[ecko_quote source="Psalms 23:2-3"]He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake[/ecko_quote]
As we seen in our previous devotion the first two verses of twenty third Psalm. Today, we will focus our devotion on next few verses. Before we can ever go out on our own, we must learn to follow where He leads us. He leadeth me beside the still waters (V2). In the natural, turbulent waters would look a whole lot more exciting and appealing to us, but a sheep is so dumb he can drown himself trying to wet his whistle at the edge of turbulent waters.
We learn to obey the Shepherd as we consent to be led by still waters at first. A young sheep, just learning his place in the fold, cannot handle big meetings or large campaigns without being beaten by his own swelling self- importance.
He restoreth my soul (V3)- The unrestored soul generally blocks the best God has for us because it goes by feelings instead of faith. Often when we say “I don’t feel led,” to do a certain thing, that’s our soul crying for attention, resenting the fact that it’s not in charge of proceedings. The soul cannot run out and do its own thing when it is submitting to the Good Shepherd, and it's free choices die hard.
When the Good Shepherd restores our soul, He brings it into its proper relationship, subordinate to the Holy Spirit. Feelings must be ignored, for the most part. Even feelings of blessings and the feeling of anointing are strictly second best, because they detract our attention from the leading of the Good Shepherd. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is no longer soulish enslavement to feelings, there is the release of spiritual liberty (2 Cor 3:17)
Once the Good Shepherd has restored my soul to its proper place, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for name’s sake (v3). There is only one way to become righteous, and that is to become identified with the one who can be our righteousness inside us ( I Cor 1:30). If I became righteous on my own I had have to glory in my righteousness. That’s what I did back in the days when I had myself fooled into thinking I could somehow be in a partnership with God. I was trying to steal a little glory from Him. But God wants all the glory for Himself, and He gives all the blessings to His people. When it comes right down to it, I need blessings every day, but I would not know what to do with glory if I had a whole warehouse full of it. Glory belongs to God, No one else can handle it.
To be continued...
[ecko_quote source="Psalms 23:1-2"] The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; [/ecko_quote]
In the twenty-third Psalm, God has given us a description of the process He uses in training King’s kids (we are the King’s kids). It’s true that we are instantly transformed into new beings when we are born again. In this new dimension of Christian life, soon after the new birth comes either stagnation or growing toward maturity. This growth is dependent on our willingness to cooperate with what He wants to do in us. Let’s look at what happens in the lives of those who choose to grow
The Lord is my Shepherd (v.1): These first two verses of the Psalm acknowledges Jesus as the Lord. King’s kids in training take every one of life’s circumstances and acknowledge Him to be in charge because once they have become new creatures, “all things are of God (2 Cor 5:18). Knowing that, Kings kids never have to bog down in appearances or feelings; they can rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus is in control. The first three words make a positive statement of fact, “The Lord is”. Those who come to God must believe He is, the Scripture says, and that He hears and answers prayer (Heb 11:6).
When the Lord is the Lord in and of our lives, we can say, I shall not want (v.1): These words of the Psalm means that I refuse to be caught lacking for anything in my life. It does not guarantee that I will get everything I ask for, but that I will have everything I need. Most of us would be in a mess if we got everything we asked for. But God is not afraid of saying no when what we request is not His best for us. However, sometimes He lets us have our way in order to teach us something.
In the next verse, we come to the first step of training a sheep, or a King’s kid: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures(v2). According to me, after I had become a King’s kid, I thought I was supposed to run all over the beautiful green pasture, doing my own thing in perfect freedom. But the Lord said, “Down, boy. And stay down until I ask you to move”. Obedience is the first lesson we have to learn in becoming Kings kid in action. We have to obey His instructions to wait when everything of self in us is protesting. We might think “But I have got to get out there and get busy for you, Lord”. Getting ‘busy for the Lord” with all kinds of programmes is one of the commonest ways of evading God’s will. It generally means that we are doing our own thing, and God never honours that.
