Merry Christmas & a blessed New Year 2008

Dear Friends,

Mark 10, verses 46 to 52 describe about "Bartimaeus Receives his Sight".If we see this passage very closely, we could able to find few things here. This blind man was sitting by the road which means that he must have been very tired of sitting there for a long time, may be he was thirsty in the hot sun or he might have struggled lot to get enough feedings of the day. This man knew that great multitude was coming on that way. It is common that if it is lot of people, surely this blind man will get enough for that day. But this man found that it was Jesus in the crowd, hence he started to cry out and say " Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me". All his tiredness and frustration have gone immediately and he was so determined to call Jesus for mercy. He forgot his own job of asking money.

We need to see 3 things here. This blind man discerned that who Jesus was? Secondly he knew that Jesus is merciful. Thirdly, he found that Jesus is the God for all people who have faith on HIM.In this Christmas season, I like to point few things in our Christian life. Like this blind man, we are all tired of leading this year 2007 with disappointments, frustrations, failures, hatreds etc. But lets be cautious that Jesus is in our midst at this time. So lets call Him loudly, Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on me, meaning that we need Him very badly in our life boat. Because, in psalm 69:32 says "You who seek God, let your heart revive." Let us revive our hearts by calling Jesus in our lives once again in this year-end.

Secondly, if we see verse 48 in Mark, chapter 10, we found that when many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all more. This shows a great lesson for us. When we face difficulties or find some obstacles in our ministry, or fell sick etc, our prayer life diminishes gradually. We find to excuse ourselves with the surroundings. But this blind man was so determined to get and grasp Jesus attention in that crowd. Have you ever tried to get Jesus attention in your failures?

Thirdly, if we see verse 52, And Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your faith has made you well." And immediately he regained his sight and began following HIM on the road. I would like to point out this man's faith on this issue. His faith made him well. How is our Christine faith in our life? If we cry for our problems to Jesus, and if Jesus says same thing to you and me, will our faith heal us???? This is a big question mark in our life. We always ask God to take away our problems leaving nothing. What is our part in this? Like this blind man, are you having great faith in Jesus for your particular problems or sickness? Shall we all ask God to revive our hearts and minds to enlarge our faith towards Him in this Christmas season?
Lets seek God to revive us once again to inherit His protection, guidance and blessings in the coming year 2008.

Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year 2008.

Guiding Star- Lord Jesus Christ

When I was watching a Christmas tree, the star in it captured my attention. Let’s see the importance of the star. Trust in God that we will be benefited with this short message.

Let's focus our mind on Mathew chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. It talks about the visit of Wise Men. These wise men refer to magi who specialized in astrology, medicine and natural science. These men had seen the Star of Jesus from the East. When they saw the star, they decided to come and worship the king of Jews. But they went to wrong place to search for Jesus. They are wise enough to find the exact birthplace of Jesus, but their worldly wisdom directed them to king's palace. Likewise we are also disturbed with our worldly wisdom and knowledge to see Jesus in our life. Maybe we are filled with our overconfidence to deal our day today life. If so shall we seek HIS heavenly wisdom in these Christmas season?

Verse 9 of same chapter says that “ and lo, the star, which they had seen in the East, went on before them until it came and stood over where the child was”. The star was a guiding star to them, but they stopped in middle of the way and went to the palace. What a pathetic condition? When I was meditating on this, I felt in a spirit that we too do the same mistake in our life. Once we come to know Jesus, we are overwhelmed with HIS love, guidance, fellowship and blessings but could not follow Him continually. The worldly pressures distract us in many ways in our spiritually life. But these wise men could able to see the guiding star in their journey. Shall we also try to rectify our faults and find our guiding star in our spiritual life?

Verse 10 says that, "And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy". It is a star of happiness, which means it gives happiness to those who see it. Let's always focus ourselves to see and find the star of Jesus in our life. You and I may be getting guidance and wisdom in our spiritual life. But still there is emptiness in our life. Most of us are still seeking true happiness in our life, why? Because we do forget the verse which states that therefore do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows and the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Mathew,10: 30,31). Wow, what a great assurance for you and me? We are of more value in this world and our hairs are all numbered. We are precious for HIM. Praise God for these great blessings that have been kept in front of us. Shall we march forward to inherit this blessing in our life?

Let's greet one another in this Christmas season with a great star of Jesus and seek the true happiness in our life. Amen.

Wish you a Very Happy & Blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2008.

God's unconditional love

Dear Friends,
In John 3:16, we see the most well known verse, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I understood that one way God defines love is the act of giving.. Many times I have heard my kids say, I love you because you are cute or I love you because you take good care of me sometime friends say, I love you because you are fun to be with. We love conditionally in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we love them. Our love is not only conditionally it is also mercurial, we love based on feelings and emotions that can change from one moment to the next. God wants us to know that His love is unconditional, so he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us while we were still unlovable sinners, His love is very different from human love, and his love is not based on feelings or emotions. He loves us because He is love.

Why does God so love the world? Why does God love me and you? Is He jobless or is He not busy to care other important things?

God loves us because we are HIS children. God’s love is unconditional and it seems that the love parents have for their children are as close to unconditional love. Parents continue to love their children through good times and bad times and they don’t stop loving them if they don’t meet the expectations they may have for them. This is similar to God’s love for us. He loves us because He created us.

God loves us because; He wants us to know Him. We are incomplete without God. He wants us to have closer relationship with Him. How can we know God better? To know God better, we should know Jesus Christ. To know God better, we should read the word of God regularly. And know God better through observing nature, Psalm 19:1.

God loves us because we NEED HIM. We need God to redeem us from sin. We need God to help us live for Him. We need God to meet our life’s needs. Phil 4:19 says that, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.”

