Uni-verse 233/10,000 For better through verse Psalm 115 v 12
“ The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron.”
Israel is the uniquely spiritual nation that the Lord has formed from out of all the nations in the world. We belong to the house of Israel by faith in the promises of God to the Israelites ( the Old Covenant) and through the Israelite –Jesus of Nazareth. We must steadfastly, consistently and persistently lay claim to the promises of God even as the ancient Israelites under Moses and Joshua laid claim to the promised land. To be blessed does not mean that we will not suffer privation or problems. The other day, the Lord reminded us that soon after Joshua led Israel miraculously across the Jordan river, they faced a wall in Jericho. In triumph, we glorify God. In failure and strife, we depend on God for a miracle. He promises to give us a breakthrough in our troubles even as the walls of Jericho fell.
He remembers us because we belong to Him. As members of the house of Israel, He blesses us with the blessings of salvation or Shalom that means wholeness, healing, prosperity, peace and joy. He is our help and shield in every situation in our earthly sojourn. He is our help in seasons of victory and our shield in seasons of trouble. He reveals Himself as Ebenezer. When others see us in both seasons, they will acknowledge that we are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
We also belong to the house of Aaron, when we minister to others as priests of the Most High God. He blesses us with priestly blessings-we are in constant communion and fellowship with the Lord. There is no more separation between God and us. He reveals Himself as Immanuel. Together, these constitute the double portion of blessing- the inheritance as ones who have been saved by God and the inheritance as ones who are serving God.
Prateep V Philip
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
The WoW power of Vow
Uni-verse 231/10,000 For better through verse Judges 16 v 13
Jdg 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
As Samson was physically strong, the Lord desires that His children be spiritually strong. The secret of Samson' s strength lay in the seven braids or locks of hair that had never been cut with a razor. Similarly, our secret source of strength and immense power from God lies in seven "locks": Fear of God and love of God are the first two locks that grow side by side. As we grow in our personal knowledge and intimacy with God, both our fear of God and His holiness and our love of God with all our strength of spirit, mind and body need to grow slowly but surely like our hair grows from day to day. The fear of God makes us hate evil even as the love of God makes us love all that is good, noble, praiseworthy and perfect.
The third lock of hair is our prayer life. Just as nostrils breathe air constantly, our soul and spirit needs to pray ceaselessly in order to sustain itself. The fourth lock of hair is the Word of God. We meditate and absorb strength from claiming God's promises and by diligently studying and obeying His eternal commands. We need to claim God's strength in this manner and stay free from blame. The fifth lock of hair is praise and worship- we need to be regular in our praise and worship. Worship is like a warship that has been launched with all its guns firing. It is also the flagship of our faith life.
The sixth lock of hair is the joy of the Lord. We need to delight in what the Lord delights. The joy of the Lord is our strength. It implies that we submit all our plans and decisions to the Lord. We give priority to what He desires in our lives. The seventh lock of hair is our witness. We need to witness with our lifestyle, our deeds and our words. At the same time, we need to be wary of the Delilahs of the world who wish to betray us, weaken us or have us handed over to the enemy. These seven locks must never be cut but grow day and night, right through our lives. They will enable us to defeat all the force and power of the enemy of our souls. What else can we do with all this immense strength that the Lord has invested in us? We need to be like Samson a judge of the nations, a leader who influences people for God, a ruler or one who executes God's judgements on earth. We need to exhibit in our lives the "wow" power of vow or the power of commitment that kept a razor from the seven braids of hair from birth till his ultimate downfall by deception. We must not be attracted to the seductions of this world.
Prateep V Philip
Jdg 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
As Samson was physically strong, the Lord desires that His children be spiritually strong. The secret of Samson' s strength lay in the seven braids or locks of hair that had never been cut with a razor. Similarly, our secret source of strength and immense power from God lies in seven "locks": Fear of God and love of God are the first two locks that grow side by side. As we grow in our personal knowledge and intimacy with God, both our fear of God and His holiness and our love of God with all our strength of spirit, mind and body need to grow slowly but surely like our hair grows from day to day. The fear of God makes us hate evil even as the love of God makes us love all that is good, noble, praiseworthy and perfect.
The third lock of hair is our prayer life. Just as nostrils breathe air constantly, our soul and spirit needs to pray ceaselessly in order to sustain itself. The fourth lock of hair is the Word of God. We meditate and absorb strength from claiming God's promises and by diligently studying and obeying His eternal commands. We need to claim God's strength in this manner and stay free from blame. The fifth lock of hair is praise and worship- we need to be regular in our praise and worship. Worship is like a warship that has been launched with all its guns firing. It is also the flagship of our faith life.
