Uni-verse 307-10,000 For better through verse I Samuel 2 v 30
Honour for honour
1Sa 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
When we honour God, He will surely honour us. When we despise the Lord,we will be of little value with Him. When we give top priority in our lives to the Lord, then we are honouring Him. It does not mean that we merely honour the Lord with our words but that we fear His awesome holiness and power and love His goodness and kindness. Giving top priority implies spending time early in the day on a regular basis at the feet of the Lord. It means that we give utmost importance to reading, studying, remembering and applying the Word in our lives.
Honouring the Lord also means that we do not hesitate to bear witness to others about the Lord’s goodness. We are always willing to make sacrifices of our time, money and resources in serving the Lord in practical ways. When we honour Jesus, the Son of God,we honour Him. When we use our earthly talents, positions and resources to glorify God, He is honoured.
The Lord in return honours us by lifting us up in the eyes of people around us. He will honour us. Precious things for precious people. When we so become precious in God’s eyes, He will give people in exchange for our lives. He will perform the vast array of His Word in the different seasons of our lives. He will manifest His power and grace on our behalf when we come up against powerful adversaries and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He will keep want and poverty from knocking on our doors. He will bless us with His abundance from the deep of the earth. He will lead, guide and encourage us. He will not let us be ashamed in front of our adversaries. People can give us gifts but only the Lord can endow us with gifts from within.
Prateep V Philip
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Obtaining the King's favour
Uni-verse 301/10,000 For better through verse Nehemiah 1 v 11
Obtaining the king’s favour
Neh 1:11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer
We are all called to be servant leaders. As servant leaders, we often need the “ king’s favour”, implying the favour of persons in higher positions of influence or authority who can grant or facilitate what we desire for the Kingdom of God, for ourselves and for the people of God. In the corporate context, it could mean the boss’s favour. When we beseech the Lord to grant us grace to find such favour in the “king’s eyes”, He will cause it to happen even as Nehemiah found favour with King Xerxes in the Persian empire. He will prosper us in our way as He is Jehovah Shalom.
When we come to think of it, we are each a cupbearer to the king, in the sense that on account of our intimacy with God, we are in a position to influence the life, career and decisions of the king through our prayers. We can influence the policies of governments towards the poor, towards the children of God and such other matters through focused prayer. We can influence world and national events. We can influence Obama in White House through the combined effect of our prayers.
Nehemiah was not alone in praying. He had a back up of prayer warriors praying on the same lines. Their common quality was that they desired to fear the Lord. They were not motivated by selfish ambition but desired to be used of God, by God and for God. It is interesting that a good number of readers of the Uni-verse have formed a prayer group called Hedge to pray for each other’s needs and for others. In my personal walk, I have found amazing answers to prayers over the past twenty or more years in which the Lord turned the “king’s eyes” to look with favour upon my requests. Once in the middle of a conference, when some adversaries were conspiring to destroy a movement that I had started, I cried out in my heart to the Lord, “ You who can change a river’s course, who can easily change a ruler’s heart and mind, please let my plea find favour..” The one who is called Lord Amen caused it to so happen. After all, He is the Eternal King all mortal kings look to even as a cupbearer looks to the king.
Prateep V Philip
Obtaining the king’s favour
Neh 1:11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer
We are all called to be servant leaders. As servant leaders, we often need the “ king’s favour”, implying the favour of persons in higher positions of influence or authority who can grant or facilitate what we desire for the Kingdom of God, for ourselves and for the people of God. In the corporate context, it could mean the boss’s favour. When we beseech the Lord to grant us grace to find such favour in the “king’s eyes”, He will cause it to happen even as Nehemiah found favour with King Xerxes in the Persian empire. He will prosper us in our way as He is Jehovah Shalom.
When we come to think of it, we are each a cupbearer to the king, in the sense that on account of our intimacy with God, we are in a position to influence the life, career and decisions of the king through our prayers. We can influence the policies of governments towards the poor, towards the children of God and such other matters through focused prayer. We can influence world and national events. We can influence Obama in White House through the combined effect of our prayers.
