The King has come

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

Zephaniah 3:14-15

God promises His perpetual joy and security for His people. The world we live in is uncertain, times surprise us unpleasantly, and everything is a risk. But in the midst of all this, God affectionately calls out to His people saying, “Be glad and Rejoice with all your heart”.

When God says "Rejoice"; you better mind it: because is not some cheesy phrase put there, whose effect will wear out with time. God asks you to celebrate because He has reasons. And when you experience the truth of what He has accomplished for you, New Year celebrations don't end with the few days in January.

“he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;” Psalm 103:10-11

We mess up big time. We've done things we should'nt and not done things that we should. In the course of our actions, we put lots of things under strain. Our words, our thoughts, our emotions and our actions ---- everything is bruised.

And we end up having a place inside, where there's so much of guilt piled up, mistakes of the past, and unbroken high places. There's another picture of me that the world sees, but I know, that there's a luggage that I'm always carrying beneath.

And when I am alone, it drains up all my strength. Most of the times, we're just so tired with the amount pretense and masks in our life. We cringe in fear, when we think about the consequences of letting the world have a glimpse of our misery inside.

You started off with zeal, but somewhere down the road, your distractions led you somewhere else. Now you find yourself in a place quite not like something that you can show around. You are drowning inside, realizing how hopeless life can get everyday.

When there's hardly any reason left to survive, God says, “Rejoice”.

That's because His plan for your restoration is already in store. God has scored off your punishment. God says, “You don't have to receive what you actually deserve”.

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. - Psalm 103:12

God would at no point, endorse the sinful things in our life and in no way compromise on His stand. Nevertheless, He is not going to leave things the way they are, and abandon us either.

His command to rejoice, is because of His promise for redemption. God's verdict is not going to be life threatening, rather life transforming. The joy of the divine, can replace the suffering of the carnal, if you believe and receive the promise of restoration that He has for you today.

Examine yourself. Recognize the ways in your life that are detestable in God's sight, Repent and Reconcile. Ask Christ Jesus to purify you, so that you can receive the fullness of His promise. We repeat this process so routinely, that now it sounds just like another religious rambling.

God commands us to rejoice, because this is the easy task. He has done the difficult one for us on the cross. We need to receive the power of Christ's forgiveness in every area of our life continually.

I would like to quote Selwyn Hughes, "In John 13:10, Jesus said to His disciples, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet". You may have indeed experienced repented fully at your conversion, but daily contact with the world, the love of self, and tactics of the enemy means that you need to have Jesus "wash your feet". Repentance is a daily attitude."

I have to repent of my sin, my slackness, my indifference and my willful overstepping of God's commands. We don't have to carry this burden for yet another year. We can boldly approach God's throne of grace, and ask of Him to give us the joy He promised.

The punishment threatening your life, and the enemy with his plan of destruction is no longer there. The presence of everything dangerous and harmful has been replaced with the strength and security of your King. Maybe the crafty serpent wriggled into your life and swallowed up your peace and joy.

But now the Sovereign Lord reigns is in your midst, preserving your life from all harm and giving your enemy a run for his life.

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart.

Happy New Year! :)

On the way to Damascus

(This entry is inspired by the Word of God spoken on 31st December 2009 at Philadelphia Church Villivakkam)

He had just finished overseeing the murder of a Christian martyr, and was not satisfied. He was still planning threats and murder against the disciples of Christ.

"circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. "- Philippians 3:5-6
Paul was proud of his ancestry, being born in the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. He also believed that being a Pharisee, he belonged to a group that was highly devoted to preserving the Word of God.

Paul's place of birth - Tarsus, was home to one of the best universities of the times. In addition, to his Roman citizenship; without doubt, he would have experienced world-class education.

When his Hebrew faith was threatened by a group of followers of Jesus, Paul was not content being an arm-chair revolutionary. Instead, he sprung into action. He chalked out a systematic persecution plan, and began implementing it religiously.

When it came to legalistic righteousness, he was also totally faultless. If the Law condemned him about something, he would offer a sacrifice and clear it up. He tried in every way to walk upright before the Law.

Paul had the best in the world, he was educated, successful, and highly respected. He was also zealous about God. Paul thought that his life was perfect.

He was a passionate and focussed man. And now, he was on his journey to another success target - to arrest the Christian fugitives who had taken refuge in Damascus. "Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" - Acts 9:6
But what he didn't know was, that his plan was just about to change. As he was approaching Damascus, a light from heaven flashed around him, and God gave Paul his new mandate, "Get up and enter the city, and it will be told what you must do". [Acts 9:1]

A guy, once with dangerous intentions, now moves into Damascus to be filled with Holy Spirit and get baptized.

Through these years, you would have probably acquired lots of things that make you proud. Accumulated wealth, a couple of credentials on your resume, a list of flashy achievements, honor in the society, and a near perfect life. Like Paul, you're just pursuing one target after the other.

But all you need, is a light from heaven, and a Word from God, to change the course of your life.

You're probably stepping into your next phase, with an agenda in mind. When you meet with God on your way, your assignment, your perspectives, your focus and your passion will change forever.

All the influences on your life, has probably given you an identity. The whole world, recognizes you that way. Saul, was an intellectual, go-getter, and a heartless persecutor. But God did not see him that way. God saw Saul as the carrier of traits essential to make disciples of the nations. When God saw Saul, God saw His plan.

Many of us have become what the world expects of us. With time, we're given various labels. God does not care about the labels. He knows the person you, and He knows the real life for which He lent His breath.
To hear God's Word, was an unlikely event those days. Today, you have an opportunity to hear God's Word through so many ways. It is yours for the asking.

Probably you're walking earthwards; meeting with God, can move you heavenwards.

"Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. " Acts 9:8

It feels the same sometimes, we would receive God's Word and His promise for the year, yet we cringe in darkness and stagger forward, placing each step in fear and doubt. When it seems like you are blindfolded, and walking a rocky path. Don't worry, things may seem hazy for a while. But God has placed his resources out there, to safely lead you from your point of blindness to your point of revelation.

There, God will restore your physical sight, and bring to light the vision for your life. All you need is to receive God's Word in your life today, and commit yourself to obey without restraint.

God's Word changed a man who went from place to place murdering Christians, to a man moving across nations, building people's lives and turning them to Christ.

All of us are on our way to Damascus, with an agenda in mind. We need God's intervention, and the direction of His Word at this point.

Do you want to receive that encounter today ?

God is waiting...

Eucharistia..

"But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God; Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number." Job 5:8,9

I've always 'known' that God knows me. 2009 was a year when I experienced the reality of that truth in my life.

"The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7)

Everyone has an unsearchable part in life. Tucked deep within, safe from the external. The things you long for spring forth from this 'restricted' area of our personality.

Though this is the strongest part of your personality, the tugs and pulls of the world are stronger enough, to push these desires to the back seat and turn your focus on things called, 'priorities'.

This year, I was so worked out, and emotionally exhausted working on my 'priorities'. I was thankful to God about many things, but consistently longing for something more. I was so moved when God showed up in most unusual ways defending my desires.

It was His way of saying, "Daughter, I have searched you and I know you". ^a

And I tell my Master in return,

"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ... What more can I say? You know what I am really like, Sovereign LORD.

For the sake of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have shown them to me." ^b

I pray to strive harder in the years ahead, to seek my Master in a way He desires, and fulfill the desires of His heart.

Eucharistia.

a Psalm 139:1

b 2 Samuel 7:18-29