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He Will Rejoice Over You

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

God is with you if you have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life. There never need arise any doubt or second thoughts about it. The very purpose of Jesus coming into this world and dying for each one of us was to bridge the gap between God and man. That God may be with us always. And so He is with us.

He is a God who is mighty to save. Salvation comes from God alone. He is a God who alone can save us from disasters that threaten to overwhelm us. There need arise no doubt about God’s power to save. The pages of the Bible amply demonstrate the awesome might of God which He displayed on behalf of His children on numerous occasions.

There is no need to doubt the fact that God delights in us. It is the Devil who sows doubts in our mind about God’s love for us. God is delighted with His children because they are being transformed into the likeness and image of His Son Jesus. Let us be happy and joyful that God delights in us.

Like a mother taking an infant child into her arms and quieting the child by her loving care, God takes delight in us and quiets us with His love that overflows for us.

God wants us to rest securely in His comforting arms that uphold and strengthen us. Like a mother singing lullabies, God will rejoice over you, His resting child, with singing. This is the privilege of God’s children. It includes you!
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God’s Word: A Lamp and a Light

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105 NIV).

We carry lamps so that we may light it when darkness comes. God’s word is the light that makes our traveling in a dark world easy. Therefore we have to carry God’s word in our hearts.

A heart empty of God’s word cannot hope for light when its path leads through dark tunnels in this world.

Darkness can never be wished away. Only light can pierce the darkness and show you the way you should go. Moreover light illumines for you the obstacles and dangers in your path, that you may not stumble and fall. So light points you the way and also helps you avoid wrong footsteps.

Unless the light of God’s word has been stored up in your heart during days when clear skies and sunshine made you happy; you cannot expect it to shine light to your path during dark and cloudy days.

Therefore for this word of God to become meaningful for you, the Word of God should be richly stored up and treasured as precious in your heart. It is then that it shines as a lamp to your feet and a light for your path.

The more you have the Word of God piled up in your heart, the more intense and piercing will be the light that shines from it. There are people who stumble and fall even when they have lamps just because the light was feeble.

Let us take care to avoid such mistakes. Let our lights shine brightly. Let us seek to store up God’s Word in rich abundance in our heart that its light may truly be bright, continuing and blazing.
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For the Eyes of the Lord

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war (2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV).

King Asa was a good king who did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord. In the tenth year of his reign a great and mighty army had marched against him, but he relied on God and God gave him victory. Moreover there was rest from war till the thirty-fifth year of his reign.

In the next year (the thirty-sixth year), Baasha king of Israel went up to attack his kingdom. Even though Asa had so far trusted in his God; this time he relied on an enemy king and made a treaty with him. It was then that God sent Hanani the seer to Asa and told him this message.

It is good to have a good beginning in life. But it is more important that we continue to be good till the very end. Having trusted God and thus having gained victories yesterday is good. But what use it is today, if we do not rely on God for today’s needs.

King Asa did right things before God. God also had given him victory over his enemies when he had cried out to Him. God also gave peace and rest during his reign. Yet he forgot God and would not seek His help during a fresh crisis in life.

How often are we like this king. We make a good beginning by trusting God. But absence of trouble make us forget God who gave us peace and rest. And at the first sign of trouble we rush to rely on people; even at times rely on the enemies of God.

Let us at all times trust in God who seeks to strengthen hearts fully committed to Him. Otherwise, we will be committing foolishness and inviting war into our lives where peace had once reigned!
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Stand Before Me in the Gap

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV).

God looks for a man. But He finds none. God looks for a man who will yield to Him. Just one person, who will plead on behalf of the land and its people that God may have mercy on His people.

But often God finds none. Then God is compelled to pour out His wrath on the people and consume them in His fiery anger.

But if God had found a man who wholeheartedly pleaded for God’s mercy to be shown to His people, God would have spared the land and its people from His fury. This is amazing because God is not asking for multitudes, neither is He asking for a small group.

He is simply asking for one man to take the burden upon His shoulders–to stand in the gap and pray! His is the work of rebuilding the ruins. And when he finds a gap that cannot be closed; his is the work of standing there to intercede!

“But, what can one man do?” you may ask. One man truly in earnest pleading for God’s mercy can change the course of history. One man who would dare to stand before God and ask for His forgiving mercy for His people is enough to shape the destiny of God’s people.

