Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” - 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Daily Devotion:

Hurry up!

"Give a serving to seven and also to eight,for you do not know what evil will be on the earth" (Eccl 11:12)

One of the most important things to be learnt from Jesus for evangelism is the sense of urgency. He had no time to waste. So much had to be accomplished in so short a time. He had just a little over three years for His public ministry. There was no panicking at His death. On the other hand He triumphantly declared, "It is finished!" What a model!

We need rest but we can't relax. Over 1,20,000 persons die each day. Floods, earthquakes and other calamities claim thousands and thousands of lives. Some countries are closing doors, but many others are opening them to evangelism. This is a day of opportunities. This is a day of Good News (2 Ki 7:9). The Lord of the Harvest is perhaps giving the Church the last chance to gather in the grains. This is the eleventh hour (Mt 20:6). If we delay, the harvest will waste. Let's hurry up!

Let's not postpone to tomorrow what we can do today. Tomorrow is not ours. We do not know what will happen tomorrow (Prov 27:1). "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2) — To preach the gospel! To plant churches everywhere! To prepare a people ready for the Lord!

In Capernaum the Lord had a wonderful reception. But in Nazareth the people rejected Him (Mt 13:53-58). But nothing discouraged Him. He kept on going. He kept on preaching. He kept on spreading the message of the Kingdom. Let us have the same zeal of the old saints of God and decide to introduce the Saviour atleast to one person a day.

Every Christian must be a missionary. Every non-Christian is a mission field. Let's give ourselves to nonstop evangelism until the last person is reached. We should not end our work until we witness to the ends of the earth or our life is ended, whichever comes first!

Jesus "sat down" only after He finished His work (Mk 16:19). Let's not sit until the job is done! Always and everywhere we are under orders to evangelize. That is the only reason for our being on earth!

O Zion, haste thy mission high fulfilled,

To tell all the world that God is light;

That He who made all the nations is not willing,

Any soul should perish, lost in shades of night! - (Mary A. Thomson)

Prayer:

O Lord my God, I bless thy holy name for this mercy, which I have now received from thy bounty and goodness. Feed now my soul with thy grace, that I may make it my meat and drink to do thy gracious will, through Jesus Christ my Saviour. Amen.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” - Ephesians 6:10-11

Daily Devotion:

Salvation Syntax

"Assuredly, I say to you,Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Lk 23:43)

Jesus spoke these words of certainty and assurance to one of the thieves, to the one on the right or the left we don't know. The thief was there under punishment but in a moment he had his entry to Paradise assured — "Assuredly!" "Will be!"There are skeptics who say we cannot know for sure today that we are saved. And several folks are puzzled with the question, "Can I be sure of my salvation?"

Yes, thousand times, yes, because the Bible says so. "The Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). Here's the definition of the Church: No unsaved member inside and no saved outside!

One of the reasons why people dispute over the possibility of present assurance of salvation is that they fail to understand salvation in three tenses. Salvation past is deliverance from the "penalty" of sin; salvation present is deliverance from the "power" of sin; and salvation future is deliverance from the very "presence" of sin. Respectively they are called Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. The first one is a crisis experience, the next one is a process, and the last one is a crisis again, which will take place at a moment. We are already saved from the penalty of sin. We are being saved, moment by moment, from the power of sin. But removal of the presence of sin is still in the future.

Our assurance may be shaken up as we walk through trials, tribulations and temptations. During the turbulence of this present time, the "Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" and He assures us that "the sufferings of the present are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom 8:16,18).

Our sins which were red like crimson have been made whiter than snow by Jesus. He bore them all on the Cross of Calvary. As far as the East is from the West, so far He has removed our sins from us. He has cast them behind His back. He has thrown them into the depths of the sea. They disappeared like the clouds of the sky. Oh, the breadth, the length, the depth and the height of God's forgiving love! We need not doubt our salvation a bit!

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song;

Praising my Saviour all the day long! - (Fanny Crosby , 1823-1915)

Prayer:

You are holy, Lord, the only God,and Your deeds are wonderful.You are strong.You are great.You are the Most High.You are Almighty.You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,Lord God, living and true.You are love. You are wisdom.You are humility. You are endurance.You are rest. You are peace.You are joy and gladness.You are justice and moderation.You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.

You are beauty.You are gentleness.You are our protector.You are our guardian and defender.You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.You are our faith, our great consolation.You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” - 2 Timothy 1:9

Daily Devotion:

Messengers without Message

"We are not, as so many, adulterate the Word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God" (2 Cor 2:17)


"The Word of the Lord was rare in those days!" (1 Sam 3:1). This was one of the darkest periods in the history of the people of Israel. I am afraid those days are upon us again. We have more preachers and hear more sermons now than any time in the history of the Church. But where is the "message" of the Lord?

The rarety of the message of the Lord in our modern pulpits can be first attributed to money. The message of God in general is clearer and more definite from the mouths of preachers who are materially poorer than those who are affluent. Three snares which have fatally trapped many servants of God are gold, girls and glory. Riches top the list of these three. Manipulating people to milk money from them has become commonplace. A young boy swallowed a coin. A little girl standing nearby shouted, "Send him to that preacher. He can get money out of anybody!" Matthew Henry (1662-1714) that great Bible Commentator warned, "Preachers must not be afraid of the rich!"

Excessive desire for miracles is another reason which hinders the message of God. For many centuries the traditional Christian ministry literally excluded miracles of healing. The renewed interest in the gifts of healing has taken us to the other extreme. This overemphasis of the healing ministry has corrupted the content of the pure gospel. The loss is dual. We neither have miracles (as expected) nor the message. Both in His own ministry and while commissioning His disciples the Lord Jesus stressed healing the sick. But we shall do well to notice that it was FIRST preaching the gospel and only then healing the sick. A leper saved but not healed can go to heaven; but a sinner healed but not saved cannot!

