Wednesday 30 November 2011

GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE!

Being one of the contact persons for Bro. Johnson Sequeira’s ministry (www.jcilm.info)  in Dubai, I get calls from many distraught people needing help. You will be amazed to know just how many marriages are on the rocks, how many people with suicidal tendencies, child problems, childlessness , husband/wife issues etc. etc. It is a wonder how many who have attended the retreats and repented have already received their miracle from the Lord!
Just yesterday, I received a call from the central jail in Dubai. It was a lady who has been sentenced 5 months in jail over money issues. Praise God that she had received the Lord’s touch just before going to prison and is now a favourite among the inmates, no matter what the nationality, caste or creed. In a matter of just a month, she has raised the hope of all the inmates! Many of them have already memorised the ‘white book’ of scriptures that was given to her during the retreats. I had tears in my eyes when I heard this ‘GOOD NEWS’! When someone receives a touch from the Lord, he/she can never be the same again! They take the mandate of ‘spreading the Good News to the ends of the earth' pretty seriously.
I believe that Jesus did not come on earth to be the founder of a religion. He has very clearly said that he is ‘not of this kingdom’. He came to restore our lost ‘citizenship’ of the ‘heavenly kingdom’. This kingdom was given to Adam and Eve to ‘rule’ over! Scrutinise the following scripture and it will all be clear to you.
GEN 1:26 to 28 - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
DO I NEED TO SAY MORE?
So it is not a ‘conversion’ to a ‘religion’ but a conversion of the ‘mind and heart’ that is preached by Jesus. I have many non-christian friends who have read the 'Gospel Of John' and have understood Christ and his AGAPE LOVE (Sacrificial Love). If you belong to any Christian group, it is their fundamental duty to ‘pastor you into holiness’ because God demands it! HE IS HOLY and we have been made in His ‘likeness and image’. Our lives should be a ‘pursuit of holiness’.
So friends, don’t be embarrassed to give someone the GOOD NEWS of God’s saving grace through Christ Jesus. CHRIST DIED FOR EVERYONE (Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims etc. etc) ON THIS EARTH!

Tuesday 29 November 2011

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

At lunch today, Altaf and i were reminiscing the days when we first arrived in the UAE only 23 years ago. Our two younger colleagues were listening in disbelief that so much could have changed in just over two decades (Although the major strides in construction happened in the last decade).
We talked about how the Trade Center was the only tall building dominating the skyline of Dubai, the non- A/C buses, the ‘Pathan’ taxis, the Satwa ‘London’ taxis, the 25 fils ‘abra’, the cute little juice shop in the spice market in Deira, the toilets on the dhows, the bars, the prices of drinks, cost of bachelor accommodation, the WWF TV show at the ‘Mal’lu’ canteen at the ‘abra’ station … and the list went on and on!
But then when I came back to my seat in the office, the Holy Spirit reminded me of where I was today as compared to those days when I first boarded the flight to Dubai. I came here an atheist in 1989. There was utter sorrow at home. My father was fighting cancer and could not work anymore. My mother was burdened with having to put in late nights at her sewing machine, trying to make ends meet to educate my remaining three brothers. There was the added expense of my father’s treatment which cost a lot. Everything was so horribly depressing! There was no peace even in Dubai! Even though I was a topper in Goa and 5th in the Mumbai University, my academics did not land me a job after 51 interviews! I had almost given up. I used to sit and cry on my bedroll when everyone was sleeping.
The change came when Bro. Edwin (From the English Charismatic Group, Dubai) challenged me to try Jesus! He told me to go ahead and challenge his ‘living presence’ just once! I still remember that I’d answered him, “God does not exist! Do not preach to me of God!”
But that night I was just not getting sleep. I tossed and turned. Something was bothering me. So I sat up and I challenged God! I said,”Jesus, if you are alive give me a sign that I can believe.”
When I’d finished saying that, my eyes rested on a thick white book that was glowing in the light from a streetlamp that was falling on it through a crack in the curtain! I pulled it out from the bookshelf and it opened to:
"I have carved you on the palm of my hand." Isaiah 49:15
The next day, I started circling the adverts on the newspaper as usual and looked up the map to chart my course. Those days, I would take the local bus (non-A/c) and distribute my CV all by myself! Suddenly the phone rang. Since my aunt, uncle and kids were already out of the house; I picked up the receiver and was surprised to hear an Englishman on the line. It was Mr. Peter Summersgill from BSBG. This was the British company that I’d visited and wished I could work there! Peter wanted me to start work that very afternoon!!!
All I remember after that ... I was on my knees sobbing and repenting and praising God!
Today, I look back and I can confidently say in St. Paul’s own words:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV).

Monday 28 November 2011

BOT'TO

After our regular football game on a broad terrace of the Pajifond Hill, depending on the season, we would either stone the mango tree on top of the hill or collect cashew nuts to play the game called ‘BOT’TEANIM’. Many an evening was spent sitting on the cemetery wall of the Carmelite Monastery, counting the cashew nuts we’d collected from the trees on the hill. My friends and I were a daring lot and cemeteries did not bother us. Also, our parents believed that the monks who were buried in that cemetery were good souls and therefore they never forbade us from going there.
Some of you may not even have heard of this game! Well, to vet your curiosity, I’ll explain it to you. To play this game, it was necessary to find a ‘freak’ nut (basically, a very big nut) and fill the shell with melted lead to make it heavy (Incidentally, if you’ve grown up in Goa, you may have heard your elders call some fool a ‘Bot’to’ … Now you know why! They meant his head was full of lead!!!) Each person had to put down an equal number of the collected nuts ‘on edge’, on a line drawn in the mud. From that line a measure of 7 large strides had to be taken and another line was made on the ground. The idea was to throw the ‘BOT’TO’ at the line of nuts. The number of nuts dislodged from the line were yours to keep! There were days when I would come home with my pockets full of cashew nuts and then sadly, there were days when I would have none!
Now for a moment, let us consider the following scripture:
Romans 5:15(NLT) - For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.
By the above scripture we know that those of us who are not living by the knowledge of the above scripture and have not understood the ‘grace’ available through  Jesus Christ , as Lord and Saviour, are like the ‘nuts on edge’, facing the ‘Bot’tes’ (Problems, lies, false promises, doubts, sickness, etc) that are thrown at them by the devil, who is out to wrench souls from returning to God.
If we have the WORD engraved on our hearts, no matter how big the problem, WE WILL overcome it! WE WILL NEVER BE KNOCKED  OFF THE LINE OF TRUTH!

