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“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36

As we continue through the relationship series, here's some Scriptures on what Jesus Himself has commanded us to do when it comes to dealing with those we do not approve of. The reasoning behind His expectation is given in verse 36 - because He is kind to the ungrateful (that is us) and the wicked (us including!)

Now tell me do we have any say in it; one way or another; except to follow in His foot steps? When He has forgiven us so much can't we forgive someone who offended us?

How long you want to hold on to a grudge over an insensitive comment a family member made over Thanksgiving dinner couple of years ago?! How about pick up the phone and call that person sometime today? It might even go straight to voice message; making it easy on you. All you may have to say is, "Hello! It's me! Just wanted to say hi!" That's all.

Try it and see how refreshing you feel afterwards.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22

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* Love one another. As I have loved you. John 13:34
* Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other Ephesians 4:32
* Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Colossians 3:13
* Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Romans 12:10
* Encourage one another and build each other up. I Thessalonians 5:11
* Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21

The Scripture calls for it repeatedly (as we see in the above verses) to be right in our relationships with one another. Doing so however is really tough. Relationships are complicated; no denying that.

May be when we were children it was possible for us to love all unconditionally. But over the years as we get older, day by day there is a subtle change in us; keeping us away from friends/family members/in-laws/neighbors/church members/strangers who are not in tune with us.

We make every effort to stay clear of further bonding. We drift aloof and indifferent from their company, which of course we can justify from every possible angle. But the question is: Are we okay in our relationship with God then?

We would like to answer a beaming "YES!" But won't we be fooling ourselves if we did?! In the coming days over the coffee table let us wait to hear from the Lord to lead us in the paths of righteousness.

Let us look forward to rebuilding our relationships with one another, in Christ. Stay tuned. God bless you all!

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The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29: 13

As we get ready to worship the Lord today, let us take a closer look at our kind of worship. Is our worship made up of only rules taught by men? OR Is our worship streaming from sincere desire of our heart?

Do we only go to Him with our mouth and honor Him with our lips, OR do we truly love Him heart of heart?

Are we giving more importance to what we wear (or what we do not), or are we concerned to keep our inner beings holy and presentable to God?

If knowingly or unknowingly we have been trapped in to "rules taught by men" as opposed to true form of worship, let us seek to free our selves today.

Let us be careful not to blindly follow any form of "worship" or teachings that are not in sync with the Word of God.

Let us worship our Lord with sincere hearts. Remember He is worthy of all of praises and honor and power and majesty and only He is worthy to be worshipped.

Enjoy the "Son"day! God bless you all!

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"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Matthew 6:25

Seems to be a practical advice, but to think about it, it seems quite impractical too. How is it even possible not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. Isn't that the first thing that comes to our minds when we start the day? - when we plan a get together? - when we are invited to an event?

We don't really think, "Oh I am alive and well that's enough to make it through the day"; do we? May be we should. I guess the emphasis is on the words "do not worry" Of course we need to eat, drink and dress well, but what we learn here is that it shouldn't be our primary concern.

As we read towards the end of the same passage in verse 33, our focus should be on 'Seeking His Kingdom' then all these things will be taken care of by Him. Shall we?

Happy weekend folks!

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I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

This was indeed Paul's prayer for the Church in Ephesians. I thought it would be a nice idea to learn to pray for one another in the same lines.

After all it is the same Church we are part of and it is the same faith we still hold on to and it is the same Jesus Christ we worship!

Shall we say Amen?

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In The Book of Acts, Chapter 12 we read of an account of Peter's miraculous escpe from the prison.

Verses 12 through 16 talks about how Peter was received following his escape; it goes:

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

This passage actually reminds me of a familiar Scripture:  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Jesus is the answer to all our prayers! Jesus is the solution for all our problems! Yet, we ignore His knocking time and time again. It is difficult for many to be convinced that salvation is as simple as that, opening our hearts to Him.

He is still knocking. If you haven't answered His call yet, please do. He is a miracle waiting to happen in your life!

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Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5

King David often talks to his inner self, which I find quite interesting. Often he is upbeat and tells himself: "Praise the Lord,O my soul!", "Forget not His benefits,O my soul", "Bless the Lord, O my soul". Then there are times his despair is quite evident such as: "Why are you downcast, O my soul?", "Be at rest once more, O my soul", "my soul is troubled exceedingly...", etc.

Here, in Psalm 62: 5 King David reminds his soul to be calm about the prevailing situation and encourages that his help comes from the Lord. He is giving hope to a soul that is ready to give up waiting.

