Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.”- Psalm 119:64

Daily Devotion:

Rules of the Game

"Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Cor 14:40)

We all are aware of the fractions of milliseconds which make or break a hundred meter dash Olympic record. Ben Johnson appeared larger than life when he brought billions of people to the edges of their seats, when they were watching him perform the miracle. But that did not last long. He was stripped of his gold on doping charges.

The Christian life is a race. Apostle Paul rightly said, "If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules" (2 Tim 2:5). "The end justifies the means"— seems to be the spirit of the Christian ministerial world today. "Do anything, in any way, so long as it blesses the people and benefits the preacher!" This is totally alien to the teaching of Christ and His apostles.

The Christian ministry is compared to building construction also. The quality of the materials we have used in our building will be tested "on that day" by fire,even the Word of God (1 Cor 3:12,13; Jer 23:29). A new brand of preachers has come up, sanctifying all their methods and practices claiming, "God told me!" People who hear this are afraid to think further or discern. It has been clearly established that God never contradicts His written Word. Let us not forget the Scriptural principles while evolving fund-raising techniques and promotional methods.

Defection of Christian workers from ministries is another sad thing. The defectors should not be directly or indirectly encouraged by other ministries, without verification with the concerned leaders. Christian leaders should maintain high ethical standards. Remember the Tenth Commandment which says, "Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbour's." Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you!

Leaders within an organisation as well as from other organisations must periodically come together for an honest and open-minded review of their ministerial methods and functional procedures in the light of the Scriptures. We must be bold enough to discord questionable things. Prophet Haggai repeatedly cried out, "Consider your ways!" (Hagg 1:5,7). We can be assured that God's work done by God's men in God's way at God's time will not lack God's support!

Let us seek the courage needed
Our high calling to fulfill—
That mankind may know the blessing
Of the doing of God's will! (Thomas A. Jackson)

Prayer:

The Lord Is Thy Keeper

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.The Lord [is] thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth,and even for evermore. - Psalms 121: 1-8