No Shortcuts

A brother once told me that the shortest way is the longest way. Never go for short cut or cut short things, ultimately you will end up taking the long way with a heavier, if not heavy, price. Often, one tends to take shortcuts in doing things for the sheer satisfaction of doing one's job quickly and easily, trying all means by hook or by crook as soon as the job could get done. This is a big temptation.

Three instances taught me this wonderful lesson, the third one being today, I could not resist blogging the same today itself, lest I end up doing the fourth time. Let this be the last.

First:

I had my dental check up due for months now. One time I had a very uneasy experience with a Dentist who did her best to flatten my wallet. Since then I was very cautious to go to any Dentist before knowing their dental works charges.  

Since a new health care was opened in our vicinity, we have been their regular "patients." Often I told my wife that this hospital is our hospital; we come for all medical needs and it's comparatively economical than the rest. So I have reserved myself to come here only. I indeed came and did all my dental works only to find myself being charged higher than the previous ones, at least 50% more of the others, I guess only in this department? 

Where I wanted to save, there I ended up spending more. The dental works were quite satisfactory, but the feeling of hiked-pay nagged me for quite some days. My logic doesn't work. Where I wanted to save, there I ended up paying more. 

Second

A month ago I wanted to port my wife's mobile number into the same service provider I have been using for decade. There were two ways to do this; the first is to visit the service center and the other is just call a number given by the company. In a hurry, I called the number and wanted to do it in few hours' time, which the tele-caller promised too. The agent came and got his service charge and said in a week's time it would be done. Yet to my surprise, till date, even after a month, still the work has not began. I took the shortest and fastest way, but it turned out to be a long way. A reality check on my patience, I guess? The short cut was not short at all.

Third 

I had to do my children's general medical check-up for the new classes they are joining in afresh. We generally do it at a nearby clinic. The job required simple filling up of medical forms which I myself can do, but for the medical doctor's stamp and signature. So for this menial task I had to take my kids to a doctor and pay for the doctor's stamp and signature, for the purpose of visit is not medical in nature, but formal for school record's sake. There is another nearby hospital whose board reads, "Free OPD." Today as I could not meet the former practitioner and I was in a hurry to get my job done, I came to this hospital thinking that it would be cheaper as the Ads board says. But to my surprise, for mere stamp and signature, they charged 50% more of the one I used to used for such. It went against my concept again.

All these are simple life experiences, but they taught me precious life-lesson. O that I may learn my lessons fully well. Do things at its own time, no short cuts, not playing around for savings. What needs to be done, just to it, what needs to be paid just pay for it. Human maneuvering is trouble some and painful too.

Brotherly Love

Luke 6:35  ...do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the unthankful and evil.6:36  Be full of compassion, even as your Father also is full of compassion.6:38  Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, they will give into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you in return

These are the words of the Lord last night in my time with Him as I was praying and considering the giving of financial offering to a brother who is urgently in need. It was last week when he came to fellowship with me regarding his family situation. As he fellowshipped, deep within me the Lord gave me much joy and peace to extend a brotherly love in reality unconditionally and expecting nothing in return, though he promised to pay back on monthly installment. The leading of the Lord is supreme and the decision is already made at the throne; my duty is simply to execute it. After all, all that I have is all from the Lord and I am just a steward of the Lord's treasury. I only pray that I may find grace to be a faithful steward of the varied grace of God.

Two days later, the Lord provided me 10 times of the amount fellowshipped for the urgent need. It was a surprise shocked to me too; too true to believe! Praise the Lord, He is the source of every blessing. The way He provided was through a righteous channel that was formally owed to me since a year ago that has not been transacted yet. Yesterday being 31st March, the company abruptly decided to clear their book of account a day before the financial year ends so as not to carry forward debt.

Today morning as the brother came to collect his "loan" it was a surprise for him that it turned out to be an offering! The only thing I could tell him was, "it is from the Lord, praise the Lord!" He was speechless, and smiled. Praise the Lord!

