“SALT to TASTE”..!!

Let’s read Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

When Jesus Christ made this statement on the mount more than 2000 years ago, there were supposedly 300 million people on this earth. And how many disciples did Jesus make mainly to spread the gospel even to the “ends of the earth”? – JUST 12..!! Imagine the whole world as a vessel full of curry and Jesus was preparing all these 12 disciples to be the “SALT” for the curry (earth). To add flavour to the tasteless lives of millions around the world. But one (Judas Iscariot) of the 12 lost “the call” by his selfish act and betrayal. In other words Judas lost the “SALTINESS” that Jesus gave him. Once the “SALTINESS” was lost in Judas, he was irreparable, it was too late. He was no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot – He realised this and HUNG himself to death (Matthew 27:5)...!!!

“The Great Commission” was given only to the remaining 11(read Matthew 28:16).The “SALTINESS” of these disciples culminated on the day of the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they received POWER. After this the “SALT” was ready to flavour the whole earth....!!! Part of this “SALT” also came to India (Apostle Thomas), which is mainly the reason why you and I know Christ today...!!!! Praise the Lord..!!

How grateful we are to God because of the “SALTINESS” of The Gospel that adds flavour to our otherwise tasteless and bland lives. Don’t lose this “SALTINESS”, lest you become “good for nothing” and thrown into HELL..!! Retain the “Gospel” (SALTINESS) in you by LIVING it out (being the SALT) and adding flavour to the lives of those around you just as the 11 disciples did...!!!

If you stop being SALT, your commission (call) will come to a HALT...!!!!

REVIVAL for SURVIVAL...!!

Let’s read Psalm 23:1, 2, 3a

“The Lord is my shepherd, I LACK NOTHING. He makes me lie down in GREEN PASTURES;
he leads me beside QUIET WATERS, HE REFRESHES MY SOUL”. 

Notice 4 things here – Lack Nothing, Green Pastures, Quiet Waters and Refreshment of Soul.

Green pastures (food) and Quiet waters (water) are enough for a SHEEP to REFRESH (revive) ITSELF and LACK NOTHING and thus continue to LIVE.  The Word of God (Food - Matt 4:4) and Holy Spirit (Living water – Isa 44:3; John 7 37-39) are enough for a CHRISTIAN to REFRESH (revive) HIM/HERSELF and LACK NOTHING and thus continue to LIVE.

“Revival” means an improvement in the condition or strength of someone or something. “Survival” means the state of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.

Revival precedes Survival. Eating precedes Surviving. We EAT to SURVIVE, not SURVIVE to EAT. Whenever we have our meals, we initiate a process of REVIVAL for our hungry, thirsty and tired bodies – that is how we SURVIVE. If we stop REVIVING our physical bodies by eating/drinking, eventually we stop SURVIVING. 

That’s the same with our Spiritual being – If we stop REVIVING (eating the WORD, fellowship with Holy Spirit) ourselves, eventually our spirit-man WILL DIE. Can we REVIVE a dead man? – IMPOSSIBLE. A dead man needs RESURRECTION, not a mere REVIVAL. Talking about “REVIVING a dead man” is like talking about “FEEDING a dead man to bring him back to life”.

If you say “I THINK I NEED A REVIVAL” – only once in a while (once a week, month, year, etc) then you can be sure that you are spiritually “almost dead” or “fully dead”, because a Christian who wants to SURVIVE will REVIVE him/herself MULTIPLE TIMES IN A DAY (like we eat physical food multiple times in a day).

If you realise you are spiritually “almost dead”, pray for Resuscitation (CPR/Defibrillation in first-aid terms – Google it!). You need a “Holy Spirit/Revelation shock” to save your spirit-man from certain death to LIFE.

If you realise you are spiritually “fully dead”, forget about REVIVAL for now and pray for a RESURRECTION experience (read Ezekiel 37:1-14). Once you are alive in spirit – you need CONSTANT REVIVAL for CONTINUOUS SURVIVAL.....!!!

DO as you SAY…!!

Let’s read Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus said – “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him”.

In the above parable, Jesus is talking about two sons. The first son is similar to a non-Christian who grew up in the ways of the world. The other son is similar to a person brought up as a Christian with Biblical principles and teachings.

The first son may have displeased and disrespected the father through many years of his sinful life but there came a time when he encountered “The Truth” and repented of his sins. This first son changed his mind (in accordance to Christ’s) and started to live a life that is pleasing to his father. On the contrary the second son knew how to address his father with respect and unfortunately that was ALL that he knew. When he was asked by his father to work in the vineyard, he so politely said “I will sir”. The second son knew how to respect the father on the outside but on the inside he was not obedient and respectful at all. The second son’s condition is more serious than that of the first one..!

The same can be noticed today in the Christian world. Film actors, businessmen, prostitutes, idol worshippers, murderers, politicians and terrorists etc. are all being transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These people are similar to the first son in the above passage. They may have shown their arrogance to God for most of their lives but once their mind is changed, they start working for the Lord and take their lives seriously. But name-sake Christians say “I will sir” to God on every Sunday but do not live by what they say or believe.

Do not say “I Will” to God unless you are serious about it, lest you become worse than a prostitute…!!

WILL you or WILL you not...!!!

Let's read Romans 8:38, 39

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING can separate us from the Love of God. Is it true? Not EXACTLY. IF absolutely NOTHING can separate us from God's Love, why does HELL exist? Why do sinners go there?!!

