After a long layoff I thought of writing something for all who have been following my blog in the recent past. It is the beginning of the year and I waited before the Lord for a word concerning His leading and guidance for me and for everyone else involved in the Community of the Risen Lord.
The word given to us at the beginning of this year is;
2Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2Peter 1:4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
The second part of verse 3 opens us to a great answer not understood by many people. St. Peter says that the Divine power that is necessary to meet all our needs comes from the knowledge of Him who called us. Him who called us is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself!
First of all Jesus is risen from the dead and is alive. Second we can have, and grow in a relationship with the Living Christ in such a way that the divine life necessary for life and godliness will flow into us. How does this happen in practical terms?
I remember as a small child the impact that adults and other senior boys had on our lives. We saw them as larger than life and studied every move they made in reverent awe! We began to dress like them, walk like them and even talk like them. Seeing them and associating with them changed the way we live, sometimes even to be bad. But there is no question of the impact they had on us.
Even in the spiritual life we look at other people for inspiration. We are encouraged by great preaching and miracle working. We are also encouraged by great acts of sacrifice for the sake of our Lord and the Kingdom. We try to become like them and our inspired to inner responses by them. Yet often as we walk in the journey of the Kingdom with others, their limitations and their humanness begins to have an effect on us. We tend to measure the ceiling and limits of God by what is happening in their lives and what they believe. Their limitations become our excuse to slacken our own commitment to God. Quietly we become just like the ones we gaze upon! When we realize that it has affected our own journey we judge them for it and they become now not an inspiration but a hindrance to our journey with God!
But Peter invites us to go beyond others in the reading given to us this year. He invites us to fix our gaze on Jesus first and foremost. But how do we fix our eyes on Him. In verse 4 Peter reveals the way. Focus upon the great promises given by the Lord to us. As we gaze upon, claim and hold on to the great promises of Jesus, in our prayer and worship, the Holy Spirit makes them alive and real in our heart. It is then that we will go beyond our own limitation and the limitations of others. As one author put it so beautifully, it is like “marching to the tune of a different drum”. Yes we are all in the same parade through History, but the drum we march to, is the drum beat of the heart of Jesus, made audible to us through His promises while so many others march to the beat of the world around them.
Isaiah captures it beautifully in His heart cry;
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Isaiah says that as darkness covers the earth and the people, the Lord will rise upon them who belong to Him. Those who belong to Him are those who have a relationship by living by the light of the promises of Jesus and gazing upon Him in worship. As the light shines into our hearts and radiates within us it will reflect God’s glory which will attract others who walk in darkness. That gives meaning to the beautiful insight of Isaiah when he says
Isaiah 60:3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn
This is truly our call in the year 2010. This is my prayer for each one of you as well.
“Lord lead us beyond our selves and beyond others to yourself alone. Give us the grace to gaze upon you and hear your voice in and through your promises brought alive in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Lord empower us to inner responses in spite of our own weaknesses and limitations. Lord let not the darkness in others dim the light in my life, but rather let the light of your life in me be light to the world”.
9 comments:
Lalith thaatha's messages have always been an inspiration in my life. His messages uplifts me spiritually and takes me more closer to Jesus to understand Him better.Thank you thaatha for the New Year message.
Sarojini
Praise the Lord
Dear Brother Lalith
Praise the Lord! I have great admiration for the work you do. I am leaving a comment because I do not know how else to get in touch with you. I understand that your preachig has touched many people and changed their lives. But unfortunately, the involvement of some people in my family in CRL has made them unapproachable people.
I find it impossible to talk and reason out with them on any issue, because for everything that is outside their preference is 'not the will of God'. Spiritual people are supposed to be not concerned about material things, but my mother for example gives my brother's girl friend a hard time for the clothes she wears or her tastes in the things she buys and says that this is not God's will for my brother. From what I know, my brother's girl friend is very close to God and she has a near perfect relationship with my brother. But because my mother is old fashioned and my brother's girl friend doesn't wear or do things that my mother or i do, she is seen as an unsuitable person. ALl of my mother's opinions are justified by the fact that she is prayerful, and she can discern God's will. There is absolutely no space to talk or reason out, because we cannot go beyond God's messenger.
