Devotion - Be prepared

Eph 5:15-20 - Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The last few days has again reminded me of how uncertain life is. A good lifestyle of keeping a healthy routine may seem to prolong life but its no grantee. life is unpredictable and something only the creator determines when our time is up. With this background its therefore necessary that we set our house in order and live in such a way that when its our time, we are ready. This passage outlines four key principles on how we live as people who are wise, people who are careful.

  • Verse 16 - Redeem the time. Because life is uncertain, every opportunity counts. Procrastination is the thief of time. Whether its taking care of the needs of the family or doing something good to your spouse or doing something for God's kingdom, the right time is NOW. Tomorrow is too late. One important thing we need to realize that we need to keep ministry and family in a balance. Any alteration in the balance will result in being unwise and careless. That's exactly what Paul is trying to tell the Christians. Don't be careless with your life. Every "kiros" moment is a God appointed opportunity for a season and a reason. On my brother's death on 25 Feb 2012, CBN News Senior Reporter George Thomas, who knew Kumar personally, left no doubt that his friend had made an impact on numerous lives during his own earthly journey. He redeemed his time well.
  • Verse 17 - Understand what the Lord’s will is. Because every opportunity is a God given and time is only a season, we really need to understand what is God's will and purpose for our lives. This is key to living a fruitful a and productive life for the Lord. It will be a disaster when having struggled to climb the ladder of our lives, only to find that our ladder has been leaning on the wrong building. A person who does not know what is God's specific purpose for his life is a careless person. A person who fails to seek God's purpose for his life is unwise, a fool.
  • verse 18 - Be filled with the Spirit. If we want to live a life of transformation and power, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The actual rendering is "keep on being filled." Its a daily process. To be filled with the spirit is to be filled with God's word. There is a need to keep a balance with bearing the fruit of the spirit and manifesting the gifts of the spirit. Both are essential for a sound balanced christian life. Anything extreme upsets the spiritual equilibrium. We need both.
  • Verse 19 - Encourage one another by psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. How we need to do this more in the body of Christ. Lift up the weak, say a word of encouragement to the those in despair, be of some help to the needy. Be sensitive to the needs of others, especially those who are hurting. Jesus said "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." If only the body of Christ will obey this commandment, the world would be converted in no time. Its so sad that Christians still harbor hatred and bitterness even after many years after the event.

Motivation for this devotion came from the message shared by Pst Rodney at Kumar's funeral

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 11, 2012 at 7:27 AM

    Dear sir,
    you are great encouragement to us. Many a time people are not having balance life, especially leaders.The busy life lack care to family and people they are woring with. I learned alesson from many and by this message to walk very wisely in this adverse situation.
    Hope you are back now and everything has been settled well.
    I am still in prayers for the comfort to your family.
    we love you and pray for you. You also need good rest. Drink lot of juicy things and some hot soups mainly tomato soups for the health to restore.
    we love you and pray for you.
    sam and family

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"It is finished" - Jesus Christ

Image
John 19:30 - When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. It's Good Friday again. The world pauses and recollects the events that changed the course of history. For me it was a time to reflect on the finished work of our Lord on the cross. He paid the price for my redemption. But it dawned on me that Jesus, himself, had a task to do while on this earth, He was on a mission. There was a time frame. There was a script to follow. In military terms , there was an objective he had to capture. Anything short would have been a disaster. But towards the end, in spite of the agony at Gethsemane, the unfair trail, humiliating and torturous journey via Dalarosa, Jesus cried, "It is finished". What an achievement. What a fitting eulogy.  Jesus was faithful to His mission - Hebrew 3:2 Jesus was focused on His mission - Luke 9:51 Jesus finished His mission - John 19:30  Judas towards th
Read more

What a trip to Nepal

Image
I am sitting at the airport restaurant in Kathmandu, checked in and waiting for my departure to New Delhi and from there, onward to Singapore.  Just sipping and enjoying the Americano coffee and a slice of cheese cake as I reminiscent my last nine days in Nepal. It has been a incredibly tough trip but one filled with joy, great satisfaction and challenges. Tough because of the bad roads, tracks and mountain trekking that really tested my endurance and my back was sore.  Couple of knocks on the head as the vehicle danced to the tune of the undulating terrain. Days when I had terrible diarrhoea, running from one mountain toilet to another. Thank God I had Dr Mike Ong on this trip who is a medical doctor from Singapore, who attended to my condition. Times when we had to sleep on the cold floor with thin sheets of cloth, with rodents in the vicinity. Temperatures dropped to a low of 10-12 degrees centigrde in the nights. Eating the food offered by the villagers as we were up in the mounta
Read more

Devotion - Psalms 44: 6-7 - Its God who gives the victory

Image
Psalms 44:6-7 - I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. Any soldier will know that the basic weapon of warfare, in those days, were the bow and sword. Without which no soldier will not venture into the battle field. Even the famed Goliath was geared in full battle order when he faced David with the stones and the sling. Isn't it a paradox then that David, one of the finest soldiers Israel had ever produced, proclaims that its not the bow and the sword that gives the victory. Its is the Lord, Jehovah, that gives the victory. I don't think David is trying to say that we should not prepare ourselves for warfare. His concern is that we recognize that ultimately its the Lord that gives the victory. A few things we need to remember: Human efforts are necessary in the God-man partnership Human efforts alone does not guarantee God intended results Recognize that its God that always gives u
Read more