The sixth lock of hair is the joy of the Lord. We need to delight in what the Lord delights. The joy of the Lord is our strength. It implies that we submit all our plans and decisions to the Lord. We give priority to what He desires in our lives. The seventh lock of hair is our witness. We need to witness with our lifestyle, our deeds and our words. At the same time, we need to be wary of the Delilahs of the world who wish to betray us, weaken us or have us handed over to the enemy. These seven locks must never be cut but grow day and night, right through our lives. They will enable us to defeat all the force and power of the enemy of our souls. What else can we do with all this immense strength that the Lord has invested in us? We need to be like Samson a judge of the nations, a leader who influences people for God, a ruler or one who executes God's judgements on earth. We need to exhibit in our lives the "wow" power of vow or the power of commitment that kept a razor from the seven braids of hair from birth till his ultimate downfall by deception. We must not be attracted to the seductions of this world.
Prateep V Philip
Thursday, October 27, 2011
God's size is not a barrier to intimacy
Uni-verse 230/10,000 For better through verse Isaiah 66 v 2
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
The earth itself contains many worlds in it in terms of the myriad people, cultures and geography that comprise it. Yet, the earth is so small a part of the vast universe. God is so big -He is bigger than the whole universe. The Bible says that He can hold all the waters in all the oceans and rivers and other water bodies in the hollow of His hand. He can lift up, weigh or lay all the mighty mountain ranges with His other hand. He is also older than billions of years. Even His "foolishness" , if it exists, is far greater than the collective wisdom of all of mankind. He determines or predestines the places and times we live in though He gives us complete freedom of choice within those boundaries.
Yet the amazing thing is that such a great God, the Great I Am condeigns to consider with favour a lone person, an individual who humbles himself and obeys His revealed Word. The other day the Holy Spirit revealed that concerning a certain member of my extended family that though he has not displayed fear of God, He the Sovereign Lord is " obeying the tears of his mother. " More than twenty years have passed since his mother had passed away but the Lord still obeys her tears and keeps His covenant promise to save him in his last days. He humbles Himself to obey the tears of a mere mortal.
Isn't it wonderful that such an awesome Person as God humbles Himself to look at each one of us with favour? When He is so mindful of us, we should be humble and contrite always and in all our ways before Him. We should always be mindful of Him, always conscious of His presence, always remembering His goodness, always reviewing His Word to us. We should take every thought, emotion, decision "captive to Christ", meaning we submit it as an offering to Him.
Prateep V Philip
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
The earth itself contains many worlds in it in terms of the myriad people, cultures and geography that comprise it. Yet, the earth is so small a part of the vast universe. God is so big -He is bigger than the whole universe. The Bible says that He can hold all the waters in all the oceans and rivers and other water bodies in the hollow of His hand. He can lift up, weigh or lay all the mighty mountain ranges with His other hand. He is also older than billions of years. Even His "foolishness" , if it exists, is far greater than the collective wisdom of all of mankind. He determines or predestines the places and times we live in though He gives us complete freedom of choice within those boundaries.
Yet the amazing thing is that such a great God, the Great I Am condeigns to consider with favour a lone person, an individual who humbles himself and obeys His revealed Word. The other day the Holy Spirit revealed that concerning a certain member of my extended family that though he has not displayed fear of God, He the Sovereign Lord is " obeying the tears of his mother. " More than twenty years have passed since his mother had passed away but the Lord still obeys her tears and keeps His covenant promise to save him in his last days. He humbles Himself to obey the tears of a mere mortal.
Isn't it wonderful that such an awesome Person as God humbles Himself to look at each one of us with favour? When He is so mindful of us, we should be humble and contrite always and in all our ways before Him. We should always be mindful of Him, always conscious of His presence, always remembering His goodness, always reviewing His Word to us. We should take every thought, emotion, decision "captive to Christ", meaning we submit it as an offering to Him.
Prateep V Philip
Javelin throwing
Uni-verse 229/10,000 For better through verse Numbers 25 v 7
Num 25:7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
Last evening in a time of prayer, the Lord flashed His light on this verse. He said that we must take the javelin and throw it. The javelin is a metaphor for the Word of God. He said, " Apply the Word of God in every situation. " Applying the Word of God means to write down a specific('rhema") verse that applies in a particular situation or speaks to our spirits and pray for its operation or fulfillment in our lives. Like Phenahas, we belong to the house of Aaron. We are as Levites. As priests of the Most High God, when we pray specifically with a specific verse, His judgement is executed on earth and in our lives. When we spread our sheet before God, He blesses our spreadsheet.
