REVISED EDITION

GENESIS 22

Have you noticed?

In Genesis 22 : 2, when GOD asked Abraham to sacrifice
Isaac, Isaac was mentioned as ‘ your son, your only son,
whom you love’.

But in Genesis 22 : 12, when the Angel of the LORD asked
Abraham not to kill Isaac, Isaac was mentioned as ‘your
son, your only son’ .
The third part ‘whom you love’ was not mentioned!.

Again in Genesis 22 : 16, when the Angel of the LORD gave
the promise of blessing to Abraham, Isaac was mentioned
only as ‘your son, your only son’ and ‘whom you love’ was
not mentioned!

Similarly, in Genesis 22 : 6, when Abraham and Isaac went
to Moriah, it is mentioned ‘they went together’.
Again in Genesis 22 : 8, it is mentioned ‘they went together’.

But when they came back, in Genesis 22 : 19, it is mentioned
‘Abraham returned to his young men”!.
Why they didn’t come back together?
When did Isaac come back?
Or even if he came back with his father, did the relationship
between them get revised and purified?

Is it a coincidence or some thing more?
What happened on Mount Moriah?
We know that a lamb was sacrificed in the place of Isaac, but
in Hebrews 11 : 17, it is mentioned ‘by faith Abraham, when
tested, offered up Isaac’!

Combining all the verses, shall we say that Abraham didn’t
sacrifice his son Isaac or his only son Isaac but sacrificed
Isaac whom he loved?.
Or in other words, In Mount Moriah, did the way Abraham
love Isaac got transformed?.

In the revised edition of Isaac, Abraham’s love of Isaac got
purified and Abraham proved that he loved GOD more than
Isaac!

Why not check the status of all our relationships?
Who is first, GOD or someone else?
Offer up!
Be blessed!

Jehovah-Jireh!

---

YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL
YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH
ALL YOUR MIGHT. ( DEUTERONOMY 6 : 5 ).

RADICAL RELATIONSHIP

RUTH 1 : 6 – 18

 Mother-in-law!
 Generation after generation, may be throughout the world,
 the word mother-in-law seems to be the most hated word by
 most of the young women!
 It is almost impossible to see a healthy relationship between
 the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law.
 But our Bible silently challenges us all about this!
 Even though the Book of Ruth seems to deal with the
 redemption story, in its lines, subtly and silently, Ruth and
 Naomi exhibits the victory of power of love over love of
 power in their relationship.
 In fact, the entire book of Ruth may be treated as a manual!.

 You know the story!
 Even if every thing is peaceful , having a healthy relationship
 is so difficult, but here we see, even in the most adverse circumstances Naomi and Ruth breaking our traditional view
 about tough relationships!
 Even if the husband is alive, many a young woman prefer not
 to spend much time with the mother-in-law, but even after her husband’s death Ruth was so stubborn in her decision to go
 to an unknown land with her mother-in-law!
 Daughter-in-law or daughter-in-love?

 Is it possible?

 Not just Ruth, but even Naomi, with all her loss and suffering,
 was so meticulous and relentless in her attempt to bring Ruth
 and Boaz closer!
 In fact one of the point that moved Boaz was the news he
 heard about the relationship between Ruth and Naomi!
 Even after the marriage, Naomi didn’t just disappear from the
 scene but active in taking care of their children!
 Mother-in-law or mother-in-love?

 Is it possible?
 It looks like a fairy tale, is it not so?

 Dear friend,
 I am not just writing about the in-laws relationship; we all know
 that we all are having one or other challenging person in our
 life loving whom is almost impossible!

 Christian master torturing servant;
 Senior pastor silencing juniors;
 Rich Christians ignoring poor;
 Color and caste biased disciples;
 Matured saints and new converts;
 The list of unhealthy relationships, we traditionally accepted
 as normal, seems endless;
We simply ignore the Biblical truth
 about love and carefully hide under the shelter of fellowship
 of like-minded people!

 We ‘label’ and ‘set aside’ some people without realizing the
 way the HOLY GOD opened the WAY for the unworthy
 sinners like us!
 We preach grace but seldom exhibit grace!

 The battle between power of love and the love of power is the ultimate test to prove a person as a disciple!
 Power of love overcoming love of power is almost impossible!
 But, nothing is impossible to GOD!

---

 BUT IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN
 THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH
 ONE ANOTHER AND THE BLOOD OF
 JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSES US
 FROM ALL SIN ( I JOHN 1 : 7 )

 

SEX AND THE PITY – Part 3

II SAMUEL 13 : 15 – 20.

