Psalm 40

V 3:
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

A believer in Christ has new song of praise to our God.
Why, because in Lamentations 3:22,23 it says His mercies are new.

we may not realize the mercy and grace of God, because we take it for granted.
When we take things for granted , you will not have the freshness or new song.
When see and have revelation that today if I am able to gather with the saints of God, it is Gods grace.  Last week i could not come to Church because I was in hospital and I missed so much. Today I realize that Gods grace I am again here.

Song of thankfulness, Song of praise to God, Song of great fullness.

Do we take things granted and always  have a song of complaints.

Today morning, do we realize Gods mercy and grace and have that song of praise , Such a mans song will be like verse 5

Many are the wonders Lord,which you have done.
There is none to compare with you.
they too numerous to count.

Verses 6 -8
For God, doing His will is more important than the offerings that we bring.
that is why in Matthew 5:23,24 says, forgiveness and unity is more important than the offerings that we bring.

Before giving an offering, let us check whether we are doing Gods will.

Verse 16
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,“The Lord be magnified!”


A person who loves the salvation of God will say
The Lord be magnified.

Sadly, today Church has people who says  I be magnified.
How do you check blood pressure or sugar?
One good test that you can check for yourself whether we love salvation of God is Check whether you say I be magnified or Lord be magnified.


Story of the preacher who travelled and served at shoe stand

Psalm 37 (20-40)

V 21,22

The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.

V21 says the wicked borrows but they dont repay it.

You know we come across people who borrow money and they do not repay.
I am sure you might have come across people who are like that.

But the righteous give generously.

To understand this statement, we need to understand God.

man is always a seeker.
Right from the morning he get up till he goes to bed he keeps asking.
But God is a Giver. God takes pleasure in giving. 
God is not stingy when giving.
God is not like man when giving. Man holds off something, but You know when God gives, the receiver gets overwhelmed. Even when He forgives a sinner,He takes so much pleasure that Bible says a big party goes in heaven when a sinner repents.

When a person truly understands how big a Giver our God is, then we will be very content.
Today we see lot of greed in our own Christianity because we dont truly understand about the giving nature of God or how much He has given to us.

And when we truly walk in the righteousness that God has given us, we will be witness for Him even through our giving.
We will not be stingy like the world does. 

The righteous gives generously.


V25 & 26

David says He was young and now I am old.  But I have never seen righteous forsaken.

So by the time he is writing this psalm ,David has seen a mans life time.
And when a person is saying something in his old age, it has very some significance in it.
In his old age he is saying these words.
He is not saying how to fight wars, how to become a king,
But in his old age he says
He is talking about giving and how a righteous giver is not forsaken.

Righteous are not forsaken, they are indeed generous givers.


David is not just a man of words but a man of actions.
If we look at who are the righteous people during Davids time, Jonathan is one of them. and according to this verse, Righteous should not be forsaken, even their children should not beg.
So he made sure a righteous man like Jonathan who recognised the annointing of God on David and respected him, his children should not left out like beggers, so David called him to sit at the Kings table and eat daily and all his land is restored.

It is one thing to recite the verses in bible , but it is pleasing sacrifice to fulfill the heart of God.
No wonder David is called man after Gods own heart.


V30 & 31.

30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.

In His old age,he is also saying these words

what kind of words come forth from a righteous person. To understand this also, we need to understand who God is.
Man talks a lot and lot- But there will be very less content  in it.
When God speaks , He speaks straight ( doesn't say may be , Probably) 12 3.
Thats it and it carries lot of weight. Those words have weight of eternity.

And a man who believed in Lord Jesus Christ, the words that comes out of their mouth are just blabbering, but do they carry eternal words.
Peter, no wonder says, Lord Where can we go, you have words of eternal life.

You can give a lot of gifts to others, but they all perish with time.
The best gift that you can give to others is speak the word of Wisdom and Justice that will give eternal life.

Speak less, but when you speak , speak eternal life.

As we go out into this world this week, let this psalm reminds each one of us, that God is giver, as a children of God I will be a giver.
God talks less but speaks eternal life. 
As a child of God , whenever i speak , i will speak eternal life.

Amen.

Principles of God

Proverbs 11:27
27 1Whoever seeks good finds favor,
    but evil comes to one who searches for it.

if I seek in my heart to do good to others, I will find favor from God.
But suppose if I think evil of another person ( it could be of any form, to hurt with a word, even assassinate their character in my  heart), that evil comes back to the me who searches for it.

it is a natural principle that God has put in.
I always want favor from God, then why not I seek good of others.
Even forgetting to seek good of others is also a problem, because I may miss finding the favor of God. This may sound like little bit of Old Covenant, because in new covenant I find favor by grace and grace alone. 
So in new covenant, I already found favor by Grace of God, now that I already found favor, So because of the favor i received i seek more good for others.
The new covenant compells us to do more (not to gain acceptance/favor), but because I already received it.

