It takes everything in me to love others like Jesus loves me!... Without remembering my previous wrongs or looking at my present flaws. Every time He shows some sinfulness in me, I wonder, ‘Is this how Jesus loved me? Despite this ugly sin ?’
But that is not the way I love people! I can’t love them if they have hurt me or wronged me in any way.
“Forgiving” is ok. But….don’t ask me to ‘Love’ them!
But…that is what Jesus is doing …loving me while I am yet a sinner, with sins undefeated and undealt within me(pride, envy, self, just to name a few and not to forget the sins He has already shown me and brought me through )… He continues His work in me, in love!
Just the other day, when I was sensing a block in loving someone, the message came pretty clear – Love like Jesus loved you.. That is the toughest thing to do! Nothing about that person has changed! Yet, God is asking me to love him/her...
But it’s easy to see ‘how’, because that is ‘how’ I have seen Jesus loving me.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Seeds of ' Thought'
Any feeling of hatred, unforgiveness, "ill" towards anyone...is a Tree- Of Evil that grew up over the time, through a small, tiny 'seed' sown sometime in the past..
The 'seed' is sown in our thought, in our mind. At the beginning, it may be just a one line thought ("against" somebody). But Over the time, it takes roots and grows into many more lines of anti-thoughts. So much so, that I can hate a person who has done nothing against me and probably even, only good.
Idle imaginations-imaginations that seem to be neutral, but revolve around a story making (about somebody) in the mind; are equally destructive.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to be careful about what seed I am sowing, in my heart (thought/mind) all the time..to throw, crush and demolish the ugly and idle; and to sow only the good seed; as, a HUGE TREE is coming out of it.
"Whatever is True, whatever is Noble, whatever is Right, whatever is Pure, whatever is Lovely, whatever is Admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." -Philippians 4:8
I wondered the "why" and "how" about my inner bitternesses and saw it started with a small sinful seed. It took a great struggle to Uproot the tree, but was able by the Holy Spirit. Even then, the taunts of the enemy - guilt and accusations, were very hard.
It is easier to destroy a seed than a tree.
"Those things which proceed out of the mouth, come from the heart, and they defile a man. For, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. "-Matthew 15 : 18,19
"Whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him." - 1 John 5:18
GUARD yourself.
The 'seed' is sown in our thought, in our mind. At the beginning, it may be just a one line thought ("against" somebody). But Over the time, it takes roots and grows into many more lines of anti-thoughts. So much so, that I can hate a person who has done nothing against me and probably even, only good.
Idle imaginations-imaginations that seem to be neutral, but revolve around a story making (about somebody) in the mind; are equally destructive.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to be careful about what seed I am sowing, in my heart (thought/mind) all the time..to throw, crush and demolish the ugly and idle; and to sow only the good seed; as, a HUGE TREE is coming out of it.
"Whatever is True, whatever is Noble, whatever is Right, whatever is Pure, whatever is Lovely, whatever is Admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." -Philippians 4:8
I wondered the "why" and "how" about my inner bitternesses and saw it started with a small sinful seed. It took a great struggle to Uproot the tree, but was able by the Holy Spirit. Even then, the taunts of the enemy - guilt and accusations, were very hard.
It is easier to destroy a seed than a tree.
"Those things which proceed out of the mouth, come from the heart, and they defile a man. For, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. "-Matthew 15 : 18,19
"Whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him." - 1 John 5:18
GUARD yourself.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Jesus took their place too
The Lord took my place on the cross. All of my sinful deeds, all my wrongs, all my unknown mistakes, all that proclaim me “guilty”.
And when the Father in heaven looks at me on the day of Judgment, instead of proclaiming me “guilty”, He points to Jesus, who took my place on the cross, and proclaims Him guilty instead of me…
He sees me as Holy through His Son, and Free of condemnation, because Jesus took my sin in His Body upon that cross.
This is something that is so good to be true and the solid ground on which all(who believe) stand firmly, facing life and death fearlessly and joyfully!!!
Jesus asked me to put Him in place of another person (whom I was not able to forgive). And even when I imagined to myself that it was Jesus who the offender was(a substitution), I saw that I was unable to forgive……….not able to forgive the One who forgave all my filth; upon that Cross!
