Caring enough to Pray

Read Isaiah 60:1–66:24

⁶O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. ⁷Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. ⁸The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: “I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine. ⁹You raised the grain, and you will eat it, praising the Lord. Within the courtyards of the Temple, you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.” ¹⁰Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise aflag for all the nations to see. ¹¹TheLord has sent this message to everyland: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming.’”Isaiah 62:6-11

Hardly anything happens to shoreline rocks each time a wave rolls in. The water is no match for the stone. Indeed, if you were to come back day after day to watch, you would see no change: waves pound, rocks win. Yet the waves are making an impact, and over a very long time, you would be able to see the cumulative effect. The rocks will wear down.

Like a relentless surf, Isaiah has spoken to his people time and time again. He has warned them about their need to change, and they, rocklike, have not responded—so far. Isaiah has no guarantee that they will ever respond in his lifetime. He certainly hasn’t seen any change. So he faithfully gets on his knees. As you read this passage, learn from Isaiah’s example.

When we warn or counsel others, sometimes they don’t listen. Sometimes we can see their painful consequences, but they refuse to see the danger. After we’ve offered our warnings, our advice, and our pleas, we still have one potent option—prayer. That’s why Jesus taught his followers to pray, “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

You cannot control others who are about to make a foolish choice or when they’re toying with a temptation that could bring painful consequences, but you can pray for them. Keep praying persistently for the people you love.

(Source: TOYTTB)

Wise move

READ PSALM 111:1-10

When we lack wisdom, the storms of life can be devastating. When we find our life is in pieces, we may realize that we have acted unwisely and want to change, but where do we start?

“Fear of the LORD,” the psalmist wrote, “is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). God has given us clear instructions for our life in his Word. When we fear God and are willing to accept his instructions as the basis for all of our decisions, we have a good starting point.

Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse, because it is built on bedrock” (Matthew 7:24-25). Listening to what the Bible says is the next step toward walking in wisdom. Filling our mind with God’s instructions will help lead us to follow them. This will also help us turn away from the things forbidden by God. The book of Job tells us, “The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding” (Job 28:28).

Turning our life over to God is a wise move! Like most aspects of recovery, walking in wisdom is a process that we grow into. These three elements are the groundwork: reverence for God, listening to his instructions, and following them.

(Source : LRB)

God's Hard plans

 Job 25:5-6 The Bible tells the stories of people who do not get well, who do not quickly get over their problems, who do not easily move through the trials of life. The heroes of this book fail, fall, and hurt. Sometimes, on occasion, they succeed.

God doesn’t have a “wonderful plan” for everybody’s life—at least in this life. For some, His plan allows pain and heartbreak and brokenness. For some, His plan is saying no to the things they most long for.

But we don’t like that. At times, we even refuse to accept it. Some of us will go so far as to say, “If you believe that, you lack faith.” I say, if you believe that, you believe the Bible. Our assignment is to trust God’s plans and to obediently follow wherever He leads.  (Source: SSB)

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever

Psa 138:8
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever

The LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations.
He is eternal God. He offers eternal life to those who put their trust in Him.
By His mercy, He forgives the repentant sinners and cleanses them with His precious blood.
By His mercy, He strengthens the weak.
By His mercy he heals the broken hearted. By His mercy He does great miracles and wonders
in the lives of His people. By His mercy, gives courage and patience to pass through various
trails of life. Come to the Lord of Mercy and worship at His footstool.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise

2Pet 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; 

Lord Jesus Christ before ascending promised that He will come back again.

Yes, its sure that He is coming back soon.

There are still many whose hearts are far away from God and filled with sin.

If they do not repent and turn to God and get washed in the blood of Jesus Christ 

before He comes, they will perish.

God is longsuffering towards us.

He is not willing that any should perish, 

but that all should come to repentance.

Friend ask yourself if you are ready to face the second coming of 

the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

He may come any day any time. Watch and pray.

Love your neighbour

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Lev 19:18

God is Holy and God is love. we are His wonderful creation made in His image.
Sin seperated us from the Holy and loving God. But because of His unconditonal love,
God has prepared a way of salvation and restoration by shedding His precious blood on
the cross of Calvary.

Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God's wrath.
For it is written: "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you.
Joseph in the old testament, did not take vengence on his brothers when they came
to him for grain. David did not take vengance on King Saul.
Its God's command for us as His children to love our neighbours as ourselves and to love our enemies.
The whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
James says in his epistle, 'If you really keep the royal law stated in Scripture,
"Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.'

Let the love of God that has been poured in our hearts through His Holy Spirit, overflow and reach out the lost and bring them back to God. Amen!

We cannot hide from God

Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.  Jer 23:24

Friends, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees his every step.
There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.

The psalmist asks God in psalm 139:
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall [d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness [e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Let us surrender our lives to God who loves us and submit our hearts to Him, who shed His precious blood to redeem us from all sins.

May the conciousness of the omnipresence of God motivate prompt us a life that honurs God in our lives.

- David Nallapu, Evangelist, Missionary, Teacher