What makes a man truly spiritual?
What makes a man truly spiritual could be summed up in three statements: An upward look, an inward look and an outward look.
A spiritual man looks in these three directions constantly: 1. Upward - in worship and devotion to God and Christ. 2. Inward - ... read more
"Do Not Lead Us into Temptation But Deliver Us from Evil" - (Matthew 6:13)
In Matthew 6:13, Jesus taught us to pray…: "Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil". True holiness is the result of a battle. It doesn't come to the armchair Christian who wants to sit back and `be carried to the skies on flowery beds o ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 1. Repentance
Jesus said that the right way to enter His sheepfold (His kingdom) was through the door. But He said that some would try to come in by climbing over the wall (John 10:1).
The way that God has laid down for man to be saved is by repentance and faith in ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 10. The End of this Age
There was no clear understanding in Old Testament times about life after death and about God's plan for the future. But Jesus taught very clearly about both these matters. It's good for us to know about these matters too.
After Death What?
Death has n ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 2. Faith
Repentance is the first part of the foundation of the Christian life. Faith is the second.
To have faith in God means to trust Him and to believe what He has said in His Word, in spite of what our feelings may tell us or what other people may tell us. ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 3. Election and Justification
God's election of His children and His justifying them are two glorious truths that the New Testament teaches us.
Election
The Bible says that God elected us to be His children according to his foreknowledge (1 Peter 1:1, 2). This means that He knew f ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 4. Discipleship
When Jesus told His apostles to go into every nation and to make disciples, they had no doubt in their minds as to what He meant. (Matthew 28:19). For He had already explained what it meant to be His disciple.
Luke 14:25-35 reveals most clearly the thr ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 5. Baptism in water
One of the last things Jesus commanded His disciples before ascending up to heaven was to:
Go and make disciples;
baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and
teach them to obey everything that He had commanded. The order is impor ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 6. Baptism in the Holy Spirit
There are two needs that we all have. The first relates to the past - the forgiveness of our sins. The second relates to the future - enablement to live a life that pleases God. Our first need is taken care of by the death of Christ. To meet the second, G ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 7. Sanctification
The twofold message of the gospel is summed up in the words of Jesus to the woman caught in sin:
(i) I do not condemn you; and (ii) Do not sin any more. (John 8:11).
Justification is the starting line of the Christian race and sanctification is the tr ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 8. God's Word and Prayer
The two things that a new-born baby needs on birth, are food and air. It's exactly the same with those who experience a spiritual birth. The newborn child of God needs to eat and to breathe.
God's Word is to be his food, and prayer is to be his vital b ... read more
(A Good Foundation) 9. Fellowship and the Church
We have already seen that God wants to transform us into the likeness of Christ. But this transformation doesn't take place in us in isolation from other disciples of Jesus. It is only along with them that we are transformed.
God wants us to live, not ... read more
(A Heavenly Home) 1. A heavenly home on earth
(Message given at the wedding of Sanjay (my eldest son) and Kathy)
It’s a great joy for me to speak at my eldest son’s wedding. We have been looking forward to this day for many years.
I want to share a phrase with Sanjay and Kathy that is ... read more
(A Heavenly Home) 2. Make three choices in your marriage
(Message given at the wedding of Santosh (my second son) and Meghan)
God has given us only one Book. If we really believe that, we will look in that Book for instruction for everything in life. We read in the Bible that it was God Who ordained mar ... read more
(A Heavenly Home) 3. A marriage like a garden
(Message given at the wedding of Sandeep (my third son) and Laura)
The first marriage was conducted by God – in a garden. So it is good for us to be in surroundings like we have here, at this wedding. Eden was something like this garden we see h ... read more
(A Heavenly Home) 4. The home – a sanctuary for God
(Message given at the wedding of Sunil (my fourth son) and Anugrah)
God’s Word is the foundation for our life, for our home and for everything else in this world - because God created this world by His Word. And so if we keep God’s Word alone ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 1. Called By God
A spiritual leader will first and foremost, have a calling from God. His work will not be his profession, but his calling.
No-one can appoint himself as a spiritual leader. "He has to be called by God for this work" (Heb.5:4-Living). This is a princi ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 10. Exercising Spiritual Authority
A spiritual leader will minister with spiritual authority.
