Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:11-13

Daily Devotion:

Failure not Final!

"The righteous may trip seven times, but each time they will rise again" (Prov 24:16)

In His encounter with Jacob, God told him, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" (Gen 32:28). But the Bible continued to call him Jacob (e.g. Gen 33:1). Our "old nature" is not eradicated from us. We have to live with our "old man" all our life. No one but Paul was frank and honest enough to acknowledge this fact: "I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't... If I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it" (Rom 7:18-20). He found out that victory over sin is only by "considering" constantly that we are dead to sin, and giving preference to the new man in us to make choices (Rom 6:11). In this lifelong warfare, there need not be but there might be occasions when the new man would lose to the old man. We must not retreat in discouragement. It is concerning the "righteous" it is said, "They may trip seven times, but each time they will rise again" (Prov 24:16).

Many Christians are living under "condemnation" because of repeated failures in their lives. The Bible asserts, "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1). The Holy Spirit never "condemns" God's people. He just "convicts" them. Judas Iscariot accepted "condemnation" and that led to awful destruction. On the other hand, Simon Peter came under "conviction" which led to awesome restoration. Judas betrayed Christ only once whereas Peter denied Him thrice! Peter learnt the all-important lesson that only by patiently trying again and again one can grow in godliness. This he wrote in his second Epistle (2 Pet 1:6).

Because God is patient towards us, especially in our failures, we must persevere in our efforts to live holy. It is the goodness of God, even His tolerance and patience, that motivates us to keep on repenting (Rom 2:4). We fear God because He abundantly forgives (Psa 130:4). Christ is tirelessly interceding for us from the right hand of His Father and that's why we must resist temptation to sin (1 Jn 2:1). God is the Potter and we are the clay. We are still in the making. He has not finished with us yet. When God Himself is so patient with us in shaping our character, how can we become impatient with ourselves and quit trying? For a child of God, no failure is final!

Faint, yet pursuing, we press our way
Up to the glorious gates of day! (Mrs. W.R. Griswold)

Prayer:

Seeking Healing From God

O God, the source of all health: So fill my heart with faith in your love, that with calm expectancy I may make room for your power to possess me, and gracefully accept your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.” - Proverbs 14:22

Daily Devotion:

Worldliness x Heavenliness

"The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not of the Father" (1 Jn 2:16)

If we indulge in the works of the flesh, we are sure to miss the leading of the Holy Spirit. Sensuality and spirituality are opposed to each other and the battle goes on constantly in our hearts (Rom 8:12-14). We may read the Bible, say our prayers and go through all the disciplines of Christian life. But if we don't learn to say no to sinful desires, we cannot say yes to the Spirit's directions in our life. Our sinful nature cannot be eradicated from us but we can be emancipated from it by the Spirit of Life (Rom 8:2). We must constantly reckon our old man as dead. This is more than an occasional meditation. Rather it's a conscious moment-by-moment assertion. This inner victory is fundamental to fight other battles outside of us.

The "good and acceptable and perfect will of God" is made known only to those who refuse to be conformed to the fashions and pattern of the world (Rom 12:2). Those who choose the line of least resistance and swim along the tide will be going against the will of God whether they realise it or not. The trend of the world never aligns itself with the ways of the Lord, because "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 Jn 5:19). So wrote an apostle in the first century! Imagine the depth of corruption, the height of iniquity and the breadth of wickedness into which the world has rolled itself during the centuries that have followed. It's hard to imagine further deterioration.

The love of the world and the craving for the things of the world is spiritual adultery. This sets us opposed to the love of God and makes us actually His enemies (Js 4:3,4; 1 Jn 2:15). This does not mean we cannot possess any material goods or enjoy them. The question is whether we possess them or they possess us. It is the attachment to things and overindulgence in pleasures which are condemned (1 Cor 7:29-31). God is not against our legitimate enjoyment of life on earth. But the true test is how we feel when we are called to forsake the earthly blessings or they are culled from us. The stronger the grip the more difficult it is to give up and follow God's guidance.

When your basic needs are more than met where you are in the will of God, beware of "praying about" offers for more salary and comfort! What the world calls as opportunities may actually be traps! "If I earn more I can give more to God's work"—Many justify their materialistic ambitions this way. But the poor God gets the same old 10%!

Prayer:

Prayer for Peace

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one creator; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39

Daily Devotion:

Talk of the Town

"Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together" (Mt 24:28)

Jesus used this proverb in connection with His return and the gathering of His saints from all over the world. Unfortunately the Church is ignored today by the society. We Christians also suffer from a minority complex.

