UV 1741/10000 The Fire that Burns In Us
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luke 24 v 32
Our hearts burn when the Holy Spirit opens the scripture to our understanding. The Word is both a fire and a hammer. As a hammer it destroys all strongholds of evil, as a fire, it burns all evil desires and attitudes. Jesus described His Word as spirit and life. The Spirit quickens it to our minds and hearts or makes it active and live. It cuts to the point where bone and marrow meet, our innermost core. The Word that we store up in our hearts becomes like a fire that is shut up in our bones and core.
The evil desires of our flesh are like a leech. A leech never says it’s had enough. Hence, money or pleasure or power will never be enough. Only salt can make the leech let go of a person. The Word acts as the salt that releases the leeches of this world to release its clutches from our hearts and minds. A colleague of mind who was hunting a forest brigand was bitten several time by leeches. It had contaminated his blood and left signs and symptoms like itching and pain. The leeches secretes a hormone that anaesthetises the human body as it sucks. Similarly, there is an exchange with the world when it sucks on us like leeches. The Word provides the antidote. When Jesus spoke to the believers who were grieving his death on the way to Emmaus, His words burned in their hearts with the power of truth and conviction. It cut into their spirits as a sharp sword cuts into flesh and bone. At the same time, as they gained understanding and received the revelation, they were comforted and they were filled with great joy.
Like the disciples who were accompanied by Jesus, we too are accompanied by the unseen presence of the Risen Saviour. He walks with us and He talks with us. He blesses us with peace- the seven fold peace or Shalom. He never leaves us nor does He forsake us. Each word spoken by Jesus is so precious that it should be numbered and analysed as the bread was broken by Jesus and they chewed it to bless their bodies, minds and spirits. His words penetrate to the point or intersection where our minds and spirits meet. It judges or studies our thoughts, motives behind every thought, our emotions, our words, our actions, our intentions, goals and guides our footsteps.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016
Seek the Peace of the City
UV 1741/10000 The Fire that Burns In Us
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luke 24 v 32
Our hearts burn when the Holy Spirit opens the scripture to our understanding. The Word is both a fire and a hammer. As a hammer it destroys all strongholds of evil, as a fire, it burns all evil desires and attitudes. Currently, due to an intensely torrid summer, we read in the news of a lot of fires in buildings as well as in the forests across the country. But these are destructive fires that destroy people, materials and trees. The Word is a creative fire. It melts down what is not required and edifies or builds us in faith and strength to face every possible situation and factor in life boldly and triumphantly. Jesus described His Word as spirit and life. The Spirit quickens it to our minds and hearts or makes it active and live. It cuts to the point where bone and marrow meet, our innermost core. The Word that we store up in our hearts becomes like a fire that is shut up in our bones and core.
The evil desires of our flesh are like a leech. A leech never says it’s had enough. Hence, money or pleasure or power will never be enough. Only salt can make the leech let go of a person. The Word acts as the salt that releases the leeches of this world to release its clutches from our hearts and minds. A colleague of mind who was hunting a forest brigand was bitten several time by leeches. It had contaminated his blood and left signs and symptoms like itching and pain. The leeches secretes a hormone that anaesthetises the human body as it sucks. Similarly, there is an exchange with the world when it sucks on us like leeches. The Word provides the antidote. When Jesus spoke to the believers who were grieving his death on the way to Emmaus, His words burned in their hearts with the power of truth and conviction. It cut into their spirits as a sharp sword cuts into flesh and bone. At the same time, as they gained understanding and received the revelation, they were comforted and they were filled with great joy.
Like the disciples who were accompanied by Jesus, we too are accompanied by the unseen presence of the Risen Saviour. He walks with us and He talks with us. He blesses us with peace- the seven fold peace or Shalom. He never leaves us nor does He forsake us. Each word spoken by Jesus is so precious that it should be numbered and analysed as the bread was broken by Jesus and they chewed it to bless their bodies, minds and spirits. His words penetrate to the point or intersection where our minds and spirits meet. It judges or studies our thoughts, motives behind every thought, our emotions, our words, our actions, our intentions, goals and guides our footsteps.