The multitudes were amazed at Jesus preaching, because they saw a difference between the way He taught and the way the Pharisees had taught them for so many years. The Pharisees had a lot of k ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 11. Freed From All Fears
A spiritual leader will not take decisions based on the fear of men or of circumstances.
I have a large verse hanging in the front room of my house that reads, "If you fear God, you need fear nothing else". Thats the Living Bible paraphrase of Isaia ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 12. Freeing Others From Fear
A spiritual leader will never use fear as a means to get people to submit to him. On the contrary, he will seek to deliver people from fear.
Fear is a weapon found only in Satans armoury. Jesus came to deliver man from fear. Every spiritual leader has ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 13. Humbling Oneself
A spiritual leader will always be ready to humble himself.
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God,He will exalt us at the proper time (1Pet.5:5,6).
To be exalted does not mean that we ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 14. The Priesthood Of Melchizedek
A spiritual leader will be a priest according the order of Melchizedek, as his Master was, before him (Heb.6:20-7:7).
The priesthood of Melchizedek is very different from the priesthood of Levi (See Hebrews 7). The Levitical priesthood consisted of man ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 15. An Example
A spiritual leader will be such an example to others, that he will be able to say to them, "Follow me as I follow Christ". He will seek to lead others to be connected to Christ alone as their Head.
Many Christian leaders, however, seek to attach beli ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 2. Knowing God
A spiritual leader will be able to lead others along Gods ways because He knows God personally.
Daniel 11:32,33 speaks of two types of preachers who will be found on earth in the last days. There will be many who speak smooth words and turn people to ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 3. Fearing God
A spiritual leader will fear God greatly.
The more we get to know God the more we will fear Him. We wont be afraid of God, but we will reverence Him.
In Psalm 34:11, David says, "Come you children listen to me, and Ill teach you the fear of the L ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 4. Listening To God
A spiritual leader will take time to listen to God, every day.
A phrase that occurs frequently in the very first chapter of the Bible is this: "Then God said".
God said something on every one of those first six days, when He remade the chaotic ear ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 5. Balanced By The Body Of Christ
A spiritual leader will recognise that his ministry is imbalanced. So he will find his balance in the ministry of other members in the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ can be compared to a hospital. When a man is sick and goes to a hospital, the hosp ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 6. Broken Through Submission
A spiritual leader will be a broken man.
God breaks us in our early years by setting some authority over us, to whom we have to submit. It is thus that He breaks us. Even Jesus had to submit to the authority of Joseph and Mary for 30 years before God g ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 7. Responsible For Others
A spiritual leader will keep watch over the souls in his flock, since he has to give an account to God one day for each of them (Heb.13:17).
Ive told my co-workers in our churches in India that Ill be responsible for their souls, since they look up t ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 8. Ministering From Life
A spiritual leader ministers to others from his life and not from his intellect.
Under the old covenant, God used men even when their private lives were immoral. Samson could deliver the Israelites even when he was living in sin. The Spirit of God didn ... read more
(A Spiritual Leader) 9. Serving By God's Power
A spiritual leader does all of his work in the will of God, by the power of God, and for the glory of God. Therefore it will come through the final fire of testing as gold, silver and precious stones (1Cor.3:12-15).
In 2 Corinthians 3:5,6, Paul says th ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 1. Amazing Facts About The Universe
We are living in an age of scientific progress. In our generation we have seen man achieve some things that our forefathers considered impossible.
The pace at which science is progressing is perpetually accelerating. It has been estimated that the enti ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 2. Amazing Facts About Man
Man is the crown of God's creation. Greater and more wonderful than the stars in the universe is the wonder of man himself. Look at our bodies first of all and see how wonderfully God has created them.
Doctors tell us that the human brain has 30 billio ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 3. Amazing Facts About True Revolution
There is a spirit of dissatisfaction in the world today - particularly among young people. There is a desire to overthrow the existing order and to seek for something better. Revolution is a popular word in our day. Revolution means change. We live in a d ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 4. Amazing Facts About Our Greatest Need
What is man's greatest need?
Have you ever thought about that?
Is it food or shelter or employment?
