UV 2794/10000 Biblical Patterns of Life : Thought Pattern
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12 v 2
This uni-verse, in the first part, exhorts us not to be conformed to this world. In the second part of this verse, we are encouraged to transform ourselves by renewing our minds with the Word. It is a clear choice between conforming to the patterns of this world or the patterns of His word. We renew ourselves when we conform to the biblical patterns or the patterns of the Book in which the Lord who became word has revealed what is good, acceptable and perfect. The biblical patterns are what are good, acceptable and perfect.
Our lives and our behaviour, our strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures all follow a pattern that is first set in our minds. The Bible sets forth these preferred or perfect patterns – a pattern of thought, a pattern of beliefs, a pattern of attitudes, a pattern of behaviour, a pattern of emotions, a pattern of speech, a pattern of aspirations, a pattern of decision making, a pattern of efforts, a pattern of responses and reactions to the stimuli of this world as well as our experiences in this world, a pattern of prayer, praise and worship, a pattern of seeking to satisfy financial or material needs in this world, a pattern of seeking fulfilment, greatness or immortality, a pattern of relationships. All these patterns together constitute what management calls a paradigm. These patterns have the approval of the Lord. These patterns maximise our joy, our influence, our impact, our fulfilment, our potential. These patterns are God-approved, God-anointed, God-enabled, God-blessed. The patterns of this world are obviously not good, not acceptable to the Lord, not perfect. The patterns of this world are either evil or unacceptable or imperfect. It may not even be apparently evil but could be a mix of good and evil. It may even start out by appearing to be good and turn out to be evil and harmful. To give an example, Tony Robbins, the well known NLP trainer who made immense wealth teaching people to use NLP to overcome their personal issues in recent seminars uses extreme foul or “taboo” language in an attempt to break the pattern of thought of members of his audience. This “tactic” is neither good nor acceptable. Another example, is the famous book, “The Secret” which teaches the readers to think that they can be and do whatever they think. It has led to delusionary behaviour and irrational decision making by many of its readers.
To take up first, the pattern of thought. The world faces the problem of excessive negativity, of negative patterns of thinking as a result of a series of negative thoughts and experiences that put human beings on an automatic negative thought process. The negative thought pattern has a highly corrosive and debilitating effect on all of our other patterns and even our pattern of relationships in the family and in the workplace. The world and its thinkers and thought leaders have come up with partial solutions for negative thought patterns and have variously called it positive thinking, positive psychology, rational emotive therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP, systems thinking, gestalt and so on. But the biblical pattern summed up by St Paul in His epistles to both the Romans and Thessalonian believers is “ Cling to what is good, let go of what is evil.” It is a dual process much like our breathing pattern or the beat of our hearts. When I first received this revelation, I called it Equilibrium Thinking or eqthinking for short. The Holy Spirit has revealed that it is the key to the human mind. It has an impact on all our other life patterns like emotions, decisions, efforts, aspirations, relationships, successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses. The biblical pattern of thought is to cling for dear life to what is true, pure, noble, good, wise, perfect, praiseworthy, beneficial and to let go, abhor, flee from, reject, eject, refuse what is negative or evil. The believer has the grace of Christ, the enabler, the One who is not only perfect but also anointed to perfect others, to adopt and consistently follow this pattern of thought. We have to take every thought captive to Christ or bring it to His examination. The Word will reveal over time what is good, God-approved, acceptable, perfect thought patterns and we only need to conform to this pattern. The daily intake of the Word and constantly measuring our thoughts against the standard pattern of the Word will renew our minds in Christ. The Holy Spirit will give both help, power and counsel to be aware of our thought patterns and cause it to conform to the biblical pattern of “clinging to what is good and letting go of what is evil.” Clinging implies being committed, persistent, consistent, obsessed with the positive thoughts while at the same time, releasing ourselves from the clutches of the pattern of negative thoughts. This holistic thought process would improve over time our decision-making, our speech pattern, our behaviour pattern, our success-failure pattern, our strength-weakness pattern, our emotional pattern, our relationship pattern. Our intellects, our emotions, our wills, our lives are being constantly renewed in the image of Christ as we adopt and practice the biblical pattern of thought.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Friday, October 6, 2017
The Scarlet Thread
UV 2793/10000 The Scarlet Thread
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
Joshua 2 v 21
Hope in Jesus is the scarlet thread that the believer ties on the window of his house. That scarlet thread transforms the cursed and condemned house of the outcast Rahab who lived on the periphery of the town into the house of salvation and blessing for all its inhabitants. Rahab the prostitute became the forebear of the Messiah Jesus. Her faith in the words of the God of Israel a justified and saved her from impending defeat and disaster. Her destiny was altered. The help she rendered in providing refuge to the Israelites messengers was greatly rewarded beyond her expectations, the expectations of her parents and family, beyond everyone’s expectations. Rahab was rewarded for risking her life in order to save the Israelite spies. Did she betray her own people among whom she lived? Was she a traitor? No, for loyalty to God is the highest loyalty that rises above loyalty to self, family, community, city, state or nation.
