere in our devotion, our trust and obedience. He will accomplish that which He has planned in our lives. Nothing can thwart His will. His governance of us will never end. It is for eternity unlike the mortal kings of this earth. Qualitatively and quantitatively His reign and rule are superior and hence, our allegiance should be to Him and Him alone.

Entering the Rest of God

UV 3640/10000 Entering the Rest of God Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late. Hebrews 4 v 1 The best of us cannot enter His rest, His promise of eternal life, except by grace. Our faith needs to meet God’s word half way for His promises to be fulfilled. His word needs to be received with faith, trust or belief. Man became restless first when he heard satan’s enticing voice and stopped believing in God’s word. We are restored to His rest when we believe in the Word of God or Jesus, the word made flesh. We fall short when we disbelieve and stray from His word and His will. His word is the green pasture, the still waters that David speaks of in the very first Psalm. When we believe in Jesus with our hearts and confess Him with our mouths, the restful presence of God envelops us, surrounds us, regardless of the circumstances. When we harden our hearts like Pharaoh, we suffer strife, we suffer the curses of disobedience. When our hearts are softened like that of a child who reposes trust and confidence in his earthly father, how much more will our Heavenly Father honour our faith! The alternative to trust and rest is the wrath or displeasure of God. When we trust in Jesus, we receive mercy for our failures of shortcomings and grace to succeed. Success is fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. Six days we labour and the seventh day is set apart for our rest. Six days we practice the word and the seventh day we communicate or teach or preach it. The cycle of each week is a symbol of our toil or labour all our lives and then, we enter His rest or our labour is ended, our striving ceases and we enjoy the rewards of a life of faith. Our bodies are like clay pots containing the treasures of faith. The clay pot will break one day but the treasure will remain. Therefore, we need to keep filling our lives with the treasures of the word. At the end of life, we should not grieve that the pot has broken as it is destined to but we should grieve if we have not stored enough treasures of faith in it.

The Overflow

UV 3639/10000 The Overflow The good man brings good out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6 v 43 Jesus distinguishes people in this uni-verse based on what they speak. The good and the evil distinguish themselves by the good or evil they speak. The good or evil they speak is again dependent on the good or evil they store in their hearts. Whatever good or evil we speak is from the overflow of our hearts. The word of God also says that the human heart is incurably evil and deceptive. Only the Word can cure us of the incurable. Only the Holy Spirit can use the Word to cure our hearts of evil such that we speak only good from the overflow of the word stored in our hearts. The Psalmist David also wrote that he stored the word in his heart that it would keep him from evil or sinning against God and man. The word is the sword or sharp double edged weapon to cut or circumcise our hearts of the superfluous, the unnecessary, the irrelevant to godly speaking and living. We need to constantly use it under the expert guidance of the Holy Spirit who alone can peer into the storehouse of our hearts. The Holy Spirit will non-invasively and painlessly use the Word to cut out the evil stored in our hearts and prune the good that it bears the fruit of the spirit of love, joy and peace. The Word will excise the evil embedded in our hearts. It will teach us to be concise and not speak an extra word. Our words will be measured against the high standard set by Jesus and are a reflection of what we have stored in our hearts over time. The Lord measures the quality of our communication and not the quantitative aspect of how much we speak or how well we speak. No wonder St James, the natural brother of Jesus laid emphasis on controlling the tongue like a rudder of a boat. He wrote that if we control the flow from our tongues to be wholesome and not harmful, we are deemed perfect. The nine fruit of the spirit should constantly overflow like an eternal spring that has its source in our hearts. Our words should constantly reflect one or other of the nine qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. Together these qualities constitute spiritual wisdom that should characterize a good man, a man who believes and follows Jesus. We should cut out any words or attitudes that strike a discordant or jarring note that goes against the grain of these nine qualities.

