All or nothing!

UV 479/10,000 Galatians 2 v 20 All or nothing. Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Our old nature is crucified with Christ the moment we began to believe in the power of redemption of the death by crucifixion of Jesus the Christ. Our old nature implies the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life and the manifestations of these three roots of sin in our lives producing death and judgment on mankind. This explains the salvation dimension of the work of Christ on the cross. Since Christ in His self-effacing and self-sacrificing love has purchased us or redeemed our souls from Satan to whom we were mortgaged, our lives no longer belong to us but to Jesus. It is His resurrection power that now lives in us. This explains the dimension of the lordship of Christ over our lives. We have the option to give it all or give nothing. Since He exchanged His life for ours, we must give back in return our lives to Him. Someone explained the meaning of the word, Christian as Christ is all and “ ian” stands for “ I am nothing.” We should hold this perspective always in our minds. Our bodies and minds are now instruments of righteousness or instruments in the hands of God to do the right things, Our tongues should be employed to thank, praise and worship God. Our imagination should be used to expand our faith. Our hands and legs should be used of God to take us to the places He wants us to go and to do the things He wants us to do. Our eyes and ears should be used to perceive and hear the things He wants us to perceive and hear. Our reasoning should be used to trust God and His Word and not to disbelieve Him and His Word. Our memories should be used to recall the Word of God. When we live in this manner, we live by the faith of the Son of God, Jesus. It is interesting to note that the words used are “ faith of the Son..” and not “ faith in the Son..” It implies that we must develop and demonstrate the faith of Jesus Himself in our lives. When we bless something, we must believe like Jesus that it can be multiplied to even feed a multitude. When we pray for healing or deliverance, we must believe that it will happen. When we speak, we must speak with the authority that Jesus demonstrated. We must believe that God will supply abundantly all our need. Our thinking, speaking, doing and being should not be afflicted by “ hamartia” or shortcoming. When God measures our faith, He should not find it falling short or stunted or static. He is happy as long as our faith is living and growing. Prateep V Philip

No chinks in our Armour

UV 478/10,000 No chinks in our armour I Thessalonians 5 v 8 1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. The difference between people with faith in Christ and those who do not have such faith is compared to the difference between day and night. We should not be involved in drunken revelry or violence, strife or bitter rivalry with others. We are expected to be sober and not abuse our bodies with any substance, whether tobacco or alcohol or drugs. We are to exercise self control and restraint in all matters. We are to subject ourselves to discipline as a soldier is subjected to. St Paul wrote that we should not get mixed up with the ways of the world even as a soldier does not interfere in civilian affairs. We are to wear the full armour of God or the armour of light. Our faith and our love will defend us against any attacks. The breastplate of faith is also called the breastplate of righteousness. Our hearts are protected by our faith, our love and our earnest efforts to be Christ-like while our heads are preserved by our hope of salvation. The military metaphor of armour drives home the point that without faith, love and hope, we are as vulnerable as a soldier who goes into battle unprepared and not covering himself with armour. Our faith and our hope makes us victorious in the battles of life. Our hope in Christ makes us warriors and not worriers. Unlike the heavy metal armour that soldiers of yesteryears used in battle, our armour sits lightly on our shoulders and bodies- being spiritual accoutrements, these do not weigh us down. The very fact that scripture talks about spiritual armour goes to show that we can all expect blows in life, hard blows that can bludgeon us if we are not wearing the helmet of hope in Christ. A few hard knocks on our armour may bring us to our feet but we should rise again to fight on. We can expect the piercing thrust of the sword, the lance, the spear and the arrow but our breastplate of faith, righteousness and love makes our defence impregnable. To complete the ensemble, we have the weapons of offence that we ourselves carry- the sword of the Word of God and the power of prayer that makes us invincible. The hope of salvation or eternal life enables us to overcome that which every warrior fears- death itself. It is this aspect of our faith that makes us more than conquerors. Prateep V Philip

The Eyes of our Understanding

UV477/10,000 Ephesians 1 v 18 The Eyes of Our Understanding Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, In order to perceive God who is invisible, the eyes of our understanding needs to be opened. This faculty is also called the eyes of the heart or the eyes of faith. Only when the eyes of our understanding are opened, will we know the hope we have through our faith in the redeeming work of Christ. We have a great and glorious hope of being co-heirs with Christ. In the visible world, knowledge precedes understanding but in the invisible spiritual world beyond, understanding precedes knowledge. Hence, we can have very knowledgeable people in this world whose understanding is darkened. Their minds are blinded by Satan, by tradition, by their own ambition, by their covetousness and short-sightedness. True enlightenment is possible only when the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding. Then and then only, can we perceive and grasp the wonderful truths hidden in God’s Word or else it will run off like water from a duck’s back. The riches of God are unsearchable with the physical eye. We cannot find it with our natural senses. But, when the Lord opens the eye of our understanding, the eyes of our heart or the eyes of faith, we have access to our inheritance of all spiritual blessings as saints and heirs of God in and through His Son Jesus. We become sure of the salvation of our souls, the healing and blessing of our bodies, the fulfillment of the purpose of our lives, the satisfaction of our physical, emotional, relational, intellectual and familial needs. When the eye of our understanding is opened, the Lord tells us, “ Child, enter into and enjoy your spiritual inheritance.” This inheritance is beyond what human eye or human ear has seen or heard and beyond what human mind can comprehend or human mouth can describe. The seventh sense or the faculty of faith is what enables us to complete our purpose as well as to enjoy life as children of God. We become complete in Christ as new creatures of God- or 7-7-7 in spirit-mind-body and not 6-6-6 , the mark of the beast, like the rest of the world. We are the mark of the Best. Prateep V Philip

