Who do you rely on?

2 Chronicles  13:18  Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. 

Praise the Lord!!

Today we will meditate upon who can you rely on. It looks like a very simple question and would attract simple answer.

People would say of course we should rely on somebody who is trustworthy, all knowing and dependent.

In fact the meaning of Rely is to be dependent upon someone, to trust someone wholly without a doubt.

Who can we not rely on?

Bible has answers for this question.

We cannot rely on the following.
1. On people who are in prominent position. (Psalm 146:3)

2. On your riches. (Proverbs 11:28)

3. Your own heart. (Proverbs 28:26)

Now who can I rely on in this world. Who can be trustworthy and dependent.

We can rely on our Lord at all times.

Why should we rely on our Lord?

1. He is our Rock. ( 2 Samuel  22:3)

2. He is our Shield. ( 2 Samuel  22:3)

3. He is our Savior and Refuge.
( 2 Samuel  22:3)

4. His way is perfect. ( 2 Samuel  22:31)

5. He is your deliverer. (Psalms 18:2)

6. He is your preserver. (Psalms 16:1)

7. He dispels all confusion in your life. (Psalms 71:1)

2 Chronicles  16:7  And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

Earlier King Asa trusted Lord and He gave him great victories against Ethiopians. But the moment he started trusting people. Lord said these words.

The central idea of Bible is summed up in this verse which has been recognized as the central verse of the Bible.

Psalms  118:8  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.  

So, Today who do you rely on when you face issues, troubles, sickness, pain, confusion. Whose report do you believe.  We need to ask these questions to ourselves.

Psalmist says.

Psalms  20:7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalms  125:1  They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.  

No matter who is against you, whatever be the circumstances, keep trusting Lord only he can deliver you from every situation.

God Bless

Blemishless Life

Leviticus  4:23  Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:  

Praise the Lord!!

Today we will meditate upon Blemishless Life.

Is such a life even possible? Spotless, untainted, without any blemish.

Lord says "Be Holy as I am Holy". Isaiah said " Isaiah  6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

In this world we compromise and say it is ok. God is aware of my situation. He will forgive my trespass. Yes, God is a forgiving God, But He has commanded us to be Holy as He is Holy.

In old testament children of Israel recognised this issue and would offer an offering without blemish for every trespass.

Let's understand what is meant by blemish.

Blemish means:

a small mark or flaw which spoils the appearance of something.

Anything which will spoil the quality of the product which the owner has created is a blemish.

Now let's consider our life and look into the Bible the ways in which we contaminate our life which was originally created perfect by our Lord.

Galatians shows that blemish which can bring spot to our life and hinder the spiritual life.

Galatians  5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 

Galatians 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 

Galatians 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

How can we lead a blemishless life?

We have a saviour Jesus who is blemishless and able to present us spotless before the Father, the King.

Ephesians  5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Paul also lamented when he realised that it is such a difficult task to save ourselves from being blemishless

Romans  7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 

Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Notice when we are in Christ we are dead to sin. Sin cannot overpower us. We have a victory over the sin as our life is hid in Christ.

Colossians  3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  

Colossians  3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

So you may say I follow all that is given the Galatians.

When we surrender to the Holy Spirit he will work in us and protect us from every blemish which will tarnish the image of God.

1. He will refrain your tongue from speaking evil against anybody. (1 Peter 3:10).

2. He will guide you to come out of lust of flesh, lust of eyes and pride of life ( 1 John 2:16)

3. He will protect your heart from hating your brother. (1 John 3:15)

Friends, we can lead a blemishless life only through Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Christ who knows the heart of God. By your efforts you can never be saved.

Titus  3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Today when you receive this word don't harden your heart. If you have not received the Lord as your saviour. Say this simple prayer and a life pleasing to God.

Sinner Prayer

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

God bless

Covenant of Salt

Leviticus  2:13  And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.  

Praise the Lord!!

Today we will meditate upon the importance of salt. We all know how important salt is in our lives. Without salt any food will be tasteless.

