Month: March 2022

John 12:50 “And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Jesus says,  His commandment is “Eternal Life”.

What are the commandment? The Lord gave the ten  commandments to Moses. Jesus Christ has upgraded  the 10 commandments and made it into two in  a compressed form.

Mar 12:30  "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Mar 12:31  "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

He also added, “There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

The ten  commandments have so much of in depth meaning in it. It comprises the whole life of man. His individual, family, social, political, intellectual, spiritual life, all are  included in this.

Take the case of Russian Ukranian war, ecological problems, or any lawsuit  filed in the courts . The root cause will be violation of any one or more of the ten commandments.  

Take any crime committed in the society today, it is either violation or negligence of a commandment. 

The proper teaching of the ten Commandments and its after effects SHOULD BE  AN INDISPENSABLE FACTOR OF THE SOCIETY.

And I know that his commandment is eternal life

Jesus said, ‘The commandment  given by the Father are “Eternal Life”.

Every human being, whichever religion he belongs to, has a conscience which makes him believe in life after death or “Eternal life”. The beliefs in various religions may be different but almost all, even atheists believe in  life after death.

During Jesus Christ’s earthly life various types of people  were anxious to know  about Eternal life and how they can  attain it. 

We see ordinary people  coming to Jesus with queries about “Eternal Life”.

Mat 19:16  And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Lawyers   came and asked Jesus  about  Eternal Life.

Luke  10:25  And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Rulers also came to Jesus and asked about Eternal Life.

Luke 18:18  And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In answer  Jesus said,

“His commandments are Eternal Life”. “His” here is The heavenly Father’s..

When we study  human history, it gives a lot pleasant surprises to know how God,  the Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit  interfere  with individuals. 

Let’s  note the word  here “His Commandments”.

Once in my mission trip, when I stayed in a house, I saw first time an  electronic device connected to drive mosquitoes. (Mosquito bats, mats, “All outs” all came later). In the morning, out of curiosity I asked them, “This looks cute.  Where did you buy this? Immediately that sister plugged it off,  packed it and brought it to me. I felt so bad. I realized my mistake of showing interest in that object which belonged to them. I asked sorry but she was adamant in inserting that package in my suitcase.

I learned a lesson.

Exodus 20:17  “You shall not covet ……..anything that is your neighbor's.”

Whether you covet or not you  should not even show a sign of coveting. That also is wrong.

                           Sr. Roger AOJ

“And you shall be betrayed also by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends”.

Luke : 21 : 16

We are living in trying times. This chapter is like a revelation as what is likely to happen in the coming days and how we can be rescued from the various forms of troubles which are likely to hit us from inside and outside. We are likely to be even betrayed by our own kith and kin in the coming days, Lord says we are likely to be deceived even by people who come to us and preach us about Lord or use Lord’s name to get our attention. It is essential that we stay vigilant and hold on to Lord our God and pray and get His guidance in every situation. Just like mentioned in this chapter we are witnessing the Russia- Ukraine war which seems to have no end or we are not able to get into some mediation to get the war to an end. We are also witnessing the various pandemics, economic downturns in various countries including our own neighbor Sri Lanka. We are likely to get scared and worry about what is likely to happen to us in this current scenario.

As believers of Lord Jesus Christ, we should not and need not worry about anything but just hold on to His words and keep believing in Him. Believing and having faith in Him will not push us into any danger as He is our refuge and fortress.

As per Psalm 91:2

“I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress. My God in him I will trust”.

When we walk in the path of Jesus, we are likely to face lot of obstacles.  But just believing that it is He who is guiding us and he who will carry us, should give us lot of remorse and help us face all the adversities in life. Just repeating the verses below has helped me sail through the toughest moments in my life and made people wonder how strongly I handled the situations. Those who know me will believe that it is the Lord in me who helped me and made me strong in front of others.

Psalm 138: 8

"The Lord will perfect that which concernth me, thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever, forsake not the works of thine own hands".

Trusting in the Lord, having the utmost faith that He will guide us and surrendering everything to Him, will help us overcome the dangers from within the family and outside. He who created us will protect and guide us in his paths.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths."

Even when the world is against you, if God is with you nothing can harm you.

“Sol. Geraldine Viji Cruz Xavio

“Where there is no vision, the people perish”

(Proverbs 29:18 ).

The wise king of Israel, Solomon, stated in his book of Proverbs,

These words have been quoted and repeated by millions of people over the years because they capture the significant role vision has in our individual, corporate, and national lives.

The full essence of his statement implies that where there is no revelation of the future, people throw off self-control, personal discipline, and restraint.

Simply put, vision is the source of personal and corporate discipline.