Nehemiah was not alone in praying. He had a back up of prayer warriors praying on the same lines. Their common quality was that they desired to fear the Lord. They were not motivated by selfish ambition but desired to be used of God, by God and for God. It is interesting that a good number of readers of the Uni-verse have formed a prayer group called Hedge to pray for each other’s needs and for others. In my personal walk, I have found amazing answers to prayers over the past twenty or more years in which the Lord turned the “king’s eyes” to look with favour upon my requests. Once in the middle of a conference, when some adversaries were conspiring to destroy a movement that I had started, I cried out in my heart to the Lord, “ You who can change a river’s course, who can easily change a ruler’s heart and mind, please let my plea find favour..” The one who is called Lord Amen caused it to so happen. After all, He is the Eternal King all mortal kings look to even as a cupbearer looks to the king.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The softening and hardening of hearts
Uni-verse 296/10,000 For better through verse Romans 9 v 17
The softening and hardening of human hearts are by the will and choice of God
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
God broke into Moses’s life and softened his heart towards Him that He might show His compassion and grace to Moses and the Israelites. God allowed Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened that He might show His power against him and the Egyptians. Today, Pharaoh is a phantom of the pyramids, lost in history on the sanddunes of the desert but Moses continues to inspire and teach all mankind through the Ten Commandments, the core of all laws of all nations. Thereby, God’s name is glorified and proclaimed through all the earth and through all history.
God has compassion on whom He chooses to have compassion. He shows mercy to whom He chooses to show mercy. But, is there a common factor that draws the attention of God to have mercy on some and to harden the others? Moses, it is testified by God Himself in the Bible, was the humblest of men. He did not think he had a special right or qualification to lead the Israelites. He was broken-hearted after all that had happened in his life. Pharaoh on the contrary exalted himself as a god among men. Naturally, God hardened his heart further and gave him a hard time. Moses found favour with God. When we soften our hearts toward God, He augments it. When we harden our hearts towards Him, then too He further augments it.
Our attitudes are the aroma of Christ. If there be in our ‘heartitude’ a trace of spiritual pride or intellectual arrogance or social conceit, it will be a stench in the nostrils of God. We need to daily come before God like Moses did- with a heart of contrition and reverence. Only in this condition is our heart a ready and prepared soil to receive the seed of the Word and the favour of God. His name and His testimony will be declared through all the earth for His praise and glory.
Prateep V Philip
The softening and hardening of human hearts are by the will and choice of God
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
God broke into Moses’s life and softened his heart towards Him that He might show His compassion and grace to Moses and the Israelites. God allowed Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened that He might show His power against him and the Egyptians. Today, Pharaoh is a phantom of the pyramids, lost in history on the sanddunes of the desert but Moses continues to inspire and teach all mankind through the Ten Commandments, the core of all laws of all nations. Thereby, God’s name is glorified and proclaimed through all the earth and through all history.
God has compassion on whom He chooses to have compassion. He shows mercy to whom He chooses to show mercy. But, is there a common factor that draws the attention of God to have mercy on some and to harden the others? Moses, it is testified by God Himself in the Bible, was the humblest of men. He did not think he had a special right or qualification to lead the Israelites. He was broken-hearted after all that had happened in his life. Pharaoh on the contrary exalted himself as a god among men. Naturally, God hardened his heart further and gave him a hard time. Moses found favour with God. When we soften our hearts toward God, He augments it. When we harden our hearts towards Him, then too He further augments it.
Our attitudes are the aroma of Christ. If there be in our ‘heartitude’ a trace of spiritual pride or intellectual arrogance or social conceit, it will be a stench in the nostrils of God. We need to daily come before God like Moses did- with a heart of contrition and reverence. Only in this condition is our heart a ready and prepared soil to receive the seed of the Word and the favour of God. His name and His testimony will be declared through all the earth for His praise and glory.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
How wisdom and grace endure over power and might
Dan 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding
God is not a time server but time serves Him. He sets the times for the fulfillment of His purpose for each individual, for each nation and for all of humanity. He is a king-maker and a ‘king-breaker’. Time and tide wait for no man but it will wait for God. The sovereignty of God is awesome for those who love Him and fearful for those who ignore or hate Him. He humbles the mighty in all generations. He lifts up the humble.
