Uni-verse 255/10,000 For better through verse Proverbs 11 v 17
Pro 11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
The Bible is Immanuel's manual for man. Through this manual, He not only tells us what to do, but also shows us how to do it and shows us mercy when and wherever we fail. It is the software of our life. It tells us what is good for our spirit, mind and body. If we observe what is written in it carefully, the triad of our spirit, mind and body will obtain mercy from the Trinity for the shortcomings. Instead of shortcoming, we will have overcoming, the overcoming of our challenges in all areas of spirit,mind and body, the overcoming of sin, the overcoming of the consequences of sin.
If anyone ignores the manual, he goes against his own God-ordained nature. His own flesh and his life will remain troubled. As it is written in the book of Job, " he shall not feel quietness in his own belly." When we obtain mercy from God, we are bound to be merciful to others. If we hold grudges and harbour resentment against others, it hurts us more than it does the others causing it.
When we show mercy and kindness to others, not repaying evil for evil or one bad turn for another, He rewards us. Scripture uses the remarkable and unique word " rereward". " His glory is our rereward." No other book in the world contains such a word. It implies that God will give us a " recurring reward" when we imitate His mercy and goodness. It also warns us that we punish ourselves again and again when we fail to do so.
Prateep V Philip
Showing posts with label Goodness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goodness. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Uni-verse 235/10,000 For better through verse
Micah 6 v 8
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
The Lord has made it plain to us what He requires of us. He expects us to act justly, not oppressing others, nor robbing others but rendering justice by throwing our weight on the side of the weak against the strong.
We need to honour, adore and revere God for His mercy towards us and reflect that very same quality in our dealings with our fellow beings. We need to humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord by acknowledging Him in all our affairs, by an attitude of gratitude and worship at all times.
These are not generalities but it requires us to specifically respond to people and events and issues in our immediate environment. The brutal assault and murder of two young people in Mumbai when they defended a young lady’s honour is a matter that believers need to respond to. We can respond by saying, “ It is unfortunate but what can we do about it?” We cannot get away with this kind of bystander apathy. We can for instance mobilize public opinion within our sphere of influence against such violent depradators and lawless elements. We can form a Friends of Police unit in Mumbai and other places across the country or the globe to empower people with a certain quotient of power and responsibility that enables people to respond with justice in such situations. The Lord taught us that sin and its most obvious manifestation, crime begins and develops in the hearts and minds of people. He has also shown us what is good. We need to respond by using the latter to counter, reduce and prevent the former.
Prateep V Philip
Micah 6 v 8
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
The Lord has made it plain to us what He requires of us. He expects us to act justly, not oppressing others, nor robbing others but rendering justice by throwing our weight on the side of the weak against the strong.
We need to honour, adore and revere God for His mercy towards us and reflect that very same quality in our dealings with our fellow beings. We need to humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord by acknowledging Him in all our affairs, by an attitude of gratitude and worship at all times.
These are not generalities but it requires us to specifically respond to people and events and issues in our immediate environment. The brutal assault and murder of two young people in Mumbai when they defended a young lady’s honour is a matter that believers need to respond to. We can respond by saying, “ It is unfortunate but what can we do about it?” We cannot get away with this kind of bystander apathy. We can for instance mobilize public opinion within our sphere of influence against such violent depradators and lawless elements. We can form a Friends of Police unit in Mumbai and other places across the country or the globe to empower people with a certain quotient of power and responsibility that enables people to respond with justice in such situations. The Lord taught us that sin and its most obvious manifestation, crime begins and develops in the hearts and minds of people. He has also shown us what is good. We need to respond by using the latter to counter, reduce and prevent the former.
Prateep V Philip
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
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