And while most humans have 20/20 vision, eagles are blessed with an astounding 20/5 vision. That means that what looks sharp and clear to us at 5 feet is just as clear to an eagle from 20 feet away. No wonder we use the term “eagle eyes” to describe superb vision.

Vision sets you free from the limitations of what the eyes can see and allows you to enter into the liberty of what the heart can feel. It is vision that makes the unseen visible and the unknown possible.

Vision Is The Foundation Of Courage And The Fuel Of Persistence.

It was the vision of flight that inspired the Wright brothers to invent the
aeroplane. It was the vision of light that possessed Thomas Edison to invent the light bulb. It was the vision of a desk-sized computer that motivated Stephen Jobs to invent the desktop computer. It was the vision of giving every person access to people-friendly software that inspired Bill Gates to develop and invent the Microsoft global empire.

Hagar named God, “God of vision”
Gen 16:13  And she called the name of Jehovah who had spoken to her, You are a God of vision! For she said, Even here have I looked after Him that sees me?

Visions should be clearly written down on tablets so that all could read and understand.
Hab 2:2  And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and make it plain on the tablets, that he who reads it may run.

Child Samuel was raised at a time when there were no visions at all in Israel.
1Sa 3:1  And the child Samuel served Jehovah before Eli. And the Word of Jehovah was rare in those days. There was no open vision.Sol.

SOL. BINESH,AOJ

“Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer.”

Luke 21:14

Exodus 4:12- ” Now go. I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what you say.”

We should not forget to preach gospel and testimonies among nations having faith in Lord. During this, if people charge or tease us, we need not worry about what to say or how to defend ourselves. Lord Jesus will give us words and wisdom. So, all this will be for God’s glory also.

We have to still stand as a witness to our faith. Holy Spirit, our master will answer them. So, we have to be comforted during the ups and downs and severe trials of our life. Our faith in Lord should not shake.

There is a testimony regarding this verse. In Punjab two Soldiers Hardeep and Sandeep, used to go to the Pastors and church in their area. After some time they joined AOJ. When their pastors came to know about this, they became rivals to them and never allowed to enter the church.

They defamed brothers among villagers and asked them not to speak with both of them. But they had faith in Lord and did not utter anything before them. After one year, in the same church one Pastor’s nephew(also pastor) quarreled with those Pastors on some issue and terminated them from that church and he occupied that place. So the same happened with them. Lord answered them.

Luke 12:12 – “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
We should settle our hearts and dedicate ourselves to the Lord, so that, whatever comes, we will be ready, and confident that God will be there to meet all our needs.

And if we are not confident then let’s work with God and tell him what we want, he will help us.

Mathew10:19- “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.”

Lord Jesus promises to be with us always to the very end of the age (Mathew 28:20) That means even in the darkest moment of our life, He will be with us always and forever.

Sol. Poonam Batra, AOJ

And Jehovah said to Joshua, Today, I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel so that they may know that I will be with you, as I was with Moses.

Jos 3:7

Israelites had  tremendous faith in Moses.  But Joshua  would have had a lot of questions like

1. Whether people will accept and obey him
2. Whether he will be able to lead  the people to the land of Canaan
3. Whether God will be with him or not as He was with Moses.

The Lord clarified all these questions . He said to Joshua,

Jos 1:2  My servant Moses is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I give to them, to the sons of Israel. 

Jos 1:3  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given that to you, as I said to Moses. 

Jos 3:7  And Jehovah said to Joshua, Today, I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel so that they may know that I will be with you, as I was with Moses. 

In order to magnify Joshua, the Lord had to give to the whole of Israelites  another Red Sea experience. Now it was not Red sea but Jordan. The same kind of miracle had to be done  just to make the people believe that God was with Joshua as He was with Moses...

Jos 4:14  On that day Jehovah made Joshua great in the sight of all Israel. And they feared him, even as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.... 

Jesus said...Joh 12:26  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant shall be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. 

When responsibilities are given, some hesitate to take it up thinking “I am not worthy to do it”. We have to be convinced about our eligibility in the presence of God. Just like the Lord arranged a Jordan incident to bring Joshua to the limelight as a leader you also might be given such experiences. That is just to prove that God is with you.

Every believer is a leader. The only thing we have to do is to activate your talents to the maximum and use it for the Kingdom. Make a commitment to achieve the target you have made in the ministry.

Take bold steps in faith. This will be a challenge for you just like for Joshua when he made the people cross Jordan. You will have to give command to many Jordans, Jerichos, Red Seas in your Faith Journey.

