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Helmet we all know protects one's head. In our spiritual warfare Salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ protects our minds from sinful thoughts.

Paul writes in Romans 8:6-7, The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

King David had the assurance of his salvation; his thoughts were well protected by the helmet of salvation. He writes in Psalm 17:3: You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say.

Scripture instructs us: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

Is our mind secure? Are our thoughts pleasing and blameless in our Lord's sight?

If not we need to pray for a renewing of our minds... Here's a simple prayer by King David:

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Armor of God series continues with the Shield of Faith for our discussion today.

Hebrews 11 known as the Faith Chapter has this definition for faith: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Okay, we get it, but what we don't get is how faith can represent the shield in a soldier's armor. In order to understand that we need to first understand how a shield helps the soldier.

Wikipedia explains: A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace, battle axe or similar weapon to the side of the shield-bearer.

In that light, faith is meant to intercept attacks by devil, world, and self.

We have discussed faith in detail several times over this blog. Here's some reference to earlier posts:

* According to your faith will it be done to you. Matthew 9:29
*  How to increase our faith?
* Stand Firm in Faith

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. Hebrews 4:14

Now, with that shield of faith in place enjoy your weekend!

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In our Armor of God series, we will discuss Sandals of readiness today.

Only a few days ago we had discussed how much the Groom (our Lord Jesus Christ) appreciates the bride's (that is us!) sandaled feet.

Sandaled feet illustrates an always prepared state of mind. Ready to pray, ready to worship, ready to enjoy His presence, ready to reach out, ready to go the extra mile, ready to lead someone to Christ, ready to share our testimony of faith with others, etc.

Not only that, as a follower of Christ it is expected of us to be ready for His imminent return anytime.

In the Gospel of Mathew (25: 1- 13) Jesus gives us a beautiful illustration of what He really means by being ready; which I want to share as is:

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
 
The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
 

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Are we ready?

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In Ephesians 6:10-20 we read about the full armor of God, which is made up of the following:

1. Belt of truth
2. Breastplate of righteousness
3. Sandals of readiness
4. Shield of faith
5. Helmet of salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit

Today's discussion is about the Breastplate of righteousness.

What is a breastplate?

Breastplate is a metal vest covering the chest of soldiers. Breastplate protects the most vital organ - the heart.

What is then the breastplate of righteouness?

Breastplate of righteousness means the importance of a believer to guard his/her heart.

We all have experienced issues with our hearts. None of us can deny showing mild to moderate to severe symptoms of the listed conditions below.

For some their hearts are heavily burdened over issues they are facing, for some it is wounded of things of past, for some it is filled with fear of the future, for some it holds huge 'records of wrongs', for some it is pride, for some it is guilt, for some their hearts have hardened over time, for others the heart has become way too tolerant of sin. All these symptoms indicate trouble within the heart - or in other words, an unguarded heart.

King Solomon writes in Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

King David sang: Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. Psalms 119:2

Prophet Malachi instructs: "So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife." Malachi 2:16 (NLT) 

Jesus explained: A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45

There are tons of more Scriptures on the importance of guarding our hearts; to list a few:

Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path. Proverbs 23:19

The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15 

Enough said I believe. For those of us who needs a divine touch this morning, be assured our Lord is more than willing to renew our hearts, if we are willing to ask.

He has promised us: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 

All we need to do is ask. Shall we? 

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In Ephesians 6:10-20 we read about the full armor of God, which is made up of the following:

1. Belt of truth
2. Breastplate of righteousness
3. Sandals of readiness
4. Shield of faith
5. Helmet of salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit

Interestingly all of these armors protect us from the frontal attack; there is no mention of any armor for the back. This clearly indicates that the armor protects us in our onward Christian journey and not much help there for backsliders.

The Christian armor is made to be worn; and there is no putting off our armor till we have done our warfare, and finished our course. The Scripture clearly tells us that the combat is against the devil himself. Matthew Henry writes in his commentary: "Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armor, we give him advantage...", which is very true.

