Share Jesus- Dr. Johnson Cherian's Blog

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Bible Blessing-121

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Moses did it himself. David got it done through someone else. We are talking of nothing else but murder. They did it after knowing God intimately (David especially) and they had to pay the price for it. Both went through a period of spiritual wilderness experience. But the thing that perplexes many is that God still used them for his purposes. Now that's something great. But God 's love is so amazing; none can truly fathom it's dimensions. And so these two could again do great things for God. God uses many for the building of his kingdom, but sometimes the chosen ones make light of these blessings and act as if they could do anything and everything and then they fail. Overconfidence was the undoing of Joshua too; he gained a great victory at Jericho, but failed in the conquest of Ai, a smaller target compared to Jericho. He failed because there was sin in his camp. Sin brings failure, but failure is not final and rooting out sin can again make God's face shine upon the chosen one. So Joshua conquered Ai after sin was rooted out of his camp. The wilderness experience is tough, but God does not leave nor forsake according to his everlasting promise and his showers of mercy can be felt in the wilderness too, though they may be sparse. Just an indication from him that he has not abandoned.

A few verses to remember in this context.....

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (2 Timothy 2:20, 21)

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Much to learn for all those who are chosen to carry on the work that Jesus started. Best to look to the Master at all times and follow in his footsteps.

Dr. Johnson Cherian MD. PhD.
Website: Free Christian Resources And Downloads
Blog: Christian Freebies
Graphics: Free Christian Graphics
Radio: Malayalam-English Christian Radio
E- Mail Me: johnson3570@gmail.com

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Bible Blessing-120

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (Psalm 33:9)

A single affirmative word from the Lord is all you need for your problem to be solved or your request to be granted. So what's the delay? you may ask. I have asked that many times myself, but you see, God is a perfectionist or to be more precise "The Perfectionist" and he does everything, including answering mine and your request at his perfect time. So what's he upto when I have been praying all this while may be the next question. To this, Jesus answers, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (John 5:17)"
Well, that seems to be a very dicey situation, 'cause I don't see anything.

Hmmm...Watch closely, he's at work. All that straining at the oars of prayer and your boat is heading towards the desired destination of deliverance. If you stop now, you'll be stranded in the midst of the river, seeing nothing but swirling waters around you.
How about settling for something less? Abraham (Genesis 17) had similar thoughts. But God had already taken up his lamentation issue of not having a child of his own and he was not quitting now and he wouldn't let Abraham quit too. You see, when your issue has been taken up by your Lord, he doesn't back out even if you want to and he won't let you back out too. Perhaps you have toned down your prayers that once were fervent. Better change gears and accelerate your pleadings with thanksgiving. The deliverance may be just around the corner.

God loves you and he is always willing to answer your righteous requests through Jesus Christ.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all; how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Dr. Johnson Cherian MD. PhD.
Website: Free Christian Resources And Downloads
Blog: Christian Freebies
Graphics: Free Christian Graphics
Radio: Malayalam-English Christian Radio
E- Mail Me: johnson3570@gmail.com

Monday, July 15, 2013

Bible Blessing-119

Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. (2 Kings 19:30)

How important it is to take root below so that one may bear fruit above. For a believer in Jesus Christ, it is of paramount importance that one delves deep into the Word of God and takes root firmly, so that the fruit bearing starts. The more one lives out the Word, the more the fruit bearing.

In Psalm 80, the Psalmist sings of 'taking root' and bearing fruit regarding the Israelite's whom God had redeemed from Egyptian bondage.

You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.(Psalm 80:8-11)

But then Israel rebelled and their downfall ensued....the Psalmist lamented thus...

Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it. (Psalm 80:12, 13)

And then the prayer for restoration....

Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. (Psalm 80:14, 15)

The prophet Isaiah prophesies,

In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6)

And this is what God expects of each of us as believers in Jesus Christ....To take root, bud, blossom and bear abundant good fruit. May the Holy Spirit of God work in each of us to fulfill this.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Bible Blessing-118

"Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the Lord declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. (1 Samuel 2:30)

This was what Eli the priest, had to hear through a man of God. Eli's problem was that he honored his sons more than God; that's what we read in v.29 of the same chapter. The priesthood had come to Eli. He was chosen. And because he was chosen by God, he expected Eli to honor him more than he honored others.
The question that arises thus is, "Do we honor God more than we honor others?" Because God says, "Those who honor me I will honor." Honoring others, be it family or friends, more than God, usually brings problems to lives of believers.

