He is on the throne...

Isaiah 6:1 (New American Standard Bible)

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

When Isaiah saw this vision, it was the time when King Uzziah had died; and perhaps a time when uncertainty and hopelessness lingered in the kingdom of Judah. And during this time Isaiah saw this vision. Many commentators of the bible say that this vision was a representation of God's holiness. Though it is very much true, an other view is that this vision was given to Isaiah to show him the sovereignty of the Lord. The Lord was seated on the throne... lofty and exalted...His train of robe filling the temple...All this is a representation of God's sovereign control over the nations and the world (and the lives of His people).

Be it a chaos in the nation or in our families or in our personal lives, all we need to know is that, the Lord is still on the throne. And when we submit our fears, worries, anxieties and uncertainties to Him, He can fill our hearts with perfect peace that He is in control...

Prayer: Lord, you are in control of my life and my circumstances. I trust you and you alone. Help me know in times of chaos, that you are in control and nothing can happen which will not be for redemptive good. In your precious name. Amen.

By looking at Him

The lessons and things we learn from our time with Christ is always towards maturity and Christ-likeness. I have heard many of them say that God has told them to do this and that and stuff like that. I am no one to judge them, yet many times I have found it hard to believe some of them. For years, the time I spent with God has been learnings to shape me more like Him. I know I have failed Him many times, yet in His love, He has never given up on me. It is so very true to experience that the Love of Christ changes us and our heart to yield to Him more...

One cannot ignore Him, His teachings or His transformations, especially those who have tasted of His love. And because we want to respond to His love, we desire to be all that He wants us to be, do all that He wants us to, live the way He wants us to...However challenging it may be...

I have many times been discouraged by the challenges I faced by being Christ-like. I have seen the results for being Christ-like not rewarded in earthly terms. For instance acts of kindness, sacrifices and unconditional love many times not acknowledged or unthankful. Yet among all these challenges, when I see the One who lived unchanged even among the fiercest challenge, I don't want to loose focus on my desire to be like Him.

For me it is in Him I want to live and move and exist (Acts 17:28)

And this is my goal and destiny...

Galatians 2:20 (New American Standard Bible)

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

And for me to live thus, I get my strength from the Word below...

Hebrews 12:3-4 (New American Standard Bible)

3.For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4.You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

Being cool spirited

It is so natural that when we are provoked, we feel like giving back a fitting reply. We feel that if we do not give back, we may appear like a fool. But as a child of God, we should know how to control our temper. Good temper is holding our tongue even when provoked...

By giving a fitting reply we may feel satisfied emotionally but we will only be exhibiting that we are less matured as a person and eventually less Christ-like. Let us see what the Word of God says, when it comes to giving a apt reply when provoked...

Proverbs 17:27 (New American Standard Bible)

He who restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Let us ask the help of the Holy Spirit of God to help us control our tongue when provoked and give us the fruit of the spirit i.e. self control; so that we become a cool spirited person like Jesus.

What do we learn?

Many times the problem with us is...we try to perceive, understand and solve our problems with our own limited knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes we are right and sometimes not. We seldom take our problem or worry that lingers in our mind and heart to God and take insight from Him. We sometimes make the mistake of figuring out a solution for the problem and ask God to make it happen. Though we may be ridiculous our heavenly Father bears with our tantrums...

At times we would seen the issue in a different direction, or would have arrived at an inappropriate solution. Or even worst, we would have perceived the issue as a problem when in reality there was no real problem at all...

That is why we need to often go to His presence to learn from Him. We need to get into the habit of sharing our thoughts, ideas, problems or issues of life with God and draw our perspectives and understanding from Him.

The psalmist in Psalm 73 faced a great dilemma when he saw that the wicked prospered while the righteous suffered. His soul was agonized with the whole issue (v.16) and he saw keeping his integrity as an unrewarded choice (v.13). But only when the Psalmist entered the sanctuary of God (i.e God's presence) did he gain a whole new perspective...

Psalms 73:16,17 (The Message)

Still, when I tried to figure it out,

all I got was a splitting headache . . .

Until I entered the sanctuary of God.

Then I saw the whole picture...

How good it will be to learn from His presence and be taught by our heavenly Father at all times, so that we would avoid unnecessary headaches and heartaches...

Why quiet time?

Some may ask why should we spend time with God, when God is with us all the time. Isn't it enough that we live in the realization of His presence? While others may say that they keep talking to God like that to a friend, whenever they are alone and get time. All this is fine. But we need to spend time with God personally...which we call prayer time or quiet time. It is not just a time to tell our concerns and worries alone or to lay before Him our prayer request. It is a time where we sit before Him to learn from Him. And give Him that opportunity to communicate to us through His Word and Spirit. It is a time where more importantly He speaks...And we listen...

Jesus says in John 6:45

It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (New International Version).

Even Jesus spent time with His Father and spoke or did things exactly what the Father wanted Jesus to do (John 8:38).

May we take time for God to speak to us...Only then we will able to be, do and live all that He wants us to...

Prioritizing our time with God

Another one reason why we may miss on time with God is lethargy or laziness. Or perhaps we fail to prioritize our time with God. Many men and women of God have by their experience shared that the day started with God (i.e by having their quite time at the beginning of the day) has been a blessing for them throughout the day. Rev. Selwyn Hughes says that time spent with God should be something where we are able to fully give ourselves to God. Only then our prayer times can be fulfilling followed by prioritizing them properly.