If we see John 3:16 again, the most beautiful word in this text is “whosoever”. Jesus can save you and me. Whoever you are, no matter who you are? No matter what you have done, no matter how evil and godless you have been, no matter how richly you deserve hell. No matter what your nationality, or skin or color or ethnic group, no matter if you are male or female, young or old, whoever you are, you can be saved, you don’t have to perish. However, what God gave was not a mere gift wrapped present, God sacrificed his only son Jesus Christ, so that we put our faith in HIS son. This is an amazing love because we are the ones, who choose to be separated from God through our own sin, yet it’s God who mends the separation through His intense personal sacrifice and all we have to do is accept HIS gift

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

A Sword for the Lord

Let's spend few minutes on Judges 7: 19-25. Here we see, how God helped Gideon to choose 300 men in his camp. God's ways are very strange in this selection. I was thinking who are these 300 men? Are they rich or strong or wise or great warriors? The answer is NO, but these 300 men are ready for God and Gideon's command. Their minds are set to God. If you see verses 19 to 25, it clearly picture that they did what Gideon asked them to do. Sometime God wants us to do the same thing in our life. What is our reaction? Are we saying that it is enough, let me do on my own? If so, lets ask HIS grace to learn what Gideon and his men did for the victory.

If you see verse 19, it says, " they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands". This is their first action towards their victory. They blew their trumpets, which represent our testimony to Jesus. They were perfect in God's proclamation to others. Let's check our trumpets now. How is my personal testimony to God? Am I blowing my trumpet regularly or it has been hidden in my garage. Where is my trumpet now? Is not enough to find your trumpet but we have to tune the trumpet for HIS glory. How is our Christian life? Is it giving any fruits or not?

Secondly they smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. It represents our inner life. We will be having many thoughts, which hinder God's blessings in our life. Or we will be having many preconceived ideas, which block His glory in our life. We may be having ungodly persons in our life. What ever it is, allow it to HIS feet and smash all these things that are in your mind. Everyone will be having different type of pitchers in your mind, could you please break it or smash it to God now? God sees your inner person. The unholy thoughts, people, actions may corrupt your inner person to God, Why don't we smash all these ungodly things in our life?

Thirdly, they held their torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their rights hands for blowing and cried, "A sword for the lord and for Gideon".(Verse 20). Wow, what a great picture? Immediately I thought about Nehemiah who used both hands for God's work when his enemies were trying to disturb his work. God wants both of your hands and your heart for HIS work. They held their torches in their left hand which teaches us the lamp on the lamp stand. The torch represents Jesus in our life. In gospel we see that He is the light of the world. Where is my torch now? Is it shining or lost its radiance? Lets search our torches right now! Where is our torch, which has given to all of us when we accepted Him as a savior? Is it faded by my partner or by my friend or by my roommate or by any other source? Let's tame our torch and increase its brightness.

My dear friend, God wants us to stand like a soldier who is ready for HIS command and keeping both hands ready for HIS action. Lets hold our torches in our left hands and hold our trumpets in our right hands for HIS command. In these days, God wants you and me to smash all our ungodly ways first before we get ready for HIS command.

May the dear Lord Jesus prepare all of our hearts and minds for HIS battle in these days? Amen

Finding Hope when you are depressed by the smallness of your life

I was reminded of Jesus' humanity recently when I was sitting in my room. As I thought of my own family members, friends who have achieved so much while in comparison I seemed to be doing so little, my thoughts made me feel smaller and smaller. Insignificance, unimportance and inferiority swept over me. Have you ever felt like that? Do you feel depressed by the smallness of your life? If so, praise Him for His eternity.

As I read Revelation 1, He spoke to me to praise HIM for his humanity and for His eternity of Jesus Christ. Verse 8 says that " I am the Alpha and Omega."(Rev1:8). This title describes the eternal omniscience of Jesus Christ. The alpha is the first letter and omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet. Through the alphabet, all of our words, all of our wisdom and all of our knowledge are expressed. Jesus is the beginning and end of the alphabet, the summation of all wisdom and knowledge.
What does the omniscience of Christ mean to me personally???I
It means I have always been on His mind. Think of it. The most important Man in the universe has always been thinking of you and me! Wonder of wonders! I have never been out of His thoughts. Even He hung on the cross, He was thinking of me by name, dying for me by name! And when He rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, He was raised with me on HIS mind. And not only is He eternally omniscient, He is eternally omnipresent: He is "the lord God who is and who was and who is to come.."(Rev1:8) My dear friend not only He is thinking of you, he is with you right now. Whatever the situation you are, He is there with you.
What does His eternal omnipresence mean to me personally???He is fully present in every age, every generation, every culture and every nation. If Adam and Eve knew Him as they walked with Him in the cool of the day, if Enoch walked right into heaven with Him, if Abraham knew Him as his Friend, if David knew Him as his Shepherd, if Mary Magdalene knew Him as a liberating grace why can't I know Him? If He is eternally the same, fully present in every age and every generation, then I can know HIM for assurance. His omnipresence brings comfort because I am assured He is fully present with me. His omnipresence also brings great safety in our life.Praise God for the eternity of Jesus Christ! He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent! He is the Almighty (Rev 1:8) Jesus Christ is all power, fully in charge. No one, nor anything is mightier than Jesus! What problem you are facing that is bigger than you are?

Praise God for the omnipotence of Jesus Christ. He is greater, more powerful than any problem or situation you or I will ever face.Hence God taught me to refocus on who Jesus Christ really is. Shall we all praise Him for His humanity, for His eternity and praise Him for who He is? Let's make time each day to praise Jesus for who He is? How? By reflecting on what He has said through bible?

Finally, how does praise of Christ help you if you are depressed by the smallness of your life? It helps you get your eyes off yourself as it puts your life in proper perspective. You and I cannot remain depressed when we maintain our focus on the person of Jesus Christ through praise. Shall we praise God by being preoccupied with Him, by making Him our first priority, by focusing on Him, by obeying what He says, then we all could find hope today?

