A FOOL is never PATIENT…!!

Let’s read Proverbs 14:29 & Galatians 5:22-23 & Proverbs 2:3-5 in tandem

“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly”.

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control……”

“…indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for UNDERSTANDING, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God”

How would you identify a rich man? By his riches of course! How would you identify a poor man? By his poverty of course! If a man is begging on the street without proper clothes, what does that suggest? He has nothing because he has no money even for his basic necessities. On the contrary what says of a man dressed in very expensive designer clothes, driving a very expensive car? He is able to buy very expensive things because he has a lot of money. He is RICH!

Similarly, PATIENCE can be compared to one of the RICHES (a very expensive thing). And UNDERSTANDING can be compared to MONEY. You cannot display PATIENCE, if you do not have UNDERSTANDING. If you have very little or no PATIENCE it simply means that you do not have enough UNDERSTANDING (God given WISDOM). 

PATIENCE is an integral part of the fruit of the Spirit. If you realize that you display Quick-temper more easily that Patience, then you need to replace FOLLY with UNDERSTANDING. Understand the need for UNDERSTANDING in your life. 

Cry aloud with faith and ask for God’s WISDOM – He will surely reply with His supply!

You never FALL in Love…!!

Let's read 1 Corinthians 13:13

"..And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE."

Secular movies and songs (Tollywood to Hollywood) often refer to someone "FALLING" in Love. As a Christian you should not believe this LIE. This LIE is injected into our minds by the father of lies - SATAN (read John 8:44b). 

You never "FALL" in Love. You always "RISE-UP" in Love. 

If anything makes you "FALL", then be sure that it isn't LOVE. It is something else (covetousness) masked as love. The Word of God does not talk about LOVING one human more than the other. As shown in the movies - the so called "hero" even murders those who stop him from getting his heart’s desire (so called "heroine"). 

True LOVE comes from God. The "expression and context" of Love towards different people around us may vary, but the "content and intent" of LOVE always remains the same. LOVE is 2 dimensional. The first dimension is "God First Loved us". The second dimension is "since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another". No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and HIS LOVE is made complete in us.(read 1 John 4:7-12).

Resorting to "True LOVE" always raises you up to God's standard and never makes you FALL to the devils standards. 

If there is anyone in the whole of Universe who can say anything close to "I FELL in LOVE", it is our Lord Jesus Christ. He would probably say "I FELL because of my LOVE for you". He took the greatest FALL ever. Understand "FALL" here as more like a "voluntary leap"(read Philippians 2:6-11).

HE TOOK THE FALL AND THOUGHT OF YOU AND ME....!!!!!

JESUS – the common denominator...!!!

Let’s read Ephesians 4:4-6

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all”.

Jesus Christ lived on this earth within ONE body. He was always led by ONE Spirit. He had ONE purpose. He had ONE mission. He was always under ONE ultimate authority. Which is why He was able to say “Mission accomplished” (read John 19:30) at the end of it all.

Being ONE in Spirit, working towards ONE ultimate mission and having ONE common-Lord are very important for us as members of the body of Christ. Let no denominational/ cultural/ regional difference over-power your desire to be ONE with your fellow Christians. No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).

Who is your Master? Jesus or your denomination?

The first step is to seek ONEness with God. Then, ONEness with your neighbour (of any denomination, culture, region etc) will become an easy practice.

Don’t be under the domination of your denomination..!!

REVELATION – only to the humble..!!

Let’s read Psalm 25:14 & Matthew 11:25, 26 in tandem

“The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them”.

Jesus said - “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do”.

“Adult education” is a concept which is more common in the developing countries than in others. Through “Adult Education”, a government aims to extend educational opportunities to those adults, who have crossed the age of formal education. These adults begin their education from the very basics of learning. 

For example, a 45 year old woman may begin learning (writing & reading) the alphabets (A-Z) which are otherwise taught to an average child who begins his/her education at the age of 3. The 45 year old woman needs to overcome two main hurdles in order to start her education. Firstly, she needs to accept the fact that she is an “illiterate” who needs education. And secondly, she needs to “humble” herself low enough to have the eagerness of a 3 year old child. 

Spiritual literacy works in much the same way. God reveals Himself only to those who fear (revere) Him and humble themselves. Those who pride in their age, experience, qualification or knowledge will never receive the revelations (from the Holy Spirit) which a child-like and humble believer would receive. Notice in the above scripture portion (Psalm 25:14) that “The Lord confides in those who fear him”. Which simply means that if you fear (revere) the Lord, He will reveal His secrets to you. It does not matter how old or young you are as a Christian. Choose to be a spiritual child who is always eager to receive God’s wisdom with humbleness and readiness. 

When you ABIDE in Him, He will CONFIDE in you...!!

Neither BOAST nor WORRY...!!

Let’s read Proverbs 27:1 and Matthew 6:34 in tandem.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring”.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”.

BOASTING - A boastful attitude (pride) is not a Godly attitude. This attitude was the very root cause for Satan’s fall (Isaiah 14:12-15). Pride goes before destruction (Prov 16:18). “Boasting about tomorrow” is nothing but taking pride in “anything/anyone other than God” we have today (now) and seeing our “tomorrow” bright and prosperous ONLY BECAUSE of THEM.  Whenever you BOAST, you disobey God’s Word.

WORRYING – One of the Dictionary definitions of “Worry” is “Give-way to anxiety or unease”. Our Spiritual-Road-Code (The Bible) says we are never to “Give-way” to anxiety in our lives (read Philippians 4:6). Whenever you WORRY, you disobey God’s Word.

God is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY and FOREVER. TODAY is no better than YESTERDAY, and TOMORROW will be no better than TODAY, because our JOY is not “time-dependent” or “fate-dependent” or “day-dependent”; it is dependent on the GOD who is unchanging from the alpha (beginning) to the omega (end).

This is the day (this moment) that the Lord has made so REJOICE and be GLAD..(Psalm 118:24). 

Rain or Shine, Pleasure or Pain – Consider it all JOY, because our ALMIGHTY, SOVEREIGN, UNCHANGING God is IN CONTROL.....!!!

Spiritual fountain..!!

Let’s read 7: 37b-39

Jesus said: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Did you ever wonder where the water fountain draws so much water from? I don’t think so. Because it is within our common sense to assume that the fountain can only work when there is a constant supply of water through pipes from underneath. Why don’t we use the same common sense to discern how the “Spiritual fountain” works??

When you believe in Jesus Christ, not just your thirst is quenched but you also become a “Spiritual fountain” to comfort, reassure and bless others around you. And this “Spiritual fountain” like any other fountain works only when CONSTANT SUPPLY is guaranteed. Let your belief in Christ be unceasing so that your cup may be filled first (read Psalm 23). God will not stop His supply of the living water once you are full. The excess will overflow from within you for God’s purpose to be fulfilled in your life.

Jesus Christ has been glorified (through His resurrection) and the Holy Spirit has been given (on the day of the Pentecost)!! All you need to do is empty your heart with humility and submission to receive the Holy Spirit with reverence. Once your FAITH (read Romans 10:17) ceases, the “living water” supply ceases too..!

BELIEVE to BE FILLED; BE FILLED to OVERFLOW; OVERFLOW to be a BLESSING..!