A battle in David’s family; 
The first born Amnon killed by the servants of the third son Absalom. 
Same father but not the same mother, so bitterness natural; But, 
Here the cause is not the throne ‘ who will succeed David?’
Some thing else or some one else; The beautiful Tamar!

The problem of premarital sex; fornication;
The confusing conflict between flesh and blood; 
Mistaken identities of love and lust;
The consequence of no-focus life;

See Amnon, being the first born son of David, supposed to focus
on the kingdom activities. The national affairs; but his affair?
Yes, his eyes were on Tamar; No, not on Tamar’s character,
But on her beauty; his focus is only on her body; The lust
In fact, he was so distressed and became thinner day after day! 

A crafty counsel and parental negligence brought Tamar to 
the den of Amnon; Systematically executed date rape;
How David foolishly accepted the sinister demands of Amnon?
Is it because of his fall and the resulted family politics?
We don’t know; but a warning to Parents!

In sexual matters, in male-female bonding,
No relationship can be assumed as a reliable relationship;
No friendship can be accepted as a faithful friendship;
No age group can be acknowledged as a matured age group;
No spiritual troop can be appreciated as a holy spiritual troop;

The pull and push of lust hormones inside the human system;
Who can understand it? Who can explain or control it?
It crosses all the boundaries; all the reasoning and warnings;
Its ferociousness cannot be tamed till it devours its victim! 

So Parents, with prayer and love, in your family garden,
Check, double check and cross check and do the weed pluck;

But the worst tragedy, the after effects; See Amnon!
After the devouring, he vomited Tamar;
The lecherous love becoming horrible hatred!
Result: Tamar remained desolate in Absalom’s house!
Consequence: Amnon got murdered after two years;
Absalom ran away from the kingdom; came back;
Rebelled against David, got killed; But Tamar?
The poor desolate Tamar, who can console her?

Special warning to girls!
Waiting for an invitation from Amnon & Co?
Mesmerized by the affection of love-sick Amnon?
Wish to sing ‘roses are red, violets are blue’?
Or I will paraphrase the above questions into a single question;
Want to be the next Tamar the desolate?
Go ahead, but just check the statistics!

Some Tamars married that Amnon and remained desolate;
Some Tamars married someone else and remained desolate;
The rest never got married but remained desolate!
Want to be happy ever after or desolate ever after?

True love will enrich, endear and engulf;
It will never entice, entrap and enslave;
That is just lust, lust to the core. 

So flee from Amnon to GOD’S Presence;
Keep your purity as the gift for your would-be;
That is the challenge, only worthy challenge for all the girls;

Dear boys, the above warning is for you also!
But you have something extra; Don’t be an Amnon;
First accept the responsibility as a husband, then sex;
Don’t reverse the order; Don’t exploit a girl’s weakness;
The emotional scar of girls will scare them night and day;
Please don’t do that; Please understand; Please wait and pray;
Please respect a girl as a person; Please avoid all manipulations;
GOD will honor you; you shall be a blessing!

Dear parents, It is better to be labelled as a overprotective parent
then to be labelled as Parent of desolate Tamar; Do your part!

MARRIAGE IS HONORABLE AMONG ALL, AND 
THE BED UNDEFILED; BUT FORNICATORS AND
ADULTERERS GOD WILL JUDGE (HEBREWS 13 : 4).

SEX AND THE PITY – Part 2

II SAMUEL 11 : 14 – 17. 

Uriah the Hittite, not even an Israelite, but committed;
Committed to the king; committed to the Lord and His Ark;
Willing to sleep even in front of the king’s house;
Away from the battlefield physically, but not mentally;
Trustworthy, even to the extent of carrying his own death warrant;
In sense or not, keeping his work as his priority;

Surely deserve the king’s favor;
In the annual appraisal, a place of prominence ensured;

But this pitiable poor Uriah was subtly sidelined;
Silently silenced; craftily crushed; exceptionally eliminated;
The reason?
The same old abominable story – illicit sex.
The mastermind?
David, a man after God’s own heart!

Surely David didn’t expect that; Just a day’s affair;
Casual sex, few hours of live in relationship;
An afternoon of flirting and dating!
But read the Bible or even the newspaper, you will know,
The casual sex always ends as casualty sex!

But, how it started? 
Just a walk, just a look, just like that;
Ugly manipulation; Obsessiveness; Undue favors;
Cold blooded murder; Indecent proposal; inert marriage;

David understood so many mysteries but not the simple chemistry;
The chemistry of explosive and dangerous combination of
The private parts of a female’s body and
The detonating darts of a male’s eyes!
The catalyst of cancerous chain reactions!