Billy Graham (1918- ) does not pray for the sick in his Crusades. But there's little doubt that more people have made decisions for Christ in his meetings than collectively from scores of healing crusades. The secret? He has a message. Of the greatest prophet who had the spirit and power of Elijah it was said that, "John performed no SIGN—and many believed him there" (Jn 10:41,42). He had a message! Thomas Walker who laboured in Tirunelveli, Amy armichael in Dohnavur, Thomas Ragland in Sivakasi and Mother Teresa in Calcutta were not outstandingly miracle workers. But their message stays resounding to generations.

Prayer:

Show us your mercy, O Lord; And grant us your salvation. Clothe your ministers with righteousness; Let your people sing with joy. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world; For only in you can we live in safety. Lord, keep this nation under your care; And guide us in the way of justice and truth. Let your way be known upon earth; Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten; Nor the hope of the poor be taken away. Create in us clean hearts, O God; And sustain us by your Holy Spirit. Amen!

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Daily Devotion:

Are you the kind kind?

"The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious" (Eccl 10:12)

According to Apostle Paul, the first manifestation of love is patience. He says, "Love is patient" (1 Cor 13:4). The very next thing he says is, "Love is kind!" (1 Cor 13:4). Also in the list of the marks of God's servants, he mentions "kindness" immediately after "patience" (2 Cor 6:6). So also in the list of the fruits of the Spirit, kindness follows patience (Gal 5:22). Kindness is a language that the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear and understand.

Kindness is such an important virtue that John the Baptist equated the "fruits of repentance" to acts of kindness. He told the people, "Be kind to the have-nots!" To the tax-collectors he said, "Don't overload the tax-payers!" He admonished the soldiers, "Don't chargesheet anyone falsely!" (Lk 3:8-14). The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to His children! Jesus has taught us, "You must be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate" (Lk 6:36). We must be kind to the unkind people; they need it the most. This is where patience is challenged.

The story of the unkind debtor Jesus narrated shames us and warns us sternly. When the debtor pleaded with the King, "Be patient with me," his debt of crores of Rupees was instantly forgiven out of kindness. But he grabbed the throat of his fellow-servant who had owed him just a few thousand Rupees, even though he also pleaded, "Be patient with me!" The story ends with the moral, "Should we not be merciful to others as God is to us?" (Mt 18:21-35). Isn't Joseph who showed mercy to his merciless brothers a good example? (Gen 50:21).

Speaking kindly is an art to be learnt. Everyone in this world is hurting. Kind words are like medicine. If someone were to pay Rs. 10/- for every kind word you ever spoke and collect Rs. 5/- for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor? Speak kind words and you will hear kind echoes.

Kindness begets kindness, but be patient if your kindness is not positively reciprocated. Pray for a short memory as to all unkindness. Someone said, "Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's troubles; courage in one's own." Kindness is like snow; it makes every- thing it covers beautiful.

Kindness and graciousness are more natural to women than men. We applaud and greet womenfolk on this International Women's Day!

Prayer:

Prayer for Renewal - Psalms 51:9-12

Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Grow in God's Love Each Morning!

Word Of God:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” - Psalm 139:23-24

Daily Devotion:

Nurture leaders for future!

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us...Then I said, Here am I; Send me!" (Isa 6:8)

Leaders must be prepared ahead in order to preserve the precious and abundant fruits of revival. Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit we immediately read about the Apostles' defence (Acts 2:14), the Apostles' doctrine (2:42), the Apostles' demonstration (3:1,6,7), the Apostles' direction (6:1-4), and so on. They had been already mentally trained to organize the thousands of folks who flocked in and the huge amounts of funds which flowed in, without corruption (2:41; 4:4,34,35). How many times we have observed today the loss of moral and ethical values following the increase of flocks and funds in ministries! Charisma alone is not sufficient for leaders, they need character.

During His earthly ministry Jesus was consciously training the twelve for the worldwide ministry ahead. He gave them the finishing touch before His ascension. John's Gospel records His dealing with Peter, the leader of the twelve. He asked him thrice the searching question, "Do you love Me?" (Jn 21:15-17). Love is both the foundation and the capstone for a Christian minister. When Jesus first called him it was to become a fisher of men (Mt 4:19). Now He commissions him to be a shepherd of men (Jn 21:15-17). We need love both for soulwinning and shepherding. One is love for the lost and the other for the found. Several thousands were to be born into the Kingdom in the next few days. The leader was prepared. Earlier Jesus gave him the keys (Mt 16:19), and now He gives him the "rod and staff" (Psa 23:4). Souls must be brought in and brought up! Jesus also prepared Peter for the cross he should bear (Jn 21:18,19). Jesus is the Master Trainer of leaders.

Thank God for the several discipleship and leadership programmes conducted by genuine Missions, which emphasise sincerity over success, and purity over popularity. I urge young people to read and reread the Book of Nehemiah and Paul's Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Read also Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders (1902-1992), the Consultative Director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship for many years. You will never be the same again.

Anoint our leaders with the Spirit of wisdom, goodness and truth,
Endue them with the Holy Spirit,
Enrich them, Lord, with Thy heavenly grace,
Prosper them in all their labours! - (Methodist Hymnal)

Prayer:

Prayer of Thanks

Throughout all generations we will render thanks unto Thee And declare Thy praise, Evening, morning, and noon, For our lives which are in Thy care, For our souls which are in Thy keeping For thy miracles which we witness daily, And for Thy wondrous deeds and blessings toward us at all times.Amen.