Life's Not Normal...

This morning I woke up about 4:30am with 'this' thought on my head. It kept ringing in my mind as if I needed to hear it, not just once but over and over again.
I have been wondering quite a lot about my life lately. Why is it different?

I started thinking from the beginning of time, when God called Noah....all this while Noah was having a "normal" life...like all others, until one day when, "Genesis 6:13 God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth." Not only this, but that he had to build a boat...uh..on land!!!. Life didn't remain normal for him from that day on...

Then we read of Abraham, he must have been having a "normal" life at home with his parents and relatives in Us, until one day "Genesis 12:1[ The Call of Abram ] The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Little did this man know that God meant what He said and that, this decision would change his life and the life of his descendants forever and we know what we have because of this our "faith" ancestor.

Then Joseph..another little boy who's life changed at the age of 13 when he shared, the dream God gave him. His own brothers sold him as slave to another country, but God had not abandoned this boy, God meant to keep the promise made to him through a dream. Joseph's life did not remain normal anymore.

Then there was Moses, from the day he was born, God had chosen him to represent and lead His people. The day God met him at the burning bush, his life did not remain normal...he was to go stand before the pharoah and demand God's people be set free and lead them to the promised land. He did not have the normal life from the day he took up his duties given by God.

Then another little boy, a shepherd boy, his life changed from the normal, when the man of God Samuel approached him and anointed him (in spite of there being a king in Israel, Saul, at that time) according to God's command. ...

Moving on to the latter times in the Bible, Saul- he thought he was doing a good thing by killing the Christians..until the time Acts 9:4 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"...and then his life did not remain "normal" anymore.

Whatever we think of as a "normal" life, does not remain normal anymore when our God enters in, it does not make sense until God's full plan is revealed. It makes no sense at all when you're just starting or halfway in the plan, but until the end is revealed. The world has fallen drastically so God has to change people's lives drastically for us to come out of our "normal" lives and appreciate the pleasant and perfect will of God, which only God can explain....in the end. Does it make sense that Jesus, God's only Son had to die for people who didn't know Him, was that big a sacrifice needed? We know it did, and was a valuable thing for us. Our lives, no matter how abnormal it may seem, no matter how inexplicable certain turns in life may seem, God knows the outcome of it all and He knows it is beautiful. For Noah, he saved his entire family from flood, as well as the creatures of the earth on that boat. For Joseph, he saved his family from famine and the people of Egypt during drought. For Moses, his life brought deliverance for the Israelites from Egypt. For David, a throne was established for the Israelites, that which would never lack a king...and would be the predecessor of the Great and Mighty King to come. For Jesus, his life became the cause of Salvation for the entire human kind.

The 7th Dip

Now that Naaman knows what to do, he goes to Israel to meet this prophet,Israelite servant girl told him about.

9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan,

and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman was convinced enough to go upto Israel, yet he was utterly disappointed by the solution given to his problem. Was dipping in a river the ONLY solution he travelled for? Was "it" that simple? Surely he could have performed such a thing back at his own place. Why was he called out so far to do so? I think, if he had known earlier he wouldn't even have bothered coming. Come on now, his problem was BIG wasn't it? Also he had been bearing this trouble for such a long time, so wouldn't it be great if someone did something similarly BIG to resolve it!!!! I'd think so too.

But looking at the situation, from outside the book, I think

1. It wasn't so much about the "procedure" of healing, but of "obedience". Was Naaman going to be obedient enough to do what this man of God (whom he didn't know) asked him to do? This result of Naaman's choice to obey or not to obey, could bring him out of that situation or leave him in there.
2. It was about "desperation" . Naaman had probably been desperate to try anything in order to get rid of his situation and was willing and even went down to being humble enough to listen to his servant girl's suggestion.
3. It was about "humility". Naaman was a man of reason, he paid attention to people and that helped him a lot. His servants played an important role in his healing. This time, during his travel to the Israel nation to meet the Israelite prophet, when Naaman almost turns around and is about to walk away from that one step he was asked to take, to dip, his servants pitch in again "13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" And once again, you know Naaman did listen to them and HE WAS HEALED.

