Scriptures in Life

Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
The Bible is the book of life. The best way to find the solution of problems is to find an answer in the Bible. You will get all the knowledge and wisdom in this book of life; the only condition being you should devote time to read and meditate on the book. If you think that you are giving an hour every day to read the Bible but still you aren’t able to elucidate your problems, then the imperative thing that you are skipping is to meditate on the verses that you reading. Ask Jesus to help you find the meaning of the verses that you reading and help you to connect it with daily life or trouble you go through. You will see a remarkable change in the way things get crystal clear in mind.
The Bible is a user manual provided by the creator himself. As when we bring any new electronic appliance, we get a user manual with it to guide us as to how to use it at optimum capacity; similarly if we use the user manual given by the creator, i.e. the Bible we will be able to live a life at an optimum level. A life that would be pleasing to his eyes, a life that will be full of obedience to Jesus commandments. Reading of scriptures also helps us to enhance our faith in the Lord as it gives an insight knowledge of his mercy, kindness, and love.

Romans 10:7
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The more we hear, read and meditate on the word, the greater the expansion and steadfastness of faith. In the times of adversity and in the times of happiness the word of the God helps us to rejoice in the Lord as it glorifies the Father in happiness and gives us the protection in case of adversity. It gives us a clear insight of our inner personality and our thought process. It nurtures our thought process and makes us mature of the things which earlier either we denied or were incapable of understanding. The Bible guides us of the things that are correct and incorrect, it gives us the power to make a decision to follow the truth and unfollow the false doctrine. What many books, including highly recommended scientific and other doctrine books, couldn’t answer, The Bible answers us in the most unambiguous ways. It is the only book which starts with the creation, then goes on to describe the life and death and eventually ends with the description of the afterlife and a new world. It covers all the facets of life and death, righteousness, and sin, God, and Satan.
The word of God is like a living fountain of water. We need to come to that fountain daily and drink from it to keep our souls alive. The word of the Lord is infallible in any and every sense. It provides us the complete doctrine which can’t be changed.

Proverbs 30:5-6
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Every word, every sentence, every page and every book in the Bible is astounding and it gives us the assimilation of life, death, sin and eternal truth. Not only is the Bible infallible but it is a complete book. Not a word could be added or subtracted for the book of life.

Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The Bible should be taken as it is, no changes should happen while reading it then only you will get the correct interpretation of the Bible. For implementing the scriptures in practical life, a sound and unadulterated elucidation of the Bible is indispensable. Unless you read you won’t be able to know what is written and unless you don’t know what is written; anyone can fool you with false doctrine. Remember we keep lay our trust and faith on a living God and the things he has written in the user manual for humans has to be taken seriously with utmost respect and importance.
The value of scriptures is not limited to our own eternal life, but it goes beyond the boundaries of eternal life. It helps us to spread the message, the good news, The Gospel. Only a person having sound knowledge of the Bible can spread the gospel because when non-believers ask him of questions, that person should be able to pick up the verses from the Bible and explain them. 

Remember, how Jesus always quoted scriptures to the Pharisees.

Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
This was in reference to Old Testament:-

Deuteronomy 8:3
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Another reference -

Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Old Testament reference

Deuteronomy 6:16
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
There are a lot of examples in the Bible, where Jesus quotes Old Testament scriptures. This tells us to have profound knowledge in the Bible. Also, the word of the God is the only absolute authority. Sometimes you might get to hear a verse from the Bible while having a conversation with your friend or maybe on TV or maybe while surfing internet, so write it down. It could be that Lord is speaking to you through that verse. The Bible is the only source of absolute divine authority.

Psalm 119:89
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Worldly knowledge through various books is good, but the wisdom bestowed on us through the Bible is superlative. Not only it has life teachings in it, but it contains the truth which when read and meditated upon will unravel the mysteries and bring a whole new world to us which has all the answers to our questions. It will make us understand the purpose of our life. It will give a new meaning and dimension to our life. Our entire life is dependent of scriptures and how we interpret it and implement in our daily routine.

