Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Growing trend of Christian Rock and its Effect on Young People


When I write this blog I know that there are people who will read this and feel that I am outdated or conservative. No problem because thats what people who raise their voice regarding things like this are known as. After I became a born again Christian I enjoyed Worship and Christian songs. But after some time I saw a trend catching up among the young christian friends which at times made me uncomfortable. Now I left it to them and never wanted to interfere since who am I to Judge anyones style of worship.


After I came to US I saw this trend more here among the young people in the churches. Well again why should I bother about it if its of some benefit. Recently I had been seeing some christian videos produced from India and some of the worship concerts organized. I also got an opportunity to interact with some young people of this generation and find out what they feel and what the benefit. I also did some research and has come to some conclusions which I want to write here.

When some thing starts harming or destroying then we have the right to speak against it. Thats what we see in the Bible. Elijah and John the Baptist is a good example for that after Jesus Christ himself. So what is it. There is a trend coming up in the form of worship concerts and worship nights which the enemy is using to destroy the real worship. He has achieved to steal the real glory which belongs to Jesus. After seeing one video I felt like crying because I saw a group of young people running towards the worship Leader and jumping and shouting in praise of what he is saying. They are doing it without their knowledge.


Now before going ahead let me tell you what is the argument put forward by the promoters of such pop, rock & smog worship. They say it is to attract young people. What a lie. Let me tell you once thing- Any person attracted to Jesus except because of the cross can never be genuine. Pop, rock & smog cannot attract a person to Jesus in the way God wants.


Now read some testimonies of young people here - http://www.av1611.org/crock/crockids.html

Another thing which bothers me is the fact that most of these so called people end up in a big mess. I have seen that there external apprearence also changes after that. You see them wearing inappropriate cloths, some funny beard style etc. Now you may argue that God is interested in inside. Yes, but what is inside is reflected outside. A person who is humble and whose heart is set on giving glory to Jesus will never try to impress or attract people with his style. He will depend upon the power of Holy Spirit to do the work. Read the gospels and try to understand the real Jesus and can you imagine Jesus conducting such a concert to attract people if he had been living in this time. What has happened is that Christians are taking up things from films and secular rock and pop and trying to bring up a Christian verson of it. You are doing a big mistake if you are trying to do it.


I know of a person. At one time he was my friend and I had regard for him and respected him. But as time passed away I saw him getting slowly in things like this. His style of leading the worship changed. Slowly his life style changed. Slowly his habbits changed. Today he is in a pathetic condition. He may not acknowlege it openly and may pretend as if he is all right but I know that if he go to his room and sit infront of word of God and pray then he will be left crying. He has reached a stage where he is acting spiritual infront of people but is going through termoil inside. He wants to get out but now its difficult. Devil has put him in a trap.


My intention is not to write about any particular person. But before I close this blog let me ask you one question. Are you worshiping God out of emotions and feeling or with a real experience. If you are a person who has gone astray and are leading a double standard life then you have the oppoutunity to return to true worship. You are not going to gain anything by moving ahead with the lie. God can give a break through in your life.
I will write more about this topic. Your valuable comments and suggestions are welome as response to this.


May God Lead you to true worship!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Power of Suffering Podcast

I have added 2 new episodes to Podcast - Power of Suffering 1 & 2
This is one of my favorite topics. In this I have tried to share about things like:

  • Why we suffer
  • Source of suffering
  • Reasons for suffering
  • Purpose of suffering

What should be our reaction when we go through suffering etc
I hope this study will be helpful for all my brothers & sisters in Christ who are going through some sort of suffering in their life.

The Links are:-
Part 1 MP3 :- http://www.gospel-link.com/podcast/GLMEpisode11.mp3
Part 2 MP3 :- http://www.gospel-link.com/podcast/GLMEpisode12.mp3
Pdf :- http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/Power_of_Suffering.pdf
PPS :- http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/Power_of_Suffering.pps
PPT :- http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/Power_of_Suffering.ppt

May God Bless You!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Challenges with Gifts of Holy Spirit 2

Last Friday I took the 2nd part Challenges with Gifts of Holy Spirit in my Church. Towards the end God Challenged us through the Like of Priscilla and Aquila. Some people asked me for the power point so that they can take printout. So here is the link to all files. Use PDF files for taking print out.
If you want the pps and pdf of part 1 then you can read my previous blog entry regarding it at http://gospel-link.com/blog/?p=37

The PDF file of the Presentation for you to take print out is at http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts_of_Holy_Spirit_2.pdf

The Power Point Show(pps) is at http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts_of_Holy_Spirit_2.pps

And Power Point Presentation is at http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts_of_Holy_Spirit_2.ppt

I will give you the audio link for this Bible study very soon. The MP3 audio Link for Part 1 is http://media.blcmn.org/audio/70928F.mp3

Feel free to to use these materials for your personal study as well as th teach others.

May God Bless You!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Godly Generation 10 - They will manifest God’s Power in this World

We have reached the 10th message in this series. In this I want to share with you something very important and it is so much missing today in the churches. Before that let me tell you about a person.

By profession he was a fisherman. He had lot of failures in his life. He also did some blunders which no one else has done. He would speak out and jump to something without thinking much. He became a disciple of Jesus. He was the first person to confess Jesus as messiah. He boasted and said he will never fall away. Once he even walked on water along with Jesus. He was one of the disciples in the inner circle of Jesus. But on the night in which Jesus was arrested he denied him three times. Yes I am talking about Peter.

Now let me tell you of one more people. Can you think of Paul? He wanted to destroy church. He did lot of harm to church. But ultimately he also came to Jesus and accepted him. Now Peter and Paul were ordinary people. But the things they did in this world were extra ordinary. That’s what I want to share with you.

After receiving the anointing of Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost Peter did certain things. Lets me list it he:-

  • Peter Preached and 3000 people were added to church (Acts 2)
  • Peter Healed the Crippled Beggar (Acts 3)
  • Peter and John were delivered from Jail by an angel (Acts 4)
  • “..People brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. (Act.5:15-16)
  • The Paralytic Aeneas was healed
  • Resurrects Dorcas-Tabitha from dead.
  • Causes the death of Ananias and Sapphira
  • Again escaped from Prison and Angel came to rescue him.
  • Holy Spirit came upon people when he was preaching they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Those were few things which Peter did. Now let’s see about Paul.

  • Struck Elymas (Bar-Jesus) with blindness, Acts 13
  • Healed a cripple, Acts 14
  • Casted out an evil spirit, Acts 16
  • Paul and Silas were delivered from jail, Acts 16
  • Paul cured sick people, even touching his handkerchiefs healed people, Acts 19
  • Paul Raised Eutychius to life from death, Acts 20
  • Paul Shook a viper off his hand and was unharmed, Acts 28
  • Paul healed the father of Publius of Dysentery, Acts 28
  • Paul healed the sick of Malta, Acts 28
  • Paul wrote about 13-14 Epistles of New Testament
  • Established churches in many places

If I keep on writing the list will go on. But what was the difference. They had the anointing and power of God in their life. The supernatural gifts of God were operational in their life. Holy Spirit was working in their life. God’s power was manifested in their life.

Do you have a desire to be an instrument in the hands of God for him to manifest his power in this world? Have you ever prayed that God should give you the anointing to cast out demons, heal the sick and to do miracles in the name of Jesus? Jesus said that anyone who has faith in Him will do what He has been doing and He will do even greater things than these, because He was going to the Father (John 14:12). Do you simply believe this? Can you pray for greater things from God?

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will manifest God’s power in this world through their life. They will sit in God’s presence and receive from God and go out. They will preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, do miracles and move in the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit.

