Love Each Other

“This is my command: Love each other” John 15: 17

All of us have been called to be a living vessel that will bring glory and honor to His Name. It was not our choice, but it is a privilege that the Lord has given us to live a wonderful life in Him. It is He who has chosen us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…” John 15: 16.

If He has chosen us to live a life in Him, there must be a way of living that He desires us to live! Yes, as His followers and His disciples, we have a way of living, and He has commanded that way of living clearly to us. The Lord Jesus said, “This is my command: Love each other” John 15: 17.

Loving others or being kind to others should be our way of living. When you live such a life, it will portrait Him in us. You don’t have to preach a sermon about the Lord Jesus but your action and the way you live your life should give a sermon about who is the Lord Jesus in your life. Action speaks louder than words.

The Lord has commanded us to love each other. But what kind of love He is talking about? He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15: 13. He wants us to live a “Lay Down His Life For His Friends” love life. “Lay Down His Life For His Friends” is a picture of selfless love. The Lord Jesus does not want us to be self-centered or selfish. A self-centered person can’t truly love others. They always live a life such as this, “It’s all about me…”, “How can I be benefited through this?” “It’s about me and me alone.”

The Lord wants us to love others and be kind to others, even if we can’t receive back anything from them. He wants us to love the unlovable. Is that easy to live such a life? No, it’s not easy to live such a life by your own. You can only do all these things when you allow the Lord Jesus live His life in you and through you. You can do nothing apart from the Lord, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5.

The Lord has given us a commandment, “Love each other” and He also has given us the remedy to live out His commandment, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit”. As the Bible said, we can do nothing apart from Him. We have to decrease day by day and the Lord Jesus has to increase in us each day. The more the Lord increases in us the move the characteristic of the Lord Jesus Christ will develop in us and manifest through us. Through Him, we are able to love even the most difficult people. Today, ask God to give you an opportunity to love and be kind to someone.

He Will Take Care Of You…

"The Lord will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life." Psalms 121: 7

Different in many ways but so comment in one thing…

HUMAN an awesome creation of God, created with many different shapes, languages and colors. Even though we all look different in many ways but we humans have something in common. WORRIES! We all have worries and we are constantly afraid of so many things around us.

For example, when we are having some kind of symptoms or minor sicknesses in our body, the first thing that often times come to our mind is, "Oh no, I'm having pain in this part of my body, it could be cancer. Am I going to die?" Or when you hear about your company retrenching workers, you might think "maybe I'll be the first one to get retrenched." Many people always predict bad things to happen to their lives when something not so encouraging seems to be happening around them. Because of this, people always live in fear and depression.

Are we supposed to live in this way? Do we have something that can set us free from all worries? Yes we do, look carefully at what the Word of God says, "The Lord will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life." Psalms 121: 7. The Lord is the only solid rock that you and I can rely on. Neither the storms of life nor sicknesses are able to shake this solid rock.

If God is watching over your life, why must you be worried and feel afraid of so many things today? Don't you think that He who has written your name in the palm of His hand does not care about you? Do you think the Lord will never watch over your life as He has promised in His word? Of course He will, because whatever He says, He will fulfill. Do not be afraid of any circumstance around you but be confident in Him. Even if something is not right in your body or around you just believe what the Word says, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Isaiah 54: 17.

That should be our faith in times of trials and adversity. Fix your eyes on Him who is permanent and the solid One, instead of fixing your eyes on your problems and temporary circumstances. When you fix your eyes on Him, He will fix your issues of life. As a child of God, we always have the favor of the Lord. Today, whatever situation that you are facing, God is saying to you, "my child, don't be afraid, I am with you." Matthew 17: 7. "I'll keep you from all harm because I am watching over your life." Psalms 121: 7. Believe and rest in Him…

He Is Always There For Us

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” Psalm 139:7-8.

Let this truth deeply sink in your heart today and forever! Regardless of how you feel and what you are facing in this life, you are not alone. The Almighty God is always with you from the beginning till this very moment. It might be true that people around you have disappointed and have rejected you but the faithful God doesn’t have a heart to leave you nor forsake you. Why? Because it is the nature of our God! He is the all-knowing God, all-powerful God and an ever-present God.

God is Omnipresent! The attributes of God by which He fills every single part of this universe and He is present everywhere at once. It is not some part of Him but the whole entirety of God is present in every place. This is true of all three members of the Trinity. What an amazing God!

If I would put the above explanation about ‘Omnipresent God’ in lay term, I would say He is ever present wherever you go. When you serve Him, He is there with you. When you stumble and fall, He is there to lift you up. Even when you sin against Him, He is there in that secret place. When you were hurt and heartbroken, the loving God was there with you and carry you through the painful season of life.

My friends, there is no place, you and I can hide ourselves from God’s presence. No matter what you do, what you face and where you go in this life, nothing can separate you from the Omnipresent God, as King David says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.” Psalm 139:7-8.

