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His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?” and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom.

1Ki 1:6 

One of the characters about whom, much description is given in Bible, is David.  Even though David achieved much, his failures are also described in Bible. He had many children. The above verse depicts clearly David’s failure in the fatherly duties.

Pro 22:6  Train a child in the way appropriate for him, and when he becomes older, he will not turn from it. 

Today’s society puts so much restrictions on disciplining a child.

Pro 23:13  Don’t withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won’t die. 

Many countries have put legal ban on uttering the word “Jesus”, ‘God’ ‘Sin’ to their kids and young generation. But Bible teaches the opposite.  Bible teaches about disciplining a child strictly.

Why should we discipline a child?

Pro 29:15  The rod and rebuke bestow wisdom, but an undisciplined child brings shame to his mother. 

In 1 King 1:6, we see Adonijah brought shame not only to his mother but to his father, to his siblings, family and to the whole Israelites.  Finally, he was killed by his own brother which would have brought unimaginable misery and sorrow to his parents.

Note the word, “His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?”

David’s failure in his fatherly duty is emphatically mentioned 3 times.

1. David had not displeased him. 2.  At any time 3.  Never asked “Why have you done so?”

Are you prepared to displease your child? The parents will have to get the displeasure of their children if you discipline them. Are you afraid of displeasing your child? How much effort, energy and time have you put in disciplining your child?

Modern families are becoming child centred and it is not a good sign as per the above verse. Let’s look into our family. What are the negative tendencies in my child?

Have you ever taken effort to find them out?

If not, allot time today itself, to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you. Don’t postpone it to tomorrow.

Why David hesitated in disciplining Adonijah? The next verse says,

“Adonijah was very handsome and had been born after Absalom”. 

May be David was proud of his two handsome sons.

Never hesitate to discipline your ‘intelligent’, ‘handsome’, ‘rank holder’, ‘smart’, ‘efficient’ child.

If you do not correct him/her at the appropriate time, its life will be damaged. The child will become a headache, and a nuisance to your family, his/her own family which he/she is supposed to raise, and to the society.

This is the great spiritual erosion that has taken place in the ‘once reputed Christian nations.  They failed to discipline their children.

God sent among them a powerful delusion so that they believed  in a lie. “If given maximum individual freedom, without any disciplining, children will choose the right from wrong.”. This generation has proved that it was a deception. By the time we found it out,  many generations suffered irreparable damage, many died spiritual deaths, and  the countries’  Government went into the hands of  unworthy hands who have no or less regard for the laws of the Lord.   

Sr. Angelica AOJ

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luke 18:11

Jesus spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

Self-righteousness blinds our eyes from our own mistakes and makes us to look down on others who fail in life, commit mistakes or don’t bear spiritual fruits like us.

Once In a prayer meeting, my companion fell asleep during message. I was upset and despised her. Just in few minutes I fell asleep. But in the spirit, I was awake. Then the Lord said unto me “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged”. I repented for not showing mercy on her weakness.

In Luke 13:2,3 Jesus asked, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish”. Luke 6:41 says “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?”

When we are self-righteous, we lack in showing gratitude towards God.

In Luke 7:36-47, A pharisee invited Jesus for a nice meal. A sinful woman heard about Jesus and came to that place. The Pharisee who was careful in keeping the law, despised the woman as she was a sinner. On the other hand, the sinful woman, convicted of her sins, washed Jesus’s feet with her tears, ceased not to kiss his feet and anointed Him with perfume. Jesus said in verse 47 “So I’m telling you that her sins, as many as they are, have been forgiven, and that’s why she has shown such great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”

Man’s righteousness shown in works can boast before other Men, but not before God. Rom 4:2  In the presence of the Lord, “all our righteousness are as filthy rags” Isaiah 64:6. It is Jesus who forgives our sins and makes us righteous before God and not our deeds.

“The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Rom 3:22.

“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20

Amen!

Sol Sheeba Benjamin AOJ

Despising and Despised

The parable referred to in Luke 18:9 is the one about the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee is self righteous and despises the publican. On the contrary, the publican realizes that he is a sinner and pleads for God’s mercy and thereby, he is exalted.

The word of God is the double – edged sword. Self righteousness and pride are less desirable to God when compared with humility. As believers, we must be very careful not to despise anyone lest we lose favors from God. Romans 12:3 instructs “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think”. The perception of most human beings about God is far from reality.  The Bible gives a lot of instances to this. We can meditate on a few.