God is not asking for a man who would do exploits. God is not asking for a great and handsome preacher, nor is He asking for some great organizer of events.

God is seeking for one; who hidden from the eyes of others can weep and plead for God’s mercy. God is seeking one man to whose plea for mercy He can listen to. Can you be that one man?
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Set No Vile Thing Before Your Eyes

I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing (Psalm 101:2b,3a NIV).

Home is the place where all religion is tested. It is the place where all our piety and all our confession of faith is tried. If a man fails to live up to his religion at his home, he has failed everywhere, even though he may be counted as an angel outside.

You may be a saint in the eyes of your local Church and even in the eyes of the world. But only if you live up to this reputation at home can you be truly counted a saint in God’s eyes.

Unfortunately, those that are called saints outside are terrors in their homes. They act as if they are so close to God when they are in the company of fellow-believers.

But once they are left alone in the company of their family, then their hearts seem to go all black and their mouths spit out venomous words.

King David made a decision to walk blamelessly not only outside his home, but inside as well. He also added that he will not keep any vile thing before his eyes.

More than ever before in the history of the world, we Christians have to watch out for what we have put up to see in our homes. Through magazines, television and the internet, many wicked thoughts and pictures are propagated widely these days. We may not be able to prevent the spread of these. But trusting in God we can certainly not store and keep such wicked literature and pictures in our homes.

Removing such vile things from before our eyes is pleasing in God’s eyes. This is the only way to walk with blameless heart in our home. This is also the key to keep walking with God.
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And David Knew that the Lord Had Established

And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel(1 Chronicles 14:2 NIV).

God does not keep His children in the dark for long with matters concerning His will for their lives. To the man who seeks God’s will in all matters of his life, God reveals His will. Not only does God reveal His will but also confirms it by happenings that follow.

Now David had become king over the whole of Israel. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David. Along with them, stonemasons and carpenters were also sent to build a palace for David. Then David realized that God had established him as king over Israel.

This is God’s way of working with those who love Him wholeheartedly. He makes things happen according to His will for them. But He also makes sure that His servants understand that the happenings in their lives are according to His perfect will.

There is no reason why God should confirm what He has already accomplished. But God knows how much our human hearts are in need of encouragement. So He makes other agencies to work to make His will clearly known and confirmed to His servants.

Here, in David’s case, a gentile king is moved by God to send help to David to build him a palace. The king needed a palace. And God sent help.

But it actually accomplished more: This act confirmed for David the fact that God had indeed made him king. You can always expect God’s confirming act to make you doubly sure of His will.
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Man’s Evil Heart; and God’s Grieving Heart

The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (Genesis 6:5,6 NIV).

When we sin, God’s heart is filled with pain. We should realize that it hurts God much when we indulge in sinful pleasures. Sin causes grief to God’s heart. It becomes unbearable when the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil all the time.

Let us examine our hearts. Let us search our thoughts. How many of them are pleasing to God? We will be surprised to note that a vast majority of our thoughts are evil in God’s eyes. We have to check our thoughts often to find out whether the inclination of them are towards evil or not.

We often sin when we are alone. We encourage ourselves by saying that no one sees when we do wrong. But here it clearly states that God sees our wickedness. He takes note especially when the wickedness that we do is great.

The very fact that God sees should make us measure our thoughts and see that it is not wicked but pleasing to God. To cause pain to God’s heart we do not need to do evil actions. Our very harboring of evil thoughts fills God’s heart with pain.

God has given us life that it may be spend wisely in fear of God. But when we use this gift of God to indulge in wicked thoughts it grieves the heart of God.

Let us examine our thoughts. Let us discard evil thoughts and inclinations from our heart and not cause pain to God. Let us strive for a pure heart that pleases God.
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Where Is the Whitewash When the Wall Collapses?

When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” (Ezekiel 13:12 NIV).

In this passage, God is denouncing the false prophets of Israel. Instead of proclaiming God’s message, these false prophets were making the people of God believe in lies.

They caused the people of Israel to go astray by proclaiming peace to them when God had not commanded peace. In such manner these prophets deceived the people.

Now God compares these acts of the false prophets to whitewashing a flimsy wall when it is built. A flimsy wall doesn’t have any strength. It will fall when the smallest force is applied against it.

