“She gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.”
- Ruth 2:3
Her hap was. Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother’s blessing, under the care of her mother’s God, to humble but honourable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step. Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, that he should make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she a poor foreigner should become one of the progenitors of the great Messiah. God is very good to those who trust in him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us to-morrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us, that no good thing shall be withheld. Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything. The trivial events of to-day or to-morrow may involve consequences of the highest importance. O Lord, deal as graciously with thy servants as thou didst with Ruth.
How blessed would it be, if, in wandering in the field of meditation to-night, our hap should be to light upon the place where our next Kinsman will reveal himself to us! O Spirit of God, guide us to him. We would sooner glean in his field than bear away the whole harvest from any other. O for the footsteps of his flock, which may conduct us to the green pastures where he dwells! This is a weary world when Jesus is away-we could better do without sun and moon that without him-but how divinely fair all things become in the glory of his presence! Our souls know the virtue which dwells in Jesus, and can never be content without him. We will wait in prayer this night until our hap shall be to light on a part of the field belonging to Jesus wherein he will manifest himself to us.

JOHN 13:5

“He began to wash the disciples’ feet.”
- John 13:5
The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still their servant as well as their Friend and Master. He not only performs majestic deeds for them, as wearing the mitre on his brow, and the precious jewels glittering on his breastplate, and standing up to plead for them, but humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with the basin and the towel. He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant infirmities and sins. Last night, when you bowed the knee, you mournfully confessed that much of your conduct was not worthy of your profession; and even tonight, you must mourn afresh that you have fallen again into the selfsame folly and sin from which special grace delivered you long ago; and yet Jesus will have great patience with you; he will hear your confession of sin; he will say, “I will, be thou clean”; he will again apply the blood of sprinkling, and speak peace to your conscience, and remove every spot. It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of his erring but yet beloved child! To dry up a flood of rebellion is something marvellous, but to endure the constant dropping of repeated offences-to bear with a perpetual trying of patience, this is divine indeed! While we find comfort and peace in our Lord’s daily cleansing, its legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for holiness. Is it so?

2 John 2

“For the truths sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.”
- 2 John 2
Once let the truth of God obtain an entrance into the human heart and subdue the whole man unto itself, no power human or infernal can dislodge it. We entertain it not as a guest but as the master of the house-this is a Christian necessity, he is no Christian who doth not thus believe. Those who feel the vital power of the gospel, and know the might of the Holy Ghost as he opens, applies, and seals the Lord’s Word, would sooner be torn to pieces than be rent away from the gospel of their salvation. What a thousand mercies are wrapped up in the assurance that the truth will be with us for ever; will be our living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege, without it our faith were little worth. Some truths we outgrow and leave behind, for they are but rudiments and lessons for beginners, but we cannot thus deal with Divine truth, for though it is sweet food for babes, it is in the highest sense strong meat for men. The truth that we are sinners is painfully with us to humble and make us watchful; the more blessed truth that whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus shall be saved, abides with us as our hope and joy. Experience, so far from loosening our hold of the doctrines of grace, has knit us to them more and more firmly; our grounds and motives for believing are now more strong, more numerous than ever, and we have reason to expect that it will be so till in death we clasp the Saviour in our arms.
Wherever this abiding love of truth can be discovered, we are bound to exercise our love. No narrow circle can contain our gracious sympathies, wide as the election of grace must be our communion of heart. Much of error may be mingled with truth received, let us war with the error but still love the brother for the measure of truth which we see in him; above all let us love and spread the truth ourselves.

Ps 104:16

"The trees of the Lord are full of sap."

- Psalm 104:16

Without sap the tree cannot flourish or even exist. Vitality is essential to a Christian. There must be life -a vital principle infused into us by God the Holy Ghost, or we cannot be trees of the Lord. The mere name of being a Christian is but a dead thing, we must be filled with the spirit of divine life. This life is mysterious. We do not understand the circulation of the sap, by what force it rises, and by what power it descends again. So the life within us is a sacred mystery. Regeneration is wrought by the Holy Ghost entering into man and becoming man's life; and this divine life in a believer afterwards feeds upon the flesh and blood of Christ and is thus sustained by divine food, but whence it cometh and whither it goeth who shall explain to us? What a secret thing the sap is! The roots go searching through the soil with their little spongioles, but we cannot see them suck out the various gases, or transmute the mineral into the vegetable; this work is done down in the dark. Our root is Christ Jesus, and our life is hid in him; this is the secret of the Lord. The radix of the Christian life is as secret as the life itself. How permanently active is the sap in the cedar! In the Christian the divine life is always full of energy-not always in fruit- bearing, but in inward operations. The believer's graces, are not every one of them in constant motion? but his life never ceases to palpitate within. He is not always working for God, but his heart is always living upon him. As the sap manifests itself in producing the foliage and fruit of the tree, so with a truly healthy Christian, his grace is externally manifested in his walk and conversation. If you talk with him, he cannot help speaking about Jesus. If you notice his actions you will see that he has been with Jesus. He has so much sap within, that it must fill his conduct and conversation with life.

