Uni-verse 159/10,000 For better through verse Joel 3 v 14
Joe 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
On this day, 32 years ago I was in the valley of decision when a friend shared the gospel with me relevantly and effectively. The decision I took that day to follow Jesus became the single most important decision I would ever take in my life. That decision transported me from the land of the dead to the land of the living. That day became the day of the Lord in my life. Ever since then He has been the nearest to me even in the valley of death. Israel was both an individual and a nation. Jacob became Israel in the valley of decision when He had an encounter and an experience of God's power and blessing. Similarly, in the valley of decision each one of us become Israel. God encamps with us and resides in us. No longer do we struggle against God or struggle without God. It does not end our struggles. We do have our struggles but we struggle for God and with God. He is with us in all our existential struggles. We have assurance that we have decisive victory through the struggle and decisive triumph at the end of the struggle.
"The day of the Lord" has another meaning in that it is the day of His second coming. Before that day, multitudes or millions of people are waiting to be saved. The nation of Israel itself needs to be saved. We should pray that they give up their blind habit of struggling with God and have an experience of the grace and truth of the Messiah whom they are still waiting for. We should also pray for the multitudes in India. They who are spiritually hungry and are seeking should be fed. Once in a vision the Holy Spirit said," Pray for the salvation of Israel and for millions world-wide who are dying." The valley of decision is also the valley of death. When a person is confronted with the truth, he has the freedom to choose to accept or reject it. Like in the poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," today millions not just “six hundred” are riding not bravely but naively into the valley of death. But, hope is near if only they are willing to follow Jesus.
The vision that Elijah saw of dry bones coming to life are that of spiritually dead people becoming spiritually alive in Christ. When we become spiritually charged, even when people come in contact with us they will come alive spiritually just as a dead body came alive in a cave when it come in contact with Elijah. Every day belongs to the Lord and He is always ready to release such miracles of resurrection in our lives.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sow to multiply
Uni-verse 158/10,000 For better through verse 2 Corinthians 9 v 8
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
It is God who gives us seed, whether literal seed or seed money or seed talent or seed opportunity. It is God who multiplies such seed and turns it into much harvest. We knead the harvested seed and it becomes bread for our table. It is He who enables us to turn it into bread. He is able to make all grace multiply in our lives. He gives us sufficient for all our need. Being satisfied, He expects us to look out for the need of others, the poor. When we do sow in this manner, we abound in righteousness.
Last weekend around this time, the Lord whispered in my ears, " I have poured much grace into your life. Why don't you revive the Goodness Billionaire Initiative you once started?" In response to that voice, I called a friend who leads a NGO that works with slums. I explained that the concept is that when we give the extra of the ordinary( clothes, shoes, books or other articles of daily need..) to meet needs of people around us, we become extraordinary- Goodness Billionaires. This morning at 11am at a school run by another friend, the GBI is being organized with participants from all the institutions in the group. God is able to make all grace abound towards making the idea of goodness grow.
The Norwegian young man allowed the seed of hatred to grow in his mind and he made destruction abound in a once peaceful city and countr y. If evil can take root in all kinds of places, good can abound everywhere. But, evil is like weeds, it just grows without any conscious planting or nurturing. But, good needs to be consciously sown, nurtured and harvested. Today, not only should we do good but we must make the seed of goodness to abound. The destruction of evil is also a kind of goodness but it should be done in a creative way so that we don't pull out the crop along with the tares. We can no longer afford to be complacent since we are self-sufficient, being concerned only about our needs and the needs of our immediate family but reach out to others in love and charity. The process of reaching out to others is summed up in these words: Know the need, do the deed, sow the seed, mow the weed.
Prateep V Philip
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
It is God who gives us seed, whether literal seed or seed money or seed talent or seed opportunity. It is God who multiplies such seed and turns it into much harvest. We knead the harvested seed and it becomes bread for our table. It is He who enables us to turn it into bread. He is able to make all grace multiply in our lives. He gives us sufficient for all our need. Being satisfied, He expects us to look out for the need of others, the poor. When we do sow in this manner, we abound in righteousness.
Last weekend around this time, the Lord whispered in my ears, " I have poured much grace into your life. Why don't you revive the Goodness Billionaire Initiative you once started?" In response to that voice, I called a friend who leads a NGO that works with slums. I explained that the concept is that when we give the extra of the ordinary( clothes, shoes, books or other articles of daily need..) to meet needs of people around us, we become extraordinary- Goodness Billionaires. This morning at 11am at a school run by another friend, the GBI is being organized with participants from all the institutions in the group. God is able to make all grace abound towards making the idea of goodness grow.
The Norwegian young man allowed the seed of hatred to grow in his mind and he made destruction abound in a once peaceful city and countr y. If evil can take root in all kinds of places, good can abound everywhere. But, evil is like weeds, it just grows without any conscious planting or nurturing. But, good needs to be consciously sown, nurtured and harvested. Today, not only should we do good but we must make the seed of goodness to abound. The destruction of evil is also a kind of goodness but it should be done in a creative way so that we don't pull out the crop along with the tares. We can no longer afford to be complacent since we are self-sufficient, being concerned only about our needs and the needs of our immediate family but reach out to others in love and charity. The process of reaching out to others is summed up in these words: Know the need, do the deed, sow the seed, mow the weed.
Prateep V Philip
Attitude of Paul
Uni-verse 157/10,000 For better through verse I Timothy 1 v 15
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
As believers we must not have a self-righteous attitude but an attitude like Paul that " I am the worst of sinners". Paul considered himself the least of the apostles and the worst of sinners as He persecuted the church. This attitude helped to keep him humble and free from any sense of superiority over the other apostles. True, he was better educated than the disciples of Christ. But, his better background did not make him feel elitist. Sometimes believers given their family background, their spiritual and intellectual gifts and their knowledge of the Word begin to feel that they know better about such matters than most if not all others. The feeling is " I am one of the better ones that Jesus has saved." Such an attitude affectst their spiritual growth and their effectiveness.
Paul repented of his past by showing the same zeal that He displayed in persecuting the Christians in evangelising the then known world. That zeal in the past had taken him only to Damascus. But, now it took Him to myriad places like Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia and so on. The feeling that he was the worst of sinners, whom Christ Jesus had redeemed, motivated him to reach out to all people from the slaves to the rulers. God added grace to his efforts and made his journeys successful as he humbled himself before Him.
A pastor recently rightly taught in the course of a message that humility is an exercise towards God and not towards people. Paul acknowledged his sinfulness and submitted his life fully to the will of God. He had emptied himself of his own ego and his ambition. God made him a holy and useful vessel to carry the gospel across the world.
Prateep V Philip
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
As believers we must not have a self-righteous attitude but an attitude like Paul that " I am the worst of sinners". Paul considered himself the least of the apostles and the worst of sinners as He persecuted the church. This attitude helped to keep him humble and free from any sense of superiority over the other apostles. True, he was better educated than the disciples of Christ. But, his better background did not make him feel elitist. Sometimes believers given their family background, their spiritual and intellectual gifts and their knowledge of the Word begin to feel that they know better about such matters than most if not all others. The feeling is " I am one of the better ones that Jesus has saved." Such an attitude affectst their spiritual growth and their effectiveness.
Paul repented of his past by showing the same zeal that He displayed in persecuting the Christians in evangelising the then known world. That zeal in the past had taken him only to Damascus. But, now it took Him to myriad places like Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia and so on. The feeling that he was the worst of sinners, whom Christ Jesus had redeemed, motivated him to reach out to all people from the slaves to the rulers. God added grace to his efforts and made his journeys successful as he humbled himself before Him.
A pastor recently rightly taught in the course of a message that humility is an exercise towards God and not towards people. Paul acknowledged his sinfulness and submitted his life fully to the will of God. He had emptied himself of his own ego and his ambition. God made him a holy and useful vessel to carry the gospel across the world.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Doing the Impossible
Uni-verse 156/10,000 Philippians 4 v 13
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Yesterday, I read on some passerby's shirt the words," Every time I find the key to success, someone changes the lock." It is so frustrating that when we want to do something, we just cannot do it. But, this uni-verse is an assurance that a believer can do all things through Christ. The word, Christ meaning " The Anointed One". He will give us the anointing to do what He has called us to do. It is no longer " I" or " we" alone who are attempting to do anything we want to do. We want to do the expressed will of God. We do it in the power and grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ. His grace is sufficient for us in any situation. He enables, empowers and equips us primarily by strengthening us in the inner man. We begin any enterprise with the end in sight since our confidence is in Christ who is mighty. He who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, He who parted the Jordan, He who released ten plagues on Egypt to secure the release of His people, He who healed the lepers, gave sight to the blind, brought back the dead to life, multiplied the five loaves and two fish , is with us. He will act in, for and on our behalf.
