UV 2082/10000 The Power of Retention
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Isaiah 44 v 3
A person without the touch of God in his life is like dry and parched ground. We can visualise a famine-affected land that breaks up into millions of pieces of cracked top soil, each crack aching for a drop of water. But when we manifest a thirst for the truth, a thirst for the Word, a longing for a relationship with the Lord, He promises to pour in the water of His love, truth, mercy and grace. The soil of our souls will soak in the water and get connected, the parts with each other and the whole with the Lord, our Creator and Redeemer in Christ. The soul like the soil will come alive again and new life in the form of seed, saplings, crops, flowery plants and fruit trees will spring up from the soul as from the wet soil. We may have everything in life and yet feel dry without the Lord in our lives. We do not have thirst because there is water. Rather, there is water as we have thirst. Our deepest need for God and a Saviour is met in Christ. His words of truth are the water of eternal life which when we drink daily and often will lead us never to thirst again. Like water has multiple uses: it quenches thirst, it cleans, it refreshes, it regenerates, it renews, it irrigates, it softens, the Word regenerates, cleanses, refreshes, softens our hearts and renews us.
Our tongues and our throats always need to be moist and wet. If these are dry, it would be highly uncomfortable and we would be longing for water. Water is one of our most basic needs and we need it all the time. As we are using up the water all the time, we need to keep taking a refill. Similarly, we need to take a refill of the Word in order to renew ourselves in the Lord. The Lord pours His Spirit upon us, into us and ours. The Spirit like a river refreshes us and turns into streams or tributaries of life –giving or inspirational water. The Spirit inspires in us faith, hope and love. In accordance with our obedience and abiding in the Spirit, He turns it into a flood of divine wisdom, guidance, gifts, anointing and triune blessings on spirit, mind and body. The blessings do not stop with us but carries into our generations.
Mere intention to read or hear the Word is not enough. We need retention. Just as water needs to percolate and enter the deeper parts of the soil, the Word needs to be retained so that it percolates to the different parts and deeper as well as deepest parts of our souls. In different soils, the ground water is reached at different depths. Water finds its own level in soul. There is no stopping it till it hits the bedrock. So also the springs of our well being run deep. Mere surface scratching or superficial attention will not do. The Spirit has to do a deep and lasting work with the Word in our lives. Then and then only will the dry and parched soul gets transformed into a soil that throws up a hundred fold or a thousand fold of crops and fruit. The dry land will be lifted up like a hill and all around there will be blessings in abundance. There will be showers of blessings and at times, even a flood. The dry land will be turned into a pool, the wilderness into a stream, the desert into an oasis. We will have the early spring rain at the time of sowing as well as the latter rain at the time of harvest. The Lord to whom both the field, the seed, the crop, the water and the harvest belong will oversee our growing to fruition. The mountains will drop down the new vine of new life and the pastures will flow with milk and honey.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, September 30, 2016
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Teacher -Non Pareil
UV 2081/10000 Teacher- Non Pareil
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go
Isaiah 48 v 17
There is no one who can teach like the Lord. He teaches us what is best for us. He teaches us how to make choices in life. We learn from Him that we should always go for the best, no “second best for us.” He guides us and tells us which way to go and which way to avoid. He teaches us to benefit our spirits, minds and bodies. His teaching is wholesome and holistic. He being the repository of all knowledge and wisdom far beyond all our books of learning and our wisest or most knowledgeable persons is able to tell us in advance before a thing happens. He is the only One who knows the end from the beginning. Of course, He does not tell us all of it at one go. He is the one who teaches us how to communicate. He teaches us how to teach and He teaches every generation. He teaches our children and their children, too. By just spending time in His presence,we learn even as the disciples were transformed as they spent time with Jesus. He teaches us what no other teacher can possibly teach. He integrates the past, present, future and eternal in teaching us.
The Lord inscribes His instructions in our hearts. He gives us a heart of understanding and the ear to listen. He subdues with gentleness and patience our rebellious spirits. He teaches us the mastery of our thoughts and emotions so that we are not misled by them into great folly. He leads us into all perfection. He holds our hand and walks with us. At each juncture in our lives, the Holy Spirit whispers in our inner ears, “ Take this way.” Jesus taught mankind the ways of God through His example as well as through His remarkable but simple parables. He sought to make us “ para-able” or be able to do far beyond our human ability, knowledge or understanding. He hones our talents and abilities, even the non existent ones.
