Blessings of Humility

Blessings of Humility

Meditation from Zechariah Chapter 9

The LORD's eyes look upon every place and every person. Nothing is hidden from Him. (9:8b) In this chapter the prophet shows the reasons for pride & its consequences.

1. Reasons: Two reasons for pride is mentioned - People are proud because they are wise and because of wealth or possessions. (9:2,3)
The Bible talks about many other reasons of pride.

2. Consequences: According to this chapter, pride leads to - Fear, Sorrow or Anguish & to lose Hope. (9:5)

3. Solution:
This chapter has a messianic prophecy one about the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the donkey and about the blood of covenant. (9:9,11)

Through His Birth, death & resurrection and by the blood of covenant, the LORD delivers us from sin. We go to Him & cast our burdens and take upon us His burdens and learn humility from Him, that we may have rest. (Matthew 11:28-30)

4. Blessings: This chapter shows 7 blessings of humility.

1. Peace (9:10)
2. Hope (9:12)
3. Restoration (9:12)
4. Protection (9:15)
5. Deliverance (9:16)
6. Shepherded / Led by God (9:16)
7. Goodness (9:17)

As a culmination of all of this we will shine in the land.

No one can take humility for granted that he or she is humble. Pride and ego is what everyone of us have. Humility is not a gift that we receive in a day. Humility is learnt.

As we grow, the temptation to be proud will increase; whoever continually learns to be humble & practices it will keep shining for the LORD, according to His will & His way.

Today's Intercession:

# Pray for the county of Nepal; which was a Hindu nation & suffered issues of internal conflicts and in recent years became democratic.

# In the recent past anti conversion law was passed to hamper the work of the gospel.

# Pray for the work of GEMS and others in Nepal to not be hampered.

# Pray for the GEMS missionaries, leadership, churches and projects in Nepal.

# Pray for the growth and progress and for all barriers to be removed.

Have a blessed day!

Wanderers to Purpose Driven People

Wanderers to Purpose Driven People

Meditation from Zechariah Chapter 10

In this chapter the LORD speaks through the prophet about the latter rain, the second touch or revival that will help us to understand purpose of our life. We were wanderers without a Shepherd; we were direction-less and purposeless. (10:2)

The LORD,
Saves
Strengthens &
Shepherds (10:6)
And gives us purpose to become,

War-horses &
Warriors. (10:3b, 5a)

What a transformation! From wanderers to purpose filled life. From sheep to war-horse!

The purpose also comes with a Promise and Condition.

Promise: Waves of any kind will not subdue or destroy us, for the LORD Himself will struck them down. (10:11)

Condition: The purpose is fulfilled when we grow strong in the LORD and Walk in His name, that is, walk with God. (10:12)

We are not chosen to wander without purpose, but chosen for warfare against the spiritual forces. Our character should be like sheep, but we should serve like war-horses, because our calling is so.

Today's Intercession:

# Pray for the people who are prone to be affected by the winter.

# Lakhs of people live in the streets, without houses or people to care for them. Pray for their protection.

# Pray that they may get the necessary facilities to withstand the cold.

# Pray for our plans to buy and distribute woollen blankets for the poor and old people on the Rohtas Hills on 25th December.

# Pray that the needy people may be properly identified and for the LORD to strengthen us to be a blessing.

Have a blessed day!

Fruitlessness to Fruitfulness - Fall to Restoration

Meditation from Amos Chapter 8&9

3 words from 8th chapter explain clearly.

1. Fruit - God gives enough chances for us to become fruitful. When we don't commit our life it will soon become fruitless & spoilt.

2. Famine - When we don't feed & heed to God’s word we will experience famine of God's word at the time of need in our life.

3. Fall - When we continue to rebel by not walking according to God’s word, we will fall, a great fall from which coming back will be nearly impossible.

9th chapter talks about Restoration. Amos sees God standing on the altar; God Himself at the place of sacrifice! His Only sacrifice redeems & restores us.

5 words are used to explain clearly.

1. Raise up

2. Repair

3. Rebuild

4. Restore

God does all this in our life to make us fruitful and restores us so that we may Rebuild the lives of people who are Ruined.

The one who was fruitless made fruitful. The one who was falling, restored. The one who was damaged, rebuilt to rebuild the ruined lives. This is our calling!

Today's Intercession:

# Pray for the Missionaries & Believers who are reprimanded, arrested and charged with false cases of conversion.

# Pray for their protection and release.

# Pray for the States in India where anti-conversion law is enforced.

Have a blessed day!

Attitude & Actions of a Person Committed to his Call

Meditation from Amos Chapter 7

1. The attitude of a godly person is seen in Amos. He prays for those who hate him. He prays that the LORD may not bring the disaster upon them.

2. He does not run away because of threats or oppositions for he is not intimidated and he does not serve for money. He is committed to the place & calling.

