Peter & John – THEN & NOW

THEN : A lame from birth sat beside the Beautiful Gate of the temple of God begging for alms. He then saw two people named Peter and John walking towards the temple. The lame man asked them for alms when Peter replied ‘I have no silver or gold but I have the name of the Lord Jesus Christ ‘ and just that moment the lame leaped and walked praising God.

Disciples’ prime motto THEN : Build the Kingdom of God. No wealth of the world, but wealthy in Spirit.

NOW : A lame from birth sat beside the temple of God begging for alms. He then saw two men getting down from a Rolls Royce car with gold chains hung around their necks, leather bags filled with cash and silk embroidered clothes – it is the present day Peter and John . The lame man asked them for alms when the two men started preaching that “the more you give the more you will receive “. Then they took the lame man’s alms promising him that they will pray for him and left. Lame man remained to be lame and impoverished!! Peters and Johns became richer and more powerful!!

Disciples (Namesake) prime motto NOW : Build multi storied houses and Churches. Increase wealth of the world, totally forget about the Word of God and their co-believers.

Our God is a ‘Game Changer’! Can we be?

“I am doing a new thing!” We all know, believe, and have experienced that our God can turnaround hopeless situations. He can make a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. But can we change situations to have positive outcomes? God wants us to be a game changer!

In the Word of God, we see many who were non-prominent but made crucial moves that impacted the outcomes.

The chief butler in Genesis chapter 41 who is introducing Joseph to Pharoah reformed Pharoah’s troubled spirit to understand the spirit of God, (“can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?”), which led to Joseph’s blessings. In Exodus chapter 2 the daughter of Pharoah who had compassion on baby Moses, who in fact named him and raised him as son, (she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water), ultimately presented a leader for Israelites. Jethro in Exodus chapter 18 shows how to give wise counsel. He has provided leadership insights to Moses, (“every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge”), and made his life easier. The Saul’s servant who recommended David to Saul in 1st Samuel chapter 16, (“he is skilful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him”), helped Saul to feel refreshed and to get relieved from the evil spirit. In Esther Chapter 4 we see words of Mordecai (“who knows whether you were brought into the kingdom for such a time as this?”), which made Esther realize her incredible destiny which in turn changed the destiny of a nation. And in Gospel we see the thief on the cross who believed Jesus at the last moment of his life and was blessed to receive the eternity with God, (“truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”).

Most of the above Bible characters are not eminent but all of them are game changers. By their natural but powerful and timely moves they handled and utilized the situations that they have come across gracefully in a blessed manner. Like the chief butler we can introduce God or men of God to those who are troubled in spirit around us which will ultimately result in blessing of many, have a compassionate heart for others like the daughter of Pharoah so as to save those who are appointed to death, like Jethro let us give wise counsel to those struggling to manage various situations and make their life easier, let us be able to understand people and make sound recommendations in times of need like the Saul’s servant so as to cast out evil spirit from many, speak words like Mordecai that pours courage into others to do the seemingly impossible and like the thief on the cross by trusting and believing Jesus and taking right decisions at the right time let us save and guard our own lives to enjoy the eternal life with our Saviour and Master.

As a child of God, each moment we are playing in God’s team, He wants us to give our best game following the rules in the Word of God and make a difference. To be a game changer, we should leave normalcy, step out of our comfort zone, and run for God. In this game we will often be challenged to compromise our Christian convictions, but we can stand before the world and make our moves boldly that glorifies Christ. Yes, our God can dramatically change desperate situations and its outcomes, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we also can be game changers and impact our lives as well as the life of others to finally receive the unfading crown of glory!

Instrument of God

Once upon a time there were two sisters
One, elder sister and one young sister
Once, the younger sister’s face was pale, shoulders hunched and looking down.

The elder sister asked, “Tell me, what had happened…your big sister is here to listen, why bear alone with tears glistened? ”

The younger sister said, ” I practiced singing the song for church but what if I mess up the words?
Like everyone, beautifully I want to sing
But what if I mess up, what shall others think?”

Elder sister smiled and replied, “Let’s pray and God shall make a way!”

And so the duo prayed with hearts contrite,
Sang songs glorifying God, the true Light,
The Bible, they opened, Numbers 20 greeted their sight.

They saw how Israel’s children
Were in the wilderness of Zin
Very thirsty, they were for water they were complaining.

They saw how God told Moses to speak to the rock
But Moses being frustrated from the people, only struck the rod on the rock

They saw how God told Moses, that because Moses didn’t believe to hallow
To the promised land Moses can’t follow.

“Aw, that’s sad,” the younger one said.
The elder one thought out loud, “God wanted simple trust and obedience
But Moses in his annoyance thought of the miracle as a performance
While God sent Moses to be his instrument ”

“Oh!”, the little one exclaimed
“Can we be God’s instruments too? Is it our promise to claim?”

The elder sister beamed,” yes indeed! As we trust and obey in what he has called us to do as his instruments,
Lesser the worrisome thoughts of performance!”

The younger one smiled and clapped in glee. “You’re right big sis, God did show me a way out in this!”

In the church, the younger one sang with glad heart
The words of the song touching all hearts and her heart
And she rejoiced in being his instrument in her heart
And as time grew she spread His songs to those near and far apart.