Your Tongue

Recently I read about a sad story of a man who ended his life. Before ending his life he wrote about the events happened in his life from the time he was born. Since his birth was unexpected (unexpected pregnancy), his mother hated him. From the infant age onwards she uses to shout at him for everything. Any problem in any place she use to point to him and will use abuse words on him. So the regret of having parents who treats him like a loser made him actually a loser. In all the walks of life he had to face discouragement and more than that he use to take all the blame, what so happened in his surroundings. That made him more discouraged and finally he ended up his life. 

In this story, everything started because the person’s mother was not able to control her tongue. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness” – James 3:9. The tongue has the power to take life or make life. God created the world and everything through his word. “Although small, the tongue has great power” – James 3: 5.

Even if you are a dedicated person of God, if you are carelessly using your tongue, you deceive your faith and your God. A servant of God means he is an ambassador of God and he represents God among people. If he is not using the tongue properly, he is putting down the name of God and more over he is disrespecting God and the position he is in. “Even if we seem religious, if we do not control the tongue, we are deceiving ourselves and our religion is vain” – James 1: 26.

I request the brothers and sisters who are reading this message to be very careful in using your tongue. Respect God and his words.

Grow your Hair

In the Bible, Old Testament Judges, we study about Samson. From Judges 13 onwards we can see the life history of this Jewish person who was called by God to be the leader and Judge. When he was a boy itself, God blessed him with the Spirit. Judges 13: 24, 25. But in the next chapter we see his weakness exposed even though he was a man of God. Even though God commanded them not to marry outside Jews, he wanted to marry a Philistine woman. Satan found an opportunity to get into this person and he cashed it in. 

 

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” – Mathew 26: 41.

Satan will have different ways to conquer you. He might make you to take decision suddenly and destroy you (suicide). But most of the times, he will slowly take one by one step to destroy you. God gave strength to Samson to protect Jews, but he used it for his own pleasure. He went and fought against the Philistines for getting his weak desire. These were the steps devil took to put him under. 

When devil understood Samson can be tamed, it sent Delilah to him for temptation and finally Samson failed in it. The way Satan did it; you can read it in Judges 16. Delilah did not leave Samson without letting him tell his strength. His strength was his hair and once the enemy understood it, they shaved it fully. 

Same thing happens to many one of us. When we walk with God, he gives us his Spirit and guides us to do supernatural things. But even then Satan will try to get into us. Once we open a window for the devil, he will search for our weakness to know our strength. If we give room for him he will find our strength and destroy it to finish us.

Carefully read Judges 16: 21, 22 – “The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But his hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” 

Yes, Samson’s strength was his hair and once the hair started to grow, Samson understood his strength has come back. Devil can take away our strength and make us weak. But God will give us a second chance to show our strength. The question is how you are going to use the new strength. Here in the life of Samson, he used the strength to kill all the Philistines who came to see his death and in the process he himself got died. 

Our strength may not be physical. But when it is gone, go to your basics. Ask God to change your situation and surrender unto him. Once he gives you the strength back, instead of trying to take revenge on the enemy, use the strength to do things which you are supposed to do. Use it to glorify the Lord. If your strength is music, sing and help someone to sing for the glory of God. If your strength is in doing a specific work, do it and help others to do, and make efforts to bring them to Christ.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” – Colossians 3: 23, 24.

Overcome Sketch

“Sketch”, a word which is used by the goons in Kerala, India. When a person gives them money to kill or trash someone, they use the word ‘sketch the victim’.

Same word, I use when a man or woman of God is born in this world. God selects a person to be his servant even before he or she is conceived in the womb. 

“The word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” – Jeremiah 1: 4, 5.

Obviously when a man of God is born, the eyes of the Lord will be with him and his family. Any way devil will have doubt about the one God chosen and he tries to take that person away from God, from the time he is born. Devil will sketch you, if you are called by God. 

In the Bible you can see examples of how devil had sketched the men of God. Joseph was thrown into the pit and put into the prison when he was young. Even devil tried to seduce him with his master’s wife. But Lord made sure that everything should come for good. 

 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” – Romans 8: 28

Same thing happened when Moses was born, were devil tried to kill him. Also David, the youngest of the brothers was just not given importance as his brothers who were in the army. David was given the job of taking care of sheep’s and when Samuel came to see Jessie’s children; David was not called or even mentioned by his father.

 

Bible have given all these examples for us to know, if you are going through a rough time or have gone through rough times in your childhood or youth, man, you are being called by God to do his purpose. The ministers of God comes through bitter tribulations in life, and God will do it for their good so that they will get the compassion to see others who are suffering and will get the heart to pray for them.

You might be considered a stupid by your parents and friends. It is just to discourage you, to move away from your purpose. You might by sexually abused by anyone, even by a family member, it’s to take you away from your purpose. Even when you grow in youth you get married to an adulterer or adulterous. It happens for discouragement, but take heart in God. You might lose your family life, but this will help you in counselling and building other broken families.