But the false prophets whitewash even the flimsy walls. This is done so that the wall will have a false appearance of beauty and strength. This is again done to deceive the people.

People may and can be deceived. But you cannot deceive God, however clever your deception may appear to be. There has always been false prophets coming to deceive God’s people.

They will come proclaiming peace and prosperity even to those who sin endlessly and have no thoughts of God. Such an act can be compared to whitewashing a flimsy wall.

We have to guard ourselves against such false prophets who do not rebuke us for our wrongs, but encourage us to deceive God.

Let us not allow anyone to whitewash our walls when it has no strength; for God will make it collapse in the day of His wrath. But let us make our walls strong in God’s truth. Let us refuse to be deceived.
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The Word of the Lord Came; Preach Against Nineveh

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:1,2 NIV).

The word of the Lord should come before we can preach. We cannot and should not dare to preach when there has not come to us any word from the Lord. For it is God who gives us the ability to communicate His Word. And we should listen when it comes.

You may ask, “Does God speak to us in like manner as He did talk to the prophets of old?” The answer is both “yes” and “no.” God is the same. He changes not. So He can talk to us as He did talk to the prophets.

But times have changed. He has given us His Word in the form of the Bible to us. And God often chooses to speak through His Word to us.

Therefore it is important for us to be in constant communion with the Bible if we want to hear God speak to us. As we keep reading God’s Word prayerfully, we shall hear God speak to us through the words in it.

But we cannot change what He speaks to us. For example, here the message is to preach against the great city of Nineveh. We cannot change that. The only course of action open to us is to obey it.

It means that we have to have an open mind to listen to what God speaks. It also means that we have to have a willing heart to obey what God says.

Let us therefore be ready to hear God’s word and willing to act when it comes. It is this combination of listening and obeying that is much valued in God’s sight.
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A Throne Will Be Established

In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it–one from the house of David–one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness (Isaiah 16:5 NIV).

Can you dream of a throne from where love shall abound and flow over. Usually a throne represents power and pride.

But here we are told of a throne whose guiding principle is much different from what we have understood. It tells of a kingdom of love.

The throne will be established. It means that nothing is going to uproot it. It will stand firm. For nothing can conquer or overthrow love.

On this throne of love, in faithfulness a man will sit on it. He will be one from the house of David. This cannot but be a clear reference to Jesus, the Son of David.

It means that one day in the future, Jesus will reign on earth. He will remain true to the principle of His throne–the principle of love.

But this love is not weak-willed emotionalism. It is strong. This love will be coupled together with justice. And He will speed the cause of righteousness. It all means that there will be a great atmosphere of love. On this platform justice will reign. And the kingdom will abound in righteousness.

When we start to lose heart on seeing the power struggles between nations and within kingdoms, let us look forward to the day when in love a throne will be established. And seeing it with the eye of faith let us be filled with hope.

The world is moving towards this throne. At the backstage God is making its time ready. Let us look forward to it.
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Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8 NIV).

Many people think that to please God they need to make great sacrifices. Sacrifices do have their place in practical Christianity. But thinking that God places a greater value on sacrifices than many other virtues is wrong.

And through this passage God makes it very clear that He values many other things more than sacrifices.

God requires His people to act justly. This is very important. In the present world, we find many people acting unjustly. This is because people are very selfish and not concerned about the welfare of fellow human beings.

People are willing to do anything to make sure that their place and fortune is secure. But God demands that whatever we do, we do it justly.

God requires His people to love mercy. We easily make harsh judgments on others without trying to understand the motives behind their words and actions.

We never try to look into the difficult circumstances that might have made a person act in a wrong manner. But God wants us to show mercy to people. Only then will He be merciful to us too.

God requires His people to walk humbly with Him. We cannot find a greater example of humility than that of Jesus giving up all His glory in heaven to be born into this earth as a human being; as a servant of men. Let us follow His example.

Only those who are humble can walk with God. And what a privilege it is to walk with God!
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Joyful in God When Fig Tree Does Not Bud

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour (Habakkuk 3:17,18 NIV).

To rejoice in God needs no support from favorable circumstances. Even when circumstances are unfavorable we can rejoice in God.

This is possible only when you realize the fact that no circumstance can change your relationship with God. He is your Savior no matter whatever the circumstances may prove to be. This unchanging nature of our relationship with God is the foundation for our joy in God.