Sunday 27 November 2011

A GOOD UPBRINGING

This is what my friend Sunil Sardessai had to say to me when I visited him in Goa – “Whenever you send me chocolates, before I open the parcel, I reflect on how lovingly you must have visited the supermarket, looked through the shelves for the particular brand and type of chocolates I like, paid for them, brought them home, wrote a meaningful note, wrapped it up and requested someone to carry it to Goa . Then I thank God for our friendship and I take delight in the sweetness of the chocolates”.
What made him say that? Well, he was upset when another common friend took the liberty of just taking a chunk out of the chocolate bar and started munching on it without any thought of any of the above sensitivities!
I think of what he said to me quite often. When does a person begin to think like the way Sunil does?
I have known the Sardessai family for many years now. I’ve experienced the simple lifestyle that the late Mr. Manohar Rai Sardessai and his family led. Even with all the accolades (both locally and internationally) he received for his literary genius, he maintained a very humble countenance. He always had a kind word for everyone and respected persons and not titles; Humanity more than religious practices. Although he could have opted to stay back in Paris after his university days at the Sorbonne, he chose Goa to be his home. His poetry is simple yet thought provoking! It would be right to say that Sunil, the son of this great man (A chip off the old blockJ), thinks the way he thinks because of his upbringing.
I attended the Altar Boys Sodality Annual Celebrations with my son Leroy yesterday. What struck me most in all of the festivities was the prize distribution ceremony. There were about seven children who were being awarded for the most number of masses served. Each of them had served almost 365 masses in the last year! (…  A mass every day of the year!). The parents were also invited onto the dais and were applauded for their commitment to bringing up  their children in the faith in the right manner.
It is very easy to pass this off with, “Well, these are parents who have nothing else to do” or, “Maybe these children study in the school that is located in the church compound” etc. But being a father to two growing children, I know how difficult it is to ‘make our children understand’ the importance of the Eucharist. In this day and age, it is very easy for us parents to give our children gifts such as the XBOX and the PS3 to get them off our backs so that we can watch our own TV soaps in peace( or go shopping!). Enough time is not spent with our kids to ‘hand down’ the traditions that our elders left with us. Even in my teenage days, I remember all the things I learnt from my grandmothers and grandfather. I’m cashing in on the stories they told me and the medicinal knowledge they imparted, to this day!
After yesterday, I decided it was time (Better late than never!) to make some important changes at home – Not to wrench the PS3 away from the kids but to make some quality time to spend with them !
(Just a small verse that I remembered from the pen of Mr. Sardessai:
Jednam ami khandeavelo khuris golleant ghatlo, tednam ami Jezuk khoreaninch marlo! – translation? “When we transferred the cross from our shoulders to the necklace, then we really crucified Jesus!”)

Thursday 24 November 2011

A 'SET' RACE!

Have you ever looked at another and wished you were as successful as him? Have you ever copied the business idea of another thinking you will do well too? And were you really as successful ?
In Hebrews 12:1, I found these beautiful words: … ‘ let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us’. I am a great believer in the truth that God has set a race for each one of us and he has made every provision to sustain us through that race.
I’ve realized a lot from just observing people around me. I can see those that have started businesses because they thought they would make as much money as their other friend, have either gone bankrupt or are struggling!
I want to share with you the following exercise that I did many years ago that is surely going to help you discover your ‘set race’. It works best if you do it on paper because the mind is volatile and you cannot make a good analysis of what you write down.
Take a paper and fold it into two. On the left had side, write down all the things that you’re currently doing that you don’t like. On the right side, write down all the things that you’ve always longed to do.
Take another paper and fold it. On the LHS, write down how you are going to gradually pull out from things that you do not want to do. On the RHS, write down how you are going to chart a course to achieve the things that you want to do.
The above exercise will now act as a ‘map’ to achieve your GOAL. That will be your race. Of course, the exercise will work both for ‘wordly goals’ as well as ‘spiritual goals’ (Hope you incline more towards the spiritual goals!)
To illustrate the point, I will tell you about an important decision I made that, if incorrectly made, would have made me miserable throughout my life!
I was a born artist! Everyone in school knew that fact. When it came to choosing my career, my beloved uncle wanted me to become a doctor and my parents left me with the following advice – “Son, choose whatever will keep your heart at peace” (At that time, this advice was hardly helpful in making the right choice! I just did not have the knowledge how to decide!). On one hand I did not want to hurt my uncle, on the other hand I did not want to dissect dead bodies instead of painting them! Sharmila (A friend) came to me with the following advice (She was God-sent you know?) – “ Joseph, you’ve always been a great artist. I have joined the architecture course last year and I believe it will suit you perfectly! You can earn well as an architect as well as pursue your painting career if you wanted too.”
I decided right there what i wanted to do! ... I stood second in the aptitude test and got into the 5 year course. Today, it is 23 years and not a regret!
I AM BLEST!