You are the one to give the command! Don’t hesitate! Give commands in achieving targets! Don’t allow anybody to look back, withdraw from war, or stand without proceeding. We are in war field. Unless we fight, we will get attacked by the enemy. War field is a place where two things happen. You have to fight or you will get attacked. Let’s proceed in inheriting the land, completely! Don’t allow any evil spirit to remain in your State, in any single Constituency of your State or else, they will be goads in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you live. Let’s be watchful.

Sr. Angelica AOJ

“There will be great earthquakes, …in various places;

Luke 21:11

Dear People of God in this biblical passage” there is a conversation happens in between Jesus and the disciples, and He replied:

“Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. “

We have to watch out day and night so that we will not be deceived by this world. This is the most important thing, don’t get panic if you hear these things, sit more in the presence of the Lord so that you can understand the revelations that the Lord wants to manifest in the world. Keep your life in holiness and spread the good news to the world. There are lots of people even in our circle, who try to deceive you, Keep your spiritual eyes always on what the scriptures say about this. In fellowship with the Lord you can understand the plans of the Lord what He has already made for you. This is written in Jeremiah 29:11

-For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Our future is in Lord’s Hand and hope belongs to the Lord, One thing I want to remind you here . Matthew tells us that Jesus spoke this parable in response to his disciples’ request to learn what sign would signal the Lord’s coming at the end.

Jesus issued various warnings (Matthew 24:4–28) because, during those troubled times, there would be many infiltrators who would seek to turn men’s attention and affections away from Jesus, the true Messiah. Since no one can know the day or hour that the Lord will come, we must be constantly in a state of alertness, ready at any moment. 

The Parable of the Ten Virgins tells us what will happen to a variety of people when the Lord Jesus’ kingdom comes. It tells us that Christ will come at an unexpected moment to judge sinners and reward the righteous. Afterward, there will be no second chance for anyone. People may knock on kingdom’s door all they want, but the door will remain shut. Matthew 25:1-13.

Dear HeavenlyFather,
Thank you for the understanding of this revelation. Let me live this life according to your perfect will and I pray that one day I may stand before Your throne and hear You say, “well done, good and faithful servant” – in Jesus name I pray, AMEN.

Sol. Binesh Kumar, AOJ

And He saw a poor widow casting two mites (small copper coins)

-Luke 21:2

Jesus saw many rich people putting their offerings into the box and a poor widow putting two mites. Jesus said, “Everyone put out of their abundance whereas the poor widow put all that she had to live on”.

In 2 Corinth 9:7, Paul says that each man should give what he decides in his heart and not reluctantly, for God loves a cheerful giver. So what we offer should be done whole heartedly. We must not expect benefits in return of giving to Him.

How is our giving? It is a question for us to ponder upon.

In 2 Corinth 8:3, Paul tells about how the believers in Macedonian church gave,

"Out of the most severe trial, their overwhelming joy and in their extreme poverty they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability, on their own". They were much concerned about their fellow saints who were suffering in Jerusalem. Their giving was seasoned with love and concern. Again, how is our giving?

In 2 Corinth 10:18, it is said, “For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends”.

EVERYTHING THAT WE GIVE SHOULD BE APPROVED BY GOD.

Let me share a testimony. I witnessed in one of my mission trips to a village.
One evening, we visited a poor lady’s house who had just accepted Jesus as her Saviour. She lived alone in her hut and had no close kin. She had the widow pension and would also run some errands for exchange of money to survive. She had some old clothes and firewood to cook that she kept in her trunk. She took out a crushed 10 Rs note from her wallet. It was the only money she had. I was in tears and refused to receive it. She offered it happily and whole heartedly. Unable to refuse I received it, prayed and returned it to her with a blessing. I was ashamed as I left my bag in the van and had nothing to offer her.

It reminded me of the poor widow Jesus mentioned.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for everything that you have given us. From all that you gave, we bring the gifts and offerings. Let him happen that we please you like the poor widow with our offering Help us give with a cheerful heart. Amen.

Sol. Santhini AOJ

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

 Luke 21:15

It is a promise given by God that He will give us the Wisdom and Understanding to tackle everyone who is against us. A splendid fulfillment of this promise is supplied in the book of Acts. Paul was accused by Jews and God gave him the wisdom to defend before the Roman governor Felix and King Agrippa.

In today’s modern world everything we need is just within our hands.

But one thing that cannot be found in this world and that could be found only in the hands of God is wisdom. 

The power of wisdom that God gives us is magnificent which can’t be placed equal with anything that this world gives us. People say wisdom belongs to the aged and understanding to the old.

In the book of Job it is said that ” But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his”.
A very good example of wisdom is King Solomon. He had everything that he wanted but he sought God for the wisdom and understanding to know right and wrong and to rule the Kingdom in a good way.

