Month: June 2014

I believe that the greatest form of prayer is praise to God.

– Billy Graham

 

He is Faithful

 

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

Psalm 36:5

 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:23-24

 

Have you ever sat down to look back at the countless number of blessings that the Lord has done for you? Do you remember the first day He picked you up and called you His son or daughter and said, “I am willing to come into your heart, will you let me in?” God’s faithfulness is new every morning, and His love reaches to the skies.

 

Saul, who later became Paul, was initially a murderer and persecuted Christians. But when he came to know Jesus, this is what he had to say, ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst’ (1 Timothy 1:15).

 

Do we then have the time to thank Him for His faithfulness? The Bible also says that when we are faithless, He is faithful. Isn’t that amazing?

 

It has been fourteen years since we moved to New Zealand and initially we had to stay in a motel for a couple of months. Our faith level was at the lowest point since there weren’t any opportunities for work. We also doubted whether we had moved according to God’s will and as a family we prayed to the Lord, wept at His feet, and asked Him to send a man of God on the same day to confirm that we were in the country by His perfect will. The Lord was faithful even though we weren’t and He sent us a well known man of God from Australia to encourage and strengthen us. He has never failed us, and He will never fail you either. Great is His faithfulness.

 

Dear Lord,

I thank You that You are so faithful and are always willing to listen to us. My heart is full of gratitude for all that You have done for us. Amen.

 

God bless you,

Theo & Manju

The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance.
– Billy Graham

Change of Heart

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:8-10

Most of us would have either learnt this story at Sunday school or would have listened to someone preach on this topic, but today we will be looking at the heart of Zacchaeus.

The profession that Zacchaeus chose was to collect revenue for the Roman government and thereby help himself by overcharging people. His heart was wicked, and he cheated people because he loved money more than God and people.

When Jesus said to Zacchaeus that he was coming into his house, He offered to Zacchaeus the gift of grace. Zacchaeus was willing to receive the gift and open his heart. On that day, Jesus not only came to Zacchaeus’ house, but also came into his heart; and the impact of that on his life was evident to the public.

It is good for all of us to ask ourselves a few questions this morning. Have I truly walked away from my past? Has my heart changed? Do I still have old habits in me? Zacchaeus was prepared to give half of his goods to the poor. The person who loved money now wanted to give it away. This is the change. We cannot hold onto the old if we are born anew in Jesus.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day and I want to be transparent before You. Create in me a clean heart so that I may not sin against You, but walk in Your ways to please You. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins. Charles Stanley

Our Progress in the Lord

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7

In the workforce, we are often subjected to progress reports where our achievements and goals are recognized by our employers. Most of us work hard to achieve good results and are pleased when we get a good report. Our progress in being a follower of Jesus, however, depends not on our achievements but on whether or not we truly love Him.

Let us look at a couple of examples as illustrated by the lives of two great men in the Bible, Joseph and Daniel.

 

Joseph’s life was rooted in the Lord, his faith was firmly built on God’s foundation and established in Him. In the eyes of the world, his progress was a slow downward slide – from being rejected by his brothers and abandoned in a pit, to being sold as a slave and then from being a slave to become a prisoner. Throughout this whole time, however, his faith remained steadfast and he did not give up trusting the Lord, even through the difficult circumstances. Because of his unwavering faith in the Lord, God blessed him and elevated him to become second in command to Pharaoh. Joseph remained steadfast in his love and trust so that God was able to use him to fulfil His purposes.

 

The life of Daniel is another example of a life rooted and established in God. Despite the decree that nobody was permitted to pray to anyone but the king, Daniel continued to pray to God, fully trusting the Lord even as he was cast into the den of lions. Prayer did not stop his enemies from throwing Daniel into the lion’s den but it did send an angel to shut the lions’ mouths and prevent them from harming Daniel.

 

If our lives are not firmly rooted in Him, our progress in the Lord can suffer serious setbacks when we go through various trials. Fear, anxiety and unbelief can become large obstacles, blocking our view of the Lord and causing us to lose focus of His will and His eternal purposes in our lives. To be firmly rooted means that we are thoroughly grounded and strengthened so that nothing can shake our faith in Him, knowing with absolute certainty that He will deliver us from the enemy’s schemes and attacks.

 

Let us examine ourselves to see whether our faith is strongly rooted in Jesus. Let it not be like the waves of the sea, blown and tossed about by the wind, but let us walk with Him daily so that our faith continues to be built up and established, growing from strength to strength as He directs our paths.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. Let me not be tossed about by the wind of circumstances but help me to hold firmly on to You so that my faith may grow stronger day by day. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

Every test, every trial, every heartache that’s been significant, I can turn it over and see how God has turned it into good no matter what. Charles Stanley

Bosses

 

Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

1 Samuel 24:5-8
King Saul was the leader of Israel but he grew jealous of David who was very popular, had many victories at war and was also anointed to be the next king. Saul wanted his own son, Jonathan, to be his successor but God had other plans.
As Saul fell away from God’s will, he turned his attention towards plotting to kill David rather than looking after his countrymen. David, however, loved and feared the Lord and became a great warrior who trusted the Lord for his victories.

