THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10

Nehemiah made this statement.  I encourage you to read it yourself, but essentially the people's hearts had been split wide open because they had been read the scriptures and they finally understood what they had been taught. They were so overwhelmed by the Truth of the word of God that they were moved with emotion because they were convicted of how far they had strayed. Nehemiah then reminds them that hearing the Lord speak through His word is a cause for celebration! 

For some reason, reading the context in which these words were written changed the whole meaning for me...deepened it, personalised it.  Those moments when God has chosen to reveal Himself to me in a way in which I hadn't understood Him before, those glimpses of Him that bring me to my knees with adoration for His complexity and depth, those realisations that do indeed bring tears to my eyes...those are moments that exemplify "the joy of the Lord" for me.  And how beautiful, how very like Him, to show us in scripture just what it means to revel in that joy...throw a party AND share it with someone else. 

So what is JOY? I did not know what joy was until Bro. Johnson Sequeira (A preacher) once explained it to us. He explained it thus:

If you were watching an exciting cricket match (say India-PakistanJ). Whilst you were watching it live, you were tense throughout the match because you did not know what the end result would be. However, if you were watching the highlights of the match, would you have the same tension? NO! That’s because you would’ve already known the end result! We all know that Jesus has won against Satan. Since you already know that Jesus has ransomed you from Satan’s clutches, you can now experience joy even though you may be going through some daunting situation because you already know what the end result is going to be!

If this revelation excites you, by all means, throw a party for yourselves, but go and share your good fortune...go and spread the good news (Seems like that is what church should be, but I wonder if we get stuck in the "throwing the party" for ourselves part sometimes). 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………..

DETOXING THE MIND

I was getting ready to go to work this morning when I heard Joel Osteen’s voice coming from my bedroom. I was surprised to see Lorine listening to him speak about how much unnecessary ‘trash’ we carry with us in our minds! The few words I heard of his message set me thinking on my way to work.

When we’re told by the doctor that our lipid profile is not looking good, we at once go on a diet, fearing the consequences. We cut out all the ‘bad-ies’ from our food – the oil, sugars,fizzies etc. which can cause damage to our bodies however, we snap into action only when we’re given a bad report!

During the work days, a few of us go downstairs for lunch and share a meal together. Yesterday, one of my colleagues did not want to share in our meal and preferred to order only the greens! We tried every possible way to get him to eat what we were eating but he was stuck to his decision saying he was on diet!

Isn’t it amazing how we’re quick to ‘detox’ our bodies when the doctors give us a bad report? It is equally amazing how focused we’re on staying the course! We go on the Internet and conduct a whole research about which foods are bad for us and even plan our meals carefully. The irony of it all is that whilst we’re so focused on detoxing our bodies, which will only go to the maggots, we do nothing about detoxing our minds which is absolutely required to keep us Spiritually  healthy!

How wonderful it would be to abstain from all those things that pile our minds with garbage! What is that garbage? Jealousy, envy, pride, avarice, negative thoughts, thoughts of vengeance, gluttony etc. etc. I strongly believe that all this trash that we carry around is the actual problem for many of our physical illnesses. In prayer meetings, the Man of God may lead you into forgiving someone who you've resisted forgiving for a long time and bang! ... you are healed of a physical ailment that very moment!

Inner Healing through ‘obedience’ to the Word of God cleanses one of all such trash gathered over the years and is a sure cure for many of the illnesses that we carry in our bodies!

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.- Psalm 119:9

It is not a matter of cleansing from sin which has already been committed BUT RATHER, a matter of keeping clean in the midst of a society that tends toward defilement!

THE HEART OF WORSHIP

This Eidh holidays were spent chilling out at home!The evenings were reserved for long drives and exotic food. This morning however, was very different for me. Whilst the family relaxed at home, i attended a Worship Workshop with Steve and Velveta Thompson from Beracah Music, UK.

I only realised later in the day how blessed i would be during this workshop! It had been a year and a half since i played my flute or my saxophone. Every time i played the blowing instruments (EVEN FOR 5 MINUTES!), i would get a painful pull in my left side and the fear of aggravating the condition made me lay down the instruments to this day!

