God in the Manger

UV 4270/10000 God in the Manger And she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2 v 7 In this uni-verse, we witness the amazing phenomenon of God in a Manger. The priests of the time had a dog in the manger attitude of not wanting to enter heaven or the kingdom of God and not allowing others, the lay people also to enter by putting all kinds of moral and spiritual burden on them. Jesus, in contrast, was born in a manger so that all people of however low status, the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich could have access to heaven, the kingdom of God. He was born by deliberate choice, not an accident, in a manger to emphasize the complete empathy and identification of God with all mankind. The King of Kings being born in the manger, surrounded by cattle and their young ones, is the paradox of human history. God in the Manger lowers the barriers for entry for all to the kingdom of God. There is absolutely no external requirement to conform to in order to enter the kingdom of God. The only requirement is to believe that the baby born in the manger is God Himself, that He came by design, on purpose to save all without exception. That there was no room for Him in the inn, the One who created the entire universe, who is Lord of the entire creation was yet another irony lost on humanity. It was a sign that though God had lowered all the barriers, much of humanity was going to miss the opportunity due to their hardened hearts, their obsession with the externals, their blindness and deafness to the move and word of God. The innkeeper, the man who was nearest to the opportunity, missed the single biggest event in history- being visited by God, albeit as a baby while the wise men from a distant land with only the star as a sign and as a guide, made it all the way to adore Him, to lay their gifts humbly at His feet. God in the Manger is also a sign that God appears in the most unlikely places, to the most unlikely people. The mute cattle had God for their company on the first night after His birth. Joseph and Mary thought out of the box to find a solution to the problem of not finding accommodation. Augustus Caesar’s unusual order to hold the first ever census in the empire incidentally had forced them out of their humble cottage back in Nazareth to undertake this journey to their native village Bethlehem for all heads were to be counted where they hailed from including God, Jesus. It was as if God was orchestrating things so that the young expecting couple do not remain comfortably in their home in Nazareth. They probably did not anticipate that the labour pains would strike while they were on this journey. But all things happened for good of mankind and the glory of God that God was born in a manger. Is there a lesson for us, humans who are restless about wherever we are placed in life. When God, the Father could allow His Son to be placed in a manger, is it not apt for us to rejoice wherever we are placed right now in life.

Faith Turns Our Mountains Into Fountains

UV 4269/10000 Faith Turns Our Mountains into Fountains And He said to me, “ It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirst I will give ( water) from the fountain of the water of life without cost. UV Revelation 21 v 5 The Lord is the One who begins our journey of faith and He is the One who helps us finish it successfully. He is with us from the beginning to the very end and beyond. He knows the entire range of our aspirations, needs, weaknesses, strengths, problems, challenges, sorrows and joys. If we thirst for His counsel, His word of wisdom and of knowledge, His blessings, His presence, He will satisfy us with the water of eternal life as He promised the Samaritan woman at the well. The water that will never allow us to be enslaved by the enemy, chained by fears. The water that will fill us with power and strength to face up to all of life’s issues, big and small. He promises to pour His grace on us like a fountain pours forth streams of water. Likewise, we will enjoy multiple streams of blessings flowing from His throne. He will wipe our tears and erase our fears, of death, of failure, of scarcity, of loneliness, of being condemned forever. Jesus remains faithful to His word and His word is given to us free of cost. It is abundantly available to us for access at any time like water from a tap. We only need to access it and imbibe it at all times and especially when we need a specific answer to our prayers. He does this to ensure our happiness, our fulfilment, our satisfaction. But like water has the formula H2O, we need to Optimise between our happiness and His holiness. The things we pursue and do for our happiness should not be a slur on His name. We should always revere God, the Lord Jesus for His holiness even as we desire Him for His love, admire Him for His great strength and power. Our lives are all about balancing our happiness with His holiness. On an average we drink ten glasses of water every day. Water is needed to maintain the electrolyte balance in our bodies, for purifying or detoxing our bodies. Every time we drink a glass of water, let us remember that Jesus is the Alpha to the Omega of our lives, that He and His word helps us keep our balance in life in the midst of conflicting claims on our time, attention, energy, resources, abilities. It is His word like water that cleanses us of inner impurities like a shower or a bath in fresh water cleanses and refreshes us. It is He who detoxifies us from the impurities of our lives and of the world around us. It is His Spirit that keeps the joy, hope and enthusiasm of life bubbling up and down like a fountain. He is the One who turns our mountains or giant challenges and problems of life into fountains or testimonies before men for praise, encouragement, inspiration and thanksgiving to the Lord.

