Beware of dogs

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. Phil. 3:2

The Jews were insisting that all those who were becoming followers of Christ, need to pass through the Jewish requirement/ritual of circumcision… which Paul says it is not required. Paul was protecting the faith of the new gentile believers who were being torn apart of circumcision required by the believers from a Jewish background.

Many times we give more importance to the rituals and traditions that we lose our focus. We should always keep in mind that Christ is our main focus, rest everything is secondary. The free gift of salvation is the only thing that needs to be on our minds. Salvation is free and without any ritualistic pre-requisites.

Christ is our all in all, Christ is all-sufficient, nothing else required for salvation. ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life’. John 3:16

The only thing we need to do to obtain this free gift is believe in Him wholeheartedly.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the free gift of salvation given to me. Help me to always lift up my cup of salvation and tell others of all that You are doing for me. Let me not be driven away with the age-old customs and traditions leaving behind the main focus. I trust in You, You only lead me and guide me. In Jesus name. Amen.

True Witnesses

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Jesus, after His resurrection appeared to the disciples and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one such occasion, when they met together, Jesus gave them this privilege with a responsibility assigned to it.

This privilege with a responsibility attached was not only for the disciples but also for all of us who profess to follow Christ. We are to stand as witnesses in this world, we need to live as Christ lived. Being witnesses doesn’t mean only to share the Gospel, it is something that our lives need to be doing. Someone has rightly said, ‘we are the only Bibles that people get to read’.

Every action of ours should clearly testify as to who God is, what He means to us and what He has done for the mankind. We should be able represent Christ through our lifestyle.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, help me to represent You through my lifestyle. Let everything that I do bring glory and honor to Your name. In Jesus name. Amen.

He Will Lift You Up

Priya worked in a popular BPO. She always felt that she wasn’t that good a Christian as her other family members or the church friends she had. All of them spoke about how their quite times were going so well, how they had an encounter with God’s presence, how they witnessed to some stranger, the Christian books they read etc. She could only do short prayers and read a portion of the scriptures every day. She wasn’t even involved in any ministries in church. Academically also she wasn’t great as a student. Everywhere she went she was amongst the last few, the ones who didn’t have something concrete to show the world.

But one thing that set her apart from the others was that she was always kind, forgiving and merciful. Everything she did, she did out of love just as she had experienced from Jesus. Even in her office, where it was a competitive dog-eat-dog world, she stood for the principles that Jesus taught even when people all around looked down on such values. As her colleagues conspired for their every move, she was faithful and sincere in her work. People who joined after her were getting the promotions she deserved. But she never let that affect her work or the joy she radiated. If anyone was in her place, they would argue with God about the unfair treatment meted out. But she trusted God with her life and so she carried on.

Despite everything working against her, Priya had God’s favor. Therefore she received rare opportunities in her work place, things that not everyone gets. Like a well funded trip to the company offices which were situation in the most beautiful places, training in privileged processes, financial blessing etc. The greatest thing she received was however, respect, admiration and love of her colleagues. They looked up to her for advice and they knew she was different because of the God she served. Her life stands to testify the proof of the verse “ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time: – I Peter 5:6”

Humbling ourselves before God implies that we accept with joy the challenges He sets before us, putting his principles into practice, no matter what it costs us. It means that that you acknowledge that God knows better than you do. An excellent God inspires and excellent worship, whether it be at work, in your personal life or even when you are doing nothing. It shows that we acknowledge that the control is in God’s hand and requires our total surrender.

God’s faithfulness will ensure that we get the fruit of our hard work and His grace will provide for what we need desperately but are incapable of gaining on our own. He, who created time, knows when it is best for you to reach greater heights. When human beings reach great heights on their own, there is always a fear that they will mess up and fall back. But when He lifts you high, it most probably is your stepping stone to reach higher grounds.

Therefore humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

(Note: The name in the real life story has been changed to protect identity)

Resist The Devil

When do we flee from something? When we fear that what we are facing will either hurt us or kill us. We run away because we feel we will not be able to face the consequences if we go on forward. Interestingly, James uses this word to tell us how the devil will react when we resist him. He says in James 4:7- ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’

Such is the power of a normal human being who resists the devil. The concept is simpler than we assume it to be. It is not because human beings are made so powerful that they can resist the devil on their own. If such was the case, Eve or Adam would not have fallen for his tactics. But every person who resists evil does so through the power of God. Self control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit as listed in Galatians 5. Even Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us that we fight against the supernatural hence the weapons listed as the armor of God contains weapons and accessories of the supernatural kinds. (Like prayer, faith, truth, righteousness, The word of God etc.) .

Resisting the devil means you do not give into the leading of the devil. Therefore the first step to resisting the devil is – ‘Not resisting the leading of God.’ There will come a time in every person’s life where they have to choose who their commanding officer is – devil or God. The Holy Spirit gives a clear choice between eternal life and eternal death. This is the defining moment for every believer, more popularly known as the born-again experience.

To resist we need to know two things. One is to know what to resist and the other is to know how to resist. We learn about these clearly when read God’s word, spend time with fellow believers and spend so much time with God in prayer that we become sensitive to The Holy Spirit. The most dangerous inkling to resist is ‘the urge to trust anything or anyone (including your own self) more than God.’