The Lord teaches us with a “hands on” approach. He teaches us through our experiences, through adversity and afflictions, through good times and bad times. But the primary method He uses to teach us is His Word. We need to store or lay up His word in our hearts and minds and it will give us more wisdom and insight than our teachers, our elders and our enemies as it is written in Psalm 119. We need to superimpose the patterns of His word on the patterns of the world to understand His ways. He is a patient teacher and never gives up on us. He encourages us to take responsibility for our lives but He is always nearby as our helper. He prepares us for lifelong learning. He teaches us how to prioritise. He teaches us how to battle and defeat our own inner self , our personal demons as well as the powers of darkness. He teaches us how to handle relationships with those who are intimate as well as those who are inimical. He is also the best teacher of change management as well as challenge management. He teaches us how to redeem our time or to make the best use of time, opportunity and resources. He teaches us to overcome our insecurities.
Prateep V Philip
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go
Isaiah 48 v 17
There is no one who can teach like the Lord. He teaches us what is best for us. He teaches us how to make choices in life. We learn from Him that we should always go for the best, no “second best for us.” He guides us and tells us which way to go and which way to avoid. He teaches us to benefit our spirits, minds and bodies. His teaching is wholesome and holistic. He being the repository of all knowledge and wisdom far beyond all our books of learning and our wisest or most knowledgeable persons is able to tell us in advance before a thing happens. He is the only One who knows the end from the beginning. Of course, He does not tell us all of it at one go. He is the one who teaches us how to communicate. He teaches us how to teach and He teaches every generation. He teaches our children and their children, too. By just spending time in His presence,we learn even as the disciples were transformed as they spent time with Jesus. He teaches us what no other teacher can possibly teach. He integrates the past, present, future and eternal in teaching us.
The Lord inscribes His instructions in our hearts. He gives us a heart of understanding and the ear to listen. He subdues with gentleness and patience our rebellious spirits. He teaches us the mastery of our thoughts and emotions so that we are not misled by them into great folly. He leads us into all perfection. He holds our hand and walks with us. At each juncture in our lives, the Holy Spirit whispers in our inner ears, “ Take this way.” Jesus taught mankind the ways of God through His example as well as through His remarkable but simple parables. He sought to make us “ para-able” or be able to do far beyond our human ability, knowledge or understanding. He hones our talents and abilities, even the non existent ones.
The Lord teaches us with a “hands on” approach. He teaches us through our experiences, through adversity and afflictions, through good times and bad times. But the primary method He uses to teach us is His Word. We need to store or lay up His word in our hearts and minds and it will give us more wisdom and insight than our teachers, our elders and our enemies as it is written in Psalm 119. We need to superimpose the patterns of His word on the patterns of the world to understand His ways. He is a patient teacher and never gives up on us. He encourages us to take responsibility for our lives but He is always nearby as our helper. He prepares us for lifelong learning. He teaches us how to prioritise. He teaches us how to battle and defeat our own inner self , our personal demons as well as the powers of darkness. He teaches us how to handle relationships with those who are intimate as well as those who are inimical. He is also the best teacher of change management as well as challenge management. He teaches us how to redeem our time or to make the best use of time, opportunity and resources. He teaches us to overcome our insecurities.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Thoughts of Peace, Plans of Progress
UV 2080/10000 Thoughts of Peace, Plans of Progress
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29 v 11
The Lord God has thoughts of peace that translate into specific plans to help us. The enemy of our collective souls in contrast has thoughts of strife that translate into plans to harm us. When we enter into a covenant relationship by faith in Jesus with the Lord God, He not only takes responsibility for the former to happen but to protect us from the latter, the plans of the enemy to steal our peace, rob our joy, kill our spirits, destroy our testimony and our future. The Lord is the author of goodness in our lives while the enemy is the antithesis- the author of all evil and deception in our lives. The Lord pits His strength on our side. Jesus fought the ultimate battle for the human soul on the cross and wrested ultimate and absolute victory for each of us.
As the Psalmist David wrote in wonderment and humility, “ Why should the Lord even think of us.” Yet, the Lord’s plans for each of us are multiple and dynamic. His thoughts towards us are innumerable, infinite and beyond our understanding. He desires our well being, our temporal as well as eternal well being. Our own thoughts, actions, choices often interfere with His plans, thoughts and intentions for us. He knows or consciously orchestrates things and circumstances in our favour. His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours, much higher than our collective and individual knowledge as well as imagination. He knows our end, the end of everything in our lives from the beginning and has spoken or revealed it often ahead of time. Our response ought to be to have a lively hope or a real time hope and to wait for the Lord’s thoughts, intentions and plans to translate into reality. Our response is to surrender our thoughts and plans to Him, knowing His plans will prevail and His plans are for our good. He seeks not just a passive acquiescence in His plans but a joyful trust and acceptance.
