UV 1055/10,000 The Sun, the Sea and the Sand
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.
Psalm 113 v 3
This morning before the break of dawn I mounted my cycle and went down to the beach to do my half hour prayer walk. The vastness of the sea combined with the vastness of the skies, the infinite number of the sand grains on the beach, the rising sun, the unstoppable waves that keep rolling are a perfect ambience to worship the Lord. Once the Lord told us, “ The people of Japan proudly call their country the land of the rising sun. But I rise where the people acknowledge me as their Creator and Redeemer. I rise in your home because you praise my name every morning and continue to do so right through the day.”
In Las Vegas, in its many hotels and casinos, there are grand shows on a particular theme based on the name of the resort that take place every hour on the hour. Similarly, we need to acknowledge the Lord and praise His holy name, His loving nature towards us who are mortal and sinners, fallen far short of His ineffable and infinite glory and we need to do it every hour and on the hour. What a privilege it is that though we are so small, weak and puny, we can magnify the Lord’s name and ascribe glory to His name. From the rising of the sun to its going down implies that from our birth till death, from our rising every day till we go to sleep, in all of our activities and movements, in all of our thoughts, words and actions, in all our relationships, we need to acknowledge that it is the Lord who gives us warmth, light and power. Like the inexorable waves, streams of praise and thanksgiving need to flow from our hearts and minds. This is what Jesus said, “ Rivers of life-giving water will flow from your hearts.” The streams of praise and thanksgiving will enhance, enlarge and bless all aspects of our lives and all who come in touch with us. As I watched the fishermen set out in their boats, the Lord reminded me that each day we are off into uncharted territory but the Lord is in command of our boats. He will teach us to throw our nets in the right direction. The saltiness of the sea water and the sand grains that enter our shoes remind us of the sinfulness of the world and how sin so easily infiltrates and mingles with the elements of our lives.
Jesus is the Morning Star or the Sun of our lives. We revolve around Him as planets around the sun. The word planet in the original Greek root meant “ wanderer.” Jesus called us not to be wanderers or flotsam and jetsam on the sea’ s surface but to be followers. We praise Him most by following Him in His gracious words and ways. Every day we need to offer praise to Him in a new way or sing unto Him a new song. He is also waiting to give us new experiences of His manifold blessings. The words He speaks into our lives are the rays of light that penetrate our very bones and core of our being. The beach sand will remind us that each of us individually is like a grain of sand on the seashore to be trampled upon. But in the hands of Jesus we become like a precious and priceless pearl of eternal value. The Lord gives us innumerable blessings like the grain of sand on the shore. I was reminded of the Lord’s promise to Abraham that He would give him descendants as numerous as the sand grains on the seashore and prayed that people from Japan to the western most shores experience His love and grace.
The leadership and management concept implicit in this uni-verse is that our lives are God-dependent for sustenance, for protection, for provision, for guidance, for remission and salvation even as people and all creatures and plant species are dependent on the sun’s light to sustain them. The sun above, the sand below and the sea besides us all remind us that we are surrounded by the power and majesty of the Lord. The earth is His footstool and we would be fools not to recognize His great and awesome power and our vulnerabilities and susceptibilities if we take our eyes off Him. The principles evolved from this concept is that a)in all our ways and always we need to think, thank, praise and worship the Lord first for creating us and second, for giving us the saving knowledge of Christ, the morning Star of our lives. b) we need to be creative in our methods of worship and bring Him a new offering of thanksgiving every day . The practical steps to translate these principles into practices in our lives is : 1. Aim to remember the Lord with thanksgiving and praise every hour and on the hour as far it is possible in the course of the day 2. Think every day of something new to thank the Lord for
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Principles and Practices that flows from the Concept of Level Praying Ground in UV 1054
