Yes, Lord

Salvation and How?

2011-08-17T15:19:00.004+05:30

"I am a sinner"
Christ Jesus died for MY sins
"I Believe, Lord Jesus";
My SINS are FORGIVEN!
"O Lord, Come into my life"
I am born-again (A NEW CREATION)

"You never give up on me" - Josh Bates

2011-08-12T11:58:00.003+05:30

A fb friend's status message led me to listen to this song by Josh Bates from the movie "Facing the Giants". Comforting thoughts that God is not going to give up me or you anytime now... Thanks to the inspiring post by Ebenezer Davidraj, here are the words from the song...

Stanza1:
Time after time You’ve been left behind
Like the sun when it’s starting to rain
Time after time You’ve been forgotten
Like a picture that’s faded with age;
Time after time You ran after me
When I was still running away

Chorus:
You never give up on me
No, You never give up on me
Though I’m weak You are strong
You told me I still belong
No, you never, never give up on me

Stanza2:

Time after time I’ve used your grace
As a way to do what I please
I’ve taken for granted prayers that you answered
Never been all I could be
You are holding out your hands
And now I clearly see...

[Chorus]

Bridge:

You always erase all my mistakes
You lift me up when I'm down
Through all the ages, Your love never changes
You welcome me just as I am

Prayer Today

2011-06-08T14:33:00.000+05:30

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your everlasting love that stretched down and picked us from our own sin and shame. By Your merciful gift of faith, we came to know our Lord Jesus; and through His blood obtained forgiveness. You are the Comforter to the fatherless; and Healer to the wounded hearts. Redeeming grace is the reason for the song on our lips and the spring in our steps. In our soul too, Lord, we need Your healing touch; that we may freely forgive those who wronged us- for this pleases You, our Father.

We love You and we know that You redeem all things- even the painful things, the shameful things, the sinful things of our past living - to use them all to work together for our good, not wasting a moment of our sufferings and struggles. You work forgiveness and restoration in our own hearts, and in the hearts of those we may have hurt unknowingly. Lord, forgive us; heal us from the wounds and afflictions because of words and attitudes of those against us; heal us from all the circumstances and sufferings we've endured by the wrong choices of others and our wrong choices as well. Use it all to allow us to become all You've created us to be.

Lord, remind us today of our calling and purpose and destiny. Give us a humble and a forgiving heart - hearts of flesh that would respond to Your voice. Create is us a clean heart and give us the spiritual sensitivity to know when it's time to arise into the moments of our destiny for the sake of our own fulfillment, but more so for the fulfillment of Your purposes in our own lives and the lives of those around us. You have called us; You have chosen us. Now we hold on in faith to Your hand that holds us. Let Your words of truth determine our identity and let Your purposes for our lives determine our destiny. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

(The above prayer is a slightly modified version of the one I found on Tommy Hays' blog of 'Morning by Morning, prayer journey with Tommy Hays' for June 6, 2011. The portion of Scripture is Judges 11:1-7 about the story of Jephtah. You can find more prayers in that blog or visit http://www.messiah-ministries.org/)

The Easter of 1946

2011-05-30T18:14:00.000+05:30

I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.

By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.

When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could.

For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1. We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives. Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them.

We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.

The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change. We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before. That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.

We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet. But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.

When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes!

Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.

Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.

We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor. That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!

I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed.

All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way.

Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.

Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.

When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."

Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100."

We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!

True Story by Eddie Ogan

The Toys- By Coventry Patmore

2011-01-13T21:20:00.002+05:30

My little Son, who look'd from thoughtful eyes
And moved and spoke in quiet grown-up wise,
Having my law the seventh time disobey'd,
I struck him, and dismiss'd
With hard words and unkiss'd,
—His Mother, who was patient, being dead.
Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep,
I visited his bed,
But found him slumbering deep,
With darken'd eyelids, and their lashes yet
From his late sobbing wet.
And I, with moan,
Kissing away his tears, left others of my own;
For, on a table drawn beside his head,
He had put, within his reach,
A box of counters and a red-vein'd stone,
A piece of glass abraded by the beach,
And six or seven shells,

A bottle with bluebells,
And two French copper coins, ranged there with careful art,
To comfort his sad heart.

So when that night I pray'd
To God, I wept, and said:
Ah, when at last we lie with trancèd breath,
Not vexing Thee in death,
And Thou rememberest of what toys
We made our joys,
How weakly understood
Thy great commanded good,
Then, fatherly not less
Than I whom Thou hast moulded from the clay,
Thou'lt leave Thy wrath, and say,
'I will be sorry for their childishness.'

