April Devotions

27 April 2017

Luke 5:3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Many of us are familiar with the miracle (of fish) that preceded Jesus's call to Peter (to follow Him), Luke 5:1-11 records this very clearly. And when reading the chapter, because of the familiarity of the passage we tend to skim through today's verse i.e. verse 3 and miss out on its significance. If we look at the verse, Jesus asked Simon to put out the boat a bit far from the shore so that he could continue teaching the people who crowded around him at lake Gennesaret and **Peter obeyed Him immediately**. (**Implied because Jesus sat down and taught people from the boat).

Some points to note from this passage especially verse 3:

*You see Peter would have easily ignored the request of Jesus in his frustration of failing to catch any fish inspite of toiling the whole night till day break. Here he was worrying about his own concerns and some preacher comes and tells him to move the boat and that too not to help him but to preach to others. He would have declined Jesus's request instead Peter chose to do the right thing, he obeyed Jesus and when he did, it became the first step towards witnessing a miracle in his life.  

We also should obey God in small things as well as big things. We will never know how a small insignificant thing might turn out to be the biggest life changer for us. 

We should obey God even if it is not going to directly impact us because nothing we do for God goes waste. When we put the interest of others before our own needs or concerns even our needs will be taken care without us even asking God specifically for them.

*Peter did not know in advance that Jesus was going to do a miracle in his boat or that he will be going to have a harvest of fish and especially  he would have never expected his call from Jesus to be His disciple. All he did was a small act of obedience and that mattered the most. 

Similarly we should obey God even when we do not know the outcome, for God always rewards our obedience.

*Peter's first act of obedience enabled the people to hear Jesus effectively and his second act of obedience resulted in a harvest of fish which benefited his friends and family.

Our acts of obedience not just bless us but also our family and  those around us.

*Jesus met Peter when he was going through his daily chores of fishing and cleaning nets.

Sometimes our place of work can be the place where we can have the biggest or significant encounter with God. So we need to do our work faithfully wherever God has placed us.

Now, how many times we ignore to obey God in small things?  If it is a big decision or something we think that's going to impact us in a huge way we wait on God and seek him for his will and put efforts to obey Him. But what about small things or things that seem not significant or things we think that doesn't directly benefit us?  Please think on these questions in the light of today's devotion.

26 April 2017

Joshua 24:15 But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

This verse, actually the last part of this verse, is one of those popular verses that we would like to keep in our homes as a wall hanging or as a word frame on the door. But apart from keeping it as a decorative piece, how many of us really paid attention to the words of the verse? And like Joshua, are we willing to serve the Lord as individuals and as families?

For Joshua serving the Lord was about faithfully following the decrees and statutes of the Lord, performing the responsibility that God has given him to lead the people of Israel till they found rest at the promised land. And for us what does it mean to serve the Lord? It is about faithfully doing whatever God has called us to and where ever He has placed us in.We can serve the Lord in many ways, we can serve Him in our local church, our workplace, our business  and at our house. In fact we can serve Him wherever He has placed us, for service to God is not limited just to the work within church walls or to a particular kind of job. Also the truth is, we don't have to struggle on our own to find out how and when we can serve Him, all we need to do is prayerfully submit to Him and be available for Him to use us as He sees fit. And when we surrender our will and purpose to God and wait on Him, we will be amazed at the way He opens doors for us to serve Him. 

**When D.L. Moody heard a preacher say, "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully surrendered to Him", he committed himself to God that night itself saying  "By God’s grace I’ll be that man!". It is said that over a million of souls were touched by Moody's preaching and ministry. He was not highly educated and he was not very polished in his speech but God used him mightily. **

(** Taken from an article from web)

Will you also surrender to God and serve Him? As in today's verse the way Joshua left the choice to the people of Israel, God also leaves us the choice, we get to choose whether we live for Him and serve Him . Make a wise choice today.

25 April 2017

Joshua 1:9 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."

Many of us (with an exception of few) do not feel very comfortable to move to a new place or to take up a new opportunity. One side there is this excitement of exploring new things but on the other side there will be this nagging feeling of doubt and fear and then, there is this tornado of questions going on in our hearts on how the work is going to be, on how the people are going to be, will we be able to adjust there quickly etc etc.

Coming to our verse for today, it was not easy for Moses to lead that vast group of Israelites and Joshua knew it very well. He had seen how again and again the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and tested his patience. And now that the responsibility fell on his shoulders he would have trembled with fear at the enormity of the task before him. Also now that they have again come close to the promised land, he would have remembered on how the Israelites disobeyed God in the past by turning their backs in fear instead of stepping forward in faith. And with the Jordan river flowing full before them he would have had questions like, will God do it again? Will He part the Jordan river like the way He parted the red sea? 