Those who humble themselves before such a Sovereign Creator-Redeemer-God are the ones who are deemed to be wise. To such as these,He will give increasing wisdom. Wisdom is God’s knowledge and know-how given to those who know Him. Such heavenly wisdom, as opposed to earthly wisdom that makes us proud, deceitful and conceited, will make us peaceful, gentle, assured, merciful, full of the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control, and remain ‘untilted’ by partiality and unstained by hypocrisy.
When we go through hard times, we can turn to God and ask Lord, “ Give me some relief as my times are in your sovereign hands. Change my hard times into good times, my bitterness into sweetness.” God turned the widowed and hapless Naomi’s bitterness into sweetness. When we pass through a season of barrenness, spiritually, physically, socially and financially, we can turn to the Lord and ask to turn it into a season of special fruitfulness, prosperity and abundance. When we come up against overwhelming and oppressive power unjustly used against us, we can pray, “ Lord, break this yoke with your greater power. Meanwhile, give me grace to endure till you give me the breakthrough.”
At all times, we can expect, pray and receive greater wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
Prateep V Philip
God is not a time server but time serves Him. He sets the times for the fulfillment of His purpose for each individual, for each nation and for all of humanity. He is a king-maker and a ‘king-breaker’. Time and tide wait for no man but it will wait for God. The sovereignty of God is awesome for those who love Him and fearful for those who ignore or hate Him. He humbles the mighty in all generations. He lifts up the humble.
Those who humble themselves before such a Sovereign Creator-Redeemer-God are the ones who are deemed to be wise. To such as these,He will give increasing wisdom. Wisdom is God’s knowledge and know-how given to those who know Him. Such heavenly wisdom, as opposed to earthly wisdom that makes us proud, deceitful and conceited, will make us peaceful, gentle, assured, merciful, full of the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control, and remain ‘untilted’ by partiality and unstained by hypocrisy.
When we go through hard times, we can turn to God and ask Lord, “ Give me some relief as my times are in your sovereign hands. Change my hard times into good times, my bitterness into sweetness.” God turned the widowed and hapless Naomi’s bitterness into sweetness. When we pass through a season of barrenness, spiritually, physically, socially and financially, we can turn to the Lord and ask to turn it into a season of special fruitfulness, prosperity and abundance. When we come up against overwhelming and oppressive power unjustly used against us, we can pray, “ Lord, break this yoke with your greater power. Meanwhile, give me grace to endure till you give me the breakthrough.”
At all times, we can expect, pray and receive greater wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, December 23, 2011
UV 279/10,000 Exodus 33 v 17
Uni-verse 279/10,000 For better through verse Exodus 33 v 17
Exo 33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Two days ago, the Lord spoke this verse concerning me to a certain man of God. Accordingly, two days ago , a complicated issue requiring the cooperation of many people and many agencies was resolved by His power and grace miraculously without any one opposing it. It was a matter that I had laid before the Lord in prayer and spoken to many people about. Just as Caleb was sent to the assistance of Joshua, the Lord sent a man to assist me in resolving this rather intractable issue.
Finding grace in God’s sight – how much depends on us and how much on God? It is our faith that pleases God and wins His favour. Moses pleaded for the LORD’s presence saying that it was His presence with the Israelites that distinguished them from the rest of mankind. Thereby, in showing his faithfulness, Moses found favour in the Lord’s eyes. The fact that the Lord was with Moses was sufficient for him. Moses had faith that His presence would meet all his needs and overcome whatever opposition or challenges that he would face in the long journey to the promised land.
The Lord knows us and calls us by name. It implies that He knows us personally and He desires that we too enjoy a personal relationship with Him. When we are walking in intimate fellowship with the Lord, He hears and understands our need even before we speak it. He answers even as we pray or before the request is made just as a lover knows his beloved’s deepest desire even before she whispers it.