For today's discussion let's focus on the Belt of Truth:

Satan is known as 'father of lies' while our Lord Jesus Christ says, "I am the way, the truth and life". What a contrast! Now, whom do we resemble? 

In Proverbs 6:16-19, King Solomon records 7 things that are detestable to the Lord, of which a lying tongue makes the top of the list.

Revelation 21:8 warns that all liars will be thrown into the lake of fire.

We have been instructed several times in the Scriptures to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth:

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts, Zechariah 8:16

Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25

Lord, who shall abide in your tabernacle? who shall dwell in your holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1-2

So, buckling the belt of truth simply means speaking the truth and not lies. Let us recommit ourselves this morning to stay away from lies big and small but focus our attention to reflect the truth - which our Lord represents.

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Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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How beautiful your sandaled feet... Song of Solomon 7:1

Interesting how the bride and groom alternate compliments on each other in the book of Song of Solomon. Further more interesting is the fact that we are the bride personified here while Jesus is the Groom. It makes it all the more important for us to pay close attention to these Scriptures so that we can compare to the described bride.

Here, the Lover admires how beautiful His bride's feet are. Not just the bare feet, but her 'sandaled feet'.

What kind of sandal it would be? In Ephesians chapter 6, where we read about getting ready in the full armor of God, in verse 15 it says: "... with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace".

So, it is not just any sandal we are talking about here; it is 'the readiness' that is implied. Readiness? Readiness for what? Clearly it mentions 'readiness that comes from the gospel of peace'.

In Isaiah 52:7 we read: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Let us check if we are fitted with the 'sandal' our Groom so admires. If not, let's get fitted with readiness by accepting the gospel of peace.

Have a blessed Monday.

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Good "Son"day morning! Just thought we can enjoy some music for a change. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did... Suggested reading for today: Ezekiel 47

It is hard to understand if Ezekiel is talking about a literal river or as some people interpret it, a symbolic river. To tell you the truth I believe it is a literal river which is going to change part of the dead sea into fresh water. How it will come about, I have no clue, but since the Word of God says it will come true, I believe it will!

Google search doesn't reveal much which makes me wonder why, but I am sure God is in the works however hard man tries to keep Him under covers. His words are Ye and Amen!

As we listen to the song here, let us believe for the spiritual river of God in our lives today!

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"... Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen." Jeremiah 3:3

If you were to understand the context in which these words were spoken, you must read Jeremiah chapter 3.

To put it in plain words, these are prophecy of God spoken through Prophet Jeremiah about the unfaithful Israel. Israel as a nation was defiled by foreign gods and foreign culture and things that are abominable to God. They kept falling away from the Lord who led them through the wilderness. Every time God forgave them they went back to old ways. That's when the fierce Word of God comes through Prophet Jeremiah that the Lord intends to withhold the spring rain.

Let's stop there and apply it in our lives. Are we the reason why no rain has fallen in our lives lately? Is our unfaithfulness stopping our spring rain? Are we faithful to the one who led us through our wilderness or are we forgetting Him and going after other "gods"?

The invitation a few verses below in verse 22 is open for us today: “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”

This morning over the coffee table, let us revisit ourselves and make sure we get cured of our backsliding which causes the withheld showers and missing rain in our lives....

Once we repent and recommit our lives, there shall be showers of blessings! Amen.

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Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

All believers have experienced this "voice" leading our way. This is the Holy Spirit or Counsellor promised to be sent to us as Jesus was ascending to Heaven.

There are times we would prefer the voice to be a little louder or even audible to know for sure it is Him talking. We expect to hear thunder and lightning or some extravagent display of God at work.

In I Kings 19:11-12 we read about Elijah encountering this voice from the Lord. It says:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by."

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

However often times we neglect this still small voice or the gentle whisper and continue on our journey as we please. We are quick to be angry, quick to argue, quick to defend ourselves, quick to blame others, quick to take credit, etc.

All the while the Holy Spirit gently directs: "This is the way; walk in it."

Question is: Are we listening?

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The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it. Proverbs 10:22

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. Genesis 26:12-13

Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth... Deuteronomy 8:18 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

Amen! Precious blessings this morning!