The leadership and management concept implicit in this uni-verse is that despite all the differences in stature, status, wealth, glamour, beauty, power, position and talent, before the Lord it is only our humility, integrity of heart and faithfulness that counts. The principles that can be evolved from this concept are: a) depend not on our extrinsic differentiation but on the intensity of our faith b) we should organize our lives not to depend on the high and mighty of this world but to trust in the Lord c) never gloat on our triumphs, talents, achievements or acquisitions but feed continually on the Word to strengthen, bless and enlarge our vision and our lives d) seek the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God. The practical steps we need to take on a daily basis to translate the principles into practice are: 1. Spend more and more time in prayer, repentance and in reading the Word and understanding God’s will for our lives 2.) Be joyful and worship the Lord with song and dance at least once a day 3.) Before acting, reacting or deciding, consult the Holy Spirit at every turn of every day
Prateep V Philip
Prateep V Philip
The Level Praying Ground
UV 1054/10,000 The Level Praying Ground
And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Ezekiel 17 v 24
The Lord God is sovereign and just. He brings down the mighty crashing like a falling tree. He lifts up the humble and broken hearted. He counsels them and causes them to prosper. Those who flourish and gloat in their wealth, power and status will be brought in due time to nought like the drying up of a green tree. Those who have no hope and no strength or support, the Lord revels in causing to flourish to the sheer astonishment of the people around. To some He reveals Himself as a mighty God and consuming fire, to some others He reveals Himself as a compassionate Father. To some He reveals Himself as a merciful Saviour and to some as a righteous Judge.
Whatever the Lord speaks, He does it. The one source of sustenance and power for all types of human beings is the Word from the mouth of God. Hence, we need to focus on what the Lord has spoken in our lives. If we are a proud tree, we would humble ourselves lest the axe of the Lord fall on our trunk and roots. If we are a barren tree, we will start bearing eternal and useful fruit for the Lord. If He has given us warning, we need to repent and heed His words. If He has counseled us, we need to carry out every word in letter and spirit. If He has promised us, we need to cherish His promise. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon us as we seek the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God. He will quicken our understanding and we will not judge by our sight or by our hearing but by the Spirit of the Lord. The more we lower ourselves in His presence, realizing our inadequacies, the more He will lift us up and supply what we are lacking.
The Lord desires that we go out into each day, praising, thanking and rejoicing in His presence. The mountains or challenges we face will then melt like wax in the heat of His presence. He will cause it to be a level playing ground and level praying ground where the mighty or powerful or glamorous or influential have no decided advantage over any of us. They will fall sooner or later to the righteous and sharp axe of the Lord while we will enjoy the mighty as well as gracious and faithful acts of the Lord in our lives. We clap, dance and celebrate the greatness of the Lord. He has breathed His breath of life into us. We can rejoice for life is not a chance, an accident but a deliberate choice that the Lord has made and a thoughtful choice that we have made. It is this mutual voluntary choice that makes our bonding with God a type of spiritual everlasting marriage.
Prateep V Philip
And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Ezekiel 17 v 24
The Lord God is sovereign and just. He brings down the mighty crashing like a falling tree. He lifts up the humble and broken hearted. He counsels them and causes them to prosper. Those who flourish and gloat in their wealth, power and status will be brought in due time to nought like the drying up of a green tree. Those who have no hope and no strength or support, the Lord revels in causing to flourish to the sheer astonishment of the people around. To some He reveals Himself as a mighty God and consuming fire, to some others He reveals Himself as a compassionate Father. To some He reveals Himself as a merciful Saviour and to some as a righteous Judge.
Whatever the Lord speaks, He does it. The one source of sustenance and power for all types of human beings is the Word from the mouth of God. Hence, we need to focus on what the Lord has spoken in our lives. If we are a proud tree, we would humble ourselves lest the axe of the Lord fall on our trunk and roots. If we are a barren tree, we will start bearing eternal and useful fruit for the Lord. If He has given us warning, we need to repent and heed His words. If He has counseled us, we need to carry out every word in letter and spirit. If He has promised us, we need to cherish His promise. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon us as we seek the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God. He will quicken our understanding and we will not judge by our sight or by our hearing but by the Spirit of the Lord. The more we lower ourselves in His presence, realizing our inadequacies, the more He will lift us up and supply what we are lacking.