May God bless this meditation - Amen
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Psalm 34

Verse 1: I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak His praises

In God times it is easy to praise the Lord, but when wer are going through worst of times,it is very tough to praise the Lord. Sometimes forget about praises, people will question if God exists?

David is facing one of those worst situations.
He is running away from Saul and now acting infront of Achish as mad man.
In order to escape and save your life, you act like a mad man, what kind of situation it will be.
Now, David is writing in that situation that I will praise the Lord at all times.

In verse 3,David says in those situations that he wants to testify the Lords greatness.


1 samuel 21:10-14 says

10 So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11 But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,

‘Saul has killed his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands’?”

12 David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. 13 So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.

14 Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? 15 We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”

Verses 4-7 Prayer

David prayed and God delivered him  out of troubles.

This is great passage that explains the importance of prayer.

even during these fasting times when we are praying,

know for sure:

v4 -anyone going though fear - you will be free of my fears ( v4)

v5- anyone looking for help from the Lord - you will be joyful

    are going through a shameful situation like David - because you prayed to the Lord, your shame will go away.

v6 - are you in some desperate situation, because you prayed, the Lord listens and delivers us out of trouble.

Verse 8 Taste and See that the Lord is good.

Many times we go to costco and taste the sample foods they give.

and then we know that particular food is good.

Without tasting we are not sure whether it is good or not.

If somebody else tell us that food is good we will have only head knowledge.

Similarly, we should have our own testimony of goodness of the Lord.

Many people might talk about their testimonies of the goodness of the Lord they have tasted and see. That is why we have testimony time every sunday at the end of worshipservice. 

If you are really not sure, seek and ask God , i want to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

V12,13,14 - Do you want a long life.

There are 2 things mentioned in bible for long life.

1) Honor your father and mother 

2) Here in Psalm v12,13 - 

Dont speak evil about others and dont tell lies

I was thinking why there is long life if we dont speak evil about others.

When we speak evil, we speak death to others.

and bible says what you sow is what you reap.

Never speak evil of others.

Also never tell lies in a world that is full of lies.

V19,20

The Righteous people might face troubles.

Christians throught the ages faced persecution. God s gracee was with them in times if of troubles.

May this psalm encourage each one of us to praise the Lord at all times, to go in prayer and seek His help instead of mans help, also taste and see for yourself that the Lord is good

The Lord is with righteous people.

Amen.

March21st2015Meditation

7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT


The man who trusts in the Lord is compared to tree planted by the water.
Trust in the Lord - has 2 effects.

1) The tree's roots go deep into the water.
2) Not bothered by the heat, also not worried by long months of drought.

A tree to have deep roots, the following are needed.
              Water,Oxygen,Good Soil.

When these 3 things are there, the roots of the tree go deep down into the earth.
Sometimes the roots go upto 3 to 6 feet. In Some cases where the soil is at its best, the roots have taken to 23 feet also.




In a person's life,  Water is the Word of God(Ephesians 5:26)
Oxygen represents the HolySpirit who gives Life. (Ephesians 5:18, Be filled with HolySpirit)
and the Good Soil is person heart.(Luke 8:15, A humble soil allows Gods word to penetrate).


We some times see the rots of a tree grow horizontally and not vertically. that is because the soil is not good enough for the roots to penetrate and so grow horizontally.



A tree which has deep roots, the roots which go deep into water has many advantages.

Such tress are not bothered by heat.
why deep rooted trees are not bothered by heat is  when there is heat, what plants need is water.
A deep rooted tree, whose roots go down to the water levels are supplied with water from the deep.
and so it does not bothers the heat.

Also not worried by long months of drought.
because during long months of drought, there is no rain, and when the there is no rain, generally the plants wither and dry up. But a deep rooted tree whose roots go deep into water does not worry and wait for the rain to come.A deep rooted tree gets its water from the deep even in the times of drought.
That is why their leaves are green and they never stop producing fruit even in drought times.


A person whose trusts in the Lord is like this tree whose roots go deep into the water.
When heat he does not wither because he gets the water from the deep source of his trust in God.
Even during months of drought/storms when everyone else is falling away, this person who trusted in God still is fruitful, because he has continuous supply of water from his deep trust in God.

A good soil with water and oxygen makes tree roots go deep into water.
A person with humble heart that allows Gods Word and Holy Spirit to work in his life, this person goes deep in his trust in God and he withstands heat, drought and is still fruitful.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May God Bless this meditation - Amen

Sonship

As we are in the year of Sonship. I want to concentrate on few things on SonShip.

In OT, people always called God as God, they never called God as Father.
They always say o God Almighty
O God My Provider.
God, Rock of my Salvation.
God, My Redeemer.

But they never called God as God my Father.

They were very afraid of God.

But Lord Jesus revealed that God is Father

Luke 11:2

He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name,"

That is why today we can pray that Heavenly Father.
What a privilige it is.

A son always reveals God as Father to others. Since Lord Jesus Christ lived as the Son of God, He revealed to the world that God is Father, which no one has did earlier.