What should your attitude be after knowing this truth? Scared that God will know what you will say, what you will see and what will you do? No my friend, you should be more confident and bold in this life to face anything. Knowing that He is with us all the time, we are well able to do whatever that He desires for us to do and knowing the truth of His presence never departed from us, we can still be safe in times of trouble and know that is He is the Almighty God Who will help us in all situations.

In any situations, remember, you have an Omnipotent (all-powerful), an Omniscient (all-knowing) and an Omnipresent (ever-present) God. He is faithful to walk together with you in all kinds seasons of life. Dearest, whether you realize it or not, you are actually walking with God all the time. His presence will never leave you. There is no place to go where God is not already there…

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Today’s Prayer,

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Father God, I thank You so much for Your presence never leaves me, nor forsakes me. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. This truth has given me new confidence to walk in this life. Help me oh God, to understand You more and more in this life. Reveal Yourself to me, oh my Omnipresent God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

New Every Morning…

“They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

Normally I’ll be praying in my master bedroom but just a few days ago I felt like praying in another room. So that morning I went to that room, sat on the bed and I was facing my window. It is a transparent glass and through that window I can see a beautiful green hillside. I can see the green hills and birds happily flying early that morning. I felt in my heart that the birds are rejoicing for the brand new day and gladly flying around celebrating their new day…

Watching the beautiful hillside and the birds on the air, I begin to praise and worship Him. The worship and my chit chat with God went on for sometime. Actually the day before that morning, I heard heartbreaking news from someone. The news really concerns me so much and I went to my bed with a sorrowful heart that night. That morning, I knew in my heart that God wants to speak to me in a different way when He prompted me to go to the other room and pray.

While I continued to talk to God, suddenly I saw the beautiful sun rise from the back of the hills. The beautiful sun began to shine and I saw the sunshine gives a new light for that day. At that moment I had a wonderful sense of adoration towards the Creator, our Heavenly Father who is so faithful at all times. When I saw the Sun rise, in my spirit I saw God’s faithfulness, His provision, His grace, His second chance and His everlasting love.

God will never turn His back from His people. Like the sun always shining on the dark surface of this world, His light will always shine on us. Even in the darkest point of our lives, God’s light will faithfully show us the way out. As the sun light provides sufficient supplements for green plants in this world and keep us warm from the cold weather, God will faithfully provide all our needs in life and satisfy us with His great love. He will never fail us.

Not only that, when I saw the beautiful sunrise that morning, it reminds me about God’s grace and many second chances He gave us each day. Every morning is a brand new day God has given us to do it all over again those things that we fail to do the day before. When you mess up yesterday, in Him you have a second chance to turn the mess into a message today. That is God’s grace and His faithfulness for all of us each day.

My friend, in some seasons you may see the sun every day but sometimes it may rain, and the sun could be blocked by the clouds. But no matter how thick the cloud is, the sun is always there. In the same way, at times our life can be like a bright sunshine day, but sometimes it could be a rainy and cloudy day. No matter what season of life you go through, God is always there for us and He is always faithful. In the end, surely you will see His light again. Let us remind ourselves each morning that God is so good to us. Let us remain in the truth of His never ending grace and faithfulness in our lives, “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

His mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning

New every morning.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord.

Great is Thy faithfulness...

Daddy, Hold My Hand

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

We are living in a world full of challenges and difficulties. It is so easy to slip and stumble if we are not careful in this journey of life. Besides that, all of us have our own weakness that will contribute to our fall many times. Let us admit to Him that we are not strong apart from Him. Each one of us have to humble ourselves and come before the Lord with all our weakness and surrender our lives at His feet daily.

We don’t have to try to walk or do things by ourselves and fail miserably. God, in His loving kindness has offered His help to all of us. He said in His Word, “For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13. All our fears, anxieties, worries, failures and troubles will fade away when we know that the Lord Jesus holds our hand and walk with us daily. What a blessed assurance in Him!

One of my anchor verse in the Bible is, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalms 32:8. This verse talks about His willingness to lead and guide us to do the right thing and walk in the right path. I ask this question to myself, “If I don’t surrender to Him and refuse to let Him hold my hand, how He will be able to lead me and guide me?”

In His loving kindness and graciousness He will never give up coming after us to lead us and guide us, but we will constantly struggle and wrestle with Him. Why? It is because we don’t trust His gentle loving hand to guide us. We fail to understand our Heavenly Daddy’s Heart.

I have done the mistake of walking by my own many times and hurt myself badly. I tried to take up things in my own hands to do it my way but only to end up getting disappointed. Running everywhere just to have people’s acceptance and love but end up being frustrated, feeling rejected and hurt. At the end of that journey, I can only see His two loving arms ready to embrace me again.

Dearest, we need Him and apart from Him we will only end up getting hurt, frustrated and disappointed. Enough of walking pride-fully all by ourselves. Our Heavenly Daddy is waiting to hold our hand again and He is willing to walk with us for the rest of our lives. You cannot go wrong or lost when you allow Him to hold your hand. He will help us to reach our promised land safely. You are not a loser when you surrender to our Heavenly Daddy God but you are a winner actually. You are a winner over self-pride and self-centeredness. A surrendered life is the best life to live for the rest of our lives because He will be holding our life and future.