The Apostle Peter writes,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9, 10)

And those who are chosen, must not be yoked together with unbelievers.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians,
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Jesus said, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

Remember that if you are in Christ, you are chosen. Declare his praises, do not be yoked together with unbelievers, come out from them and be separate, worship God in spirit and in truth. If you honor God, he will honor you.

Dr. Johnson Cherian MD. PhD.
Website: Free Christian Resources And Downloads
Blog: Christian Freebies
Graphics: Free Christian Graphics
Radio: Malayalam-English Christian Radio
E- Mail Me: johnson3570@gmail.com

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Bible Blessing Devotional-117

The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey - the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. (Exodus 3:7, 8)

If we read the above verses carefully, we can realize the many acts of God Almighty regarding his people, the Israelites; the key words being- seen, heard, concerned, come down, rescue and bring them up....To summarize...God saw the misery of his people, God heard them crying out, God was concerned about their suffering, God had come down to rescue them and God wanted to bless them after taking them away from their oppressors.
It's all in those 2 verses.

Sometimes doubts may arise when we go through trials as to whether God cares. Does God see? Does God hear? Is he concerned? Will he come down to rescue? Will a blessing result from this anyway?
STOP RIGHT THERE IF YOU ARE FILLED WITH SUCH DOUBTS...Read the above passage once again. God did care about his people. The eventual result was the deliverance of hundreds of thousands of men and women and children from Egyptian bondage.

Remember, the Lord is mighty to save. He sees the problems that you face, he hears your cries, he is concerned about you, he will rescue you and bless you, like only he can. So...
Praise the Lord.

Dr. Johnson Cherian MD. PhD.
Website: Free Christian Resources And Downloads
Blog: Christian Freebies
Graphics: Free Christian Graphics
Radio: Malayalam-English Christian Radio
E- Mail Me: johnson3570@gmail.com

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Bible Blessing- 116

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9)

When Jesus saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Andrew, another disciple of Jesus, spoke up and said what we read in the verse quoted above. A great crowd and only 5 small barley loaves and 2 small fish.

The disciples had been with Jesus for almost an year now and they had seen their Teacher do many miracles. They were eye witnesses, but could not yet comprehend the magnitude of the power that their Teacher had. They were learning and their Teacher was teaching them much. No doubt, sometimes the astounding reality or enormity of the problems they encountered, found them wanting in faith, which Jesus described as "little faith."

Philip calculated and said it was pointless, Andrew searched and found a little but thought it was no good.
Five small barley loaves and two small fish........Jesus saw it differently. There would be enough for all and leftovers too.
He took the food, gave thanks and asked his disciples to distribute it to all the people who had gathered; 5000 men and there were women and children too. They all had their fill and 12 baskets of pieces of the barley loaves were gathered.

What we see as trivial or small can be worked upon by our Savior Jesus and there would be abundance.
He is Almighty God; we must believe that he can do great things though our finite minds cannot often imagine it.
Let's trust and abide in his promise which says,
"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Bible Blessing- 115

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

The Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. Canaan was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. So Joshua said to the Israelites: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, has given you? He then, devised a plan and finally all tribes except Levi received their inheritance. The Levites, did not get a portion because the priestly service of the Lord was their inheritance.

Every earthly inheritance that one receives is temporary, for as the Psalmist sings, "The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)

But the Apostle Peter speaks of another inheritance; one that can never perish, spoil or fade....one that is kept in heaven for those who have been born again.

Like a newborn coming into a new world after being in the mother's womb, a person who experiences the new birth in Christ is born in to a living hope; a hope that one does not have without knowing Christ. There are others who live with a false hope that their works will save them, only to enter eternity and realise their folly; but then it is too late.

No doubt, earthly inheritances have importance, though temporarily and God gives as he wills, but our concern should be of that which the Lord has kept in heaven for us. An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade and an inheritance that can be experienced and enjoyed without time limits.

The question then comes, "How can one (I/You) be sure?"

The Apostle Peter answers that very promptly in the same passage...."who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation"

YES.......By faith a child of God can proclaim, "I will receive my heavenly inheritance as the Lord has promised."

Like Joshua asked the 7 tribes, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, has given you?", here's a question for the one who is still in two minds regarding the validity of the new birth through Jesus Christ......"How long will you wait before you take possession of the heavenly inheritance that God wants to give you through Jesus Christ?".....LET IT NOT BE A BIT TOO LATE.