It was an interesting journey for Naaman, not knowing what to do, pressed into desperation by that disease, he humbled himself to listen to his servants and obedient, to the point of doing the silly and simple, 7 dips in the Jordan river as asked by the prophet. If we were to analyse the situation, it would break up into several points of being "obedient" in little things, which let into the big victory. Redemption from that BIG issue that Naaman was once facing. Sure enough it all amounted to this :- " his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. " Dipping 7 times, might have felt weird too (I think). Every dip made with the expectation to see a change, but it doesn't come until your done with the 6th one, which still wouldn't show you any changes, but it was the 7th dip. Almost like going around Jericho so many times, until that last but one, which still didn't show any indication of change. But the victory was in the last one. In the very end of obedience. So with 6 unsuccessful dips, would the 7th make a difference? Yes it did. It did because it was the completion of obedience. It was being obedient till the end of the ordeal.

Conclusion: Naaman was(I think) a desperate man, he had had enough with his situation and though not so willing, but was made willing with the help of his servants who ushered him into obedience and therefore winning the battle against disease, that had followed him for long. If you're in a situation, in a condition, in a disease which is just not letting go of you. Find out what to do (not all procedures are the same for everyone, though all may have similar diseases or shortcomings), from the right source of information. If you have found out and are following the instructions towards your redemption, then stay on it. Don't give up at the 6th dip. Go on to full obedience. The reward awaits at the end of it.

Jesus said in the parable ""His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'Matthew 25:20-22

The reward is not for people who've given up in between, even in the last but one effort, but for those who've gone till the end. "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2:9-11. Even to the point of death, the last stop of all human beings. Be encouraged, if you're at your 6th dip, the 7th is the one that heals. It does matter that you've been obedient in doing the 6 dips, without which you would never reach the 7th dip anyway. God will bless.

Whether we know it or not...

2 Kings 5

Naaman, a man we've all heard of since we were young. How he got healed of the skin disease. I got to thinking of all the ways in which this happened and God encouraged me as I read it.

1. God's at work in your life, whether you know it or not-v1- Naaman a very good commander of the Aramian army, then I read something about him "through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. " God was giving Aram victory through this man Naaman, a Syrian!!! All I can say is, this man might not have known God, but God was at work in his life, whether he knew it or not.
2. Window of opportunity, for introduction-v1, Though this man seemed all powerful, successful, in a good social standing, rich he had one shortcoming yeah he had leprosy. Now thats a bad disease, no one will touch you, no one will dare come to you for fear of getting it. He would probably have been a very lonely man, not having anyone who would come close to him. They would have probably looked at him differently, he stood out for reason no one would want to. Yes in our lives too, on one hand everything would be going great, yet there would be something that is not right. Well, here's an opportunity , for Naaman, to get introduced to a Living Healing God. A God who was able to resolve this condition that he faced. I take heart that, when there is a shortcoming in my life, there is a Living God waiting to introduce me to Him in a whole new way as a Redeemer from that situation. That makes life worth living.
3. God has done His homework-Now there is a wonderful piece of information the Word of God, lists right here. Just as a matter of factly for those who would want to notice it. like really notice it...and I am glad God showed me!! v2 "Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife" OK so, before Naaman could face these "peak" horrible days of leprosy, an Israelite girl was captured by the Aram army and she served Naaman's wife. I don't think Naaman would have even wondered someone could repair his lepros situation, let alone think of a little girl from Israel even being of help, other than doing the work around the house. But that was God's way of having someone near him in the situation, when the moment is right to begin the "process" of introduction to Himself as the Healer God. :) Hey, thats how our Loving Father works on behalf of His children, whether we know it or not. He has someone planted somewhere in our lives, and God is waiting for the right time for us to turn and listen.
4. The place you are in, is important- For the Israelite girl- it isn't such a great place to be in, captured by the enemy, living as a servant, but that was an important piece for someone else's life. Her being in Aram, a foreign country is very important for what is going to take place in Naaman's life. It isn't a description of a successful life (in our world), but it was in God's ways. She was where she was supposed to be. So what is politically, logically, socially, financially correct place to be in??? I'd say, to be in the place God called you to be. No matter how weird it may look to others. Remember when Jesus was out on the streets preaching the gospel, he dined and sat around with the tax collectors and the so called "bad" men of the society of that time and as "Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.Luke 5:30-32 . Have we ever thought of making fun of a doctor when he spends more time with the sick than the healthy? Then why do we look with prejudice, the people who live in the slums or come from poor houses, or from families that did not know Jesus.
5. Words that were said and obeyed-How much weight do you think, the word from a poor man matter to you, not much I guess. How much weight do you think the words of a servant will have in their master's house. No, masters never take suggestions from their servants, they run their own household, but this master did."3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." Whether her words would matter or not, this girl said what she knew best. Naaman wouldn't have known of the prophet, but this girl did and she must have said it pretty confidently, for the master of the house to act upon her word. Here's something to learn from this girl, how confident are we about our Living God, it will show in our words, also in our deeds. If our words about our Living God, doesn't trigger someone's thinking, then something sure must be wrong somewhere, in our conveying the matter, its not always the fault of the listener. Don't let go of the confidence you have in your Lord Jesus, because it is of much worth, it will save not only your life but others around you too.