The Lord desires that we go out into each day, praising, thanking and rejoicing in His presence. The mountains or challenges we face will then melt like wax in the heat of His presence. He will cause it to be a level playing ground and level praying ground where the mighty or powerful or glamorous or influential have no decided advantage over any of us. They will fall sooner or later to the righteous and sharp axe of the Lord while we will enjoy the mighty as well as gracious and faithful acts of the Lord in our lives. We clap, dance and celebrate the greatness of the Lord. He has breathed His breath of life into us. We can rejoice for life is not a chance, an accident but a deliberate choice that the Lord has made and a thoughtful choice that we have made. It is this mutual voluntary choice that makes our bonding with God a type of spiritual everlasting marriage.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, April 4, 2014
Roots and Wings
UV 1053/10,000 Roots and Wings
"'But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.”
Ezekiel 17 v 7
The great philosopher Goethe wrote, “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” Education cannot provide the roots and wings that we desire both for ourselves and our children for what it teaches as truth and fact today, is revised within a short time. The truths of one generation become the heresy of the next. Education conditions the mind to believe in the limitations of nature. It is only faith and the Word of God that can provide both the roots of the good vine and the powerful wings of the eagle. Jesus provides us the good root with many branches so that we can grow with stability as well as dynamism in the very plot where we are planted. The vine of our lives is often pruned by the Holy Spirit so that we bear many kinds of fruit, good fruit and much fruit. Our faith in Jesus and the Word roots us. Everything else in the world changes but Jesus and the Word remain the same forever. But for the Bible, our lives would have been Babel and babble. The leaves of our lives, our goals, opinions and circumstances can change or fall. But our lives are founded on solid rock. We in turn become the good root in our families, workplace and nations.
But we are not grounded for we are meant to fly like an eagle. He provides us the two powerful wings of prayer and the Word. With prayer and the Word, nothing can limit us. We can fly in the spirit across barriers, mountains, reefs, oceans, fears, obstacles, persecutions, opposition. We can fly across nations, above the highest offices and across the span of the entire universe. The full plumage that the uni-verse mentions are the golden feathers of the promises, precepts and commands of scripture that we have claimed in faith and prayer. Both our roots with all its branches and our wings with all its feathers will keep stretching towards the water that the Lord provides for the roots and the oil that the Lord provides to lubricate the wings and as it happens, the roots become stronger and grow deeper enabling us to bear even more fruit on many more branches , the wings become longer and stronger enabling us to fly even higher and longer.
When we fly with strong faith and a sanctified imagination, our hitherto limited vision expands. We can see what ‘s wrong with our world and attempt to set things right for we believe we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We look at everything from an eternal perspective. We are confident as we know the Lord is watching over us day and night with a mother eagle’s eye. We are living under the shadow of the Almighty and so our lives are blessed, protected, provided for, exalted, surrounded by angels. We will tread upon the lion and the cobra, trample these threats under our feet. He will be with us in trouble, deliver us and honour us. He will satisfy us with long life and after that show us our eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit hovers over the dark and grey areas of our lives and brings forth life. We are filled with hope as we can see the distant shores of heaven.
The leadership and management concept implicit in this uni-verse is that we need to strive to combine the anchorage of faith with the leverage of hope to improve our lot. We need to combine universal values contained in the Word with our vision and our day to day goals. The principles that can be evolved from this concept are: a) strengthen our faith by studying the Word b) meditate on the Word and pray as two wings of a bird need to flap together to cause flight. C) deepen our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer . The practical steps to be taken to translate these principles in our lives into real habits are: 1. Spend more time on a daily basis reading the Word, meditating and praying 2. Praying internally on different issues right through the day 3. Work daily towards using our talents or bearing more fruit in a variety of ways. 4. Increasingly use intuition, imagination and spiritual discernment to take various decisions.
Prateep V Philip
"'But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.”
