December musings - 2019

Thoughts on Dec 1, 2019

With tiny wrinkles and cries, Jesus entered the world, and, wrapped in strips of cloth, took his first nap on a bed of straw.
Subject to time and parents, he grew to manhood in Roman-occupied Palestine, his gentle hands becoming strong and calloused in Joseph's woodworking shop.
As a man, he walked through the country side and city, touching individuals, preaching to the crowds, and training 12 men to carry on his work.
At every step, he was hounded by those seeking to rid the world of his influence. Finally, falsely accused and tired, he was condemned to a disgraceful execution by foreign hands. And he died - spat upon, cursed, pierced, and hung heaven ward for all to deride.
Jesus, the God-man, gave his life completely so that all might live.



How wonderful is the love of Jesus for us all. He left everything, heaven, glory and worship, and came to save you and me from the wretched state.

This month is a month of hope, joy and anticipation. Let us come close to the one who came for us, died for us and who is going to come back again for us.

Thoughts from 1st chapter of John

The revelation of God's glory is an important theme in the gospel. Jesus revealed God's glory in his person, his works, and his words. John recorded seven wonderful signs (miracles) that openly declared the glory of God (2:11)

• The glory of the old covenant of law was a fading glory, but the glory of the new covenant in Christ is an increasing glory (2 Cor 3)
• The law could reveal sin, but it could never remove sin,.
• Jesus Christ came with the fullness of grace and truth, and this fullness is available to all who will trust him (John 1:16)

The word 'Son' is used for the first time in John's gospel as a title for Jesus Christ. He is the 'one and only' - Jesus is unique, the only of of his kind. Some translations have 'only begotten' which as caused some confusion. It does not suggest that there was a time when the Son was not, before the Father brought him into being., Jesus Christ is eternal God, he has always existed.



Jesus Christ has fullness of grace and truth.
Grace is god's favor and kindness bestowed on those who do not deserve it and cannot earn it.
If God dealt with us only according to truth, none of us would survive, but he deals with us on the basis of grace and truth.
Jesus Christ, in his life, and death, and resurrection, met all the demands of the law; now God is free to share fullness of grace with those who trust Jesus Christ. Grace without truth would be deceitful, and truth without grace would be condemning.

Thoughts from John Gospel first chapter

John Chapter 1: verse 5 "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."

Light and darkness are recurring themes in John's gospel.

• God is light (1 John 1:5) where as
• Satan is the 'power of darkness' (Luke 22:53)

People love either the light or the darkness, and this love controls their actions as given in I John 3:16-19.
Those who believe on Christ Jesus are the 'Children of the light (John 12:35-36). Just as the first creation began with 'Let there be light' so the new creation began with the entrance of light into the heart of the believer (2 Cor 4:3-6).
The coming of Jesus Christ into the world was dawning of a new day for sinful man (Luke 1:78-79)

John Chapter 1: Verse 10 "He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him."

• Why did the world reject Jesus Christ? 
• Because they 'didn't recognize him'.

They were spiritually ignorant. Jesus is the 'true light (v 9)
the original of which every other light is a copy - but the Jews were content with the copies.
They had Moses and the law, the Temple and the sacrifices, but they did not comprehend that these lights pointed to the true light who was the fulfillment, the completion of the Old Testament religion.

John Chapter 1: Verse 12 and 13 
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 
They are reborn - not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but with a birth that comes from God. 

Whenever Jesus taught a spiritual truth, his listeners interpreted it in a material or physical way. The light was unable to penetrate the darkness in their minds. This was true when he spoke about

• the temple of his body (2:19-21) 
• the new birth (3:4)
• the living water (4:11)
• eating his flesh (6:51)
• spiritual freedom (8:31-36)
• death as sleep (11:11-13)
• and many other spiritual truths. 

Satan strives to keep people in darkness, because darkness means death and hell, while light means life and heaven!!!

Story from 2 Kings chapter 3

This incident happened during the time of Israel and Judah. Ahab's son, Joram began to rule over Israel, and King Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. One day, the king of Moab rebelled against Joram and he went to war with the nation of Israel. King Joram asked Jehoshaphat's help, as these two kings marched towards the nation of Moab, the king of Edom also joined them.

