My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Genesis 8:1, “Then God Remembered Noah and every living thing. And all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth. And the waters subsided.”
From the above context we learn a blessed lesson that even in the widest sweep of the most stormy weather, there are those who abide safely fearing no evil. Though the waters surge furiously there is a rock on which we may stand safe above the highest wave. God remembered Noah. Not because of favouritism but because he obeyed God.
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, the Lord saw, that the wickedness of man was great upon the face of the earth. And that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast.” And Behold, I myself, am bringing the floods of waters, on the earth to destroy all living things.” Therefore God instructed Noah to build an ark to protect Noah and his family. The Bible says, Noah did according to all that God commanded Him. And being obedient to God he built an ark. His family entered into the ark along with every living creatures and God closed the door of the ark such that no one could open it. After that there were heavy rains for forty days and forty nights. There was a great turbulence, among the deep. And waters covered the earth. Floods of water sprang forth from every corner of the earth and gushed with great force forming fountains of water all over the earth.
My Dear brothers and Sisters, in the midst of all these stretch of waters, like storms, cyclones, and floods and all the uproar, the ark floated safely and steadily above the waters since it was built according to the plan of God and rested on the mountain Ararat. God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. God then opened the doors of the ark for Noah and his family to come out of the ark along with all the living creatures, and occupy the earth peacefully. God said to Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” God blessed Noah and his sons, because Noah obeyed God and walked according to the plan of God.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, When you walk as per the will of God, then God will bless you and your family, for He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus, Himself will be an ark and protect you from all hurdles that you face each day of your life. Though the storm may rage and the wind may blow in your life, He will carry you through. So obey His voice and follow His plan, however hard it might be, then He will bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for this blessed day. Lord we thank you for telling us that you not only protect the righteous like Noah, but also bless our family from the disasters to come. Help us to obey Your voice and fulfil Your plan in our life. Bless and multiply us, as you blessed Noah and his family.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Jeremiah 32:4 says, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good. And I will put the fear of Me in their heart, so that they will not turn away from Me.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, From the above context we understand that our God makes an everlasting covenant, with his children, saying that He will not turn away, from them to do them good. He may withdraw His gracious presence for a while, but he never turns from His love and affection to His people. He does not utterly leave them or forsake them, or cease to do them good. Instead he puts fear in their hearts, in order to keep his people along with Him, and not allow them to depart from Him. It is sin and sinful deed that separates one from God, and ruins them.
God doesn’t rest when it comes to you and your growth. He puts everything into place to help you grow, thrive and experience transformation. Ultimately God is in control. He allows the good and bad things in life and we can trust Him to work all things, together for good in the lives of those who love Him. There is always a question, “When bad things happen, can God use them to accomplish good?” Yes God can. He turned the evil days of Job, Joseph, David, Mordecai and Ruth into prosperous days.
Once a government officer, came up to me for prayer saying, “’Brother I have been very honest in life, very frank of speech, and straight forward in my work but the authorities have transferred me to a dry and deserted place. A very remote and distant place. Why did this happen to me? Kindly pray for me”. I told that brother that nothing will happen to him without the knowledge of God. Not a single hair can fall off his head without God’s permission. If one is honest in work then he should be promoted to higher grade or post but if he has been transferred to a distant place then God has a plan for him.
I told this brother, “ God has taken you there with a purpose.”For those who transferred you , it would seem to be a place of punishment for you, but God has taken you there with a definite purpose. So take up the transfer and join the duty in the place you have been posted.”Firstly he hesitated and refused to move. But God said, “ Am I not the person, who is sending you there. I have a plan and purpose for you. I will do great and mighty things for you in that place”. Accepting the plan of God, he joined the duty and began to serve the down trodden people there. He became a person of love in the surrounding place. Even the people there began to show love and concern for him. As a result people did not allow him to go out of that place. He became their favourite officer, He did great many things for them. It was actually a sick unit in that province but God turned it out for him as a blessing.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, when you surrender your lives to the will and plan of God then a great honour is awaiting you. Later when that brother came to meet me again, he said, “ Though I endured sufferings many people have been blessed through me and this gives me great joy.” He said, “The joy I received serving them cannot be measured.” He couldn’t explain the joy of his experience that he had amongst those people. May be some of you are being squeezed, at your work place. or you are crushed and thrown out as a waste material by your authorities, endure patiently then you will be exalted in that same place where you have been despised. God’s plan for you will be fulfilled in that place. For He will neither leave you nor forsake you. Adhere to God’s word then, He will bless you. Never worry about the problems that you may have to face in that situation, for the end will be rewarding. It would turn out for your benefit. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for this blessed day. Lord we lift up our heart towards you. Help us to adhere to your words. Make us responsibile persons. Always to be focused on God and His guidance, and not lean on our own understanding. May we surrender our lives to the will and plan of God. Teach us to fully believe that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dearly Beloved, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Isaiah 52:7 , “ How lovely are the mountains, are the feet of him who brings good news. Who announces peace, and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation. And says to Zion, Your God reigns. They immediately spread the joyful tidings.”