As I write this meditation on 19 March 2003, the global attention is on the World Cup cricket match in South Africa and the possible Gulf War. Think of a day when Jesus Christ and His Church will be the talk of the world! That will be the headlines of newspapers and TV!

Talking about Cricket and War, we don't know who would win. But in our case, victory is preassured. Jesus will win! His saints will receive the Kingdom! Here comes Daniel with the sure word of prophecy: "The sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. They will rule forever, and all rulers will serve and obey them" (Dan 7:27).

John the forerunner of Christ for His first coming could not have access to the pulpit of the organized religion. He did not feel bad about it. He was a man from God, and he had a message from God. That was good enough for him. He went to the banks of Jordan and started to preach. People cared the less for the High Priests Annas and Caiaphas and went to listen to John (Lk 3:2,3). After sometime the Pharisees and Sadducees also went to hear him (Mt 3:7). Where the carcass is, there the eagles will fly!

The entire Church is called to be a prophetic community. We talk about the priesthood of all believers, atleast in theory. Do we believe in the prophethood of all believers? The death of Christ has made us priests before God; the descent of the Spirit has made us prophets to people (Rev 1:5,6; Acts 2:17). Prophets in the New Testament are primarily "forthtellers" rather than "foretellers." We are called to forthrightly proclaim God's message of repentance, righteousness and judgment. That's why we are filled with the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:7-11). This way we can fill cities and towns with God's Word (Acts 5:28).

The world of religion, economics and politics is in utter confusion. The need of the hour is men from God with a message from God. Anything else is secondary. Only such men can take the world back to God! Will you accept this challenge?

Prayer:

Giving Thanks to HaShem :Psalms 118: 19-29

Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto HaShem. This is the gate of HaShem; the righteous shall enter into it.I will give thanks unto Thee, for Thou hast answered me, and art become my salvation.The stone which the builders rejected is become the chief corner-stone.This is HaShem'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.This is the day which HaShem hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

We beseech Thee, O HaShem, save now! We beseech Thee, O HaShem, make us now to prosper!Blessed be he that cometh in the name of HaShem; we bless you out of the house of HaShem.HaShem is God, and hath given us light; order the festival procession with boughs, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto Thee; Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee.O give thanks unto HaShem, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” - Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Daily Devotion:

Ensnaring Eyes!

"The eye is the lamp of the body.If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light" (Mt 6:22)

The lust of the eyes is a problem for many people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour. They are not able to maintain holiness in their thoughts. They become obsessed with guilt. They may repeatedly get convicted of their sin in revival meetings and make decisions to stay pure, but only to be defeated in a few days. Is there a solution? Many young people struggle with this problem.

There is definitely a way to be victorious over this temptation. Don't be discouraged. Jesus Himself passed through the youth stage. He Himself was tempted and so He is able to help us with perfect understanding (Heb 2:18). "Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb 4:16). We who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour must also accept Him as our Helper. This is the first step for victory.

Next, shun all practices, places and persons which lead you to temptation. When the Scripture talks about other sins, it commands us to "resist," but while talking about the sin of fleshly lust, we are commanded to "run away" (2 Tim 2:22; 2 Cor 6:18). Why? Because no one can fight against lust and come out victorious. It is like fire. Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? This does not mean that we walk down the road with our eyes closed. You cannot avoid the first look. That is not sin, but you can avoid the second! Surrender your eyes to the Lord and decide not to see the forbidden with lust. Only such a decision saved Job! (Job 31:1). We cannot avoid eagles flying over our head, but we certainly can prevent them building their nests on our head!

Never be lazy. The idle mind is the workshop of the devil. When the mind is empty, demons rush to occupy it (Mt 12:43-45). Read the Bible and fill your heart with the Scripture (Psa 119:11). As much as you sleep during the night, you must work during the day. Get actively involved in gardening, jogging, games, etc.

I'm glad my blessed Saviour was once a child like me,
To show how pure and holy His little ones might be;
And if I try to follow His footsteps here below,
He never will forget me, because He loves me so! - (Emily H. Miller)


Prayer:

Prayer to Overcome Sin

O everlasting God, let the light of Thine eternity now fall upon my passing days.
O holy God, let the light of thy perfect righteousness fall upon my sinful ways.
O most merciful God, let the light of Thy love pierce to the most secret corners of my heart and overcome the darkness of sin within me.