Perhaps, in your preaching you should drill into people's head the de merits of hypocrisy. Your preaching is great. the charismatic movement is doing wonders but when the community members are acting as self righteous people, it makes life awful for their family members.
PRaise the Lord.
Dear Lalith Thatha,
Praise the Lord!
I give thanks to God the Almighty for giving you. I am closer to Lord now because of you.
Jesus, I thank you!
praise the Lord. i felt so hopeless and depressed by what was going on, but your message on the 17th of feb, really gave peace to my mind and immense joy. your emphasis on others judging and analyzing people, especially supposedly spritiual people strengthened me. somehow, when the person you are dealing with is 'spiritiual' something tells you they are right, that they can't be wrong. they have that way about them that make you feel like that. so when they hurt others too, you are hesitant to admit they are wrong. but your message told me, that people on the journey can fall into sin like someone who leads an ordinary life. praise the Lord.
I read tonite with sadness an article on the CRL in a Sunday News paper. My regular visits to St. Peter's were started only 9 months ago and I have missed only 3 weeks of service since then and not once have I come across money being asked from the people who attend the service. All those who are regular followers of this 'praise and worship' service know and believe the wonderful work that bro. Lalith is doing to keep the catholics in a deeper faith in Jesus, and within the catholic church. My appeal to all those of you who read the article to pray and thank the Lord for the person who wrote the article and not have any animosity towards him as clearly, he is not a regular visitor to St. Peter's and do not know how these thousands of lives are transformed by the word of God preached there. Please do not get disturbed or discouraged by these but continue to live by faith in God's promises to those who believe. God bless bro. Lalith and his servers and may they be strengthen ever more and show only love and compassion to those who judge them. If the son of God was crucified what can we sinners expect. God bless you all.
Dear Lalith Aiya,
What is happening now (The Sunday Leader article of 07th March 2010)is your prediction at the beginning this year of the darkness. I agree totally and believe that the Lord will rise above this darkness and sustain you. He will keep you nourished with His touch and His word, which you will pass onto us. We are previledged to be in the Community of The Risen Lord. Thank you Lord, Praise you Jesus.
Eardley
Male', Maldives
I am one of many who was so shattered and devastated by the article in the Leader.
I was asked to read the article by an Uncle who is too a regular participant just like us.
With so much grief I read through the lines of misinterpretation of Thatha’s words on last Wednesday’s meeting. I could not wait so immediately went on line and responded to the article on the internet but I could not stand up for the devils remarks on people who took the platform in standing up for faith and after responding to two feedbacks chose to remain quite as there is no point sharing faith with atheists.
I am quoting on Thatha’s sharing of the word of the Lord few Wednesday’s back,
shows us as to how we should put on the Helmet of salvation and carry the Armour of God.
This is why those so called righteous attack and slander us but we should know that our faith is much greater and for those who are guided by the spirit what more can we loose than to loose our whole self in him who gave us the life to eternity.
James 5; 10-11
Romans 8;14
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adaptation.
When we cry “Abba! Father!” it is that very spirit bearing witness to with our spirit that we are children of God.
Issaiah 60; 1
Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and glory of the Lord has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light; and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
James 4;6-7
“God Opposes the Proud but favors the humble”
Last for the Writer Michael Hardy who wrote such lucrative article on our Lord's mission and servers assassinating the character of Thatha, I had asked him to refer the book of James 4 -11 -17 let the word of our God open his blindness and I pray that Lord's Wrath will not come upon him.
Praise be to our God and his mission on earth and people on his journey and those who are blind have Mercy on them Lord they do not know what they do.
Hi I'm Keshini, I experienced jesus in my life today the 12th of march through the words of lalith thatha.....i evn had a great miracle in my life i wilL conitue to be within Jesus and his holy spirit and to also experience his love......
PRAISE THE LORD
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