"Enoch walked with God and he was not.[Genesis6:24] Daily Enoch walked and by his side was the holy, almighty Lord directing his path. He would have consulted God about every little thing and obeyed Him. Thus he walked and he walked and walked and one day he was not to be found on earth. He walked with God into eternity! He went to be with the Lord for ever. No more trials , sorrow, pain or parting in that blissful eternity.
Enoch was not a single man. He had a wife and many children. He worked to provide for his family. He had a life like you and me. But he was doing everything to please his Lord God. His walk was with God.
He lived for three hundred and sixty five years!It is amazing that he was able to please God in such a way that God just took him to be with Him. He did not die like all humans.
This is what I desire. I want to walk with the Lord today, every day and when my walk in this world ends, I will be with the Lord for ever.
The end may be at the rapture, when Jesus comes to take away those who are waiting for His appearing or it may be my death. What ever it may be, my walk with the Lord is all I need.
That walk is a walk in the light and in truth. A walk of faith trusting in God for every thing. It is a Holy Spirit guided life filled with the fruit of the spirit.It is a walk in love. It looks as if I am aspiring very high. True. But with God all things are possible.
You and I are called for such a life, to be imitators of Christ.[Ep.5:1&2] He who has called us is faithful. He will help us to walk with Him as Enoch did and we will go with him when the trumpet sounds.
My prayer is, ' Lord, let me walk with you today. Let your presence be with me all the time.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Family Gettogether Is Essential
"For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom His whole family in heaven and earth derives it's name, that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power, through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know that this love surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. [Ep.3:14-19]
The above is, St. Paul's much needed prayer for the church family.
Much attention is given to the family these days: Having a family name is considered important. Family roots are being searched. Family time and values are emphasized. Family reunions are celebrated.
With out being a member of a family a family, one will be a loner. It is considered a tragedy if some one is disowned by the family or gets away from his family
As Christians we belong to the family of God. It is such a huge and great family where God is our loving heavenly father! We have the same family name. Our father in heaven promises His love and power to each and every member of this great family.
We know that it is the' word' of our father that created the heaven and the earth. His love made provision for our sins to be pardoned. His everlasting love wants to us to be saved and have eternal security. Such a great father desires to impart his love and power to us His children. That could be attained only by coming together in unity to worship, comprehend his love and grow in it. All who wish to receive this blessing should remain in the family.
It is sad to note that many Christians wish to be loners for various reasons. Those who isolate themselves from the family become losers, devoid of God's love and power.
It is not easy to get along with every one in the church family. It is good to remember that all are in the process of growing up and are liable to falter or hurt. That is why Paul says "God is able to do more than what we ask or think according to His power working in us." [Eph3: 20] He is able to accomplish anything. We should desire to be in His family at any cost so that God's power could work in and through us. His power gives us the ability to be together.
Many members of our great family of God need our prayers and encouragement. Many are going through persecutions for following Christ. We should be in a position to pray for the power of the enemy to be paralysed and deliverance come to our brothers and sisters.
It is time for us to meet with our family to grow in the love of our father and to use His power to bring answers to the seeking , suffering world.
And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know that this love surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. [Ep.3:14-19]
The above is, St. Paul's much needed prayer for the church family.
Much attention is given to the family these days: Having a family name is considered important. Family roots are being searched. Family time and values are emphasized. Family reunions are celebrated.
With out being a member of a family a family, one will be a loner. It is considered a tragedy if some one is disowned by the family or gets away from his family
As Christians we belong to the family of God. It is such a huge and great family where God is our loving heavenly father! We have the same family name. Our father in heaven promises His love and power to each and every member of this great family.
We know that it is the' word' of our father that created the heaven and the earth. His love made provision for our sins to be pardoned. His everlasting love wants to us to be saved and have eternal security. Such a great father desires to impart his love and power to us His children. That could be attained only by coming together in unity to worship, comprehend his love and grow in it. All who wish to receive this blessing should remain in the family.
It is sad to note that many Christians wish to be loners for various reasons. Those who isolate themselves from the family become losers, devoid of God's love and power.
It is not easy to get along with every one in the church family. It is good to remember that all are in the process of growing up and are liable to falter or hurt. That is why Paul says "God is able to do more than what we ask or think according to His power working in us." [Eph3: 20] He is able to accomplish anything. We should desire to be in His family at any cost so that God's power could work in and through us. His power gives us the ability to be together.
