I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of 1 Timothy 6:10 “ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith, in their greediness, and pierced themselves, through with many sorrows.”
Today many people are involved in making a lot of money. They amass wealth in different ways. Building huge luxurious Villas. Building Grand Farm Houses, Purchase of expensive cars, they spend lavishly and hoard wealth either in the form of immovable property or in the form of jewels in the bank locker or sometimes as black money. It is not wrong to save money, but one should not run after money. When they have more money they become proud. Some disobey parents, and involve in squandering money in various ways. Some for want of money get into all sorts of wrong activities and thus get entangled themselves in sin and lose track of God. They become lovers of pleasure than lovers of God. When one gets money through wrong means, it brings curse into your family, and your descendants.
I wish to tell you about an incident from the Bible, about a man who went after money and how it led to his downfall. Naaman was a commander of the army of Syria. He was a great and honourable man. But he was a leper. His maid who was brought as a captive from the land of Israel, pleaded him to meet Prophet Elisha. So Naaman met the prophet. Elisha told him to go and wash himself, in the river Jordan, seven times. Hence Naaman went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan. Immediately, his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child.
Naaman went to see the man of God and thank him for his kindness. Naaman asked Elisha to receive all the gifts that he had brought for him. But Elisha refused to take any gifts from him. Hence Naaman returned. But Gehazi the servant of Elisha, pursued Naaman.
When Naaman saw him running after him, he inquired if all was well? And Ghezai said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, two young men of the sons of the prophets: have come from the mountains of Iphraim give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garment And Naaman immediately urged him, to take two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. When Elisha heard that Gehazi his servant had followed Naaman and taken the gifts without his knowledge he tells Ghezai, “Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever”. And Gehazi went out from his presence filled with leprous as white as snow. Thus we see from the word of God that love for money endangers one’s life. Wealth wrongly acquired becomes a curse.
Paul is warning that the lust for riches has even caused some believers to wander away from the faith. As children of God, we have the assurance of God that He will provide for all of our needs, according to His goodness and the riches of His grace. May we use the money we have, wisely. Money should not become our master. Keep Jesus in His rightful position, at the centre of your life, for when you keep Jesus as the focus, of your heart, then other things are kept within a correct perspective. God Bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord let not, our heart long after money as it causes much distress and destruction. Help us to use the money wisely, and help us to always regard money and our possessions as a tool in our hand to meet our needs and not become a slave to money. We commit our life together with all that we own for Your greater glory. We consecrate ourselves to you. Use us for your good purpose.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus was on the way to Jericho, and there he healed a blind man. This was a proof that he was the Messiah. The incident with Zacchaeus happens in Jericho as Jesus was passing through. The healing of the blind man spread quickly so that the crowd began to gather as Jesus passed through the city of Jericho.
Those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ like Zacchaeus, will break through opposition and take pains to see Him. And Christ invited Himself to Zacchaeus house. Wherever Christ comes he opens the heart and inclines it to receive Him. He that has a mind to know Christ shall be known of Him. And those whom Christ calls must humble themselves and come down.
Zacchaeus gave proof publically that he had become a true convert. He does not look to be justified by his works like the Pharisee, but by his good works, he shows the sincerity of his faith and repentance. Zacchaeus is declared to be a happy man. He had turned from sin to God. Now that he is saved from his sins, from the guilt of them, from the power of them, he is entitled to receive all the benefits of Salvation. Christ had come to his house, and where Christ comes he brings salvation with Him.
Zacchaeus did not expect that he would be entertaining the Son Of God in his own house. As a rich important and chief tax collector he was an individual who was hated by the Jews and despised by the Romans. For they considered him to be a swindler or a thief. But Jesus did not ignore him or condemn him. He took time to come to him, to call him, and open up for him a new path of salvation. For Jesus had come to seek and to save that which was lost. No doubt God had been preparing the heart of this wealthy yet detested tax collector. For God is able to discern the motives of every man. And this meeting with Christ brought a sinner to repentance.
Have you received the salvation of God. If not seek Him and He will be found by you. If you reject Him then He will also reject you and it will be too late to be saved. Because salvation comes from God by grace through faith. And because you have not received salvation you would have incurred great loss in your life. God wants you to get back all that you have lost in your life. Make God the portion of your life. Say Lord “I am Yours and You are mine. Nothing shall separate me from the Love of God.” If you truly make this commitment, God will save you from the mouth of the grave, and the gate of hell shall not prevail you. God bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for this blessed day. Heavenly Father thank you, that you came to seek and to save a lost sinner like me, and for the amazing love and grace you have bestowed upon me. Thank you for forgiving my sins, for bringing salvation into my heart and for making it Your dwelling place. Keep me humble and meek. May I be used for your glory in all that I say and do.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Luke 16:10 “He Who is faithful, in what is least is faithful also in much. ”
From the above words we come to understand that if we are faithful in little things then we can be faithful in big things also. And if you are faithful in all things then God will bless you directly from heaven with His heavenly blessing. Even your income comes directly from His hands. You need to spend your income wisely and economically. If you spend your income lavishly and misuse your hard earned income then the Lord will be displeased. So you need to use the blessing of the Lord wisely.
The Bible says, God blessed, and anointed Saul as King of Israel. He was the first king to be the ruler of Israel. But he misused his power and disobeyed God. So God was displeased with him, and regretted for making him king of Israel. Therefore when you prove unfaithful before God, He rejects you. Examine yourself if you are faithful in all things that you do. For the Bible says, “ A faithful man abounds with blessing.”