The consequence, a series of murders starting with Uriah; 
In front of helpless David’s eyes, murder after murder;

Dear Ladies, that is why the way you dress becomes crucial;
Follow the fashion, but swallow the urge to expose a little extra;
Who knows, how many Uriahs are endangered by your expose?

Dear Gentlemen, that is why the way you see becomes crucial;
Even Job (31:1) made a covenant with his eyes!
Watch what you are watching; The sites and sights you crave for
Will ignite the virtual studio of the secret chambers of your mind
And in an opportune time will write the tragic screenplay of your life;
Who knows, how many Bathshebhas are entangled by your sight?

Poor David; Poor Bathsheba; Poor poor Uriah;
Few minutes of forbidden pleasure turned their life upside down;
Be warned; Just a walk; Just a talk; texting and sexting;
Mindless chatters and life shatters!

Married? Don’t push your life partner to an emotional coma by
your animal instincts with ‘I deserve something extra’ attitude!

Yet to get married? Don’t long for a live-in, one night fantasies;
Prepare yourself and wait in prayer for your life partner!
Remember, Live-In partner means you and that person;
But Life partner means GOD, you and that person;

Remember poor David; Remember poor Uriah;

Please cut, come back, repent and honor the marriage vows!

THE LORD HAS BEEN WITNESS BETWEEN YOU 
AND THE WIFE OF YOUR YOUTH. …….. ……..
LET NONE DEALT TREACHEROUSLY WITH THE
WIFE OF HIS YOUTH. ( MALACHI 2 : 14 & 15 ).

SEX AND THE PITY – Part 1

MARK 6 : 23 – 28. 

Daughter of Herodias; A peculiar character in the Bible.
Dancing to the tune of the musician, the first minute;
Dancing to the tune of a seductress, the next minute;
Dressed to dance, danced to kill, killed to satisfy her mother.

Just think about her talent, impressed the king and the crowd;
At that tender age, forced the king to dance to her tune;
Able to get a promise from the king ‘up to half of my kingdom’; 

See her position; a victim of her mother’s adultery, 
Separated from her father, emotionally wounded,
Carrying a stigma because of her mother;

The king’s promise; is it not an opportunity to take revenge?
One word from her can abort herodias’ abominable life. 
At least freedom from Herodias and Herod, if not the revenge.
But this girl moves like a puppet; The power of illicit sex;
Dancing feet and dumb head; Active body and passive mind;

See the consequence; Getting her mother’s advice, good, but
After getting the advice just watch the girl; No shock, No fear;
She ran in quickly to apply the advice; Is it not cruel?
Sin brainwashed soul; No emotion; No feelings;
That is not the end; see the Scripture carefully;
She carried the head of John the Baptist on a platter;
Neither a servant nor a soldier, but this little girl,
Like a seasoned hit man so casually, so boldly;
The head and the blood did not disturb her;
The value and the meaning of life are alien to her;
How was it possible? Was she not cruel?, At this age;

Please don’t judge her; She is just an example;
An example from the vast crowd of robotic kids,
Whose emotions got damaged and diminished by the
sexual immorality of parents; Confused; wounded;
Suffocated;abused;abandoned; brainwashed;
What a pity?, Please don’t judge her;

But judge yourself!

Married?, Check whether your sex life, physical and mental,
Is within the boundary of marriage? If not, remember that girl;
Single?, Check whether your sex life, physical and mental,
Is the gift assigned only to your life partner,
To be opened only after the covenant in His Presence?

Next time when your eyes and hands move towards that
Pornographic site, please remember that little girl ;
Next time when your mind tries to justify your premarital
Or extra marital affair, please remember that little girl;

So talented, so trained, but so poor, so week;

Excellent education, enormous wealth for our kids;
Is that not sufficient? Why bother about the secret life?
Please remember that little girl!
Please cut, come back, repent, honor your marriage vows;
Before your kids become like that poor little girl!

CAN A MAN TAKE FIRE TO HIS BOSOM,
AND HIS CLOTHES NOT BE BURNED? ( PROVERBS 6 : 27).

OSTENTATIOUS OSTRICHES

JOB 39 : 13 – 18. 

Ostrich. A flightless Bird. Swift runner. Fast foot. So talented. 
Full of pride. In the wilderness. 

Oh, Ostrich what are you doing?

Having a race with the stork, So waving the wings proudly.

Oh, you can fly?

No, no. The stork will fly; I will run;

Then why waving the wings? 

The wings, they are my pride; See my wings!.
Yes, the stork will fly with its wings;
And I will run with my legs, a race to impress, not to win;

But, Is it necessary?, What you will get at the end?