What really scares the devil is God. So make sure when the devil sees you he sees a reflection of God.

Righteous Will Live By Faith

What you believe will determine how you live. If you observe the life of sportsmen you will see that, their lifestyle will revolve around keeping themselves in shape and improving their performance in their respective fields. Musicians and singers dedicate a majority of their time to practice and hone their talents. Similarly business management students do what is needed to help them feel the pulse of the market and invest in researching of people and products that have been a success in the market.

How then should the lifestyle of a righteous person be? The bible says in Galatians 3:11 “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” ” The life of the righteous is not centered in observing the law or following strict rules but on walking by faith. Centered on believing and trusting God for everything.
Abraham sets a good example for us in this matter. It is said of him that he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. What Abraham had to believe required faith. He had to believe that even though he was old and without child, he will have an heir of his own flesh and blood. He had to cling on to God’s promise when there was no evidence of such a thing ever happening. When people might have looked down on him because he was childless, he had to remember God and His word. He believed in God more than he believed in circumstances this was credited as righteousness in God’s eyes.
Are you struggling to believe that life will get better? Struggling to believe that there is hope for the future? Have you clung on to God’s promise for so long that you are tired of waiting. Then remember that your faith is of importance to God. Someone rightly said “Faith is not faith until it’s all you hold on to.”
Do you have faith in Jesus alone or are you trying a combination, faith and my good degree, faith and my rich friend. The result of your faith might be important to you, but for God it is important that you believe Him, that you believe His son and show it by changing your lifestyle accordingly. Anyone can believe when everything goes in a favorable way. Faith doesn’t require proof or evidence of possibility.
Your challenge is not to know His promises, to know Him. Spend time doing this. Give God a fighting chance today. Believe and live in expectation of your dreams coming to a fulfillment. Be called RIGHTEOUS today.

धर्मी लोग विश्वास के साथ जीएँगे

आप के विचार से कौन सी बात आप की जीवन शैली का चुनाव करती है ? यदि आप किसी खिलाड़ी के जीवन को देखें तो आप जानेंगे कि उनके जीवन का सारा केन्द्र बिन्दु अपने शरीर को बनाने, तथा अपने खेल को बेहतर बनाने पर केन्द्रित रहता है। अन्य क्षेत्रों में भी ऐसा ही है चाहे वह संगीतकार हों, चाहे गायक वे अपने जीवन का अधिक से अधिक समय अभ्यास करने में बिताते हैं जिससे उनका प्रदर्शन अच्छा हो सके। इसी प्रकार व्यापार में लगे लोग भी प्रयास में लगे रहते हैं कि किस प्रकार बाज़ार की अवस्था को समझ कर सही क्षेत्र में पैसों का निवेश करें। जिससे बाज़ार के व्यापार में विजय पाएँ।
सो एक धार्मिक व्यक्ति का जीवन कैसा होना चाहिए? बाइबल गला. के 3 अध्याय के 11 पद में कहती है, “स्पष्ट रूप से नियमों के अनुसार कोई भी परमेश्वर के सामने धर्मी नहीं है। क्योंकि धर्मी लोग केवल विश्वास के द्वारा ही जीएँगे।” धर्मी जन का जीवन इस बात पर निर्भर नहीं करता है कि वह नियमों का कितना पालन करते हैं वरण केवल विश्वास पर चलने से ही वे धर्मी कहलाते हैं। जब हम अपना ध्यान केवल परमेश्वर पर रखते हैं और हर बात के लिए उसी पर भरोसा रखते हैं।
इसके लिए हमारे पास एक अच्छा उदाहरण है अब्राहम का। उसके लिए लिखा गया है कि वह परमेश्वर पर विश्वास करता था और उसी विश्वास ने उसे परमेश्वर की नज़रों में धर्मी ठहराया था।
क्या आप संघर्ष कर रहे हैं कि इस बात पर विश्वास कर लें कि आप का जीवन बेहतर हो जाएगा? या आपके लिए भविष्य में कोई आशा है, इस बात पर विश्वास करने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहे हैं? या फिर क्या आप परमेश्वर के वायदे से लिपटे हुए प्रतीक्षा करते करते थक चुके हैं? तब याद रखें कि विश्वास परमेश्वर के लिए बहुत ही महत्त्वपूर्ण बात है। किसी ने सच कहा है कि “विश्वास तब तक विश्वास नहीं है जब तक आप के पास थामने को एकमात्र विश्वास का सहारा रहता है।”

