Today's Message: SPIRITUAL REQUIREMENTS

Praise the Lord!!

"Not everyone who says to me , ‘Lord, Lord, ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father . " (Matthew 7:21)

The Bible tells of certain spiritual requirements needed by us to enter into the kingdom of God. Do we have these? Firstly, in Matthew 5:20, Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Pharisees liked to display their spirituality. Everything they did was done for men to see. But Jesus warned us that our righteousness should not be like this. He insisted that we should have inward righteousness - humility, love, compassion and so on. Secondly, we should have a child-like spirit. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Little children are innocent, they do not hold grudges against anyone, even those who harm them, they are humble and they trust others wholeheartedly. Jesus told that we need to have such child-like simplicity to enter God's Kingdom. Thirdly, when talking to Nicodemus in John 3:5, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” Though all human beings have experienced natural birth on earth, if they expect to go to heaven, they must experience a supernatural spiritual birth from above. What is this?

Warren Wiersbe writes, “To be born of water is to be born physically, but to be born again means to be born of the Spirit. Just as there are two “parents” for physical birth, so there are two “parents” for spiritual birth - the Spirit of God (John 3:5) and the Word of God. (James 1:18). The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and when the sinner believes, imparts the life of God.” Fourthly, we need to repent from our sinful ways. In Luke 13:3 Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish”, and in John 8:24 He says, “If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” Only Jesus saves us from eternal death. Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, thank you for saving me from eternal death through your Son Jesus Christ. Help me to meet all the spiritual requirements to enter heaven. Let me have inward righteousness and a child-like spirit. Holy Spirit, strengthen me each moment to live in holiness. Amen.

Today's Message: ARE YOU CLOSE TO JESUS?

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"Oh, for the days ... when God's intimate friendship blessed my house." (Job 29:4)

Tom Eliff said, "Intimacy with Christ is a major issue in the life of every believer. No man of God is in so perilous a position as the man who has lost his place of intimacy with Christ". In Luke 10 we read the familiar story of Martha and Mary which vividly speaks of the issue of intimacy with Christ. According to Eliff, from this story we can draw three principles of intimacy with Christ - posture, proximity and preference. A reverent physical posture definitely indicates a reverent spiritual posture. How Mary was seated before Jesus reflected her reverence for Him. Luke 10:39 says that she was at Jesus' feet listening to what He said. Secondly she was very close to Jesus. "She was as close to Jesus as a woman of discretion could be to a man", said Eliff. Next was Mary's preference. She preferred to listen to the Word of God rather than to work in the kitchen. Eliff recalled the time he was working with his grandfather in his workshop. Once, his grandfather asked Eliff to bring a tool. Since he was unfamiliar with it and was searching for it, his grandfather told him to never mind and used a screwdriver instead. Then he said to Eliff, "Son, I didn't use this screwdriver because it was the best tool for the job. I used it because it was close to my hand. There are a lot of men out there who are perfectly equipped to do incredible things for God, but God will never use them because it is the handy tool that gets used the most. So remember to be available to the Lord always". Eliff said, "I learnt a great spiritual truth from my grandfather that day".

Dear friends, how is our relationship with Jesus? If we do not walk intimately with our Lord, we cannot expect His blessing or protection. We will easily be influenced by the world and its temptation and we will leave our spiritual conscience and may be even our calling. So let us be careful to sit at His feet every day, read His Word, listen to what He says and always be available to Him that we will be used by Him the most.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let me yearn to have an intimate fellowship with you. Let me sit at your feet and enjoy your sweet presence every day. Let me not think "of doing" something for you without first "being" and listening to what you say. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Today's Message: CONSECRATION MUST PRECEDE CONQUEST

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"Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, .." (Jeremiah 4:4)

Under Joshua's leadership and by miraculous intervention of God, the Israelites crossed the Jordan and camped at Gilgal. On hearing this, the morale of the people of Canaan utterly collapsed. They had already heard two terrifying news of how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea when the Israelites came out of Egypt and how they defeated the two powerful Amorite kings Sihon and Og at the east of Jordan. (Joshua 2:10) Now they heard of how Lord Jehovah dried up the waters of Jordan river so that they could cross over into their land, Canaan. (Joshua 5:1) Fear gripped their hearts. At this point, the military leaders of Israel might have thought that it was the best time to strike a paralyzing blow on the Canaanites and to bring down their strongholds. But this was not God's plan. He is never in a hurry though His children often are. From God's point of view, Israel was not yet ready to fight on Canaan's soil. There was some unfinished business and it was spiritual- Consecration must precede conquest. Before God would lead Israel into the Canaan, He wanted to consecrate them. So the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again". Joshua obeyed the Lord, even though it must have been difficult for him as a military commander to incapacitate his entire army in that hostile environment. Why was circumcision so important? Because it was a covenant of the Lord, a contract guaranteeing the everlasting continuation of Abraham's seed and their everlasting possession of the Lord! All the men of Israel were circumcised before they left Egypt, but they all died in the wilderness and hence their sons born during the wilderness wanderings were not circumcised. Therefore God insisted that this sacred rite should be performed before the new generation entered the Promised Land.