A costly choice or lamentable choice

Dear Friends,

For our study, lets focus the life story of Lot, Abram’s nephew in Genesis 13, 14 and 19, When Abram’s servants and Lot servants had a quarrel, Abram asked Lot to choose the land first to avoid the fighting among themselves. The proposal made by Abram to Lot was exceedingly generous. May be Abram and Lot were standing on one of the high mountains of Canaan, perhaps Mt. Hebron. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the well watered, fertile plains of Sodom and the rich hills of Moab. It reminded him of the Garden of Eden, which he had heard from his uncle Abram. And Lot chose all the plain of Jordan for his portion and separated from his Godly uncle. Lot dwelt in the cities of the plains for a while, then he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Finally, he dwelt in Sodom, there he was elected to the city council. Bible scholars say that Lot lived in Sodom for 20 years.

What is wrong in Lot’s choice?

Without regard for anything spiritual, just for his own soul, Lot chose the rich plains of Sodom. His choice was not good, because he had too much love for this world and he had little concern for his own soul and the souls of his family. There were no prophets in Sodom but only riches. There was no alter at which to worship God in Sodom but only green grass. There were no believers in Sodom but only wickedness & worldliness. From the moment that Lot made his choice, he began to decline. He did not go directly into Sodom, but step by step, he hardened his heart and seared his conscience until he convinced himself, that the best thing he could do for himself, his family was to move into Sodom. He compromised all his Godly characters to inherit Sodom. Are we traveling towards Sodom step by step leaving Godly friends, fellowship and communion? How is our commitment with our Christ? Is it fading day by day? Then cry out to God to replace the first love back into our lives immediately!!

Walking by sight:-

Lot walked by sight and not by faith. In Genesis 3:6, we see that, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was pleasant to the eyes, she took the fruit of the forbidden tree”. Walking by sight is the cause of most of our failures and sorrows. Abraham walked by faith and not by sight. That was the reason he could able to inherit God’s blessings in his life.

What did Lot gain by his separation from Abraham and journey to Sodom?

Nothing at all. Instead of gaining, he was the loser. In Genesis 14, we see the battle between 4 kings with five, they took all the good of Sodom and Gomorrah and they took Lot who also dwelt in Sodom and his riches and departed. When Abram came to know, he and his armed servants redeemed Lot and his property and all the riches of Sodom & Gomorrah, but still Lot returned back to Sodom. When I read this, I felt bad for Lot. How ignorant he was for not knowing God’s will in his life. His mind was targeted with Sodom’s riches and not to have fellowship with God. I don’t find Lot building an alter for God to worship in Sodom either. Even God’s providential dealings are insufficient to move Lot’s heart as his eyes and heart were fixed to Sodom’s riches. Lets ask ourselves, where are we now? When our own plans and selfish dealings don’t work, are we still lingering at the same place for trying to succeed? May be this is the right time for us to allow God to deal our lives once again. Are we like Lot going back to Sodom after seeing failures?

In Genesis 19, we see 2 angels found Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom, when Lot requested angels to partake of the hospitality, but angels preferred to abide in the street, this again confirms that Lots heart was far away from God’s presence. He compromised all his Godliness to please Sodom riches. Angels reluctance to enter Lots dwelling is in contrast with their fellowship with Abram. The utter meanness and selfishness of lots character was exhibited when he proposed to sacrifice his daughters to the men of Sodom in order to secure his own preservation and peace. The powerless of Lots testimony appeared in the response made by his sons in-law when he warned them that the Lord was about to destroy the city. He could not even gain a single soul for God when he was 20 years in Sodom. Lots words had no weight because of his previous way. How pathetic it is to experience in a Christian life. How is our testimony today? Is it powerful or powerless like Lot? The angels laid upon Lots hand while he was lingering and delaying in Sodom, which again confirms that where his heart was and how he loved that wicked place?

Lots choice of residence was completely dependent upon immediate and temporal needs and not on eternal spiritual blessings. His life on earth was a wretched failure; there was no witnessing for God and no blessings of God upon his family. His wife turned to be a pillar of salt and all his life, he left face to face with fruit of his own awful sin in the dark cave.

Lot is a concrete warning, a danger signal, for all Christians who feel a tendency to be carried away by the things of the world. May the God of Abraham help everyone to make a costly choice for the glory of God? Amen.

Trust in the Lord

Dear Friends,

Proverb 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”

What do you mean by Trust in the Lord?

Our loving Lord Jesus requires you and me to live in dependency upon Him. “Trust” means, we are depending upon God and placing our life totally in His hands. To trust God, we have to believe the word of God and we must depend upon His word.

Ok, when we trust God, what do we get?

The dependency on God yields “Prayer” in our life. Prayer less occurs when we depend on ourselves. How is our prayer life today? When Jesus Christ was on the earth in the human form, he regularly prayed to our Heavenly Father, we see Him going to solitary place for prayers. Even when Jesus depends God completely why can’t we trust Him with all our heart? Are we praying for everything in our life? Are we dependant towards our heavenly father for our needs? How is our dependency in our spiritual life?

God wants us to come to the place where we can admit that we are hopeless and helpless on our own, so that He can call us to a declaration of dependence as we humble ourselves before Him in prayer & worship.

I have noticed my little child saying, “ I can do it myself.” But at the end, she makes a mess of things and cries for help in frustration. How often is this the situation in our own lives as we first try to do things ourselves and only in time of crisis call out to God for help? God is calling us to put away the childish way of thinking we can do anything without our creator. In humility, we need to draw near to God and confess our inadequacy and complete dependence upon Him.

Secondly dependency on God yields, “Resting” on our God. It is leaning on His ability and not on our own. It also brings wisdom, direction, strength, healing etc from our loving Lord.
In john 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I am in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do NOTHING.” Here we see the Gods word concerning our ability to function properly apart from depending upon Him.

