You are the salt of the earth;but if salt has lost its taste how can it’s saltiness be restored?
Matt5:13We all know salt is used for preserving meats, for seasoning food and for medicinal purpose. We use with such regularity that we easily forget how valuable salt is. Salt was seen as a valuable commodity due to it’s many uses-and Jesus was well aware of the fact.
That is why Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth. It conveys a powerful lesson about how God’s people are to live their lives today. Our lives should be like a salt that enhance the flavor to any food that we prepare. In our daily lives, we might encounter with many situation, but we must endure till the end.
Salt represent preservative, so it shows the quality of lasting endurance. God uses the term salt to describe His enduring covenant with His people (Number 18:19).It is this same endurance that God’s people are to demonstrate(Matt24:13).
Based on its color and it’s ability to preserve food, salt came to symbolize purity, it represent the purity that Christian are to attain. This purity comes from not living too closely tied to the world (James 1:27) but by living in accordance with God’s commandments(Rev22:14).
As physical salt makes us thirsty, we should recognize our spiritual hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6) What if salt looses it’s saltiness? We know something is wrong, if it looses it’s saltiness.
Basically, the only way this can happen is, to become mixed with another element to the extent that is made ineffective. If that happens, we can no longer preserve, purify or season the world because we will have the same need of salt as they do. Such is useless to both for God and human. Jesus Christ wants our lives to enhance the experiences of others around us in the same way that salt enhances a food.
As God’s people we must not lose the purity or cease to add flavor to the lives of others. We are to be seasoning agent in the world. This applies to the fact that without God, life become dull and bland, it become useless and trample with feet.
So we are to set an example, to spread God’s message of good news through out the world as a testimony to all the nations(Matt24:14) Lord make our life be a blessing to others to be a good salt that enhance the flavor to whom we encounter with. In Jesus name 🙏
For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid instead his spirit fills us with power, love & self control
II Timothy 1:7,9
This message is a wonderful word of encouragement for all of us . Sometimes we feel burdened with our worries of finance ,family problems , sickness ,tensions, anxiety, fears ,depression, loneliness and all kinds of negative thinking which just steals and takes away our joys of life. My dear friends I am one of those people who went through all this kind of stuff.
This above message really gave me the strength,courage,boldness and confidence to move on with, and come out of all negative thoughts . I allowed the Holy Spirit to lead me and show me the right path that I should take. I kept reading this message countless times till I believed every word of God promise to give me salvation and heal me . Today I am healed and able to live a happy, peaceful life with my family and loved ones
My dear friends I want to encourage you to put your faith , hoper belief in the Lord , trusting in his time and his promises, He will change your life , like he did for me
Prayer
Thank you Almighty Father for giving us your Holy Spirit to show us the way to live our lives . Amen
GOD is our hiding place in this present world. If we hide ourselves into him, we will be protected. If we open our identity, then we will face more problems in our life.
He is our hiding place. When the noise and stresses of life have worn us out, it is easy to want to run and find a place to get away. If you’ve desired for a place where you can hide away to rest, be refreshed and undisturbed, God wants to be that for you. God knows our weakness and talents. we cannot hide anything to him. Instead, we can keep our burdens on him. Whenever we openly confess to God about our weakness and Inability to do certain thing, he will help us to do the work exactly.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
2 Corinthians 12 *2-10
HIDING PLACE IN OUR TROUBLE
I had two children. Both are teenage girl child… The present world is really a challenging to all the spiritual parents to lead them in a godly way. As a spiritual parent I use to react more with my daughters in their spiritual life. But my entire efforts were failure. God explained me deeply the way you learn God is different when you compared with your children. Sometimes we cannot do anything in our children spiritual life. At this time, we should keep quiet with prayer and faith to get the Guidance from God.God teach me through the word.
Don’t be a parent to your child in their spiritual life be a warrior of Jesus Christ know the enemy who is getting ready to attack your children and fight with evil spirit defeat it in the name of JESUS through your Authority.
HIDING PLACE IN OUR SPRITUAL GROWTH
When God raised us to lead many ministries, we must be very careful about the spirit of pride. The pride spirit will make us to fall immediately from his leading.