Many members of our great family of God need our prayers and encouragement. Many are going through persecutions for following Christ. We should be in a position to pray for the power of the enemy to be paralysed and deliverance come to our brothers and sisters.
It is time for us to meet with our family to grow in the love of our father and to use His power to bring answers to the seeking , suffering world.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Love Your Enemies - Mathew 5:44
One of the hardest teachings of Jesus is "Love your enemies." He set an example by laying down his life for us, who were His enemies.
Who are our enemies?
Our enemies are not some country or people who live far away from us. We find our enemies in our homes, work places and churches. People who hurt us most are those who live close to us. In this fallen world, people whom we thought we could trust most, sometimes let us down. Those we love, hurt us deeply and at that point, or at least for that moment, they have become our enemies. If we are honest enough to admit it, we have become their enemies as well. These people can be your spouse, children, brothers, sisters or the church family.
Christians often hurt each other deeply and repeatedly; then love is lost and they become enemies in their heart.
It is easy to ignore them and go on having the hurt within us. But that will go against Jesus' commission to love and bless them.
How do we love our enemies?
I want to pass on some good advice I heard on the Back to the Bible broadcast, which blessed me:
1. Greet them graciously without avoiding them.
2. Disarm them by doing good to them.
3. Refuse to speak evil of them, as words have power. [Prov.18:21]
4. Stop talking of what they have done and start forgiving them.
5. Thank God for them. Your enemy is sent to you by God's design and with his approval, to bring something good out of it.
6. Pray for them. They need your prayers more than anyone else. If you hate them tell that also to God.
7. Ask God to bless them: Whatever blessings you are asking for yourself, ask for your enemies too.
When we pray like that the pressure goes off. We have done exactly what Jesus has asked us to do. Thus, if we release our enemies, we will be set free from our anger and bitterness. We will be able to love our enemies.
Who are our enemies?
Our enemies are not some country or people who live far away from us. We find our enemies in our homes, work places and churches. People who hurt us most are those who live close to us. In this fallen world, people whom we thought we could trust most, sometimes let us down. Those we love, hurt us deeply and at that point, or at least for that moment, they have become our enemies. If we are honest enough to admit it, we have become their enemies as well. These people can be your spouse, children, brothers, sisters or the church family.
Christians often hurt each other deeply and repeatedly; then love is lost and they become enemies in their heart.
It is easy to ignore them and go on having the hurt within us. But that will go against Jesus' commission to love and bless them.
How do we love our enemies?
I want to pass on some good advice I heard on the Back to the Bible broadcast, which blessed me:
1. Greet them graciously without avoiding them.
2. Disarm them by doing good to them.
3. Refuse to speak evil of them, as words have power. [Prov.18:21]
4. Stop talking of what they have done and start forgiving them.
5. Thank God for them. Your enemy is sent to you by God's design and with his approval, to bring something good out of it.
6. Pray for them. They need your prayers more than anyone else. If you hate them tell that also to God.
7. Ask God to bless them: Whatever blessings you are asking for yourself, ask for your enemies too.
When we pray like that the pressure goes off. We have done exactly what Jesus has asked us to do. Thus, if we release our enemies, we will be set free from our anger and bitterness. We will be able to love our enemies.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Recipe for Constant Joyfulness
I heard a teaching from the book of Philippians today. St. Paul, who said: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." [Phil.4:4], did not just say it. He really experienced that kind of joy in his life.
The unbecoming conduct of some Christians, some preaching the Gospel for selfish reasons and lack of unity among the Christians were troubling him. Besides all this, he was in prison. These factors could have killed anyone's joy, but not Paul's. Instead, he taught them that their life should be worthy of the gospel, they should realize that they are all working for the same cause, eliminate disunity and have clean hands and pure hearts.
To have that kind of joy all the time, we should learn to take the bad things in life and turn it for good. In the midst of a problem, don't focus on the problem, focus on the good thing that came out of it [Phil.1:15-19]. Look at the people who are praying for you. These things will give us joy, advised Paul.
I realized how true it is. There are times when we do not want to tell our problems because it may paint a bad picture about others who are involved in it. Or for fear of publicity we may not want to confide in someone and carry the burden all alone. such an incident took place a few weeks back and my heart was far from rejoicing.
