Live Like a King! (Or Queen as the case maybe)

Read Matthew 18 21-35

This is a very important parable and teaching. Probably the essence of Christianity revolves around this principle of forgiveness. Not only in thought but indeed and action. I doubt there may be a single person in this world who does not bear some ill will towards someone else.

So today we quote from Ms. Francis Taylor on this very important topic.

"I'm sure you are familiar with the parable of the unjust servant. The servant in this story owes the king a lot of money but when he begs the king for mercy and promises to pay it all back if he will just give him a little more time, the king forgives the debt. Then the servant sees another servant who owes him some money – nowhere near the amount he owed the king! – and he demands that the servant pay him back immediately. When the servant begs for more time, he refuses and has him put into prison until he can pay back the full amount. The other servants are horrified at his behavior and tell the king what has happened. The king calls in the servant and has him turned over to the "tormenters" until he can pay back the full amount. Any offense against God is a major offense, and yet God has forgiven us, and forgives us over and over again. We pray in the Our Father asking God to forgive us AS we forgive others. I'm not sure we mean it. Is there someone we still can't forgive? I'm not saying anything about forgetting. Have we asked God to help us forgive? The problem here, is that a lack of forgiveness does nothing for the person not forgiven, but it can keep us from moving on. In families it can keep brothers and sisters apart; parents and children, and can cause problems for generations. Let us be more like the King and less like the unworthy servant."

How does a king live? Exactly how our King, the Lord Jesus Christ lives. Love as He loved. Forgive as He forgave. Let us therefore live like our king.

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Be Still!

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10 (NIV) 

Being still is difficult, but it is in that stillness when God speaks to us. Waiting is having faith that our lives are in God’s hands. Remember that He alone is in control and His plans are good. But it is still difficult to let go and remain still. How can we do it? Our minds refuse to lose control and focus on something else. But we must, because God demands that we have faith and in waiting prepare ourselves. Some of us say our faith is being tested. Some say "God helps those who help themselves". What does the Bible say? What does the Bible demonstrate? 

For these answers, we have drawn from "Today in the Word" in their article "What the Bible Says about waiting. We highlight three things - 

Firstly, don’t Focus on the End Result

God gave us this day. He has not promised us tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1). Therefore, our focus shouldn’t be on what is to come, but what we are given now. There is still work to be done in the waiting. Thomas Baurain says, “We often treat waiting as a necessary evil. It’s something we get through in order to reach a destination, to arrive someplace and have the waiting behind us.” When we wonder what the Bible says about waiting, we are headed in the right direction. “Biblical waiting is waiting with conviction,” Baurain says. Don’t focus only on your desired destination. Instead, focus on where God has placed you right now, and what He is calling you to do in this moment.

Second, Realize We Can’t See the Whole Picture

We can’t see all that God is doing in our lives, and we most likely never will. This time of waiting could be purposed by God so that you miss something now in order to gain something better. Take Joseph for instance. In Genesis 41 we find Joseph imprisoned and forgotten. He had interpreted the dream of the Pharaoh's Cupbearer in hopes the man would remember him and help free him. Two years later, Joseph was still waiting to be remembered. Finally, He was set free to interpret the Pharaoh's dream, and because of this he became second in command over the land, saved the people of Egypt, and saved his family. There was a bigger picture than what Joseph could see during those years in prison waiting. God’s plan is always better than our own. We might not understand what is happening at the moment, and might not ever, but we can trust He is working all things out. It is helpful to get a new perspective by understanding what the Bible says about waiting.

Third, Take the Time to Grow

Perhaps, God has you in a time of waiting so you can learn. Spend time in Scripture and prayer. Don’t perceive waiting as just wasted time. Instead, see it as a cultivating time in your life to live for Jesus today. Seek out a mentor, or a mentee, someone to learn from who has also dealt with the struggles of waiting. Take this time to dig deep into what God is trying to teach you. Hebrews 13:20–21 says “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Let God work in your life.

