When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. Ecclesiastes 5:19

Interestingly the Scripture here points out it is not the wealth or possessions that are considered the gift of God, but the heart that accepts our lot and remain happy in our work - that is a gift of God.

In his letter to Timothy Apostle Paul writes about Love of Money and says "Godliness with contentment is great gain". I Timothy 6:6. Indeed it is!

King Solomon was the richest king ever. He writes in Proverbs 28:25, "A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper." - which shows that his prosperity came from trusting in the Lord and not from greed.

How many of us are content this morning?! Praise God for all those hands that are going up! Let us continue to accept our lot! This is our gift from the Lord! Amen!

With that we wrap up July 2014! Tomorrow is a new month; let us pray for a renewal of Spirit among us.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

The hard thing about this verse is, often times we do not recognize the devil. On the contrary to our imaginations he doesn't come with baring teeth and twisted horns...

He is so subtle and cunning that at times it is hard to even recognize it as the devil. We might mistake him for self pity, temptation, depression, tiredness, sickness, sadness, etc.

Remember this: Anything that spoils our joy of salvation is the devil - or from the devil. So right away resist him and he will flee from you.

That brings us to a very important question: How to resist the devil?

* In the same verse we read, "Submit yourselves, then, to God"
* I Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour"
* In I Peter 5:9 we read, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith..."
* Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:11

And when you do recognize him say, "I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stay away from me satan... I take victory in the blood of Jesus Christ!"

He will take off! As simple as that!

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty. Jeremiah 15:16

When was the last time we feasted on the Word of God? Can we relate to the verse above where Prophet Jeremiah says he ate His words which were his joy and his heart's delight.

It is not just Jeremiah who enjoyed the words of the Lord. King David sings: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

Job too loved them, he said: I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. Job 23:12

It is a true joy 'eat'ing the Word of God. Why not have some today? Here's some for starters... Psalm 19

Have a blessed day!

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. Song of Solomon 4:16

Here we see the desperation of Shulamite to prepare her garden for her Lover. Are we preparing our gardens for our Christ? Do we have the fruits and fragrance that are desired by our Lord?

It is time we take inventory of our stocks and see if we have what it takes to be prepared for the coming of our Lord. If we bear fruits well and good; if not let us call in the winds from the North and the South to come blow on us so that we become fruit bearers.

The wind we need to desire is the Holy Spirit, who enables us to bear fruits. There is not much time left for Christ our Lover to return. We are in the End of Times. The coming of our Lord is at hand.

Not to threaten anyone but to awaken our hearts, let me use the same words John the Baptist used as he prepared the way for Christ:

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:10-12

Amen! The ax is already at the roots! Our King's return is imminent! Let us get baptized in water and in Holy Spirit to bear much fruits for Him.

The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. Zechariah 8:12

May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness--an abundance of grain and new wine. Genesis 27:8

Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. Isaiah 61:7

The land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. Psalm 67:6

That is so beautiful, receiving such showers of blessing today; is it not?

May God bless you all as we wrap up yet another week. Have a blessed new week ahead!

Be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Throughout generations, the plea remains constant - Fear the Lord and serve Him with all your heart!

Do we?

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." Psalm 126:2

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! Enjoy the weekend!

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. Proverbs 10:5

Just as how important it is to sow, it is equally important to reap. Every farmer looks forward to the reaping or the harvest, as harvest is when they get their reward for all the hard work. If someone is lazy during harvest season and doesn't go in and reap, the yield will get wasted by the birds and passerby.

Same way, when we sow the seeds of faith in people's hearts, our responsibility is not over with that. We water it regularly (pray for their salvation)  to bring it to a saving knowledge of Christ. This is the "harvesting" most of us evangelical Christians forget about.

In Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

As God's own sons and daughters we have a huge harvest ahead of us. Let's get working; shall we?

Today's reading: Proverbs 11 Click here to read online (NIV)

Verse of the day: "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." 11:25 (KJV)

This verse reminds me of another verse from Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

We can find numerous other verses in the similar lines. The bottom line is 'Being generous'.

My Mom always encourages us whenever we get discouraged of giving: "It is a blessing being at the giving end rather than at the receiving end." How true!

Indeed, giving is better than receiving. Even when it comes to prayer, giving praises to God is far better than always asking for one thing or another.

