In His Time.......... with P.Ramachandran

Psalms 19:10  -  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.   In the last few devotions, I noted David’s various descriptions and dividends of God’s Word. God’s Word is perfect, its trustworthy, its right, it’s radiant, pure and firm.   Having displayed the various spectrum of God’s Word, David comes to the conclusion on how it meant to him.   They say diamonds are a woman’s best friend but gold is everyone’s best friend. Especially during important occasions, you will be amazed at the weight and display of gold that man and woman alike, display. Sometimes I am amazed the thickness of the goldware around some necks. I just wonder how they carry these “burdens” around. But for the bearers, it’s something to be desired to make one feel and look good. It give some kind of status, prestige and dignity.    For David, having tasted and seen all the best gold in the world, comes to the conclusion that God’s Word is far su

Psalms 19:9b  -  The decrees of the   Lord   are firm, and all of them are righteous.   The Hebrew word for “decrees” renders another widely used meaning -  Judgement.   David description of God’s word reaches the climax when he pronounces it as a judgement that is firm and righteous.     Decrees refer to ordinances, a military term. The directives issued by a king or a commander in chief. David himself being a king comes to the inference that God’s ordinances are not unjust, they are not impossible or laborious. Rather they are fair in the sense that  they can be observed.   In today’s climate, the politicians and those in power seem to be above the law. They could have committed the most heinous of crimes and can still come out of it scratch free. Man-made laws have so many loopholes that a clever litigator can easily wriggle his way through one of those and get his client free. But not so in the court of God’s law.   God’s law are the same for everyone  from the king to the beggar.

Psalms 19:9 a-The fear of the   Lord   is pure,   enduring forever.   What a sudden change in the terminology. In the previous verses, David described God’s Word as the law, statutes, precepts, commands all within the legal framework of an executive order.  Here  David depicts God’s Word as “the fear of the Lord”. The implications of this phrase seems to induce punishment and judgement for irreverential handling of the legal framework. Sounds more serious than the previous annotations.  Honestly I never saw God’s Word in this manner until now. It only goes to show there are so many nuggets in the Word that we can unearth as we diligently take time to ponder and mediate on it.   But what does this nomenclature - fear of the Lord - in this context mean?    Very often when we talk about fear, it always connotes anxiety, horror, distress, trepidation or fright. Many times this is the depiction of God that we have in our minds. He is so holy, sin cannot stand in His presence. The Old Testam

Psalms 19: 8b - The commands of the  Lord  are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Singapore is colloquially known as a “fine city”. Certainly it’s the best city in the world in one sense but the innuendo suggests that there are so many rules, that you are bound to break at least one in a day. From crossing the road to spitting to chewing gum, everything is incessantly regulated. I have no qualms about our rules, in fact that’s one of the reasons our streets are relatively crime free. Being the conservative I am, I welcome such restriction to civil liberties for the important payoffs of peace and security. But for many, rules are bondages, stifles personal space, undermines democracy and restricts individual liberties. It induces fear and guilt. “There is always an ulterior motive, as in the case of repressive regimes,” so say the liberals. That’s exactly the set-up the devil snared before Eve when he  tempted her in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:5 - “For God knows that when you ea

Psalms 19:8  - The precepts of the  Lord  are right, giving joy to the heart.   David’s crescendo of God’s law reaches yet another superlative  God’s Word is right, always right and it give joy   It seems that David has no lack of narratives when it comes to verbalising God’s Word. The law is perfect, its trustworthy and now “right”. God’s Word is never wrong.   The word “right” translated here also means just, equitable and upright.  Psalm 33:4  -  For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.   In today’s world there is always the clamour for relativism, especially from the community that is progressive and leaning very much to the left. There are no absolutes, they say, only what you think is right matters. Obviously a self-defeating statement.   For us, Christians, God’s Word is our moral compass. God’s moral law does not change and they are right.   That means God’s word is our standard by which we should order our lives, our conversations and all our aff

Psalms 19:7b-   The statutes of the   Lord   are trustworthy,   making wise the simple.   If you have read your Bible long enough, you would have realised that the Bible is full of paradoxes. Here is one such example – When you indulge into God’s Word you become simple. How ironic. I thought much education into the scriptures would certainly make one “wiser than the other”. Strangely “No”, in this case.   Having talked about the importance of the Word of God being a refreshment to the soul, in the second part of the same verse, David submits, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, that God’s Word is trustworthy.    David uses a legal word “statues” or “testimony” as in the KJV, to describe the steadfastness or the legality of God’s Word. And the same word is used to describe the ten commandments given by God to Moses. In legal terms, God’s Word is sure, trustworthy and stands the test of time.    Having been in the legal field for some time, I know that all man made laws, statues have