Our position is no longer, " I" but " I -in -Him". All boundaries, moulds, assumptions and stereotypes are broken or changed. We move from the economy of scarcity and reality to the economy of abundance and faith-enabled imagination. It is the " im" in impossible that makes the impossible possible. Imagine the difficult goal that you have set before your self is possible in Christ. Pray for the realization of the goal. Work diligently for the realization of the goal. As a plus-Two student I set myself the impossible goal of standing in the top ten ranks in the state as well as securing the coveted National Talent Search scholarship, both in the same year. I imagined it is possible for a student who had never stood first even in a class of fifty students. I prayed hard and worked harder. The Lord strengthened me by speaking through various rhema verses. I lapped them up like a hungry dog laps up milk. When the results came, I had not just got one of the top ten ranks but had secured the First Rank in the state. I believed the NTS scholarship would follow suit and praise be to God, it did follow in a few months. In the past thirty two years since I made a commitment to Christ, I have been able to attempt and do many other amazing things on the strength of the promise of God.
Jesus, the good Shepherd creates the opportunities and circumstances for us to feed on the green pasture as well as to lie by the still waters of His refreshing presence. When He enables us to accomplish our goals and so be blessed, He makes us a signboard to point others to the Way of Truth and Life. You have a difficult family problem to confront. Jesus is the Way. You have a tough financial challenge, Jesus is the Way. You have a serious health problem - Jesus is the Way. You do not have any problem and you are quite bored with existence- Jesus is the Way. He does not drop answers from the sky but He strengthens us in spirit and mind and body. He will give us the spiritual succour, the mental ability, the emotional stability, the will power and motivation as well as the physical endurance and stamina to run the course. What is more, He will release strength in the areas of our known weakness so that we and others will know that it is of His doing and not ours. He will remind us through the gentle promptings and prodding of the Holy Spirit
Prateep V Philip
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Yesterday, I read on some passerby's shirt the words," Every time I find the key to success, someone changes the lock." It is so frustrating that when we want to do something, we just cannot do it. But, this uni-verse is an assurance that a believer can do all things through Christ. The word, Christ meaning " The Anointed One". He will give us the anointing to do what He has called us to do. It is no longer " I" or " we" alone who are attempting to do anything we want to do. We want to do the expressed will of God. We do it in the power and grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ. His grace is sufficient for us in any situation. He enables, empowers and equips us primarily by strengthening us in the inner man. We begin any enterprise with the end in sight since our confidence is in Christ who is mighty. He who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, He who parted the Jordan, He who released ten plagues on Egypt to secure the release of His people, He who healed the lepers, gave sight to the blind, brought back the dead to life, multiplied the five loaves and two fish , is with us. He will act in, for and on our behalf.
Our position is no longer, " I" but " I -in -Him". All boundaries, moulds, assumptions and stereotypes are broken or changed. We move from the economy of scarcity and reality to the economy of abundance and faith-enabled imagination. It is the " im" in impossible that makes the impossible possible. Imagine the difficult goal that you have set before your self is possible in Christ. Pray for the realization of the goal. Work diligently for the realization of the goal. As a plus-Two student I set myself the impossible goal of standing in the top ten ranks in the state as well as securing the coveted National Talent Search scholarship, both in the same year. I imagined it is possible for a student who had never stood first even in a class of fifty students. I prayed hard and worked harder. The Lord strengthened me by speaking through various rhema verses. I lapped them up like a hungry dog laps up milk. When the results came, I had not just got one of the top ten ranks but had secured the First Rank in the state. I believed the NTS scholarship would follow suit and praise be to God, it did follow in a few months. In the past thirty two years since I made a commitment to Christ, I have been able to attempt and do many other amazing things on the strength of the promise of God.
Jesus, the good Shepherd creates the opportunities and circumstances for us to feed on the green pasture as well as to lie by the still waters of His refreshing presence. When He enables us to accomplish our goals and so be blessed, He makes us a signboard to point others to the Way of Truth and Life. You have a difficult family problem to confront. Jesus is the Way. You have a tough financial challenge, Jesus is the Way. You have a serious health problem - Jesus is the Way. You do not have any problem and you are quite bored with existence- Jesus is the Way. He does not drop answers from the sky but He strengthens us in spirit and mind and body. He will give us the spiritual succour, the mental ability, the emotional stability, the will power and motivation as well as the physical endurance and stamina to run the course. What is more, He will release strength in the areas of our known weakness so that we and others will know that it is of His doing and not ours. He will remind us through the gentle promptings and prodding of the Holy Spirit
Prateep V Philip
Monday, July 25, 2011
Meditation, Motivation at the same time
Uni-verse 155/10,000 Romans 12 v 9
Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Scripture says that the world is neither flat nor round, it is binary. Both good and evil exists in it. We need to love the good and hate the evil. This is based on binary logic or binary pattern of thinking. How do we know what is good and what is evil? The Word of God and our conscience will tell us what is good and what is evil. We must cleave to or stick to what is good. We must abhor, implying both hate and avoid, what is evil.
Both good and evil have different shades. As we grow more mature in faith, we must increase in the intensity or the passion of our love for good and our hatred for evil. Many Christians think that positive thinking is sanctioned by the Bible. The author of the book, " The Power of Positive Thinking," Norman Vincent Peale pastored a 5,000 strong church. But, he was also a member of the Freemasons. Loving what is good and hating what is evil is the core of righteousness. It implies an ability to first of all recognize or discern what is good and what is evil. As one preacher once told me, counterfeit currency is 99 per cent like the original. It is only one per cent that makes the difference between what is genuine and counterfeit. Hence, we must be careful what we believe,think and do.
The Biblical pattern of thinking is based on the precept: cling to what is good, let go of what is evil. The key to the human mind is : be at it, beat it. Be at it -means that we need to be positive continuously or believe, think,talk and act positively. When we do this we are loving what is good. Beat it -means that we need to beat the negative continuously. In what we believe, think, talk and act we must get rid of the negative. In doing so, we abhor and let go of what is evil.
Be at it corresponds with our breathing in while beat it corresponds with our breathing out. Just as breathing in is as important as breathing out for respiration to be complete, be at it is as important as beat it for divine inspiration. For we can use this thought process to connect with God all the time in praying without ceasing as breathing is coterminous with life, in meditating on the Word of God day and night and in motivating or renewing our minds all the time.
Prateep V Philip
Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Scripture says that the world is neither flat nor round, it is binary. Both good and evil exists in it. We need to love the good and hate the evil. This is based on binary logic or binary pattern of thinking. How do we know what is good and what is evil? The Word of God and our conscience will tell us what is good and what is evil. We must cleave to or stick to what is good. We must abhor, implying both hate and avoid, what is evil.
Both good and evil have different shades. As we grow more mature in faith, we must increase in the intensity or the passion of our love for good and our hatred for evil. Many Christians think that positive thinking is sanctioned by the Bible. The author of the book, " The Power of Positive Thinking," Norman Vincent Peale pastored a 5,000 strong church. But, he was also a member of the Freemasons. Loving what is good and hating what is evil is the core of righteousness. It implies an ability to first of all recognize or discern what is good and what is evil. As one preacher once told me, counterfeit currency is 99 per cent like the original. It is only one per cent that makes the difference between what is genuine and counterfeit. Hence, we must be careful what we believe,think and do.
The Biblical pattern of thinking is based on the precept: cling to what is good, let go of what is evil. The key to the human mind is : be at it, beat it. Be at it -means that we need to be positive continuously or believe, think,talk and act positively. When we do this we are loving what is good. Beat it -means that we need to beat the negative continuously. In what we believe, think, talk and act we must get rid of the negative. In doing so, we abhor and let go of what is evil.
Be at it corresponds with our breathing in while beat it corresponds with our breathing out. Just as breathing in is as important as breathing out for respiration to be complete, be at it is as important as beat it for divine inspiration. For we can use this thought process to connect with God all the time in praying without ceasing as breathing is coterminous with life, in meditating on the Word of God day and night and in motivating or renewing our minds all the time.
Prateep V Philip
Do not conform but be transformed
Uni-verse 154/10,000 Romans 12 v 2
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are called not to be conformists but we are called to be transformed. Being conformed means we become conditioned and accept the standards of the world as our conditions. If we want to change our condition, we must first change our mental conditioning. Our minds meaning our intellect, our emotions and our will should be constantly renewed by the Word , by the Holy Spirit and by our own diligence in abiding in and by the Word of God and in being counselled and led by the Holy Spirit. The world's pattern is that what they have is more important than what they do or what they are. The Word's pattern is that what we are is more important than we do and what we have. The will of God is that we mature more and more so that our lives and our character reflects that which is good, acceptable and perfect in His sight.
Believers are God's proof on earth, proof that He exists, proof that He is holy, loving and just and proof that He rewards those who seek Him diligently Proof of the Kingdom of God is how we live it out on earth. Our lives have to reflect holiness, love and justice. In London subways we find the warning ," Mind the gap" to keep commuters from getting hurt. Similarly, we too must mind what is good, acceptable and perfect(GAP). We must act in a way acceptable to all, seek what is good and work towards perfection. We are called not to be violent revolutionaries but peaceful change agents in the contemporary world in which we live.
In forensic investigation, there is a technique called the Superimposition technique where a person's photograph is superimposed upon the picture of a dead man's skull to prove the identity. Similarly, we must superimpose the Word upon the dead influence of the world. The Word gives us templates and standards to follow in our daily walk. When we follow these templates and standards of thought, speech, action and reaction, the identity of God in us is proved or made evident to all. Our work, worship and our witness should begin to conform to the Word.
