UV 3276/10000 @Etude- Peace Loving
So Abram said to Lot, " Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives."
Genesis 13 v 8
Strife and conflict arose between the herdsmen of Lot and those of Abraham over grazing rights. Abraham immediately sought to address it instead of allowing it to slide and exacerbate tensions. He allowed Lot to have his choice of which area and which direction he wanted to settle. Lot chose the more fertile valley of the Jordan that was well watered and lush with vegetation. Abraham had facilitated a peaceful resolution of what could have caused a lot of bad blood between kinsmen. This throws light on the peace -loving nature of Abraham. It was one of the sources of blessing in his life for as Jesus said several centuries later, " Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."
As children of God, we too should shun strife and conflict and always endeavour to find a peaceful way to resolve issues. The Lord will give us wisdom to resolve conflicts that arise in our families, our neighbourhood and beyond. The heart of Abraham is revealed that later on when Lot's life is threatened by destruction of Sodom where he lived, Abraham intercedes with the Lord and becomes responsible for saving Lot from impending destruction. Abraham had not held any grudge in his heart against his nephew from the past. However, he was not a pacifist for when he found that a local chief had attacked his camp and taken away many of the women of his camp including his nephew Lot from Sodom, Abraham got his small army of trained men to counter attack and retrieved whatever he had lost.
Today, there are conflicts arising in all parts of the world and virtually in all families on issues relating to rights to water of rivers, inheritance of property and so on. As people of faith like Abraham, we are given a special responsibility to be problem solvers and not aggravators of these situations. The Lord looks with favour upon all who are committed to maintaining and promoting peace. This is the reason the angels proclaimed at the birth of Jesus, "Peace on Earth and good will among all mankind." St Paul also adviced the early believers, " Do your best to live at peace with everyone." Peace is our ideal and goal but like Abraham we should come up with practical solutions and steps to resolve conflict situations. Even law enforcement agencies can learn from the example of Abraham to take proactive steps to prevent the breakdown of peace and order before it reaches a flash point of violence, chaos and mayhem.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019
@ Etude - Fear Leading to Lying
UV 3275/10000 @ Etude- Fear Leading to Lying
“ Please tell them that you are my sister so that things will go well for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.”
Genesis 12 v 13
In this uni-verse, we see that Abraham, the man of faith, is fearful. He fears that on account of the beauty of his wife Sara, he would be killed by Pharaoh. The couple had moved to Egypt on account of the famine in Canaan. Fear causes Abraham to resort to lying in order to save his own life. His wife Sara would have been taken by Pharaoh to be his wife but for the Lord intervening by sending many plagues on Pharaoh and his household that opened the latter’s eyes to see that she was actually his wife. In retrospect, we can criticize or judge Abraham to be a liar but often in similar circumstances, we too resort to subterfuge and lies in order to save the day for us.
Fear of certain consequences often induce people to compromise, to either speak lies or to remain silent on many matters. We need the grace of Christ to be fearless and face any consequence. The same disciples who had deserted Jesus became transformed into fearless apostles ready to die for Him after they received the filling of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist spoke the truth about Herod that he was living in adultery with his brother’s wife. Of course, he paid the price with his head. Likewise, St Paul could look Herod and other kings of the age in the eye and speak the truth.
We need boldness and courage to be witnesses of Christ in today’s world, too. There is a price to be paid, consequences that might follow but the Holy Spirit will endow us with the courage and give us the words to speak in different situations. To be fearful is not an option for the believer. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” We are set free from fears that induce us to make the wrong choices, that inhibit our freedom. When we confess our various fears to the Lord, He will give us the grace or inner strength to overcome. Like He intervened in the case of Abraham and Sara, He will intervene and deal with even our formidable foes and enemies or with adverse circumstances.
“ Please tell them that you are my sister so that things will go well for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.”
