Fruitfully Growing in Faith : Pastor Rajiv's Mid Week Message

 

What part of the word did you put into practice today?

Joshua 1: 7-9

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

What part of God's word did you put into practice today?

You have read your Bible, said your prayers, meditated and possibly taken notes as well. Of all God's word that we read and quote, which ones have we actually put into practice? It is important because that "practice" is called obedience. And that is what the quoted verse is talking about.

Second, let us not interpret Gods word, because we often interpret it to suit ourselves. For example, a lie is a lie. It's not a small lie, nor a big lie, nor a harmless lie, and so on. As the quoted scripture says, " do not turn from the word to the left or to the right".

The motivation to "bend" the word is often fear. Following Gods word has its own responsibilities which can overwhelm us. For example, telling the truth about something may get us into temporary trouble or discomfort. Most people who get pulled up for speeding will deny and argue, to avoid the penalty. Again, the quoted verse encourages us to not let fear overcome our resolve to obey. For as long as we are willing to obey, we have God with us, each step of the way.

The difference between the man who built his house on the rock and the one who built it on sand is essentially this: both heard His word. One obeyed and one did not.

Predestination or Choice?

 

Image: Martin Young Bible Cartoons

Read : Matthew 25:14-30

"Ephesians 1:11 declares, “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”

"Predestination” as it is used in the Bible means something different than what we probably think it means. It is more to do with Gods foreknowledge, plan and love. It is a vast subject and maybe you can get some more insight from Billy Graham HERE 

“Predestination”, for most of us, on the other hand, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.

Today let us look at this word in another way:  referring to the individual talents and skills which God gave us as well as his plan for us. This talent could be natural, like a God given good singing voice and music, or it could be acquired through an education which God blessed you with. In other words, God has a unique mission for everyone in life, in the likeness to His Son and His mission,, and he equips us with all of the necessary talents and skills to accomplish that goal. Thats His plan for us - His "destination". 

However, we still have a choice in the matter. Many people choose to be slothful rather than pursuing God's path for them.

Therefore, even though God “predestines” us for a certain mission, it does not interfere with one’s free will to accept or reject that mission. It does not interfere with our choice to believe, or not believe in His son and Him. 

The quoted parable, is referring to the individual talents and skills which God gave to us to accomplish His mission, which, if we are to, we need to first believe in His son and Him. 

Responsible Prayer

                                                                                                                    Image 9 Marks

We know that it is everyone's responsibility to pray. But do we realize it is also our responsibility to pray responsibly? Prayer is a serious act: it is talking to the creator Himself- one to one.


In the words of Donal Cantrell,

"True prayer involves people that understand the importance of taking responsibility.
1 -  God hears us when we pray.
2 – He looks at our hearts for sincerity and honesty.
3 – Do we mean what we are saying or are our words useless babbling?
4 – If we are asking God for financial needs do we honor him in our giving?
5 – If we are seeking wisdom do we read his word for guidance?
6 – If we pray for the backslider do we really love them and want to see them restored?
7 – If we pray for our enemies are we trul​y willing to forgive them?
Prayer involves relationship and responsibility."
(Donald Cantrell in his sermon on a model prayer. )


The genuine prayer is born out of genuine desire for the concerned persons well-being. Do not take your promise to pray for someone lightly and forget. Once committed, it is our responsibility to do it.

Prayer needs to be a deliberate and thought-out action - not rhetorical reaction.
Prayer also has a follow through action: when prayers are answered we not only need to thank God, but we need to not forget. It is our responsibility to share it with others so that their faith may also be strengthened.

So next time you sit down to pray, think it through before you start and make it a well thought out, genuine and responsible prayer.

Beyond Your Control

                                              

Psalm 121:7-8. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Do you know how many hours of the day we have no control on our life, and completely in Gods hand? No? Well here is a mathematical equation to help you calculate.

No. of hours or minutes of sleep + hours spent in travel + hours or mins spent in profession + hours or mins spent in entertainment or games + hours or minutes spent in other activities like eating or partying, worrying, etc.

Now if you total it up you will get a pretty good idea of the total time one is in Gods hand. Mine is 1440 minutes when not I but God is in control. What is yours?

The how.

A. When we sleep, we have no consciousness of dangers or potential mishaps - 8 hrs
B. When we eat we really don't know the food quality, contamination, source, effect on our bodies and so on. - 1.5 hrs
C. When we travel, car or bus or air or rail - we are mostly not in the driver's seat and even when we are, we have no control on anyone else who can pose a danger. - 2 hrs.

D. When we breathe, what surety do we have for each breadth? Do we have control on our heart beating?
E. When we do negative things, maybe in hiding, He is still protecting us from the outcomes which can follow.

Like me, I am sure when you do this calculation for each activity or part of your day, you too will total 1440 minutes or one complete day!


