God of Consolation..

Grief
by Dennis Pollock

Service by sharing: Jemi, Heavenly Angels for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

Life just doesn’t seem fair! Despite our clichés like “things always work out” and “life has a way of evening itself out,” anyone with any sense and who is even slightly observant will discover that real life doesn’t always work that way. Wicked, covetous men sometimes live long, healthy, prosperous lives and good men sometimes die way too soon. Sweet, good little girls sometimes grow up and live out their lives as lonely spinsters, while naughty girls sometimes end up with rich husbands and beautiful houses filled with children.

Talent is often rewarded but not always. Sometimes talented people, for various reasons, go ignored and unnoticed, and live lives of frustration and disappointment.

We look at others and become depressed. Why are they so beautiful when I am so plain? Why is it that they can be so at ease with people, while I constantly feel awkward? Why did they get blessed with such a brilliant mind while I am stuck being so dull and slow?

Most of us are realistic enough not to expect perfection. We recognize that we are bound to be stronger in some areas than in others. But we find it odious that we should have major deficiencies, significant weaknesses, and substantial difficulties which keep us from experiencing that blissful, peaceful, happy life we feel we really deserve – certainly more so than that other person who has more than us and yet isn’t nearly so nice as we are. It just isn’t fair!

Of course God could fix things quickly if He chose to. The minute we prayed for a sharper mind, or better social skills, or a husband, or more friends, He could instantly zap us with an immediate answer and erase our disappointments. He could and He sometimes does, but He usually doesn’t. Dull people usually go on being dull, poor people being poor, ugly people being ugly, and weak people being weak. And if the answer comes, it normally comes gradually, and as a result of some work on our part. But sometimes it doesn’t seem to come at all.
God our Consoler

For such folks, and to some degree for every one of us, one of the greatest insights we can gain once we are safely in Jesus Christ, is an understanding that our God is the God of consolation. He may not always relieve that pressure we face, He may not remove that burden we bear, He may not enhance that sense of weakness we live with, but He will find creative and powerful ways to console us in our suffering and weakness. The word consolation is a great word and one with which we should all be familiar.

Consolation is that which loving friends try to provide when someone they care about has been through an appalling time of pain or loss and is terribly discouraged. We want to somehow make up for their loss. We want to say something or do something or give them something that will help ease their pain and make them smile again.

As humans we are pretty limited in our ability to console. Our words seem so futile, our gestures so meaningless. But there is a Consoler who is vastly better at it than we. In the Scriptures God is called “The God of all comfort,” and He is spoken of freely as the One who brings consolation to the suffering and the discouraged.

Paul writes to the Corinthians:
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ... And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation (2 Corinthians 1:5,7).

Here we find consolation associated with suffering. Notice the use of both present and future tense.

The sufferings are present tense: “As you are partakers of the sufferings…”

But the promised consolation is future tense: “So also you will partake of the consolation.”

At times we feel as though God hardly notices our suffering and misery, but in truth He is keenly aware of what we are going through, and has special consolations for each and every difficulty, tragedy, disappointment, humiliation, weakness, and attack that we will face as we travel through this harsh world. Some of these consolations will be given us in this life, and others will be revealed in the next.

May God Comfort us with His divine Consolation.

Testimony

Dr. Shekar Massey, Heavenly Angels for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

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Julio Rebeiro is a retired IPS officer. He was city Police Commissioner of  Bombay, DGP, Gujarat and DGP, Punjab. He was later Indian Ambassador to Rumania.

Julio Ribeiro writes:

There was a time, not very long ago — one year short of 30, to be precise — when only a Christian was chosen to go to Punjab to fight what then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi termed “the nation’s battle” against separatists. I had accepted a “demotion” from secretary in the Union Home Ministry to DGP of the state of Punjab at the personal request of the Prime Minister.

Then Home Secretary, Ram Pradhan, and my dear friend, B.G. Deshmukh, then Chief Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, were flabbergasted. “Why did you accept this assignment⁉” they asked. The same question was put to me over the phone by then President Zail Singh. But Arjun Singh, the cabinet minister who personally escorted me by special aircraft from Delhi to Chandigarh, remarked that when my appointment was announced the next morning, the Hindus of Punjab would breathe more freely and rejoice. I presume Hindus would include RSS cadres who had been pinned into a corner by the separatists.

When *25 RSS men on parade were shot dead in cold blood one morning*, then Punjab Governor S.S. Ray and I rushed to the spot to console the stricken families. The Governor visited 12 homes, I visited the rest. The Governor’s experience was different from mine. He was heckled and abused. I was welcomed.

Today, in my 86th year, I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country.  *The same category of citizens who had put their trust in me* to rescue them from a force they could not comprehend *have now come out of the woodwork to condemn me for practising a religion that is different from theirs*. I am not an Indian anymore, at least *in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra*.

Is it a coincidence or a well-thought-out plan that the systematic targeting of a small and peaceful community should *begin only after the BJP government of Narendra Modi came to power* last May❓ “Ghar wapsi”, the declaration of Christmas as “Good Governance Day”, the attack on Christian churches and schools in Delhi, all added to a sense of siege that now afflicts these peaceful people.

Christians have consistently punched above their weight — not as much as the tiny Parsi community, but just as noticeably. Education, in particular, has been their forte. Many schools, colleges, related establishments that teach skills for jobs have been set up and run by Christians. They are much in demand. Even diehard Hindus have sought admission in such centres of learning and benefited from the commitment and sincerity of Christian teachers. Incidentally, *no one seems to have been converted to Christianity*, though many, many have imbibed Christian values and turned “pseudo-secularist”.

Hospitals, nursing homes, hospices for dying cancer patients needing palliative care — many of these are run by Christian religious orders or Christian laymen devoted to the service of humanity. Should they desist from doing such humanitarian work for fear of being so admired and loved *that a stray beneficiary converts of his or her own accord*❓ Should only Hindus be permitted to do work that could sway the sentiments of stricken people in need of human love and care❓

The Indian Army was headed by a Christian General, the Navy more than once, and same with the Air Force. The country’s defence forces have countless men and women in uniform who are Christians. How can they be declared non-Indians by Sangh Parivar hotheads out to create a pure Hindu Rashtra❓

It is tragic that these extremists have been emboldened beyond permissible limits by an atmosphere of hate and distrust. The Christian population, a mere 2 per cent of the total populace, has been subjected to a series of well-directed body blows. If these extremists later turn their attention to Muslims, which seems to be their goal, they will invite consequences that this writer dreads to imagine.

I was somewhat relieved when our prime minister finally spoke up at a Christian function in Delhi a few days ago. But the outburst of Mohan Bhagwat against Mother Teresa, an acknowledged saint — acknowledged by all communities and peoples — has put me back on the hit list. Even more so because BJP leaders, like Meenakshi Lekhi, chose to justify their chief’s remarks.

What should I do❓ What can I do to restore my confidence❓I was born in this country. So were my ancestors, some 5,000 or more years ago. If my DNA is tested, it will not differ markedly from Bhagwat’s. It will certainly be the same as the country’s defence minister’s (Parrikar's) as our ancestors arrived in Goa with the sage Parshuram at the same time. Perhaps we share a common ancestor somewhere down the line. *It is an accident of history that my forefathers converted and his did not*. I do not and never shall know the circumstances that made it so.

What does reassure me in these twilight years, though, is that there are those of the predominant Hindu faith who still remember my small contribution to the welfare of the country of our birth. During a recent trip to Rajgurunagar in the Khed taluka of Pune district to visit schools that my NGO, The Bombay Mothers and Children Welfare Society, had adopted, I stopped at Lonavla for idli and tea. A group of middle-aged Maharashtrians sitting on the next table recognised me and stopped to greet and talk. A Brahmin couple returning from Kuwait (as I later learnt) also came up to inquire if I was who I was and then took a photograph with me.

It warmed the cockles of my heart that ordinary Hindus, not known to me, still thought well of me and would like to be friends 25 years after my retirement, when I could not directly serve them. It makes me hope that ordinary Hindu men and women will not be swayed by an ideology that seeks to spread distrust and hate with consequences that must be avoided at all costs
Julius Ribeiro. IPS (Rtd)

Faith in a Christian life

Mrs. Jemi, Heavenly Angels for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION.

"What does it mean to have mustard seed faith?"