Let us be careful not to make it our priority to accrue wealth. Our priority or primary focus in this life is to do the will of God. Whether we seek after or not wealth will follow, as long as we first seek Him - with all our heart.

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

God bless you all!

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“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny you, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Proverbs 3:7-9

Agur (the author of  Proverbs 3rd chapter) wisely prayed for a middle state, that he might be kept at a distance from temptations. He asked daily bread suited to his station, his family, and his real good. There is a remarkable similarity between this prayer and several clauses of the Lord's prayer such as 'Give us this day our daily bread, lead us not into temptations' etc.

If we are removed from vanity and lies; if we are interested in the pardoning love of Christ, and have him for our portion; if we walk with God, then we shall have all we can ask or think, as to spiritual things.

When we consider how those who have abundance are prone to abuse the gift, and what it is to suffer want, Agur's prayer will ever be found a wise one, though seldom offered.

Food convenient; what is so for one, may not be so for another; but we may be sure that our heavenly Father will supply all our need, and not suffer us to want anything good for us; and why should we wish for more? (Excerpt from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary)

Why not make it our prayer too this morning?

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Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God stays for ever. 1 John 2:15-17

I must confess I am no exception when it comes to loving things of the world. Shoes, bags, watches  and perfumes are my temptations. I have an appetite for fine things. According to the Scripture this morning, I do understand these are vain fancies I run after, which needs to be at once curtailed.

Clearly the Scripture says the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are of this world and not of the Father. If I love the Father I must confess and denounce my craze for things of the world, which I do.

Dear Father: Thank you for the conviction of my sin at the coffee table this morning Lord. I am sorry for lusting after things of this world Lord. There are enough of everything you have blessed me with Lord. I need not and must not desire more of anything but you Lord. Please forgive me Lord. Please help me control my spending habit Lord. Please let me be very careful about using the funds you have given me to please you Lord. Please forgive me Lord. Please let me not repeat the same mistakes again Lord. Thank you once again for your mercy Lord. For your grace that is ready to forgive me Lord. Thank you Jesus for embracing me once again in your love Lord.

If there is anyone else here who needs a special touch this morning, please reach out to them Lord. Let them experience your presence Lord. Let them enjoy your embrace Lord. 

All glory, honor and power to you alone Lord.

In Jesus Christ's most precious name I pray,
Amen!

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.1 Timothy 6:6-8

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Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Show me, LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. Psalm 39:4

My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy. Job 9:25

My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Job 7:6

We don't need much proof that our days run faster than ever.We see signs of it everywhere. The mirror gives it away every time we see our reflection in it.

Didn't we just begin the year? Already we are midway through it and before we know it, it will be year end. Even this past weekend went by in a blink. The days and weeks and months and years seem to roll one into another seamlessly.
 
Job and King David felt the same from time to time. We see them mentioning it repeatedly in Scriptures. It is interesting how they both focus their attention back to the Lord amidst their panic.

Let us too do the same. As we become more cautious of our fleeting days let us become more appreciative of the Lord's providence and more aware of His favor on us.

His favor would be a full fountain of our future joys. It would be a sufficient balance to our former griefs. Instead of wasting our precious, fleeting days in pursuing fancies, let us seek the forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance in heaven. Let us pray that the work of the Holy Spirit may appear in converting our hearts, and that the beauty of holiness may be seen in our conduct. (Ref: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary)

God bless you! Have a blessed week ahead!

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"Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness... " Psalm 96:9

As we are getting ready to worship the Lord this morning, let's remember to worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness! In a different translation we read, "Worship the Lord in holy attire" which reminds me of the guest at a King's wedding banquet who did not have the wedding clothes on and was later thrown out into the darkness. (Mathew 22)

Attire or clothes can be related to our salvation or righteousness as in Isaiah 61:10 we read "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Let's make sure to wear our garments of salvation and not to forget our robes of righteousness as we get ready for our King's banquet!

Are you ready?!

