The Rod of God

UV 3676/10000 The Rod of God Their houses are safe from fear; and the rod of God is not on them. Job 21 v 9 Job is bemoaning in this uni-verse that the wicked seem to keep prospering. They become mighty in the land. They live long and their children are established before their eyes while they are yet alive. Finally, he says that the rod of discipline of God is not applied on them. They go through life without correction or chastening by God. The implication is that the rod of God disciplines the godly, those who trust God and follow Him. The rod is often swift and severe to correct the righteous. Even the Psalm of the Shepherd, Psalm 23 speaks of the shepherd’s rod and staff. The rod is meant to discipline the sheep when they go astray. Yet the Psalmist says it is meant to comfort the sheep. Job felt the rod heavy on his back but it was not to correct him but to test his faithfulness. Would he reject God, turn away from Him for withdrawing his many blessings and heaping trouble, pain, suffering on him? Job does not deny God or turn away from Him. He instead questions the justice of God. God allows him to do so and goes on to answer his many furious doubts and anguished queries. Job was eventually blessed twice as much as he was blessed before trials overtook him. The rod of God falls on us not just to discipline us but to test us. We need to be patient at these times. As Job said to God, “Though you slay me, yet shall I adore You.” We do not worship and love God so that He gives us blessings but we value our relationship far above the benefits we have on account of our faith and relationship with the Lord. We need to trust the wisdom of God and believe in His love and care of us. Even when the rod of God falls on us, we need to rejoice for Paul, the apostle who underwent many kinds of trials including torture, imprisonment, stoning, shipwreck and so on, exhorts us to be joyful in all circumstances. God is our anchor of equilibrium in all situations of life. We need to welcome His rod at least as much as we rejoice in His hand of blessing on our lives.

The Borrowed Tomb

UV 3675/10000 The Borrowed Tomb Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden, a new tomb (cut out of solid rock) in which no one had yet been laid. John 19 v 41 It is indeed the greatest of ironies of history that the One who owned the entire universe and had created the entire universe came into this Earth in a borrowed womb and left the earth in a borrowed tomb, the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus is the Rock that was not cut by human hands, spoken of by Daniel in his prophetic vision. The rock that will grow and fill the whole earth. The condemned prisoner Jesus is today, a Name revered by kings and commoners all over the globe. He is the solid rock on which we base our hope in life as in death. For death is swallowed up by His death and resurrection. The borrowed tomb could barely hold Him for three days. The defeat, the sting and the stench of death was quenched forever for him or her that held onto this hope in the risen Christ who rose to rule over both death and life. The garden of Eden and indeed, the Earth in which it is located was cursed by the act of faithlessness and disobedience of the first man and woman. On the cross and in the borrowed tomb, Jesus atoned for that and declared the Earth once more blessed. The earth and all in it could once more be redeemed by faith in Him, the Word of God. Man once again moved from tragic shortcoming or “hamartia” to hyperbole, the abundant life. The grave had been transformed into a garden of fruitfulness. The message of the borrowed womb and the borrowed tomb is deep, impactful and enduring. Happiness is no longer defined as the pursuit of (often sinful) pleasure but a blend of a sense of wonder at God’s love and power, a grasp of godly wisdom, access to the miracle working power of God on earth, His power and grace, His limitless love manifested in His sacrificing the beloved Son and availing of the peace that passes understanding that Jesus alone can impart in all situations of life. The Lord God is closer to us than our own skin and sin is kept at bay. We become the living temple of God and the word gives us the templates to build that temple day after day. Jesus overturns the money changing tables, the love of dishonest gain, inside of us and drives out our personal demons so that our hearts and minds become truly the kingdom of God.

Being Grafted to God

UV 3674/10000 Being Grafted to God Then join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. Ezekiel 37 v 17 The prophet Ezekiel is speaking in this vision of the rod of Judah, the children of Israel being joined to another stick, that of Joseph, also of the house of Israel. It is symbolic of believers in Jesus who belonged to the house or tribe of Judah of the twelve tribes of Israel, the sons of Jacob. Jacob had done a deal or covenant with God, Jehovah who revealed Himself to Him. When we deal or covenant with God, we get transformed. Likewise, when we enter into a commitment or covenanted relationship with Jesus, giving our hearts to Him, He enters our lives and we become grafted onto Him. In union with Him, we become not dry, lifeless twigs or branches but we become like Joseph, a fruitful bough or branch of Christ. He is the One who overcame sin and death and therefore, becomes our ‘good root’. This vision reminds us of another biblical vision- that of an almond branch being connected to a wild almond branch and the latter begins to come to life with fruiting into almond. The Holy Spirit like the sap of God begins to flow in us and transforms our wild tongue, thoughts, tastes into Christ-like gentleness and humility. The dead and wild parts of our nature are shed like dead leaves in autumn and we are full of the Spirit of God and thereby, the fruit of the spirit. In order to find fulfilment or fruition in this life, we need to be first filled with God and be emptied of ourselves. Then, we become fruitful branches of the living God. Our joining with Christ, our bonding with Him, our grafting onto Him if it is genuine and complete, the signs of the new life and new fruitfulness should come into evidence. Our DNA should become the DNA of Christ and the DNA or divine nature of Christ should be ours. Hence, Jesus said, “ You can bear fruit only in union with Me for I am the True Vine and you are the branches.” Like the branches of a vine are pruned for greater and greater fruitfulness. Greater faithfulness leads to greater fruitfulness. We need to avoid the graft of this world and be grafted onto God through His Son Jesus.

