Thinking Aloud

God loves those who practice total and true Christian forgiveness and exalts them. It is the forgiveness Jesus taught and practiced. Joseph is a model of genuine forgiveness.  How he forgave his brothers who had treated him in the most horrendous manner is described in detail in Genesis chapter 45 and will be an example for us for all times. (1) Verse 1: When you forgive someone, you don’t talk about the harm he had done you, even to the person you forgave. Some people would never miss the opportunity to brag about the way they had forgiven someone that had harmed them! This is not true forgiveness. When Joseph decided it was time to reveal himself to his brothers, the first thing he did was to ask all the Egyptians present – his officials, assistants, interpreter, and bodyguard etc -- to leave them alone. He didn’t want to expose their past in their presence and embarrass his brothers. He wanted his brothers to know he had not only forgiven them for what t...

INTERCESSORY PRAYER is a powerful weapon God has placed in our hands. Miracles have been wrought by the judicious use of this weapon. This was the weapon Joshua used to stop the sun and moon at their track.   When the early congregation prayed an angel appeared to open the prison doors for St Peter. When St Paul and Silas praised and prayed inside their prison cell, an earthquake erupted, and more miracles were to follow. Not sure what to say during your intercessory prayers? Do you run out of ideas after a few sentences? The New Testament is replete with instances of how people prayed, what they said, what did they pray for. Let us look at a sample.       1Tim 2:1-2 -- for all men,    for kings and all who are in authority...               A command is given to Christians to pray for all men in general, and particularly for all in authority. We must pray for all men, for ...

SONGS 1:13    A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me… Myrrh is the gum of a tree that grows in Africa and West Asia , extracted by wounding the tree. It has been used as a perfume and in religious rites since ancient times. Myrrh is mentioned as a rare perfume in several places in the  Old Testament . It is interesting to note that Joseph--who is considered as a type of Jesus--was sold to the Egyptians along with camel loads of spices, balm, and myrrh ( Genesis 37:25 ).   Either as a domestic slave at Potiphar’s home or during his long incarceration or at his exaltation to the position of the governor of the province, Joseph never failed to spread his fragrance of righteousness. Exodus 30:23-25  specifies that Moses was to use 500  shekels  of liquid myrrh as a core ingredient of the sacred anointing oil. In the First  and  Second Temples  at  Jerusalem   offering was made of a special incense altar and Myrrh w...

Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament we read about saints about whose conduct God Himself had borne testimony. Let us examine a few of these witnesses: Hebrews 11:5 -- It was by faith that ENOCH was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. What did Enoch do to earn this unheard-of privilege? He did this by walking with God. The Bible says he walked with God for a time of 300 years! If he not known God’s perfect will and fulfilled it, had he not been obedient to Him and please Him in all that he did, this kind of fellowship would have not been possible. ( Amos 3:3 Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?) God was so pleased with Enoch that He not only allowed him to walk with Him  but immortalized his memory by taking him all the way to heaven with him by-passing the death route. The Holy Bible doesn’t say much about this sa...

I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews—  (Acts 20:19). Humility is an essential and fundamental quality of the Christian life. It is essential and fundamental because of the position human beings have in the great scheme of things. God is the sovereign ruler over all creation. We exist in the creation that He made. Although He made us in His image and placed us in a position above all other creatures (Genesis 1:26-28) , we are still subject to His divine providential control. He determines the story of creation and He determines the story of our lives within His creation.  True humility, then, recognizes and acknowledges the subservient place we have in the created order. Although we may think we know what the day will bring, we can never be sure. The Bible says, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps" ( Proverbs 16:9). And that's why Apostle James w...

What is fasting?   Many social customs, purely secular in their origin, have gradually obtained a religious significance during the passage of time. Fasting is one of them; Strangely, in its religious application, both fasting and feasting are sometimes come in combination, like during religious sacrifices. It is obvious that very different motives operate in the institution of fasting and of feasting in religious observances. Hospitals direct their patients to avoid eating at certain times. The health benefits of abstinence from food and drinks have been known since antiquity. Food intake has a direct impact on certain medical conditions. Tyrants use fasting as a political tool and as a means of torture. Many major religions attach great significance to fasting. In Islam, a special time of the year has been assigned for fasting, with some countries making ritual fasting mandatory for all healthy adults. Extreme sorrow can cause loss of appetite resulting in absti...

"REVELATION" MEANS THE uncovering of that which has so far been covered, the drawing back of a veil which has hung over a person or thing. The book before us is a revelation , not a mystery. A document St. John faithfully recorded for the instruction and comfort of the Church. Meditating in his lonely Isle of Patmos St. John passed into a state of spiritual ecstasy and the glorified Redeemer Himself commanded the Apostle: “ What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches in Asia ”. A Conqueror Seven churches are selected, the condition of which appeared most suitable to the purpose which the Apostle has in view, and these seven represent the Church of Christ in every country of the world, down to the very end of time and they are to be viewed as the representative of the whole Christian Church in all countries of the world, and throughout all time. Every letter ends with a message of appreciation or warning or rebuke or encouragement or co...