Then, my sister from Sri Lanka,called and said that two people from a powerful prayer group inquired from her about me. They had said that they were urged to pray for me. My sister did not take it that seriously as she knew that I was in good health. When she told me about this, though the problem which weighed me down remained the same, an unspeakable joy came to me. The thought that the Lord raised up people who do not know anything about me, to pray for me, gave me a fresh love for the Lord.
The Lord understood what I was going through inside. The thought that He was working on the matter I was praying about and that He cares for me, revived me. An inexplicable kind of joy filled me. Without thinking, I began to sing a chorus I knew:
"All that I have is in Jesus, He satisfies, Joy He supplies, Life will be worthless without him. All things in Jesus I find."
Don't you think that we have a loving, understanding, wonderful, almighty God?
The unbecoming conduct of some Christians, some preaching the Gospel for selfish reasons and lack of unity among the Christians were troubling him. Besides all this, he was in prison. These factors could have killed anyone's joy, but not Paul's. Instead, he taught them that their life should be worthy of the gospel, they should realize that they are all working for the same cause, eliminate disunity and have clean hands and pure hearts.
To have that kind of joy all the time, we should learn to take the bad things in life and turn it for good. In the midst of a problem, don't focus on the problem, focus on the good thing that came out of it [Phil.1:15-19]. Look at the people who are praying for you. These things will give us joy, advised Paul.
I realized how true it is. There are times when we do not want to tell our problems because it may paint a bad picture about others who are involved in it. Or for fear of publicity we may not want to confide in someone and carry the burden all alone. such an incident took place a few weeks back and my heart was far from rejoicing.
Then, my sister from Sri Lanka,called and said that two people from a powerful prayer group inquired from her about me. They had said that they were urged to pray for me. My sister did not take it that seriously as she knew that I was in good health. When she told me about this, though the problem which weighed me down remained the same, an unspeakable joy came to me. The thought that the Lord raised up people who do not know anything about me, to pray for me, gave me a fresh love for the Lord.
The Lord understood what I was going through inside. The thought that He was working on the matter I was praying about and that He cares for me, revived me. An inexplicable kind of joy filled me. Without thinking, I began to sing a chorus I knew:
"All that I have is in Jesus, He satisfies, Joy He supplies, Life will be worthless without him. All things in Jesus I find."
Don't you think that we have a loving, understanding, wonderful, almighty God?
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Greatest Gain
"For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."
Philippians 1:21
My father's death anniversary was on the 16th of March. I thought of his life and how it helped me in my journey.
My father hailed from a small village. He belonged to a Hindu family and lived true to his convictions. His parents were not well off. My father was able to make his way to Singapore, educated himself and held a high position in the government.
Though he married my mother who was a Christian, he remained a Hindu, till one day in his distress [he lost his son suddenly and his wife was sick in the hospital] his eyes fell on my mom's Bible. As he opened it, the Lord spoke to his heart from Isaiah 1:3: "The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, my... people do not understand.". He went on to read and to search the scriptures and was convinced of the truth. By the time my mother came home from the hospital with the new baby, the Lord had worked in his heart and he was ready to accept the Lord and obey in the water baptism. The Lord always has His way and His time.
More than his conversion, the change in life, his upright living, his integrity and obedience to every truth from the Bible, set an example for my family and me. He retired early at 55 years to stay with his family in Sri Lanka. We were wealthy and lacked nothing. Yet, his lifestyle was that of a true Christian. He was up as early as 4am, sang praises to the Lord and read and meditated on the Bible before he started the day. His favorite verse was: "We live and move and have our being in the Lord ... We are His offspring."
He was a healthy person and was never sick. The day he died, as usual, I heard him having his daily devotions. In the hymn he sang the last stanza says: "Lord if your coming happens to be today, keep me prepared to meet you with delight.". He sang this more than three times and as usual went to do some work in the fields, which was how he exercised. At about 7 am he had a slight discomfort and with in 20 minutes he was gone even before the doctor came. He was gone to be with his father at the age of 57.
People thought it was not fair. Why did God take him away when the family needed him most? I didn't know why either. But I knew that God never makes a mistake. We were very sure that he had gone to be with the Lord and one day we will meet him. Though physically he was dead, as the righteous have hope in his death, so did he. His death was precious in God's sight [Pro. 14:32; Ps. 116:15] All these verses gave us comfort.