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"Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." I Kings 18:41

You must read Kings if you haven't read already, which is full of accounts of kings and prophets. The scripture here is a conversation as it happened between Prophet Elijah and King Ahab. Ahab was an evil king and he had married Jezebel who was a devote worshipper of Baal. Elijah had prophesied three years ago that there would be no rain on the land for three years until he prays for it again.

At the end of the three years, Elijah appears before Ahab and invites the prophets of Baal for a sacrifice of bulls. Baal's prophets were to sacrifice one bull and Elijah was to sacrifice another and whoever serves the true God their sacrifice would be accepted. We learn that Baal's prophets screamed and shouted and even hurt themselves but no answer to their prayers.

When it was Elijah's turn he prayed: "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

That's when Elijah tells Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain". It comes true shortly that there is a mighty downpour of rain after three long years of famine and draught.

What I wish to point out for today's take away is that let us remove our Baals and any other idols such as money, fame or whatever else we are after and then our years of drought will be exhausted by abundant rain.

Amen!

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Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. Jonah 4:6

“You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:11

The book of Jonah is a very interesting book and I hope you have all read through it. If not please take your time one of these days to breeze through the four easy chapters.

Here's the summary to set the context: Jonah was asked to preach in Nineveh about the impending destruction to the city God was planning. He refuses to do it, leaves for Tarshish, gets thrown out into the stormy ocean, a big fish swallows him, he survives inside the belly of the fish for three days and night before finally being spit out. Now he visits Nineveh as how God had told him to. People of Nineveh including the king and the cattle everyone wear sackcloth and fast and pray asking God to relent from His fierce anger. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He was not hesitant to let God know how very disappointed he was that he even wanted to die right then and there. If you think about it he had all the reasons to be angry, right? Wrong! That's what God intends to prove by teasing him with a little shade one day and removing it the next. Using that as an example God was able to explain to Jonah why He changed his mind about the hundred and twenty thousand people of Nineveh who could not tell their right hand from their left and the many cattle there. Though the chapter ends there I am sure Jonah was convinced of the reason and continued to serve the Lord, happily ever after...

Application: Like Jonah, we may think too high of ourselves at times and care more for our reputation than the will of God to be demonstrated in peoples lives. To us God asks the very same question today: “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:11

We were not punished according to our transgressions, why then do we expect others to be punished and not forgiven?! Freely we have received, let's freely give. (Matthew 10:8)

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 "Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength" Isaiah 52:1

We have discussed this verse several times at the coffee table before. Today also the Lord intends to speak to us through this very message: "Awake, awake; put on thy strength!".

What does it mean to clothe our self with strength? That brings us to yet another question: What is strength?

A quick look up in the dictionary suggests many meanings for the word 'strength':

1. The state, property, or quality of being strong.
2. The power to resist attack; impregnability.
3. The power to resist strain or stress; durability.
4. The ability to maintain a moral or intellectual position firmly.
5. Capacity or potential for effective action

Now that we know the meaning of strength, we kind of get an idea of what it means to "put on our strength". In simple words it means to "resist the attack" or "being strong".

These are very important for our spiritual life. We cannot be weak swaying whichever way the wind blows. We need to be strong in our fundamental beliefs in accordance with the Word of God, which will enable us to resist the attack from the devil, from the world and even from within.

So, hopefully you will add some 'strength' to your wardrobe this season - won't you?!

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For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. John 7:38

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Isaiah 55:1

I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26

How are you all doing this morning?

If you answer 'refreshed', praise the Lord. For those who do not feel very refreshed or those who feel dry, today's message comes as a comforting reminder that our Lord is well able to turn our dry lands into streams of water.

Let us pray:

Our Heavenly Father! Thank you for this gathering in your name Lord. Thank you for connecting us all in Holy Spirit Lord. Thank you for uniting our hearts together in your love Lord. Thank you for your mercy Lord. Thank you for being with us and guiding us each day Lord.

Thank you for today's reminder that you will turn our dry lands into streams of water Lord. Many of us feel dry in a lot of areas Lord. We feel dry financially. We feel dry emotionally. We feel dry physically. We feel dry literally Lord. Some of us lack love, joy, peace, finances and good health Lord.