Faith is so vital to the Christian life that Scripture tells us that, without it, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Yet faith is such a powerful gift from God (Ephesians 2:8–9) Christ told His disciples that, with just a tiny measure of it, the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. So, what does it mean to have “mustard seed faith”?

We see the reference to “mustard seed faith” twice in Scripture. First, in Matthew 17:14–20, we see Christ’s disciples unable to exorcise a demon from a young boy, even though Jesus had previously given them the authority to do this very thing (Matthew 10:1). When they inquired of Jesus why they were not able to drive the demon out, the Master replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move; Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:14–20). Next, in Luke 17:6, Jesus tells His disciples, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” By using the uncommonly small mustard seed as an example, Jesus is speaking figuratively about the incalculable power of God when unleashed in the lives of those with true faith.

We know that this statement about moving mountains and uprooting trees by faith is not to be taken literally. The key to understanding the passages is the nature of faith, which is a gift from God. The power of faith reflects the omnipotent nature of the God who bestows faith on His own. The mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds found in the Middle East, so the conclusion is that the amount of faith needed to do great things is very small indeed. Just as in the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31–32), Jesus uses rhetorical hyperbole to make the point that little is much when it comes from God. The mustard seed in the parable grows to be a huge tree, representing the tiny beginnings of Christianity when just a few disciples began to preach and teach the gospel. Eventually, the kingdom grew to huge proportions, encompassing the entire world and spreading over centuries.

So, too, does the tiniest bit of faith, when it is true faith from God, grow to immense proportions in the lives of believers and spreading out to influence all they come into contact with. One has only to read histories of the great men of the faith, such as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, to know that superhuman feats were performed by those whose faith was, at one time, only the size of a mustard seed

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Clinging to the Promises of God

Jemi, Heavenly Angels for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

Christians who do not know how to appropriate the promises of God remind me of a story about Crowfoot, the great chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in southern Alberta, Canada.  When Crowfoot gave the Canadian Pacific Railroad permission to cross tribal land from Medicine Hat to Calgary, the railway commission wanted to do something special for the chief.  So in return for his gracious act, Crowfoot received a lifetime railway pass, which he could use anywhere in Canada.

Crowfoot treasured the pass.  He put it in a leather case and proudly wore it around his neck for the rest of his life.  // Yet there is no record that the chief ever once availed himself of the right to travel on the Canadian Pacific Railroad.

Tragically, many Christians treat the promises of God the same way.  They may hang them on the wall, they may recite them to their children, they may believe them in their heads – but they do not know how to appropriate God’s Promises.

Think of it this way – if you give me a check and I never deposit it or cash it, the check is useless to me; I never appropriated your gift.  Similarly, the Holy Spirit has given us promises:  They are recorded in God’s word.  But what you do with these promises, how you apply them in your life, is up to you.

Because of the ease with which promises are made and broken today, and because we get away with not keeping our word, we think it’s all right to break our promises, the result is that some Christians have trouble taking God at His Word.

God DID NOT make frivolous promises that He does not intend to keep.  God is faithful to all His promises.    God’s promises may not be fulfilled exactly the way we want them to be, or at the time we want them to be, but He always keeps His promises.

Let’s look again at the biblical record and see how Elijah clung to the promises of God.  There are two principles we need to learn about God’s promises.  One principle is that some of God’s promises are conditional and others are unconditional; the second is that some promises are universal and some are personal
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Humbly leaning on our Lord

Daly felicitus, Artist for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION.

Humility is knowing we cannot succeed by trusting in ourselves and our own human effort. Instead, we trust in God, thankful that He does what we cannot.

As we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and lean on Him at all times, He always equips us to do what we should be doing. Most human failure comes from people trying to do things in their own strength without relying on God.

I have found that when I feel frustrated, it is because I am exerting fleshly effort trying to do something that only God can do. I suggest that when you feel frustrated that you stop and ask yourself if you are doing the same thing.

Works of the flesh equal frustration, and works of the flesh mean that I am working without God.

We can live the joyful, overcoming life God has for us when we realize God helps those who know they cannot help themselves—those who realize they are totally dependent on Him and are grateful that He will provide everything they need.

