This Week With Jesus

There is a Hymn called Standing on the promises of God. Nice hymn though it leaves some questions which is how do you do that? What does it mean?  We are so used to broken, partially broken or seldom kept human promises that we are conditioned to take promises with a pinch of salt. Yet we are told to stand on Gods promises. What does it mean? Standing on the promises of God means having faith in God's promises and living in a way that is faithful to God. It also means being aware of God's promises and applying them to one's life There are more than 8000 promises made by God in the Bible . Which ones do you claim? Which ones has God made good on, to you? Here is an E Book listing them out and you can download it here . Read it and see what the Lord has done for you and can do for you. After all.... "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?&

Every human being has a secret place where he or she retires from time to time, when they seek solace or rest from the world. This place is deep in the recesses of the mind, in a museum of memories. It's like a room which may house all the fantasies, ambitions and dreams. But that's all this secret place can be, a fantasy, which cannot provide or change reality, no matter how much we try. But, if we let in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit into this secret chamber, and fill it with their knowledge and presence, the secret place starts becoming a reality because we see the physical manifestation of the works of this Triune in our life. The peace one enjoys with complete freedom from worry, having put off the mountains of our "what if" problems in the hands of the triune, beats any form of escape.  When they occupy that secret chamber, there is no room for anything else. We long to meet them and talk with them. Our wrong doings and our problems become minuscule and fade aw

                                           Studying Gods word is essential to a Christian, and prayer is essential to be able to study and understand Gods word & put it in practice. Yes, it includes intercession, it includes a call for help, it includes thanks and praise, but prayer is so much more. Prayer is essential in studying the Bible. Asking the Holy Spirit for understanding and guidance can illuminate passages and reveal deeper truths. Prayer also helps apply the Scriptures to one’s life, aligning actions and decisions with God's will. (Crosswalk) But most of all, that prayer helps us to dwell in the secret place of the "Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty". So today, we pray for our own daily devotions, where the Holy Spirit opens our minds to understand the message God wants to convey. We also want to pray for: 1. A Pastor in Melbourne who needs continued strength and healing to become fit to continue Gods work. We than God for His bl

 

                                            "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts" . Malachi 1  When we have esteemed visitors over for a visit, we try and offer the best we can. Best crockery and cutlery, the best of foods, the best seat in the house and the best comforts. When God knocks, in the form of a hungry person, what do we offer? Stale food? When asked by beggars -do we give s oiled or unusable currency and keep the crisp notes for ourselves? It's not what we give. It's how we give. Let's not put terms and conditions to our giving. Recognize the need and give honorably, thereby honoring God for there is God in each human.  Give more or give l

Remember Job? A character of much importance in the Bible. Some people joke and say that he innocently became the subject of a bet between God and Satan. Except that God does not gamble.  God also does not need to give points, but He did point Job to His truths. Yet, even today,  we humans want proof points. Proof of His creation, proof of His presence, proof of His love for us. We sure know about Him, but do we really believe in Him until he shows His presence? Humanity needs case studies like that of Job to show others of things like faith, Gods love, Divine intervention etc. If you look at it, Job is a typical human and, in the story, God lists out all the proof points you and I need that He exists, and He is God the Creator. He also gives proof points that He is the nurturer and the provider; that he is the protector of His creation and finally that He is the power that keeps the balance in His creation. The Story of Job is an important one for us. Not because it teaches us how to

                                  Addiction is so prevalent in the world today that it encompasses nearly a quarter of the world. And if we add food addiction that figure would probably be three fourths. Food addiction will probably include you and me. Addicts of all kinds are looked down on, sometimes with sympathy and sometimes with disgust. Seldom with empathy. Addicts need to be treated not with sympathy or disgust but with kindness and support. Pastor David Jacobs says - "No matter where you are from, if you are old enough, you have been exposed to some form of addiction. Whether you have battled addiction yourself as I have or you have seen it grip somebody that you know, the depths of addiction and the hold that it can have on people is terrifying. Knowing all that we do about addiction and the harms that it brings, how are we not more wary of it? How do we not do more to resist its temptations? The enemy is stronger than we imagine, prowling like a lion on helpless prey.