With all these questions and fears going on in his heart no wonder Joshua needed multiple reminders from God to not to be afraid. God understood Joshua's fears and instead of judging him, He encouraged him multiple times saying Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. And as He promised, God was with Joshua till the end, He helped him to successfully lead the Israelites into the promised land.

What a wonderful God we serve, he understands our confusions, questions and fears, and when we are in doubt He doesn't judge us but softly nudges us forward with His encouraging words.

Also dear ones, I do not know what promised land you are waiting for, but this I know, God will make a way for you and guide you there to that place of abundance and blessing. No matter what the hindrance, He is able to remove it or even best make a way for you to pass through it. Just take that step of faith forward when He leads you on.

24 April 2017

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I heard a preacher mention that however beautiful and breathtaking a place looks, once we start living there or visit it often we tend to loose out that awe feeling towards the place. Similarly however wonderful a work seems to be in the beginning as time goes by it might become monotonous like a reluctant routine job that needs to be just get done. This is true for any work we do, a secular job or ministry or any work at home.

Also in the work we do when we start looking out for promotions or peoples appraisal or affirmation and we don't get them as often or as and when we expect we slowly fall into disappointment which eventually grows into discouragement and sometimes even into depression. What is the remedy then?

In Colossians chapter 3 Paul exhorts the believers to set their minds and hearts on things above (eternal things), to get rid of wrong traits of character and to put on Godly character, to bear with each other and to encourage each other. He asserts them to do all these things in the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through Him. Again in the later verses after explaining the role of a wife, husband, children, slave and master, he goes on mentioning  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23,24

The reason Paul stressed on this point is because he understood that we humans do tend to become weary doing a work again and again, especially when there is no recognition involved. But when we do things for God instead of for men there will be no room for boredom and disappointment. And even after doing that if there is any tiny bit of discouragement still left in us, thanksgiving will take care of it. Knowing that we work for the Lord adds a spark to our work for we no longer work without purpose. Our purpose will be to please God trusting that He will reward our work. This relieves us of the unnecessary burden of pleasing people or expectations from people. And thanks giving, it even makes our faith complete for it shifts our focus from ourselves to God  and when our focus is on God we understand that He is Sovereign and is in control of our works as well. He will reward us with that recognition, reward or that promotion in His time and in His way when we faithfully work for Him.

Therefore let us put our best foot forward to sincerely and diligently do the work that God has called us to do and thank Him for this blessing of work He entrusted us with.

22 April 2017

Psalms 57:1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

The psalmist is crying out to God during his hour of distress. This distress could have been a temptation or a threat or a trial. He is crying out to God to have mercy upon him and telling Him that he will take refuge in the shadow of God's wings till the calamity passes. If you ever saw a hen covering it's chicks with its wings you will be able to understand this analogy. When an eagle or a hawk flies by the hen immediately clucks to its chicks and  the chicks run to their mother. The mother hen then covers all of them below it's wings and protects them from danger. It covers them so well that at times we cannot even see the little chicks hiding below. The chicks feel completely safe under the wings.

Yes dear ones, in your time of trouble or temptation or trial run to Him. Do not run to your friends, do not run to your siblings or to some other people but run to Him first for, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; (Psalms 91:1,3, 4)

God is able to not only protect you from the distress but also more than able to deliver you from it. Just run to Him.

21 April 2017

Exodus 33:13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.

Wow! what a wonderful prayer by Moses!  How many of us really ask God to show us His ways in order to know Him? We may like to know His ways to understand what needs to be done to go further in our life (it might be to fulfill His will)  or to avoid failures in our life. There is nothing wrong in that and we must do it. But do we long to know His ways to just to know Him and love Him?

Now what does it mean to know God? First of all knowing God is different from knowing about Him. I  may know about Mother Theresa but I know my mom. We can know about a person by reading about them, hearing people talk about or tell  about that person. But to really know a person we need to be with them, spend time with them, have a relationship with them. 

So next comes the question on how to have relationship with God?  by spending time with Him, reading His word and praying. This answer is very familiar to us because we heard it many many times before but still some of us neglect to do, Why is that? A question one needs to answer oneself.