The three kings of the nations of Israel, Judah and Edom were marching against the fortified cities of Moab. As they went along, they had to take a longer route and after walking for 7 days, they emptied all their supplies, especially water. They had no water to drink, they and their animals were very thirsty. They now wanted to inquire of the Lord, suddenly, they remembered that Elisha, the prophet belongs to that part of the nation. The three kings go to the prophet and ask him for a sign...

Elisha, out of respect for the king Jehoshaphat, foretells the future to the three kings. He invites a person to play a harp, and as the harp was being played, he prophesied about Moab.

The exact story is mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 3: 1-27. The prophet Elisha tells that the Lord will do two miracles:
1. The valley what they see after Edom will be filled with water, but there will be no rain or wind...
2. The moabites will be utterly defeated.

Both these instances looked impossible for the three kings, but they had to put their trust in the Lord's doing. They had no other chance.

They returned to their tents; and the next morning, the first miracle started taking place.
Water came from  nowhere and started filling the valley of Edom. It was indeed surprising for all of them to see that without rain and wind, the water just filled the valley of Edom.

As this was happening on one side, the Moabites rose up early in the morning and watched the water and the sun rays sparkling over the waters. As per their knowledge, there was no water the night before and no rain or wind happened in the night, so there is no chance of water logging in the valley of Edom.

They thought among themselves that the three kings of Israel, Judah and Edom fought against each other and it is the blood of the army of these three kings. Assuming such a turn of events, they ran to see it with their own eyes, without taking any arms or horses along with them.

This was the right opportunity for the three kings, they slaughtered the Moabites and won victory over the enemy. The credit belongs to the Lord who performed a miracle and gave the three kings victory.

From this event, we can learn that 'nothing is impossible with God.'

He who created the heavens and the earth with his word, can create anything. All creation listens and obeys to His command. It is only us that are disobedient to His will.

We need to focus on God and His word and place our faith in Him.

Flowing against the current

Sparkling as it crashes against boulders along its banks, the river swiftly cascades toward the sea. The current grabs, pushes, and tugs at leaves and logs, carrying them along for the ride.
Here and there a sportsman is spotted in a kayak or a canoe, going with the flow. Gravity pulls the water, and the river pulls the rest.... downward.

Suddenly, a silver missile breaks the surface and darts upstream, and then another. Oblivious to the swirling opposition, the shining salmon swim against the stream. They must go upstream, and nothing will stop them from reaching their destination.

The current of society's river is flowing fast and furious, pulling downward everything in its way. It would be easy to float along with the current. But God calls us to swim against the flow. It will not be easy and we may be along, but it will be the right thing to do.

We need to be cautious not to flow with the current, but be strong and go upstream. Remember, only dead fish flow with the current. Anything, that has life, will go against the current!!!

Miracle in Mark - our reaction

In the book of Mark, 2nd chapter, this event is recorded.

It starts like this "Several days later, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and the news of his arrival spread quickly through the city. Soon the house where he was staying was so paced with visitors that there wasn't room for a single person more, not even outside the door. And Jesus preached the Word to them. Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They couldn't get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head and lowered the sick man on his stretcher, right down in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, he said to the sick man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." ... .and this goes on and Jesus heals the paralyzed man and he goes home walking.

In this passage, I would like to highlight one point, though there might be several important points, for this blog post, I'd like to post only one thought.

The men were deeply concerned about their friend and wanted to see him helped. They had the faith to believe that Jesus could and would meet his need. They did not simply 'pray about it', but they put some feet to their prayers and they did not permit the difficult circumstances to discourage them. they worked together and dared to do something different, and Jesus rewarded their efforts.  How easy it would have been for them to say, "Well, there is no sense trying to get to Jesus today?" Maybe we can come back sometime tomorrow.". But they persisted and their faith also stood the test.

When we recognize someone's need, do we act?
Many people have physical and spiritual needs we can meet, either  by ourselves or with others who are also concerned.
Human need moved these four men, let it also move you to compassionate action.

Meaning of the name JESUS

Jesus means 'Savior'. Jesus came to earth to save us because we cannot save ourselves from sin's consequences. No matter how good we are, we can't eliminate the sinful nature present in all of us. Only Jesus can do that.
Jesus didn't come to help people save themselves; he came to be their savior from the power and penalty of sin.
Thank Jesus for his death on the cross for your sin, and then ask him to take control of your life.
Your new life begins the moment you do that.