I had dedicated my flute and sax to the Lord about three and a half years back. I suddenly realised today that this pain was surely not from God. I had to believe in a healing! I took a step of faith today and i took the instruments with me when VOICE, the organisers of the workshop requested me to bring them along. I had mentioned the problem to Steve during the lunch break about the pain in my side and he said that before the day would end, the Lord would provide the answer!

I quite forgot all about our conversation this afternoon but the Lord had not! Suddenly, during the seminar, Steve stopped talking on his topic and asked me to play the flute for the Lord! I was not expecting this at all! But i believed it was the Lord who was doing this and i obliged. As i was playing, he asked, " How can a worshipper worship when he cannot play his instruments?"  He asked everyone to stretch out their hands towards me. After the prayer, he asked others who were believing for a healing and asked me to play flute over each one of them! It was such a surreal experience! Many were in tears (including I) when the presence of God was strongly evident in the place! I did not realise that i had played a good half hour without the pain and later, i even played the sax for another half hour!

I was overjoyed that God had healed me after all!

What i realised today was that unless one had the 'revelation of God FOR HIMSELF', there was no way he/she could worship! As a worship team member, you cannot take the church into the 'presence of God' unless you yourself have been there first! One of the greatest preachers of our day, Bishop T.D.Jakes has said," The best sermon i can leave behind for my children is my life!" You can only 'lead someone by example'! Just like every instrument needs to be tuned so must the strings of our hearts be tuned to listen to the 'voice of God'. After all, worship is a response to that voice! Isn't it?

You can only work out what you've worked in your 'quiet time' with the Lord!

PERSISTENT PRAYER

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”  Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. - 1 Kings 18:41-45 (New King James Version)

This passage gives a great example of effective and persistent prayer. The background of the passage is that in 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah the prophet spoke to Ahab the King of Israel what the Lord told him - that no rain would fall on the land. The Lord decided to judge Israel because of all the idolatry that the people were practicing. The Lord then proceeded to use Elijah mightily on Mount Carmel, to bring the nation of Israel back to Himself (1 Kings 18:19-40).

Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel to pray for rain. As he started to pray, he tells his servant to look toward the sea for any sign of rain. Elijah did not just pray. He also looked for results actively. So often it is easy to go through the motion of prayer without really expecting anything to happen. However we see that Elijah made sure his servant was looking for something to change. We too must look for change actively as we pray.

 For example if you are praying for a situation to change you must first make sure your prayer lines up with the word of God. Is it His will? Is it what He promised? Is it in agreement with what the Bible says? It is at times necessary to pray many times over and over. Some prayers take days, weeks or even years to be answered. What is vital is that our faith in the Lord remains strong.

Eventually change comes. Elijah's servant "sees a cloud as small as a man's hand arising out of the sea." This shows the importance of looking attentively for change. The rain didn't come all at once. The cloud that came wasn't large and easy to see. It was small. The servant could have easily missed it if he was not vigilant. If you are praying for something, don't be surprised if the improvement/breakthrough you want comes as something small.

As soon as Elijah was told a small cloud had come, he knew his prayer was answered. That's why he instructed his servant to tell Ahab to go to Jezreel before the rain stopped him. The rain came, and it will come for us too! If we will seek to hear from the Lord and pray as Elijah did, we too can experience great answers to prayer.

WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF YOUR SWORD?

In yesterday's fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Grace Fellowship Church, Sister Air (Yes That's her name!) shared on the following passage of scripture:

⁵ When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ⁶ “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” ⁷ And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,^[a] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he marvelled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel^[b] have I found such faith. - Matt 8: 5-10 (ESV)

Sis. Air spoke straight from her heart, narrating her own testimony of how God continually keeps sending 'His Word' whenever she claims the promises of God in her life. From her testimony of how God multiplied all that she had cheerfully given to the Lord it was powerfully evident that God does provide faithfully in exceeding measure! "Children of God will indeed lack nothing!", she chirped repeatedly.