We need to daily and frequently seek the counsel of the Lord. Unlike the enemy, He will not lead us up a garden path or a path of red herrings. Our trust in Him is demonstrated when we actively do His bidding whatever be the cost. The emphasis in God’s plans is on finishing well. My father –in-law once wisely counselled me that how we end our lives determines whether we are a success or not. This uni-verse promises us that we will have an expected end. The “expected end” is always much better and higher than our own expectations. Scripture reveals from beginning to end the thoughts, plans and expectations of the Lord for each of us. The task cut out for us is to conform to these thoughts, plans and promises. Hope is a by-product of faith that can be used in every situation of life. Our faith in this uni-verse inspires great hope in us. The cracks or weaknesses in our understanding and faith in the Lord inspires needless fears and doubts about our lives, about our health, about our future and about our end.
Prateep V Philip
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29 v 11
The Lord God has thoughts of peace that translate into specific plans to help us. The enemy of our collective souls in contrast has thoughts of strife that translate into plans to harm us. When we enter into a covenant relationship by faith in Jesus with the Lord God, He not only takes responsibility for the former to happen but to protect us from the latter, the plans of the enemy to steal our peace, rob our joy, kill our spirits, destroy our testimony and our future. The Lord is the author of goodness in our lives while the enemy is the antithesis- the author of all evil and deception in our lives. The Lord pits His strength on our side. Jesus fought the ultimate battle for the human soul on the cross and wrested ultimate and absolute victory for each of us.
As the Psalmist David wrote in wonderment and humility, “ Why should the Lord even think of us.” Yet, the Lord’s plans for each of us are multiple and dynamic. His thoughts towards us are innumerable, infinite and beyond our understanding. He desires our well being, our temporal as well as eternal well being. Our own thoughts, actions, choices often interfere with His plans, thoughts and intentions for us. He knows or consciously orchestrates things and circumstances in our favour. His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours, much higher than our collective and individual knowledge as well as imagination. He knows our end, the end of everything in our lives from the beginning and has spoken or revealed it often ahead of time. Our response ought to be to have a lively hope or a real time hope and to wait for the Lord’s thoughts, intentions and plans to translate into reality. Our response is to surrender our thoughts and plans to Him, knowing His plans will prevail and His plans are for our good. He seeks not just a passive acquiescence in His plans but a joyful trust and acceptance.
We need to daily and frequently seek the counsel of the Lord. Unlike the enemy, He will not lead us up a garden path or a path of red herrings. Our trust in Him is demonstrated when we actively do His bidding whatever be the cost. The emphasis in God’s plans is on finishing well. My father –in-law once wisely counselled me that how we end our lives determines whether we are a success or not. This uni-verse promises us that we will have an expected end. The “expected end” is always much better and higher than our own expectations. Scripture reveals from beginning to end the thoughts, plans and expectations of the Lord for each of us. The task cut out for us is to conform to these thoughts, plans and promises. Hope is a by-product of faith that can be used in every situation of life. Our faith in this uni-verse inspires great hope in us. The cracks or weaknesses in our understanding and faith in the Lord inspires needless fears and doubts about our lives, about our health, about our future and about our end.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
The Test of 360 Degree Success
UV 2079/10000 The Test of 360 Degree Success
And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
I Samuel 18 v 14
It is indeed interesting that in the King James version, it is written that “David behaved himself wisely in all his ways” while in modern versions, it is translated as “ In everything he did he had great success as the Lord was with him”. In today’s world, success is worshipped and placed on the highest pedestal. But from the perspective of the Lord it is not success but wisdom in all our ways that counts: wisdom in the way we live, the way we behave, the way we listen, think, speak, decide, react, work and act. This kind of behaviour would lead to all round success, a wholesome success or what scripture calls in the book of Joshua “ good success.” Obviously, there are forms of success that are intrinsically bad, where the cost in personal or familial or moral terms is too high, where the victory is Pyrrhic or painful, causing more regret and sorrow than everlasting joy.