3. He acknowledges his humble past and knows that it is the LORD who called him.

4. He does not allow anything to come between God and him, to separate. 

Every challenge & difficulty & opposition is an opportunity to get closer to God and to deepen one's commitment.

Today's Intercession:

# Pray for the people affected by natural disasters, calamities and accidents.

# Pray that people around them to understand the frailty of life and to know the LORD.

# Pray for out reaches among such to rehabilitate, restore and to reach out with the good news.

Have a blessed day!

Complacency

Meditation from Amos Chapter 6

Complacency unless checked and corrected will ruin one's life. What is it to be complacent? What does complacency do? 

# Our life will be focused on comforts, to be at ease and secure that we will forget the ruin and afflictions of people. 

# Our rejoice will be in nothingness and not in the LORD or things of the LORD.

# Our priorities will not be godly, but worldly - the way we spend our time, money, talents, etc. 

# Our pursuit will not be justice & righteousness, but unaccountability and falsehood.

The quicker we come out of complacency the better we will fulfil our life's purposes.

Keep yourself accountable to others so that you may not be complacent.

Today's Intercession:

Pray for the persecuted. Believers, missionaries and pastors are persecuted for the faith in India and the world.

Pray for the believers & missionaries of GEMS who are persecuted and facing opposition.

Have a blessed day!

True Spirituality

Meditation from Amos Chapter 5

The LORD says in this chapter, "Seek the Lord and Live". How do we seek the LORD? Through songs, music, offerings, festivals, meetings, etc. But the LORD says that He hates these and doesn't accept them. Why? Because... 

# We do injustice

# Hate the one who speaks the truth

# Trample the poor

# Afflict the righteous

# Take bribe

# Push aside the needy

To seek the LORD is to seek & love good and to hate evil; to establish justice and practice righteousness.

Am I truly seeking the LORD? 

Today's Intercession:

# Casteism is one of the biggest crimes and social evil of India. All are not considered or treated as equals and people are oppressed in the name of castes and denied opportunities.

# It's sad to see Casteism in Christianity in India and even practiced in churches.

# Pray that the people, church and the nation will be delivered from the evil & bondage of Casteism.

# Live as a true follower of the living God, who created every person in His image, by not practicing Casteism. 

Have a blessed day!

Purpose of Unfortunate Events

Meditation from Amos Chapter 4

God allows Lack or Need, Loss, Unsatisfaction, Affliction or Sickness & Failures. We cannot question God but these are opportunities for us, 

1. To have a close encounter with God

2. To introspect ourselves & to know our thoughts

3. To know the thoughts & mind of God

These seemingly unfortunate happenings allow us to return to the LORD.

Today's Intercession:

India is the youngest nation in the world. Pray for the youths of our nation. Every political party, religious or non-religious institutions, use youths to promote their agenda. Many youths are led astray.

Pray that the youths may know Jesus and be transformed.

Pray for the youths in your influence and family.

Have a blessed day!

Purpose of Life

Meditation from Amos Chapter 3

Life's purpose is not about storing wealth or building many & great houses. Purpose of life is to know & do what is right, that is, to live God Pleasing life.

1. When we don't do that which is right, the Lord will discipline us, for He loves us.

2. Because He has chosen us to be His messengers, His ambassadors to proclaim His word, His message.

3. He wants to reveal His thoughts & secrets to us, that we may proclaim to the people.

Today's Intercession:

A month back in a shelter home for girls in Muzaffarpur, Bihar it was found that the girls, from little children to youths were sexually harassed. Day before yesterday, Saturday, school girls in Supaul, Bihar were severely beaten with sticks, by a group of people, because the girls stopped two boys from writing lewd comments on the wall. Crime against girls & women is on the rise in our nation. Families are failing to discipline & to grow boys to respect girls.

Pray that there maybe a change of heart & in such behaviour.

Pray for families, institutions & society to discipline & mentor boys to grow as gentlemen who will respect girls & women.

Have a blessed day!

Fruitful to Fruitless

Meditation from Amos Chapter 2

God wants our life to be fruitful and He does everything so that we may bear fruit. But Bible also warns against being continously fruitless.

In this chapter Amos warns and gives the reasons why our life becomes fruitless, why we are prone to fall and why we lose our strength.

1. When we reject God's word which is the truth and follow the lies of the world and Satan.

2. When we reject the godly counsel of people.

3. When we lead others to ungodliness.

Such a life will not only be fruitless, but rootless too! That is, we will not have the strong foundation to stand during strong winds of tests, temptation & trouble.

Building a strong foundation on God's word and heeding to godly counsel is the sure way to a fruitful life.

Today's Intercession: Pray for Media. It is the fourth pillar of democracy and it influences people's opinions & decisions. Unfortunately, largely media presents lie and promotes ungodliness. Pray for a transformation in Media and for believers to be in the Media as transformers.

Have a blessed day!