When we follow Jesus, He leads us toward wisdom. First and foremost, that wisdom is found in the Word. In James 3:17 it is said that “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

Let me tell you a miracle that Lord Jesus Christ did to my grandmother. My grandma was a traditional Christian woman who loves to go to the Church every Sunday. One fine day the word of God poked her and made a turning point in her life. When she chose to follow the path that God has shown many people around her started mocking and insulting her. But God gave her the wisdom and knowledge to handle each and everyone. Almighty God made many miraculous events through my grandmother and also made everybody who were against her to be with her and follow the true path that the Lord Jesus Christ has shown us.

We thank you Lord for each and everything that you have done for us .As it is in Colossians 2:23 which is in Christ “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Lord give us the understanding and the knowledge to Glorify your name. This we ask in the precious name of Lord Jesus Christ.Amen

Sol. Gesha , AOJ

But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrifiedfor these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.

Luke21:9

Being terrified or fearful is a natural human emotion experienced by everyone all around the world. God knew it beforehand and thus has given us the
Assurance of “FEAR NOT” in HIS book 365 times.

God addresses our fears first as we can see in the above verse – Luke 21; 9. The same can be seen in the story narrated in Matt 8:23-27, where Jesus calms the storm. The disciples saw the great tumult happening all around them, which was a real threat to their life and fear, overpowered them and made them say –God addresses our fears first as we can see in the above verse – Luke 21; 9. The same can be seen in the story narrated in Matt 8:23-27, where Jesus calms the storm. The disciples saw the great tumult happening all around them, which was a real threat to their life and fear, overpowered them and made them say –Lord,Save Us! We are perishing.

Here too, God addressed their fears first and then rebuked the situations whichwere very real and frightening to the disciples by speaking into the situations.God understands our human fragility and weakness, so HE addresses our human emotions first and then speaks HIS assurance with HIS promisepromise.

Never will I leave you, nor forsake you.                Hebrews 13:5

Psalm 34:4
I Sought The Lord, And He Answered Me And Delivered Me From All My Fears.

Father, into your hands I commit my fears which overpower and cripple my mind. Help me to believe in your presence in all of my life situations as you have promised. Thank you for father for your assurance and promise.
Amen.

Sol. Mini Renji, AOJ

And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your cry which you have made before Me. I have made this house which you have built holy, to put My name there forever. And My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually.

1Ki 9:3

The greatest achievementof Solomon in his life was building a Temple for the Lord on earth. The Lord revealed His glory in it and made it His house forever. All the people who wanted to pray and get blessings from God had to travel all the way to this Temple in Jerusalem. After Solomon built it, all the activities of the Israeites were centred around this Temple till the curtain of the Temple was torn from top to bottom when Jesus Christ died on the cross.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there was a “shift” in the place of God’s dwelling . He chose to live in humanhearts.

He made the hearts of human beings His dwelling place with 2 conditions.

Isa 57:15  For so says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity; whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

The Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth now lives only in human hearts, contrite and humble.
Now in the New Testament, anybody who wants to build a house for God, should note two things.

• Being contrite and holy – the work of Individual
• Making the house holy and and putting His name there forever – the work of God.

Building a house for Him is the work of God. Choosing the right place, drafting the plan, materials used, interior design, decorating, furnishing, everything belongs to God.

Human beings can offer land, i.e. his heart.
Just like we people, search for appropriate lands to build houses for us, God is in search for the proper land to build His house.

2Ch 16:9  “The LORD's eyes keep on roaming throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts completely belong to him, so that he may strongly support them. …….”

Whenever, wherever, He finds a ‘contrite heart and humble spirit’ He puts a mark and buys it. (Makes it His own). He makes all arrangements to build His house.

Many people are today ready to give their money, land, building for God, because they think it brings a lot of blessings to them and to their family. But He does not want any of these. He searches for a contrite heart and humble spirit.

Many of us, have a lot misconceptions regarding this. In order to build a house for God,

Heb 4:13  No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation. 

1. Whether it is contrite (repenting for the sins commited)
2. Whether it is humble

If it gets through the scan, He starts His work of “making it Holy and putting His name there forever”.

“I have made this house which you have built holy, to put My name there forever”.
After that the status of this man changes. He will start telling,

Mic 4:5  For all peoples will walk, each one in the name of his god; and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and ever. 

Once we travelled all the way only for a single couple. 20 were invited for the meeting. But only 2, a husband and wife turned out.When I inquired of the Lord if we are to cancel the trip, asked us to proceed.
We saw many miracles there. I was taken by surprise. The way the Lord makes selections, how He opens peoples’ eyes! how He prepares human hearts for Him to dwell! Amazing! Every time it’s a new beginning!

Sr. Angelica AOJ