In  Psalms 19:7-11 , David describes the magnificence of God’s Word.   He commences the description in verse 7 -   The law of the   Lord   is perfect,  refreshing the soul.   Man is essentially a spiritual being within the physical body.  Genesis 2:7  tell us:   Then the   Lord   God formed   a man   from the dust   of the ground   and breathed into his nostrils the breath   of life,   and the man became a living being.   Man is not just matter but matter plus spirit.  Genesis 1:26  further tells us that man was made in the image of God. That is why while the physical environment is the habitant for all other creation, for man God is his habitant. Acts 17:28 further amplifies this proposition by stating -  For in him we live and move and have our being.  The inference is, as long as man is not within this habitant, he is dead spiritually.   Being a spiritual being, more important than physical nourishment is the spiritual sustenance.  No wonder Jesus said in  Mathew 4:4  - ‘Man shall

Church Buildings.    Three building are urgently needed. It will cost about  $5000  each to put up a building for worship. These villages are safe grounds from any threat of persecution. Motorbikes .   At least three motorbikes are needed.  Each bike cost about  $1500.  It will help the church planters to do the work of evangelism more effectively.  Tuition centres.    These have been very effective in connecting with the villagers. Currently we have 3 such centres. We need to increase the support for the centres from  $50 to $100.   The increase will help to take care of the hygiene needs and stationaries. There is also a need to conduct regular training for our church planters so that they can disciple their believers more effectively and biblically. One of the ways to do this is to bring them to another state for a week every six months and do some proper Biblical training/teaching. This will involve cost and logistics but is very much needed so that the believers will be rooted on

It was a long day but we were invited to Bishop John Nag’s home. Bishop John is one of our senior pastors in Chhattisgarh. It was late and dark and we were tired after a long day and very much wanted to go back to our hotel. But Bishop John was so persistent and begged us to come and pray for his wife who was not well. When we arrived at his home, his wife was lying on the floor and covered with a thick blanket. I asked Bishop John what happened to his wife. He said that about a month ago his wife and some ailment and she went to see a local doctor. The doctor had given her an injection and she developed some allergy. From that day she was not able to get up or even walk on her own. She has to helped by at least two people for her persona needs. Most of the time she was lying on the floor. Two ladies helped her very slowly into the church and made her sit on the chair. My heart was broken seeing this. These people have been serving God faithfully and now she could hardly walk. I was ag

This is my first trip for the year and the first to Chhattisgarh since 2019. Prior to this trip, there were reports of persecution in Chhattisgarh, especially near the places where our CPs are working. Hence there was a lot of concern about this trip but PEC and friends prayed with us for this journey. The Lord was indeed gracious and we did not encounter any threats or disruptions. In fact we saw the mighty hand of God in this trip. All glory and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ. Bishop Nehemiah from Hyderabad accompanied me on this short trip.  I departed Singapore on 15 Jan and arrived Hyderabad uneventfully at about midnight local time. Bishop Nehemiah and Bro Lazar were there at usual to receive me at the airport, even though I told them not to come. As we have a morning flight the next day, I stayed in a hotel close by the airport. Today Bishop Nehemiah and I departed this morning for Jagdalpur airport in Chhattisgarh. The last time we went to Chhattisgarh, I  remember we had to d

This year in PEC, the leaders have designated the theme as the "year of Growth". A note theme indeed and that must be the motor not just for this year but every year in the church calendar.  But church growth is not easy as it seems. If it is, then why are so many churches stagnant or even decimating.  What would help a church grow in numbers? Programs, events, outings or should we focus on the spiritual? Maybe a hybrid would help.  Today I shared in the morning service on the growth in the early church. In Acts 2 , we suddenly see the birth of the church and its soon acceleration in growth. But I am of the opinion that the foundation of this growth was laid in Acts 1, when the 120 gathered in the upper room.  I am of the opinion that if we want to see growth in the church we must return to the first principles as found in Acts 1. No other form of  "spiritual gymnastics will substitute these principles". Three principles stood out for me in Acts 1. Unity in Prayer -

  It was my  privilege  and joy to facilitate the  subject  of the  Great   Commission  with 10 CP trainees who are undergoing the 6 months  program . I taught from Monday to Friday. The actual  subject  covers 13 lessons but I could only do 5. It was conducted by zoom. Pst John Phongshah and his wife Sarah Seng Mei helped with the translation. It was indeed a hectic week. Teaching by the day and working by the night. Prasie God for His strength and anointing.

We celebrated Christmas with the boys in the orphanage in Nagarjunsagar. The home is run by one o our pastors who have been affiliated with us form some years. We thank God for the sponsor from PEC Singapore who graciously supplied the needs for the Christmas program.  We thank God for Bishop Nehemiah for taking the trouble to go there and to celebrate Christmas with the less unfortunate.  Being the salt and the light of the world for Jesus