Thursday 24 May 2012

BACKSLIDING?

Here's an article that i read recently ( from 'Word For Today')
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...The younger son...journeyed to a far country...' Luke 15:13 NKJV
The story of the Prodigal Son is especially applicable to backsliders. It speaks to those who have been raised in church, know God's Word, have felt His presence, understand His claims, and once served Him. But like the Prodigal, they've 'gone to the hogs'. Notice, he's not called the Prodigal Sinner but the Prodigal Son, because he still belongs in the family. Let’s look at why people leave the church. First: because the blessings of Father's house become commonplace. Notice, he didn't appreciate what he had until he lost it. Notice also, his father didn't kick him out of the house, he 'journeyed into a far country.' He left of his own free will and came back the same way. What's the point? If God's love can't hold you, His power won't force you! It's your willing obedience that God finds pleasure in, not conforming to a set of religious rules because you are afraid of going to hell. Jesus told the story of a king who planned a wedding feast and invited different guests. What a privilege. 'But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.' (Matthew 22:5 NKJV) Are you too busy for God? Are you so used to His blessings you want something different? Be warned, the road you are on leads to one place only: the pig pen. Stop, turn around, repent and come home while you still can. No matter how badly you have failed, your Father is waiting to take you back.
'We have come to believe and know...You...' John 6:69 NKJV
Sometimes the rules of the Father's house seem too restrictive. Many people want Christ's love but not His Lordship, His blessings but not His commandments. It's not that He offers them too little, but that the cost of serving Him seems too high. Maybe you are thinking that if you'd lived in the days of Christ, walked and talked with Him and heard Him preach, you'd be a better Christian. Think again! 'His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying"...From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ..."' (John 6:60-69 NKJV) True discipleship doesn't result from attending a special service at church. No, it's progressive. It's the result of 'coming to believe and know' the Lord as you walk with Him on the mountaintop and in the valley, in the bad times as well as the good. That's why Peter wrote: 'Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe...A stone that causes men to stumble...' (1 Peter 2:7-8 NIV) Paul puts it this way: '...No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.' (1 Corinthians 12:3 KJV) The purpose of the Holy Spirit working in your life is to bring you into submission to the will of God. And that involves a relationship-with rules!
'Let us not...judge one another anymore...' Romans 14:13 KJV
Here's another reason people leave the church: because of the attitude of some church members. The older boy in Christ's parable knew how to be a son, but he didn't know how to be a brother. If the jealousy and judgmentalism he showed toward his brother is anything to go by, it's little wonder his brother left home in the first place. Paul writes: 'Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.' The Bible says, 'He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.' (1 John 2:10 NKJV) Do your attitudes and actions strengthen others or cause them to stumble? Have you read about Diotrephes? John talked about him: 'I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.' (3 John 1:9-10 NKJV) Diotrephes was an opponent of authority who wanted only one thing-control! And John denounced him as 'evil', saying, '...he who does evil has not seen God.' (v11 NKJV) Only eternity will reveal how many people have been driven away from the church by critical, callous, controlling Christians. Make sure you're not one of them!

Wednesday 23 May 2012

REBIRTH or ETERNAL LIFE?

Often times I wonder about Eternal Life. I even read about what other faiths say about it. To me it gets too fantastic to believe that my spirit has to keep coming back in another form until the ‘payment’ for past sins has been paid in full! For those of us who’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, it is so much more believable when God’s Word tells us:
I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE, AND THEY SHALL NEVER
PERISH; NEITHER SHALL ANYONE SNATCH THEM OUT
OF MY HAND.
(JOHN 10:28 NKJV )
The concept of ‘one life’ on earth is further strengthened by promises like:
IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE
MANY MANSIONS; IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE
TOLD YOU. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND
IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME
AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I
AM, THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO. ( JOHN 14:2-3 )
Or take for example the following verse which even gives us a hint of what we’re going to be like after we pass into eternity:
IT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVEALED WHAT WE SHALL BE,
BUT WE KNOW THAT WHEN HE IS REVEALED, WE SHALL
BE LIKE HIM, FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS.
(1 JOHN 3:2)
And for those of us who struggle to understand the teaching on Spirit, Soul and Body, it is so very difficult for them to understand the following verse!
IT IS SOWN A NATURAL BODY, IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL
BODY. THERE IS A NATURAL BODY, AND THERE IS A
SPIRITUAL BODY. ( 1 CORINTHIANS 15:44 )
And I love this one so very much! I love God and I am a doer of His Word. Why then should I doubt my inheritance? I’m already enjoying His blessings each moment of my life and I have no doubt that I’m already living in His abundance!
"EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE
ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH
GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
( 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 )
And for those who fear death, here’s consolation for you in the following two verses:
I HEARD A LOUD
VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAYING, "BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE
OF GOD IS WITH MEN, AND HE WILL DWELL WITH THEM,
AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE. GOD HIMSELF WILL BE
WITH THEM AND BE THEIR GOD. ( REVELATION 21:3 )
GOD WILL WIPE AWAY
EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE
DEATH, NOR SORROW, NOR CRYING. THERE SHALL BE NO
MORE PAIN, FOR THE FORMER THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY."
( REVELATION 21:4 )
Have a Wonderful Day, and know that God is with you always,
and loves you very much! Amen.