"We live in a broken world".  These are words which we often read or hear and which reflect the fact that a majority of humans are either disappointed in life or broken hearted or simply down and out. They do not experience peace And that is exactly what Christians are mandated to do. Not condemn but to heal and restore. As Jasmin Patterson says we need to stop acting like critics and start acting like intercessors. In fact, It is our bounden duty towards fellow humans, mandated by God and enabled by Jesus Christ. Gods restoring power is one of the greatest promises from Scripture and something we can carry to everyone. Ms Patterson also refers to Ezekial story. How we can partner with God to heal the broken. Do our part to sow seeds of life, hope and transformation however we can with our resources, relationships and sphere of influence. Like Sarah, if God has made us laugh, we need to make people around us laugh too. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all th

                                       Sometimes, simple quotes from people can be more effective than the longest or best of sermons. A couple of lines can leave a lasting impact, simplifying some of the most complicated messages. Today we bring you some quotes around the theme - A God Lead Life 1 . Coincidence is Gods way of remaining Anonymous - Albert Einstein . (For all those who believe in coincidences), 2 . Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is whether I am on Gods side, for God is always right. - Abraham Lincoln. 3. Life is Gods novel. Let Him write it - Isaac Singer 4. We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls. - Mother Teresa 5. There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those

"Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land".

  Why is Prophesy important This is Part I of the complete message where Pastor Rajiv gives the history and reasons behind the prophesying . You can see the video HERE Does the ends justify the means? The ends/means dilemma is a popular scenario in ethics discussions. Usually, the question goes something like this: “If you could save the world by killing someone, would you do it?” If the answer is “yes,” then a morally right outcome justifies the use of immoral means to achieve it. But there are different things to consider in such a situation. We present a  new look at a very old question. This instructive video message by Pastor Rajiv can be viewed HERE

 

                                                           Like we do every Monday, here is a trip down memory lane with two posts of the past to start the week. Your Comfort Boat - is about our circumstances and how we are constantly challenged to step out and step up. You can read this post HERE Beyond Your Control - Have you ever thought about a time when you are NOT in control of your life and safety? Our calculations show it's about 1440 minutes per day . Read how HERE Happy reading and wishing each and every one a blessed week ahead.

Today we will share a short story, based on our post of yesterday, where we talked about how we, as individual humans, can carry the love from God that we have received, the sacrifice of Christ and the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit, and can make sure we get up each morning, filled with the vigor of knowing our duties for the day, as outlined by God.  This story was shared by a person, whose age I cannot determine, and whose nationality can be that of anyone and whose name does not matter. This story was written during Covid days, reflecting the pain, failures and setbacks of those times, of all those youth, students and young workers who got stranded without jobs, food or shelter. This story is also an ode to all those Human Angels who chipped in and made sure we all got through.  So, without further delay, here is the story, and we hope it encourages each one of our readers to be running for God when that sun comes up every day. Click anywhere in this para and read. 

  A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country. The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast. "Lord, I hate buttermilk", the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour". The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable. Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So,  Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to ju

Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. ESV 17 Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full MSG In the quoted verse I believe that the thought is better represented by the word "needy" rather than the word "poor" as it is inclusive and refers to various needs of people. Meeting those needs creates a transformation - From Sadness to hope. Such a transformation creates hope in the hopeless when their mental or physical needs are met. This transformation can happen to anyone and everyone, who asks, as God is the author and the architect. But we too can participate in the transformation helping God with small things.  It could be helping someone buy groceries, share time with someone who maybe lonely. Maybe chat with lonely elders and listen to their stories, which, by the way , are usually very interesting, entertaining and informative. Sometimes all we may need to invest is a

Genesis 2:15 "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it". The original mandate to humans was to look after and maintain this beautiful world God gave us. A utopian world which would be bereft of climate change, carbon emissions, pandemics, human tragedies. I could go on and on. We have failed miserably. Our failure necessitated the coming of Jesus Christ as well. Necessitated His death. We can't go back in time and correct what we failed in, but we sure can correct ourselves in the present time, on a personal basis, as a personal responsibility, given to us by none other than God and His son. For starters, we can reduce our personal carbon footprint. You can calculate your personal footprint here and see how to reduce it and help the environment and our world that God gave us. Second, we should see helping our fellow brothers and sisters as helping God because they are His children. God has commissioned us to be blessin