From Rahab’s lineage, the Lord God raised the greatest of the Hebrew King-prophets David through the stump of Jesse. From that stump of Jesse, the Lord raised the divine and eternal root- Jesus. We should tie the scarlet thread of faith in Jesus in our hearts. Grafted in Jesus, we are justified, cleansed of our uncleanness, our unrighteousness as Rahab and all of her family was justified and transformed. The scarlet thread of faith is the cord that ties our hearts, our lives and our earthly and eternal destiny with the glorious name of Jesus. As Rahab, the alien and outcast became one of Israel and the co-inheritor of the heritage of promises of Jehovah to Abraham, the one who demonstrated how faith is to be integrated with one’s life and not kept at the periphery of our lives as religion teaches people to.
Rahab believed and was in awe of the word, the testimonies and judgements of God. She unconditionally trusted the word who became flesh- Jesus. He saved her though He took flesh and blood upon Himself several centuries later in human history. Rahab’s past was not remembered nor mentioned ever again. She and all of her family began to serve the God of Israel. He is today the invisible and spiritual scarlet thread that all humanity can tie around their hearts to change their houses of strife and condemnation into a house of peace and salvation and blessing forever. He is the Lord Amen- the Root, the Cause, the Cost and the Source of hope of salvation and eternal life.
Prateep V Philip
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
Joshua 2 v 21
Hope in Jesus is the scarlet thread that the believer ties on the window of his house. That scarlet thread transforms the cursed and condemned house of the outcast Rahab who lived on the periphery of the town into the house of salvation and blessing for all its inhabitants. Rahab the prostitute became the forebear of the Messiah Jesus. Her faith in the words of the God of Israel a justified and saved her from impending defeat and disaster. Her destiny was altered. The help she rendered in providing refuge to the Israelites messengers was greatly rewarded beyond her expectations, the expectations of her parents and family, beyond everyone’s expectations. Rahab was rewarded for risking her life in order to save the Israelite spies. Did she betray her own people among whom she lived? Was she a traitor? No, for loyalty to God is the highest loyalty that rises above loyalty to self, family, community, city, state or nation.
From Rahab’s lineage, the Lord God raised the greatest of the Hebrew King-prophets David through the stump of Jesse. From that stump of Jesse, the Lord raised the divine and eternal root- Jesus. We should tie the scarlet thread of faith in Jesus in our hearts. Grafted in Jesus, we are justified, cleansed of our uncleanness, our unrighteousness as Rahab and all of her family was justified and transformed. The scarlet thread of faith is the cord that ties our hearts, our lives and our earthly and eternal destiny with the glorious name of Jesus. As Rahab, the alien and outcast became one of Israel and the co-inheritor of the heritage of promises of Jehovah to Abraham, the one who demonstrated how faith is to be integrated with one’s life and not kept at the periphery of our lives as religion teaches people to.