Conclusion: Our God is constantly at work in our lives, whether we know it or not. Some of us may be in Naaman's position in our lives, waiting to get delivered from a condition/situation and not knowing where to get help from, for such , there is hope in listening and paying attention to whats been around you, your help, the Word of encouragement you're looking for, maybe even closer than you thought. For some, we'll be in a position like the Israelite girl, in a situation you never wanted to be in, in the first place, but then there is a special assignment for you there, so just hang in there, God will sure give you a way to introduce Himself to the people around you, in His Time.

God Bless

Sharing/Giving Multiplies

2 Kings 4:41-43
"42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.
43 "How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked. But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' " 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD."

Now this man brought stuff to Elisha, but Elisha in turn asked him to distribute it to the people. When this 20 loaves of bread was distributed, it multiplied so that there was some left over. Every time someone in the Bible shared, there was left over, surplus.

Now here's the power of sharing and giving

1. It multiplies the commodity given, so that even after sharing there is surplus, enough to meet the need of the giver and the people with whom the giver shares the commodity. e.g. Food multiplied ( 2 Kings 4:44,Mark 8:19), wealth multiplied (Malachi 3:10)
2. It brings equality-13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."[b]" 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

From what I have read in the past through lives of the widows and now from Elisha's life, is a simple fact of God's economy. God Himself demonstrated giving to us first, in this that "He gave His only Son that whosoever would believe in Him should not die but have everlasting life". God wanted to have a family with us, so He gave the "commodity" that would bring into action the law of God, to multiply. Not only did God get His Son back, but through this act of giving, God now has more sons and daughters. We've turned everything upside down haven't we. Ya we've found the term "banking" storing???? to bring x% interest on the amount. But in God's way of working, His law says in Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Yesterday I was wondering, Jesus went about His minstry, not in an air conditioned van, not with supplies for food, clothing and shelter. "58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Luke 9:58. Jesus was always out there on the street giving of Himself, His healing, sharing the love of God with the unloved, teaching the Word of God. A kid came and brought food for the 5000+ crowd that followed him. The fish came and brought money so they could pay the taxes. His needs were met, because He was giving. I have not read one verse in the Bible that says, Jesus had any lack during His work here on earth. He was being covered at heaven's expense. The fishermen shared their boats with Him, they in turn, were blessed with fish, with protection from storm and with the Word of God.