The Foxes that Attack the Fruitful Vineyard

UV 3673/10000 The Foxes that Attack the Fruitful Vineyard Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards (of love), while our vineyards are in blossom. Song of Solomon 2 v 15 The little foxes referred to in the uni-verse are the sources of deception, false beliefs and evil desires that ensnare the human soul. The foxes are subtle and cunning and creep through our fences, our moral standards, beliefs and values and try to ruin our relationships and thereby, our joy, the joy of salvation. These try to ruin our fruitfulness by destroying the flowers when they are in blossom. Instead of being deceived or ensnared by these, we should set up traps for the foxes, early detection systems to detect them at the very beginning when they are trying to get in through the fences. Our fences of prayer and the word should be close linked and always in a good state of repair. We need to examine our perimeter security daily and take steps there and then to set it right. The foxes of pride, greed, insincerity, lust are notorious for destroying the fruit of the spirit. Many influential leaders have fallen prey to lust in recent days. It affects their testimonies and impacts their influence at the fag end of their lives. Prayer and the word of God are the effective remedies to deter these subtle foes of the soul. Like Samson caught a thousand foxes and set their tails on fire before freeing them into enemy territory, we need to daily catch these thousand foxes and set them free in satan’s realms, never to return to trouble us. If we fail to do so, we would end up feeding them and allowing the little foxes to grow big and mature when it is difficult to catch or deal with them. The little foxes will feed on our souls and affect our relationship with the Lord, the lover of our souls. They will nibble on our patience, our faith, our hope, our love, our willingness to forgive others. They will create bitterness in our hearts and keep us from yielding good fruit as the Lord’s faithful vineyard should. The abnormalities that these induce in our attitudes and actions would then subtly become our new normal. Like David guarded his sheep against predators, we need to guard the people given into our responsibility to lead, to teach, to minister to. A thousand foxes attack the flock of God. Hence, believers should be trained to identify the foxes, defend themselves and keep the foxes at bay. We should be more zealous to manifest and grow the nine fruit of the spirit than to possess and manifest the nine gifts of the spirit, to love God deeply and truly than to occupy the nine offices of the spirit. The foxes’ main target is to attack the fruitfulness of our lives for the vineyard of God is the battlefield of the enemy.

THE TRIGGER CAN'T GET BIGGER

UV 3672/10000 The Trigger Can’t Get Bigger For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1 v 37 The Lord God has done many impossible things. It will do wonders to our faith to recount some of these. He spoke the universe into existence. He used mud to form the first man and breathed life into him, formed the woman from his rib. He caused ten plagues to descend on Egypt in quick succession. He parted the Red Sea to let the Israelites cross safely to the other side. He fed the millions of Israelites with manna from heaven. He caused the Jordan to part to allow them again to cross. He caused the Jericho fort walls to fall when 300 Israelites marched around it seven times, breaking their pitchers and blowing their bugles. He caused an iron axe to float in the time of Elisha and executed many remarkable miracles in the life of Elijah, the prophet: feeding him in a time of famine using a crow. He filled the dry pits with water. He caused fire from heaven to consume the sacrificed meat. He extended the life of a king, Hezekiah. He caused the shepherd boy to slay a giant with a slingshot to his head. Even today, He can do these mighty wonders and miracles and cause us to deliver a slingshot to slay our threats. He causes us to win against our foes, whether many or few. He turned water in six jars to turn into wine. He healed lepers of leprosy. He raised the dead and raised Himself from the dead. He fed the multitudes with just a few fish and few small loaves of bread. He healed the deaf and mute. He walked on water and caused the storm in the Sea of Galilee to immediately subdue. Even today, He can use us to subdue storms with our words. He causes healing from incurable diseases and raises the dead to life. He gave sight to the born blind. He healed the woman of a bleeding disease by just a contact with the hem of His robe. We just need to mix our thoughts, feelings, words and actions with faith in His name and word and He can fix any impossible situation or problem. He causes the barren in any field to yield. He can throw any mountain or huge challenge into the sea, that is cause a very manifest, visible problem to disappear. He speaks and thinks in the language of the impossible. We only need to think and believe and confess or declare with our mouths that what is impossible for man is possible for God. He operates on quite another plane. It is as natural for Him to do the impossible with ease as to carry on with the natural that He has formed or created. I recall two years ago a well -connected person told me it is impossible that my batch would get promoted that year. I just remarked that God can and would do it in twenty four hours. Lo and behold! In twenty four hours, we got the information that our batch is being promoted. My words and faith triggered the miracle but it was God’s grace and power that accomplished it. Likewise, believers through history have experienced unexplained and unrecorded miracles. We pull the trigger of faith and God fires the gun to release the miracle we either seek or need. Whatever other weapon we possess in our life’s armoury, the biggest yet is our God connection, our faith in His power to do the impossible.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord.