Genesis 12 v 13
In this uni-verse, we see that Abraham, the man of faith, is fearful. He fears that on account of the beauty of his wife Sara, he would be killed by Pharaoh. The couple had moved to Egypt on account of the famine in Canaan. Fear causes Abraham to resort to lying in order to save his own life. His wife Sara would have been taken by Pharaoh to be his wife but for the Lord intervening by sending many plagues on Pharaoh and his household that opened the latter’s eyes to see that she was actually his wife. In retrospect, we can criticize or judge Abraham to be a liar but often in similar circumstances, we too resort to subterfuge and lies in order to save the day for us.
Fear of certain consequences often induce people to compromise, to either speak lies or to remain silent on many matters. We need the grace of Christ to be fearless and face any consequence. The same disciples who had deserted Jesus became transformed into fearless apostles ready to die for Him after they received the filling of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist spoke the truth about Herod that he was living in adultery with his brother’s wife. Of course, he paid the price with his head. Likewise, St Paul could look Herod and other kings of the age in the eye and speak the truth.
We need boldness and courage to be witnesses of Christ in today’s world, too. There is a price to be paid, consequences that might follow but the Holy Spirit will endow us with the courage and give us the words to speak in different situations. To be fearful is not an option for the believer. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” We are set free from fears that induce us to make the wrong choices, that inhibit our freedom. When we confess our various fears to the Lord, He will give us the grace or inner strength to overcome. Like He intervened in the case of Abraham and Sara, He will intervene and deal with even our formidable foes and enemies or with adverse circumstances.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
@ Etude- Obedience
@ Etude- Obedience
Now ( in Haran) the Lord had said to Abram, “Go away from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”
Genesis 12 v 1
Abram aka Abraham was asked by the Lord to move out of his own native place Haran to the land of Canaan. He displayed the attitude of unquestioning and willing obedience to the direction of the Lord. Abraham was promised that he would be greatly blessed, his name would be famous, that he would become a great nation, that he would be a blessing and through him all the families and nations of the earth would be blessed. Anyone who curses him would also be cursed. The same blessings we can lay claim to and enjoy when we render willing and unquestioning obedience to the directions of the Lord. Abraham , St Paul later writes to the Hebrews, went where he did not know, he lived as a stranger and dwelt in tents like a nomad. We too are spiritual heirs of Abraham. We should be willing to go places for God, to enter unfamiliar territory, to leave our comfort zone. We should regard ourselves as strangers in this world, a peculiar people. We are like nomads living in temporary places like tents but with hope that when we arrive in the kingdom of God we will have mansions or permanent, eternal dwelling places.
Obeying the word the Lord has for us is the precursor of eternal blessing though we may undergo the temporary discomfort of suffering in this world. The Lord has called us to live with our focus on reaching the Eternal City and being her citizens. This life and its travails are but a preparation for our final destination. The Earth is only our transit station. Our hope in Jesus who declares us worthy citizens of the Eternal City helps us cope with the challenges of this life. Like Abraham, we are not to seek such blessings for ourselves alone but for all nations, families and all people.
The Holy Spirit is hovering all over the earth, looking for such faithful and obedient hearts among mankind, in order to manifest the glory and grace of God. We are to be ready to be channels of blessings to all nations. The Lord wrought in Abraham’s life a change of direction. Canaan itself was not the promised land that the descendants of Abraham was led into but it was the foreshadow of the promised land in eternity. For leaving behind his father, his relatives, his friends and others he knew, Abraham was given scores and hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands of brothers, followers and family members. Next to Jesus and Moses, Abraham remains a VIP or Very Influential Person of history. The people of three faiths respect the name , Abraham.
Now ( in Haran) the Lord had said to Abram, “Go away from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”
Genesis 12 v 1
Abram aka Abraham was asked by the Lord to move out of his own native place Haran to the land of Canaan. He displayed the attitude of unquestioning and willing obedience to the direction of the Lord. Abraham was promised that he would be greatly blessed, his name would be famous, that he would become a great nation, that he would be a blessing and through him all the families and nations of the earth would be blessed. Anyone who curses him would also be cursed. The same blessings we can lay claim to and enjoy when we render willing and unquestioning obedience to the directions of the Lord. Abraham , St Paul later writes to the Hebrews, went where he did not know, he lived as a stranger and dwelt in tents like a nomad. We too are spiritual heirs of Abraham. We should be willing to go places for God, to enter unfamiliar territory, to leave our comfort zone. We should regard ourselves as strangers in this world, a peculiar people. We are like nomads living in temporary places like tents but with hope that when we arrive in the kingdom of God we will have mansions or permanent, eternal dwelling places.
Obeying the word the Lord has for us is the precursor of eternal blessing though we may undergo the temporary discomfort of suffering in this world. The Lord has called us to live with our focus on reaching the Eternal City and being her citizens. This life and its travails are but a preparation for our final destination. The Earth is only our transit station. Our hope in Jesus who declares us worthy citizens of the Eternal City helps us cope with the challenges of this life. Like Abraham, we are not to seek such blessings for ourselves alone but for all nations, families and all people.
The Holy Spirit is hovering all over the earth, looking for such faithful and obedient hearts among mankind, in order to manifest the glory and grace of God. We are to be ready to be channels of blessings to all nations. The Lord wrought in Abraham’s life a change of direction. Canaan itself was not the promised land that the descendants of Abraham was led into but it was the foreshadow of the promised land in eternity. For leaving behind his father, his relatives, his friends and others he knew, Abraham was given scores and hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands of brothers, followers and family members. Next to Jesus and Moses, Abraham remains a VIP or Very Influential Person of history. The people of three faiths respect the name , Abraham.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
@ Etude - Faith
@ Etude- Faith
Then Abram believed in ( affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to ) the Lord; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man)
Genesis 15 v 6
Abram, the former name of Abraham, the father of faith as He came to be known in later ages, had an attitude of faith or trust in the Lord. A childless aged couple that Abram and Sara were, with both past the age of child bearing, the Lord promised them that they would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram believed in the promises of the Lord even though at the time there was no physical evidence of it being fulfilled, the possibility of it coming true was also very remote. Given the reality of the world and our circumstances, it is often a great challenge to believe the Lord and His promises.
Scripture states that we need to believe that not only God exists, that He is faithful and able to do that which He has promised us. We need to affirm continually the specific promises we are praying and hoping that it would come true in our lives. We need to rely on these promises and act as if it is being fulfilled. When we so remain steadfast in our faith in the Lord and His word, it is attributed to us as righteousness. Faith is the source of our salvation, our victory, our blessings. In the absence of faith, even Jesus could not do miracles in some places He went to. Faith implies that we trust the Lord more than we trust anyone else on Earth. It begins a relationship and communication with the Lord based on love. We who are otherwise insignificant become significant in the eyes of the Lord. He begins to count us as one of His children and a part of the kingdom of God. We no longer rely entirely on our owns strengths or abilities but rely on the power and grace of God.
Faith moves mountains by opening up fountains of hope, joy, power inside our hearts. We have not only a direct hotline connection to communicate with the Lord but a channel through which the blessings and power of the Lord flows in and through our lives. We are called to have not a blinding faith but a binding faith, in the sense, we do not say good bye to our reasoning, the need for discipline, diligence and persistence, the scope for the natural and the scientific elements in our lives. Faith is what binds all these aspects of our lives into a meaningful, effective and useful pattern.
Then Abram believed in ( affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to ) the Lord; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man)
Genesis 15 v 6
Abram, the former name of Abraham, the father of faith as He came to be known in later ages, had an attitude of faith or trust in the Lord. A childless aged couple that Abram and Sara were, with both past the age of child bearing, the Lord promised them that they would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram believed in the promises of the Lord even though at the time there was no physical evidence of it being fulfilled, the possibility of it coming true was also very remote. Given the reality of the world and our circumstances, it is often a great challenge to believe the Lord and His promises.