Prateep V Philip
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are called not to be conformists but we are called to be transformed. Being conformed means we become conditioned and accept the standards of the world as our conditions. If we want to change our condition, we must first change our mental conditioning. Our minds meaning our intellect, our emotions and our will should be constantly renewed by the Word , by the Holy Spirit and by our own diligence in abiding in and by the Word of God and in being counselled and led by the Holy Spirit. The world's pattern is that what they have is more important than what they do or what they are. The Word's pattern is that what we are is more important than we do and what we have. The will of God is that we mature more and more so that our lives and our character reflects that which is good, acceptable and perfect in His sight.
Believers are God's proof on earth, proof that He exists, proof that He is holy, loving and just and proof that He rewards those who seek Him diligently Proof of the Kingdom of God is how we live it out on earth. Our lives have to reflect holiness, love and justice. In London subways we find the warning ," Mind the gap" to keep commuters from getting hurt. Similarly, we too must mind what is good, acceptable and perfect(GAP). We must act in a way acceptable to all, seek what is good and work towards perfection. We are called not to be violent revolutionaries but peaceful change agents in the contemporary world in which we live.
In forensic investigation, there is a technique called the Superimposition technique where a person's photograph is superimposed upon the picture of a dead man's skull to prove the identity. Similarly, we must superimpose the Word upon the dead influence of the world. The Word gives us templates and standards to follow in our daily walk. When we follow these templates and standards of thought, speech, action and reaction, the identity of God in us is proved or made evident to all. Our work, worship and our witness should begin to conform to the Word.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Faith that alters fate
Uni-verse 153/10,000 Joshua 1 v 7
Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
In one brief verse, this scripture reveals the very secret of true success and fulfillment. Why does success and happiness elude the vast majority of humanity throughout history though it is the universal goal? Perhaps, we are looking in the wrong places. The history of mankind is the story of man climbing the wrong tree. If we wish to prosper in spirit, mind and body, then we must diligently study and obey the Word of God. We must not be deceived by the philosophies, beliefs and ideologies of the world, whether of the right or the left but exhibit an unswerving devotion to believing and obeying God's Word embodied in the Bible. This is not easy for God does not make things easy for us in our lives. He makes it possible.
Faith is not about being weak and ineffective. It is about being strong and very courageous. We need a little strength or all that we can muster in our spirit, mind and body and a lot of courage. For courage never denies hope and faith for the basis of courage is hope and hope cannot be carried to fulfillment except through hope. When we repose our trust in His Word, God will alter our lot according to His promise. It is impossible for man to obey " all the law" , for instance, who among us has never lied. But, God will supply the grace to fill the gaps in our faith, strength and obedience. Faith is like a blank cheque drawn on God's treasury which we can use once we have brought in our own equity and shown due diligence.
The promise is that God will prosper us regardless of whereever we go or what we do. The Word of God will cast light on what we must do and what we must avoid. It will impart to our spirits the spirit of true faith and worship. Our minds, it will transform into the mind of Christ. It will give power to our words so that none of it falls to the ground unfulfilled. It will give us flint-like determination to carry out our intentions and decisions. It will uplift our emotions. Our life will become truly purpose-driven and principle-centred. The results will be there for all to see: a life of quality accompanied by the quality of life.
Prateep V Philip
Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
In one brief verse, this scripture reveals the very secret of true success and fulfillment. Why does success and happiness elude the vast majority of humanity throughout history though it is the universal goal? Perhaps, we are looking in the wrong places. The history of mankind is the story of man climbing the wrong tree. If we wish to prosper in spirit, mind and body, then we must diligently study and obey the Word of God. We must not be deceived by the philosophies, beliefs and ideologies of the world, whether of the right or the left but exhibit an unswerving devotion to believing and obeying God's Word embodied in the Bible. This is not easy for God does not make things easy for us in our lives. He makes it possible.
Faith is not about being weak and ineffective. It is about being strong and very courageous. We need a little strength or all that we can muster in our spirit, mind and body and a lot of courage. For courage never denies hope and faith for the basis of courage is hope and hope cannot be carried to fulfillment except through hope. When we repose our trust in His Word, God will alter our lot according to His promise. It is impossible for man to obey " all the law" , for instance, who among us has never lied. But, God will supply the grace to fill the gaps in our faith, strength and obedience. Faith is like a blank cheque drawn on God's treasury which we can use once we have brought in our own equity and shown due diligence.
The promise is that God will prosper us regardless of whereever we go or what we do. The Word of God will cast light on what we must do and what we must avoid. It will impart to our spirits the spirit of true faith and worship. Our minds, it will transform into the mind of Christ. It will give power to our words so that none of it falls to the ground unfulfilled. It will give us flint-like determination to carry out our intentions and decisions. It will uplift our emotions. Our life will become truly purpose-driven and principle-centred. The results will be there for all to see: a life of quality accompanied by the quality of life.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Name of the Lord- a fortress
Uni-verse 146/10,000 For better through verse Proverbs 18 v 10
The Name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe.
The Name of God is an important part of our faith-inheritance. A name symbolises everything a person stands for. The Name of God is revelatory knowledge. It cannot be searched and found. If you want to know my name, I must tell you. Similarly, Jehovah chose to reveal His Name to mankind. It reflects His unique identity, personality, character and power. Each name of God Jehovah is a tower of a fortress into which we can run into at different times. It is only the godly or the righteous that have the privilege of running into these towers. Our faith in Jesus that enables us to have a personal relationship with God qualifies us to be called righteous or godly. The name we inherit by virtue of our faith in Jesus enables us to dwell forever in the fortress of El Shaddai, the Almighty God. We inhabit a fortress whose foundation is rock and whose walls and ramparts are covered with the blood of the Lamb. We are called and expected to be mighty in the exercise of our faith towards all obstacles and opposition in our way.
We must place a guard at the entrance of our faith-fortress. The guard commander is truthfulness. The other members of the guard are goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, humility and love. Every fortress has an armoury where the weapons are kept. Our armoury is the Word of God- we must constantly use and practice the Word like a soldier practices with a sword. Our dwelling place in the fortress is Jehovah Shalom- the God of wholeness, peace,assurance, blessedness,salvation, prosperity, grace and abundance. He is also Emmanuel and Ebenezer. He gives us company or fellowship and helps us in all our righteous pursuits.
When the fortress is under attack by a powerful enemy, that is when we run to the towers. When we are attacked by need run to the tower of Jehovah Jireh who will supply what we need. When we are attacked by sickness, run to the tower of Jehovah Rapha, the One who heals. When we are under threat from our mortal or spiritual enemies, run to the tower of Jehovah Nissi, the One who gives us victory and does not allow our enemies to triumph over us. When we are concerned about the security or well being of someone who lives outside the fortress, run to the tower of Jehovah Shammah, the One who is God of the near and the far. We must lay a deep moat around the fortress of insulating or separating ourselves from the evil influences of the world. Every faith-fortress must have a banquetting hall where we celebrate, where we are joyful and praise and sing to the Lord. God also says, " I am not limited to just these Names for I am who I AM." He can be anything He needs to be in order to preserve us,to protect us, to provide for us or to promote us. We can be absolutely secure in Him. The Maslowian hierarchy of needs -security, esteem and self or soul realization needs- are met at one shot in the person and mission of the Messiah, the Redeemer God who purchases us back with His own precious Blood from the abductor of our souls. Once we are safe inside the fortress, we must not forget our brethren outside but we must command the enemy ," Let His people go."
Prateep V Philip
The Name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe.
The Name of God is an important part of our faith-inheritance. A name symbolises everything a person stands for. The Name of God is revelatory knowledge. It cannot be searched and found. If you want to know my name, I must tell you. Similarly, Jehovah chose to reveal His Name to mankind. It reflects His unique identity, personality, character and power. Each name of God Jehovah is a tower of a fortress into which we can run into at different times. It is only the godly or the righteous that have the privilege of running into these towers. Our faith in Jesus that enables us to have a personal relationship with God qualifies us to be called righteous or godly. The name we inherit by virtue of our faith in Jesus enables us to dwell forever in the fortress of El Shaddai, the Almighty God. We inhabit a fortress whose foundation is rock and whose walls and ramparts are covered with the blood of the Lamb. We are called and expected to be mighty in the exercise of our faith towards all obstacles and opposition in our way.
We must place a guard at the entrance of our faith-fortress. The guard commander is truthfulness. The other members of the guard are goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, humility and love. Every fortress has an armoury where the weapons are kept. Our armoury is the Word of God- we must constantly use and practice the Word like a soldier practices with a sword. Our dwelling place in the fortress is Jehovah Shalom- the God of wholeness, peace,assurance, blessedness,salvation, prosperity, grace and abundance. He is also Emmanuel and Ebenezer. He gives us company or fellowship and helps us in all our righteous pursuits.
