Big Brother Attitude

UV 3595/10000 Big Brother Attitude But the elder brother became angry and deeply resentful and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. Luke 15 v 28 The story of the prodigal son often leaves out the focus on the story of the elder son. The father in the story represents the Father in heaven that Jesus was introducing to the world. The elder brother instead of joining the father in welcoming back a long lost son and brother, a member of their family is angry and resentful. He was not even willing to join the welcoming party hosted by the father on the happy occasion. The elder brother represents those who think they are always on the right side of God, who do their religious and moral duties and obligations. The Father in heaven is standing at the door of heaven ready to welcome back those who repent like the prodigal son, return to Him and turn from their wayward ways. He rejoices over the repentance and returning of every lost sinner, however evil or wayward they were as long as they turn from evil, from stubborn disobedience of His word. He rejects the self righteous who believe they have a right to be in heaven by virtue of their apparent moral or righteous lives. We have, therefore, to get rid of the ‘big brother’ attitude and always depend on the love and grace of the Father in Christ. Jesus is the One pleading with the Father to let us in. He is the One who chooses us and not we ourselves. The elder son was envious and resentful of the way the son whom he thought unworthy of the father’s love was received. He reminded the father that he had never celebrated his coming home on any occasion like this. He had not allowed him to take of the flock a young goat to celebrate his righteous and obedient life with his friends with a party at home. He held this grudge against the father in his heart. We, too often think of people who in our view are unworthy of being blessed but are greatly blessed. We envy those who are more talented or more popular or more prosperous than us. Such envy, scripture warns us, is the root of bitterness that choke the good seed of His word and makes our lives unfruitful, our character bereft of the sweet fruit of the Spirit of God. The two stories or the story within a story drives home the truth that It is better to have erred and repented than to be self righteous, proud and resentful.

Suffering and Its Remedy

UV 3594/10000 Suffering and Its Remedy For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance as they overflow to His followers, so also our comfort ( our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation), is abundant through Christ ( it is truly more than enough to endure what we must). 2 Corinthians 1 v 5 This uni-verse states that just as our sufferings in Christ are many and great, our comfort and encouragement to endure these are also matching the suffering. We need to live in the overflow of God’s grace. Our comfort is proportionate or enough to help us overcome or endure our suffering. The Lord will provide a way out. He redeems us in our suffering. Hence, we should not be overwhelmed by suffering or be discouraged. We are to take the comfort and encouragement we receive and pass it on to others who endure similar troubles and distress. If Christ suffered, we too will suffer like Him. But the Lord does not leave us alone or orphaned as we endure suffering. He is closest to us when we are most troubled. We drink from the cup of suffering but also from the cup of comfort and joy. He gives us victory and the power to bear such suffering without complaining or without being discouraged. The suffering is intended to test our strength, increase it and make us resilient. Hence, James wrote that we should welcome it with pure joy. Suffering purifies or sanctifies our character and our faith. Suffering is like a fiery trial and we are not alone when we go through it. The Lord is with us, comforting, blessing, guiding, leading us through the ordeal. The degree of comfort and encouragement we get from the Lord and His word is unlimited or abundant. Hence, whatever is our need, we can depend on the Lord for He will defend us in any circumstance. We should not wilt or give up but like pure gold we should give up the dross or impurities in our character. We should not give in to worry or anxiety but continually rejoice in the Lord, delight in His word. Like Noah and his family took refuge in the Ark during the great flood, we should hide in the ark of faith in Christ. Like Noah and his family emerged unscathed and victorious we too will emerge from it stronger, purer, more faithful and joyful.

