The Antidote for Worry are Worship, Work, Word

UV 4255/10000 The Antidote for Worry are Worship, Work, Word So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6 v 34 In this uni-verse, Jesus advices us not to worry. Worry will not add one hour to our lives while later medical research has proven that it, in fact, could shorten our lives. In place of worry, if we worship and thank God in every circumstance, be positive and joyful in every situation, hours, it would seem, have been added to our days, and days to our years and years to our lives. Each day has its own challenges. So our focus should be to give our best to the present moment without being distracted or sidetracked by worry about something likely to come up later and which may not even happen. Let us not spend time worrying about the uncertainties of the future, since we know the One who holds our future in His capable hands. We need to gladly accept where we are right now and then think of ways to improve on it over time. Living in the present moment is what Jesus advocates. Janus-like we should not keep looking over our shoulders into our past or stand on tiptoe to peep into the future with anxiety. Our faith in Christ who overcame every challenge humanity can face individually or collectively fills us with hope and hope fills us with joy. Worrying is not an option for believers and followers of Jesus who asked us to meditate on the flowers of the field for the Lord promises to clothe us much better than the flowers. He also asks us to think of the birds that do not sow or reap and yet have enough for its need. The promise is hidden in this word of Christ that even if we do not sow with tears and sweat, the Lord will reward the work of our hands. He blesses our labour far beyond just the wages that we deserve. When we make Jesus, the locus or center of our lives, He will not only give us what we sow by focusing on the day’s challenges, whether at work or home, but also add His generous bonus. The Lord is not asking us however to be complacent or indolent. He expects us to give our best to whatever we are doing, even go the extra mile. Worry demonstrates a lack of faith in the kindness, provision, generousity of the Lord. Worry achieves nothing and hence, instead we should think proactively and positively, aim to throw in all we got into facing any particular challenge we are confronting. The way God has organized time from sunrise to sunrise is that the future does not spring on us suddently but evolves day by day. Hence, moment by moment, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, if we end up doing our best, the Lord will take care of the rest in terms of the uncertain, the factors that are too big for us, the challenges and problems that are beyond human knowledge or control. Instead of worrying in any given situation, we can read, study, meditate on the word and the Lord will surely speak to us and give us a specific answer to that which we are prone ot worry over. To sum up, the antidote for worry are www or worship, word, work.

Revelling and Rejoicing in Weakness and Suffering

UV 4252/10000 Revelling and Rejoicing in Weakness and Suffering But He said to me, “ My grace is sufficient for you ( My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough- always available regardless of the situation); for (My) power is being perfected ( and is completed and shows itself most effectively ) in your weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ ( may completely enfold me and ) may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 Sometimes, God weakens us to strengthen us, empties us to fill us, breaks us to make us whole. For when we are strong, we are tempted to think we do not need God and even think we are some kind of God. We develop pride and over confidence in ourselves and our strength. Paul was given what he called a painful thorn in the flesh, to torment and harass him, to keep him from exalting himself. He even called it a messenger of satan, allowed by God to humble him and make him dependent on the Lord. These offsetting circumstances and weaknesses the Lord allows so that we depend on Him in every situation. Paul had many unique revelations and experiences which could have make him think too highly of himself, being just flesh and blood. The Lord had to perforce send him reminders of his humanity, mortality and infirmity not to harm him, or to shame him but for his own good, that he would remain faithful and not lose his way or his salvation. Hence, Paul said that he would rather boast of his weaknesses than his strengths or accomplishments or his out of body experiences. When we are weak and dependent in some particular aspect on the grace of God, His power, mercy, guidance, protection and provision, the Lord gets an opening, an opportunity to work on our inner being, to set right our attitudes and keep us on the right track. The Lord uses the opportunity to show His love, to reveal Himself strong on our behalf, to manifest His power, wisdom, mercy towards us. Paul goes to the extent, in a version of Christian stoicism, to state that he revelled in his troubles, trials, insults, difficulties, distresses as it kept him on the straight and narrow and closer to the Lord, in alignment with his purpose and calling. We, too can emulate Paul and believe that when we are weak, we are strong in the Lord and therefore, as James says, rejoice in our suffering, be glad in our earthly trials, be patient in our troubles, confident that the Lord will show up on our behalf, strengthen us to endure, to bear it even if he does not take away the thorn that hurts us. Instead of resisting or resenting the troubles we face, we can let it shape our faith, our character, our body of work for the Lord. Such an attitude no doubt pleases the Lord who will quickly rush to our side, to comfort us through the Holy Spirit, to counsel us, to deliver us, to strengthen us. Instead of looking back nostalgically to the time when we did not face such an affliction, we should allow it to enable us to walk closer to the Lord, relying on His grace and mercy. It will enable us to be patient, mature, contented, resilient.

