The Promise of God's Prosperity on you

God's prosperity message does not come as a one way street. It's a double edged sword. If you are willing to accept it HE promises great things to you and if you don't then heaven help you!! The last couple of months here in the US has been quite a change for me. A lot of cultural changes from what I see back in India, surrounded with confusion about how things are out here in comparison to what we have in India. Though I have been having devotions, its not been at the speed that I am usually used to having. Today I was reading a portion from Deuteronomy 28 and it was amazing. I got to read what God really wanted from me and HE spoke so clearly that it is still ringing in my head.

GOD can make some wonders happen in your life, but HE wants you to start on it by committing to HIS commands and WORD. The Lord says that IF and there is a big IF your obey and keep all HIS commands, HE will set you high above all the nations of the world (vs 1). God through this is implicating two things --
1. HE is giving you the opportunity to follow HIS commands. God is not forcing you to adopt what HE says because HE is not saying Follow my commands, HE says IF you do then I will do this for you.
2. If you do desire to follow HIS commands, HE wants you to do it in its entirety. Most of us as christians tend to be the regular church christians as I would like to call it. Christians on Sunday and then the week comes in and we are normal people. God desires that HIS people continue to be Christians at every moment of their life. Like what Jesus says in Luke 11 : 23, "Anyone who isnt wth me opposes me and anyone who isnt working with me is actually working against me". We are the army of God and HE wants our total support on this.

As we read the scripture the WORD goes on to talk about how GOD will take care about everything that we do -- "Wherever you go and whatever you do will be blessed" (vs 6). I remember as a child reading about the king who had the Midas touch, wouldn't we all be happy to have that Midas Touch? God promises us just that, the only difference being that since this is going to be through GOD everything that we do will prosper. Ultimately what do we want as normal humans - a good job, shelter, love and peace in the family … GOD promises just that when HE gives out this prosperity message.

The LORD promises protection against our enemies -- He will conquer your enemies when they attack you and they will flee from seven directions. (vs 7). The LORD guarantees you a blessing on everything that you do (vs 8) -- GOD can give us such promises because HE is all in control of the whole set of events that happen. I cannot think of anything in this world that can give out a promise with such with such certaininty because face facts … no one is in control over anything in this world. In today's wordly scenario, you barely have control over even the coffee machine in your office which sometimes behaves with a mind of its own!!

The LORD will establish you as HIS holy people so that the nations can see that you are people claimed by GOD (vs 9). I firmly believe that we serve an awesome GOD who doesn't just want us to be serving HIM, but wants only the best for us in this world. Our God has great pride in showing us off to the others in the world, just like how children of good character are a compliment to their parents. The prosperity message deals not only with us but with our childern and is as relevant as it was to our ancestors as it is today. HE wants to make you the Head and not the tail so that you are never at the bottom but at the top (vs 13). HE just wants us to prosper!!

The flip side is that our Lord who wants to be good can be as bad as HE wants. The same LORD who with so much enthusiasm and joy wants you to have abundant benefits would be relentless in causing harm and sending curses on you and your descendants (vs 46). One of the biggest things that we face in our daily life is confusion in decision making. These are cases where we have not placed ourselves before GOD. The LORD himself will send out curses, confusion and frustration in everything that we do if we do not follow and obey HIM. This is not because HE wants to destroy us, but more signs so that we may turn back to HIM.

Dear Bretheren, GOD promises us a place of rest and peace in HIM. He will give us a life that is balanced and days of complete happiness. All this though comes with the thought that we need to seek and obey HIS commands. As Christians and true lovers of our faith, let us bow our heads and seek more and more opportunities to come closer to GOD in our daily life. Let GOD give us the opportunity to strengthen our faith and move closer to HIM and depend upon HIM entirely in all that we do.

Praise GOD

Letting LORD into your lives …

We live in a time and age where we as humans like to be entirely in control of things and events that happen in our lives. It is common to hear in daily office routines where superiors tell sub-ordinates – “Be on top of things and in control”. It is but natural that we carry on this behavior into our regular, out of office lives.

We need to understand this one thing – God desperately wants to get back into our lives. This is pretty much the reason that though HE punished people in various situations through the Old Testament – HE never withdrew from them. We serve an Awesome God, who is possessive and doesn’t want to let go of HIS people. We may feel that God is not part of our lives – but who is at fault? God has provided a path towards having HIM in our lives forever. It is we who close our hearts and minds towards accepting HIM into our lives. By doing this all that we do is open our lives to allowing the devil in. The end result -- failure and frustration.

Here are a couple of ways to allow HIM in.