Conclusion: Its not only about tithes and offerings, there are different things we can give, we can give our time for praying for someone, we can give off our time to visit someone lonely, we can give of our Bible study that someone may be blessed, we can give in so many ways we never thought of. Jesus left His family, so He could start a new family here and introduce us to His family back home in heaven. Father gave of His Son, so that He would have more sons and daughters. What are we looking for, give it and we'll be returned in full measure, in the measure we have given. God gave His Son, not with conditions, but wholly that people could do what they want from Him, even to the point that they killed Him, and that unselfish, unrestrained love gift of His Son has brought us closer to our Heavenly Father, Yeah thats the right His gave us through His Son Jesus, so though He being God, we can now call Him Abba Father. What can I share?

Turning Death into Life

2 Kings 4:38-41

Background v38 "Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Lessons

1. Gathering the wrong stuff- In our life, we see, we want, whether God wants that for us or not, we do. In the process we may gather quite an amount of things that we dont know, and could be harmful.
2. Too dissolved-If we're able to get rid of the bad stuff before they harm us, good for us, but sometimes we get them so dissolved so diffused in our lives that after a point of time it becomes life threatening to us. Well the bad would have grown into us, too late for us to get rid of it. Its like a HABIT. If you remove the "H" "A BIT" is still left. If you remove the "A", "BIT is still left. If you remove the "B" "IT" is still left.
3. God's simple answer-When the people discovered that what they had gathered and cooked and blended into a stew was actually harmful, it was too late for them to do anything about it. But when Elisha came to know he just put in a little flour in it and it became alright.

Conclusion: No matter what we've picked up from life, or from people around or from Habit God is able to change that instantaneously. It may be difficult for us to get out of it, but our God is able to change any situation, even with a simple addition to our life, like flour to the stew. Sometimes the things we pick up from life may be someone's negative word about us, maybe some sin which we're just not able to let go because its becoming a habit now....God is able to intervene and make the necessary addition to change everything and make our lives beautiful again. Lets not struggle, with things that are trying to choke our lives, lets give our life (our stew) to God that He may put in His flour (u know flour is used to make bread and Jesus is the Bread of Life) so that our lives will be transformed as we recieve our Lord Jesus into our stew of a life, no matter how bitter or devastating our lives may have become, Jesus can change it.

Learning to Fly Like the Eagle

From reading about the Shunnamite woman , the Word of God showed me a lot of things as lessons for my life. You can read about her in 2 Kings 4.
This woman opened her house for Elisha so he could come and stay every time he was in town. Later Elisha finds that she doesnt have any children and blesses her." 16Elisha said, At this season when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son. " Now after some time the woman did have a son and now am reading at the place where her son died due to some problem in his head(v19-20). This woman goes all the way to meet Elisha and then Elisha comes into the scene and the boy is restored to life.

Here are the lessons I learnt, even as the woman learnt as she went through the situation of her dead child.