The Overflowing and Overtaking Anointing of Prophecy

UV 4251/10000. The Overflowing and Overtaking Anointing of Prophecy See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. Jeremiah 1 v 10 In this world, we are appointed to positions and roles according to our qualifications and experience. But the Lord calls, appoints us to roles and functions and then gives us the qualities or power to play that role followed by the experiences. The Lord had anointed Jeremiah even from the womb with an overtaking and overflowing prophetic anointing. That anointing gave him courage to speak truth to power. One of the chief functions and role of prophets during that age was to speak truth to power but today, the prophet is to speak the word of truth, word of knowledge, word of encouragement and edification to the average believer for the latter is anointed to be both king, priest and prophet. The Lord is the only one who can appoint us over the nations and over kingdoms for all other appointments are made in the nation under the seal of the highest office in that country. He appoints and anoints us, or prepares us to play our role and functions as king, priest, prophet to uproot and break down spiritual strongholds of darkness. He prepares us to be sharp edged threshing instruments to destroy and to overthrow such strongholds of evil in all nations, the sources of tyranny, corruption, division, conflicts, violence, aggrandizement and such evils. The role believers play is dual – to destroy as well as to build, to uproot evil as well as to plant the seeds of goodness and greatness. He has formed us from the womb and shapes us through all of life’s experiences, both great and small to fulfill His purpose in our lives. He has chosen us and consecrated us as His weapons and instruments to do His will. Since we have free wills, we can submit to the Lord’s purpose and plan or rebel against it. When we do the former, we are placed over the nations and kingdoms of this world. We are not subject to the erratic whims of the rulers of this world or the evil designs of the rulers of the powers of darkness. We are not like the blind being led by the blind but the Lord gives us the full and 360 degrees vision to see through the darkness, discern the will of God, to both uproot and plant, to destroy and build in accordance with the plan of the Lord. We do so not with weapons made by flesh and blood but with spiritual power and authority the Lord vests in us. It is this vesting or investing the Lord has done in us that is called the overflowing anointing, the overtaking anointing. It overflows in us and overtakes the enemy while he is yet plotting harm or evil.

The Beautiful and Amazing Foundation of Our LIves

UV 4250/10000 The Beautiful and Amazing Foundation And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent (for that purpose)? Just as it is written and forever remains written, “ HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” Romans 10 v 15 This morning as I walked to a nearby waterfall, the above rhema verse, uni-verse came to my soul. Paul, writing to the Romans, recalls this psalm. Then as I sat on a huge tree root under the beautiful waterfall that was soothingly massaging my feet, I recalled this verse and the Holy Spirit revealed that it was not our feet of flesh and blood that the Word is referring to but our godly foundations. The foundation of our wisdom is the fear of God and the foundation of our lives is the love of God and love for the Lord. All humans have feet of clay but it is our faith in the Lord Jesus that is the foundation of our lives that make it beautiful. All above is ugly but our faith foundations, our feet that enable us to stand, to walk, to work, to move, transforms our lives into something beautiful. It prepares us to hear, receive, share good news of good things, chiefly the agape love of God manifested in Christ. We are to diligently build on the beautiful foundation the Lord has laid in our lives. We are to build not with hay or materials that are easily destroyed but with what is good, true, wise, noble, useful, beneficial to others. Then, our lives will not resemble the beautiful statue interpreted by Daniel to symbolize all of human kind and all of human history that was destroyed even though everything above the feet was strong, beautiful, amazing as the weaknesses represented by the feet of clay gave way to the stumbling stone, the rock that was not cut with human hands- Jesus Christ. But to us who believe in Him and live in Him, live by His word, He is the beautiful, enduring foundation of our lives. On Him as the cornerstone, the foundation, we build the superstructure of our lives. Our rock foundation is dynamic, not static like the foundation of a building. It is like the roots of a tree planted by streams of water, like our feet ever moving. Both our coming and going, our staying and building are all blessed by it. It gives us strength to withstand the torrents of storms and the currents of moving streams. Unlike the feet of a human or the foundation of a building, our spiritual foundation being the most beautiful part of our anatomy, our lives, are not hidden like the roots of a tree but visible and ever manifest in a variety of ways in our lives.

Power At Our Right Hand

UV 4249/10000 Power at Our Right Hand For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; ( I am the Lord),who says to you, “ Do not fear, I will help you.” Isaiah 41 v 14 The Lord God promises to hold our right hand. Our right hand is the hand that is used to feed- hence, the Lord will provide and feed us, nourish us, strengthen us spiritually and holistically. The right hand is also the fighting arm- He will help us fight our battles in every sphere and win. The right hand is also the hand that is used to write and to do most of the things that require only one hand to do. The Lord will enable us to share our testimonies for His glory, our edification. My right hand went literally near the vortex of the world’s first human bomb ( the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi) as it was swinging back while I was walking, leading him to the stage. Initially, my hand became a mass of flesh and broken bone in the blast. Yet the Lord, the I Am, preserved my right arm in tact and today, I write, type, can hold and use a firearm and do all that I was able to do before. I did not loose any finger or member of my hand. Scripture sometimes comes true literally as well as figuratively. The uni-verse also means that the Lord’s power is accessible and proximate to each of us as He loves us deeply and intimately. We need to recognize that He, the Lord God is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing, trustworthy, loving. Since such a One holds our right hand, we have no cause to fear the unknown, the factors that are beyond our knowledge and control or powerful enemies in the spiritual and physical realms. We need not fear being defeated or shamed. We need not fear failure nor death nor loss of any kind. He gives us the hope and the assurance that He will help us in every circumstance. He is our Redeemer and though we have, comparatively speaking, only the strength of a vulnerable worm that wriggles and crawls, He will make us new, sharp, powerful threshing instrument in His hand. We will be able to, figuratively speaking, thresh the mountains, the hills, the big and small problems, challenges, threats, issues of life such that these become small and insignificant as the chaff or dust of grain. The wind of time and change will carry away like dust the difficulties, challenges, threats we confront and combat in life with the help of the Lord. But, we will remain strong, confident, joyful in the presence of the Lord, full of hope of eternal life, giving glory and due honour to the Lord who enables us, empowers, equips us. Those who oppress, suppress, strive against us or are angry with us for no apparent reason will be as nothing, perish without trace. The lesson for humanity is that if we want to leave a trace in our lives, a happy legacy or memory, we need the grace of the Lord, our Redeemer.

