Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalm 103:1-6

Let us too talk to our soul like King David did, reminding it to:

Praise the Lord
Praise His Holy Name
Praise the Lord who forgives our sins
Praise the Lord who heals our diseases
Praise the Lord who redeems our life from the pit
Praise the Lord who crowns us with love and compassion
Praise the Lord who satisfies our desires with good things
Praise the Lord who renews our youth like the eagle's.
Praise the Lord who works righteousness justice for the oppressed.

Amen! Praise the Lord!

 

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran.

When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Genesis 28:10-22

Blessed day all! The Scripture here describes the first ever encounter of God, Jacob had in his life. When he was running all alone, fearing retaliation of his brother Esau. The God whom he had heard a mention of by his father Isaac, his grandfather Abraham, now meets him face to face!

Jacob took it to heart, made a wow, and was blessed accordingly, just as he was promised.

The same promise is given us this morning, to all of us who have gathered here in His name!

"... I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Whether we claim it as ours, what we do with it, is entirely up to us. In my case, I choose to believe! Amen!

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!

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13 

In the book of Joel we read of many end time prophesies and here in Chapter 2 a detailed description of an army of locusts. If you have some time today I encourage you to read the full chapter to get a glimpse of the impending danger by an invasion of locusts. It is dreadful to realize that such destruction could be caused by swarms of locusts. It is absolutely horrifying even to read.

The chapter does not end with just the warning; but goes on to explain how we can escape the ordeal. This clearly shows the love of the Lord to protect us from these calamities. In verses 12-13 we read:

“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart

and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13

You may ask, what does rending our hearts or repenting have to do with escaping the army of locusts. The answer is in verse 32: And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Joel 2:32 Amen!

If we are in tune with the Lord, we will be caught up in the sky when Christ returns to gather His Church before such calamities strike the earth. Praise the Lord!

We have been warned. Let us heed to it. It is time to return to the Lord with all our heart! Yes, 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!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land. Jeremiah 50:34

We are going to claim this verse as our promise today. Let's read it again custom fit for our needs: My Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is His name. He will vigorously defend my cause so that He may bring rest to my land.

Who is a Redeemer?
* A close relative who is capable of freeing us from debt;
* A saviour

How Jesus redeemed us?
* By paying the price of our sin upon the cross Himself
* By freeing us from the penalty of death that was the wages of our sin, but gave us eternal life instead.
* Saved us from God's wrath by His blood.

What more our Redeemer is capable of doing today?
* He can free us from our financial burden
* He can pay off our debts
* He can free us from worries and depression and the like
* He can heal us from sorrow
* He will defend our cause vigorously
* He will bring rest to our land.

Job during his severe affliction reminded himself, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27

We all know how Job was redeemed and his health, wealth and fortune were restored.

King David sings in Psalm 25:3, "No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame." Amen!

This was true in the life of Job, King David and many other saints from the old and new testament. Why then it is hard to accept we will be redeemed too?!

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm--my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Joel 2:25-26

It is such an encouragement to know that the Lord will repay us for the years the locusts have eaten. What are these "locusts" we read about?

It could be our joblessness, our ill health, our failures, our disappointments, our broken relationships - but the Lord promises us that He is going to look into it that we are rewarded for our losses.

Our health will be restored, our bills will be taken care of, our joy will be full, our relationships will be stronger, we will be singing and dancing and praising the name of our Lord who led us so wondrously! Hallelujah! And we will never be ashamed!

Wesley's Notes on Bible explains: Wondrously - In one year giving as much as the locusts wasted in the years foregoing. Ashamed - Neither disappointed of your hopes, nor necessitated to seek relief among the heathen.

That's right! We will be neither disappointed of our hopes, nor necessitated to seek relief among the heathen, because our Lord will restore our loss. Praise the Lord!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

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"!

Never ever doubt that you are loved. Indeed, much loved.