Ezekiel 17 v 7
The great philosopher Goethe wrote, “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” Education cannot provide the roots and wings that we desire both for ourselves and our children for what it teaches as truth and fact today, is revised within a short time. The truths of one generation become the heresy of the next. Education conditions the mind to believe in the limitations of nature. It is only faith and the Word of God that can provide both the roots of the good vine and the powerful wings of the eagle. Jesus provides us the good root with many branches so that we can grow with stability as well as dynamism in the very plot where we are planted. The vine of our lives is often pruned by the Holy Spirit so that we bear many kinds of fruit, good fruit and much fruit. Our faith in Jesus and the Word roots us. Everything else in the world changes but Jesus and the Word remain the same forever. But for the Bible, our lives would have been Babel and babble. The leaves of our lives, our goals, opinions and circumstances can change or fall. But our lives are founded on solid rock. We in turn become the good root in our families, workplace and nations.
But we are not grounded for we are meant to fly like an eagle. He provides us the two powerful wings of prayer and the Word. With prayer and the Word, nothing can limit us. We can fly in the spirit across barriers, mountains, reefs, oceans, fears, obstacles, persecutions, opposition. We can fly across nations, above the highest offices and across the span of the entire universe. The full plumage that the uni-verse mentions are the golden feathers of the promises, precepts and commands of scripture that we have claimed in faith and prayer. Both our roots with all its branches and our wings with all its feathers will keep stretching towards the water that the Lord provides for the roots and the oil that the Lord provides to lubricate the wings and as it happens, the roots become stronger and grow deeper enabling us to bear even more fruit on many more branches , the wings become longer and stronger enabling us to fly even higher and longer.
When we fly with strong faith and a sanctified imagination, our hitherto limited vision expands. We can see what ‘s wrong with our world and attempt to set things right for we believe we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We look at everything from an eternal perspective. We are confident as we know the Lord is watching over us day and night with a mother eagle’s eye. We are living under the shadow of the Almighty and so our lives are blessed, protected, provided for, exalted, surrounded by angels. We will tread upon the lion and the cobra, trample these threats under our feet. He will be with us in trouble, deliver us and honour us. He will satisfy us with long life and after that show us our eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit hovers over the dark and grey areas of our lives and brings forth life. We are filled with hope as we can see the distant shores of heaven.
The leadership and management concept implicit in this uni-verse is that we need to strive to combine the anchorage of faith with the leverage of hope to improve our lot. We need to combine universal values contained in the Word with our vision and our day to day goals. The principles that can be evolved from this concept are: a) strengthen our faith by studying the Word b) meditate on the Word and pray as two wings of a bird need to flap together to cause flight. C) deepen our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer . The practical steps to be taken to translate these principles in our lives into real habits are: 1. Spend more time on a daily basis reading the Word, meditating and praying 2. Praying internally on different issues right through the day 3. Work daily towards using our talents or bearing more fruit in a variety of ways. 4. Increasingly use intuition, imagination and spiritual discernment to take various decisions.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, April 3, 2014
The Wonders of the Acts of God
UV 1052/10,000 The Wonders of the Acts of God
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
Habakuk 1 v 5
When we look around among our midst, in our circumstances and among the nations of the world, we will be able to discern the hand of God working wonderfully, putting down some and raising some. This is an amazing promise to the believers that the Lord will do a work in our lives that would be unbelievable even by us if told to us today. The Lord God is the God of the future as much as He is of the past and the present. He choses to reveal now just what is needed by us to know and understand. There are many incredible secrets that He withholds from us. But He would act in accordance with His promise in due time. An answer delayed is not a prayer denied.
While we are up and about doing what we need to do, the Lord is working unseen in the background. He guarantees that in the end He will make all things beautiful, even the sordid, the sad, the painful, the regretful, the disappointing parts of our lives. As a master craftsman and artist, the Lord knows how to turn all that into an awesome mosaic reflecting His glory. Nothing is wasted or in vain once we believe in sharp contrast to the refrain of the philosopher in the book of Ecclesiastes that “ all is in vain, a chasing of the wind”. The Lord blew down on the Red Sea causing it to part to create a safe passage for the escaping Jewish nation. He then withdrew His breath and the same waters drowned the pursuing Egyptian cavalry.