Rahab believed and was in awe of the word, the testimonies and judgements of God. She unconditionally trusted the word who became flesh- Jesus. He saved her though He took flesh and blood upon Himself several centuries later in human history. Rahab’s past was not remembered nor mentioned ever again. She and all of her family began to serve the God of Israel. He is today the invisible and spiritual scarlet thread that all humanity can tie around their hearts to change their houses of strife and condemnation into a house of peace and salvation and blessing forever. He is the Lord Amen- the Root, the Cause, the Cost and the Source of hope of salvation and eternal life.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Good and Faithful Servants
UV 2792/10000 Good and Faithful Servants
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
I Corinthians 15 v 58
We are to be steadfast or consistent, dogged, determined, dedicated, devoted in our faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith should be like a strong root of a big tree, unshakeable, unmoveable. Once we are rooted in Christ in faith, our work of faith, our labour of love and patience of hope will never fail. We need to be zealous to do good works in the name of Jesus for His glory and by His grace. In other words, we are to be strong and do all the good we can in every way we can and our work will surely be rewarded both here and in the hereafter.
Ruth was an example of steadfast faith in the way she stuck with her mother-in-law even though the death of her husband had dissolved her bonds with her husband’s family and his God. We are to hold our confidence in Christ in like manner till the very end, growing even stronger in faith with time and experience. Trials and tribulations, doubts and fears should draw us closer to Jesus and not break our covenant relationship with Him, sealed with His blood and the Holy Spirit.
As our faith grows in strength and depth, grace and love of Christ should be increasingly manifest in our lives. We ought to abound in the work of the Lord. While the Word will strengthen our faith, our work for the Lord will demonstrate our love for Him. The work of the Lord involves spreading the fragrance of His name and the hope of the good news that mankind can live forever, free from judgement, by grace. The work of the Lord also implies excelling in all that we do, in doing everything as if we are doing it for Him. The work of the Lord means to conform to the character of Christ in order to produce His characteristics- or the fruit of the spirit. The more the fruit, the more blessed we are and the more pleased the Lord is. Prayer, praise, thanksgiving, fasting, worship, using our talents for the glory of God, giving to the needy and serving the poor are other important work of the Lord that we should abound in. When we abound in all these aspects, then we will be called “good and faithful servants”.
Prateep V Philip
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
I Corinthians 15 v 58
We are to be steadfast or consistent, dogged, determined, dedicated, devoted in our faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith should be like a strong root of a big tree, unshakeable, unmoveable. Once we are rooted in Christ in faith, our work of faith, our labour of love and patience of hope will never fail. We need to be zealous to do good works in the name of Jesus for His glory and by His grace. In other words, we are to be strong and do all the good we can in every way we can and our work will surely be rewarded both here and in the hereafter.
Ruth was an example of steadfast faith in the way she stuck with her mother-in-law even though the death of her husband had dissolved her bonds with her husband’s family and his God. We are to hold our confidence in Christ in like manner till the very end, growing even stronger in faith with time and experience. Trials and tribulations, doubts and fears should draw us closer to Jesus and not break our covenant relationship with Him, sealed with His blood and the Holy Spirit.
As our faith grows in strength and depth, grace and love of Christ should be increasingly manifest in our lives. We ought to abound in the work of the Lord. While the Word will strengthen our faith, our work for the Lord will demonstrate our love for Him. The work of the Lord involves spreading the fragrance of His name and the hope of the good news that mankind can live forever, free from judgement, by grace. The work of the Lord also implies excelling in all that we do, in doing everything as if we are doing it for Him. The work of the Lord means to conform to the character of Christ in order to produce His characteristics- or the fruit of the spirit. The more the fruit, the more blessed we are and the more pleased the Lord is. Prayer, praise, thanksgiving, fasting, worship, using our talents for the glory of God, giving to the needy and serving the poor are other important work of the Lord that we should abound in. When we abound in all these aspects, then we will be called “good and faithful servants”.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Insured Against Shame
UV 2791/10000 Insured Against Shame
Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psalm 119 v 6
When we respect the commandments of the Lord and esteem all of His precepts as true and worthy of following or obeying in our lives, we will not be put to shame in this life or in the hereafter. When we omit to follow even one precept, we are guilty of disrespecting the whole law of the Lord. But, as we trust and follow Jesus, we are considered righteous as if we are obeying the whole law of the Lord. Since we are blood-washed and the blood of the Lamb of God covers all of our sins, our own hearts will not condemn us. Our consciences will not prick us and we can enter the presence of the Lord with confidence and without shame. We do not have to hide like Adam and Eve from the Lord’s eyes even though our sins are much worse and more numerous than theirs at the beginning of time.