Psalm 119:15-16
I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
With the scriptures and prayers, comes the wisdom of God. To know good and bad is plain knowledge but to segregate the two and enact upon the good/righteousness is wisdom we get only through Jesus blessings and reading scriptures.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of the God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word of the God penetrates our body and humbles our heart which otherwise is filled with amour propre. It’s our daily hope and propels our faith to new heights. Sometimes when we feel depressed, the Word of God is there to lift us up from slumber and helps to inject a sense of rejuvenation in our body which makes us come out of depression. Every day becomes a blessing when we read the Bible and have an intercession with the Lord. It is by far the only book wherein we could know about our creator and his expectations from us. So, to know about who created, how he created us and why he created us and how he expects us to live, it’s imperative that we study the scriptures which would guide us in every way possible to our ultimate goal of achieving the eternal life with Jesus. Without the knowledge of scriptures our live would be soulless and meaningless; having no direction and no purpose. Scriptures are there from the very beginning, as it is written in the Bible -

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Prayer

What is a Prayer? Is it merely closing our eyes and putting forward all our bucket list in front of God? Or is it about asking for that one wish you desperately want God to fulfill? Or is it about a Father (Heavenly Father) and Son relationship being enhanced through an intercession?

Many of us get confused as to what exactly a prayer is. Since most of us don’t know what prayer is; so of course how to pray stays a mystery. We get entangled between desires of flesh and appetite for the soul. We basically create a war zone in our mind and it starts playing tug of war between spiritual needs and materialistic/fleshly needs. Unfortunately, if we do not know the meaning of “Prayer” in its essential sense; materialistic needs win the war hands down. And we basically get nothing in and out of prayer. Prayer is a kind of device give to mankind by the creator to stay in touch with him 24*7. In fact, for praying there is no time boundation and there is no specific time; pray as and when you feel like getting connected with Jesus. In fact, Jesus has given a brief outline as to how should we pray -

Matthew 6: 6-13
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, a the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

John 14:13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Now, remember these are the words spoken by Jesus directly to us. Well, in simpler terms he is hobnobbing between us and our Heavenly Father. In these above-mentioned verses Jesus is telling us the method to pray, i.e to whom to address our prayers, in whose name we should ask our prayers, how should we pray and most importantly what should be included in prayers. Look, Jesus tells us to pray in private; it doesn’t mean that you can’t pray in public, of course, you can pray in public but the integral part about praying in private is the “no-nonsense showoff”. Sometimes, people go overboard in showing their praying skills because of the eloquence of speech that God has gifted them. Lord knows our heart even before we start praying, also he knows whether we are swanking in public to get the attention or we actually mean what we pray. If we actually mean what we pray then why not to pray in private where no one will watch and hear us; only interaction we will have is with the Holy Spirit. The concept of praying secretly is to let your heart open to Heavenly Father. Sometimes, when praying with others or in front of people we might not feel all that comfortable in asking for the forgiveness of our sins that we commit, but in private where nobody listens to us apart from God, we will be able to express our heart in a better way. Then Jesus also guides us that we shouldn’t babble as the gentiles do. Even if we repeat a word or sentence again and again the importance of that particular word or sentence would remain the same and most importantly our Heavenly Father knows the difference between our needs and desires. He knows what is best for us. All we need to do is pray and trust him because after all he is our creator and he knows what is important for us. Jesus also tells us as to how to start our invocation; it’s always a humble act to cognize the fact that our creator is a Holy God and his name will always be honored before anything. When we pray, we may feel that our prayers aren’t being answered; the reason behind that is God has a better plan for us which right now we can’t ponder on right now because we are preoccupied with our own ideas. But, our Lord isn’t like that, he knows what is right for us in future and if we allow his will to happen in our life than our life will definitely ameliorate. That’s why Jesus tells us to accept the fact that Heavenly Father’ “Will” is the ultimate wish and let it happen in our life through asking it in prayers. Next, he told us to ask for our daily bread from the Lord. Have we ever wondered as to why we work so hard in our professional life? The simple answer isn’t to acquire materialistic possessions (of course that we acquire in due course of time) but to earn daily bread for ourselves and our family members. The food which we get is a blessing to us given by our Heavenly Father. Imagine the plight of those who aren’t able to satiate their hunger because of lack of food. To show the importance of food, Jesus fed 5000 men. Also once they finished he ordered his disciples to collect the food so that nothing is left over.

John 6:10-12
And Jesus said, MAke the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Lastly, Jesus tells us to pray in his name. This is because Jesus is the only begotten son of Heavenly Father, lead a sinless life on earth and adhered to all the wishes of Heavenly Father. Jesus sinless and selfless life is an example to us as to how we should simply obey the commandments of our Heavenly Father.
Prayer is a time which should be exclusively kept for interaction with the Holy Spirit. Through that interaction, we come to know as to what are the plans designed for our future life by Lord. It is time to introspect our lives and tell Jesus as to what we feel about our life and things around us. Prayer can also be deemed as meditation; where we just think of our savior and put our entire concentration and focus on the Bible. The scripture gives us immense knowledge and understanding of the life. Through prayers, we can remember the right scripture at the right moment in daily life.
Why has Jesus emphasized so much on prayer in the Bible? Why to kick out Satan we need to have a life dedicated to Jesus through faith and prayer? In the Book of Mark (Mark 9:17-29), a little boy was troubled by a Spirit which made him unable to speak. When the father brought his son to Jesus and asked for his mercy, Jesus rebuked the foul spirit and made it come out of that boy’s body. Later when his disciples asked him how couldn’t they rebuked the spirit but Jesus could Lord answered them -

Mark 9:29
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
So, this answer explains everything to us. We are perfectly capable of extirpating evil spirit through our constant endeavor through prayers to our Lord. Prayers have multitude of powers to make our faith immortal. Prayers transcend our spiritual life into a new sphere which can be experienced only with the supplication of our souls in Jesus. A life without prayer is like a life that goes on without any meaning to it. Prayer adds life and meaning to our dead and corrupted soul. We need life to rejuvenate the dead soul and we need meaning for helping it redeem it of sins.
Sometimes, we take prayer as a Christian ritual which we have to do. The day we start thinking like that is where all the blessings vanish. Because God doesn’t want us to do something out of compulsion. He wants us to have faith on him unconditionally and to ask him for anything in Jesus name in prayer with 100% trust and credence. The Bible also talks about praying constantly in spirit.

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
The Bible not only tells us to pray constantly for ourselves but it also tells us to pray for our elders, brothers, and sisters because we never know who requires our intercession with the Lord on their behalf. Maybe some of them are really striving hard to win the spiritual battle and with our prayers, they may get just that extra push required to cross the line and win the war against Satan. Also, when we pray without ceasing it opens up our spiritual life and we start getting the meaning of each and every word that is written in the Bible. We often misunderstand and start blaming God for what we haven’t got, some of us even go an extend of ridiculing our Lord, but we need to understand that our prayers should be in accordance with the Bible and righteousness. We just can’t pray anything to Lord and ask him to grant us. We can’t ask in prayers to hurt someone or finish someone, that would be a mere foolishness on our part. Prayers should be free of covetous wishes and jealousy. If someone is being blessed with some materialistic or spiritual gift from Lord then that is between God and them, we have no right to interfere and ask God for an explanation. But our duty is to diligently grow in Lord and ceaselessly praying for his mercy and blessings. Many times we don’t realize the blessing that he already has bestowed upon us. We just need to harness those gifts, talents, blessing given to us by Jesus. We can only do it through constant supplication to Jesus.
Let our prayers be stronger than enemy’s attack, let our prayers be more enduring, let our prayers glorify our heavenly father, let our prayers be a benison for others in their spiritual life.
Our prayers should act as a bridge between our soul and Lord, once that bridge gets built and daily serviced, then our walk in Lord becomes so easy. Prayers give us that inner strength to keep our faith intact in the face of adversity and happiness. It's keeping that equilibrium and doesn’t allow us to go astray in either case.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
Always remember to pray continuously. Even if busy, pray in your heart. The day we stop praying that day Satan would deceive us with his wickedness, therefore always stay connected to our savior Jesus.

Love

1 Corinthians 13 4-5 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Hitherto, what most of the people think about love, is being shattered by this verse in the Bible. Love is not comforting one’s own feelings. Love is not selfish or lustfully motivated. Love isn’t about doing things in order to get something. Love is about giving selflessly, love is showing compassion, love is about extirpating jealousy and hatred. Love is about lifting the crestfallen through our genteel nature. Love is about ameliorating one’s life in Jesus. And above all Love is about understanding and giving the Love as Jesus gave us. His love was perfect. His love did not have even a single thought of being nefarious. We all have been trying to decode the definition of love and we all are singing the same leitmotif of worldly possessions and objectives till the time we don’t read and decipher the Bible.
Love teaches us everything. It teaches us to be humble, patient, faithful, emotional, etc basically every aspect of a person’s life. Till the time we haven’t tasted Jesus love, we won’t truly understand the meaning and real objective of love. A real love is A Love in Jesus wherein we follow all that he has commanded us to do. Because till the time we don’t truly love Jesus, we won’t be able to follow what he said. Love allows us to have freedom. Freedom of doing righteous things, freedom of disassociating ourselves from sin, freedom of understanding everything correctly and freedom of breathing freely and fearlessly.