Wednesday 23 November 2011

ACCESS

I hail from the village of Utorda in Goa. Although i lived all my life in the city of Margao, i would faithfully accompany my father to Utorda every sunday morning and return on the 5pm bus. I had the best of both experiences in my early years.

Today, i was reflecting on village life in Goa. Whilst in the cities, specially amongst apartment dwellers, there is little or no communication, in the villages, there is excess of it! Our little house had a neighbour on the left (Ann Florine), front (Romeo) and right(Adeline) respectively. A big field lay just behind the house. Whenever my grandmother would run out of garlic or sugar, she would walk right inside the kitchen of the right and left side neighbours and borrow what she wanted but with the neighbour in front, she would just go and sit on the stone seat outside and chat but never ask for anything over there. When it came to Adeline and Ann Florine, they too would walk right into our house whenever they felt like it and chat endlessly with my grandmom.

Why was it different with Romeo? Well, it is a question of how much access you give a person in your life. By now you must have visualised who comes unannounced, walks straight into your kitchen and lifts the lids off the pots to ses what you've cooked, right? He can do that because you've known him well and have given him ACCESS (to that limit) into your life. Remember the first time you met your 'steady'/husband? He kept his hands and lips to himself right? He wouldn't dare to even put his arm over your shoulder right?
So why am i writing all this? Well, by now you may have guessed!

WHERE HAVE YOU KEPT JESUS/HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE. IS HE STILL SITTING IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?...OR WORSE STILL, IS HE STILL KNOCKING AT THE DOOR?

Tuesday 22 November 2011

LOVE MEDITATION

This evening i was on my 'brisk-walking' rounds of the Zabeel Park and i saw an interesting sight! A pretty young Filipina was seated on a grassy patch in perfect lotus position. Her face was glowing and she appeared to be in deep meditation. I usually take two rounds which take me 40 minutes to complete and she was still at it!

I was so impressed that i was inspired to write my own experiences with meditation. Before i came to Dubai, i was practicing Zen. Later i stopped believing in the existance of God and was content with the Big Bang Theory! Later i got into Yoga where i learnt to meditate. I even got initiated into Reiki (2 levels) where i had some 'x-file' experiences. I tried the Asta Vakra Geeta and the Art of Living too. The meditation sessions which i went through, gave me some wonderful insights into how the mind works.

Now i practice what i call the LOVE MEDITATION. Let me write about it to you. When i came to the New Testament (Bible) just over 3 years back, i was attracted by the type of love that Jesus preached. I studied the effect of that love on jesus' apostles and His disciples. I started reading the bible and started 'seeing a movie' in my mind. I read books, looked at pictures of the landscape and costumes of that time and it all started becoming alive to me in my meditation. I decided to put my knowledge and training of meditation to good use.

Now, when i sit for meditation, i first start by picturing Christ's suffering on the cross and remind myself of WHY He had to do what He did. I experience His sacrificial love (AGAPE LOVE) and i bring to mind all my near and dear ones, those who have hurt me in the past, those whom i have hurt, and i move my 'consciousness' outside my body to the residents in the building, then the streets, the whole neighbourhood, city, country, neighbouring countries, all the people of this world ....
The consciousness keeps spreading the love around the entire globe and then moves into space, the moon, the other planets, the other suns, the milky way, etc.etc. ... and then i bask in the glory of God!

Of course this is a long meditation that may last more than an hour. I do this only once in a while. It gives me intense inner peace and pots of patience to face the daily irritations!

The short meditation lasts for 20 minutes and can be easily done practically anywhere! Just sit quietly and bring your focus to the nose where the air first hits the nostrils. Follow the air into the lungs, feel the chest expand and follow it out of your nostrils. Keep focussing on the breath and try not to resist any thought which may come into your mind. Just nudge it away. DO NOT DWELL ON IT! This form of meditation will give you short amounts of deep rest. Think of it as being fuel for the work that you need to do for the next few hours. After all, even the Petrol tanker that carries over 60,000 litres from service station to service station, aslo needs the 150 odd litres to move the huge tanker, right?

Monday 21 November 2011

SPECIAL COW!

Everyone on the farm knew how much the farmer loved his cow. Months and years passed and life on the farm was productive as usual. One day, the farm hands suddenly noticed that the cow had a wooden leg. Strangely, some days later, another leg was also found to have a wooden leg! Soon, all four legs had been replaced by wooden legs. One of the farmhands who was tired of guessing what may be happening, went up to the boss and asked him, “Sir, could you tell me what’s wrong with your cow?”.
The farmer just sighed, and after a long while replied, “You know, I bloody well can’t eat a special cow all at once?”
This is the story of our lives too! We may love a particular sin/habit for the joy that it brings us and parting with that sin/habit all at once may be difficult. Some of us even dare to take comfort from the fact that God loved David and Solomon even though they lived in sin. I’ve even heard some 'men of God' say (about drinks) that Jesus said that it was 'not went inside a man but rather what came out of the man’s heart that defiled a man'!
I’ve been there, done that and I’ve realized that you can give up sin only when you’ve really experienced the love of Jesus in your heart. You only have to decide to repent and the GRACE of GOD will help you shed the sin. You cannot do it on your own strength!

Sunday 20 November 2011

DUBBING RIGHT!