Nothing, I know, but, the feeling, the pride, my talents, the show;

Not just with the stork; next I am planning to have a race with a horse;
Come and see, how I scorn the horse and its rider!
The feeling, the pride, the talents, the show;

But,On the way, I saw your eggs on the ground, on the dust;
Don’t you know your next generation may get crushed by the wild animals;

My eggs? I don’t know, I don’t remember any eggs; time to race;
The feeling, the pride, the talents, the show;

Hey, one minute, how can you treat your young ones so harshly?
Remember the time and energy you spent for that eggs to exist!

I don’t know, but GOD deprived me of Wisdom,
And did not endow me with Understanding;
So my ostentation justified, but what about you, oh man?

You can grow in Understanding; you can get Wisdom,
Your CREATOR promised them and asked you to ask;
But, why chaotic comparisons? cruel competitions?
The feeling? The pride? The talents? The show?
What you will get at the end?
Do you remember your eggs? The family, the vision, the calling?
Do you remember the time and energy you spent for them?
How can you treat your young ones so harshly?
Don’t you know your next generation may get crushed by the wild animals;

The broken families;
The shattered visions;
The compromised callings;

Tell me man, who is ostentatious?

Me, a bird, not having wisdom and knowledge and so ignoring my eggs, or
You, the man, created in the image of GOD, ignoring your eggs?

The race? the feeling? the pride? the talents? the show?

Tell me man, who is ostentatious? Tell me!

EVEN THE JACKALS PRESENT THEIR BREASTS
TO NURSE THEIR YOUNG; BUT THE DAUGHTER 
OF MY PEOPLE HAS BECOME CRUEL, LIKE OSTRICHES
IN THE WILDERNESS ( LAMENTATIONS 4 : 3 )

SLEEPING WITH THE SERPENT

MARK 6 : 20

John the Baptist in the prison;

Imprisoned because of his commitment to the truth;
His preaching ministry in the wilderness got disturbed;
Is it temporary or permanent? No idea;
From the wilderness to the prison, and not to the palace!

Is it a shortcut to the palace, like in the case of Joseph in Egypt?
A chance to become the official priest of Herod’s kingdom? 
Ministry expansion?, Chance to preach from palace?
God’s time to reward John’s faithfulness in the wilderness? 

Herod’s hatred slowly becoming acceptance, is it a sign?
A sign that a deliverance and promotion are waiting?
King’s frequent visits and willingness to obey John’s words,
A confirmation to a comfortable future?

But, at what cost?
A slight change in his conviction?
Little compromise? A single word of approval?
Approval of the illicit affair of Herod?

See the possibilities; A silent nod can change everything;
John the Baptist got tempted?
We don’t know, nothing mentioned in the Bible ;
But, surely he got disturbed, he got confused,
To the extend of doubting even Jesus,
To the extend of sending his disciples to Jesus, 
To question Jesus and His mission!

A desert trained prophet getting depressed? distressed?
Confidential conflicts and confusing attacks in his mind?
Prolonged imprisonment and loneliness breaking his will?
Silence of Jesus suffocating his inner man?

John suffered, but how cruelly he suffered? Who knows?
But he won; he never gave up; never compromised;
Never came down from his convictions to win any favor;
In fact, even in prison he shows favor to Herod by his teachings!

Lost his life in the end, but never lost his calling;

What about you?. Entering February, the month of valentine! 
A month of temptation to the singles and the married!
To the singles, to prove to their group ‘ I got my Valentine’!
To the married to show to the world ‘ Even now, I can get a valentine’!

At what cost? By compromising what?
Eros eroding your convictions in this e-world?
Preparing yourself to sleep with the serpent?
Compromising the privilege of walking with THE LION?

Ask Samson; He will tell you the bitter truth;
Walking with the Lion and sleeping with the serpent
Made him a clown in front of the crowd!
Ask Herod and he will tell you the same!

But ask John the Baptist, he will tell you;
Better to be lonely than to compromise;
Better to be faithful than famous;
Better to face the prison wall than to dance in the seducer’s hall;
Better to WALK with THE LION than to sleep with the serpent!

Planning to celebrate valentine’s day?
Go celebrate, not with the world but with THE WORD;

Enjoy an extended time of embrace with your Eternal Lover;

The soft and silky, smooth and silent , seducer calling you to bed?
Remember, The WORD, The LION, your Lover crushed its head!

Advanced Valentine’s Day wishes!

…I AM CONVINCED THAT NOTHING CAN
EVER SEPARATE US FROM HIS LOVE……
…….. . FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS
REVEALED IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD ( ROMANS 8 : 38, 39 )

STRATEGIC TRAGEDY

MARK 6 : 20.