God has given us a number of persuasive checkpoints for determining whether we are doing our thing or His thing i.e. doing His will. When a servant of God comes back from an assignment totally exhausted, we can know that he has been working like a bee out there operating his own programme, under his own power. But when God’s servant has been out there forty years and is still as fresh as Moses was after the wilderness, we can know he is been operating in the power of God. We can tell it every time.
Learning to lie down and do nothing is the hardest thing imaginable for a King’s kid who is all fired up, raring to get out there and serve Jesus. Early in my Christian life, I did a lot of complaining about it. “ Lord, you are wasting my time, “ I’d point out to Him, “ you must not have understood how valuable I am to your kingdom”. It seemed as if He said, “ I think I do”. Elijah complained to God one time in about the same way I did ( I King 19). He said, in effect, Lord, it’s a good thing you have got me on your team. Without me, why, you’d be out of business, because I am the only one left who is faithful to you”.
Did God say, “ That’s right. I can’t afford to lose you?. No way, What He said was, “ I have got news for you, Elijah, I have got seven thousand more who have not bowed their knees to Baal. I can wheel them out of the crack any time I need them. And since you think you are all that indispensable. I am going to have to put you on the shelf for a while. I will prove I can get along perfectly well without you.
I can use you if you will be obedient, of course, but you have got to learn to lie down and wait before you can walk in my victory. Before you can be led by my Spirit, you have got to get to the place where you are willing to obey me in spite of circumstances. Before we can ever go out on our own, we have to learn to follow where He leads us.
To be continued...
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[ecko_quote source="Jeremiah 33:3"] Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know [/ecko_quote]
The prophet Jeremiah was not a popular man. When he declared the truth, God had given him - that Judah would soon start seventy long years in captivity - people threw him into prison.
Yet in such dire circumstances, Jeremiah learned something profound about prayer. Jeremiah 33:1-3 says: "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 'Thus says the LORD who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."'"
Prayer is a significant part of a vital relationship with God. It is not for some special spiritual elite; it is for you. Three principles within these verses can transform your old notions about prayer into something fresh and new.
First, God says, "Call to Me." He wants to hear from you. His all-loving, omnipotent heart desires to hear your innermost thoughts and feelings. He wants to hear from you in the hard times and also when life is going on smoothly. In fact, your sweetest times of prayer happen when you come before Him simply to praise and worship and give thanks for what He has done.
Second, God says, "I will answer you." Do you believe that? Perhaps you once asked God for something He did not give you, and since then, you have harboured secret worries that He did not hear or did not care to answer. But God Himself says to you, "I will answer you." That answer may not take the form you anticipate or come when you desire, but He will respond. He might say "yes," "no," or "wait." You may not understand the reasons behind His answer - but you can trust that they are best for you (Rom. 8:28).
Third, God says, "I will show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." You have finite wisdom and understanding; God knows all. He knows the big picture; you see merely a tiny piece. When you ask Him to guide you, He works to direct you as a part of His higher vision and calling.
If you take that first step of calling out to Him, prayer can become an important part of a dynamic relationship with almighty God. Do it today - He waits to hear your voice.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; Dr Charles Stanley
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[ecko_quote source="John 15:15"] I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me [/ecko_quote]
Years ago, there was an old German Professor whose beautiful life was a marvel to his students. Some of them decided to find out by resolving the secret of it; so, one of their student's hid in the study room where the old Professor spent his evenings.
It was late, when the Professor came in. He was exhausted, but he sat down and spent an hour with his Bible. Then he bowed his head in secret prayer and finally by closing the Book of books, he said,
“Well, Lord Jesus, we are on the same old terms”.
To know Him is life’s highest attainment and at all costs, every Christian should strive to be “on the same old terms with Him”.
The reality of Jesus comes because of a secret prayer, and a personal study of the Bible that is devotional and understanding. Christ becomes more real to the one who persists in the cultivation of His presence.