There is no doubt that we need all these. Without them we could not exist. We need food for our bodies, we need clothing to wear, we need shelter and we ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 5. Amazing Facts About Addiction And Frustration
People all over the world are chasing after one or more of four things: PLEASURE, FAME, WEALTH and POWER.
But there is a law connected with these that we would all do well to know in advance. We could call it the law of diminishing returns.
Take for ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 6. Amazing Facts About The Final Judgment
Life on this earth is not everything. Our life is a countdown to death. Day by day the count goes down to the day when we shall finally end up in the grave. And at death, like the space rocket, we take off. What is death? It is a separation of our soul an ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 7. Amazing Facts From History's Greatest Event
The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are the two most important events in the history of the world. They are also the two central facts on which the Christian faith is founded.
There are at least four clear truths that we can learn from ... read more
(Amazing Facts) 8. The Most Amazing Fact
We are all like people travelling in a desert, dying of thirst. If someone finds water somewhere, he will certainly want to inform others about it. He cannot compel them to drink. But he can point out the oasis to them. That's what we're doing too - point ... read more
(Beauty For Ashes) 1. The corruption of the self-life
We can never enjoy deliverance from our self-life before we see something of its total corruption. Let us look at the elder son (in the parable in Luke 15), for he illustrates, perhaps better than anyone else in the Bible, the utter rottenness of the self ... read more
(Beauty For Ashes) 2. The pathway to the Christ-life (I) : Being broken
Being Broken
One of the verses which clearly describes the pathway that leads us out of our self-life into the full beauty of the Christ-life, is Galatians 2:20:
"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live. But it is no longer I that live but Chr ... read more
(Beauty For Ashes) 3. The pathway to the Christ-life (II) : Being emptied
Being Emptied
The way of the cross involves not only being broken but also being emptied.
"It is no longer I", said Paul. He had allowed himself to be emptied of the "I", so that Christ might live and rule in him. Even Jesus emptied Himself when He ca ... read more
(Beauty For Ashes) 4. The beauty of the Christ-life
The beauty of the Christ-life
Christ came to give us "beauty for ashes" - the beauty of His own Divine life for the ashes of our self-life. We have seen some of the characteristics of the self-life. And we have also seen that the way of the cross - t ... read more
(Exchanging our Self-life for Christ's life) 2. The pathway to the Christ-life (I) : Being broken
One of the verses which clearly describes the pathway that leads us out of our self-life into the full beauty of the Christ-life, is Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live. But it is no longer I that live but Christ Who lives in ... read more
(Exchanging our Self-life for Christ's life) 1. The corruption of the self-life
We can never enjoy deliverance from our self-life before we see something of its total corruption. Let us look at the elder son (in the parable in Luke 15), for he illustrates, perhaps better than anyone else in the Bible, the utter rottenness of the self ... read more
(Exchanging our Self-life for Christ's life) 3. The pathway to the Christ-life (II) : Being emptied
The way of the cross involves not only being broken but also being emptied.
It is no longer I", said Paul. He had allowed himself to be emptied of the I", so that Christ might live and rule in him. Even Jesus emptied Himself when He came down from th ... read more
(Exchanging our Self-life for Christ's life) 4. The beauty of the Christ-life
Christ came to give us beauty for ashes - the beauty of His own Divine life for the ashes of our self-life. We have seen some of the characteristics of the self-life. And we have also seen that the way of the cross the way of being broken and being em ... read more
(Finding God's Will) 1. God's plan for your life
Man's greatest honour and privilege is to do the will of God. This was what the Lord Jesus taught His disciples. He once said that only those who did His Father's will would enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 7:21). He also said that His true brothers a ... read more
(Finding God's Will) 2. Conditions for finding God's will
Divine guidance cannot be considered by itself apart from our personal relationship with God. Many desire the gifts but not the Giver. If we long for guidance but do not thirst for God Himself, we shall not obtain the guidance we seek.
A person must be ... read more
(Finding God's Will) 3. Guidance through the inner witness
When we come to the subject of the means by which God guides us, we must bear in mind that Biblical principles are more important than the experiences of even godly men and women. God is not limited to work in any pattern we lay down. He is Sovereign and ... read more
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