Month: July 2014

Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. Billy Graham

Honour Your Masters

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

1 Peter 2:18-20

Let us look at David this morning. He was anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel while Saul was still ruling the kingdom. God’s favour, however, was on David and thereby he won the hearts of the people which made King Saul very jealous of him.

King Saul plotted to kill David and took with him three thousand able men to go after David but this is what happened.

He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

1 Samuel 24:3-4

David was given the opportunity to kill Saul but he chose to spare his life. His men encouraged him to kill the king but David did not listen to them because he wanted to please God by obeying His word to honour our masters.

When Saul came out of the cave, David called to him and reassured Saul by prostrating before him, saying, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’

David was known to be a man after God’s own heart. Can we also be men and women of God who will have the heart of David to honour God by honouring our superiors.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day and ask You to give me strength to honour my superiors even when I am wronged, so that it will truly please You. Amen.

 

God bless you,
Theo and Manju

For them that honour me I will honour.
1 Samuel 2:30

A Prophet Without Honour

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Mark 6:4-6

When Jesus went to His home town of Nazareth, accompanied by His disciples on the Sabbath day, He began to teach in the synagogue. The people in the town knew Him from His childhood to be an ordinary little boy, born to a carpenter. Knowing His origin, they identified Him as the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon and as Mary’s son. As a result of their prejudiced mind set, when they heard Him teach the word, instead of recognizing His true identity and receiving Him as the Messiah, the people rejected Him. They disapproved of Jesus and treated Him with contempt, not giving Him the respect and honour that was due to Him.

Jesus could not do the mighty works in His own birth place as in other towns, not because He was lacking in the manifestation of His power but because of the people’s unbelief. They rejected Him and spoke against Him because of their mistrust, with the result that Jesus soon left their town.

We, too, can lose a great blessing and fail to see the miracles that God intends to work in our lives if we fail to give honour where honour is due. The definition for honour is to esteem highly. In other words, when we consider God as the most valuable thing in our life and esteem Him highly, He will withhold no good thing from us. His word promises in 1 Samuel 2:30, “Those who honour me I will honour.” Today, let us give honour to God from our hearts and the blessings that flow from Him will be a testimony in our homes, our workplace, our talents, our finances, our lives.

Dear Lord,

May the life that You have given me, honour You every single moment of the day. You are far more valuable than the treasures of this earth and I have no greater honour than to serve You. Amen.

God bless you,

Theo and Manju

When you become an instrument in God’s hands as He transfers someone from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of His Son, you make a difference in the person’s eternal destiny. Not only that, but Satan also receives a devastating blow. Charles Stanley

Good Soil Yields Good Fruit

“But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Luke 8:8

The parable of the sower is a well known Bible story that talks about seed which fell on good ground and produced a good yield which means that it bore good fruit.

As we study the word this morning, let us examine ourselves to see whether our lives are bearing good fruit and if not, how we can change.

 

When a lady wearing a fragrant perfume walks into a room, the entire place is filled with that fragrance and even when she leaves, the fragrance lingers behind. Similarly, when Jesus walked amongst the crowds, His presence, His nature and His love was like a fragrance that attracted the people. They did not want to leave Him, some of them followed Him for days because they wanted more of Jesus.
In order to bear good fruit, our hearts need to be receptive to God’s word, understanding it and obeying it. By His grace, as we live out our lives in obedience to His word, the Holy Spirit will enable us to become more like Jesus, so that we too, can leave behind a fragrance that is a testimony to the living God.
Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day as I seek to be an instrument used by You. Open my ears to receive Your word, soften my heart so that Your word can be planted deep within and may Your Holy Spirit water and nurture this plant to yield a crop a hundredfold, for Your glory. Amen.
God bless you,
Theo and Manju

When was the last time you laughed for the sheer joy of your salvation? People are not attracted to somber doctrines. There is no persuasive power in a gloomy and morbid religion. Let the world see your joy and you won’t be able to keep them away. To be filled with God is to be filled with joy. Anonymous

The Joy of the Lord

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:3

 