1. Anytime, God's ready-We may not be ready for the situations in our life, but God always is. Because He Knows the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 46:10). This woman had so got caught up with the way God was working in ELisha's life (since she'd been watching him from the time he had started staying with her and family) she knew she could go to Elisha any time. So when her husband doubted whether ELisha would help her "out-of-tern" so to speak, 23And he said, Why go to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath. And she said, It will be all right". She said it is all right.
2. Out of the comfort zone-This woman had a room made for Elisha and she knew that Elisha stays with them every time he came to Shunem(v8-10), but this woman (once well-to-do and content) has now become desperate. She could have waited for Elisha's visit, but she didn't. Now this woman, who would have spent her entire life in the comfort of her home asks her husband "22And she called to her husband and said, Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again." She was leaving her home on a journey to meet Elisha, because she was met with a situation she could not deal with, but she needed a solution. I wonder if she would have dared to go that far out and go see Elisha . If her son wouldn't have died she would have never left her home. There is a stage in every believer's life, like this woman, when God will shove them out of their comfort zone so we will start running after God and go where He is. Not just on Sundays but every day, or any day when God calls.
3. The Lord alone will help and lead-This woman's life was stirred up by the death of her child (the child was a gift from God) and now this makes sense to me, when God says his children will fly with wings like the eagles. Deuteronomy 32:10-12 says "11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. 12 The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him." When God stirs up our nest, He also hovers over us and spreads His wings and catches us in His wings. For this Shunnamite woman, Elisha was the only one who could help, because he was the one who blessed her with the child. So also, when our life is stirred (only because we should learn to fly, move onto the next step of our spiritual life) God is right there, hovering waiting and watching and if we should fall, He will catch us in His arms and ONLY HE CAN HELP and LEAD
4. Faith ALWAYS counts-"25So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite. 26Run to meet her and say, Is it well with you? Well with your husband? Well with the child? And she answered, It is well." Whats wrong with this woman, her son just died and she says It is well!!!. Thats how faith works, "1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Hebrews 11:1 She went in faith to Elisha, with hope that Elisha will surely know how to fix it.
5. Are you talking to the right man!!-When Gehazi (Elisha's servant) met the woman, she had nothing to say to him but she pours out her heart before Elisha "27When she came to the mountain to the man of God, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came to thrust her away, but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is bitter and vexed within her, and the Lord has hid it from me and has not told me.
   28Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?" She knew the person who could help her, she did not linger around Gehazi but went straight to Elisha. When we're in a situation we don't understand, after all God had blessed that barren woman with the child, she went to the giver of all life. She knew Elisha was the man of God. So also when we're faced with situations we never though should have happened, we must run to the One who already knew. To God. The One who gave us life, ONLY can fix it. Else we'll be wasting our time and money with counsellors, evaluators, dictators, and all kinds of others who think they've got the right to tamper with life itself. Dont, lets run to the One who gave us life.
6. God Himself will intervene- (v29-v35) Initially Elisha sends Gehazi with his staff to go heal the boy but nothing happens. Elisha then himself goes and the boy is brought back to life. God knows what will work for our situation and what will not, and in the case when nothing else works, no doctors are able to find the solution, no marriage bureau is able to find the right man or woman, God Himself will intervene and find the right answer for you. God will not stop at anything in order to bless, the one who has obeyed Him, had faith in Him and followed and run after Him.
7. Stay with the Anointed One, not chase after anointings- Here is something wonderful I noticed, when ELisha sent Gehazi out to put his staff on the woman's boy, "30The mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as my soul lives, I will not leave you." The Shunammite woman refused to leave Elisha. She was supposed to get excited and run after Gehazi and be there when her son would come to life, but she doesn't go with Gehazi who carried Elisha's staff, but stayed with Elisha. Many times, we get distracted by the wonderous things God does through a man and we start running after the man instead of God. We start looking forward for directions from the man, instead of God. We start trusting upon the man for our life, more than our God, without even knowing we would have run far away from the Anointed One, chasing after the anointing. God doesn't want us to run after the anointing, but to stay with the Anointed One, our Lord Jesus.

Conclusion: God has been so merciful to me in sharing such wonderful lessons from the life of the Shunammite woman. I am sorry for this being such a long post. I pray that you, my readers, will also be blessed, as I have been blessed learning this lesson. Remember, if you are a child of God and your nest has been stirred up, its only so you can learn to fly. And when you're in the process of learning to fly, remember God is by your side, with open arms so He can catch you if you fall. He's there hovering like the eagle hovers over its kids when they're learning to fly. Soon when we've learnt to trust our God with EVERYTHING about life, we'll be flying too and will become a blessing to people around, miracles from the Anointed One will change our situations. God will not stop at anything less than the best for His children, if only we have faith in Him and obedience to follow His lead.

God Bless

Dont Stop Midway

Now that Elisha had come to know that she did not have any children(2 Kings 4:14), she was blessed with a boy(2 Kings 4:15). "18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 "My head! My head!" he said to his father. His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. "(2 Kings4: 18-20)