1. Kill your own ego – Accepting Christ most often is difficult as our own egos come in the way. God is supernatural and in a different realm. It is absolutely futile to think that we can even come on par with this power leave alone better it. The times that we decide to do things our way because of our egos is when the biggest of problems crop up. Kill your ego when it comes to your relationship with God. Letting down your guard against God can only bring about good things for you. Allow HIM to work wonders in your life – something that HE has been yearning to do for you.

2. Bow down in humility – God wants people who are humble and are willing to accept HIM as the Lord and Savior. Even a huge bird like the Ostrich never gets anything unless it bends it neck down to pick it. Bow down at our Lord’s feet – as the old lyric goes,
“Enter HIS gates with thanksgiving in your hearts,
Enter HIS court with praise
I will say this is the day that the LORD has made
I will rejoice for HE hath made me glad”
Bring down all that you have and place it at HIS feet. That is a sign of humility and thankfulness to HIM. Submit all and give it back to HIM – worship HIM since none of these things would have come about unless HE was working for you.

3. Commit your plans to Lord – Proverbs 16:3 says “commit your plans to the Lord and it will succeed”. God wants to be in control of your life – not because HE wants to run it, but because HE wants only the best to happen to you and other people whom HE considers HIS own. Isn’t it but natural that HE would like you to keep talking with HIM. Commit your plans, your future, everything that you have value of to HIM. Give HIM the steering wheel and sit back and enjoy the success. Its not that HE does not know what we are doing, or planning to do – but telling HIM about it is bound to bring about an alignment between HIS will and our desires.

4. Believe that only the best will come your way – Through faith, we as born again Christians are on a higher ground than most other people. We need to continue in faith and believe that our Lord who sent HIS only begotten son to save our souls even before we sinned. Think of your relationship with HIM as one with your own father on earth. We may have a lot of wants and desires, but what will come to us if it comes through our father is only the best and what we really required. Our heavenly father is also in the same position. We need to understand that our GOD wants only the best to come in to our lives so that HIS people are happy and are in a position to praise HIM. At the end of the day – its only praise that we can give back to HIM in return for all the grace that HE shows us.

5. Prayer – Prayer is the most powerful tool that we Christians are armed with. It’s a first aid kid to the people hurt an, an armor against all kinds of calamities that may strike us. Through the Bible, people who have succeeded against adverse situations have all first prayed and allowed God to take centre stage in their lives. Prayer before starting on something is a way of letting God know that we accept HIM into our lives and want HIM to work within us to ensure that we are successful in what we are doing. In the case that it doesn’t go through – understand that it was not good for you and hence God did not allow it to happen.

God Bless you all -- may the LORD come into your lives and show you levels which you never even dreamt about!!

Look no further

GOD has a great way of leading you in your life. As it says in the book of Job, from six calamities he shall rescue you and in the seven no harm shall befall you. I praise GOD for having moved me through my life even in those years where I did not have time for HIS devotion to make me what I am today.

As a child going through the regular rounds of Church, Sunday-School and prayers at home, I always wondered what is it that we are aiming to have in our lives. As a teenager, with other things being more prominent in life my life tended towards facing life as it came and not spending time in devotion. As life moved on, I sat down one day to think seriously about what my purpose in life was and that’s when I got this calling from GOD. An inner voice at that time spoke out to me … Look no further!

The path to peace and contentment through Christianity is by submitting yourself to the will of our GOD and spending time in meditating about HIS word. As David rightly puts in Psalm 1 – “Blessed is the man … his delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night”. It’s such a beautiful feeling to be in the presence of the LORD - something that I feel right now as I sit down to write this blog.

GOD in us has implanted what is required for all of us to be good Christians. By Jesus’s death on the cross, we are all convinced that HE has died on the cross for our sins and we are set free from the designs and the desires of the devil. We have lived lives that may be against what GOD had planned for us in the past, but as it says in 2 Cor 5 – If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. We needn’t look any further for salvation, because salvation is here and knocking at our doors – open your heart and receive it. Most of the time, what keeps us away from GOD are the past wrongs that we have committed. We need to believe today that no amount of thinking can change the past. We all have our shortcomings and that’s something that even GOD accepts as HE says in Romans 3:21 – “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord”. But salvation is here … as the verse goes on to say “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. It’s for us to live life anew with the belief that we do not carry any of our past sins on us.

2 Cor – 4, masterfully speaks about how we need not look any further. We believe today that we have renounced our old and deceptive ways and have accepted the LORD as our Savior. We are all set to leading lives that speak about the truth and the signs of deliverance to others whom we meet and interact with. Our unveiled faces reflect the glory of GOD, because we have come out of our sins and transgressions and are connected with GOD who gives us his guidance and support. We need to fix our eyes on seeing the unseen for that is eternal rather than being satisfied with seeing what others see.