UV 3671/10000 The Battle Belongs to the Lord You need not fight in this battle; take your positions, stand and witness the salvation of the Lord who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you. 2 Chronicles 20 v 17 The Lord fights on the behalf of the ones who trust Him. We need not fight, we only need to take our faith positions. We take our faith positions on the specific promises of the Lord. The Lord set up ambushes against the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem. They destroyed each other. He caused Jehoshaphat the king of Israel to rejoice with his people. We have victory as the Lord is with us. We only need to go out each day in the faith that the Lord will show up in the valley of battle and turn it into a valley of blessing and victory. The spoils of victory are compared to the joy of salvation in the book of Isaiah. The enemy left behind so much spoil in terms of weapons, equipment, garments and valuables the Israelites found it difficult to carry it all. When Jehoshaphat confronted a multitude of hostile armies against him, he cried out to the Lord in his distress and the Lord answered him. Likewise, when we face a multitude of problems in our lives, we should cry out to the Lord. Jehoshaphat recalled how the Lord had defeated all who opposed Israel when they were travelling through hostile territory to the promised land. He acknowledged the power and the presence of God. He acknowledged that he and his people did not know what to do but that their eyes were upon the Lord. The Lord never disappoints His people. We should never be dismayed or worried or afraid of the odds against us. But recalling all the times and occasions the Lord had delivered us in the past, we should thank and praise Him. Every day we face battles in our lives. Life is all about spiritual warfare but the Lord is with us. The battle belongs to the Lord and victory comes not from our own abilities or resources or connections but from the Lord. He turns the battlefield which we dread into the valley of Beracah or blessing. He turns the weapons of the enemy against themselves. The more intense the pitched battle we are fighting, we should increase the pitch of our praise and worship and thanksgiving. Jehoshaphat did not pray alone but he raised an army of supplicants and intercessors from among his own people.

The Passion for Righteousness

UV 3670/10000 The Passion for Righteousness You have loved righteousness ( integrity, virtue, uprightness in purpose) and have hated lawlessness ( injustice, sin). Therefore, God, Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. Psalm45 v 7 This uni-verse is cited as fulfilment of a Messianic promise in Hebrews chapter one. It meant that Jesus was set apart from all humans. Jesus, the Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness or jubilation or victory above all humans as He during His earthly sojourn took a stand against evil, wickedness, sin and a total commitment to justice, righteousness, integrity, virtue. Hence, God the Father being pleased with Him, testified of Him, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” If we listen to His word and do likewise, we too will be anointed with the oil of gladness above our companions. On one hand, we have to love righteousness and the other, hate evil. This will enable us to do what Paul exhorted the early church to do: to cling to good, to get rid of evil. Jesus even in the tiniest detail of the law and prophecies did His best to fulfill even though He did not need to. For example, He did not need to take the baptism of repentance of John the Baptist but He insisted. He was setting an example that all who believe in His name need to be “born of the water.” He paid the temple tax even though He had no income. When confronted by a woman caught in adultery, He wrote in the sand, “forgiven” but paid with His blood even for that woman. One thief who repented, He forgave on the cross but the other He could not as salvation has to be preceded by repentance, however it is expressed. As siblings of Jesus, we too need to have a passion to love the goodness of God and to hate evil with equal passion. When we do so, we reflect the character of Jesus, the very character of the Father. We belong to the family of God, His geneology not by our bloodline or lineage but by character and commitment. If we want to enter and share the Shekinah or radiant glory of Jesus as He sits on the throne next to the Father, this is the cost we need to pay. Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit and gives us His grace to enable, to equip, to empower us to be able to reflect His character on earth. Just as people see the character of God in Jesus, they should be able to see the character of Jesus in us. A certain gentleman, senior to me, who does not worship my God embarrasses me by sometimes calling me messiah. I protest and when he continues to do so, I confess that I am at best “mess -i-am”. However, I told him that I am happy if he sees even a small aspect of the Messiah Jesus in me.

Avoid Sinking By Syncing the Parts

UV 3669/10000 Avoid Sinking by Syncing the Parts For just as in one (physical) body we have many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function or use, Romans 12 v 4 Paul draws the picture of an interdependent community called the church, Christ being the head and all individuals are parts. Most of the time we are just tiny parts of the parts. This will enable us to retain perspective so that we are never proud, arrogant, always humble. We are dependent on the Lord as our head to give us a sense of direction. He directs what each part should do. We are also mutually dependent on each other. Whatever be our function in the corpus Christi, we ought to do it to the best of our ability, if it is to lead, to lead diligently, if it is to serve, to serve wholeheartedly, if it is to give, to give generously, if it is to prophesise, to prophesise boldy and truthfully, if it is to teach, to teach effectively, if it is to encourage, to encourage others to walk the faith, to run the race. No one is superior to anyone else and everyone is subject to the Head, that is Christ. If the Head is anointed, enabled, the parts are also anointed, enabled. We should not look down on anyone as being useless but help everyone to fulfil their function in the body. Our task it to meet some need of the body and to serve the whole body of Christ. The unction or anointing of the Holy Spirit enables us to perform our assigned function well. If one part of the body is hurt or unwell, it affects the well being of the whole body. Since the past three days, my left eye suffers from some pain, swelling due to some spray hitting it. It affects the functioning of the whole body. Likewise, when parts of the body, the church are affected adversely, it affects the overall functioning. Hence, we need to be empathetic, concerned, sensitive and responsive to all parts or all individuals who need our support or help. At the individual level, we should invite the Lord to examine every part of our being, body, spirit, mind, our functioning for He is our Chief Physician, Counsellor, Problem Solver, Leader, Comforter, Encourager, Teacher. All parts should sync and think like the Head.