Sunday 20 May 2012

SLEEPOVERS?

I was invited to set up a bookstall at St. Mary's Family Ministry's programme last night. They had invited two well known speakers from India to speak on 'BEST PARENTING'. This time they had allowed my stall to be inside the hall but at the rear end.

When the Q&A session began, I quickly put up my hand and waved out to Fr. Godfrey to get his attention! There was a burning issue that i needed help on and God had brought me to the right people to get advice!
The question was about 'sleepovers'. Leander (16) and Leroy (13) have been hassling Lorine and me to send them to their friends places to spend weekends with them. We have not been in favour of this 'practice' of sleepovers and have not been granting permission whenever they were invited over the past two years.

When asked by Fr. Godfrey if i trust my children, i answered, "I trust MY Children but i don't trust THEIR FRIENDS". There were peels of laughter in the hall and by now everyone came to know that there was a bookstall in the hall (turned out to be great advertisement for my stall!).

Fr. Godfrey then stated that i was absolutely right in having reservations about the sleepovers however, he also said that since the children wanted to experience a night out, the best way forward would be to 'get to know their friends'. Not only that but to 'get to know their parents'. Children of dysfunctional homes tend to be rebellious and parents hardly ever have time to focus on their children if they're involved in a fight of their own. This is particularly true when the parents have divorced or separated.

I believe the following thoughts on children by the great 'thinker' Kahlil Gibran will shed more light on the issue of children!

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

YOGA

Despite mixed reactions from family about me doing SSY (Siddha Samadhi Yoga), Lorine and i went ahead and completed a 10 day course which ended yesterday. And what a great course it was!

We started out feeling irritated and inconvenienced sitting on the floor in the oh-so-painful 'Vazr asan' pose on the first day and ended up feeling totally energised and feeling great about what the 'process' did for all the 21 particpants of the course. Everyone came in as strangers but left as a family!

In our Christian zeal, most times we end up sidelining age-old systems of meditation and healthy eating practices of the ancient Hindus as being 'paganistic' and 'non-biblical'. The sad thing is that those that criticise are ones who have never really experienced the great benefits of Yoga and meditation. If a Christian was more open to learn and prcatice Yoga and meditation, surely, his worship would achieve a higher state.
When we get dirty, we take a bath and come out clean but what about all the dirt that is staining our minds? Do we ever bother to take a 'mind bath'?

I would highly recommend SSY/Art Of Living to anyone who wants to align his mind with his body. This way you will stop wondering if you actually locked your front door or your car (and coming back to check if you have! :-)

Sunday 13 May 2012

Spring Thinking: Suffering

Spring Thinking: Suffering: Suffering is a phase. It constantly interchanges with pleasure in ones life, often switching at inappropriate times. Suffering makes us stro...

Thursday 10 May 2012

WHAT YOU CANNOT CHANGE, ACCEPT!

Consider these three cases:

Person 'x' is being pushed by Person 'y'
Person 'x' pushes Person 'y' back.
Both are spending energy but do not go anywhere.

Person 'x' allows Person 'y' to push him.
Person 'x' now moves backwards (wherever Person 'y' pushes, he has to go!)

Person 'x' immediately turns around and allows Person 'y' to push
This time, Person 'x' chooses to go whichever direction he wants to go, whilst Person 'y' keeps pushing!

If Person 'x' is you, and Person 'y' is your PROBLEM
Which category are you in?

If you are in the first category, it means that you are resisting to ACCEPT the Problem.
In the second, you have accepted but not fully and so the Problem has begun to push you where it wants to take you.
In the third, you have ACCEPTED the EXISTENCE of the Problem FULLY and you now you are in a state of ' NON-DOING'. It is only in this state that you will find CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO YOUR PROBLEM!