Scripture states that we need to believe that not only God exists, that He is faithful and able to do that which He has promised us. We need to affirm continually the specific promises we are praying and hoping that it would come true in our lives. We need to rely on these promises and act as if it is being fulfilled. When we so remain steadfast in our faith in the Lord and His word, it is attributed to us as righteousness. Faith is the source of our salvation, our victory, our blessings. In the absence of faith, even Jesus could not do miracles in some places He went to. Faith implies that we trust the Lord more than we trust anyone else on Earth. It begins a relationship and communication with the Lord based on love. We who are otherwise insignificant become significant in the eyes of the Lord. He begins to count us as one of His children and a part of the kingdom of God. We no longer rely entirely on our owns strengths or abilities but rely on the power and grace of God.
Faith moves mountains by opening up fountains of hope, joy, power inside our hearts. We have not only a direct hotline connection to communicate with the Lord but a channel through which the blessings and power of the Lord flows in and through our lives. We are called to have not a blinding faith but a binding faith, in the sense, we do not say good bye to our reasoning, the need for discipline, diligence and persistence, the scope for the natural and the scientific elements in our lives. Faith is what binds all these aspects of our lives into a meaningful, effective and useful pattern.
Monday, June 3, 2019
@ Etude - Enmity
@Etude-Enmity
And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed(offspring) and her Seed; He shall fatally bruise your head, and you shall only bruise His heel.
Genesis 3 v 15
The idea of enmity is born in the heart of mankind soon after we first yielded to temptation or evil. The serpent spirit or satan is declared the ultimate enemy of mankind.
He is the enemy of our souls. He is also the enemy of the Seed of God born of woman – Jesus who becomes one of us in order to redeem all of us. The terrible act of crucifixion is likened from the eternal perspective to only the bruising of the heel of the Son Jesus. That being so, all the suffering the enemy visits us with in our lifetime is only a bruise, too. None of us will come out of this life alive physically but our souls will emerge from this life almost unscathed. This is the victory Christ guarantees and establishes for us in the eternal realm.
The enemy of our souls will also make many who like us are the seed of woman to be our rivals, opponents, enemies. But as the word says, “ If God be for us, who can be against us.” He will vindicate us in due time. Often God raises our enemies to be powerful and formidable in order to give us a testimony of His amazing deliverance and grace. While we are to wary of our spiritual enemy, we need to be forgiving and generous to our earthly ones. We need to understand that we, too lived once like enemies of God and extend the same mercy and grace He received us with when we chose to return to Him.
Jesus said so wisely to His followers, “Be wise or shrewd as the serpent but gentle as the dove.” In other words, we need to know our enemy and His ways, how He would use our earthly enemies to trip us, too. The enemy knows us inside out, having got inside the head of the first couple with just a few verbal suggestions. He uses our strengths, our weaknesses, our own thoughts and even those in our inner circle as he did with Judas. He need not always appear as a vile serpent but can appear as an angel of shining light or in the innocuous words of our companions. We do not have to invite trouble with our own words or actions or behaviour. We need to be wise in our choices. We also need to be proactive, to think ahead of time the moves of our eternal and earthly foes, to thwart these or nip it in the bud at the earliest stage. We should not use such dangerous knowledge of the viles and snares of the enemy to harm others but to prevent harm to ourselves and our loved ones. Prayer and the Word are our best defence, our fence of protection against the works of the enemy of our souls, our shield of faith, our sword of the spirit to strike a mortal wound on the head of the enemy.
And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed(offspring) and her Seed; He shall fatally bruise your head, and you shall only bruise His heel.
Genesis 3 v 15
The idea of enmity is born in the heart of mankind soon after we first yielded to temptation or evil. The serpent spirit or satan is declared the ultimate enemy of mankind.
He is the enemy of our souls. He is also the enemy of the Seed of God born of woman – Jesus who becomes one of us in order to redeem all of us. The terrible act of crucifixion is likened from the eternal perspective to only the bruising of the heel of the Son Jesus. That being so, all the suffering the enemy visits us with in our lifetime is only a bruise, too. None of us will come out of this life alive physically but our souls will emerge from this life almost unscathed. This is the victory Christ guarantees and establishes for us in the eternal realm.