Facing Pain Bravely

UV 3638/10000 Facing Pain Bravely How can you say, “ I am not defiled; I have not run after the ‘Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; You are a swift she-camel running here and there. Jeremiah 2 v 23 The Lord watches closely how we behave in the valleys, or the low points of our lives. Do we continue to be thankful, faithful, positive or do we crib, complain, murmur, run after anything that offers us hope of a solution to our problems or makes our challenges easier to handle? Do we have a positive attitude in our negative situations (PAIN)?. Do we forget all the blessings the Lord has been and given to us? Our character and our faith is shaped in the valley times of our lives. We need to remain focused on the Lord and His word in our valleys and not run like a she-camel or a donkey in heat after every allurement of this world. Our humility, our patience and endurance should make us stand out in our valleys. We should continue to praise and thank the Lord, be grateful for His presence in our lives. His comfort and strength in our difficulties will make us make us stand out like Daniel in the lion’s den, like David before the taunts of Goliath, like Joseph in the pit and the prison. These exemplars of our faith distinguished themselves before God, kings and ordinary people in their valley moments or times. The Lord is closest to us in our valleys but if we chase the summits, we might miss being transformed by His grace. Our valley times should be noted for grace under pressure. We should reach deep inside us and summon our inner strength and resilience, our confidence in the Lord and His promises. The valleys vindicate our faith. The Lord proves Himself faithful and trustworthy in these valleys and prepares us for the mountain peaks in different areas of our lives. We should also be realistic and know that just as landscape has mountains and valleys as well as plains and deserts, we should not expect things to be always gung-ho or hunky dory in our lives. Our faith is demonstrated when we have positive attitudes in negative situations.

The Spiritual Battles and Armour

UV 3637/10000 The Spiritual Battles and Armour For our struggle is not against flesh and blood ( contending only with physical opponents), but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this (present)darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly ( supernatural ) places. Ephesians 6 v 12 We are not in a boxing match but involved in wrestling. There is no “knock out” blow in this match. We have to be prepared for the struggle over the long haul. Our opponents are not fellow human beings but the rulers who are in alliance or nexus with evil or the devil, the powers that serve the rulers, against the known and unknown, secret and open forces of spiritual darkness, against the forces of wickedness in high or supernatural places. It implies that at various times we are involved in a struggle with an invisible enemy, satan, the fallen angels who serve him, the demonic powers that work at his behest. Hence, we need to know our enemy and be fully aware and prepared to face the burning arrows he continually fires at us. We need to don the full spiritual armour from head to toe, to protect ourselves and to stand firm and hold our ground. The shield of faith we use when we pray defensively in faith. The sword of the spirit, we wield when we claim the promises and obey the commands, teach and practice the precepts of Jesus. The belt of truth is a sincere commitment not to lead a double life but to be faithful and truthful at all times or the enemy will put us to shame by exposing our nakedness. Our willingness to go places for the Lord are our shoes, our transport, that make us both fleet footed and secure for our feet that are our foundation are secure. Like a soldier, we must devote some time daily to train and to use our spiritual weapons and authority as a soldier of God. We must not allow any part of our faith armour to rust or to be unused and not maintained. We must not let our armour weigh us down but it should be light and strong enough to enable us to be mobile and agile on our feet. We must choose the level of the enemy’s formation that we need to engage with. We need to be accurate in our aim, strategic in our plans for battle, tireless in terms of stamina. We should rest in between bouts to avoid battle fatigue. We need to feed enough on the word such that it becomes the spiritual sword in our mouths. Below our armour, we wear the tunics or linen clothes of salvation of Jesus.

Communicating in Love

UV 3636/10000 Communicating in Love Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour ( perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding) and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice ( all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence). Ephesians 4 v 31 As followers and believers of Christ, we must emulate His example and stride out of all strife and move towards greater and greater peace. Nothing we say or do should grieve the ever sensitive and gentle indwelling Holy Spirit. We must give up all bitterness and strive to be better people, not giving in to anger, quarrelling, bickering, arguments, abusive language, cursing, carping, gossip or slander. No foul, profane, worthless words should ever leave our mouths. We should train our mouths or our tongues to speak the truth with love and not be caught speaking negative words. We cannot do all this on our own but we need the grace and help of the Holy Spirit. We should get rid of our old self and put on the new self that is being built in the image of Christ. We should renew ourselves constantly in the Spirit and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The key to avoid bitterness getting the better of us is to keep forgiving others and not remembering any grievance or hurt they might have caused us. A wrong remembered is a grudge. Hence, it is as important to forget as to forgive. Hence, in the Lord’s prayer, we repeat the phrase, “ Forgive us as we forgive others.” The measure we use will be the measure used for us. Instead, we should be kind, calm and compassionate to others. Our tone needs to be gentle and persuasive even as our words are kind and expressing the love of Christ. Sometimes, an ill timed joke hurts people like a sting. We should pass our words through the filter of the Word of God before we communicate it. We should aim to listen carefully to others before offering our opinions on any matter. We must not say anything in haste or in anger and then regret it at leisure.