Ever since my father's death, the Lord took the place of my father and proved "... a father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, is God in his heavenly place. [Ps. 68:5]" to be true.
It has been 47 years since my father died. All his five children are doing well, continuing in the faith and serving the Lord in some way. God is faithful. The children of the righteous are never forsaken. All praise to God for what He did in my fathers life and for us.
Philippians 1:21
My father's death anniversary was on the 16th of March. I thought of his life and how it helped me in my journey.
My father hailed from a small village. He belonged to a Hindu family and lived true to his convictions. His parents were not well off. My father was able to make his way to Singapore, educated himself and held a high position in the government.
Though he married my mother who was a Christian, he remained a Hindu, till one day in his distress [he lost his son suddenly and his wife was sick in the hospital] his eyes fell on my mom's Bible. As he opened it, the Lord spoke to his heart from Isaiah 1:3: "The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, my... people do not understand.". He went on to read and to search the scriptures and was convinced of the truth. By the time my mother came home from the hospital with the new baby, the Lord had worked in his heart and he was ready to accept the Lord and obey in the water baptism. The Lord always has His way and His time.
More than his conversion, the change in life, his upright living, his integrity and obedience to every truth from the Bible, set an example for my family and me. He retired early at 55 years to stay with his family in Sri Lanka. We were wealthy and lacked nothing. Yet, his lifestyle was that of a true Christian. He was up as early as 4am, sang praises to the Lord and read and meditated on the Bible before he started the day. His favorite verse was: "We live and move and have our being in the Lord ... We are His offspring."
He was a healthy person and was never sick. The day he died, as usual, I heard him having his daily devotions. In the hymn he sang the last stanza says: "Lord if your coming happens to be today, keep me prepared to meet you with delight.". He sang this more than three times and as usual went to do some work in the fields, which was how he exercised. At about 7 am he had a slight discomfort and with in 20 minutes he was gone even before the doctor came. He was gone to be with his father at the age of 57.
People thought it was not fair. Why did God take him away when the family needed him most? I didn't know why either. But I knew that God never makes a mistake. We were very sure that he had gone to be with the Lord and one day we will meet him. Though physically he was dead, as the righteous have hope in his death, so did he. His death was precious in God's sight [Pro. 14:32; Ps. 116:15] All these verses gave us comfort.
Ever since my father's death, the Lord took the place of my father and proved "... a father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, is God in his heavenly place. [Ps. 68:5]" to be true.
It has been 47 years since my father died. All his five children are doing well, continuing in the faith and serving the Lord in some way. God is faithful. The children of the righteous are never forsaken. All praise to God for what He did in my fathers life and for us.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Jesus Warned Us!
John 16 is an amazing chapter revealing God's divine care and concern for His followers. Like a loving responsible parent, Jesus warns his disciples of the things that would happen to them after he was gone.
He knew that there is an enemy waiting to foil every thing for them. [Jn. 16:5-12] He told them that though there would be suffering, the comforter, the holy ghost would be sent. He would guide them into all truth [Jn. 16:13-16]. He encouraged them by saying that the period of sorrow would be followed by joy [Jn. 16:20-22] and He advised them to pray.
Whatever Jesus predicted came to pass. Jesus died on the cross , rose again and is now seated in heaven at the right hand of the father. The Holy spirit was poured down on his followers and is still working with us and among us.
Christians are suffering in various ways since the world's values often oppose God's values. Christians are made to feel like misfits in this world. In some countries Christians are going through real persecution. This is a call for us to pray for one another. Lets pray for strength, courage and comfort.
Jesus said:
"I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
He knew that there is an enemy waiting to foil every thing for them. [Jn. 16:5-12] He told them that though there would be suffering, the comforter, the holy ghost would be sent. He would guide them into all truth [Jn. 16:13-16]. He encouraged them by saying that the period of sorrow would be followed by joy [Jn. 16:20-22] and He advised them to pray.
Whatever Jesus predicted came to pass. Jesus died on the cross , rose again and is now seated in heaven at the right hand of the father. The Holy spirit was poured down on his followers and is still working with us and among us.
Christians are suffering in various ways since the world's values often oppose God's values. Christians are made to feel like misfits in this world. In some countries Christians are going through real persecution. This is a call for us to pray for one another. Lets pray for strength, courage and comfort.
Jesus said:
"I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
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