The sole criterion for good success is the favour or the grace of the Lord. Every biblical hero had this common factor whether it was Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Joseph or David that the Lord was with each of them. That alone guaranteed good success in everything they did. Wherever Abraham, Moses and David failed, it was when they departed from the wisdom of the Lord and gave in to the ways of their flesh either in terms of lying to save themselves out of fear or in giving in to anger in the case of David or to lust in the case of David. It was interesting to hear the testimony of Benny Prasad, the Guinness Record holder for travelling to the most countries (251) in the shortest time. He said that the greatest test comes when the Lord’s blessing lifts us up and our goals are fulfilled and we are considered successful. It is at this time that we are tempted to think and feel that it was done on our own steam and strength. We do not attribute the glory to the Lord. He said this was the time when he felt “spiritually dry”, as if he did not need the Lord any more. It is at this juncture in our lives that we should be “ intentionally humble”, walk even closer and lean on the Lord for more grace. It is at this point that the Lord tests our hearts. It is not a time of triumph but of testing our spirit as Jesus was tested by being taken to the heights of the mountains and offered the kingdoms of the world. It is a time of choosing between success and the Lord. It is not a time for complacency but for recasting our goals and priorities. It is the test of whether we are “Kingdom material” or whether we are only after the things of this world.
It was said of David that he was skilful in music, a valiant man, a mighty man of war, valiant with a pleasant or attractive appearance but he succeeded in all things as the Lord was with him for his heart or character was shaped by the Lord from his early days. The Lord prospered everything that Joseph laid his hands to. The fear of the Lord made these mortal men wise in all their ways. It was the Lord who gave them 360 degree success. Success in one domain was not at the cost of another area of their lives. Our greatest test of faithfulness and wisdom would come when we are on the summit of success. If we cease to depend on the Lord, we plunge. If we increasingly seek His presence and His grace and love in Jesus, the Emmanuel or the one who guarantees and seals the presence of the Lord in and with us, the Lord will even turn our failures and weaknesses into a source of great blessing.
Prateep V Philip
And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
I Samuel 18 v 14
It is indeed interesting that in the King James version, it is written that “David behaved himself wisely in all his ways” while in modern versions, it is translated as “ In everything he did he had great success as the Lord was with him”. In today’s world, success is worshipped and placed on the highest pedestal. But from the perspective of the Lord it is not success but wisdom in all our ways that counts: wisdom in the way we live, the way we behave, the way we listen, think, speak, decide, react, work and act. This kind of behaviour would lead to all round success, a wholesome success or what scripture calls in the book of Joshua “ good success.” Obviously, there are forms of success that are intrinsically bad, where the cost in personal or familial or moral terms is too high, where the victory is Pyrrhic or painful, causing more regret and sorrow than everlasting joy.
The sole criterion for good success is the favour or the grace of the Lord. Every biblical hero had this common factor whether it was Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Joseph or David that the Lord was with each of them. That alone guaranteed good success in everything they did. Wherever Abraham, Moses and David failed, it was when they departed from the wisdom of the Lord and gave in to the ways of their flesh either in terms of lying to save themselves out of fear or in giving in to anger in the case of David or to lust in the case of David. It was interesting to hear the testimony of Benny Prasad, the Guinness Record holder for travelling to the most countries (251) in the shortest time. He said that the greatest test comes when the Lord’s blessing lifts us up and our goals are fulfilled and we are considered successful. It is at this time that we are tempted to think and feel that it was done on our own steam and strength. We do not attribute the glory to the Lord. He said this was the time when he felt “spiritually dry”, as if he did not need the Lord any more. It is at this juncture in our lives that we should be “ intentionally humble”, walk even closer and lean on the Lord for more grace. It is at this point that the Lord tests our hearts. It is not a time of triumph but of testing our spirit as Jesus was tested by being taken to the heights of the mountains and offered the kingdoms of the world. It is a time of choosing between success and the Lord. It is not a time for complacency but for recasting our goals and priorities. It is the test of whether we are “Kingdom material” or whether we are only after the things of this world.
It was said of David that he was skilful in music, a valiant man, a mighty man of war, valiant with a pleasant or attractive appearance but he succeeded in all things as the Lord was with him for his heart or character was shaped by the Lord from his early days. The Lord prospered everything that Joseph laid his hands to. The fear of the Lord made these mortal men wise in all their ways. It was the Lord who gave them 360 degree success. Success in one domain was not at the cost of another area of their lives. Our greatest test of faithfulness and wisdom would come when we are on the summit of success. If we cease to depend on the Lord, we plunge. If we increasingly seek His presence and His grace and love in Jesus, the Emmanuel or the one who guarantees and seals the presence of the Lord in and with us, the Lord will even turn our failures and weaknesses into a source of great blessing.