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Romans: 13:12-14

Don't we always think about how to gratify ourselves? I mean don't we always look to satisfy the desires of our heart? Looks like that is bad. Certain sins are so subtle that we may not even consider it a sin. We may term it as 'habit' or 'that's just me' or whatever, but not sin. This is where learning and meditating the Word of God can help us improve.

I would like to share an extract from Barnes notes on the Bible on this:

The gratification of the flesh was the main object among the Romans. Living in luxury and licentiousness, they made it their great object of study to multiply and prolong the means of licentious indulgence. In respect to this, Christians were to be a separate people, and to show that they were influenced by a higher and purer desire than this grovelling propensity to minister to sensual gratification. It is right, it is a Christian duty, to labor to make provision for all the real needs of life. But the real wants are few; and with a heart disposed to be pure and temperate, the necessary wants of life are easily satisfied; and the mind may be devoted to higher and purer purposes. 

Many apostles have written about why we should not gratify the desires of our sinful nature; here's to quote a few:

* Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. I Peter 2:11
* For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. I John 2:16
* So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:16

God bless. Enjoy the "Son"day!

* The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. Isaiah 35:7

* He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; Psalm 107:35

* I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:18

* I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland Isaiah 43:20

Amen! Hallelujah! Those who rejoice over today's Scripture praise the Lord with me! Hallelujah!

The message is very clear: our situations might look like a dry wasteland without any yield or moisture. But our Lord assures us that He is able to turn it into pools and streams and rivers! Amen!

Let us claim these promises towards our "dry lands" such as stress, debts, sickness, worries, finances, lack of joy, you name it! Let us pray using these exact promises and ask God to take control and turn us into a flourishing source of blessing to many.

Now, let us not reason how? It is not ours to worry about the specifics. Leave it all up to God trusting fully in His promise and just praise the Lord! Remember, We live by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

God bless you all!

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD Deuteronomy 6:12

Have we ever forgotten the Lord? In order to answer this question, we need to understand the accurate meaning of the word 'forget'.

Online dictionary defines forget as follows:

1. To be unable to remember (something).
2. To treat with thoughtless inattention; neglect.
3. To leave behind unintentionally.
4. To fail to mention.
5. To banish from one's thoughts.
6. To disregard on purpose.
7. To cease remembering
8. To fail or neglect to become aware at the proper or specified moment.

Now that we know what it actually means to 'forget', let us repeat the question to ourselves: Have we ever forgotten the Lord?

I am afraid we are all guilty of doing just that based on the definitions above. Unable to remember, cease remembering, neglect, fail to mention... does any of these sound familiar? Yes, unfortunately.

That is why King David kept reminding his soul: "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Let it be our reminder too.

Happy Friday!

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

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!

The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things! Psalm 118:16

Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy. Exodus 15:6

There is an interesting incident of Moses's arms lifted high mentioned in in Exodus chapter 17; an excerpt below:

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but  whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 

When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 

So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:8-13

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran.

When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Genesis 28:10-22

Blessed day all! The Scripture here describes the first ever encounter of God, Jacob had in his life. When he was running all alone, fearing retaliation of his brother Esau. The God whom he had heard a mention of by his father Isaac, his grandfather Abraham, now meets him face to face!

Jacob took it to heart, made a wow, and was blessed accordingly, just as he was promised.

The same promise is given us this morning, to all of us who have gathered here in His name!

"... I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Whether we claim it as ours, what we do with it, is entirely up to us. In my case, I choose to believe! Amen!

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!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.

When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.

But you will not leave in haste
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

~ Isaiah 52:7-12

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!

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

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

Is it even possible to love someone - especially God Almighty with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind? - a lingering question for many. More so the next command, to love our neighbor as our self. Would we? Could we? Should we? I guess we should!

Don't be quick to write it off as "this is asking for too much" but pause and pray to refill us with this much love for others so that we can love them better than our selves and by doing so we will love our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind!

Let us pray:

Dear Father in Heaven! Thank you for this opportunity to gather in your presence from across the globe in one accord Lord! Thank you for being in our midst as you have promised you will surely be there where two or more people have gathered in your name Lord.