The Returning Leper

UV 4248/10000 The Returning Leper One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying and praising and honouring God with a loud voice; Luke 17 v 15 An amazing miracle took place- ten lepers were miraculously healed and made clean by the Word that is Jesus, the word of Jesus. They met Jesus as He entered a village and called out to Him from a distance as it was required of lepers to stay at a distance to prevent the leprosy spreading to others. They raised their voices crying out not for healing but for mercy. Jesus, the Merciful One through whom God had given mercy to all, had mercy on the ten lepers and told them to go and show themselves to the priests for they were to obtain a certificate of cleansing and healing as required by law. On the way, they were miraculously healed and made clean. But only one of them thought it fit to return to Jesus, rejoicing in his healing, glorifying, praising and honouring God with a loud voice. The other nine were silent. When they needed healing they cried out loudly, not ashamed of being noticed but when they received healing, they chose to be silent. Are we like the returning leper or the nine who remained silent, who didn’t turn back to thank Jesus, to glorify God, to honour Him for the cleansing we have received from God through the word of Christ, the salvation we have been blessed with, the blessings we have inherited as heirs of Christ? In my experience even as a secular speaker and writer, only one out of ten bother to come up and give feedback to the speaker or the writer whose word had blessed or encouraged, inspired or empowered him or her. Giving feedback is as significant to the messenger as to the one who has received the message. It encourages the former and further blesses the receiver. In more than one sense, we are like the ten lepers who have received healing from the Lord, blessed by His word, cleansed or sanctified by His teaching, made whole by His touch. Like the returning leper, we should not once but daily and regularly fall on our face before the Lord, worship, praise and thank Him for the mercy He has shown us. We have to set aside our self consciousness, our dignity to praise Him even with a loud voice. While we are yet on the way, the word of God works in us to cause a healing, a miracle in our lives. We are no longer spiritual lepers but spiritual leapers and reapers of miracles wrought by the spoken word of God. We need not call out to Him from a distance but approach Him as a child would run into the lap of his parent. Having received that which we needed, we need to keep returning to Him to honour, thank, praise and worship Him. Mindless of our status, position or dignity, sometimes we need to prostrate ourselves like the returning leper in the presence of the Lord, acknowledging every word He has spoken, every miracle, every blessing He has released into our lives.

Cleave and Do Not Leave God

UV 4246/10000 Cleave and Do Not Leave God But you who held tightly to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you. Deuteronomy 4 v 4 The King James version uses the word “cleave” in lieu of “held tightly”. We should not leave God but cleave to Him in any situation and at all times, good and bad. Just as God is faithful to us, we need to prove that we are faithful to Him and we do so by cleaving to Him, His name, His presence, His word, His promises, His commands. The only other context the term ‘cleave’ is applied in scripture is to describe the marital relationship- the wife leaves her parental home and cleaves to her husband. That image reinforces the need for us to cleave to the Lord as a woman cleaves to her husband. We cannot cleave without leaving something behind even as the bride leaves her parents. Hence, we need to leave the world behind and cling to the Lord. The biblical context the above uni-verse is written is the travails of the Israelites during their travel through the wilderness of Egypt and adjoining lands till they reached the promised land, now called Israel. Those who strayed away from the God of Israel did not survive while every one of those who cleaved or remained faithful to the Lord lived on. The latter are the ones who proved God’s word to be true that He is near to them whenever they call on Him. He delivered them from battles, diseases, hunger, thirst, reptile and scorpion bites, attacks of nearby marauding tribes and so on. In the eighteen month global pandemic’s context, the above uni-verse remains true. As we cleaved or held on tightly to the Lord through this deadly pestilence that killed millions of people, the Lord God has preserved every one of us who are alive today. Every one of us is a survivor today who are living in this world. This testimony should be told to future generations who might not be aware of our experience. We should pay close attention and watch ourselves so closely that we do not forget the things we have experienced so far- the great deliverances the Lord has wrought in our lives. We should obey the laws of the Lord faithfully and not allow our faith to be adulterated or corrupted in the rest of our lives.