God's Distinction

In the conflict between Jehovah and Pharoah for the release of Israel, Jehovah in exercising His judgment upon Pharoah and the Egyptians with the land of Egypt, always made a clear cut distinction with His chosen people Israel. When judgments were executed it was only to the Egyptians and not to the Israelite.

For instance, Exodus 9:4 says, "Jehovah will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the children of Israel." Verse 6, "And Jehovah did this thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel not one died." Similarly in verse 26, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail." 11:7, " Jehovah makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel."

Righteously, God thundered curses after curses for the release of His chosen, yet on the other hand He hardened Pharoah's heart as to not let Israelite go free, and in this juncture poured out His wrath of curses upon everything that is Egyptian or worldly and sinful in nature and appearance. Yet amid-st all these, the Israelite were completely insulated. God indeed is sovereign in His dealings with the ungodly, and wise in His preservation of His chosen.

In this age of the new covenant, we, the believers are the real Israelite and the unbelievers are the Egyptians. All that have happened and are happening in today's world are worsening speedily. Yet, we, God's children, are safe in His gracious care day by day. The world may tread its course, but we must go on in grace until the full redemption of our tripartite being unto the consummation of this age. What a blessing to be a child of God, the real Israelite, God's own children!

A revelation of God's distinction of His and not of His enlightened me to see how blessed I am. How I wish that many who are not yet His may be His when He still tarries. This indeed has revived me to co-work with Him to bring many to salvation. Lord, save many, save India and the world.

Double Salvation

The salvation God bestowed upon mankind is always of two aspects. As seen from the lives of Noah and his family. God saved them from judgment and also delivered them from the evil age. Today in our christian lives too, we are not only saved from God's judgement but also delivered from Satan's power, the world and the evil age. However, many Christians do not necessary experience both. Every genuine believers experiences the aspect of salvation which saves from eternal condemnation but the daily salvation of deliverance from the authority of darkness, the power of Satan and the influence of the world is still a long way to go. But the complete salvation of God comprises both, and every genuine believers should and must experience both.

In my pursuit of the the Life-study of Genesis and the study of the Word, I was reminded of these two aspects. Similar fact is also recorded in Exodus 3:8 "And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land..." Two aspects of salvation again:

1. Deliverance from the usurpation and tyranny of Pharoah

2. Entrance into the good land flowing with milk and honey (Deut. 8:7-9)

Even after deliverance from the world many still are wandering in the wilderness not knowing that their goal of deliverance is to possess the good land flowing with milk and honey. This good land is the all inclusive experience of the all inclusive Christ in the normal and proper church life. And the flowing of milk and honey is only in the good land, not in the wilderness. For a Christian to be redeemed yet not enjoying the church life is definitely not a double salvation. Every Christian must be in the proper church life, for only in this, God can fulfill His plan.

Eternal condemnation issue is settled once for all, deliverance from the world and from the usurpation of Satan is still on the go and the entrance into the good land is marvelous! This must be the experience of every believer. Anything sort of these experiences in full is definitely a shortage. May the Lord rescue me from a mere partial enjoyment of God's full salvation and bring me fully into the full enjoyment of His double salvation.

Against Evil

When under authority, one is required to submit to orders as the call of duty. However, for believers who fear the living God the case is not absolutely so. If the said authority works against the the ways of God, God is greater than the earthly authority. Herein lies the need for one to exercise discernment and following the leading of the Lord absolutely.

Exodus 1:17,21a says, "But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them but let the male children live. And because the midwives feared God.." These verses spoke to me this morning the need of loyalty to authority but be against the evils surmising of the evil rulers on earthly authority. As long as the rulers do not go against God and His economy the righteousness of God demands we submit to His deputy authority on earth. This truth surely requires a balanced understanding and application. One can ignorantly be rebellious against God's established authority just for the fact that the ones in authority are not believers as they are or at least as expected. The other extreme is also unwarranted submission to authority come what may, even if it means doing things against God ordained principles and ways. One needs a balance and clear cut discernment of what God approves and condemns, and be faithful to the Lord's intuitive leading and be absolute to it.

When faced with situation of unrighteous rulers, one must be steadfast to stand against it, even if it means death. John the Baptist in Matthew 14:4 was put in prison because he spoke against the ruler whose lifestyle was against God ordained marital status. He was bold enough and he died for it too. Circumstances may demands the same, and if so, the grace of God be beckoned to stand against evil, even unto death. May the Lord preserve me to be balanced and be absolute to Him, come what may.

Forgiveness of Sins

Acts 13:

38 Therefore let it be known to you, men, brothers, that through this One forgiveness of sins is announced to you; 31 This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. http://online.recoveryversion.org/

As I was enjoying my morning revival the text for that day touched me open my eyes to see the depth and significance of God's forgiveness of my sins that I have confessed to Him.

The Greek word for forgiveness means "causing (it) to leave" and "sending away". When God forgave our sins He not only removes the charges of sins against us and delivers us from its penalty, but much more, He even causes that particular sin that we confessed and that He forgave, to leave us completely. This is by virtue of the fact that He made the Lord Jesus a sin offering at the cross, laid all our sins on Him and carried them up in His body for us ("Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! " John 1:29b). Moreover, when God forgives us of our sins, he also forgets our sins ("and their sins I shall by no means remember anymore" Heb. 8:12b).