Seeking Implies Hundred Percent Commitment

UV 4268/10000 Seeking Implies Hundred Percent Commitment Seek the Lord ( search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life), all you humble of the land who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments; Seek righteousness, seek humility ( regard them as vital). Perhaps you will be hidden ( and pardoned and rescued) in the day of the Lord’s anger. Zephaniah 2 v 3 To be forewarned is to be forearmed. In this uni-verse, the Lord wants us to seek Him or pursue and follow Him with all our heart, mind, strength and imagination. All other human pursuits and desires cannot save us from His judgement, His anger. Next to the person of God, we need to seek His word and to obey or practice the principles He teaches us daily from it. We need to check if every step we take, every word we speak, every thought we think is in conformity with His word. Seeking implies hundred percent commitment to that which we are seeking. Half measures and compromises simply would not do. The third thing we need to diligently seek is to be like God in His righteousness, to imitate or emulate His Son in His character of humility and gentleness. Even doing all this does not entitle us to salvation or eternal life. We have to yet rely on the mercy and grace of the Lord for not one of us can be perfect in all three aspects of our relationship with the Lord, of our obedience to His word, of being Christ-like. Hence, it is grace from beginning to end that saves us and not our own efforts. That said, our efforts should not lag behind in zeal or sincerity. Five D’s distinguish us from the rest of humanity: Devotion to God- our constant and diligent seeking of the Lord. Dedication to do His will, to consecrate our hearts and lives to Him. If we are zealous for God, He will not be jealous of us. For it is written that God is both jealous and possessive of both His glory and His children, His followers, the believers of Christ, His Son. Devotion to God and dedication to do His will in our lives should be followed in practical terms by personal determination never to give up, to keep pursuing with all our hearts and all our energy and resources and abilities, the goals we have set for ourselves in alignment with the word, will and calling of God. The fourth D -Discipline is needed to cut out distractions, to be focussed on our goals and priorities, to use our limited time on Earth well enough to earn the Master’s commendation. The fifth and final D is Diligence- to learn from all possible sources in this world including teachers, mentors, advisers but to primarily study the Word and learn from the Word and the Spirit of God the right or better ways to do things. When all five D’s are in place in our lives, our challenge would be to stay humble and dependent on the Lord and not to think of ourselves better than anyone else. The metaphor of clothes of salvation implies that our clothes can be soiled, torn or removed at any time. The attitude of the saved sinner, the humble servant of God, the penitent prodigal would keep us from the threat of spiritual pride and self righteousness.

More Valuable Than the Most Precious Treasure

UV 4267/10000 More Valuable than the Most Precious Treasure on Earth The kingdom of heaven is like a ( very precious ) treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field ( securing the treasure for himself). Matthew 13 v 44 We need to prioritise the kingdom of heaven over all other earthly pursuits, goals and desires. Nothing on earth can compare with the privilege of being part of the kingdom of God. No relationship is so vital as our relationship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. While we are living, we might hide this truth in our hearts but when we die physically, we inherit the kingdom of heaven. But eternal life begins the moment we place our trust in Jesus. We need to treasure our faith in Jesus, His word and His purpose for our lives above all things we might value in this life. The second metaphor Jesus uses to teach us the value of heaven and eternal life in Him is the pearl seller who is in search of fine pearls and on chancing upon the largest pearl, the kingdom of heaven, he sells all he has in order to own this pearl. We need to be prepared to exchange all we are, have, own for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. When we seek His kingdom and His righteous purpose for our lives, He will, in fact, all things we need to our lives. Our character, purpose and behaviour are to be in alignment with the will of God. Then, our destiny is assured, our place in heaven is guaranteed by Christ. When a farmer digs in a particular area, he finds that whole field is full of precious diamonds and other treasures. He then sells his house and all his possessions to buy that piece of land. To the rest of the world, it might look like a foolish decision for he has sold what seems to be more valuable, his house and all his possessions to own only an acre of land. But only God and he know what a wise decision and investment he has actually made that would guarantee financial security not only for him but for his entire posterity. Likewise, the decision to commit our entire lives to the Lord might seem a foolish decision to the rest of the world who do not see the treasures or blessings we have access to in Christ. Like we hide what is most precious in our lives from the prying eye but reveal it to those we trust, cherish and love, the kingdom of heaven is to be hidden in our hearts and opened up for the viewing of others who might want to share in such a hope and inheritance.