But we need to hold on to our faith and be observant for the Lord will break out suddenly in our circumstances. Often He does not give us advance notice of what He is about to do. As parents we like to see the incredible expressions of joy mingled with surprise and love on the faces of our little ones when we give them a present. The Lord also apparently enjoys giving His precious children a pleasant surprise from time to time. The Lord does His wonderful works in our lives but in the midst of unbelievers so that it will be a open testimony among the nations and diverse people. The principles of leadership and management that we can draw from the concept implicit in this uni-verse are :a) that we should be prepared always for marvelous surprises that the Lord will do in our lives. b) that we should expect the Lord to do amazing things in our midst. c) that we should remember with thanksgiving and sincere praise the marvelous things He has wrought already in our lives. The practical steps we should adopt as part of our daily walk are : 1. From time to time during the day remember the amazing things the Lord has done for Israel 2. From time to time every day remember the amazing deeds He has executed in our lives so far and praise the Lord 3. Expect and believe God is about to do something amazing in the areas we are facing challenges even today. Thank Him in anticipation. 4. Turn these steps into a lifelong habit of appreciation and worship of God who marvellously participates in our lives and does not remain an aloof bystander.
Prateep V Philip
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
Habakuk 1 v 5
When we look around among our midst, in our circumstances and among the nations of the world, we will be able to discern the hand of God working wonderfully, putting down some and raising some. This is an amazing promise to the believers that the Lord will do a work in our lives that would be unbelievable even by us if told to us today. The Lord God is the God of the future as much as He is of the past and the present. He choses to reveal now just what is needed by us to know and understand. There are many incredible secrets that He withholds from us. But He would act in accordance with His promise in due time. An answer delayed is not a prayer denied.
While we are up and about doing what we need to do, the Lord is working unseen in the background. He guarantees that in the end He will make all things beautiful, even the sordid, the sad, the painful, the regretful, the disappointing parts of our lives. As a master craftsman and artist, the Lord knows how to turn all that into an awesome mosaic reflecting His glory. Nothing is wasted or in vain once we believe in sharp contrast to the refrain of the philosopher in the book of Ecclesiastes that “ all is in vain, a chasing of the wind”. The Lord blew down on the Red Sea causing it to part to create a safe passage for the escaping Jewish nation. He then withdrew His breath and the same waters drowned the pursuing Egyptian cavalry.
But we need to hold on to our faith and be observant for the Lord will break out suddenly in our circumstances. Often He does not give us advance notice of what He is about to do. As parents we like to see the incredible expressions of joy mingled with surprise and love on the faces of our little ones when we give them a present. The Lord also apparently enjoys giving His precious children a pleasant surprise from time to time. The Lord does His wonderful works in our lives but in the midst of unbelievers so that it will be a open testimony among the nations and diverse people. The principles of leadership and management that we can draw from the concept implicit in this uni-verse are :a) that we should be prepared always for marvelous surprises that the Lord will do in our lives. b) that we should expect the Lord to do amazing things in our midst. c) that we should remember with thanksgiving and sincere praise the marvelous things He has wrought already in our lives. The practical steps we should adopt as part of our daily walk are : 1. From time to time during the day remember the amazing things the Lord has done for Israel 2. From time to time every day remember the amazing deeds He has executed in our lives so far and praise the Lord 3. Expect and believe God is about to do something amazing in the areas we are facing challenges even today. Thank Him in anticipation. 4. Turn these steps into a lifelong habit of appreciation and worship of God who marvellously participates in our lives and does not remain an aloof bystander.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Rejoice in the First Rain as We Wait for the Latter Rain
UV 1051/10,000 Rejoice as We Wait for the Latter Rain
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Joel 2 v 23
Our very identity as children of Zion or children of God is enough to give us a reason to be always glad. The precious children of Zion, of God are comparable to fine gold and are very valuable in His eyes even though we are earthen pots made from mud by Him. It is the molten gold of faith that makes us precious though we are contained in earthen pots. If we have any idea how big, how good and great, how perfect yet forgiving and loving, gracious and humble, how mighty and powerful God is, that knowledge is enough to cause us to rejoice continually all our living days and beyond. When we keep affirming that God is not just good but great all the time, when things are going good for us , when the going is tough, when we win and when we lose, our hearts and spirits will rejoice in the Lord. Scripture exhorts us to” rejoice in the Lord. Again I say, rejoice.” We rejoice as He has made us in His image. This morning as I meditated I could hear the birds chirp their morning songs. The squirrels also joined their chorus. I guessed they were shouting, “ We are glad we are here. We are thankful to our Creator for making us, for giving us another day. We want to say “ hello” to Him. Just talking to You makes us joyful, gives us a reason to face the hardships of the day. We know He will give us our food and drink and shelter. We know He will protect us from those who are stronger than us.”