Lets go to our dear Lord to revive our dependency and trust in our Lord. May the God of Jacob help us to depend on our true God so that we could have constant prayerful mind in our lives. God of Jacob reminds me that, we also cheated many times like Jacob, but still our God gave his wonderful name to Jacob to teach us that He still concerns our week ness. may God bless everyone to trust and depend on His ability in our daily life. Amen.

Study of Joseph character

Dear Friends,
Among the great men of the Old Testament, Joseph is truly unique, he was the 11th son of Jacob and was born to his father’s favorite wife Rachel in Paddam Aram after she had been barren for 7 years. Information about Joseph is found in Genesis Chapters 37 to 50. The character of Joseph is worthy of careful study in our Christian life. Because his nobility of character, his purity of heart and life and his magnanimity as a ruler and brother. Lets review the life study of Joseph briefly.

As a son in Canaan:-
Joseph was hated by his brothers and they sold him for 20 pieces of silver as a slave to a man Potiphar, who was a high ranking government official, Captain of the guard in Egypt. Joseph was also faithful to his father and willing to obey his wishes.
Joseph as a slave in Egypt:-
Joseph was a overseer in Potiphar’s house, he was blessed by God and found favor in Potiphar’s eyes. Though a young man, he proved industrious and trustworthy. He made the best of the situation and God blessed him and Potiphar. Jospeh was well built and handsome, so he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife and she tried time and again to seduce him. He resisted out of faithfulness to Potiphar and God. Most young men would have been unable to resist, but Joseph knew the difference between right and wrong. He knew God’s law fobade adultery. His reply to Potiphars wife reveals an insight into his values and character and now Jospeh is in his imprisonment.
Overseer in Pharoah’s Prison:-
Joseph was blessed again by God and he is favored by the keeper of the prison. He was placed in-charge of other prisoners with complete trust. He also interpretated the dreams of the baker and the butler and the dreams have been fulfilled yet Joseph was FORGOTTEN. This again taught me that how Joseph was too faithful to God in his calling. Because after giving good interpretation to butler, he could have changed baker’s dream in a nicer way to please others, but he didn’t. Since butler forgot Joseph, he was forced to stay in the prison in another 2 full years. How many times, we have been forgotten by men? But lets assure that our loving god is always mindful on our ways.
As a Prince in Egypt.
Now the day has come for Joseph, this is the days for God’s purpose to be revealed in Joseph’s life. Pharoah sent for 30 year old Joseph in a prison. Josephs prediction and advice to Pharoah’s dream pleased Pharoah and he made Joseph his second in command. And Jospeh wisdom manifested in his administration. If we observe the court scene between Pharoah and Joseph, we could able to find Joseph humbleness and worship to his God.
Merciful in his treatment to his brothers.
This is a wonderful character from the life of Jospeh. He was sold by his brethren, would have created bitterness and anger within. Being away from family and placed in new place, with new people and new language should have made Joseph to be drawn into bad characters, but Joseph WALKED with GOD in Egypt. He learned to wait patiently on God and to look to God for EVERYTHING. It takes tremendous courage to look away from circumstances and to look instead to God.

Conclusion:-
In the life and story of Joseph, I learnt the following.
He was centered in faith and trust in God
Devoted to serving God and man with honor and DEPENDABILITY.
Unwilling to be deterred by the hatred, betrayal and UNFORGETFULLNESS of others.
Willing to forgive the wrongs committed by others.
Able to see the big picture, GOD’s WONDERFUL working.
These noble characters helped Joseph in his youth (tempted and tried with no help from family and friend), in his mature individual (charged with important responsibilities) and in his old age (knowing that death is imminent).

If hard times, bitterness, resentment or anger are things that you and me are struggling with, lets read Joseph’s story and learn from his courage. God probably has a blessing waiting for you and me at our trials too. Amen. May the character of Joseph inspire us to develop our character as well?

Love and Prayers,

DP Vathani

Doubting the goodness of God

Dear Friends,

Let's see the God's command about the knowledge of tree in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2: 16-17 describe "The Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die". In the midst of all the opulence of Eden, stood a tree whose fruit God had told Adam and Eve they could not eat.

Was GOD playing some kind of game with Adam and Eve? Was God tempting them beyond their ability to withstand?

The answer is NO. Before going in to detail, let's refresh our mind with chapter 1 & 2 of Genesis. God created living organism from the ground, He made trees to grow out of the ground. He made man from the dust of the earth. God found good method of creation. But He introduced a new method to create woman. He created woman from man, they both had dominion. They were both created in the image of God. This Eve was a flawless woman in a flawless world with a flawless relationship to her creator and to her husband. All His creations have been programmed to respond as God designed it to respond. Birds fly, Fish swim, Deer run, stars move, etc. But in the midst of all creation, a man and woman were created with a difference, in HIS own image.

Why God created Adam and Eve in HIS image??
It was that they stood between God and His created world as His representatives. Imaging God in the world, they had a responsibility to care for everything God put under them. They could choose to love God and obey Him. OR they could choose to turn their backs on God and go their own independent way. God validated choice and He validated HIS image in us by giving us the Power to choose. The tree gave Eve and Adam the opportunity to love God meaningfully. The tree, through its very presence, was the visible reminder to Adam & Eve that they were Creatures, dependant on their creator. Do you have any thing like this in your life? What ever the problem you have or people you feel that they are taking your blessings; they are all visible reminders to us that we are dependant on our creator.

If we see Genesis 3: 1-7, Eve disobeyed God by believing Satan's lie and made Adam to eat the fruit. For Eve, it was really a decision to doubt the goodness of God. Eve chose to listen to Satan’s lies. She chose to believe that God had lied because He did not want His creatures becoming like Himself. She mad a choice to ignore our creator. Fellowship with God was destroyed by her disobedience. Verses 8-13 describe that they hid from God and they shifted blame to one another. How is our choice with God? Do we doubt the goodness of God, if we don't get our prayers answered? Do we hide from God because of our disobedience? Or are we ashamed to communicate with our creator due to our hidden secrets?

