Discernment can be developed

We live in a fast-paced world that demands instant results. For many people, waiting has become a lost art. God’s way of maturing us in our faith is quite different. The character qualities that He values take time to develop.

Discernment is a trait that does not come instantaneously. Rather, it is cultivated by saturating the heart and mind with Scripture. The transcendent Lord of the universe wants to share His thinking with us through His Word. What could be more important or valuable in life than having the capacity to know the mind of God?

Our lives are filled with situations that require discernment. Sometimes we can be so busy trying to find the will of God and direction for our next step that we fail to hear His voice. He is calling us to come to Him and spend some quiet, unhurried time absorbing the truth of His Word. After listening to the Lord, we can begin applying what we have learned. Only as we put His Word into practice in our lives will we have our “senses trained to discern good and evil” (v. 14).

The Scriptures open our eyes to see all of our experiences from God’s perspective so that we can make wise choices.

Our challenge for today and every day is to make it a priority to spend time with the Lord in His Word. We may have to reorganize our schedule or wake up earlier. But it’s worth the effort—discernment and wisdom await us if we put into practice the truths we absorb each day.

On Stormy Seas

If you are wondering why God let's bad things happen to us, remember
1) Satan—despite his incredibly cunning intelligence, cleverness, and power—is still only a puppet in God's hand to bring about His purpose. We see this clearly in the Book of Job. God is far more powerful than Satan. Though Satan boasts about His power on us (and that too because we let him!), God's power and might is far greater over Satan.

2) You don't have to keep paying for your mistakes all the time. Making a mistake is bad, but not repenting or confessing the same is WORSE! Confess your sins, rest assured Jesus has forgiven you. He has paid up all your debts in full, past present and future. But remember you got to confess( Don't confess wholesale... -if you don't know EXACTLY what you need to be forgiven for,you probably don't deserve to be forgiven. Once you are forgiven doesnt mean you DON'T have to live with eth consequences. You Do! But remain calm, God's going to take your burden and change it into a blessing! Not just for you, but for many others.

Enlisted In His Service!

Yup! I did it! I have now officially enlisted as one of the Air Force in God’s Army. :)

One of my main reasons for that would be that there is possibly nothing that can so radically change the church, and the lives of individual believers, than having our criticisms changed into intercession.

If you read Isaiah 58:8,9, you see that this addiction to criticism could be the church’s biggest malady. “That church doesn’t share our convictions, This church has a different agenda from ours”…the list goes on….

While its true many churches today have other agendas besides the Lord Jesus, remember that all you are required to do as a believer is to

1) Matt 6:33-Seek First the Kingdom
2) John 3:5 - Be Born again of Water and Spirit
3) Matt 28:20-The Great Commission

Ignore criticism. Turn it into intercession.

Wheat and Weeds

In Matthew 13:24-30, we read the Parable of Tares . Here, the Kingdom of heaven is compared to a field of wheat and weeds.

The wheat in this parable are the believers and God is the Sower. The devil comes in the night to plant the weeds-thoughts and practices that distract us from being true wheat.

As wheat, it is not our job to point out the weeds in our field. Our only responsibilty is to grow as tall as we can and bear as much fruit for the Sower. I know I needed to hear that. I am one of those people who tends to be a litttle too self-righteous sometimes. I see people not conducting themselves "in a manner worthy of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27), and I am so quick to judge. But guess what? I'm not the harvester, so I have no right to pluck the weeds. It's not even my business to find out whether they are truly wheat or weeds. I am here to glorify the Father and Him alone.

Pay attention to v 30: Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.

That's right! Ignore the weeds and concentrate on becoming strong wheat.

Following thru on your decision…

Today’s world can subtly pressurize us into turning away from our decisions. Everything is presented so seductively… as innocent as a sheep…But a wolf is still a wolf.
Making the right decisions include a commitment to follow through. Even if others try to convince us to deviate from our decisions, we should remain firm.

Our children do not realize the possible long-term effects of their small, daily choices and fail to comprehend they do not have as much control over the consequences of their choices as they think they do. Once they open the door a crack, Satan can get a foot in and once his foot is in, he can enter and even move in. Train children to look ahead.

Are You busy as a bee?

A friend of mine as a fridge magnet that reads: " DON'T BE B.U.S.Y." alongwith a graphic of a woman who has a briefcase in one hand, a nursing baby tucked in the crook of the same arm, a vaccum cleaner in the other hand as well as sauce pan bubbling away on the stove nearby -a very familiar scenario to me..all that was missing was my laptop!!

And what does B.U.S.Y mean? Being Under Satan's Yoke.

We've really underestimated that little imp Satan. He's gotten us so highly focussed on being an achiever that we forget he has ulterior motives. We are so busy making our plans and our own goals and then pray and ask God help us achieve them. Have I actually stopped and asked God whether this little diversion of mine was what he had actually had in mind for me?

Life on this earth without God's Plan is hollow. Satan has many cunning deceptions - fame, fortune, power, sexual desires, busy cares of the world, hobbies, leisure activities and many more.

God has another plan for the you. It is a Plan of meaning, a Plan of purpose. A Plan of life forever in an abundance of peace. We need to get reconnected to God mercy and love.We as sinners are separated from God's Kingdom, by our own lifestyles and choice, not God's.

The best part is it's FREE! No membership fees, no advance payments, no EMIs, no cacophony,... just a free invitation to an abundance of peace and purpose in God's Kingdom. All you need to do is stop a while from the business you call life and ask yourself whether whatever it is that occupies your time now is gonna get you credit points to Eternity. (don't misunderstand me here...it's not good deeds that get you to heaven!)

Do you think you are making the best use of your time and are you really a good steward of your time and life?

This is what God has to tell you today," Without Me, you can do nothing." John 15:5
But With Him, we can mount up with wings like eagles Isaiah 40:31

What comes after being born again?

Now that I am born again, can I rest on my laurels ? God's surely gonna reveal himself and his intention for my life now, isn't he? I know so many friends of mine whose lives have changed dramatically after being called to His service. Surely, thats what's gonna happen to me too, isn't it?
Is it?
As Ravi Zachrias told us the other day the other day in Cochin," This is not right! Heck, You are not even wrong!"
Yea, you read it! The above assumption doesn't even work itself upto the dignity of an error. :)
Seeking Our Lord, waiting on Him, speaking to him then, is a continuous responsibility for the converted person. This isn't as easy as it sounds not because God's elusive, but because we are so full of wrong assumptions and misconceptions. (Let me remind you here of Adam and Eve's sin and Satan's deception of all mankind. That is why!)
We have been so thoroughly deceived that our conceptions about God are dreadfully vague. How do we cross this bridge?
With Daily Time! You need to have a QT E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y!!
Pursue Him.
Doesn't every husband and wife court each other? Court Him!
And once you get married, do you leave your husband on a shelf to collect dust? No you pamper him, love him, seek him always.
The same is demanded from every part of the Church. God wants to be courted by us just as ardently as He has courted you! Only when God chooses to reveal Himself to you do the bits and pieces of the ergo incomprehensible jigsaw called Life begin falling together into the correct pattern.
John 17:3 teaches us that the most important thoughts the mind can entertain are thoughts of God, as they will determine the quality and direction of an individual's life. These mistaken beliefs are erased through the experiences of coming to know Him.