Saul used a javelin under the influence of an evil spirit to try to impale the young David. But, the Lord protected Him. The enemy may try throwing a barrage of javelins at us in different times of our lives. But, the Lord is our Rock of Escape as He was for David. The javelin in our hand is both a weapon of offence and defence. It is the " sword of His excellency" that Abraham spoke of.
Eleazar, the father of Phinehas had such a grip on his sword that it seemed to be fused into his hand. Similarly, the Word of God needs to be fused into our hand and all aspects of our lives. In normal times, it is the Shepherd's rod and staff to comfort, counsel, support and guide us. In war-like situations, it becomes a javelin in our hands that will pierce through our target.
Prateep V Philip
Num 25:7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
Last evening in a time of prayer, the Lord flashed His light on this verse. He said that we must take the javelin and throw it. The javelin is a metaphor for the Word of God. He said, " Apply the Word of God in every situation. " Applying the Word of God means to write down a specific('rhema") verse that applies in a particular situation or speaks to our spirits and pray for its operation or fulfillment in our lives. Like Phenahas, we belong to the house of Aaron. We are as Levites. As priests of the Most High God, when we pray specifically with a specific verse, His judgement is executed on earth and in our lives. When we spread our sheet before God, He blesses our spreadsheet.
Saul used a javelin under the influence of an evil spirit to try to impale the young David. But, the Lord protected Him. The enemy may try throwing a barrage of javelins at us in different times of our lives. But, the Lord is our Rock of Escape as He was for David. The javelin in our hand is both a weapon of offence and defence. It is the " sword of His excellency" that Abraham spoke of.
Eleazar, the father of Phinehas had such a grip on his sword that it seemed to be fused into his hand. Similarly, the Word of God needs to be fused into our hand and all aspects of our lives. In normal times, it is the Shepherd's rod and staff to comfort, counsel, support and guide us. In war-like situations, it becomes a javelin in our hands that will pierce through our target.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Uni-verse 228/10,000 For better through verse
Psa 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
One of the foremost attributes of a citizen of the Kingdom of God is a love for righteousness and a hatred for evil. Once we understand the absolute holiness and power of God, we will develop a deep respect or reverence for Him. That respect is reflected in our love for His goodness and an abhorrence of evil. We cleave to what is good and let go of what is evil, resist its allurements and at times even flee from it. Since we live in a grossly imperfect world, it is a kind of a tight rope walk but it is certainly better to walk a rope than to have it hanging around our neck. But, the Lord gives us the grace, the wisdom and the power to complete our walk successfully. In case we fall, He holds the safety net of forgiveness under us and puts us back on our feet.
Our God has anointed us as priests and kings before Him. In Old Testament times only the priests and kings were anointed as a sign of divine appointment, favour and empowerment. When we are redeemed by confessing our faith in Christ, we are anointed or sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This anointing makes us holy and blameless before God. This is the oil of purification of sinners. Then, we are anointed as priests. This is the oil of sanctification. We can offer worship on behalf of the whole of humanity. We intercede for those who are not saved. We are also anointed as kings to execute righteousness on earth, to exercise power and authority over the spiritual realms as suzerains of God on earth. What we bind on earth is bound in heaven, what we release or free on earth is released in heaven. This is the oil of empowerment.
But, this uni-verse speaks of the anointing with the oil of gladness. This comes with a harvest of righteousness. The word "oil" brings up the image of "oozing". We need to be oozing with gladness and joy in all that we say and do: Glad that we are saved, that we will not perish in the second death; joyful that we are victorious in Christ. The Lord has removed our sackcloth of mourning that comes from a life of sin and a guilty conscience and replaced it with the spirit of gladness and joy. As a result, we are far more glad and joyful than our contemporaries, colleagues and fellow beings who are still mixed up in the ruling passions and obsessions of the world. We may not keep up with the Joneses but we are happier by far than them.
Prateep V Philip
Psa 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
One of the foremost attributes of a citizen of the Kingdom of God is a love for righteousness and a hatred for evil. Once we understand the absolute holiness and power of God, we will develop a deep respect or reverence for Him. That respect is reflected in our love for His goodness and an abhorrence of evil. We cleave to what is good and let go of what is evil, resist its allurements and at times even flee from it. Since we live in a grossly imperfect world, it is a kind of a tight rope walk but it is certainly better to walk a rope than to have it hanging around our neck. But, the Lord gives us the grace, the wisdom and the power to complete our walk successfully. In case we fall, He holds the safety net of forgiveness under us and puts us back on our feet.