May God Bless You!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Godly Generation 9 - There Life will be an Example for Others to Follow

We have come to one of the most important message for the series. Before writing anything let me put few verses here. Let see what Paul, when writing to his spiritual son Timothy had to say to him.

1 Tim. 4:12-16 “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.”

Paul had something really serious to tell Timothy. Timothy has to set an example to all believers in

  • What he say
  • The way he live
  • In love
  • In Faith
  • In purity

Also he was asked to keep close watch on his life and his doctrine or teaching.

One of the biggest needs of the church today is people who will set an example for others to follow. One thing I always see is that people who are leaders or who do anything in the church or who are seen in front always influence other people. Sometimes it’s positive and some times its negative. I have seen people who when they came to the church for the first time are different. They look at people around them. But after 2-3 weeks I have seen that they become like others. The danger with this is that sometimes people also leave the good things they have and sometimes they take up bad things from others. If people are influenced for better then that’s really good. We should always make sure that we are influenced by the good things of other people and not by anything that is not beneficial.

That’s gives a call for us to move from what is permissible to what is beneficial. We have to take off things from our life that may badly influence others. We have to add on things to our life that with influence others in a positive manner.

We have to examine our life every day and ask God to show things that He wants us to add as well as delete from our life. Then only we can become an example for others to follow. Let no one despise our youth. Set an example before others. In 1 Cor. 11:1 Paul says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” I few have to say to anybody to follow our example then we will have to follow the example of Christ.

So we will have a set an example before others in everything we do. To do this we will have to follow the example of Jesus Christ.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation set an example for others to follow. They will set an example to all believers in what they say, in the way they live, in love, faith and purity. They will closely watch how they live and watch their teaching or doctrine so that others can follow and being influenced in a positive manner.


May God Bless You!

Godly Generation 8 - They will maintain Integrity & will bring Glory to their God in foreign Land

Most of the people for whom I am writing this message live in a foreign country. Hence I am excited to write this message more than any other because we can relate with this message very easily. Even if you are living in your own country then still you are foreigners in this world. It says in Philippians 3:20 that Our Citizenship is in heaven and we are waiting a savior- Jesus Christ. We all have to go from here.

I want to share few things from the life of Daniel and his friends. Since most of you know the story I don’t want to write too much details but few lessons we learn from them. Daniel and his friends where taken to Babylon as captives. At that time they were very young. They could have easily adopted the culture prevailing in Babylon at that time. Sometimes this is what we see when young people go to a foreign country. But that was not the case with Daniel and his friends. They were given new names there.

They decided that they would not defile themselves with eating anything other than what was permitted according to the law of God. They were offered but they refused to eat. They were bold enough to use the spiritual gifts they had in a foreign land. They were confident about their God. That’s the reason why Daniel was bold enough to say to the king what God reveled to them. Many times God revels things to us but we are not bold enough to say it. The reason is that either we are not sure or are not confident about God.

Another thing we see is that they were asked to bow down before an idol and they didn’t do it. The result was 3 young men were put in burning furnace. But they came out victorious out of it. Daniel was put in lions den but he came out of it unharmed. He didn’t stop his prayer or style of prayer when he could have easily done it and escaped. They maintained their integrity in every situation.

So what was the result of all this. King gave new title to the three men-Servants of Most High God. King said, “They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any other God.” Daniel’s enemies tried their best to find a fault with him. But they couldn’t find anything in regard to his conduct and in the way he was doing his job. They could only catch him in regard to his Integrity in serving God. But there also Daniel came out victorious and afterwards King issued a decree that all people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

So what happened with Daniel and his friends? Let me summarize it here.

  • Their Language was changed but their Loyalty didn’t change.
  • Their Names were changed but their Nature didn’t change.
  • Their Food was changed but their Faith didn’t change.
  • Their Culture & Country were changed but their Convictions didn’t change.
  • Their Societies Lifestyle changed but their Godly Lifestyle didn’t change

So what was the benefit of these young men following God? They were blessed and they got promotion in their job. They became big officials in that land. But more than all these what encourages me most is the fact that they maintained their integrity and the King issued a decree that all people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. What a blessed thing it is to revel God’s glory through your life in a foreign land.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will maintain Integrity and will bring Glory to their God in foreign Land. They will disobey everyone who asks them to disobey their God. They will stand firm in their decisions and by faith will see things against the law of nature happening. They will not have any spiritual pride or spiritual head weight. They will not compromise but will follow their God in all circumstances. They will use spiritual Gifts and bring glory to their God.

May God Bless You!

Godly Generation 7 -They will Reject Wickedness and hear God’s voice

Samuel was an answer to a mother’s cry for years. Hannah cried in God’s presence for a child and Samuel was an answer to her cry. He was dedicated for God’s service by his mother. At a very young age he was left with the priest Eli in the temple of God. Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would then answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.” This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt. Also they committed adultery with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

But Samuel was ministering before the LORD -a boy wearing a linen ephod. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. Now we see that Samuel heard God’s voice.

Now this is what challenges me. Samuel and Eli’s sons were ministering in the same temple. I am sure that Samuel might have seen what they were doing. Samuel could have followed them because they were sons of Eli the priest. If I put in today’s term then they were Pastor’s sons. But Samuel’s decision was something else. He followed God rather than the sons of Eli.

See you will always have the challenge to follow the wickedness of so called spiritual people. But remember that you are called to follow Jesus and not any man. Bible should be your standard.

So then what happened afterwards? The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

Other side the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will hate wickedness and hear God’s voice. You have a choice to make. Whom will you follow? If you have your eyes fixed up on Jesus then you will hear God’s voice !

May God Bless You!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Godly Generation 5 -They will walk by Faith

The next lesson we will learn from the life of Abraham. There are too many things we can learn from his life. But I want to focus only on one area today.

Abraham is the father of all who believe or who have Faith. (Rom.4: 16)

Heb.11: 8-9 – “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.”

Heb.11: 17-19- “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”

Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldeans and Terah was his father. Their family was settled in Ur. He got married to Sarai (who later become Sarah) but they didn’t have any children. One day Terah told Abraham that we are going to the land of Canaan. His nephew Lot was also taken with them. But they stopped at Haran and got settled there. Terah died at Haran. Afterwards God asked Abraham to leave his native country, his relatives, and his father’s family, and go to the land that God will show him. Abraham departed as Lord instructed him. We know that later he inherited the land of Canaan.

One thing to be noted here is that even before God spoke to Abraham, Terah was going to Canaan. But he stopped at Haran. Why? May be he felt comfortable there or may be he got tired. When Terah started from Ur, I think his vision was to reach Canaan. But on the way he stopped and got settled in Haran.

One Lesson- do not stop before reaching where you are supposed to reach. Don’t get settled on the way. If you do then you will die on the way. Terah didn’t reach Canaan but died at Haran.

Now about Abraham we see that after God spoke to him he left Haran. Are we holding on to some Haran when God wants us to go to Canaan? It was a step of faith from Abraham. What step- leave his native country, his relatives, and his father’s family, and go to the land that God will show him. Do we have the faith to do same thing if God will ask us. That’s bringing a mission challenge. If God asks us to leave everything in this country and go to a land, which he tells then what will our response be? What if he asks us to leave everything and go back to our own country as a native missionary? Let’s answer this question to God. About Abraham it is said that “And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.” Do we have a heart to do anything, which God will ask us to do, or are we trying to settle in Haran?

Now lets come to another incident in Abraham’s life. Many years later God gave him a son and later asked to sacrifice his son. Even though Isaac was not scarified but in Hebrews it says that “it was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.

