Let Him Save Himself

Today’s discussion is based on Luke 23:35. Here we read, ‘The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”’

The rulers may be the synagogue rulers or the Roman rulers who were present at Jesus crucifixion as observers. They mocked Jesus saying, ‘let him save himself’. The spirit of Lucifer says “I will ascend, I will do this, I will do that..” Read more

Make a Difference - Impact your Circle

Interestingly Paul's first known convert was a woman, named Lydia (Acts 16:14). Kind of takes your mind back to Jesus empowering Mary Magdalene as the first evangelist. Lydia was a business woman in purple cloth, the most expensive type in the 1st century Middle East

Paul’s encounter with Lydia and her women associates ultimately opened the way for ministry in that region. God often worked in and through women in the early church. Lydia was an influential businesswoman, and the gospel was affecting all strata of society, just as it does today.

Royal families and Roman senators who were required to have a purple band around the edge of their togas, or robes were among Lydia's customers. Purple cloth was both valuable and expensive and was often worn as a sign of nobility or royalty. Lydia's ministry would be to the cream of the society.

Lydia's heart was like the good soil in the parable of the sower. When she heard the word of God, she received it with joy and obeyed the words of the apostle.

Who are the "Lydias" God has placed in your circle of influence? Pray that you will be the instrument, like Paul, to bring the gospel to influential men and women entrepreneurs.

Some Juicy Fruits

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galations 5.22-23

The fruit of the Spirit is the outward expression of an inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person.

Love, Joy and peace are also the ingrediants for the kingdom of God. Rom 14.17 says 'For the kingdom of God is ....righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'. Righteousness is defined as right standing with God. God is Love (1 John 4.8) Therefore anyone in rightstanding with God must be filled with His Love.

Where there is love there is fulness of joy. The peace that passeth all understanding rules the person who is full love and joy. We can see here that a righteous man exhibits the fruit of Love, Joy and Peace. This paves the way for Longsuffering (patient endurance in the face of everything that discourages). Longsuffering produces character changes such as gentleness, kindness and goodness. Such a person will be faithful in all seasons both to God and man. When an individual is perfected in the above eight fruit of the Spirit, he will also be perfected in self-control.

Often we see varying degrees of the fruit of the Spirit manifested in a given individual, for the development of fruit is a lifelong process.

Have you become a Servant?

Have you traded in your position of Sonship for servanthood? What does it mean to have a servant spirit in your father's home? Read here the sequel to 'What is your position?'

What is your position?

What is your position: Are you a prodigal? or Are you a son? What does it mean for you to be a son? To Read Click Here

You will be My Witness

(Acts 1:8) Jesus' followers are to reach out to their community (Jerusalem), to their country (Judea), to other cultures (Samaria) and to other nations (everywhere in the world). Note that our commission is simultaneous, not sequential.

Jesus - Not the son of God

Question : For me, Jesus is a most holy and wise prophet, who speaks the language of God Himself. However, I cannot view him as the Son of God. What is your view?

Answer : I totally agree with you. I can agree with you because a son read more

Money changers and merchants

Question: Why there were money changers, and other merchants in the Temple and why did Jesus become so violently angry with them? Read more

God Accuses the Wicked

Isaiah 56 Part III

And the finale of Isaiah 56 is God’s accusation against the wicked. Israel’s watchmen are referred as blind men lacking knowledge of God. They are wolfs disguised as shepherds devouring the poor, crippled and Read more

Salvation for all outcasts

Isaiah 56 Part II

3 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree."
4 For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
8 The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered."

Isaiah obviously received a greater insight into the heart of God than most earlier prophets did. He includes the very people the Law of Moses commanded to keep away from the temple worship.

The Jewish outcasts included the women, the blind, the lame, the lepers, the eunuchs and the Samaritans. Foreigners or gentiles were another set of outcasts that were not allowed to participate in any Temple services. Verses 3 and 4 again emphasizes the universality of the salvation offered to those who bound themselves to the Lord. They bound themselves to the Lord by trusting Him and lovingly serving him from their heart.(verse 6) (He who searches the inner thoughts of men cares little for outward appearances.)