GOD lives in each of our lives - look no further. Don’t try to get into overdrive trying to search for GOD. GOD is like your 24X7 helpdesk, always present in you – it is for us to dial in to that number – and is fully at your option and discretion. Coming into his presence is the easiest thing that I have learnt in my life. It’s just about submission of our spirit, your body and your senses to the LORD Almighty. GOD has spent enough time preparing the best for you … it is right here right now … GO GET IT!!

Christianity V2

Like the old pop group of the 90’s – Big sang in their hit song of those times … Ooh baby baby it’s a wild world, its hard to get by just upon a smile, its pretty much the reality today. Or more as what Aerosmith would say … We living on the edge! As Christians though, we are in a position of advantage. We have a well defined framework – The Bible around which we know what is right from wrong. The word is the power and it is for us to apply and put into practice what we learn from the book into our lives.

Job’s life Vs. our life today
For all the while that I have read and meditated on the book of Job, he has come across as the typical man that all of us are today; being with GOD in our moments of happiness, turning around - rebuking and questioning GOD’s will in moments of darkness. We all have our moments in the sun but we shouldn’t forget that as much as the night comes after the day, our lives are filled with moments of sadness which may not be in the same proportion as that of happiness but we sure will have our fair share of both in our lives. Jesus was not the only to go through suffering. Jesus says in the book of Mark, that all who have chosen to follow him will be denying just like HE was and will have to carry the cross just as HE was made to carry. Don’t expect smooth sailing when you come into the LORD. I would say, your problems and strife now are going to be a responsibility to you and will form the cross that you are to carry everyday.

Most of us have already lived our lives like regular Christians, been to church regularly, done prayers, read the BIBLE and all that comes with it. Sometimes we still feel that we are at this point where our prayers are remaining unanswered and our happiness not being in line with the amount of prayers that we have offered. Did we expected GOD to swoop down and pick us up from the position that we are and place us at the heights of safety but we dint get the required results? We are in the position of what Peter faced when he wanted to walk on water with JESUS. As long as his focus was on JESUS, he did not sink but the moment his gaze changed to his surroundings he cried out to JESUS to save him. JESUS empowers us to even move mountains as long as we believe that it can be moved. Not that I am trying to say that we move the physical mountains of today! Equate the mountains with the stress and pressures that we all suffer from, things that hinder our path towards being close to GOD.

The solution
Situations like what Job went through will naturally make us question the power and the guiding hand of GOD that we so firmly affirm in. How many of us live to tell the story that Job was able to do – In the end, Job was rewarded for his faithfulness in the LORD. His wealth and family were made prosperous beyond all possible imagination. The only sure shot way to get out of our moments of doubt and be victorious in our Lord is to believe in the truth that our GOD knows what is best for us and will be around us come what may. The greatness of our GOD is beyond our understanding and HIS eyes never look away from the path of the righteous. As it says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 – no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. Pray steadfast and may your faith take you from V1 to V2, may God be your guide and light as you look to walk through the maze of the world today.

Saying NO to the Flesh and being in the SPIRIT

It’s almost a taken that the way the world operates today is different from what GOD intended it to be when HE created it. The ever increasing rate of crime, terrorism and other cases of inhumanity being shown between humans today is increasing proof of the fact that the day of the reckoning is near. In this scenario, we as Christians continuously find ourselves stuck between the works of the world and the works of the spirit or to put it in another way what our mind wants and what our hearts want us to do.
Romans Ch 8:5 specifically says that the choice of the quality of life that a man leads is totally in his control. It’s but natural to be sucked into the ways of the world through our temptations. Our minds by default are used to being driven by lust – the lust of the world, the flesh and money. The part of being in GOD is that the choice to be driven by our lives purpose is given into our hands. We are the makers of our future, for our futures depend on the decisions that we make today.
What is it that we desire today? Do we desire happiness or blessing? As per the beatitudes in Mathew 5, Jesus says that the poor in spirit shall inherit the kingdom of GOD. It further says that the meek shall inherit the world. It’s easy to interpret this as being sober and in the word and not being worldly wise. That’s not what our GOD requires of us. We need to continuously remember that we are his creation and HE never thought for us to be losers. On the contrary, HE came down to this earth to give us HIS gift of salvation so that we may never be on the back foot ever again.
All the time what we desire is happiness in our lives, its common and we would be abnormal if we did not expect that. The drawback of us humans lies in the fact that we are not equipped to see the big picture. That’s something that’s totally in the GOD domain. Many at times, what we desire to drive our happiness are not what GOD desires in our lives. The problem is that we do not give up and we try to force ourselves to get this happiness for ourselves. As teens and young adults we are exposed to a lot of worldly issues, some which we think will give us happiness but we are not capable to understanding whether it is right to have that.
We need to understand that only our meek surrender to GOD will help take us to the next level in our relationship with GOD. We need to allow HIM to play the miracles that HE so wants to do in our lives for us now. Our GOD says that we are HIS desire and our well being HIS only concern. The easiest and most effective way that we have on hand to throw open our hearts to HIM is through prayer.
So the next time a thought comes into your mind, just stop to think – is this something that my flesh desires or is it something that my spirit desires. Let the word of our FATHER come and bless your hearts today and forever more.