At the end of the meeting, Pastor 'D' added a couple of testimonies where people who were thousands of miles away were prayed for and were healed just like the Centurion's servant! He confidently testified to the power of prayer and impressed upon the fact that prayer is not limited by distance!

Whilst Sis. Air made us laugh our guts out with all her funny antics as she preached, she did leave us with a good thought - "What is the condition of your sword?"

At first, i did not understand the question. Sister Air went on to explain that every morning, she checks the condition of her 'sword' (i.e. The Word of God in her!) before she leaves for work. She insisted that everyone must sharpen their swords, ready for battle with the evil one. Ready to face the day that is sure to have obstacles thrown your way to steal your peace!

Not only does the 'Sword of the Spirit' help us do battle with the evil one, it also keeps our own thoughts and attitudes in check!...

Heb. 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

LIP SERVICE

I was talking to Mr. Paleri at the Trinity Church Resource Center last weekend, and our conversation was centered on the following verse from scripture:

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men – Isaiah 29:13

Of course we cannot ignore the place in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus throws the very scripture at the Pharisees and teachers of the law!

Mat 15: 1-9 (extracts only) Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” …

… Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

…You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
   They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.

The approach of the Pharisees, in acts of religion and devotion, in praying to him, and praising of him, and expressing great love and affection for him, and zeal for his cause and interest were no different from our present ones!  

I admire men and women of God who live a consistent lifestyle of ‘walking their talk’. I myself have become very sensitive to the words I speak (even the songs I sing), for fear of loving God outwardly, with my lips and mouth only!

While the Pharisees’ bodies were presented before him, and their mouths and lips were moving to him, their affections were not set upon him, nor the desires of their souls unto him, nor had they any real concern for his glory! Their worship of God was not according to the prescription of God, and his revealed will; but according to the traditions of the elders, which they preferred to the word of God!

A deep and honest examination of conscience will reveal how ‘far our own hearts are’ from God!

GOD IS IN NEED OF EMPTY VESSELS!

I accompanied my family to church yesterday morning. In his inimitable style, Fr. Varghese preached a beautiful sermon on the Gospel of Mark regarding Jesus’ announcement of His crucifixion and resurrection. I’ve extracted a few notes from his sermon and put it in my own words for your own meditation:

…for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.

Whose glory do you seek?

There can be no share in God's glory without the cross.  When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do.  And they were afraid to ask further questions. How often do we reject what we do not wish to see?  We have heard the good news of God's word and we know the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it.  But do we give it our full attention and mold our lives according to it? 

How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest!  But aren’t we like the disciples?  We compare ourselves with others and desire their praise. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us.  Who doesn't cherish the ambition to be "somebody" whom others admire rather than a “nobody"? 

What is the significance of Jesus' gesture of embracing a child? 

Who is the greatest in God's kingdom?  The one who is humble and lowly of heart — who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.

Jesus, himself, is our model.  He came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Paul the Apostles state that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7).  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

If we want to be filled with God's life and power, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in the way — pride, self-seeking glory, vanity, etc.  God wants empty vessels so he can fill them with his own glory, power, and love (2 Cor. 4:7).

Are we ready to humble ourselves and to serve as Jesus did?

(Let us ask the Lord to fill us with his Holy Spirit and to inspire within us a reverence for his word and a readiness to obey it).

ENGLISH VINGLISH

I watched the movie 'English Vinglish' twice! Lorine was in China when i accompanied the children (who don't understand Hindi BTW!). As is the usual, i got dragged to the theatre as Lorine needed my company. I was inspired to take a writing pad with me to write whatever thoughts i wanted to share with you of the experience.

Firstly, i saw a lot more detail than the first time around. I was surprised at just what I'd missed during the first show! (This is exactly what happens to me when i read passages from the Bible again. Every repeat has a new revelation waiting for me!).

The story was a simple one. But the message was pretty big for husbands, wives and children. There were messages for others too but then I'd have to write lots!

I liked the role Sridevi played in the movie. A mother and wife who has been pitiably taken for granted! No one respects her but yet, like a dutiful Indian housewife, goes about her responsibilities with love and patience - very virtuous indeed! Many of us parents will easily identify ourselves with her, specially when our teenage wards have an omniscient attitude towards us.