Decisions and the Spoken Word

UV 3593/10000. Decisions and the Spoken Word You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and the light of God’s favour will shine upon your ways. Job 22 v 28 When we decide a thing in our hearts, we must also proclaim or decree it at least to ourselves. The power of the spoken word or decree is the means by which God created the entire universe. We may not be able to create anything but we can impact creation by the power of decision and decree. The uni-verse rightly puts things in perspective. Whatever we decide and decree can prosper only if God’s grace or favour is upon it. When we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways with prayer, thanksgiving and worship, His favour will shine like the noonday sun upon us and prosper us in our ways even as plants synthesise food and generate oxygen in the warmth and light provided by the sun. If like Job and other biblical characters right through the ages, we fear and honour God, His grace will accompany our decisions and words so that these are neither ineffectual or unproductive. We are to confide our decisions only in the Lord and seek His blessings, guidance and help at all times. Under the new covenant, we can consult actively the Holy Spirit who imparts wisdom to us and understanding so that we do not depart from the ways of God. His power working in us Is able to do, according to St Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church, much more than we can think, imagine or ask. In this manner, the Lord will establish us in our lives and our ways. We will be obedient sheep who do not stray like the wild goats in all directions. Our decisions will take us only on the paths the Lord indicates to us. Our spoken words or decrees will proclaim our faith and our reliance on God’s grace at all times. The power of thought that is behind human decision making, the power of the spoken word and the power of God are aligned and we work in harmony with the Lord and not like everyone else who is worldly, at cross purposes with God.

The Well Being of Our Neighbour

UV 3592/10000. The Well Being of Our Neighbour Let each one of us make it a practice to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up spiritually. Romans 15 v 2 We are to try habitually to work for the good of others and not only our own good. Thereby, we please or win the favour and goodwill of others. We are also obeying the command of Jesus to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This practice will bless us and make us a blessing. Most people are one way channels for blessings to flow towards them and them alone but we are to be two way channels of blessing. Jesus Himself did not please Himself but He pleased the Father in heaven in all that He said and did. In fact, those who displeased the Father also mocked Him and crucified Him. We need to understand that we play a dual role in the kingdom of God for we are not only meant to be the living stones with which the temple of God is built but we are co-builders with Jesus. We need to plan like master builders and secure the best materials to build others up as living stones in the tabernacle of God. The builders of this world rejected Jesus for they looked for qualities or characteristics that were extrinsic and external not qualities that are internal and eternal. The glam quotient or the personal attraction of Jesus was kept deliberately low so that people were not drawn to Him for reasons of physical prowess or charisma. We, therefore, need to ask ourselves constantly what is the need of others around us. We are to be sensitive and responsive to their needs and try to meet it as much as it lies in our capacity or resources to do so. We are not be parasites but benefactors working always for the good of others. We should not seek to harm them in any way, in thought, word or deed. When we do this we please our Father in heaven for we are being genuinely our brother or sister’s keeper. We provide help to the helpless, strength to the weak, comfort to the distressed. That which lies in our hands to do, we can do and for the rest, we are eager to pray for the unmet but critical needs of others. In meeting that need, we sow the seed of God’s unlimited love in their hearts. For building implies making a connection with people for the sake of the kingdom of God.

Spiritual Wisdom

UV 3591/10000. Spiritual Wisdom Whoever is spiritually wise, let him understand these things; whoever is spiritually discerning and understanding, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble and fall in them. Hosea 14 v 9 Spiritual wisdom, understanding and discernment is quite distinct in its origin, its nature and its impact from worldly wisdom and understanding. Spiritual wisdom enables us to discern and know the ways of God, to understand scripture and apply it continually in all aspects of our lives. King Solomon, in this sense, was not bestowed with spiritual wisdom but with worldly wisdom for he wanted only to know how to govern or administer the affairs of men. If he had spiritual wisdom, he would not have departed from the ways of God, influenced by his many wives. Solomon, consequently did many experiments with untruth and found these to be vain and futile in the end. The kind of wisdom, understanding and discernment that we, as followers of Jesus should seek is spiritual, the kind that James wrote, “ Ask for wisdom and He will give it generously.” This is the reason that Jesus said, “ Even the lilies of the valley are clothed more gloriously than Solomon in all his wealth and glory.” Solomon’s wealth and glory faded with time and perished but the wisdom that the Lord gives us does not fade or perish. The words of our lips should help to preserve lives for eternity. We discern the will of God and hasten to do it. Even if we stumble or fall into sin or error, the Lord will enable us to recover and return to His ways. The spiritually wise are content to walk step by step in the ways of the Lord. They do not seek to know the distant future but focus on doing God’s will here and now. They know their priorities in life and do not depart from the principles and precepts they learn from scripture or the word. They are not easily distracted by the pleasures or treasures of this world but treasure the will and word of God over everything else. They focus on practicing whatever they learnt at the feet of Jesus. Their emotions are not easily swayed by circumstances or adverse happenings for they place their trust and security in the Lord.