The enemy of our souls will also make many who like us are the seed of woman to be our rivals, opponents, enemies. But as the word says, “ If God be for us, who can be against us.” He will vindicate us in due time. Often God raises our enemies to be powerful and formidable in order to give us a testimony of His amazing deliverance and grace. While we are to wary of our spiritual enemy, we need to be forgiving and generous to our earthly ones. We need to understand that we, too lived once like enemies of God and extend the same mercy and grace He received us with when we chose to return to Him.
Jesus said so wisely to His followers, “Be wise or shrewd as the serpent but gentle as the dove.” In other words, we need to know our enemy and His ways, how He would use our earthly enemies to trip us, too. The enemy knows us inside out, having got inside the head of the first couple with just a few verbal suggestions. He uses our strengths, our weaknesses, our own thoughts and even those in our inner circle as he did with Judas. He need not always appear as a vile serpent but can appear as an angel of shining light or in the innocuous words of our companions. We do not have to invite trouble with our own words or actions or behaviour. We need to be wise in our choices. We also need to be proactive, to think ahead of time the moves of our eternal and earthly foes, to thwart these or nip it in the bud at the earliest stage. We should not use such dangerous knowledge of the viles and snares of the enemy to harm others but to prevent harm to ourselves and our loved ones. Prayer and the Word are our best defence, our fence of protection against the works of the enemy of our souls, our shield of faith, our sword of the spirit to strike a mortal wound on the head of the enemy.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
@ Etude - Regret
UV 3271/10000 @ Etude- Regret
The Lord regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was deeply grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6 v 6
The Lord regretted the creation of mankind for He had endowed them with the power of choice. As Cain was told, “ .. sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you ( to overpower you), but you can master it. “ But the wickedness and depravity of mankind increased from generation to generation. The imagination and intent of the hearts of mankind were only evil continually. God saw how debased and degenerate mankind had become. This filled His heart with sorrow.
We, too, in the course of our lives regret some of the things we did or chose. Regret causes us to change the course or direction of our lives. When we make our lives the temple of God, we will not fall to temptations. If we choose to make our lives pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, we contribute to our own well being. We will have little to regret when we look back at our lives. We should not conform to the templates of this world or the patterns of behaviour and communication of this world but allow the Holy Spirit to transform our lives to the templates or patterns of behaviour and communication of the Word.
Regret and sorrow in the Lord’ s heart had deadly consequences for the world for He decided to destroy the existing civilization with a flood. But He made exceptions by choosing to redeem Noah and his family who lived a just life. From the family of Noah came Humanity version 2.0. This version too also erred and continues to err against God. But this time round, the Lord instead of sending flood or fire to destroy, sent His Son Jesus to redeem mankind. We, too have the choice to live lives that please our Lord and God. Jesus described Himself as the Way- the Way to be at peace with God and to please Him all our lives. None of us should be a cause of regret for our Lord and Redeemer but we should endeavour to be a source of delight and pride to Him.
The Lord regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was deeply grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6 v 6
The Lord regretted the creation of mankind for He had endowed them with the power of choice. As Cain was told, “ .. sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you ( to overpower you), but you can master it. “ But the wickedness and depravity of mankind increased from generation to generation. The imagination and intent of the hearts of mankind were only evil continually. God saw how debased and degenerate mankind had become. This filled His heart with sorrow.
We, too, in the course of our lives regret some of the things we did or chose. Regret causes us to change the course or direction of our lives. When we make our lives the temple of God, we will not fall to temptations. If we choose to make our lives pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, we contribute to our own well being. We will have little to regret when we look back at our lives. We should not conform to the templates of this world or the patterns of behaviour and communication of this world but allow the Holy Spirit to transform our lives to the templates or patterns of behaviour and communication of the Word.