When the fortress is under attack by a powerful enemy, that is when we run to the towers. When we are attacked by need run to the tower of Jehovah Jireh who will supply what we need. When we are attacked by sickness, run to the tower of Jehovah Rapha, the One who heals. When we are under threat from our mortal or spiritual enemies, run to the tower of Jehovah Nissi, the One who gives us victory and does not allow our enemies to triumph over us. When we are concerned about the security or well being of someone who lives outside the fortress, run to the tower of Jehovah Shammah, the One who is God of the near and the far. We must lay a deep moat around the fortress of insulating or separating ourselves from the evil influences of the world. Every faith-fortress must have a banquetting hall where we celebrate, where we are joyful and praise and sing to the Lord. God also says, " I am not limited to just these Names for I am who I AM." He can be anything He needs to be in order to preserve us,to protect us, to provide for us or to promote us. We can be absolutely secure in Him. The Maslowian hierarchy of needs -security, esteem and self or soul realization needs- are met at one shot in the person and mission of the Messiah, the Redeemer God who purchases us back with His own precious Blood from the abductor of our souls. Once we are safe inside the fortress, we must not forget our brethren outside but we must command the enemy ," Let His people go."
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Many manifestations of God in our lives
Uni-verse 150/10,000 For better through verse Joshua 1 verse 5
Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Today, God is with us in a deeper sense than He was with Moses. Moses spoke with God face to face as it were but today through His indwelling Spirit, He resides in us and speaks from within us. He is in us, with us and for us. If no man could defeat Moses and Joshua as God was with them,then certainly no man can defeat any of us all the days of our lives. He will not fail us or forget us. He will not leave us. He is mighty, holy and just. He is perfect. He will vindicate us. He will defeat the plans of the enemy of our souls. That enemy often acts through human agents. But, the Lord has angels whom He sends to guard us. Many of the evils that the enemy has planned and plotted against us have passed us by without us even knowing.
The Lord has manifested Himself to different people through the eras in different ways. But, today He is ready to manifest Himself in any and all of those ways. " As I was ....... I will be with you"- these are the key words which we must keep before our faith eyes all the time. Depending on our need,we can pray and believe " Lord , as you were with Moses,Joseph, Elijah, Samson, Solomon,Mary, Peter, Paul, John and the culmination of it all Jesus Himself, be with me. Like Joseph, let me find favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Deliver me from all my afflictions and lift me up to where you will. Like Elijah in the tent of transfiguration, let me be transfigured. Like Samson, endow me with physical strength. Like Solomon, give me greater wisdom and knowledge. Like Mary, let me be overshadowed by your presence. Like Peter, give me a leadership role and grace to lead. Like Paul, give me the zeal and the faith. Like John, let me experience the intimacy of your love. Like Jesus, help me grow in wisdom, stature, grace and truth."
Just as Joshua on inheriting the mantle of leadership from Moses was on a military adventure of leading the Israelites,every day is a spiritual adventure to discover new truths and experience new facets of the Person , Presence and power of God in our lives. The asssurance of God's presence in us, with us and for us gives us a guarantee of complete and total victory in our lives. It will give us both strength for the day and courage to face the future. If we believe this, it should affect the way we think, speak, react. It will even affect our gait and body language. For we will walk like champions and talk like winners.
Prateep V Philip
Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Today, God is with us in a deeper sense than He was with Moses. Moses spoke with God face to face as it were but today through His indwelling Spirit, He resides in us and speaks from within us. He is in us, with us and for us. If no man could defeat Moses and Joshua as God was with them,then certainly no man can defeat any of us all the days of our lives. He will not fail us or forget us. He will not leave us. He is mighty, holy and just. He is perfect. He will vindicate us. He will defeat the plans of the enemy of our souls. That enemy often acts through human agents. But, the Lord has angels whom He sends to guard us. Many of the evils that the enemy has planned and plotted against us have passed us by without us even knowing.
The Lord has manifested Himself to different people through the eras in different ways. But, today He is ready to manifest Himself in any and all of those ways. " As I was ....... I will be with you"- these are the key words which we must keep before our faith eyes all the time. Depending on our need,we can pray and believe " Lord , as you were with Moses,Joseph, Elijah, Samson, Solomon,Mary, Peter, Paul, John and the culmination of it all Jesus Himself, be with me. Like Joseph, let me find favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Deliver me from all my afflictions and lift me up to where you will. Like Elijah in the tent of transfiguration, let me be transfigured. Like Samson, endow me with physical strength. Like Solomon, give me greater wisdom and knowledge. Like Mary, let me be overshadowed by your presence. Like Peter, give me a leadership role and grace to lead. Like Paul, give me the zeal and the faith. Like John, let me experience the intimacy of your love. Like Jesus, help me grow in wisdom, stature, grace and truth."
Just as Joshua on inheriting the mantle of leadership from Moses was on a military adventure of leading the Israelites,every day is a spiritual adventure to discover new truths and experience new facets of the Person , Presence and power of God in our lives. The asssurance of God's presence in us, with us and for us gives us a guarantee of complete and total victory in our lives. It will give us both strength for the day and courage to face the future. If we believe this, it should affect the way we think, speak, react. It will even affect our gait and body language. For we will walk like champions and talk like winners.
Prateep V Philip
Lord enlarge the territory
Uni-verse 149/10,000 For better through verse I Chronicles 4 v 10
1Ch 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Our journey might begin in pain like Jabez but it need not continue through pain and end in pain. Like Jabez, we must collect all the pain in our life and cry out to the Lord ,"Turn all my pain into gain for the Kingdom of God." Our pain becomes an investment we make into the Kingdom of God and God returns it with the interest of blessings from His hand. Pain can make a man better or bitter. When we cry out to the Lord, He will turn it into something better like the Master's wine at Cana. So much so , we will say, " Lord, thanks for turning my pain into a source of blessing for others and me."
The Lord in His great compassion will hear our cry of faith and not of despair. He will open HIs hand upon us and enlarge our land. Enlarging our land means increasing our area of influence, augmenting our resources, enhancing our impact, adding more souls to the Kingdom through our testimony of triumph over trauma. One of the persons who delights in reading the Uni-verse series of meditations wrote in yesterday from Africa saying, that his territory or his boundaries have been expanded in that he used to read only a few verses earlier but now his appetite has been whetted and he goes on to read whole chapters and books in the Bible. The Lord will also keep HIs part of the covenant in keeping us from further evil that would grieve our hearts. He will allow sorrow but not grief- sorrow is caused by pain that we eventually overcome while grief is sorrow that overcomes us. In sorrow , we end it. In grief, it ends us. This part of Jabez's prayer relates to the blessings of peace- the proteciion from pain, evil and curses that we deserve. The next part of the prayer relates to grace- the Lord will grant what we request that we do not deserve. It is a sign of God's continual favour on and in our lives.
In the context of the gospel and the Great Commission, we must pray, " Lord, use me to enlarge your territory. " His territory means not land but the adding of souls to the Kingdom of God where He not just reigns but rules on a moment to moment basis. We must experience God's sovereignty in our lives much as suzerains or kings exercise aiuthority or sovereignty over their territory. The idea of territorial sovereignty enables us to understand that God does not exercise sovereignty over the territory of Satan- all souls who have chosen not to acknowledge Him as their Lord and Saviour. Though the gates of Hell cannot prevail against God, He does not exercise this authority over such souls as it will be like an intrusion into land that we do not own. But, He does so only in response to the faithful prayers of His own people. Hence, prayer extends the sovereignty of God to all who are not saved. Territory also implies enabling God to partner with us in our professions or our life's calling. In the month of March, this year, I had joined several others in praying in repentance for our nation and our city. We met early one morning before sunrise at St Thomas Mount to repent for the murder of St Thomas at that very place. Before the month was over, the Lord turned the eye of the Founder of Global Media Mission, a lady from Finland to chose Chennai to launch a campaign called Power to Change in all media, print, electronic, website and wall posters on buses and three wheelers and in locations throughout the city. My own testimony was also published in a book that was sent out to thousands who called in. See how instantaneously in time and space, God had answered our cry in using us to enlarge His territory. Recently, in a time of prophetic prayer, the Lord revealed," My son, you are a Jabez. You were born crippled but your parents, especially your father cried out to me and I healed your pain.." To think of it, I never even knew that I was born in pain. Truly, faith is the most powerful anaesthesia.
http://www.facebook.com/powertochangeindia?sk=wall&filter=2
Power To Change India
http://youtu.be/ZghpzPVCAe0
Prateep V Philip
1Ch 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Our journey might begin in pain like Jabez but it need not continue through pain and end in pain. Like Jabez, we must collect all the pain in our life and cry out to the Lord ,"Turn all my pain into gain for the Kingdom of God." Our pain becomes an investment we make into the Kingdom of God and God returns it with the interest of blessings from His hand. Pain can make a man better or bitter. When we cry out to the Lord, He will turn it into something better like the Master's wine at Cana. So much so , we will say, " Lord, thanks for turning my pain into a source of blessing for others and me."