It's simple. Intimacy is close or confidential friendship. And God, far from making it mysterious or unobtainable, has sought that kind of relationship with us from the beginning: "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). He revealed Himself to the patriarchs and prophets; He led the Israelites in the wilderness by cloud and by fire.
God’s ultimate invitation to fellowship with Him was in sending His Son to pay the price for our sin so that we who believe could be called His children. To seal His presence in us, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
God continually invites us to respond to His love and a desire to have fellowship with Him. He longs to love us because only He can, and He wants us to know Him in all His fullness. His commandment to us is "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Dt. 6:5). He wants us to be intimate with Him.
Those saints—past and present—who have enjoyed exceptional closeness with God are first of all those who have deeply longed for it. God promised in Jer. 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
David’s longing for God was insatiable. Even when enemies pursued him, he did not seek deliverance or a change in circumstances; he sought God.
A desire to only know the Lord and His character must be our motive for intimacy. If all I seek are His gifts or whet He can do for me; then I have a self-centered relationship based on God’s "performance" in meeting my perceived needs. Instead, my desire to seek Him must be based on a longing just to know Him, to fellowship with Him, to enjoy His company.
Someone once said that "The essence of holiness is not that we are perfect, but that we never stop pursuing it." If I truly want to draw closer to God, then my heart’s desire will be to please the Lord and to bring Him glory in all that I do.
Source: Jonah Ravinder- UEC Ministries; Cynthia Heald-Bible.ORG; Steams in the Desert
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[ecko_quote source="2 Corinthians 5:20"]So, we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God![/ecko_quote]
In every weekly newsletter of our Shalom Fellowship specifies our slogan “We are Christ’s Ambassadors”. Also,our beloved brother Anil Amatinthala quoted this verse and reminded us in our Fellowship meetings several times. Lately, I have been wondering about what this motto means to us as followers of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Jesus used several titles to address us such as friends, brothers, fellow soldiers, fellow servants and His ambassadors. Each calling has its own significance in the Christian life. In a general sense; an ambassador is a spokesperson or representative of one state who holds the authority to communicate or converse with the authorities of another state. In our context, as an ambassador for Christ, we have been authorised and clothed with divine authority and power to speak His reconciling message of love to the unsaved world (Mark 16:15)
In other words, we are the representatives of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. For us Christians, this world is a temporary home and a foreign country. It is true that we are ambassadors for Christ who represent our King of Heaven and the Heaven itself in this foreign land. Nevertheless, none of us can truly represent our Lord in our own strength, but when He sends us out, we go fully equipped with all the resources of heaven as he is all sufficient.
However, we must consider certain important traits of a true Christ’s ambassador before we claim to be His ambassadors. First, he must be a citizen of heaven. No alien can ever represent our government in a foreign state. The above verse states that true ambassador must be “in Christ”, “a new creation” ... and “redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19) and holds a citizenship of heaven. Secondly, he must be above reproach. Our government never sends out a man of doubtful character. Our Lord requires that His ambassadors should live lives that are above suspicion. He is the object of the closest scrutiny, and in every relationship, he must be blameless. Further,he must not interfere and involved in the worldly matters & activities.
Thirdly, he must be selfless. He must be willing to completely put aside his own interest and personal agenda so that he might do the will of his King. It is the whole determined attitude of our lives, Not I, but Christ lives in me (Galatian 2:20), and his self must die daily (1Cor 15:31). Fourthly, he must be in constant touch with the Throne. An ambassador of this world uses every modern method of communication to ensure his contact with the officials. In the same way, Christ's ambassadors can be in constant contact with the Throne of God by Prayer.
Fifth, he must be steadfast and loyal. He must be willing to suffer for Christ’s sake as Apostle Paul suffered in prison and experienced persecutions. How faithful and how loyal he was to his king. Sixth, he must be diplomatic. Diplomacy is the art of negotiation. We have no wisdom of our own, and we certainly do not have the wisdom needed to win souls and represent the Lord before men. However, we have a great promise that God will fulfil in us if we ask Him for wisdom (James 1:5).