God Works For The Good Of His Beloved

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

How do you see troubles and hard times in life? Are you seeing it as a heart-breaking moment or something that can pull you down? What does the Scripture says about everything that we face in life?

If you see your hard time the other way around, you will see it as an opportunity to learn new things and to change ourselves to be a better people. Sometime in life, incidents will make us to see ourselves clearly and to come into realization of our weaknesses.

God has His own ways to accomplish the things that He wants to accomplish in our life. He does things in His highest ways and in His great wisdom. Sometimes the way He does things doesn't make sense for us but at the end of the day you and I can see the great outcome of the works of His hands.

Even our bad situations and hard times that we face in life can be used by Him to do something awesome in our lives as the Scripture says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

I would like to encourage you to see things in life in His perspective. When you face any unwanted situation in life, don't gave up hope but trust God for the bigger picture in life. God is able to use any bad situation to turn it into something good for His glory and for our benefit. In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.

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Today’s Prayer,

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Father in Heaven, I thank You so much for Your faithfulness. Lord, I come before You with all my weaknesses in me. I believe I still have hope in You. Change me Lord and use me in Your Kingdom for the glory of Your Name. I surrender to You, Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Lift Yourself Up!

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturb within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." Psalms 42:5.

There are ups and downs in this journey of life. Today a person might be experiencing a smooth cycle of life but few days later the same person might go through a challenging moment. It is normal if you are feeling down and sad during stormy seasons but you should not stay or remain in that condition for a long time. Why? God wants us to live a life by faith and move on in this life. By saying this, I do not mean to give a picture of God as someone that doesn't understand our feelings and hard times. He is full of compassion and He understands us more than we understand ourselves. He wants us to trust Him and by faith He wants you and me to step into His plans.

We can learn many godly principles from King David in the Bible. He is a man who experienced God's touch in his life, favor, mercy, forgiveness, supernatural breakthrough and victory in his life. Like us, he too faced many different kinds of seasons in life. Consider the feelings of the psalmist when he says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?" His soul is downcast because the storms of life swept over him. Probably he has no strength to face the hard times that he was facing at that moment. He was at the lowest point of his life and he was emotionally affected and that was the reason he continued asking the following question to himself, "Why so disturb within me?"

Does this sound familiar to your soul? Have you ever experienced these feelings? Have you ever been overcome by these emotions? The psalmist is not speaking from his ivory tower, declaring to us all what we ought to do. Rather, the psalmist is speaking from experience and is teaching us by telling us about his life and how he got through his difficulties. Life is not easy when we feel overwhelmed by many storms. Life is hard when we are emotionally down and being struck down by hard times. What should we do in the midst of these feelings?

Lift yourself up! Look at what the psalmist says in the same verse, "Put your hope in God." The psalmist is reminding himself to put his hope and trust in the Lord, regardless of what he was going through. When we are at the end of the road and things do not seem to be working out the way we expected, it is time to repeatedly tell ourselves to put our trust in God. In my own life, every time I faced hard times, I learned to tell and confess something like this repeatedly, "Lord, I trust in You". Every time I keep saying that phase I found that a new strength will rise up from the inside of me. One thing is for sure, when you put your trust in Him, He will never disappoint you.

Dearest, God has called us to pick ourselves up in times of trouble. I believe this is the point of the thrice repeated refrain "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." To get through hard times, we need God. While we wait for God, we cannot allow our emotions to spin out of control and rule our lives. Nor should we sit back and expect everyone to come rushing to our aid. We are to pull ourselves up and endure hardship through His strength. Lift yourself up again!

God Is With Us In Our Dark Valleys

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

It’s easy to praise God when we are at the top of the mountain. Everything seems to be nice during good times. But when we are at the dark valleys, most of the time we begin to question, “God, why all these take place?” “God, where are, You?”

It is not our choice whether or not to face the dark valleys in life; it is part of life. However, we have a choice to respond to our darkest valleys. You and I have two choices, whether to continue to grumble, or to surrender our lives to Him. When we complain and grumble we will always question Him, “why, God?” but if we learn to surrender our lives to Him, we will be asking Him, “God, what would You want me to know and learn through this situation?”

Why the Loving God allows dark valleys in our lives? God in His infinite wisdom uses valleys to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in our lives. The Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God, knows exactly what He is doing in our lives.

We read in Genesis about a young man by the name of Joseph who has gone through much trial and betrayal. He was hated by his own brothers and was sold into slavery. Joseph also spent many years in prison for something he didn’t do. Why did God allow Joseph, a righteous man, to suffer for many years? In the darkest valley, Joseph was being prepared for a significant opportunity that would make all the tough times worthwhile. Romans 8:28 is our promise that God will use all things together for our benefit, if we love Him.