The Lord shall avenge the Righteous

UV 476/10,000 Jeremiah 20 v 11 The Lord shall avenge the righteous Jer 20:11 But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten Some take to evil as fish take to water. But, the Lord knows the heart of the righteous. They are tested and tried. The Lord will never let the righteous down when the evil ones attempt to deceive or oppose the righteous. He knows the emotions and troubled thoughts the latter are experiencing. He will never let the evil ones prevail. They will be put to great shame and they will never prosper. Their confusion and defeat will be yet another testament or evidence of God’s glory and power. The Lord will vindicate the righteous and faithful. “The Lord is with me as a mighty warrior”. Any one who comes against us will be scattered in the imagination of their hearts, implying in ways that they themselves could not have thought of. They will falter and fail. They will not know in which direction to run or to move. They will be snared in their own deceitful ways. They will be put to everlasting shame and defeat. Over and over again, I have seen in the course of my life the truth of this word. He will fight our battles. He will give us victory over every force of evil. Indeed, if God be for us, no one can stand against us. No one can cause us loss or harm or defeat. They will be put to rout. In their confusion about what had hit them, they would not know which direction to turn. When the righteous are hurt in their hearts, great spiritual forces are released to avenge them, to restore to them that which belongs to them and to prevent the unlawful and the unjust from happening. Prateep V Philip

The Gifts

UV 475/10,000 I Corinthians 14 v 12 The Gifts 1Co 14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. We must be zealous or eager to seek and receive spiritual gifts that cause us to excel as shining lights in the world, that together we who make up the church would be like a city built on a hill. There are a variety of spiritual gifts: the gift of visions, the gift of tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues and visions, the gift of teaching, the gift of healing, the gift of deliverance, the gift of prophecy, the gift of administration or leadership, the gift of wisdom and the word of knowledge and so on. All these gifts are imparted by the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of ministry in the church. They are not meant for our personal glorification or aggrandizement as many have done. We need to be good stewards of these gifts. It is given for the common good but it works in us in an uncommon way. The gifts are given that we may excel. Our excellence should lead to the growth or increase in faith or expansion or building of the church- the kingdom of God on earth. When non believers excel they point people to themselves as the source of light and goodness. When believers excel, they point to God as the author of light and goodness. Many people are contented with a saved soul and a wasted life. Many people become complacent that once their souls are saved, they need to do nothing further to prove themselves. But, this uni-verse underlines the call to excellence of each of us as individuals and as one body. The use of the word, “ zealous” means that we should be passionate about the use of our God-given abilities, talents, opportunities and spiritual gifts. The gifts do not remain static but grow as we put them to use for the common good. We need to discern what our individual gifts are and diligently use it for the growth, internal and external of the church. We need to exercise the gifts with a spirit of love and not one of pride, selfish ambition or conceit. We must never forget that these being gifts are not a reflection of us but of the Giver- the One who gives good gifts. The moment we begin to think that it is on account of our own merit or virtue, we become like the moon who assumes that the light that is reflected from the sun is its own. We are only reflecting the light of the Son. We are ugly like the moon’s surface, full of dry craters but in the light of the Son,we appear beautiful, gifted and precious. Prateep V Philip

Dealing with the Little Foxes in our Lives

UV 474/10,000 Song of Solomon 2 v 15 Dealing with the little foxes Son 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes The little foxes ruin the fruitfulness of the vineyard. In our lives too, the little foxes of cunning, selfish ambition, rivalry, greed, pride and insensitivity have the potential to harm the tender fruit of the Spirit that are growing from within us. The fox is a wily, cunning and devious creature capable of avoiding all the barriers or protective walls we set up around a farm. Similarly, these little foxes of negative thoughts, emotions and habits come stealthily and subtly under the cover of darkness. We need to develop with the help of the Holy Spirit a spiritual radar that will detect these negatives in our lives. We need to organize effective ways to capture them and prevent them from operating in our lives. It is reported that even a large number of even pastors today are addicted to pornography. We must develop the killer instinct and ruthlessness of Samson in dealing with such little foxes that left to themselves would grow into big foxes that will devour us. We must tie them tail to tail and set the tails on fire and send them into the enemy camp. Tying them tail to tail implies that we bind them in prayer and make them ineffective and unable to attack us or our families, ministry or work. Some people adopt a little fox as a pet, thinking that the fox would be their faithful watchdog. They nourish and nurture the little fox, only to one day discover that it has grown so big and powerful that they cannot control it. We need to make the fencing around us so strong that none of these little foxes creep in. If ever any manage to creep in, we must destroy it and make the jawbone of the dead fox a powerful weapon for the kingdom of God even as Samson used a jawbone to destroy many of his foes. This implies that we need to use our testimony of how the Lord gave us victory over our inner weaknesses to strengthen others. Prateep V Philip

More than sufficient power

UV 473/10,000 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 His grace is sufficient 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Paul took the mental position that we all should take: “when I am strong, the Lord’s presence and power in me is weak. When I am weak, He is strong in me.” The meaning of this is that when we think we are self-sufficient, we become spiritually complacent and there is no room for faith and the operation of grace. Even our greatest strength or ability is but weakness before the power of the Almighty God. But, there is no weakness that He cannot help us handle. We may be struggling with a physical,financial, intellectual, emotional or spiritual weakness in our lives. When we allow the power of Christ to work in these gaps, He will fill it with His grace to the point of overflowing, like He transformed the jars of water into wine in the marriage at Cana. God speaks loudest to us in our moments of weakness, our times of crisis, of loneliness, persecution and failure. These are the times we have no one we can confide in except the Lord. Paul had a secret affliction- a thorn in the flesh that only the Lord and he knew. Weakness is a part of human nature, the power to overcome and to endure comes from the Lord. Grace is the power to overcome and to endure. It is a God-given and not a naturally occurring ability. Grace is the transforming power of God whereby, He tranforms the sinful people into holy and righteous people, the weak into strong, the foolish into wise, the proud into humble, the stubborn into obedient, the imperfect into perfect. The power of Christ will rest upon us, meaning it will remain in us and become part of our second nature- the God-created new self. Nothing can dislodge it, no one can defeat it. In modern management, we do SWOT analysis to enumerate our personal strengths,weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Then,we glory or take pride in our strengths and ignore our weaknesses. We think of availing our opportunities and ignore our threats. Our weaknesses and threats become our blind spots. In Biblical management, the strengths are already a given: we take steps to further augment it and use it faithfully for the glory of God. As faithful stewards we use the opportunities. We invite the Lord to act in our areas of weaknesses and threats. We pray and expect an outpouring of His power or grace in these areas of weaknesses and protection from the threats. The longer is the list of our weaknesses and threats, the greater is the potential of our lives. This uni-verse guarantees that we have sufficient power made available to us as believers to face all the challenges in life. Prateep V Philip