Prateep V Philip
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luke 24 v 32
Our hearts burn when the Holy Spirit opens the scripture to our understanding. The Word is both a fire and a hammer. As a hammer it destroys all strongholds of evil, as a fire, it burns all evil desires and attitudes. Currently, due to an intensely torrid summer, we read in the news of a lot of fires in buildings as well as in the forests across the country. But these are destructive fires that destroy people, materials and trees. The Word is a creative fire. It melts down what is not required and edifies or builds us in faith and strength to face every possible situation and factor in life boldly and triumphantly. Jesus described His Word as spirit and life. The Spirit quickens it to our minds and hearts or makes it active and live. It cuts to the point where bone and marrow meet, our innermost core. The Word that we store up in our hearts becomes like a fire that is shut up in our bones and core.
The evil desires of our flesh are like a leech. A leech never says it’s had enough. Hence, money or pleasure or power will never be enough. Only salt can make the leech let go of a person. The Word acts as the salt that releases the leeches of this world to release its clutches from our hearts and minds. A colleague of mind who was hunting a forest brigand was bitten several time by leeches. It had contaminated his blood and left signs and symptoms like itching and pain. The leeches secretes a hormone that anaesthetises the human body as it sucks. Similarly, there is an exchange with the world when it sucks on us like leeches. The Word provides the antidote. When Jesus spoke to the believers who were grieving his death on the way to Emmaus, His words burned in their hearts with the power of truth and conviction. It cut into their spirits as a sharp sword cuts into flesh and bone. At the same time, as they gained understanding and received the revelation, they were comforted and they were filled with great joy.
Like the disciples who were accompanied by Jesus, we too are accompanied by the unseen presence of the Risen Saviour. He walks with us and He talks with us. He blesses us with peace- the seven fold peace or Shalom. He never leaves us nor does He forsake us. Each word spoken by Jesus is so precious that it should be numbered and analysed as the bread was broken by Jesus and they chewed it to bless their bodies, minds and spirits. His words penetrate to the point or intersection where our minds and spirits meet. It judges or studies our thoughts, motives behind every thought, our emotions, our words, our actions, our intentions, goals and guides our footsteps.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, April 28, 2016
The Arm of Our Help
UV 1739/10000 The Arm of Our Help
O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
Isaiah 33 v 2
The Lord is gracious as He does not expect any return favour or help when He comes to our help or aid. He is Ebenezer God or our one and only Helper. The help of other men is in vain. The arm of flesh can fail. The arm of flesh may disappoint us when we expect the help of man. The arm of flesh moves due to some selfish motive of quid pro quo. The arm of flesh helping us in our time of need can result in mutual bitterness. In contrast, the Lord is our arm of help every day. Our all- round help comes from Him. Every morning we need to approach His throne of grace with praise and thanksgiving. We need to avoid the attitude of complaining and murmuring. His spiritual power will be manifested through the work of our hands and the words of our lips. Our problems and worries will flee like flies from the fire. We need to chew the Word every morning and we will digest all our problems. We will be able to swallow our problems and challenges instead of being swallowed by these. We need to claim the amazing promises of the Lord and wait for their fulfilment in our lives.
We should be glad and rejoice in our salvation and not take it for granted or take it casually. We should remember the names of the Lord and draw strength from each name. We should recall the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We should confess our faults and failures in order to be redeemed of these. We should pour out our hearts to Him. As we do so, He will hear our cry and strengthen our hearts, implying that He will give us the right attitudes towards all and towards all our issues. Scripture says, “ Guard your heart diligently for out of it are the issues of life.” It implies that guarding or setting our heart right can be done only by the Lord. His Word is the plumb line of our hearts. It is the plumb line that sets our hearts or attitudes at the right angle to the Lord. Whatever we start with prayer will flourish in the end.
The Lord is our salvation in our time of trouble. We focus on Him just as a servant waits on his master to reward him. The servant will continue to work diligently, patiently, loyally and faithfully till the Master recognises his work. We need to focus on the Lord with faithful expectation, confidence and hope. Our souls wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning for when the day comes their duty of vigil ends. So also the end of our trouble comes when the Morning Star of Righteousness- Jesus rises on it. As the morning sun dispels the mist and fog, the plentiful redemption of the Lord will dispel our nagging worries and haunting issues. He restores us so that we are better off than before in every sense. He restores the years and times that the locusts of life’s worries and issues had destroyed. He comforts us so that we can in turn comfort those who are in similar trouble and encourage them with the same hope of salvation.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Fly HIgh, Run Strong, Walk Slow, Wait Long
UV 1738/10000 Fly High, Run Strong, Walk Slow, Wait Long
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint
Isaiah 40 v 31
We need to wait upon the Lord with prevailing faith. By strength no man will succeed but by faith every man can prevail. Waiting implies expecting a positive outcome from the Lord. We wait with praise, thanksgiving and adoration. We wait with positive attitudes. Our faith lifts us up above our circumstances. The Lord will exalt us to a new orbit. Through faithful prayer and the Word, we can fly at the height of heaven, around the throne of God Almighty, far higher than any spacecraft or aircraft or bird. When circumstances are adverse or negative, we should take a flight of faith like an eagle. The eagle keeps flying in circles till its eye spots a prey on which it swoops down and picks up by its talons. When we gain height in our spirits and look at ourselves and our issues, we will gain perspective- a heavenly perspective. We need to soar in our spirits using the wings of prayer and the Word and the Lord will enable us to spot the solution and swoop down on it. Once we get the vision, we can run with it with renewed motivation and strength. We will overcome our inner weaknesses that would otherwise drag us down and make us weary and morally as well as spiritually defeated.