No human relationship can move forward or flourish unless we spend time with each other and get to know each other, the same holds good even with our relationship with God. We all know this well, then why do we ignore? The choice is ours, we can choose to do what is right or ignore it to go forward towards our destruction. 

The reason why Moses was called the meekest man on earth is not because he was perfect, oh no he was far beyond perfect and when we read through the book of exodus we understand that, but because his heart was bent upon seeking God and knowing Him. That made all the difference and it will even for us. Think about it

20 April 2017

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Interestingly Jesus made this statement after Peter told him that He is the Messiah, the son of the living God Matthew 16:16   Can you see the timing of the things here, once the disciples understood that He indeed is the Christ, He began telling them about the sufferings he has to go through and then tells them of the real cost they have to pay in following Him. It is the same in our lives when we first got saved every prayer seems to be answered immediately and ever burden God seems to lift it away but by and by God starts showing us what it is to really follow Him.
Yes it is costly for us to follow Jesus, this Christian walk we walk is not just a path of roses, but a path full of roses and thorns. It comprises of both blessings and sufferings. It does cost us something to follow Jesus and it did cost the disciples something, some of them their own life. Except for John (and Judas who killed himself)  all of them died as martyrs but it was worth it and they knew. If you came to Jesus expecting only His blessings then I am sorry but have to say this, it is time for you to rethink your decision of surrendering your life to Jesus.

Coming to our verse today, what does it mean to deny oneself? We all have our own set of dreams, wishes, desires, comforts we long for but if we are willing to let go off them and surrender to the will and purpose of God instead, it is about denying ourselves. And what is a cross? for many years I struggled to understand what a cross can be until I read a devotion , in that the author explained that the relational issues we struggle with, the financial issues we struggle with, the weaknesses that we want to go, unanswered prayers, struggles with our ministry...etc, all these can be the crosses. The cross one has to carry may differ from person to person.  The cross is heavy and at times we feel like being crushed under its weight and we wanna give up. But when we choose to carry it in obedience  to God  the result will be amazing. How do I know? Look at the cross (the burden of our sins) that Jesus carried, what happened afterwards? The resurrection, His triumph on death and sin. Yes dear ones there will be a grand resurrection after every cross we bear and carry.

Right now with the burden of the cross heavy on you, you may not fully understand the impact of carrying it but hold on, don't give up and don't lay aside the cross, for if you remain persistent, there will come a day where your cross will turn into your resurrection. He did it for Jesus and He will do it for you too.

19 April 2017

When hurt - ask God to give grace to forgive
When jealous - trust God he will provide
When put down - thank God for teaching humility
When others don't acknowledge - remember God must increase, you must decrease
When rejected - remember that you belong to God
When discouraged - praise God with songs of worship
When prayers unanswered - trust His timing
When afraid - trust in God
When in doubt - look to God

18 April 2017

John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

John the Baptist could have easily felt elated and important, after all with his prophetic message scores of people were repenting and getting baptized. At the same time he could have felt  angry and jealous for after Jesus came into the picture everyone including  his own disciples were flocking around Jesus instead of him. But John knew better, he understood his purpose and call, to be that messenger who prepared the way for the actual Messiah. He also acknowledged this by saying, the one who comes after me is more powerful, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie Mark 1:7.

But how many times we fall prey to pride thinking I am doing that or this for God so I am better or Godly than others, I should be given more importance and everyone should look up to me etc etc. And when our expectations doesn't meet with the responses of those around we end up feeling angry, bitter, discouraged and even depressed. Also if our goal is to always please people and behave based on their acceptance then we are headed for a sure big downfall.

How to overcome this then, by remembering that we are just jars of clay with the real treasure being Him 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We need to be secure in knowing who we are in Christ not in what we do or we do not do. We need to constantly remind ourselves that any work we do we do it for the Lord and for His glory and irrespective of the responses of the people, He is the one who will truly reward us.

So when we humble ourselves and  remember that every gift and talent that enables us to serve Him is given by Him then we also like John the Baptist can say, He must increase and I must decrease.

7 April 2017

Psalms 105:19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.

This verse if read alone is quite confusing, it is not clear on who said what and who is being tested. But when read in context, (from verse 16) we understand that this verse talks about Joseph and about the fulfillment of his God given dream/vision. Even though God gave Joseph, a dream early in his life it was only much later that it was fulfilled (at the appointed time). Until the time came to fulfill His word, God was building character into Joseph's life.

