Heavenly CHILDishness…!

Let’s read Matthew 18:1-3

“… the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, UNLESS YOU CHANGE AND BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN, YOU WILL NEVER ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”.

Most of us if not all of us have those occasional nostalgic moments of wishing to be a child again. Wishing to be free from the stress and strain of adulthood. Ever wondered what the reasons could be? Let’s look at a few basic differences between a CHILD and an ADULT – A Child is dependent, an Adult is independent; A Child always lives in the present, an Adult wants to live in the present but is either too worried about the future or is too unhappy about the past; A Child is more open to learning and correction when compared to an Adult.

When God created man, He made him as a Spiritual CHILD, innocent and dependent. “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:9b).Then “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, FOR IN THE DAY THAT YOU EAT OF IT YOU SHALL SURELY DIE” (Gen 2:16, 17).  

What God meant was this – “The day you eat of the Tree of Good and Evil you will Spiritually DIE as a CHILD and become an ADULT”. Alas! Man ate the forbidden fruit and died as a Spiritual CHILD. From the Biblical perspective we can say that a CHILD feeds on the “Tree of Life” and an ADULT feeds on the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil”.

The “Tree of Life” is symbolic of the living WORD of God (The Bible), whereas the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil” is symbolic of the multifaceted WORLD of self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, self-glory, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life(1 John 2:16).

Hence, in the above scripture portion Jesus is asking us to “CHANGE AND BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN”…!!. In other words He is saying “Put your Spiritual ADULTHOOD to death and be born again as a CHILD, to dwell in the Kingdom of God” (read John 3:3).

A CHILD depends on God fully – An ADULT defends himself foolishly..!!

Let your life be a loud “THANK YOU” to God..!!

Let’s read Romans 12:1

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to OFFER YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”.

What Apostle Paul said to the Christians in Rome in the above scripture portion through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, still resonates so vividly in our minds and hearts. Throughout history, man tried to maintain the balance between SIN and FORGIVENESS by means of sacrificial offering. But it had to come to an end as mankind was sinking deeper and deeper into this quick-sand called SIN. It became impossible to suffice the weight of SIN through animal sacrifices alone. A sacrificial ceremony had become like more of an “escape plan” than as an “expression of repentance” from Sin.

It all changed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). Praise be to God for Jesus..!!

Now, what can you give to God in exchange of this great sacrifice? In other words, how can you say “THANK YOU” to God for all that He did for you through His son Jesus Christ? Can you give enough money to God? No. Can you give enough gifts to God? No. So, what can you give? Let me tell you what you CAN give. You can give YOURSELF to Him. Your sacrifice of YOURSELF is the best offering you can ever give Him.

The Bible says “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). A LIVING SACRIFICE is a Life full of OBEDIENCE and SUBMISSION, which is HOLY and PLEASING to God. Let your Life be an expression of “THANK YOU” to the ever loving God.

True Worship is in SACRIFICIAL LIVING, not just in EMOTIONAL SINGING..!!

Spiritual RACE – at God’s PACE..!!

Let’s read Hebrews 12:1

“…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and LET US RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US”.

Did you ever witness (at least on TV) a professional running race? For example in the Olympics. After a strenuous training regime and a strict selection process, the runners get to represent their respective nation at an international arena. Why do they train? To RUN – of course! Why do they run? To WIN – of course! I never noticed any sprinter running with PATIENCE. Never! They all run with a sense of urgency and hurry. A sprinter is always hasty in running because he/she wants to finish the race as quickly as possible in order to try and WIN the reward. The first to finish the race is recognized as the best, second to finish is recognized as the second best, and the third to finish the race is recognized as the third best and so on..!!

On the contrary, the runners on a Spiritual race never run in haste. They always run with PATIENCE! What does it mean to run with patience? Does it mean that we are supposed to be lazy? Absolutely NOT. Running with patience means - Being completely humble and gentle; being patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2). Spiritual race has no first, second and third places to it. All who run the race with diligence and faithfulness are more than conquerors! Each believer has his own track to run the race in and his own ground to cover.

In a Spiritual race you are not expected to out-run your neighbour or be jealous of the brother/sister who seems to be ahead of you in the race. You are in fact expected to Bear and Share each other’s burdens (read Galatians 6:1, 2).

Every believer who finishes the race IN CHRIST will be a winner - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (James 1:12).

Run with PATIENCE…..Stride with DILIGENCE..!

BOASTING in HOPE – BOOSTING with DIGNITY..!

Let’s read Romans 5: 2b - 5

“... we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”.

Did you ever share a testimony highlighting your “sufferings”? Did you ever “glory” in your suffering? We will glory in our sufferings if we really understand the culmination process of “sufferings” to “hope”. 

If SUFFERING is the raw-material, HOPE is the end-product.