In John we see, "My sheep knew my voice". Are we tuned to know and obey to our shepherds voice in the midst of all disturbances? All of our loves are bound up in choice. Without the power to choose, to say that we love God, has no meaning. Are you wrestling with many options? To make wise decision, we must know Gods word and apply it well. I Corinthians 15: 22 say that As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
In Christ we can be made alive; we can choose to have Him establish a relationship that is not broken by our independence and our bad choices. Now, let's make good choice with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do whatever He tells you

Dear Friends,

In John 2:1-12, we see Jesus’ first miracle, everyone is well aware of this wonderful miracle in the bible. Though I have meditated this miracle few times, I have been drawn to Mary’s response and servants’ attitude now. Verse 5 says that, His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you”

Before going into detail, lets bring the wedding to our imagination. I felt that Mary, Lord Jesus mother was a close relative to the bride and the groom, may be Mary was asked to take care of catering service for the party. There we see Mary, Lord Jesus and his disciples. When I was reading, I have been inspired by Mary’s command. Mary’s words are important ones for everyone of us. Notice that she did not direct men to obey her or any other human being; instead she pointed them to the Lord Jesus and told them that He was the One who should be obeyed. “ Do whatever he tells you”. Now the question is, are you available for God’s command? Are you there to do whatever God tells you in your life? He wants to meet the needs in every area of our life. There is no prayer that is unimportant to God.

Secondly, see verse 7, Jesus said to the servants, “ Fill the jars with water”, so they filled them to the brim.
If you were a servant and asked to these ridiculous tasks, what would be your reaction? Some time, God is going to ask you to do something that you think is crazy. Our preconception stops God’s blessings. We plan a day or a event with lots of preparation, but God’s ways are always higher than ours. Would you mind to fill the jar with water? Lets imagine our lives now, most of our jars are empty and hoping that God will fill it with wine, no, we need to fill our jars first with available water. God has blessed you and me in many ways but still, we have not taken steps to fill our own life jars with word of God. We need to be like these servants, they willingly obey Christ command, and they were trained to listen God’s command.

Thirdly see verse 8, then he told them, “ Now draw some out and take it to the master of banquet”, they did so. If I was one of the servants, I should have asked Lord Jesus like this, “Don’t you think Lord; we need to taste first before taking to Master of the banquet? To my surprise, the servants obeyed completely without a doubt. Why? Because, they trusted God and they were asked to obey to Him completely. Are you there to do whatever our lord tells you in your life?

Actually, Grooms’ family knew nothing about this miracle. Apparently the only ones who knew were Jesus disciples, Mary and the servants. Why? Lord Jesus took none of the compliments away from the groom. Because Jesus cared much about that family so he would keep His first miracle a secret. Our unchanging Lord Jesus still could work for you and me in the same manners, because He accepts us as we are. Why don’t we put our faith once again to Him? Lets obey willingly so that we could see miracles in our life. Lets do whatever He tells us to do. Amen and Amen.

you are worth more than many sparrows

Dear Friends,

We have seen many kinds of birds. Some species are very nice and expensive. How bout sparrows? The following verses lifted me physically and spiritually. Amen, His words are alive and His grace is new and sufficient to us. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12: 6-7.”

We see birds for sacrifices in the bible. When Joseph and Mary presented the baby Jesus to the Lord, they offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, we also see in Lev 14, The Lord instructed Moses how a leper who was healed from his leprosy might offer tiny birds (sparrows) for a cleansing ceremony. In Jesus time, sparrows were sold for a very low prize, five sparrows for 2 pennies. It seems that sparrows are of very little value in the eyes of men and that no man cares for them, but God does care for them, for even, “ not one of them is forgotten before God.” How about you and me? Some times, we think that God is concerned for great events in history, or in the world, or in our lives. No, the fall of a little sparrow is still under God’s control and permission. Then how much more value of you and me? God does care for every detail in our lives.

Our Lord Jesus says, " But the very hairs there are on our head are all numbered". Have we counted our hairs? We have not, but God has. Do we know how many hairs there are on our head? we do not, but God does. Then nothing happening to us is by chance without God's permission. When we are sick, miss a bus, loose something etc., we should not think that it is a coincidence. Our Lord teaches us not to FEAR. it confirms that God's protection is there for us with assurance. He is our shelter and most High, so lets not be afraid of any troubles. Yes, we are more precious than little sparrows. When little sparrow is still under God's control, God really cares for you and me. We are under His perfect will and control. so we are to love God and obey Him, in Romens 8:28 we see that, " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose".

Lets love God by keeping His words and commandments. Lets learn to be humble and understand that God allows us to fail or to make mistake to teach us to trust in Him more and more.

May God remind us of His sovereignty and loving care always and help us to love Him, trust in Him, obey Him continually. Amen and Amen.

The blessings to those who fear God

Dear Friends,
Psalm 34 is a Psalm of David when he refined madness before Abimelech who drove him away and he departed.David begins this psalm with a vow or a promise. Here David promises to persistently praise his God. We see frequency of David’s praise in verse 1. He is committed himself to praise God at every opportunity and in the midst of various states of mind,spirit & body. Just as we are to pray without ceasing, pray consistently in all circumstances, David promises to praise without ceasing.

In verse 2, we see the focus of praise. David does not dwell on his experience, nor even on his deliverance, but on His Deliverer. The Lord is both the subject and object of David’s praise. Verse 3 reminds us of the fellowship of praise. Praise can not only be private, here David publicly praised God at worship, he did to promote worship on the part of the entire congregation. David urged his fellow worshippers to join with him in magnifying Lord, so that His name will CORPORATELY exalted. In verses 4-7, David describes his deliverance which is the basis for his praise and worship.