1 John 4:18-19
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
Most important phase in this verse is to understand “Perfect love” else it could become confusing with -

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
To a person who yet hasn't accepted Jesus, these verses may seem contradictory. However, the truth is both these verses are interrelated. The first verse talks about having no fear in perfect love and second talks about the fear of Lord is the starting point in acquiring knowledge and wisdom. Now, comes the question as to what is perfect love? Perfect Love is understanding Jesus and his commandments and eventually adhering to his commandments. When we fear the Lord, we start a journey with him towards heaven because we understand his power. His capability to destroy as he is the creator of everything, his overwhelming love and mercy for us as he gave his only son to us for the atonement of our sins. And when we accept him graciously for his love and compassion for us, that time all our fear is being thrown out because the definition of true love says that we would adhere and obey everything of the one we love; and keeping the definition in mind our fear abandons us and let us live freely in Lord. Perfect Love in Lord will give you peace and satisfaction, it will give you hope and faith, it will give you the reason to live.
However, because Jesus loves us so much, we should not become like brats. We shouldn’t take his love and mercy for granted as Jesus wants us to work day in and day out for achieving his perfect love by adhering to his commandments and hating evil.

Romans 12:9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
The Bible clearly tells us to hate what is evil. Unless and until we hate evil how would we go away from it? We have to be closer to Jesus every day to savor his love. The reward for the sincerity of perfect love that we show in Jesus is the eternal life that we would get with him. Love is like a medicine which Lord has given to humans. Our soul which has been corrupted by jealousy, vanity, anger, depression, lust, covetousness, etc can only be healed through loving each other in Jesus. Our demeanor should be self-effacing. With love in Jesus and loving people around us, we not only win hearts but also win the ultimate battle with Satan. And that is why Jesus gave his second commandment in New Testament -

Mark 12:31
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
With this Jesus wants to convey us that we should love our “neighbor”; not literally neighbor (of course we have to love our immediate neighbor as well) only but entire human race as such. When we love our family members, friends, colleagues, known to people and also a stranger, Life becomes completely different. Our perspective of life changes for better. Our perception towards life becomes positive instead of becoming negative. We start valuing people which, is worthwhile a change in itself inculcated in our thought process only through the perfect love of Jesus. Hatred only brings anguish in our heart. Accepting that pain because of hatred is one of the worst perils which we could tolerate knowing the solution beforehand. Love is not always easy as it seems and isn’t convenient either; however, Love is always quintessentially right. Since Love is inspired by Lord so it definitely brings out the best in us. It transpires the kindness and mercy deep routed in us which got overshadowed due to corruption and self-centrism.
We all have been blessed with inherent love from Lord; all we need to do is to sharpen in with regular prayers to Jesus and a thorough study of God’s word. The scriptures help us to break our discourteous heart into a humble and docile heart. It teaches us the importance of Love for God and humans. It not only teaches us the importance but also shows us practically as to how Love can win souls for Jesus and also for humanity.

Galatians 6:9
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Whether we going through a bad patch or good times never cease to love. Keep on loving Jesus and all the people around us with unmalicious and non-expectant heart. Eventually, our love will bring us closer to Jesus and help us to lead a life which would be pleasing in Lord’s eye. Never love for hatred as the Satan did by beguiling Eve as a serpent to sin against God. Always keep the parameters of love keeping Jesus as the benchmark. Don’t ask or expect love which has benefits involved. The Bible warns us against that kind of love which is corrupted by Satan.

2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them.
Satan has been referred to as the god of this world and the Bible warns against his corrupted love. The Gospel of Jesus is the true love. Love ushered to us by Jesus is the true and pure love.
If Jesus has blessed us with materialistic possessions and if we are capable of helping a poor who need it then it becomes our duty and responsibility to help him. Because that is the pure and true love which Jesus taught us.

1 John 3:17
But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
If we are proficient enough to help a person and deliberately not helping him, the Bible clearly tells us that how can the love of the God reside in him. That person who isn’t helping the needy is being governed not by love of Jesus but by Satan; who has corrupted his mind to an extend where his frugality has surpassed all levels of greediness. A helpful person is being valued over a miser person. Our real wealth is stored in heaven and not on earth. That wealth which is stored in heaven is perennial but the wealth stored and earned on earth is perishable. And the currency used in heaven is Love and Faith. If we promulgate love we will receive love not only here but also in heaven.