God is giving the importance of salt in offering. I often wondered why would God specifically mention Israelites to put salt in the offering when it is being burnt. Our God is a living God and has senses more real than us.

Uses of salt in old testament

1. To neutralise anything that is poisonous.(2 Kings 2:20)

2. To protect the children from further contamination. (Ezekiel 16:4)

3. To heal the sick. (2 Kings 2:21)

4. To use as a pledge or covenant. (2 Chronicles 13:5)

5.  For making unsavoury food edible. (Job 6:6)

Jesus mentioned that we are the salt of this earth.

Matthew  5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Notice if we lose our savour, there is an eternal damnation.

How to excersise this saltiness in our lives.

1. Speak grace while speaking to people of other faith. ( Colossians 4:6)

2. Speak peaceably with all people. (Mark 9:50)

3. Love your enemies and answer all their questions with peace. ( Colossians 4:6)

John  13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The only that will distinguish you as a disciple of Jesus Christ is the Christ Love for others. We have a Lord who is ever mindful about us.

Luke  14:34  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 

If you don't have the savour, if you don't  display the love for people. How will you be seasoned again?

Today we are living in end times, persecution and trials are everywhere. But amidst this trials we need to show the love for the people so that they can win them for the Christ.

Luke  6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

Saints, when we face persecution and see injustice against our brethren. Let's look up to God who is our vindicator. God said vengeance is mine I will repay. Let's keep our mouth from judging others and look up to the Judge who will bring justice for us all.

God Bless.

Sweet Savour Offering

Leviticus  1:9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Praise the Lord!!!

Today we will meditate upon the offering in the book of Leviticus and the importance of that in our lives.

Bible shows that God had commanded that Israelites should bring offering to Him. These were voluntary offering and were of different kind. There were 5 different offering in particular.

1. Burnt Offering

2. Meat Offering

3. Sin Offering

4. Trespass Offering

5.  Peace Offering.

Let's understand these Offering.

1. Burnt Offering.

 The whole offering, except the skin of the animal, was burnt upon the altar and all went up to God as a sweet savour. Here we have the highest aspect of the work of Christ where He is seen offering Himself up entirely to God to do His will even unto death.

2. Meat Offering

This offering typifies Christ as the perfect and sinless Man and presents to us His wonderful Person and His spotless life which was ever an offering of a sweet savour unto God.

3. Sin Offering

This offering was for sin and pictures to us Christ who was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and endured the judgment and wrath of God against sin in our stead as our substitute.

4. Trespass Offering

This offering presents Christ who died for our sins and trespasses on the cross restoring that which He took not away (Ps. 69:4). He has not only answered to God for our sins and paid our debt by His shed blood, but has added the fifth part, as it were, bringing more glory to God and more blessings to man than were had before sin was committed. 

5. Peace Offering

This was also an offering of a sweet savour to God. The blood, the fat and the kidneys of the offering were put upon the altar as "the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord" (Lev. 3:11). This was God's part. Then the breast was given to Aaron and his sons and the right shoulder to the offering priest. This was man's part. Thus God and man both fed on the same offering which speaks of communion and fellowship and typifies the communion which the believer in Christ enjoys with God on the ground of the work of Christ at the cross and His blood shed there for our sins.

 Jesus Christ as written in Hebrews voluntarily gave his body as a supreme sacrifice for the whole world once for all. ( Hebrews 7:27)

Do you know the importance of the five wounds on his body?

The five wounds on his body were

1) Crown of thorns on his Head

2) Nails pierced in his two Hands

3) Nails pierced in his feet 

4) Side of his Chest pierced by
Lance to make sure He was dead.

These wounds  typifies the five offering to the Lord.

Saints as Christ gave his body as a supreme sacrifice. Let's present our bodies as a living sacrifice for the Lord. (Romans 12:1)

Let's walk in love as Christ walked and offer ourselves as a sweet smelling savour for the Lord.

Sinner Prayer

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

God bless

Everlasting Priesthood

Exodus  40:15  And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. 

Praise the Lord!!

Today we will meditate upon everlasting priesthood.