Ignorance Perpetrates Evil and Folly

UV 3668/10000 Ignorance Perpetrates Evil and Folly And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23 v 34 In human law, it is said that ignorance is not an excuse and just because a man does not know he is violating the law, he is not allowed to go scot free. But in this uni-verse, Jesus lays the foundation of divine law of forgiveness- to forgive our offenders as they do not know what they are doing. This is the single greatest act and expression of love in all history. But that does not take away from not knowing what we are doing being the genesis of much of the wrong doing in this world. It underlies the importance of knowing the law of God- the Word. It will keep us from evil as well as folly. The Jews did not know they were crucifying the very Messiah they had been promised. The Romans under Pilate did not know they were crucifying as a hardened criminal Someone greater than any or all of their Caesars or emperors put together. The people did not know that they were baying for the blood of the very One who had formed them and had come to transform their lives, to set them free from death, sin and its bondages. Were the eyes of the Romans, the Jewish priests and the common people deliberately blinded that they did not recognize Jesus to be God? Did they wantonly choose not to read the signs of His divinity demonstrated in His words, His miracles? God was allowing sin to run its full course and from the lowest point of the grave, He would resurrect hope through the resurrected Jesus. The essence of the truth is that knowledge of truth can set us free. When we know the truth, that is Jesus personally and through Him the entirety of divinity, we are set free. Since the world does not know the truth, we, too are to forgive them for they know not what they do against us. We should know what we are doing so that we stay on the straight and narrow road. The conscience of Pilate warned him of great wrong doing. But, under pressure, he chose to overlook it. His wife, too saw a nightmare that warned him but he chose to ignore it. In our lives, too we overlook the voice of the conscience under the pressure of circumstances. The people were fickle, one day hailing Jesus as King and the next, shouting that He be put to death. The priests who should know the scriptures and the prophecies concering the Messiah hardened their hearts to deal with what they thought was a threat to their authority and well being. Ignorance perpetrates folly and evil but ironically, in crucifying Jesus, the Light of the World, the Word of God, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the King of Kings, the perfect Messiah, the ultimate sacrifice, ignorance paved the way for the knowledge of God to spread across the world, for mankind to enjoy salvation, to experience every blessing in place of the curses of folly and sin.

Being Real in Our Faith

UV 3667/10000 Being Real in Our Faith And he answered, “ I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. Matthew 21 v 29 In this uni-verse, Jesus is not glorifying the lack of obedience on the part of the first son but stating that all people come to the Lord as an after thought, a repentance, a turning back from a past of disbelief, disregard and disobedience of the Heavenly Father. From the perspective of the Lord, better is the one who stumbled and rose up than the one who never fell but presumes that for that reason, He has no need for God in his life. Hence, Heaven is not populated by the religious minded, the self righteous, the hyprocrites, the insincere, the half hearted but by people who turned from a sinful past marked by disbelief to a life of faith, trust and love of God. Heaven is populated by those who are broken, desperate, those who feel they can make it only by grace and not by virtue of their own good deeds or efforts. The first son regretted it. It meant that a change of heart preceded the change of mind. He regretted it as he felt that his act of defiance of his father’s authority was not right. He wanted to make amends by going to the vineyard and work in it as his father had asked him to. The vineyard, being a metaphor for the kingdom of God, we need to heed the voice of the Lord to work for the Lord in the kingdom of God on earth. The parable does not mention the nature of the work he did in the vineyard. We need to assume it was productive work. Our belief in the Lord Jesus is reckoned as obedience even as our sharing our faith with others is regarded as productive work. The father in the story does not hold the initial disobedience of the first son against him. The second son went through the motions and gave the impression that he is obedient but he did not go to the vineyard to work. Those who pay lip service to the Lord are comparable to the second son. When we make a commitment to the Lord or for that matter to anyone, we need to mean our words. Words and intentions are not enough to qualify as citizens of the kingdom of God or as children of the Lord. We need to practice what we believe, what we teach or preach.

