Learn from Him

B. A. Manakala If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Ps 66:18 nlt) The picture above is of a durian fruit. It looks spiky and ugly from outside. But it is beautiful and tasty from inside. People buy it because it is tasty inside, though it does not look beautiful. When we look at people, we may only see what is outside, which may not be the reality. Some may appear good outside; and some may not look very attractive outside. Not all of us would have the discernment in reading what is in the heart of every other person. The irony is, sometimes we ourselves cannot see what is inside our own heart. Therefore, David once prayed: ‘Point out anything in me that offends you’ (Ps. 139:24). We often need God and other people to help us identify what sinful ways are in us. If the heart of the problem is solved, the rest may be sorted out automatically. How often do you ask God to point out anything in you that offends God? Be good from outside, be even be...

B. A. Manakala For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. (Ps 66:17 nlt) Recently, in our family, we decided to sit together and talk about the good things in every other person. This creates a powerful bond in our family. We are often good at finding fault with others, rather than the good. In some way this attitude gets reflected in our relationship with God also. We generally think of God as just a Provider. He would love to hear us praise Him at least as often as we pray. The Psalmist included praise in prayer (Ps. 66:17). He is most worthy of praise (145:1). It is good to learn to praise others and God as often as possible. It is also best if we can learn to move forward even if others do not praise us as we deserve. How do you feel when you are praised by others? What one step would you take to praise God often? The more we include praises in our prayers the more powerful our bond with God becomes! Prayer: Lord, teach me to praise you as often as possible, even whe...

B. A. Manakala Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. (Ps 66:16 nlt) I know somebody who turns my attention to God whenever I have a conversation with him. Therefore, I like having conversations with him. Human beings cannot live without speaking and sharing their heart with others. That's how God made them from the beginning. But what do we share is an important question. Do not think that we speak to others only through words. We are always speaking to the people around us through our life! The Psalmist says here, I will tell you what God did for me' (66:16). It is our lifelong mission to tell others about God. Be gracious and attractive in your speech (Col 4:6). What do you tell others whenever you have an opportunity? We are always passing on some message to the people around us; make it a point to pass on only what is beneficial to them! Prayer: Lord, you increase in me that I would reflect you increasingly. Amen

B. A. Manakala That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you— the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. (Ps 66:15 nlt) Once a man attended a prayer meeting. When the time came for the collection of offertory he was so sad that he had no money to offer. Finally, he removed his wrist watch and placed it in the offering box. God will never force us to even offer anything at all, forget about the best offering. We should also note that no one can offer anything to God directly, but they are channeled through people. Therefore, be willing to both give and receive offerings, with the right attitude. Do not just receive everything that is given to you; do not just give only the things that you do not need anymore. It may be helpful to think about the gifts God gave us before we offer something to Him or others. How do you define the quality and quantity of your offering and gifts? When we buy gifts, always choose a better quality than what we woul...

B. A. Manakala yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble. (Ps 66:14 nlt) “My son was seriously ill within a few days of his birth. I made a vow to the Lord that he will be separated for the service of the Lord if God heals him”, a mother said. We tend to make vows when we are in trouble just as we see in this Psalm (66:14). And this is probably a good way to get out of the trouble. Perhaps, God may use troubles as means to help someone make a vow, obey Him, or fulfil His plan. It would be better for us to make vows to the Lord as and when the Lord desires, rather than waiting for trouble. Also remember that it is better not to make vows if you are not able to fulfill it (Ecc. 5:5). How would you sense if God desires for you to make some vows? Don’t be hesitant to make the vows the Lord guides you to make; be determined to fulfill the vows you make to the Lord. Prayer: Lord, help me to make the vows you desire and fulfill them. Amen

B. A. Manakala Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you (Ps 66:13 nlt) On one of my birthdays my young son came to me saying "pappa, I have a special gift for you". He handed over to me a folded torn piece of paper. Today, I don't know where his gift is. But I can't forget the message he wrote in it: "Pappa, I love you so much". Maybe some of us have offered to God many things. It is important to fulfil the vows made to the Lord (Ps. 66:13); but it is even more important that it is done with love. The attitude is more important than the quality and quantity of the offering. God loves only a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). Think of our offering to God and reflect on our attitude. What message do we pass on to God in our offerings? Offer to God the best; and do not offer grudgingly! Prayer: Lord, always help me to offer with love. Amen