The Lord in His great compassion will hear our cry of faith and not of despair. He will open HIs hand upon us and enlarge our land. Enlarging our land means increasing our area of influence, augmenting our resources, enhancing our impact, adding more souls to the Kingdom through our testimony of triumph over trauma. One of the persons who delights in reading the Uni-verse series of meditations wrote in yesterday from Africa saying, that his territory or his boundaries have been expanded in that he used to read only a few verses earlier but now his appetite has been whetted and he goes on to read whole chapters and books in the Bible. The Lord will also keep HIs part of the covenant in keeping us from further evil that would grieve our hearts. He will allow sorrow but not grief- sorrow is caused by pain that we eventually overcome while grief is sorrow that overcomes us. In sorrow , we end it. In grief, it ends us. This part of Jabez's prayer relates to the blessings of peace- the proteciion from pain, evil and curses that we deserve. The next part of the prayer relates to grace- the Lord will grant what we request that we do not deserve. It is a sign of God's continual favour on and in our lives.
In the context of the gospel and the Great Commission, we must pray, " Lord, use me to enlarge your territory. " His territory means not land but the adding of souls to the Kingdom of God where He not just reigns but rules on a moment to moment basis. We must experience God's sovereignty in our lives much as suzerains or kings exercise aiuthority or sovereignty over their territory. The idea of territorial sovereignty enables us to understand that God does not exercise sovereignty over the territory of Satan- all souls who have chosen not to acknowledge Him as their Lord and Saviour. Though the gates of Hell cannot prevail against God, He does not exercise this authority over such souls as it will be like an intrusion into land that we do not own. But, He does so only in response to the faithful prayers of His own people. Hence, prayer extends the sovereignty of God to all who are not saved. Territory also implies enabling God to partner with us in our professions or our life's calling. In the month of March, this year, I had joined several others in praying in repentance for our nation and our city. We met early one morning before sunrise at St Thomas Mount to repent for the murder of St Thomas at that very place. Before the month was over, the Lord turned the eye of the Founder of Global Media Mission, a lady from Finland to chose Chennai to launch a campaign called Power to Change in all media, print, electronic, website and wall posters on buses and three wheelers and in locations throughout the city. My own testimony was also published in a book that was sent out to thousands who called in. See how instantaneously in time and space, God had answered our cry in using us to enlarge His territory. Recently, in a time of prophetic prayer, the Lord revealed," My son, you are a Jabez. You were born crippled but your parents, especially your father cried out to me and I healed your pain.." To think of it, I never even knew that I was born in pain. Truly, faith is the most powerful anaesthesia.
http://www.facebook.com/powertochangeindia?sk=wall&filter=2
Power To Change India
http://youtu.be/ZghpzPVCAe0
Prateep V Philip
Monday, July 18, 2011
Formed from dust, we have a choice to trust or rust
Uni-verse 147/10,000 For better through verse Genesis 2 v7
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living sou l.
God made man like a potter makes pots out of mud. Initially, He formed us in His image. We had the form but not the spirit of God. Only when He breathed into the clay nostrils, did the form come to life. The breath of God turned the mud form into flesh and blood. The breath of God created consciousness or the soul or the mind in man. The breath of God left the spirit of God in us. When the first man disbelieved the words of God and disobeyed God, the spirit in him died, leaving only a residue, an urge to return somehow to the Creator. All other creatures on earth had the form but not having been breathed into neither have consciousness nor a residue of the spirit to believe in the unseen and the unknown.
Imagine that our bodies were made of mud for a moment. The next moment the Creator bends down and blows into our nostrils and all our cells and tissues, our brain, our internal organs, our personalities, our minds and our spirits begin to take shape and we come alive in spirit, soul and body. God did not form the second Adam, Jesus but begot Him as all children of men are born-from the womb of a woman. Jesus laid his body as a bridge between God and mankind. Now, God breathed on man and they received the Holy Spirit.
Today,we are living in a time when we must not just pray," Lord, breathe on me" but " Lord, breathe in me." When a man breathes into a drowned person's nostrils,it is called artificial resuscitation. When God breathes in us, it is spiritual resuscitation. He renews us in spirit, mind and body. We must constantly breathe in the Word of God (which is the life-giving breath of God) and breathe out praise, honour, glory and thanksgiving to the Father of our spirits. Belief precedes obedience just as disbelief precedes disobedience. Obedience is nothing but faithful practice that will become in due course a life-enhancing habit. When we believe that the Word of God is pure oxygen that comes from the mouth of God, we are inclined to obey the Word of God and our spirits, minds and bodies will be quickened or sharpened to fulfill their full potential, bringing praise, glory and honour to our Father who breathed into us, on us and in us. Since we are formed from dust by God, He has given us the Hobson’s choice to either trust in Him or rust without Him.
Prateep V Philip
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living sou l.
God made man like a potter makes pots out of mud. Initially, He formed us in His image. We had the form but not the spirit of God. Only when He breathed into the clay nostrils, did the form come to life. The breath of God turned the mud form into flesh and blood. The breath of God created consciousness or the soul or the mind in man. The breath of God left the spirit of God in us. When the first man disbelieved the words of God and disobeyed God, the spirit in him died, leaving only a residue, an urge to return somehow to the Creator. All other creatures on earth had the form but not having been breathed into neither have consciousness nor a residue of the spirit to believe in the unseen and the unknown.
Imagine that our bodies were made of mud for a moment. The next moment the Creator bends down and blows into our nostrils and all our cells and tissues, our brain, our internal organs, our personalities, our minds and our spirits begin to take shape and we come alive in spirit, soul and body. God did not form the second Adam, Jesus but begot Him as all children of men are born-from the womb of a woman. Jesus laid his body as a bridge between God and mankind. Now, God breathed on man and they received the Holy Spirit.
Today,we are living in a time when we must not just pray," Lord, breathe on me" but " Lord, breathe in me." When a man breathes into a drowned person's nostrils,it is called artificial resuscitation. When God breathes in us, it is spiritual resuscitation. He renews us in spirit, mind and body. We must constantly breathe in the Word of God (which is the life-giving breath of God) and breathe out praise, honour, glory and thanksgiving to the Father of our spirits. Belief precedes obedience just as disbelief precedes disobedience. Obedience is nothing but faithful practice that will become in due course a life-enhancing habit. When we believe that the Word of God is pure oxygen that comes from the mouth of God, we are inclined to obey the Word of God and our spirits, minds and bodies will be quickened or sharpened to fulfill their full potential, bringing praise, glory and honour to our Father who breathed into us, on us and in us. Since we are formed from dust by God, He has given us the Hobson’s choice to either trust in Him or rust without Him.
Prateep V Philip
Saturday, July 9, 2011
U 144 The lost art and discipline of Stillness
Uni-verse 144/10,000 For better through verse Psalms 100 v 3
Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
When we say that mankind and all other creatures evolved by themselves, aren't we saying," We made ourselves." Is there anything so foolish as this? Yet, brilliant minds and most intelligent fools keep reiterating this folly in their sheer ignorance and arrogance. Knowledge of God and the truth about God has eluded and will continue to elude such mind that are deluded that they can know all things that exist through cognitive intelligence. We must know that we know as much about God as sheep know about their shepherd. We are as vulnerable and as powerless. The sheep do not know the name or the other personal details of the shepherd. The sheep only recognize the shepherd by his voice. We, too can recognize our Shepherd Jesus's voice. He is shepherding us back into the pasture of God where we can find both food and water. He fends for us and defends us.
The word " know" means to be aware of, to realize or to discern, to acknowledge or to declare. Knowing that the Lord is God implies that we must respond with a deep sense of awe at His presence and His power, amazement at His grace, love for His act of redemption from the wolf, the serpent and the lion( metaphors for different types of spiritual and mortal enemies), gratitude for His provision and blessings. As the Psalmist writes, " Be still and know that I am God." The counter-intuitive knowledge of God demands that we cease to explore or attempt to discover spiritual truths through intense brain activity and reliance on our five senses. We have to still our bodies and minds, our restless thoughts, tongues and souls and become aware of the beauty of God's creation. We must still all our senses and the chatter within us to allow the Holy Spirit to permeate our souls and commune with us. We must still all our anxieties, hopes and fears and allow the Lord to comfort us.
Knowledge is power, wisdom is liberty. Knowing God gives us both a sense of power and a sense of liberty. We can lie still for a few minutes every day and relate our secular knowledge of the different organs of our bodies, the different aspects of the universe, the events of history with our biblical knowledge of the One who is called," I Am" and the One who said, " I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Stillness is a spiritual discipline that increases our awareness of ourselves vis a vis God. Stillness creates space for God to move into our lives. Stillness will give way to knowledge and wisdom, wisdom will give way to grace and truth.
Prateep V Philip
Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
When we say that mankind and all other creatures evolved by themselves, aren't we saying," We made ourselves." Is there anything so foolish as this? Yet, brilliant minds and most intelligent fools keep reiterating this folly in their sheer ignorance and arrogance. Knowledge of God and the truth about God has eluded and will continue to elude such mind that are deluded that they can know all things that exist through cognitive intelligence. We must know that we know as much about God as sheep know about their shepherd. We are as vulnerable and as powerless. The sheep do not know the name or the other personal details of the shepherd. The sheep only recognize the shepherd by his voice. We, too can recognize our Shepherd Jesus's voice. He is shepherding us back into the pasture of God where we can find both food and water. He fends for us and defends us.