The Power of the Spoken Word

UV 4266/10000 The Power of The Spoken Word Then Moses raised his hand ( in anger ) and with his rod he struck the rock twice ( instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had commanded). And the water poured out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank ( fresh water). Numbers 20 v 11 The power of speaking God’s word is far more than the power of action. We, humans, normally believe that an ounce of action is better than a pound of speech. But when it comes to God’s word, if we speak it in faith, it has more power than any human action. When we speak the word, it is the equal or better than any action. Moses, in his anger at the rebellion he was facing from the Israelites due to shortage of water, forgot to just speak to the rock and instead struck it twice with his rod. Due to this action, he lost the right or privilege of leading the Israelites into the promised land. Likewise, even today our faith in the Lord and His word has consequences and significance that we cannot fully comprehend. When we speak the word of God, we are honouring God, upholding Him as holy, His will as sovereign in our lives. The Lord is pleased with this and reckons it more worthy than any action we can do on His behalf in our lives. He will honour His word and vindicate us before the very people who challenge us. But we should not yield to our human emotions or doubts and be tempted to believe in the power of human action over the spoken word of God. Moses’ leadership and legacy was dented by this seemingly small act of defiance of the will and word of God. In our lives, when we are unwell, we need to speak the word that the Lord will heal us. When we face dangers or threats, that He will protect us. When we are short of resources or money, we need to speak faith into the situation of scarcity by saying, the Lord will provide. In my life, I found that whenever I trusted the Lord and spoke His word, He caused that which He promised to happen. When I spoke the word of His provision, He provided abundantly. When I spoke the word of His protection even in the run up to the world’s first human bomb assassination, He miraculously protected me. Even when I spoke the word that God can change the weather, He changed the weather system overlying the whole of the north western region of the country overnight. Instead hiding His word in our hearts, we need to release the power of God by speaking it and experience the power of the spoken word. This is the rationale behind the spoken word Godcasts I am doing these days to bless people everywhere.

The Rock that Makes Our Lives Rocking

UV 4265/10000 The Rock that Makes Our Lives Rocking And all ( of them) drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. I Corinthians 10 v 4 This uni-verse refers to the rock from which the Israelites obtained water to drink when Moses struck it in anger instead of speaking to it as Jehovah had directed him to. Our spiritual rock under the new covenant is Jesus, the Christ. Our life rocks as Jesus is our Rock foundation. He is the mobile Rock that follows us wherever we go and we can obtain our drink to quench our spiritual thirst at will. He is the unchanging rock despite all our changing circumstances. He is the Rock that refreshes, renews and revives us spiritually. He is the Rock that is stronger, much stronger than I, higher, much higher than I. He is the Rock that shelters us in the storm and in the sunshine of our lives. The word of God is like an overhanging crop of rock that gives us hope of eternal life. It keeps us from the harsh experiences of the desert that this life is without God, without Christ, without hope. Even when we feel hemmed in, we can touch the hem of His robe and be healed, cleansed, renewed in hope and strength. Belief in Jesus produces hope in us that we can be all that Jesus is- the Door in terms of new opportunity, new blessings, new experiences of God’s mercy and grace. The Light of the world in terms of illuminating the darkness, the hopelessness, the meaninglessness, the powerlessness of earthly life without God, without Jesus. The Water of Eternal life that can quench the thirst of people for love, for hope, for meaning, for purpose, for power. Inasmuch as we believe in Jesus, we become like Him the Bread that sustains people, nourishes, strengthens, meets needs of humans like us. We become the true vine by which other people in association with us will find their lives fruitful. We are the Good Shepherd who leads, guides, people away from death, dangers, evil towards eternity, freedom, safety, progress. We as long as we are connected with Jesus become the Way to understanding, teaching and applying truth in our lives. Finally, we are like Jesus the hope of resurrection from death, the inspiration to live the abundant life. While we are all this in Christ, a new creation, we should avoid like the ancient Israelites complaining about anything and instead, praise, thank and glorify the Lord in all things.

The Food for Soul that Endures

UV 4264/10000 The Food For Soul That Endures Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures ( and leads) to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him. John 6 v 27 Jesus chastised the people who came looking for Him out of gratitude that He had fed them when they were hungry. He asks them to cherish not the earthly food but to relish and treasure the eternal food, the spiritual bread that He gave them. The Father had authorized Him to feed them with the food of eternal life- the Word. This is the food of our souls that will never spoil or perish or allow us to perish. This is the food that will cause us to flourish both in this world and the world to come. Jesus has placed His seal of authority, power and approval on this food. It will work on our internal and our eternal. We will be satiated with earthly food but the more we have of eternal food, the more we experience of the eternal and spiritual dimension. We will feel satisfied and yet, we will long for more. We are not to work for food that gets corrupted easily but for such food that lasts forever. The word will work in us and transform our lives from within. The word of Jesus is what encourages us, strengthens us, inspires us, fills us with eternal hope and assurance. We are to lap it up like a dog laps milk, like Gideon’s 300 volunteer force lapped water from their palms. The word is the seal of authority and approval the Father affixes on our lives. We are stamped with the words, BRAND NEW, as we are washed in the blood of Jesus, clothed in the clothes of salvation. Our stomach juices work on physical food but the spiritual food works on us, on our inner being, on our character, on our goals and values. We cannot earn the bread of life with the sweat of our brow but we inherit it by the grace of Jesus and our faith in His name. As the food in us, the word of Jesus endures, we endure. The world and all in it will perish with all its power structures but the word in us will never perish and never allow us to perish. Jesus has sealed us with the seal of authority and approval even as He is sealed by God, the Father. Just as Jesus called Himself while on earth as the Son of Man as that was His assumed status on earth, we are to regard ourselves as Sons and Daughters of God as our primary status, our eternal destiny.