Priesthood is an office or a position held by a priest. In old testament it was given to the sons of Levi. They were the chosen people of God to serve the Lord.

When Korah sons of Levi rose up against Moses. He said these words.
" Numbers  16:9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?"

Notice a priest was separated for service of the tabernacle of the Lord.

A priest had to do these duties for the Lord.

1. Serve the Lord all the time.
     (Numbers 16:9)
2. Bear the iniquities of the children, and his priesthood brethren.(Numbers 18:1)
3. Make an Atonement for the children of Israel. (Numbers 25:13)

In the new testament our Lord Jesus took the place of Aaron and became a royal priesthood of whom we are his sons and daughters.

Hebrews  7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 

So we are termed as royal priesthood, chosen generation, holy nation and peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9)

So as a royal priesthood we have some duties for the Lord.

1. Serve the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul.
2. Watch and pray for the brethren.
3. Praise the Lord at all times.
4. Make disciples for the kingdom of God.
5. Intercede for those who are weak and lift the ones who are tired and weary.

Hebrews  7:24  But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.  

This scripture talks about our Lord Jesus who has an unchangeable priesthood.

1 Peter  2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  

This scripture talks about the children of spiritual Israel who are spiritual house of God, a holy priesthood.

Saints, we are living in end times, Lord says Be Holy as I am Holy. Submit your body as a living sacrifice for the Lord.

Sinner Prayer

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

God Bless

Set in Order

Exodus  40:4  And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.

Praise the Lord!!

Today we will meditate upon living a life in orderliness.

Orderliness is associated with other qualities such as cleanliness and diligence, and the desire for order and symmetry, and is generally considered to be a desirable quality.

It is very important that we follow an order in our lives. As God is an orderly God. He never does things haphazardly and confused. Everything has its perfect place and time. Similarly he expects his child to set their life in order.

We can find in the scripture that God has given specific instructions to his children in the areas where they need set in order.

1. Order in your offering (Leviticus 6:12)
It is said God loves a  cheerful giver. Also God loves when you give your offering in an order. Many times we take due care to micro manage our future by making investment so that our future and future of our family is secured. There is nothing wrong with that!! However when it comes to giving to God and his ministry we tend to follow a haphazard pattern and don't give him orderly, regularly and systematically. If we follow a system in giving God will definitely honour that.

2. Order in your fellowship ( Leviticus  24:8 )

Israelites were given specific instructions to honour the Sabbath. That was the time to rest in the Lord. To enjoy the fellowship of the Lord. Many times we spend our time with family and forget that we have a saviour who is yearning to hear your voice. And his heart cries out " My Child!! Where are you?". Yes Saints there has to order in fellowship. Set a time, day, place to have fellowship with him.

3. Order in Service ( 2 Chronicles 29:35)
Many are called but few are chosen. But if we still follow this world and don't pay heed to his calling. We are grieving the Holy Spirit. We need to have a order in serving the Lord. We are not part time servants of the Lord. We have been called and chosen to do business for his kingdom through our talents.

4. Order in words. ( Job 33:5)
We should be very careful while speaking anything about anyone. As we will be judged on the words we have spoken. There has to be order in your words. Think before speaking!!

5. Order in Steps ( Psalms 37.23)
Psalms  37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.  

We should always think before going to places and doing things. We should ask ourselves. Would God be happy if I go to this place? Will be pleased if I do these things?

If you honour Him he will honour you.

6. Order in house ( Isaiah 38:1)
God wants order in our homes. There has to be set time for family prayer, bible reading and enjoying the fellowship of the Lord. He is a God of peace and if your home is not in peace you need to ask his help to set your house in order.

7. Order in your walk. ( Acts 21:24)

Walk lawfully and don't take matter in your own hands. Know that He is Lord and will be honoured by the heathen. He will fight your battles.

1 Corinthians  14:40  Let all things be done decently and in order. 

Saints we are living in end times. If Holy Spirit has spoken to you. Please don't harden your hearts and submit to his will.

Sinner Prayer

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

God Bless