 

On one occasion, when Saul was searching for David in the mountains, David found Saul resting in a cave and secretly cut a piece of cloth from the king’s robe. He was presented with the opportunity to kill Saul but chose to spare his life.

 

During this time, David was faced with many challenges; he was constantly being pursued by Saul and both he and his followers did not have a proper lodging place but when he was given the chance to slay his enemy, David chose not to kill him because he feared the Lord more than man. He was humble enough to recognise that Saul was still the Lord’s anointed king and honoured him as such. He had patience and wisdom to wait for his appointed time and trusted the Lord.

Are we able to apply this to our lives today? Can we bless our employers and those above us in authority, regardless of their attitude towards us? Let us commit every situation to Him with humility and patience because we serve a Master who is able to watch over all things.

Dear Lord,
I come before You and repent if I have spoken against my superiors. Please help me to make a fresh commitment to serve them as I do unto You. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.  Billy Graham

Drifting

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter – Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
1 Kings 11:1-4

We all start well at the beginning of the race but the reward is only given to the person who is able to persevere through the challenges to finish the race.

King Solomon started well, by seeking the Lord for wisdom to govern the people. He never asked for wealth or riches but God gave him wisdom as well as riches because the Lord was satisfied with his request.

What, then, happened to Solomon? Firstly, he lost focus when he disobeyed God and married women from other nations. Secondly, he lost sight of his priorities by wanting to please these women and so he built altars at high places for them. The passion and the love that he had for the Lord slowly drifted away towards his wives and concubines. This resulted in a loss of commitment to the affairs of the Lord. The word says. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love for the Father is not in them.” 1 John 2:15

Let us look at our lives this morning and ask us ourselves, “Have I drifted away from the things of the Lord? Am I able to focus on God’s priorities with the same determination and purpose as when I began walking with Him?” If not, we need only to repent and confess to the Lord and He will gladly guide us back onto the right track.

Dear Lord,

Thank You for speaking to me through this word. I have been too busy and have not spent enough time with You. Please help me to return my focus to You so that I can run with endurance the race that is set before me. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ. Billy Graham

Growing in the Knowledge of God

Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Yesterday, we likened the spiritual realm to a four engine plane that required all engines to be in good working condition to ensure the plane flew smoothly.

The knowledge of God was one of these engines. In order to grow in our knowledge of Him, we need to spend time reading His word. As we meditate on His word and be still before the Lord, we will learn to hear His voice so that when He speaks, we can recognise it and walk in obedience to His call.
Abraham’s obedience was spontaneous, even to the point of sacrificing his son. This is because he had absolute faith in God and knew the love that God had for him. The many years of waiting for God to fulfill His promise had moulded Abraham so that his relationship with God was not based on head knowledge but rather, it was a vibrant heart relationship, leading him to walk in intimacy with the living God.

In contrast to Abraham’s obedient sacrifice, King Saul used the act of sacrifice to cover his disobedience. King Saul was told to utterly destroy the Amalekites and to not bring back any spoil after their victory but the fatted calves and lambs were too tempting for him, so he disobeyed God’s command and brought them back. When confronted by Samuel, he replied, saying that he had brought back the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel’s reply to him was that the Lord delighted more in obedience than burnt offerings and sacrifices and because of Saul’s disobedience, God was going to reject him from being king. (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
Both Abraham and Saul knew God but only one was willing to listen and walk in obedience to His commands; the other submitted to his own carnal nature and deliberately disobeyed God’s command, suffering the consequences of his sin accordingly.

Every word in the Bible is given by God’s inspiration but we need our spiritual eyes and ears to be opened by His Holy Spirit in order to receive the Rhema that is able to change our hearts and personally direct our daily walk with Jesus.

Dear Lord,
We spend so much time acquiring knowledge of this world which is passing away but Your Word will not pass away. Help me, Lord, to acquire the knowledge of Your word so that I may walk in obedience and draw closer to You each day. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

Earthly wisdom is doing what comes naturally. Godly wisdom is doing what the Holy Spirit compels us to do. Charles Stanley

Moving From the Natural to the Spiritual

“that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16-19

When the Syrian army surrounded the house of Elisha, his servant was afraid and ran to inform his master. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his servant’s spiritual eyes and he was able to see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. We can see from this passage that there exists a natural, three dimensional world as well as a spiritual, four dimensional world.
The natural, three dimensional world is controlled by our thoughts, feelings and sight, culminating in our actions. For example, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Peter, full of natural emotions, reacted to the situation by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Another example is when David saw Bathsheba, his thoughts combined with his feelings and consequently led him to sinful actions. These examples of living and moving in the natural realm show us how important it is to move away from this level to the spiritual realm.