Lord, we are meditating these commands you have asked us to follow which comprise of almost every other command out there Lord. Please fill us with this overflowing love for you that enables us to love you just like you have taught us Lord - with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind Lord.

Also help us love our neighbors as ourselves Lord. This seems even harder Lord- especially when we know and see everyone being selfish around us Lord. But we do not want to be "every one" Lord. We want to be your sons and daughters Lord. Please help us Lord. Mold us into your likeness Lord.

What seems impossible for us will be possible in and through you Lord. Though it seems hard to love others more than we love our self, you can make it easy for us Lord. You can show us the area where we are failing and help us improve in those Lord.

Thank you for being our role model Lord. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; Amen!

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Matthew 23:37

 King David's prayed crying out "... hide me in the shadow of your wings". Today's Scripture is the flip side to that, where Jesus is crying out to Jerusalem wanting to hide her under His wings but she is not willing!

Let us take a moment to see if we are willing - willing to be hidden under the wings of the Lord. It is one thing to pray for protection and another thing to abide in His protection.

Even in the Lord's prayer, we say "... lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil". 'Deliver is us from evil' is the prayer portion of it; not getting into temptation is the abiding part of the equation.

Let us therefore pray and abide!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Happy Friday all! May God bless you!

2 Chronicles 6:40 "Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

Today's Scripture is an extract from the Prayer of Solomon offered at the dedication of the temple. Please read the entire chapter if you have some time today.

It is great to be in company of prayer warriors so that we learn how to pray. Prayer connects us one-on-one with our maker! When we pray God listens. When we praise He accepts it. When we call He answers. When we ask He gives. When we knock He opens. When we cry He comforts. Amen.

As believers we are called to pray not only for our needs but for one another also. Even here at Coffee with Jesus we have an opportunity to share our prayer requests and pray for one another. Please make it your regular practice to check out the prayer requests and pray for the shared needs. Please encourage one another by comments and testimonies.

Today's Scripture is my sincere prayer for this blog. Please join me in unison and let us pray the same together: "Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

Amen!

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

By their fruit you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

* And they(angels) were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6:3
* Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.
I Peter 1:15
* For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
I Thessalonians 4:7
* Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

No denying that the One who called us is Holy! Now, we are required to follow suit, to measure up to His holiness. Is that even possible?

Prophet Isaiah spoke to God one on one, for himself, for the kings, for the nations; yet he writes: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6

True! If we try only by ourselves, it is impossible to be holy like He is holy. But when we are rooted in Christ, the Holy Spirit will help us to be holy.

We read in John 15:5 as Jesus is saying: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

So, the key here is to remain in Him. To abide in Him. To be filled with His Holy Spirit that teaches us about all things. Then we too can be holy and blameless and pure like the one who has called us. Amen!

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

~Matthew 7:24-27

Where have you built your house? Hope it is built on the Rock of Salvation - our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed Monday!

* My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Psalm 27:8
* I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8
* Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:4

King David sets us a good example of seeking the Lord continually, not just on Sunday's not just on mornings but continually - all the days of the week, every hour of each day, every second of each hour...

What does it mean to seek?

The following definitions are given in the dictionary:

1. Attempt to find (something)
2. Attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something)
3. Ask for (something) from someone
4. Search for and find someone or something
5. Go to (a place)

Now, how do we seek the Lord?

Based on the definition of the word 'seek' we can say,

1. Find out more of the Lord
2. Desire more time with the Lord
3. Pray
4. Search the Scriptures more for hidden treasures.
5. Go to His feet more often.

The Scripture assures, those who seek Him will find Him... (Proverbs 8:17)

Hope you will start seeking from now on... Let's start this morning!

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!

Come, let us give praises to God Almighty today - lots and lots of them!

Happy Friday!

It pleased the Lord to bless Israel. Numbers 24:1

Seeing the Israelites camped at the plains of Moab and knowing what they did to the Amorites, Balak the king of Moab was terrified. He sends in his counsel men to bring Balaam - a well known sorcerer of that time, to curse the Israelites.