Finally, he must know the language of the people among whom he lives. The language that we, as ambassadors, need to learn is the language of love (Luke 10:33-35)
At an infinite cost to Himself God has made a way of reconciliation possible. That He has done by sending His own Son to die for sin, and through His sacrifice, the barrier of sin has been removed. God and man have been brought together in Christ by His atonement. As Christ’s ambassadors, we need to proclaim this message in this world.
Source: Jonah Ravinder, UEC Ministries and Francis Dixon of Life Ministries.
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[ecko_quote source="Galatians 2:20 "]I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me[/ecko_quote]
A few weeks ago, while I was working on my office computer, one of the important application was disabled. This application is vital for me to carry out my job. I tried my level best and asked my colleagues for help. Unfortunately, they could not fix the problem either and suggested me contact our helpdesk which is located in Wellington. A lady attended my call. She asked for my identification and my computer ID. After that, she sent me a message which requested for an approval to access my computer. I agreed and gave her the remote access. To my surprise, she was just browsing all around my computer and opening various applications. I was just watching her operating my computer without my interference. She took control of every aspect. She requested me to simply wait while she is fixing the problem. Finally, she identified the trouble and fixed it accordingly.
This incident taught me a spiritual implication of our lives in Christ. In the above incident, I should not interfere with what she was doing. If I did, the computer would crash, or she may withdraw from fixing the problem. Similarly, we should not live but let Christ live in us. The above verse states we have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer we that live, but Christ lives in us. When we provide full access and fully surrender which includes being dead to our will, only then Christ can make a difference in our life. Jesus said in Mathew 6:24” "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. We should no longer live let Christ live in us. If we continue to live, we only encounter defeat in every realm of our lives and would only receive bitter disappointment. Our best efforts and talents will not make us any good. Our system and thought lines are corruptive, and we cannot bring any good from it. The best thing we should do is to let our 'self' die so that Christ can live in us. Therefore, learn the art of surrendering moment by moment knowing that we and the life which we were living in the flesh have been crucified with Christ. And then, we can live with of full of faith in Jesus.
When we are crucified with Christ by faith in Him, we have to completely surrender every selfish desire and ambition to the perfect will of God. Self-promotion and self-pleasing desires are the greatest obstacles between man and salvation. It is because the very nature of man always wants to please himself, and this self-recognition is a building block for sin. All sin erupts from the desire to please self which must be crucified with Christ in surrender to the will of God before salvation can bear fruit. Man, cannot overcome his inherited sinful nature on his own and needs the power and assistance of the Holy Spirit to make this happen, but the surrender of his own will to that of God’s will is essential for the elimination of his own desire’s powerful motivation and enslavement. This is repentance. It is a surrender of one’s own control and will to the power and will of the Holy Spirit that is the beginning of being crucified with Christ.
Not by man’s own effort to battle his corruptible nature, but in surrender of his own will to God’s will (1 Peter 1:23). This proves to be a great challenge for many people because we attempt to control our sinful nature on our own. This only results in repeated fall into the same old, sinful ways from which we are attempting to escape. If it had been possible for a man to overcome his sinful nature with his own power and will, there would not have been any need for Jesus to die for our sins.
salvation is by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8–9).Many Christians want to be obedient but continue to stumble in sin because they try to hang on to parts of their old self which they think they can control. This is a self-defeating rationale that relies on the idea that man saves himself by his own works. The Bible teaches us that nothing a man does can save his soul. Only salvation by the grace of God can (Ephesians 2:8–9).
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[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 11:28-30"]Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My Yoke Is easy and My burden is light[/ecko_quote]
In the light of our previous devotion “The impossibility of Christian life,” the fundamental thing that we have to do is surrender our lives so that Christ can live in and through our lives. Surrender is not the surrendering of the external life, but of our will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crisis in life; among which the great crisis is the surrender of our will willingly. God never crushes a man’s will into surrender. He never beseeches him; He waits until the man yields up his will to Him. That battle never needs to be refought.