This truth remains unchanging in a fast moving and rapidly changing world. This is the secret of a joyful Christian life.

Here, the prophet paints for us a picture of barrenness and utter desolation. Yet against this background of emptiness, the prophet paints the picture of joy. People may say such joy is impossible.

But a person who has truly found his joy in God understands that his joy is found in the eternal relationship with God as Savior and it is independent of poor or rich circumstances he finds himself in from time to time.

It is true that the loss of material benefits and possessions can cause a lot of concern. But it is equally true that a child of God need not allow such circumstances to diminish his joy in God.

Happy and blessed is the man who has learned to rejoice in God even in the face of adverse circumstances.
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Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5,6 NIV).

To trust in the Lord with ALL your heart is the key to unlock God’s miracles on your behalf. Some people are willing to trust God partly and not fully. They have the wrong thinking that God is only able to take care of their needs in some areas of their lives and not in all areas. This is wrong.

Trust in God should include all aspects of our lives. Otherwise it cannot be called trust. Where trust is there, doubt cannot and will not exist. Where even a small portion of doubt remains, trust cannot be full and final.

Again, our understanding is at its very best limited. We are never certain of what is going to happen the next moment in our lives. Only God has the key to this knowledge. So it is quite logical to trust fully in the One who knows our future.

Not only does He know our future, but also He is more than willing to guide us along the right paths. Even then if we fail to acknowledge God in ALL our ways and lean on our understanding alone, it invites disaster.

Acknowledging God means to accept that God knows what is best for us. It means that we seek God’s guidance in all that we undertake to do. It means that we are ready to obey what He commands us to do with a willing and cheerful heart.

If we acknowledge God in ALL our ways, God will be glad to make ways for us that take us to our desired goals and destinations in life. Not only will God be with us, He will guide us every moment of our journeys.

What we thought to be rough and crooked He will make straight.
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Wonders and Miracles

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted (Job 9:10 NIV).

Wonders are that happenings that cause us to be surprised. Miracles likewise make us stand amazed because it often contradicts known scientific facts. Job says that such events from God abound.

He adds that you cannot keep track of such acts from God since they are too many. Most of them defy our logic and understanding and are too much for the human mind to comprehend.

Have we thought about the wonderful miracles that God performs for us everyday? You may say, “But we don’t see miracles everyday. They happen only very rarely.” Miracles do happen daily. We do not see them because we take them for granted.

A small change in our attitude can help us to see the wonders that God does for us all around and at all times.

Let me ask you a simple question. “Is your living now a miracle?” What is your answer to this? We live because of God’s mercy. And only because He sustains us by His mighty hand.

It takes only a moment for life to depart from a body, due to expected and unexpected events in life. In this modern world with a lot of dangers, isn’t it truly a wonder that God keeps us safe every moment of our lives?

Think about the providence of God day by day in our lives. Think about how He cares for us and meets our daily needs. Think about the help He gives us through people provided for us at the right place at the right time. Think about His forgiveness. Think about new beginnings.

Start thanking God for the little miracles of life!
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Time for Paneled Houses?

Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? (Haggai 1:4 NIV).

The Lord’s house was remaining in ruins. Nobody seemed to care about this situation. Then God Himself calls the attention of the people to this pathetic condition through the prophet.

God questions them about priorities. He tells the people that it is not right for the people to live in paneled houses in luxurious style when the house of God remained neglected and in ruins.

God also asks the people to give careful thought to their ways and pointed to the meager harvest and lack of food, drink, warmth and wages as a direct consequence of the neglect of the house of God.

Neglect of the house of God was bad enough. But worse was the condition when people took best care of themselves and their houses without caring for God’s business.

Therefore the people were dissatisfied in all things they undertook to do. Moreover God’s blessings were withdrawn from the people.

Let us take stock of our lives. Are we like the Israelites? Do we give first priority to our needs in life and give last priority to God’s business? Are blessings in our lives dried up because we have neglected God and His kingdom?

If at all we have neglected God and His kingdom, let us turn back to God. Let us start building for God’s kingdom. Let us not allow the work of God suffer due to our neglect. Let us give first priority to God’s cause and be blessed!
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The Making of the Golden Calf Idol

He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4 NIV).