If today you are at any valley, do not lose heart! God is with you in your valleys. As God says in the Bible, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. God will walk with you in your valleys and He knows how to bring you out victoriously from that valley. After every valley you and I will come out stronger, more matured in Christ and be useful in His kingdom.

TRUST And OBEY HIM

“To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

If you are parents, will you give instruction to your children so that they will end up becoming failures, destroyed, getting hurt and eventually come good for nothing? Surely your answer will be “No”. Any parents want the best for their kids. So does God, our Heavenly Father wants us to have the best.

God will instruct us and teach us in the way that we should go simply because He loves us so much and He wants us to have the very best in our life. You and I will never lose anything if we listen and obey His instructions and leading; we will only end up being blessed. But if He says something and we willfully disobey His instruction we are actually heading to a destructive path. We will end up frustrated, disappointed, hurt and even could cost our life.

Once in my life, I desired to have something. As usual I went to the Lord in prayer and asked Him. Immediately the Lord said to me, “No, cut it off”. I tried to convince God for what I want to have but God continuously say the same answer again and again, “No, cut it off”. When I refused to listen to Him, God in His unconditional love sent some people to speak to me, they said to me, “Ben, this is not what God wants you to have.” I argued and I even used Scriptures to justify my stand.

One day, during my prayer time, I pride fully said to God these words, “God, I know you have someone else for me but I choose this one.” What a pride in me. Eventually I got what I wanted but I never knew what I was going to face in life after that. I went through so much sadness, brokenness, deep wounds in my heart, hurt, bitterness and frustration. I begin to lose focus in God and ministry. I couldn’t handle the pain and the suffering that I brought on myself. During that time, I often recall back on my prideful conversation with God, “…but I choose this one”. I cried many times to God for pride fully saying all those words to God.

I understand after sometime that God stopped me from the beginning because He wants to save me from all the hurts and pains. I don’t blame anyone for all that I have been through. It was my willful disobedience and I put myself into something out of God’s will. Anything outside of God’s plan will never last and even if it’s last it’s not His best for us. The things that I wanted so much and hold it so tight in my two hands turn to become ashes in my own hands.

God knows I struggled so badly and He was so gracious to me. Eventually, in His amazing love for me, he removed that thing from my life. He restored me and healed all my pains and deep wounds in my heart. Today, in Him I am a free man again. By His grace, I’m back to Him and back on the path that He wants me to walk in. I learned many things throughout that painful journey of life but one thing I would like to encourage all of you from my experience is to TRUST And OBEY Him no matter what He says to you. This is the greatest lesson I have learned in my life.

Friends, you will never regret if you listen to Him and obey His voice. He will never lead you into the path of destruction. He loves you so much and He don’t have a heart to see you suffer. He wants you to have His best in your life. Believe in Him and listen to Him. TRUST and OBEY Him no matter what He says to you, “To obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

I Am Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14.

I was depressed for a few years because of losing something dear to my heart! Once in my life my hair was everything to me. During my school days often I’ll go to the washroom just to check my hair and comb my hair. Even my teacher admired my hair and she asked me once what I was using for my hair.

Everything started to change after turning 20. Each morning when I wake up I’ll notice so much hair dropped on my pillow and my bed side. I spent so much money to save my hair but nothing worked. I only ended up frustrated, heartbroken and depressed. Friends and family members started to notice the change in me.

Day by day, it was getting worse and people around me started to ridicule me and each day my self esteem was getting lower and lower. Wherever I go people started to ask me and laugh at me. I couldn’t take it then. Slowly I started to avoid people, functions, weddings and family gatherings because I couldn’t take it when people talked about my problem and ridiculed me on that. I even avoided snapping pictures of myself because I was ashamed and hurt when see my baldhead on the picture.

I started to feel rejected and I used to think that no girls will like and no one will marry me because I’m bald… I was getting so sensitive and easily offended because of my hurts. I can still remember, during one of my conversations with some of my friends, they ridiculed me and I just stood up and walked away from that place. I don’t blame them because they really do not know what I was going through that time.

But things started to change after 9 years. God began to restore me and set me free from the depression. Day by day I started to gain my confidence in Him. At the age of 29 I was completely bald but the joy of the Lord truly was my strength. God became more real and real to me each day. I was sensing His presence everywhere I go. His sweet presence in my life began to transform me and heal the hurt, feelings of rejection and depression.

God also began to restore my confidence level in Him and I begin to meet people, attend weddings and other functions. Not only that I started to snap many photos of myself and I don’t feel shame to see myself in the picture anymore. The funny part is after I went completely bald many ladies admire and are attracted to me compared to when I have so much hair (This was not said in pride -just for sharing). God healed me so much – even when people ridicule about my baldhead, I no longer get offended but I laugh together with them. That is our God – He makes me smile and put laughter in my heart once again.

Now, I don’t need my hair again and I’m happy to be who I am today. My birthday just past and I’m 31 years old now. All that I want to say with all my heart is, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14. The Lord is my joy, my peace, my happiness and my confidence. He truly made me wonderfully and there is no mistake in the way He created me.