Paper is produced from wood, but what a contrast there is between the both. Wood is rugged and hard, but paper is soft and flexible. How does wood produce paper? Only if the wood is taken through rigorous manufacturing process (suffering). People who manufacture PAPER glory in the WOOD logs they have even before it is produced as PAPER. Why?? Because they know for a fact that WOOD logs after de-barking and chipping produces WOODCHIPS, which after controlled cooking produces PAPER PULP, which after a certain process of cleaning and rigorous pressing produces PAPER..!!

Similarly, SUFFERING produces an attitude of LONG-BEARANCE, which subsequently produces a Christ-like CHARACTER, which eventually produces HOPE that gives divine DIGNITY by the filling and re-filling of God’s Love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

 “..our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, blown by the wind and gone forever” (Psalm 103:15, 16). Our days are few and hence our SUFFERING is for a very short time as well. Stop complaining about your present SUFFERING and start boasting in your future HOPE of the glory of God.

SUFFERING lasts only for a moment when compared to the everlasting GLORY...!!

DOUBTING precedes DROWNING..!!

Let’s read Matthew 14: 31

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Matthew 14:22-33 describes the incident of Jesus walking on the water. The disciples saw Jesus walking on water and they were terrified, assuming Him to be a “ghost”. Peter wanted to test the authenticity of the one walking on water but ended up realising the authenticity of his own faith. 

After Jesus said “COME”, Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Peter was walking toward Jesus, BUT HE SAW THE WIND. Instead of fixing his attention on Jesus, he was distracted and disturbed by the wind. He started to sink when his Fear about the wind started to increase and his Faith in Jesus started to decrease. Peter’s DOUBT & LITTLE FAITH could not keep him afloat for long. “Lord, save me!” was his cry of Fear, not of Faith. Immediately Jesus came to Peter’s rescue and saved him from drowning. 

If only Peter had made a “cry of Faith” as soon as he stepped on the water. He should have cried out saying “Lord, I BELIEVE IT IS YOU because I am able to stand on water and I will walk towards you without fear..!”. Instead he was distracted by the wind. Anything or anyone other than Jesus is a “wind” that is both distracting and disturbing. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus and Jesus alone. He is our strength. He alone should be our only way and our only destination..!!

“...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1b, 2a).

DOUBT makes you SINK; FAITH makes you WALK..!

Peace WITH God and Peace OF God..!

Let’s read Romans 5:1 & Philippians 4:7 in tandem

 

“....since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ...”

“.... the PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned (Romans 5:12). As a result of this, you and I had lost our Peace WITH God. Lack of Peace creates distance between the two parties. There was a huge gap (vacuum) between us and God. This enormous gap demanded a bridge between us and God.

Even though it was us who sinned, God took the initiative to build this bridge of Peace between Him and us called “Jesus Christ”. Through Jesus Christ, we who once were far away have been brought near by His blood; HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE..! (Ephesians 2:13,14a).

Another PEACE we have in Christ Jesus is a free gift from God. This PEACE makes up 1/3^rd of the Kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). God does not manufacture this PEACE inside our heads and hence it is impossible to understand it. We are to simply seek and honour God for this priceless gift from Him. Praise God for His free gift of PEACE..!

Peace WITH God provides security and hope to your Spirit. Peace OF God provides security to your heart (decision making) and mind (thoughts that influence your decisions).

Jesus said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). There is another Peace that the world tries to give us. But this “Counterfeit Peace” is actually a “Disguised Pleasure or Violence”. The world promises Peace through either Pleasure or Violence, both of which are not from God and lead to eternal death.

 World’s Peace enslaves; God’s Peace liberates..!!

FEAR – The opposite of FAITH..!!

Let’s read Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”.

FEAR is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. FAITH is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Notice that both FEAR and FAITH are based on the things yet unseen or inexperienced. But they are total opposites. Lack of FAITH brings in FEAR. Abundance of FAITH drives out FEAR.

Imagine you have a pet dog for over 5 years. Would your FEAR when you face your friendly pet dog? Absolutely NOT. Because you know (have FAITH) that your dog is friendly towards you. And you know for a fact that your dog won’t harm you. Now, what if you encounter a lion out of its enclosure at the zoo face to face?  You would certainly have an unpleasant emotion (FEAR). Because you do not know that lion and that lion does not know you. But, what if that lion was your friend? Would you still FEAR? I don’t think so..!

Jesus, the Lion of Judah will be your friend if you obey his commandments. There is no one greater than Him. If he is by your side, no one else can stand against you. You will surely have CONFIDENCE (Faith) in God, if you really understand how mighty and matchless His power is.

If you are struggling with an unpleasant emotion, that is probably because you do not have enough Faith.

Where does FAITH come from?

Romans 10:17 – “…FAITH comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”. 

Don’t just LISTEN to God’s messages with your physical ears; HEAR it through your spiritual ones as well.

God’s children are always FAITHFUL, never FEARFUL..!!