We hope this has been helpful for all those who are in waiting for God to answer their prayer. In case interested you can view the whole article here

Karma or Grace?

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life...
The concept of Karma has become a byword in the lives of people today. Knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly, we start believing in it. We do not realize that the concept of karma is temporal while grace is eternal. 
Just to be clear, karma is not a religion but a philosophy. The philosophy of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in the schools of eastern philosophy and spirituality. In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives. What you do always comes back to you - much like the boomerang.
It is also widely believed that a semblance of karma is reflected in the Bible where it refers to reaping what you sow, in Galatians 6 verse 8 as quoted above. But it's not to be taken out of context. The reference is to the spiritual, which is eternal, and the physical, which is temporary, it does not mean our actions and the result of those actions. For through God's love, we rise above our actions into the bosom of God's grace.
Sarah Coleman explains:
"The Bible does not teach karma. It teaches grace. Grace is where you get what you don't deserve. Grace is unmerited favor. It is love and mercy bestowed upon us by God because He desires us to have it. As you can see, very different from karma. More like polar opposites".
God's ultimate act of grace is the salvation He provides through Jesus Christ. We do not get what we deserve for what we have done but like the prodigal son, we get forgiveness of the past and a rich (spiritually rich) future. 
Bono, the famous singer of the rock band U2, in the book, Bono: in Conversation with Mishka Assayas, commented as follows-
“I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge... I'm holding out for grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross..."
Think about it: if there were no grace but only the principle of karma, we would all, without exception, be in big, really big trouble!
It's sad if we think of karma as a fashionable philosophy of life, and adopt the principles of Karma as a guiding force of life and not grace, for we would have missed the eternal, the essence of God and His love for us. We will have completely missed His grace.

The Farmers Prayer: A story by Crystal Ross

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 just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits Amen."

Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today.

Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don't really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it. AMEN

Crystal Ross 

Pastor Rajiv's Mid-week Message

 

Are You a Visionary?

These days we honor some thinker or scientist or politician saying "she (or he)" is a visionary. The meaning of that erm is thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom and believes in it. They are full of knowledge which they apply and practice.

According to world norms, everyone is not a visionary. Only a few exceptional ones.

According to Christian terms, who are the visionaries? Well, everyone, has the opportunity. Few perhaps take it.

Visionaries are the people who look at the world as it is and see what it could be instead. A Christian visionary sees it as it is today, and what he will become beyond, and plans for it. S/He sees and believes that there is a life beyond death which they want to save and are ready to invest in it.

S/He researches, believes and plans. S/He shares. Christian visionaries are not afraid to pivot, and lead a life based on Christ's way. They believe there is a war out there, an unseen but not unfelt war. They pray for, and receive, discernment and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

The question is can you and I become a visionary? Definitely so! WE WILL find that the knowledge we need to become one is in the Bible. We will read it, not out of duty or compulsion, or force of habit, but out of interest and belief to invest in our future. We will gain that knowledge, think about it and plan how to apply it. Pray for those plans or changes and go forward.

The Christian visionary will believe in the vision of a world shown in Revelations and want to be one of the 144000 or as close to one as possible. They will definitely want to be part of that world and have the courage and the will to invest in it. They will believe in discipline and obedience, correction and rewards. They will accept each as part of their training.

Not surprisingly, there is also a warning to the visionaries:

Revelations Chapter 22: 18-19 says 

18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Therefore, let us not try and give our human understanding or interpretation to these words of knowledge (as many do today), but become a visionary based on the uninterpreted word of God, not using its interpretations to justify our ends but pivoting our ends to the unadulterated word of God.

The Triple "P" Principle

Plan. Provide. Protect. Three things which the Lord freely offers us if we ask. All our life, we work for these three things: we try to plan for what we think is the best, we try to provide for ourselves, and our families and we need protection from evil days, evil ways and evil circumstances. Do we ask God? Or do we run to Him when everything is going wrong?