Friends, be happy with what you have right now. Praise Him for who you are in Him. Your confidence should be in Him and not in other things. Truly He has made you and me beautifully and wonderfully. He loves us so much…

He Has Ordained Your Future

"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

Nothing about you will surprise your heavenly Father. Before you were formed in your mother's womb, God has already seen you and He who made you knows every single thing about you. God recognizes all your weaknesses, and sees all your needs. He nurtures, protects and brings you up as His very precious child. Even if the earthly fathers do their best for their children in many ways, how much more your heavenly Father wants to do phenomenal things in your life.

Nothing is hidden from His eyes! He even knows your hearts' desires and dreams and He wants to take part in those desires and dreams. You will never regret when God gets involved in your desires and dreams. He knows how to bring something good out of your desires and dreams. The best thing is if our desires and dreams are not aligned with His plan, He knows how to correct and bring us back to His original plans. You just have to be with Him and follow Him with all your heart.

Before you make any decision, tell God first and seek Him with all your heart. Acknowledge Him in everything regarding your life and let Him hold your hand and guide you. The Scripture says, "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.

If we have Someone that can see our future and lead us to a victorious life, why must we walk in our own ways and put ourselves in problem? You can't see your future but your heavenly Father already ordained and predestined your future. In all your ways, in all your plans and in all your ideas acknowledge the God who already arranges all good things for you. There's nothing wrong to have desires and dream but even to see your desires and dreams to come to pass, you need Him. The Bible says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4.

'Delight yourself in the Lord’ mean to take great pleasure or joy in Him. So dearest, find your pleasure or joy in Him day by day. Spend quality moment with God daily and discover the best things that He has in store for you. Talk to Him and worship Him every day. When you lean not on your own understanding but by delighting yourself in the Lord, you will experience great things that you never imagined before. He Has Ordained Your Future.

You Are Important for Him

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40: 11

'Flock' means a group of sheep or goats. Let's just say it is a group of sheep; they will be from the same kind or species. But they will be in different sizes, shapes, some will be strong and some will be weak, some are young and some are old. No matter what the differences are, the good shepherd will take care of them dearly and carefully.

The Bible always portrays the Lord Jesus as the shepherd and the people as a sheep. Like the group of sheep, we humans are of the same kind but with many differences to one another. Difference in skin colors, sizes, status, strength and languages. But no matter what are the differences, we are all same in the eyes of the Lord; every soul is so important and precious for the Lord Jesus Christ.

You might be saying, “I don't think I'm important for the Lord, because I am nobody compared to my friends who are more talented than me…" My friend, you are wrong! Whether you are somebody or nobody, whether you are talented or not talented, you are important for Him. There is no favoritism in His eyes. The Bible says, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11. This verse tells us about the character and the loving heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His very nature.

See carefully the bold words in this verse, "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." 'Lambs' it is a plural not singular. The word 'Lambs' gives an understanding of the whole group. He gathers all of them with His loving arms and not even one is missed out from His heart.

Likewise, you and I are equally important for Him. Never ever think that you are left out because of your inadequacy. He will always accept you as you are right now. He loves you no matter how many weaknesses you have in you. There is no condition for His love for you. The Lord didn't die on the cross for only a selected number of people. He died for each and everyone in this world because everyone is important for Him. You are one of them…

A Love That Never Fails

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6: 26

They never die but they increased in number everyday according to their own kind. They fly in the sky with joy and with songs in their heart without any worry. They do not have barns or stores to store their food for the next day but they continue living happily today as if they have everything for tomorrow. What a worry-free life they are living! Every morning thousands of birds get fed by our Heavenly Father without fail. God did not forget to feed them daily and they have plenty in Him.

Even for the birds He gave so generously and God specifically gave them according to their kind. He knows what is best for each one of them. If even the birds of the air He cares so much and feeds them without fail, how much more He cares for you. Your Heavenly Father is so graceful and merciful. You are always in His heart and you are so precious to Him.

When I was still studying in University, I faced some financial difficulties. One day I ran out of money. I really do not have any money to have dinner. I was so hungry on that night. I just sat in my room with a hungry stomach and meditate on His Word. I knew in my heart that God will never let me sleep with an empty stomach. I said these words in my heart "Father, even the birds You feed, I am more valuable to You, surely You'll feed me tonight ". As I was saying those words in my heart, someone knocked at my room door and came straight inside.

It was a guy standing in front of me with two pieces of Hotdogs with bread. He said "this is for you" and I replied him "I don't have money to play for this". Then he said, "Its ok, this is for you, take it". He gave me the Hotdogs with bread and went away. That night, God really touched my heart and He was so real to me. God fed me that night and satisfy me. It is all about His phenomenal love for me.

My friend, do not worry about your life, the Creator of this world loves you so much and He will take care of everything. God knows your needs and He understands you personally. Just trust in His unfailing love for you. He will make a way for every situation in your life. You are more valuable to Him than any other things in this world. Just place your trust in Him and enjoy your relationship with your Father in Heaven. His love will never fails, His love never falls to pieces, His love never collapses, His love never terminates. He loves you so much.