Oftentimes I struggled with the confessed sins and brought about in vicious circle, not really knowing how to get rid of it. Not knowing the Word in its full revelation is indeed a great shortage. When the Lord speaks through the Word it releases one from the mental conviction of sins. Such was what happened when I knew this truth. And with the shining of the divine light comes the application of the truth. I am now greatly relieved mentally and physically.

What a blessing to see this truth! When God forgave me He also took my sins away.

God's Blessings-Fruit Bearing

In our family prayer time the Lord lead us to pray for some specific names, reminding us of our need to cooperate with Him in and for His move. The day after, a surprise phone call came from one of such whom we prayed for. Out of the blue, he called, expressing his intense desire to meet me after a long gap of 5 months or so. He has been a seeker of the true and living God. True to his promise, he came. Then he shared his problems and what he has been going through. A self confident person suddenly lost his self-confidence. A goodly person ended up with misunderstandings. Yes, they were no good news, however, its music to my ear. The spirit within me discerned immediately that this was the Lord's doing. After listening to whatever he said, I exclaimed, "This is the Lord's sovereign arrangement!"

The Lord gave me a very strong feeling to help him spiritually in a proper manner. He had believed into the Lord and called upon the name of Jesus, and prayed the sinner's prayer for salvation last October 2011 when I met him in Palam Vihar, after preaching the gospel to him. I also gave him a Hindi Bible and a small tract "The Mystery of Human Life." Since then, we tried to meet again but it never worked out. But now, the Lord brought him right to the place where I lived, distance or transportation was not the issue. Discerning His need for Baptism, as he already believed, with the coordination of two more brothers, we clarified the truth about Baptism, and then he got baptised, willingly, out of his free will.

After the Baptism, he was so full of joy and shared how happy he was, his face shone with smiles! O the joy of salvation! He was so happy and excited. Then we had a session on "Topics for New Believers, Chapter 1." He read with much joy in Hindi, and more light dawned in him. Then we dropped him to his house. O what a day!

This is the blessing of God. When God blesses, we are blessed.

Spiritual Awakening

Often times the going gets tough and it seems the devil's darts are thrown from all angels just aiming at me. Nevertheless, he is the defeated foe, and he needs a reminder time and gain that he is indeed defeated in spite of all his humdrum. Moreover, the Body of Christ is victorious and I am a part of it. The Lord, in and through the Body is my protection and salvation.

These days, my natural kith and keen are under attack and reminds me of Abraham and Lot. Abraham had the resources and strength to rescue physically, but today I have the Lord and His Body. On the one hand, things seems spiraling down to the pit of abyss, but on the contrary, these are channels the Lord uses to remind me of my need for human care in exercising authoritative prayers. A good wake up alarm not to take things for granted but rather be always on the alert caring for all, day by day. A very supportive tool to "Pray Unceasingly."

The Lord in His sovereignty uses situations as these to wake me up and be ever prepared upholding all whomever He arranges under my care. When such happens, the gravity and the intensity of prayer is so deep, genuine and strong. And such prayer issuing from deep within out of the burden from the Lord are so sweet and enjoyable. It brings in the presence of God and the peace of God as an assurance of the answered prayer. The answers are instantaneous, not when or how long, but once the prayer is released it has been answered. O Lord, thank you for whatever transpires. And teach me this lesson of prayer, a prayer in the spirit to pray your prayer.

Virtuous Humanity

Cherishing in Humanity

And Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them possession in the land of Egypt, in the best land,....And Joseph sustained his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food.. Genesis 47:11,12

When blessed by God, Joseph acknowledged the Blesser and realised the reason for the blessings. And having been dealt with by God, he had been trained and perfected and reigned in life manifesting the virtues of God's divine attributes. One of such is a human care, a down to earth, normal expression of a genuine man. He took care of his family in their physical needs when they needed the most, not just to meet the need, but with the best human care. He gave them "the best of the land" and "sustained all his father's household with food." This is cherishing in humanity.

It is indeed true to give oneself fully to the Lord and love Him to the uttermost, giving Him the preeminence, the best and first love, and be freed from the bondage of natural affection. So much the more, it is normal to be humane and care for the human-earthly needs out of the divine life within us. It would rather be strange to be so spiritual without any human shepherding care. The more one is filled with divinity, the more he will be properly humane, for divinity is for humanity and vice versa. One without the other is just an invalid one sided coin.

The Lord spoke to me about my need for more of the cherishing in humanity, to care for the earthly needs too, as much as for the spiritual.

Faithful in Service

Joseph brought the money into Pharoah's house... So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharoah; Genesis 47:14,20

Recognising his official responsibility, Joseph knew his earthly master as much as he knew his heavenly Master. He was faithful to his service and did his best to gather riches--money, land and people, for Pharoah. This sounds un-spiritually strange, "Gathering riches for Pharoah in Egypt?" Well, that was Joseph's official responsibility. Pharoah made him "second-in-command" over all the land of Egypt( v.43).