Surrender for deliverance “Come unto Me and I will give you rest”. We begin to experience what salvation means only after we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is perplexing your heart or mind is a call to the will- “Come unto Me”. It is a coming that is done voluntarily.
Surrender for Devotion- “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself”. The surrender here is of ourselves to Jesus i.e. our own selves with His rest at the heart of it. “If you would be My disciple, give up your right of yourself to Me.” Then the remainder of the life is nothing but the manifestation of this surrender. When once the surrender has taken place we won't need to think of "suppose" for anything. We do not need to care what our circumstances are or would be; Jesus is amply sufficient.
Surrender to death (John 21:18-19) …” Another shall gird thee” Have you learned what it means to be bound for death? Beware of a surrender which you make to God in an ecstasy; you are apt to take it back again. It is a question of being united with Jesus in His death until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
After surrender – What? Christ lives in us. The whole of the life after surrender is an aspiration for unbroken communion with God.
All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him; In His presence, daily live……. I surrender all; I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.
Source: Pastor Jonah Ravinder; The Utmost for His Highest – Oswald Chambers.
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[ecko_quote source=" Galatians 2:20"]I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me[/ecko_quote]
Many of us start our Christian life thinking it as very easy. Author and teacher Stuart Briscoe said, When I got saved, it was so wonderful. The burden of sin was gone. Boy, I started out wanting to live for God and be so happy. “It’s wonderful. Here I am, saved. Hallelujah, Jesus! I will never make another mistake. I have been saved; my sins have been forgiven. I have the Holy Spirit in me. This is just wonderful,” I was saying, and then I stumbled and fell. I got discouraged a little bit. I said, “Well, this isn’t as easy as I thought. This is difficult.” And I began to strive and tried to be a better Christian, but again I failed miserably. I stopped saying this is difficult. I hung my head in despair and said, “This is impossible.”
The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that the Christian life is very difficult. I was supposed to love my neighbours. Some of them I hadn’t even got around to liking! God seemed to expect from me a love that would put Him first, and I wasn’t too sure that was what I wanted. Often I pretended all was well when I knew it wasn’t. Then something happened. Reading through my Bible, I have learnt that I had been wrong about the Christian life. First, I thought it was easy. That was wrong. Then I figured it was difficult. But I realised that was wrong too. For the first time in my life, I understood that Christianity was impossible for a human being. Not easy and not difficult, Impossible.
Then God showed me that what He had for me was CHRIST. He had told me to live the impossible because He had given me Christ to whom it was all possible. My inability was the perfect soil for His ability. My defeat was the stage for His victory. My barrenness was the seed plot for His fruitfulness. The answer to my problem was Christ. I got more conscious of my helplessness and failure than ever before. But I was strangely excited to know that the Lord was resident in my weakness and master of my defeat. The next time when I got up to preach, I whispered “Okay, Lord, here we go again. These problems are too big for me but well within your capabilities. I claim your power to triumph” And I began to do just that. God in His goodness had introduced me to a life of faith, trust, and dependence on Lord Jesus. He was becoming increasingly real to me. In fact, that should be the story of the Christian life. Finding it continually impossible to you, but always possible to the One who lives in you, and being excited about being able to prove Him.
A dear friend used to say, we all are the failures that we were meant to be. In other words, our attempts at living the Christian life in own power were always supposed to fail. God never intended for us to succeed by self-effort, self-motivation, and self-striving. We were never designed (of course after Adam's sin) to live holy lives without trusting the Christ who died for us. In short, we cannot live the Christian life without Christ. Only by grace through faith, Christian growth is achieved (Gal. 3:1-5).
When we attempt to live the Christian life in our power, we find it impossible. We grow frustrated. Our up and down experiences of momentary victory and devastating failures prove exhausting. The cycles of perpetual self-confidence/pride and shame/guilt leave us wondering if we are really saved. Then, we realise that our sense of desperation and defeat is what God is waiting for; he wants us to come to the end of ourselves.
