Dad

God doesn't need any king, prophet or the priest. A father is every thing. If every father takes care of his family right way, the whole world will go in peace. A king partially resembles God, a prophet partially resembles God and a priest partially resembles God. But a father can resemble God to the final extent. That is why we needed Jesus who had king, prophet and priest in him to resemble God the Father.

The anointing of a king can cease, the anointing of a prophet can cease and the anointing of a priest can cease but the anointing of a father will never cease, and a father is a father always. When I offend my dad, it actually offends the Father in heaven.

God made fathers. He believed them. If they could take care of their houses well, the whole world can be fine. But they failed, so floods came. What was the job of a DAD?

1. Dominion
2. Assurance
3. Divinity

After the floods, since they failed, God divided their job and made this job as three offices and gave it to the kings, prophets and priests. When Moses felt it was difficult to rule, God distributed the spirit on Moses to the 70 leaders. Ruling is a father's nature.1Tim. 3:4-5. Speaking future is a father's nature. And paying for children's mistake is also a father's nature. Job 1:5. Ultimately king-prophet-priest is his nature.

Family needs to be restored before the kingdom is restored. Mal. 4:6. Christians look for business principles in the bible rather than family principles. It is because they are more concerned of their own kingdom than the kingdom of God.

When Abraham was in Ur, God told Abraham to leave his people but not his father. Act. 7:3. So he took his father Terah with him to Haran. After his father died God appeared to him again and told him to leave his father's house. Gen. 12:1.

A disciple came to Jesus and asked if he could go to his father and bury him and come back. I don't know if his father was actually dead or he does mean that he wants to go and stay with his dad until his death. Jesus didn't say no. Or may be Jesus does mean a no. Whatever it is a "disciple" is a disciple. He was not a first admission to ask like Elisha asked Elijah. A disciple has been there and now he cannot turn back after laying hand on a plow. Luke 9:62

I leave my parents to be a part of building the  kingdom of God. But if leaving parents is the kingdom of God, then I don't want such a kingdom, because I miss my God the Father there.

Is grace an excuse?

A man is working as a police. He has two sons. Older one is a kind of undisciplined and younger one is prudent.The older one used to borrow things and never return. He take things from shops and never pay money. If they would try to resist him, he would mention that his dad is a police man. Those people don't want to get into any risk so they stop resisting him. Younger one said, "brother this is not good. You are using dad's name for defending your bad things." But he never listened to his younger brother.

One day the younger one went to the bank to try a loan. They asked him  how he is going to pay since they need some government employee to give surety. Then the younger son said, "my dad is a police man." Bank people said yes to him.

After he had returned home, he said every thing to his mom. The older son heard this and came and said, "my dear younger brother, have you not used dad's name to defend yourself?"

The younger brother replied, "brother, it is not called defending, it is called depending."

God sent grace to depend on it rather than to use it to defend your sins. Grace makes you okay, it doesn't mean it's okay to sin.

Miracles zone to Movement zone

It was raining. A man's car was struck in a pond. He tried a lot. He could not move. He said, "Lord help  me." Then he heard a sound. A crane, which can lift a fallen vehicle was going on the road. He praised God and shouted. The crane guy saw him and came to see the situation. He brought the crane and lifted the car gently and placed it back on the road. Then left. Man of the car is happy. He praised God who did this miracle.

After a while he heard a voice saying, "move, move to Hyderabad city." Then he started to look around. He put his face out side of the window  and looked back and forth. His face sounds like he did not find what he is looking for. Then Lord said again, "what are you looking for?" Then the man answered, "Lord, the crane you sent was able to lift my car and put it on the road again. And the crane you are going to send to lift my car and put  me in Hyderabad must be bigger than this. I could not find any sound of crane coming"

This man is still looking  for a miracle when he is actually  able to drive to Hyderabad.

There was an another man. Few days after the Israelites finally came into the promised land, he approached Moses and said, "I don't think you are praying enough Moses. I don't see any manna now. It seems you are getting lazy"

Moses replied, "Go and sow your seed in the ground. Take the outcome. Now we have moved from miracle zone to the movement zone." Who is lazy? Moses or this man?

I agree that we still need miracles in this movement zone. These miracles are not for those who find their comfort in desert, and lazy.

Spy it

"Why should we spy out our own land which God has promised us?", Israelites questioned themselves.

Every promise is likely to be occupied before you take it. We have an enemy. 

Spy it before you take it that you may not fell into the trap in your own land. 

Ex. 28:1-4 Faithful God

"Aaron, Aaron!" 

Aaron heard the voice and got up from sleep. "who is this?" he asked.

"this is me, Mr. Satan"

"Oh, what is it?" Aaron asked.

"I got a doubt Aaron. Can i ask?" Satan asked.

"Yes, you can ask", Aaron replied.

Satan asked, "Did Moses had a call in his life? I mean did God call him to serve him?"

"ha ha ha" Aaron laughed. He said, "you don't know the story? He saw the Lord in a bush. God called him and sent him. He saw the Lord and he speaks with him face to face. Nobody can doubt it. We have lot of proofs."

"Oh ok, i dont know that. Now, i have an another question. Shall i ask?"

"Yes you can ask. I can easily answer your stupid questions" Aaron replied

"My question is, do you have a call?" Devil asked.

"Yes, I have a call. hmmm... yes i do have a call." Aaron replied

"Did God call you from a bush? Did you hear his voice in a dream or a vision calling you to serve him?"

Aaron said, "hmm... No... but Moses told me that God told him to be his mouth because I can speak good. I think its.. its my call..."

Devil replied, "So you THINK that it is your call. So you dont have any proofs that God called you. So... ok. I got to believe this. Ok i will do?"

"Actually... God's words are put in my mouth" Aaron replied but it seems that devil already left.