Have you ever bought a pirated movie CD/DVD in the parking lots of Dubai? Well, I was tempted once but I stopped right after that! The reason for stopping was not due to the fact that I realized it was wrong to support piracy but rather because the video did not match the audio! (i.e. the dubbing was of bad quality).
Has it ever happened to you that your friend of spouse is talking to you and whilst you keep looking in their direction and even nodding periodically, your mind has travelled miles away. You are not listening anymore!
Has it ever happened to you that God's word is being read in church and you are busy admiring the dress of someone seated in front of you (Hope it's not someone's wife! :-)
Has it ever happened to you that you have meditated on a ‘promise of God’ (Scripture passage) and you have chanted it over and over again, but you’ve not kept a corresponding video of it coming to pass in your life (i.e. your video did not match your audio)?
In James 1:6-8 it is written: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do”.
BELIEVE here means that the action corresponds to the message. It means that our VIDEO should align with the AUDIO to receive any blessing from God!

Thursday 17 November 2011

HOPE

I'm about to tell you something that will change your life if you'll pay attention to it! It certainly changed mine! (Thanks to Bro. Copeland!)

When the thing you’re praying for, does not come to pass, you think there is a “Faith Failure’. Actually it is this: What you experienced was not the failure of your faith...it was a breakdown of your hope! Most believers don't pay much attention to hope. They don't think of it as very important. They certainly don't consider it to be as important as faith. But the fact is, faith won't function without hope. That's because "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1).

When hope is lost, faith loses its aim. It no longer has a mission to accomplish. It just scatters uselessly in every direction. The kind of hope the Word of God talks about is much stronger than that because it's not based on wishing or wanting. It is based on your covenant with God and the anointing God has provided to carry out that covenant in your life.

In fact, Ephesians 2:12 says before you knew Jesus, you were "...without Christ [or
without the anointing], being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."
You see, hope comes when you take those promises, keep them before your eyes and in your ears until they begin to build an image inside you. Hope comes when you begin to see yourself with what God has promised you - instead of seeing yourself without it.

When you have hope, you have a supernatural expectancy that what God has promised
will come to pass in your life. When divine hope comes alive in you, you're so locked in on the Word of God, you can't be distracted from it. When your hope gets that strong, it doesn't matter what kind of unbelief the devil tries to throw your way, it just bounces off you. You're so one-track-minded, you can't be drawn off course.

That's what happened in Acts 3 to the crippled man at the ‘gate Beautiful’. He had
been sitting by that gate begging, his head down and his eyes to the ground. But when
Peter and John walked by and said, "Look on us!" that man lifted his head and began to
expect. Hope rose up in him because he was "...expecting to receive something of them".
Of course, he received a lot more than he was expecting - he expected alms, but he
got legs! That's because his expectancy hooked into their expectancy - and, believe me,
their expectancy was running high!

The only people who pray "if it be Thy will" are those who don't have any hope or
expectancy. If you've been praying that way, stop it! Go to the Word and find out what
God's will is. The Word of God is His will. It is His will for you to be well. It is His will for
you to be prosperous. It is His will for you to lay hands on the sick and it is His will for
them to recover.

Meditate on the Word until your hope gets crisp and that image inside you gets strong and clear. When you have hope, the devil can't beat you down. He can't tear you down. He can't stop your faith from working. Everyone around you can just stop in their tracks, but you'll keep right on going. When the devil knocks you down, you just get up with a deeper resolve to hit him harder the next time...and harder the next time...and harder the next time. When that happens, you no longer sit around wondering what went wrong. You blast off into the glory of God, laying hold of His promises and watching your dreams come true. You live the kind of life that those who give up hope will never know.

(The above is compiled from notes on Kenneth Copeland’s sermon on ‘DON’T GIVE UP HOPE’)

Tuesday 15 November 2011

DO ALL THINGS REALLY WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD?

I do not have to tell you that Romans 8:28 (ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE) is one of the most beloved verses in the Bible. You know that! Many of you could give testimony to that fact. You were sick and this verse was like medicine to your soul. You lost a loved one and these words somehow carried you through. You were crushed and beaten by the winds of ill-fortune and this verse—and only this verse!—gave you hope to go on.
Therefore it shocks us to know that it is often without consoling power. There are some among you who secretly doubt it. They hear this verse quoted and instead of a balm to the soul, it is a mocking, cruel joke.
They say, “What do you mean by ‘good’?”
—Sickness is not good.
—Murder is not good.
—Divorce is not good.
—Rape is not good.
—The death of a child is not good.

So ... Can we still believe in Romans 8:28?
Or do you say,"That's fine for fairy tales, but not for real life?"
The Bible never asks us to pretend that tragedy isn’t tragedy. Or to pretend that our pain isn’t real! The point is, we must see the active involvement of God. What happens to you and to me is not the mechanical turning of some impersonal divine wheels. It is not fate or 'kismet' or 'karma' or luck. God is actively at work in your life!!!
Take the example of a car manufacturing factory. At one end of the assembly line you see components being delivered and at the other end, a brand new car rolls out! What goes on in the middle is much grinding, bending, pressure, heat .....
Paul is saying that our experience is like that. God begins with the raw materials of life, including some parts that seem to serve no good purpose. Those materials are joined with pressure and heat and then they are bent and shaped and joined together. Over time something beautiful is created. Not by accident, but by a divine design. And nothing is ever wasted in the process.
That is how we must look at life. We must not judge the end by the beginning, but rather the beginning by the end.
 (Article Inspired by Pastor Ray's sermon)

SCALES OF DARKNESS

I was at Leroy's 'commitment day' (Preparation for confirmation) at church today. I saw a young man who had only one leg (probably lost it in some accident!). I was thinking of him all the time during the mass. It must be very difficult for him to be in that predicament! I remembered that beautiful song 'Christ has no body now but yours',sung by Tony Melandez (The guys with no hands, plays guitar with his feet! Check it out on Youtube.)