Similarly, as man on earth, we all have our human, earthly, even official responsibilities in our service. A proper Christian will always be found faithful in whatever task assigned to him, unless the task is against God or His purpose. If the job is such, he should not be working for such. If this is not the case, faithfulness to service is faithfulness to God, because it is God who assigned the service.

The Lord is faithful to reveal this to me. And praise Him for His speaking, perfecting me day by day, to grow and mature bit by bit and climb the heavenly ladder step by step. Lord have mercy on me to be a genuine and proper Christian, cherishing my family and the saints in humanity and faithful to services assigned to me, be it spiritual or official.

Signs of Maturity

And his heart grew numb, for he did not believe them. ...the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel said, It is enough. Genesis 45:26b, 27b, 28a.

Jacob had been agonizing under the assurance of lies that his son Joseph was killed. Surprisingly, out from nowhere, as in a miracle of a fantastic imaginative dream, was told that Joseph was alive! Out of utter disbelief, his heart became numb. The mourning heart for years yearning and longing for his beloved son Joseph knowing assuredly it was a vain desire indeed was suddenly given an electrifying shock of the good news that the ones whom he reckoned death was actually living. His whole soul was emptied out in disbelief, despair and depression. However, his spirit was revived!

A person's heart comprises of his whole soul. Jacob's heart became numb was a proof that his soul became numb. The spirit of man is enveloped by the soul of man. For an un-transformed and immature person, his soul and spirit are entwined. What affects the soul affects the spirit. If the soul is saddened, so shall his spirit too. But at the age of 130 years, Jacob, having been dealt with in all angles of life was not only transformed but also grown unto maturity. Therefore, his spirit was revived. Meaning his soul's feelings had nothing to do with what his spirit felt. His soul and spirit were distinctly divided (Heb. 4:12), thereby manifesting his maturity in life.

Then he responded with much gravity, "It is enough." Had he not grown unto maturity he would have asked a thousand and one questions, reasoning, doubting, confirming, clarifying so on and so forth. However, his solemn response was sober and mature, manifesting and emanating the scent of maturity, a sweet fragrance of honorable dignity.

This morning as I read these verses, the Lord impressed me deeply of how much I need to grow in life and be mature. I know where I stand and dare not trumpet any noisy-empty-vain fantasy. I just look to the Lord for more grace, more opportunity to be transformed and ultimately be matured according to His heart's desire. I still have a long way to go, before I sleep. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, grow in me.

Assurance of God- "Surely"

Surely goodness and loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of my days. Psalms 23:6

This morning the Lord spoke an instant word in my time with Him. "Surely", meaning 100% guaranteed by God Himself that goodness and loving-kindness will follow me! What a promise! No matter what happens under the sun, God has said, "surely" His goodness will follow me. Not for a moment nor a season, but "all the days" of my life! The best and most trustworthy health and life-insurance from the company of God. What an encouraging word! Better than any best thing the world can ever provide. His word is sure and steadfast. I was so filled with joy receiving such a word from the Lord. My faith increased a lot more. Lord, thank You for Your assuring promise.

Oftentimes, the enemy and the fallen mind worries for things of this world in a genuine and in the most human way robbing me of my joy. Oftentimes, I too gave heed to such genuine truthful lies. But the Lord has thus said, "surely." Worry should no longer be my worry. Surely, the Lord will take care of them all. I am so happy for the Lord's assuring promise that cannot fail. Hallelujah!

And His assurance is for me to dwell in His house forever, in Christ and in the church. The devil's deviating tactics shall no longer hold. The Lord's assurance for goodness and loving-kindness is for me to dwell in Christ in the church-life on this earth and continue unto the New Jerusalem. O life is really worth living. What a blessing to be a christian! And much more a blessing to be recovered into the proper church life.

Blessed Being With Jehovah

And Jehovah was with Joseph, and he became a prosperous man... Jehovah was with him and that Jehovah caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found favor in his sight.. Jehovah was with Joseph; and He extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer...Jehovah was with him; and whatever he did, Jehovah caused it to prosper.

Genesis 39:2,3,4,21,23.

Jehovah was with Joseph and the issue was blessing. No matter whatever or whoever did to him, as long as Jehovah was with him everything was a blessing. To Jehovah God, people, matters or circumstances are all channels of blessing. He uses even evil people to bless His chosen ones. Oh what a God He indeed is and will always be?

The Lord reminded me as I read these verses and mused upon them that all that I need is He Himself. As long as He is with me, everything is a blessing. No evil can any evil intends on me, as even evil is used for good. Oh the presence of Jehovah! The scent of joy no words can describe what the Lord gives to me. As usual, as I went out to enjoy my prayer-walk, though I intended to bring matters to Him for prayer, all that I got back in return was the joy of the Lord. Oh the joy of the Lord! So sweet and so enjoyable.

Spending time with my family, its all joy. Everything around me all looks beautiful. "Lord, thank you for all your blessings. May I ever be with Thee and Thou with me as Thou in me. Thy presence is all I need."