Moses was called by God to go up the mountain and to stay there. God told him that there He will give him the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments that He had written for their instruction.

The Bible records that Moses was with God forty days and forty nights.

At the same time in the camp of the Israelites a lot of evil things were happening. The people came and asked Aaron to make gods to go before them. The reason that they gave was that they did not know what happened to Moses who had led them out of Egypt.

Aaron instead of telling them that it was wrong to create idols, gave in to their pressure and fashioned an idol cast in the shape of a calf.

What stands out is the fact that when God is not worshipped, idols step in to take its place. The people could not do without God. So they substituted the golden calf for God. When God is removed from our heart a vacuum cannot exist. It will be filled with something else.

It could be some person, some material blessing or some object of our affection that takes the form of an idol. We will be careful not to worship real idols but we will not be careful about such virtual idol worship which is sin.

In this modern world such virtual idols abound. And we knowingly or unknowingly carry them in our hearts and bow down to them. Let us be careful that we do not sin in such manner and thus dishonor God whom we worship. It is time to pull out idols from our heart and destroy them.
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Sacrifice that Costs Nothing!

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:24 NIV).

King David sinned against God by ordering to count the number of Israelites. God was angry and He sent Gad the seer to David with three options of punishment to be carried out.

David had to choose one among them. He chose to fall into the hands of the Lord saying that God’s mercy is great.

70,000 people died in Israel as a result of David’s sin. And when the angel of God entrusted to carry out the punishment reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite God asked the angel to stop the destruction. Then David said to God that he was the one who had sinned and not the people, and therefore to take away the punishment.

Gad was then asked by the angel to tell David to build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

David went in obedience to God’s command to build an altar and asked Araunah to sell the field at its full price. But Araunah insisted that David take all that was needed free of cost.

But David said that he cannot take for the Lord what is somebody else’s property. He also added that he cannot make a sacrifice that costs him nothing. So David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the site.

Though King, David chose not to use his office to freely get the site for the sacrifice. It teaches us that we cannot worship God fully until we truly offer what is ours sacrificially. Worship therefore involves sacrifice.
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Let There Be Light

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:3,4 NIV).

God is the source of all light. All light comes from Him. In Him there is no darkness at all. When the earth was filled with darkness, it did not reflect the glory of God.

Therefore God said that there be light and there was light.

Since this was the first utterance of God, we can guess the importance that God has placed on light. There are many properties of light that teaches us spiritual truths.

Light drives away darkness. No amount of cursing will drive darkness away. Light has to be introduced to get rid of darkness.

Even a small match light can dispel darkness. Greater the light, the greater will be the portion of darkness removed.

Light and darkness cannot coexist. Where there shines a light, darkness cannot occupy that space. A place can be dark or can be filled with light. You cannot have light and darkness at one place at the same time. That is why God separated the light from the darkness.

As Christians, we are children of the light. Therefore we should strive and seek to exhibit the properties of light. We should love light and try to reflect God’s light in and through our lives. As light brings glory to God and reflects His glory, let us truly reflect God’s light in this world.

Finally, light always conquers darkness. This is a truth that should encourage us to live godly lives in this world. Let us thus partake in the conquest of light. Light always wins.
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Words of My Mouth; Meditation of My Heart

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14 NIV).

Words can encourage. It can also discourage. Words can heal. It can also wound. Words can foster friendship. It can also cause enmity.

Therefore words have to be chosen carefully while speaking. Or else harm that was never intended would result from the speaking of careless words.

If words should be spoken with care in front of men, how much more should we take care when speaking before God. In fact, whatever we speak is heard by God. This is a solemn thought.

If we are conscious of this fact, we will take care to speak thoughtfully and not use unnecessary and careless words. Then our words would bring healing, comfort, joy and encouragement to the one who listens.

The mouth can only speak what the heart thinks. In the silence of our hearts we think and meditate. Meditation implies deep thought.

Even though no man can hear what our meditations are, it is audible to God since He searches our hearts and nothing is hidden before Him.

David here prays that both his speech and innermost thoughts be pleasing in God’s sight. Only if our intention is to please God at all times can our speech and thought be clean and without sin.

This is a difficult task. For we often forget that we belong to our Redeemer. And we think very bad thoughts and speak without any restraint.