B. A. Manakala Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance. (Ps 66:12 nlt) Once we visited a tourist location known as Silent Valley. Two hours of jeep ride through the rocky and muddy road in the jungle was too hard for us. But the scenery from the top of the mountain was fabulous that we forgot about the tough journey. We go through fire and flood on earth; but our destination has great abundance (Ps 66:12). Consider these three things to press on: 1) there are others who are traveling along with you, 2) focus on the destination rather than the route and, 3) God is capable enough to take you to the destination for sure. How would you change your focus from the tiresome journey? Our journey is rough and tough; our destination will be safe and sound! Prayer: Lord, hold my hand and lead me through the tough path. Amen

B. A. Manakala You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. (Ps 66:10 nlt) A vaccine for Covid19 has been announced by many countries by now. But none of them seems to be tested enough and proven yet! You are tested and proven to be purified through slavery, fire and flood (Ps 66:10-12). But remember, there is abundance at the end (verse 12). All of us like the final product; but not so much the process in between. Rom 8:18 says, "Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later." Do you want to ask God to keep you away from suffering, or ask for His grace to go through the suffering? The more severe the testing, the better the output product would be! Prayer: Lord, give me your grace to pray according to your plan for my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling. (Ps 66:9 nlt) Sometimes my young children want to come to the driving seat when I am driving. You know how careful I must be to give the steering to them while on the move. They satisfy themselves often while the car is parked. Our life is often at risk either because we may be mishandling it or we give it into the hands of our friends and others who do not know how to handle it. Remember, you may also have many lives in your hands: your children, parents, friends, relatives etc. Trust God and do your best, in carefully handling their lives, so that ultimately they will also surrender their lives into the hands of the Almighty. Once David said, it is better to fall into the hands of the Lord than to human hands (2 Samuel 24:14). Do you wish to give your life completely to the One who knows to handle it well? Give your life to the safest hands that know to handle it even for eternity! Prayer: Lord, I give m...

B. A. Manakala For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. (Ps 66:7 nlt) As parents we think we are watching every movement of our little daughter. But she surprises us by some of the things she does: sitting inside the shelf, breaking cups, drawing on the wall etc. God is watching every movement of the nations (Ps. 66:7); he is watching every movement of the church, the family, individuals, the creatures, the planets, name the rest. He is watching every movement of the whole creation. Nations are making different schemes, sometimes to build, other times to destroy; sometimes without even recognising that God is watching! On what occasions in your life do you forget that God is watching? God as the watchman of the whole creation does a marvellous job! Prayer: Lord, remind myself often that you are watching. Amen

B. A. Manakala He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him. (Ps 66:6 nlt) I picked up a hammer and began to beat on the floor slowly. Then I ran my left hand under it back and forth while continuing to beat. I increased the speed upto about three times per second. My children were amazed! We are amazed at God’s miracles. But do you think God's power is revealed completely through such miracles? God could have made Israelites walk on the sea just as Jesus and Peter did. He could have flown them to the other shore as He did to Philip. He could have killed the Egyptians by a fire or by splitting the land open as He did to Korah and followers. Miracles just give us a glimpse of God’s power that helps us to believe in Him. Whether we believe it or not God can just do anything! Would you dare to pray and desire for God’s extraordinary miracles that would bring glory to God? Do not think God is just a miracle-worker; He is God. Pray...

B. A. Manakala Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs. (Ps 66:4 nlt) I have heard someone say, "I eat everything that doesn't bite me back", by which he means that he has no preferences while eating. But I have noticed him having certain preferences on the dining table. There is nothing that can be exempt from worshipping God. 'Everything' includes all of God's creation, even the non-living things. They are all submissive to Him and His commands. In the Bible we see examples of the sea, the land, the plants, the worms, the fish, the wind etc obeying God! Only man chooses to disobey as he has been given the freewill. Obedience is better than sacrifice. In other words, worship is meaningless without obedience. Are you able to worship God just like any other creation? It is meaningless to worship God only with our words; do it with our life! Prayer: Lord, help me to submit to you completely just lik...