I would like to concentrate on verses 8-10 which brings God’s provision and protection in our life.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him, O fear the Lord, you His saints for to those who fear Him, there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not be in want of good thing.”

We understood from these verses that, the majority of David’s companions did not experience the fullest blessings of God. How many of us are still like David day friends, enough to worship but fail to experience the fullest blessings of God. I would like to encourage everyone in this fellowship to taste, to trust and to fear the Lord. Our personal relationship with our God will enable us to personally experience the provision and protection of God.

I read Malachi 3:16, today in my meditation and noticed that our loving Lord listens and hears to those who fear Him. Is it not wonderful that our Almighty God is not busy with other tasks but He is keen on you and me. I understood that the fear of the Lord is the prerequisite to receive the goodness of the Lord. God’s fullest blessings is only directed toward those who FEAR Him. Because, the fear of the Lord is dependent upon a relationship between God and man. David was not delivered from the hand of Achish because of his righteousness but only by his relationship with God.

Have you ever noticed that you have not received His goodness in your life yet? Have you failed to taste His fullest blessings in your family? Have you experienced failures through your human source? This is the time to restore our relationship with Christ.. Mary of Bethany had teacher in her life, David had Shepherd in his life, what is your role with our Almighty God? He is not too busy in this busiest world. He keenly hears and listens to those who fear Him.

Lets renew our reverence relationship once again.Lets take refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the redeemer of mankind through His sacrificial death on the cross of calvary. Amen and Amen.

Pray without ceasing

Dear Friends,

Pray without Ceasing, I Thessalonians 5: 17, What did Paul mean by this?
A literal translation of this verse is , “Pray without interruption”. Did Paul really mean that we should give up all other activity and only give ourselves to prayer? To pray without ceasing is to pray whether we feel like it or NOT. The Apostle paul didn’t feel like praying when he was shipwrecked 3 times or when he was beaten with a rod or stoned. (II Cor 11:25). Too often we cease to pray when we fail to see the answers we want.

I personally feel that there are 2 things hidden in this verse, “pray without ceasing”. First, it is a privilege for every child of God to communicate with our creator. We worship and pray to a living Lord Jesus Christ who has resurrected from dead. Our Omnipresence God, King of kings, Eternal God, the Amen is prayer hearing and prayer answering God.
The dead of night is not too late for our God.
The breaking of the morning is not too early for the Most High
At midday, He is not too busy and
When evening gathers He is not too weary with His children’s prayer.

So pray without ceasing. Why should we pray? It is of divine authority, because our God always deserves to be worshipped, prayer is a method of worship. Let us send out at the dove of prayer, surely she will return to us with an Olive branch of peace in her mouth. So it is a privilege of every child of God to pray continually.


Secondly, it means, our prayer must be persistent. As we breathe without ceasing, so must we pray without ceasing? Never abandon prayer or never cease to pray. It is not that we must pray until we are saved and then may leave off. NO, continue in prayer until the last moment of our prayer. Being a watchful Christian, lets have our times of daily devotion fixed not by superstition but for our convenience and remembrance.

David prayed 3 times a day, so pray without ceasing. In luke 18, we see a story of the persistent widow. Persistent prayer brings victory; it is not to convince God to act but to keep active the lines of communication so that we know when He is prompting us into action. We have heard Elijah telling his servant to look 6 times, he says, go again seven times. When Peter was in prison, the church had prayed God to liberate him. Let us pray on, so that Peter will knock at our gate to bring the answers for our prayers in the coming days.

Before I conclude, I would like share my personal opinion about this verse. I go to the throne of grace to worship God and seek His blessings. I don’t go away till I have done this. So please don’t rise from your knees, till you find the blessings. Lets pray, weep, entreat, wrestle, agonize till you get that which you are praying for. Lets us avoid lethargy and indifference in prayer.

In Psalm 65:2, we see that, “You who hear prayer, To you all men will come” May the God of Amen help us go to HIS throne with prayer continually. Amen and Amen

My Lord and My God

Dear Friends,
Have you ever doubted about your faith or Are there times you want to sit down with our Lord Jesus and get His advice? Thomas, the one of the disciples wanted Jesus’ physical presence because he doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He said in John 20: 25, “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe”

Who is this Thomas? He was the one of the twelve (Mathew 10:3). Not knowing much about Thomas’ family background, his profession, educational levels, but we see Thomas was also present at the raising of Lazarus (John 11:16). He was a companion of Jesus Christ, he was loyal to Jesus, he also asked Jesus the way to the father’s house, John 14: 4-5. I think Thomas was very thoughtful. My imagination carried Thomas alone in the quiet place to meditate about Jesus death and filled with doubts to believe about His resurrection. May be Thomas was full of questions to accept Jesus death itself. We don’t know why Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared to the disciples after resurrection but he was reluctant to believe their witness to Christ resurrection. Not even 10 friends could change his mind. Some time we do doubt our God in our life, when our plans don’t succeed, or our hopes are shattered or in the time of difficult situation. It is better to doubt rather believing in silence, because doubt leads to questions, questions lead to answers and the answers are accepted.

In the bible we see many doubting people, for example, in Genesis 17: 17, Abraham and Sarah doubted when God told him he would be a father in old age. In Exodus, 3: 10-15, Moses doubted when God told him to return to Egypt to lead the people. In Luke 1:18, Zachariah doubted when told he would be a father in his old age. I think, it is a human nature to doubt about what we do not see, touch and whatever that is beyond our imagination and our ability to understand. When you and I experience doubt, take encouragement from Thomas. He didn’t stay in his doubt, but allowed Jesus brings him to belief. Our compassionate God was not hard on Thomas for his doubts instead showed himself to him. Jesus said, “Shalom”. Are you dwelling in doubts or confusions or distress or failures after failures, the unchanging Lord Jesus is telling you and me, the same promise Shalom, peace be with you. Amen. What is Thomas reply?, John 20: 28, Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God”

Let’s come out of our doubting circle and believe that God is in our midst and ready to place us on the firm ground. When I read the following verse, I am very much satisfied that I come in this scripture. John 20: 29, “ …..blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believe.” Yes, blessed are you and me who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. God’s plan is wiser; he wants to be present with you and me at all time. Even now, he is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Now the question is, are you still confused to know that this a call is from our God? Let’s get up from our doubts and believe that he will never leave us alone in our doubts. His hands are stretched out towards us. Like doubting Thomas, lets confess once again, my lord and My God, I believe in you.

