I will be with you

21September 2011 

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2   

          This is a great promise to be claimed. Better imagine a big tsunami or a forest fire, what you will do to face such a situation?Actually this verse exposes/ or tells us  the troubles we may encounter in our daily life.

          Water has great force as it gushes out of control. Nobody can stop that. We have a multitude of disasters, in its various dimensions crossing our life daily. Until and unless we are powered by the word of God we may be taken in the current. Lord has a uphold us always where ever we are. Amidst our trails (like flood like circumstances) even everything goes beyond our control,  ew should not  loose heart. Lord Almighty is with us.

        Fire when it breaks out  it is very tough to control. life may bring , often fire like situation ( hot, unbearable at every side, or we can't even go near to the problem etc) may face us . Remember God who have created Heaven and Earth, is still with you and me.So do not worry.

       Both the natural elements -water and fire -are under the control of the Almighty God.Still He in control.

 Read the verses:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8  

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:5

Bible has number of strengthening words. 
God will show us the path we have to walk during distress. 
Look up to God.Humble under His feet .
See the miraculous things happen in your life.

A bunch of flowers- Kodai kanal Tamil nadu

   GOD BLESS

Be Still, and Know That I Am God-2

20/9/2011  

         If we learn to be with the Lord, we must wait quietly ,learn to run with patience the race given to us. So run that ye may obtain the incorruptible crown. The secret of being strong shows our contact with God. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out into a solitary place and prayed. Mark 1:35 

We have to Slow me down in the presence of God. Just to be quiet in His presence to understand  many things:

•          God’s word which injects  power  and tranquility .
•          Prayer gives fire wall of protection.
•          The promises of God pours confidence and hope.
•          Prayer releases us from Stress and  tensions of life.
•          Prayer gives us a peace which enables us to see things in realistic    picture.
•     Prayer enables us to cope with the demands of life.

      We know our lord through our close relationship  and we have tasted personally, that the Lord is good.  We have seen  miracles in our lives in an  awesome way.“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” John 14:26

    When we read the Bible, we  learn to recognize the way God talks to us, the kinds of things He says, and the merciful love He offers and the unfailing love He showers.

God is:Omnipresent and Omnipotent , Holy, Faithful, and Sovereign Lord.

The entire world will come to know  the Lord and glorify Him.

“As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.’”Romans 14:11

       If you have such a huge an assurance, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear..........  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27 

How hard it is for us  to change even the smallest thing  by ourselves .  All  we have to do is to be still under God 's feet So do not worry ,instead trust in God. 

‘......seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-27

Waiting  being  rewarded: A beautiful rose.
Botanical Garden @ Kodaikanal -Tamil Nadu

 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging".Psalm 46:1-3 

PRAISE THE LORD

GOD BE WITH YOU.

Be Still and Know that I Am God

19/9/2011 

 Be Still: It means we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God to acknowledge that He is in sovereign control. HE IS LORD.

            It is rather a strong command to stop us for awhile, because we  are really  very busy ( physically and mentally) with the worldly affairs. But we need desperately  to stop ourselves to be  still  and quiet for some time. It all depends on the relationship you have with The Lord.

          We have varied reasons to be still and wait on the Lord.-conflicts at work place, or problems at home or we may have  to fight constantly against our enemy(satan), who bring forth hidden target to attack us. ‘Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11:23.  What ever it may be, try to look only to God  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

       Learn to be still  so that  you can “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;  Psalm 55:22.“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31 

         If you adibe in Him and learn, you can stand for the Lord as a witnesss ‘Abide in Me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit except that it abide in the vine. No more can ye except that ye abide in Me’. John 15:4 .God is giving an open invitation  to us ‘Come ye, yourselves, apart into a desert place and rest awhile. Mark 6:31 

        Being still during the times of adversity is very difficult. We, in our  flesh may  babble and turn around to do something or other .But rather be strong in the Lord and  hold on to his promises.