It's all very well for teenagers to think - 'Don't teach me to suck eggs mom ..." when the truth is the very act of sucking kept them fed and alive in their infancy! If your mother does not meet your expectations about her English or her looks, it does not mean she was any less a parent!

I love the line in the movie, " I DON'T NEED LOVE BUT JUST A LITTLE RESPECT" when Shaashi (Sridevi) is confronted by her niece about she being with her french colleague in the English class. Many a times when some woman in the office shares her feelings with a man, often times he mistakes her as needing love, when actually, she only needs a listening, caring ear. Too many marriages have been destroyed when upright men and women have fallen prey to such situations.

Getting ones priorities right in life is key! If you hate yourself, you will hate everything and everyone around you. If you learn to love yourself, you will see the good in everything around you and life will be a whole lot different! In the movie, Laurent, the Frenchman helps Shaashi find herself. When she does find herself, she is a transformed person!

Now that I've rambled on about the movie, go give yourselves an examination - Like in the movie, David (the English teacher) says, " Exams give you the joy of telling yourself you have done it!"

GO BE A BLESSING IN YOUR FAMILY AND TO OTHERS TODAY AND EVERYDAY!

OUR VISUAL LIBRARY

I was chatting with my Romanian-Canadian colleague over coffee this morning. The topic of our discussion was how he being an electrical engineer managed to do landscape design for a rich Arab client and excelled at doing it!

How could he do it without having any past experience about the subject?

He went to Borders and bought a few books on Landscape Architecture and selected certain images as references for plant selection.. He then went to a plant nursery and asked them to show him plants that matched those images and listed them on a drawing with numbers indicating the location of the plants in the garden. Within no time, he had come up with an excellent garden which is well appreciated by the Client and his friends. Not only has Nick earned the admiration of the Client but also won over his friendship (The Arab is so well connected that Nick could travel out of the country even though his visa had not been renewed! ... influence!)

We can talk of many other things based on the above example however, I'd like to focus on just the 'visual library' aspect! Everybody can draw fish, or a star or an apple however each sketch will differ from the other as per the 'visual' they hold in their memory bank. If i was to ask you to draw 'giligiligili' you would be confused and ask me what it was right? This is because there was no image in your mind that matched the word with 'giligiligili'!

When you read a book, you make a 'video movie' of everything you're reading (as per the 'word-image association' in your mind). This 'movie' influences your thoughts and according to the thoughts you emote and decide on an action. Repeated actions will form habits and repeated habits will give you a character which ultimately will lead you to your destiny.

Why do i write all this?
If right words create the right 'movie' in your mind, how wonderful it would be to read God's holy word and keep the 'movie' of His faithfulness and promise of salvation embedded in your heart (spirit) and mind, right?

WHAT'S YOUR PERSONALITY?

Who am i? ... and, who are you?

Our Google 'university' will tell you plenty of things about personality types. They will tell you about the four personalities under which people are believed to fall under - Sanguine, Caloric, Melancholic, Pragmatic (You can read about them on the Internet if you wish). All of these have their plus-es and minus-es. Some have listed up to 16 types! Psychologists tell us that we're all born with certain 'given' personalities which then get 'acted upon' via our life experiences - our childhood, family, traumas, triumphs defeats etc. and change our personalities further.

Whilst all of this may be factual let's search our God-given library (The Holy 'Biblia) for the truth!

Ephesian 2:10 says -  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God does not call us to die to our personalities but rather to DIE TO SIN! We must use our uniqueness for God's greater glory and not pretend to be something we're not! ... Speak the truth! Accept your strengths and weaknesses. It is only by being who you are that you will achieve your purpose in life.

With your good personality traits, offer a shoulder to cry on, lend a listening ear, talk to inspire etc. etc. ... and the weaknesses? ... Surrender them continually to Jesus as you walk with Him daily.

JESUS IS WAITING TO TRANSFORM YOU ! He says COME AND SEE!