Our God has anointed us as priests and kings before Him. In Old Testament times only the priests and kings were anointed as a sign of divine appointment, favour and empowerment. When we are redeemed by confessing our faith in Christ, we are anointed or sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This anointing makes us holy and blameless before God. This is the oil of purification of sinners. Then, we are anointed as priests. This is the oil of sanctification. We can offer worship on behalf of the whole of humanity. We intercede for those who are not saved. We are also anointed as kings to execute righteousness on earth, to exercise power and authority over the spiritual realms as suzerains of God on earth. What we bind on earth is bound in heaven, what we release or free on earth is released in heaven. This is the oil of empowerment.
But, this uni-verse speaks of the anointing with the oil of gladness. This comes with a harvest of righteousness. The word "oil" brings up the image of "oozing". We need to be oozing with gladness and joy in all that we say and do: Glad that we are saved, that we will not perish in the second death; joyful that we are victorious in Christ. The Lord has removed our sackcloth of mourning that comes from a life of sin and a guilty conscience and replaced it with the spirit of gladness and joy. As a result, we are far more glad and joyful than our contemporaries, colleagues and fellow beings who are still mixed up in the ruling passions and obsessions of the world. We may not keep up with the Joneses but we are happier by far than them.
Prateep V Philip
Monday, October 24, 2011
Why bad news sells and good news saves
Uni-verse 227/10,000 For better through verse Nahum 1 v 15
Nah 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
We are used to reading headlines in newspapers howling bad news. I asked a senior correspondent in a leading newspaper," Why is it that journalists focus mostly on bad news, on things that have a negative spin?" He replied that he did not know why but he only knew that bad news sells. Bad news makes the people who read it feel better that the catastrophe has overtaken someone else and not them. They feel better and happier by comparison.
Recently, the Lord said, " You are my newspaper!" Yes, believers in the gospel are the publishers of good news, the publishers of peace. When the wicked who do not want to repent hear it, they are put off but when those who are seeking for peace and hope hear it they embrace it. As publishers of peace and good news, every thing that we say and do will bring meaning, strength and encouragement to others. We proclaim in the headlines," Behold our God, He reigns on high! Jesus has saved you from eternal death. " The gospel is not just good news but great news. What we hear in our lives after receiving the gospel into our hearts is the good news part. What we publish will bring glory to God and peace and goodwill among men.
Even out of the mountains of our lives or the big problem areas, we will begin to hear good news. We need to celebrate every significant victory that the Lord gives us with praise, worship and a fellowship meal. We need to fulfill the commitments we have made as we waited for some good news. The Lord gives us the promise that the wicked will no more have either power or influence in our lives to harm us or to hinder us. Good news deals with matters of faith. Very often, the good news is first declared and then the events follow as it was declared. Time goes forward in order to go back to present. In bad news or news per se, the future, past and present are all tense as it operates on the principle of fate. Bad news does not change anything. Good news changes lives. The good news shields us from the bad news. The people who subscribe to the good news are people of faith. The people who subscribe to the bad news are people of fate. We do not just read the good news or the Word but we eat it, relish every word and absorb it like a delicious morsel in a feast. We are not under pressure to increase the circulation or sell the news for it is given freely and will spread from one life impacted by Christ to another.
Prateep V Philip
Nah 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
We are used to reading headlines in newspapers howling bad news. I asked a senior correspondent in a leading newspaper," Why is it that journalists focus mostly on bad news, on things that have a negative spin?" He replied that he did not know why but he only knew that bad news sells. Bad news makes the people who read it feel better that the catastrophe has overtaken someone else and not them. They feel better and happier by comparison.
Recently, the Lord said, " You are my newspaper!" Yes, believers in the gospel are the publishers of good news, the publishers of peace. When the wicked who do not want to repent hear it, they are put off but when those who are seeking for peace and hope hear it they embrace it. As publishers of peace and good news, every thing that we say and do will bring meaning, strength and encouragement to others. We proclaim in the headlines," Behold our God, He reigns on high! Jesus has saved you from eternal death. " The gospel is not just good news but great news. What we hear in our lives after receiving the gospel into our hearts is the good news part. What we publish will bring glory to God and peace and goodwill among men.
