Closely resembling the biblical plague of locusts in Egypt, here is another great invasion of the African and Indian continents. Born and bred in the interiors of Saudi Arabia, where there is scarce human habitation, the swarm then moved in two directions: one to southern Iran and one to Yemen; both being unable to control it, it then migrated to Somalia and Eastern Ethiopia in 2019. They then made their way into Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya where they are creating havoc destroying crops and vegetation by the hectares. The reported size of these swarms- 50 kilometres by 40 kilometres. In India, pink locusts have flown in from Southern Pakistan last year and this year and has affected 3.6 lac hectares of land in Rajasthan, destroying much of the standing crops.
There are people who laugh off the plague accounts and miracles in the Bible. A locust swarm 50x40 kilometers should open anyone's eyes, yet some remain blind or want to remain blind regarding the facts that the Bible prophesies regarding the end days. Some laugh it off saying that they are happening in far off places. Perhaps true, but how far is far? High time for some to wake up and get ready for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The writer of Ecclesiastes exhorts us: here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14) (Holy Bible)
Dr. Johnson Cherian
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Final Word- Innocence
Maintaining innocence in life is very important if our relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ has to flourish. We must be innocent in our dealings with God and people. The command of God to Abraham when he was 99 years old still has great importance in God's eyes.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1)
Many believers and ministers of God are secretly manipulative (some overtly too), but all their motives and actions are weighed by the Lord. Why you speak/do what you speak/do is important to God. The MOTIVE.
There was only one among the 12 disciples of whom Jesus said, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." (John 1:47). His name was Nathanael or Bartholomew. We do not read of him doing any great exploits for the kingdom of God according to the Gospels, yet Jesus knew his heart while he chose him as his disciple.
As believers or as ministers of the Gospel, let us strive to maintain innocence or blamelessness in God's presence. That is of great value to him. When the disciples asked Jesus as to who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he called a little child and had him stand among them and he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
May God help us all by his Holy Spirit to be found innocent in his presence; for with such, God loves to fellowship.
Dr. Johnson Cherian
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1)
Many believers and ministers of God are secretly manipulative (some overtly too), but all their motives and actions are weighed by the Lord. Why you speak/do what you speak/do is important to God. The MOTIVE.
There was only one among the 12 disciples of whom Jesus said, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." (John 1:47). His name was Nathanael or Bartholomew. We do not read of him doing any great exploits for the kingdom of God according to the Gospels, yet Jesus knew his heart while he chose him as his disciple.
As believers or as ministers of the Gospel, let us strive to maintain innocence or blamelessness in God's presence. That is of great value to him. When the disciples asked Jesus as to who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he called a little child and had him stand among them and he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
May God help us all by his Holy Spirit to be found innocent in his presence; for with such, God loves to fellowship.
Dr. Johnson Cherian
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Final Word- Less than 30 seconds
Yes. It was less than 30 seconds that the Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010 lasted. It left around 3 lakh people dead, 3 lakh people injured and 1.3 million were left homeless. The country has not recovered from that catastrophe even after 10 years (today being 12/01/2020). Large parts of the capital city Port-au-Prince has turned in to refugee camps. Ten years after the earthquake, many Haitians continue to live with the weight of physical and psychological trauma.
Think about it. All it takes is a few seconds to find one's world turned upside down. Stray or purposely aimed missiles or drones, earthquakes, fires, volcanoes,wars; we live in the midst of all these. They are happening all around us. God has kept us safe and he will keep us safe as we cry out to him in prayer for our families and cities and countries. But it is also vital that we check our lives each day to see whether we are ready to meet our Creator. The day of the Lord is near. Jesus is coming back to gather his faithful.
The Bible exhorts us to live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11); to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God (2 Peter 3:14).
Hope and pray that we all be ready. Remember, it's all a matter of a few seconds.
Dr. Johnson Cherian
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Think about it. All it takes is a few seconds to find one's world turned upside down. Stray or purposely aimed missiles or drones, earthquakes, fires, volcanoes,wars; we live in the midst of all these. They are happening all around us. God has kept us safe and he will keep us safe as we cry out to him in prayer for our families and cities and countries. But it is also vital that we check our lives each day to see whether we are ready to meet our Creator. The day of the Lord is near. Jesus is coming back to gather his faithful.