John the Baptist, Herod and Herodias;
See the sequence;
Herod and Herodias committing sin;
John the Baptist condemning it;
Instead of repenting, Herod put John in the prison;
Wants to kill John but not executing it because of people;
Slowly getting understanding about John’s holiness and righteousness;
Trying to protect John from Herodias fury;

Gladly listening and obeying John, but keeping him in prison;
Yes, Keeping John in the prison and Herodias on the throne;
A secret battle to balance the truth and the sin;
But, the enemy waits, if necessary for years, to kill the truth;
If necessary, she will use even her daughter;
If necessary, she will spoil even Herod’s birthday party;
She waits for an opportunity to eliminate the truth; 
Even if Herod hesitates, no option given; 
Party,Promise, Guests, Checkmate; 
A subtle strategy to enjoy tragedy;

Poor Herod; So close to truth, so eager to obey, but powerless;
His double game becoming a tool in the hand of the enemy;
Is it possible to celebrate any more birthday in the true sense?
Heard about Jesus, but remembered John, a resurrected John!
You know his story, his fears, the strategy and the tragedy;
But,

Am I not doing it, like Herod?
Going away from God to please some herodias,
Hearing the Word, but not repenting, becoming furious,
Playing double game; trying to balance sin and truth;
No sharp decision, No separation, somehow manage!
For years, keeping sin on the throne and Truth in the prison!
So successful in balancing; the Word and the world;
Balancing Christian life or Balanced Christian life?

But, remember the sequence; the enemy waits, if necessary for years;
To catch you, to humiliate you, to make you feel worthless;
Even to the extend of getting confused about JESUS, like Herod;
Yes, you know the story, the fears, the strategy, the tragedy;
The enemy waits; but why you wait?
To come to senses; to take a sharp decision, to enthrone the Truth?

Please don’t wait, at least now, repent, come back to the Saviour; 
He only can save us from the enemy, from the sin, from the world,
From the strategic tragedy, by His Blood, by His Word, by the Spirit;
Please don’t wait, come back, The Truth is waiting! 

MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE, AND I KNOW THEM,
AND THEY FOLLOW ME( JOHN 10 : 27 )

THE BROOK DRIED UP

I KINGS 17 : 7.

Elijah hiding by Kerith Brook; The water from Jordan River;
Meat and bread brought by the ravens;
Little boring but so comfortable.

But one day, after a while, the brook dried up;
No more water to drink, may be, because of his own prophecy!
He saw it coming. Slowly. Steadily.
Elijah prayed?
Expected any last minute miracle? No idea.
But nothing happened, no rain, no sign;
The brook dried up. The only source of water!

Sometimes, in our lives also, the brook dries up;
Slowly. Steadily. Seeing it coming?
Tensed, perplexed, secretly wishing and waiting for a miracle?
But the brook dried up!

Wondering what next?
Elijah heard the Voice of the Lord!
Be still and hear His voice.
Brook dried up? May be the time to move!

Time to move? No, I can’t. How can I?
The Brook, The Ravens, The Meat, The Bread.
No way! Think about the ravens, the good times we had!

No my friend, You have to move, yes, to Zarephath;
I commanded a widow to take care of you.

To Zarepath?. Yes Lord, Let THY will be done, but,
I have one request, Lord, please,
Permit me to take the ravens with me,
Not just to Zarephath, Anywhere in the world, I go;
But, How can I imagine a life without the ravens?

Yes, the sad story of modern day Elijahs!

The emotional entanglements; Affairs;
Work place romances; Unwed mothers;
Broken families; Cruel justifications;
Possessiveness; Partial obedience;

Why, friend, why?
Yes, we need people; we need relationships; but,
Be careful to keep them in the right place!
Never allow yesterday’s supplier to become tomorrow’s suppressor!

Hearing God’s still voice?

If He says you to move, move, don’t wait;
If He says you to leave, leave, don’t fight!

Thank God and say a farewell to the ravens;
Tomorrow you have to bring fire from the heavens!

Yes friend, understand the basic fact of life;
Separation and maturity cannot be separated!. Yes!
The rung of a ladder is not to rest upon,
But to go high. Look up. Move.

You are anointed to be a king;
Don’t get addicted to a rung!
Move!

Crying for the rung?
Crying for the ravens?
Cry, we all are emotional beings; humans; so cry.
But don’t stay there, move!

Thank and acknowledge Him in all your ways;
Ask Him to teach you to number your days;
It is not the ravens that fed you, it is His grace;
Understand this, your life will be a life of praise!

THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU;
THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU
AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU;
THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARD YOU
AND GIVE YOU PEACE. (NUMBERS 6 : 24, 25, 26 ).