Aaron kept silent. Aaron could not sleep well that night. When he got up in the morning, Moses was ready to go. Moses said, "brother, Aaron. get ready we need to go"

Aaron replied, "yes i am getting ready. you just go on. I will meet you on the way."

Aaron looked through the doors and saw that Moses was walking through the tents and the people standing with respect and saluting him. Aaron got ready. He made some extra furnishing to his beard. He came out to walk through the tents. No one is standing. But he felt people are standing behind him after he passed over them. He wanted to tell them that its okay, no need to stand. He turned back to tell them. When he turned back, he found that Miriam was coming. People are standing to greet her. It was humiliating. These people are common people. They really dont know my talents  He said to a man standing next to him, "I am going out. You know i have to catch Moses. I have to speak for him. He cannot speak for himself you know."

Then the next person to Aaron replied, "yes. But you got to wait until he speaks. You cannot speak until he speaks. You really have great brothers and sisters. Miriam is a prophetess and Moses is a great leader."

Aaron smiled and said, "yes, yes i have a great family" Now Aaron thought, if Moses is a leader and Miriam is a prophetess, then what is me? What is my title? Do i really have a call?"

There came day. Someone knocked the door. Aaron opened the door. Moses was standing at the door. "Hi Moses, how are you?"

"I am fine. I came to tell you that God wants you to come up to the hill."

"Come up to the hill?"

"Yes, and you need to come along with your two sons, Nadab and Abihu. I will be waiting there. I got to go" Saying this Moses left.

Aaron was very happy. He said to himself, Its not just me. "Nadab! hey, Abihu! get ready, we need to go up the holy mountain."

Eleazar and Ithamar came to Aaron and said, "are we also coming dad?"

"No, only Nadab and Abihu."

He went up along with his two sons. He came down along with his two sons. He said to himself, "what is my call. Now what is the call of my sons?"

Few days later, someone knocked the door. Aaron opened the door. He saw someone. That someone said to Aaron, "Moses wants to see you. He said that you bring all your four sons."

"Why", Aaron said to himself. He took all his sons and went to Moses.

When he met Moses, Moses smiled and said, "Before God told me to tell you that you speak well and speak for me, he also said 'Who gave a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?' He did not call you because you speak well but he created you like this because he called you. Call exists before it actually comes to you. The call he gave you is not for you alone. It is not going to cease. It will continue in your children's mouth. All these days you served him without a special garment and a title. Now you will have an ephod, special garment. Your title is "high priest" and your sons are the priests. This job will continue in your seed for generations and you will serve the Lord in his own house."

Tears rolling down his cheeks, Aaron embraced Moses tightly and looked up the mountain of God with the heart of gratitude. His mind started thinking all the things happened in his life in the past and how God trained him all these years for this purpose.

Isa 59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the LORD. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the LORD.

Ex. 26.31-33 My Saviour on a vail

Passion Week

Passion week starts with Matthew 21 to 27th chapter. A "week" in bible sometimes, is a period of a time rather than a literal 7 day week. Some times I believe that the believers go through a passion week. The same things that happened in these seven chapters will show up in their lives in that particular time. What are those things? There are several things but I just want to share only three.

1. Cleansing the temple (our body)

Jesus was proclaimed as the king while he was on the donkey. He did not go straight away to the palace but to the temple. A passion week reminds us that we made our body a den of robbers. We start cleansing the temple of our bodies. There was no Ark of the Covenant in that temple at that time which, symbolizes the presence of the Lord. But still Jesus said that it is the Father's house.

2. Confrontation (our conscience)

All this week Jesus has been confronting the religious leaders and he answered those who confronted him. In chapter 21 alone i see many questions between Jesus and the religious leaders and reminding the OT scriptures very often. Whoever loves the scripture will be confronted by the conscience and will go for repentance. Unfortunately those religious leaders did not repent. Pharisees are same yesterday, today and forever.

3. Carrying the cross (our worship)

We do not look for making our bodies happy rather we try to make it an acceptable sacrifice. A sacrifice has no choice to escape since it was killed before it was burnt. But when it comes to our body, Paul tells us to give our bodies a living sacrifice. Jesus said to worship with spirit and truth. Paul tells us to give our body as a living sacrifice and that is what an acceptable worship. Our bodies being burnt while living, honestly, a hard thing. We live but burn. Worship God in the spirit, truth and also with your body that is continually burning.

Palm Sunday

When Jesus came to Jerusalem we see three towns there related to his triumphal entry: Jericho, Bethphage and Bethany.

He actually came from Jericho. (Matt. 20:29).
First he reached Bethphage. (Matt. 21:1).
That night he spent in Bethany. (Matt. 21:17).

In Bethphage donkey was tied. (Matt. 21:2)
In Jericho a man was beaten. (Lk. 10:30)
In Bethany Lazarus was dead. (Jn. 11:14)

"Tied, beaten and was killed." This is the fate of a man. This is the strategy of the devil for the man whom he caught into his net. When Adam sinned the whole humanity came before the judgment seat of the Lord. They are sentenced to death. But the Judge now wanted to take human form to pay the price to deliver him.

They sung a song. "Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD..." (Ps 118:26). It sounds good but the very next verse says to tie the victim to the horns of the altar. "...bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.(Ps. 118:27). Who is that sacrifice? The same One who comes in the name of the LORD. Now it is his last visit to Jerusalem. He is going to be TIED, BEATEN and then will DIE. This is the payment. 

He is taking the place of the man to pay the price. In resurrection the devil will pay the price for all the things he has done.

In Bethphage donkey was delivered. (Matt. 21:3)
In Jericho a man was healed. (Lk. 10:34)
In Bethany Lazarus was resurrected. (Jn. 11:44)