Willingness and Obedience

UV 472/10,000 Isaiah 1 v 19 Willingness and Obedience Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: We are expected to be willing and obedient: willing to follow Jesus and obedient to the Word of God. When we do so, we will be blessed and we will eat of the good of the land. Once in a time of prayer, the Lord revealed for the first time an interesting sequence of verses starting with Mathew 6 v 6, Mathew 7 v 7, Mathew 8 v 8 , Mathew 9 v 9, Mathew 10 v 10. Mathew 6 v 6 speaks of the need to commune intimately and privately with the Lord, Mathew 7 v 7 is about asking, seeking and knocking, Mathew 8 v 8 is about the centurion’s faith in the authority of Jesus, Mathew 9 v 9 is about Mathew’s implicit obedience of the Lord in obeying His call to follow Him. Mathew 10 v 10 is about trusting the Lord for our needs, that the Lord will reward or compensate or pay our wages. Each of these verses has an underlying key principle of faith. Together, they form the matrix or womb of faith from which will be born the offspring of blessing. Sometimes, we go through experiences where the offspring of blessing seems to be still-born. It might be because we ignored one or other of these principles in the practice of our faith. The Lord will indeed withhold no good thing from the one who walks in faith and in integrity. Willingness to follow the Lord wholeheartedly even as Mathew left the tinkling cash counter to follow Jesus releases the blessings of Jehovah Jireh- the dispensation of God to provide for our daily needs. A young lady was the other day in tears, saying, “ I have no job.” I just encouraged her to hold on to her faith and the Lord will provide her a job soon. I asked her to claim Mathew 7 v 7. She prayed, “ Daddy, you will surely provide for all my needs. You will send a job my way before the month end.” Yesterday, she called cheerfully to say that miraculously, she got an interview call the very next day from an online job site and was offered a job. She had obeyed the Lord’s commandment to ask, to seek and to knock. We need to ask specifically, persistently and expectantly. We need to seek diligently. We need to knock on the door of opportunities that come our way. Then, we will surely eat of the good of the land. Prateep V Philip

Deliverance and Preservation

UV 471/10,000 Deliverance and Preservation 2 Timothy 4 v 18 2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. This uni-verse holds out a wonderful promise to each one of us that the Lord shall on the one hand deliver us from every evil work and on the other, He will preserve us until His kingdom came. The Lord delivers us from evil from within us as well as evil from without. He preserves us from dangers, tempations, threats and other perils. The use of the word, “ every “ implies nothing, absolutely nothing can thwart the power of God. He sees and knows well in advance every possible angle from which a threat can emanate and He neutralizes it without even our knowing or He turns it into a testimony for His glory in which case, we are conscious of His intervention. He will preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom- this implies that the Lord makes it His responsibility to preserve His sheep till we leave our earthly bodies and enter His heavenly abode. The image drawn is one of the Good Shepherd who stands guard day and night over His sheep. As long as the Lord’s presence is with us, His glory or greatness in the manifestations of His presence will not depart from us. The Lord manifests His greatness in His Word and in His deeds. He teaches us, warns us, exhorts us, encourages us through His Word. He can also do a physical act of delivering us from our mortal enemies. The verse concludes with “ Amen” indicating that we should surrender our wills into His hands and pray that His will alone be done. No weapon or word can prosper against us. It is interesting to note that the Lord equates the power of a weapon with the power of the word spoken or written against us. No enemy however formidable or powerful, visible or invisible, known or unknown can triumph over us as we walk in faith. Prateep V Philip

Transformed Degree by Degree

UV 470/10,000 2 Corinthians 3 v 18 Transformed degree by degree 2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. “ We all”, meaning all believers in Christ and as our belief or faith increases, are seeing, hearing, experiencing, perceiving, tasting and understanding the beauty of God in our life from day to day and stage to stage. The Lord is beautiful beyond measure. He is full of grace and truth and power. He did such a beautiful thing for us by breaking His body on the cross though He is the very image of God. Mary Magdalene had only broken a costly jar of perfume over the Lord’s body but He has approved of it, saying, “ She has done a beautiful thing for me.” As we meditate, reflect, remember and understand what He did and does for us to this day, we will be transformed into His very image. Now, we are seeing only a dim image as a man sees his reflection in a mirror but as we grow in faith we will understand more and more. The Holy Spirit will reveal new truths about God’s glory and grace. As we persist in faith despite all circumstances in life and as we diligently study the Word of God, we will add to our faith, excellence, knowledge, patience, self control, brotherly kindness, godliness and to crown it all love. Our minds will be renewed and we will be freed from the deceit and corruption of our former lusts or uncontrollable carnal desires. We will conform to the very image of Christ. In other words, we will bear a resemblance or likeness to Christ in our character and works as brothers and sisters or offspring of the same father bear likeness to each other. It is said, knowledge is power but wisdom is liberty. As we mature in our faith, we will experience that liberty as for where the Spirit of God dwells,there is liberty- liberty from guilt, regret, fear, anger, hatred, sadness and anxiety. Prateep V Philip