We rejoice in praising and worshipping the Lord. We rejoice in making a joyful noise unto the Lord. We rejoice for He has given us the garments of salvation. He has called us to the Lamb’s wedding feast and given us fitting clothes to wear in place of our tattered and torn rags. We rejoice as our confidence is not in flesh and blood but in the Lord. We rejoice as He has made us like the sword of excellence of a mighty man. We rejoice as joyful praise fits the upright by faith like clothes fit a man. We rejoice as though we were regarded barren, we have borne much fruit in our lives. We rejoice because we are declared blessed. We rejoice as we meditate on Him and His Word that is sweeter than honey and finer than gold. We rejoice as we trust in the Lord. We rejoice as He has cancelled the judgements against us and holds no remembrance of our evil deeds. We rejoice as our souls can magnify the Lord infinite though He is. We rejoice as our spirits know Him as God our Saviour, God our righteous, gentle and kind King. We rejoice as He that is mighty is in our midst. We rejoice as we can always dwell in His presence. We rejoice as He gives help and strength. We rejoice as He blesses the work of our hands and He causes us to flourish and gives us abundance of peace. We rejoice as the Lord reigns in our lives and on earth as in heaven.
It is an irony that the same water that can quench our thirst when poured in small proportions, can drown and destroy us when it comes down as a massive downpour. The same flame that can give us light and warmth can destroy us in a huge blaze. This is the reason the Lord gives us moderate rain or blessings in the early days of our relationship. We should never covet the blessings more than we desire a relationship with the Lord. He gives us the first rain or early rain to make us grow and mature in faith, truth and love. As we wait patiently with joy, gladness and thanksgiving for the blessings of the early rain, He is preparing us for a fresh anointing, for the latter rain. The latter rain will surely come in the month when it is due like a child that is born in due time is neither premature nor post maturity. Like Elijah we must see with our spiritual eyes the coming rain even though today the trenches and troughs may be dry. We need to rejoice in the first rain as we wait with faith for the latter rain.
Prateep V Philip
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Joel 2 v 23
Our very identity as children of Zion or children of God is enough to give us a reason to be always glad. The precious children of Zion, of God are comparable to fine gold and are very valuable in His eyes even though we are earthen pots made from mud by Him. It is the molten gold of faith that makes us precious though we are contained in earthen pots. If we have any idea how big, how good and great, how perfect yet forgiving and loving, gracious and humble, how mighty and powerful God is, that knowledge is enough to cause us to rejoice continually all our living days and beyond. When we keep affirming that God is not just good but great all the time, when things are going good for us , when the going is tough, when we win and when we lose, our hearts and spirits will rejoice in the Lord. Scripture exhorts us to” rejoice in the Lord. Again I say, rejoice.” We rejoice as He has made us in His image. This morning as I meditated I could hear the birds chirp their morning songs. The squirrels also joined their chorus. I guessed they were shouting, “ We are glad we are here. We are thankful to our Creator for making us, for giving us another day. We want to say “ hello” to Him. Just talking to You makes us joyful, gives us a reason to face the hardships of the day. We know He will give us our food and drink and shelter. We know He will protect us from those who are stronger than us.”