The foundation of the four dimensional spiritual realm is faith in God. This can be likened to the first engine of a four engine plane; when we have faith, we put our trust in Him and receive His love, which is the second engine. Having received His love, we are also given a desire to know more of Him which is the third engine, the knowledge of God. As we spend time getting to know Him, we are blessed with the last engine which is His wisdom which we will receive if we ask Him. If we have all four of these engines in good working order, we can be confident of God’s grace enabling us to fly above the clouds, ensuring us of a smooth flight.

Dear Lord,

Thank You for this day. Please grant me Your grace to open my spiritual eyes, so that I may walk from the natural world to the spiritual realm, trusting in Your Holy Sprit to lead the way. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

 

‘Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.’
– Billy Graham

Power of God

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Acts 3:6-10

Peter, a fisherman, changed his life completely to follow after and be a disciple of Jesus. In the later years of his ministry, he turns to a lame man and tells him to rise up and walk. The power of God comes upon the man and his feet and ankles become strong; he is not only able to walk, but he is able to jump and give praise to God.

Many events take place after the miracle, but what we will study this morning is what the power of God can do in our lives. The Word says up to five thousand believed. Isn’t that amazing?

The Word says that the Lord will take the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. But what I want to draw to you this morning is that in our lives, we analyse all things in the wisdom of man, and therefore we are not able to move forward. While we are always learning, we have become too complacent and fat, and the Lord wants us to move in His power.

Do we remember the teachings on Elisha when he decided to be clothed in the power of God’s spirit? Would we then desire to move in the same power so we can then see the changes in our lives?

Let not our lives be stagnant, forever only planning, but seek Him for His power to move in the supernatural.

Dear Lord,
I want to be clothed in Your power to move in the supernatural so that the blind may see, and the deaf hear. Oh Lord let Your Will be done so that those who are perishing will see You and draw near to You. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

‘Forgiveness is the choice that pleases God every time.’
– Charles Stanley

Unforgiveness

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:32-35

The person who hurts most is the person who is not able to forgive. It is very easy for us to say ‘I forgive you’, but do we truly forgive from our hearts?

Jesus was able to have His last supper with Judas, knowing that he was about to betray Him. He humbled Himself to wash Judas’ feet and also shared the meaning of the broken bread and the blood at the supper, giving him the opportunity to come to Him in true repentance. But in the end, we see that Judas chose to take his own life.

In the reading today, Jesus also talks about a king who forgave his servant who owed him ten thousand talents, but the servant was then not able to forgive his fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii.

What then can we do to forgive? First we must decide in our hearts and make the decision to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice that we make, even when we are feeling hurt. We trust the Lord to heal our wounds. Second, we depend on the Holy Spirit who is our strength. Lastly, we need to obey the Word which calls us to bless those who curse us and to pray for our enemies.

When we practice these simple steps, our Comforter who is with us will give us the strength to overcome.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. Help me Lord to wash the feet of my enemies so that I will be bathed in Your true nature. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

Earthly wisdom is doing what comes naturally. Godly wisdom is doing what the Holy Spirit compels us to do.
– Charles Stanley

The Spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha

Then Elijah said to him, stay here please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan. But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

2 Kings 2:6-8

Elisha continued to walk with Elijah and did not give up. They were on the last leg of their journey, crossing the river Jordan. The final lap is always the most challenging, they were almost at the end but the race was not over. There were fifty prophets who were discouraging Elisha from following Elijah, but he persevered.

Does this sound very similar to us? If we were at the tail end of a project and something went wrong or we have a setback, would we give up? Elisha had one goal and but determined to achieve it, and he was rewarded.

Winning a race takes years of training and perseverance. It is the same with our goals to move in God’s power and anointing. Elisha did not take a short cut, but went through all the stages starting at Gilgal and finishing by crossing the river Jordan.

After crossing the Jordan, Elijah asks, “What do you want?”. Elisha then asks for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah tells Elisha that he has asked a difficult thing, but if he sees Elijah taken up to heaven, then the request will be his.

Yes, Elisha saw the chariots of fire and the horses, and his spiritual eyes were opened to see the supernatural. However he did not know until he took the mantle that Elijah left behind and casted it upon the waters of the river and it parted. This is when he remembered the word of Elijah to him before he left.

The desire of Elisha was not for his personal edification, but to fulfil God’s call in his life. Just as we see Elisha’s spiritual eyes opened, would we seek the Lord for our spiritual eyes to be opened so we can fulfil His desire in our lives?

Dear Lord,

Open my spiritual eyes so that I may see the things that You want me to see, and bring glory and honour to You. Amen.

God bless you,

Theo & Manju