This is problem-solving- God’s way: we need to first, fly, then, run and finally, walk- a reverse of the laws of aviation. Faith will illuminate not the whole way but only the next step that we need to take. We can only walk on the ground. We need to live life moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. Even as we walk and encounter obstacles and challenges, the Lord will enable us to shift gears and move into flight mode whenever the barrier comes up ahead. We fly over the barrier and hit the ground running. Flying refers to flights of faith and not of imagination. Running refers to starting whatever we are doing with great zeal. Walking refers to the panning out of God’s will and plan for our lives, step by step. Our difficulty as human beings is that we are not ready to fly high, wait long or walk slow. We want to walk fast and run strong. The Lord teaches us over our lifetime, our walk with Him to fly high, to run strong, to wait long and walk slow.
The metaphor of the eagle is used to indicate that every believer is a leader. He has eagle vision and eagle wings. Like an eagle is able to grow new feathers, even after a debacle or setback, we can grow back our wings of faith and mount on high. An eagle has a killer instinct. In this aspect we differ from an eagle. Though we have great power residing in us, a sharp mouth and sharp talons to seize, we are like a dove in terms of our lethality. An eagle flies over the storm and likewise, we should fly above the current problem we are facing. We should fly by faith over every mountain we face in our lives and careers. An eagle attacks a serpent or snake not on the ground but by changing the theatre of conflict or warfare to the air, it is able to easily overpower the deadly adversary. Similarly, we do not fight in the flesh but change the theatre of conflict to the realm of the spirit where the kingdom of God prevails. Like an eagle trains its young by nudging it off cliffs and keep itself to catch the young as they come crashing down, we are called to mentor and train succeeding generations of the young in undertaking the flight of faith.
Prateep V Philip
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint
Isaiah 40 v 31
We need to wait upon the Lord with prevailing faith. By strength no man will succeed but by faith every man can prevail. Waiting implies expecting a positive outcome from the Lord. We wait with praise, thanksgiving and adoration. We wait with positive attitudes. Our faith lifts us up above our circumstances. The Lord will exalt us to a new orbit. Through faithful prayer and the Word, we can fly at the height of heaven, around the throne of God Almighty, far higher than any spacecraft or aircraft or bird. When circumstances are adverse or negative, we should take a flight of faith like an eagle. The eagle keeps flying in circles till its eye spots a prey on which it swoops down and picks up by its talons. When we gain height in our spirits and look at ourselves and our issues, we will gain perspective- a heavenly perspective. We need to soar in our spirits using the wings of prayer and the Word and the Lord will enable us to spot the solution and swoop down on it. Once we get the vision, we can run with it with renewed motivation and strength. We will overcome our inner weaknesses that would otherwise drag us down and make us weary and morally as well as spiritually defeated.
This is problem-solving- God’s way: we need to first, fly, then, run and finally, walk- a reverse of the laws of aviation. Faith will illuminate not the whole way but only the next step that we need to take. We can only walk on the ground. We need to live life moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. Even as we walk and encounter obstacles and challenges, the Lord will enable us to shift gears and move into flight mode whenever the barrier comes up ahead. We fly over the barrier and hit the ground running. Flying refers to flights of faith and not of imagination. Running refers to starting whatever we are doing with great zeal. Walking refers to the panning out of God’s will and plan for our lives, step by step. Our difficulty as human beings is that we are not ready to fly high, wait long or walk slow. We want to walk fast and run strong. The Lord teaches us over our lifetime, our walk with Him to fly high, to run strong, to wait long and walk slow.