Coventry Patmore

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

2010-11-12T13:59:00.000+05:30

A Mighty Fortress Is My God - Martin Luther, 1483-1546 (Translated by Frederick H. Hedge, 1805-1890)

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe -
His craft and pow'r are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He -
Lord Sabbaoth His name,
From age to age the same -
And He must win the battle.

And tho' this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph thru us.
The prince of darkness grim -
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure -
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow'rs -
No thanks to them - abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Thru Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
His kingdom is forever.

The Love of God

2010-10-29T17:06:00.004+05:30

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair bowed down with care,
God sent His Son to win
His erring child, He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:

O Love of God, so rich and pure
So measureless and strong.
It shall forever more endure
The saints' and angels' song!

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade-
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky!

Story of the Song: Words by Frederick M. Lehman; he wrote this song in 1917 in Pasadena, California, and it was published in Songs That Are Different, Volume 2, 1919. The lyrics are based on the Jewish poem Haddamut, written in Aramaic in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, a cantor in Worms, Germany; they have been translated into at least 18 languages.

One day, during short intervals of inattention to our work, we picked up a scrap of paper and, seated upon an empty lemon box pushed against the wall, with a stub pencil, added the (first two) stanzas and chorus of the song…Since the lines (3rd stanza from the Jewish poem) had been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave, the general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity. - Frederick M. Lehman, “History of the Song, The Love of God,” 1948

I Trust In Jesus

2010-09-23T10:32:00.001+05:30

Before this body turns to dust
Before this world I leave
Upon The Lord I’ve placed my trust
Upon The Rock I’ll cleave

I’ve placed my trust in Jesus Christ
God’s Son of flesh and bone
The innocent Lamb sacrificed
I trust His word alone

I trust He chose for man to die
Then rose again to reign
That as God’s Seed He’d multiply
His flock when born-again

I trust His blood can cleanse the soul
I trust His blood can save
His very name can make us whole
And save us from the grave

I trust in Jesus’ loving care
I trust He bore my shame
I trust the love He came to share
Remains today the same

I trust the pardon Jesus bought
Can save this wretch from hell
I trust Salvation’s true report
My Saviour had to tell

Although the devil’s out to harm
Though Satan, he’s out to kill
I trust my Lord’s almighty arm
I trust His righteous will

I trust my life to Christ The Lord
I trust in Heaven’s Door
I trust in God’s Almighty Sword
I’ll trust Him evermore…

Michael P. Johnson

Testimony of Michael P. Johnson:
All praise and glory to The Living Lord; God and Jesus Christ my soon coming King.
Born a sinner saved by grace. I first truly began going to church at the tender age of 46 years 10 months. After six wonderful life changing months. After thoroughly reading the Bible and believing it from front to back true! I was born-again through the precious blood of my personal Saviour Jesus Christ. After accepting that He is who He & God’s Word (Bible) says He is. I further can testify that The Lord God Jesus Christ LIVES.

For even as an insignificant wretch that I was, six times I personally audibly heard the voice of The Living God. Once The Father, four times Jesus; the Holy Spirit once. Always distinct audible. Though each time was different some lengthy, others short. Countless other times in diverse ways I have recognised God speaking to me. So now I can never doubt that The Godhead well & truly lives! ! !

The Weaver

2010-09-01T11:24:00.004+05:30

I had this poem written on my birthday card sometime in 1992. The author was 'unknown'; yet I searched in the net for some authorship to this poem; I am not sure I found some, because the second part of this poem is attributed to B.M. Franklin. But the first part was different in the original version. But here it is, just as I received it.

Behind our lives the Weaver stands
And works His wondrous will;
We leave it in His all-wise hands
And trust His perfect skill.
Should mystery enshroud His plan
And our short sight be dim;
We will not try the whole to scan -
But leave each thread to Him.

Not until the loom is silent
And the shuttle ceases to fly
Will God unroll the batten
And explain the reason why
The dark threads were as needful,
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As threads of gold and silver;
For the pattern He has planned.

- Unknown

The Battle of the Self

2010-06-16T12:32:00.001+05:30

Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow,
That a time could ever be
When I let the Saviour's pity
Plead in vain, and proudly answered:
'All of self, and none of Thee'

Yet He found me: I beheld Him
Bleeding on the accursed tree;
Heard Him pray, "Forgive them, Father",
And my wistful heart said faintly:
'Some of self and some of Thee'

Day by day, His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and oh, so patient,
Brought me lower, while I whispered:
'Less of self and more of Thee'

Higher than the highest heaven,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered;
Grant me now my soul's desire:
'None of self but all of Thee'

- Unknown

When I became a Christian by Adrian Plass

2010-01-19T19:05:00.008+05:30

Blog-frogging (if I may use that word), which I do by pressing "NEXT BLOG>>" tab in the Blogger menu, has its advantages...You do come across some good blokes out there with their well-written blogs and interesting stories to tell. But what do you do when the post is really something that you liked but is copied (with credits, of course!) from some other blogger? I thought, if the article deserved a wide audience, why not post it again (with original credits, of course) into your own blog? Here's one such extract from a really GOOD poem by Adrian Plass...