Barne's notes on the Bible explains:

The idea here is, that all that he expected or hoped for must come from God. He did not rely on his fellow men; he did not rely on himself. God alone could deliver him, and he confidently believed that God would do it.

Often are we in such circumstances that we feel that our only "expectation" - our only hope - is in God. All our strength fails; all our resources are exhausted; our fellow-men cannot or will not aid us; our own efforts seem to be vain; our plans are frustrated, and we are shut up to the conclusion that God alone can help us.

So we get the message. We need not panic or despair; but train our souls to be calm. Let us repeat King David's statement to ourselves: "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him!"

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* The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit Proverbs 18:21
* For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned Mathew 12:37
* When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19
* The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  James 3:6
* This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

When we are frustrated with certain situation how do we handle it? Do we tame our tongue and turn to God who is able to solve the issues or turn to offensive slangs, letting off steam, taking matters in to our own hands?

When a friend talks to us ill of his/her boss, spouse or co worker, what is our response? Are we nodding in agreement, adding fuel to the fire, thus not taming our tongue or are we setting an example by responding wisely offering to pray over the situation thus ending such conversation?

Do we backbite? Do we rather praise men than God? Do our words hurt instead of heal? What is the fruit of your tongue? Is it life or death?

I am choosing life today... are you?

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You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. Psalm 45:7

"Rejoice!" is an often mentioned command throughout the Scriptures. Yet, that is one area we Christians fail from time to time. All it takes is one criticism or one sickness or one crisis, or blank <you name it>, to offset us from our joy of salvation.

"Rejoice!" by it self implies that it is something within our capacity to do, not necessarily something others can do for us. If it were so, the command would have been something like "Make him/her rejoice".

One may wonder how we can rejoice irrespective of the circumstances. Or is it even possible to rejoice always? Yes, when God anoints us with the oil of joy we can rejoice in all situations! What it takes to be anointed with oil of joy? According to today's Scripture, when we love righteousness and hate wickedness God will anoint us with the oil of joy.

To add, anytime we feel that the joy within us is lost, we need to repent and cry out to the Lord for restoring our joy. We are familiar with Psalm 51 where King David cries out "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Let this be our prayer too today: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

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Nehemiah was a cup bearer for King Artaxerxes - king of Babylon. Most Israelites had been taken exile during that time and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down. When Nehemiah heard it he wept, prayed and had a desire to rebuild the wall. Since he has found favor with the king the king sanctioned his pettition and rebuilt the wall.

When it was all set and done, Nehemiah made sure the city was concecrated for the Lord, the temple grounds reestablished by bringing in Levites and Priests to serve there, appointing a choir, and reminding people about the laws and festivities Moses had taught their forefathers to do.

This is in this context he restored the Sabbath the day of rest God had commanded us to follow. The following text explains exactly how he restored it.

In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? “Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.”

It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.

Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. Then I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness. Nehemiah 13:15-22

The question to us this morning is: Have we restored the Sabbath?! Do we give it the atmost reverence to spend in the fellowship of believers to worship the Lord? OR Have we allowed certain "merchants" in?!

Let us restore our Sabbath!

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A reader (my Mom) had shared some insight on yesterday's post: Gospel in Genealogy which I would like to share over Coffee with Jesus this morning...

It is very interesting to know the following facts from Gen.5:21-28:

1. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God. He named the baby Methuselah which means ' his death shall bring'. This makes us to think that Enoch might have received a revelation from God when the child was born, which made him to give this name to the baby and made him to walk faithfully with God.

2. When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son,Noah.

3. In the 600th year of Noah’s life, all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened,Gen7:11.

4. From the birth of Methuselah till the time the floods came the number of years add up to 187+182+600=969 years!

5. Gen5.27. says, Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. This shows that when Methuselah died the floods came.

Another interesting fact was, his life span was the longest, which shows that God had been so merciful to lengthen the days before the punishment to see if the people will repent.

In Jude, we read that,Methuselah's father Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Thus Enoch walked with God, preached about the judgement of God to the ungodly.

As we have seen during the time of the flood, whether people believe or not, whether people repent or not, whether God's people are a majority or a minority,the Lord is coming in the appointed time of God. (Amen!)

In 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 9 and 10 we read that,"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise(of His coming), as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare."

Jesus had said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all." Luke 17:26,27.

Let us shun from our wicked ways and return back to God! Time is running short!