The metaphor of the eagle is used to indicate that every believer is a leader. He has eagle vision and eagle wings. Like an eagle is able to grow new feathers, even after a debacle or setback, we can grow back our wings of faith and mount on high. An eagle has a killer instinct. In this aspect we differ from an eagle. Though we have great power residing in us, a sharp mouth and sharp talons to seize, we are like a dove in terms of our lethality. An eagle flies over the storm and likewise, we should fly above the current problem we are facing. We should fly by faith over every mountain we face in our lives and careers. An eagle attacks a serpent or snake not on the ground but by changing the theatre of conflict or warfare to the air, it is able to easily overpower the deadly adversary. Similarly, we do not fight in the flesh but change the theatre of conflict to the realm of the spirit where the kingdom of God prevails. Like an eagle trains its young by nudging it off cliffs and keep itself to catch the young as they come crashing down, we are called to mentor and train succeeding generations of the young in undertaking the flight of faith.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
The Source of Holistic Health
UV 1737/10000 The Source of Holistic Health
And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
Deuteronomy 7 v 15
What we proclaim in faith with our mouths, we claim. This uni-verse is an assurance of good health. The Lord Jesus took away our sin by His sacrificial death while He took away our sickness or diseases with His wounds. By His wounds, we are healed of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual disease. The word “ disease” means absence of ease or peace. When we do not have peace with God, we come under the shadow of disease. To protect us from disease and sickness is part of the important covenant promises of the Lord. We must constantly place a shield of faith against all known and unknown diseases. The Word or Christ is like a gigantic mushroom under which we can take shelter where no insects or pests can attack. Ironically, the sign or logo of healing, the serpent lifted on a staff- on the boards of pharmaceutical stores around the world is a symbol of the healing power of Jesus. Everything physical has a curse or limitation of disease in it. That limitation is broken or lifted up and destroyed by Jesus. Similarly, every limitation or sickness or disease is broken as we lift ourselves up in faith and proclaim the Word of healing and power.
We must always confess positively that we are blessed with good health, one of the greatest of the blessings of the Lord. We must not call sickness or invite disease to us by confessing negatively that we are sick or tired or weak. Then, the Lord will allow none of the deadly diseases that remind us of our past bondage to the world. “Egypt” is a metaphor for that bondage and the reference is to the plagues of various diseases that afflicted Egypt as Pharaoh hardened his heart against the expressed will of God to “ let My people go.” The Lord is our Freedom Fighter. He is our healer. He sets us free of death, disease and every bondage of sin. The Lord Himself is the Balm of Gilead that heals us and removes our pain.
Those who are unrepentantly cruel, oppressive and wicked are marked by the Lord. Different organs in their bodies are marked for affliction in accordance with their words and deeds. As we sow, we reap and as they sow, they reap. They sow evil in their flesh and spirit and consequently reap the ills and afflictions of spirit, mind and body. But we shall not be found wanting in any aspect of holistic health. The word says that our bones will flourish like herbs, implying that the resurrection power of Jesus is at work in the innermost core of our bodies where bone meets marrow as well as in the innermost core of our spirit and minds. The bone marrow produces RBCs or Red Blood Corpuscles that is responsible for transporting oxygen to all parts of our bodies. Every twenty four hours the bone marrow produces millions of RBCs to replace the dying ones. Similarly, the Resurrection Blood Corpuscles or RBCs of Jesus heals us all the time, preserves us and protects us against all manner of disease. The “Resurrection Blood Corpuscles of Christ” will invigorate our spirit, minds and bodies. Our anointing of health is not from external sources but does a deep and lasting work inside us.
Prateep V Philip
And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
Deuteronomy 7 v 15
What we proclaim in faith with our mouths, we claim. This uni-verse is an assurance of good health. The Lord Jesus took away our sin by His sacrificial death while He took away our sickness or diseases with His wounds. By His wounds, we are healed of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual disease. The word “ disease” means absence of ease or peace. When we do not have peace with God, we come under the shadow of disease. To protect us from disease and sickness is part of the important covenant promises of the Lord. We must constantly place a shield of faith against all known and unknown diseases. The Word or Christ is like a gigantic mushroom under which we can take shelter where no insects or pests can attack. Ironically, the sign or logo of healing, the serpent lifted on a staff- on the boards of pharmaceutical stores around the world is a symbol of the healing power of Jesus. Everything physical has a curse or limitation of disease in it. That limitation is broken or lifted up and destroyed by Jesus. Similarly, every limitation or sickness or disease is broken as we lift ourselves up in faith and proclaim the Word of healing and power.
