Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the pleasant name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To know about a person, we enquire about them and then come to a conclusion. We would not share anything with a person we do not know.
Without knowing anything about Jesus Chtist, we cannot serve or follow or praise or glorify Him. First, we should know about Him and the purpose He came to this earth. He came as Light to those in darkness, to bear the sins of the world, to annihilate the works of the devil, to guide us as a Shepherd, and to give us eternal life. We should know the purpose for which He came and His plan to glorify Him. In your personal life, who is Jesus Christ to you? Let us examine how He operates.
Once a person went to a shop where the shop-owner convinced him that he would not have to suffer in hot sunlight or in cold wet rain if he could buy an umbrella. Being convinced by his salesmanship, he bought an umbrella. He reassured himself by asking him whether sun or rain would not affect him after buying it. But after some time, the man who bought it came back and complained that though he had the umbrella with him it did not prevent the sun or rain harming him. Then the shopkeeper told him to hold it in his head to prevent rain or sunlight.
Again, he came back to complain about it and picked a quarrel with him saying that he was only cheating him. He said that he held it in his hand and yet it was no use to him. Then the shopkeeper taught him to hold it open over his head. The man went away and once more came and complained that there was no difference.
Today, dear Brother/ Sister, in your ignorance you may be finding fault with Jesus Christ, even after accepting Him as your Saviour like this man in the midst of difficulties and struggles in life. Examine yourself whether all this is because you have not understood the Lord in the proper way. Who is He to you? Who was He to you? Know and act.
The shopkeeper taught him how to hold it unfolded over his head for his protection. Then only the man who bought the umbrella could make proper use of it. He began to experience the goodness of the product.
You can enjoy the fellowship of Jesus Christ in your life depending upon the role you provide for Him.
Jesus Christ in your life
1. Deliverer
“Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them.” (Psalm 17:7)
Man thinks of several strategies and means to come out of his struggles in life. They do not help him, but make matters worse.
Dear Brother/ Sister, are you caught up in the midst of problems? Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross only to deliver you from your problems. He offered Himself as a propitiation for your sake. To deliver you from your reproaches, He was reproached. Dear child of God, you feel oppressed and are humiliated. Jesus was oppressed and humiliated on the cross for your sake.
If you accept and believe that He gave His very life on the cross of Calvary for your sake, the Lord will work a miracle in your life. As said in Psalm 91:3, “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.”
King Nebuchadnezzar challenged the three youths who had been working under him but had faith in the Lord as to who would deliver them from his hands. But they were not deterred by the words of the king; they had strong faith in the Lord and they disobeyed the king. According to the instruction of the king they were thrown into the burning furnace. The presence of the God of Hope came in their midst. Fire could not extinguish them nor harm them. Then the king called them to come out of the fire. The King and the officials were astonished as they were not harmed. The faith they had in the Lord saved them.
Dear Brother/ Sister, to wean you away from the path of the Lord, Satan works different strategies against you. Do not be dismayed. Do not fall into his trap. The Lord Jesus Christ lives even today. According to your faith, the hands of the Lord that were wounded would embrace you and protect you from all your problems and oppressions.
Once a family brought their daughter against whom there was witchcraft to prevent her from pursuing her studies. She had been ranking first throughout upto the twelfth standard. Now all of a sudden, she was affected. Her father was an engineer and her mother was a Head Nurse in the Government Hospital. It was the work of witchcraft due to a feud of property in their village. This girl would leave her house without notice. All her relatives and friends would search for her in all the places of the village. They were shedding tears. They found her after three days and brought her to me for prayer. We started praying for her for days and months, but there was no deliverance. At night times, she would shout with harsh and foul words. She even broke the burning bulbs with her hands. All those around us started talking ill of us saying that we are praying for a mentally sick person. Many began to advise the parents to take the child to a hospital.
A few servants of God joined with us and prayed for her. No change in her behaviour. One day she was about to kill her father with a knife she had. But the Lord graciously helped him to escape from her attack. The grace of the Lord came upon her and she was finally delivered as the work of the enemy was burned up and annihilated. She regained her senses. She continued her studies. After completing her studies, she worked in Jebathoni office. When she came, people stood outside and watched her. Some seeing her, brought those who had been affected by the work of the devil. The name of the Lord was glorified. It all happened so that many might declare that the Lord Jesus Christ delivers.
On whom is your trust? On what is your hope? Is it on Jesus Christ who gave His life for you and rose up again? Is it on worldly wealth or on the words of men who very often change stands? If you trust the loving Jesus Christ who came to this earth to redeem you through His power, He will deliver you from all problems and tribulations and protect you.
2. Health and Holiness
“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2-3)
Dear Brother/ Sister, are you suffering and shedding tears because of any disease? Submit to come to the presence of Jesus Christ who said, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen” (Rev. 1:18). If you decide to do so, the Lord will give you health and peace freely.