Let us take care to remember that God is our Rock. He is almighty. Let us fear Him and be pleasing to Him in thought and speech.
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Dedication, House of God, Celebration, Joy

Then the people of Israel–the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles–celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy (Ezra 6:16 NIV).

The Book of Ezra speaks of the group of people who returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. They found the land in ruins. But they were most sad that the temple of God was destroyed and now lay in ruins.

Are we concerned with such concern about the Church of God–the body of Jesus Christ?

Now the small group who returned; with a united and joyful heart began rebuilding the temple of God. And as with any true work for God’s glory, this great work was opposed by enemies.

But they could only delay the work. God was with His children and they were enabled to complete building the temple of God.

And then the people celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. We have to understand that any accomplishment for God’s glory is to be appropriately accompanied by joy. It best describes the fellowship we have with God.

These people were enabled by God to rebuild the temple. They had contributed willingly and sacrificially to the building of the same. God had destroyed the plans of the enemies who opposed the building of the temple. They had accomplished this with a united heart. These were great reasons for joy.

Let us also examine our hearts at such historic moments in the life of our families and churches, and find out the reasons for our joy; and be full of joy!
—
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The Spirit of God Was Hovering

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2 NIV).

When a man turns to Christ and accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, there is a certain condition that prevails before his acceptance. It is similar to the condition described in this verse. The heart of such a man would be formless and empty and darkness would prevail.

And then the conversion happens. It is the work of the Spirit of God. Just before the conversion, the Spirit of God would be hovering over his heart; preparing his heart to yield to the love of God. This is the work of preparation; a labor of love.

Formlessness and emptiness and darkness do not prevent God from working His miracles. The process of creation is not hindered by such negative circumstances. The Spirit of God keeps hovering over the hearts of repentant sinners. The conditions described here would dishearten men; but not God.

Again, the hovering over the waters should mean that a definite time of preparation is necessary for God to work. A man has to be receptive to the gospel if he should find God. Sometimes it takes time to prepare his heart to be ready to accept God into his heart and life.

Perhaps the darkness in a man’s heart may need a constant hovering of the Spirit of God to break into it with light. Maybe the constant hovering is needed to fill the emptiness with Christ; and turn formlessness to God’s likeness!
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In the Beginning God Created

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 NIV).

It is truly appropriate that the Bible begins with this verse about the beginning. If this verse were not there we would have been at a loss to know how every thing began.

It is encouraging to note that everything began with God.

Here God is the great Creator. There is nothing in the whole of creation that has not been created by God. God delighted in creation showing to us that God is a very creative Person.

There is great power associated with God; because without it creation is impossible.

It also means that without God there cannot exist any of the created things. God is central and essential for creation to exist. Without God there is no creation at all.

God began by creating the heavens and the earth. This is quite interesting. He first of all created His home–the heavens. And added to it man’s home–the earth. It reveals to us the very personal and loving nature of our God.

Note also the absence of Hell. God had no plan to create Hell. It must have been a later addition to punish the disobedient.

God’s purposefulness in creation is also seen here. He had a definite plan and purpose in creation. Otherwise He would have created everything all at once.

It means that God loves order and planning. He is not a God of confusion. And all things began with God. Praise God!

It is good for man on earth to think of heaven often for both heaven and earth were created in the beginning. But if God dwells in human hearts now; it is heaven on earth!
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The Lord Is My Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want (Psalm 23:1 NIV).

Can we hope for a better shepherd? No. Because the Lord is the best of all. Why is He qualified to be our shepherd? It is because He is our Creator.

He is the one who laid down His life for His flock. And He knows and calls each of His flock by name.

He cares for His flock. He is sensitive to their each need. He protects them from wild animals and from thieves who climb secretly into the fold. They enter through some other way than the gate to “steal and kill and destroy.”

He gently leads His flock. He finds green pastures for them to feed and still waters to quench their thirst. In times of rest He gives them His sweet fellowship and company. And the sheep find safety in His presence.

The sheep are never in need. All their needs are immediately understood by this Great shepherd and are taken care of from the bounteous supply from the royal throne.

The sheep never lose their way. Because He himself leads them out clearing the path in front of them. The sheep quietly follow Him because the shepherd has earned their trust.

Whenever a sheep is wounded, the shepherd takes it in His arms and applies His healing balm and tenderly cares for it.