We have many strengthening verses to uphold us during trail times:

• The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”Exodus 14:14

• “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!1 Samuel 12:15-16

‘If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ‘Romans 8:31
 

Be still and know the power of God.

"When the LORD restored the fortunes …. 

  we were like those who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter…….. 

The LORD has done great things for us”. 
Psalm 126:1-3

A rose bud - waiting for the day to bloom

Waiting on God-3 - How do we wait?

18 September2011   

           Waiting on God is the special process through which the Lord turns our eyes to Him for help in times of need. It is process  with a crucial step in which our dependence is only on God.Our faith has been tested here to get an answer to our prayer. Waiting actually  gives an assess to submit ourselves to God, with the belief in  His  Authority. Our life has been brought under God's umbrella of authority and direction. Do not run ahead of God, we will be corrected ,sometimes it ends up in total  confusion, exhaustion, and failure. 

What do we learn while we are waiting? 

We can learn the  

• Power of God, 
• His perfections, 
• His flawless ability, 
• He is omnipresent and omnipotent, 
• His authentications and assurances ,
• His grace, unfailing mercy and
•  His  abundant love. 

How Do We Wait?

•  Prayerfully – ‘Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long’. Psalm 25:4-5 
•  With strength and courage –‘Wait for theLORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD’. Psalm 27:14,
• Rejoicing and trusting in His holy name – ‘In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name’.  Psalm 33:21
• With  fear of the Lord and His unfailing love- ‘But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, ……… May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you’. Psalm 33:18,22
•  With hope  - ‘We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield’. Psalm 33:20,
• Patiently   ‘Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;  Psalm 37:7,
• Obediently- ‘I wait for your salvation, LORD, and I follow you commands’. Psalm 119:166;
•  Desiring Him – ‘Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts’. Isaiah 26:8-9 
• Single-mindedly – ‘Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him’.  Psalm 62:5 
•  Expectantly -  ‘Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us’. Psalm 123:2,  
• ‘….., I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me’. Micah 7:7
•  Believing His Word- ‘I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope’.  Psalm 130:5
•  Always – ‘But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice,  and wait for your God always’. Hosea 12:6

•  Eagerly  - For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. Romans 8:19

Plum tree waiting for rain to bring forth leaves.
@ Kodaikanal Tamilnadu

GOD   BLESS

waiting on the Lord-2

17 September 2011
WE have solid reason to wait—reasons may be of  variant factor BUT the source is the same.
 Reasons for waiting on God:

• 'Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you,for you are the one who does all this'. Jeremiah 14:22  
• 'Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long'.Psalm 25:5    
• 'The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing' Psalm 145:15-16 

The benefits of waiting on God: 

• “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Waiting apparently leads to lot of  expectation, hope, trust and patience : 

• ‘In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm  5:3
• ‘Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.1 Corinthians 4:5   
• We wait in hope for the LORD;he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20 
• I will wait for the LORD, …..I will put my trust in him. Isaiah 8:17 
• ‘we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently, Romans23:25

Actually in waiting , we explore and learn many new things in life. We will never be the same after that.

• We learn God Himself. 
• God is revealing His perfections, 
• His flawless ability to be in charge of every detail. 
• His timing is split-second. 
• He is omniscient, omnipresent,  
• He works all and in all. 
• He gives confirmations.
• He gives us assurances of His real power over the enemy . 
• He gives the grace to await His purposes.

'Without this faith, it is impossible to please Him, for all who come to God must believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb. 11:6). 

 'And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary'.Galatians 6:9

 

Waiting means resting in God’s timing and activity while taking care of our responsibilities—On the other hand we are at rest and be still.

Do not run ahead of the Lord and taking matters into our own hands and turning to our own human strategies.

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; we need time from our normal activity to get alone with the Lord.Waiting for the Lord includes involves us in positive actions, according to His promises and His timing.

'The eyes of all look to you, ..... 

at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing'. Psalm 145 :15

Kovalam seashore @ Keral

GOD BLESS