Soul the king loses his leading of God when he disobeys God with the spirit of pride. God taken his eyes from him immediately, but soul never knolew this. We must hide ourselves in God in all the ministries handed over to us. Humans are weak to the spirit of pride as we all know we must be very careful in this. God teach me to get rid of this spirit of pride. Always remember the first day of our salvation, we don’t know anything, God himself called us, teached us, guided us and protected us.
King David will always confess before God as a shepherd. God only appoint him as a king. He never forgets these things until his end.
You will not be overtaken, for God is making you an OVERCOMER! “
…Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13-14 ESV).
What is the assignment God has given to you in this hour? What obstacles stand before you? Is He is calling you to STAND FIRM in Him and His faithfulness to you? He is your Anchor, fixed and immovable. He is steadfast and never failing. He is your firm foundation on which to stand.
Is He calling you to be silent, refusing to voice words that contradict His voice to you? He is ready to show Himself strong on your behalf. Lean into His goodness and mighty strength. Listen for His particular assignments for you and your words in this season. His glory will be revealed as you put your trust in Him.
Lastly, has He given you the command to MOVE ON? If so, then lock eyes with Him and take the first steps forward, trusting the waters to part as you advance. He will be with you in the midst of the crossing, giving you dry ground on which to stand. The waters may rage on your right and left, but you will not be touched.
The sea that threatened the Israelites ended up being the very thing that God used to take out their enemies. Likewise, God will use those things that have come against you for your advancement, thwarting Satan’s plans and reminding him that he is a defeated foe.
If you have felt like you are about to be overtaken in this hour, then you have the opportunity to allow the Spirit of God to call forth the OVERCOMER in you. Our enemy, Satan, is a liar, and there is no truth in him. His threats, his intimidating attempts to hinder your advancement, are all lies. As you place your trust in God, He will take you from your place of being overtaken, to a place of OVERCOMING.
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
God has a triumphal procession for you, His OVERCOMER, as you spread the fragrance of your testimony with others. God will receive glory through what He does in your life and the lives of others who choose to trust in Him as their MIGHTY DELIVERER. You will not be overtaken, for God is making you an OVERCOMER!
“ ………..when the Son of Man comes , will He really find faith on the earth?” Lk. 18:8.
Faith means firmly believing and trusting Jesus as our Saviour who has died for our sins and risen from the dead. It’s not an act once in a lifetime ,it’s a lifestyle, continuous , and ongoing – trusting God in a stormy, worst situations.The Old Testament saints had not seen their promised blessings in their lifetime, but, their faith/ hope was in eternal life.
This is what Paul says in chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews. Not only believing the living God and obeying His commands but also persevering in time of test and suffer for God. That’s why Jesus prayed for Peter( knowing the forthcoming tribulations of Peter ) that his “FAITH should not fail”. (Lk. 22:31-32).
There is salvation only in Christ – “No other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Our eternal security does not depend on what we do on earth but by believing and having “ faith” in What Jesus has done for us on the cross. We know many people who really are good in life. History has many leaders, politicians , scientists, renowned people and celebrities who have done good to the society and to their own country. But, do/did they have “faith “ in Jesus, the Saviour of the world? As the Lord said “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul ?” ( Mt: 16:26)
In Noah’s time, only 8 people were faithful, Lot’s time homosexuality was prevalent and throughout the history of Israel we see idolatry running rampant and people wavering in their faith.
We also live in a world where history is being repeated, problems with the government, economical, spiritual situations- nations distressed, “legally accepted and approved “ homosexuality ,lesbianism, pre-marital and extra marital relationships, problems with no solutions, various diseases, – all types of evils at the time of His 2nd coming which was foretold by our Lord when He was on earth.
In such a situation, His only concern was- not about the church His bride or anything else, but was particular “will He find faith “? ( Lk18:8) when He comes back.
The Lord knows the times that we live, and ‘ how weak we are in our faith’. At the same time, we live in the “ time of Grace” and spiritually in much a better position than our Old Testament saints were. We have to strengthen our’faith’ in the Lord and pray that everyone should accept / have FAITH in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Lord, help us in our weaknesses to safeguard our faith and let’s declare with Paul “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept THE FAITH”.(2 Tim.4:7).
Scripture reassures us that God goes before us and makes the crooked places straight, (Isaiah 45:2). No matter what each day brings, no matter what the future holds, we can be rest assured that God holds our future and that He has already gone before us and paved the way for us.