Then I tried changing the topic and told the Lord….Lord! Sheesh, You forgave ALL my sin and even if it is You who did this to me, I am not able to forgive! But Lord……You wouldn’t do it!!
But the Lord corrected me and said, “Yes, I did ‘the so and so deed’ ”
So now the ball was in my court. To forgive or not to forgive. It was no longer anyone else we are talking about, it was my Loving Savior Himself………I told the Lord, “Ok Lord, I will forgive, how can I Not forgive You?” Forgiving the Lord Himself took an effort !! :(
And from there, I did not know how to so easily forgive and allow the other to be forgiven-u know without the usual pouting and outburst and all! So easily give in without a fight?
So for a starter, I did not pout and fight, and God honored my decision. He made things easy for me and no black residues of anger or bitterness or hurt were left behind. A second time, again I was to repeat this lesson (as the same situation occurred) and again, God gave great will power and grace ! Then I got to thinking, I wouldn’t be surprised if these things happen again, God sure doesn’t let go of me halfway through a lesson :) and I praise the Lord! :)
A beautiful thing the Lord showed me after these is that, the Father looks at Jesus and says, “You are guilty”, and it is my sin that the Father is attributing to His sinless Son.
When the Lord asked me to look at something a person did, as though He did it, He was asking me to do the same thing the Father did FOR me…It gave me forgiveness, and freed me! What if the Father told what I told the Lord ………………..“I know You wouldn’t do it!” or worse "You didn't do it" ?
Jesus took even the sins of those who sin against us, upon Himself…
Praise be to Lord God the Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Glory Veiled
Revelation 1:9-20
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
I was surprised to find John falling down as a dead man in the presence of the Lord! John was supposed to be the disciple whom the Lord loved, who leaned on Jesus’ bosom as would an intimate friend to ask Jesus who His betrayer would be. But when John saw Jesus in His Glory, he became as a dead man!
We have no idea about the glory of Jesus Christ. We see Him as the man who suffered and died and rose again- a man of sorrows. Jesus, with His glory veiled.
But, the glory He had when He was with the Father (Jesus prays in John 17:5 “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”), before He became a man, was restored to Him after He rose again from the dead, defeating death and satan and saving us from the power of death.
And a glimpse of His Glory would make us as a dead man. May we worship Him.
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
I was surprised to find John falling down as a dead man in the presence of the Lord! John was supposed to be the disciple whom the Lord loved, who leaned on Jesus’ bosom as would an intimate friend to ask Jesus who His betrayer would be. But when John saw Jesus in His Glory, he became as a dead man!
We have no idea about the glory of Jesus Christ. We see Him as the man who suffered and died and rose again- a man of sorrows. Jesus, with His glory veiled.
But, the glory He had when He was with the Father (Jesus prays in John 17:5 “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”), before He became a man, was restored to Him after He rose again from the dead, defeating death and satan and saving us from the power of death.
And a glimpse of His Glory would make us as a dead man. May we worship Him.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
They forsook all and followed Him
Luke 5:11 :So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
I find it so contrary to what I do when I am blessed. If I am blessed at my work or in anything, I literally forget God for a moment and enjoy the blessing. Then, I may remember to thank God but I continue to follow the blessing.
These guys- fishermen had a bad night; working without even a single catch! (Luke 5:5) But, at Jesus' word, (they took it as a command rather than a suggestion-seeing His works probably) they did the SAME procedure of letting down the nets into the deep, this time catching so much fish that their boats began to sink!!! Such catch! after a void-result night would tempt me to stay with the catch and make the most of it!
But these guys! they followed Jesus... Its like saying," wow! what a miracle!" and then ,"The catch can wait! I'm going after this person who brought it here!!" (can anyone do that?!) I always go after games first/friends first/cooking first/work first etc etc etc. and tell God can wait. Truly a pity.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Knowing the heart of God (from psalm 56 and 51)
God testifies of King David as a man after God’s own heart(God‘s testimony:
“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will”), and the book of Psalms much of which is written by David during his various times in life-be it times of challenge or times of rejoicing; to me, is an excellent glimpse of God’s heart- which David knew of ( and God Himself testified to it :) )
I have always felt Psalms was nothing short of David’s ( and the other writers who contributed) diary entry! Psalm 56, believe it or not was written when the Philistines had “captured” David.