We rejoice in praising and worshipping the Lord. We rejoice in making a joyful noise unto the Lord. We rejoice for He has given us the garments of salvation. He has called us to the Lamb’s wedding feast and given us fitting clothes to wear in place of our tattered and torn rags. We rejoice as our confidence is not in flesh and blood but in the Lord. We rejoice as He has made us like the sword of excellence of a mighty man. We rejoice as joyful praise fits the upright by faith like clothes fit a man. We rejoice as though we were regarded barren, we have borne much fruit in our lives. We rejoice because we are declared blessed. We rejoice as we meditate on Him and His Word that is sweeter than honey and finer than gold. We rejoice as we trust in the Lord. We rejoice as He has cancelled the judgements against us and holds no remembrance of our evil deeds. We rejoice as our souls can magnify the Lord infinite though He is. We rejoice as our spirits know Him as God our Saviour, God our righteous, gentle and kind King. We rejoice as He that is mighty is in our midst. We rejoice as we can always dwell in His presence. We rejoice as He gives help and strength. We rejoice as He blesses the work of our hands and He causes us to flourish and gives us abundance of peace. We rejoice as the Lord reigns in our lives and on earth as in heaven.
It is an irony that the same water that can quench our thirst when poured in small proportions, can drown and destroy us when it comes down as a massive downpour. The same flame that can give us light and warmth can destroy us in a huge blaze. This is the reason the Lord gives us moderate rain or blessings in the early days of our relationship. We should never covet the blessings more than we desire a relationship with the Lord. He gives us the first rain or early rain to make us grow and mature in faith, truth and love. As we wait patiently with joy, gladness and thanksgiving for the blessings of the early rain, He is preparing us for a fresh anointing, for the latter rain. The latter rain will surely come in the month when it is due like a child that is born in due time is neither premature nor post maturity. Like Elijah we must see with our spiritual eyes the coming rain even though today the trenches and troughs may be dry. We need to rejoice in the first rain as we wait with faith for the latter rain.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
The Multi-Dimensional Greatness and Grace of God
UV 1050-10,000 Multi-Dimensional Greatness
And God said, “ This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.”
Genesis 9 v 12
Our lives resemble that of Noah, Job and Daniel. When the rest of the family of Noah, namely Lot pursued the prosperity of Sodom, Noah wanted no part with it. God sent the flood to destroy the world. It is amazing that a man in Netherlands has built an Ark to the precise dimensions of Noah’s Ark after his seeing a nightmare of a massive flood. It shows how doable and real it was. He built it with just four others from some 1500 beachwood trees. After the great flood, God set a sign of His covenant or agreement with man above the clouds in the sky and said it is a covenant not just with Noah but with every living creature with him in the Ark, namely his family and all the species. He also said that it is a covenant for all generations to come. Each promise of God is eternal and meant individually for each of us when we go through difficulties and troubles like Noah, Job and Daniel.
The acroustic VIBGYOR that stands for the seven colours of the rainbow violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. In the USA, it is written in the reverse ROYGBIV meaning the “King who brings inner victory.” It implies that we have victory over the world and its evil by the blood of Jesus. The “ I” means that we should walk in the integrity of our hearts and minds before the Lord. The “ blue” implies that He has taken us from the miry clay and made us like royal blue or royalty. We need to have the boldness of a lion. The “ green” stands for the promise that the Lord is going to prosper us in every domain of life. The “ Y” stands for yield- as we yield ourselves more and more to the Lord, He will doubtless increase our yield. The “ O” stands for organize- we should organize our lives with Jesus as the center of our lives, the focus and the locus. The “ R” stands for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection power that is able to raise us up from the dead and every death-like situation. The “ Red” should undergird everything we think, speak and do. Over the past few years, the Lord has shown me seven different types of amazing rainbows as a reminder of His covenant faithfulness. His faithfulness, love and grace are many-splendoured, multi-dimensional, multi-purpose and multiplies by faith. In this world, if someone shines in just one aspect of life or domain like golf, fashion, movies, literature, people declare him or her as an icon but the rainbow shows how the Lord’s greatness, goodness and magnificence is revealed in a million different ways in this universe.