The word " know" means to be aware of, to realize or to discern, to acknowledge or to declare. Knowing that the Lord is God implies that we must respond with a deep sense of awe at His presence and His power, amazement at His grace, love for His act of redemption from the wolf, the serpent and the lion( metaphors for different types of spiritual and mortal enemies), gratitude for His provision and blessings. As the Psalmist writes, " Be still and know that I am God." The counter-intuitive knowledge of God demands that we cease to explore or attempt to discover spiritual truths through intense brain activity and reliance on our five senses. We have to still our bodies and minds, our restless thoughts, tongues and souls and become aware of the beauty of God's creation. We must still all our senses and the chatter within us to allow the Holy Spirit to permeate our souls and commune with us. We must still all our anxieties, hopes and fears and allow the Lord to comfort us.
Knowledge is power, wisdom is liberty. Knowing God gives us both a sense of power and a sense of liberty. We can lie still for a few minutes every day and relate our secular knowledge of the different organs of our bodies, the different aspects of the universe, the events of history with our biblical knowledge of the One who is called," I Am" and the One who said, " I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Stillness is a spiritual discipline that increases our awareness of ourselves vis a vis God. Stillness creates space for God to move into our lives. Stillness will give way to knowledge and wisdom, wisdom will give way to grace and truth.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Ultimate power and purpose behind WORK
Uni-verse 143/10,000 Colossians 3 v 23
Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
All our lesser goals, aims and desires should converge in one purpose to serve God, to fulfill His plan for our lives, to please Him as a servant pleases his master, as a child pleases the parents or as a pupil pleases the teacher. Whatever we do, we must do it with all the energy, enthusiasm and strength at our command as we owe our very existence and our justification to God. Many people attempt to justify themselves by their work, their contribution or their achievements but these fall short of fulfilling the standards of God.
Each day we must ask the Lord, " What do you want me to do this day?" We must focus on the priorities that God has set before us. Since the Lord dwells in our hearts, He will give us a sense of direction. As Scripture says, " The paths of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord." Our work should become a display of the power, grace and love of God. It should be fruitful and not a vain or tantalising effort. The evil one , the devil attempts to destroy our work by planting tares or weeds in the midst of our crop. One of the ways the latter does it is by affecting our sense of focus so that we move in different directions without achieving much, producing frustration and failure. He also causes us to procrastinate or put off to another day the things we need to do today. The Devil uses a 5-D strategy: destroy, debilitate, divert, distract, diffuse. To counter such a strategy we need to depend on God's grace and power in deploying our own 5-D strategy: dedication, devotion, determination, discipline and diligence.
Our sense of commitment in our God-given professions must be whole-hearted. Our dedication, devotion, determination, discipline and diligence should be evident to all people. Our work is another way of being a witness to others for people will come to know that our ultimate boss is the Carpenter from Nazareth. He in turn will not be just a silent spectator but will be a co-worker with us for He is Ebenezer or the Helper. He will help us overcome our challenges and bless our outcomes with supernatural grace as well as supernatural results. To this day, He continues to show His disciples which side of the boat they need to throw the net. When we throw our professional nets in the direction He wants us to throw it, He will fill it to bursting.
Prateep V Philip
Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
All our lesser goals, aims and desires should converge in one purpose to serve God, to fulfill His plan for our lives, to please Him as a servant pleases his master, as a child pleases the parents or as a pupil pleases the teacher. Whatever we do, we must do it with all the energy, enthusiasm and strength at our command as we owe our very existence and our justification to God. Many people attempt to justify themselves by their work, their contribution or their achievements but these fall short of fulfilling the standards of God.
Each day we must ask the Lord, " What do you want me to do this day?" We must focus on the priorities that God has set before us. Since the Lord dwells in our hearts, He will give us a sense of direction. As Scripture says, " The paths of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord." Our work should become a display of the power, grace and love of God. It should be fruitful and not a vain or tantalising effort. The evil one , the devil attempts to destroy our work by planting tares or weeds in the midst of our crop. One of the ways the latter does it is by affecting our sense of focus so that we move in different directions without achieving much, producing frustration and failure. He also causes us to procrastinate or put off to another day the things we need to do today. The Devil uses a 5-D strategy: destroy, debilitate, divert, distract, diffuse. To counter such a strategy we need to depend on God's grace and power in deploying our own 5-D strategy: dedication, devotion, determination, discipline and diligence.
Our sense of commitment in our God-given professions must be whole-hearted. Our dedication, devotion, determination, discipline and diligence should be evident to all people. Our work is another way of being a witness to others for people will come to know that our ultimate boss is the Carpenter from Nazareth. He in turn will not be just a silent spectator but will be a co-worker with us for He is Ebenezer or the Helper. He will help us overcome our challenges and bless our outcomes with supernatural grace as well as supernatural results. To this day, He continues to show His disciples which side of the boat they need to throw the net. When we throw our professional nets in the direction He wants us to throw it, He will fill it to bursting.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, July 7, 2011
U -142 God's way of judging people
Uni-verse 142/10,000 For Better through verse I Samuel 16 v 7
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart
People judge each other by their physical charisma. A better looking person or a taller one is often deemed and chosen to be the leader. But, the Word of God says that we must not judge by such superficial criteria. We look at the outward appearance but the Lord sees the heart or the inner man. Even school teachers though they say don't judge a book by its cover go ahead and discriminate among children on the basis of their looks. True, David was also good looking and strong but the Lord chose him to be King of Israel not for these qualities but for his quality of faith in God,his attitude of praise and worship and his outstanding courage. David had his moment of weakness for David, too fell in the sight of God and men when he wantonly fell prey to the physical charisma of a bathing beauty, Bathsheba and wife of one of his own soldiers. But, his repentance was genuine as he confessed his sin. The Lord restored David to his divine favour as he trusted in the mercy of God.
We too must develop this God-like ability to peel off the external factors like a fair skin, good features, stature, wealth, educactional qualification, family background and so on. After peeling these off, we will be able to see the inner man. We can also pray for the gift of discernment that the Holy Spirit gives that enables us to have a preview of a man's psyche and character. We should pray," Lord , teach me to see and judge as You see and judge."
Each of the Psalms written by David gives us an insight into the man's heart. They speak of a man who has a very deep and intimate personal relationship with Jehovah. He experiences God in his various dimensions as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah El Shaddai. He attributed all his success and achievements to his delighting in the Word of God. He admitted his failure and sinfulness and sought mercy as well as grace to overcome wilful sins as well as hidden ones. In his many afflictions, he accepted that it was good that he was afflicted so that he would learn God's perfect will for his life. His self-emptying, brokenness and contrition once more won the favour of God. He acknowledged God's presence at all times and said that there were pleasures evermore at the right hand of God and to dwell in His presence for even one day was worth more than a thousand spent elsewhere.
Prateep V Philip
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart
People judge each other by their physical charisma. A better looking person or a taller one is often deemed and chosen to be the leader. But, the Word of God says that we must not judge by such superficial criteria. We look at the outward appearance but the Lord sees the heart or the inner man. Even school teachers though they say don't judge a book by its cover go ahead and discriminate among children on the basis of their looks. True, David was also good looking and strong but the Lord chose him to be King of Israel not for these qualities but for his quality of faith in God,his attitude of praise and worship and his outstanding courage. David had his moment of weakness for David, too fell in the sight of God and men when he wantonly fell prey to the physical charisma of a bathing beauty, Bathsheba and wife of one of his own soldiers. But, his repentance was genuine as he confessed his sin. The Lord restored David to his divine favour as he trusted in the mercy of God.
We too must develop this God-like ability to peel off the external factors like a fair skin, good features, stature, wealth, educactional qualification, family background and so on. After peeling these off, we will be able to see the inner man. We can also pray for the gift of discernment that the Holy Spirit gives that enables us to have a preview of a man's psyche and character. We should pray," Lord , teach me to see and judge as You see and judge."
Each of the Psalms written by David gives us an insight into the man's heart. They speak of a man who has a very deep and intimate personal relationship with Jehovah. He experiences God in his various dimensions as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah El Shaddai. He attributed all his success and achievements to his delighting in the Word of God. He admitted his failure and sinfulness and sought mercy as well as grace to overcome wilful sins as well as hidden ones. In his many afflictions, he accepted that it was good that he was afflicted so that he would learn God's perfect will for his life. His self-emptying, brokenness and contrition once more won the favour of God. He acknowledged God's presence at all times and said that there were pleasures evermore at the right hand of God and to dwell in His presence for even one day was worth more than a thousand spent elsewhere.
Prateep V Philip
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Only one condition for Friendship with God
Uni-verse 141/10,000 For Better through verse James 2 v 23
Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Believing in God is equated with righteousness. It is not actions or our good deeds that can save any man but faith in God redeems a man. If our actions can save us, then we would only believe in our own goodness. Abraham trusted God as a man would trust his friend. Hence, he was called the Friend of God. Moses spoke with God face to face as a man speaks with His friend. Similarly, God calls us into an intimate and personal relationship with Him through faith. On 31st July, 1979, a friend asked me," Do you want to have a personal relationship with God?" That began my own friendship or relationship with God.