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, September 25, 2016
The Pursuit of Humility
UV 2078/10000 The Pursuit of Humility
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3 v 30
Every believer of Jesus needs to have the attitude of John the Baptist who desired that the greatness of Jesus increase even as his own decreases. Our own egos need to shrink as we give greater and greater room and priority to Jesus in our lives. We are at best friends of the Bridegroom – Jesus who rejoice in His presence and His glory. The more we humble ourselves and point all glory, greatness, credit and thanksgiving to the Lord, the more pleased is the Triune God. Such an attitude and life pattern does not come naturally for the natural inclination of each of us is to try to get greater as we age and increase in prowess and influence in this world. It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that enabled John to humble himself to say that he was not even worthy to tie the laces of the sandals of Jesus. We too need such a grace and anointing in order to humble ourselves.
As we yield ourselves more and more to the leading of the Holy Spirit and deny our own egos, the miraculous power, grace and wisdom of the Lord will be revealed in and through us. The fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control will increasingly be in evidence in our lives. We realize that we can do nothing on our own but our position is initially- I- in -Him but as time passes and we increasingly yield to Him, it will be He-in-me. His circle of influence will increase and my own circle of influence will decrease.
John the Baptist was called the greatest since Moses and yet Jesus said that even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than him. Like John, we are to prepare people to repent in order to receive the greatest King and ruler as King, ruler and Saviour of their souls. Though John was such a great chosen prophet of the Lord, he humbled himself as a servant, as one who heralds or goes ahead of Jesus to announce His coming. Likewise, everything that we are and everything we have and everything we do should be dedicated to the purpose of making Jesus known to the rest of humanity. We need to decrease in terms of our sense of importance, sense of entitlement and in terms of thinking first of our own needs and desires. In a sense, we need to die to ourselves and live increasingly for Jesus, to extend and expand His kingdom in us and around us. Whoever we are and become, whatever we do or do not, we realize that we are only basking in the greatness and glory of the Sun of Righteousness, that we have no righteousness of our own. WE are at best like solar panels that collect the heat, energy and light of Jesus, store it and transmit it to others.
Prateep V Philip
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3 v 30
Every believer of Jesus needs to have the attitude of John the Baptist who desired that the greatness of Jesus increase even as his own decreases. Our own egos need to shrink as we give greater and greater room and priority to Jesus in our lives. We are at best friends of the Bridegroom – Jesus who rejoice in His presence and His glory. The more we humble ourselves and point all glory, greatness, credit and thanksgiving to the Lord, the more pleased is the Triune God. Such an attitude and life pattern does not come naturally for the natural inclination of each of us is to try to get greater as we age and increase in prowess and influence in this world. It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that enabled John to humble himself to say that he was not even worthy to tie the laces of the sandals of Jesus. We too need such a grace and anointing in order to humble ourselves.
As we yield ourselves more and more to the leading of the Holy Spirit and deny our own egos, the miraculous power, grace and wisdom of the Lord will be revealed in and through us. The fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control will increasingly be in evidence in our lives. We realize that we can do nothing on our own but our position is initially- I- in -Him but as time passes and we increasingly yield to Him, it will be He-in-me. His circle of influence will increase and my own circle of influence will decrease.
John the Baptist was called the greatest since Moses and yet Jesus said that even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than him. Like John, we are to prepare people to repent in order to receive the greatest King and ruler as King, ruler and Saviour of their souls. Though John was such a great chosen prophet of the Lord, he humbled himself as a servant, as one who heralds or goes ahead of Jesus to announce His coming. Likewise, everything that we are and everything we have and everything we do should be dedicated to the purpose of making Jesus known to the rest of humanity. We need to decrease in terms of our sense of importance, sense of entitlement and in terms of thinking first of our own needs and desires. In a sense, we need to die to ourselves and live increasingly for Jesus, to extend and expand His kingdom in us and around us. Whoever we are and become, whatever we do or do not, we realize that we are only basking in the greatness and glory of the Sun of Righteousness, that we have no righteousness of our own. WE are at best like solar panels that collect the heat, energy and light of Jesus, store it and transmit it to others.