Genesis 29 shows how Jacob considered Rachel to be significant and the object of his love. Verse 31 says, “the Lord saw that Leah was hated”. Leah continued to be steadfast in love for her husband and her devotion to God. So God blessed her with six children and Rachel remained barren for a long time. Leah found favour in the eyes of God, though despised by her husband.

I Samuel 16:11 shows how David is almost a forgotten son of Jesse. Samuel at the time of anointing the next king of Israel asks Jesse “Are here all thy children? And he said there remaineth yet the youngest” who tends the sheep. Samuel anoints David for he is chosen by God.

Judges 6:15 shows Gideon thinking of himself as “the least in my father’s house” when God considers him as a “mighty man of valor” in Judges 6:12. John 4 speaks of the Samaritan woman who is looked down upon by the Jews and by many in the village. That is the reason she comes to the Jacob’s well at an odd time. When she meets Jesus, He transforms her into an evangelist who leads many to Christ the Messiah.

I had to appear for an interview once. That time, I had neither Ph.D. nor enough experience. When I saw the other candidates with more qualifications and experience I did not have much hope. But I prayed and depended on God. Even today, I can witness that God selected me on merit.

The Bible teaches us how the Lord looks at an individual despite the perception of one’s own self or family members or society. As a Child of God, we must seek His grace to look at others as He sees them. At the same time when we are despised and treated as insignificant we can be sure that we will receive favour from God which is better than that of man. In our lives we might have come across situations when God blessed us beyond our own expectations. We must thank God for his mercies are everlasting.

Dear God,

Help us to rely on you when we are despised.  Help us to trust that your eyes are on us to exalt us in front of those who despise us. Lord, we humble ourselves before you. Give us grace to consider the best in others and never to despise any of your creations. Amen.

G.S. Angelin AOJ Trichy

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else;

 Luke 18:9

I was born into a Christian family, with this background I thought I knew something of the bible and that I was better than most, but the older I got I began to realize that I have been stuck in my own world not realizing that none of what I thought made me good was any good at all and I knew nothing of the bible in spite of reading it all my life.

As I read this verse God showed me 3 things that happen when we have great confidence on our own righteousness;

1. It distracts us from God given revelation or assignment:

Mark 10:20 21,22,23 depicts the encounter of Rich young man with Jesus, here his conversation with Jesus, underscores the fact that he thought his knowledge and obedience to the commandments could bring right standing whilst sadly he lost the revelation of putting God first.

• It disengages our alignment with God:

Judges 16: 20, depicts Samson, who put his confidence over his anointing and the strength it brought without aligning to God. Once he revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah, the Lord left him and he became like a normal person.

• It makes us disobey Gods calling or instruction:

In Lev 10:1 we see the sons of Aaron Nadab and Abihu who burnt a wrong kind of fire and 1 Samuel 13 talks about King Saul, where he disobeys by burning the sacrifice himself, which Samuel should have done. In both these instances we see that they lost their anointing and it led to their eventual destruction.

So, from these passages we come to know that we abide and have our being purely by the Grace of God, we need to constantly and consistently humble ourselves, 2 Cor 12: 9 says “that his power is made perfect in our weakness”. 2 Cor 4: 7-9 say “But we have this treasure in jars of clay (weak) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” and Mat 5:5 says that it is blessed to be meek (humble & submissive). Therefore, let’s follow Jesus’s example and live a life that constantly and consistently glorifies God alone.

Sol. Paul Hudson

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

 Luke 15:32 (NIV)

This verse became realistic in my past life. The moment I read this scripture I could recollect my past life.

The last 2 years of my life was tough.  Every day I woke up with a heavy heart, and I don’t clearly remember the last time I was happy. I was emotionally drained and was trying to distance myself from everyone who loved me. I was depressed and miserably broken inside. There were times when I pretend to be happy for the sake of my loved ones. However, I wasn’t able to hold the overwhelming grief. I remember days I’ve wept lying on the floor helpless and desperate.  What more should I say?  Like the scripture above says, I was dead; I was dead inside.

Yet, the love of the Father that left the 99 has chased down my heart. (Matthew 18:12). Just as a shepherd is concerned enough about one lost sheep to go search the hills for it, so is God  concerned about every human being he has created.

