On our church property we planted several banana plants and coconut tree saplings. But for a long time, those saplings were mostly ignored. That particular place is a wide area lower than the rest of the property that needs to be leveled sometime in the future.

Due to a lack of fertilizer and water, these items just barely survived and continue to be small. They haven’t grown beyond a few feet and they definitely haven’t produced any fruit.

Considering the age of those plants, they should have produced fruit several times already. Time is only one factor. The soil, environment, water, and the right kind of fertilizer at appropriate quantity is a must.

Same for us. Time is not sufficient for bearing fruit. Cultivate the environment. make sure you are receptive to the Holy Spirit and to others. Keep a humble attitude and remain a lifelong learner. Allow others to speak into your life. That input will be an investment into your fruitfulness. Otherwise we look good, but we remain with no fruit.

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And He puts it in the trash.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

(Rom 3:23-24)

But the ancients thought differently. They were convinced that God punishes every sin. they also felt that if at all God wanted to show mercy, he would reduce “the sentence.” It’s never a full pardon.

This is what Job’s friend Zophar expressed. “Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves” (Job 11:6b). Their perspectives would never come towards a full pardon. Maybe a plea bargain would grant a lesser sentence.

But Jesus came and the Father exacted from Him the full measure of the guilt of all our sins. One innocent man takes our guilt on himself. We are given a full pardon as he takes our list of sins and puts it in the trash.

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The major roads in our state of Kerala are dotted with small towns. in each town, it’s not uncommon to see two and three story buildings with names that include the word “Tower.”

I suppose the word indicates the idea that this building “towers” above the rest. But the problem arises when larger buildings are built. Then this tower ceases to be a tower.

Be careful about lofty claims. It could be claims about your building, business, ministry, or yourself. Self-pronounced greatness doesn’t hold much value to the discerning eyes and ears.

Allow others to define you. Let others say words of greatness about your work. You’ll get substantial validity when others make the claim. Avoid self-claims.

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When your life is in complete shambles, there has to be something that preserves you and keeps you moving forward. Otherwise life would seem meaningless. Job valued God’s care and his deep love and acknowledged those as the preserving force for him.

“You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:11-12).

For Job, everything else in life makes no sense. Nothing else gives hope or satisfaction. yet these are the things he can cling to. God is his creator. He gave life and steadfast love, and his continuous care has preserved Job. What bold and precise understanding about God’s kindness.

But you struggle to make sense of the rest of life. Everything seems like a whirlwind completely out of control. The key is to remind yourself that God will preserve your spirit. He formed your body and gave you life. Cling to Him.

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It’s filling my inbox with unwanted emails. Really, I consider this as spam (sorry). You see, I sent you a personal email to get a personal response from you. Everything else is spam.

If it takes a few days or weeks to respond, that’s fine with me. I’ll wait for a personal message from you.

I realize you’re quite busy and can’t get back right away. It’s an interesting thought to set up an autoresponder to let everyone know you’re busy and that you get lots of emails.

Please remember that when someone sends a personal note, they hope to get a personal reply. A late reply from you is also a personal reply. But this auto-responder? Spam.

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Our view is often clear. Or, we think it’s clear. But that doesn’t always have to be the case. We all have blind spots where things are hidden.

But Job was an exceptional case. God himself called him upright and blameless. Those are hefty credentials for anyone. But we as humans need to accept the fact that we are at the mercy of God. Job said “Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser” (Job 9:15).

The higher you climb, the lower you’ve got to stoop. There’s no other way. That’s God’s way. We don’t have all the reasons for that, but that is the case.

It was at the end of his ministry and life that Jesus stooped low to wash his disciples’ feet. That’s the example that our Master set for us. How low should we stoop? Even to death?

Jesus did.

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Abraham was about to do the unthinkable. God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, born to him in his old age. When his son asked about the animal for the sacrifice, Abraham said: “The Lord will provide.” That was enough for Isaac. He trusted the good judgement of his father. No further questions.

Such an amazing trust must have come from Abraham’s unswerving trust in God (Gen 22). His trusting relationship began all the way back in Genesis 12 when God called Abraham out from his own country. Although he lived a well settled life in a place called Ur, he adopted a nomadic lifestyle that he continued till death.

Maybe it’s a Godly legacy of trust passed down the generations. Isaac trusted God with the same depth of trust that his father had.

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Whenever Job’s sons had a party, he responded with intercession and prayer for them. Maybe Job knew that trials and difficulty tend to drive us to God, but prosperity and celebration often turns our hearts away.

I’ve thought of this as odd that Job took it on himself to do this for his children. I suppose Job knew that things are not different with his children. He was aware that celebration and prosperity has turned many away from God. I’m sure he has seen this in the lives of many people.

It is intriguing that Job kept his faith in God while he was prosperous and prominent in the land. He didn’t allow his wealth to impact his heart and to turn away from God.

Then the trials came. The testing began. But he stayed firm and kept his integrity. But Satan had reversed this concept. He thought that people would turn to God in prosperity and that they would turn away in the face of difficulty.

How will you respond?

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Losses can often be filled easily. It just takes the right amount of money and other resources. Add a sufficient amount of willpower, and most losses can be filled.

Some losses are deeper and more long-term. They cannot be easily replaced. Sometimes never. This causes a vacuum within the person. Significant long-term losses create a vacuum with the person.

A deep and long term vacuum causes a significant need that only Jesus can resolve. The longing in your heart that Just can’t be filled by anything – is waiting for something greater, more significant.

Anna became a widow at a young age. She filled her loss by remaining in the presence of the Lord day and night with fasting and prayer. She waited expectantly for the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. At age 84, she finally got her wish.

Your loss creates a vacuum that only Jesus can fill. Stay in God’s presence. Enjoy the presence and love of Jesus. He is sufficient to fill every vacuum.

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