Temptation of Jesus

Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Three specific parts of the temptation are listed by Matthew in chapter 4: 1-10. They are familiar because we face the same kinds of temptations. Temptation is often the combination of a real need and a possible doubt that create an inappropriate desire. Jesus demonstrates both the importance and effectiveness of knowing and applying Scripture to combat temptation.

We need to remember that Jesus wasn't tempted in the Temple or at his baptism, but in the wilderness, where he was tired, alone and hungry, and thus most vulnerable. Satan often tempts us when we are vulnerable - when we are tired, lonely, weighing big decisions, or faced with uncertainty. But Satan also likes to tempt  us through our strengths where we are susceptible to pride. We must be on guard at all times against his attacks.
 

Jesus was hungry and weak after fasting for 40 days, but he chose to to use his divine power to satisfy his natural desire for food. Food, hunger and eating are good, but the timing was wrong. He had given up the unlimited, independent use of his divine power in order to fully experience humanity.
We also may be tempted to satisfy a perfectly normal desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. If we indulge in sex before marriage or if we steal to get food, we are trying to satisfy God-given desire in ways God disapproves. We need to remember that many of our desires are normal and good, but they must be satisfied in the right way at the right time.

Jeremiah - An overview

An overview of the book of Jeremiah! 

What is success?

Most definitions include references to achieving goals and acquiring wealth, prestige, favor and power.
"Successful' people enjoy the good life - financially, and emotionally secure, surrounded by admirers, and enjoying the fruits of their labors.
They are leaders, opinion makers, trend-setters. Their example is emulated, their accomplishments are noticed. They who they are and where they are going, and they stride confidently, to meet their goals.

By these standards, Jeremiah was a miserable failure. For 40 years he served as God's spokesman to Judah, but when Jeremiah spoke, nobody listened. Consistently and passionately, he urged them to act,  but nobody moved. And he certainly did not attain material success.

He was poor and underwent severe deprivation to deliver his prophecies.

• He was thrown into prison (chapter 37)
• He as thrown into a well (chapter 38)
• He was taken to Egypt against his will (chapter 423)
• He was rejected by 
• his neighbors (11:19-21)
• his family (12:6)
• the false priests and prophets (20:1,2) 
• friends (20:10)
• his audience (26:8,
• and the Kings (36:23)

Throughout his life, Jeremiah stood alone, declaring God's messages of doom, announcing the new covenant, and weeping over the fate of his beloved country. In the eyes of the world, Jeremiah was not a success.

But in God's eyes, Jeremiah was one of the most successful people in all of history. Success, as measured by Gd, involves obedience and faithfulness. Regardless of opposition, and personal costs, Jeremiah courageously and faithfully proclaimed the Word of God. He was obedient to his calling.
His book begins with a call to be a prophet. The next 38 chapters are prophecies about Israel (the nation united) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom).
Chapters 2  - 20 are general and undated, and Chapters 21-39 are particular and dated.

The basic theme of Jeremiah's message is simple ' Repent and turn to God or he will punish. But then, because the people reject this warning, Jeremiah moves to predicting in Chapter 39. Chapters 40-44 describe events following Jerusalem. This terrible event is described in Chapter 39, Chapters 40-44 describe events following Jerusalem's fall. The book concludes with prophecies concerning a variety of nations. (chapter 45 -52)

As you read Jeremiah, feel with him as he agonizes over the message he must deliver, pray with him for those who refuse to respond to truth, and watch his example of faith and courage. Then commit yourself to being successful in God's eyes. 

Daniel and his prayer life @ 85 years of age

The book of Daniel is a very interesting book. It tells about the life of a young boy Daniel and his life time. 

We can divide the entire book (12 chapters) into two categories - Past (first 6 chapters) and Future (next 6 chapters). 

Past events:

Chapter 1: We will not touch the food offered to idols

Chapter 2: I will describe your dream to you, O king.

Chapter 3: We will not bow down to the image

Chapter 4: Be careful of your pride, O king.

Chapter 5: Mene Mene Tekel Uparsin

Chapter 6: No matter what, I will not stop praying, though it may cost my life

Prophecy:

Chapter 7: 4 Kingdoms - Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome

Chapter 8: Fight between Persia and Greece kingdoms

Chapter 9, 10: Daniel's prayer for going back to Jerusalem

Chapter 11, 12: Future revelation and the end time prophecy.