Wells were very common in Bible times and are still in use in some countries today. They provide water for those who thirst and are a lifeline to people who live in dry, arid places. The wells will never run dry as long as the source of groundwater continues to flow into it.
The word this morning likens a well to salvation. Just as a water well gives life to our earthly body, so a well of salvation gives eternal life to our spirit.
When we are thirsty we need a bucket to draw water from the well to quench our thirst. Likewise, when we are born again in Jesus, we have access to a wellspring of joy and peace but we need to learn how to draw from this supernatural source.
It is important to remember that our joy is not dependent on circumstances but on knowing that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. Paul and Silas were beaten and put in prison for proclaiming the name of Jesus but they did not complain or feel defeated. Instead, they used the opportunity to praise the Lord and be a living testimony to the prisoners, telling them of the Lord’s grace and mercy. This brought not only joy to their hearts but also freedom from their chains, and salvation to the Philippian jailer. Through praise and thanksgiving, we can draw from our wellspring and our faith will be strengthened by the joy of the Lord.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.Habakkuk 3:17-18

 

As we meditate on this word, let us praise Him in all seasons and proclaim the goodness of the Lord. As we believe and trust in Him, out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day and the promise that You have given me. Sometimes the circumstances of the day weigh me down but today I will trust You and praise You so that Your joy will fill my heart, overflowing to touch others. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo and Manju

Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.

 

Steve Miller
We Need to Finish Well
So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the
Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
1 Samuel 10:23-24
It is easy for everyone to start a race but the importance lies in how we finish it. When we watch long distance runners, we see that some of them start well, running at the front of the pack but slowly, as the race progresses, they fall behind until eventually, they are no longer in the picture. Other runners, however, plan their race carefully by pacing themselves and are therefore able to finish the race successfully. The endurance we require to successfully finish the ‘Christian Race’ comes from our faith in Jesus.

 

King Saul is an example of someone who started the race well. He was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel and was anointed by Samuel the prophet. The Lord changed his heart and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied like the other prophets. God not only made him king but also gave him power through His Spirit.
When Samuel came to appoint Saul as king, he was found hiding among the equipment. His lack of confidence and modesty at that time differed greatly from what he would become when he stopped depending on God and chose to depend on the wisdom of man. His disobedience and rejection of God’s word eventually led to his downfall as God stripped him of his title and rejected him from being king.

 

We must remember that when we are running, we are responsible for our own performance on the track. Our coach, the Holy Spirit, has trained and equipped us for the race but we need to bring to remembrance and implement all that He has taught us. We need to spend time with Him so that we can recognise His voice and be able to distinguish it from other voices that try to distract us and cause us to trip and fall.

 

Let us be challenged today to remain focused on the Lord who gives us the strength to run with endurance, so that we can finish the race to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. Help me to lean on Your mercy and guidance for every decision that I make so that I can finish my race well. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo and Manju

Make sure of your commitment to Jesus Christ, and seek to follow Him every day. Don’t be swayed by the false values and goals of this world, but put Christ and His will first in everything you do. Billy Graham

Rise Up and Walk

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:6

We may often wonder why similar miracles such as the one above do not happen in our lives today. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us revelation as we study this passage.

We see that the lame man was carried daily to the temple gate so that he could ask for alms from the people coming in and out of the temple. Since he could not walk, he had no choice but to depend on the mercy and compassion of others. His livelihood depended on him reaching out in the hope of receiving a coin.

So when he sees Peter and John coming towards him, he stretches out his hands in expectation of receiving but this time, no money was given. Instead, Peter fixed his eyes on the lame man and tells him, “Look at us.” Peter wanted the lame man’s undivided attention because what they had to offer him was not earthly sustenance but supernatural healing through the authority and power of Jesus.
Like the lame man, we too could be seated outside the temple day after day, ritually asking the Lord for what will fulfil our basic needs but until we stop and give Him our total focus, only then can we receive the miraculous touch of the Holy Spirit that is able to heal our body, soul and spirit.

Having experienced the compassion, mercy and grace of the Lord, we cannot help but be like the lame man, “walking, leaping and praising God”. Acts 3:8
Dear Lord,

Thank You for today. I want to fix my eyes on You alone, to give You my undivided attention, so that I will be ready to receive all that You have for me. By Your Holy Spirit’s grace and power, I want to be healed and made whole, so that I can be a living witness for You, walking and leaping and praising God! Amen.

God bless you,

Theo and Manju

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with. Billy Graham

Solution Oriented People

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Matthew 14:14-16

Solution oriented people are full of compassion and are willing to move outside the box in order to change the mind set of the world. They are focused on the goal and are able to move by faith to reach the finish line. Our faith should not be in the wisdom of man but of God.