Ask the LORD to give you the GRACE to accept your PROBLEM however great it may appear to be. THe Holy Spirit will then fill you with CREATIVE solutions which will get you right out of them!

Monday 7 May 2012

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT & IN TRUTH?

So … friends, as promised, here are my notes from the Word preached by Brian Doerksen on ‘The Woman At The Well’ (John 4:4 onwards … Note that I’ve left out his personal testimonies since the article would get too long!):
(And He had to pass through Samaria) – Something in His spirit told Him that HE HAD TO pass through the land of the despised Samaritans. Jews would have nothing to do with their Samaritan neighbours if they could avoid it!
(So Jesus, being wearied from His journey) – Hmmmm…so Jesus gets ‘weary’? Hmmmm … Remember? Jesus was ‘all man’ too!
(There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”) So Jesus gets thirsty too! … hmmmmm.
(Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”) – Here ‘living water’ also means ‘running water’ (not stagnant!)
(She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” )What does she need? She needs the life that only comes through faith in Christ. So what is Jesus doing? He’s showing her the only way to real joy and true satisfaction. She needs living water. She can’t quench her thirst. It’s one of the reasons she’s had five husbands. The unquenchable desire for “better”, for “more” can’t be satisfied in the flesh — it can’t be satisfied without the Holy Spirit and the spring of eternal life he brings.

(The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”)Here again, the woman is out of her depth in understanding Jesus’ words! She needs what he offers and it’s not water, it’s forgiveness of sin and the work of the Holy Spirit to overcome the sinful desires of the flesh. In Mark 5:32 Jesus says, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. She needs to understand that she’s a sinner of need of repentance which leads to life. So Jesus suggests she call her husband. Why? Because Jesus wants her to deal honestly with her sin. 

(He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet) – This is ‘word of knowledge’! Many ‘Men of God’ get it and it helps as a major tool to surprise and confound the listener enough to make him/her receptive to the ‘instruction’ that follows!
(“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”) – This is something that needs to be dwelt upon intensely. If our worship is the results of our self-efforts, then the feelings are not going to be God breathed by His Spirit of grace. When we “come unto Christ” as sinners, acknowledging our own self-life’s spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness, and asking Christ to make us only conscious of Him, then and only then will we discover the divine feelings of rest and peace gently basking in His joy. Jesus tells her that the real question of worship will not be about where but how. True worship can only happen from within. These are the people that God the Father is seeking — people who will worship him from the bottom of their hearts. True worship only takes place when it is honest and heartfelt. True worship isn’t about going through the motions to merely hold to some standard of worship laid down by men. What we call worship is only worship when it happens from the bottom of our hearts.
(The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”)- Jesus has just taken her from her place of unquenchable human thirst to the answer to that thirst, he’s just revealed to her that he is the Messiah. He is the only way to the true life giving water of the Spirit. 

Saturday 5 May 2012

A SPECIAL SURPRISE FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Here's another great testimony!
I was to go for Brian Doerkson's Worship Concert in Sharjah on the 2nd of May 2012 (Since i had to attend a birthday party in the family on the 3rd, and i wouldn't be able to attend the concert on the 3rd in Dubai). I later learnt that the concert in Sharjah was cancelled. I was very saddened by the fact that i had missed this great opportunity of worshipping with this anointed song writer and musician.
Little did i know that my buddy (The Holy Spirit) had a surprise in store for me!). On the day of the party, i received a call from Trinity Church asking for an urgent delivery of some childrens' DVDs that I'd brought from my store in Goa. I decided to make a dash to the church since Lorine was not home yet. When i reached there, i saw the VOICE TEAM entering the church compound with Brian Doerkson himself! (Calum Rees, his drummer was also with him). Claudette and Sabu from VOICE introduced me to Brian and they also invited me to the Adonai Church to attend the special worship!
I just could not believe it! My 'buddy' had actually arranged this one-on-one meeting with Brian! Not only that but i could also listen to Brian preach and sing for a whole hour! (As i learnt that the party i was to go to was delayed by an hour!)
I not only reached the party in time but i also got to worship with Brian! But this was not all ....
... I came to know that the Dubai concert had also been postponed and now it was happening today (4th May 2012!). I have just returned from an amazing worship evening at the JSS School Auditorium in Jumeirah! I will tell you more about what Brian preached and about the Worship concert of today a litte later.
GOD SURELY SHOWED THAT HE ANSWERS PRAYERS OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM !