Showing posts with label Paul Dhinakaran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Dhinakaran. Show all posts

THE SPIRIT OF INSTRUCTION



By Paul Dhinakaran

The Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth about God through His Word. The truth will enable us to trust in the power of God and walk by faith.

Dearly beloved,

God gives us His Spirit of instruction to protect us. In Nehemiah 9:20 we read, “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them (the Israelites).”

The Lord Jesus said, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).

A servant of God, who loved the Lord with all his heart and was faithful in His ministry, was sick unto death. Even skilful doctors could not diagnose his disease; he was at the veritable door of death!

At that time, the Lord spoke to him thus: “My son, do you keep your heart and ears open to the infinite love of Mine, who sacrificed My life for you and millions of people who love you and who called you to do My ministry and has been guiding you so far? Or do you keep your heart and ears open to the hurtful words spoken against you and your ministry by a very few ignorant people? You have turned away your eyes from Me and the millions of people who love and adore you, and focused them (your eyes) on the few who out of their total ignorance and envy criticize you! Consequently, you have become discouraged; visitations of my Holy Spirit are obstructed; because of this, the devil gets access to touch your body with disease!”

The Israelites turned their hearts away from God though they had personally witnessed several miracles of God! That is exactly why He gave them His Spirit of instruction.

The Bible says, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth about God through His Word. The truth will enable us to trust in the power of God and walk by faith.

INTERCESSION OF CHRIST



By Paul Dhinakaran

Dearly beloved,

Our God is loving and merciful.

The people of Israel displeased God. Yet He showed them great compassion as He was to them ‘a forgiving God’(Psalm 99:8).

Moses, the servant of the Lord, proceeded to God’s presence and interceded for them, “Now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written" (Exodus 32:32). God’s heart softened!

The Bible says, “Yet in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7:39). Even at that time of defiance, God did not forsake them, but pardoned them (Nehemiah 9:17). When Moses pleaded with God for the persuasively, the Lord acceded to his request: "I have forgiven them, as you asked” (Numbers 14:20).

Let me tell you a humorous story which I read in a magazine. In a certain place, a believer was seen relishing a cup of liquor by another believer who questioned him: “Oh! Why are you drinking this when God is watching you?” The former said, “Yes, I know God is watching me but He will keep it a secret; my only anxiety is that you will be broadcasting this to all and sundry!” Notwithstanding this sense of humour, what he had done was that he had backslidden and ‘turned back to Egypt!’ He had forgotten that he belonged to the Lord!

Even though the Lord God releases His children from all sorts of iniquities, their eyes and their hearts glance, quite often, at the past evil days of their life. But yet our Lord Jesus, in order to redeem us, intercedes for us: “Father, please be patient this once; he has mistakenly allowed this evil thought into his mind because of worry and weakness; kindly forgive My child.”

Dear readers, even as prophet Moses pleaded with God for the Israelites, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Advocate with the Father, ever lives to make intercession us (Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1). That is why we are shielded from any further iniquities crossing our lives and we are enjoying His presence! How blessed are we!

PEACE FOLLOWS THE JUST



By Paul Dhinakaran

The peace of God surpasses all understanding.

How does this peace come into us? The Bible says, “Righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10). In Isaiah 48:22 we read, “‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’" But when we hold on to righteousness and holiness and seek the presence of the living God, He makes His divine peace overflow in us by His glory.

The Lord Jesus has shed His own blood in order to transform your body as His temple. The Scripture says, “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

This day, the Lord wants to dwell in You and transform you into His temple. Plead with the Lord saying, "Lord, cleanse me with Your precious blood.” He will make divine peace to pursue you. This peace shall follow you all through your life. The Scripture says, “Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace” (Psalm 37:37).

In Chennai, there was a person by name Rev. Vedakan of the Church of South India. He was very dear to my father D.G.S. Dhinakaran (late). He was a righteous man. When his moment of death arrived, he said to his son, “Ask the Bishop to come and meet me.” When the son contacted the Bishop over the phone and made this request, he promised to come at 5 O’ clock the next day. On hearing that, this pastor said, “I am going to leave this world at 4 O’ clock tomorrow. In that case, what’s he going to do by coming at 5 O’ clock?” As he said, the next day exactly at 4 O’ clock, he said, “Here, the chariot has come” and closed his eyes. He went up to heaven.

Yes, the Lord will give grace and peace in abundance to a righteous man.

The Bible says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). When we thirst for the righteousness of Christ, we shall surely receive it. Furthermore, we shall reap a harvest of immeasurable peace and abundant joy.

RISE AND SHINE!



By Paul Dhinakaran

Dearly beloved,

Now is the time for us to be awakened in our thoughts, stand up and arise for God. Apostle Paul says, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

In this world, we have an ever-increasing responsibility to win souls. Every day, lakhs of babies are born. The population keeps on increasing. The devil is roaming here and there looking for whom he can devour. He is working overtime to see that the doors now open to evangelization are closed. At this hour, we must pray for others’ salvation and arise and shine for God.

Recently, I read a story about a dog. Its master ran a shop. Every day, the dog would accompany its master to the shop and return home with him. One night, the shop caught fire and was burnt down. The next morning, the shopkeeper found that all the goods had been burnt, and along with them, his dog also had been burnt to death. The dog had been fast asleep when the shop was closed and so was trapped inside. It was burnt to death by the flames.

We read in Hebrews 6:11,12: “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” The Bible says in Proverbs 11:30, “He who wins souls is wise.” A wise man makes use of every opportunity to wins souls for God. God shall surely honor him and reward him.

REWARD FOR GENEROSITY



By Paul Dhinakaran

Dearly beloved,

In Luke 6:38, the Lord shows a new way for us to prosper: “Give, and it will be given to you.” See what David says in 1 Chronicles 29:14: “Who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand.”

A certain man, who started a business when young, wrote his business constitution in which he had mentioned, “One tenth of the profit that I gain in my business has to go to the Lord.” The Lord, looking at his generosity, granted a double measure in return.

Finally, the tithes that he gave for the Lord went on increasing. When he was about to die, he gave 11 out of 12 portions of his wealth to the Lord. At that time, he had property all over the world. When he went for his heavenly abode, he rested as a millionaire in peace!

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10). We should give to the saints who are on earth (Psalm 16:3) and to the poor (Proverbs 19:17), says the Bible.

See the path that the Lord Jesus paved for us to prosper: “He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He had nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58). He is well aware of our sufferings. So when we come to His presence with faith and give to Him with a grateful heart, He will surely remove our poverty and bring prosperity in our lives. Whatever you give will come back to you in an overflowing measure. You will be rewarded by God for your generosity.