This realization makes me thank Him for His hand of protection, of provision and of His plan for me and claim the promise made in the quoted verse. Daily.

Pilgrims or Tourists?

 

*Image - Wikipedia

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

The following devotional by Rev. Ms. Francis Taylor was published in the KJV Devotional and made so much sense that we just had to share it with our readers. 

"We hope that one day we will dwell in the house of the Lord! This is the promise and this is our goal. We can also consider that the world we live in, the place that God created is also God's house. 

The first place we encounter God is in our own homes with our families, the first church where God can be known and worshiped; the place where faith is learned. The earth with its beauty and strength is also where we encounter God. 

The problem is we don't always recognize him, and until we recognize this as coming from God, we don't praise him. 

I love the image of a pilgrimage. There was once a minister at the church where I worshiped who talked about how we can go through life as a pilgrim or a tourist. He defined a tourist is one who goes through life wanting everything to be just as they want and like it. A pilgrim enters into the circumstances of the life in which one finds himself. 

A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey usually to a holy place. This can be a physical place as to Jerusalem for the Jews, Mecca fothe Muslims and various shrines such as Lourdes or Fatima for Christians. However, it can also be a spiritual journey, a search for holiness. 

The pilgrim is searching for the presence of God in his or her life in order that his presence will overflow into the fullness of his presence in Heaven. The pilgrim looks outward and works to bring the Kingdom present even in this Weeping valley. The tourist is only thinking of his own needs and comfort without any thought to the needs of the people he meets or the world he is supposed to care for. 

The pilgrim finds joy; the tourist sometimes only finds disappointment. 

We have a choice, are we pilgrims or tourists?"

Do you walk a rough road?

 

*Adapted from a KJV Devotional

Deuteronomy 5:24 And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

Man’s eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honor, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. and this is the reason why he brings his people ofttimes into straits and difficulties, that, being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when he comes forth to work their deliverance. We learn the power of God , when we feel the littleness of man.

Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: it is this which has given you your experience of God’s greatness and lovingkindness.

(Based on the KJV devotional)

Does the Ends justify the Means? Pastor Rajiv's Mid Week Message

 

The Thorn in the Flesh

Have you ever been pricked by a thorn while trying to imbibe the perfume of a rose? My guess is everyone has. The thorns are part of the stalk of the rose flower.

Similarly, when we try to imbibe the perfume of God's word and try to practice it, we also get pricked by the thorns which are a part of our life. They could be derision, opposition and even persecution thorns. Essentially, they will be things which our ex-friend, Satan, will throw at us to keep up his friendship with us, usually things which we are most scared of. Being a friend of our past life, Satan knows us as well as God does, so he knows our weaknesses. He will keep throwing things to prick us, as we try and break that friendship and move away from him.

And those thorns are not going to go away anytime soon.

According to the Webster dictionary the phrase is an idiom meaning: a person or thing that repeatedly annoys someone or something or causes problems.

Paul had a constant thorn, which he prayed for removal three times but was given the grace to face it. The thorn itself was not removed. That did not stop Paul and that should not stop us. But first we must learn to recognize the thorns, pray for removal or strength to overcome and then go on our way to practice our spiritual freedom.

So today, let us challenge ourselves to think: what are the thorns in our life? What do we need to do to get rid of them?

Well, to begin with, by making a commitment to change the priorities in our life. This may require a big change in our schedules, in our attitudes and work life. We will need God's help in this as we try and break the shackles. 

When we invest ourselves in what pleases our senses rather than the Word of God, we automatically are drawn to the world and create idols for ourselves, like money, businesses, jobs, homes, entertainment, alcohol, drugs and so on.   It could be something as seemingly harmless as shopping or more serious stuff. Remember a movie called " Confessions of a Shopaholic?"

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” This means we must put God and His kingdom FIRST. 

He must be our highest desire and priority. 

Living on the Edge

Some people know the true meaning of the words "God provides", because they have lived with nothing in hand, no idea from where they will meet their daily expense and yet they are able to. Quietly and without fanfare, through some God given providence.  

While Gods provision is true for all, these people have lived on the edge of collapse, with nothing in sight except hope for Gods provision, unlike other people who have wealth or jobs or plans which they depend on, not realizing that even those were provided by God.

One is not better than the other. We all go through hard times, possibly living on the edge. We may feel let down or that life is unfair, but there is another perspective: it brings about true dependence on God. Such times remind us of the journey of Israel as they walked to the Promised Land. They were not allowed to store manna as an exercise in trusting Gods daily provision.

Why?

Ms. Francis Taylor explains it beautifully - 

"We take these troubling events and turn them into powerful witness statements! The Holy Spirit leads us to opportunities where we can share our stories and comfort people who are experiencing the same turmoil". 

Selah (Pause and think).

We welcome all who may like to share their stories to encourage others.