I think like this- Abraham might have thought like this- “ Even if Isaac becomes ashes, I have faith that God will raise up my promises from ashes. Since God promised that “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” So I have faith that what God told me He would do.

I don’t want to write more. Let’s ask a question to ourselves- Do we have unconditional faith in God? Faith which is not based on our circumstances but which is based on the sovereignty of God.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will have unconditional Faith in their God. They will be willing to move, willing to leave things, willing to sacrifice & willing to obey God. They will have FAITH in God!

May God Bless You!

Godly Generation 4 -They will Please God & Walk in close Fellowship with God

Here we have another Person who can be called a person who belongs to a Godly generation. His name is Enoch.

Heb.11:5 - “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

Gen.5:21-24 - “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (NIV)

In NLT its says – “When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.”

Now Enoch had an experience which no one else had in the history of mankind. Two things stand out in his account- He Pleased God & walked in close fellowship with God. He did not die but God took him away. I think that one day Enoch & God’s fellowship reached a point where God might have said to Enoch like this –“Come and stay with me. Let’s go to my house. I really enjoy the fellowship we have. Let me take you away from this world and we can talk and have fellowship whole day. So come up with me”. That’s my imagination but still I think that something similar to this might have happened.

Pleasing God and walking in close fellowship with him are two things which God always wanted from man. What was happening at Eden Garden? Every day God will come and have a time of fellowship with Adam & Eve. Then later God made friendship with Abraham. He used to share everything with Abraham. Jesus invited as to a close fellowship with him. In John 15:14-15, Jesus says that “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Are we serious about it? What a friend we have in Jesus. Still we run after the friends of this world and try to please them at the expense of our friendship with Jesus. Ask yourself a sincere question right now- Who is your best and closest friend in life? If the answer is Jesus then great. If it’s someone else in this world then review your priorities. Never give space and place in your life to anyone more than what you have given to God. Friends of this world may forsake you but Jesus will never leave you. In times of weakness, sickness, pain, loss etc friends may forsake us but during these times friendship of Jesus becomes more real in our life.

Let’s lead a life completely pleasing in God’s site and in close fellowship with God.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will not please themselves and run after friends of this world but will Please God and walk in close fellowship with God. They will have a day to day experience of walking, talking, laughing, crying & sharing their heart with God!

May God Bless You!

Godly Generation 6 -They will refuse comforts and pleasure of this world to suffer for the sake of Christ

Another Person from Bible who teaches us some important principles is Moses. There are lots of things to learn from his life but here I would like to focus on one fact, which is important for people who belong to a Godly Generation.

Heb.11: 24-27- “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”

Moses was born at a time when all boys born in any Israeli families were killed or thrown in to Nile River. He survived when all other boys were killed. He was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and grew up in the palace. See God’s provision here. In the house of enemy (Pharaoh) who wanted to kill God prepared place for Moses. But things changed after Moses grew up. He had two options before him. First was to live like an Egyptian in Pharaoh’s palace and become a Pharaoh. He had all chance to become one. This reminds of people who go to foreign countries and try to act or become like people there. I have seen people who have forgotten their mother tongue after being in USA for 1-2 years. People who came from a village in India completely forget about it and try to behave and act as if they were born here. But Moses was not like that. The second option he had was to forsake everything and go out and suffer along with his Hebrew brothers. Because he selected the second option he had to run away from Egypt and stay away for about 40yrs.

It is written that by faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. One thing, which is strange in Moses case, is that he took a big risk and also a big decision.

He realized the call of his life and went ahead with it.

What was the end of Moses story? Let me write it in simple language. Moses had the burning bush experience where God spoke to him when he was about 80yrs old. Moses came back to Egypt. Took a big assignment upon himself. He did wonders and miracles in Egypt i.e. the land from where he had to run away many years ago. He led Israelites out of Egypt. He spoke with God face to face. He was the person through whom the 10 commandments came to this world. He got the privilege of leading God’s people for almost 40 yrs. He has some testimonies with no one else have in the history of mankind.

Now if Moses had chosen the first option then his story would have ended something like this- “Moses stayed in Pharaoh’s palace and later became a Pharaoh. Afterwards he died.”

God’s people always have to take a decision and chose something in their lives. Their end and their history will be on the basis of their choice or selection. Now the question is what will you choose?

There are lots of ways that you can choose. Some will lead to comforts and some will lead to hardship. Some will lead you to abundance and some to scarcity. Some will be easy but some will be tough.

Remember that People who belong to a Godly Generation will refuse comforts and pleasure of this world to suffer for the sake of Christ. They will chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. They will regard disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of this world, because they will be looking ahead to their reward. By faith they will leave the things of this world and persevere because they have seen him who is invisible.

May God Bless You!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Godly Generation 3 - They will Offer Best Sacrifice

Let me remind you another person in the Bible whom I think can be added in the list of people belonging to Godly Generation.

Heb. 11:4 –“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”

Now Abel was the second son born to Adam & Eve. By profession he was a shepherd. Cain was his brother. His life was short. Let’s examine what he did in his life. At harvest time both the brothers brought gifts to the Lord. Let’s see what Bible says about their sacrifices.

Gen.4:3-5 - “When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.”

People have different ideas about why God accepted Abel’s gift and rejected Cain’s. But I can see a very valid reason in those verses itself i.e. the best of the firstborn. Cain gave some of his crops but Abel gave the best of the firstborn.

Later we see that Cain took Abel to a field and attacked and killed him. The reason being that God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. But we see that in Mathew 23:35 Jesus address it as the blood of righteous Abel. Also in Hebrews it says that “By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.”

Are we giving the best to the Lord? What about our time, prayer, love, money, energy, gift etc. Are we giving Lord the Leftover or the best of the firstborn?

Remember People who belong to a Godly Generation will not give leftover things to God but will give the best. They will have God as the priority in their life. They will offer the best sacrifice.

May God Bless You!

Godly Generation 2 - They will not Compromise but Resist

Today I want to bring to your attention a person from Bible who can be added as a person in Godly Generation. He is one of my favorite character in Bible because of many reasons. Mostly we remember him as the person who kept moral integrity. But when we study his Life we can learn lot of things from his life. He is Joseph. Now let me add few verses here about Joseph. Its from NLT

  1. Gen. 37:2- “……When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing .”
  2. Gen.37:4- “But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.”
  3. Gen.37:5-”One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.”
  4. Gen.37:8- “And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.”
  5. Gen.37:10-”This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him.”
  6. Gen.37:11-”But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.”
  7. Gen.37:18-20-”When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
  8. Gen.37:23-24- “So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern . Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.”
  9. Gen.37:28- “So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.”
  10. Gen.39:7-9-”..Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. 8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
  11. Gen.39:20-”So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.”

These verses just reflect the first part of Joseph’s story. Let me put few things in plain words about Joseph which I can conclude out of the above verses.

“Joseph was a young man who had a strong faith in the existence of God and firm decision not to do anything to defile himself or sin against God. When he was with his brothers, he never did bad things and whenever his brothers did anything wrong then he will report it to his father. Now he was a man who used to see dreams. His brothers used to hate him because of his righteous attitude. Because of his dream he was scolded by his loving father. But tragedy stuck him when his own brothers threw him to a cistern and later sold him as a slave for 20 pieces of silver. He was taken to a foreign land and was sold again to another person. God blessed him there and he was made in charge in that house. But a big problem came. His master’s wife wanted to commit adultery with him. He had 2 options-

  • Compromise and enjoy the blessing or Resist and go to jail.
  • Compromise and disobey God or Resist and obey God.
  • Compromise and defile himself or Resist and maintain his holiness.

