Daily Thought – Hand of the LORD
The hand of the LORD my God was on me; I took courage and gathered Ezra 7:28
Praising: Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, Ezra 7:27a. Ezra started giving his testimony by giving praise to the Lord. Do we praise the Lord for what he has done, or are we lost in present challenges. Praising is power.
Testifying: Who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me .. Ezra 7:28b Ezra’s testifies that Lord changed the king’s heart favourable to God’s children. Trust in the Lord, surround us with love and faithfulness, word says Lord will give us favour from God and man.
Confidence: Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me. Ezra 7:28 a. Ezra was sure that the hand of the Lord was with him. Are we sure we have Lord on our side? Are we sure Lord is in control of our situation? Why are we then scared of our situations?
Action: I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:28b. Ezra being sure of Lord’s companionship, He took courage and gathered people and went forward to build the temple. Are we in standstill situation or are we moving forward to do God’s will to build his kingdom.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you, who gave me favour, I praise because your hand is upon me Lord. I will work by your help. Amen.
Daily Thought – Healing …
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely Hosea 14:4
In this portion Lord is making a promise of healing the backsliding of His people. What is backsliding? When Lord children who received Jesus as their saviour, if they set things of the world as more important than Jesus, they actually started to backslide. Word says “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD” 1 Kings 11:9 is our heart focussed on Jesus or of things of the world
Lord is warning, “But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don’t have as much love as you used to.” Rev 2:4. Do we love our Lord with all our heart? Do we realize we serve an awesome God? Do we fear him? Lord rebuked “your backsliding will rebuke you.. you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me”. Jer 2:19. Where is the first love, where is true reverence?
Today Lord is calling “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” Jer 3:22. Let us run to the throne of grace. For our Lord promised, that He will heal our backsliding and love us freely.
Prayer: Lord, forgive my backsliding, cleanse me, and create in me a new heart that I may worship you. I will love you freely and live in true fear of the Almighty. Amen.
Daily Thought – Battle ahead
Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s 2 Chro 20:15
Unexpected Reward from CEO along with easy B1 Visa approval
Dear Friends in Christ, I work for a MNC in Chennai. I had this desire to visit USA at least once. In 2014, I had the opportunity to travel but that was stalled due to budget issues. Again, towards the end of 2014, I was offered an opportunity to travel for 6 months but I had to reject it since my wife was conceived for the second time, the first being a miscarriage. I took this tough call after Jesus prompted me to do so during a fellowship meeting at Church. So now, the management was not happy with my decision, rightly so, because no one ever rejects offer to travel to USA! I just cannot ask for another opportunity.
I just prayed to Jesus to lead me and continued with my work.
You must have heard about CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility in your organizations. Similarly, our organization had one too. I was just an ordinary volunteer. I did what I can during my spare time and also encouraged many volunteers to give their time back to the community at large.
In Oct 2016, I got an email stating that I had won the Global Volunteer Award and a citation would be given to me by the CEO of the company in the headquarters in NYC. Initially I thought this was not going to happen because I had to be in USA by December 1st week and I did not have B1/B2 visa required for the travel. So, the company processed the VISA and I was all set for the VISA interview. Remember those were “Trump” days and B1 visas were rejected very frequently unless it was for a business purpose that cannot be avoided. The VISA desk in my office was helping me prepare for the interview. They said “Don’t tell anything about the award. Just tell them that you are going for a business meeting”. This did not go well with me. I decided if I had to go, I will tell the truth and go. The only purpose was to meet the CEO and receive the award.
So, the interview day had come and I was lined up before the counter. Many B1/B2 visas were rejected that day. I just hoped in Jesus. My turn came up. The US VISA representative quizzed me about the purpose of my visit. I instantly told him that I’m getting and award from the CEO of my company so my presence is required there. The VISA representative congratulated me and asked a series of other questions related to my work, family and salary. He took a blue form (221g I guess). This form was being handed over to the rejected candidates for any kind of clarification. I just cannot afford this because there would be a delay in VISA stamping. He was about to hand over the form to me but suddenly took it back saying he needed to hold my passport. He did not verify even one of the documents I had taken with me. I took leave but was totally confused whether he will approve the VISA.
Jesus told me very clearly. It is HE who approves the travel not the VISA guys!
As assured by my God, I received the stamping in the next 2 days. I was so thrilled I shared with all my friends, relatives, my fellowship members and church. The travel was taken care entirely by my company and I was privileged to travel in BUSINESS CLASS in Qatar Airways! Many who heard this were so amazed at what Jesus was doing in my life.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)
Yes, it’s Jesus who did this and I had a safe and comfortable journey.
I had the unique opportunity to meet the CEO of my company along with the board members. In fact I had the opportunity to meet my US counterparts in New Jersey and also my relatives in Pennsylvania and Baltimore. The entire journey was like a dream come true and I truly thank JESUS for his blessings.
This is a testimony from an IT employee working in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Daily Thought – When changes happen
Word: Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:4
Thought: We are troubled sometimes when changes happen and are not sure what will happen next. For example recently the CEO of my region resigned and everyone was alarmed because he was a people’s man, but we should remember that it is He who has sustained us through men and not man. This is the word which we see in posters, we need to clear on this context – it came through Moses when he was moving out handing over to Joshua. Moses lead the people for 40 long years and the people went to Moses for everything and satisfy their needs and now when they were to go to the next level without Moses, probably people were now afraid, so the word of God comes to remind them that is was the Lord who guided them through Moses and not Moses himself. Let us remember clearly that when people change, when situations change, it is the Lord who makes it happen and let us not be afraid of what will happen. We might have people move out or change, we might be changed to a different work, transferred to a different place – let us always remember that it is the Lord who was guiding us in the current situation and it is God who is moving us to the new situation and He will continue to abide with you for He will never leave us or forsake whether it be in the mountains or valleys, as the psalmist says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” – Let us always be strong and good courage whenever changes happen because the Lord is with us and He will sustain us and this will help us be a testimony for Him in the time of changes.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Help me to be strong and of good courage in times of changes, since you are with me always till the end of times. Let me not lean on people and situations, but lean on you that the changes just pass by as nothing happened. Amen.