ARE GOD’S PROMISES FOR FREE ? Part 1

                                     We know that the Holy  Bible is a book of promises.It contains promises for practically every aspect of our life from womb to tomb.Often I used to think that all these promises are totally free  for me ! So every morning and night,I just make it a point to claim a few promises  that I thought was necessary for me at that point of time.I felt happy that all I need to do is just claim the promises  and do nothingelse on my part.I believed  that God will just fulfill all promises I claimed.In due course,the Lord revealed to me that there is no promise in the Bible that is given for free and every promise has a condition attached to it.This condition may either precede the promise or succeed it.In some cases the condition is hidden or understood.In short,in all cases ,I need to do my part to expect  God to do His part! This revelation changed my entire outlook towards the Biblical promises.Now,I do my part first ,then claim the God’s part.

The present topic will reveal  what we need to do  before claiming the promise that is found in the Bible.

1)PROMISE   Isa 33:16 ”His bread will be supplied,and water will not fail him”

CONDITION   Isa 33:15 “He who walks righteously and speaks what is right,who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes,who stops his ears against the plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil- (16) this is the man who will dwell on the heights,whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. HIS BREAD WILL BE SUPPLIED AND WATER WILL NOT FAIL HIM”.

                                                                                                                                      (To be continued)

SAY ‘SORRY’AND SEE THE CHANGE !

             If you want to grow, you got to correct your shortcomings And if you got to correct your shortcomings, heed to the right advice and correction of elders and others, just admit it and say ’sorry’! That registers in your mind and next time when you are about to commit the same mistake “the sorry” pops up in your mind and reminds you in the matter. Before I accepted Christ in  2004,I used to be arrogant, proud and not willing to be disciplined or corrected by anybody. I used to feel that I knew better than those who tried to correct me. However, after I accepted Christ and started reading Matthew chapters 5,6 and 7 repeatedly, God spoke to me and changed my entire attitude towards correction. Later I could realize why others were correcting me in certain areas. Thereafter, I started readily admitting my mistake. Today others are able to see a world of change in my behavior and they acknowledge  that only Christ could have brought about this change in me. Now, before I preach on anything, I introspect myself, find out my attitude and then preach. For example: Earlier I used to preach on “forgiveness”  in style when I myself was holding a lot of unforgiveness in my heart! But today, by the grace of God, I can confidently preach on many such topics. In this connection, Proverbs 10:17 says “He who heeds discipline shows  the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray”. So let us learn to admit our mistakes, say ‘sorry’ and see the change in and around us. I believe even as you are reading this, God is convicting you in this matter!

WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT’TACTFUL REPLIES’?

                                               As a part of strategy to handle inter-personal issues , people are advised by the Management Experts to handle the matter “tactfully”. This means instead of giving a straight answer to the issue raised, people  are advised to give ' tactful' replies so that the matter does not precipitate into a problem. In other words, instead of a straight “Yes” or “No”, people are encouraged to give replies which are vague and not straight.  For example I receive a call from one of my friends at an odd time and so I don’t want to attend the same. I ask my wife to pick up the call and tell my friend that I am not in the house.  Here, my response through my wife  is tactful , to avoid problems from my friend’s side! But in fact this is a “lie” which is made to appear as a truth to my friend!

Similarly, we also tend to use acceptable words for unacceptable practices. For  example, often           ' bribe' is called a gift. By using the word gift, the bribe becomes acceptable!

                                Now what does the Bible say about such tactful dealings? In Matthew 5:37,Jesus Christ says “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one”. Initially practising this straight replies might cause problems in and around us. But in course of time, people dealing with you will start appreciating you for your honest reply. I was a Senior Officer handling a host of Employee and Customer related issues in a large office. When the Lord convicted me in this matter, I started giving straight and honest replies to the issues placed before me. True, lot of problems cropped up between me and others in the beginning. But in due course, people started admiring me for my honest response. Today,  some of you  might be in the same position,  giving tactful replies as I used to. You cannot change your past but definitely you can make a difference in your future. If you want to change, just repent from deep within your heart and meditate on the verse mentioned above. God will  give you the grace to tell a straight “Yes” or “No”! God bless you !

WELCOME TO MY BLOG !