The Lord does not promise that we will not have struggles and challenges. The greater the challenges, difficulties and struggles, the greater is the power of resurrection the Lord will release into our souls, the greater will be the victory we have, the greater will be the testimony, the greater will be the glory of God. There is a rainbow around the throne of God in heaven. It is a sign that He reigns in our lives and on earth. The multi-dimensional greatness of God in heaven is revealed as multi-dimensional grace on earth. Where there is a flood of troubles, afflictions, struggles in our lives, the Lord sends the rainbow as a sign of His faithfulness, a banner of love over our lives, a flag of victory in different areas of our lives.
The principles that can be deduced or evolved from the concept of the Multi-dimensional greatness of God is:
1. We will be given forewarning or we will be enabled to anticipate a flood or trouble before it arises
2. We will be given divine instructions on safeguarding ourselves in a precarious situation
3. As we follow the instructions from above, we will ride the storm or ride over the flood and not be caught in it.
Prateep V Philip
And God said, “ This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.”
Genesis 9 v 12
Our lives resemble that of Noah, Job and Daniel. When the rest of the family of Noah, namely Lot pursued the prosperity of Sodom, Noah wanted no part with it. God sent the flood to destroy the world. It is amazing that a man in Netherlands has built an Ark to the precise dimensions of Noah’s Ark after his seeing a nightmare of a massive flood. It shows how doable and real it was. He built it with just four others from some 1500 beachwood trees. After the great flood, God set a sign of His covenant or agreement with man above the clouds in the sky and said it is a covenant not just with Noah but with every living creature with him in the Ark, namely his family and all the species. He also said that it is a covenant for all generations to come. Each promise of God is eternal and meant individually for each of us when we go through difficulties and troubles like Noah, Job and Daniel.
The acroustic VIBGYOR that stands for the seven colours of the rainbow violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. In the USA, it is written in the reverse ROYGBIV meaning the “King who brings inner victory.” It implies that we have victory over the world and its evil by the blood of Jesus. The “ I” means that we should walk in the integrity of our hearts and minds before the Lord. The “ blue” implies that He has taken us from the miry clay and made us like royal blue or royalty. We need to have the boldness of a lion. The “ green” stands for the promise that the Lord is going to prosper us in every domain of life. The “ Y” stands for yield- as we yield ourselves more and more to the Lord, He will doubtless increase our yield. The “ O” stands for organize- we should organize our lives with Jesus as the center of our lives, the focus and the locus. The “ R” stands for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection power that is able to raise us up from the dead and every death-like situation. The “ Red” should undergird everything we think, speak and do. Over the past few years, the Lord has shown me seven different types of amazing rainbows as a reminder of His covenant faithfulness. His faithfulness, love and grace are many-splendoured, multi-dimensional, multi-purpose and multiplies by faith. In this world, if someone shines in just one aspect of life or domain like golf, fashion, movies, literature, people declare him or her as an icon but the rainbow shows how the Lord’s greatness, goodness and magnificence is revealed in a million different ways in this universe.
The Lord does not promise that we will not have struggles and challenges. The greater the challenges, difficulties and struggles, the greater is the power of resurrection the Lord will release into our souls, the greater will be the victory we have, the greater will be the testimony, the greater will be the glory of God. There is a rainbow around the throne of God in heaven. It is a sign that He reigns in our lives and on earth. The multi-dimensional greatness of God in heaven is revealed as multi-dimensional grace on earth. Where there is a flood of troubles, afflictions, struggles in our lives, the Lord sends the rainbow as a sign of His faithfulness, a banner of love over our lives, a flag of victory in different areas of our lives.
The principles that can be deduced or evolved from the concept of the Multi-dimensional greatness of God is:
1. We will be given forewarning or we will be enabled to anticipate a flood or trouble before it arises
2. We will be given divine instructions on safeguarding ourselves in a precarious situation
3. As we follow the instructions from above, we will ride the storm or ride over the flood and not be caught in it.
Prateep V Philip
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