The arms of the Father were wide open for me to rush into. (Luke 15:20) In this parable, The Father forgives his son when he repents and comes back. In the same way, if we repent for our sins, He will forgive us and welcome us back. The main message of the prodigal son is that it doesn’t matter how far we stray from our Heavenly Father or how much we wasted the talents He provides, He is always delighted when we come back to Him. His unconditional love is waiting for us to return home where He greets us with open arms. It is easier to confess to God than to man. God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and merciful. The robe stands for honor, ring for authority, shoes were the sign of freedom, and the feast was made to rejoice at the wanderer’s return.

God told me the reasons for the pain that He led me through.  ’The Lord has called me to pour oil and wine into the wounds of people and bind their broken hearts.’ (Luke 10:34) (Psalm 147:3) Jesus heals the hurt people all by his blood, stripes, wounds by pouring in oil and wine, as the good Samaritan did. Jesus binds up the broken-hearted, heals wounded sinners and restores comfort to mourners; This is done by pouring oil and wine.

Oil represents the grace of the Spirit of God; The comparison is for its sweet smell, its cheering and refreshing virtue and efficacy, and its cooling and healing nature. “Wine”, the doctrines of the Gospel; such as free justification by Christ’s righteousness, and pardon through His blood.

God led me through so much pain so that I could relate to hurt people and understand them much better.

I could testify how the Lord had snatched me out from the fire.

I can tell them with confidence that the Lord who saved me will save them too.

I’m overjoyed, for the Words God has spoken to me.

“Now, it’s appropriate to celebrate and be glad” for the Lord has turned my mourning into dancing. The days of grief are over for I am found.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing these promises that God has made fulfilled before I walked  into 2022. 

Sol. Alicia Mathew

MIND OF CHRIST

“For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and spiteful entreated and spitted on”.

Luke18:32

While meditating on this verse a picture came to my mind, the death of an Australian Missionary Graham Staines, who worked among the lepers in Orissa, India, and his two small children, who were burnt alive in their van by the same people he served. His wife Gladys though in great pain forgave the killers and continued to work among them without any complaint. As Paul said in Philippians3:7 “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ”.

This is the mind of Christ.

Luke 18:32 is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction about His death. It is also in Mathew 20:18-19. He already gave an outline of the sufferings He has to go through, to the disciples before also, but never so clearly as in this verse. He even told them the manner of His end, and how His countrymen would give Him to the Gentiles, who will do all evil means to put Him to death, but on third day He will rise again. The victory over the enemy.

It gives us hope that whatever sufferings we have to go through, the final victory is ours, if Jesus is with us. We must become a living sacrifice for Christ as He became sacrifice for us. Romans 12:1. Our commitment must be a total surrender, dedication and devotion to Christ. As He told His disciples in Mathew20:22. We should be willing to drink the cup of suffering for His sake. We should have that mind of Christ, willing to suffer for His sake. Phil 2:5.

Due to my husband’s heart problems and paralysis I had to go through sufferings for twenty years. But I was not discouraged nor complained because I was strengthened by the word.  Eph 3:16. I began to saturate my body with the verses like:

Hebrew13:5 I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear ye not for I am with you

Isaiah 43:2 When thou pass through the waters, I will be with you…….

Even now it is a great testimony for me. As the Psalmist sings 119:71  ” It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes”.

Romans5:3-4 says that we can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, because they help us to learn patience, patience to character, character to confident expectation of Salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us.

Prayer–Father God give us the grace to face sufferings for your glory.

Sol Gigi Jacob

In the same way any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my Disciple.

Luke 14: 33

Jesus commanded His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4,5)

The Holy spirit helps us to live a Spirit led life rather than a worldly life ( 2 Cor 10:3,4 ; Rom 8 )

So what is it to be led by the Holy Spirit?

It is living a life of supernatural healing, peace, deliverance, miracles, life transformed, not like the natural but beyond all rule and authority, power, dominion and beyond every title that can be given.

It is the life of miracles -People being healed of arthritis, asthma, allergy, fever, seizures, paralysis in the name of Jesus Christ in day-to-day practice, many delivered from worldly entanglement to freedom by His name.