Reflections on The Morning Star

UV 3666/10000 The Morning Star So we have the prophetic word made more certain. You do well to pay ( close) attention to it as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and light breaks through the gloom and the Morning Star arises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1 v 19 The parallel verse for this uni-verse is in the book of Revelation chapter 2 verse 28: “ and I will give him the Morning Star.” Jesus is a distant star for most of humanity but to those who believe and trust Him, He is the Morning Star or the Sun of Righteousness who makes them righteous, who sheds the light of His love, truth and grace abundantly in their lives. It is prophetic knowledge for when science and human knowledge did not recognize the sun as a star that brought morning to all every single day, the Bible calls Jesus in more than one place, the Morning or Daystar on high. He is not a star who stays far away but visited us here on earth. He visits and stays in our hearts to light up our days and nights. Human civilization dawned with Him- the need to love, to render justice to all, to avoid barbaric violence, not to wreak vengeance all came with the visit of the Daystar or Morning Star. Once we invite the Morning Star of Jesus to truly take dwelling in us , to know Him as Emmanuel- or God with us, God in us, there will be no place for mourning in our lives. For He alone can wipe every tear from every eye. We should not be sad or mournful or complaining of our lot unlike those in the world who grope in the darkness for meaning and hope. We have the hope of eternal life in Jesus. We have the precious unfailing promises of God embedded in the Word. We have assurance of forgiveness, hence, no guilt or darkness. We have victory in this world over sin and death, hence, rejoice. Love, agape love already demonstrated and daily experienced in Christ. Friendship in Christ, hence, never alone to bear our burdens. We have the heritage of our faith- amazing wisdom of the scripture, awesome songs of worship, wonderful fellowship for the kingdom of God consists of such as these. Peace with which Jesus endows us as He alone can. Faith, hope and love, the three greatest things of life that we can retain which we have in the Triune God who blesses us in spirit, mind and body. The sun is just a star to the more distant planets, making no significant difference to the latter. The many angles of the star get transformed into the perfect circle of the sun due to our relative proximity from the Earth. Likewise, the closer we are to the source of our lives and of love, the strange angularities of our lives, the problems and issues get lit up into perfection. True, if we get too close to the sun or stay too long in the sun, we get burnt. That is where the comparison ends, for Jesus, the closer or more intimate we are with Him, the more blessed we are though His words do burn in our hearts. Indeed, when we get the perspective right, we get proportion, too. The Word is the lamp that when we pay close and closer attention to it, we get our perspective and our proportion right.

Leave the Children Alone

UV 3665/10000. Leave the Children Alone But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19 v 14 Before Christ, children did not count. They were neither to be seen nor heard in adult circles. Hence, when parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus whom they believed was someone special sent by God while some believed Him to be the promised Messiah, the disciples shooed them away. Jesus kept His eyes and ears open to what the disciples did and immediately intervened. He asked them not to hinder them from coming near Him. He brought children to the center of the kingdom of heaven. He pointed out that the qualities of the citizens of the heavenly kingdom, from which He came and to which He would return once His task on earth was fulfilled, were innocence, gentleness, humility, faith and trust of a child. Jesus does not celebrate children only on Childrens’ day but on every day of the year. We must retain that sense of wonder that children have when they discover some new aspect of life or of knowledge. We should be in awe of the Lord. Children before they gain the forbidden knowledge of this world are like angels. Jesus knew that His sacrifice on the cross would make adults with crooked hearts and messed up pasts as innocent as children. Their past record would be blotted out as if these did not exist. We are to come to the Lord Jesus to learn, to be taught about God, to be taught by God. Our trust and obedience should be complete and free from any doubt or suspicion. Our crooked hearts would be restored to child -like innocence by our inclining our ear and our heart to the Lord. The fruit of the spirit would be manifest in us. We would also have a child-like curiousity about the Lord and His ways. We will be eager to be at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. Like children depend on the food their parents provide, trusting it is meant for their growth and development, we should depend on the manna the Lord provides us in His word. Like children, we can ask questions till we gain understanding of the word but once we understand, our allegiance to the Lord and our obedience should be unquestioning. A child loves adults who spend time with her. Compared to Jesus, His infinite power, His infinite wisdom, even the oldest, wisest, most experienced adult is like a child. A child lies still in her mother’s arms once she is weaned or satisfied with the feeding she receives. Likewise, we should be still, free from our many restless schemes and plans as we lie in the loving embrace of the Lord. Then we will experience the many dimensions of His love, His provision, His grace. Today, Jesus continues to lay His hands on the heads of our children, to bless them, to acknowledge them, to make them feel counted and valued. The word of God is severe in its judgement of those who mislead children, those who mistreat or abuse them. Paul writes that “Now, we understand as a child but when we are mature, we will see and understand as clear as day.” It implies that Jesus is not endorsing immature or childish behaviour but that we should believe like a child, pray like a child, trust like a child, be gentle and humble like Jesus- the child-like qualities of the most powerful Person in all of history and all of the universe.