The uni-verse puts the truth in a negative way so that we understand the positive promise it holds in it: we will be honoured. Many of the early apostles were imprisoned and martyred but to this day their names are greatly honoured wherever people believe and follow Jesus or in other words, in all nations. Our objective in life is not to be famous or popular in the eyes of the world but to win the esteem of the Lord. Joseph and Daniel are biblical characters who won the esteem of the Lord. There is no short cut to winning the esteem of the Lord other than esteeming His word above our necessary food and above gold, silver and other treasure.
The Word has multiple benefits for the one who diligently studies and carefully obeys it. We gain the supernatural wisdom of Jesus that exceeds the worldly wisdom of Solomon. We are kept out of folly and the misery caused by impetuous or foolish decisions and choices. We enjoy Shalom or holistic success, health, peace and joy. We win the favour of God or in other words, we walk in the grace of the Lord. We become inheritors of multiple blessings promised in Deuteronomy chapter 28 while avoiding the even more numerous curses and failures mentioned in the same chapter. We become channels of blessings to others in our generation. The Word also promises longevity and an enduring legacy. We will develop true leadership qualities and abilities for we become the head that leads in conjunction with the heart that feels. Our fellowship with Jesus and through Him with the Triune God will be unbroken and it will brighten, broaden and deepen till we enter into the eternal realm.
Prateep V Philip
Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psalm 119 v 6
When we respect the commandments of the Lord and esteem all of His precepts as true and worthy of following or obeying in our lives, we will not be put to shame in this life or in the hereafter. When we omit to follow even one precept, we are guilty of disrespecting the whole law of the Lord. But, as we trust and follow Jesus, we are considered righteous as if we are obeying the whole law of the Lord. Since we are blood-washed and the blood of the Lamb of God covers all of our sins, our own hearts will not condemn us. Our consciences will not prick us and we can enter the presence of the Lord with confidence and without shame. We do not have to hide like Adam and Eve from the Lord’s eyes even though our sins are much worse and more numerous than theirs at the beginning of time.
The uni-verse puts the truth in a negative way so that we understand the positive promise it holds in it: we will be honoured. Many of the early apostles were imprisoned and martyred but to this day their names are greatly honoured wherever people believe and follow Jesus or in other words, in all nations. Our objective in life is not to be famous or popular in the eyes of the world but to win the esteem of the Lord. Joseph and Daniel are biblical characters who won the esteem of the Lord. There is no short cut to winning the esteem of the Lord other than esteeming His word above our necessary food and above gold, silver and other treasure.
The Word has multiple benefits for the one who diligently studies and carefully obeys it. We gain the supernatural wisdom of Jesus that exceeds the worldly wisdom of Solomon. We are kept out of folly and the misery caused by impetuous or foolish decisions and choices. We enjoy Shalom or holistic success, health, peace and joy. We win the favour of God or in other words, we walk in the grace of the Lord. We become inheritors of multiple blessings promised in Deuteronomy chapter 28 while avoiding the even more numerous curses and failures mentioned in the same chapter. We become channels of blessings to others in our generation. The Word also promises longevity and an enduring legacy. We will develop true leadership qualities and abilities for we become the head that leads in conjunction with the heart that feels. Our fellowship with Jesus and through Him with the Triune God will be unbroken and it will brighten, broaden and deepen till we enter into the eternal realm.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
The Teacher of Teachers
UV 2790/10000 The Teacher of Teachers
And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan
Exodus 35 v 34
Jesus is the Teacher of teachers. He is the Tree of eternal life that was removed by the Father from the garden of Eden and planted in our hearts. He also teaches us to teach. He teaches not mere knowledge or the wisdom of this world but wisdom from above that is peaceful, gentle and joyful. The Lord puts in the heart of the believer His wisdom so that he will be able to teach. Like our physical heart pumps the oxygenated blood to all parts of our bodies, our spiritual hearts need to pump the wisdom stored therein in the form of the Word to all parts of our being so that hope and joy reaches every organ, every cell of our being. He anoints us such that we can understand His hidden wisdom. We need to first discover what is hidden in it and then hide in it. We only need to prepare our hearts like Ezra to seek the law of the Lord, to do it and then to teach it to others. Preparing our hearts require us to humble ourselves before the Lord. We need to seek the help of the Holy Spirit to correctly understand and interpret the Word. The word has an answer for every question we face in life. We need a miner’s zeal to seek out these hidden answers to all the issues of life, one by one, understand, appropriate the wisdom and then impart it to others.