I would like to give you an example of how I was led by the Holy spirit in my workplace.  Once I was called for a delivery. I was in my OPD and the hospital which called me was around 3 km away from my place.  As soon as I started from the OP there was another call from the same hospital saying that the baby has been delivered, but baby did not cry after birth.  So it took me 10 minutes to reach the hospital. By the time I reached there the baby was pale white and did not breathe. As a doctor I had to do the Resuscitation. Heart rate was very low but it improved with bag and mask ventilation but baby did not breathe spontaneously. It was around one hour after I started resuscitation but baby has not improved once I stopped bag and mask ventilation, heart rate dropped. There was no reflex in the eyes. So, I called the father and told him the situation of how the baby was dependent on ventilation and how the brain was then dead.  The father was devastated. I was sending all the attendants outside and suddenly; I saw the room from the view of a CCTV camera. I immediately sensed that God wanted to do something there. So, I asked God, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”.

Immediately I was reminded of two incidents.  One where Jesus sent out the attendants of a child who was dead, and how He brought back to life the girl child. Another instance where Elijah the prophet took the child to the upper room, prayed and brought it back to life. Again I asked the Lord, “Lord! what do you want me to do?” .

 The Lord said, “Prophecy life over the baby!”. So I prophesied over the baby to breathe in the name of Jesus Christ and immediately the baby took its first breath and it started to cry, following which I prophesied again, “Move!” Immediately the baby started to kick and move.  The baby now had spontaneous breathing. So I continued to resuscitate.

When I explained this to the baby’s father, he was furious saying, “What do you think of yourself? Once you said, my baby is dead! Now you are telling, baby is alive! What is this? Are you making fun of me? “

Then I told him that it was not my resuscitation but the power of the one and only true living God Jesus Christ who raised his baby from the dead. I asked him to make arrangements to take the baby to higher Centre for follow-up care so the baby was shifted alive to higher centres.

This starts to happen when we stop living a namesake Christian life (worldly life) and start living a life according to the purpose God ordained for us. (Spirit led life ). Worldly life is being a slave to the demonic principalities, authorities and dominions. They do not allow Christians see miracles in their lives.  

But when you are spirit led, you start to acknowledge (Philemon 1:6) the Word of God. You come to a point where the Word of God dominates you. You start working from victory, from the riches of His Glorious inheritance and from his incomparable great power for us, who believe.

 So, hold on to His teaching and give up everything which the world taught you. Then you will be His disciples! Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free (Luke 8:31)

Dr. Albert Jones AOJ

“…And behold, he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him.

Mat 28 : 7

This news was told by the angel of the Lord who descended from heaven, to Mary Magdalene and another Mary when they went to see the sepulcher where Jesus was laid. Jesus was going to Galilee where He was to meet his disciples. Through the resurrection, Jesus has proved to everyone that there is life after resurrection. Apart from the resurrection of the body after death, while we are on this earth our spirit can have resurrection. 

Saul – Acts 9 : 3-20 : After the encounter with Jesus, Saul was resurrected from spiritual death (sins, hate and atrocities on Christians) and he went to Damascus. There he regained his sight back and got baptized and started proclaiming Jesus, saying “He is the Son of God” and preached in synagogues. He has written many epistles in the New Testament.

Zacchaeus – Luke 19 : 2-10 :After Jesus saw Zacchaeus on the sycamore tree and spoke to him, Zacchaeus was  resurrected from death (sins, defrauding the people by collecting more tax and accumulating wealth), got saved and led a normal life, helping the poor with his wealth.

Lazarus – John 11 : 1-45 : On hearing that his friend Lazarus was not well, Jesus went to Bethany to see him after some days. When he reached there, he was told that Lazarus had died and already been in tomb for four days. Jesus asked the stone to be removed and called Lazarus to come out. He came out with his hands and feet in bandages and his face wrapped in clothes.

In January 2005, at the age of 52, I myself was resurrected from spiritual death. I was leading a sinful worldly life and was running after money. I was given the grace to repent and started my life anew. After that, I started doing the Lord’s work and stood for the Lord. In 2013, I joined The Army of Jesus. Since 2005, I grew in doing Lord’s ministry. Till date I am doing what I could for the Lord and His kingdom to come.  Feel happy and proud to be so.

Prayer:  Lord, give us the grace to die for  sins  and attain resurrection  in my daily life so that I would be empowered to work for your  Kingdom.

Sol. Leslie AOJ

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

Luke 17: 3

We live in an age hostile to correction. “No” has become a four-letter word in the modern vernacular. Our non-Christian friends don’t want to be told their unbelief warrants God’s judgment. But often our Christian friends don’t want to be corrected, either. And that’s sad, because a rebuke can be good for the soul. “The wise of heart,” says King Solomon, “will receive correction” (Prov 10:8).