It may seem like no one is watching our giving or that only we are giving all the time. But remember nothing is hidden from the Lord's eyes and He will repay you for what you have given. Let us earn to be givers and not so much of receivers! Because that's the true blessing!

Those who honor me I will honor. I Samuel 2:30

Constant mention of God's love somehow gives a wrong idea that we can take Him for granted. We forget where we came from and who God really is.

He is the King of kings; the Lord of lords; the Beginning and the End! We were in sin, wearing rags, decaying in our souls. Yet He chose to love us. He cleansed us by His blood, made us holy, clothed us with garments of righteousness, wrote His name on us... and now we have forgotten all that...

In Malachi 1:6 we read, A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.

He goes on to explain we have defiled His alter by offering the blind and lame animals; we have not given Him the best of what we have. We can't deny that, can we?

According to Proverbs 3:9 let us honor the LORD with our wealth, with the first fruits of all our crops. The keyword here is 'all' not just 'some' or 'any' or 'one' or 'none' but 'all'. In all areas of our lives (including our finances) let our first priority and our best service be to God and godly affairs.

Those who honor the Lord will be honored by Him. What a privilege that is!

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. I Chronicles 16:29

Giving glory to God means adoring, praising and worshiping the Lord God Almighty from the bottom of our heart and proclaiming by our mouth.

Giving glory also indicates we bring an offering to the Lord when we come before Him. Remember not the lame and the blind but the best kind of offering is what is expected of us.

Not only that; giving glory to God should be part our daily activities too. In I Corinthians 10:31 Paul says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

As we celebrate the presence of our Lord today, let us put aside all distractions and focus our attention on giving Him glory. Have a blessed Sunday!

* Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 43:5
* A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14

What these verses tell us is that mighty kings too felt downcast and crushed at times like the rest of us. Knowingly or unknowingly we get pulled into a broken spirit from time to time; which is hard to avoid.

When things don't work out, when the bills are mounting but resources have dried up, when a loved one's health gets affected, it is only natural to get low.

But what we do about it is what makes us different. Let's see how King David handled it:

* He puts his hope in God.
* He keeps praising the Lord.
* He acknowledges the Lord as his Savior.
* He sings praises for His Holy name

Let us learn from his example. Let us put our hope in our Lord. He will fill us all over again with His joy of salvation in no time. Amen!

Happy Saturday!

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5

What a beautiful message we have this morning. Let us come together and consecrate ourselves. Let us get cleansed once again by the blood of Jesus Christ. Let us prepare ourselves for the 'amazing things' God has promised us for tomorrow.

Let us remove any dross or impurities from our hearts. Let us call out to the Lord to cleanse us as white as snow!

"Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 2 Chronicles 29:5

We are the temple of the Lord; let there be no detestable thing among us. Let us remove all defilement from our hearts.

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.Hebrews 10:22

For the rest of the day let our hearts have one prayer and one prayer only which is: "Cleanse me Lord!" Amen!

Have a fun weekend!

You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. Psalm 65:9

Living Water is yet another name for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is no wonder there are so many scripture verses referring to this refreshing Living Water. The water that flows from Him does nourish our body, mind and soul.

He cares for the land (us) and waters (provides) for it. When He blesses it is not by human measures; He enriches us abundantly! Praise the Lord!

I would like to insist here that blessing is not always in material form. Blessing is our joy, our salvation, our peace, our faith, our walk, His leading, His slow still voice, our daily providence and even our very breath. Don't we have these things in abundance? Are we not enriched by countless blessings already?! Amen!

And of course, blessing is not only in spiritual form. There are these material blessings too such as the house, the job, the children, the vacation, the bonus, the new tires in the car, the flowers your special someone brought, the robins that visit your window sill, and the rest in those lines. Amen!

Remember, the streams of God are filled with water to provide you and yours, with grain.

As long as our focus is on the One who blesses us and not the blessings in itself, we will continue to be blessed.

Stay blessed today!

For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13

Did you notice one thing? It is not we who are holding His right hand, but the Lord holds our right hand. That clearly shows how protective He is of us. It is like we care for our children when they are little. We always hold their hands not trusting that they will hold our hands.