Even out of the mountains of our lives or the big problem areas, we will begin to hear good news. We need to celebrate every significant victory that the Lord gives us with praise, worship and a fellowship meal. We need to fulfill the commitments we have made as we waited for some good news. The Lord gives us the promise that the wicked will no more have either power or influence in our lives to harm us or to hinder us. Good news deals with matters of faith. Very often, the good news is first declared and then the events follow as it was declared. Time goes forward in order to go back to present. In bad news or news per se, the future, past and present are all tense as it operates on the principle of fate. Bad news does not change anything. Good news changes lives. The good news shields us from the bad news. The people who subscribe to the good news are people of faith. The people who subscribe to the bad news are people of fate. We do not just read the good news or the Word but we eat it, relish every word and absorb it like a delicious morsel in a feast. We are not under pressure to increase the circulation or sell the news for it is given freely and will spread from one life impacted by Christ to another.
Prateep V Philip
The visible-invisible interface
Uni-verse 226/10,000 For better through verse John 20 v 29
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The world operates on the principle," First see and then believe" or Seeing is believing. This is the conditioning that human experience and education subjects every individual to. People who doubt the Word of God continue like the apostle Thomas to insist on seeing first before believing, leaving themselves spiritually impowerished and handicapped. All the mysteries of life and death, the truths about God and the things of God hinge on the interface between the visible and the invisible. The Kingdom of God operates on the principle of " Believing is seeing" or one must first believe and then one will see. Belief is the inner eye through which we can percieve and experience the love of God.
Belief is the deepest level of one's psyche or soul. Belief affects our thoughts, emotions, speech, decisions, efforts and results. When we believe in Christ, our thoughts, emotions, speech, decisions, efforts and results will be blessed. We connect with God through prayer, meditation and the Word at the deepest, most personal or intimate level and He becomes real, more real than the things we can perceive or see. The results are there for everyone to see- what was formerly invisible will become visible in our lives. Many educated and so called intellectual people pride themselves on their commitment to rationalism and empiricism. What they need to realize is a truth that an evangelist once told me," The real world is the spiritual world. What we see around are only the props. If things are to happen in the physical world, it needs to first happen in the spiritual world and then it gets reflected here." In short, if we want to change things in our lives, our families, our cities, our societies, our nations or the world, we need to first change from disbelief to belief. Our conception of God makes way to our experience of God and His attributes.
It pleases God when we trust Him implicity and explicitly without expecting any external evidence or sign or proof. It is the ultimate test of faithfulness when we remain faithful to Him even though He is not visible, even though we cannot touch Him or feel Him. But, we do experience His touch in different ways and different areas and times of our lives.Once we believe, He shows us signs that His presence is near, that His Word is true and He is true to every word in it. We are freed from the curse of thinking that only what we experience through our senses is true and so are blessed. Our minds, emotions and our imagination freed from the necessity of being merely moored to the ground begins to soar upwards.
Prateep V Philip
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The world operates on the principle," First see and then believe" or Seeing is believing. This is the conditioning that human experience and education subjects every individual to. People who doubt the Word of God continue like the apostle Thomas to insist on seeing first before believing, leaving themselves spiritually impowerished and handicapped. All the mysteries of life and death, the truths about God and the things of God hinge on the interface between the visible and the invisible. The Kingdom of God operates on the principle of " Believing is seeing" or one must first believe and then one will see. Belief is the inner eye through which we can percieve and experience the love of God.
Belief is the deepest level of one's psyche or soul. Belief affects our thoughts, emotions, speech, decisions, efforts and results. When we believe in Christ, our thoughts, emotions, speech, decisions, efforts and results will be blessed. We connect with God through prayer, meditation and the Word at the deepest, most personal or intimate level and He becomes real, more real than the things we can perceive or see. The results are there for everyone to see- what was formerly invisible will become visible in our lives. Many educated and so called intellectual people pride themselves on their commitment to rationalism and empiricism. What they need to realize is a truth that an evangelist once told me," The real world is the spiritual world. What we see around are only the props. If things are to happen in the physical world, it needs to first happen in the spiritual world and then it gets reflected here." In short, if we want to change things in our lives, our families, our cities, our societies, our nations or the world, we need to first change from disbelief to belief. Our conception of God makes way to our experience of God and His attributes.
It pleases God when we trust Him implicity and explicitly without expecting any external evidence or sign or proof. It is the ultimate test of faithfulness when we remain faithful to Him even though He is not visible, even though we cannot touch Him or feel Him. But, we do experience His touch in different ways and different areas and times of our lives.Once we believe, He shows us signs that His presence is near, that His Word is true and He is true to every word in it. We are freed from the curse of thinking that only what we experience through our senses is true and so are blessed. Our minds, emotions and our imagination freed from the necessity of being merely moored to the ground begins to soar upwards.
Prateep V Philip
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