Prateep V Philip
Patterns -Acceptable and Unacceptable
UV 2077/10000 Patterns- Acceptable and Unacceptable
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 4 v 7
We need to rule over our own desires and not allow desires to rule over our hearts and minds. Temptation and hence, the tempter is always at the door of our hearts and minds. The threat of temptation is always proximate. The Lord sees our hearts and reads our minds. Our spiritual worship and sacrifice emanate from the heart and mind of man. It is the innermost tabernacle, the sanctum sanctorum, the holiest of holies. Here, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man should commune and the tempter should never be given room. Our attitudes at the heart and mind level should be acceptable and pleasing to the Lord as was that of Abel. We should always be aware and wary of the desire for sin to rule over our hearts and minds as the unholy jealousy of Cain provoked him to murder his brother Abel as his sacrifice did not win the favour or grace of the Lord. A pattern is a combination of inner motive, thoughts, attitudes, words, actions and reactions.
God should rule over our desires, our thoughts, our emotions, our decisions, our actions and reactions. This is the kingdom of God within us. Once His righteous rule is established in us, His kingdom or righteous rule will be established between and among us. It is an inner change of heart that the Lord first wants to see in us and not any external manifestation. Once however, the inner change is wrought by the sacrifice the Lord Himself made in and through His Son Jesus, it tends to get reflected in our attitudes and actions to our fellow beings. We are moved not only to look out for our own well being but that of our kindred. We receive the power and authority to fend ourselves from the sin that crouches at the door of our hearts and minds.
It is the Lord ‘s desire that we do well in all things, that we excel in all things. Our good, His glory! In order to do so, we need to study the patterns of the Word and avoid the patterns of the world. The patterns of the Word are made evident through the faith and lives of people of faith from Abraham to St Paul. It is made evident through the communications of the Lord direct to them and through them to us. There are patterns of thinking, speaking and doing that Jesus demonstrated to us. We need to adhere to these and imitate these patterns. The Word also shows us patterns that we ought to avoid like the example of Cain’s jealousy and his surrender to the enemy of his soul.
Prateep V Philip
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 4 v 7
We need to rule over our own desires and not allow desires to rule over our hearts and minds. Temptation and hence, the tempter is always at the door of our hearts and minds. The threat of temptation is always proximate. The Lord sees our hearts and reads our minds. Our spiritual worship and sacrifice emanate from the heart and mind of man. It is the innermost tabernacle, the sanctum sanctorum, the holiest of holies. Here, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man should commune and the tempter should never be given room. Our attitudes at the heart and mind level should be acceptable and pleasing to the Lord as was that of Abel. We should always be aware and wary of the desire for sin to rule over our hearts and minds as the unholy jealousy of Cain provoked him to murder his brother Abel as his sacrifice did not win the favour or grace of the Lord. A pattern is a combination of inner motive, thoughts, attitudes, words, actions and reactions.
God should rule over our desires, our thoughts, our emotions, our decisions, our actions and reactions. This is the kingdom of God within us. Once His righteous rule is established in us, His kingdom or righteous rule will be established between and among us. It is an inner change of heart that the Lord first wants to see in us and not any external manifestation. Once however, the inner change is wrought by the sacrifice the Lord Himself made in and through His Son Jesus, it tends to get reflected in our attitudes and actions to our fellow beings. We are moved not only to look out for our own well being but that of our kindred. We receive the power and authority to fend ourselves from the sin that crouches at the door of our hearts and minds.