I can add more. Lets think for some time that Joseph opted for first option. Then conclusion of this message could be like this:-

Joseph compromised and had a great time at Pothipar’s house. He started leading a wicked life. Pothipar’s wife praised Joseph in front of her husband and Joseph got more promotions in his Job. He got a hike in his salary. Pothipar got him a car and later build him a small house also. When Joseph was old he died.

But I am glad that Joseph selected second option. So the Conclusion is like this:-

Joseph was in jail for more than 2yrs. God blessed him there and gave him ability to interpret dreams. Once Pharaoh the king of Egypt had a dream and God used Joseph to explain it and hence Pharaoh made him Prime Minister of Egypt. Later his brothers came to Egypt and bowed in front of him as fulfilment to the dream God gave him many years ago. He was joined by his father who loved him so much. In the middle of all this Joseph also got married and had his own family. Joseph named his older son Manasseh,for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.” His brothers and their families also joined him.So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

Now the question is- What conclusion you want?

Remember People who belong to a Godly Generation will not Compromise but Resist. They will have high moral standards. They may go through difficulties and pain in beginning but their end will be good. Their name will be remembered for generations as a testimony.

May God Bless You!

Monday, October 1, 2007

Godly Generation 1 - Intro & Crying in God’s Presence

This weekend we will be going to Wilderness for Godly Generation Retreat. I am excited about it and I am looking forward to it.

We are about 12 people who will be going to spend some quality time before God. Some of us are fasting and praying this week. We all will be fasting during retreat. What I expect to see is that on Friday when we all will get together then we will not need any time to prepare but will be prepared. Normally we see a trend in camps and retreats that people reach and then the worship team has to bring people to a level. Since we all are matured people I expect that it will not be like that in our case.

Now this is the first email out of few emails I will be sending out this week in preparation for the retreat. I will try to write few things so that by the time we get together we all will have an idea as to what it is.

Four of us were in wilderness few weeks ago for a time of fasting & prayer. God spoke lot of things to each one us and this was one of the many things God asked us to do. Now on the basis of the vision I have about this retreat let me tell you few things. It will be a retreat where we will seek God to receive a clear vision about our life. It will be a time when we will understand God’s call for our life in this generation and understand how we can fulfill that through our life.

We all have this cry somewhere deep inside to do something for God and be used by him. But many times we are unable to rise above the level in which we are right now to press on for greater things. I hope this retreat will provide us an opportunity when God will deal with us and show us the areas in our life where we need to become radical. Yes I mean radical for Jesus.

Since its the introduction message I don’t want to write much but let me share one of my testimony. I got saved in 1997 and took water baptism. It was in 1999 that I received the Baptism of Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues. Life was good and I was involved in God’s work. But in 2001 something happened. I went to a CEM(Christian Evangelical Movement) Camp in Delhi. Its the youth wing of our church. That was a turning point in my life.I can say that it was an encounter with God which transformed my vision about life. If you ask what happened then I don’t have much more to say than one thing- It was a time when I cried a lot. Even during message and after that also. It was the move of Holy Spirit. I don’t remember worshiping a lot or any super natural experience. But I remember that I cried a lot because of the burden which Holy Spirit was placing upon my heart. I have never cried like that before or after that in the presence of God. Afterwards also many times I had an encounter. What happened everytime is a change and new vision. I expect this weekend to be another encounter with God.

One of the signs most of the time I had when I felt the presence of God is Crying. Sometimes it may be because of the burden which Holy Spirit places on your heart and at other times it may be out of Joy which you experience in the presence of God. Every time before I minister, if I am able to shed few tears then I am sure that it will be fire that day. If you ask me what is the most important thing I need before I preach then it is few moments of crying in God’s presence either due to burden for people or out of joy remembering how God has bought me this far.

Jeremiah was a weeping prophet. He was different in his Generation. Do we have the habit of shedding tears before God? I can admit that it is something which I would like to develop as a habit in my life and not something which I do on occasions.

I pray that this weekend will be a time when God will give us the grace to cry because People belonging to a Godly Generation will cry in God’s presence.

Can we spent some time today crying in God’s presence?

May God Bless You!

Challenges People face with Gifts of Holy Spirit

Last week I took a class on Challenges People face with Gifts of Holy Spirit in our church. We had a time of group discussion in the end and it was a blessing. Many questions were asked by people afterwards and I will like to answer them here in coming days. Also I will be tring to answer few questions which were asked to me by different people in last days.

Now if you need the Powerpoint Show of the class then the link is:-

http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts_of_Holy_Spirit.pps

The Powerpoint (PPT) of the class is available at:-

http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts of Holy Spirit.ppt

Also if you want it in pdf format then the link is :-

http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Gifts_of_Holy_Spirit.pdf

Feel free to use it in whatever way you want.

May God Bless You!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Latest Podcasts

I am happy to let you all know that the new podcasts have been published. In Episode 6 & 7 I have added a Study on Challenges Faced by Growing Church. It is part of Christian Maturity Study Series. This message was delievered at Bread of Life Church, MN.

You can get the PowerPoint Show(pps) of the Study for the link :-http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-ChallengesGrowingChurch.pps

Feel free to use this to encourage others or teach others.

May God Bless You!

Monday, September 10, 2007

10 Solid Reasons for Missions

I wrote in the last post that I will share with you the things which where taught at ICPF mission conference. So here I start with first session.

10 Solid reasons for Missions by Dr.R.Stanley

  1. We have a missionary God
  2. We have a missionary Saviour- Jesus Christ
  3. We have a missionary Holy Spirit
  4. We have a missionary Book - Bible
  5. We have missionary Founders
  6. We have a missionary Commission
  7. We have a missionary Community
  8. We have a missionary Field
  9. We have a missionary Enemy
  10. We have a missionary Hope

Wilderness-Godly Generation & Mission Challenge

Last 2 weeks had been busy & blessed. I think thats the reason why new blogs and podcasts were not added. But I managed to add 1 podcast- GLM Episode 5-Do You Really Know Jesus? If you listen to podcast and are blessed or has some suggestion then feel free to go to discussion forum of gospel-link.com and post your comments.

Now I said last 2 weeks were busy and blessed- why? because “Better is one day in the courts of God than thousand elsewhere“. So last weekend I was in Wilderness. Its is a beautiful place which is spread across about 240 acres of land. They have prayer cabins & lot of other facilities. A very good place to spend time alone with God. We were 4 young people and had a good time of prayer & meditating the word of God. We also had time of group prayer and what a blessed time it was when we could prayer for each other. I would highly recommend people to take a weekend break from busy city life and go to places like this and spent time alone with God. We were there for 3 days fasting and praying. One of the best thing which happened was that there was no cell phone range and hence I was completely cut off from world. God spoke lot of things to all of us and asked us to do few things. In the coming days I would like to be obedient and implement what he wants to do.

What is the need of the hour? People with the anointing of Elijah- Who will be bold enough to stand for God. God is looking for a Godly Generation. If God willing then 12 young people will be going to wilderness again during the 1st week of October 2007 for a 2 days retreat- Godly Generation Retreat. Keep it in your prayers. Purpose of this retreat is to to rise up a generation that will be Godly. If any young person wants to join or attend it then feel free to contact me.

Now this weekend I was at Elkhorn,WI which is near Chicago for ICPF (Inter Collegiate Prayer Fellowship) mission and Leaders conference. We had a great time with God challenging all the participants for missions. We had Dr.R.Stanley & Rev.Jacob Mathew as speakers. There was also a video presentation on missions. I will try to post the main points of the bible studies in the coming days in this blog. I think that will help many people who couldn’t attend the conference. Again it was a time to reflect back on life and understand what God wants from our life. I don’t want to write more about it as I will try to write the things taught there in few days.