क्या आप केवल यीशु पर भरोसा है? या फिर आप कोई और उपाय मिला कर कार्य कर रहे हैं। जैसे अपनी अच्छाईयाँ और विश्वास या फिर मेरा धनी मित्र और विश्वास। आपके विश्वास का नतीजा आपके लिए बहुत ही महत्त्वपूर्ण हो सकता है परन्तु परमेश्वर के लिए आपका उस पर विश्वास करना उस से भी अधिक महत्त्वपूर्ण है और उसके पुत्र पर विश्वास करके अपने जीवन की शैली को ही बदल डालें। हर कोई विश्वास कर सकता है, जब सब कुछ सही चल रहा होता है। विश्वास को किसी सबूत की ज़रूरत नहीं होती है कि ऐसा हो सकता है।
आप की चुनौती यह नहीं है कि आप उसके वायदों को जाने, वरण यह है कि आप उसको जानें। यही करने में समय बिताएँ। परमेश्वर को अवसर दें कि वह आप की लड़ाई लड़ सके। विश्वास करें और आशा रखें कि आप के सपने पूरे हो जाएँगे। आज ही धर्मी कहलाएँ।

Nothing impossible

“With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

Jesus made this statement when He was on this earth. This was in context with the rich man asking Jesus to show him the way to heaven, and when Jesus asked him to sell his belongings and follow Christ, he turned back and left. And Jesus said, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”. But again he added, saying, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Yes, we might find few things to be difficult and next to impossible, we might not even dare to dream of it happening, but the Word of God reminds us that nothing is impossible with Him. He is all Omnipotent (all powerful) and Omniscient (all knowing) God.

In our daily walk we try to get in touch with the higher authorities to get some work done, because we know that they can do it as they have the powers. In the same way we also need to know that God is all powerful and He can and will do what we ask Him to. To believe that nothing is impossible with God we only need to know that our God is a mighty and powerful God.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, help me know that You alone are All Powerful and All Knowing, nothing is difficult for You. Help me live a victorious life as I belong to You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Build Yourself In Holy Faith

Archaeology is particularly good for finding out about the practices of the past and about the lifestyles of ordinary people. Archaeologists look at the physical evidence that has survived like the buildings that people lived and worked in and the things that they used amongst other things to draw their conclusions. The remains stand witness to what once was.

Our lives are similar in that way. Imagine somebody in the future trying to study your life now. What are you leaving for them to find out? Will anything of worth from your life survive to teach the coming generation about life, faith and God?

We all are part of the history we make. Like it or not, if we stand tall, weather the storms and survive the test of time and circumstances, someone will benefit, even if it is centuries later. The proof is in The Bible too. The lives , laments and praise by men in many previous milleniums are as real to us now as it could have been then.

We find clues to how to have this kindof influence by examining the reasons on how a building survives through centuries. What makes it remain? It boils down to three things: A good foundation, Good quality material and Proper Maintenance.

A good foundation: No building that stands on weak foundation will survive the storms or rains. Even in the parable of the foolish builder Jesus uses this very fact to warn us about its importance. If we need to stand tall in the midst of crisis, we need to be rooted on the ground that will not shake when everything else does. As Jesus says in Mat 7: 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” The solid foundation of any life is the application of God’s word and His leading.

Good material: If one builds a house on a good foundation but uses low quality material, the building will collapse or will be in ruins even before a storm or rain comes. Even in our lives we cannot accommodate things that are potential dangers to our lives , our purposes. For our lives to survive tests we need qualities that will hold us up not pull us down. These include prayer, God’s word, faith, love etc.

Proper Maintenance: When a flood damages a house. Would you live in it without mending all the damage and assume to be ready for the next flood? You would not. But somehow we do that with our lives. Once we face a tough trail we think we can survive anything else without the need for replenishing our strength, faith etc. But after every battle we fight, we need to consider the faith or will that has been affected and get them refreshed in prayer and through God’s word. In the book of Jude this very fact is emphasized upon “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 20)

You never will know whom God will guide with you as His lighthouse. So make every effort to stand tall, on the right foundation, with the right values and through the refreshing yourself regularly in the presence of God.

A Guiding Light

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” ~ Psalm 119:105

Traveling in the dark without any light is not an easy task. And though we have eyes that see, we cannot really see clear enough in the dark. We need to have a lamp. With the lamp we cannot see far ahead right down the bend of the road. We can see only to a small distance, to where the light shines forth.

We all get worried and anxious about our future sometimes. Feelings of doubt, dilemma and confusion set in. We try to find out about the future through different means just to be secure. We want to know the entire route of our life’s journey….but God does not reveal the entire road map of our lives to us. He shows us only a part of it, a small section of the pathway. He expects us to trust Him to lead and guide us for the rest of the journey. To help us He has given us the Bible as a lamp to our feet and a light for our path.

The lamp has to accompany us in our journey. If we hold it far away or fix it on a pole and move away from it, we cannot see properly. It’s the same with the Bible. Just as we need to hold the lamp near us so that its light falls on our feet as well as light up the pathway, the Bible should become a real part of our lives. We can make the Bible a real part of our live by reading it, studying it, drawing help from it. The Bible is God’s written Word. It helps us face problems, make right decisions and choices, warns us of danger, corrects us, gives direction, helps us understand situations and nourishes our soul. It acts as the lamp through which see where we’re going and what is on the way, what to avoid, what to be careful of. We can rely on the Bible. It works and it really helps.

Prayer
“Dear Jesus, thank you for Your Word, the Bible that guides me through life’s journey. Help me understand Your Word and read it regularly and take help from it. Amen.”

The Bible is my lamp in the dark