1. We may be satisfied at where we are, but are we fruitful?-What this woman had been afraid of, had happened. She did not want a child(v16), she was content, but God had other plans for her, God had plans to show her more of Himself, His power to heal and to restore. She was going to see, that it wasn't enough for her to just be a well-to-do woman, but a complete woman who had children. Sometimes in our lives we are satisfied in being at the church every sunday, in every choir, in every church event. We are well-to-do spiritually, but God knows where we lack, we do not have fruit (like this woman did not have a fruit of her womb, though she sounded content). God would love us to have lives that are fruitful, lives that are capable of bringing up another life. Like a mother brings up her child. Fruitful lives. Are we fruitful? If not, don't be surprised if God would give us something we were afraid to have, like this woman was.
2. Run to the One who gave, 'coz only He can save-"v22 She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return." . Many times we may think we're able to resolve an issue on our own, our own prayer, our own efforts, I guess in this effort we tend to run in different directions, except the direction we need to run to. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:4-6 and this verse continues saying "6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" God knows the outcome of every situation better than we do, what we should do with the situation we're in is something only God knows and so its best we run to Him. Then we can all say like Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:11 "11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. "
3. Not just on Sunday, but every day- When the Shunnamite woman decided to go meet Elisha, her husband wondered, 23 "Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath." "It's all right," she said. However she knew that she could go to meet Elisha any time. So also must we know, our Lord expects us to come to Him at any time, for any need. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.Hebrews 4:15-16

Conclusion:No matter what we're facing, we know for sure that God knows whats happening. Situations may not be the way we thought they would be, not the way we thought it should go, but God knows, He awaits with open arms to hug us, as we go running to Him. Don't we as parents open our arms to hug our little ones when they run to us? How much more our Living Lord, who gave up His own Son, just so we could also be His own."He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?Romans 8:31-33

Emmanuel

I discovered in yesterday's post that God loves to stay with the people who invite Him in their lives.

God is so in love with us that He loves to be with us every single moment of our lives, if only we want Him. He is so serious about this fact that even His name reads "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us".

Results of God being with us.

1. Fullness in God- Elisha wanted to bless her with what was lacking. He searched and found out, through his servant. 14 "What can be done for her?" Elisha asked. Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old." (2Kings 4:14). When we've invited Jesus to dwell in our lives, He will search what is lacking in our lives and fill up our lives. Our Lord Himself said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:10)
2. Protection of God-When God dwelt with the Israelites as a pillar of cloud and fire, He provided them protection from their enemies.
3. Guidance from God-Not only did the Israelites get God's protection, when the pillar of fire came between them and the enemy, but also the pillar of cloud showed them the way to go. The pillar of fire lit up their path.

Conclusion:Our Loving Father, paid a heavy price just so He could have fellowship with us. He paid it in the blood and death of His only Son. How can we let go by such a costly sacrifice? No matter what you're in, God wants to be in it and bring you out into fullness. If, like this woman we are invite God to our lives. He will complete it in ways we could have never thought possible. God is able to provide for us, of things we thought we could live without, like this woman thought she could do without a son, yet God knew how and what could fill up the person's life. The person who values God's sacrifice, for the sake of our fellowship with Him.

Recognising - Dining - Dwelling

Elisha heads on to Shunem, there he has an encounter with another woman, this time a well-to-do woman.

"And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."

(2 Kings 4:8)

I noticed 3 things here,

(1) Recognising- This woman would have probably heard of Elisha and then has started observing him and understood that Elisha was a man of God, and so she tells her husband "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God". In order for us to know who God is, we've got to watch Him, His work (be it in our lives or in the lives of people around us). Like this woman, I recall Zacchaeus, "He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd." (Luke 19:3) He too would have heard about Jesus and now wanted to know who He is. Later on for both these people who wanted to know God better, we'll see they were blessed in whatever they needed, even without asking. Many times we see God's work and fail to recognise it, but the moment we do recognise our Lord's work in our lives, we must get ready cause we will now get to know our Lord.

(2) Dining-Another thing in knowing our Lord is to dine with him. The woman in Shunem, wanted Elisha to dine with them and so she urged him to come. In other words this woman invited Elisha to her house for a meal. It so went on, that later we read "So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat" v4. Now this tells me something wonderful, this dining was not a once in a while affair, the dining had become regular. So, as many times Elisha went to Shunem, he was dining at her house. As we open our hearts to understand our Lord, through His Word, soon we will be dining together, you know dining with the Lord means. "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4:33-35. So when we dine with our God, we're actually learning to do the work of God, learning to do what God had planned for us to do. In singing, in praying, in teaching, in pastoring, in leading a company, in being a sportsperson...we'll be doing the will of God for us.

