How Do We Renew Our Mind to the Word of God?

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Carrying on from the previous post Why Satan Hates You, we can renew our mind to God's Word by reading it, hearing it, studying it and doing it.

The word hearing in the above verse in the original Greek actually means rhema - the spoken Word of God. So when you give of yourself to God's written Word, He speaks to you and confirms that written Word - the Bible - thereby helping you apply more of "the measure of faith" that He has already given you.

Remember, the Word of God is one the weapons in your spiritual armour. It's the sword - you can wield it to defend yourself and others from Satan. You can also use it to attack and take the fight to the Enemy, because attack is often the best form of defence. But to be able to wield any sword effectively, you must practise using it. How much more, then, the Word of God! And when you practise enough, you will develop a reputation of being a 'commando for Christ' working for his Commander-in-Chief, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ!

Why Satan Hates You

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…" - Psalm 23:5

When Lucifer fell from Heaven, he lost all his privileges. God breathed into Adam and created Eve from his rib; and gave them "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen. 1:26, 28) Then Adam and Eve too 'fell'. But God covered them by killing an animal and using its skin. God thus made them (and not Satan - formerly known as Lucifer) His chosen ones. Sure, Satan was not amused.

Throughout the ages, God kept assuring His people of a Saviour whose Kingdom would never end. And through His Son Jesus, God promises to exalt us too, as is written in Romans 8:17:

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;"

Now just think of this. God seats you at a table in Heaven. He prepares the table with the finest things you can imagine consuming. That not being enough, He anoints you with oil. And when all this happens Satan and his fellow evil spirits stand as mute spectators. The glory that would have been theirs is now yours, even though you did not deserve it. Just imagine their frustration! They cannot do anything - it's too late. If you're a born again Christian, you're already seated in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus - you are a joint heir with him!

Satan's only chance to prevent this from happening (as best as he can prevent it!) is until a human being is saved. Once you're born-again through turning your life over to Jesus, the devil's time is up. He cannot attack your spirit. So his next best targets are your soul and body.

When you're born again, Satan & Co. takes notice of you and swing into action. Whether you survive and thwart the attacks will depend on whether or how much you renew your mind to the Word of God. We will look at this in the next post.

Word of God Bearing Fruit in Nepal

"…and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Nepal is probably the world's only officially Hindu country. My India isn't, as it is a multi-religious and non-theocratic State. Now this small country Nepal, with a population less than that of my hometown Mumbai (Bombay) is receiving the Lord Jesus…and how!

Greater Grace World Outreach (www.ggwo.org) has planted 18 churches in the Himalayan country, famous for the Mount Everest. (Update: as of April 2016, there are now 29 Greater Grace churches in Nepal.) You'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that many of Nepal's believers actually live in mountainous caves, hours away from 'civilization'. Recently, our pastor narrated the story of a Nepali pastor from the Praja tribe. This pastor is just 28 years or so and has a family to support. He cannot leave his family behind for years to attend Bible College. So he stays with his folks for a month and goes down to the city for a month. He will do this for the next 3 years, in order to get trained up in the Word of God and carry it back to his folks up in the mountains.

This may not sound too difficult to do. Except when you consider that:
• To reach the city, he climbs down the mountain on a 9-hour journey on foot.
• He climbs down the mountain on which he lives, then climbs up the next peak, then down it, then up the next and then down that one too.
• Along the way, he crosses a river - crossing it 17 times, at its various bends.
• In the rains, the river gets flooded chest-high. So the young pastor wades his way across the river, holding his bag up in the air, as it contains his Bible, books and clothes.
• After his 9-hour descent, he reaches the highway.
• He changes into a dry pair of clothes and takes the bus to the city, which is another 8 hours away.
• He will stay there in the church building with a dozen other pastors in the same room, until better facilities are available.
• He will go back up the same way he came, after investing a month in formal Bible study…
• …all this, to carry the Good News to people just like you and me, so that if they accept Jesus, they will continue to live in Heaven even after they die physically on earth.
The conditions are so tough, that some tribal children have probably never even seen a car. If they want to see one, they must walk their way down to the highway, which is 9 hours away. Pastor remarked that one day, when we get to Heaven, we will probably see a spirit shining like a star; and when we ask Jesus who it is, he will tell us it's that tribal pastor from Nepal, who labored - and not in vain.

Jesus - The Turnaround Expert

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Everything is not perfect in this world because Earth is not Heaven! Every adult I know has some problem or the other. And the bad news is that we cannot become children again. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ invites us to hand over our heavy burden to him.

Jesus changes lives!

Jesus has changed - transformed - the lives of billions of people over the ages, some of whom I know personally. Like my uncle, for instance. He was deeply in debt, but when he earnestly prayed to Jesus and began attending church and studying the Bible, God cleared his debts in a matter of a few months.

There's a youngster who was suffering from AIDS. He faithfully prayed to God and began attending prayer meetings at my family friend's church. He was healed completely within a few months! Medical tests confirmed that he was free of AIDS. He even married after that. Now he attends church and you must hear him pray. I am convinced that the Spirit of God gives him utterance as he prays fluently and just right, quoting Scripture!

One pastor I know was a local rowdy trained in martial arts, until he gave his life to Jesus. Now he has been the world over, preaching the gospel. There was a time, he said, when he could not go to sleep at night unless he had hit someone. The Lord has turned his life completely around and dealt a body blow to the devil in this pastor's life! "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

So if you think your life can do with a makeover, let that makeover artiste be Jesus. He knows a thing or two about turning lives around for the better. He did it for Mary Magdalene, for Saul (Paul) and for me. He can do it for you too. He is the true turnaround expert!

Sack vs. Sword

"...a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table." Matthew 26:7

In an earlier post, we discussed about crucifying the flesh through the Word of God. Here, we demonstrate it using an analogy - a biblical one, in a way.

What Does 'Amen' Mean?

The word 'Amen' appears several times in the New Testament. In fact, the last word in the entire Bible is 'Amen' (Rev. 22:21). Sometimes though, while praying, people tend to take the word for granted (as I used to). But the word is highly potent.

Tap into God's Blessings Today!

There was a time in my life when I was jobless for over 6 months. My mother would cry out to God, saying, "Lord, please bless my son. Give him the job that he so badly needs. Do not test him so much. How much more testing will you make him go through?" My wife would pray on the same lines. Their feelings were sincere. But their approach was inaccurate. Read on to find out why.

Crucifying the Flesh - Take God's Help!

"Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." (Ps. 118:27)

I was watching Daystar the other day when Pastor Tom Deuschle began preaching on crucifying the flesh. In the Old Testament days, he said, there were hooks that would bind the flesh of the sacrificed animal to the altar.

Tele-evangelism and The Great Commission

"…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Tele-evangelism has put the gospel vehicle in top gear. Missionaries through the centuries have sown the seeds of Jesus' Great Commission the world over. Many have even lost their lives in the process.

Andrew Wommack Free Stuff

Andrew Wommack is one of my favourite tele-evangelists. I have begun to appreciate his teaching even more since I began using the free stuff put up on his website www.awmi.net.