We know that they could be easily distracted by things around and get lost if we do not hold them. We know that they could fall and get hurt if we do not hold them. Same way, our Lord doesn't expect we will hold on to Him as strongly as He is holding on to us. Isn't it comforting to know our Lord holds our right hand?

Whatever it is you are facing today - may be an interview, may be a corporate decision, may be a test result, may be about a transfer order, whatever it is, remember He holds your right hand.

King David sings in Psalm 16:8, "I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." True! Because He is at our right hand we will not be shaken! Praise God!

Let us repeat the verse, slightly altered: For you are the Lord, my God, who takes hold of my right hand and says to me not to fear and that you will help me. Amen!

Anger is an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to undo that by retaliation.

Attitude behind anger - You owe me!

God's anger is different from man's anger. God's anger is moral, holy and is about the righteousness of God. Man's anger is selfish, immoral and sinful - someone will have to pay.

Issues of anger - ill health, depression, paranoid, suspicious of others, judgmental, messes up our relationship with people and ultimately God Almighty.

Cure for anger: Forgiveness

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Colossians 3:5-8

No one owes us anything - not even an apology. We owe it to ourselves to be anger-free. That's what the Scripture tells us. If we are calling ourselves children of God, believers, would you carry an offense rest of your life, or would you rather forgive it and go anger free?

Forgive! Shall we?

Psalm 86:15 - But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:20

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

"Be still and know that I am Lord" Psalm 46:10

The question is How to be still?

A well known verse from the Bible, yet one we all struggle with. When situation calls for a panic we start running wild, trying to figure out a solution for the issue at hand, instead of submitting it at the Lord's feet and doing things in accordance with His divine guidance.

Only when all our "resolutions" fail we come to the Lord - as our last resort. All the while He was there saying, "Be Still"!

Only when we are still we can know that He is Lord

For example when a child gets hurt with a thorn of some kind, we as parent or even a doctor can't help much unless the child calms down and allows us to intervene. In the same way, our Father Lord asks us to be still; so that He can intervene and take care of our pain and suffering. Why is it hard for us to do?

Let us make it part of our prayer going forward: "Dear Lord, Please teach us to be still so that we can see your glory. In Jesus' name - Amen"

trust in him and he will do this:

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:5-6

Amen! What a great promise for us this morning. In fact, I believe this is a direct message for me as much as for the rest of you around the coffee table.

The world around us is tough. It speaks foul language. It hates the godly. It ridicules the righteous and deny justice to their cause. On the other hand, it supports the ungodly, goes hand in hand with the foul mouthed and loves their ways. It is difficult to survive such a world on a daily basis - almost impossible on our own!

That's when promises like these encourage our spirits and speaks directly to our souls. It is an assurance that the Lord support our righteous cause; and bring us justice like the bight sun. Just as bright and powerful the sun is at noon, everyone will see us shine through!

However, it all starts with a commitment on our side - to commit to His ways and trust in Him. Which then brings us to our today's discussion: How to commit our ways to the Lord?

When Moses summoned all Israelites and gave them the ten commandments from the Lord, he had given an important instruction which holds true for us even to this day:

Be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Deuteronomy 5:32

Prophet Isaiah's message for Judah and Jerusalem can be as is applied to our lives:

Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds  of my sight!
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:16-17

King Solomon shares a wise word: Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3.

He repeats in Proverbs 3:6, In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Yet again He says, in Proverbs 4:27, Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

The Bible is full of instructions on how we can continually commit our ways to the Lord. We only need to read it and apply it in our lives - with a conscious effort.

Then the Lord will bring forth our justice as bright as the noonday sun and our righteousness will shine like the dawn!.

May God bless each one you. Love you all in Christ. Thank you for joining me for coffee this week. Check back on the weekday as we wrap up the series on Psalm 37:3-8

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Who doesn't wish for the desires of their heart to be granted! We all wish our desires or dreams would come true, don't we? Well, the Bible assures us of a sure fire way of getting our wishes granted; which is to delight ourselves in the Lord!

Let us discuss How to delight in the Lord? To delight in the Lord means to delight in the things of the Lord. We will look at Scripture examples of things that we can delight in that are of the Lord.:

* If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14

* I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Psalm 119:174

* Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

* He will delight in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:3

* Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.Psalm 112:1

* 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... Isaiah 61:10

* My soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. Psalm 35:9

Enough said I believe. The Scripture clearly tells us how all we can delight in the Lord. When we do as it says, all the desires of our heart will be granted!