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, He said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen - tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen - tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen - I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend;
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?

Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen;
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

- Adrian Plass

The final Apologetic by L.T. Jeyachandran

2009-09-11T10:00:00.003+05:30

If there’s a message that the Lord has been speaking to me over many years it is the crucial aspect of what it means to be a Christian community.

What Jesus would say to his disciples the closing evening before he would be arrested and tried is of such importance in our understanding what it means to be Christian. I’m beginning to see that is it not what it means to speak christianly per se, but rather, to be Christians. Jesus said in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The old commandment was from Leviticus 19, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Now here, Jesus raises the bar and says, the standard of your love for one another will not be your love for yourself; it’ll be my love for you: “As I have loved you, you must love one another.”

If you read John 13 through 17 in one sitting, you will see that the bookend chapters are different in many ways. John 13 is an active parable of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. John 17 is Jesus’s prayer to the Father. Here we are afforded one of the most sacred episodes of eavesdropping as we listen to a conversation within the Trinity. John 14 through 16 is centralized teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit. But the middle chapters can never be detached from John 13 and 17, where the Holy Spirit is not mentioned by name. We begin to see that Jesus is sharing with the disciples something that is part of the being of God. Then in John 15:9, Jesus says again, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” In other words, the standard of love for us within the body of Christ is the standard by which the Father loves the Son.

As we listen to Jesus speak to his Father in these chapters, we discover the important doctrine of God that is so special to Christians. It is significant to note that the doctrine of the Trinity did not come to us either by philosophical or theological speculation. Rather, it comes to us by three historic encounters: God at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God on the dusty streets of Palestine in Jerusalem, God in the Upper Room. Are there three gods? No. Because if there is more than one God, each of those gods would necessarily be limited. Is it one person playing three roles? After all, we hear one person speaking to another. We hear the Son speaking to the Father, the Father speaking to the Son. We heard the Son referring to the Holy Spirit as another person. But no—not three gods, not one person playing three roles.

Thus the only obvious, inescapable conclusion: here are three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God. And their relationship is going to be the standard by which our love for one another would be measured.

In the country of my birth, India, I have often shared the gospel with Hindus and Muslims. And of course, you need to have an apologetic for them when you ask them to follow Christ because you are calling them out of a community. Hindus and Muslims have very strong communities. I’m now discovering in the Asia Pacific that Buddhism is also an equally strong community. But when you ask them to follow Christ, are you inviting them into a community or are you calling them out of their communities into a vacuum?

To be a part of the body of Christ is about constructing such communities. That’s exactly what Jesus is saying here in John 13-17. The demonstration of the reality of the Trinity, in the final analysis, is not going to be theological; it is going to be experiential. It has to be demonstrable. It has to be seen and felt by people that they would know that we belong to Christ.

The only way people will know that you are my disciples, says Jesus, is to demonstrate it, not individually, but by your relationships—for there can be no real apologetic without a community of love and relationships. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” After we have given all the arguments, the defenses and the evidences, this indeed is the final apologetic.

(L.T. Jeyachandran is executive director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Singapore.)

True Tomorrow

2009-07-02T10:01:00.007+05:30

Another Look at Matt. 7: 21-23

It is night! The lights are gleaming

Endless desires and dark dreaming

Let moths flutter in colored vanity

Then return to dust and gloom!

When the sunbeams come out shining

Precious hopes; daylight dawning

In the land of true tomorrows

Will the butterflies dance and bloom

- David Nesaraj

No Greater Friend!

2009-06-25T12:41:00.014+05:30

A minister passing through his church
In the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
And see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
A man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
The man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was shabby, old
And his coat was worn and frayed,
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
Each noon-time came - this chap,
He knelt down just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap;

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
With robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"

The old man said he worked down the road;
Lunch was half an hour
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power

"I stay only moments, see,
Because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is what I say:"

"'I just came again to tell You, Lord,
How happy I’ve been,
Since we found each other's friendship…
And You took away my sin'

'Don't know much of how to pray;
But I think about you everyday.
So, Jesus, this is Jim,
Checking in today'"

The minister feeling foolish,
Told Jim that that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime.