You might have an unforgiven childhood, youth, and wherever you go people around you might take advantage of you and always trouble you. That is the discouragement devil gives to you through people. Understand that you are the chosen one of God and live a life which God wants you to live, not the world around you live. Moses lived and believed differently than the rest of people, same as Joseph, David, Daniel and the three young men. So be different from the world. Lead a holy life and always understand God sees your heart, while world sees only your action and reaction. Live with God and overcome the sketch which is being put to you by devil. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” – Romans 8:37.

No Turning Back

Back to a Sunday school song –

I have decided to follow Jesus (3)

No turning Back (2)

The World behind me, the cross before me (3)

No Turing Back (2)

When you get saved, confess your sins and accept Christ as your saviour, what comes first the next day? Yes, the next day or for some people after a couple of days, their old life will flash back. In the Bible it is compared to how Israel came from Egypt. Most of the times when they were having the journey, they wanted to go back to Egypt. Whenever

the finds a problem, they will murmur about how good being in Egypt. God took them out of Egypt for once and for all and the Lord doesn’t want them to go back. Same is the case of a saved person in Christ.

Steve Hill, one of the greatest Evangelists I admire told his testimony. Before getting saved he was into all demonic worldly things and had a gang of people including girls and boys. On the day he got saved he slept and got up and there the gangs were there in front of his house. They called him and he told he is a new person and he will not be going with them. As soon as he stopped a girl removed her upper dress and showed her body and asked him, whether he don’t that also. He humbly told no and went back and followed Jesus faithfully.

How many people are able to do this? Some may get saved from telling lies, or pornography or even adultery and drugs or alcohol. When they get saved, there comes the devil with a “just one more time”. There are many who fall into the trap and never get up. 

“They hit me, you will say, but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” – Proverbs 23: 35.

Another way the devil try to push you back of the salvation is to torment you. There will be time when you might be mentally or physically disturbed by the devil through some people. That time there will be a wide chance for you to go back to what you were before. This was the same thing what happened to Israel. Lord compares it with a dog.

“As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” – Proverbs 26: 11.

Once you keep your salvation and fight to keep it in Jesus name, the spirit of God will come as your helper in keeping the salvation. The objective should be to give yourself to Christ who gave himself to you and saved you. Make him proud.

“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” – Revelation 3:8

Be the David against Goliaths

In the book of 1 Samuel 17, we can find how David killed Goliath. I believe all this history is being given to us not only to read and glorify God on what he has done, but to compare it with our life and do the same thing and conquer the enemies, problems and sickness.

1 Samuel 17: 8-11 shows how a problem comes against a believer of Christ. In the Bible we see a man named Goliath came against the Lord’s chosen people and challenged them to have a fight. But the people of God were scared to go against him. Same way if you are a believer of Christ, you are a chosen person and enemy will come against you like diseases, joblessness, poverty etc. and challenge you to fight against it, which you make get scared and go back in your faith in God.

In 1 Samuel 17:16 we see Goliath giving challenge for 40 days and the people of God was afraid and did not accept the challenge. Same way when a disease or a sudden loss of Job, we will be wandering what to do.

Verse 17-19, we find David’s brothers in the battle field and they are also afraid of Goliath. Even though we see lots of people who know the Bible and Theology, they might not have the faith in God to go against the diseases and come out of depression by faith. You should be the David who might be least among men, but should have the faith and belief that God will fight for you.

In verse 24-25, the people, instead of glorifying how big their God is, are glorifying Goliath and his power. Same way when diseases or loss of money or job comes what you are glorifying or thinking about. Are you thinking how long will you survive or are you thinking how you are going to beat it in Jesus name?

When Saul doubted David, David told how God was with him in conquering a lion and a bear (Verse 34-37). When you have seen the glory of God in your life, whatever situation you face, you will have an awesome confidence that the God will fight for you, just to glorify his name.

In verse 38-40 Saul dresses up David for the fight according to how they go for war. But David left everything and took what he uses to have when he goes against the lions and Bears. People may try to convince you with different options when you are trying to come up. But you should know how you saw the presence of God in your life, and through that blind faith and belief in Jesus you should go for the war.

 In verse 41 -44 we see Goliath making fun of David. The disease or the situation may make fun of you and your faith. People earlier may not have survived in your same situation. According to your problem you might be very small compared to your problem. But the problem does not know God is above all.

1 Samuel 17: 45-47 should be in your heart and mind always. Whatever may come against you, go against it in the name of Jesus Christ who will give you the victory. People will know and acknowledge, doctors will accept the God who delivered you from the problem.

Next verses we can see how a fully protected Goliath went down to a small David. Don’t ever think it is because of the sling and the stone Goliath fell. The God who fought for David hit Goliath down. The stone and the sling is just a medium. Medicine, or a new direction of life, or a prayer with oil rubbed or hands kept, can be a medium upon how God shows his strength to defeat your enemy. 

If you totally submit to God and live a holy life as God wants you to be, not only you will see his glory in your life, but also you will find your faith much more intelligent than the so called intelligent worldly person’s words. Have that childlike faith in God. God bless you to overcome all odds.

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands” – 1 Samuel 17: 45-47.