Month: February 2017

Dear All,

Friedrich Nietzsche said “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”   Psalms 24:4-5, says “He…who hath not…sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord.”

Speaking the Truth

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
Proverbs 12:22

We will look today at the story of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. He was a faithful servant and he saw that Naaman the Syrian had brought plenty of good gifts to be given to Elisha after he was healed of his leprosy. However, when Elisha refused to take any of the gifts, Gehazi was overcome by greed so he ran after Naaman and lied to him, saying:
“My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.”  2 Kings 5:22

When he returned after taking the gifts from Naaman, the  first lie that Gehazi spoke led him to lie again. Elisha inquired as to where he had been and Gehazi lied saying “Your servant did not go anywhere.”  2 Kings 5:25

Elisha who was a prophet of God saw how the love of money,  had led him to sin and cursed his servant with the leprosy of Naaman, pronouncing it upon Gehazi and his future descendants. And so Gehazi left Elisha, his whole body covered with leprosy.

In Proverbs 6:16-19, King Solomon lists six things which the Lord hates. These include a lying tongue and a false witness who speaks lies, which become the bad seed of discord sown among brethren.

The truth of God’s word sets us free but getting entrapped by a web of continuous lying and deception is a serious trap of the devil that can spread like leprosy throughout our whole being. Today, if we are caught in this trap, it is time to go before the Lord in repentance so that He can change our lips to be instruments of truth, giving Him glory at all times.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for setting me free from the bondage of lies and deception, giving me the freedom to walk in Your truth because You abide in me. Amen.

Your obedient servants in Christ,
Theo and Manju

Talents are given to us from the Lord. We may have noticed this when we were in school. Some students excelled in sports, and some in academics. When you watch some athletes running the one hundred meters, they are able to run much faster than others without a lot of training. This is a God given talent and when these are used wisely, they produce good results.

Choose wisdom in using His talents

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
Matthew 25:24-25

Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a man who had gone for a journey and had given each of his servants talents. The servants did not know the hour of coming. The one who was given five made another five, and the one who was given two doubled his talents. However the servant who was given the least, buried it, and had a complaint to give his master on his return

When God gives us a talent we are held accountable to Him. The talent belongs to Him and we work for the master and for His kingdom. The success is the product of our work. It is like the dedicated athlete who trains hard to win the gold using his God given talent.

When a talent is given to us we should not delay in using it because these are precious talents given to us by the master. When the talent is not used it is wasted and the result is negative. This is what the master had to say:
Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:28-30

Therefore let us seek the Lord to give us wisdom to use His talents for His glory rather than burying them.

Dear Lord,

I thank You that You have given me many talents .Give me Your wisdom so that I will be able to bring You glory and honour and not use them for selfish gain. Amen

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  James 4:4

A Lifestyle of Holiness

 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy   1 Peter: 13-16

The value of grace is in His precious blood and this cannot be compared to any created thing.

Once we understand the value of God’s grace, we will not conform to the evil desires of the world which are the result of living in the darkness and being ignorant about it.  Now that we are saved by His grace, our spiritual eyes are opened and we have the knowledge and God given wisdom to distinguish between living in holiness and conforming to the evil nature that is of the world.

We are called to be vigilant of the spiritual dangers and enemies, and watch and pray against the sins to which we are susceptible.  We as Christians can live a victorious life and be like a city that is set high on a mountain by doing what the written word of God instructs us to do.  God’s word and its guidelines lead and direct us towards holiness in every way.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for the precious blood that you shed for me on the cross of Calvary. Thank You for saving me and for leading me into Your holiness each day.

Amen

Theo & Manju

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt    Numbers 14:2-4

The servant leader

 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”Numbers 14:12

The Lord brought the people of Israel from the clutches of Pharaoh after making the ruler of Egypt aware that He was the Ruler of heaven and earth. Though Pharaoh witnessed all the signs and wonders of the Lord, his heart was not willing to give up the control that he had on the people of Israel.

On the other hand, when twelve leaders among the Israelites were asked to spy the land before they took possession of this promised land of milk and honey, In spite of witnessing the signs and wonders of the Lord, ten of the appointed spies were found to make excuses, wanting to return to Egypt so that they could make among themselves a leader of their own. Their negative attitude influenced the mass of people like wild fire. The Lord heard their murmuring and was greatly displeased and wanted to destroy them and make a nation out of Moses. However as Moses interceded and pleaded with  the Lord for the lives of the wicked hearted people God spared  the people of Israel.

Even though the people repeatedly were against Moses and spoke negatively about him, the heart of Moses was selfless and with full of love for the people of God. His desire was twofold; firstly to honour the Lord and secondly to be faithful to His call.

The lesson for us today is that we need to be faithful in all things that God has called us to do in spite of the resistance and oppositions from the others and  honour the Lord in every way.

Prayer

Dear Lord help me to be faithful in everything  that you have called me to do and may I find joy in accomplishing  what you have called me to do. Amen

Theo & Manju

Skyscrapers are the world’s tallest buildings. A skyscraper needs careful planning before it can be built. The foundations of a skyscraper are a few stories deep. When the foundation is dug out it often reaches into solid rock. When built on this, the enormous weight of the of steel and concrete beams will spread evenly and hold the superstructure securely.

Strong Foundation

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Joseph was in prison for several years and it could have been a very challenging period of his life. Nevertheless, he knew that he was in the perfect will of God. This knowledge helped him to endure the challenges and difficulties in his life and also made him depend on the Lord. This was possible for Joseph because from his small age, his foundations were built on trusting the Lord.

We are sometimes thrown into prison situations through no fault of ours. Just as a building’s foundation is unseen to human eyes, we often do not see the reason for why we go through the struggles in our lives. This could be God’s plan for our lives and He may allow situations to melt and mould us. If we are not quick to be discouraged and are able to overcome fear and frustration by steadfastly looking to God through our prayer and supplication, the foundation under us will be strengthened.

On the other hand the cause of our trials could also be due to stepping out of God’s will. This requires us to come to the Father with repentance and seeking His guidance. In doing this, the faulty foundations are mended and strengthened.

A strong foundation allows us to withstand the storms of life, as we have learned by experience to seek Him and know for sure that our help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Let our whole life be built on the solid rock of Christ Jesus. He has promised us to come to Him when we are tired and weary. No load of life’s problem is too heavy for Him to bear.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day. I want to be in the perfect will of You so that my foundation will be strong, and will be able to weather the storms of the day.

God Bless you,
Theo and Manju

Singing in a choir requires the members to have their focus on the Choirmaster in order to follow him. This is easy if the choristers know the tune and the words. The Choirmaster will lead the choir with clarity to start and stop at the right time, and also to sing high or low in tune with all the other members.

Be in tune with the Master

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:21

If we have to walk in tune with the master, we have to follow in His steps. Steps indicate climbing and it needs effort like the choristers learning the tune and the words, and looking at the Choirmaster to sing in tune. We will look at some baby steps to move forward this morning.

The first step is that we need to love Him and thereby love others as He has loved us unconditionally. When the soldiers mocked Jesus and spat at Him, He was still able to say ‘‘Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”.

How then do we love others? It is by sharing the love of Christ with people around us. The soldiers saw the risen Lord, but they did not share the good news. Instead, they buried it because of their love of money and fear of people.

One commandment that the Lord gave the disciples is seen in the following scripture. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

Are we able to walk in tune with Him to love God and love people?

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day, and I remember that You picked me up from the miry clay and I am able to walk in tune because Your light shines on me. Help me to share the same love with others to bring them to the light. Amen.

God Bless you,
Theo and Manju