No matter what challenges each day brings, we can be sure according to the word of God that He is not only with us all the time and for us but also that He has already gone before us and made the crooked places straight which represent the obstacles in our lives.
The crooked places will look different for each one of us. However, it is good to know that no matter what obstacles come our way, God is able to help us overcome them because he has already gone before us. So keep walking. No matter what lies ahead of us, God is already there.
There’s nothing man in his own power can do to make the crooked man straight. If we could, we wouldn’t need Jesus and His salvation.
Only Jesus can take the crooked and make it straight.
The “crooked” referred to here, is the character and nature of man. It would signify all manners of deceit, corruption, guile, hypocrisy, and untruthfulness. Any person who is bent low over a power of sin and who is a crook in every sense of the word, who is a liar, a cheat, a thief, an adulterer, a fornicator, a murderer, and ungodly, is the crook that God can make straight.
Jesus makes the crooked straight through regeneration.
Through His shed blood, He cleanses them and gives them a new heart(Is.1:18; Ez.36:26). When the crook (and we were all crooks at one time) repents of his sins and puts his faith in Jesus and His finished work of redemption at Calvary, he’s saved and forgiven of all his sins and crookedness, and becomes a new creature in Christ (2 Cor.5:17) and begins walking the straight and narrow way, where there’s no room for crookedness.
Once someone is saved, they make straight paths for their feet (Heb.12:13) and follow the “highway of the upright (straight)” which is “to depart from evil (crookedness)” (Pr.16:17).
As a child of God, we are in the hands of God’s providence and protection. God intervenes on our behalf. As we look back on our lives we can see where God has made the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth.
Our very steps are ordered by the Lord. With the Lord’s help our destination (the one He has ordered for us) can be reached. As a Christian every one of our steps is planned out by God.
Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.”
Jesus was condemned as a crook and bent crooked in the manner He was hung on the cross, and from the pain that gripped His body, in order that we might be made straight through Him.
PRAYER :
“Heavenly Father, thank You for preparing a path for me. I know You are working behind the scenes to make the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. Give me Your strength to keep moving forward on the good path that you have for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
The Lord’s plan for our lives is good – Jeremiah 29:11
The Lord is our Abba father. He loves us and wants to give us the best in life. We should always remember that all good things come from the kingdom of God.
But sometimes, when things do not turn out, according to our expectations and our human plans, we feel sad ,disheartened, and maybe question the will of God in our lives. This is a test of our faith. Do we stand firm on the word of God, which he has promised us in Jeremiah 29:11 or do we try to do things according to our human will and not God’s word .
When we face challenges in our lives, we must remember Jesus has said in John 16:33 “ In the world, you will have trials and tribulation but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world”. Sometimes we are only willing to listen to the word of God when it is beneficial or according to our human will, but we have to be aware that if things are not going, according to our expectations then we should slow down and try and understand what is God’s will for us in that situation and time.
Are we living a life of surrender to God’s will or trying hard to resist God’s will .
When we were living in Bangalore , we wanted to buy an apartment in a particular complex but nothing was falling into place, which made me feel extremely disheartened and disappointed. Then finally we were able to book an apartment and gave the deposit for it but after a few months due to some issues we had to take back the deposit .
As this entire process had stretched for long time it was frustrating .But then a few months later we relocated out of Bangalore and then by God’s infinite grace very easily we were able to buy a house instead of an apartment. Looking back I realize that it wasn’t God’s will that we should purchase that apartment and He stepped in and took things in a different and better direction when we were able to surrender to His divine and perfect will.
For we know that according to Romans 8:28 “God works for the good of those who love him.”
Prayer
ABBA father, we pray that you work in each and everyone of us, in our mind and heart that everything we say ,think and do should be according to your will not our human will. Because you know what is best for us for the plans you have for us is to prosper us and not cause us harm , to give us hope and a future. So Lord we trust in you and will not rely on our own understanding but in all our ways we will acknowledge you, and you will make all our paths straight . In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen
Mathew 15:11:- Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man ; but that which cometh out of the mouth this defileth a man.