Sometimes, the Lord's speaking are so direct that it really need more grace to take it in. Phrases like, "do good and lend, expecting nothing in return", "Be full of compassion" and "Give, and it will be given to you". Many may interpret these to mean "spiritually" even when the phrases are so direct and clear; the reason I apprehend is because of their love for money. Yet they cannot deny the plain truth so they try to invent a "different interpretation" to ease off their convicting conscience. Actually, no one can be such a person except the Lord Jesus Himself. But, now the Lord Jesus Christ is in us as the indwelling Spirit in our spirit; when we live and walk in the Spirit, the Lord can easily live Himself out against all odds. Where He leads, there He graces; for what He commands, He also supplies to fulfill it.  

This is no philanthropy, nor generosity, nor good Samaritan, nor anything a natural man may call it; it is just the grace of God being lived out day by day; the living of Christ as in Philippians 1:21 and not I but Christ in Galatians 2:20. This is a very normal Christian life as practiced in the book of Acts by the early believers. In fact, this is the Lord's heart's desire as stated in the church in Philadelphia, brotherly love. Perhaps, today's Christians must learn from our brethren who lived before us and follow their footsteps. Times, ages and fashions may change, but the principle of the Bible never and will never. Take God at His word, and He will take you at His word!

Lord, preserve us to live a normal Christian life full of brotherly love, caring for one another in You.

Dwelling in God

       Psalms 
        84:1   How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts!

84:2   My soul longs, indeed even faints, For the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out To the living God.

84:3   At Your two altars even the sparrow has found a home; And the swallow, a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young, O Jehovah of hosts, my King and my God.

84:4   Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will yet be praising You. Selah

92:13  Planted in the house of Jehovah, They will flourish in the courts of our God.

92:14  They will still bring forth fruit in old age; They will be full of sap and green;

Ecclesiastes

12:1   Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

12:8   Vanity of vanity, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

At least in three meetings this month, the Lord has reminded me again and again of the significance and blessings of dwelling in the house of Jehovah. 

First time I was not much impressed about the "two altars" which are in the tabernacle. Later, as I pray-read the verses in Psalms 84:3-4 over and over again, the Lord shone on me the importance of dwelling at the two altars, in the tabernacle, which is, dwelling in the house of God. The first altar which is the Bronze Altar of Burnt Offering at the outer court, typifying Christ's complete and full judicial redemption accomplished at the cross, ushers the redeemed believers into the Golden Incense Altar at Holy Place which is spiritually in the Holy of Holies, signifying the resurrection of Christ in His interceding life from which God executes His heavenly administration. So having experienced the frist altar, one must go on to experience the second too, this not for himself for an experience sake, but for God to accomplish His eternal economy on the earth. These are the genuine experiences of dwelling in the two altars. I would pay any price for such precious experiences.

Last Friday night as I ministered on these verses in a home meeting, the Lord supplied us richly again ushering us to the experiences of the two altars, this I contrasted with the religious and ritualistic celebration of the outward forms. It was a blessing to see these matters spiritually and experience them as well.

In another meeting too, a brother pointed out the same verses for pray-reading and the issue of dwelling in the house of Jehovah. "Planted in the house of Jehovah, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bring forth fruit in old age; They will be full of sap and green;" Psalms 92:13-14.  

I was so encouraged to see the blessings of dwelling in God; to bring forth fruit in old age. My hair may not be grey as yet, but if the Lord gives me long life and He tarries His return, and I become physically old too one day, by ever dwelling in the house of God, I desire to bring forth much fruit-abundant and remaining fruits. Yes, even more, be full of sap and green, to supply Christ as life to others, especially to the younger generation. How I pray and hope that not only me but all the elder saints bear such a testimony. In fact, for this blessing I have been praying for my dad and mom and in-laws, and all the other older saints. 

What a testimony this would be! Even in old age, not a burdensome nor a botheration, but blessings and blossoming, bringing forth fruits and full of sap and green.

On the flip side, I was also warned of the result of not dwelling in the house of Jehovah. Ecclesiastes 12 2- 8 describes such a pathetic living, finally ending in "vanity of vanities". The very thought of this, dreaded me, yet positively encouraging me to live a life in the house of God, in the normal church-life, in the Body of Christ.

Lord, preserve me in Your tabernacle, all the days of my life. And even when I am physically old, I may be full of sap and green, and bring forth fruits in abundance. 

Jehovah's Promise

Deuteronomy 26:18 And it is Jehovah who has today declared you to be a people for His personal treasure, even as He promised you; and that you will keep all His commandments; 19  And that He will set you high above all the nations which He has made, for praise and for a name and for honor; and that you will be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as He has spoken.