If we are not faithful in trivial matters, we cannot expect to be faithful when confronted with weightier matters. God tests our faithfulness in our day-to-day activities. Our attitude, to the things God considers important, often reveals itself as faithlessness. The context shows that, “that which is least” is what men call wealth, and most of them considers wealth as the greatest and highest good. To be faithful in that is to acknowledge that we have it as stewards, not as possessors, and shall have to give an account of our stewardship.
Many of you reading this message must learn to be faithful in whatever you do. The task assigned to you might be small or big but if you are faithful in what you do then you will receive the blessing of God. You may be a business man, a government officer, a doctor or a lawyer or holding some high post, while dealing with large sum of money you might be tempted to do wrong dealings. When you remain honest in your financial dealings then God will honour you. May God help you to be faithful in all that you do. God Bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank you for telling us that we need to be faithful in all that we do. Teach us to be honest and truthful in everything we do. Let us not take or give bribe for any reason. When we fail to use our money or income wisely help us to repent of our errors and rectify our mistakes. Teach us to live a life of faithfulness.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today is from the book of Genesis 21:17 “What Ails You Hagar? Fear Not, for God has heard the voice of the Lad where he is.”
Dearly beloved, from the above context we learn that God knows our sufferings and our problems how small or big they might be. In the above context we see Hagar in the wilderness struggling with her son Ishmael who was crying for water. Since God had asked Abraham to send away Hagar and her son, he had no other choice but he obeyed the voice of God and took bread and a skin of water, he gave it to her and sent them away. As the Lord God of Israel, had told Abraham, “In Isaac Your seed shall be called. God had predestined that the children of Israel should come forth through only Isaac and not through Ishmael son of the bond woman.
Hagar helplessly departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin got over and she had no water to drink. And so she placed the boy under one of the shrubs, and she went, and sat down a distance away from the lad as she could not bear the child crying for water. She said,” Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.”And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth you, Hagar? “Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
What are you crying over? Here we see Hagar crying in need of water. She wanted to quench the thirst of her son, Ishmael who was traversing through the rugged wilderness. Many of you reading this message are crying over many things. May be, because of a big loss in your business. You could not fish, as the waters are unsafe for fishing. Due to depression in the sea, the waters roared and the winds blew rough that you couldn’t make it. So you seem to have grown disappointed. You couldn’t make big money. You couldn’t settle your daughters in marriage. They are at the age of marriage, but you are still on the lookout for a proper match. May be your son has turned a drunkard and causes trouble both at home and outside. Because of his bad habit you earn bad reputation in the society and you are unable to stand any longer therefore you are hurt and crying over him as Hagar was crying for her son.
The Lord looking at you says, “Fear not, I will hold you by My Righteous right hand and lead you.” The seas may roar, the winds may blow in your life but fear not, for I am there with you. So cast all your cares upon God for He cares for you. He will create a spring in the desert and quieten your problems. He will cause wind to blow from the earth below and satisfy your needs. For He is a God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they existed. Just believe that He is able to do what he has promised.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank you Lord for causing a spring to rise in the desert and quench the thirst of the lad. Thank You for hearing the cry of Hagar. Hear our cry too and answer us speedily when we go through troubles. Take pity on us and help us in times of affliction. Give us the desire to cry out to the Lord while we are in danger. Teach us to cast all our burden upon Him.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
Dearly Beloved, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given for you today, is from the book of Jeremiah 31:16, “Thus says the LORD: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.”
From the above context we understand about what God says, to Rachel who had the impact of a Jewish Mother. Actually in the above passage Prophet Jeremiah tells or speaks, about the nation of Israel, being taken into exile, and a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who became two of twelve tribes of Israel. So when Israel went into exile, she cried for her children, she refused to be comforted, for her children who were absent.
Rachel’s work had been that of bearing and bringing up children, and by their death she was deprived of the joy for which she had laboured: Hence the Lord, says to the Mother of Israel, “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, because, though sorrow on such an occasion may be lawfully right, yet it ought to be controlled, and attention should be given to those things which may serve to be of more importance and when the direction comes from the Lord himself; then you need to stop mourning, and wipe your wet eyes. For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord; in bearing your children, and bringing them into the world, and expressing such an affectionate and tender concern for them; taking the trouble of bearing and bringing them into the world, and nursing them until the time they did live. You should not consider this as fruitless, or meaningless, instead you should see the future of it. You should realize that all this was not in vain, but be assured that your hard labour will be rewarded.
Many of you, who are reading this message, especially sisters, are crying for your children. You have done a good work in bearing your children, and bringing them into the world, and expressing such an affectionate and tender concern for them. It is certain that you have taken great pains in rearing your children, educating them, caring and attending to them when ever, they were in need of your help, And securing them with a good job, and even you might have settled them in marriage, You should not consider this as fruitless, or meaningless, instead you should see the future of it. You should realize that all this was done not in vain, but be assured that your hard labour will be rewarded. Your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. Your sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, and your daughters may be as pillars sculptured in palace style. Your Children will rise up and shall call you blessed. May the Lord bless you.
Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Lord we thank you for revealing the motherly nature of Rachel. Teach us also to weep and pray for the welfare of our children. May we learn from her to bear with our children in times of affliction. Never to hurt their feelings but handle them gently and without any inhibition or partiality.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