Acts 10: 14 But Peter said, Not so Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean
Mark 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Psalm 52:2 The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Mathew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
James1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
Here Jesus Christ calls each one of us to hear His Word and to understand His Word. He wants to tell us that He has come and made everything clean. Whatever we eat (excluding the drugs and alcohol) will not defile our body nor will it effect our brothers and sisters. We have to be careful about the words which come out of our mouth. As we are living in a generation where all give importance to the health benefits of the food and water that we intake, but do not bother about the ill feelings which is spread by our words. There are times when we do not hesitate to gossip, tell lies, spread rumours or utter harsh words. Jesus Christ tells us that we have to control our tongue at all times.
As in James 1:16, those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves and their religion is worthless.
We have to remember that the spoken words cannot be taken back. The hurtful words will always be remembered and not easily forgotten.
Testimony:-
I am a person who does not tolerate injustice, and will always fight for right. Hence I was always put in the forefront by my colleagues when we had some demands. On one such occasion we had a meeting with the management and before going to the meeting I said a small prayer asking Lord Jesus to take control of my tongue and allow me to speak only if He wants me to speak.
I entered the conference hall sat quietly. As the meeting progressed I didn’t utter a single word. Many rose on that day to speak but Lord Jesus shut my mouth. My Matron was surprised and later asked me as to why I did not speak. I just told her that I prayed before the meeting and that I was not allowed to speak by Jesus. After that day whenever I had to meet up with some authority, I always ask Jesus Christ to utter the words that should be spoken.
Hence we have to take care about what words come out of our mouth. Whatever comes out of our mouth should be edifying, encouraging and enable other person to grow more closer to Jesus Christ.
Prayer:-
Lord Jesus we come into your Holy Throne room of Grace with a humble heart and we surrender our tongue into your mighty hands. Help us to utter the words that will glorify your name and will be beneficial to grow more closer to you and to establish a deeper relationship with you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. I Samuel 17:45
The Name of the Lord was David’s strength. According to the Bible a Name reveals character and attributes of a person. Adam gave names to animals and birds as he looked at them and perceived their nature. He gave name to his helpmate also. Man experienced the attributes of God and he expressed his relationship with God through the names he called God. Abraham met God in His glory and set out from his home in Ur to reach the place where God was leading him to. God introduced Himself as El Shaddai, the Almighty. He called God Adonai, the master as He was his Shield and his Exceedingly great reward. At mount Moriah Abraham called Him Jehovah Jireh as God provided a lamb to sacrifice in place of his son Isaac. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” Genesis 22:13-14
Moses wondered how he could identify the Lord before the Israelites. Moses asked the Lord, what he could call Him and what should he tell the people about who was sending him. The Lord answered ” I am that I am”, the One who is always there. The self Existent. When the Lord brought victory for Israelites over the Amakekites, Moses called Him Jehovah Nissi, the Banner. For Gideon He was Jehovah Shalom. Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. Judges 6:23-24 NKJV
All these experiences and encounters brought several names to the Lord. David was shepherd and he knew how well the shepherd cares for his sheep and he knew God as his Shepherd. David was a man according to God’s own heart and Jesus introduced Himself to His own people as the Good Shepherd. Israelites were herdsmen and it was their livelihood. God chose them as the special people and He wanted to be their shepherd. God deals with people according to their situations and requirements.
In the Gospel of John Jesus explains the “Great I Am” through seven different anlalogies. In the Old Testament man gives expressions to his comprehension of God. But in the New testament Jesus Himself gives His personal attributes through seven I AM s
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35 NKJV
2.Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 NKJV
3.Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. John 10:7 NKJV
4.“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. John 10:11 NKJV
5.Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. John 11:25 NKJV
6.Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
7.Jesus said “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:1, 4
All these analogies are to be perceived in the right spirit and truth. May the Lord Almighty grant us wisdom to know Jesus, Son of God, so that we would proclaim vehemently, with Apostle Thomas “My Lord and My God”. Prayer: Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the grace you have showered on us. Help us to remain in your love and blessings. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen. Sol. Salomi Kurian
Many people met Lord Jesus Christ during His lifetime. Let us meditate on a few of them. One of them that lingers in our thoughts is Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9).
Zacchaeus was a Jew and was the chief of the tax collectors who collected taxes from the Jews and paid them to the Roman Empire. And as many tax collectors did in those days, that is, they would collect more tax than they were assigned and pay it to the government and keep the rest for themselves.That is why he was rich. As he was going to many villages to collect taxes, there were people who heard about the miracles and wonders that Jesus had done and wanted to see him.