Plan
Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..."

If we ask, listen and do what God has planned for us, everything will work together for good.

Provide
What does the Bible say about provision? The provisions of God for his people are a common theme throughout scripture. Matthew 7:11 is a very popular verse - "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him"

 Another one is Matthewb14: 17-19, the famous story of the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

Protect
Remember Peter? In Matthew 14:29, Peter walks on water towards Jesus. However, afraid of the rough wind and waves, he starts to sink before the Son of God reaches out to save him. But notice one tbing: first Peter asked God if could and only did so after Jesus said to come. And then his desperate cry, "Lord save me". Do we recall how many times we have cried out exactly the same thing?

In the meeting point Levan Wee says "As Christians, we are often tempted to “do first, ask God later”, reacting to our flesh-bound impulses.

We might also be prone to think that every opportunity, task, open door, etc. is something that God wants us to do. But this isn’t always true."

Opportunities will present themselves, choices will come before us, but before we act, like the leper, we need to ask His will.

Jesus, "if you will" must be our prayer whether we want to plan or ask for some provision or need protection. We must make it a way of our daily life.

Paying it forward.

1 kings 17 verses 13-15

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

One of the basic principles of Christianity is sharing. During the early days of the disciples recorded in the Acts, the principle of sharing and the activities around it is mentioned in detail.

This is especially true when we receive numerous blessings from God, not only in terms of material things but more importantly the blessing of peace offered by Jesus.

In the quoted verse the widow shared her last meal. At that point in time she did not know her food supply was going to be blessed and become never ending.

In some countries "Pay it forward" is implemented in contract law of loans in the concept of third-party beneficiaries. Specifically, the creditor offers the debtor the option of paying the debt forward by lending it to a third person instead of paying it back to the original creditor. This contract may include the provision that the debtor may repay the debt in kind, lending the same amount to a similarly disadvantaged party once they have the means, and under the same conditions.

Today Pay it forward is a movement. Not an organized one but one based on our belief, wherein we share what numerous blessings we have with people less fortunate. Here is a quote from one of our readers which shows the effect of this principle in action -

"Every time we were lonely, especially on an important family day, someone would invite us to their home and lift our spirits; or they would come home and share our joy or sorrow. Every time we needed, someone would share. The gratitude we felt to that person was only superseded with our gratitude to God for placing that person in our life."

Transforming Sadness to Hope

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 smile; or time; God will never ask us to invest what we don't have.

Today, can you think of one person you can help transform?

On this first day of the week, may our prayer be:

Lord Jesus, I surrender to You my case! Help me to be an agent of transformation in someone's life. Open the eyes of my heart so that I can see the needs of people around me so that I can be your channel of comfort to them. In my own life, I too want to be made whole by You! I believe in Your ability to work powerfully in my life as well over all the difficulties I am facing. As I rise up and walk, towards being an agent of your transformation, thank You for transforming me because You walk with me on the journey in Jesus’ name! Amen!

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Miracles Are Not Magic

Exodus 7 -12 

Miracles are not magic. They are acts of God. So, let's not wonder as we do when we see a magic trick, but understand that God who created everything, manages it all and can use His creation and all the laws that accompany it, to accomplish anything He desires.

For years scientists, current and old, have researched the ways of God. Numerous research has gone into the Great Flood of Noah's time. Some try to prove it happened, some try to disprove it. No one tries to research why it happened, to achieve what, they only research the how.

The wondrous thing is the creation itself and how it becomes a tool to achieve Gods wishes. Take the miracles that God did to release the Jews from Egypt. The plagues, the angel of death, the parting of the Red sea etc. The wonderous thing is not how it was done but why... why God did it, which was to fulfil His purpose. The purpose was the objective and not the Miracle itself.

As to how God uses His creation to do miracles, here is a link to the scientific explanation of how the miracles in Egypt were done, ensuring the Jews were allowed to go.