We see that this book has everything that is needed for a believer. 

Let us now focus on Chapter 9.

In this chapter, Daniel shows us how to pray. His prayer is a role model for every believer. In this chapter, we see that Daniel not only prays for his nation, but he also confesses on behalf of the entire nation Israel. Let us now read the first few verses from Chapter 9:

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

Verse 2 talks about Daniel understanding from the Scriptures. How did Daniel get hold of Scriptures of Jerusalem. 

If we peek into his life, at the age of 15 he was taken captive to Babylon, and this prayer is at the age of 85. He was in Babylon for 70 years, and all these years, he was the Prime Minister in Babylonian Kingdom. As a PM, he had privileges to certain things - one such privilege is to lay hands on the Holy Scriptures. 

He read the book of Jeremiah. In that book, Jer 2:12 and Jer 29:12-14 , we see how the Lord clearly mentioned about the 70 year captivity and how he will redeem the children of Israel if they seek him diligently. 

Daniel took that verse and he turned to the Lord and pleaded with him in Prayer and petition, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. 

He also prayed to the Lord and confessed the sins. We see that he led a life which as blameless and his colleagues and others tried to find fault with him, but they could not. 

It was not his sins that he confessed, he confessed the sins of his ancestors and God forgave the people and sent them back to Jerusalem. 

How great and merciful our God is. He hears our prayer and delivers us. 

We need to pray till we get bold in the presence of God..

In the next post, I will explain the details of his prayer, meanwhile, you can keep praying and asking God to prepare you to be a prayer warrior. 

Bountiful Dealing of the Lord

Today in the Church, we had a verse which said that the Lord will deal bountifully with us.
I really liked the verse and dug deep into the verse.

It is located in Psalm 116:7 "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."

It is also located in Psalms 13:6 "I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me."

In these Psalms, we find that David is reflecting on God's goodness in his life. 
If we look back into the history of David, we find that he was a shepherd boy, taken light by his own family, not given any importance in the family things. We can clearly see a distinction between the sons of Jesse. 

The first few sons had a good job at the Army of Saul, the others were successful in farming, the last son, (the 8th son) was left to fend for himself. He was given a few sheep and was asked to take care of the sheep. I personally feel that the people in David's town wouldn't know him very well. He would rise up in the morning to take the sheep to the pastures, and would return only when it is dark. He was insignificant in the eyes of the world. 

He sat with the sheep, but his thoughts were filled with the goodness of the Lord. He meditated on the sayings which he heard about the Lord God Almighty from his ancestors. 

We read in the word of God that from a shepherd boy, God lifted him up and anointed him to be a King. He was a man after God's  own heart. 

At one point of his career, his own son Absalom wanted to kill him and become the king of Israel. God protected him and restored his kingdom back to him, though in the process, Absalom got killed. 

In the 116th Psalm, David speaks to his own soul, and affirms his soul to be at rest. He reminds himself of how the LORD dealt bountifully with him in the past. 

How true it is! The LORD deals bountifully with all of us. It is upto us to take his bounty or to leave it. The choice is ours. 

In Eph 3:20 - The word of God says, that God gives more than we can ask, or expect - according to His plans and not our expectations.

In John 10:10 - The Bible says "the thief comes to steal,kill and destroy but i have come to give life,life in abundance.

in 1 Cor 2:9 - we read in the bible that God has prepared things which eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, and the heart has not understood for those who love him.

We need to claim these wonderful promises and understand the depth of them. 

Also, it is not a man that is promising these things, it is the Lord God Almighty who is speaking. 

In Numbers 32:23, we read that God is not a man that he should lie, and he is not a son of man that He should repent. 

So, let us be confident in the assurance that the Lord will deal bountifully with us. We do not deserve such dealings, but it is the goodness of the Lord which does this.

In the lives of the children of Israel, we find that it is not their goodness, but it is the promise of God to Abraham that made him deliver them. 

We too, are like the children of Israel, lost in our own world. But God has promised that He will deliver his children. 

Let us be assured that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us. 

Amen! 

Story - where there is a will, there is a way

An old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig  his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as  the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.  If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.Love Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad, Not for nothing, but don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES. Love Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the  entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man  and left.