Matthews 6:19-20
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
Jesus love for humans was so abundant that he forgot the pain that he went through; commonly known as “The Passion of Jesus Christ”. His body was being tormented but still, his love for humans never faded. And that’s why when he was on cross he prayed to Heavenly Father to forgive the mankind.

Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots.
Jesus love is pure, perfect and unconditional for mankind. His love is an example for us to follow. His love is greater than what we can ever imagine. However, to experience and understand his love we must surrender our heart, mind, and soul to him because until then the vanity, ego, and pride inside us won’t allow us to taste his love.
With love comes the respect and honor. The Bible also tells us to honor each other, in fact through the love of Jesus we should respect and give him honor beyond one’s expectations.

Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;
So, remember to humble your heart to show our love and affection, love each other immensely as brothers and sisters in Jesus and remember to forgive each other so that we can experience the true Love of Jesus.

War for attaining Peace/Eternal Life

Christianity revolves around the love of Jesus onto humans. If that is the case then why generally in every sermon we get to hear war/fight against Satan/devil? The simple answer to this question is - As Jesus defeated the devil, who was tempting Lord after 40 days of fasting to surrender to him; similarly, we are being tempted by Satan on daily basis.

Matthew 4:1-11
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

This is a fantastic anecdote of Jesus, where we get the clear message that when Satan did the daredevil act of tempting Jesus then who are we to escape his vicious game plan. That is why we are in constant war with Satan to kick him out of our lives and heart and thoughts. This war is important to stay close and always in the vicinity with God. Our ultimate goal is to have a strong relationship with the Lord and making sure that our life is a pleasing life in his eyes. Satan’s main weapons in the war are the temptation, jealousy, pride, ego, material possession and hatred whereas our weapons in this war are Faith in Jesus, prayers and the Word of God i.e. the Bible. These three weapons we possess can easily overpower the enemy in no time provided we know which weapon to use and when to use. For the same as an army of any country does, so should we do our daily drillings. We should never leave our thoughts unguarded as Satan is vigilant enough to catch us off guard. It’s a perpetual battle which if not won, the consequences would leave us in the hell.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Temptation presented by Satan should be resisted to ameliorate our life. As the saying goes “No pain, No gain”. The resistance we give by not falling into the temptation requires tremendous faith, courage, and determination. If it would have been so simple than everybody would have been able to achieve the feet. Generally, we all are phlegmatic when it comes to spiritual awakening and spiritual battles. We hardly give any competition to Satan and that’s why we see that the world is getting corrupted. There is absolutely no harm is acquiring money, materialistic valuables, and luxuries in life, but one should be aware of the threat attached to it and also the sins we get accounted for enroute achieving the sadistic pleasures of life. So, the question arises whether or not to acquire them? The answer to this question lies in the path - whether the road map we are following to reach our dreams is in adherence with the Lord’s wish or not. If the answer is yes then we should go all out and give our best to reach it because Lord’s blessing is upon it but if the answer is No, we shouldn’t even dare to think of going in that direction as a dangerous journey would be awaiting us.
So, what is this eternal life that the Bible talks about of which our life revolves around?

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
That’s how Jesus Christ himself has defined what is eternal life. Knowing our heavenly father and his son Jesus which he gave for the atonement of our sins. There is no definition beyond these words from Jesus himself. When we would know our heavenly Father and his Son Jesus we would come to know of the love and kindness and mercy they have bestowed upon us. We would come to know the war with Satan that we go through on regular basis. We would come to know that by following Jesus commandments only we could book a berth in heaven which ultimately would give is the eternal life.
So, to have a place in heaven with Jesus we need to build on our faith in him on daily basis and also we should fight our war with Satan on the daily basis who would throw all his options wide open in front of us.

The Bible talks about raging this deadly war and guides us as to how should we be prepared -

Ephesians 6:13-18
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all , to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
This is how we should be ready to go on the battlefield. Our daily life is a battle field and we should take care that we have approached it with all the precautions and weapons required to fight the war. We need to be loaded with ammunition and should be vigilant as our enemy is a shrewd enemy.

1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Unlike our Lord; he is merciless and ruthless; all he wants is to create a chasm between God and humans. Always, remember that faith in Jesus will overtake you of your afflictions. Don’t get lost in the constant war that we have with Satan because life in Jesus is far more valuable and wonderful than life without Jesus. Therefore, as the Bible says wear your armory of faith, prayer, and scriptures and defeat the enemy to have an everlasting life in heaven with Jesus.

What is Faith?