The king takes Balaam to a nearby mount from where they could see the encampment and curse them. But as it turns out Balaam only blesses them because God did not allow him to curse his children. Balak tries again from two different locations but all the time there was only blessing instead of cursing.

In fact he blesses, "There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel" (Numbers 23:23) which extends to any future attempt to curse them by anyone else.

Let us hold on to this verse as our promise. Nobody can do us any harm intentionally or unintentionally. No evil spirit can come near our tents. No divination against us will work. Never fear any black magic or witchcraft or anything related.

We are not commoners or the ordinary folks. We are the children of the Most High. As Apostle Peter reminds us in I Peter 2:9, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Amen! We are called out of darkness into His wonderful light. It pleases the Lord to bless us. Amen!

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..."

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

Today's reading: Proverbs 14 Click here to read online (NIV)

Verse of the day: "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God" 14:31

We are not at liberty to look down at those who are poor or relatively poor. Why? Because when we oppress the poor we are actually showing contempt for their Maker who is also our Maker.

When we are kind to the needy, it honors the Lord. Sripture says, in Proverbs 19:17, "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done."

My Grandparents and parents always opened their hearts & hands to the poor. Because of that God has blessed us much more. If we help the needy God will bless our children and the blessing flows through for many generations to come. That is how God rewards us back when we are kind to the poor.

Next time you come across someone in need, challenge yourself to act kindly. Our Father in heaven will be pleased. Isn't that something?

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

As you see, this verse comes across as a command. We should be filled with the love and joy of the Lord at all times. We should reflect upon the real love and joy of Christ who lives within us. No matter what the circumstances be, let us be reminded of this verse to keep us true to our calling.

Why is it so important to rejoice? Because many things start to go wrong when we lose the joy of life. Our physical, mental and spiritual health too will take a toll. We won't feel like singing, worshipping, reading the Bible, talking to Jesus, eating - so the overall system collapses when the divine joy within us is lost. That's exactly what satan is after. Let us consciously make an effort to be filled over and over with the divine love and peace which brings true JOY.

Let us pray: "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for reminding us to rejoice always. Please help us Lord to rejoice - in all circumstances. Please help us to truly understand that all things happen for good for those who love you Lord - even when things don't seem to go as we wish Lord. Please help us overcome satan in this area Lord. Thank you again for your love and grace which is sufficient at all times Lord. In Jesus's mighty name we pray, Amen"

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my Joy may be in you and that your Joy may be complete." John 15:9-11

Surprisingly Joy goes hand in hand with Love! When we are in love - with our Savior, with our dear ones, with our friends and family, with our neighbors, co workers, - then our Joy is full. It is complete.

Also we know salvation brings Joy. What is salvation? Salvation is believing that God came in human form to love us, to take away our sin; died on the cross for our sin, resurrected, ascended to heaven and continues to reconvene with the Father for us. It is believing we are no more sinners but washed in His blood and made saints! Hallelujah!

Just the feeling of freedom brings an unspeakable JOY. This is the joy of salvation; the joy that stems from hope for an eternal life.

I invite any of you who haven't yet felt this joy to surrender your hearts to Jesus now - right at this coffee table as we join hands with fellow believers and readers. Let's pray:

"Dear Lord, we come at your presence rejoicing in the joy of our salvation Lord. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin and for the sins of other believers in Christ who have joined me around this coffee table today Lord. Yet there are some of us who are not quite sure of this joy of salvation Lord. Prepare their hearts Lord; open their eyes Lord. Speak to them Lord. Guide them Lord. Help them understand you have died for their sins too Lord. Help them see that they are free indeed Lord. Bless them with the joy of your salvation Lord - right at this minute Lord. We praise and glorify your name this morning Lord. You alone be glorified! May all the glory, honor and praise be to you alone Lord. Thank you for the joy of salvation you have renewed in our hears too Lord. In Jesus' joyous name we pray, Amen!"