The Key to Possessing a Sound Mind

UV 469/10,000 The key to possessing a sound mind in a sound body 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR354EE#a=5 President Obama, reacting to the terrible tragedy of the 24-year old James Holmes shooting to kill 12 people and seriously injuring scores of innocent people in Denver, Colarado, understated things when he said, “ It reminds us that life is fragile.” It is not just fragile, Mr. President- we have lost it. We have lost the balance- the equilibrium as the spirit that God had breathed into us has been replaced in many by a spirit of fear. James Holmes,ironically, a PhD student of neurology got a huge kick from producing fear on as large a scale as he could possibly imagine and engineer. It was a motiveless crime that spoke of the pathological malignancy of his mind. The spirit of fear is the spirit of the enemy that causes one not only to fear all the wrong things but also to cause fear in all kinds of ways- crimes, terror and diabolic plots- the more stealthy, violent and dangerous, the better! The killer Holmes was not wanting in intelligence,imagination, creativity or was it ‘destructivity’ but he lacked a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. The spirit of fear is a spirit of depravity. Holmes is only an open symptom of a deeper malaise that affects mankind today. It is "indeed elementary, my dear Watson." But, God has not given us who believe in His Word a spirit of fear but the spirit of power, of love and a sound mind. It is a spirit of wisdom, tenderness or sensitivity and good judgement that enables us to make wise choices every moment of every day. It is not as if stray distracting or evil thoughts or ideas do not cross our minds. But, the spirit of power and love that dwells in us quickly scotches the thought and allows it no room or scope to grow. In contrast, in the man with the spirit of fear, his mental and emotional wiring gets terribly warped beyond recognition and human understanding. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to transform our thought process. He becomes the director of our emotions, will or decisions. We are taught to think how we could be of help to others and not derive pleasure from harming others. The Spirit prompts us to be sensitive to the feelings of others. The Spirit of God encourages us to do acts that are life-enhancing for ourselves and others and not those that are destructive and disastrous. Prateep V Philip

The Secret of all Blessings Revealed

UV 468/10,000 Mathew 13 v 12 The secret to all blessings revealed Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. If you read this uni-verse superficially as we so often tend to gloss over amazing truths, we will miss the hidden truth. It says in plain language, “ he who has, will be given and given in abundance while he does not have,even what he has will be taken away. On the face of it, it seems so unjust and unfair that the “ haves” will have even more and the “ have-nots” will get even more deprived. The Lord has spoken this word as a kind of “ fill in the blanks”. We need to ask, “ he who has – what?” Our conditioned minds would immediately answer –money, resources,creature comforts, happiness and such other worldly goods. The Holy Spirit revealed the answer as He alone can. He said, “ he who has fear of God, he shall be given and he shall have more abundance.” He shall be given- what? He shall be given whatever he needs and given in measures of abundance,be it in terms of life, health, happiness, resources, longevity, honour, opportunities, significance and so on. He or she who does not have fear of God, even what He has will be taken away. He or she who does not have fear of God, whatever he or she has – be it money, wealth, relationships, influence and life itself will be taken away. Hence, we must seek not to be successful or happy or prosperous or fit but to be blessed. This morning the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the fear of God is the key to appropriating all the blessings that Jesus spoke of in the beatitudes : conviction about personal sin and the way to the kingdom of heaven- meaning eternal or everlasting or unending life in the presence of the Everlasting and Almighty God, comfort in times of trouble, help in times of difficulties, strength in times of weakness, encouragement in times of despair, inheritance of due portion on and of earth in this lifetime, fulfillment of purpose, growth of character and personality, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and favour, visions of God and the things of God, the unlimited love of our Father- God manifested in salvation experience, provision of present and future needs, healing, deliverance, preservation and promotion, protection from enemies, foes and rivals, inner strength, wisdom and conviction to overcome persecution, joy and peace in all circumstances. Is any blessing left out or omitted ? Is there anything we might need more than this in the present and future and all of eternity? Fear of God or in other words –faith in God and His spoken and revealed Word in and through His Son Jesus is the key to all blessings. If you have it, you will be given all these blessings. If you don’t have it, even what you have will be taken away for even if you are as wealthy as ,say Bill Gates, it will one day be taken away. So any wise person, if he has it, will strive to get even more. Prateep V Philip

Public Rewards of Private Prayer

UV 467/10,000 Mathew 6 v 6 Secret Prayers are rewarded openly Mat 6:6 “ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” Prayer connects the consciousness of man with the consciousness of his Creator-God at the deepest level. It is not in acts of public display of piety or religious activity that the Lord’s favour is won but in the intimacy of our private and personal moments with Him where we close the doors but open our hearts to Him. We ask Him to look inside our hearts and cleanse us from within. We ask Him to see the things that burden our hearts and ask Him to lighten the load. While we do this, we express our highest and deepest love for Him. We recall His commandments and promises to us and pledge to obey Him. Jesus took time off from His public ministry to spend time alone with the Father. There are many secrets we share with the Lord in prayer- issues that we might never be able to share with another human being. Only when the answers from the Lord come will others come to know what our problems, aims and goals were. This is the private victory that precedes public victory that Stephen Covey the management guru talked and wrote about. Our faithful prayers are a private victory as we overcame our own spiritual lethargy, doubt and fear to make known our petitions to the Lord. We receive public victory when the Lord answers our prayers. Personal prayer is one of the most important aspects of our personal relationship with God. It is through prayer we begin to and continue to taste the reality and goodness of God in our daily lives. It is said the Lord inclines or leans His ear towards us to hear the prayers we make in the privacy of our rooms. The rewards of consistent personal prayer are an ever deepening intimacy with God and amazing answers to daunting questions, challenges and problems we face in life. Prateep V Philip