The Rock that Is HIgher than Us

UV 3635/10000 The Rock that Is Higher than Us From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I ( a rock that is too high to reach without Your help). Psalm 61 v 2 God honours our faith whether we cry out to him with a loud persistent shout, a gentle whisper or a silent sigh. He inclines His ear to our mouths to hear our whispers. Wherever we go, He goes there before we get there, even to the end of the earth. Often in life, when we are overwhelmed by the force of circumstances over which we have no control ( like in the current pandemic), people from the ends of the earth call out to Him, whether they know Him personally or not. In our weak moments, He leads us to Christ, the Rock that is higher, much higher, much stronger than us, much wiser than us. God being infinitely holy, loving and powerful cannot be reached by us directly but by climbing onto the Rock of Ages, Jesus, we can reach out to the Father in heaven who hears our every cry. Christ is the Rock and the ladder to heaven, the stairway on which angels mount and descend. He leads us by the hand, rung by rung of our lives. He adds days to our years and makes our years seem like many generations as the Psalm promises. In short, He multiplies our productivity over time. As Jesus is enthroned forever before God, the Father, Jehovah, the Great I Am, and He appoints angels of loving kindness and truth to watch over and preserve us not just from Covid 19 but from every conceivable trouble or trial. He is the only One who knows the end from the beginning and He can promise victory even before we go through any situation or circumstance. When we belong to God, He undertakes to prolong our lives, to end our misery, our troubles, whatever these may be. He is the Rock we cannot access by our intellect, our good deeds, our abilities or our wisdom. We can access Him only by grace. In His great love, He reaches down to us, however lowly we are. He is the mountain that comes to us in the midst of our afflictions. He lends us His strength, His power, His wisdom to endure, to overcome, to emerge victorious. Since we have this confidence in Him, we can always rejoice regardless of the circumstances. In fact, we will find that our stance of faith in the Rock determines and shapes our circumstances. We discover from the lives of historical figures that nothing in this life can be conquered or mastered by virtue of human intellect or bravery or strength or wisdom or ingenuity but with the help of the CPR, Creator, Protector, Rock, everything is possible.

The Two Fold Purpose of Suffering

UV 3634/10000 The Two Fold Purpose of Suffering And not only this, but with joy, let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble ) produces patient endurance; Romans 5 v 3 Gold dust is separated from the sand by immersing in water. Afterwards, the lumps of gold are then melted in fire in order to remove the dross or impurities. Likewise, the Word of God says that we go through water and fire. Water separates while fire purifies. Water separates us from the dust of this world. The water is also a metaphor for the living word of God. The Word separates us from the world. But for the more ingrained impurities, we need to undergo the fire of suffering. Unlike the goldsmith, the Lord steps into the fire with us and prevents us from being burnt like the friends of Daniel were protected by the fourth, the Son of God. The Word produces patience in us while the fire of suffering produces endurance. The word gives us the purpose and meaning of suffering so that when we understand that we have to suffer like Jesus suffered in this world though He is perfect and sinless. Suffering then from the biblical perspective is not punishment but meant for our purification, our strengthening from within. Hence, Paul writes that instead of resenting it, we should relish the fact that the Lord has chosen us for the particular suffering to make us pure like 22 carat gold. We should rejoice in the hope that just as God’s grace enabled Jesus to overcome suffering in this world and emerge victorious for the glory of God, We place our complete hope and confidence in the precious promises contained in the Word that assures us that there will be a manifestation of His excellence and power in our suffering. We are soldiers of God and hence, as soldiers we are trained in and through hardship. We should rejoice in our hardship. God will make a way for us not only through the storm but He will also make the storm a way for us to endure and overcome the challenges of life. The story is told of an English poet who wanted to throw himself off the London bridge and towards that end, called a cab. But due to very heavy rain, the cab driver lost his way to the bridge. Finally, exasperated, the poet asked him to return him back to his residence. When the cab driver reached him back to his residence and said that he did not expect payment since he could not reach the destination of the London bridge, the poet said, “ You have actually saved my life for I intended to end my life at the London bridge tonight.” Cowper, the poet, then wrote the lines, “ God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps on the sea, And rides upon the storm.”