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

Why not give it a try?!

Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3

We are meditating on the same Scripture portion for the last few days, Psalm 37:3-8, focusing on specific instructions each day. Today's discussion is: How to dwell in the land?

 In verse 27 of the same Psalm we have the answer; it says: "Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever."

Apostle John insists in his letter to Gaius, "Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God." 3 John 1:11

For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it. Proverbs 2:21

"Because you have made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, your habitation; There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling. "  Psalms 91:9-10

King David sings, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

Can we sing the same song? If we turn from evil and do good, then we will dwell in the land forever and of course, sing the same song!

Trust in the Lord and do good. Psalm 37:3

"Trust in the Lord!" is a common phrase we have often heard in sermons, Scriptures and from family and friends. Sure enough it is vital for our Christian walk. The question is: How to trust in the Lord?

Looking up the word 'trust' in the dictionary we see:

trust/trəst/

So, to trust in the Lord actually means to firmly believe in the reliability, truth, ability and strength of the Lord! The key is "firmly believe".

The more we know about someone the more we can develop a trust in him/her; developing trust in the Lord is no different from that. We need to spend more time with the Lord, learning more about Him.

The best way to learn how is from examples; what better examples than the great men of faith who have often professed about their trust in the Lord. Let's see a few examples below:

* Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
* Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:5
* Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
* He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3
* Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Psalm 40:4
* "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7

Kings and Prophets don't just use empty words. Each words uttered by them are of great value and given utmost importance.

If such mighty men confess they firmly believe in the reliability, truth, ability and strength of the Lord, than their mighty chariots or fast running horses or their great wealth or fame or any of the obvious things, how much more we ordinary folks need to trust in the Lord?!

Trust in the Lord and do good;

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

trust in him and he will do this:

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

do not fret—it leads only to evil.  Psalm 37:3-8

Today's Scripture portion is loaded with instructions, for many aspects of life. Each verse is crisp and clear delivering direct message from the Lord! It may be worth spending a few days to discuss each one in detail.

Please stay tuned for the rest of the week as we discuss the following in detail:

1. How to trust in the Lord?
2. How to dwell in the land?
3. How to delight in the Lord?
4. How to commit our ways to the Lord?
5. How to be still?
6. How to refrain from anger?

Have a blessed day! God bless you!

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 day today!

"What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD" Jonah 2:9

In chapter 2 of the Book of Jonah, we read Jonah's prayer to God from within the belly of a fish. From there he says: "What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD". Let's stop there for today's lesson.

Most of us have gone through similar situation though not exactly the same. In our anguish we have cried out to the Lord and have made vows to Him: Lord, if you give me this job, I will be regular with my tithe. If only you save me now, I will follow you the rest of my life... etc. But have we fulfilled these vows when the situations improved and we were delivered out of our distress? Not always would be the honest answer.

It comes easy to make a vow, but fulfilling it requires commitment and conscious efforts. With overwhelming demands of life we might even forget our vows. This can't be!

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 5:4, When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

In Deuteronomy we read: If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. (23:21)

Take away for today is: Let us fulfill our vows to our Lord!

"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance." 1 Kings 8:35-36

This scripture is from King Solomon's prayer of dedication as he dedicated the newly built Temple in Jerusalem. I suggest you please read this chapter in full to get a complete understanding of the context:

King Solomon considers a wide range of requests in his prayer at the dedication. He is standing at the alter, in front of the whole congregation of Israelites, attired in his royal clothes and the royal diadem, his hands raised upwards towards the heavens, his face lifted up, his voice loud and clear as he submits his requests one after another,  which also includes requests to send rain for his people and his land.

A King praying for his citizens is hard to even imagine. Imagine the leader of our respective countries praying for you and me! Prayer comes from deep within ones heart, which only implies how dedicated King Solomon was for his nation and his people and how eager he was pleading on their behalf for their rain.

He prayed: when God has shut up the heavens from rain because of the people's wrong doing, and if and when they repent and come back to Him, then God should be merciful to forgive them of their sins and open the heavens of rain.