Zephaniah 3:20 At that time I will bring you in, And at that time I will gather you; For I will cause you to be a name and a praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I turn again your captivity before your eyes, Says Jehovah.

It was on the 18th March 2016, when I had my personal time with the Lord in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while in the ministry literature journey that the Lord promised me Zephaniah 3:20. Initially I reckoned it as too much for me. But the Lord's speaking was so intense and clear that I was forced to mark the date on the side of the verse in my Bible. I simply thanked the Lord that it has been by His grace alone that I am what I am; and that I don't deserve further "name and praise" for myself. Sufficient is that the Lord's Name be glorified whether through me or any one else He pleases to choose. If I be that whom He choose, let His will alone be done. Name and praise be to Jesus alone!

Today in my Bible reading time, the Lord reconfirmed the same speaking through Deuteronomy 26:18 and 19, that I and the saints are His personal treasure, "And that He will set you high above all the nations which He has made, for praise and for a name and for honor; and that you will be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as He has spoken". This should be to the Body, as we the saints are His personal treasure, for His name and for His praise.

Whatever the Lord intent to mean by these verses, I thanked the Lord for His speaking, much more His promises. To all His words and His promises, I say amen. Many of His promises I am yet to understand, and I simple and humbly amen His promises, whatever they are meant to be, to me or to anyone else. Amen to the word of God! Praise the Lord!

Only time will tell what the Lord means by all His promises. I simple take Him at His word, and thank Him for finding me worthy to be spoken to "a saved sinner like me". Jehovah's promises in the past have been fulfilled mostly, and some being fulfilled. He does not waste words, His promises have only one echo, "amen", both in the heavens and on the earth. 

Lord, thank you for Your promises! Let Your Name be praised and glorified all over the earth. "

Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified;" Mathew 6:9  

Expecting the Lord's Words

His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master. -Matt. 25:21,23 

These are the words of the Lord to the faithful slaves. And this will be an incentive for us who are still alive on the earth expecting the Lord's return or to meet Him. 

I have never seriously thought about the significance of these words. Often I took these words as mere parables and the Lord's appraisals for faithfulness. But the depth of it, I begin to understand of late, and its spiritual significance thereof.

Recently, brothers fellowshipped that it is my turn to attend a training in the west with two weeks of further training on proofreading work. For this, all legal formalities have to be done and I have many official schedule lining up. So I decided to complete all national formalities well before I begin my further trips. As all formalities were carried out and I need to attend an interview, and there were possibilities of objections too, I experienced a deep longing for a word that approved my application, as all will naturally do. I did give the interview and the word of approval was in indirect speech, not grammatically but logically, thereby putting me in tip toe until the confirmation on my passport. Today, as I received my passport with the approval sticker on it, the experience was quite remarkable. I use this as an example to drive home the point of the Lord's approval.

The experience above, though menial, opened my eyes to the truth of the Lord's word. Should the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master." or "Evil and slothful slave or useless slave" as in vv 26, 30.

What a relief when I got my approval for such a trivial thing as compared to the Lord's reward for eternity! No comparison on the duo. 

This boils down to my Christian life on earth and touches the very core of my living and being; expecting the Lord's words of approval is the reward I can die for. With this realization, my whole Christian outlook took a paradigm shift. In all my words, deeds and even creeds, I must be in line with the Lord's word and live in His presence that I may find grace and be appraised in time. O, to hear that words from the Lord when my time on earth is done will indeed be the greatest joy, "Well done, good and faithful slave. Enter into the joy of your master". This is worth everything.

Well, this being said, I must look to the Lord for His continual grace that I am be found faithful and prudent to all that the Lord has sovereignly apportioned to me; not once nor now and then, but all the days of my sojourn on this earthly ball. And to meet the Lord on that day and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master". This is my earnest expectation and longing.

Lord, grace me so, to be spoken to, as such, "Well done, good and faithful slave. Enter into the joy of your master."

Principles of the Lord's Leading

In the principle of incarnation, God carries His works through man; in a sense, God needs man to co-work with Him and man needs God to co-work with him too. So God speaks and burdens man to carry out His heart's desire, but the carrying out of the work is by man. Man only has to realise and join himself to be one with God in His move, and God will grace him to accomplish the calling and the burdens. This is how God works today in the principle of incarnation.