John 3:12
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
All Jesus wants from us is to keep unequivocal faith in Him. In the Bible many times he says things in parables so that we could understand the context of his preaching. He talks about having faith and even compares it with the size of a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place: and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
With this verse what Jesus is trying to convey us is; we should trust him and have faith in him even if it is as small as a mustard seed but with all our heart. Generally, we say that yes we believe in him and trust him but in our prayers, we always attach “If” or “If you can” and in our hearts we keep if not big then slightest of doubts that if it doesn’t happen then what will we do.
But we should understand one thing that he can do anything.
Faith is all about keeping our complete trust and not questioning. Faith is about knowing that he can do anything to everything. Faith is about not having doubt as small as a mustard seed. Faith is about surrendering our soul. That is the kind of Faith Jesus expects from us to keep.
When the times are tough it’s imperative to keep the faith and not surrender in the hands of Satan however it is all the more important to keep faith intact when times are good because that is the time when we can actually become prey to Satan. Our vanity is at its peak when success is touching us, however, one should not forget that the success is because of Jesus and all the glory must be given to him rather than taking the credit ourselves. Extirpate the vanity inside us. Satan’s biggest snare is vanity. Faith is an antidote for vanity. With faith in Jesus, we can win the world and have a peaceful mind.

John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
With vanity comes jealousy and with jealousy comes hatred and with hatred, in our hearts, we defy Jesus commandment.

John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Faith in Jesus is like breaking free of the snare that Satan has for us. It is like a daily medicine which our mind, body, and soul require to function correctly. Consider this - vanity is like dreadful diabetes that’s ruining our body from inside on daily basis. It’s like a slow poison that deteriorates our body parts. But faith acts like a healer; whatever deterioration vanity does faith in Jesus fixes it. Faith in Lord has miraculous powers to turn our lives from worse to good and from good to best and from best to amazing.

Isaiah 46:4
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Our Lord will carry us till the end because he is the one who has created us (Genesis 1:27). Our faithful prayers have powers which would accomplish things seemingly impossible to a non- believer.

Doubt see the obstacle,
Faith sees the way!
Doubt sees the darkest night,
Faith sees the day!
Doubt dreads to take a step
Faith soars on high;
Doubt questions, “who believes?”
Faith answers “I”

- Author unknown

Doubt only creates a void between us and God. Faith is like a bridge between us and God. The bridge helps us to cross the obstacle named satan. Faith is not only hoping for the best but believing that best would happen. A man in faith should act as if he has already been granted what he has asked from Jesus.
Faith always needs to sharpen and we should strive to improvise on our faith in Lord. For the same; the most simple and effective way is by hearing, reading and understanding the word of God. More time you give in decoding the Bible; more zealous you would become in your faith towards Jesus. And the more zealous you are in Jesus, simpler your life would become. A docile man having faith in Jesus is what your aim in earthly life should be. The Bible is like a road map for humans by the Lord. We should suffice our souls with the scriptures day in and out through studying, understanding and meditating on them.
However, one should also know that whosoever walks in faith; his faith will be tested. He should make sure not to become a prey in the pitfall set up by Satan for us.

Faith Oh Faith;
Let me taste you
And once I taste you I will never forgo you;
Doubt Oh Doubt;
Stay out of my house (heart),
And if you try to enter,
Faith will shout.
- (Your's Truly)

Faith is like a lighthouse in midst of sea. Sea is like atrocities, pain, vanity, doubts and covets surrounding us and faith in all these problems keep on reminding us that Jesus is with us “come what may”; so like a lighthouse guides a ship, so does faith. It will guide us through the tribulations we face.

True Discipleship

                                   

Who were Jesus disciples? Were they 12 in number or were they all who believed in him. Can we be termed as disciples of Jesus or us merely followers of Jesus? Do we have in us the determination and the zeal and the passion for taking up our cross and saying to God that we are your disciples? Are we ready to face the challenges from Satan, yet be focused on Jesus? One thing is certain when we become followers and disciples of Jesus; we would be tempted and we will get numerous escape routes to fall back and turn our back on Jesus.
A true disciple is like a true patriotic soldier who fights his enemy till the end but doesn’t succumb to the adverse conditions surrounding him simply because he keeps his “Country” first. A true disciple would keep Jesus first even though his battle with Satan continues in the day to day life.
What is the use of being a phlegmatic follower, who doesn’t have the passion and zeal to follow Jesus? It’s a waste of time and energy, simply because until the time your passion for Christ doesn’t outshine lethargy to know him you won’t be able to follow his commandments. The Bible talks about keeping God as our priority and not the second option.