God is waiting for us to admit our struggle, repent of our self-sufficiency, and pray for divine help (2 Cor. 12:8-10). It sounds a bit cliché, but God desires for us to stop trying and to start trusting. He wants us to give up striving and struggling to allow Christ to do the impossible: give us liberty and victory over our on-going struggles with sin (2 Peter 1:3-4).
The Lord’s purpose and goal is to allow his Son, Jesus Christ, to live his life in and through us (1 John 4:9). The only person who ever successfully lived the Christian life was Christ himself. Therefore, we need to allow Christ to live his life in and through us for victory over sin, power over temptations, and anointing for ministry (Gal. 2:20).
The Christian life can only be explained in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you, your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarships, your dedication, your sacrifices, or your anything... Then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it!
You know what? Mr Briscoe was right. The Christian life is impossible, without Christ. You see, when Mr Briscoe discovered that God is the God of the impossible and that Jesus Christ was in Him, he then stopped trying, started trusting, and let the Lord Jesus Christ live His life through him. He also stopped saying Christian life as impossible and started saying, “This is wonderful!”
Source: Jonah Ravinder; Mr Stuart Briscoe
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[ecko_quote source="Daniel 6:10"]Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days[/ecko_quote]
How can you follow God and thrive in this secular world at the same time? In almost every workplace/ community and the world at large Christians face this question daily and many find the answer so difficult they are tempted to give up. Daniel, the central character of the Book of Daniel, also faced the same question under extreme circumstances and he was successful in every facet of his life.
There are many characters in the Bible such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David and Solomon. Each one of them had played their roles and left a legacy. The Bible writers described their lives without any reservations both positive and negative aspects of their walk with the Lord for our edification.One of the most interesting characters of the Bible and a role model for the 21st century young Christians is Daniel. He is one of the few well-known Bible characters about whom nothing negative is ever written.
His life was characterised by faith, prayer, courage, consistency and lack of compromise. We can notice some excellent attributes in Daniel's life, great teamwork, (with his three friends); great negotiations,(with the chief of eunuchs in relation to the food matters); respect and honour to the king at the same time making it known to the king about the one true God; Daniel never spoke negatively, not even about his enemies; and of visions and their interpretation .
Daniel, even in youth, displayed these characteristics. He was already considered one of the best among the best. Because of Daniel's obedient and submissive heart, God took him and made him better. In fact, the Bible says that in wisdom and understanding, Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers in the entire empire.
Daniel knew the importance of remaining pure and undefiled, even in a culture that was saturated with pagan practices and idol worship. It was because of Daniel’s love for God and his commitment to purity that God entrusted Daniel with the ability to understand and interpret dreams and visions. Moreover, this divine ability served Daniel well many times during his service to the king.
Daniel lived a pure and holy in the midst of wicked people. Daniel's world is not much different to our present world. The only difference is that this generation is committing techno and cyber sins using phones, computers and other electronic gadgets erroneously. In this era holiness and pure life are outdated and old fashioned lifestyle which is why we hardly see young people looking for a righteous way of living and greater commitment to God. They want new inspiration, new methods of enjoyment and further they have no time to wait; they want everything in real-time.
The book of Daniel shows Daniel to be a faithful man of God. When King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to destroy all the wise men if one of them did not tell him his dream and interpreted it, Daniel and his friends asked for time so he and his three friends could beseech God in prayer to reveal this information (Daniel 2:18). When God answered his prayer, Daniel remembered to praise and thank God for giving them what they had requested (verses 20-23).
Daniel's lifestyle portrays a modest way of life. Adoption of a modest way of life, so that attachment to money, prestige or power do not stand in the way of risking our jobs or careers if we are pressured to do something contrary to God’s commands, values or virtues. Despite reaching the pinnacle of Babylonian education, position and wealth, Daniel and his friends were constantly ready to lose everything in order to speak and act on God’s word (2:24, 3:12, 4:20, 5:17, 6:10, 21).