Evidence of Being Filled with Grace and Power

UV 3664/10000 Evidence of Being Filled with Grace and Power Now, Stephen, full of grace ( divine blessing, favour) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people. Acts 6 v 8 Just as Jesus was described a full of grace and truth, Stephen was a man full of grace and power. We, too, in this age and time can be filled with the grace and power of Jesus. We, too, can do great wonders and signs attesting our faith. Stephen, it is also written, was filled with the Holy Spirit. In his defence before the Jewish Council, he explained the historic events that led to the Tabernacle of God being established in human bodies made by God as we believe in the propitiation offered by Jesus. Stephen spoke of the God of glory, the shekinah or radiant glory of heaven and even as he was being stoned to death, he was granted the grace of seeing God in all His glory seated on His throne with Jesus by His side. Stephen emphasized in his defence of faith that we cannot build anything for God but God can dwell in us. If heaven is His throne, the earth is His footstool and everything we should do should be in an attitude of worship and thanksgiving. The Lord humbles Himself to dwell in the sinful hearts of man as the Righteous One, Jesus made our hearts justified or straight. We can now perceive the glory of God and make known His glory by attesting signs and wonders as evidence of His presence and power in our lives. Stephen was given the grace to be a martyr for the Lord, the very first one. The signs and wonders he did was as evidence of the indwelling glory of God. Like Stephen, we cannot enter the presence of God and leave it unchanged. Every time we enter the glorious and awesome presence of God and get a glimpse of Him, we are transformed degree by degree, so that we ourselves, become a better tabernacle of the Lord. The Lord is patient with us and waits for our entire lives to turn ourselves completely to Him. Our zeal can, of course, speed up the process of our transformation.

The Words of Eternal Life

UV 3663/10000 The Words of Eternal Life Simon Peter answered, “ Lord, to whom shall we go? You ( alone) have the words of eternal life ( you are our only hope). John 6 v 68 The disciples with the exception of Judas Iscariot clung onto the hope they had in Jesus. Having observed Him at close quarters, the words He spoke, the miracles He did, the authority He has over even the elements of nature that no earthly ruler before or since ever had, they firmly believed Him. Unlike many who abandoned following Jesus, the twelve stuck with Jesus. Only Judas chose to ally with the devil as he had reservations about the mission of Jesus. The rhetorical question Peter asked, “ Lord, to whom shall we go?” is a summary of our own situation today. We have no one else to go to for eternal life, for grace, for mercy, for salvation, for help, for breakthroughs in our earthly challenges and answers to our existential dilemmas. The words spoken by Jesus is precious. It gives us a new perspective, a grip on the ultimate truths. Jesus alone in history declared Himself as the only way to God, to the abundant life, to eternal life, to resurrection from the dead. He does not impose the choice on us. We can listen and follow His words like Peter or abandon Him like many others or appear to follow Him but follow the way and words of the enemy of our souls as Judas did to betray Him. There is no doubt expressed by Jesus about His mission and vision of salvation. His words provide the rock solid foundation of our faith. He spoke plainly and simply. We only need to believe His words and follow Him like the eleven and not be sidetracked like Judas. In the midst of this world-wide crisis of the Covid pandemic, Jesus alone gives us hope and clarity in what we should do. We should only cling to the words of eternal life He speaks to us. We only need to internalize, personalize and speak the words of Jesus.

Soul of Abundance

UV 3662/10000 Soul of Abundance I will satisfy the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people will be satisfied with My goodness,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 31 v 14 The ultimate and true abundance that we should seek is the abundance of the soul. In this uni-verse, the Lord promises to fill our souls to the brim with His abundance, an abundance of peace, joy, love and the other fruit of the spirit. But our attitude needs to be that of a priest, humble, repentant, faithful, kind, loving, compassionate. We, the believers are the priests of God. We are to reveal the goodness of God to the people. By our words, are many lives to be saved forever. By our knowledge of God and His ways, the people will become aware of the goodness of the Lord and will not depart from it. Jesus is our High Priest who made known the goodness and love of God. It is a mystery that though He is God in Himself, He is also priest. We have access to the abundance of the soul and spirit through Jesus. Humble and gentle, He offered Himself as a sacrifice to absolve us of our shortcomings. Hence, He said, “ I have come to give you life and life in all its abundance.” We are set free from a mindset of scarcity and shortcoming and transformed into a mindset of abundance. Having a soul of abundance implies that we, as priests of the Most High God, are always thankful, grateful, always engaged in praise and worship. Our lips are engaged in thanking the Lord when they are not busy in making known His goodness to people. Our cup is neither a half filled one or a half empty one but an overflowing cup of joy. We rejoice in the presence of the Lord in our lives, we rejoice again in the blessings that flow from our relationship with Him.