Greatness is what greatness does

UV 466/10,000 I Samuel 12 v 16 Greatness is what greatness does 1Sa 12:16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. A great king or great person does great things. The Lord is the Great I Am. He does great things that we can perceive with our eyes. He has done it in the past, does it in the present and will do it in the future. It is a sign and evidence that He is with us. We only need to stand and witness the miracle He is going to do in our lives. The Bible is the history book Part I that records the acts of greatness of the Lord till the coming of Jesus. Part II continues with the recorded and unrecorded testimonies of His faithful people and His great acts in our own lives till this day. There are two kinds of great acts the Lord does: one that magnifies His Name before His entire people, the church or the commonwealth of Israel and the other that He does in our individual and personal lives to strengthen our faith and glorify His Name in and through our lives. In ancient Egypt at the height of its power, the Lord did such great acts so that the people feared the Lord and believed His servant Moses. To this day, He continues to do acts of greatness so that people fear Him and believe His servants. He does it not to flaunt His power but to produce faith in otherwise fickle people with short memories. To “ stand” means to wait with patient and faithful expectation for the Lord to act. After He has acted, we must keep recounting it in our minds and hearts to the praise of God’s greatness. We only need to stand for Him and to be still before Him and He will perform the miraculous. When a Canadian police officer explained to me how his tactics and training helped him disarm an armed offender holed up in a room, I told him I was in a situation where no amount of training or tactics could have saved the day or my life except the hand of the Lord. The acts of greatness of the Lord are visible and tangible, memorable and glorious. When He acts, we cannot erase what He does from our memories or our consciousness. Today, I am able to be thankful and glorify Him continuously every moment for saving my life in the world’s first Human Bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. This act of greatness on the part of the Lord bears repetition a million times. Prateep V Philip

The Hiddenness of God

UV 465/10,000 The Hiddenness of God Isa 45:15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. In the beginning, after Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from God. Man was offered multiple right choices from the Garden Eden but he chose the one wrong one. Thereafter, it was God’s turn to hide. Hereafter, there would be multiple wrong choices for man and one right choice. He revealed Himself first as the only right choice to Israel through Abraham, Moses and the prophets. He chose Israel for He found in Abraham, the father of that nation, the modicum of faith needed to establish His kingdom on earth. But, His final and complete revelation to all mankind came through the Saviour Jesus Christ, the one Anointed to save all mankind and free them from the need to hide from the Holy God who created them. When we discover who God is, we discover the very purpose of our lives. We will be able to align our thoughts, desires, emotions and actions with that purpose. The hiddenness of God has led to mankind in different geographical locations and points in history speculating about His Being and bringing out their own often imagined versions of who they think God is or should be. It is a fact that unless God reveals Himself, it is impossible to find Him or know Him or relate to Him. The hiddenness of God is a prerequisite for faith. It was not a mere game of hide and seek. If He did not hide Himself, there would be no need for faith. But, faith needed to be based on a solid foundation of evidence, experience and history. Another prerequisite is that individually, we should seek Him not just superficially but with all our hearts and He has promised that we will find Him. It is not as if God alone is hidden but many of the best aspects of life are hidden. It takes a lot of searching and persistence for instance, to find raw minerals like gold or silver ore. The hiddenness of God presupposes the need for all who believe that He exists to seek for Him and to seek diligently. Not only is God hidden from the perception of our senses, His truths are hidden in His Word. When we study diligently His Word, we discover the truth about the origin of the universe, the character and power of God and His plan for redemption of mankind. The practical application of this uni-verse is that we need to seek God and His will for our lives with diligence, persistence and with all our heart. When we do so, He will no longer remain withdrawn, aloof, silent, hidden, subtle or discreet but He will reveal His glory to us like the noon-day sun lights up all in its path. Prateep V Philip

Nothing insurmountable

UV 464/10,000 Nothing insurmountable Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: The Lord promises to go ahead of us to straighten our paths, to break down the obstructions, obstacles and seemingly insurmountable barriers on our paths. These are the paths that lead us back to God, our Creator and Father, our Lord and Redeemer. These are the paths that lead us away from the ways of the world and our short-sighted tunnel vision. The obstacles and barriers are the strongholds of disbelief that keep us from fulfilling our purpose or achieving our goals as part of the overarching purpose and will of God. The systems of the world are crooked. As a result, the children of God are often confronted with seemingly insurmountable situations in life where we have to choose between following the ways of God or to follow the ways of the world. But, the Lord knows our situations. He will find a way for us where no way exists. His presence will go ahead of us as a path-breaker and path-maker. The gates of brass are the hardened attitudes and actions of people we are dealing with. The bars of iron are the dead habits that limit our growth. It also stands for the persecution and opposition believers inevitably face in their lives. Over and over again, the Lord will demonstrate in our lives how nothing is insurmountable with Him. The Sovereign Lord does not say , “ I will send my angels or messengers before us.” Instead, it is a personal commitment, “ I will go before you.” We need to have this assurance that as He is with us, nothing is insurmountable. We only need to be aware of the crookedness or unrighteousness of the world around us. We need to distance ourselves from it and ask the Lord for help to deal with it. We need to identify the closed and barred gates placed in our paths, intentionally and willfully by those who oppose us both in the spirit world and in the real world. The Lord will break and tear asunder these obstacles and obstructions. These are very strong verbs indicative of the manifestation of the mighty power of Almighty God in our lives. Prateep V Philip

Enlargement and deliverance

UV 463/10,000 Esther 4 v 14 God is not obligated to use us Est 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? God is not obligated to us to use us to fulfill His will and purpose. If we remain silent and ignore the plight of His people, enlargement and deliverance will arise from quite another quarter. It was an opportunity for Esther to intercede for her people, the Jews that her foster father Mordecai brought to her notice. Esther was brought out of an ordinary household to obtain royal favour and become a queen in order to play the role that she was prepared for. The Lord also used the combination of Mordecai and Esther to save the king’s life from an attempt on his life by his own guards. This would have convinced the king of their loyalty. But, Esther was afraid of breaking the rule that one should not enter the king’ s presence unless he had summoned her. She knew that the penalty for breaking this rule was death. At this juncture, Mordecai reminds her of her responsibility and of her divine calling. He also tells her that God is not dependent on her to save His people. Esther is persuaded by this warning and she prepares and fortifies herself by asking Mordecai and all the Jews to fast and pray like her for royal favour. We must pray for enlargement and deliverance for the Lord’s people everywhere. Enlargement implies positive growth, development, peace and prosperity. Deliverance implies freedom from death and other deadly threats. We must use every opportunity to work or intercede for the enlargement and deliverance of His people lest He leaves us out of His plan and uses someone else more sensitive and obedient to His call. Prateep V Philip