The secret of his success both in Godly life and as the Governor in the Kingdom lies in his prayer life. He demonstrated his faith by praying to God even though he knew that doing so would endanger his life! “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed [that no one could petition any god or man except the king for 30 days], he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10). I think this was the secret of Daniel's success, and I wish it would be our custom too in this wicked generation.
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[ecko_quote source="సామెతలు 18:21"]జీవ మరణములు నాలుక వశము దానియందు ప్రీతిపడువారు దాని ఫలము తిందురు [/ecko_quote]
మనసు పరిశుద్ధ ఆత్మలో కలశం (మిళితము) అయినప్పుడు, అందులో ఉద్భవించే సద్భావనలు మనిషిని ఉత్తమ వ్యక్తిత్వంతో పరిమళము వెదజల్లేలా చేస్తాయి. మనలో అంతర్లీనంగా ఉండే మానవత్వ భావనలను వెలుపలకి తేవడానికి దేవుని సేవకులు, ప్రవక్తలు మరియు బైబిల్ గ్రంధ బోధకులు నిరంతరం ఎంతో కృషి చేస్తున్నారు. సంభాషణలు జరిపారు, మార్గదర్శకాలు బోధించారు. మనిషి జీవితములో దేవుని యొక్క ప్రాముఖ్యాన్ని తెలియజేస్తూ ఆధ్యాత్మిక రచనలు చేశారు. వాటిని మనం శ్రద్ధగా విని, దివి, ఆకళింపు చేసుకుంటే సుశీలత్వము, సద్భావనలు, మంచితనము తప్పక అంకురిస్తాయి.
మనిషి వ్యక్తిత్వానికి మంచి ప్రవర్తన మరియు సద్భావనే తావి, పరిమళము అద్దుతుంది. దానికి, మాటే మొదటి మెట్టు. మాటలతో ఎదుటివారి మనసును ఆకట్టుకోవచ్చు మరియు పోగొట్టుకొను వచ్చు. ప్రతి వ్యక్తీ మాట్లాడటంలో నాలుగు రకాల దుష్కర్మలు, చేయకూడనివి చేస్తుంటాడని బైబిల్ గ్రంధము తెలుపుతుంది. పౌరుష్యం- అంటే, కఠినంగా మాట్లాడటం. అనృతం అంటే, అబద్ధాలు చెప్పడం. చాడీలు చెప్పడాన్ని వైశూన్యం అంటారు. నాలుగోది అసంబద్ధ ప్రలాపం- అంటే, అనవసరంగా మాట్లాడటం. వీటికి చోటివ్వకుండా దేవుణ్ణి, ప్రేమించి, సత్యమును( అప్పుడు సత్యము మిమ్మును స్వతంత్రులనుగా చేయును(యోహాను 8:32), యేసుక్రీస్తువుల వారే సత్యము) ఆశ్రయిస్తే, ప్రియంగా మాట్లాడగలిగితే ఎదుటివారి హృదయాలకు మరింత చేరువవుతామన్నది యథార్థం.
మనవా చరిత్రలో ఎందరో మహానుభావులు తాము పలికిన మాటల ద్వార మనుషుల హృదయాలను ప్రేరేపించి వారి మనసులను సంపాదించుకున్నారు. మరి కొందరు తాము పలికిన మాటల ద్వార మనుషుల హృదయాలను క్షోభ, వ్యాకులము మరియు బాధతో నింపి వారిని తమ నుంచి శాశ్వతముగా దూర పరచుకున్నారు. మరియు ఎన్నో దేవుని సంఘములు, విశ్వాసులు, దేవుని సేవకులము అను చెప్పుకోనుచున్న అనేకులు తాము పలికిన మాటల ద్వార ఒకరి ని ఒకరు సజీవముగా చంపుకొనుచున్నారు. ఇదీ ఎంతో విశాదకరము మరియు వినాశకరము. అందువలన క్రీస్తు సంఘములో ఏకత్వము లోపించి అది శక్తి లేనిది గా కనపడుచున్నది. క్రీస్తు సంఘములో ఏకత్వము మరుగుపడుటకు ప్రధాన కారణము పదవీ వ్యామోహం, కీర్తి, మరియు అహము.