May the Lord Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead empower everyone with His everlasting peace in our life? Amen.

Nearness to God produces Worship

Dear Friends,

As we all know, Jacob cheated his own brother for a birthright and he disguised like his brother to get his father’s blessings. Overall, Jacob succeeded in his plans and now he was going to Padan Haram to get wife for himself. For our study, lets see Genesis 28. Even now Jacob was not going with empty handed, his father Isaac blessed him again to inherit the land where he travel. Gen 28: 3, 4

Now, lets focus on his travel to Paddam Haram, verse 10 & 11 of same chapter 28, Jacob went out from Beer Sheba and went toward Haran. He came to certain place and stayed there all night. I would like to bring our attention from verse 11, Jacob stayed there all night, till that time, Jacob was not afraid or in other words, he was not scared of his journey, because he was a successful man and above all he had received his father’s blessings. According to my knowledge, he was traveling all alone to Haram. Now there is a turning point in Jacob’s life. This is a time that Jacob needed God’s guidance and this is a situation where Jacob searched God in his life. If we see verses 11 to 15, Jacob dreamed a stairway from earth to Heaven and saw angels of ascending and descending on it. What do you think about this verse? What do we learn from angels?
When angels saw the birth of Christ and knew that God had miraculously become a member of the human family to bring salvation to mankind, they shouted, “Glory to God in the highest” Luke 2:14. When angels saw the glorified Son of God and realized that He had gone through death to bring salvation to sinners, they said, “ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessings” Rev 5:12. These angels are closer to God, so they worshipped Him. I understood that the closer we live to God, the more spontaneously and enthusiastically we will worship Him. Back to Gen 28: 17-22, Jacob was in God’s presence, so he worshipped God. How is our closer walk with our Christ? Could we able to sense God’s presence in our lives?

If we see verse 13, 14 & 15 of same chapter, God blessed Jacob with wonderful promises, “ I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you." If we notice closely, God has spoken to Jacob in the wilderness, where you and me think there is no hope. The same God promised Abraham by multiplying his generation like stars in the sky when Abraham was in older age, without having a hope of getting child. When I was meditating about these, I could able to feel mighty power in myself, assuring that, nothing is impossible with our God. When the worldly people think there is no hope, we the believers of Christ should assure that there is a hopeful future, why? because, our God is faithful and a living God. Are you worried about your studies, or exams, or family salvation or financial crisis,or job placement or future, etc? Our God is great, His power is mighty and we worship a living God, who is in our midst to take care of us.

May the Lord Jesus help us to live obediently and pray sincerely, so that we could sense God's presence in our lives which could lead us to worship Him in private and look forward to worshipping Him with others. Amen and Amen

Love and Prayers,

The Amen

Dear Friends,

I have seen a poster recently where all the titles of Jesus Christ were given, when I was reading one by one, the title “The Amen” caught my attention. Let’s meditate on “The Amen”

Amen means truly or verily. It is an exclamation expressing agreement with a statement. At the end of a prayer it expresses the genuineness of the petition. If we see Mathew 6:13, Lord Jesus himself concludes the prayer like this, “yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever, Amen.” If we see Nehemiah 5:13, 8:16 all the people answered Amen, Amen with lifting their hands.
Why do we say Amen? The word ‘Amen’ is almost always last word of a solemn statement. Paul states that people of God should say ‘Amen’ at the end of a prayer in Church. (ICor 14:16) when we say Amen, we are saying, “Yes, before our God, I agree with that, I believe that to be true, I want that to be so.”

For our meditation, lets concentrate Rev 3:14, John write like this,” ….. these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation” when I started meditating on this, God has spoken to me with the following verses. Rev 3: 19, 20., “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline, so be earnest and repent, here I am I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

So the God of Amen, our lovely Lord Jesus Christ who is faithful and true God, is reminding once again about our present status in our Christian life. If we see this verse closely, we could able to see that, our God of Amen loves you and me, or in other words, our God of truth loves you and me, since He loved us, He has complete authority over us to discipline us. So lets be earnest and repent once again at His throne. When we see verse 20 of Rev 3, it says that, “Here I am, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me”. It confirms that our faithful God is standing and knocking at our inner person. Are we able to hear His voice? May be we are busy and hearing many voices in our busy schedule. Lets stop and discern to our Lord’s voice today.

According Isaiah 65:16, May the God of Truth help us to be truthful in our Christian calling? Are we not so grateful to have faithful and true God in our midst whose ears are open at all times to HIS children. Amen.

May the God of Amen help us to be more faithful to succeed in our Christian life?. Amen and Amen.

Love and Prayers,

Am I His sheep, Yes

Dear Friends,

Psalm 23 is my favorite psalm and I memorized it when I was young, this is my guiding psalm in all the aspects of my life, so I would like to share my personal understanding of this psalm now. I understood that our Lord Jesus Christ is our shepherd then I have to be His sheep. In my childhood, I have seen people taking care of sheep and goats, I felt that goats are at least smart, sheep’s are beyond question. The most stupid animals on the face of the earth, they are dumb, timid and defenseless and helpless exactly like me. To be honest, I know that I lack wisdom and strength; sometimes I know that I am going my own way and doing my own thing. That is me. I think I NEED SHEPHERD, a good and humble, gentle and kind Shepherd.