Regret and sorrow in the Lord’ s heart had deadly consequences for the world for He decided to destroy the existing civilization with a flood. But He made exceptions by choosing to redeem Noah and his family who lived a just life. From the family of Noah came Humanity version 2.0. This version too also erred and continues to err against God. But this time round, the Lord instead of sending flood or fire to destroy, sent His Son Jesus to redeem mankind. We, too have the choice to live lives that please our Lord and God. Jesus described Himself as the Way- the Way to be at peace with God and to please Him all our lives. None of us should be a cause of regret for our Lord and Redeemer but we should endeavour to be a source of delight and pride to Him.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
@ Etude- Happiness
@ Etude- Happiness
And the Lord God planted a garden(oasis) in the east, in Eden ( delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there.
Genesis 2 v 8
The Lord God delighted or derived pleasure or happiness from what He had planted and whom He had created. Since we are created in His image, we too seek happiness in whatever we do. Genuine pleasure, joy or happiness is therefore, an attitude that each of us should cultivate and enjoy. Happiness does not lie in achieving or becoming some thing but it lies in being with God. The Creator delighted in His creatures, likewise, we need to delight in our Creator and Redeemer. The Father in heaven delighted in His Son Jesus and said, “ My beloved Son, listen to Him. “ He delights in us when we delight in Jesus, listen to His word and delight in it. It should be our chief delight or main source of pleasure, joy, happiness and strength. Yet, Jesus is called the “Man of Sorrow” as He embraced and took upon Himself all the sorrows of mankind so that we be truly happy in Him. We are therefore, not to withhold our sorrows to ourselves but share it with Jesus.
What the Lord with complete wisdom and knowledge delights in – when it becomes our source of joy, it gives us immense strength to confront the daily challenges of life and to overcome these. The Lord delights in our genuine praise and worship. He delights in wisdom and that we value it over the wealth, power and fame of this world. The Lord found delight in the work of His hands and we, too should find pleasure in whatever work we do. In fact, we need to work as if we are to please Him as our ultimate Boss. The Lord delights in creativity, in giving an unique stamp to everything He created.
The Lord delights in the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives. He finds pleasure in us when we show patience, love , kindness, humility in our relationships and interactions with our fellow beings. He finds happiness when we exercise faith. He finds happiness when we use all our gifts and talents and attribute the results to Him. He finds happiness in grateful hearts. It does not however, mean that we cannot find pleasure or enjoy good company, good food, good music, good literature, films or anything else. Whenever and wherever we find such joy, we should thank the Lord.
And the Lord God planted a garden(oasis) in the east, in Eden ( delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there.
Genesis 2 v 8
The Lord God delighted or derived pleasure or happiness from what He had planted and whom He had created. Since we are created in His image, we too seek happiness in whatever we do. Genuine pleasure, joy or happiness is therefore, an attitude that each of us should cultivate and enjoy. Happiness does not lie in achieving or becoming some thing but it lies in being with God. The Creator delighted in His creatures, likewise, we need to delight in our Creator and Redeemer. The Father in heaven delighted in His Son Jesus and said, “ My beloved Son, listen to Him. “ He delights in us when we delight in Jesus, listen to His word and delight in it. It should be our chief delight or main source of pleasure, joy, happiness and strength. Yet, Jesus is called the “Man of Sorrow” as He embraced and took upon Himself all the sorrows of mankind so that we be truly happy in Him. We are therefore, not to withhold our sorrows to ourselves but share it with Jesus.
What the Lord with complete wisdom and knowledge delights in – when it becomes our source of joy, it gives us immense strength to confront the daily challenges of life and to overcome these. The Lord delights in our genuine praise and worship. He delights in wisdom and that we value it over the wealth, power and fame of this world. The Lord found delight in the work of His hands and we, too should find pleasure in whatever work we do. In fact, we need to work as if we are to please Him as our ultimate Boss. The Lord delights in creativity, in giving an unique stamp to everything He created.
The Lord delights in the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives. He finds pleasure in us when we show patience, love , kindness, humility in our relationships and interactions with our fellow beings. He finds happiness when we exercise faith. He finds happiness when we use all our gifts and talents and attribute the results to Him. He finds happiness in grateful hearts. It does not however, mean that we cannot find pleasure or enjoy good company, good food, good music, good literature, films or anything else. Whenever and wherever we find such joy, we should thank the Lord.
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