కామ, క్రోధ, లోభ, మోహ, మద, మాత్సర్యాలనే అరిషడ్వర్గాల్లో- నాలుగో స్థానంలో ఉండే మోహం అత్యంత ప్రమాదకరమైంది. మితిమీరిన మోహమే వ్యామోహం. దాన్ని త్యజించడం సద్భావనకు నాంది పలుకుతుంది. కీర్తి, కాంత, ధన, కనక, వస్తు, వాహనాలు వ్యామోహానికి కారకాలు. వీటి పట్ల మొదట్లో మోహం కలిగి, ఆ తరవాత వ్యామోహంగా మారుతుంది. అది చివరికి మనిషిని పూర్తిగా లోబరుచుకుంటుంది. మనశ్శాంతి లేకుండా చేస్తుంది. వ్యామోహంలో ఉన్న వ్యక్తి దారీ తెన్నూ తెలియక అధర్మం, అసత్యం, అన్యాయం బాటపట్టి పతనావస్థకు చేరుకుంటాడు.
సత్ సాంగత్యం వల్ల నిస్సంగత్వం అలవడుతుంది. నిస్సంగత్వం వల్ల మోహం తొలగుతుంది. నిశ్చలతత్వం తెలుస్తుంది. దాని వల్ల రుణానుబంధ విముక్తి లభిస్తుంది. సత్ సాంగత్యం కేవలము పరిశుద్ధ ఆత్మతో సాంగత్యం మరియు తోటి విశ్వసులతో సత్ సాంగత్యం ద్వారానే సాద్యము. తద్వారా విశ్వాసి పదవీ వ్యామోహం, కీర్తి, మరియు అహము పై విజయం సాధించగలడు.
మనిషి అనవరతం సేవాభావన కలిగి ఉండాలి. ఇతరులకు సహాయం చేయడంలో, చక్కటి ఉపయోగకరమైన సలహాలు ఇవ్వడంలో ముందుండాలి. అతడు తన శారీరక బలాన్ని బలహీనుల కోసం ఉపయోగించడంలోనూ సేవాభావం వెల్లివిరుస్తుంది. ‘దానం చేయడం వ్యక్తిగత బాధ్యత’ అంటోంది పరిశుద్ద బైబిల్ గ్రంధము. ప్రతిఫలం ఆశించకుండా నిర్వర్తించే సేవాధర్మమే- దానం. దానికి నిత్య జీవన విధానంలో తగిన సమయం కేటాయించాలి. తల్లి, తండ్రి, గురువు, అతిథులు, మరియు దేవుని సేవకులు పట్ల ఆదరాభిమానాలు చూపుతూ మనిషి తన ఆధ్యాత్మిక సంపదను వృద్ధి చేసుకోవాలి. ముక్తి మార్గాన అంటే యేసు క్రీస్తు వైపు చూస్తూ అతడు పయనం సాగించాలని దేవుని వాక్యం హితవు చెబుతోంది.
చేసే కర్మలకు/పాపములకు ఫలితం ఉంటుందన్న ఎరుకను మనిషి కలిగి ఉండటమే నైతిక ప్రవర్తన. అదే శుభప్రదమైన, సంతోషకరమైన జీవితాన్నిస్తుందని దేవుని వాక్యము తెలియచెబుతోంది. మంచి ఆలోచనా సరళి, విలువలతో కూడిన జీవన శైలి, సరైన వ్యక్తిత్వం, శీల సంపద, నిరంతర సాధన, గుండె ధైర్యం ప్రసాదించే పరిశుద్ధ ఆత్మ నడిపింపు మనము అను దినము కలిగి యుండవలేయును.
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