But if you see the heart of God, Right from the beginning, God intended man to be in SonShip to live like Son of God.

How do we know
Turn to Luke 3:38

³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam,the son of God. 

The Holy Spirit is revealing from this verse that God wants Adam to be in the sonship.
To live as son of God.
Not as a slave.
Not as a person who always have this wrong fear.
But to live as son of God.

but since Adam failed to live as what God has intended for him, that is to live in the sonship,
death came to mankind. but thanks be to God  that through the last Adam that is Jesus Christ who lived as Son, we now have life.

1 Corinthians 15:21
²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

If a man does not live in sonship, the result is always death, not only death to himself, but also brings death to others.

But if a man lives in sonship, the result is always life, not only life for himself but he brings life to others.

That is why Lord Jesus He gave abundant life to others because He lived a life of Son.
Whenever He spoke to samaritan woman, he gave Life by living water.
Even when He spoke to rich man, He said leave everything there is life.

Lord Jesus is a life giver, because He is Son of Living God.

Love of the Father

      As a Son, we should know the Love of the Father.

A person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ should know that Father Loves Him.

John 16:27
No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

The fear in life comes because we dont understand how much the Father loves us and cares us.
you evil fathers know how to love your children, How much more our heavenly Father loves us.

Jesus never feared about his food, his shelter, his money, or his health.
But He knows the Love of the Father and that everything He needs comes from the Father.

How do we know we are sons of God.
Romans 8: 14 says.

 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For youhave not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

A good test whether we are son of God is Check ourselves whether Am I led by Spirit or Am I led by flesh.

A daily life reveals, 

the decisions we take in life reveals,

Our attitude to others reveals

our love to others reveals

Not a spirit of slavery of fear.

But a Spirit of adoption.

Am I led by Spirit of God.
The Son always is led b Spirit.
Also the Son looks for inheritance from the Father not from the world.
because Son knows He is heir.
Do we know we are the heirs of God.


A Son always knows the heart of the Father.

 Lord Jesus  says in John 15:19-21 that A Son can do nothing by Himself.
Father loves the Son, and the Son does exaclty what the Father does.
I always see my daughter growing up and sees that she immitates me whatever I do, she imitates me.

In Genesis 22:7
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will [a]provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
The son listened to his father and in verse 9 even after tying him up, Issac did not question hi father, but just listened and obeyed his father.
This is true sonship, If Isaac has not listened to his father and questioned him, then that would have shattered Abrahams's promise.
We many times see Abraham as Father of Faith, but we miss to see the Obedience of Isaac in understanding and listening to his Father.


A true Son always looksup to God in whatever He does. and sees the heart of God and does accordingly.

A son always does everything that the Father wanted Him to do
That is why Acts 13:22 says, David knows the heart of God, and God is giving a testimony that David always does what God wanted Him to do.

Knowing the heart of God is about knowing what it pleases God.

JOhn 5:19-21
⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

A Son is always a giver.

Today we see Christians , always keep asking.

Lord Jesus who lived as a Son, showed what it is like to live as Son of God who gives.

That is why whenever Jesus faced sinners like tax collectors, prostitutes , He always gave life not condemnation.

If we see a sinner like a prostitute we immediately condemn, but Lord Jesus who is the Son, has cared for them and showed love to them and bring them to repentance.

That is why in Luke 5:4-8, when Lord Jesus spoke to Peter initially, he didnt say you are a sinner.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

But he showed abundance of Love of the Father and in that abundance Peter repented.
Even with Samaritan woman,  He talked about living water, and then brought her to repentance.

A son always brings more sons to Heavenly Father by showing the Love of the Father and not by condemnation.

But a person who under bondage of law always condemns people and make them go more into bondage rather than making them son of God.


A Son is a care taker.

A son is not a selfish man. A son of God always care for others needs.
Today we see in our lives how many times we act so selfishly.
Lord Jesus never said this is my money, my home, my life.
Everything He has , He kept sharing all through the life.

These are the days where we complain, oh this is my money , oh this is my property.

Hebrews 12:24 says  blood of Jesus speaks better than blood of
Abel.
The blood of Abel cried out to God.
Bu the blood of Jesus Christ, made peace with God.

24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

A son takes care of others.

Let us see one example:Matthew 17:24-27
Here we see an example where Lord Jesus even paying the taxes of Peter.
Today we are so selfish in our money or any of our things, we forget about others.
But here we see a wonderful example of Lord Jesus even paying the taxes for Peter.
Because He does not earn it on his own thoughts or own ways, but He receives everything from His Father.

Even our earning when we rely on the Father , then whatever we earn we will be easily giving.
This Church is wonderful in giving, and this passage encourages us more to live in the sonship.

Matthew 17:24-27

²⁴ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

How wonderful it is to live as Son of God.
Lord Jesus Christ showed how to live as Son of God.
and now the HolySpirit in us ready to help us to walk in that Sonship that we have received.
Are we ready to walk in that SonShip?