THE SCORE SETTLER..!!

Let’s read Luke 4:24, 28-30(NIV), Proverbs 20:3(NIV) & Proverbs 20:22(MSG) in tandem

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown… All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

“It is to one’s honour to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel”

“Don’t ever say, “I’ll get you for that!” Wait for God; he’ll settle the score”

Jesus went to His hometown Nazareth and spoke the TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH (read the whole chapter for details– Luke 4). But, He was driven out of His own town by His own people, in order to throw him off the cliff and kill Him. All for what? For speaking The Truth and nothing but The Truth…!

What did Jesus do? – “..He walked right through the crowd and went on his way”. He did not force The Truth down their throats. He was not quick to quarrel even though He was right. He avoided any strife. He was patient right through because He knew for sure that His Heavenly Father is the ultimate SCORE SETTLER.

A surgeon’s scalpel cuts and makes you bleed. But once the problem is fixed he sutures the incision and takes proper post-surgical care till the wound is properly healed. No ethically-sound surgeon will ever try and force the incision on you if you are not willing to be operated on. If he does force the cut on you, it will be considered an injury caused by assault and not a surgical incision.

God the spiritual-surgeon uses his double-edged scalpel (The Truth) to make skilful incisions to your soul in order to fix a problem. This Truth is the very Word of God. But as any other ethically-sound surgeon, He will never force a surgery on you. He never assaults anyone with His scalpel. But, He is ever-ready to operate on anyone in need for free..!

Let us follow the example of Jesus in the following:

1. Never try and force “The Truth” down people’s throats through strife and quarrel.
2. Always be PATIENT and know that you are not the final score settler, your Heavenly Father is…! (read Romans 12:19).

HUMBLER and GENTLER by the day..!

Let’s read Ephesians 4:2, Proverbs 29:23 & 15:01 in tandem

“Be completely HUMBLE and GENTLE; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

A man’s pride will bring him low, but the HUMBLE in spirit will retain honour.

A GENTLE answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”

The Holy Spirit God commanded the church in Ephesus through the Apostle Paul to be completely humble and gentle. This was not a mere suggestion but a command..!

Why is it so important to be humble & gentle?

The opposite of humbleness is pride. And pride is like a slow-poison that brings a man down slowly but surely. But humbleness on the other hand is like a magical potion that maintains a man’s inner fervour and sustains his outer honour. 

While Pride is a mental attitude, Humbleness is a spiritual attribute.  One can be proud of their education, talents, achievements, external appearance etc, all of which are either physical or mental but never spiritual. There is nothing in the spiritual realm that man can be proud of. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”(James 1:17). God’s grace is a free gift; God’s Love is a free gift; God’s salvation is a free gift; Peace of God is a free gift; Hope in Christ is a free gift. You name anything which is good and perfect – ALL of them are free gifts from God. Therefore, there is absolutely NOTHING in the whole of universe that you and I can boast about as self-made or self-achieved.

Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am GENTLE and HUMBLE in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29, 30). As God’s children in Christ we are to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1).     

The yoke of PRIDE is too difficult to carry and the weight of HATRED (harshness) is too burdensome – both are extremely fatal. 

Hence, let us seek to be completely HUMBLE and GENTLE in heart and carry His yoke which is easy and bear His burden which is light...!

HONEST & TRUTHFUL witness..!

Let’s read Acts 1:8, Proverbs 14:5&25 in tandem

“....you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

“An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies”

“A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful”

We receive POWER when we partner with the Holy Spirit God to fulfil our Heavenly Father’s will in and through our lives. This “POWER” is given not just to become a charismatic, crowd pulling, miracle-causing Christian stalwart. This “POWER” is given to become a witness of Jesus Christ. 

Notice what Jesus said to His chosen ones in the above scripture portion – “..you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” He commanded them to be a “local witness” first, then a “territorial witness” and then finally He spoke of being an “international witness”. That is the order we need to follow even today. We need to be a witness to our “family & friends” first in priority, everyone else are to follow next. What is the use of being known as a renowned “international preacher”, if one’s own family/friends cannot see Christ in him/her?

Just being a “witness” is not enough. A “witness” needs to be a genuine one. An honest witness is he whose way is the TRUTH. This very TRUTH sets people free/saves their lives (John 8:32b)

May you and I always receive power from the Holy Spirit God so we can be His witnesses. May we always testify as follows:

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3)

New ZEAL & New FERVOUR & New JOY everyday..!

Let’s read Proverbs 6:6-8, Romans 12:11 & Philippians 4:4 in tandem

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest”

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord”

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice”

Did you ever stoop down enough to have a closer look at an ant? If you did then you would have noticed the zeal and fervour with which they work. It is hard to find an ant which is sleeping or resting. Researchers have found out that ants “rest” for not more than 15 minutes in a day (24 hour period). No wonder why God wants us to understand His ways through a zealous and fervent ant. 

When you understand His ways and lean on His wisdom, you won’t need a commander, overseer or ruler to push you or supervise you at all times. In fact, God Himself commands, oversees and rules your life through the Holy Spirit in you.

Are you ZEALOUS & FERVENT at all times? Is your JOY a 24/7 phenomenon? 

If your answer is “NO”, then you probably have not fully understood His ways yet. You probably have minimal/no fellowship with the Holy Spirit God. You probably are not “IN THE LORD” always. The Apostle Paul said “Rejoice IN THE LORD ALWAYS..” because he knew for sure that true & unceasing JOY is a blessing bestowed only upon those who remain IN Christ at all times.  

Christ says – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9a)

Can you say – “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”(2 Corinthians 12:10)