Verse five clearly defines the high honor these outcasts are to enjoy! The Jews were known as the true children of God. Here however, God says that when He reveals His salvation (Jesus), the outcasts will be more honored than the ‘sons and daughters’ and God Himself will ensure that they will never be cut off from His promised salvation!!! How true, the Jews in their unbelief rejected Jesus and the gentiles who believed were grafted to the True Vine (Jesus) and we have his promise that we will not be rejected as long as we remain in Jesus.

Verse 8 is a further reaffirmation that God’s salvation plan includes more than the Diaspora (scattered, exiled) Jews. God’s salvation scope extends to the ends of the world calling out to one and all who will accept His terms of Salvation – Jesus.

Righteousness to be Revealed

Isaiah 56. Part I

1This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Isaiah 56.1-2

Verse one and two says that people of God are to continue to do what God had already commanded them to do thru Moses, for the time was fast approaching when God’s righteousness would be revealed. For “the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ… Galatians 3.24”.(Now this new righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus has been revealed to us.)

Here thru Isaiah, God commands His people to follow the principle of Sabbath not just by avoiding the wrong but also by making the right choices. [Let us recollect here that our Lord Jesus performed a number of healing miracles (it was unlawful to work/heal on sabbaths), particularly on Sabbath days.]

In short, God is saying that He will reveal His Salvation to those who follow His statues and commandments in principle rather than legalistically.

Universal Salvation an OT concept

Question: Is salvation for the non-Jews (all nations) a New Testament concept?

Answer: Salvation for all nations, i.e., for everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike is a concept that is taught throughout the OT. The introduction of the Law and the election of the nation of Israel as the chosen people of God was not to exclude everyone else. Instead it was God’s divine plan to reveal Himself to all, through the nation of Israel, that He alone is God and He alone is worthy of worship. This He did thru His mighty acts in their midst.

However the religious ones among the Jews used the Law to exclude everyone except themselves from worshiping God and thereby effectively cutting off the physically sick, maimed, gentiles and even women to some extent.

Let us read what prophet Isaiah prophesied many years before Jesus Christ came to earth. The 56th chapter of the book of Isaiah speaks of the sanctuary being a house of prayer for all nations (everyone). It clearly teaches that everyone (foreigner, eunuch - i.e., everyone who was ceremonially unacceptable in the sanctuary) who obeys God will be accepted and they are granted not only entry in the Temple but God will fill their hearts with His Joy. Verse 7, “these ((foreigner, eunuch) I will bring to my Holy mountain(Zion) and give them Joy in my house of prayer.”

In Mark 11:17-18 we see that Jesus became angry because God's House of Worship had become a place of extortion, and a barrier to Non-Jews who wanted to worship there as well. For: then Jesus taught, saying, "Is It Not Written, My House Shall Be Called A House Of Prayer For All Nations? But You Have Made It A Den Of Thieves."

Isaiah 56 is very relevant to us these days. So we shall take it a few verses at a time and do a quick little study in the upcoming posts.

Money, Money, Money

I am reminded of a parable Jesus narrated - the parable of the Talents. Talent was the currency of those days and in this story three people are given 5, 2, 1 talents, i.e., according to their ability. The first two work hard and doubled the amount they received and presented their master(Jesus) with the same. However the third one buried his and returnsed it to the master as received. Instead of being happy that the man had not squandered the money, the master angrily says something very significant - "You could have given it to moneylenders so that you would have at least received the interest for the capital."

Our abilities, social status, riches etc must be put to effective use. We have been entrusted these based on our inherrant, but unrecogniused abilities. If nothing else, we ought to place what we have into the hands of those who are labouring in the forefront so that our 'talents' may bring forth an harvest worthy of Jesus.

God desires that His children should have the riches of the world, for He knows that His true children will utilize it to fulfil His greatest desire - save souls.

We are asked not to love money. We are asked to love God and fellow human beings. Money is not the root of all evil, its the love of money that is a root of all evil. Wealth in the hands of a righteous man is a great tool for evangelism. Such a man becomes the extended hand of Jesus.

Let Your Light Shine

Jesus said “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5) Jesus also said that “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14

How can you see God’s light shining through your life right now? How could you allow it to shine even more? The apostle Peter has some excellent practical advice on how to let God’s light shine through your life:

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.
Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.