Absolute Obedience

One is careful of obeying the Lord in big things. Often, the gross error in following the Lord is neglecting the small and minute matters. Actually, in the eyes of God, all are the same. In big things and in small things, in crucial matters and trivial matters, one's adherence to the Lord's word and absolute obedience is a must. It is "in all or none," our obedience to the Lord's word should be.

I learned this lesson recently in a subjective yet severe way. Some saints came for help few weeks ago and I spend my whole afternoon to professionally work things out. I was happy indeed to help the saints in need. Right after the first job was done, another minute matter came up, so I naturally wanted to help them too. But deep within me the feeling from the Lord was either " not now" or "another time." But my "good intention" to help them overcame me and I did the second job too. But the Lord's smile was not with me in that matter. I was deeply convicted. 

Furthermore, the second job led me to the third job, and I went ahead to do that too. And finally this third job led me further again to the fourth job which took my time the whole night just before I left for this month long literature journey. My good intention to complete the job in few days now needed to wait for over a month long. 

This may seem trivial but the lesson I learned from the Lord was the importance  of absolute obedience, not to care for my good feeling. I am no teacher to God and does in no way knows better than God. 

I repented for my disobedience to the Lord's whisper and pray to never allow goodness beyond God. Human goodness without God is a subtle devil in angelic expression. 

Lord, save me from such "goodness."

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed, than the fat of rams.                   

1 Samuel 15:22 b

Heaven and Earth Works Together

Gen. 7:11 - In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that very day all the springs of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened.Gen. 7:12 - And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty night.
Gen. 8:2 - The springs of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from the heavens was restrained.Gen. 8:3 - And the waters receded steadily from upon the earth. So at the end of  one hundred fifty days the waters began to diminish.

God is a God of purpose, what He desires He accomplishes, and none can stop. He uses the heavens and the earth and all things therein to carry out His heart's desire. This is the principle He follows from eternity past unto eternity future. 

When God wanted to judge the fallen mankind during the time of Noah, He used the earth by opening up the springs of the deep and also used heaven by opening up the windows of heaven; gushing up water from the deep and pouring down rains from the heaven, for forty days and forty nights, until it accomplished what was in His heart. Once His will was executed, He stopped the springs of the deep and closed the windows of heaven. He used the heaven and earth in perfect unison for His purpose. The principle applies today.

From the heavens He spoke and burdens man concerning His desire, and causes all things to work together to fulfill His purpose. This has been my experiences these days.

Even today, I am on a ministry literature journey, the third one for this year. The initiation was from the heaven, and on the earth I am carrying out with the Body, in the Body and for the Body.

At times, I am concerned for all the practical arrangements, but since the burden is from the Lord, the Lord perfectly arranges all things for the accomplishment of it. He even reminded me this morning Exo. 33:14 - And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Though I am going to places for the first time, not knowing whom to meet, what to speak, I always treasure the Lord's presence, and His inner anointing to lead in every single step. He uses "the springs of the deep" and "windows of heaven" to meet His need even through me.

Amazing! Heaven and earth works together even as God and man works together.

Thank you Lord for the springs of the deep and the windows of heaven.

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."