(3) Dwelling-Soon the woman suggested to her husband "10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us." This woman, though well-to-do did have something lacking in her life, she knew the only one who could change her life-the power of Living God. Though she did not do all this just to get that blessing, there was that lack in her life nonetheless. She did not have any children. The woman must have been so blessed in the fellowship with Elisha (on whom the Spirit of God rested) that she longed to know more of God through him. She built him a room above their house so he could stay. Soon Elisha was staying at their house every time he came.

Whats the lesson for us in this?
In reading the above episode, I was reminded of what Jesus said in Revelations "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."(Revelation 3:19-21).

The most important lesson I learnt is that, once we've recognised our Lord, we've taken our first step to know Him. Then in dining with the Lord, it is a regular meeting at a specific time. Dining though is not a continuous affair, it happens only when we are hungry.
Then we move on to dwelling, the most important stage of our relationship with our Lord. When someone stays with us, we get to know that person better. We watch the person all the time, we see the behaviour of the person. The longer they stay, the more the relationship grows. The longer they stay, the more we get to know about them day by day. We get acquainted with their habits. After some time we may even be able to say "Oh , I know that person, he/she likes such and such flower, their favourite colour is blue, they like food presented in this manner, they love this kind of music, they're aim in life is to become so and so, they love this, they hate that...and a whole lot more etc." These are some things we may not be able to learn about a person in occasional meetings. Also when we start staying with a person, who might usually have appeared as cheerful, may have something that troubles them deep within, we slowly get to know their hurts, their joys, their sorrows, their struggles...Thats what happened with this woman. God made sure that Elisha came to know what that woman needed. " v14 "What can be done for her?" Elisha asked. Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old." Elisha later prayed to God and the woman had a baby the same time next year.

The more our God dwells with us, i.e the more we invite our Lord to dwell with us, God looks into our lives and changes us little by little that we may know Him a little more and that we may be blessed. Our lives start changing from the inside, all emptiness in our lives will be filled, because we invited our Lord to come stay with us, to be with us, to stay as a family member. We all are children of God, estranged by sin, yet God wants us to recognise Him, our Daddy, His fingerprint is on us, He longs to have fellowship with us. That was the main purpose, He made us. He is the only one who can complete us. Thats what God would love His children to do, recognise Him, invite Him to dine and invite Him to dwell with them. He's a Gentleman, He won't just come, until You invite Him, though He is your Heavenly Father. God longs for His children to be happy to have Him around, happy to let Him be Dad of their lives, happy to take God's help and become, that which He created us to be.It is God's desire, like any parent to have their children close to Him, to dwell with Him. When Jesus spoke to Zaccheus, He said "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."Luke 19:4-6 And Zaccheus "6 hurried and came down, and he received and welcomed Him joyfully." In this Zaccheus was blessed. He gave up all his possessions, all wealth he had acquired through wrong means. Zaccheus had been trying to fill up His life with money, but now He had found someone Who could bless him and fill him all in all.
Dear friends, on our Living Lord can fill us in the manner like no one else, for He knows our needs, He knows what we lack and only He is able to complete us. Our lives can never find satisfaction in money, wealth, fame, lust or anything else we've been trying to fill it with. Only Jesus can fill us completely.

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Give it(Empty)- Take it (Full)

I am now moving on to 2 Kings 4.A lot has happened since Micaiah prophesied the truth. He had prophesied that Ahab would die in the battle and he did. Ahaziah (Ahab's son) dies on Elijah's warning, as he went out to consult baal-ekron regarding his fall from the lattice. After the completion of Elijah task on earth, he gets caught up into the heavens in a chariot of fire and Elisha receives a double portion of Elijah's anointing.

Right now I have something to share with you from Elisha's encounter with a widow. [ The Widow's Oil ] The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."2 Kings 4:1-3 This lady is in deep distress, she is the wife of one of the prophets who served with Elisha. Elisha gives her some instructions on collecting as many empty vessels as she can and blesses her with oil that doesnt end until the last jar is completely filled.