The Breaker

UV 3661/10000 The Breaker The breaker ( the Messiah, who opens the way) shall go up before them ( liberating them). They will break out, pass through the gate and go out; So their King goes on before them, The Lord is at their head. Micah 2 v 13 At one point in my life and career, there was a serious obstacle to my progression. It was placed on my path by the very persons who should have removed it. It was placed by the very persons who told me that they were only interested in my career and life going ahead. They did it stealthily, without my knowledge, behind my back. At that time, the Lord spoke this uni-verse to me. He sent a pastor or a shepherd to share this promise with me when I was disturbed and upset. It implies that the Lord Jesus goes ahead of us to clear the path of huge obstacles, hurdles that keep us from going on the path. Usually, the leader’s men or king’s army will go ahead of the leader or king to remove the obstacles in his path, but in our case, the King, our Leader Himself goes ahead of us to remove the hurdles in our path. He is therefore, the only true Leader. He has wisdom, power and strength to remove the obstacles in our paths, whatever these may be. The Lord plans for our breakthroughs and break outs so that we do not miss any opportunities intended for us that magnify His name. Most of the time like sheep are not aware of the moves by the shepherd, we may not even be aware of it. The important thing is that we should be the sheep in the fold, the sheep that listen to His voice, the sheep that follow Him and His word diligently. Today, it seems that there is only one sheep that obeys the shepherd 100 percent and ninety nine have strayed. We should be like that one sheep in the fold, not the ninety nine who strayed. We should be content to graze on the pastures of the Lord( His word), to go where He lead us. The Lord promises in His word that He will drive our enemies away, that He will be an implacable enemy to our enemies. He will send the hornets ahead of us to drive them away. But He will not do it in one year. We need to be patient. He waits to allow us to go stronger and more numerous. We need to be on our guard lest the enemy deceives or ensnares us to think that the grass of the world is greener. The prophet Isaiah states that the Lord is our Messiah in all our distresses and not just from sin and death. He saves us from dangers, risks, losses, shame, famine, pestilence. We find our rest in Him. He rebuilds the walls and restores our nest or our tabernacle. The bricks that the Lord Jesus uses to build are human lives and hence, He sends human assistance to us in our difficult moments. He also sends the angels from His presence to help us, to break through in tight situations. He carries us when we are not able to walk like the eagle carries its young on its pinions. We should be careful not to rely on the opinions of others or fall for their traps or compromise. It is not for us to compromise with the world but to rely entirely on the promise of the Lord.

Dual Power for Every Duel

UV3660/10000 Dual Power for Every Duel Let the high praise of God be in their throats, and a two-edged sword in their hands, Psalm 149 v 6 The godly should exult or enjoy praising God. The praise of God is always in their throats and is its very lubricant. Not ordinary praise but high praise, praise of all the extraordinary things God has done, created, redeemed. The wonderful ways He has blessed and saved us. We rejoice or exult in Him as our Maker, our King or Ruler, our Father, our Saviour. As we humble ourselves unlike the rest of humanity to worship and acknowledge Him in every way, every day, every moment, He beautifies our lives with His salvation. He takes pleasure or delights in us as a father in His obedient and grateful children. The praise we give to the Lord is reserved for Him alone. The two -edged sword that brings life is the Word. We are to grip the Word with both our hands. We are to be in the word and of the word, not of the world. The word is to be studied and applied in all aspects of our lives. Like the volunteer army of builders of Nehemiah, we hold the tools of our respective professions in one hand and the two edged sword of the spirit in our other hand. One edge is meant to bind the kings of darkness with spiritual chains to keep these forces from perpetuating evil, to execute judgement on their executives and restrain them from their acts of wickedness. The other edge is meant to set us free from our own chains and fetters, to train us in godliness and righteousness, to equip us for every work that God has called us to do. When we do the above, our intentions, thoughts and words are primed to do the work of the Lord in this world. The word that is bitter in our mouths will become sweet as nectar in our stomachs. The word in our mouths will be like an unsheathed sword. At the end of each day, we can look back and sing for joy as we lie on our beds, reflecting on the day(s) gone by. We will be able to execute the will of God on earth, we will fulfill the purpose for which we were brought into being. The power of praise and the dual edged power of the sword is to be witnessed at work in our lives, every single day. In praise and the word, we have dual power to use in every duel we face in life.

The Pilot and the Plot

UV 3659/10000 The Pilot and the Plot Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. Psalm 138 v 7 David confesses in this uni-verse that the Lord being in His midst, and though he walks in the midst of troubles, He will revive him. The Lord shakes His mighty hand against the plans or plots of our enemies, mortal and spiritual, temporal and eternal. His hand is upon us and He will save us. Though scores and hundreds or even a battalion rises against us, the Lord is with us as a mighty fortress. We need to be humble and faithful and the Lord assures us He will be with us. His power will be manifest, His grace will be released. The next verse states that the Lord will accomplish that which concerns us. It implies that whatever we attempt, it is the Lord who accomplishes it in our lives. He will never abandon us nor fail us. We need, therefore, to be bold, fearless, confident, faithful and submissive to the will of the Lord. The Lord will subdue in due time the envious, the wicked, those who speak and do evil against us. He is our glory or the source of our greatness and upliftment. Our enemies will melt like wax or become weak in the presence of the Lord. The Lord will neutralize their weapons and judge their tongues for unjustly condemning or accusing or attacking us. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. We should not imitate the ways of our enemies by reacting in the flesh or acting or speaking as they do. Instead, we should be in the word and of the word. The word will straighten our attitudes or our hearts. The word will teach us the ways of the Lord. If the world can be compared to a leech that sticks to our skin, the word is the salt that makes the leech to release its tentacles on us. The word helps us navigate all terrains and landscapes of life. The Lord pilots us and does not plot against us.