We must always confess positively that we are blessed with good health, one of the greatest of the blessings of the Lord. We must not call sickness or invite disease to us by confessing negatively that we are sick or tired or weak. Then, the Lord will allow none of the deadly diseases that remind us of our past bondage to the world. “Egypt” is a metaphor for that bondage and the reference is to the plagues of various diseases that afflicted Egypt as Pharaoh hardened his heart against the expressed will of God to “ let My people go.” The Lord is our Freedom Fighter. He is our healer. He sets us free of death, disease and every bondage of sin. The Lord Himself is the Balm of Gilead that heals us and removes our pain.
Those who are unrepentantly cruel, oppressive and wicked are marked by the Lord. Different organs in their bodies are marked for affliction in accordance with their words and deeds. As we sow, we reap and as they sow, they reap. They sow evil in their flesh and spirit and consequently reap the ills and afflictions of spirit, mind and body. But we shall not be found wanting in any aspect of holistic health. The word says that our bones will flourish like herbs, implying that the resurrection power of Jesus is at work in the innermost core of our bodies where bone meets marrow as well as in the innermost core of our spirit and minds. The bone marrow produces RBCs or Red Blood Corpuscles that is responsible for transporting oxygen to all parts of our bodies. Every twenty four hours the bone marrow produces millions of RBCs to replace the dying ones. Similarly, the Resurrection Blood Corpuscles or RBCs of Jesus heals us all the time, preserves us and protects us against all manner of disease. The “Resurrection Blood Corpuscles of Christ” will invigorate our spirit, minds and bodies. Our anointing of health is not from external sources but does a deep and lasting work inside us.
Prateep V Philip
Monday, April 25, 2016
The Promise of Abundance
UV 1736/10000 The Promise of Abundance
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you: never again will my people be ashamed.
Joel 2 v 26
There is the promise of abundance running right through scripture even as the principle of scarcity rules in the world’ s economy. Seven states in India are reeling from drought conditions and millions are in desperate need of even drinking water and for water to irrigate crops. I read the scary forecast this morning that water will have to be imported by the year 2050. But in Joel, the Lord prophesies what Jesus reiterated later, “ I have come that you might have life and life in all its abundance. The uni-verse promises that we will have an abundance to satisfy our every need. We need to eat the Word daily until our minds and spirits are full or saturated by the Spirit of God. We will then perceive that every good thing we have in life is from the hands of the Lord and that He has been generous in the measure He has used to pour blessings into our lives.
We have a choice in life to focus on the locusts-the small worrisome things that eat into our sense of joy, peace and wonder or to focus on the locus- the Lord, giver and Redeemer of life - the source of all awesome wonders, amazing blessings, abundant provision, absolutely fail proof protection, gaurantor of eternal life. The above uni-verse begins to operate when we make the second choice. We need to constantly recall and enumerate the wonders the Lord has done in our lives right from the very beginning. It will cause us to praise Him with a deep sense of gratitude. Praise, worship and thanksgiving opens the floodgates of heaven. We worship the Lord not for His sake but for our own sake. When He sees our hearts and minds overflowing with thanksgiving, praise and prayer, He opens those floodgates and we will be literally flooded with blessings, wonders, victory and rejoicing. We will forget the years of shame and disgrace, the connected events and memories will fade away. The years that the locusts of destruction snapped away at our peace of mind, our inner joy and hope when we focussed not on the focus of our lives, the Lord Himself and instead focussed on our needs and meeting those needs. The times when we were unmindful of God and His provision, uncaring for His love and protection will pass away like a bad dream.
The Lord promises that “never again” will we have reason to feel ashamed. He will remove the memories of our guilt, our fears and worries to such an infinite distance that they can never again approach or attack us. He will satisfy us as with the choicest meats. Life is meant by the Lord to be a feast and not a famine or a house of mourning. We will have abundant spiritual food. Unlike physical food which satiates us after a point and makes us feel nauseated and wanting to throw up, the more spiritual food we have that Jesus provides us in His pastures, the greater is our hunger and thirst, the greater is our revelation, wisdom, love, understanding, joy and our blessing. Great knowledge of this world makes a person weary, sad and weird but greater and greater knowledge of the Lord and His Word makes us renewed, rejuvenated and keeps us rejoicing.
Prateep V Philip
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you: never again will my people be ashamed.