Hi all! Welcome to my blog-spot “livingtestimony”. Let me introduce myself. I am Sundar, born in a Hindu family in India. Though I was born a Hindu, I did not believe in Hinduism and was inside out an atheist from my 8^th year on wards. I remained an atheist even after my marriage till my 52^nd year. During my 52nd year ,I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior  after an  encounter. Life was never the same thereafter. As the years rolled by, I submitted my life entirely into His hands and He started shaping me the way He wanted. All my strongholds were broken down and the Lord reconstructed me into a new being. It was almost like I had an “Before Christ(BC)” personality and “After Christ (AC)” personality ! In BC,I was a worldly-achiever, bagging medals, proud, authoritative ,angry, introvert. Though I had all the material comforts ,I  felt empty inside and  never had any peace of mind.However,in my AC era,the Lord by His grace transformed me into a humble,loving,peaceful man with a heart to help the poor and needy through our own Ministry. My friends who have seen me as a hard-core atheist are now surprised to see the way the Lord has changed me. Through my journey, the Lord gave me lot of spiritual revelations which I intend sharing in this blog-spot. I am sure even as you are reading all my blogs, the Lord will convict you on various fronts  of your life and bring great changes in you,as he did in my life..Keep visiting the Blog spot. May God bless you! 

AS A CHRISTIAN,WHAT SHOULD BE MY FOCUS?

                                   ‘Christian’ is one who follows Christ.’ To follow’ means ‘to obey the commands of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ himself has clearly spoken about this in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command”  Once you start obeying his commands you become his ‘disciple’. Your character slowly becomes “Christ-like’ ,full of love for others, compassion, forgiveness, justice ,sin-free etc. When you become a ‘full disciple’ you become a ‘walking Jesus’ in the eyes of people around you.

                       Now at this point, you become eligible to ‘make disciples of nations’ as commanded in Matt 28:20.It may be noted that  Jesus never asked anyone to’preach’ the gospel anywhere in the gospel,but only ‘practise’it .So, as Christians, our focus should be  more to become Christ-like . But now-a-days, most of the people  are driven towards prophesies, visions, deliverance, fasting prayer, blessings etc more than becoming a real Christian inside. Jesus Christ never emphasized on those things. Often ’ men of God’ is focused more than God! Praying to God for yourself is not encouraged. ‘Praying for others’ is become a organized system. People are not driven towards God, but towards’ men of God’.  Jesus Christ clearly said in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me”. Here, He has made it clear that He is the only mediator between man and God. So, my dear Brothers and sisters, let us focus more on becoming Christ like than going after blessings, signs, wonders etc .All these will happen in time  when the Lord wants it to happen in our life!

WHAT PLEASES GOD’D HEART MOST ?

                         When I want to please my little daughter, I offer her ,her favorite dish. I may not like that dish, but to please her I offer her favourite. So, if you want to please someone, you got to know what pleases that someone’s heart and do accordingly. When it comes to pleasing God, the same rule applies.Many times we buy for others what we like most! That is not correct.You cannot offer just what pleases you,if you want to please God.Offer God what pleases Him! Ok,now ,what pleases God most?

                               Is it, sacrifice, baptism, tithes and offerings, visions and prophesies, signs and wonders, miracles, tongues, worshiping continuously for long hours, spending your talents for Him? If you go through the Holy Bible, you will come across lot of verses indicating His heart’s desire,be it the Old testament or the New testament. Many verses declare that’ obedience’ to His commands, is the most important thing  in pleasing God. This is emphasized every where in the Bible. So being a Christian, the fore-most priority should be to try to obey God’s commands honestly. Practical difficulties may  come while following this priority. But with God’s grace you can overcome them. If I could do it,any one can do it ! I will be sharing my experience in this regard in another article.

                  Next to obedience, Lord always reveals His love and compassion for the poor and needy, widows and aliens. God is keen on justice to the poor, widows and aliens .He is against exploiting this group .He hates partiality shown to the poor .He wants you to be generous in giving to /helping the poor. The Lord commands in Deut 15:11‘There will always be poor people in the land.Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.’ Exo 23.11 advises you to offer the 7^th year yield of your lands to the poor. In Lev 19:10,19:15.23:22 and  in so many other verses Lord instructs  what should be done with respect to this category of people .       I am not quoting all the Old Testament verses relating to this topic,for want of space.

                            Similarly,in New Testament ,Jesus Christ emphasizes on helping the poor and needy in various verses. Matt 25:35,says  “For I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me”. When a rich man wanted to follow Jesus,Jesus said ,”If you want to be perfect,go,sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matt 19:21).When we give banquets for marriages etc,we normally invite people who will invite us back for their banquets.What does Jesus say about inviting guests for the banquets you offer? In Luke 14:13,Jesus says “ But when you give a banquet,invite the poor,the crippled,the lame,the blind and you will be blessed”. That shows God’s heart for the poor!