It is the Lord ‘s desire that we do well in all things, that we excel in all things. Our good, His glory! In order to do so, we need to study the patterns of the Word and avoid the patterns of the world. The patterns of the Word are made evident through the faith and lives of people of faith from Abraham to St Paul. It is made evident through the communications of the Lord direct to them and through them to us. There are patterns of thinking, speaking and doing that Jesus demonstrated to us. We need to adhere to these and imitate these patterns. The Word also shows us patterns that we ought to avoid like the example of Cain’s jealousy and his surrender to the enemy of his soul.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, September 23, 2016
The Master Builder
UV 2076/10000 The Master Builder
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
I Corinthians 3 v 9
We are co-workers with God, labouring side by side with Him . He is the CEO of our lives. But He also stoops to dirty His hands with us. We therefore have the immense, immeasurable and awesome power of God working in us, with us and for us. The Lord is partner with us in our life’s work. He will supply what we need. There can be no deficit of resources, strength or wisdom. The same God who made the mighty mountains, the vast oceans, the great rivers, the sun, moon and stars made you and me. He could have invested a measure of the stature, the might and power of these phenomena in us but the fact that He did not goes to show that His presence with us is what will invest such greatness in us and we cannot do it of ourselves. The Master Builder has the building plan with Him. We are to build to that plan or it will be disastrous. We are to build to plan, build the best, build to last. Anyone who has built a house knows that it has three main stages: the foundation, the structure and the finishing works. The foundation should be deep and preferably on a bedrock so that nothing can shake it. Our faith in Jesus, the Highest Rock should be unshakeable, deep and be able to withstand any storm, the power of the ocean’s waves or crashing thunder and lightning. The structure should be without flaw or defect. It should be strong and stable. We need to finish with the most beautiful materials, the flooring, the walls, the ceilings, the furnishing.
The greatest work the Lord does in our lives is what He does in us. We are tilled, ploughed and turned over like the soil of a field that is being prepared for cultivation. When a land is dug up to lay the foundation of a building, it looks ugly but when the building is completed, it is beautiful. The more the land was dug up, the deeper the foundation was laid, the stronger and more enduring the building would be. The Lord wants to build us with precious stones, jewels and treasures but we should not choose instead hay and stubble that are easily burnt and destroyed. He is building us day by day, nay moment by moment, experience by experience till we match every detail of the plan He laid out for us as a master builder.
Unlike building materials that play a passive role, we too are co-builders with the Lord. Even our act of yielding to the Lord or acquiescing in His will involves an exercise of choice. The Lord as the owner of the field or the building lays a hedge of protection around us. The choices we make right through our lives reflect our faith and how we are growing. We can choose as our minds and flesh directs us or as the Spirit led by the Lord directs us. We are a work in progress all the time though the Lord views us as a finished work or perfected building by His grace and mercy. By constantly listening to the voice of the Lord through His Word and through the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can avoid costly errors and the need to break down to rebuild sections of our lives.
Prateep V Philip
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
I Corinthians 3 v 9
We are co-workers with God, labouring side by side with Him . He is the CEO of our lives. But He also stoops to dirty His hands with us. We therefore have the immense, immeasurable and awesome power of God working in us, with us and for us. The Lord is partner with us in our life’s work. He will supply what we need. There can be no deficit of resources, strength or wisdom. The same God who made the mighty mountains, the vast oceans, the great rivers, the sun, moon and stars made you and me. He could have invested a measure of the stature, the might and power of these phenomena in us but the fact that He did not goes to show that His presence with us is what will invest such greatness in us and we cannot do it of ourselves. The Master Builder has the building plan with Him. We are to build to that plan or it will be disastrous. We are to build to plan, build the best, build to last. Anyone who has built a house knows that it has three main stages: the foundation, the structure and the finishing works. The foundation should be deep and preferably on a bedrock so that nothing can shake it. Our faith in Jesus, the Highest Rock should be unshakeable, deep and be able to withstand any storm, the power of the ocean’s waves or crashing thunder and lightning. The structure should be without flaw or defect. It should be strong and stable. We need to finish with the most beautiful materials, the flooring, the walls, the ceilings, the furnishing.
The greatest work the Lord does in our lives is what He does in us. We are tilled, ploughed and turned over like the soil of a field that is being prepared for cultivation. When a land is dug up to lay the foundation of a building, it looks ugly but when the building is completed, it is beautiful. The more the land was dug up, the deeper the foundation was laid, the stronger and more enduring the building would be. The Lord wants to build us with precious stones, jewels and treasures but we should not choose instead hay and stubble that are easily burnt and destroyed. He is building us day by day, nay moment by moment, experience by experience till we match every detail of the plan He laid out for us as a master builder.
Unlike building materials that play a passive role, we too are co-builders with the Lord. Even our act of yielding to the Lord or acquiescing in His will involves an exercise of choice. The Lord as the owner of the field or the building lays a hedge of protection around us. The choices we make right through our lives reflect our faith and how we are growing. We can choose as our minds and flesh directs us or as the Spirit led by the Lord directs us. We are a work in progress all the time though the Lord views us as a finished work or perfected building by His grace and mercy. By constantly listening to the voice of the Lord through His Word and through the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can avoid costly errors and the need to break down to rebuild sections of our lives.
Prateep V Philip
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