  That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.  That's the best I could do under the circumstances.  Love Vinnie

Sermon on the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ

Introductory verses: Matthew 25: 1-13

V 13 - Be alert and vigilant

Additional references: John 14:1-3, Daniel 12:1-4 and Matthew 24:3-44

There are 1845 references to the 2nd coming in the OT, whereas,

There are only 318 references of the 2nd coming in the New Testament.

Acts 1:10-11

Story of a Judge - 1st time to save, but 2nd time to judge.

Jesus’ second coming was foretold by many prophets in the OT and in the NT, by Jesus himself. Let us not take this subject lightly and spend time carelessly. We need to be alert and vigilant so that the enemy may not fool us.

Let us look at a few references about the 2nd coming of Jesus which was foretold by:

1. Prophets: Daniel 7:14
2. Jesus: Matt 25:31
3. Angels: Acts 1:10,11
4. Disciples: 2 Peter 3:9, 10-13

• Now that we know, the prophecies, we need to understand, Why is Jesus going to come a 2nd time? Here are a few points for you to know...

1. To complete the salvation of the saints - Heb 9:28
2. To be glorified in his Saints - 2 Thes 1:10
3. To bring to light the hidden things of darkness - 1 Cor 4:5, 5:10
4. To judge the living and the dead - 2 Tim 4:1
5. To reign forever and ever - Rev 11:15
6. To receive us to be with himself - John 14:3
7. To destroy death - 1 Cor 15:25, 26

Let’s be very clear here, there is no specific time mentioned about His coming. People over the ages have said many things, but nothing specific is mentioned in the Word of God.

We can get some clues from the following verses:

Matt 24: 36-44

1 Thes 5:2

2 Pet 3:12

But Jesus did not leave us in the dark. He has given specific signs before his second coming. If we can review these signs and gauge their sequence, we will know that everything will fall in place:

1. 23 signs very prominent today - 2 Tim 3:1-7
2. 10 signs - very particular - Matt 24:5-10
3. About Jerusalem being rebuilt - Luke 21:20-22
4. Israel regathered - Eze 36:24 (In May 1948, the nation was rebuilt and now it has over 7 million Jews)
5. About Gospel being preached in all the world - Matt 24:14
6. Instant worldwide communication - Rev 11:3, 7-10
7. Underground shelters - Rev 6:15, Isa 2:19
8. Missiles - Rev 9:17-19, 20, 21

Finally, brethren, what should we do? There are many things that we can do, but let us consider a few:

1. Do not be a scoffer - 2 Peter 3:3
2. Plan and live a holy life - 1 Thes 3:12-13
3. Keep yourself busy in evangelism - John 9:4
4. Look forward - Rev 22:20
5. Comfort one another - 1 Thes 4:18

Lost Promised Land - reason - murmur and grumbling

In the word of God, in Philipians 2:14 and 15, it is written "Do all things without murmur'. Also, in 1st Peter 4;9, James 5:9 and in 1 Cor 10:10, it says similar things.

The Word  of God is specifically asking us not  to murmur, and not to grumble.

Let us see some examples in the Bible:

1. In Exodus 16:1-3 - the people of Israel  murmured about food. They said that it would better for them if they had died in the wilderness  rather than coming here and dying  of hunger.

They soon forgot what the Lord had done for them in the past. They forgot about the 10 different miracles that the Lord did  for them. They started to grumble about food.

How much we grumble  when we do not receive what we expect. We really react to situations and get into the grumble and murmur mode. 

2. In Exodus 17:3, 4 and 6- the people of Israel are murmuring  about water. They crossed the Red sea, they saw how the mighty hand of God helped them cross the Sea. But they soon forgot and started grumbling about water.

3. In Numbers 14: 1-3 - they complained about the promised land

4. In Numbers 21: 4-9 they grumbled about tasteless food.

5. In Numbers 11:1-3 - they grumbled about the tiredness on the way

6. In Numbers 11: 4 -6 and 10 - they grumbled and murmured that they did not get non vegetarian food.

They grumbled so many times and their constant murmur displeased the Lord. 

The Lord God lovingly called them His people, but now he killed them on the way to the promised land.

Matt 12: 36-37 - Every word is recorded and you will have to give an account of every word that we speak.