I absolutely love how he ends this passage. He prays: "Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance."

I can't help relating his prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ's plea to the Father intervening for us. Which means that even in this modern age we have a King pleading our case. Let us live up to His expectations and get forgiveness from the Father so that our rain won't delay any further.

King David lifts up a beautiful prayer in Psalm 119:33-40, which can serve as an example for us, and teach us how to develop reverence for the Word of God:

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.

Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.

Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.

Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.

Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.

Amen!

Look at the key points that I have highlighted here, which covers all angles of distraction one may encounter during the walk of faith. It takes a conscious effort on our part too to give the due reverence to the Word of God. Shall we try?

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.1 Chronicles 4:10

Jabez's prayer was simple, yet powerful. Simple because it was short and to the point. Powerful because God granted him his request.

Before we conclude it was the short prayer that did the trick, let us read verse 9 which gives us a glimpse of who Jabez was: "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."

Literal meaning of Jabez is sorrowful. In fact the gist of his prayer was to be free from pain. God saw that he was honorable and granted his request. He was not sorrowful anymore but filled with joy.

If there is someone here unhappy today, please repeat Jabez's prayer with a sincere heart. God will grant the request for each one of us today. Amen!

Happy Independence day to my fellow citizens of United States of America! May God bless everyone who so willingly sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

Today's message once again reinforces the bonding in a marriage. When we read about the account of creation in the book of Genesis, at the end of each day for each creation, it states that God saw that it was good. At the end of the 5th day, we read  in Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

However on the 6th day, when He made Adam the first human being, we read in Genesis 2:18, The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” and proceeds to make Eve! Let's pause there for a minute.

Is it just enough for Adam & Eve to be together alone to make it good? Do they even understand each others' emotions or thought process or any of those sorts? Don't they need an interpreter who can help them understand each other and bond better?

How strong is a two cord strand compared to a three cord strand?

The third person recommended for every marriage is the presence of God Almighty who bridges the gaps between the two and acts as the glue if you will, between the husband and wife. When misunderstanding arises the Holy Spirit will guide and comfort them separately mending their hearts, removing their hurts, bringing them together and making them whole again.

This is why it is extremely important to keep our marriage a three strand cord and never a two strand cord and of course not a single strand (or separation) which is considered not good.

Let's invite the Divine presence in our marriages today if we do not sense Him already. Above all let us submit to His leadership in our lives rather than arguing over who is the head; undoubtedly it is Him!

With that we end this series... Tomorrow is a new day!

Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33

Isn't it awesome God has given us instructions about every aspect of life - even to the detail of how we must treat our spouses. To make it simple there is actually only one condition to the husband and to the wife.

Husbands must love their wives. Wives must respect their husbands. That's all!

Behavioral experts will tell you, a man's primary need in a relationship in respect while the woman's primary need is love.

As long as the husband feels respected he loves his wife. When respect is compromised he acts out. Same way, the wives are happy as long as they feel loved by their husbands and can't remain happy when love is compromised in their marriage.

So you see this causes a vicious cycle - as she can't respect a husband who does not love her; and he can't love a wife who does not respect him. The only way this trend is developing is downhill and before long the marriage union will suffer.

So, what is the solution? Today's Scripture has the answer! Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Now we ask, who should do what first? Good question; but wrong motive! Of course it will be convenient if our spouse stops this vicious cycle explained above; but as long as we have an equal part why not we apply the breaks?

When the need arises to snap back next time, keep calm, hum a song, praise God, and at any cost avoid further damage to your marriage! No, you haven't lost anything; but will gain his/her heart over time! Isn't that worth the try?!

The wise woman/(man) builds her/(his) house, but with her/(his) own hands the foolish one tears hers/(his) down. Proverbs 14:1

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“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 6:27-36

Today's Scripture portion is Jesus's own words to the multitude. If so, how much more direct it is for His children - you and me?!

If this is His instructions for handling our enemies, how much more important it is to treat our family and friends according to these instructions?

The question I most often struggle with is, "Why should I? They also read the Bible; all these instructions are for them too; then why should I be the one always making peace?"

The only response to that is, "Why shouldn't I?"

What do you say? Please share your thoughts which will help fellow brothers and sisters rebuild their relationships.

And by the way, happy July 2014!