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Most of us have read through Genesis chapter 5 mechanically, without as much as a batting of an eye. You will be surprised as I am if you indeed spend some time to read between the lines. The entire Gospel is hidden in it!

From Adam, if we were to follow Seth's genealogy up to Noah, who is of the tenth generation from Adam, we have the complete message in the meaning of their names. Here's the list of names along with the meaning in English.

Hebrew	English
Adam	Man
Seth	Appointed
Enosh	Mortal
Kenan	Sorrow
Mahalalel	The Blessed God
Jared	Shall come down
Enoch	Teaching
Methuselah	His death shall bring
Lamech	The Despairing
Noah	Rest, or comfort

If we were to frame a sentence with these words, one after the other, it reads: Man (was) appointed mortal sorrow; The Blessed God shall come down teaching (him) His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort!

Go ahead, say Amen! Let us praise His holy name!

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Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-10

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3

What is it we are asking Him this morning? What is the motive behind our plea? Do we intend on spending whatever we are asking for - for our pleasure or for His glory?

In the Gospel of Mark chapter 10 we read of an interesting conversation between James/John and Jesus:

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said.

Do we know what we are asking this morning? Let us get right with our motives before we ask for anything. Then it will be given to us.

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Those who walk in pride He is able to humble. Daniel 4:37

King Nebuchadnezzar was a great and mighty king who suffered from mental illness because of his pride. In The Book of Daniel chapter 4, he gives his testimony to the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world, of how his health was restored by God Almighty. Today's verse is a reference from this chapter. I strongly encourage you to read the entire chapter to get a complete picture.

As you can imagine it was a very humbling experience for king Nebuchadnezzar to go through this illness. However when he realized it was his pride which got him there in the first place and when he started giving glory to God Almighty he was freed from his sickness and was restored to his throne and became greater than even before. That's when he shares this testimony with his nation and peoples of the whole world and ends it with a sincere statement: "...those who walk in pride He is able to humble."

Let us look at few more scripture verses from the Bible:

* The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Proverbs 16:5
* He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 3:34
* Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Psalm 138:6

If you look at the Scriptures closely great men of God like Moses, Aaron, King David, King Solomon, Daniel and the like, never failed to give glory to God Almighty which itself is a sign that they were humble at heart. Let us learn from their good examples and also from the tough lessons learned by King Nebuchadnezzar and clear off any pride from our hearts.

It is very easy to fall prey to pride as it can trigger from as simple as a well intended compliment or an ill meant flattery. Let us therefore keep watch to stay away from pride. May all glory, honor and praise be to only God Almighty! Always!

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Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction. Deuteronomy 7:26

What are these detestable things mentioned here? Verse 25 reads: The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.

I recall an incident that my brother shared with me once. While shopping for furniture in India he was given a gold coin (yes 24 karat gold) for purchasing items over a certain amount. He accepted the coin but later when he took a closer look at it, it had an engraven image of a hindu idol on it's face. He immediately took it back to the store keeping it in his shoes - he didn't even want to keep it in his shirt pocket or wallet. The store owners were very surprised someone would actually return a gold coin for any reason let alone for it bearing the image of an idol.

As a child I used to collect comic series from Newspaper not knowing those were about hindu gods. When I fell very sick once my Aunt realized it was those books that caused me sickness and when we removed it I was quickly recovered.

It hurts me to see some Christian friends who keep idols in their homes not knowing those are idols, they believe these are cultural ornaments from Asia or elsewhere but in fact these are graven images people in those culture worship as god. Then they wonder why there is no peace in their home.

Be very careful not to bring in any detestables inside your home. As today's verse says, Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

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Revelation Chapter 8 illustrated. Let us not fear the impending destruction as we will be gone with our Lord Jesus Christ in the rapture. For those among us who may not be sure, reconcile today and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

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When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then:

1. You must destroy them totally.

2. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

3. Do not intermarry with them.

4. Break down their altars,

5. smash their sacred stones,

6. cut down their Asherah poles and

7. burn their idols in the fire.

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

~ Deuteronomy 7:1-11

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Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Yesterday we had seen the blessings in store for those who obey the commands of the Lord. Today's Scripture further explains ultimately what it is that we should do.

There is no long list like you would image. It all boils down to a single command we must follow and a single thing we must avoid at all cost.

We must:  Love the Lord our God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws.

We must not: Be drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them.

As simple as that. Is it hard to obey?

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If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

1. You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

2. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

3. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

4. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

5. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

6. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.

7. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:1-13

What do we need to do?

Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. Deuteronomy 28:14

What are these commands? We will discuss tomorrow...

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“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Revelation 3:1-3

For our devotion let us look at what Matthew Henry has written on this portion of the Scripture in his Concise Commentary:

Hypocrisy, and lamentable decay in religion, are sins charged upon Sardis, by One who knew that church well, and all her works.

Outward things appeared well to men, but there was only the form of godliness, not the power; a name to live, not a principle of life.

There was great deadness in their souls, and in their services; numbers were wholly hypocrites, others were in a disordered and lifeless state.

Our Lord called upon them to be watchful against their enemies, and to be active and earnest in their duties; and to endeavour, in dependence on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to revive and strengthen the faith and spiritual affections of those yet alive to God, though in a declining state.

Whenever we are off our watch, we lose ground. Thy works are hollow and empty; prayers are not filled up with holy desires, alms-deeds not filled up with true charity, sabbaths not filled up with suitable devotion of soul to God. There are not inward affections suitable to outward acts and expressions; when the spirit is wanting, the form cannot long remain.

In seeking a revival in our own souls, or the souls of others, it is needful to compare what we profess with the manner in which we go on, that we may be humbled and quickened to hold fast that which remains.

Christ enforces his counsel with a dreadful threatening if it should be despised. Yet our blessed Lord does not leave this sinful people without some encouragement.

He makes honourable mention of the faithful remnant in Sardis, he makes a gracious promise to them. He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment; the purity of grace shall be rewarded with the perfect purity of glory.

Christ has his book of life, a register of all who shall inherit eternal life; the book of remembrance of all who live to God, and keep up the life and power of godliness in evil times. Christ will bring forward this book of life, and show the names of the faithful, before God, and all the angels, at the great day.

Sure a wake up call for some of us; what are we going to do about it?

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“It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”  Genesis 41:28-40

If you are interested in the full story, please click here to read Genesis 41. It goes like a story and we can understand it as is.

The question we must ask ourself is: Can they(the world) find anyone like us, one in whom is the spirit of God?

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The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats. 2 Chronicles 17:10-11

King Jehoshaphat was the great great great great grandson of King David. He was a good king, following the footsteps of his father King Asa, his grand father King Abijah and forefather King David.

2 Chronicles chapter 17 talks of King Jehoshaphat's reign in detail. In verses 3-6 we read:

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

Not only that;  King Jehoshaphat also made sure the people are trained in the ways of the Lord by establishing learned teachers all over Judah to teach the citizens the Law of the Lord verse 9). God granted him peace by making sure no one made war against Judah during King Jehoshaphat's reign.

What is the lesson for us from this? Well, I am reminded of the Scripture, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) This is exactly what King Jehoshaphat did, and the Lord blessed him with much wealth, peace and power beyond measure!

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When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." Revelation 10:4

John - the loving desciple of  Jesus Christ, with whom He entrusted His mother while on the cross, was also entrusted with some secrets of things to come. The visions He was allowed to share has been written as the Book of Revelation. Yet it is not all!

I know, we are all curious to know/speculate what it was about. But why bother when the ones that were revealed are too much for us to comprehend?

Of the few commentaries I had looked up, liked Matthew Henry's concise commentary, extract from which is shared below:

We know not the subjects of the seven thunders, nor the reasons for suppressing them. There are great events in history, perhaps relating to the Christian church, which are not noticed in open prophecy.

The final salvation of the righteous, and the final success of true religion on earth, are engaged for by the unfailing word of the Lord. Though the time may not be yet, it cannot be far distant.

Very soon, as to us, time will be no more; but if we are believers, a happy eternity will follow: we shall from heaven behold and rejoice in the triumphs of Christ, and his cause on earth.

The Seven Thunders is our King of kings and Lord of lords Jesus Christ. Let's get ready to meet Him soon.

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Yesterday we had a open discussion on Lamech's bold statement trying to justify the murders he had committed. Thanks to everyone who had shared your thoughts on it. Here's to share my thoughts...

Lamech appears to be an ungodly man having no fear of God. We read no mention of him having a one-on-one communication with the Lord like some of his forefathers did. On top of that he was making light of God's forgiveness of Cain, claiming that if Cain was protected by God for unto seven generations for killing his own brother who had done him no wrong, why then wouldn't himself (Lamech) be protected much longer for killing someone in self defense?!

