Good works + Good works is not equal to Jesus

Good works +Good works not equal to Jesus.

Weekly Devotion March 26, 2015

“They killed him…but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen….He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." ( Acts 10:39-43)

This passage is the sermon that the Apostle Peter preached when he was called into the home of Cornelius. The Bible describes Cornelius the captain of 100 men in the Roman Army  with eight godly qualities. Devout , God- fearing, generous ,prayed to God regularly and fasted ( KJV verse 30) . Others described him as a righteous and respected by all the Jewish people. In fact God even accepted his prayers, and his gifts to the poor (Acts 10: 4) and angels appeared to him in a vision too! With all these good qualities he still needed to be saved. He was a pagan who had converted to Jewish religion and believed in God but he would still be judged by Jesus. An angel of God appeared to him asking him to call the Apostle Peter who had a message for him. Peter had a problem too; he thought the message of Jesus Christ was for Jews alone. But here is a Roman who is not a Jew but yet believes in Jehovah, yet he needed to hear what all the prophets testified, that is about Jesus; his death, resurrection, and Jesus as the Judge and forgiver of mankind. Well, if you follow the story this is what happened when Cornelius the godly man and his close friends and all his relatives heard the message from Peter -“the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” Our good works can be a total hindrance to experience the salvation of God. The world with its good and bad people needs to hear about Jesus. Cornelius was told by the angel to send for Peter “He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.” I urge everyone reading this, not to be fooled by good works. Let’s do good works but our eternal destiny depends on Jesus.  Here is a nice story to illustrate further:

At the close of a Gospel service an intelligent-looking man came to the minister and said, “I do not see any necessity for the Blood of Christ in my salvation. I can be saved without believing in His shed Blood.”

“Very well,” said the minister, “how then do you propose to be saved?”

“By following His example,” was the answer. “That is enough for any man.”

“I suppose it is,” said the minister. “And you propose to do just that in your life?”

“I do, and I am sure that that is enough.”

“Very well. I am sure that you want to begin right. The Word of God tells us how to do that. I read here concerning Christ, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” I suppose that you can say that of yourself too?”

The man became visibly embarrassed. “Well,” he said, “I cannot say that exactly. I have sometimes sinned.”

“In that case you do not need an Example, but a Saviour; and the only way of salvation is by His shed Blood.”

—The Chaplain

when your life is measured in a balance

When your life is measured in a balance.

Weekly Devotion March 19, 2015

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners –of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ( 1 Timothy 1:15,16).

These are the words of a very religious leader -Paul. He calls himself worst of sinners twice!  He was called Saul the Pharisee. His father was a Pharisee too.  He was a religious leader and according to his religion of Judaism, he would be regarded a perfect person who had never done anything bad, righteous as regards the law. He prided himself and could say he was the Hebrew of Hebrews. But when he met Christ , his position of things changed completely. This is what he said in another place ;  “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ…” ( Philipians 3:7-9).In the face of Christ he calls himself a worst of sinner!  All his goodness was rubbish now . He was shown mercy of God ! . This mercy is found in  Jesus death on the cross who shed his blood for forgiveness of all  mankind good and bad , religious and irreligious to  brings us into a good standing with God.

In my own previous religion, I faced a dilemma since childhood. I would feel I am good and then  bad and often a sense of guilt in my heart no matter how many times I prayed. When I am praying five times a day or fasting during  the month of Ramadhan doing my all to please Allah I feel good , but then at the bottom of my heart I would not have the peace with God.  After prayer or after the month of Ramadhan the “holy” feeling would vanish and would feel like I have never prayed or fasted and felt very irreligious and bad . It was a daily struggle. Just like what the Apostle Paul says, I felt I was a worst sinner with no assurance of salvation. Then I met Jesus. He came into my life .  I came to know that he died for me to make me a saint and righteous. Shocking and unbelievable isn’t it? The Bible says  “He became sin who had no sin so that I may become the righteousness of God. That is true mercy! As a Muslim we believed that God was merciful ( Rahim) but I was not sure how his mercy could forgive my sins now ? After I die? Somehow I could see the balance weighing heavy with sin. I was the worst of sinner as Paul says. But then I believed in Jesus who died for me and rose from the dead. Suddenly, I felt the forgiveness and assurance that if I died today I could go to heaven. I wasn’t like Paul very religious but he still needed mercy of God . What about you? Religious and good? You will still need the mercy of God and is found in Jesus alone. We are saved not by merit but mercy. Someone said “ Mercy is unmerited favor from God himself to an erring people who can do nothing to earn it except to hold out their hands”.

He is the Truth.