Later, during mass, the priest preached on Barthomeus (The blind man from Luke's Gospel, who was healed by Jesus). Something that he said interested me. He pointed out that there were three kinds of blindness. One who is BORN BLIND and therefore does not know what he is missing. Another, who has been unfortunate to lose his eyesight due to accident or sickness - who'll always find life very difficult to live since he has seen the world and therefore will miss out on a lot AND, the third one, who is SPIRITUALLY BLIND.  Spiritual blindness is the darkest place you can be here on earth. It is the most dangerous place one can be in!

How could ones who did such crimes as genocides/mass murders live with themselves? It does not seem possible that one could be so evil. In today newspapers across our nation, we read about horrible crimes committed and one wonders, how? The answer is spiritual blindness which is caused by sin. To be spiritually blind means you are living completely and separately away from God.

"And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." (Acts 9:17-8)

Take the example of St. Paul; when the Lord helps you to see spiritually, your eyes are now completely open to all evil and good. You see clearly what you are doing and now you are able to see the devil and his workings. Before that you are completely in the devils territory where he can do and suggest any evil thing to you and you can and will follow it. The devil will convince you of a lie and because you have no spiritual light, you will fall into his snares. We see it all around us everyday, people doing, acting, dressing, going places where God would never have us go or do!

LET US PRAY THAT THOSE "SCALES" OF SPIRITUAL DARKNESS ARE REMOVED so that we may SEE CLEARLY!


Saturday 12 November 2011

BREATHE, EAT AND REST RIGHT !

From the time we were born with a cry, to the time we die (and make others cry!), we have been breathing to survive. From birth to death, we must breathe to stay alive. We must also eat to survive and of course, we must rest to survive.
So it would be reasonable to say that if we breathe right, eat right and rest right, our body should function right!
I would also be correct in saying that besides the hereditary factors (defective genes etc. which account for 40% of our health problems), it is our LIFESTYLE that brings upon us sicknesses like diabetes, high BP, rash etc.
What good is it if we toil away all of our youthful years to amass wealth only to realize that you do not have the health to enjoy it in your later years?
So let’s reason this out !
Breathing Right: It is said that a normal human being uses only 10-15% of his lung capacity to breathe and yet survive. It is also said that the more the breathing cycles per minute (1 cycle= 1 inhalation + 1 exhalation), the shorter the life span of a person. If compared to a dog, it does 70 cycles and lives only 14 years, whereas some reptiles do just 2-3 cycles and live hundreds of years!
Those who are spiritual stop being super-spiritual and listen to what yoga teaches us about breathing right and start following the age-old Indian science of breathing right! There is nothing wrong with yoga if you keep yourself rooted in the Word Of God and do it as plain exercise!
Eating Right: It is a known fact that everyone loves to eat tasty food irrespective of what harm it may do to the vital ‘balances’ within the body. It may be that over the years, we may have overlooked the many 'checks and balances' that our dietary gurus may have given us. We are all out of alignment and seriously need a ‘resetting’ of our eating habits. What good is it for you to hold a steering wheel made of solid gold when your car is so much out of alignment that it doesn’t even roll!
We need food to create energy to do work but have you ever been able to do any work after a heavy meal? Think carefully about how much meat you eat too. It puts the digestive system under undue stress and before long you may end up with problems of the colon. Your system may also need some deep cleansing (know that the once-in-a-while laxative that you take is not enough!). A simple check; look inside some of your coffee cups in the office. Are there some stains seen at the bottom of the cup that has been in use for a long time? Was it being washed everyday with soap? Then why the stains? …It needed someone to do a deep cleansing of the cup. It is the same with our bodies. We need a deep cleansing to be done to get rid of the years of garbage that has accumulated in our systems!
Let’s start reading up on the foods we eat and be conscious of the bad effects!
Rest: Most people sleep a good sleep but still it does not mean that they are rested! If you go to sleep with worries in you head, it is almost certain that you will either not sleep and therefore you will not rest your body enough to recuperate from the stress of the day! 'Stress kills' is a well known cliche that everyone knows. It is a regular sermon from your family doctor, i'm sure!
Thanks to the early understanding of rest through meditation that I was introduced to, through yoga!
The deepest form of rest can be achieved through meditation. Reaching a state of ‘thoughtlessness’ is meditation. It means that not only your brain activity gets the rest but your mind is rejuvenated too!
Think of it this way: You are standing on the banks of a river and looking at the river flow by. You are just watching it flow by and are not aware of how cold or hot the water is, nor are you aware of the types of life that exists within the water (Maybe piranha! J), or the currents under the suface. But all that does not affect you UNTIL you decide to dive in! So it is with our thoughts. As you start the process of meditation, initially, ‘thoughts’ (like the river) will appear in your mind but are you deciding only to ‘watch’ or are you ‘diving into the river’ (i.e. being part of the thoughts that come)? Only if you decide to dive into your thoughts while meditating, you will allow the meditation to be of nil effect! If you are able to just ‘watch’ the thoughts come and go and not focus on them, you will one day reach a state of ‘thoughtlessness’.
Meditation is truly a ‘mind cleanser’! If you do not know how to meditate this way, try getting help. It is easy to say that you are meditating on the word of God when you don’t even know what meditation is!
So friends, as I write this article, I myself am reminded of all the wonderful things I learnt from practicing yoga and meditation years back! Along the way, I’d stopped the practice of meditation and I realized that in my quest for God through scripture, I first need to clean up 'my vessel'(body) before I invite God to occupy it. WE WILL ALL NEED GRACE  (of God) TO ENTER INTO A PROPER CLEANSING of this earthly vessel, so that we can all do what St. Paul tells us to do, through:
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship. (Romans 12:1)

Wednesday 9 November 2011

CARNALLY MINDED?