Pleasing God in Relationships

Meditation from Amos Chapter 1

When my relationship with others is not right my life will be dry & will wither. God is not pleased when these elements are found in our relationship with others -

1. When I oppress others 

2. When I take advantage of others' weaknesses 

3. When I forget or break the Covenant of brotherhood / sisterhood which is among believers

4. When I am not merciful or helpful to others because of my harboured anger towards them 

5. When I destroy or limit others for my personal growth & success

I cannot truly reconcile with God, my prayers go unheard & my sacrifices & offerings are unaccepted when I don't reconcile with others and take efforts to mend relationships.

Today's Intercession: Pray for the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries and India's relationship with these nations.

Pray for peace among these nations and for mutual development.

Pray for prevailing issues to be resolved amicably. 

Have a blessed day!

Marks of a Restored Person

Meditation from Joel Chapter 3

1. Sanctification - Knowing that the LORD is holy & to grow in holiness

2. Spirit Filled - Led by the Spirit and not by the flesh or the world. He or she will pass on such life to others. 

3. Spiritual Warfare - The Weak becoming the Warrior. Destroying every temptation of the enemy.

4. Soul Winning - Leading people to Christ. He sees the harvest and reaps it for God's kingdom.

Today's Intercession: Pray for our nation India which has 134 crores population. Pray that all people may know Christ and to be transformed.

Have a blessed day!

Repays Wasted Years

Meditation from Joel Chapter 2

The LORD will Repay the wasted areas of our life - wasted years, wasted talents, wasted gifts, etc. But for God to do that we need to,

1. Return to the LORD wholeheartedly. My heart has to be 100% in Christ.

2. Rend our hearts to know what's in our heart & Repent

3. Rejoice in the LORD. Find your joy in the Lord alone.

Today's Intercession: Pray for Indonesia which has been worst affected by earthquake and tsunami. Nearly 1400 people have died. Pray for the protection of people and for all provisions to reach the stranded. Pray that all the people of Indonesia may hear the gospel and be saved.

Have a blessed day!

Wasting Causes

Meditation from Joel Chapter 1

Wasting Away by jenniferhansen

The greatest joy is the joy of salvation and when we are not sensitive to safeguard it our life will be dry, desolate, dazed and devastated. The Spirit of the LORD dwelling in us is the greatest blessing and the greatest promise of the Bible fulfilled. We need to be sensitive to not allow any sin to hurt Him.

1. Identify the Wasting causes

2. Wake up to the damage it's making and deal with it

3. Wail in God's presence with fasting and prayer

4. Wreck (destroy) completely the wasting causes from your life, before it wrecks your life.

Fasting & Prayer: Please create a habit of regular personal fasting and prayer; to spend time alone in God's presence to reconcile with God in every area of your life and to grow in the LORD. 

Today's Intercession: Pray for the General Elections of 2019. Pray that God's appointed government will come to power. Pray that every unethical means to win maybe thwarted.

Have a blessed day!

Fruits of Walking in God’s Ways

Meditation from Hosea Chapter 14

Wise is the person who chooses to walk in God's ways.

Fool is he who chooses to walk in world's ways & he sins & stumbles.

When we walk in God's ways and are Faithful to Him we see these things evident in our life:

1. Fruitfulness - useful to God & others 

2. Flourishing - successful in all that we do

3. Fragrance - we will spread the fragrance of God & His glory

Today's Intercession: Pray for the children in India who are victims of Child Labour. Lakhs and lakhs of children are forced to work in Dhabas (roadside hotels), garages, brick kilns and industries. They are robbed of their innocence & childhood, often addicted to drugs and are extracted many hours of hard labour. Please pray that the people who are exploiting them will have a change of heart, that government will take action, for such children to be rehabilitated and for Christians to pray and act. 

Have a blessed October and a blessed day!

Pride

Meditation from Hosea Chapter 13

# When we are exalted, successful, fruitful, satisfied there is a possibility of becoming Proud.

# When we are proud we have forgotten the LORD. Because it is He who saved, satisfied & set us in this place and we are nothing without God.

# If we don't deal with pride and become humble everything precious in our life will be taken away and our life will become dry & parched and not fruitful.

Deal with pride before it causes downfall.

Today's Intercession: Pray for the Judiciary system of the nation to not go against God's laws. Pray for the Supreme Court and all other courts, judges and advocates to practice justice and righteousness. 

Have a blessed day!

True Encounter with God

Meditation from Hosea Chapter 12

Signs that I have a true encounter with God:

1. I will Return to God (Repent from all sins) 

2. I will Remain with God

3. I will Wait upon Him for everything (that is, not my desire or will but only His)

This will reflect in three areas of our life

1. Relationships will become godly

2. Role / Purpose will be clear & God-centered (to fulfil His plans) 

3. Work will be excellent & will bring glory to God

Today's Intercession: For those who are victims of Human Trafficking. When we think about the plight of those girls & children who are trafficked for prostitution & child labour, we cannot feel lonely or deprived. Pray for such that they may be delivered & have life.

Have a blessed day!