The Shepherd's Covenant

UV 3658/10000 The Shepherd’s Covenant I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion)a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be (abundant) showers of blessing ( divine favour). Ezekiel 34 v 26 The picture the prophet Ezekiel paints is quite pastural. First, he talks of the Messiah being a shepherd like David. He is no ordinary shepherd but the prince among shepherds. He is the chief Shepherd. A shepherd walks where the sheep walks and Jesus has walked where humans have walked. Like David stayed and defended his father's sheep from predators like a lion and a bear, Jesus stays with us and defends us. Just as David broke the lion's jaw with his hands, Jesus defeated the roaring lion, the enemy of our souls who roams around to see which soul he can devour. Whatever the killer, the lion throws at us or attacks us with, Jesus brings something sweet out of it like the dead lion's carcass in the Samson story. He either gives us immediate victory or ultimate victory and often both. He will judge between the well fed sheep and the lean sheep, the well behaved sheep and the not so well behaved and aggressive ones that gore or butt or harm others. He will rescue His flock from being a prey to the predators. He will eliminate the predators from the land so that we ( the believers) will live live securely, be fed and sleep safely in the woods. We would have plenty of water ( divine blessings) to quench our thirst or meet our every need. He will renew our source of water in the due season or on time. We will not be victims of famine or pestilence ( read Covid 19). We will not have to face or endure the insults of people of different nations who revel in mocking us or our faith. By these means, we will know or we have evidence that the Lord is with us, His favour is upon us. He has made a covenant of peace with us. He has broken the bars of our yoke and set us free from every sin, fear and curse. We have moved from spiritual poverty to spiritual abundance. Jesus is the Prince of peace who seals the covenant with His own blood and spirit. It is inviolable. It is our guarantee of eternal life, of hope, of peace, of security, of provision. While we humans are looking to the summits of achievement, of worldly success, of prosperity and security, of promotion in the scale of society, the Lord is preparing a safe place for us in the valley. The low times of our lives are the times He is closest to us. The reality and intimacy of His bonds of love with us comes through in such valley times. On the hills and mountains of attainment, we might feel exhilarated and taken in by our own success but it is in the pastures of the valley that the river of God’s grace flows. It is where we can drink to our fill of His grace. In the valley where we are vulnerable and open to attack by the predatory animals, we most sense His loving protection and care. We are not to be afraid of the predators but being aware of these real threats, risks and dangers, we should always walk close to Jesus, the good Shepherd. Jesus has proven Himself capable in human history to restore us from death, to defend us from death, to equip us against falling prey to the subtle predators and to avoid the more brazen and bold ones. He has proven Himself able to provide for our every need of spirit, mind and body.

The Sacrifice Required of Us

UV 3657/10000 The Sacrifice Required of Us Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Hebrews 13 v 15 Since Jesus has offered up, once and for all, once for all, the perfect sacrifice of atonement as He alone could, we now have to only offer up a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips in combination with the sacrifice of godly deeds like giving to the needy. With the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts we please God with a spirit that sacrifices our own egos on the altar of God. With the fruit of our lips, we help to save lives, we inspire people to follow the example and teachings of Jesus, we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and confess our faith in Him. With our good deeds, we glorify His name. We should not therefore, neglect using our mouths and hearts to worship or adore the One who atoned for us, the One who sent Him to atone for us- the Father in heaven who waits with love for us to return to His fold and the Holy Spirit who teaches us to pray, worship and comforts as well as strengthens us in our afflictions. God is 360 degree x 365 x x, implying that in all matters concerning our lives, He is concerned, all year and all our lives. Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever, implying that even as He healed the sick, He is here with us today to heal us, to protect us from the ravages of Covid 19 and beyond. He is here with us today to lead us, to teach us, to guide us, to bless us. “ I Am” is with us. Hence, we should neither fear, nor faint, nor be dismayed, nor doubt God. We are called to live a life of sacrifices and devotion to Christ but not one of renunciation. Christ has done it all for us on the cross. Hence, He said, “It is finished” or His mission to save mankind is successful, complete, nothing left to do by God or man. We are not saved because we offer praise and worship or sacrifices. Rather, we offer praise and worship continually and offer sacrifices of our time, energy, talent, treasure or goods and cash as we are saved by Christ. These are acts of love and gratitude, not of justification.

The Work of God

UV 3656/10000 The Word of God Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe (adhere to, trust in, rely on , have faith) in the One whom He has sent. John 6 v 29 In this uni-verse, Jesus tells us that the work of God is synonymous and identical with the word of God. Jesus is also called in the book of Revelation and in the first verse of the gospel of John as the Word of God. If we believe, trust, rely on, adhere to, have faith in the Word of God and that Jesus is the Word, we are doing the work of God. When we believe the Word, the work of God happens in us and through us. Miracles are set in motion. The Word both frames and expands our faith in all directions. Jesus is the son in the parable of tenants. He is sent by the Father and Lord of the universe to collect His rent that the people of this world have stopped paying. In other words, He is the One sent by the Lord God to turn the hearts of mankind back to Him. We had broken faith with God after the fall of man but now Jesus, the Word restores us to a right and intimate relationship with God based on trust and faith. We need to stop believing in the broken systems of this world and with a broken or repentant heart receive the Son, Jesus. Therefore, the only “work” we now need to do is to hold onto our faith in Jesus. He is our Advocate on high and will turn the Father’s judgement and anger away from us . He is the Word made incarnate. He is the word of compassion. He is the word of truth. He is the word of justice. He is the word of love. He is the word of grace. All our spiritual as well as holistic needs are met in Him. He satisfies our hunger for eternal life. He meets our need for forgiveness, for healing, for deliverance.