The last time I was in Goa (India), I visited the cemetery to stand at the graves of my uncles and grandmother and remember their goodness towards me. After I had done what I’d come to do, I decided to take a walk through the beautifully decorated graves dating all the way back to the glorious Portuguese era. The ones who could afford to encase the graves of their beloved would buy the grave from the church and contract it out to the local artisans to build them up in white marble with beautiful carvings on it. The poor who could not afford to do so had the choice of buying a niche in the wall and keep the bones encased behind an engraved granite slab. Other bones would just end up being exhumed every 3 years to be dumped into a deep well inside the cemetery!
I was deep in thought as I was thinking of the futility of the body! I passed an open grave and was horrified to see the hair, skull and bones peeping out of a beautiful, gold braided saree! Somebody had gone to the extent of even dressing this poor body with the most expensive saree made from non-degradable material! (And God knows what valuables the diggers found on that body!)
While on earth, 99% of the time, we worry about our body, when in reality, it will be lowered into the earth for maggots to devour the flesh! It suddenly dawned on me that day, that the 1% of time we dedicate to keeping our spirit/soul ‘looking good’, simply didn’t make sense! When the only thing that will live forever is our spirit/soul, why am I laboring so much to keep the body decorated? There and then, I decided to make a change in my thinking and I decided to know everything that concerned ‘things of the spirit’.
I made a few important decisions! I first renewed my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I acknowledged that I was spiritually luke-warm and decided to renew the ‘new birth’ experience that I knew about. I decided to share this ‘born-again’ experience with all I knew.

My heart goes out to all who have rejected the Good News, or have never heard it.
If they remain in that condition when their physical bodies die, they are lost, since their dead spirits were never renewed or regenerated by the ‘new birth’ experience.
When each of us descended, we took on the fallen Adam-ic nature, thus
we ‘died’ in 'access' to God. Unless we are born-again, our access to God has not been
restored (JN 3:13; MT 18:11; LU 19:10; RO 11:22).

Romans 8:6–7 (KJV 1900):  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

CUT YOUR OWN WOOD

When Abraham went up to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, he built the altar himself and cut his own wood for the sacrifice.

Often times, we see that a preacher who has laboured hard to build up his own following has made a small error in judgement and has allowed some other preacher to use his platform, whose wrong doctrine has spread confusion and has resulted in the utter ruin of the ministry built over years of hard work!

It was the second day of Bro. Johnson's preaching today and i was blest by the Word Of God preached today. It has taken bro. J over ten years to build his ministry and he is very careful about who he allows to share his platform. His preaching is simple and straight from the heart. It is full of testimonies carried from all over India and some parts of the world. Here are a few things which he firmly ingrains in everyone who attends his retreats:

- Believing will bring rest to your thinking (What is 'believe'? ... When your action corresponds to the message from the Word of God, it is 'believing')
-GOD CANNOT MAKE YOU BELIEVE! You have to SET YOUR HEART to believe the Word of god.
-Make the Word of God your counsellor. Do not depend on earthly advice!
-Become a WORD ADDICT and respond to difficult trying situations by FAITH.
-When you use your resources for furthering God's kingdom, God will give you back multiplied.
-If you do not have the WORD in your heart (memorised), you will not hear God's VOICE!
-The most dangerous time in a person's life is when his/her prayers get answered.
-God's GRACE is available to ALL in the same measure. You can only avail of Grace through FAITH

GOD BLESS YOU ALL! (For more on Bro. Johnson, visit http://www.jcilm.info/. TO order Christian books, visit: http://www.word.diaz.co.in/)

DO YOU STILL FEAR SATAN?

Yester night, I attended Bro. Johnson’s spiritual meeting at Christ Church, Jebel Ali. Bro. Sudheer, in his opening address to the gathering made an interesting observation that not only took me by surprise but also blest me tremendously! The following notes are a transliteration of what he said to the gathering:
Paul in his letter to the Colossians shares a wonderful revelation that makes ‘dealing with satan and his temptations’ so very easy! He says that we, who are buried with HIM in baptism have also RISEN with HIM (through faith in the one who raised Him). And now that you are dead in your sins, you have also been forgiven of your sins and so, HE has blotted out the ‘sentence’ (eternal death) against us by nailing it on the cross.
The following verse is a verse to always keep in our hearts to remind us that satan has NO POWER against those who are IN CHRIST …
Colossians 2:15 -  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
I have underlined the words SPOILED, SHOW and TRIUMPHING to help us ‘visualize’ the sentence rather than just memorize it!
SPOILED: To understand ‘spoil’ we need to visualize a winning army on a battlefield. The soldiers take all the ‘spoils’ from the war. Anything that is valuable is stripped off the enemy. Even the whole kingdom, palaces and the treasury. The enemy is humiliated! Made utterly POWERLESS! Brought down to his knees!
Jesus did just that by descending into hell and taking away the keys of Satan’s kingdom from him! Jesus has ‘spoiled’ satan’s very stronghold and his power!
SHOW:  In Roman times, any person caught for any crime was punished and then stripped and parade in the streets such that all those who saw him would be reminded of the fate that would be theirs if they ever committed that crime.
Jesus has made an open exhibit of satan, showing everyone that he is no longer powerful!
TRIUMPHING: When a king won a battle, he would usually have a celebrate his victory with his subjects. He would even go to the extent of building monuments like ‘triumphal arches’ to forever remember the achievement.
Jesus celebrates His triumph over hell and satan’s powers and wants us to join in with him to celebrate this victory.
Satan can only make suggestions that are contrary to the Word Of God. He is on the prowl to deceive and rob us of our peace through deception. But if you know the truth, you can never be deceived!
Jn 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
THE WORD OF GOD IS THE TRUTH THAT WILL SET YOU FREE FROM ANY BONDAGE!