And when a sheep strays from the flock, He goes in search and brings it back by carrying it on His powerful shoulders. And there is much rejoicing.

Happy is the man who can say of his God that He is MY Shepherd. There is no greater possession than this!
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God Knows the Way; Tested as Gold

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10 NIV).

Gold is precious. It is beautiful. It is of great value. It is cherished by one and all. Why is this so?

The reason is not difficult to find. Pure gold is got by having it passed through the fire. All impurities would be gone when it is tested in the fire. What remains is pure gold.

Therefore, it is the testing by fire that determines what is gold and what is impure and separates the two.

Job is here in distress. Nobody seems to understand his agony. Even God seems to be far away from Him. Yet he loses not his faith in God. Job perceives that his suffering is not without a purpose.

He shows his wisdom when he says that God knows the way he moves. He is in effect saying that there is a purpose in all the misery that has fallen on him; though at this point of time he has not understood its significance.

Here we also see another aspect that comforts Job. He is sure that there is a definite end to the testing. He knows that when God has done His work the testing will stop. He knows that the end result of all this will be glorious.

Just as the impurities are removed from gold while it is passed through the fires, the testing of him will end in his highest good. Out of the fires of his affliction, he knows, will emerge a better Job purged of all dross and impurities.

Like gold being used to make beautiful jewels and ornaments, Job coming out of the severe testing will be used by God to display His splendor and wisdom. This Job will have the luster of gold.
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Train a Child in the Way

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6 NIV).

Training a child is very important. These are his formative years and what he learns in childhood is what he will follow till the day of his death.

Habits that are formed when one is a child remain strong till the very end. Therefore training given during childhood is very crucial in determining what he or she will become in the future.

In the modern world, so much emphasis is given to achieving success by any means. Unless the child is trained to aim for greatness by following the truths of God, he shall fall a victim to the pursuit of success by any means.

If parents desire the eternal welfare of their child’s soul, such a reckless pursuit has to be avoided at all costs.

What if a child is not trained? An untrained child is like a neglected plot of ground. Over the years, weeds will grow and spread in it. It will become the habitation of all evil creatures.

People will dump all their waste into this land. Moreover nothing productive will grow in this land because all the good in it has been used up by weeds and unwanted growth.

A trained child will be like a well-planned plot of ground, cultivated and yielding much fruit. There will be discipline in his or her life and there will be order and beauty and excellence in all that he or she does.

For achieving this result parents have to invest a lot of their time, energy and prayers during the childhood of their children. This is the wisdom that the Word of God teaches. Happy and blessed are those parents who take this to heart and train their children. The result of this will be joy and honor.
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The Plans God Has for You

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”(Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

It is of great comfort to know that we are here on earth not by accident. We are here because God knew that we will be here on earth. He knows the plans for our life.

And if we trust in God He will bring His plans for our life to fulfillment. This you need never doubt.

Many times we think that God is against us. Even when we say that we trust in God, in our innermost hearts, somewhere in a remote corner, we harbor the thought that God is not working on our behalf.

This is sin. We have to get rid of such negative and destructive thoughts. You may ask, “Why?”

The answer is found here. God’s plan for us are for our good. He wants to prosper us. God never wants to harm us in any way. Therefore let us believe it and take it earnestly to our hearts. Then we shall begin to prosper. God is not limited by our circumstances.

Here, through prophet Jeremiah, this message is given to God’s children who are in captivity and in exile. Even in this situation God can work for our good. He knows the future plans He has for us. He proclaims that there is hope in our future. This you need never doubt.

You need not look at threatening circumstances and conclude that all is lost. Even if it was sin on your part that had destroyed everything you can still have a future by turning to God in repentance.

You can take comfort in the fact that God holds the key to your future. And you can be assured that your future hope will never be cut off.
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A Watchman

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me (Ezekiel 33:7 NIV).

A watchman may have the lowest rank in the list of a king’s soldiers. But in importance this post is key to the safety of the king and his subjects.

A watchman has to keep watch vigilantly when the city is quiet in sleep. Or even during day time he has to be alert to see any danger coming from any direction. So the post demands faithfulness in one’s duty and constant vigilance at all times.

Any small lapse in duty can result in great danger to the watchman personally and to the people of the city at large. It can cause utter destruction and doom.