Once in a gospel meeting conducted in Kerala of India, the Lord sent His mighty power. In that meeting a man came having lost everything in life and was in tears with abscesses all over his body with foul smell. He was in sorrows. He had come responding to the call of Jesus Christ: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). At the time of prayer, the Lord’s mighty power manifested in him. The Spirit of the Lord pointed to his disease and revealed his broken heart and healed him. In the all-night prayer the following day, he shared his testimony of how the Lord healed him as he came to Jesus.
Once, I had been to Cyprus to do ministry. I shared the Word of the Lord in the Anglican Church at Limassol. After the meeting, an Australian missionary invited me to his house for dinner. I accepted his invitation. He came to take us to his house at the appointed time. But we along with the sisters who were doing ministry in the area got delayed. I apologized to him for the delay. As it was late, they urged us to have the dinner straight away and took us to the dinning table. He asked me to say grace for the dinner. In that prayer, the Lord gave me a vision and I reported it in prayer. A horn of a bull was piercing the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae of his spinal cord. I rebuked it and prayed. At that time the missionary and his wife sobbed and wept. Then they told me that he had severe pain in that portion of his spine for many days and that the treatments from doctors were of no avail. The physicians had decided that a surgery might have to be performed. They also cautioned that the surgery might cause harm to him. No one knew about the pain in his spinal column, but the Lord revealed it and healed it that day. They thanked the Lord. He who had decided to go to bed at 9 pm took time to sit and discuss how the Lord revealed everything to me. They wanted to know how the Lord speaks. I spoke to them about the gifts of the Spirit and also how the Lord gives visions. That missionary had received several doctorate degrees in theology. But he acknowledged that those degrees were useless and wanted to do ministry like us.
If you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, He is ready to heal you from your diseases and to strengthen you. Along with that your inner being will be cleansed. To receive it, come to Jesus and plead humbling yourself. You will be healed and you would have new holy life in Him.
3. No Barriers or Hurdles
“The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; Their king will pass before them, with the Lord at their head.” (Micah 2:13)
Dear Brother/ Sister, keep the Lord before you. All that stands in your way will be removed, and you would have a wholesome life.
If you rely on your strength, your wisdom, and your efforts, you cannot have real blessings in full. You will be dismayed.
Do you face problems in building your house? Do you experience difficulties in finding a good place and other requirements in starting a new business? Have you problems with your examinations? Is your marriage getting delayed? Have you got problems in getting conceived for years? Whatever be your hurdles in life, place the Lord Jesus Christ before you and try. You will see that all those barriers in your efforts, in justice, and in your rights would vanish.
Once, a contractor was facing hurdles in getting the backlog of funds running to several lakhs of rupees. As it took several months, he was sorely disturbed. Even though he was prepared to pay a few thousands of rupees as bribe, it was not forthcoming. He came for prayer. I told him to keep the Lord before him and pray and assured him that the Lord would do away with all obstacles and he would have his money. He accepted my counsel and as he did so, he received everything in a few days.
Keep the Lord before you. You will see miracles. When the Lord and His disciples went in a boat, there was boisterous wind and waves. The disciples tried with their strength and wisdom to manage the situation but miserably failed. They could not go ahead. Jesus was with them in the boat, but was sleeping. Now they approached Him. They accepted their defeat and humbled themselves before Him. He rose and rebuked the waves. There was calm and they progressed in their journey.
In your life also, there may be terrible wind tossing your boat. Place the Lord Jesus Christ before you for you to progress in a peaceful and blessed way. The Lord will do great things. All obstacles will vanish.
Have Jesus Christ at the forefront. Let Him go before you and do away with obstacles. You would have joy.
4. Peaceful Life
“But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:33,34).
Today, dear Brother/ Sister, you may be experiencing untold agony in your body or in your soul. Today humble yourself before the loving Jesus. His scarred hands would heal you. All your problems would end. He will bless you with peace and lead you taking you by His hands.
You may say, “I have come to the end; I can no longer stand this agony. There is no one to help me. I cannot escape this. I cannot live like this anymore.” Dear Brother/ Sister, only to do away with all your troubles and tribulations, Jesus Christ bore on His body all those torments. Not only that, He has ended it. As Jesus loves you and me, He has done it on the cross to put an end to all sufferings.
However severe your agony might be, do not be dismayed. Today commit to submit to the Lord Jesus and seek refuge in Him. You would have His mercy and you would have His blessings of a good life.
5. Peace in Your Boundary
“...The Lord will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11).
Agonies would fade and the Lord would fill your life with peace. He blesses individuals, families, communities and the nation. He gives true peace. “He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat” (Psalm 147:14). Dear Brother/ Sister, in your forsaken and disturbed state, the Lord who lives says, “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed”. The loving Jesus Christ does not change. He has promised: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). If you commit to live believing in Him, there would be peace in your life.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.