Belief is counted as Righteousness

Uni-verse 462/10,000 Genesis 15 v 6 Belief is counted as righteousness Uni-verse 462/10,000 Genesis 15 v 6 Belief is counted as righteousness Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. It is our belief that enables us to be, to become and to have. Our beliefs influence and determine all our being, becoming and having. It is our belief in the Lord our God that enables us to be counted as righteous. It is righteousness by imputation. The Lord knows that if we are judged by our thoughts, words or actions, we will fall short of His standards. Instead, He adopted the standard of belief to judge whether each individual human being is righteous or non-righteous. Do we believe in His Word, His character, His promises, His provision of salvation and all other needs, His visions and prophecies? The very word “ belief” is comprised of two roots: the quintessential verb “ be” and “lief” that means kingdom. In life when we believe, we are qualified by His grace to be citizens of His kingdom. Is it easy for human beings to believe? No, it is not easy to believe as there are many distractors, ‘red herrings’ or misleading cues and circumstances that make it challenging to believe, to hold on to the belief, to let go of our inherent disbelief and to nurture our faith to grow. In some versions, the words “ He counted it to him” is translated as “ He credited it to him as righteousness.” This is a banking metaphor: when we believe the Word, a spiritual balance of righteousness is credited to our accounts. Though we are born in debt and end in death, He gives us a credit balance in accordance with the measure of our faith. Sometimes through our negative thinking, disobedience and lack of faith, we run the spiritual balance into negative but the Lord keeps topping up our accounts. How much does the Lord credit to our accounts? The visible declares the glory of the invisible. The Lord took the childless and heirless Abraham out of the tent that limited his outward and upward vision into the open and asked him to count the stars that are countless. With the then limited knowledge of astronomy, even Abraham knew that the stars could not be counted. The lesson in astronomy fully persuaded Abraham to believe that God is able to do whatever He had promised including a childless couple beyond the age of child-bearing a child, to raise a whole new nation Israel from that solitary child. His experience that far did not justify his belief but his faith justified his experience. The word ‘justify’ means to set right, to correct, to make straight. Similarly, we can neither predict nor count the magnitude or extent of the Lord’s grace, love and blessings in our lives. Our faith will justify our lives even though a lot of things may be crooked as of now. The Lord pointed out the stars to show Abraham the extent of His power not just to underline the infiniteness of His power to create, to manifest and to answer prayers of believing mankind but to tell us that we need to be stars shining in a dark universe. We need to be star performers in whichever orbit He has placed us today. We need to excel by contrast. Prateep V Philip

Repairer and Restorer

UV 461/10000 Isaiah 58 v 12 Repairer and Restorer Isa 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. We are called to rebuild, to stand in the breach in the wall around the kingdom of God, to restore the paths of God. We rebuild the kingdom and the church by fervent and constant prayer and by training the people belonging to many generations in the ways of God. We stand in the breach to bridge the gap between God and people by interceding for them. The words, “ they that shall be of thee” refers to the persons we minister to, serve, teach, train or mentor. By our lives we become signboards for them the paths they should take in life in order to be blessed of God. In this way, we lay the foundations of many generations in the kingdom of God. The foundations of faith are prayer that connects us with God, the Word through which God communicates with us, fellowship through which we communicate with each other and witnessing through which we communicate the love of God to those who do not know of it or have not experienced it. Every believer needs to be taught, trained and strengthened in these basic disciplines. In the Old Testament, Nehemiah the cupbearer to the king used his earthly influence to get permission and provision to rebuild the ruins and walls of Jerusalem. Similarly, we must do all that we can with the influence and power that is within our reach to build the kingdom and to rebuild the church. We must observe and survey as Nehemiah did the breaches in the wall and muster or marshall all the children of God to rebuild the ruins and the broken down walls. Then, we will be commended by God Himself as repairer of the breach and restorer of the paths of God. Prateep V Philip

Casting down our burdens, lifting our spirits

UV 460/10,000 Psalm 55 v 22 Casting our burdens and lifting our spirits Psa 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved Each of us have our own professional, familial,financial, social, emotional, psychological and spiritual burdens. It could even be a physical burden- a health issue or ailment. It can be the burden of guilt and regrets from the past. These burdens can weigh us down and make us weary and distressed. But, the Lord invites us to cast our burdens upon Him. He promises to sustain us. He promises that He will not allow any of these burdens or cares to destabilize us. We must stay our attention on Him. We must pour out our hearts to Him about all that troubles us daily and not keep it to ourselves. We must also cast out the spirit of despondency or hopelessness, the feeling of despair and helplessness. The saying that we must learn to endure the things that we cannot change does not apply to us. The Lord can change those very things so that we will be able to not only endure it but also enjoy His love and care. If it is a financial burden, He will send miraculous or providential help and support. If it is an emotional burden, he will send a word of healing as His touch to heal the deep wounds in our psyche or inner being. If it is a familial burden, He will cause the change in the relationship or person so that we will enjoy our relationships with our spouse and children. If it is a professional burden or challenge, He will give us a breakthrough in unexpected ways. If it is a spiritual burden, He will uplift us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to take the burden to the Lord in prayer with praise, thanksgiving and earnest expectation. We will then begin to see His response. We will feel the sense of burden being lifted from our minds and hearts. Things will weigh us down but the wings of worship and prayer and the Word will lift us up. Symbolically, every day in our devotion times, we can lift a heavy weight to represent a particular burden in our minds and cast it down, laying it at the feet of Jesus. Jesus having walked in the shoes of man empathises with us. He knows the root or cause, the dimensions or magnitude and the solutions or answers to every one of the issues we face in practical life. With one hand He will lift the burden and with the other, He will point out the way we should take. Prateep V Philip