Joel 2 v 26
There is the promise of abundance running right through scripture even as the principle of scarcity rules in the world’ s economy. Seven states in India are reeling from drought conditions and millions are in desperate need of even drinking water and for water to irrigate crops. I read the scary forecast this morning that water will have to be imported by the year 2050. But in Joel, the Lord prophesies what Jesus reiterated later, “ I have come that you might have life and life in all its abundance. The uni-verse promises that we will have an abundance to satisfy our every need. We need to eat the Word daily until our minds and spirits are full or saturated by the Spirit of God. We will then perceive that every good thing we have in life is from the hands of the Lord and that He has been generous in the measure He has used to pour blessings into our lives.
We have a choice in life to focus on the locusts-the small worrisome things that eat into our sense of joy, peace and wonder or to focus on the locus- the Lord, giver and Redeemer of life - the source of all awesome wonders, amazing blessings, abundant provision, absolutely fail proof protection, gaurantor of eternal life. The above uni-verse begins to operate when we make the second choice. We need to constantly recall and enumerate the wonders the Lord has done in our lives right from the very beginning. It will cause us to praise Him with a deep sense of gratitude. Praise, worship and thanksgiving opens the floodgates of heaven. We worship the Lord not for His sake but for our own sake. When He sees our hearts and minds overflowing with thanksgiving, praise and prayer, He opens those floodgates and we will be literally flooded with blessings, wonders, victory and rejoicing. We will forget the years of shame and disgrace, the connected events and memories will fade away. The years that the locusts of destruction snapped away at our peace of mind, our inner joy and hope when we focussed not on the focus of our lives, the Lord Himself and instead focussed on our needs and meeting those needs. The times when we were unmindful of God and His provision, uncaring for His love and protection will pass away like a bad dream.
The Lord promises that “never again” will we have reason to feel ashamed. He will remove the memories of our guilt, our fears and worries to such an infinite distance that they can never again approach or attack us. He will satisfy us as with the choicest meats. Life is meant by the Lord to be a feast and not a famine or a house of mourning. We will have abundant spiritual food. Unlike physical food which satiates us after a point and makes us feel nauseated and wanting to throw up, the more spiritual food we have that Jesus provides us in His pastures, the greater is our hunger and thirst, the greater is our revelation, wisdom, love, understanding, joy and our blessing. Great knowledge of this world makes a person weary, sad and weird but greater and greater knowledge of the Lord and His Word makes us renewed, rejuvenated and keeps us rejoicing.
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, April 24, 2016
The Greatest Source of Our Deepest Comfort
UV 1736/10000 The Greatest Source of Our Comfort
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem
Isaiah 66 v 13
God is not affected by the gender divide. He is both mother and father, brother and sister. He comforts us as a mother. A mother literally smothers her children with love. The Lord also covers us, embraces us in all our situations. Just as a child is the apple of the eye of a mother, so also we are the apple of the Lord’s eye. His gaze on us is uninterrupted. He comforts us as we come into His presence. He comforts us with His soothing touch. He comforts us with His Word. He comforts us with His silence as we wait with hope in His promises. Just as our mother carried us when we were in the womb, the Lord carries us when we are older. The Earth, space and time are just like the womb of the Lord and we are being carried by the Maker- we live and move and breath and exist in Him. Faith enables us to affirm Him even as He affirms us: “My beloved is mine and I am His and His banner over me is love.” A mother reacts and responds to everything we do with love. So also whether we are doing good or are messing up, He responds to us with His infinite love and patience.
He comforts us by turning our failures and weaknesses into sources of learning, wisdom and strength. He changes all our waste places into places of blessing. He turns all our wild places into a garden of Eden. He turns all our deserts in our spiritual landscape into gardens or an oasis. He renews our flailing strength just as He stopped the ageing process in Caleb and made him as strong at eighty as he was at forty. He makes our bones to flourish. The anointing of the joy of salvation and continued fellowship and feeding by the Lord keeps us youthful in zest and energy and vigour.
A mother always desires the best for her children. So also the Lord desires the very best for each of us. But there the comparison ends for many mothers I know have forsaken their own children but the Lord is ever faithful and never forsakes or disowns His children. A mother comforts her children by her gentleness and softness. Similarly, the Lord remains gentle with us even when we have done or said the worst of things. A mother always blesses her children and uses words to edify or build up the esteem and confidence of her children. The Lord always builds us up in confidence and hope. A mother’s heart is most stricken and affected when her children are afflicted and feels their pain as her own pain. So also the Lord feels our pain and is moved by our cries. A mother is so sensitive that she understands the very sigh or look on the face of her children. So also the Lord is sensitive to our very thoughts, feelings and needs.
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