Mustard Seed Size Faith…

"…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17: 20

FAITH means a confident belief in the truth, value or trustworthiness of a person, idea or thing. In Christianity or in the theological virtue, FAITH is defined as secure belief in God and a total trusting acceptance of God's will.

Faith is like our back bone in our walk with God because the Bible says , "Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6. What do you understand from this verse? The verse simply talks about faith; it did not mention whether it is a big faith or a small faith. The verse did not demand by say that without a great faith it is impossible to please God but it just mentioned faith. Many of us are thinking that we need a super great faith to receive something from God. You could be saying "I can't get healed like that person because that person has a great faith in God" or "My problems can't be solved because I don't have a great faith in God".

Did God say you must have a super great faith for you to receive your healing, solution in relationships, better marriage life and a good career? What God says is "…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20. The mustard seed is the smallest seed in the world and mountains represent your problems and challenges in life. Today, God is saying to you "It is not impossible for you to overcome your mountains if you have faith as big as a mustard seed". Your mustard seed size faith is enough for God to turn things around you for your benefit and His glory.

Truly, the mustard seek is the smallest seed in the world. Then why must God choose the smallest seed to make it as illustration of FAITH? Sometimes in this life, when we go through the lowest and the most difficult moments in our lives, a small faith as big as mustard seed is actually a great faith in us to bring us out of our situations. The small faith in us during hard times will help us to see things in His perspective. God is not a difficult God, He did not demand something that is unbearable for you.

If all of us need a super great faith in us, I believe many people in this world will fail miserably in their walk with God. My friend, please don't get me wrong, I'm not against having great faith in God but what I'm trying to say here is, do not make your life with God difficult by having a wrong understanding about godly principles. God talked about faith in the Book of Hebrew 11:6 but He did not talk about the measurement and the level of faith.

Dearest, what kind of mountains are you facing right now? Remember, it is not impossible for those who have faith and believe in Him. God doesn't say you need great faith to receive your answered prayers but just a simple trust in Him will make a great impact in your circumstances. Just simply trust and believe Him to overcome your mountains in life. When you start with a smaller faith, day by day it will grow to become a bigger and from there you will become a man or women of greater faith in Him. When you start small it will grow deeper and eventually it will become greater. Faith in the Lord will make all things possible.

Listening To God

“He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” Isaiah 50: 4b

From the beginning until now God is still speaking to His people. It is God’s desire to have a relationship with us and to have communication with us daily.

God desires every Child of His, listen to Him and walk with Him daily. “He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” Isaiah 50: 4b. Many people often make poor decision and poor choices in life because they lean on their own understand and fail to listen to what God is saying to them. A lot of damage can take place in life if we didn’t listen to God and obey the voice of God.

God speaks to us in our Spirit. We have to listen to Him through our spirit. God is Spirit and through the Holy Spirit, who lives in us God conveys His message to us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. This is the reason, why it’s so important for us to take care of our spirit. If our spirit is not in tune with God’s Spirit, it will hinder us from connecting to God. The moment we are disconnected with God, we will never be able to hear Him clearly.

We also must learn to Listen to God by understand how He speaks to us. God speaks to us through the Bible, dreams, vision, people, and situation. However, primarily God speaks through His Word, the Bible. Bible is a manual or instruction book given to us to live a life according to His ways. If we never make Bible reading as our lifestyle, we are going to miss what God is saying to us. Bible reading should be a priority in every believer’s life. Read your Bible, if you want to listen God speaks to you.

Besides that our attitude must be right. If we want to learn to listen to God, we must be able to do whatever He is going to say. When God speaks, we can’t harden our heart and disobey Him. Why must God speak to those who do not want to listen to His instruction? My Friend, God’s objective is for us to listen to Him, so that we will do the best decision in life and enjoy all the blessings that He had installed for us. Being able to listen God speaks is a way of life.

A prayerful life is equally important if we desire to hear God speak to us. Prayer is a powerful tool God has given us to be in His presence and be connected to Him. In my own life, during prayer time I received revelations, visions and impressions that God impressed in my spirit. Dearest, there is no shortcut learning to listen to God’s voice. We must do what we should do. Prayer should be our lifestyle…

Love…

"But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13b

What comes to your mind when you see the above title about LOVE? Very often the world narrows down the word LOVE to a girl-boy relationship only and the worldly understanding of love is more to sexual activity. But the truth is, LOVE is more than what the world could conclude. The Dictionary's definition about LOVE is a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude towards a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. But what God said about LOVE?