Prayer Starter:

Father, I am thankful that I do not have to depend on my own strength or best effort to get through life. Thank You that You are here to guide me and help me each day. I trust You and I place my life in Your hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Call upon Him

Jemi, IUEf Educator for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

In this post we’ll discuss a practice by God’s people seen throughout the entire Bible: the practice of calling on the name of the Lord. Let’s see what it is to call on the name of the Lord and how this practice can benefit us.

Calling on the name of the Lord means out loud.

All Christians have at some point prayed to God. God hears these prayers, whether they’re silent, quiet, or loud. But the practice of calling, which is a form of praying, is definitely audible. In the Bible, the Hebrew word for call means to call out to, to cry unto, and the Greek word means to invoke a person, to call a person by name.

For example, when a little boy falls off a swing, he immediately cries out loud, “Mommy!” His mother hears and runs to him, wipes away his tears, and soothes him. Children cry out to their mothers when they’re hungry, tired, or scared. They cry because they’re helpless and they need to be cared for.

Similarly, by crying out to the Lord, we’re saying we’re hungry for Him, we need Him, and we can’t make it without Him..
We are created to call Upon the name of the Lord. So, call Jesus Christ..oh. Lord of Lords , King of Kings and he shall save from all troubles and keep you blessed.

Christian Life

Mrs. Jemi, IUEf Educator for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION.

Trust in the Lord...

As a Christian you must learn to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” But this famous passage from Proverbs 3 contains more than just a general statement about living. Instead, you’ll find the steps you need each day to truly walk with God.

Follow these 7 daily steps to make sure you’re leaning on the Lord:

1. Don’t Depend on You

We live in a world where trust must be earned and seems to be in short supply. But Solomon, the famous king who wrote Proverbs, knew that trust is exactly where we must start:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)
Most of us have faced disappointments, which have taught us that we can only depend upon ourselves. But living the life God has called us to means unlearning that lesson. Instead, we’re meant to rest in God’s understanding.

We may know in our minds that He possesses all wisdom:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33
But sometimes trusting Him completely like that can be tough. So, each day we must consciously lay aside our own plans and expectations—and surrender to His plans.

What if we don’t feel like we can trust Him like that? That’s where step 2 comes in…

2. Cry out to God

Surrendering to God begins with our lips and our thoughts. We need more than a commitment to depend on Him; we need to cry out to Him to show that dependence.

“in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6)
When we pray, we admit that His ways are higher than ours. We show that we’re leaving our troubles and burdens and dreams in His capable hands. In fact, the Bible promises that when we reach out to Him in prayer, He hears us:

“Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. ” (Psalm 55:17)
We handed the keys of our lives to Him, and we know that He’s able to lead us. But in order for that to work, we have to…

3. Run from Evil

So much in this world can clutter up our relationship with God. John, the writer of the fourth gospel, describes them as the desires of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride in our lives (1 John 2:16). In other words, our blessings can easily become our stumbling blocks when we think of them as what we deserve or what we need to be happy.

Instead, life works best when we remember the true source of our blessings—God—and focus on the things that please Him:

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” (Proverbs 3:7)
Sometimes, the only way to live the life God wants us to live is by separating ourselves from the bad influences that keep dragging us down. That works the best when we start pursuing something else in their place:

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22)
Is that easy? Not at all. Fleeing from the evil desires that pull at us means spending a lot of time crying out to God and leaning on Him. But our Creator promises to honor our commitment to Him when we shun evil:

“This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:8)
When we pursue Him, we find life—abundant life. Running from evil and pursuing God doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Instead, it means we have to make a serious change:

4. Put God First in Your Life

It’s easiest to put ourselves first. When something good happens, we want to congratulate ourselves with a reward. When something bad happens, we want to console ourselves or find someone to blame. In other words, we often have a “me-centric” starting place.

And when it comes to money, the struggle is even harder. But Solomon, who had quite a bit of wealth himself, knew that his money didn’t belong to him:

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9–10)
If we can trust God with the first of our wealth, we’re truly showing how much we depend on Him. Handing over the first part of our paycheck takes a huge amount of faith, after all. But doing so means being God-centric.

