A Worldwide Fellowship

                                 

              This Week with Jesus is now multilingual. Our Daily fellowship through our readers has grown. Apart from the USA and India, we now have a world wide fellowship in non-English speaking countries like Hong Kong, China, Sweden, Russia etc., with more than 800 readers a week from these countries. We thank and praise God that He has been able to touch so many lives across the world, using us. Given this, we have introduced a translator so you can read these posts in your local language and also share it with someone who may not be fluent in English. Please go to the top right of the Home Page, and next to the Search button you will find three lines. Click on that and choose your language. Today's post is dedicated to all our readers across the world, as we struggle through various challenges we face individually, as a country and as a congregation. 

__________________________________________

"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him"

1 Kings 19:18

In the midst of a wicked and idolatrous nation, Elijah believed he was the only faithful servant of God left. He felt isolated, defeated and overwhelmed. But God revealed to him that he was not alone. God kept a remnant of 7000 people in Israel who had not bowed down to Baal or kissed his image.

There are times in our lives when we may feel like Elijah, thinking we are the only ones standing for truth and righteousness.

We may feel discouraged and powerless in the face of a society that surrounds us. We may feel we are surrounded by darkness but there are others who share our faith and convictions. Therefore, we must seek out and connect with fellow believers, who are committed to God’s truth. Denominations, Geographies, language does not matter. Together we can encourage and support one another as we navigate through a world that opposes our beliefs.

Let us take comfort in knowing that God is always behind the scenes, preserving His faithful servants. Even when we feel we are outnumbered, facing insurmountable odds of any kind, God will find a way. Believe that. He will empower us. Victory is not found within us but in God.

Let us then remain faithful, knowing that we are part of God’s remnant, and, like those 7000, remain faithful.

Pastor Rajiv's Mid - Week Message

 

The Eagle & The Butterfly

Adversity is part n package of life. Everyone goes through it, in some measure. It is our response to adversity which determines how well we overcome it and get through it. We can learn a lot from nature on various things on how to handle adversity.

Take the eagle for instance. When a storm comes it flies above the storm. It have the strength and can sustain heights. On the other hand, there is the butterfly. It knows it cannot fly above or in the storm, so it quietly rests and waits for the storm to be over. It takes both kinds to make this world, and both know how to survive.

Which brings us to humans. To us. Our God caters to both personalities - those who fly above the storm and those who shelter during it. Isaiah 40:31 is a passage we have read and heard many times. Songs have been written about this verse. Isaiah said, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

That was for the Eagles.

For the butterflies Exodus 33:14 says -

14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Psalms 91:1 says He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Eagles need to preserve their strength and butterflies need to preserve their beauty. For everyone though, whether eagles or butterflies, the common factor is God. Whoever you are, God will help you sustain yourself through whatever adversity you may face, in whatever way best suits you. Just as the eagle uses the power of the winds in a storm to rise above it, so can we with the power of God. Just as the butterfly rests, we too can rest in Gods security. And at the end of it - you are rewarded with a bright sunshine day and a rainbow, that is when the eagle will get back to hunting and the Butterflys will fly once again, filling our lives with their beauty.

So, get excited about the storms in your life. Challenges bring opportunities. We could see the opportunities, wrapped in our challenges if we weren’t so busy, complaining and trying to avoid them.

My Last Day

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10, NIV

We really don't know the future, no matter what we read or believe. The fact is: we don't know about tomorrow, and as the song goes, in reality we just live from day to day.

How does one accept this reality? Suppose we knew that today would be our last day here on earth, what would one do? How would we spend it?

Surely, we would make each second count, mend broken relationships, seek forgiveness for things we know we have done wrong talk to people we may have ignored, smile at a stranger and many things we wanted to do but put on the backburner. Take time to appreciate the people in our life and let them know how much they mean to us. We won't obsess about trivial inconveniences, as we are wont to do today, or ruminate about small affronts to our ego. We wouldn't brag, as there is nothing to brag about- what we had is about to become someone else's; we wouldn't gossip. We would focus on what matters. We would desperately believe that there will be something after death and pray to the Almighty.

Or we may agonize, dread and so want to be spared.

Believe me, each moment will be more precious than gold would be if it was the last day.

The point is since we do not know about tomorrow, should we not live as if each day is our last? Praise and thank the Almighty for one more day and proceed to live as if there would be no other, live in the joy of the moment, not creating a bucket list but cleaning the slate to be ready to meet the maker.

Trouble

 

Isiaah 30: 20-21
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
The Christian life is not a trouble-free life. We serve a Head we cannot see, and we listen to a voice we cannot literally hear. Often we feel as if we're being asked to follow a plan we do not understand. 
On top of it all, Jesus told us to expect trouble! Unlike most religions which believe God will remove trouble, we are given strength to withstand and survive the trouble, sort of trained in survival skills for trouble! 
God gives us the wisdom and hope to see past difficulty and confusion so that we do not fall into despair. God doesn’t often remove our trouble, but He always gives us what we need when trouble comes.
He is always present in us through the Holy Spirit, giving us access to His wisdom and instruction 24X7. 
All we need to do is call on Him. 

A Dance with the Devil

"Judas Iscariot is proof that you can sit in a dynamic church with an amazing pastor & still become a friend of the devil" (Rev Fredy Paul)

Surprised? 

Judas did not spend a day with Christ, he spent 3 years. And yet.

The reason is that we humans have an affinity to the devil and his dance of death. By nature, we are materialistic and selfish, only interested to cater to our material life in this material world. Demi Lovato, a famous singer says in her song Dancing with the Devil -

"I was dancing with the devil

Out of control

Almost made it to heaven

It was closer than you know

Playing with the enemy

Gambling with my soul

When you're dancing with the devil It's so hard to say no"

I am sure a great many of us identify with that. A dance with the devil is extremely thrilling in the short term and extremely dangerous in the long term. 

An anonymous writer, a member of the Alcoholics Anonymous once said - "there is a devil in that bottle. When I open it, he shows me wonders I have not seen, possibilities I had not known & strengths I did not possess, and I have to, then, do whatever he says; I have no control over him. The only way I can control him is never to open that bottle and the only way I can do that is with AA".

Well, that's the kind of outcome we can expect when we dance with the devil, unless we have help of someone who is beyond the temptation and who lives in us and is available on call. Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We have to live in this world, but, as Jesus said, we are not to be of this world.

The only way is to WALK DAILY WITH CHRIST, and how many of us really do that?

Walking with Jesus is a conscious effort to exercise our faith and our belief to build spiritual muscle. It is a daily adventure - so let's start TODAY! 

Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Mesage