Read the above passage carefully. We see that neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, powers, height, depth and anything else will be ABLE to separate us. That means all these which are mentioned here are NOT ABLE to separate you from God's Love. But your WILL is ABLE to separate you from the love of God. Your WILL is more powerful than all of the above mentioned.

God does not FORCE his Love down your throat. God's LOVE is a free gift that needs to be accepted with reverence.

Unless you die to your SELF WILL (read Mark 8:34, 35) and seek to live a life of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit, you will NOT experience His LOVE continually. We have access to God's Righteousness through Faith (read Romans 3:22). Live HIS righteousness out. Or else the Word of God says that the unrighteous will be cast into eternal punishment (read Matthew 25:46) - which is nothing but a place separated from God's Love....!!!

Die to Self-Will NOW and start experiencing his LOVE.....!!!!

Tongue – A lighter that ignites HELL fire...!!!

Let’s read James 3:5b, 6

“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The TONGUE ALSO IS A FIRE, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It CORRUPTS the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by HELL.”

Imagine a 5 year old playing with a lighter in her hand, running all around the place ALL THE TIME. She lights it for no reason, she puts it off for no reason. What’s the risk? You know it. She might end up setting up the whole house on fire and burn it down completely...!!

An untamed tongue (read James 3:7, 8) is similar to the lighter mentioned in the above scenario. If you have an untamed tongue you will end up in a lot of trouble. Baseless quarrels, disunity, lack of peace, destructive gossip and bitter relationships are only a few of the many disasters that are caused by an untamed tongue.

“How to tame the tongue”?? “Who can tame the tongue”??

The Word of God says that you and I cannot tame the tongue on our own (read James 3:7, 8). We can only bridle it. “Bridle” is a line, rope, or device that is used to restrain or control the action or movement of something (example: to control a horse).  Compare your tongue to a wild horse. You cannot control your wild horse (tongue) on your own and God doesn't expect you to do it on your own either. God only expects you to just “bridle” it and hand it over to Him. This “bridle” refers to your willingness to let God take control. Make up your mind in truth and Spirit and then pray (read Psalm 141:3). Let the Holy Spirit be the rider who controls your tongue with the “bridle” in His hands.

Only God can TAME the UNTAMABLE...!!!
 

INSTINCTIVE or DISTINCTIVE…!!

Let’s read Jude 1:18-21

“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life”.

“Scoffing” is similar to “Scorning”, which simply means “to mock at”.

In the above passage the Holy Spirit God is warning us of the scoffers who follow their own ungodly desires and by doing so they mock God. These scoffers or mockers are not located in some foreign land or somewhere on another planet. They exist everywhere you go. You can find them in schools, colleges, work places, among friend circles (through social media or otherwise), even in your own family etc.

The main characteristic of these scoffers is that they follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. In other words they can be easily compared to animals. Animals survive based ONLY on instincts. And these scoffers also rely on their natural instincts and ungodly desires. They not only yield to ungodly desires, but also cause disunity and unrest. Let us look at a few natural instincts of man that are ungodly according to the scriptures – ANGER, LUST, PRIDE and SLANDER (uncontrolled speech).

Now, notice that we are not instructed to run away from such people or be fearful of such people. These people WILL remain amongst us but we should not let them mislead us and cause division. When you build yourself up through FAITH and PRAYER in the Holy Spirit you will not be a slave to your natural instincts. You will be given divine wisdom to deal with the scoffers and mockers who challenge your exclusivity. Do not be INSTINCTIVE but be DISTINCTIVE by remaining in God’s love and always waiting on the Lord.

You are not just another ANIMAL to be ruled by instincts; You are a CHILD of God, remain within His righteous precincts…!! 

NO ONE EXCEPT JESUS...!!

Let’s read Matthew 17: 4-8

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, THEY SAW NO ONE BUT JESUS ONLY”

Matthew chapter 17:1-13 describes the transfiguration of Jesus on a high mountain. There is SO MUCH to ponder upon from the above passage, but let us focus on the two men (Moses & Elijah) who appeared to the three disciples in comparison to the one and only Jesus Christ. 

Both Moses & Elijah are highly regarded as faithful servants of God and hence the eminence. Moses was a great mediator and leader, and Elijah was a great reformer. Both considered as heroes. Both considered as icons. Both considered as “GREAT MEN”. The top of the “high mountain” on which the three disciples saw Jesus, Moses and Elijah is a representation of the pinnacle of man’s accomplishments. 

Now, notice what Peter said to Jesus without proper discernment - “let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”. “Tabernacle” in simple terms is nothing but a “dwelling place” or a “temple”. So, Peter wanted to build a temple each to all the three. He was 1/3^rd correct and 2/3^rd incorrect. He acknowledged the fact that Jesus is “God-in-flesh” but blundered terribly in giving the other two the same honour. But when the disciples shifted their sight heavenwards, they saw NO ONE BUT JESUS ONLY (read Matthew 17: 5-8).

The reconciliation through Jesus far exceeds that of Elijah. The intercession of Jesus far exceeds that of Moses. In simple words – Jesus is the ONLY personification of the GREAT GOD Himself. Moses & Elijah  were "mere men" mightily used by the same GREAT GOD.

Do not by any stretch of imagination refer to any man (including cricketers!), from history or present or future as “GOD”.

“GOD” is one and only; “GOD-in-flesh” is also one and only..!!