Oneness with God

UV 3590/10000 Oneness with God Not height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the unlimited love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8 v 39 Since we live, move and exist in the unlimited love of God manifested in Christ, nothing can harm us, affect us adversely. Neither elevation nor descent into depths can separate us from the love of God. Death cannot separate us from Christ. Neither circumstances nor adversaries, earthly beings or spiritual beings can create a distance between the committed believer and the Lord. We can gaze on Him with unveiled eyes, the beauty of His character, the greatness of His wisdom, the awesomeness of His power, the infinite dimensions of His love. The treasures of this world cannot distract us. The powers of this world cannot threaten us. No virus or invisible foe can separate us from our new life in Christ. We are branches fused with the True Vine, Christ. Every part of us is connected with Him. The parts that are not fused or connected with Him alone will die and fall off. His resurrection power flows in us by faith. The Spirit of God dwells in us and causes the fruit of the Spirit to grow and overflow in our hearts and souls. Our wills, emotions, our minds are aligned with the will of God revealed in Christ. We cannot be sidetracked or thrown off His ways. Our past is crucified with Him, our sins are crucified with Him, our curses are crucified with Him, our diseases are crucified with Him. His love and grace enable us to live the new life of faith in Him. Hence, we need not fear any adversary for the Lion of Judah is with us who has defeated and overcome the roaring lion of death and sin and disease. We need not be enthralled by the pleasures of this world or be enamoured of its seductions. Fusion with God has ended our confusion. It has made our lives purposeful, fruitful, blessed. Just as the centurion said, “Jesus just has to speak the word in our lives and it will be done”, whether it is our healing, our deliverance or our spiritual needs.

The Peace-Praise Connection

UV 3589/10000. The Peace -Praise Connection As I create the praise of his lips, Peace, peace, to him who is far away (both Jew and Gentile) and to him who is near! Say the Lord; “And I will heal him ( making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise).” Isaiah 57 v 19 As we offer up fruitful words of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, He blesses us with peace. The wicked, those who do not acknowledge God, do not have peace and are like the restless, raging sea. Their lives and thoughts are muddy, unclear and mired in worries of this world. We, who believe Jesus, are in contrast like the rock in the middle of the sea, unmoved and not shaken by the tossing waves. The reason being the Lord is near to those whose minds are always focused on Him. He heals and delivers us of all our troubles. The Lord knows our ways and is pleased with us. Nothing is hidden from His sight. If there is a willful or unconscious sin in our lives, He, the Holy Spirit, makes us aware of it and shows us the way to overcome it with His grace. Even our setbacks become occasions and reasons for praising the Lord. No guilt of the past, no fear of the present, no anxiety regarding the future can affect us. The Lord has created three streams of praise in our lives- the things He accomplished for us in the past, the things He is doing now, the things He has promised to do in the future. Our hearts and minds should alternate between these three streams of praise. While we were praying, the Lord revealed that the covid 19 virus had visited me as many as thrice but could not remain in me. He heals us with His word which is Rapid20 and beyond. We are not even aware a disease has come near us as the Lord is protecting and healing us simultaneously. We should, therefore, always arm ourselves with prayer, promises of the word of God, praise and thanksgiving, songs of deliverance. The enemy is the one who wants to afflict us and hence, we should use these spiritual weapons to ward him off and keep him at a distance. When God is near us, the enemy is far from us. He cannot touch a hair on our heads or a cell in our bodies. We, who live by faith in Jesus, are fallible but not vulnerable. The incredible power of El Shaddai is at work in us. The heat of the spiritual fire burning in our hearts and minds is a deterrent to keep the invisible foes at bay. The blood of Jesus covers us and shields us from any internal attack while the word shields us from any external attack. We have many reasons to praise the Lord but there are no seasons or fluctuations in our faith. The Holy Spirit places new praises on our lips to offer unto the Lord.