SUNDAY THOUGHT-20

SUNDAY THOUGHT-20 Individual Participation in worship Christians generally gather on Sunday for church meeting in which a significant amount of time is given for worship. But a majority will leave the meeting having a satisfaction of 'seeing' the worship. This is due to the fact that there is no scope for individual participation in most worship meetings. This is true not only in nominal Christian churches but in protestant evangelical churches as well. I had opportunity to witness different kinds of worship meetings. One kind is where only the 'leader' alone leads the entire service. The people are mostly silent spectators of what the leader does. They might say 'amen' at the end of what this leader say. Another kind is just opposite to this, where everyone collectively raises their voices and praise and worship God together. And most often few among the group give the 'motivating push' for the mass of people. The result is that each one is engaged with his own way of worshipping God and leave with the satisfaction that 'I did worship, but I do not know about him or her". No one is gaining any edification from each other in this kind of worship meetings. There is a third kind of worship style where only a group of 'assigned people' do all activities of the service and others just watch and hear what these assigned ones might do or say. And a fourth one is where there is no particular person as the 'leader of the service' and almost every one is involved in worship by exercising various gifts they have resulting in praising, thanksgiving, singing and exhorting each other for worship one by one. The absence of a leader does not lead to confusion or commotion rather orderliness and decency are visibly maintained. From the New Testament we cannot draw a specific pattern for worship, but this fourth kind I described seems a better and meaningful pattern for worship meetings. When the church gathers together, everyone is important and has significance as members of the church. The priesthood of believers is a correct teaching of the N.T. Therefore, every saint redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ has the right and privilege to worship God and offer thanksgiving. Our worship meetings /services should be planned in such a way that every believer can express his/her worship to God in a meaningful manner. Paul had plenty of things to correct in the Church at Corinth as to their practices. But one thing he did not correct rather accepted was their participation in church meetings. Their problem was an improper and disorderly exercising of gifts by the believers. But they were very active in participating in the church meetings. He says: "How is it then brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, and has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification (1Cor. 14:26). Paul here thinks about any gathering of the saints at any time: Notice the 'whenever'. Any gathering of the saints at any time is a time to worship God as well. Not only on the first day of the week when the church gathers specifically for worship. I would say that it is the responsibility of the leadership of each local church to make sure that all the saints does actively participate in worship. (By Participation I do not mean mere attendance in meetings or that we join with others to sing songs. Rather taking turn individually to praise god or to give thanks). To those who need motivation for this it should be given. Those who need encouragement it should be given. To those need guidance or training it should be given. Our individual participation in praise and thanksgiving would help other brothers and sisters to be strengthened in faith or bring edification or even correction for them. Letting people continue in silence will not do any good to the individual nor the church and therefore to be discouraged. Different denominations do have their self developed patterns or systems of worship. But any pattern that does not allow participation for every believer is not a proper pattern. Worship meetings of the nominal Christian churches where the 'priests' does everything for people(as in Judaism of the O.T.) is against the New testament teaching about worship and therefore we reject as not acceptable to God. But if the churches which claim allegiance to the N.T. do not give openness for all believers to participate in worship, then it is wrong. Some of the contemporary churches who are "seeker sensitive" try to adopt "attractive features" into the worship services to keep the crowd 'happy' and 'feel good.' Sometimes these turn to be entertainment programs than worship services. This, I would say, is contrary to the spirit of true and acceptable worship. A worship service is not to make us 'feel good' rather to honor God the father. When every believer has an opportunity to participate in worship based upon each one's spiritual enablement, the result will be genuine edification of the body. There is another potential issue and seemingly controversial as well, which I cannot bypass when individual participation is discussed. That is about sister's participation in the worship session of the church. Can they praise God the father openly and publicly as the male believers do? Recognizing the controversy over this issue and its sensitive nature, I would deal with this in detail in a later article in Sunday Thought (probably in the next one). But as we prepare to worship God this week, let's not be silent spectators rather participate individually in praising God and giving Him honor and thanks . Yours in The gloriuos ministry of God Joji George Abraham