“My Dear Brothers and Sisters, from the above context we learn that the Gospel proclaims liberty to all those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears and loose themselves from those bonds. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold or corruptible things, but His own precious blood. Do we seek victory over every sin? Then God requires holiness in us.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, The good news is that the Lord Jesus Reigns. Christ Himself brought these good tidings first. His ministers proclaim these good tidings to all mankind. They keep themselves clean from the pollutions of the world. God calls all to use the liberty Christ has provided from the bondage of sin and Satan. Thus all those who serve the Lord God Almighty are kept under special protection. And those who believe this will not suffer from fear.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, the above verse describes the return of the Jews to their own land. Prophet Isaiah sees in vision the heralds announcing their return to Jerusalem running on the distant hills. A herald bearing good news is a beautiful object and he says, that his feet are beautiful. And his running to convey the message is all the more beautiful.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, In those days it was the custom of placing watchmen on the walls of the city who would caution the people about the approaching enemy or about the coming of the messenger from a far distance to announce good news. When the herald brought in good news from distant hills there was great rejoicing. They rejoiced at all the tokens of favour showered upon his people. They not only rejoiced but also sang together lifting up their voices with praises and thanksgiving.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, just as the herald brought good news to the Jews about their return to their own land, God will bring good news to you. The Visa, for which you had applied long time back, will be granted for you to settle abroad. Likewise God will bring in the good news of your promotion. Or maybe you might be transferred to the location you are looking forward. You will be offered a brand new job with a good package. The news of your marriage is getting fixed. God sends His angels as spirits to attend on His children and meet all their needs. These are in a way like the heralds who carry good tidings to the children of God. The feet of such heralds will be beautiful as they carry message sent from God. For the Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation Or shadow of turning.” God bless you..
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank you Lord for sending in the messenger to announce the good news of peace and joy. Thank you Lord for being so mindful of us, and bringing in all the good news for our family and our personal life. Help us to enjoy the gifts that God grants us and also teach us to rejoice over it.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book Isaiah 41:15, 16, “Behold I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small. And make the hill like chaff. You shall winnow them; the wind shall carry them away. And the whirlwind shall carry. Shall scatter them. You shall rejoice in the Lord. And glory in the holy One of Israel. ”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, from the above context we understand, that the object of the illustration in the verse is to show that God would clothe you with His power and that all your difficulties will vanish. To express this idea, the Prophet uses an image derived from the mode of threshing in the East when the heavy sledge was made to pass over. A large pile, of sheaves and to bruise out the grain and separate the chaff so that the wind would drive it away.
“I will make thee” means, “I will appoint thee,” that is, you shall be a threshing instrument by which you should remove all the obstacles in the way as a threshing sledge and crush them as dust in order to be victorious in your life.
God says, this new year, God will make you a threshing sledge, with sharp teeth. May be last year you might have been blunt and because of this you might have faced difficult consequences in life. You might have behaved unwisely and foolishly as wisdom had been blunt and spoilt and you have been so senseless. But in the new year, God wants to rebuild you to a sharp threshing sledge.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, In this world there is affliction and tribulation throughout your life. And if you must withstand the struggles of this world, you just can’t manage with blunt equipment but you need an instrument with sharp teeth with which you can tear down those who suppress you. Your sharp less wisdom and knowledge is insufficient for you to face the challenges of this world, that is why this verse says, “Behold I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth.” We are living in a fearful world. Surrounded with many dangerous problems. Where there is much jealousy and competition. This world is filled with anger and revenge. We are living in a world with tribulation and affliction. And to live a victorious life in this world, we need to have sharpened wisdom and knowledge. When people of this corrupt world are living without truth, God expects you to have sharp sense of wisdom, and good understanding, to face the battle that confronts you. You need to be intelligent. Only then you can face the mountainous problems that stand against you and crush them into small bits and make them like chaff. Only then can you rejoice in the Lord. And give glory to the Holy One of Israel. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly father, we thank you for this blessed day. Lord we thank you for making us, as threshing sledge with sharp teeth. We praise you for making us fit to face the problems of this world. Make us to rejoice in the Lord and glorify in the Holy One of Israel.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Psalms 92:12, “The Righteous Shall flourish like a Palm tree. He shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon.”
My Dear Brothers and Sisters from the above context we understand the beauty, the erectness, the stateliness and the growth of the palm tree. All this is the symbol of the prosperity, and the happiness of a righteous man. The Palm tree is constantly green and flourishing, spreads its branches very wide and grows to a vast size. The tree affords refreshing shade to travellers. It also produces dates a very sweet luscious kind of fruit. It is a most beautiful tree. And in every way, an invaluable treasure to the inhabitants of those hot countries. And hence it is considered as a fit symbol of the flourishing state of a righteous man.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Bible says, the righteous grow like a Cedar, in Lebanon. They are immensely large; some of them are nearly 35 to 40 feet tall. They flourish for ages. And are always, green. When cut down they yield a most beautiful, kind of wood, brown in colour, solid, durable, and in some sort incorruptible. The Cedars as well as the palm trees when compared to the short lived and withering grass are a striking illustration of the well founded durable, and continually increasing virtue and happiness of the truly righteous in opposition to the momentary, trifling and perpetually decaying prosperity of the wicked.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Cedar is a noble and long lived tree. The Bible says, As the days of a tree, are the days, of my people. Just as the Cedar waves its mighty branches in perpetual verdure over the mountains, the truly godly man under all adversities retains the joy of his soul and continues to make progress in the divine life. Though the grass makes hay for the oxen the Cedars help in building the temple of the Lord. The palm trees too were planted within the very house of the Lord, and their presence there was ornamental, appropriate and highly suggestive. They were best emblem of the righteous, a fat, and flourishing old age – a peaceful end – a glorious immortality.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters, God sometimes grants prosperity to wicked men in displeasure. Yet they flourish but for a moment. Hence let us seek for ourselves the salvation and grace of the Gospel. Let us be anointed by the Holy Spirit, and share the Redeemer’s glory. It is from his grace, by his word and Spirit that believers receive all the virtue that keeps them alive and makes them fruitful. The text tells us not only what the righteous is but what he shall be, come what may. The good man shall flourish and flourish in the noblest manner. May the Lord help you also to be righteous and walk worthy of the Lord.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Dear Lord, help us to grow in the Lord daily like the trees that brings forth fruit in its season. Lord let our days be like the trees that live long. Teach us to enjoy peace and grow fat like stall fed calves. Make our lives a blessing to others.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