Jesus came into the world not to start a new religion but His life, death and resurrection enables people from all nations who believe to become Friends of God. He did the greatest thing a man can do for his friend by laying down His life. Jesus said, " If you obey my commandments, you are my friends." His commandments that more than fulfill all the requirements of the Ten Commandments are to love God as our best friend, to love our neighbour, our friends as well as strangers and enemies and to share the great news of salvation to all who come within our circle of influence and even beyond to the ends of the earth. Since we are His friends, He has shared all the secrets of the Kingdom of God with us. Between the best of friends there is complete mutual disclosure of thoughts, feelings, desires and anxieties.
Our friendship with God through His son Jesus who is one of our kind and therefore can truly be our friend is the source of our security, the secret of our growth, success and fulfillment. The other day on the occasion of the second rising day of the National Security Guard unit in Chennai, I was happy to see the unit commander, a believer and a Friend of God use a slide in the course of his powerpoint presentation: "The greatest thing a man can do for his friend is to lay down his life for him." Truly,when you are a Friend of God, you and your family will be blessed as Abraham was blessed. When you are a Friend of God, you will communicate with God as Moses communed. When you are a Friend of God, you willl lay down your life as a living sacrifice as Jesus did.
Prateep V Philip
Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Believing in God is equated with righteousness. It is not actions or our good deeds that can save any man but faith in God redeems a man. If our actions can save us, then we would only believe in our own goodness. Abraham trusted God as a man would trust his friend. Hence, he was called the Friend of God. Moses spoke with God face to face as a man speaks with His friend. Similarly, God calls us into an intimate and personal relationship with Him through faith. On 31st July, 1979, a friend asked me," Do you want to have a personal relationship with God?" That began my own friendship or relationship with God.
Jesus came into the world not to start a new religion but His life, death and resurrection enables people from all nations who believe to become Friends of God. He did the greatest thing a man can do for his friend by laying down His life. Jesus said, " If you obey my commandments, you are my friends." His commandments that more than fulfill all the requirements of the Ten Commandments are to love God as our best friend, to love our neighbour, our friends as well as strangers and enemies and to share the great news of salvation to all who come within our circle of influence and even beyond to the ends of the earth. Since we are His friends, He has shared all the secrets of the Kingdom of God with us. Between the best of friends there is complete mutual disclosure of thoughts, feelings, desires and anxieties.
Our friendship with God through His son Jesus who is one of our kind and therefore can truly be our friend is the source of our security, the secret of our growth, success and fulfillment. The other day on the occasion of the second rising day of the National Security Guard unit in Chennai, I was happy to see the unit commander, a believer and a Friend of God use a slide in the course of his powerpoint presentation: "The greatest thing a man can do for his friend is to lay down his life for him." Truly,when you are a Friend of God, you and your family will be blessed as Abraham was blessed. When you are a Friend of God, you will communicate with God as Moses communed. When you are a Friend of God, you willl lay down your life as a living sacrifice as Jesus did.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
U 140 The power of God
Uni-verse 140/10,000 For better through verse Romans 9 v 17
Rom 9:17
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Power has two exercises in the main: the power to do good and the power against evil. God's power works against evil in rulers who have hardened their hearts against God, deeming themselves as demi-gods. It also works for good in those who believe in Him and trust His Word. God's power works in both these ways to declare His Name and His glory through all the earth and through all history. He raises both Pharoah and Moses to reveal His glory and purpose that is sovereign and absolute.
God does amazing wonders and miracles as signposts pointing to His love, power, purpose and justice. Each wonder and miracle is a sign of peace for His children who acknowledge Him as their Father and a sign of judgement for those who oppose His will as Pharaoh did. Each wonder and miracle increases the faith and love of His children even as it increases fear and awe in those who oppose Him.
On Sunday in a time of prayer at the Tabernacle, Jesus in a vision narrated the story of a sojourner on a boat who moved from one boat to another sharing the great news of Jesus Christ. He came to a particular point in his voyage where there were only rocks and even a huge boulder in front of him that he could not cross. He fasted and prayed for three days and on the third day, the Lord caused a wonderful miracle to happen as He alone can: He caused the sea water to rise up and cover the huge rock and the other smaller ones. The Lord removed all the obstructions by causing the sea to swell up and so enabled the traveller to cross over safely. Similarly, when we pray for God's power to be revealed in different situations, He will deal with the Pharoah or the big rock and the Egyptian bondages or the smaller rocks in our lives and enable by His grace our safe crossing. Our lifeboat is powered by two oars- grace or God's power in us , for us and on our behalf and peace or God's power against evil, disbelief, fear, anger, malice and confusion. So pray for a safe crossing and experience God's power both to deal with evil(peace) and to lead us to the good( grace).
Prateep V Philip
Rom 9:17
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Power has two exercises in the main: the power to do good and the power against evil. God's power works against evil in rulers who have hardened their hearts against God, deeming themselves as demi-gods. It also works for good in those who believe in Him and trust His Word. God's power works in both these ways to declare His Name and His glory through all the earth and through all history. He raises both Pharoah and Moses to reveal His glory and purpose that is sovereign and absolute.
God does amazing wonders and miracles as signposts pointing to His love, power, purpose and justice. Each wonder and miracle is a sign of peace for His children who acknowledge Him as their Father and a sign of judgement for those who oppose His will as Pharaoh did. Each wonder and miracle increases the faith and love of His children even as it increases fear and awe in those who oppose Him.
On Sunday in a time of prayer at the Tabernacle, Jesus in a vision narrated the story of a sojourner on a boat who moved from one boat to another sharing the great news of Jesus Christ. He came to a particular point in his voyage where there were only rocks and even a huge boulder in front of him that he could not cross. He fasted and prayed for three days and on the third day, the Lord caused a wonderful miracle to happen as He alone can: He caused the sea water to rise up and cover the huge rock and the other smaller ones. The Lord removed all the obstructions by causing the sea to swell up and so enabled the traveller to cross over safely. Similarly, when we pray for God's power to be revealed in different situations, He will deal with the Pharoah or the big rock and the Egyptian bondages or the smaller rocks in our lives and enable by His grace our safe crossing. Our lifeboat is powered by two oars- grace or God's power in us , for us and on our behalf and peace or God's power against evil, disbelief, fear, anger, malice and confusion. So pray for a safe crossing and experience God's power both to deal with evil(peace) and to lead us to the good( grace).
Prateep V Philip
Monday, July 4, 2011
U139 Joy - a source of strength
Uni-verse 139/10,000 For better through verse
Nehemiah 8 v 10
Then he said to them," Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
We should not grieve over all our little losses and setbacks in life. Instead, we must celebrate every day of our life by feasting on the Word of God and what pleases the Lord. The Word of God should satisfy our souls even as choice meat and marrow delights our tongue and tastebuds. If we delight in the Word of God and are enthusiastic about obeying His will and purpose for us on this day and consistently follow up on this commitment, then the joy of the Lord will be our strength. In the absence of such day to day consistency, we would be like driftwood being driven in different directions by every change in circumstance or doctrine or teaching.
In sharp contrast, for many in the world, they derive their joy from the source of their strength- it could be their physical prowess, their mental ability, their achievements , their position, their affluence and connections. Such joy is evanescent and temporary for either the source itself gets weakened as the body weakens with age or they fall from position or wealth or influence. But, the joy of the Lord waxes stronger and stronger in our hearts, minds and lives.
As we go our way in our different professions and places of work and stay, the Lord stabilises or anchors our emotions on a joyful plane. The cause for our joy is not external stimuli or our circumstances but it is knowing who owns us and our future for the acroustic "joy" when expanded would read," Jesus owns you." As we know that the One who made Heaven and Earth owns us, we feel a sense of assurance and ever flowing joy flowing from our hearts. An anchor has three hooks. Similarly, we must hook into God's Word with our spirit, mind and body, our attitudes, skills and knowledge, our thoughts, emotions and actions, our imagination,reasoning and memory. The stronger,heavier and thicker the three prongs of the anchor become, the more stable the vessel would be in the rising currents and tides of life.
Prateep V Philip
Nehemiah 8 v 10
Then he said to them," Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
We should not grieve over all our little losses and setbacks in life. Instead, we must celebrate every day of our life by feasting on the Word of God and what pleases the Lord. The Word of God should satisfy our souls even as choice meat and marrow delights our tongue and tastebuds. If we delight in the Word of God and are enthusiastic about obeying His will and purpose for us on this day and consistently follow up on this commitment, then the joy of the Lord will be our strength. In the absence of such day to day consistency, we would be like driftwood being driven in different directions by every change in circumstance or doctrine or teaching.
In sharp contrast, for many in the world, they derive their joy from the source of their strength- it could be their physical prowess, their mental ability, their achievements , their position, their affluence and connections. Such joy is evanescent and temporary for either the source itself gets weakened as the body weakens with age or they fall from position or wealth or influence. But, the joy of the Lord waxes stronger and stronger in our hearts, minds and lives.
As we go our way in our different professions and places of work and stay, the Lord stabilises or anchors our emotions on a joyful plane. The cause for our joy is not external stimuli or our circumstances but it is knowing who owns us and our future for the acroustic "joy" when expanded would read," Jesus owns you." As we know that the One who made Heaven and Earth owns us, we feel a sense of assurance and ever flowing joy flowing from our hearts. An anchor has three hooks. Similarly, we must hook into God's Word with our spirit, mind and body, our attitudes, skills and knowledge, our thoughts, emotions and actions, our imagination,reasoning and memory. The stronger,heavier and thicker the three prongs of the anchor become, the more stable the vessel would be in the rising currents and tides of life.