The Planting

UV 459/10,000 Hosea 2 v 23 The planting Hos 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. Each human being is a planting of the Lord on the earth. Those who recognize this truth and seek the mercy of the Lord who is the Creator and Redeemer will obtain mercy. Jesus is the Prince of the Kingdom of God who became the Prince of peace on earth by paying the price of peace that we earthlings might become princes of His people. This is the first and foremost lesson of human history. This is the seed of the gospel and when it is planted with faith into the bed of our belief system, it transforms our value system. Our value system will lead to our choices and actions on earth or the fruits of our being sown by the Lord. The transformation of our value system after the planting of the gospel seed in our hearts and minds is evidenced in the fact that we now give highest value to the personal relationship that is made possible with the absolutely holy and powerful, wise and otherwise unapproachable God. God will take pride in declaring us His people formed out of all the people on earth. He will revel in revealing His splendour in us, the planting of His hands. The sense of the words ,” my people” and repeated in “ my God” is a sense of ownership, of adoption, of identification,of mutual affirmation, of complete absorption in each other. As the Song of Solomon echoes this in the words, “ My beloved is mine and I am His.” It is a more intimate and personal a relationship than a relationship between lovers for if lovers were to share all their secrets, scarcely any relationship would withstand the shock of such revelation. The relationship between lovers goes through several swings of up and down. But, the relationship with God is a constant growing in awareness, acceptance, affirmation and love. He has complete knowledge of us, more than we can ever know ourselves. We, too can grow in our knowledge and understanding of God by studying His Word, line by line and precept by precept. Prateep V Philip

The Character of the Godly

UV458/10,000 The character of the godly Act 10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always Cornelius was not a Jew. He was a Roman soldier who held in his hands the authority of the empire and power over a hundred men. Yet, he was devout and his sense of devotion and dedication won the favour and attention of God. His example had even inspired his family as well as the men under his charge to similarly fear God. It even led some of them to move to the next level- to be devout or to serve God with a spirit of love and gratitude. It manifested in practical acts of service and charity to the needy. Cornelius prayed to God always. It was not a ritual prayer of religious practice or something taught to him. He feared God- his fear of God and his faith in Him led him to always pray. It did not mean that he was always on his knees and neglected the affairs of state or his soldierly duties as a captain of many men. It meant that he was always in an attitude of prayer, knowing the limitations of his own power and abilities and the infinite power and goodness of God. Scripture goes on to testify that Cornelius was a just man. He never abused his authority or power to ill treat his subordinates or to exploit the people. He had a good reputation among all the subject people- the Jews. The Lord showed by his act of sending a messenger from heaven, an angel to Cornelius that he is not a respector of persons or of races or of religious background. He did so that Cornelius could now move to the next level of spiritual maturity by learning the truth about Jesus from the apostle Peter. Once we are found to be faithful, the Lord will move us to the next level of spiritual knowledge and maturity. The example of Cornelius proves that one can equally be a faithful servant of God and at the same time, an effective Government servant or police officer or army officer or judge or legislator. Cornelius highest allegiance was not to the state but to God, his obedience was not only to the rules and laws of the state but to the Word of God. He obeyed the vision and direction of the angel in sending his servants to find Peter in Joppa. Prateep V Philip

He listens to our conversations

UV 457/10,000 Malachi 3 v 16 He listens to our conversations Mal 3:16 “ Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.” It is a mark of the disciples of Christ that we speak often to one another about the matters pertaining to our faith in the Lord. It is a sign and evidence that we remember the Lord in the midst of our daily activities. This uni-verse tells us that the Lord listens in on our conversations. He participates in our emotions as no one else can. He too rejoices when we speak even casually about God and what He has done in our lives. He empathises and understands what causes pain, sorrow and anxiety in our lives. The resurrected Christ decided to manifest Himself to the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus as they were deeply involved in their conversation with each other about the events of the previous week in which Christ was crucified. He joins their conversation. He chides them for being so perturbed about His death when He had taught and forewarned them about it and when God’s Word itself foretold it. He joined them for a fellowship meal where when He blessed the bread, the eyes of the two disciples were opened and they recognized Him to be Jesus. We too are often like them- we do not recognize the presence of Jesus in our midst. We need to remember the Lord in our daily lives and conversations. We must invite Him to join our fellowship and communications with each other and make matters plain to us as He alone can. When we think the thoughts of God and when we think and speak of God, He both communes and communicates with us. Some things that we speak sadden and annoy Him as it would a man and some things delight Him and causes Him to rejoice in our conversation. Prateep V Philip

Key to Treasures

UV 456/10,000 Key to Treasures Colossians 2 v 3 Col 2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Israelites sustained themselves in the wilderness with manna provided from heaven. But, we need to sustain ourselves with the hidden manna. This hidden manna is the wisdom and knowledge that is hidden in Christ Jesus. When we live in Christ and walk closely with Him, the hidden manna is revealed to us. Just yesterday, I heard of a young man who inspired by this uni-verse, kept believing and claiming the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of Christ and he was so empowered with wisdom and knowledge that he succeeded in getting appointed to a managerial position in a bank. In blood transfusion, medical practitioners can only transfer blood from a normal person to one who has lost blood and is in need of it. But, the Lord alone can transfer wisdom and knowledge in abundance from His Person to any other person who believes, claims and is in need of it. He not just sharpens our intellect but broadens our understanding. Information and knowledge that is in today’s world does not transform lives but the wisdom and understanding of Christ transforms human lives and relationships. Christ is the power and wisdom of God. He will show us His ways of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We must search for His wisdom as we would hidden treasure. He has promised that everything that is hidden will be revealed. He will not withhold the secrets of the kingdom of God from the children of God. Instead, He will generously impart it as a great Teacher would to any zealous and sincere student. Prateep V Philip