Sunday 6 November 2011

ARE YOU CONNECTED?

Last night i left my mobile for charging before i went to sleep. This morning i took it off the charger only to find that it had not charged at all! When i checked, i found that the charger was in the wall socket however i'd forgotten to switch it on!

The Holy Spirit then reminded me that i was just like that! As a Christian, i'm connected to the 'source' but no power is flowing because but i'm not 'switched on' through the WORD OF GOD. Sometimes, i keep away from the reading of the Word thus cutting myself away from the 'recharging' of my 'battery of life'.

Another illustration that comes to mind is that of being served tea with sugar. You sip it and it tastes bitter. Later you discover that there WAS sugar in the tea however it was not stirred! Many a times our life is like that. We do not 'stir' the Holy Spirit in us to allow Him to bring about the sweetness in our lives that only He can do!

Today, my God has taught me quite a few lessons on being connected to Him. It is no good to have the latest iphone/mobile if you have not subscribed to the 'network provider' ! You will not be able to 'send' and 'receive' calls/sms (There will be no communication possible!). Much in the same way, if you are not a 'doer of the Word' you cannot be subscribed into the great 'JEHOVAH JIREH' (Provider God) and therefore the prayers will not reach Him and His blessings will not reach you!

I could go on and on with such illustrations ('cause i'm on the roll now :-)

The holy Spirit also brought to mind the Roman Aqueducts that i saw in Rome. Some of them were in ruins. What good is it to have an aqueduct connected to the source (The fountainhead) but the water does not reach the end users because a section of the channel has collapsed? God is the 'Fount of mercy' and 'Faith' is the channel that carries 'mercy and blessings' to God's people. If Faith collapses, there is no flow. If Faith collapses, there is no 'hope'. The only way to restore 'hope' back again is to be re-connected to His LOVE.
Being in His love will make you dream again, HOPE AGAIN!

As soon as you finish reading this message, be determined to put the switch on, stir the sugar, subscribe to the provider and repair your aqueduct!
REMAIN BLEST! 

Saturday 5 November 2011

RESTORATION

Last night, Lorine and i were at the Bob Fitts concert in Jebel ali, Dubai.
Today, i attended the Praise and Worship Workshop with Bob at the Trinity Church, Dubai.

Feedback? Yes there was lots of it !(both from the audio equipment as well as people:-). The show commenced late (gates opened past 8pm instead of 7.30 and the show began at about 8.30... apparently, the music equipment could not be installed in place until 4pm yesterday (due to a prior service in that hall and therefore, the audio engineers were struggling to keep the sound balance as good as possible).

What was amazing to note here was that although people bought tickets for the show, there was not a single murmur or complaint from any of the spectators there. Everyone had gathered to worship in one accord. It was this attitude that was seen consistently amongst all those who attended and therefore i'm sure everyone went home blest. My dear friends who were visiting from goa had this to say about the show," We travelled all the way to Bombay to hear Don Moen but it was just a great concert, but this, was not a concert but true Praise and Worship. We loved every moment of it."

During the workshop today, Cathy Fitts made an interesting statement. She putting her index finger in front of her face, she said," If you look at your index finger and focus on it, everything around it goes blurry. But if you focus on the things around you, the finger goes blurry!" Using this illustration, she went on to explain how we live our lives focussing on 'small issues of life' and miss out on all the other things (of God) on offer.

Bob continued from where Cathy left off and drove his point home. I believe the following points will bless you mightily:
-The Old Testament was about 'JUDGEMENT', the New testament is all about 'BLESSING'
-Religion is SIN CONSCIOUSNESS, christianity is 'LOVE CONSCIOUSNESS'.
-Just like how the whole universe has a specific/particular 'sound', the whole creation ou may confidently say that even the DNA of man was made to worship God. Our destiny is to worship God.
-We are the object of God's craving.
- When Jesus said 'IT IS FINISHED' on the cross, the father in heaven had accomplished ALL that HE wanted to accomplish for us ... He sacrificed His only son for our sakes. It is not how much we love God but rather how much GOD LOVES US!
-1 Cor 13:13-And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. When we get into the LOVE OF GOD, we can can dram again. Even if we are in a HOPELESS situation, we have concidence in Him because HE LOVE US. Hebrews 11:6 says that WITHOUT FAITH WE CANNOT PLEASE GOD. With FAITH we see GOD as one who can do ALL things!
-With HOPE we can dream big dreams and RESTORATION COMES! Restoration in your relationships, finances, health etc. etc.

LET US GET INTO THE LOVE OF GOD AND LET RESTORATION COME!

Friday 4 November 2011

THE COVENANT OF MARRIAGE

I  must say that i'm very blest in my marriage. Lorine and i have two wonderful sons aged 16 (almost!) and 13 and a bit. I've known my wife a total of 20 years now. With each passing year, we grow closer to each other.

There are many things we do not agree upon but we respect each other's individuality in our oneness!
For example, she loves to stay focussed on Catholic teachings but i worship both in the Catholic church as well as other churches (whenever the spirit leads me). Since i'm seen alone in such prayer meetings, a couple of 'brothers' and 'sisters' have gone to the extent of preaching to me about how i should be the 'head' and not the 'tail' of the family (meaning, i should make my wife come with me for the meetings!). God bless them as they do not understand how strong our bond really is!