We know you are able to handle all our needs Lord. You are capable of bringing about a refreshment in our dryness Lord. You can fill us once again with your love, joy and peace Lord. You can restore our health and finances Lord. You can heal our broken hearts and sensitive minds Lord. You alone can do it Lord.

We trust you alone.We look up to you alone Lord. Please bring about a quick turnaround Lord.

We praise you for each and every one of us gathered here in your name today Lord. Bless each and every one of them Lord. You know every one of them by name Lord. Every mother, every child, every young man and woman, they are all known to you Lord. Bless them Lord. Stretch your arms and touch them Lord. Heal them Lord. Lift up their spirit Lord. Fill them once again with the joy of your salvation Lord.

Thank you Father. Thank you Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus. We praise you and glorify your name alone Lord. In Jesus Christ's most precious name we pray, amen.

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You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

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. Deuteronomy 7:6

He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised. Deuteronomy 26:19

Amen! What a special anointing we can sense this morning! To be known as the Lord's chosen people, His royal priesthood, God's treasured possession, is truly special.

These are not mere words, but He means it. If not for that, He wouldn't have ransomed His only Son on the cross to redeem us.

From time to time we experience a certain dullness in our Spirit. We begin to doubt His words. We reason. We look up the context of the Scripture Promises like these and say it was spoken some time in history for certain group of people. We do not believe it is meant for us.

Today's message is to awaken our Spirits. To strengthen us once again that we are indeed the chosen people of God Almighty. He has redeemed us. He has bought us with a price. We are His. His treasured possessions. Amen!

Let us keep that in mind the rest of the day. Let us declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Amen!

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Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 24: 3-5

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Amen! We are reminded this morning over and over again of the importance of seeking a pure heart. A pure heart is in essence clean and void of any debris if you will. A heart that has forgiven others. A heart that loves the Lord with all might. A heart that loves unconditionally. A heart that is constantly connected with the Maker.

It would be a precious thing to possess - a clean heart. Just imagine, a heart that is not burdened with the past, a heart that knows not to carry vengeance, a heart that is full of joy - joy of salvation, a heart that always praises... Indeed precious.

Let us seek the Lord to create a clean heart in us today. Let us consciously pray for it. Let us make every effort to be holy so that we can see the Lord one day - face to face! Amen!

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Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2

As we start a new week today, I want to put a challenge in front of us - to make our words few.

Through the week, anytime we feel the urge to talk more, to explain our cases, to judge someone, to argue, why not even in our prayers, let us remind our self about this very verse and make a conscious effort to make our words few.

The chances are, we will be tempted more. But with the grace of God we can handle it the way the Scripture teaches us and before long it could become our very nature!

Shall we try?

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For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

We all have heard the verse many times but may not have paused longer to think what it really means. Here's a beautiful skit that explains the whole "Christian thing" in a meaningful way. Please sit back, relax and enjoy!



Don't you love that you are the Masterpiece?! I do.

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Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. Deuteronomy 29:18

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15

The first scripture here is an excerpt from Moses's address to the Israelites at the end of their journey; the second is from Paul's letters to Hebrews.

The idea is the same: Do not develop bitterness yourself; neither do let others induce it in you! Both will lead to falling short of the grace of God. Let us see how we can work on these.

How do we get rid of our bitterness? Ephesians 4:31-32 has the answer. It says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

How do we safeguard against people who produce bitterness? For one, by praying the Lord's prayer "Lead us not into temptation  but deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4).

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Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Ecclesiastes 10:20

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. Luke 12:13

It is not uncommon to come across people who are opinionated. They are full of complaints about everyone around them, from the President of the country to the local weather man, and disguise it under a broad umbrella called, "Freedom of speech".

May it be far from us believers - the children of God - to be like one of them. Let us be careful about our words about everyone around us. The more we abuse it the more insensitive we become to the effect of our words.

The Bible tells us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Which means that if our heart is full of love, grace, joy, wisdom, peace, contentment, fear of the Lord, etc. our mouth will reflect that. It will not complain much. It will build not destroy. It will heal not hurt. It will draw closer not chase far off.

Apostle James has dedicated almost an entire chapter to the topic of taming the tongue. 