Prateep V Philip
Sunday, July 3, 2011
U138 Transform your thoughts to transform your life
Uni-verse 137/10,000 For better through verse Philippians 4 v 8
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things
Somebody said that it is impossible to teach a man to think but Scripture does that precisely. The first step to making an impossible thing possible is to imagine that it is possible. Scripture likewise begins the process of inner transformation not with any cosmetic changes but with a change in our thought process. The X axis of our thought process extends to eternity and the Y-axis extends all the way to Heaven. There are no boundaries or limits. The only boundaries are set by the obsessive desire to avoid evil or blemish.
St Paul exhorts believers to focus our thoughts on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy. Thoughts become things in due course. Hence, when we focus on all things bright and beautiful, our words will become true, our intentions will become honest, our actions will become just, our motives-pure, our feelings and emotions -good, our character virtuous and our results praiseworthy. Scripture says that a man is as he thinks. Modern day psychologists corroborate it with their research and its findings. But, in the absence of illumination from Scripture and the Holy Spirit, psychiatrists, psychologists and new age philosophers lead people down a path of red herrings with blowing up partial truths to appear like whole truths or doctrines. It has misled the world and even many devout people with pop psychology as witnessed in books like " The Secret" and cults like " The Church of Scientology."
Virgil , the Roman writer wrote that "the greatest journey is the journey deep, deep within." Our thoughts can transport us into the very presence of God or to the centre of the earth or the furthest star in the universe. Our thoughts can bring the distant near and drive the near faraway. Our thoughts can discern the hidden and uncover secrets. But, the best use of our thoughts is to think the thoughts of God or to think Scripture. Many people take this uni-verse to mean an endorsement of positive thinking but throughout scripture the pattern of thinking that is exhibited is a combination of positive and negative negative(also positive) or a pattern of thinking based on " be at it " or be positive and " beat it " or beat negative. Thinking to be truly holistic must comprise of both the positive aspect of reality and negating or overcoming the negative aspects of reality. A single track like positive thinking when taken to its logical conclusion leads to illusions and delusions while mere negative thinking leads to depression and despondency. When we think both positive and negative negative, we will be able to hold our heads in the clouds but keep our feet on the ground.
Prateep V Philip
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things
Somebody said that it is impossible to teach a man to think but Scripture does that precisely. The first step to making an impossible thing possible is to imagine that it is possible. Scripture likewise begins the process of inner transformation not with any cosmetic changes but with a change in our thought process. The X axis of our thought process extends to eternity and the Y-axis extends all the way to Heaven. There are no boundaries or limits. The only boundaries are set by the obsessive desire to avoid evil or blemish.
St Paul exhorts believers to focus our thoughts on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy. Thoughts become things in due course. Hence, when we focus on all things bright and beautiful, our words will become true, our intentions will become honest, our actions will become just, our motives-pure, our feelings and emotions -good, our character virtuous and our results praiseworthy. Scripture says that a man is as he thinks. Modern day psychologists corroborate it with their research and its findings. But, in the absence of illumination from Scripture and the Holy Spirit, psychiatrists, psychologists and new age philosophers lead people down a path of red herrings with blowing up partial truths to appear like whole truths or doctrines. It has misled the world and even many devout people with pop psychology as witnessed in books like " The Secret" and cults like " The Church of Scientology."
Virgil , the Roman writer wrote that "the greatest journey is the journey deep, deep within." Our thoughts can transport us into the very presence of God or to the centre of the earth or the furthest star in the universe. Our thoughts can bring the distant near and drive the near faraway. Our thoughts can discern the hidden and uncover secrets. But, the best use of our thoughts is to think the thoughts of God or to think Scripture. Many people take this uni-verse to mean an endorsement of positive thinking but throughout scripture the pattern of thinking that is exhibited is a combination of positive and negative negative(also positive) or a pattern of thinking based on " be at it " or be positive and " beat it " or beat negative. Thinking to be truly holistic must comprise of both the positive aspect of reality and negating or overcoming the negative aspects of reality. A single track like positive thinking when taken to its logical conclusion leads to illusions and delusions while mere negative thinking leads to depression and despondency. When we think both positive and negative negative, we will be able to hold our heads in the clouds but keep our feet on the ground.
Prateep V Philip
Friday, July 1, 2011
U 137 The Elect of God
Uni-verse 137/10,000 For better through verse I Peter 1 v 2
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
We are not the elite but the elect of God. We are not selected by God on the basis of our personal goodness,ability or merit but we are elected by God. That is why Scripture uses the distinctive word," elect". The person who mentored me used to say, " God has voted for you, the devil has voted against you, your vote determines whose side you are on." God has voted for us at the very beginning of time, before even the foundation of the earth and before we were formed in our mothers' wombs. He has chosen us in His foreknowledge- this is predestination but not predetermination as our casting vote determines how we will live on earth and where we will spend eternity.
God entered into a personal relationship with man whereby if we choose to be obedient to all His commandments we would fulfill our God-planned destiny. But despite knowing these truths even the best of us are unable to obey all His commandments and we fall short of reaching God's glorious goal for our lives. Our nature and our earthly compulsions compel us to cast a vote against ourselves. The Devil tells God, " Look your precious creation has failed in abiding by the very rules you have set for them. Now, they belong to me." It is two votes against one with all the votes equal. Now, the Lord knows there is only one way of redeeming us or purchasing us and that is sacrificing of His own Word, His own Son - a member of the Trinity. A new covenant or sacred agreement will replace and fulfill the requirements of the old one. The children of men will still have to vote for themselves by just believing in the terms of this historic and history-changing agreement. Our belief in the atoning power of the blood of this Heaven-provided blemishless Lamb would be reckoned as complete obedience. Now, it is the work of the third member of the Trinity to make us holy and blameless so that the reality would agree with the ideal. Our responsibility as the elect is to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in His ministry to us.
The gateway is Christ Jesus. The path is the Holy Spirit. Our destiny or destination is God like all rivers, great and small end up in the oceon. The gateway opens up into vistas of grace and peace. Grace are the blessings that we do not deserve while peace are the curses that we deserve but God has protected us from on account of our faith in the blood of Jesus. As a sign of our continuing faith, we should sprinkle the blood of Jesus on our bodies, our minds, our families and all that we own and do. No wonder the Holy Spirit revealed," Your home is a blood-zone." As the elect of God, we can pray that both grace and peace be multiplied in our lives. This will fulfill our earthly and divine destinies, glorify God and enable us to obey the first commandment of God to man," Go forth, be fruitful(spiritually) and multiply(spiritually)." Let us go forth into another day, let grace and peace be multiplied in our lives, our families, our profession and our ministry.
Prateep V Philip
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
We are not the elite but the elect of God. We are not selected by God on the basis of our personal goodness,ability or merit but we are elected by God. That is why Scripture uses the distinctive word," elect". The person who mentored me used to say, " God has voted for you, the devil has voted against you, your vote determines whose side you are on." God has voted for us at the very beginning of time, before even the foundation of the earth and before we were formed in our mothers' wombs. He has chosen us in His foreknowledge- this is predestination but not predetermination as our casting vote determines how we will live on earth and where we will spend eternity.
God entered into a personal relationship with man whereby if we choose to be obedient to all His commandments we would fulfill our God-planned destiny. But despite knowing these truths even the best of us are unable to obey all His commandments and we fall short of reaching God's glorious goal for our lives. Our nature and our earthly compulsions compel us to cast a vote against ourselves. The Devil tells God, " Look your precious creation has failed in abiding by the very rules you have set for them. Now, they belong to me." It is two votes against one with all the votes equal. Now, the Lord knows there is only one way of redeeming us or purchasing us and that is sacrificing of His own Word, His own Son - a member of the Trinity. A new covenant or sacred agreement will replace and fulfill the requirements of the old one. The children of men will still have to vote for themselves by just believing in the terms of this historic and history-changing agreement. Our belief in the atoning power of the blood of this Heaven-provided blemishless Lamb would be reckoned as complete obedience. Now, it is the work of the third member of the Trinity to make us holy and blameless so that the reality would agree with the ideal. Our responsibility as the elect is to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in His ministry to us.
The gateway is Christ Jesus. The path is the Holy Spirit. Our destiny or destination is God like all rivers, great and small end up in the oceon. The gateway opens up into vistas of grace and peace. Grace are the blessings that we do not deserve while peace are the curses that we deserve but God has protected us from on account of our faith in the blood of Jesus. As a sign of our continuing faith, we should sprinkle the blood of Jesus on our bodies, our minds, our families and all that we own and do. No wonder the Holy Spirit revealed," Your home is a blood-zone." As the elect of God, we can pray that both grace and peace be multiplied in our lives. This will fulfill our earthly and divine destinies, glorify God and enable us to obey the first commandment of God to man," Go forth, be fruitful(spiritually) and multiply(spiritually)." Let us go forth into another day, let grace and peace be multiplied in our lives, our families, our profession and our ministry.
Prateep V Philip
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