Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey
G. Paul Raj
1. Christianity is Unique and Christians
are different why?
What makes
Christians different and what makes Christianity distinct from any other
religion? It is grace — treating others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes
them to be treated — with loving-kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust
as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our
highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who
hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and
selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has
shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to
benefit from doing so, but it is harder and painful when we can expect nothing
in return. Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge
and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil. How can we
possibly love those who cause us harm and ill-will? With God all things are
possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of
the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and
griefs. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice,
hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with
good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. Do
you know the power of Christ's redeeming love and mercy?
2. The Secret to be Successful Christian
Bible is an
honest Book it not only speaks of the success of God's people but also their
failure and defeat, it not only speaks of their strength but also their weakness.
For instance i Genesis 8:20 we read that Noah build and altar to the Lord
whereas in Genesis 9:20 we read that Noah proceeded to plant a vineyard. In
first instance Bible says that he was in the presence of God whereas in the
later instance it says that he was under the control of intoxication. Thus
victory and defeat are at either extreme, but never far apart. The hour victory
can easily become an hour of defeat and failure within the fracture of seconds.
We will never out of the reach of temptation. Therefore to protect ourselves
from the temptations of temptor, defeat and failure we God's children should
always have the shield of faith in our hands. To have a successful Christian
life it requires a daily exercise of entering into His presence, listening to
His instructions and to follow them without reservation. If we do so then
surely we will keep defeat far apart and retain the victory with us till the
day we meet the Lord in mid-sky.
When people tell
me they are having difficulty discerning God’s will for their life, I want to
ask one question: How much quiet, still time are you spending in God’s
presence, listening to Him through prayer and His Word? I do not believe God
wants us to be confused about His will and calling for our life. But I also
believe that God is not interested in competing with the roar of our culture in
order to get our attention and be heard. If we spend more time listening to the
voices all around us—musicians, celebrities, commentators, friends, and yes,
preachers—than we spend listening to Him, it’s no surprise that we are often
confused.” –David Jeremiah
What does the Gospel content: Prosperity,
health and success or the message of salvation?
The careful
study of the Scripture will clarify the truth that the core elements in the
prosperity gospel are not part of the Gospel of Salvation. The core message of
the Gospel of Salvation is eternal life through forgiveness of sin by faith in
Jesus Christ (cf. Rom.1). Nowhere in the Bible Jesus had never promised us
"prosperity, health and success". Instead He said: "In this
world, you will have tribulation" (Jn.16:33). The word peace in this verse
does not mean material wealth as it contradicts the context in which Jesus said
this verse. Further Jesus
said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me", so if we want to follow Jesus then we also
must deny self. The Bible tells us of many great men and women of faith who,
like Jesus, denied themselves all things to serve God. These saints humbled
themselves and turned their backs on worldly power, position and wealth to
serve the living God whom they loved more than life.
Jesus Himself left heaven
and humbly denied all things to become God's greatest servant. Denying self is
one of the greatest challenges in our Christian walk. We can't be a disciple of
Jesus and love the things of this world at the same time; we must be willing to
deny ourselves worldly power, position, wealth and reputation; anything we put
ahead of God is an idol. However this doesn’t mean that Christians should
suffer and starve God blesses us to glorify His name through all that we have.
Jesus Himself saw wealth as a gift from God to be used in His service (Matthew
25:14-30).