Here are the lessons I learnt from another widow's life

1. God can help us with what we already have (v2)-" 2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."The widow at Zarephath shared her flour and oil with Elijah and they had enough for them and for Elijah throughout the famine. The little boy with fish and bread had enough lunch for himself, but when he shared with Jesus it became enough to feed a crowd of thousands of people. Even with this widow, she said she had nothing, oil is all she had. Well to think of it from her point of view, what can man do with a little oil. What could a big crowd do with just few loaves of bread and some fish? What could Moses do with just the staff, wondering before the burning bush? What could David do with 5 stones, compared to the giant standing before him? You know in our lives we have some things we think are not enough or are of no value,well this woman too didnt know, how could just some oil be of any help to her and her child. But then it doesn't matter "what" you have but that you have and you are giving. Everything we have is for a purpose, if we know to account it all a blessing. What can you do with just 2 $, not much in the world, but that can bring great results in God's economy, because God's child was willing to share it with God, God's children know, they've got God backing them up like David did.
2. When you give to God what little you have, get ready to take and be filled from God-It was amazing for me to notice again, that with the little that belonged to the woman for her and her family, with that little fish and bread the little boy had for himself, with that oil and flour the widow in Zarephath had for her and her son. That little that they had every time, was turned into plenty. The minimum gear that David used brought deliverance to all the Israelites. If you've got the ability to prayer and thats all you can do, lets give it to God, it will be made a cause for revivals. If you've got the ability to sing, sing aloud for the Lord and we know from the Word of God the Spirit of God is welcomed and brings about God's plan for people. If there be anything you've got and it has been just enough for you, give it to God and see God use it to bless you and multiply it to bless all. Whatever little you've got, just give it to God and see how God is able to help you share it with the World around you.
3. The level of our filling depends on the level of our emptiness- "6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing" Our emptiness for life, can only be filled by God and above that, God will fill us only till the point of our emptiness. How many empty jars can we bring to God? God is able to fill them all. There is another lesson through this too. This lady was asked to bring jars from her neighbours!!!! "3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few" What was she doing filling up other people's jars with oil??? But you know, oil is a symbol of anointing. When God has placed some anointing on you (for healing, for preaching, for teaching, for writing, for singing, for exhorting in worship, for children's church caring....etc...) it will flow from you when its flowing into the lives of others. The anointing with which God has anointed us will multiply and grow, not when we've been trying to save it for ourselves. Let's go use the gift and the anointing God has given us so that it may multiply. If you feel that you've not grown an inch (spiritually) since you came to know Jesus, then we better look at our lives, have we been sitting at home with our anointing and hiding it and waiting for a better opportunity to come. Well even from home, God can use us, in the most powerful weapon of all. The anointing of Prayer.
4. Separate yourself from everything and let the river of God flow-"4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." Elisha asked the widow to close the door behind her. The work of the Holy Spirit keeps happening on the inside, the anointing keeps multiplying on the inside and the neighbours(people around us) will see the result of what God has done, when they see the many jars of oil filled. When we've given God our little gift that we have, God will be multiplying it when we meet with him personally inside, and the jars will be filled as we pour out what little we have. Thats what happens with God's people I guess, most of their anointing gets multiplied when they're spending time alone pouring out what little they have before God, its getting increased, separated from the outside, separated from whats going on around, but closer with God. And the thing is, people outside will know something special happened when the child of God went inside to meet with God, when the child of God poured out what little they had before God. Let the power of God flow through your life. Get into His Presence and pour it out before the Lord.

Conclusion: The power and anointing of God rests with all His children. Most of us have let our anointing sit in one corner and, its been so long, that it just sits there and in some cases we;ve even forgotten we were special people of God. Let's get into God's presence and close all doors which take away our attention from God and the little that we have, for God would like us to use that little, so He can multiply it so it would bless us and bless all who are around us.

The Word of God says
20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22