Dear friends, before we venture to defeat the enemy, and before we take possession of the land, let us be careful to renew our covenant with the Lord. Then surely the victory will be ours.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as I grow in spiritual journey, let me pause at Gilgal and take time to circumcise my heart before I enter into Canaan. Let me renew my covenant with you. Cleanse me by the blood of Jesus and grant me victory over the devil in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today's Message: TRUSTING GOD’S TIMINGS

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“ Be patient, ... See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop ... ”. (James 5:7)

A man once planted some carrot seeds in his garden for the first time in his life. He was so excited about the prospect of seeing carrots in his garden. He went out each morning and dug up the soil expecting to see some early progress toward a harvest. At first that novice gardener was angry because the carrot seeds did not produce carrots as it had been advertised. When he asked other seasoned gardeners about the failure of his crop, he quickly learned that his own impatience had killed the seeds before they could germinate and take root. He had learned his first lesson about “due season”

Dear friends, are you frustrated because you do not see God moving in your life right now? Have you been digging up your seeds with the tool of impatience? Remember, God knows what you need even before you ask Him. In Isaiah 46:10, the Lord said, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please”. The Lord sees the end from the beginning. He sees the whole picture long before we realize we are in the picture. And He will make things come to pass exactly at the right time. All we have to do is to trust Him and wait. In Philippians 4:19, He has promised that He will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. But He does not instantly provide them; neither does He give us excessively nor in lump sum amounts. He is more interested in building up our character than in merely providing us all that we need. He does bless us but it is only on His terms, on His timetable and for His purposes. Joel Osteen writes, “If you trust God then you will know that He often works most when you see it and feel it the least. Trust will affect and transform every part of your relationships with God.” So live your life without worrying, letting God do things in His own way.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let me not by my impatience spoil your work in my life. You know the end from the beginning and you make things come to pass in due seasons. So let me not worry but trust you to do things in your own way. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Today's Message: LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT

Praise the Lord!!

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share”. (I Timothy 6:18)

A honey distributor once packaged honey in a glass bottle, shaped like baby bear. Grandma used to buy the honey packed in the uniquely shaped bottle and once she used up the contents she would not throw the container, but used it as a penny jar since it was too pretty. Whenever grandma received a penny in change, she would drop it in the bear shaped bottle in her kitchen shelf. Her grandchildren loved to count the pennies collected in the “penny bear”. They would pour the coins on the table and make neat stack of pennies. Then they would write the date and total amount of pennies on a small slip of paper and tuck it into the penny bear’s lid. Whenever the penny bear was full, grandma took it to the bank and deposited the pennies in her savings account. The empty penny bear reappeared in the kitchen shelf and the process continued year after year. Time came for her eldest granddaughter Melitta to enter into college for her higher studies. Melitta’s parents could not afford to send her to college because they were poor. When Melitta told this to grandma, she went into the kitchen and after a while she came out with the empty penny bear and handed it over to Melitta. Inside it Melitta found a cheque for the total cost of her books, for her first year college. She was delighted. Because of grandma’s penny saving habit, Melitta had the privilege of continuing her education in the college. From that day onwards, she too cultivated the penny saving habit.

Dear friends, one penny is not worth much. But one penny multiplied can feed a hungry family, provide shelter to a homeless person or help a child through college. It can even help a missionary to share God’s Word in the remote places of our country. So let us keep saving them and whenever there is any need, let us give them generously and cheerfully.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, let me develop the habit of saving. And whenever I find my “penny-bear” or “piggy-bank” becoming full, let me generously give it to the needy. Through my savings, let the Word of God be spread and the hunger of the poor be satisfied. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Today's Message: RUN TO GOD'S OUTSTRETCHED ARMS NOW

Praise the Lord!!

"All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, ..." (Isaiah 65:2)

This is a beautiful verse that denotes the longing of God’s heart. The Lord says that He is spreading His hands. What does that mean? The outstretched hands are hands of mercy, hands of compassion and hands of pity. God's hands are gracious hands, waiting hands, ready hands, longing to welcome the returning sinner! A day consists of morning, noon and night - all twenty-four hours. Spreading out the hands all the day denotes that the Lord is persistent in showing His love to the sinner. This represents God's ceaseless and unfailing readiness to welcome and save. To what kind of people is God showing such grace and love? - To an obstinate people! They were rebellious against God, against His laws, His love and His holiness. Ever since the Old Testament days, the Lord's patience is continually tested because of the stubbornness of people. In Numbers 14:11, the Lord asked Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt?” In Psalm 4:2, the Lord asked with pain, "How long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?” What leads to rebellion? The world, the flesh and Satan. One does not have to show blatant hostility towards God by preaching anti-God theory in order to be rebellious. One can totally ignore God, totally discard Him out of one's life in order to be rebellious. Time given to business, pleasure, hobbies and other interests are perfectly legitimate. However, when they occupy the majority of our time and exclude us to even think about God then it leads to rebellion. We begin to ignore God's blessings, His grace and all the privileges we have received from Him.

Dear friends, let us be cautioned. We live in the period of grace. But a day will come when we have to face God's judgement. Before that let us repent and return to God.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your hands are spread all day long inviting me to come to you. But instead of running to you for comfort, sometimes I run towards the world to satisfy my passions. Forgive me Lord, I feel sorry for my rebelliousness. Forgive me and accept me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.