There is no remorse in his words for his actions but only pride and justification. It is interesting how God granted him his desire for a long life - 777 years in total.

I am sure that each day of the rest of his life was a constant reminder of his sin and a punishment on it's own. In his later years though it looks like he did something right - raising up a godly son Noah whom we all know was considered a friend of God. I would like to believe Lamech played a good role model in young Noah's life.

It appears in Genesis 5:28-31 that he had sought after the Lord even before Noah was born.


When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.Genesis 5:28-31

The take away for us is that we cannot justify our sin comparing it with "lesser" sins. Repentance is the only way for forgiveness of God. Then only we will be blessed.

Even for us let us not call Lamech as a bad example but learn from his mistakes. God bless you all!

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If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times. Genesis 4:24

For a change let us hear from you all...

What is your thought on this verse? Care to share?

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There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

* haughty eyes,
* a lying tongue,
* hands that shed innocent blood,
* a heart that devises wicked schemes,
* feet that are quick to rush into evil,
* a false witness who pours out lies, and
* a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

I am sure we are familiar with this list of things that are detestabe (odious - abhorrent - loathsome - abominable - hateful) to the Lord.

If we think deeper most of us are guilty of atleast one of these!

It is a shocking realization for us "grown" Christians that we could even be part of the "rest of them" out there.

We have never arrived until our last breath or until the Lord returns whichever occurs first. Till then it takes a constant effort to walk in faith, staying clear of things that are detestable to the Lord.

With God's help we can. God bess you!

Greetings to you all from Quebec this morning.

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The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Just yesterday we had discussed the actual incident that is recalled here in today's Scripture portion.

The fact that these are mentioned in the same chapter, explains how soon the desciples had forgotten the miracles and started to worry about "how to feed the crowd".

Aren't we like them too? We forget how God delivered us through certain incidents in the past and keep worrying about the future far and near. Why is it hard for us to trust that the Lord will see us through all the way? Why do we still depend on our abilities and merrits and resources?

Why are we talking about having no bread? Do we still not see or understand? Are our hearts hardened? Do we have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t we remember?

Why o why?

I know too many questions to handle in one day... but let's take some time to analyze our mind. Let us learn to look up to our Source(Jesus) which never dries out; instead of forever worrying about our low resources...

God bless you!

To all my fellow citizens in the United States, wishing you all a very happy July 4th!

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During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. Mark 8:1-9

If you missed coffee with Jesus in the last couple of days here's a recap for you: July being the seventh month, we are doing a new series called "Seven Series" in which we are discussing Scriptures with a mention of  "seven" in the text.

Today's portion mentions of a miracle Jesus performed openly for a multitude of people. Few things are apparent here.:

* Jesus's concern for the people
* Jesus's hospitality
* Remote chance for finding food for the lot
* Jesus giving thanks for the little that was available.
* Distributing the food
* People were satisfied
* There were left overs!

Inspite of having known these Scriptures since childhood most of us still look at our limited resources and become close fisted, forgetting to bless others. We would send them away to fetch for themselves while we could have shared with them from what we have.

For the little we have, we are never grateful, always complaining, never contend and do not give thanks to the Lord. For the subset of it that we ever express some gratitude for, we hardly distribute it with the needy.

It is not in our interest to see people satisfied; our priority is in getting our fill. Because of these we do not see any left overs at the end of the month/pay period/cycle/season/...

If we wish to see a overflowing blessing in our finances, let us start with the little we have, give thanks and share with those in need... 

So, what's stopping you? Let's get started!

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Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talentsg was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.h He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

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Happy "Son"day everyone! And Happy July too!

From the Seven Days of Genesis to the Seven Seals of Revelation, Scripture is saturated with the Number Seven. It is mentioned more times than any other numbers; I hear...

7 Churches, 7 trumpets, 7 lampstands, marching 7 times around Jericho, for 7 days; 7 times on the 7th day bringing the walls tumbling down, are just a few examples...

July being the seventh month of the year I thought it would be fun to start a new series called... - Seven Series - what else?! The idea is to discuss Scriptures with a mention of "seven" in it. Let us pray the Holy Spirit to intervene in our midst to provide us the daily dose of His grace...

Today's portion is from Revelation chapter 2, verses 1-7 (no pun intended!)

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Ouch! It hurts to hear such strong words... We have heard it straight from the Lord! The complain against us is that we have fallen from our first love. The solution that is offered to us is to repent and do the things we did at first. He concludes "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Do we have ears?! If so, let us hear!