God's definition of LOVE is totally opposite than what the world could say. The Bible in its entirety is a LOVE letter from God to mankind. Nevertheless, one can find a concise definition of LOVE on one of the letters written in the Book of 1 Corinthian 13. This is what God says about LOVE, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

What a beautiful definition of LOVE God has given us. But let us be honest here. Is it easy to love someone in a way God says about loving someone in the Book of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8? Many of you will shake your head and say, "It is not that easy to love someone in that way." I agree with you but let us go further before we conclude here. During one of my quiet time with the Lord, I asked the Lord, "Lord, how to love someone in the way 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 says? It’s not easy, Lord." While I was saying that I sensed in my heart that God said to me this following verses, "Look at Me" I pause for a while, then He continued to say based on 1 Corinthian 13:4-8, "This is how I have loved you…"

I was so touched to hear Him say how He has loved me all this while. I begin to recall back my journey from the beginning with Him. Before and after I came to know Him, I have done many mistakes in life but I understand He was patiently loving me and changing me from glory to glory. Even when I walked in the opposite direction, He kindly loved me and humbly brought me back to His direction. When I repeatedly did the same mistake, He is not easily angered and He keeps no records of my repeated mistakes but He repeatedly said to me, "My Son, I love you and you are always my beloved child". During my lowest point of life and when I feel I am a failure, He would come near to me and give me hope by saying, "I trust in You. You are not a failure but you are more than a conqueror." I begin to understand that all this while in my journey with Lord, His love never fails me.

Dearest, only Christ can love anyone in this way! Now the question is, can we love someone in a way that He loves us base on 1 Corinthians 13? It is possible, but not based on our own strength but only through Christ who lives in us. For you to have this kind of love, you in the first place have to decrease and let Christ increase in you each day. The Christ that is living in you will enable you to love others as how He loves us. If you desire to have a healthy relationship, you must be a Christ-centered person, not self-centered person. If we are always being self-centered people, it always will be, "me and me alone…". So, for us to be like Him and to care for others like He does, we must be rooted in Him and live a Christ-centered life. Through Him the Book of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 will be significant for you.

"When I was lost, You have found me with Your great LOVE.

When I stumble in my weaknesses, Your Great LOVE enables me to stand on my feet.

By Your grace I have found a Fatherly LOVE in You that will never fade away.

In Your LOVE ,oh Lord my God, I have found a new hope.

Your LOVE oh Lord, makes me as who I am today.

Truly Your LOVE will never fails me."

                                                            - Benjamin Thiru

Learn To Walk Like The Blind Man

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

While I was waiting in my car for a friend, I saw a blind man walked pass my car heading to the opposite direction. He skillfully walked beside a busy road. He only used his blind man rod and his hearing senses to walk without stumbling or knocking onto cars or other objects in front of him. He was not distracted by the noise of the busy road but he paid attention as he walked. The blind man’s rod and his hearing senses are his greatest tools for him to reach to his destiny.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him because I was so deeply moved and amazed to see him walk humbly yet without falling even though he lost his eyesight. I said in my heart, “It is by God’s grace…” As I was observing Him suddenly God prompted a question in my heart. The prompting was like this, “Do you think in a single day this blind man is able to walk skillfully?” That question moved me even deeper…

Then God Himself prompted the answer in my heart by saying, “This blind man didn’t learn to walk skillfully in just one day. It took him sometime to learn to walk by using the rod and his hearing senses. At the beginning stage he stumbled and fell many times when he was learning to walk but he didn’t give up. He tried and tried many times until this stage now.” Wow, what an answer from the One who knows all things.

It is true; the blind man couldn’t have learnt to walk skillfully in just one day. Probably it took him many falls, knocks, wrong directions, interpreted some sounds wrongly and even hurt himself a few times when he falls. I believe he never gave up but he pressed on, learning from his mistakes and persevere until he was able to learn to walk with his rod and hearing senses.

Likewise, no one is able to learn to walk with God in just few days. Walking with God is a process; it’s not a one day deal. As you walk with God in this life you will do mistakes or stumble. When you stumble or do some mistakes you shouldn’t condemn yourself because the Lord will never condemn you, “Neither do I condemn you…” John 8:11. Wake up from your fall and whack the dust off yourself and start to walk again. Learn from the mistake and move on again. When you had taken a wrong direction, just stop and turn back to his direction.

God is so good, He never expect us to walk alone. The blind man has his rod to lead him to reach his destiny but God has given us His precious Holy Spirit to lead us to reach our destiny. Pay attention and submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Not only that, in this busy and noisy world you can hear many sounds and voices. But let His voice give you a sense of direction. Find time daily to spend quality quiet time with the Lord. He will surely lead you with His gentle voice.

Remember, walking with God is a process. Don’t be discouraged or give up walking with Him when you do some mistakes. No one is perfect. All of us are in His molding hand who is continuously molding us without giving up on us. One day you will be able to walk with Him steadily. So don’t give up but press on to walk with God, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

God Never Give Up On Anybody…

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you withloving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

There are few people reporting to me in my work place. I believe people are the greatest asset in any organization. But above any other thing all of my subordinates are so precious because God created them and He loves them so much.

Even though I treated them well, there was one staff of mine who was very rebellious and so rude to me. I tried my best but she wasn’t nice or submissive to me. It was very hard for me to work with this one staff. She was so hardened. Every time I spoke to her nicely, her replies will be so rude with a bad facial expression. At times I will feel so disappointed and frustrated because of this one staff.