The Reason

I was listening to this song from Hoobastank the other day, pretty much a secular song and you must be wondering what the song is doing out here. Check out the lyrics...

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

The song is surely not a worship song, but it has so much that we can take away from. God today has given us another reason to start life anew. The blood on the cross has taken away our sin of the past and the resurruction has promised us salvation for the future. Oh amazing love .. amazing grace ... I am a changed man thanks to his goodness. Its about taking the step .. do it today ~ you have a reason !

Leaning on HIM

My life has been an absolute testimony of the truth that only at times of difficulty do most of us turn to God. In my life I have been lucky, God has been kind to show me mercy and take me under HIS cover whenever I have turned out and sought HIS help.

I was in a spot today and suddenly this voice said “Lean on HIM”. What followed was a very simple example of something that I have faced in my own life. Practically thinking, it’s a lot easier when you have someone else to support you in what you are doing. I have been involved in arguments and fights during my life. In those situations, I have always found it easier to keep my calm when I am not directly in the line of fire. When you are in the middle of the storm, keeping a sane head is surely difficult. This is where the concept of taking support or help kicks in.

So next step was to Lean on HIM, sounded simple but it really is not. Leaning on somebody requires a complete surrendering of body and soul. Today, most of us are out to claim our fame and fortune and in the middle of all this “surrender” is the last thing on our mind. Surrender is to let go of the things that keep our mind preoccupied and away from God, which keeps us away from Leaning on HIM and playing right into the hands of the enemy.

I remember as a kid, my first reading of Ecclesiastes – I went back to my mother and said mom ... all things are meaningless! That seemed to be the only take away from what I read. But today I realize the great King’s folly and associate it with the lack of peace in his life. David repeatedly kept thinking “I”, if only the great man had said instead “WE”. The transition from the “I” to the “We” is what is leaning on HIM.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians encourages people to lean on GOD when he talks about the Armor of God. He goes on to explain how each of our body parts is secured by the presence of God in our lives. What more can one ever ask for - a God that gives out incentives for your wellbeing!

All this said and done, I sit at my workstation looking at the work that needed to be completed, the first thought that came to my mind was “How I wish there was someone who would be able to do this for me”. As I sat for my exams, a similar thought came to my mind. Today though, I am convinced that GOD may not take away my work or my exams, but one thing is for sure … HE will provide me the support to Lean on HIM and come out successful in all that I do. PRAISE GOD!

Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog. Please do come back for periodical updates on this site. May God bless you and take care of you.

The Awesome Lender

I quote the Amplified Bible for 2 Corinthians – Ch. 5: Vs. 1 – 6.  This reading taught me of this wonderful lender – that I call my Savior.

We all call Jesus by so many names – Deliverer, Redeemer and Savior to name a few.  I would add this to my name list for HIM – “Awesome Lender”.  The Chapter talks about the reassurance of Our God, assuring us that even if everything on Earth is lost, we have a heavenly abode that is permanent and eternal.  It talks about how we are unhappy since we want to be living in our Heavenly abode and about the human desire to want more from above.  

Now here comes the fun part, God above has already thought about this desire that humans have -  the desire to want more, without loosing what we already have.  God, the book says, has already provided for that – Yes, HE has already made a provision for that and to assure us about HIS mighty plans, HE has also given the HOLY SPIRIT as a surety.  

We all do believe that whatever we have is from HIM, and we are in no way responsible for what we have.  Well if you don’t, the today may be the right day to start thinking and accepting this fact.  God has given us all that we ever wanted and much more.  In addition to that, God has given us this promise of a beautiful place, set for all of us at the end of our time here on earth.  To assure us further, he has given us a surety in the form of the HOLY SPIRIT.  

Let’s put this into perspective for the regular people that we all interact with.  Here we have this guy, say a money lender who you go to for help in times of a cash crunch.  Now, how many money lenders have you seen who give you the money and also give you a surety for repayment? Well, that’s where our GOD is an AWESOME GOD.  Not only has he given us more than what we could ever imagine, he also continues to bless us promising us of a wonderful place in Heaven and gives us a surety for the same.  All that he wants from you and me today is the undying faith and worship – a small token of gratitude for HIS innumerable blessings.

Let us pray:

Lord our loving Heavenly Father, we ask thee to help us increase in our faith,In looking beyond earthly pleasures and looking beyond at the life that Awaits us by your side – At our heavenly abode – Oh what an awesome lender art THOU!!