Prateep V Philip
Exo 33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Two days ago, the Lord spoke this verse concerning me to a certain man of God. Accordingly, two days ago , a complicated issue requiring the cooperation of many people and many agencies was resolved by His power and grace miraculously without any one opposing it. It was a matter that I had laid before the Lord in prayer and spoken to many people about. Just as Caleb was sent to the assistance of Joshua, the Lord sent a man to assist me in resolving this rather intractable issue.
Finding grace in God’s sight – how much depends on us and how much on God? It is our faith that pleases God and wins His favour. Moses pleaded for the LORD’s presence saying that it was His presence with the Israelites that distinguished them from the rest of mankind. Thereby, in showing his faithfulness, Moses found favour in the Lord’s eyes. The fact that the Lord was with Moses was sufficient for him. Moses had faith that His presence would meet all his needs and overcome whatever opposition or challenges that he would face in the long journey to the promised land.
The Lord knows us and calls us by name. It implies that He knows us personally and He desires that we too enjoy a personal relationship with Him. When we are walking in intimate fellowship with the Lord, He hears and understands our need even before we speak it. He answers even as we pray or before the request is made just as a lover knows his beloved’s deepest desire even before she whispers it.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Practising Mindfulness of God
Uni-verse 272/10,000 For better through verse Psalms 115 v 12
Psa 115:12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
Unlike the earthly lords, He is LORD not because He lords it over us. In fact, He makes very few demands of us. He is Lord as His Love (lo) rose out of His death (rd). As He Himself said, “the greatest thing a man can do for his friend is to die” for him or her. Jesus did the greatest thing for each one of us and thereby declares out of His death that He is our greatest friend.
He is mindful of us, meaning He is ever conscious of who we are and what we are in need of. Consciousness is a trait that God shares with mankind. Among all species, we alone know who we are and that we exist. Deep inside each of us, we hold the consciousness that “ I am”. But, God is the “ Great I Am.” He knows our every thought and desire. He alone knows what we have been through. Others may judge us based on our appearance or our social standing but He sees and understands the totality of our circumstances. Once He told me, “ I admire the way you deal with the faithful and the unfaithful, the wise and the foolish, the crooked and the simple. You are moving among all kinds of people.” He knows the kind of people we have to relate to, the kind of challenges we have faced and are facing. He sizes up these challenges and gives us every spiritual blessing we need from heavenly places.
The “ house of Israel” refers to a person placing His trust in the Great I Am through His Son Jesus and enjoying a personal relationship with the Creator. The house of Aaron refers to that person moving into an even deeper and more intimate relationship
by dedicating every thought, desire, breath, word and deed to the Lord. When we belong to the “house of Aaron,” we become mindful of God. We remember Him at all times,His presence, what He has wrought for us this far, His Word, His promises.
Prateep V Philip
Psa 115:12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
Unlike the earthly lords, He is LORD not because He lords it over us. In fact, He makes very few demands of us. He is Lord as His Love (lo) rose out of His death (rd). As He Himself said, “the greatest thing a man can do for his friend is to die” for him or her. Jesus did the greatest thing for each one of us and thereby declares out of His death that He is our greatest friend.
He is mindful of us, meaning He is ever conscious of who we are and what we are in need of. Consciousness is a trait that God shares with mankind. Among all species, we alone know who we are and that we exist. Deep inside each of us, we hold the consciousness that “ I am”. But, God is the “ Great I Am.” He knows our every thought and desire. He alone knows what we have been through. Others may judge us based on our appearance or our social standing but He sees and understands the totality of our circumstances. Once He told me, “ I admire the way you deal with the faithful and the unfaithful, the wise and the foolish, the crooked and the simple. You are moving among all kinds of people.” He knows the kind of people we have to relate to, the kind of challenges we have faced and are facing. He sizes up these challenges and gives us every spiritual blessing we need from heavenly places.
The “ house of Israel” refers to a person placing His trust in the Great I Am through His Son Jesus and enjoying a personal relationship with the Creator. The house of Aaron refers to that person moving into an even deeper and more intimate relationship
by dedicating every thought, desire, breath, word and deed to the Lord. When we belong to the “house of Aaron,” we become mindful of God. We remember Him at all times,His presence, what He has wrought for us this far, His Word, His promises.
Prateep V Philip
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