And the Jewish religious leaders were opposed to seeing and believing in Jesus, pushing them outside the synagogue.So Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, without anyone knowing, climbed a sycamore-fig tree on the way in which Jesus came and hid himself among the leaves. Jesus, who knew everything, came down to the tree and called Zacchaeus and announced that he was coming to his house. Zacchaeus rejoices to see Jesus, feels guilty when he takes Him home, and declares that he will give back half of his (unjustly collected) wealth to the poor and fourfold to those who were unjustly taxed. Thus salvation comes to his house. He also becomes a son of Abraham.
There are only a few people who confessed their sins after seeing Jesus and changed their minds and received salvation. Among them Zacchaeus is the foremost. All the politicians in our country should have a change of heart like Zacchaeus’s change of heart. Let us pray that the crores of money they have, should be used for the poor people and for the welfare of the people.
Samaritan Woman:
One of the most important personal encounters with Jesus in the Bible is the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. There was hatred and enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans. They are not related. In this situation, the conversation alone is very interesting for both of them. She sees Jesus first as a Jew, then as a prophet, and finally as the Messiah.
Jesus declares “He is the Messiah who is called the Christ” in a few places. Although she had no connection with the Jews, this woman was knowledgeable about Jewish culture, customs, and Jewish scriptures.
After the conversation with Jesus, she stopped the work she had just come to and went into the city and announced the gospel like this. “A man told me everything I did. Come see him. She said, “He is the Christ.” The way she openly declared her sins immediately caused many of the Samaritans in that town to believe in Jesus.
And Jesus stayed there for two days and preached. This woman did not hear about Jesus or about the miracles and wonders He did. But she turned around expecting the Messiah to come. When she saw the Messiah, she believed and immediately proclaimed Jesus. She is an example of evangelism.
Nicodemus:
He was a Pharisee, a teacher, and a Jewish official. After learning about the miracles that Jesus had done, he met Jesus alone at night, conversed with him, and learned the truths. Neither believed nor followed Jesus. Because of the good impression he had on Him, he brought about a hundred pounds of white and black linen to bury Jesus. Undaunted by the religious leaders, he boldly came forward to help, Jesus to be buried according to the Jewish customs.
Thus the meeting of Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, etc. helped to fulfill the salvation in their personal lives, the change in society, the proclamation of the gospel, and the opportunity for the burial of the Messiah.
Encounters that do not result in changes / impacts:
Herod, the tetrarch, heard all that Jesus had done and wanted to see him (Luke: 9:9) and even though he wanted to see the signs that Jesus would perform, he had been longing to see him for a long time. he did nothing and no attempts to do so.
Because Herod was the tetrarch , the ruler of the country, if he had sent someone, Jesus himself would have arranged an opportunity. No effort was made. But Zacchaeus and Nicodemus tried to see Jesus even though they were high position in society. They were also a blessing to others.
When Pilate sent Jesus to Herod to question him, Herod rejoiced when he saw Jesus, just for a few seconds. Jesus did not answer many of the things he asked. In the end he insulted and mocked Jesus. Meeting is of no use to anyone.
In this way a rich man came to Jesus, prayed and turned away with a sad face (Luke 18:18-23).
Witness:
When I was working in a country called Zimbabwe, I was advised by my wife who was saved a few years ago that “seek and you shall find and whoever seeks will find”.
I didn’t know how to search. I stood in front of the idols I worshiped and said, “Are you the real God? Then who is Jesus? I was asking. Then one evening a servant of God, led by Jesus Christ, came looking for me. Just that morning I had written an open letter to God. In that I asked Christians, Hindus and Muslims to pray for my problem. In that situation the servant of God came and prayed for me , I got peace of mind and was reassured and saved. The problem solved.
A prayer group was started in BSNL, Tamil Nadu and the love of Jesus was revealed to the workers there. After seven years , Christmas is celebrated every year in BSNL offices, and the gospel is preached as per the advice of Jesus. It continues till this day. Glory to God!
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus Christ , You gave your life for us to be redeemed! May each one of us be like the Samaritan woman and have the grace to bring all the people in the village, town, and city where we live , into your salvation, so that all the politicians and contractors who are hiding crores of money in our country can be saved and thereby their wealth can be used for the poor people. Amen!