Also I am looking forward to do some writing & publish some more podcasts in the coming days.

Again- “Better is one day in the courts of God than thousand elsewhere”

May God Bless You!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Set an example before Others

Christians need to set an example before others. Once a person comes to the leadership role it is more important. A person has to be very careful about how he behave.
Paul says few things to Timothy Like this:-
1 Tim 4:12-16
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Paul then says to Titus that:-
Titus 2:6-8
Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
Setiing an example before others should be a concern to us. Remember that you influence a lot of people and many look up to you even though you may not know it. Hence its very important that we set an example for others to follow.
May God Bless You!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Christian Maturity-Dissapointments

Last friday I took a Bible Study in my church on Christian Maturity-Dissapointments. It was a big blessing for me as I prepared it and also many people later acknowledged that it was indeed a blessing. I am going to publish it as podcast in 2 parts. You can hear it from the podcast section of site. The link is http://www.gospel-link.com/podcast.php

You can also find the full message at our church website. Link is :- http://www.blcmn.org/audios/ It’s the Spiritual Maturity-Tinku Thompson-Friday, August 17, 2007.

If you interested in the pps of the Study then the link is :-http://www.gospel-link.com/uploads/CM-Disapointments.pps

You are free to use the presentation or distribute it anywhere you need. Freely God has given his word and the gift of salvation so let us also give it free to others.

At this time the second part of message is not published. But it will be published tomorrow.

May God Bless You!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Gospel-Link.com Podcast

I am happy to tell you that I have started a podcast- Gospel-Link.com Podcast.

Link is:- http://www.gospel-link.com/podcast.php

My goal is to publish inspiring messages, Bible Study, News updates etc on a regular basis. I will also publish messages & testimonies of different people. The first post is already there i.e. Goodness in Brokenness. If you don’t know how to use it and need instructions for ipod then see http://www.gospel-link.com/podcast_instuctions.php

I hope it will be a blessing for many people. You are free to sent your comments & suggestions.

May God Bless You!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Idols in Heart

Ezekiel 14:4 says about people of Israel having Idols in heart. When we read the entire book of Ezekiel we know that God was angry with people of Israel because they made Idols for themself, defiled the temple of God, made vile images etc.

When God gave 10 Commandments mentioned in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 he made in very clear that :-

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

But many times when we think of Idols, the only thing which comes to our mind is that of man made Idols we have seen or we see. But when we meditate on those things then we can know few things. Before that let me put 2 verses from New Testament. They are:-

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

So we can know that now our hearts are the temple of God and Spirit of God dwells in out heart. But many times Jesus is removed from the throne of our heart and many things takes the place. When we meditate on this then we can know that many times many things become Idol in our life.

Anything which takes the glory and the position of God in our lives literally becomes an Idol. It can be our job, family, children, husband, wife, internet, music, movies etc. What all things snatches away the time which we are supposed to spend with God literally becomes and Idol in the way that it takes control of us and gradually takes us away from God and his presence.

Lets examine our life and see if we have any Idol in our life. If there are some then let us remove it and only have Jesus at the throne of our hearts.

May God Bless You!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Can or Should I do it or Not?

A Christian is always surrounded by things from which he has to make a choice. Is that permitted? Can I do it or not? Is it ok if I go there? The list just goes. Last days when I was praying a thought came to my mind which I want to put here.

What all I can do? Paul says in 1 Cor 6:12 that “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Again in 1 Cor 10:23 that “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive.

So we see that lot of things are there which may be permissible but not beneficial and constructive. So how can we know what to do and what not. First step is always check in Bible as to what God says about it. Bible has answer to almost everything you can ask. You can also consult elder christians regarding it.

Now I want to give two tips to decide which God taught me. They are:-

  1. Think if Jesus would have been in your place then what he would have done. Will he go to that place? What will his response be? Now to know what Jesus would have done you will have to read gospels and learn the personality of Jesus.
  2. Can I maintain the presence of God in my life by going there or doing it. By going or by my action do I feel a vaccum in my heart regarding God. Do I feel like I am losing the power of God in me.

Avoid all things in your life which can take the anointing of God away from your life. Avoid all things which can come as a block in your life preventing the free flow of God’s power in your life. Devils intention is to take you away from the presence of God because he knows that once he does it then he can make you do anything. Try to meditate the life of Samson. Once he lost the power of God in his life the enemy was able to bind him and even take out his eyes. A man who demonstrated the power of God through his life reached such a point that enemy completely prevailed against him. Reason was simple- He allowed things in his life which was not needed. We can see many other examples like this.

Now when we come to practical aspect what are the things. Let me give you a brief list:-

  1. Watching movies which are against the ideas of Bible.
  2. Surfing websites which are not good.
  3. Reading magazines which does not reflect the culture of Bible.
  4. Going to places were you know sin prevails or where sin is encouraged or Sold.
  5. Friendship which is demanding you to do things which are against the will of God.
  6. Doing Job which makes you unfaithful or where you are forced to accept bribe or do wrong.
  7. Unwanted chatter which promotes nothing good.
  8. Spending time on things which is not at all need

The list can go on and on. But the question is- Will you take a stand to proctect your spiritual life and to make sure the presence of God is with you?

May God Bless You!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Goodness in Brokenness

In my spiritual life of about 10 yrs now I have got the opportunity to meet many people who are spiritual and who are leading a life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There has been few people with whom I got very close so that I could know them in a better way. I can’t say I became close with all the people but there were few who made an impact in my life at times. The spiritual characters I now have were developed or motivated by their life. Some were men of faith, some were strong in their doctrine and belief, some were men with a heart for missions, some had a pastoral heart, some were born motivators and also few who had nothing special worth mentioning but still had some thing which separated them from the group. The person who most impressed me and who still holds lot of respect was an ordinary person who had this undying spirit of not murmuring or saying anything against God even when he is going through tough times. He was not an outspoken person nor one who was first choice for preaching. He always used to smile and was always interested in things concerning the kingdom of God rather than his problems. I knew that he was going through much pain which I cannot explain here.

I could take out all my frustrations before him and also share my visions with him. Whenever I took a step of faith he was always there to backup and encourage me. When I look back I can say that out of the things I did for God, 90% won’t have happened if God wouldn’t have sent this Man of God into my life to stand with me and encourage me when everyone looked with suspicion whether things will succeed or not. A important lesson I learned out of this was that don’t always think that people seen on the pulpit or who is influential in churches are the best mentors you can get. It can be someone younger to you but it has to be someone in whom the spirit of God dwells.

Now what I want share here is something different. What was one common thing I found in all these people? Do they all woke up at 5:00 am and prayed? NO. So they all fasted in same way? No. Did they all clothed in same way? NO. Did they all read same number of bible chapters everyday? NO. Then what else expect the basic fundamental teaching of Jesus Christ.

I can say it as BROKENNESS. You may not believe but its the truth. Behind every mighty men/women of God there was this thing called as Brokenness. Are they all broken in same area? NO. But they all had some brokenness somewhere in their life. The people who saw them from outside always thought that they were perfect people who had no problems or worries. But the reality was and is that they have brokenness.

When I tried to understand this it was bit hard for me initially. But the more I meditated the Bible and try to reason with God I found that there is indeed a Goodness in Brokenness (All people may not agree with me). But its a fact.I want to put names of some people here from Bible. Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jephthah, Ruth, Hannah, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Peter, Paul etc. Now if you will meditate on their life then one thing is evident that God used them mightily but they had brokenness.