The Bible exhorts us to live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11); to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God (2 Peter 3:14).
Hope and pray that we all be ready. Remember, it's all a matter of a few seconds.
Dr. Johnson Cherian
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Saturday, December 21, 2019
My life- 20/12/2019
20/12/2019
Stomach upsets. I have
experienced so many of them over the years that it has somewhat become a part
of my life. But I had 3 sessions to complete today. Preach in the Malayalam church
service, take a Bible Study and then preach in the English worship. By the end
of the Bible Study I felt very tired and just wanted to lie down. I felt
anxious regarding preaching in the next service. Would I be able to stand and
preach for an hour? But then, I thought about the umpteen times I have felt the
same in the past, wanting to give up, but God had sustained me, without letting
me fail even once. I rested for a while, then sent a message to my wife at home
to pray for me so that I could stand strong and preach well. Our prayer to God
to be my strength in my weakness was answered promptly as I went to the pulpit.
God's faithfulness repeated itself yet again and I could stand for an hour and
preach the Word of God with power.
But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Truly, his grace is sufficient
for me, for his power is made perfect in weakness.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Monday, October 28, 2019
In Christ, yet insecure!
Once a person is in Christ, he or she should feel secure knowing that their Savior is with them and will bless them and give them success as he desires, yet there are some who are just the opposite. They tend to be insecure and thus manipulative, trying to be one step ahead of others, craving success, praise and glory for themselves. Outwardly they may show that they care, but they tend to work behind your back and scheme things in a subtle fashion to put you down, making sure that a finger /fingers won’t be pointed at them for any wrong doing. They are jealous of others whom God has elevated to a position above them, so they scheme in their hearts to put the blessed ones down.
Jesus Christ, our Savior, found security in his solid relationship with the Father in heaven. Nothing else mattered to him than doing the will of his Father in heaven and that brought him the pinnacle of success and misery too. There was always a lot of commotion around him, people wanting to make him king, others wanting to murder him, the latter finally happening, since he chose not to be an ordinary man made king but the King of Kings as heaven had ordained.
How could he have felt secure while taking the form of a servant? Yet, there he is, washing the feet of his disciples, not condemning the sinners who came to him but showing mercy, healing and delivering the masses without inquiring about their sins or for that matter, the sins of their forefathers. And has he changed? As far as I know, the Bible says, "He is the same, yesterday, today and forever."
Our security as believers in Jesus Christ is that Jesus our Savior loves us with an everlasting love; despite our short comings, sins and unrighteousness. That doesn't mean that he is okay with us sinning; far from it. He wants us to be holy and live righteously. But we don't need to scheme and manipulate others to achieve success and feel secure. In God's time success will come to us and that would be far more sweeter that what we try to gain ourselves by manipulating others.
Dr.Johnson Cherian
www.johnsoncherian.com
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Jesus Christ, our Savior, found security in his solid relationship with the Father in heaven. Nothing else mattered to him than doing the will of his Father in heaven and that brought him the pinnacle of success and misery too. There was always a lot of commotion around him, people wanting to make him king, others wanting to murder him, the latter finally happening, since he chose not to be an ordinary man made king but the King of Kings as heaven had ordained.
How could he have felt secure while taking the form of a servant? Yet, there he is, washing the feet of his disciples, not condemning the sinners who came to him but showing mercy, healing and delivering the masses without inquiring about their sins or for that matter, the sins of their forefathers. And has he changed? As far as I know, the Bible says, "He is the same, yesterday, today and forever."
Our security as believers in Jesus Christ is that Jesus our Savior loves us with an everlasting love; despite our short comings, sins and unrighteousness. That doesn't mean that he is okay with us sinning; far from it. He wants us to be holy and live righteously. But we don't need to scheme and manipulate others to achieve success and feel secure. In God's time success will come to us and that would be far more sweeter that what we try to gain ourselves by manipulating others.
Dr.Johnson Cherian
www.johnsoncherian.com
http://www.johnsoncherian.com
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Monday, October 14, 2019
Thursday, October 10, 2019
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