To get there, though, make sure you…

5. Check Yourself by God’s Word

Let’s be honest. We aren’t so good at evaluating ourselves. We will go to great lengths to excuse our behavior, our actions, and our sins. Who needs a defense attorney when we can pretty much find a reason for any bad thing we do? The prophet Jeremiah captures this very well:

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
If we’re ever going to truly trust in God and flee evil, we have to know exactly where we stand. We have to find an objective measure that tells us the truth. And that truth comes from God and His Word.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll always like what we see or how we see it:

“My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke” (Proverbs 3:11)
That’s right. Sometimes it takes something bad happening or seeing ourselves in a bad light before we finally admit that we need to change. And the more we’re in the Bible, the more likely this is to happen.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
When we have Scripture planted firmly in our hearts, God will often use that to deal with us.

6. Listen to the Holy Spirit

When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the church, He told His disciples that this Counselor would be their spiritual compass or GPS:

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
As we go through our day, this same Holy Spirit guides us, too. That means we don’t have to go it alone or hope we’re getting it right. No, the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth and protects us:

“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14)
After all, the gift of the Holy Spirit to us believers reminds us that we can truly…

7. Rest in God’s Love

When we face a difficult world each day, we can sometimes wonder if God even cares. Why do bad things happen? Where is God when I need Him? Solomon reminds us that God never takes a break or leaves us to fend for ourselves:

“because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:12)
Even in the midst of turmoil, God sticks with us and uses those challenges to shape us. When we understand that, our perspective completely flips. No longer do we see our setbacks as failures; we see them as moments when God, as our loving Father, works on us.

And that’s exactly why we can trust in the Lord with all our hearts. He cares for us each and every day. He gives us what we need to thrive. He pours blessing after blessing upon us.

Of course, following each of these daily steps isn’t easy. That’s why Jesus said we have to deny ourselves and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Trusting God takes a whole-hearted commitment from dawn till dusk. But we’re never alone in it:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

Amen

Rose of Sharon

Jemi, IUEf Educator, Heavenly Angels for DALY TEACHERS FOUNDATION

Jesus is the rose of Sharon....
What is the Rose of Sharon?"..

Answer: The Hebrew word sharon means “a plain or a level place.” The Plain of Sharon is the coastal plain between the mountains of central Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, north of Joppa to Mt. Carmel. The area is mentioned in Acts 9:35 in conjunction with the town of Lydda, which is about eleven miles SE of Joppa and is called “Lod” in the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 8:12). Modern Israelis have reverted back to the Old Testament name. This town is located in the midst of the Plain of Sharon. This area was proverbially fertile and known for its flowers. The “rose of Sharon” is found in the Song of Solomon 2:1. Therefore, we can surmise that the rose of Sharon flower is named for the district of Sharon.

Webster’s says that the “rose of Sharon” is a hardy plant of the mallow family with the name “Hibiscus Syriacus” and has white, red, pink, or purplish flowers. However, the Rose of Sharon mentioned in the Song of Solomon is a crocus-like flower and the source of saffron. The Hebrew word habaselet as used in Song of Solomon 2:1 is translated twice as “rose,” once here in the Song of Solomon and once in Isaiah 35:1. The translators may indeed have used the word rose to refer to the meaning of the Hebrew word, which is a flower similar to what we now know as a crocus or a bulb flower like a tulip. The NIV uses a footnote that says, “Possibly a member of the crocus family.” Therefore, the “rose of Sharon” is not really what we would classify today as a “rose,” but it could be a plant similar to the hibiscus or it could be a crocus or tulip.

Some Bible expositors see the rose of Sharon as Christ and the lily as the church, His bride. Some of the early church fathers were fond of this analogy as well. There are some parallels that may be drawn between Christ and the rose of Sharon, but most of them fall apart when we realize the rose is not a rose at all, but a crocus or tulip. In addition, the church is never portrayed as a lily in the Bible. In fact, the word “lily” doesn’t even appear in the New Testament. Some say that because the rose of Sharon grows in dry, unfavorable conditions, it symbolizes Jesus coming from the root of Jesse and David (Isaiah 11:1; Revelation 22:16), but labeling the house of Jesse and David as “dry” has no basis in Scripture, either. Of course, Jesus is as lovely and fragrant as a rose, but that is insufficient to definitively identify Song of Solomon 2:1 as symbolic of Christ.