Luke 9 :57-62
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

On carefully reading and analyzing what Jesus meant through these verses; we can conclude few things -

Through the first person, Jesus was trying to tell us that he had no permanent place to live. He was more like a nomad, traveling from one place to another for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. Since he was living like that he expected his true disciples to follow the same path. That doesn’t mean that the disciples shouldn’t have homes or they should live like nomads, but what Jesus meant was that we should be too attached to our houses or a particular place. If our mission is to spread his Word then we must be willing to stay at any place. We shouldn’t expect a luxurious place or a house full of modern amenities while we have undertaken the task of spreading the good news.


Through second person Jesus is telling us that following him should be the priority of humans. Whatever work is to be done, it can be done later but our main goal should be to give our maximum time to our Lord. Jesus should be pre-eminence in our life. In this example, Jesus clearly asks the son to come and follow him (What a privilege that son got), but instead of just leaving everything and following Jesus he replied that he would rather bury the dead body of his father then he would join him. To a worldly person that may seem perfectly justifiable reply however it’s not when we are serving Jesus. God wants our 100% commitment and dedication for this work then only we could call ourselves disciples of Jesus in a true sense. Jesus also addressed people who didn’t believe in him as “dead”. When he said “Let the dead bury their dead”; he pointed out towards people who still didn’t believe in him and would not have an eternal life which can only be achieved through Jesus.
Through the third person, Jesus is trying to convey that there is no need to take drums and beat them telling to everyone that you are a disciple of Jesus. Sounds, a bit strange right! Because elsewhere in the Bible it’s written to go and spread the good news.

Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creation.
Well, it is our duty and responsibility to spread the Gospel, however, we needn’t take permission for following Jesus and we needn’t go haywire telling everyone that we have started following Jesus. Let people know that we are followers of Jesus through our actions and behavior. Accepting Jesus as our savior is one of the most diligent decisions in life as the real test of a person starts after accepting him. That’s why Jesus addressed in the verse that people who are not determined enough to follow Him they have no place in his Kingdom.
Being his follower is not something which should be seen as fashion or something of showbiz but it’s the passion and zeal inside you which should drive you towards the truth that Jesus is our savior and he died because we sinned. His death was a redemption for us from our sins.
Our passion for Jesus must be so spellbound that we shouldn’t be thinking of anything else apart from doing things which are pleasing to God. Once we decide to pick up our cross and follow Jesus then nothing should come in between our journey till heaven. Yes, our goal should be in heaven with Jesus and that can happen only through him.
One should always remember that our Lord and anything relating to Jesus is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly in any way. Following him and his commandments is a privilege and should be treated in the same way. When it comes to walking in and walking with Jesus we just need to be like small kids; who hold their parent's hand and walk along with them keeping their complete trust on them. Jesus wants us to keep complete trust and faith on him and rest he says that whatever we ask in his name to our heavenly Father; he would grant us.

John 16: 23
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Have you ever thought as to why Jesus told us to pray in his name to our Heavenly Father? The answer to this question lies in the Bible itself -

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
When God loves us this much that he gave his only Son as an atonement for our sins then why wouldn’t he grant our wishes in Jesus mighty and loving name? An important point to remember is praying in accordance to the Bible and God’s desire. So, as a true disciple, our first and foremost duty is to follow Jesus with zeal and without any excuses and to pray in Jesus name. That’s how we will slowly become a true disciple of Jesus.

The Soul of Life

 

Book of John starts with the most important answer for scientifically inclined human beings. Humans who are more magnetized towards scientific approach tend to live in a delusion that they have a pragmatic view towards life. Whereas, the fact of the matter is; they simply complex their unproven and “waste of time” theories by trying to get too deep into life and how life deals with humans. 

1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man receiveth, not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV)
To put this in simple words, until the time a person isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit he won’t be able to understand things created by the God.


John 1:3
All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (KJV)

The Bible clearly tells us how the universe and the earth and the planets and everything from mountains to river to humans were being created. Then why to waste our precious time and energy in trying to find out how life began. Instead, put that time and brain in understanding the Word which God has instructed us to follow, i.e. The Bible.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (KJV)
The word of the God is from the very beginning. That’s why because of devil’s plan sometimes if we don’t give proper time and attention and we get estranged from the Word of God, i.e. The Bible, however, to suffice our spiritual life and soul we need guidance and instructions which can only be acquired through the regular and thorough reading of the Bible. A crestfallen person can spend a fortune on medicines and for consulting doctor but if he gives ample amount of time in reading the Bible and understanding the Word his negative emotions and feeling would be far off from him.

