The Cedars of Lebanon: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflection

 David said -

“Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars.” why this special reference among all trees?

Have you heard of the Cedars of Lebanon? No? So let's look at some important facts and why they are important for Christians. 

The Cedars of Lebanon are referenced more than 103 times in the Bible. They are said to be Cedars of God, planted or created by God. They have been around since time itself. Solomon used cedar for the Temple, it is used as a purifier, it does not need watering and can survive indefinitely. The Hebrew word for it signifies strength of roots.

Why is it important for Christians? The age of many of the cedar trees in Lebanon, most particularly in Besharry, goes back hundreds of years prior to Christ's incarnation. The cedar is mentioned in Sirach 24,13ff. It is known as the cedrus exaltata, the exalted cedar.

But most importantly, the Cedars are like Christians or Gods people. Like the cedar, Christians are not Christians by their choice but by being chosen by God.

Lebanon’s cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted.

Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplies them what they need. Thus it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to him alone

Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God’s trees, kept and preserved by him, and by him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not sheltered, but protected by God. Like cedars, believers are full of sap, having vitality enough to be ever green, even amid winter’s snows.

Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God only.

Like David said - "Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars.” but instead of trees and Cedars shall we say - 

"Praise ye the Lord all ye men and all Gods people, for we are God planted, God nourished and God protected. Praise God."

Don't Lose Your Loaf: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

Don't lose your loaf. Eat at at once. Otherwise it may get spoilt !

Exodus 16:16
This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”

An interesting question comes to mind - God is our provider. The question is dies he provide me according to what I need or according to what I want.

In my opinion, God is providing all the essential needs required for all of us on the long-term basis. We can get to know them, if we seek the help of spiritual leaders. If we are unable to find such spiritual leaders, we can get to know the same after we encounter few crucial experiences in our life. 

But more importantly, I think what matters is if God has provided us extra, what do we do with it. Do we store it or do we invest it in His work?

God does not want us to depend on stored provision, but on Himself, to continually depend on Him for our daily bread. If we have extra we need to share it. 

So let's mean it when we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" , for it is better to have daily bread from God than stored bread from man. 

Dangerous Traditions: Pastor Rajiv's Mid Week Message

Don't let man made traditions become a convenient  substitute for God's Laws and directions. 

Paralyses by Analyses : Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

One of the biggest problems with us humans is our ability to analyze. In fact that ability has become an escape route from the job before us.

This problem is extremely prevalent in the corporate world but also in the spiritual world. We love to analyze Gods word from every direction and every depth, to the extent we forget to follow Gods word. 

What is the point of Bible studies, sermons and devotionals if we do not act upon them but get lost in analyzing them?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says 
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track."

Jane Glenhur asks,  "When you are listening for God's answer are you analyzing your choices and trying to figure out which is best?" Invariably the person says yes.
That is my clue to suggest that if we use that quiet time of listening to reason out the best answer, we will miss God's response. We have to hand the microphone over to Him and just sit quietly and expect He will answer."

Instead of analyzing His word, we need to take action. The action of actively listening for His answer. It could come as an opportunity of a job for the jobless , hope for the hopeless and a solution to your problem. 

What will you choose today? Analyses or action?