Singlemindedness

UV 455/10,000 Philippians 3 v 13 Singlemindedness Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, St. Paul says in this uni-verse that he had not yet achieved what he had set out to do. But, the one thing he is focused on is to forget the past and reach forward to the goal he had now set before him. It is this singlemindedness that we should emulate. St Paul preached the gospel with singlemindedness of purpose. St Paul wrote, “ Imitate me even as I imitate Christ.” He imitated the singlemindedness of Christ who set his face like flint as He went to Jerusalem knowing that He would be apprehended, charged falsely and crucified. The spectre of such a horrifying death did not deter Him. He forgot the mighty miracles He had done of raising the dead to life, of walking on water, of multiplying bread and fish,of many healings and of transforming water into wine. He embraced His mission in life in accepting death on the cross. He could have evaded arrest as He had done in the past. He could have summoned the angels of heaven to His defence. Instead, focusing on the joy that was set before Him after the Resurrection, endured the shame and pain of the cross. We might have many failures or many successes in the past. These are like dead weights that drag us back from pursuing our present goals. Yesterday’s goals don’t win today’s matches. Instead, we must focus on the one goal the Lord has set before us, the one purpose we should fulfill with and in our lives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMA0bALn2gY Prateep V PhiPl check this related song

Be the Wick not the wicked

UV 454/10,000 Psalm 71 v 24 “ My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.” We are called to be the wick that burns and gives light and not the wicked who try to put it out. We too have no light of our own and we must therefore constantly tell, proclaim, declare and praise the righteous acts of God. We must continue to praise Him particularly in every adverse situation in our lives and He will reveal His glory. Yesterday, at the break of dawn I walked to the sunrise point in Kanyakumari where three seas meet and crowds gather every morning to see the sun rise over the ocean in all its glory. By 6 am it was broad daylight, yet the sun was not visible. Within a few minutes and in the twinkling of the eye, we could discern the outline of the sun faintly appearing over the horizon. In another few minutes, the sun lit up the entire horizon. We could also see around us more clearly than before. Similarly, in matters of faith we may see dimly but as time moves on, the Lord will reveal His glory. We might begin to think that the Lord is slow to act to vindicate us and deliver us. But, He will act in the twinkling of the eye as we wait upon Him with faith. Those who wanted to harm us will certainly be put to shame and confusion. Holding on to our faith, speaking and confessing about the marvelous deeds of the Lord in our lives opens the way for Him to further act in our lives. However, while we thank and give glory to God, scripture warns us from gloating over the fall of our adversaries. Instead, we must pray that the Lord will use these events and misfortunes to open their eyes to know the truth and make them repent of their misdeeds. Prateep V Philip

Shield against fear

UV 453/10,000 genesis 15 v 1 "Fear not,I am your shield and exceeding great reward" A physical shield is of little use against fears that afflict our minds on a daily basis. But, this uni-verse affirms that Almighty God Himself is our shield and we need not fear death or the lesser threats to our well being like diseases, losses, accidents, disasters and other misfortunes. When we affirm and reiterate and confess our faith in this amazing promise, we are bracing ourselves in a defensive position and taking a stance holding aloft the spiritual shield of faith to put out the fiery darts and attacks of the enemy much as a warrior does in battle. Our faith in God and His Word not only defends us from the negatives in life and helps us overcome difficulties and challenges, it rewards us with the positive exceeding all hopes and expectations of mankind. The use of the two words, "exceeding" and "great" gives us a sense of the abundance of God 's grace, mercy and reward for faithfulness.

Daily Delighting in God, HIs Presence and His Word

UV 452/10,000 Isaiah 58 v 2 Daily Delighting in God Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. For the believer, “seeing is not believing”, it is seeking that is believing. We seek the unseen God and we delight in knowing His ways so that we too can walk in them that we may please Him. The ways of God are knowable, verifiable and amenable to observation, study and experience. We know of His ways by reading and reflecting on the Word of God. In so doing, we become a nation that “does” righteousness. For the Word contains the ordinances or laws of justice that our God has ordained from before the beginning of time. We delight in approaching God daily. How can we approach the holy God unless we ourselves are holy? It is Christ Jesus who clothes us with the clothes of salvation and righteousness that we can approach His holy throne. The image drawn is that of a subject who needs to approach the king sitting on his throne, arrayed in splendour, himself dressed in appropriate fine clothes for the occasion. The king seeing the humble and expectant look on his face will issue an ordinance or order from the throne to render what justice the subject is seeking. Having received the ordinance, we should not neglect it or ignore it but execute it daily in our lives. A court can order a particular act to render justice but unless it is executed, it will be of no avail. There are many things that need to be set right in our lives. We seek justice in these areas. There are many areas in which we need to correct ourselves. We seek the ordinances of God for both these aspects of our daily lives so that day by day and degree by degree we are transformed into the very image of God. Finally, on the day of the Lord we will be qualified by grace to sit beside the throne of God. Prateep V Philip

The Preferred House of Prayer

UV 451/10,000 Mathew21 v 13 The preferred house of prayer Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves God’s preferred house of prayer is our bodies and minds. He once told me, “ Your body is a church of prayer to me.” Our bodies and minds are also organized like a sanctuary- the gateway is our mouth(s), the outer courtyard and inner courtyard are our thoughts and emotions, our appreciation of who God is and our constant worship as we focus our lives on Him are the incense and frankincense that constantly burn to give an aroma that pleases the very nostrils of the Creator. Our desires and needs are the petitions that are received addressed to our Father in heaven. Our altar is our memories of what God has done in our lives and our will is the sacrifice we place on that altar with trust and faith that He knows what is best for us. At the same time, this uni-verse warns and reminds us that our bodies and minds can become a den of thieves. If we give in to our lust, fears, worries and weaknesses, it becomes a den of thieves that rob us of our holiness, wholeness and our potential. Our lust can lead us into sin and away from God. Our fears and worries can rob us of our peace. Our weaknesses are like breaks in the fencing that allow the enemy to enter. The Holy Spirit is the High Priest who ministers in our inner temple. He sanctifies us on a daily basis. He sees that we are dusted, swept, cleansed and secured against the thieves. He reads out, reminds and interprets us of the scripture portion we need every day. When we live our lives in this manner, we become a living sacrifice, a living temple holy and acceptable to God. Prateep V Philip