He is the Truth

Weekly Devotion, March 12, 2015

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” ( John 14:6)

 Throughout the ages mankind has searched for answers to everything around them,  researched them and found answers . They were written in books or they had it within themselves.   We are discovering  our world and everything in it to the minutest thing existent in the world and to some of the biggest and far things such as the planet Mars. We have made great advancement to treat sickness and prolong life. We are all amazed at what science and all fields of knowledge have brought us to. We know that there is still more out there and we have many puzzles to solve yet.  Today we still come up with new theories and findings and correcting them as what we once believed as truth was false. Remember the “stop eating the butter” era? Well, I recently saw and read the headline news in Time Magazine “Eat Butter. Scientists labeled fat the enemy. Why they were wrong” (June 23, 2014). I hope you see the point I am making? We run to the internet or the library or the experts today to find answers to our problems. We assume that all out there is true. And in terms of our religion we have accepted all that was taught and all that we believe about God we think is true. We just do it and keep it because others did it, our parents did it, we learned it that was and so we think that is the truth.  I had true faith in my religion and in my spiritual leaders down the century. I was a Dawoodi Bohora if you want to know my religion. Check the website there is plenty of information on them.  We were told we carry the keys of Islam. We are the truth. We were promised heaven. And those who could not follow the religion were cursed. We were proud and sure. No matter what, I liked my religion. They are the best community on earth. They make the best food. But then I met Jesus while reading The Bible. I experienced the Spirit of God coming upon my life. His hand came upon me.   My life started to change supernaturally. My habits and ways were changing. God was not a stranger but a friend to me. Love and peace and joy came into my life. I was healed. I didn’t have to do anything to please God.  I was becoming one. I was set free from fear of hell and laws of a religion which forced me to keep certain standards to be accepted. The Bible says, When you meet Jesus you meet Truth.  Jesus said “I am the Truth” His word is the Truth. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Truth. This Truth sets you free. This Truth will live in you. This Truth is not some “thing”; the truth is a Person. He is holiness. “Him who is holy and true,” ( Rev 3:7). No more searching.  His knowledge will dim all other knowledge.  Ask yourself, are you sure you have the Truth?   

He is doing a good work in you

Weekly Devotional March 5, 2015

He is doing a good work in you.  

“ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” ( Phil 1:6)

When you are a follower of Jesus, God begins a good work in you . Life on earth just become a passing journey to a better place and better things - The Kingdom of God . A mansion where we would live eternally is prepared for us. We are joined into the family of God . In my beginnings with Christ , I was often challenged that my faith in Jesus would only last a short while. Many thought that after a while I would fall away and forget this craziness and zealousness about Jesus . Many things happen to me to persuade me to give up my faith . Many thought I had just got into another religion .  But when Jesus comes into our hearts , it’s a new creation, it is God coming into you and living in you. What happens really is not so much about me. It is the good work of God in me. He who had started this is faithful he will finish it.  The Bible says “not that I loved him, but that  He loved me first . ” Some of the terms by which The Bible describes us: light, holy, peculiar, faithful, kings and priests , children, sons, family, elect, chosen, sheep, friends of God, witnesses, beloved of God, righteousness, The Church of the living God, ambassadors, The household of God, The called, fellow citizens, royal priesthood, ministers, heirs, followers, lambs, disciples, and many other terms. I cannot imagine, that God who calls us all these terms would ever leave or forsake us after he saves us.  Only heaven will fully reveal the work of the Holy Spirit and the purpose for which he adopts us as he becomes our father .The apostle Paul prayed for the Thessalonian church.  “ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. ( 1 Thess 5 : 23, 24 ) . In my 35 year of following Jesus, I have never doubted the good work that God started in me. Many times , God has revealed himself and  assured me of his constant good work in me. He has not finished with me yet and I know that when Jesus returns, he says He will bring it to completion and I will be like Him. Are you experiencing his good work in you? If He has begun then he is doing a good work in you . That’s His business.

We cry " Abba" Father

Weekly Devotion Feb 26, 2015

We cry “Abba”, Father

“because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.”( Romans 8:15,16)

Abba, father. We call papa. When I started following Jesus, I was not understanding  this fact of God, being a father. Our concept of God was what we have in the Old Testament. God was Allah. Period. He was the “ God is great”. That’s the recitation we liked.  we acknowledged him as one God, powerful, great, creator, one who sent prophets , sent down messages . We recited and memorized his word, the Quran.  God was just God and we had many names and characteristics of God. Ninety nine . But God as Father was never spoken of.

Jesus when he comes into our life, he comes by the Holy Spirit. The great and merciful God comes in our life by the Holy Spirit and recreates our spirit , removing the estrangement  , the enmity and the  separation  between us . it is the Spirit of sonship, the Spirit of the son the God, that gives us access to God in a form of relationship that is as close as one of father and a son. A relationship between a father and a son is one of a hugging and loving relationship. There is no fear between them. When I brought up my six children , I made sure that my children could approach me as a father who would always love them, no matter what mistakes they made.  In my early years of following Jesus , I would often kneel down and raise my hands to God and cry out to him “ God if you are my father,  I need your hug.” And he would open the windows of heaven and pour out his Holy Spirit all over me. There would be such a mighty presence of God as though he was hugging me and holding my hands. My whole being would be filled with his loving touch and presence of the father.  I experienced what  Jesus taught about prayer. "When you pray, say:" 'Father,hallowed be your name,” ( Luke 11:8). Jesus sets us free from the fear of a great God and brings us into a loving relationship of a son and a father. We become his children , his sons and daughters. We are his family now.  The God that I feared who could send me to hell, whose word was of fear and judgment , through Christ , became my father in heaven, adopted me as his son. He came in me so that I can have a personal relationship with him.  . He gave me eternal life and assurance of salvation as a free gift. Through Jesus,  God is our father . Call him “ papa” .