How many times even we thought that a promise, a dream or a vision that God gave us is taking much time to be fulfilled? The delay can be because of multiple reasons and when it happen it is wise to ponder upon the following things:

1. Firstly, is there any unconfessed sin in your life, some attitude or behaviour change, or something that God told you to do which you did not deliberately obey. If there is, confess your disobedience before the Lord and repent of it,.

2. Secondly, is there something that God is trying to teach you which you are not learning. It may not be evident at the first time, but when you take a pause and think through, you can see a pattern of things repeated in your life. If it is so, ask God of what He is trying to teach you through those repeated circumstances and He will make it clear.

3. Thirdly, did you hesitate in fear, unbelief when God asked you to take a step forward. Sometimes things get delayed when we do not take that one particular step forward however insignificant it may seem to us at that time.

4. Fourthly, is there something in your life like a desire, wish or area etc. which you have not surrendered to God. Sometimes we hold on to a thing (however noble or good it may look to us ) so tightly that it becomes an idol in our life. If it is the case, let go off it and surrender it to God.

If we see ourselves in any of points 1-4,  whatever might be the cause for delay, if we humble ourselves and surrender it into God's hands, He is able to turn that mess into a masterpiece. Yes sometimes there may be doors that cannot be opened again and opportunities which we may not get again, but it is alright, God has a way to fulfill His ultimate purpose in our life. The path may differ and we may have to go through some discomfort because of lost opportunities but God is able to turn that into our good. So rejoice in this that God can make all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to  His purpose  Romans 8:28

 Finally as in the case of Joseph, if you are faithfully obeying God in each step and still see a delay,  then take heart dear ones, it may not be the appointed time still. There is a time and season for everything Ecclesiastes 3:1. At the set time Sarah gave birth to Isaac, at the set time Joseph was made a prime minister, at the set time Esther was made a queen, at the set time Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem and at the set time Jesus our Savior was born into this world. So take heart and rejoice, at the set time, God will fulfill even that promise, dream or vision that He gave to you.(for He who promised is faithful Hebrews 10:23)

6 April 2017

Luke 6:38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.

All of us know the rule in mathematics: if you give out something from what you have, you will be left with something less than your original portion. But life seems to have a strange equation, when we share with others we tend to receive more, when we bless others we tend to receive more blessing. Word of God teaches us this in Luke 6:38. This is not limited to just material things, for, the previous verse  Luke 6:37 talks about , "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;"  And how many times we have seen this come true in our lives, when we share our resources with others in need, we received it back in ways we never imagined during our own times of need.

So when we are down in our spirits instead of wallowing in self pity if we turn our eyes from ourselves and concentrate on sharing, serving and taking care of the needs of others around us, without us even realizing it we ourselves will get comforted. That's the beauty and power of sharing and giving. 

As His children, let us give ourselves totally into His hands and spread forth  His love, joy , peace and comfort to others around . Remember the more you give the more you will be given.

5 April 2017

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Recently I heard the testimony of a lady who was a victim of human trafficking, forced into prostitution, addicted etc. and when Christ delivered her miraculously

from that, she started working for the authorities, along with the social workers in bringing good news and comfort to young girls and women suffering in the same things that she suffered earlier. One sentence of her that touched me the most, in her own words "Why me Lord, why do I have to go through all that suffering? somebody has to go to those jails, those corners and those crossroads to these women and young girls and love them unconditionally, and it has got to be me" Wow what a testimony! And this is exactly what Paul was talking about in our key verse.

No one understands a particular pain more than a person who actually went through it himself or herself. Others may feel the pain to some extent but a person who went through it will know how actually it feels and is able to truly sympathize and comfort. As believers, we already have a greatest example set before us, Christ suffered for us even though he committed no sin, leaving us an example (Peter 2:21-22) and Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Because He suffered, He sympathizes with us in our sufferings and is able to comfort us truly. And we who received His comfort are to follow His example and comfort others in their pain.

4 April 2017

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Every situation or rather everything in life can be viewed in two ways, with logical view and with spiritual view, which I call faith view. And many times we are faced with the dilemma of making decisions based on logic or on faith. Which one do we choose, should we think logically or should we jump by blind faith? Logic is good because it helps us to get to the depth of things rather than view them on surface. But is it always the right way to think when it comes to things pertaining life?

Again all of us especially those of us who grew up in an environment where the very existence of God is questioned, understand very well on how difficult it is to trust in things that we cannot see or touch or where there exists no logical reason to believe. Also during the initial days of faith we  are even troubled with questions like am I believing in the right thing or is this all my imagination or illusion? 

