The Charter for Christian Living!

Paul has many lists of dos and don'ts for his readers - sins to be avoided and fruit of the Spirit to be desired. Paul advises not only Timothy but also every believer.  But what Paul writes to the churches of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16- 22 is something like a charter for Christian living – "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil."   I believe if we can order our life this way, we will be saved from many heartaches!

We should a...

The Doctrine of Salvation

Salvation is through faith in Jesus alone, and it is free!  This is the message of the Bible.  By our works, we cannot obtain it.  Only the blood of Jesus can take away our sins and makes us worthy of Heaven!  Until Jesus saves us, we are trapped in our sins and separated from God.  But salvation does not just stop there.  Salvation has three phases: Justification, sanctification, and glorification!  When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are justified, that is, wholly forgiven of all sin and clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Thus we are saved from the penalty of sin.  When a believer dies, Jesus receives them.  This is glorification, a...

The Just shall live by his faith!

Habakkuk was heartbroken over Judah's sin and unfaithfulness to God. He was upset that the Lord had not done anything about it. When God said He was raising the Babylonians, Habakkuk was upset that God would use an even more wicked nation like Babylon to discipline Judah.  Habakkuk asked God how He can even see such a wicked nation since His "eyes are too pure to look on evil" (Hab 1:13). In this context, God replies to Habakkuk, saying trouble for Judah was indeed to come, "but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab 2:4). Even amid tremendous trials and catastrophic situations like the Babylonian invasion of Judah, God said the just shall live by faith.  This is not only an encouragement, but it is also an...

The Doctrine of Predestination

While I was praying for the salvation of our two sons, the verses that bothered me most were Romans 8: 29 and 30:  "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."  It appeared as though God had 'predestined' specific individuals to be saved, sanctified, and glorified while He hardened the hearts of some others just like He hardened the heart of the Pharaoh.  I was worried about what the Lord had predestined regarding my children's salvation.  I somehow wanted to unde...

Our Thoughts and Words…

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).  This is a well-known verse, and it is usually said as a prayer before a preacher begins his sermon. One day, suddenly, the truth of this verse struck me!  In this verse the Holy Spirit is not referring to the text (words) and content (thoughts) of the sermon but to every thought that crosses our mind and every word that crosses the lips!  When you read the same verse in the right context, we can understand what the Holy Spirit is trying to communicate to us!  

In this Psalm 19, David talks about the law of the Lor...

Doctrine of Grace

In a Sunday school, a little boy listened to the grand story of grace and how God forgives the sinner. The teacher explained that God's grace covers all sins, every kind of sin, and any given time!  The teacher also said that forgiveness of our sins would bring us happiness.  The little boy thought about his life.  The petty thefts at home for a bit more pocket money, the little lies he tells the teacher to be in her good books, all of it flashed across his mind!  He did not feel guilty at all.  He felt good about himself, so he decided he does not need to change at that time.  Since the teacher said God would forgive any sin and all sin at any time, the boy thought that he could continue liv...

Not the Messenger!

Trait theory of leadership identifies specific personality traits that distinguish leaders from non-leaders. It says that leaders are born and not made! Looking at it differently, leaders are actually 'made' by the people who follow them! Be it cinema, politics, or religion, leaders rise to great heights because people put them there, on a pedestal as it were!  When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, it was divided based on different leaders. One group identified itself with the apostle Paul. They may have been attracted by Paul's emphasis on his ministry to the Gentiles. A second group identified itself with Apollos. They may have been attracted because of his eloquent speaking abilities (Acts 18:24-28). A third group identified itself wi...

The Father’s heart!

'The Story of My Experiments with Truth', is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, The father of our nation, India. In it, Gandhi recounts an incident from his childhood that changed his life.  As a young boy, he had gotten into petty thefts to feed his bad habit of smoking.  Once, Gandhi had run up significant debt and had to clip out a small part of his brother's golden armlet. Even though Gandhi decided never to steal again, it was still troubling him, so he decided to confess to his father since there could not be a cleansing without a clean confession! Gandhi decided to write a note to admit his guilt and ask his father to punish him adequately.  Gandhi was not afraid of being punished, but he was fearful of the pain...

Putting on Christ!

It is a long time since we dressed up to go somewhere due to the pandemic.  Dressing-up involves not only the will but also the emotions.  Much depends on how we feel that day! It also has a lot to do with how we want others to perceive us!  Paul advises the Roman believers to "…  put on the Lord Jesus Christ.." (Rom 13:14).  The Bible talks about many lists of sins that we have to put off. Col 3:8-9 says we have to put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, and lies. Eph. 4:25-32 advises us to put off all unrighteousness, including sexual immorality and pride. Paul says that we should make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.  According to Paul,...

Prayer of Habakkuk

Habakkuk is unique because he asked God some hard questions.  Messages were given to many prophets from God for the people to hear.  But Habakkuk asked God questions!  He asked why God was not punishing Judah for her evil ways.  The prophet looked out across the land and saw violence, abuse of power, acts of injustice, and oppression. Habakkuk found the law powerless.  He expressed his horror in the first few verses of Habakkuk (Hab. 1:2-4).  Habakkuk cried out in agony, "Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?"When God answered and said He was raising Babylon to punish Judah, Habakkuk asked how a just God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to punish His chosen pe...