Isiah 53:6 says that “ we are all like sheep who have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way”. How many times we have gone away from HIS will in our Christian life? I think, it is time for us to have a good Shepherd, Jesus Christ in our life.

Why do we need Shepherd? I think there are 3 reasons to have good Shepherd in our life. The first reason to have good shepherd in our life is to meet of the inner man, the basis needs that we have for nourishment within. It is our God who restores the inner man through His word. It is the word of God which brings us first to Christ. If we see verses 1 & 2, we see that Shepherd leads the sheep in the green pastures and the quiet waters, because sheep don’t drink in the disturbed water due to its physical features. In Psalm 34, we see that, “ .. those who seek the Lord will lack no good things”, Yes, he is our Jehovah who provides our needs. In Joel 2: 26, we see that, “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed”. Lets cling to our good shepherd for our basic needs in our physical and spiritual life.

The second reason we need good shepherd in our life is to give direction . Verse 3 says, He leads me in the paths of righteousness which means well defined paths. This indicates again how stupid sheep are, because even when the path is right, they still need a Shepherd. They are still inclined to wander away, no matter how obvious the inclined path may be. This again confirms that I am His sheep, because I need Him in all the situations, confirming His presence in all narrow and crooked paths or even in righteous path to follow Him continually. In Psalm 37: 24 we see that “... For the Lord uphold him with his hand”. Yes, we have assurance that He holds us with His own hands when we have him as a shepherd in our life.

The third reason to have good shepherd is to have protection. “Your staff and rod comfort me.” Understanding how the shepherd tends his sheep is helping me understand the character of God, when we go wandering away, our Lord doesn’t say, there goes stupid sheep, NO, His attitude is, How can I help him/ her? How can I bring them back in to the line, how can I comfort you and supply what you need for? The rod and staff are used against 2 greatest enemies we have to face. The rod is for the enemy Satan, so our Shepherd uses club on him. But the other enemy us is, the enemy within us. The shepherd’s staff is used to chasten and subdue the enemy within us. Our Shepherd gives confidence not to fear either from the enemy without or from the enemy within.

What is our response to our good shepherd who feeds us and leads us and protects us? Our response ought to be worship. A word of thanks for what He has done for us on the cross. David found God, the good shepherd as a gracious host, was preparing a table before him in the presence of enemies. Lets invite our good shepherd and assure that we are His sheep available for His guidance.

May the dear Lord Jesus Christ bless everyone in this fellowship?

Love and Prayers,

DP Vathani

The teacher is here

Dear Friends,

“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”


I see, Mary of Bethany appears in 3 places in the gospels and at each time, she was at the feet of JESUS. First time, she listens to His word, second place, she speaks to Jesus and Jesus listens to her and in a third place, she worship Jesus by washing his feet with fragrance. If we see closely, there is some one or something is trying to keep Mary away from the feet of Jesus. Disciples would sit at the feet of their Rabbis, Paul says that he was educated at the feet of the a Rabbi, there is nothing unusual about this because Rabbi have male disciples, but unusual here is that one seated at his feet is a woman (Luke 10:39). Like everyone else, Martha also thought woman’s place is in the kitchen not at the feet of a rabbi. But Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen a good part. It shows that Jesus , the great Rabbi invites you and me to be one of his disciples and to take Mary position at His feet irrespective of the sex, race, age etc.
For our meditation lets focus on the second place, where Mary was at the feet of Jesus from John 11: 28- 35. Jesus had opened a new world for Mary by becoming her rabbi, when Mary’s brother Lazarus became sick, she and Martha sent word for Jesus to come and help. John 11:3 “The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick." But after receiving this urgent message, Jesus stayed there another 2 days. Lets imagine Mary’s attitude. Mary’s world might have been rocked, not only she lost her brother, but the only one who might have been able to save her brother took his own time for responding. She must be thinking, “Is this how Jesus responds to those he loves? Is this how he responds to what I really care about? Am I a fool to ever think that great Rabbi would make me one of His disciples? Does he really care about me?”

Grief, questions and doubts rumble through out Mary, her heart was opened then it was broken. Jesus stayed where he was, now Mary stays where she is. So she has determined that it is the best to keep a safe distance between herself and Jesus. Like Mary, how many of us lost our hope? Are you questioning that, “where was Jesus when I was suffering?, Does he really care about me? Are you keeping distances from Jesus, the spirit of living water? Lets see the answer for our questions in John 11:28 “When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, "The Teacher is here, and is calling you." At this point Mary was raised literally. The message raised her from all doubts and disbelief. She gets up quickly and goes to Jesus. Earlier, she stayed away from Jesus, now she moves toward him quickly. There are greater titles for Jesus, but for Mary, “teacher” is the most meaningful. In John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rhabbouni!" which is to say, "Teacher!", We see that Mary saw the resurrected Jesus as a teacher.


It seems that Mary, even in her doubt, is waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for her. Jesus said that, “ if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”. Now he calls for Mary, whose thirst is intense and she comes to him and falls at his feet again. Earlier when she was at the feet of Jesus, He spoke and she listened, now once again, at the feet of Jesus, she speaks and He listens. All she needed to hear was that Jesus came for her. All she needed to see was a tear in his eyes. May be we are like Mary, waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for us. The message is that He is coming for us. He wants us to come to Him, He enjoys the pleasure of our company. Get up, quickely, go out to him, fall at his feet, pour out your heart to him, he will listen to us. There is a time for listening to the heart of Jesus, and there is a time for pouring out your heart to him. He speaks and he listens and he knows the right time for each one of us.

When Mary was at his feet, each time, some one or something is trying to keep her away from Jesus. In the first place, Martha appears second place, Mary’s own disappointments and in third place, Judas appears. Let’s learn to overcome all the hurdles which are drawing away from His feet and learn to open our heart so he will listen to us. Like Mary of Bethany, the love of Jesus fills us beyond capacity and spills out of us. Amen and Amen.

Love and Prayers

Vathani