Today, i would like to share what i know about the word 'COVENANT'. In the old days, covenant meant a promise that could not be broken. It was sealed with the mingling of blood. A covenant meant that two parties involved in the pledge or commitment to carry out what was agreed upon, would sacrifice an animal and would keep the two halves apart from each other and then pass between them. This was to remind each other that they were under A SERIOUS oath!

To better understand 'covenant', take the example of a farmer who is exploited by someone stronger than him. He employs a fighter to protect him. In exchange, the farmer agrees to give him a portion of the farm produce.

A covenant involves the elimination of weaknesses through complimenting each other. Marriage is also a covenant blest by God on his altar. When the parties involved in a covenant of marriage 'die to self', the doors of God's storehouse of blessings is thrown open!

MAKE A 'GOOD' MARRIAGE 'BETTER' BY BEING A GOD CHASER AND BLESSINGS WILL CHASE YOU AND OVERTAKE YOU!

Wednesday 2 November 2011

THE BYSTANDER APATHY

... AND SO THEY DIED, WITH HUNDREDS WATCHING...DOING NOTHING! WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
When something like this happens, it's more comfortable to assume that only 'other people' behave like this (I'm not talking about the murder - I mean the bystander apathy). Why is it that 'not helping' - bystander apathy - is something that people commonly do, and, why?
Think of it in the Christian context now ... what would i/you have done as Christians if we were bystanders that fateful day?

(NOTE: For those of you who do not know them, they were stabbed to death when they stood up against eveteasers in Bombay ... check it out on the internet!)

YOUR MIND IS THE BATTLEFIELD!

In Mat 4, Jesus is put to the test by the tempter! What is really interesting to note there is that Jesus combats temptation with scripture!

Earlier this year, i experienced a young girl being delivered from being possessed by an unclean spirit. What was supposed to be a simple prayer visit, ended up into a full blown deliverance case! Truly, i was in no way prepared for what ensued there!

Initially, when we entered the house, the 'Man of God'(MOG) who i (and another lady) accompanied, calmly sat beside the bed on which the young girl was sleeping. I was waiting for the MOG to begin praying but he made no sound! I looked at him but he quietened me with a finger on his lips. The girl was nudged awake by her mother. Slowly, she sat up at the edge of the bed and clutched a bible tightly against her bossom. Still, the MOG made no sound! Then the girl opened the bible and started reading. It was going pretty well upto here and i sat comfortably on the bed as there was no chair for me to sit on. As she went on reading non-stop from the bible, the MOG suddenly stopped her and told to read a particular passage and she just wouldn't read it! The girl suddenly spoke in a man's voice, "I am going to kill her". At that moment, every hair on my body stood up in fear! I was petrified! The same happened to the others in the room (I was told later!). Seeing this, the MOG immediately said to us, " You have the living God in you, no evil can enter you".

Strengthened by those words, i kept praying in tongues. The MOG began the fight with the girl's mind, telling her again and again to stop listening to the other voice and to listen to him only. After several minutes of getting the girl to focus on what he was saying, the MOG made her declare that her soul belonged to Jesus and Jesus alone!. The girl after a long while managed to declare it. It was at this moment that the MOG jumped out of his seat and started commanding the evil spirit to get out and to go to the place that God had prepared for it, since the girl had declared Jesus to be her Lord and saviour. The girl stopped moving like a snake, stopped rolling her eyes into her sockets and stopped speaking in a man's voice ... soon she collapsed, tired.

The battle was won. The combat took place with scriptures and the battlefied was the mind of the girl. It was a lesson well learnt by me!

I have a very scripture that i say every now and again and it strengthens me in times of temptations. I'm sure it will help you too:

"I AM THE BODY OF CHRIST AND SATAN HAS NO POWER OVER ME. I AM OF GOD AND HAVE OVERCOME SATAN!"

Whenever you are overcome with fear, keep repeating Isaiah 41:10,11 and you will feel the warmth of the father's embrace and you will slip into a deep trance. One of the translations i use, goes like this:

DO NOT FEAR, I AM WITH YOU
DO NOT BE AFRAID, I AM YOUR GOD
I WILL HELP YOU AND STRENGTHEN YOU
I WILL PROTECT YOU AND SAVE YOU

Tuesday 1 November 2011

TIME

Success in one's life is measured by the effective use of ones time. Time is the true measure of life. Better still, TIME IS THE CURRENCY OF LIFE! How one spends his/her time will determine the quality of his/her life.

The only way to effectively use your time is by establishing the correct priorities. Progress is guaranteed  when you set your priorities according to your purpose and goals. In this way, time is not abused or wasted. Failure to establish correct priorities in life causes you to waste your two most important commodities - TIME and ENERGY.

If priority is the essence of life then we must want to know what our priorities in life should be, in order to live effectively. It is no surprise to note that man is only driven by the same basic necessities of life - water, food, clothes, housing, protection, security, self preservation, significance. It is also not surprising to note that meeting human needs is the premise of all religions! Priority in religious prayers and petitions is for personal needs. Human needs drive religion! JESUS NEVER INTENDED TO BE A FOUNDER OF A RELIGION! He came to establish HIS KINGDOM here on earth!

God's priority for mankind is completely opposite to man's priorities! I learnt this through a study of Matthew 6, verses 25 to 33...

-Matthew 6:25 ... is not life more important than food and body more important than clothes?
-Matthew 6:26,27 ... who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?
-Matthew 6:31-32 ... Your heavenly father knows that you need them.
-Matthew 6:33 ... But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

God's priority for us is that we SEEK FIRST the Kingdom of Heaven ! His RIGHTEOUSNESS means HIS law/authority ... That means we have to be in RIGHT STANDING with all His commands in the Bible ... ONLY THEN CAN WE BE BLEST WITH ALL THINGS !