Believing enough

It is not difficult for us to believe, the miraculous healing or provision or any other miraculous intervention, the Lord bought in the lives of the people during His time on earth. We rejoice when we read that Jesus healed the blind man, the leper, deaf, mute and various other diseases. We are amazed to see His feeding the five thousand, or provision of manna and water in the desert. But when it comes to our need and provisions in our life, do we believe that He is able to do the same, what He did for them.

Yes, Jesus is able to do now what He did to the people of His times or even before. For He is the same today, tomorrow and forever more. But we need to have that faith and confess that He is able to do so. For it is our faith that can move the hand of God.

Heb 11:6 (NIV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God...

Matthew 9:28-29 (NIV)
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord" they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith it will be done to you"

Jesus waiting to see us demonstrate our faith. And it will be done according to our faith in every matter of life. Amen.

What He is able

In our day to day lives, we face many kind of pressures or stress because of work or people or issues that may crop up in our life. Sometimes these worries or stress can weary us down. And when we go to God in prayer, we pour out our heart complaining about the things that worry us so much. Sometimes we forget that God is in control, that He cares for us more than we believe Him to. When we fail to have a right perpective about God, our problem or stress looks bigger than our God. We go on complaining, worrying and speaking negative, rather than thanking Him that He is more concerned about us and will not allow anything to happen which we fear or worry.

Surely we will not expect anything negative or bad to happen to us. When we ourselves do not wish for a negative outcome, will the Lord allow such a thing? Unless we understand the true nature of our Savior, we will never be able to see by faith what He is has planned for us. And when we can't see by faith the solution for our stress or problem, the burden of that stress or problem will keep lingering in our hearts and minds.

Let us always bring to our heart who He is and what is able to do for us.

Isa 41:10 (NIV)
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We can take God at His Word, for He is sure to keep it. Amen.

The Master's Work

It is so difficult for many of us to remain doing nothing. For we want to keep engaged ourselves in activities so that we feel good physically and mentally. But some times the Lord brings us into situations where we have nothing to do. We may try our best efforts to look for some kind of work or activity, but we may not succeed in doing any of them. The Lord brings such circumstances into His children's life for a reason. This is a phase where the Lord wants us to be prepared by learning a lot more from His Word and our experience, to do His work in the future. We may not be aware what kind of work the Lord will engage us in the future, but this phase which He allows is the time of preparation for His great work which He has got for us ahead.

The Word of God says,
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

There is a time for rest and learn and a time to work for God. This we need to understand. The lord will not engage us in any work without making us undergo sufficient training. Take heart, if you are going through this phase, you have a great work ahead. And the Master is preparing you for His task. Amen.

Grace for righteous living

Rev. Selwyn Hughes says, that the grace of God is available to all God's children, to live a life pleasing God every moment of their lives. Whether we take that grace or ignore it, is our responsibility. For instance, when we are angry or upset, we can choose to handle the whole issue, by asking God of His grace to handle it in a Christ-like manner or we can handle it based on our emotions and thought process.

When we handle any problem or issue through the grace of God, the Lord will help us by bringing to our mind, the correct way of reasoning. Our emotions will be calmed and decisions made right with an appropriate attitude.

Let us always learn to depend on God for His grace, even for the tiniest matter or issue we may face in our day to day living...

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

Grace to stand & follow

If we try to live a righteous and holy by our strength, then we are sure to fail. This is because just having noble and righteous motives are not enough to live thus. We need to have the grace of God to live righteously with holiness. People who have tried to follow the Bible on their own strength, are the ones who have failed miserably. And have given up Christ-centered living believing it as hard. But people who have understood the full worth of God's grace, are the ones who have realized, that a righteous and holy life in the Lord can be lived only by receiving the sufficient grace from the Lord.

Rev. Selwyn Hughes says when God gives us a holy command He also provides us with the sufficient grace to follow it. It is up to us whether we depend on God to give us the grace to follow them or try to do with our own self-achieving attitude.

Apostle Peter testifies about this grace in 1 Pet 5:12 (NIV)
...I have written you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

So let us depend on God's grace to be all that we have to be, to do all that is required of us and to live spotlessly and blamelessly for the One who called us by His grace.

Convinced of His love

If you have wondered in your heart why you should follow the Bible? Why should you stick to Biblical principles in your life? Then perhaps you are one among those who believe that following God and His ways as written in His Word (the Bible) are hard.

People who want to live by God's Word by following God's commandments and applying bibilical principles in their lives, are the ones who fully realize the value of the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross for them. They are ones who are born-again by God's Spirit, who have set their heart to please God in every step and walk of life. Those folks are God's children who have experienced God's love, His forgiveness, His grace and blessings so much in their lives that they try live their best for Christ(through the grace of God).

That is why there are able to say like Apsostle Paul that the love of Christ compels them to live a life pleasing God.

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NIV)
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

Are you someone who want to live for Christ by following God and His ways as written in His Word? If your heart is set to do thus, it is because of the love of Christ which compels you to do so...

Praise God for He helped us taste Him and His love for us because of which we are determined to do all that He wants us to. Amen.

Am I following?

When a person enrolls in a game, one will have to abide by the rules. Anyone who does not follow rules, is not fit for the game; so it is, when we accept Jesus in our lives. We cannot afford to just receive His blessings and not abide by His rules. His rules which we find it in His word (the Bible)are essential for us to live a life in Him. For the Word of God is given for us to be taught, corrected and trained in righteousness.

2 Tim 3:16 (NIV)
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Let us not take the grace of God for granted which has been given to us freely. But be committed to Christ to live for Him. We need to read God's Word everyday to know Him personally and His ways. Only then will we be able to follow Him in every step of our life. Then we shall continue to live in Him and not be disqualified...

Colossians 2:6 (NIV)
So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him