The other side of the coin is the principle of the Body. Yes, man might have definitely received a call and a burden from the Lord, but still it is best to always fellowship with the fellow members in the Body. The Head and the Body are one, and anything genuinely from the Head will always be in oneness with the Body. This is a safety check in serving the Lord and carrying out the Lord's call and burden. For what guarantee is there that the Lord, the Head of the Body, indeed called and burdened a member of the Body without the fellows members' confirmation? Not that God's leading need confirmation, but that man has fallen and there are rooms to be misled and misinterpret spiritual matters. Therefore, the fellowship in the Body is a secure safety measure. Most assuredly, the Head will never say or do a thing without the same Body amening it. Thus, the fellowship in and with the Body in the principle of the Body is a great blessing.

Such has been my experience these days for anything I am doing. I find joy and peace in the Body's fellowship when I brought any matter the Lord has burdened me for fellowship with the Body; be it personal, official or church related matters. My "safe heaven" is in the Body. The Lord anoints the Body and in the Body is the Lord's blessing and presence.

A particular matter related to my personal life, yet official too, in the matter of qualification upgradation in my academic life has been brought into fellowship with some concerned brothers. It was by the same principle of the Body that I did so. The result of the fellowship from the brothers are, "as the Lord leads you". I honor the brothers' word, and they have replied to my fellowship again in the principle of the Body. As the Head leads, the Body follows and echoes the same burden. What a beauty! What a oneness!

It is the mercy of the Lord that I can learn and am learning this precious lesson. Even if I am 100% sure of the Head speaking to me directly, I must be graced to humble myself and fellowship with the Body. What is genuinely of the Head, the Body amens. Even if I am 100% sure, still I am just a member of the Body, much more, still in flesh and blood, I can go wrong, or perhaps, I could misunderstand or misinterpret the Lord's speaking or it could even be that the timing is not yet ripe though the burden from the Lord is clear. So, always be in fellowship with the Body for any matter. I dread those "spiritual giants" who are 100% for Christ and also 100% individualistic in the name of Christ. There is more hope for a "spiritual dwarf" who hide in the Body than self-proclaimed spiritual perfectionist. Thank God, the Lord has delivered me from that path of self. 

May He grace me further never to return to that spiritually individualistic path.

The Lord's leading is always confirmed in the fellowship of the Body. May the Lord, the Head preserve me in His Body.

Truth Matters

When rumors and lies are spreading among the believers concerning the beliefs and practices of certain Christian groups, one response is to be silent and leave the judgment to the Lord, yet another response is to not let the lies to be believed as truth and refute it as the Lord leads, with the truth, for truth matters.

The latter has been my experiences of late, as misunderstanding and misinformation based on no facts have been evilly communicated, even by so called apologetic and preachers. To such Christian leaders I do not shy away and will not, for they cannot be ignorantly harbingers of false accusations, for their sake and ours too, who are misunderstood.

The Lord has sovereignty led me to some of them, surprisingly, the main ones. In face to face fellowship, I have used the Bible to refute the false accusations and questioned them back the basis of their false accusations. Surprisingly, they had none and were mum when asked to furnish proofs. Not a vindication nor self-justification, after every face to face dialogue-fellowship, the air of misunderstanding was cleared. And they mostly confirmed our orthodoxy and ended up appreciating the truth we uphold, which is the word of God. Seldom do I debate on the truth and I am not for it as it is mostly futile, but I do refute and stand for the truth, for truth matters.

To this day, at least seven well known Christian apologetic and leaders have I fellowshipped with in India, not counting those who simple pass on hearsay as evil reporters and of no repute to any by their character. And the result, our brotherly understanding was restored and we can fellowship and visit one another or exchange mails or phone calls. I do hope and believe, such face to face fellowships were the end of their being "accusers of the brethren".

This exercises and experiences strengthens my faith in the Lord and establishes me in the word. It helps me to dive into the Word of God deeper and deeper and experience Christ richer and richer. All things indeed works together for good, even the false accusations and the refutations thereof. Thank God, the Lord has been gracing me to experience this even as He placed me in the literature service. I love it and I enjoy it. Amen to the Lord's sovereign arrangement in all things.

Truth triumphs and I uphold it, and ever will, for truth matters.