When to Correct our Brethren?

Correct when the salvation of a brother or sister is in question.

            “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Heb 3:12). Notice that this word is addressed to brothers. It’s those of us who call ourselves Christians who need to closely examine our hearts. But this kind of examination is not merely a call to private, personal self-analysis.

When you see a brother or sister continuing in a pattern of unbelief or a pattern that calls into question the genuineness of his profession of faith, you should speak up. It is your word of encouragement that the Holy Spirit may use to soften your sister’s heart, lead her into an attitude of repentance, and spare her from God’s wrath.

Jesus taught us to correct one another because he understood the danger of unrepentant sin. In Matthew 18:15-16 he carefully lays out a process of correcting a brother who’s sinned against another brother. Jesus doesn’t reveal the nature of the sin. However, he makes it quite clear that if the sinner doesn’t repent of that sin, he shouldn’t be treated as a brother or sister in Christ. But how will this sinner come to realize his/her fault? He needs a word of correction. Jesus tells us to provoke the sinner individually (v. 15). If the sinner’s heart remains hard, a few others should offer the corrective word (v. 16).

However, a word of caution is in order. There are times where no response is the best response. Consider the following verses:

• Proverbs 19:11, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

• Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers over all offenses.”

1. 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

Prayer:

            Our Gracious Heavenly Father thank you Lord for providing a heart to correct our brothers if they sin against you. Dear Lord grant us the wisdom so that our words of correction can be very sweet to renew the faith of weary saints. But our words can be unhelpful and hurtful, too. We need your wisdom to know when to correct and when to overlook in Jesus Name we Pray Amen.

Sol.Olivia Capitola J AOJ

“He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much”.

Luke 16:10

Let us take the parable of ‘talents and the outlook of the three servants who received them.  Matt: 25:21-25

The Master gave five talents to the first servant and two to the second servant, and one talent to the third servant. The one who has received 5 talents immediately started some business and increased it to ten talents. The second one also increased the talents to four. And the final servant who received one talent had not done anything with his money. He wasted his time also. When the master came back from his travel, he called all his servants and asked about the talents be gave. He was very happy with the first and second servants and he raised them to more responsible positions. But the third servant who had not used his talents wisely is sent out from his job and ultimately punished for being lazy. The moral of this parable is that the righteous, hard-working people will come up in their lives. Jesus Christ will bless such people for their faithful actions.

In Mathew 24: 45-51 we see a wise slave and in Luke 12:42-48 we see a sensible and faithful steward.

How these three parables affect our lives and what is the morale we can learn from this? Let us remember one thing that all these parables are narrated by our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through these parables Jesus our Master is connecting our lives to eternity, faithfulness in life, sensibility, in life, righteous living, intelligent working etc, etc. And if we fail in our lives the end will be weeping and garnishing of teeth.

I definitely feel and think eternity is much more valuable than all the money we can make or have in this world.

Are we ready for the rapture?  If not, let us make the necessary corrections in our lives.

I was doing business. There was no fixed rule or norms for taking profit. Whatever came to my mouth would be my profit. At that time, I was collecting my profit share at a very minimum rate.  Sometimes, I used to think of myself  that  I was  a big fool; That is why I could not  take more profit like others who were in my field. I was righteous in taking profit from my customers. I still wonder what drove me to follow such principles. In 1980 it was a lucrative business. I was running an IATA, an approved travel agency. I had got an international license and only such agencies where able to issue tickets. The IATA people were authorised to issue tickets for all the airlines in the world at that time. At the age of 65 years in 2017, I was able to sell my business for a reasonable price. I did it because I wanted to be in the Lord’s work.  But in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala there were great floods. And by the end of 2019 Corona had started. The travel and tourism business in India and in the World itself came to a complete shutdown. Out of the 2900 IATA agents in India and about 275 IATA agents in Kerala, I think I was the only one escaped unhurt. I feel now that God has spared only me because I was righteous and faithful in little. I started my office with one staff and later developed (opened) three offices in different cities of Kerala with 21 staff altogether.

In 2017 1 was not able to see the worst scenario waiting from 2018 onwards. I fully believe now that God only spared me from the huge losses which others are suffering now. When I look back, I am amazed how God protects HIS children from all crises. Hallelujah.

Sol. John Philip