The starting point of our quest for answers of life are the challenges we are facing, the temptations we need to prepare ourselves for ahead of time, the difficulties we need to endure in life. As we diligently seek out these answers, the Lord will speak to us through His word. It will enlighten our minds and fill our hearts with hope. We need to cling to the good wisdom discovered in the Word and overcome the evil in our nature and in the world. Our lips as the Psalmist wrote should recount all the laws that He has taught us. Instead of entertaining covetousness, we should delight in learning His principles and precepts that guide us on our earthly journey, keeping us out of folly, pride and misery.
The Word applied to life’s great questions are testimonies or tested truths. These tested truths are the paths of righteousness the Lord leads us on. Once we experience these tested truths, the Lord also teaches us to teach these to His sheep, both the faithful ones and the lost sheep who have strayed. Every day of our lives is an opportunity to learn, understand and experience the power and wisdom of these tested truths. It needs a special grace or anointing to be able to teach. The Word warns that the teachers of the law will be judged more severely than others. So this puts those who teach on notice to always be wary and wise not to break the tiniest part of the law or violate it in letter or spirit.
Prateep V Philip
And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan
Exodus 35 v 34
Jesus is the Teacher of teachers. He is the Tree of eternal life that was removed by the Father from the garden of Eden and planted in our hearts. He also teaches us to teach. He teaches not mere knowledge or the wisdom of this world but wisdom from above that is peaceful, gentle and joyful. The Lord puts in the heart of the believer His wisdom so that he will be able to teach. Like our physical heart pumps the oxygenated blood to all parts of our bodies, our spiritual hearts need to pump the wisdom stored therein in the form of the Word to all parts of our being so that hope and joy reaches every organ, every cell of our being. He anoints us such that we can understand His hidden wisdom. We need to first discover what is hidden in it and then hide in it. We only need to prepare our hearts like Ezra to seek the law of the Lord, to do it and then to teach it to others. Preparing our hearts require us to humble ourselves before the Lord. We need to seek the help of the Holy Spirit to correctly understand and interpret the Word. The word has an answer for every question we face in life. We need a miner’s zeal to seek out these hidden answers to all the issues of life, one by one, understand, appropriate the wisdom and then impart it to others.
The starting point of our quest for answers of life are the challenges we are facing, the temptations we need to prepare ourselves for ahead of time, the difficulties we need to endure in life. As we diligently seek out these answers, the Lord will speak to us through His word. It will enlighten our minds and fill our hearts with hope. We need to cling to the good wisdom discovered in the Word and overcome the evil in our nature and in the world. Our lips as the Psalmist wrote should recount all the laws that He has taught us. Instead of entertaining covetousness, we should delight in learning His principles and precepts that guide us on our earthly journey, keeping us out of folly, pride and misery.
The Word applied to life’s great questions are testimonies or tested truths. These tested truths are the paths of righteousness the Lord leads us on. Once we experience these tested truths, the Lord also teaches us to teach these to His sheep, both the faithful ones and the lost sheep who have strayed. Every day of our lives is an opportunity to learn, understand and experience the power and wisdom of these tested truths. It needs a special grace or anointing to be able to teach. The Word warns that the teachers of the law will be judged more severely than others. So this puts those who teach on notice to always be wary and wise not to break the tiniest part of the law or violate it in letter or spirit.