In James chapter 3 verses 5-6 we read, "...the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

Every child of God must master the art of taming the tongue. This is one area we can clearly differ from the ungodly. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ was a perfect example of One who had mastered it all! We read in Isaiah 53:7, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

 Let us make this our desire too. Let us make this our regular prayer: "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

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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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By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. Psalm 137:1

River by default refreshes ones soul; however, here we read of a river that is not a refreshing sight but one of great mourning. In order to understand this verse, we need to understand the context of Psalm 137.

Looks to me this is not one of King David's psalms but one of a later time when Israelites were taken as captives to Babylon - modern day Iraq. The captors are forcing the captives to sing songs of Zion but they can only cry thinking of their Zion they had left behind. They refuse to sing their joyous songs by hanging their harps on the nearby plants and sitting down to cry. We do not know how many captives were there - but I am sure they were a multitude of people. Imagine all of them sitting by the river side, crying in loud voice, remembering their home land... what a tragic sight it would be!

Clearly the captives were not trying to please their captors but on the otherhand they even provoked more  anger by refusing to sing. The psalmist goes on to insist the reader to remember Jerusalem - the Zion. Here is few more verses in the same context:

* Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. Psalm 122:6
* "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her Isaiah 66:10
* Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Jeremiah 29:7

Take away for today: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! We are Zion bound too so let's sing some songs of Zion today... No need for us to mourn as we are set FREE of our captivity by the blood of Jesus Christ!

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He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Song of Solomon 2:4

Let us visualize a banquet hall. A feast has been prepared to celebrate a bride by her groom. All nobles who were invited are seated. There is merriment among the young and the old there. All are rejoicing over the wedding that has just taken place or soon to be taking place, it doesn't really matter. It is a joyous occasion for sure.

Now the groom presents a banner over the bride. I sometimes imagine it like a sash worn by beauty pageants with the words "MY LOVE" written across. Or it could be a flag like banner of fine ruby red linen with golden words "MY BELOVED" embroidered on it in big bold letters that hangs just above the throne where the bride is seated! It is indeed a beautiful sight.

Now imagine, it is all for you - the bride! Isn't that special? Does it not make our hearts swell for Him who has redeemed us from a miry pit and elevated us to such a honorable state known as His bride?!

King David sings in Psalm 23:5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

Surely He will prepare a table for you and me in the presence of our enemies and will anoint our heads with oil and fill our cups to the rim and will fly His banner over us, which reads: "My Beloved"! Let us never ever doubt that. Amen! God bless you all.

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For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

We see two characteristics of God's very nature here - former as a Judge who cannot tolerate sin and the latter as the Father who cannot and will not tolerate the punishment upon us; rather would bear it upon Himself!

This description of God's slowness to anger, and readiness to save, is given by King David - someone who is deeply acquainted with God.

The Lord spoke through Prophet Isaiah:

"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:7-8

Be encouraged He is angry no more! Praise the Lord! Joy comes in the morning! Amen!

Have a joyous "Son"day!

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Glad you could stop by for some time with Jesus this morning. I guess some of you stayed up late to get the first glimpse of today's coffee and some of you woke up early to accommodate it in your schedule; appreciate it much. It is fun to have company for coffee with Jesus!

Happy June everybody! God's grace shall be sufficient for us this new month. Amen!

Today for a change we are going to open our mouth and praise the Lord. You would all agree mostly our prayers are made from the heart - true. But to open our mouths wide and  praise is a liberating experience. In Psalms 81:10 we read,  "Open wide your mouth and I will fill it, says the Lord"

Hosea 14:2 specifically says, "Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips."

As important it is to pray from the bottom of our heart, is to pray with the words from our mouth too. Not sure how your comfort level is with that, but give it a try, you will feel the difference. As it is promised our Lord will fill it - with praise, with scriptures, with Holy Spirit, with tongues, with His words, prophecy and more praise.

For the next few moments, let us forget everything around us, everyone near us and just open our mouths wide and praise the Lord, praise His holy name, offering the calves of our lips to receive the fill for the day! Amen!