Showing posts with label Encouragment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Encouragment. Show all posts

Monday, April 28, 2008

Are you Satisfied with Ordinary Church Services?


Today I want to bring to your attention to something which I feel is very important for people to understand and needs to do something about it. My question is - are you satisfied with ordinary church Services? Now you may be attending any church but the question is do you feel the presence of God in your Services. Is the anointing of Holy Spirit flowing in your church? Are you witness of supernatural things in your church. When was the last time a miracle happened in your church?


Now if you can answer YES to few of the questions above then you don't need to read this blog. But if the answer to most of the questions above is NO then read this.


Recently one of my friend gave a testimony. He said he was feeling very much discouraged and someone told him to go to a church where a revival is going on. He went there and during the service he felt like someone asking him to kneel down. He resisted for sometime and finally he did. Then he started crying and he felt a big burden removed from his life. He prayed and a big transformation happened in his life. Now I feel thats the work of the Holy Spirit.

In John 16:8 Jesus said about Holy Spirit like this:- "And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment." I think that if these three things are not happening then there is something wrong. One of the primary work of Holy Spirit is to convict us about our Sins. But many times we see that people have misunderstood the work of the Holy Spirit to some other things. I know that Holy Spirit does lot of things but one of the primary work is to convict people of their Sin.

Every move of God or Revival started with people confessing their sin. But now a days we see that churches don't preach against Sin but preach only blessings. Every time people gather for fellowship the God's power and glory should be reflected. If that's not happening then we need to seek God's face and cry.

We should not be satisfied with ordinary usual Church Services. We should seek God's face to see the move of God in our gatherings.

May God Bless You!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Fellowship in Computer Age- Are we losing it?



We are living in times when everything is becoming High Tech. Well, I am not against it. But anything not used properly will have its own bad effect on human beings.

One area in which people have brought technology too much is the area of spirituality.



People just prayer over phone when they can physically meet people and pray. Church leaders who stay within the range of few miles use technology to take important decision regarding God's kingdom and work when they should actually get together and pray together and discuss and take decisions. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with doing it once in a while. But it should not become an habit and way of life later.



At times we see too much dependency on technology which is taking away some of the good things we badly need.



I am thinking of moving away as far as possible from technology and modern day inventions wherever its not needed. They are making the life more complex. That's my thought. Slowly people are moving into a virtual world where the essence of fellowship is getting lost. There are advantages of meeting people face to face. Relationships are build and a persons outlook is shaped. A bond is developed by fellowship. But slowly many things in spiritual world is being copied from professional world and it will simply not work. The professional world works on the simple concept of profit and gain but the real spiritual world works on loss and sacrifice.

First century church gave importance to Fellowship. They consistently met together for fellowship and worship. To them, fellowship was much more than just getting together. It was a common concern expressed also in practical acts of giving and sacrifices (see Acts 2:44-45; 4:32, 34-35). If we try to move away from this vital concept then there is a big danger that we all will end up in a virtual world with the dynamics of fellowship also becoming virtual.



But this is my advice from Hebrews 10:23-25

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (NLT)



Take time out of your busy schedule to meet people for time of Prayer and Bible Study. Don't spend your life just in front of computer. Strike a balance in your life. Don't forsake the habit of reading from Bible and taking notes on a notebook with reading from your PDA or Computer. Try to be a real person and not just a person who is in his own world. I know this thought is challenging in today's world. But just see for yourself and you will find the difference. You will find yourself more refreshed and encouraged.



Don't allow this practice of fellowship which the first century disciples practised to be lost in your life, family and church(Very Important).



May God Bless You!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Joy - Love Righteousness and Hate Wickedness

We see people running here and there to obtain joy in their life. There are many reasons contributing to the fact that people are finding it more difficult to find quality time or Joy in their life. Many are busy with their work while others are busy even though they don't know why they are busy. This may sound strange but that's the truth. Families don't get time to sit together and at least have a dinner. Television shows or other things take some houses dinnertime. Communications among family members are going down and it is affecting the children a lot. Some how people are not finding joy in their life.

So what is the solution to this. People have found out different ways to have joy in their life. Let me give some examples of most common ways in which people try to get joy. Some think that going out on a vacation is the solution. But what after you come back from vacation. Other people have other ideas like watching a movie, going to a night club or party, hanging out with friends etc. But what after 2-3 hours of movie or party? Then there are many who think drinking and indulging in sinful things give them joy. What they fail to understand is that Joy is not pleasure. Its something different.

I got this definition of Joy from somewhere. It says, "Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope, and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. Joy is our elated response to feelings of happiness, experiences of pleasure, and awareness of abundance. It is also the deep satisfaction we know when we are able to serve others and be glad for their good fortune."

Now Bible speaks a lot about joy. In fact Joy is one of the spiritual fruit expected of a born-again Christian. But many times we see that people don't have this joy in their life. Many things can be said about this subject. But today I don't want to write much. I want to mention just 1 verse from Bible that tells us how to have this joy in your life. The verse is Psalms 45:7

"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." (NIV)

The formula given here is simple but not followed often. It says that you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Then God will set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of Joy.

Now we can interpret it in many ways. But one thing I learned from this verse is that in order to be anointed by the oil of joy you need to do one thing- Love righteousness and hate wickedness. That’s a requirement. God promises you to place you above your companions.

Now the last thing - We may say that it's very easy. You may be a church going Christian. But hating wickedness requires a deep commitment to follow God. Loving righteousness also requires the deep commitment. We are living in a society and time when a person who love righteousnessand hates wickedness is considered as someone old fashioned and out dated. Pressure is always there to go after wickedness. Few examples are watching movies that has wicked philosophy, watching pornography, using abusive and filthy language etc. Now you may say I don't love these things but I am just ok with it. I am not that conservative.

But here the Bible is asking us to hate wickedness. I don't want to write much but want you to think. Do you really hate wickedness in your life or are you ok with wickedness. Do you really love righteousness or are you just ok about that also.

One way to find joy and joy in abundance that God provides is to love righteousness and hate wickedness.

May God Bless You!