Prateep V Philip
Monday, October 2, 2017
Anchoring
UV 2789/10000 Anchoring
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1 v 13
We need to hold on firmly to the sound teachings and precepts of Jesus and the apostles. Holding firmly implies to memorise, meditate and apply the apt word of God in appropriate way. We need to hold onto the teachings of Jesus with faith in Him that He is able to do that which He has promised us. We need to further teach others with love and humility and not with an attitude of self righteousness. The Word being double-edged cuts on both sides- the listeners as well as the speaker or teacher. Unlike a sharp weapon that takes life, it is a life-healing, life-enhancing and life-enriching instrument of the Lord. It penetrates the core of our being, even the bone and marrow and tissue of our bodies, minds and spirits bringing healing, deliverance and anointing.
Our faith in Christ is built up by hearing the word. We are blessed and strengthened when we do what we hear. Christ being the wisdom and power of God, we become filled with His wisdom and power. His wisdom guides us in our decisions, our conversations, our thoughts, the expression of our emotions. His power enables us to implement our decisions, control our otherwise uncontrollable tongues and regulate our inner being and feelings. The Holy Spirit enables and equips us to imitate the wisdom, faith and love of Christ. We begin to live out the attributes and attitudes of the faith and love of Christ as described by St Paul in Hebrews chapter 11 and I Corinthians chapter 13. The experiences and circumstances of life keep changing according to the weather over which we have no control like the ocean or sea but Christ remains our dynamic anchor in every situation.
Faith and love are two sides of the spiritual currency. Faith is like the skeleton that is the strong foundation and structure of our bodies while love is the flesh and blood that the skeleton is clothed with. In order to be alive spiritually, both faith and love are needed. One of the ways we can grow consistently in the faith and love of Christ is to anchor every breath on Christ, to use every breath to remember Christ, every breath to praise, thank and pray to Him. As we do this on a moment to moment basis, the wisdom and power of Christ will flow through us as breath and blood carry life sustaining oxygen and nutrients to all parts of our bodies.
Prateep V Philip
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1 v 13
We need to hold on firmly to the sound teachings and precepts of Jesus and the apostles. Holding firmly implies to memorise, meditate and apply the apt word of God in appropriate way. We need to hold onto the teachings of Jesus with faith in Him that He is able to do that which He has promised us. We need to further teach others with love and humility and not with an attitude of self righteousness. The Word being double-edged cuts on both sides- the listeners as well as the speaker or teacher. Unlike a sharp weapon that takes life, it is a life-healing, life-enhancing and life-enriching instrument of the Lord. It penetrates the core of our being, even the bone and marrow and tissue of our bodies, minds and spirits bringing healing, deliverance and anointing.
Our faith in Christ is built up by hearing the word. We are blessed and strengthened when we do what we hear. Christ being the wisdom and power of God, we become filled with His wisdom and power. His wisdom guides us in our decisions, our conversations, our thoughts, the expression of our emotions. His power enables us to implement our decisions, control our otherwise uncontrollable tongues and regulate our inner being and feelings. The Holy Spirit enables and equips us to imitate the wisdom, faith and love of Christ. We begin to live out the attributes and attitudes of the faith and love of Christ as described by St Paul in Hebrews chapter 11 and I Corinthians chapter 13. The experiences and circumstances of life keep changing according to the weather over which we have no control like the ocean or sea but Christ remains our dynamic anchor in every situation.
Faith and love are two sides of the spiritual currency. Faith is like the skeleton that is the strong foundation and structure of our bodies while love is the flesh and blood that the skeleton is clothed with. In order to be alive spiritually, both faith and love are needed. One of the ways we can grow consistently in the faith and love of Christ is to anchor every breath on Christ, to use every breath to remember Christ, every breath to praise, thank and pray to Him. As we do this on a moment to moment basis, the wisdom and power of Christ will flow through us as breath and blood carry life sustaining oxygen and nutrients to all parts of our bodies.