I didn’t give up on my rebellious staff. I continued to treat her nice and do my best to manage all of them. I began to understand her and I noticed something else in her. Even though she was rebellious, I noticed she has good skills and ability to perform in work. She also has the ability to lead small working groups. Day after day, I discovered more talents in her. So I continued to encourage her even though at times she will be looking at somewhere else when I’m talking to her.

Not long ago there was a promotion opportunity in my team. To cut the long story short, I decided to promote her. Without telling her, I worked out all the promotion work for her. Even at that time she wasn’t nice to me but deep inside me I know her ability which she can’t see. After sometime, I received the approval from the top management for her promotion.

I called her to my desk and gave the promotion letter to her. While I went through the promotion letter with her and explain the position and so on to her, she wept in front of me. She recalled and she began to understand that even during the promotion process she was rude and rebellious to me. With tears in her eyes she apologized to me and asked for my forgiveness for everything. On that time at my desk, I saw her repentance and a change take place in her heart. Today, she is a changed person and she is one of my best staff with full respect towards me.

In my own life I have done many mistakes but the Lord Jesus gave me many second chances to rise up again in life. If He gave up on me from the beginning, I wouldn’t reach this far in life. When I was rebellious He was patient with me. When I sinned against Him, He was so gracious to me. When I return to Him, He didn’t turn his back on me but He spread open His two arms, embraced me and welcomed me again.

Dearest, God will never give up on anyone of us, even when we are so rebellious at times. Likewise, we shouldn’t give up on anyone. Our second chance to someone could be a turning point in their life. Do to others what the Lord has done for us. He loves us unconditionally, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

Seek His Face Continually

“Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4

Often we come before God and pray, “God, I need this. God, please fix that. God, when it’s going to happen? Lord, please change this report.” It’s nothing wrong to ask God of what we want but in our unknown selfishness we could live a life style of seeking His hands all the time. Is Christian faith all about seeking God’s hand alone?

The Bible says, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4. What does it mean to Seek God’s Face? Let me give you an illustration to understand the meaning of Seeking God’s Face. Normally when you look at someone, you will be looking at their face and especially their eyes. When you look at their eyes you will receive a message from them. Their eyes will tell you whether they are sad or at peace. Their countenance will give a message if they are happy or worried. So in other words, when you pay close attention to someone’s face, you actually know their heart and mind.

Likewise, when you are seeking God’s face you are seeking His heart and His mind. It is totally a different spiritual experience and intimacy with God. The more you seek His heart the more you will begin to discern what He is saying. The way you see things will change. You will begin to see through His eyes. You will feel for people through His heart. Many times when I pass by someone, whether it is an unknown or known person I’ll suddenly feel so much compassion for them in my heart. At that moment, I knew in my heart that is how God felt for them. I’ll immediately say a prayer in my heart for them.

Please don’t think that only a perfect person can seek God’s face or His heart. No one is perfect but Him alone. All that you need to do is to come before Him as who you are without wearing a mask on your face. Be honest and truthful before the Lord. The Bible says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Mathew 5:8. Even if you have done any mistake you can always go to Him and tell Him about all your failures and struggles. He is gracious and tenderhearted to embrace you again and again.

My friend, don’t worry about your needs and your heart’s desire. God knows exactly what you need, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:8. Desire to have more of Him in your life and when you have Him, you will have all things. In other words, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. Seek His face continually…

The Will Of God

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalms 32:8

The Bible says that God knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5a. Where were you before you were formed in your mother's womb, for God to know you? Very simple, you were in the mind of God before you were formed. God have thought about you and on that time God already planned your future and destiny.

I believe you have heard the following words "The Will Of God" in your walk with God. What is it all about "The Will Of God"? The will of God means His beautiful plans. As I said, before you were formed God already thought about you and He already ordained a beautiful plan for your life. So no matter who you are and what is your status God has a good plan for you.

You may ask, "Benjamin, are you sure God has a beautiful plan for me? Why can't I see God's plan in my life?" My friend, you can't see or you missed to hear from God what His plan in your life is. Many times we miss His voice of instruction and go on our own ways and end up in problems. We can only be in God's plan when we are walking in His leading and direction.

The Lord says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalms 32:8. God always leads us and guides us into His plan by instructing and teaching us to do and to go in the ways that we should go. See the key word from the verse, "I will instruct you and teach you". A person could only instruct and teach if the other party is willing to listen and learn what was being taught. If you are not listening to the Lord you can't be in the will of God because you will miss His leading and guidance in fulfilling His plans for your life.

Listening to God's instruction always starts from having an intimate relationship with God. If you don't have a personal relationship and a personal interaction with God, you won't be able to hear effectively from God. Before cracking your head to know what God's will is in your life, you should take the step of faith to walk closely with God. As you walk with Him and having a personal relationship with the Lord, He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. Besides that, as you listen and follow His instruction He will always counsel you and watch over your every step. Walk with the Lord closely, listen to Him and enjoy being in His plans.