“Time to go”, Jim smiled and said
"Thanks"; he sped to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
He'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
Met with Jesus there…
As the tears flowed, in his heart -
He repeated old Jim's prayer:

"I just came again to tell You, Lord,
How happy I’ve been,
Since we found each other's friendship…
And You took away my sin"

"Don't know much of how to pray;
But I think about You each day.
So, Jesus, this is me,
Checking in today"

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
That old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
He began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
Learning he was ill.
The hospital staff were worried;
But he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward
His smiles, a joy contagious;
Changed people - were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand
Why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came -
Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
And with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
That in here all the while"

"Everyday at noon; He's here,
A dear friend of mine, You see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:"

'"I just came again to tell you, Jim,

How happy I have been,

Since we found this friendship…

And I took away your sin."
"Always love to hear you pray,

I think about you every day;

And so Jim, this is Jesus,

Checking in today"

- Author Unknown

What do you know about what you know

2009-06-19T14:20:00.009+05:30

Is 'faith' simply 'believing'? I guess many people think so. If you ask me, 'believing' is related to 'hoping' - as 'faith' is to 'knowing'. And there is a difference...
As there are natural and physical laws, that we learn and know, I think, so we should the spiritual laws.

Didn't Jesus say in John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you"

I know that God's desire for us today is to be filled with spiritual knowledge. His anguish is reflected in Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth" (Job 19:25 )
"I know that You (O God) can do anything..." (Job 42:2)
"Know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for Himself..." (Psalm 4:3)
"Be still and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10)
"So you, likewise, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors" (Mat 24:33)
"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." (Romans 8:28)
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16)
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14)
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Also read 1 John 5:19, 20.

"...for this reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge..." (2 Peter 1:5)

Know Him (Jer. 9:24), know His ways (Ps. 95:10) and know yourself.

Now do you know what you ought to know?

(Actually I've expressed it in mild tones...Why don't you read Dr. David Ryser's article on 'World's Last Chance' website...Here it is!)

"The Question that Changed My Life"

"A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of minis try. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.”

"After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued, “But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” The room went dead silent."

"For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class. Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her quesion at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him. What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience--or so we think. An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, “No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows there.” They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge."

"A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also."

"So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes? I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?” I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would happen if God stopped paying me?” For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God. So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose."

By: David Ryser [drdave1545@yahoo.com]
Update on June 25, 2009: Copyright © 2009 World’s Last Chance.

A timeless song!

2009-06-18T10:59:00.003+05:30

"And when I think that, God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die! - I scarce can take it in...
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee
'How great Thou art! How great Thou art!'"

To all those who put their trust in Him, God's love is immeasurable and His forgiveness complete; His mercies - continuing, His faithfulness - enduring, His goodness - enriching, His gentleness - endearing, His grace - empowering; How great is our God!

In His own image

2009-06-17T11:03:00.000+05:30

I was sifting thro' some old e-mails on my computer and I came up with an extremely insightful one forwarded to me way back in 2006. Why don't you read it?

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. And, whatever you're going through, you'll be a better person in the end.

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

An Interview with Rick Warren

2009-04-09T13:13:00.003+05:30

(REMEMBER, HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, author of 'Purpose Driven Life' and pastor of Saddleback Church in California...

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

"People ask me, 'What is the purpose of life?'"

"And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body... but not the end of me."

"I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm‐up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity."

"We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense"

"Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy"

"We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness."

"This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys ‐ you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore."

"Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on... And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for..."

"You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self‐centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others."

"We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her‐ It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life."

"Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book (http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/Home/home.htm) sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy."

"It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72."

"First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases."

"Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church."

"Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation."

"Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free."

"We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?"

"When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to‐do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do."

"That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."

** Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.**

** Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.**

** Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.**

** Painful moments, TRUST GOD.**

** Every moment, THANK GOD.**

Creation to Creation

2009-03-20T15:58:00.006+05:30

From dark deep void and earth without mould
'Tis birth of beginning - creation unfold:
The Master, the man - the place, the plan;
And then the fiend - that serpent of old!

From tree to fruit and all things possible,
Master gave man - his will, fill, tranquil;
But the Liar, the doubt; the fruit - God forebode;
And then the curse - man cast out to till!

From nations and races, raising his hood -
The Serpent still kills on this earth's sod,
Those whose eyes buys lies - "Surely you won't die"
And then the fall - "You will be like God!"

From age to age God's plan is sure,
Great "I AM", the virgin birth, Lamb so pure;
'The cross, the Son - the battle He won!
And then the gift - to all who will near.

From dust to dust, and a life of pain -
The man would wallow, follow his own gain,
Till the Saviour meet - man at His feet!
And then the joy - man is born again!

From vanquished to victor, man would trait
The Word his light, the faith his fight;
When death does have it's sway someway
There is sure hope - it is just the night!

From ashes is beauty, from death vict'ry
Mortal man must put on - immortality!
And when we would rise from sleep and see,
There is Jesus - all eternity!

- David Nesaraj