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Dimensions of the Image of God
UV 2788/10000 Dimensions of the Image of God
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10 v 31
The true image of God is not discovered by imagination but by revelation and faith. Our choices to either reject or accept the living God will determine whether it is a terrible thing or a terrific thing to fall into His hands. When we believe in a loving and living God, it is indeed a terrific thing to fall into His hands. His hands will catch us when we fall, when we stumble, when we falter. His hand will guide us on the paths of life. His hand will provide for all of our need. His hands will protect us from our foes and enemies. Eye has not seen nor ear heard not entered the thoughts or imagination of people the wonders that the Lord will do for the believing and beloved. In international relations, there is the theory of balance of power that governs relations of nations. But, in the kingdom of God there is a balance of love and power. Love is the primary mode of relationship while power is in the background.
The Bible holds up to us two views of God, -first that He is a living, all powerful, all knowing and loving person who keeps giving chances to every human being to turn to Him and second, that He is a consuming fire who destroys the unrepentant, the arrogant, the remorseless wicked. People need to fear if they believe that God is dead, that God does not exist. They need to fear even if they believe in God if they have a distorted view of Him. People need to fear when they make God in their own image instead of trusting the One who made them in His image. They need to fear when they rely on their own imagination, traditions and beliefs about God instead of getting to know the real nature of God by studying His word and experiencing its reality in their lives first hand. People need to fear Him if they reject His love and ignore Him, if they live as they please not remembering that they need to give an account for every careless word and every wicked deed. The love of God is backed up by the awesome power of God. His immense power is held in restraint by His love. The choice is made by each individual whether to believe and enter into a covenant relationship of love or remain outside the circle of His love and care and by choice become an object of wrath.
God cannot contradict His own nature, His own word. That anything that is only partially good for example human beings can be potentially absolutely evil predicates that He is also possessed of awesome avenging, judging and punishing power to maintain the balance, to ensure His sovereign will is executed in heaven and on earth. For the believer, the one who is living in covenant relationship with the Triune God through belief in Jesus Christ, He is also a refining fire who purifies, sanctifies, perfects faith as well as character and works. Since God is loving, we too need to conform to the image of Christ and increasingly reflect His qualities of love in our lives if we are not to fall under judgement for our lack of faithfulness.
Prateep V Philip
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10 v 31
The true image of God is not discovered by imagination but by revelation and faith. Our choices to either reject or accept the living God will determine whether it is a terrible thing or a terrific thing to fall into His hands. When we believe in a loving and living God, it is indeed a terrific thing to fall into His hands. His hands will catch us when we fall, when we stumble, when we falter. His hand will guide us on the paths of life. His hand will provide for all of our need. His hands will protect us from our foes and enemies. Eye has not seen nor ear heard not entered the thoughts or imagination of people the wonders that the Lord will do for the believing and beloved. In international relations, there is the theory of balance of power that governs relations of nations. But, in the kingdom of God there is a balance of love and power. Love is the primary mode of relationship while power is in the background.
The Bible holds up to us two views of God, -first that He is a living, all powerful, all knowing and loving person who keeps giving chances to every human being to turn to Him and second, that He is a consuming fire who destroys the unrepentant, the arrogant, the remorseless wicked. People need to fear if they believe that God is dead, that God does not exist. They need to fear even if they believe in God if they have a distorted view of Him. People need to fear when they make God in their own image instead of trusting the One who made them in His image. They need to fear when they rely on their own imagination, traditions and beliefs about God instead of getting to know the real nature of God by studying His word and experiencing its reality in their lives first hand. People need to fear Him if they reject His love and ignore Him, if they live as they please not remembering that they need to give an account for every careless word and every wicked deed. The love of God is backed up by the awesome power of God. His immense power is held in restraint by His love. The choice is made by each individual whether to believe and enter into a covenant relationship of love or remain outside the circle of His love and care and by choice become an object of wrath.
God cannot contradict His own nature, His own word. That anything that is only partially good for example human beings can be potentially absolutely evil predicates that He is also possessed of awesome avenging, judging and punishing power to maintain the balance, to ensure His sovereign will is executed in heaven and on earth. For the believer, the one who is living in covenant relationship with the Triune God through belief in Jesus Christ, He is also a refining fire who purifies, sanctifies, perfects faith as well as character and works. Since God is loving, we too need to conform to the image of Christ and increasingly reflect His qualities of love in our lives if we are not to fall under judgement for our lack of faithfulness.
Prateep V Philip
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