Abraham had his anxious movements when asked to leave his country and go to a place which was not told to him. He lived years without a child. Time came when Ishmael came in his life. Then time of testing when he was asked to offer Issac. Jacob had to run for his life. Had to serve Laban for 20 yrs. Joseph was hated by own brothers and sold by them. He was innocent but still had to spend long years in jail. Was in jail on charges of attempted rape(In today’s terminology). Moses life started at a time when all boys born were killed and he was put in Nile river. He went from there to become Pharaoh’s son but soon had to flee from land because of a favor he did for God’s people. From Pharaoh’s palace he was in desert as a shepherd. What a tragedy and loss. After he brought people of Israel out of Egypt still had lot of struggles. Ruth became a widow. Hannah had to cry a lot and withstand lot of provoking and irritating. Jephthah was a prostitute’s son who was chased away from home by his brothers saying he was prostitute’s son. Samuel grew up in mist of Son’s of Eli( Hophni and Phinehas) who were wicked. He may had other pressures to follow them. David was fine till he was anointed. Then Bear and lion came against him. Had to fight Goliath. Was running initially from Saul and them from his own son Absalom. Committed Adultery. Elijah was in hiding for long time and had to run for his life. Nehemiah had to face challenges from Sambalat, Tobiah etc. Jeremiah was a weeping prophet who was lowered by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. He was asked to put old rags and worn-out clothes under his arms to pad the ropes.He was pulled up with the ropes and lifted out of the cistern. Who was he- Whom God knew him before he was formed in his mother’s womb. Before he was born he was set apart and appointed as prophet to the nations. Daniel went to stay with lions. Peter had his disappointments. I don’t need to write about Paul. Apart from all persecution and other things he had to endure he had a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. He pleaded three times to Lord and was given the reply “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness“.

We all want to become one out of all this great men of God but the question is about things which will bring brokenness. Are we ready to accept it and move forward.
Now lets put ourself instead of them and ask some questions.
  1. Do you want to take a journey without knowing destination by faith with all problems or want God to bless you where you are?
  2. Do you want to settle in your land without any hardship. Not having the Bathel experience or Jabbok experience. Or face all hardship and inherit the promises of Abraham and Issac.
  3. Do you want to be in Jail on accusation of trying to molest your masters wife or would like to be an ordinary servant in his house without any problem. Other option is to become ruler of Egypt.
  4. Do you want to end your life as Pharaoh’s son in his palace or become the leader who took the people of Israel out of Egypt. Talked with God Face to face and saw the promised land from far off.
  5. Do you want to give birth to many sons whose name is not even mentioned in Bible or want to be the mother of Samuel whom all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized and attested as a prophet of the LORD.
  6. Want to settle in your home or want to be in hiding. Other options are Mount Carmel experience of fire coming down. Can also be the first man to raise a dead person.
  7. Be in King’s palace without any problem and end your life. Other option is go out and face threatening of people but still rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem.
  8. Be happy and compromise on few matters here and there. But you are safe. Other option is go to lions den and finally the king declares that all people will serve the Lord whom you serve.
  9. Completed three missionary journeys and almost 14 Epistles and started church at various places. Easy option would have been to get healing and spent rest of life praising God and giving testimony that God healed you whenever you get a chance.

I can write many more questions but don’t think they are needed. John Wesley once said “The person who bears and suffers evils with meekness and silence, is the sum of a Christian man.” G. K.Chesterton says that “Jesus promised the disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble.” What Charles Kingsley had to say was “Pain is no evil, unless it conquers us.”

God does allows brokenness in peoples life. But as its says in Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Many times when we go through all pains in our life we think it is going to destroy us but no. God is breaking us so that he can mold and make us in the shape in which he wants us to be. You may not have answer to many things which are going on in your life right now expect the question- Why? Let me encourage by saying that God is in control of everything. As Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it “.

Rejoice my friend the limit is not set by devil but by our God. He will never set the limits beyond what you can bear. Also he is preparing something which you never thought you will get in your life. May be for a purpose which God wants to accomplish through you only. May be God has seen you as Abraham or Joseph or Daniel or Paul or anyone whom God used to do things which others couldn’t do.

So there is Goodness in Brokenness!

Restoration as a result of Repentance

Jeremiah 15:15-21

15 You understand, O LORD; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering—do not take me away;think of how I suffer reproach for your sake. 16 When your words came, I ate them;they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty. 17 I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails? 19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. 20 I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the LORD. 21 “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.”

All of us wants restoration in our life. There are many areas where we need to be restored. Some common areas are family, spiritual, marriage, friendship etc. Other meaning of word restoration is “the act of restoring something or someone to a satisfactory state” or “the state of being restored to its former good condition“.

We know that everything when it was made was perfect. We see that when God created the Earth then everything was perfect but later man destroyed it. Now when we see our own life then there are many things which we destroyed or are desorted due to our actions. They were good early but now the condition is worse. So now what to do?

We can see that the cause of most of this is either our sins or the wrong decisions we took or our unwanted actions. You know that you are not supposed to go to a place and you went. Now you want to come out. You went in to a relationship which had no approval from God and now you feel guilty. You want to come out. Many people try many short cuts. Some think drinking or taking drugs will solve their problem. Many try to do things which are below the basic moral standards.

God’s answer is simple-Repent. And also don’t repeat the things for which you have already asked forgiveness.

In the above Verses I have put Jeremiah is asking a question to God- Why? God also spoke many other things to him but the main point is repent.

Restoration can be achieved through repentance. Go to the root cause of problem and repent and come back in that matter and God will restore.

Restoration is possible as a result of repentance.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Biblical Response - Dec 21, 2012

By Tinku Thompson

Recently I have come across the idea going on around about Dec. 21, 2012.

This is what they say:-

“There are prophecies and oracles from around the world that all seem to point to December 21, 2012 as doomsday. The ancient Mayan Calendar, the medieval predictions of Merlin, the Book of Revelation and the Chinese oracle of the I Ching all point to this specific date as the end of civilization. A new technology called “The Web-Bot Project” makes massive scans of the internet as a means of forecasting the future… and has turned up the same dreaded date: 2012. Skeptics point to a long history of “Failed Doomsdays”, but many oracles of doom throughout history have a disturbingly accurate track record. ”

I thought I should write about here so that people who don’t know will get an idea about it and I will also try to give a Biblical response to it and also mention what Bible says about all this. Read it with an open mind and feel to ask me questions if you have any.

What is going to happen on Dec 21, 2012?

There is a common belief that according to Mayan Calendar the end of the world will happen in Dec. 21, 2012. The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya Civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. These calendars could be synchronised and interlocked in complex ways, their combinations giving rise to further, more extensive cycles. The essentials of the Maya calendric system are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 6th Century BCE. It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the Mixtec and Aztec Calenders. Although the Mesoamerican Calender did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.

THE WEB BOT PROJECT

More on the Web-Bot Project referenced in the show’s PR blurb quoted above: They seem to use a program ’spider’ to scan the internet for patterns of great complexity which they somehow read into current and future events. They use them to make predictions. My impression is, they see patterns, imagine they see vague sorts of events in the patterns, decide it’s a prediction, and when something in real life perchance matches up to their vague prediction they call it a “hit”.

Now it is believed that this Calender end on Dec 21, 2012 and hence people believe that its will be the ned of the world and thats the reason there is no more prophecy or events written beyond that day. Hence people think that world will come to an end on that day. If you want to learn more about it then you can search for it and you will get lot of information about it.