Our nefarious attitude, which is being influenced by Satan provokes us to flout against the God. But with uncompromising love for Jesus, we can easily extirpate the sinful nature. We have heard “our God is a loving, kind-hearted and merciful God” so many times, but the fundamental question remains the same - Have we ever experienced his loving, kind and merciful nature? The answer to this question rests on one simple thing - OUR OUTLOOK.

If we keep our focus on what we have attained in life and what we have inherited and blessed we would never question God or his existence. However, if our focus is on the things which weren’t meant for us then there is every possibility that we may end up having a confused Faith or simply irresolute Faith.

John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (KJV)
With dawn, the birds start chirping and become happy. Why they become happy and joyful? The answer to this question is because they feel positivity inside them with the light shining and overshadowing darkness. Similarly, when we start believing in Jesus and trusting his will for us, our internal self-becomes happy and joyous. Our spirit experiences the power of the Holy Spirit and the Love of Jesus. In a sense, we come out of darkness, i.e. the negativity which engulfs us, and we start looking at our life enthusiastically.
Depression is a disease which is being deemed more dangerous than Cancer or AIDS. With the latter, a person dies in a stipulated period of time but with the former, a person dies hourly, daily and weekly. Such has been the impact of depression that many families broke, many people committed suicide, hatred is on the constant rise yet hitherto there has been no complete medical solution for this disease. The one and only solution to this life-destroying disease is the spiritual enhancement of a person through Faith in Jesus. Apart from this, there is no complete solution to this, albeit doctors try to fix the disease by some medicines which would give relief for a short period of time but nothing in medical science for a complete solution.
This brings us to an important question - What causes Depression? If you try to find this on the internet you will probably get so many reasons that eventually you will lose track of all the reasons. To understand this tortuous sickness, we need to know the genesis of this sickness. Depression happens because of only two reasons - 1. Hatred and 2. The agony of failure or losing someone and not achieving or succeeding in something.

John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
This is the best possible medicine for curing a deadly disease like depression. How did Jesus love us - His love was uncompromising and unbiased, his love was equal for all, his love had no expectations, his love was like no one else’s, his love was limitless and his love had compassion for others. And that is what Jesus wants from us too, Love one another as he loves us.
The Bible gives us the example of faith which can be as small as a mustard seed. However, when that faith starts growing up it becomes as big as a mustard tree in the garden.

Matthew 13:31-32
31. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. (KJV)
We all go through ups and downs in our life. But the one who keeps his faith intact is a winner in the true sense because not only he finds the courage to fight the lows but he finds a place in heaven with Jesus. Many say that in adversities our Faith is tested but in reality, faith is never tested, it’s always our outlook towards God that is being tested. Remember, God, listens to us every time, however his wish and will prevails which we should acknowledge and accept. In the book of John, it’s written that the world did not recognize Jesus.

John 1:10
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (KJV)
With Jesus everything is possible. This disease “Depression” can’t stand in front of Jesus even for a second however it’s us who allow Depression to not only take over us but govern us. We merely become puppet at devil’s hand. That is why to defeat Satan, keeping Faith in Jesus and nurturing it is of utmost importance. As a human being, we would often be tested, tempted and compelled to conceive that God doesn’t exist or God doesn’t listen to us. We have to be docile while we decode the abundance of knowledge stored in the Bible. That brings us to a question as to how could we be humble, patient and receptive towards God’s Word and His Wisdom and His plans? Answer to this questions is stated in the Bible -

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Ask God for his knowledge, wisdom, and plans liberally in Prayers. He will suffice our spiritual soul with everything in abundance. Prayers should be done with paramount Faith in Jesus and with an inclination for following his commandments and desires. As mentioned earlier that one of the problems for getting depression is the frustration that creeps in because our wish doesn’t prevail. However, when we get educated enough through the Bible we would understand that it is in our best interest that God’s desire prevails and fulfilled through us.

Proverbs 19:21
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Once we understand and embrace the fact that when His desires prevail over our wishes our overall life ameliorates. That’s why the Bible is such an important tool not only for salvation but for our day to day life. It keeps us motivated enough to understand that God’s plans and desires are the best plans and desires for our life, it makes us understand the importance of keeping our faith steadfast and it suffices our spiritual soul with daily food.