1.He was caught by his enemies. Thanks to God for the record of David’s “diary entries”(in modern day terminology), so many marvelous truths about the heart of God are unveiled before me. In this defeated state, David tells God :
“In God (I will praise His word),In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? ” (Verse 4)
David, who knew God, knew that all flesh had only that control over him, as much as the
Lord God gave them. Even in that hopeless captivity, he knew God is Sovereign over all flesh.
2. David tells “Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up” (verse1)
In 2 Samuel 24:14 David tells the prophet Gad “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
David knew God. He knew that God would show mercy to Him if he humbled himself whereas man was unpredictable. How I wish I would trust in the Lord at all times as David did.
Like David, say “Whenever I am afraid,I will trust in You.”
3. In the state of being a captive(we should not forget), David tells God
“When I cry out to You,Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.”
How I wish I remember all my life that is God is FOR me and like David, I only need to be For God, stand on His side and trust Him because He is my Savior.
Be it times of salvation or times of captivity….He WILL deliver me…
He is the one who keeps our soul from death that we may walk with God in the light of the living. (v13)
Let us know very well as David knew, in the time of testing.
4. David committed a sin. He took for himself the wife of another man, and secretly had her husband killed in war. A terrible sin as it was, God punished him. But, unlike man, God forgave.
David truly repented of his sin when God exposed his sin. And in 1 Samuel 24, God forgives his sin but not without just punishment and his son through her dies.
David wrote psalm 51 when prophet Nathan(sent by God) rebukes him for his sin.
What would we do?
Here is what David, a man who knew God well, did.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God,According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,And my sin is always before me.4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak,And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,And in sin my mother conceived me.6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
“7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8 Make me hear joy and gladness,That the bones You have broken may rejoice.9 Hide Your face from my sins,And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,And renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,And sinners shall be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.15 O Lord, open my lips,And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;You do not delight in burnt offering.17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. ”
David pleaded with God for salvation from his sin.. To the God of mercy. David knew that his God was the God of mercy. And his repentance was truly not in vain. Praise God..
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Awe and fear of the Lord.
….What are the things we do or do not do because the Lord despises those things?
In different schools of thought, different things are permissible. That itself speaks for the man made holiness of those teachings.
But the God who made the Universe and every person, animal and thing-seen or unseen- declares Himself to be Holy and who can defy Him? He is Holy. He says anger(without a cause) in the heart is equal to murder. He sure has high standards of Holiness. He demands mercy and justice and not offering. He sure is above all other man made holy gods and schools of thoughts. He defines lusting a woman with the eye as adultery. He sure has unbeatable standards. He defends the fatherless and the widow and the oppressed. He is holy and there is none to compare with Him.
And the very fact that man-defined holiness(be it in moral science, religion or theology) is not holy at all but filthy dung is evident when compared with the “real” God’s holiness.
It is always to our advantage to ask what the God of the Universe wants before doing something.. Because like any rule in the U.S, it is best to be followed and guaranteed to be flawless. Other opinions seem to me like rules in our own home country-which can be twisted, bribed, compromised and even neglected.
So, what is the requirement of the Lord ?
The requirement of the Lord is to live with a clean heart and that requires much more than we are capable of, so we must allow God to help us. If we strive to love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul and with all our mind- striving to know Him, His heart, His commandments/ life-giving rules (no fines, no guilt, no accusation, no hell) God Himself will help us because He said, He who seeks will find, and we will find the work of the Maker of our heart continued …to cleanse and beautify like His Own.
And the more we know the Lord, we will see how awe-filling He is and how unworthy of His Love we are.
1 Samuel 24 : 8 onwards(to 21).
When David (before becoming king) was escaping from the then king Saul, he and his supporters hid in a cave. Saul was God’s chosen king but he had failed God and pride had led him to disobey God. God had chosen David to succeed Saul as king and Saul was after David’s life.
In the cave…
“..where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)” (1 Samuel 24:3)
“Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” (1 Samuel 24:4)
The men who “supported” David twisted God’s promise to David to favor their will, but this is what the man whose heart was after God did.