It doesn't matter what time we spend with God, but having a quality time with Him is important.

Proverbs 8:30 (New International Version)

I was filled with delight day after day,

rejoicing always in his presence,

This is the testimony of people who spend their time with God. The time spent with God is always refreshing, rejoicing, comforting, consoling and with guidance...

Let us always consider our time with God as an essential priority of life...

The trick of guilt

Are you aware of one main aspect in us which makes us postpone or skip our time with God? A guilty heart!!! Surprising isn't it...Yes, it is true. A soul which is guilty of some form of sin or wrong doing or failure to live up to God's expectation is less likely to maintain a steady relationship with God.

We will fail to spend time with God (i.e have our quite time) when we lie during the course of our day/ been angry with someone/ have used an abusive word or anything which will make our soul guilty. And once we are guilty, we hesitate to go before God. For we feel that we may not be accepted. We either postpone our prayer time or skip it during the day.

What we often forget is that, God is aware of our sin and our fallen nature and He expects us to come to His presence to make it right. The Lord does not desire that we struggle with our fallen nature or work it by our own efforts. The Lord is willing to cleanse, purge, and make us whole and holy as well. When Adam sinned the first thing that he did was to hide from God...

Genesis 3:9-10 (New International Version)

9.But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

When Adam realized his mistake, he hid from God, which is exactly what we do when we are lesser to God's standards. Yet, what God looks for in man is this...

Psalm 51:17 (New International Version)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise.

Whatever be the guilt we may have... a missed time with god, a harsh word spoken, an unreasonable anger vented or any worst guilt, let us go to God and learn from His presence. For it is better to be repentant in His presence than to struggle with guilt...

Parched soul...

Have you ever been in a phase where your prayer life suddenly seems to be dull and unfulfilled? You would have read the bible, said your regular prayers, done your best yet you feel that your prayer times not satisfying you?

Other scenario could be that you really was not able to spend quality time with the Lord, though you realized deep down within your heart that you missed something really bad but just kept going?

Both these scenarios sometimes come in our life to make us realize that no person or a thing can substitute for God's presence in our life. The void which we may feel in our life can be filled only by God. And if we try to substitute with other things such as work, relationships, comforts or luxuries, outings or activities, we will only land being unsatisfied.

That is why the psalmist says,

Psalm 143:6 (New International Version)

I spread out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

May the soul that thirst for the Lord be filled with the living waters...Jesus Christ

Prayer:

Lord, may my soul which is unsatisfied be filled with your presence. May you help me take time to love you and know you more. May your love and presence engulf me so much that I don't look for substitutes any more...In your precious name. Amen.

Whole-hearted devotion

One place where we often falter in our Christian walk is to remain loyal in our relationship with God. Being loyal in our relationship with God, calls for living blamelessly and being consistent in seeking Him (to know Him, love Him and do His will).

If we perceive God's will as burdensome and being in His presence as an obligation, then our knowledge and understanding of Him is not right. God wants us to enjoy His presence and do His will not with forbearance, but willingly with understanding (out of love).

While living in a relationship with God, we should go God with eagerness, longing and joy and not out of fear or obligation. At the same time living right before God should be more like a goal which we should do joyfully and willingly. This explains what whole hearted-devotion is all about...

1 Chronicles 28:9 (New International Version)

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you;

God is passionate about us and expects the same from us. He expects that we love Him, seek Him and do His will as an outflow of our love for Him. And only when we are devoted to Him wholeheartedly, will we be loyal to Him always...

Living blamelessly...

A true child of God is aware that he/she has to continually depend on God's Spirit to live right before God. For the temptations of the flesh and the pleasures of the world are quite deceptive. As we live a life depending on God's Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord alerts us when sin and temptations lurk near our hearts door. Grace is there until we make a choice. A wrong choice or move can stop the grace flowing in our lives. Many a time the Holy Spirit of the Lord do not give up on us so quickly. His gentle reminders, warnings and cautions are always there for us. He leaves us only when we continuously avoid Him, ignore His promptings and behave indifferent to Him. When He leaves us we are on our own, though we may wrongly assume that we have the grace of God and God's favor for us...

That is why the psalmist prayed...

Psalm 19:13 (New International Version)

Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

This need to be our constant prayer if we are to live blamelessly in our everyday life. There was once a man of God who prayed everyday during his prayer time, "Lord, is there anything in my life which is stopping your grace to flow in today? Please show it to me Lord." If the Spirit of God gently showed him any form of sin, wrong attitude or choice, the man would quickly and sincerely repent (and take the right action where required). This helped him to live right before God.

May each one of us too make it a habit to live right before God- blameless...

Steadfast in Him

Living blamelessly often is a challenge. To guard our hearts and minds well, we need to do only one thing. Our heart should be steadfast towards God. Many assume that they are strong enough to live a Godly life. However, that is a deception. Only God can help us live blamelessly as we depend on Him, and seek His help to live thus.

Psalm 51:10 (New International Version)

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

King David was one person who was aware of this truth. That is why he prayed the above prayer...

When our heart is steadfast toward God, we will make every conscious effort to live a life blameless before God, for we realize our God is Holy and He will not tolerate sin. As His child, we will not do any wrong deliberately which will make us fall from His grace and presence.