In the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, there are two kinds of people. When Jesus told His disciples to feed the people, Philip’s focus was on the cost of providing food for such a big crowd. His reply was, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them”. This showed that his faith was limited to the natural realm, he could only see the practical obstacles before him. Andrew, on the other hand, searched around the five thousand people and found a boy who was willing to share his meal. By presenting the little bit of food to Jesus, he was not confined to what his natural mind could see but rather, he put his faith in the Lord.
In our lives, we may find two types of people. Some focus on solving their problems by utilising their natural resources and knowledge. Others, however, focus on what the Lord can do when they present Him with what little they have.

Therefore, let us ask the Lord to give us a heart of compassion so that our focus is not on what we can do but on how He can use our availability to fulfil His purposes.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. I desire to be a solution oriented person. When You saw the people without food, You had compassion on them. May I also have compassion on those who are in need. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

God’s arrows of affliction are sharp and painful so He can get our attention. He won’t let His beloved children get away with sin because He knows it robs us of blessings, opportunities, and even character refinement.

Charles Stanley

Complacency

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”
1 Chronicles 13:9-12

The ark was the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments. In the days of Eli, the Ark was captured by the Philistines but the Lord struck the people with a plague of tumours so it was soon sent back to the Israelites. After a brief stop at Beth Shemesh, the Ark was placed with the people of Kirjath Jearim for safe keeping where it remained for about 100 years. The Ark represented the presence of the Lord and when David became king over all Israel, he wanted to unify the people by bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, the new political centre of Israel.

David’s idea was good and his motive was sincere; he consulted with all his leaders and captains because he knew the importance of seeking counsel before attempting to move the Ark. The people agreed with David and supported their king, assuming that God would be pleased to dwell in Jerusalem, where all of Israel would come to worship Him.

However, we see that as they were carrying the Ark on a cart towards Jerusalem, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark. The anger of the Lord came upon Uzzah and he died instantly. David realised that he had not treated the Ark of the Covenant with the reverence it demanded and even though his intentions were good and he had the support of his people, he had become lax and complacent in his regard to the holiness of God.

 

The Lord had given strict instructions in the handling of the Ark because it contained His holy presence. “So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.” 1 Chronicles 15:14-15
Although our plans may be good and even appear to be of His will, we should never allow ourselves to become complacent and act without His guidance. We need to approach Him with the respect that His holiness requires if we do not want to see the oxen stumble and men falling like Uzzah before the wrath of God.

 

Dear Lord,
Thank You for today. Help me not to be complacent with my plans but to seek Your guidance for Your will in my life. Give me an understanding of Your holiness so that I may approach You with the respect and awe that You deserve. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju

When you become an instrument in God’s hands as He transfers someone from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of His Son, you make a difference in the person’s eternal destiny. Not only that, but Satan also receives a devastating blow. Charles Stanley

Living Water

But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 4:14

In the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, we see a woman coming to draw water at a time when there was nobody at the well. She purposely chose this time because she did not want to be seen and so she was surprised when Jesus, a Jew, asked her for a drink of water.

At the well, both the Jew and the Gentile were thirsty. The woman was thirsty for water but the Lord was thirsty for souls. The One who had thirst for lost souls was far greater than the one who thirsted for water. The Lord’s thirst was quenched by winning the soul of the Samaritan woman. Consequently, the woman who had come to the well, no longer thirsted for water but sought to bring her village to the One who could give them water that would become a fountain, giving them everlasting life.

 

Through the testimony of the Samaritan woman, Jesus showed His disciples that salvation was not only for the Jewish people but for the Gentiles as well. He came to break down the racial, religious and cultural barriers because He is the Saviour of the world.

The same scenario is seen on the cross where the death and resurrection of Jesus brought salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. Today, let us heed the words of Jesus when He said,“Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” John 4:35. There are many in the world who will die of thirst unless they receive the life giving water from Jesus. Let us be challenged and prove ourselves to be vessels worthy of bringing those who are thirsty to the fountain of the water of life.

 
Dear Lord,
Thank You for giving me eternal life through the precious work of the cross. Please give me the boldness to be the vessel that carries Your living water to thirsty souls. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo & Manju