‘And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ’ (1 Samuel 24:4,5)
David did NOT obey the voices of his friends even though they were the ones who supported him, who were in his favor and in favor of securing his life. Instead, when David’s conscience troubled him, he refused to do as they said. David feared God than man and did not act against his conscience.
“And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul.” (2 Samuel 24:6-7)
David himself knew that Saul, God’s anointed king had failed God and that God had made Samuel (prophet) anoint David as king. But David did not assume God’s will and act against God’s will. For the fear of the Lord, he did not act against his conscience (something we kill and bury in our life).
After Saul gets up from the cave and goes, David follows afterward and tells Saul:
““My lord the king! …….Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.”
A man who fears the Lord will not do anything against God’s will even though it seems to be correct in his eyes and in the eye of everyone else. Moreover, a man who fears the Lord will be recognized even by his adversary.
Saul who was after David’s life, responds to David’s action with this confession..
“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. ”
Furthermore, he blesses him!
“Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore swear now to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
David who was running away from death, promises not to harm the one who is king.
It is not the one who has power, who is mighty before God, but the one who heeds to God’s voice, who is made mighty by God.
In different schools of thought, different things are permissible. That itself speaks for the man made holiness of those teachings.
But the God who made the Universe and every person, animal and thing-seen or unseen- declares Himself to be Holy and who can defy Him? He is Holy. He says anger(without a cause) in the heart is equal to murder. He sure has high standards of Holiness. He demands mercy and justice and not offering. He sure is above all other man made holy gods and schools of thoughts. He defines lusting a woman with the eye as adultery. He sure has unbeatable standards. He defends the fatherless and the widow and the oppressed. He is holy and there is none to compare with Him.
And the very fact that man-defined holiness(be it in moral science, religion or theology) is not holy at all but filthy dung is evident when compared with the “real” God’s holiness.
It is always to our advantage to ask what the God of the Universe wants before doing something.. Because like any rule in the U.S, it is best to be followed and guaranteed to be flawless. Other opinions seem to me like rules in our own home country-which can be twisted, bribed, compromised and even neglected.
So, what is the requirement of the Lord ?
The requirement of the Lord is to live with a clean heart and that requires much more than we are capable of, so we must allow God to help us. If we strive to love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul and with all our mind- striving to know Him, His heart, His commandments/ life-giving rules (no fines, no guilt, no accusation, no hell) God Himself will help us because He said, He who seeks will find, and we will find the work of the Maker of our heart continued …to cleanse and beautify like His Own.
And the more we know the Lord, we will see how awe-filling He is and how unworthy of His Love we are.
1 Samuel 24 : 8 onwards(to 21).
When David (before becoming king) was escaping from the then king Saul, he and his supporters hid in a cave. Saul was God’s chosen king but he had failed God and pride had led him to disobey God. God had chosen David to succeed Saul as king and Saul was after David’s life.
In the cave…
“..where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)” (1 Samuel 24:3)
“Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” (1 Samuel 24:4)
The men who “supported” David twisted God’s promise to David to favor their will, but this is what the man whose heart was after God did.
‘And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ’ (1 Samuel 24:4,5)
David did NOT obey the voices of his friends even though they were the ones who supported him, who were in his favor and in favor of securing his life. Instead, when David’s conscience troubled him, he refused to do as they said. David feared God than man and did not act against his conscience.
“And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul.” (2 Samuel 24:6-7)
David himself knew that Saul, God’s anointed king had failed God and that God had made Samuel (prophet) anoint David as king. But David did not assume God’s will and act against God’s will. For the fear of the Lord, he did not act against his conscience (something we kill and bury in our life).
After Saul gets up from the cave and goes, David follows afterward and tells Saul:
““My lord the king! …….Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.”
A man who fears the Lord will not do anything against God’s will even though it seems to be correct in his eyes and in the eye of everyone else. Moreover, a man who fears the Lord will be recognized even by his adversary.
Saul who was after David’s life, responds to David’s action with this confession..
“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. ”
Furthermore, he blesses him!
“Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore swear now to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
David who was running away from death, promises not to harm the one who is king.
It is not the one who has power, who is mighty before God, but the one who heeds to God’s voice, who is made mighty by God.
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