Actually, the Mayan calendar doesn’t actually end on 21 DEC 2012. It simply marks the end of an Age. The calendar is made up of a series of three calendar “circles”. They all just begin again, as they have in the past.

Why do people believe in it?

People believe it because they say that what ever it predicted in the past has come to pass and hence this will also come to pass. Also people have come up with few scientific discoveries to prove the fact that there will be a big disaster. Now some has even tried to interpret the Book of Revelation from Bible and come to some conclusion that Dec. 21, 2012 will be the last day of the world.

There has been few who have come up with their own ideas to support this. One example is Mataji Nirmal Devi. She has tried to quote many things which Jesus said in Bible and took few things from different places. But the fallacy there is that she said at one place “ But today it is the day I declare I am the One who have to save the humanity.” More information can be found on their web site about all her claims. A person who knows the bible can easily understand all the misinterpretation which is given on there. I am sure in the coming days many more will come and may have already come who will try to take advantage of these things. That will fulfil What Jesus Spoke.

What is Science saying about it?

Science and theology (study about God) has always been on conflict with each other starting with the idea of evolution and creation. Bible clearly speaks about creation and has nothing to say about Big Bang theory. Now the fine tunning of Earth out of all the planets of the universe itself shows that there is someone behind it and nothing is accident. So it shows that there is a intelligent designer behind everything and thats what we say as God. British scientists Hoyle and Wickramasinghe estimated that the chances of life evolving from the random shuffling of organic molecules is virtually zero. They calculated that there is only one chance in 1020 to form a single enzyme, and just one chance in 1040,000 to produce the approximately 2,000 enzymes that exist. However, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe point out that the production of enzymes is only one step in the generation of life. Therefore, they concluded there must be some type of Cosmic Intelligence to explain the origin of life. Hoyle compared the probability of life spontaneously generating from non-life as equivalent to the chances of a tornado producing a Boeing 747 from a junkyard.

Now Science has also certain things to say about Dec 21, 2012. There are people who claim that sun will be hidden behind the moon and it will not give light to earth and also few who says that there will be a sudden change in earth poles and change in gravitational forces.

Based on what is happenening with sun spots, and the Earth’s position in the Milky Way, doomsday is a real threat to our existence as we know it. Scientists also know the Frequency Hum in the Earth is Rising. Our Earth Hum was a constant 7.8 Cycle frequency. we used that 7 cycle format for almost all communications since it is the Baseline. In the Past few years, the Earth’s Hum is Changing. The Frequency is rising and has been recorded past 11 cycle format. Right now the Earth Raised about 4 solid cycles in frequency measurements. Scientists believe this raise in Frequency goes directly hand and hand with the Poles getting ready to flip. That’s right, Earths Magnetic Properties are changing. The North Side Will Soon Point South, and South Will point North. The Earth Will Flip 120 degrees. Also it speaks about Brain frequency and sine Waves. We know that Change in frequency affect the brains reception guidelines. In other words, If you use a frequency brain stimulation machine doctors can enhance, change, and alter a persons senses. If two frequencies are transmitted with a small gap between them, Like 400Hz and 410Hz The brain will even out the difference naturally make the brain produce a 3rd tone. This 3rd tone made by your brain is a pure Sine wave. The sine-wave will be a 10 Hz tone. Experimenting through the whole range of alpha and theta waves ( from 5 - 12 Hz) it was found that a combination of frequencies consistently caused a complete shift in consciousness. So when the Earths Frequencies finish their change, our senses and brain thought pattern will be seriously deformed. Our electrical body pulses that control every move your body makes, will adjust itself to the Earth.

What’s the response from a Biblical Perspective?

From a Biblical perspective I can say that we cannot be sure of this particular date. But the things which are mentioned as will happen will happen as many of the things are found in the Bible. Whatever is happening in the world simply proves that the Bible accound is clear. When we read the scientific facts then we can be more sure. There are many signs mentioned in the Bible as end time signs and we can see most of the things happening. So from a Biblical perspective we cannot be sure of the date but one thing is sure i.e. Earth will be destroyed as God’s Judgement.

What does Bible Say about End Times?

Now dear friend, you might be bit confused if you are not aware of the message of Bible. Let me give you a small idea about what Bible teaches about human beings and how can a person get salvation. After that I will write about End Times.

Now in the begining God Created the heavens and the earth. Now Bible says that God created the Earth in 6 days and on the Seventh day he rested. Thats why we have 7 days week. After he created everything he also Created Man i.e Adam. Now it says that God created Man in his own image. You may wonder why human beings are so different from all other animals. Man was created in the image of God. Now after that God also created women i.e Eve as a companion for Adam. So in God’s Creation man had a special place. Now God placed them in a Garden called Eden Garden and allowed them to eat the fruits of all tree expect one tree i.e. Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But they didn’t obey and ate it and hence they sinned against God. There is a whole story as who tempted them to eat and all and if you are interested I will explain later but not in this post. So man was separated from God due to Sin. Jesus came in to this world to give salvation to the mankind which was lost in Sin. He was the Son of God and took a virgin birth. He died on the cross and was raised from dead on 3rd day. So now whoever believes in him have eternal life.

We will have to go to 1 out of 2 place- Heaven or Hell. Jesus said who ever will receive him will go to heaven and whoever rejects him will go to hell for eternal condemnation. When God created this world he created it so that Man will lead a good life. But we can see how sinful the Man has become on the earth. We hear of same-sex marriage, prostitution, abortion, people without shame ready to show their nakedness in media and Internet, films promoting ideas which are against the law of nature, pronography taking hold of people, people killing each other etc. We hear of reports that Wife killed husband to live with her lover. I don’t need to mention more but we can very well understand that man’s moral standards have gone down and the world which was created as a beautiful place by God has been polluted in every manner. We see that due to the things which man did the environment has also got effected. We also know of diseases like AIDS whose origin is in the sinful actions of man. It was always been God’s plan that Man should have one wife and they should remain loyal to each other. But we know whats happening all around the world. We have TV shows which promote evil practices like couple- exchange. All these things are abominable in the sight of God and due to all this we see that Bible predicts a Judgement of the Earth from God.

A Good parallel about present times can be found in the events which happened during the times of Noah. I will write about it in another post.

Now only way to save yourself from this eternal condemnation is to receive Jesus as your savior and lead a life which is pleasing to God. Basic Steps to Receive Jesus is:-

  1. Accept that you are a sinner and you need God.
  2. Believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again.
  3. Confess Jesus as Lord of your life.

After this you can read Bible to know more about God and understand the things we are supposed to do. Also attend a good church so that you can grow in Jesus Christ.

So this world awaits a Judgement from God. But the question is are we prepared to face it when it comes. Some people think that there is no way to escape out of it but we know that there is a clear way out of it. This is a matter concering our eternity and we should be very serious about it.

Note:- I will try to give some of the signs mentioned in Bible regarding End times in next posts.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Unity in Vision

Last weekend we had a fasting prayer in our church. It was a great time in the presence of God. We had a Servant of God Pr.Micheal George from Andhra Pradesh, India.

Now God told three things mainly which I feel is good writing here.

  1. Unity in Vision
  2. Passion for Soul
  3. Quiettime with God

Unity in Vision is an important thing for anything. Its may be a company, family, minstry, church etc but its a very important thing. Most of the churches don’t grow and there is disputes because people don’t have a unified vision. Our vision should match with God’s plan and it should be in complete agreement with Word of God. I don’t think there is any vision which can be out of God word. So lets examine and see if we have a unified vision in whatever we do.

