J…O…Y – Day 2 2x2

Please read Philippians 1:1-11

The summer when I was 11, my brother and I went to my aunt’s house in Dronachalam, South India.  All I remember is, that I had a great time (well my aunt was a great cook) at my aunt’s house. I remember eating and playing with the new friends I made – and this one event during my stay.  One weekday evening, my aunt came and asked my uncle to take her to listen to an itinerant evangelist. My uncle did not want to go and so she took me along with her, despite my protests. I told her I did not have to go (hey, I was 11!) because I was a good boy who never missed Sunday services, and one Service a week was enough.

In the service, the evangelist preached on the topic of Christian Joy- a REALITY I never heard of before that day. I don’t remember the sermon except for this one statement of the preacher– ‘JOY is putting JESUS first, OTHERS next, and YOURSELF last.’ That night, I did not fully understand JOY but now I know that because of Jesus you and I have joy in our hearts and lives. Joy begins in us because His Spirit shows/teaches us something our human reason and mind cannot comprehend – other-centeredness.

Now I am using the word other-centeredness. You might use/hear other words, but the truth is that other-centeredness comes only from Jesus and His Spirit. There might be common synonyms such as selflessness, altruism, unselfishness, self-denial, etc. – they are good words to describe many good and kind people – but I believe other-centeredness (other being a clumsy word to say, I admit) is what Jesus teaches us through His Word and His life and sacrifice.  Other-centeredness paves the way to Joy, which is a reality, not a feeling or concept. ( if you have a better word please tell me)

Please read the first 11 verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians and over the next few days, we will look at other-centeredness( or others-centeredness) and Joy in the life of a disciple.

Dear Jesus, I want to follow you all the time but the ‘delights’ of the world and the ‘pleasures’ of self pull me in various directions. Create in me an other-centered heart to live in the joy that You and Your Word provide your servants. Amen!

Water, water, every where …… Day 7

Please read John 4:7-14 (for the whole story read John 4:1-45)

In the Bible, from Genesis 1:2 where we read that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”, to Jesus teaching us in John 3:5 “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” and finally to the River of Life in Revelation 22, we encounter water or waters in various forms.

In Psalm 124:1-5 the words floods, torrents and raging waters symbolize enemies’ actions against God’s people. The Assyrian invaders are described as waters in Isaiah 8:7. In Isaiah 59:19 the rushing stream is God’s judgment on evildoers and oppressors.   On one hand the above symbols and words might trouble us, but on the other hand we are comforted by the love and actions of a loving God in the Bible’s water imagery. In Psalm 1:3 the blessed man “is like a tree planted by streams of water”. God extends his peace like a river in Isaiah 66:12. 

Coming John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that He is the giver of living water(v.10). During Jesus’ time any hearer of the phrase giver of living water would be reminded of “…Lord, the fountain of living water.” Jeremiah 17:13. So Jesus is teaching the Samaritan woman, and us, that He Is God. Later Jesus promises “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”(v. 14).  That is good news –eternal life comes only from Jesus. So let us rejoice in the Gospel (good news) that God reconciles us to Himself through Jesus’ perfect life, suffering, death and resurrection.  

And there is more. In John 7:38-39 Jesus makes another promise, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ³⁹ Now this he said about the Spirit..”

So I ask you dear brother and sister in Christ, you who are saved from God’s judgment of rushing waters, and you are given the water-spring welling up to eternal life, do the rivers of living water flow out of your heart? In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes “Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” In the same way, there are many non-believers, who are dying of thirst because the rivers of living water do not flow from my heart and your heart.   

So let us (you and I) ponder these questions – (1) Does living water flow from my heart all the time? (2) Do love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control flow from my heart towards all of God’s creation? (3) Am I faithful like the Samaritan woman who left her water jar and went told her town people ‘Come and see Jesus’?, and lastly (4) With my words and deeds do I quench(satisfy) other peoples’ thirst or do I quench God the Holy Spirit?

Dear Jesus; thank you for giving me Your Spirit. Help me that from my heart the rivers of living water flow out into the world. Amen!

Who will tell/teach us our sins? Day 18

Sin

“…I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.” Romans 7:7

The story is told of one of Rev. Billy Graham’s interviews. Since the interview was at their home, Ruth Graham, Billy’s wife spent days cleaning the house. She cleaned everywhere and liked her work because the house looked perfect -in fact it looked spotless. However, when the television crew set up and turned on the bright lights, Ruth was horrified to see cobwebs and dust, which were not visible under ordinary light.

Dear friends, most of the people on earth, including Christians, think that they are good people. In addition, their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors etc. tell them that they are indeed good people.

When we read chapters 11 and 12 of II Samuel, we learn that King David did not consider himself a sinner until the Prophet Nathan showed him his sin. Now David had Nathan, but who will tell/teach us our sins? The truth is, while pastors, teachers, friends, family members may point out our sins, it is God the Holy Spirit who speaks to us and convicts us of our sins when read His Word. So regular scripture reading/study shines God’s bright light into our hearts and minds and shows us our true condition and nature.

Open my eyes Lord to my wretched condition of sinning and fooling/convincing myself that I do not sin. I thank you because you are the God who shows me my sin – and you also save me from my sins.  In Jesus name I thank and pray. Amen.