The watchman’s main duty is to warn the king and the people of any coming danger. If he fails in his duty everyone’s life is in great danger. And he will be held personally responsible for the loss.

God is using here the picture of a watchman. In fact, in God’s eyes, each believer is a watchman. We are supposed to hear God’s word and give warning to our fellowmen. We have to warn them to turn from their wicked ways and repent and turn to God.

If we do not warn them, God will hold us accountable for their blood. We cannot escape this responsibility because God has called each one of us to be a watchman.

Let us realize the great responsibility that God has placed on us. Let us warn the people that they may be saved. They may not like it; they may not accept it or even they may laugh us off. Yet let us do our duty. It is to warn!
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Trust in God When Afraid

When I am afraid, I will trust in you (Psalm 56:3 NIV).

Not one man on earth can claim that he has never been afraid in his life. Whether the reason for fear is reasonable or not, man is full of fear during many moments in his lifetime.

David describes here the simple and most effective counter action to this fear: Trust in God!

You cannot predict when you are going to be afraid next. Sometimes some surprise incidents take place in our life; quite suddenly and without warning. Sometimes these incidents shock us and make us tremble with fear. So, fear is a possibility that we may encounter any time in life.

David says that whatever time or stage of life fear comes in, he has one and the same solution to all of them: Trust in God. He knows that God is bigger than his fear. He understands that focussing on God will destroy the fear within him and give him courage to move on.

The Christian life is a realistic one. It does not run away from life’s realities. But it faces them honestly. Fear is something that can come into our lives. It can affect the way we think and even change the way we behave.

But there is no need for us to be dominated by fear because we have God with us. And when we put our trust in Him, fears loose their power to hold us in bondage.

One type of fear that David has in mind here specifically is the fear of other men. Many times men hunt others down; often physically, and sometimes emotionally.

But David sees trust in God as an effective medicine to cure this ill. It works even for those worse affected by fear. This trust is something that no man or fear can destroy!
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God Will Not Despise

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:17 NIV).

We think often in terms contrary and opposite to what God thinks. We have the mistaken notion that we cannot approach God when we are not in our very best.

What a wrong thing it is to stay away from God, when God bids us to draw near Him.

We are ashamed to stand before God with a broken heart, broken dreams and shattered hopes. Yet God despises them not. He knows that it is in this valley of sorrow that our pride is broken and shattered. Thus we learn to be meek.

And then there is nothing we can be proud of. Nothing to hold on to. Nothing to display as our success. It is then that our heart is truly broken due to our sinfulness. It is then that the time is ripe to meet God.

Offering the broken heart to God is a supreme sacrifice. This is so because we in our natural wisdom think that we have to be perfect to approach God. But if it were true, we can never approach God, for none of us is ever perfect.

So going to God with a bleeding and wounded heart; with sorrow of our sin stinging sharp and paining, is a great sacrifice. And amazingly God is willing to accept a broken and contrite heart as an acceptable sacrifice.

Whatever is broken, whatever is wounded, God is able to mend and heal. He will replace with sweetness whatever has proved bitter. But sacrifice means that it has to be offered unto God. We cannot just keep back something.

When it hurts the most, it is time to take that to God and leave it there. He does not despise this offering.
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Sow in Tears; Reap with Songs of Joy

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him (Psalm 126:5,6 NIV).

Pain taken at the beginning always bring joy in the end. But those who idle away their time and opportunities will have sorrow in the end.

To see souls saved, we need to sow in hope. We need to weep for the salvation of men and women. The task is not easy. Nor can it be done in a jovial manner.

The eternal destinies of countless millions of people depend on whether we are sowing in tears. The question is whether we really are burdened to the point of weeping for the salvation of souls.

Again, the picture of carrying the seed is used here. The ground where the seed has to be sown may not be near our home, but far away.

Carrying implies that we should be ready to sacrificially go out to where the people are. Carrying demands an effort on our part in proclaiming the Word of God.

To those who weep for the salvation of souls and to those who are ready to take the effort needed, God proclaims great results. Songs of joy will accompany both the reaping and the carrying home of sheaves. The joy is due to the fact that the weeping is forgotten when the farmer sees the harvest.

The joy is again due to the multiplication of the seed that was sown. It is like champion athletes after having done all the hard work with perseverance going out for the big event returning joyfully with a lot of medals. Their triumphs pass away; but ours eternal!
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