The Second thing is passion for souls. If we don’t have this then I think we are spiritually sick because it is something which we should have if we are a born again person. Are we able to cry for lost people. Are we filled with grief when we think about the millions who are perishing.

Finally the quiettime which we spend with God alone is very important. Unless and untill we don’t have a strong personal relationship with God and don’t have a strong personal prayer life we can’t expect to be effective.

Its really important that we focus on these three areas.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Christian Maturity-Disagreement

God’s purpose for our life is that we should grow mature in Christ.

Max Derree said “In the end it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”

The more spiritually you grow, the more you realize just how much your thoughts are actually focused on yourself. Even the thoughts that formerly seemed good and acceptable all of the sudden look selfish. Only then do the words “look to Jesus” finally take on real meaning. Author: Anonymous”

Bible accounts, church history and our personal experiences bear witness that good and godly people have their disagreement. ØVariances of opinion over minor matters must not be allowed to develop into divisions that create major problems and schisms in church. ØWe must learn to disagree without being disagreeable if we have to serve the Lord together and glorify his name. ØDisagreement may not start a fight. But if it is not dealt carefully then it can lead to problems. ØMany Disagreements ignored takes bitter root and can destroy a persons spiritual sensitivity. ØA person whose spiritual sensitivity is lost becomes dead spiritually and can do anything to cover up and lead a double standard life.

I got an oppourtunity to share about this topic with Romans 14. I have made a PowerPoint Show of it. You can find it at

http://gospel-link.com/uploads/Christian%20Maturity-Disagree.pps

May God Bless You!

Power of Suffering

Few weeks ago I shared a topic in our Church. Its is the power of Suffering. Many aksed me to send the powerpoint slide of that message.

In this I have covered topics like:-

  • If there is a God then why do we suffer?
  • Why Bad things happen to Good People?
  • Where was God when I lost my Job?
  • Is God interested in me?
  • Where was God when tragedy struck me?
  • Why is God not doing anything about my family?

Powerpoint show is at http://gospel-link.com/uploads/Power of Suffering.pps

Link to this message is http://gospel-link.com/messages/PowerofSuffering.mp3

You can also find it at BLC website

http://media.blcmn.org/audio/70420F.mp3

mms://media.blcmn.org/audio/70420F.mp3

http://media.blcmn.org/ram/70420F.ram

May God Bless You!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Immigration Bill

The talk among the people in US these days is about the Immigration Bill. People whose green card is in process, who plan to apply, companies who bring people on H1B etc are all worried and waiting to see the outcome. Lot of things have been said and debated. People who are in US illegally are fighting to get themself legal and those who are legally here are finding it difficult. Only time will tell what will happen. People fear that rules may change and what will happen to their chances of settling down in US. Many feel some rules are unfair and others feel otherwise. The issue finally is about getting citizenship.

Now all this makes me to think about a citizenship which is promised in Bible. Phil 3:20 says “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”. Rules for getting citizenship there never changes. Its same for last 2000yrs. Since the time Jesus died on the cross, the heavens immigration office is open 24 hrs and its accepting application 24/7 and is also accepting everyone. No one is rejected there.

But the problem is that people are not considering it because its free and they are not thinking about eternity. People who want to settle in US say that they and their children have a future here. But the question here is have you taught beyond this life.

When we die it is not going to matter as to what was our Visa status or to which country we belong. The only thing which will matter is that whether you have accepted Jesus Christ in your life or not. According to Bible we have only two options and no third option. Either we will go to heaven or to hell.

Have you ever thought about it. Rules of this world will keep changing. Visa rules will change. Climatic conditions will keep on changing. But the only thing which will not change is the Word of God(Bible).

Will you consider thinking about your life for sometime and think about your eternity.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Disciplined Spiritual Life

Last weekend we had the Men’s camp of our church. It was a great time of fellowship with people, time with God, learning from the word of God, some good discussion etc. It was good to be away from the busy crowded cities and being in a lake shore. It again proves the fact that when we are in places like this we can relate more and praise God for his wonderful creation.

We had Dr.P.U.Paulson from UBS, Pune, India as our resource person and it was a great blessing to have him. We learned lot of things from this camp and I would like to write about it in the coming days here. I will be writing about Christian Leadership, forgiveness, Christian devotion, predestination etc.

To start up I would like to deal with some thing which God taught me- Disciplined Spiritual Life

Many times we see that we are so much busy with the things of this world that we don’t have a disciplined spiritual life. We reach office in time, we keep our doctors appointment, car service appointment etc. But when it comes to matters regarding God we fail. We will reach office in time but not our church. We will eat food everyday but sometimes we miss Bible reading. We keep our appointments with friends and meet them at correct time but we rarely have a fixed time for prayer. We will make sure that we reach the fitness club in time, reach the ground in time so that we can start the match in time but no such discipline when in come to our spiritual matters.

One of the reason is that we don’t see the immediate consequence. Lets think that we have a test today and the result will be known today itself. We will pray about it becuase we are going to see the consequence today. But we don’t pray and read the bible because we lose nothing if we don’t do it today. But we should understand that the main reason behind it is that we don’t have hunger for God and somehow we have pushed Him down in our priority list. Most of the time we do all the things according to priority and we never reach till that point were we could spent some time with God. Don’t you feel that the world has become so busy and we are also part of it and we are not realizing how our life is going? We even don’t have the time to sit and think about our life.

Summary is that we don’t have a disciplined spiritual life. But in other areas we are forced to have discipline because we will see the consequence immediately. We reach office in time because we will have to. We reach a shop before it is closed because we know the consequence of reaching there after it is closed.

Now think for a moment-Do we have discipline in spiritual matters? Many of us cannot wake up in the morning and pray. But lets say tomorrow you boss asks you to report at 5:00 AM. What will you do? You will be there by 4:55 AM because you don’t have other options.

Now I am sure that you want to improve in this area. So what to do. Let me give you some practical ideas that I learned.

  1. Have a fixed time when you will spend time with God.
  2. Start with small target. It can be 15 Min. but it should be fixed for everyday.
  3. Make sure you follow that. Lets say you fixed 6:30 AM - 6:45 AM. Now imagine that you were in a pray meeting whole night and just slept at 6:00 AM. But still make sure that you spend 6:30-6:45 with God. What I mean is let that be your priority.
  4. Once you feel you are settled with the 15 min. then increase the time.
  5. Don’t allow any other things of the world to take priority during this time.
  6. Try to avoid activities in your life, which can affect your Spiritual Life.
  7. Never try to postpone your time. Don’t say that today is Saturday so I will shift my time to 8:30 to 8:45 instead of 6:30-6:45.
  8. If you can try to give small punishment to yourself. Lets say you will decide that I will skip my breakfast if I don’t spend time with God or it can be anything. What it will do is that it will remind you whole day and motivate you for next day. One of the best way to discipline yourself is that take a decision not to eat anything unless you have spent time with God (This is just a suggestion. Only do it if you can).
  9. Above all pray to God to give you the grace to maintain a disciplined spiritual life.

What I have written is few practical things. But all this will fail if you don’t have a hunger for God. You can’t eat food unless you fell hungry and if you don’t feel hungry then you have some problem and you need to consult a doctor. In the same way if you don’t have spiritual hunger then something is wrong with you.

Every day our father in heaven is waiting to listen our voice and talk to us. But many times we just disappoint him by just ignoring because of our other priorities. From today don’t disappoint him. He gave his only Son Jesus for us. He asks nothing else from us but a close walk with him.

Will we decide to have a disciplined life?

Be Alert: Do not fall into this trap!

Introduction Recently, a Pastor visited me, and I took him to the Mall of America, the biggest mall in America.  As we were walking, we met ...