Honestly I used to struggle with these kind of questions, until God directed me to  this verse in the Bible, Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." By faith we believe God created this world and us. By faith we trust His birth and death on the cross and His resurrection. By faith we confess our sins and accept His salvation. This is the foundation of our christian belief Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. And it is also by faith that we trust Him to guide us in our decisions and He will do it.

Coming to today's verse, To choose to trust Him with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding means to completely abandon ourselves into Gods hands and  surrender to Him completely with no questions asked and have absolute obedience to His word. _In all your ways acknowledge him_, it means submit our every thought, plan and action into His hands. And how can we trust Him and how can we submit to Him? By faith. When we choose to trust God beyond all our human understanding and comprehension and logic, submit to His authority, He will direct our paths. He will make ways through wilderness and streams through deserts ( Isaiah 43:19 ). We see miracles happening in our lives, For nothing is impossible with God. 

By the way, this verse has been and will be a foolproof method in finding guidance from God. I've tried it, would you like to give a try?

3 April 2017

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

People usually quote this verse as a word of advice or a word of counsel when we are worried about some unmet needs in our life or worried about our future. It is correct but is that all? Up until few years I kind of struggled to understand what exactly this verse mean. Does it mean I should not pray about my needs? Or does it mean, spend more time with God? Or what is it, what exactly does it mean?

I want to answer this by narrating a personal experience. There was a time when I was struggling to find the will of God for a particular thing or area in my life. I prayed and prayed but I did not hear anything from the Lord. And I became so restless, so restless that I was even unable to sit still for a moment and was unable to sleep. All the time, every moment I was only thinking one thing, what does God want me to do in that particular area? You got the picture,right?

During that time  while reading through other devotions I felt God telling me to turn my attention from that request to other things like reading His word (not just to know His will) , praising Him through singing and praying (not just only that particular request). And when I turned my attention from 'my request' to 'God himself', I felt peace in my heart and in few days I even got to know the will of God for that particular area very clearly. 

That's when I started understanding what this verse means. It is about seeking God for who He is not for what He does and when we do that He will take care of our every other need & request. He is such a good and loving God that *before a word is on our tongue He knows it (psalm 139:4). He  knows what we need even before we ask and He is willing to provide. But we need to learn to seek Him as our Lord who deserves our worship, our praise, our honor and glory.

Yes dear ones there are times when we get so caught up with doing spiritual things (like praying, reading Gods word) mechanically or busy serving Him or for that matter even sincerely trying to find His will for our lives, that we forget to do the most important thing i.e.  to spend personal time with Him just enjoying His presence, loving Him and knowing about Him. There is a very thin line between doing these things like seeking His will or serving or even Bible reading,praying and they becoming idols taking the place of true worship to God. Yes we need to seek His will in everything that concerns our life, yes we need to serve Him, yes we need to pray and read Bible but we should not read Gods word only to find His will or pray only to know His will or read Bible, pray to just finish off todo list for the day. He should be our primary focus, our eyes should be fixed on Him.

May the Lord grant us grace to say along with the psalmist (Psalms 27:4) One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: 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 inquire in his temple.

1 April 2017

Revelation 20:15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The book of Revelation which many of us try to avoid reading or at the most try to skim through as fast as we can and complete our study of bible, is a book of prophecy. John the disciple of Jesus was banished to the island of Patmos during the latter years of his life for his testimony of Jesus, and this is where he received this marvelous revelation from the Lord concerning the second coming or the rapture as we call it and things that follow the second coming like the woes and plagues, rewards of the believers, thousand years reign of Christ, punishment of devil etc . 

Coming to today's verse, it talks about the second death that the unbelievers has to undergo. All those whose names are not written in the book of life were thrown into lake of fire where the devil and his followers were already thrown. In the lake of fire they will be tormented forever and ever. Think of it, going through torment forever and ever all through eternity. Our hearts should shudder at the thought of it.

Then how to escape the second death?  The answer is very simple yet the most difficult to do for many fail to do it, by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we confess our sins and accept Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior, our names will be written in the book of life. Is your name written in the book of life? If not today itself surrender your life to Jesus. If it is written then what are you doing about those around you who doesn't know the Lord?

The Bible says in Romans 10:13-14 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? For those of us who know the Lord it is our privilege and a responsibility given by the Lord himself to spread the good news around the world. We can serve Him wherever He places us (whether in missions or in IT or in business...) and however He leads us (preaching, giving, sharing...) if we are willing to obey His leading. 

 Let us all become fellow laborers in the great harvest of the Lord.