B. A. Manakala Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is.  (Ps 66:2 nlt) A floating iceberg is something that the sailors would be very careful about because generally only about one tenth of it would be seen above the water. In other words, their calculations about the actual size of a floating  iceberg could be quite wrong. As created beings we need to accept that we can never fully understand how glorious God is. We limit God by thinking ‘I know who is God’. God’s boundaries cannot be explained by human language and brain. And if you have got a tiny glimpse of who God is, you cannot stop telling others about it. How curious are you to know how glorious God is? If at all you got a tiny glimpse of who God is, you cannot stop praising God, but will stop praising yourself. Prayer: Lord, show me at least a little bit of your glory every day. Amen

B. A. Manakala Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! (Ps 66:1 nlt) Our one-year-old daughter doesn't speak yet; but somehow she expresses when she is hungry, sleepy, angry, joyful etc. Sometimes, she cries too loud in the night that the next morning neighbours check with us about it. Does God really want us to raise our voice in praise? God wants us to express our praises to Him whatever way possible. It may be shout, silence, cry, smile, singing, words etc. God expects that our whole life, in word and deed, proclaim Him and His praise. Our neighbours and people around must be able to see us as genuine worshippers as individuals, as families and as churches. How loud (not just the volume) do you worship God? Be as 'loud' as you can, both in word and deed, in praising God! Prayer: Lord, help me to shout louder praises to you all the days of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy! (Ps 65:13 nlt) Rarely we leave children at home and go out for some emergent needs. They are quite sad when we do this. As we return we see their expressions of joy, jumping up and down and telling various stories. This helps us understand how much they love us and our presence. All of God's creations are joyful, and they sing and worship their Creator, even the sheep and the grain (Ps 65:13). Everything was created for Him (Col 1:16), and therefore, they all respond to Him as intended. They were given no choice; but human beings were given the choice. From the garden of Eden we see man makes wrong choices very often, including the choice of not being joyful in His presence. We are to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4). God enjoys when we rejoice. How would you choose to rejoice even when things do not seem to go well in life? Rejoicing is a cho...

B. A. Manakala You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance (Ps 65:11 nlt). Once a farmer went to sow the seed. Some fell on the good ground, while some on the hard pathways which were eaten up by birds. But those that fell on the good ground grew up and gave a good produce (Mtt 13). We have no hope for the seeds that fall on hard pathways. Even such pathways can overflow with abundance when God is involved (Ps 65:10-11). God can protect even the pathways without allowing the evil one to snatch away the seeds?  In what areas of your life does hopelessness overrule? God's abundance may appear in the areas that you have no hope for! Prayer: Lord, help me to trust you even for the hard pathways of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so (Ps 65:9 nlt). Generally farmers depend on rain for their agriculture. Sometimes they may not even know the One who sends the rain and controls the seasons. Human beings are responsible to care for the land; but ultimately God takes care of them. Only God can decide the amount of rain for each year and season. Sometimes there is drought on earth; but the river of God has plenty of water (Ps 65:9). The abundant crops is His blessing (verse 10). When God created everything in the beginning He saw that everything was good. But we failed in taking care of the creation well. We often destroy the land by using fertilisers and artificial chemicals to gain more money in a short time. It, then, takes several years to restore the naturalness of the land. God is continuously at work in restoring the whole cre...

B. A. Manakala You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations (Ps 65:6-7 nlt). Once an ant hid behind a tree to take revenge against it's opponent who is an elephant, saying I will trip the elephant up with my foot, as it passes by! Often our understanding about God's strength is like what this ant thinks about the elephant. Possibly there are two ways people ignore God's strength: 1) some think these are very simple matters that I can handle without God; 2) some consider their problems or even satan as so powerful that God cannot deliver them. Both of these are dangerous extremes. How much of God's mighty strength have you experienced in your past life? No human brain can ever measure God's power; and that is why He is God! Prayer: Lord, help me to understand at least a small percentage of your strength during my lifetime. Amen

B. A. Manakala You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas (Ps 65:5 nlt) Once Jesus' disciples were sailing on the sea of Galilee. In the middle of the sea during the night they were troubled by strong winds and heavy waves. Jesus came to them walking on water, maybe as an answer to their heart cry. As Jesus got into the boat the wind stopped. Our God is faithful in answering our prayers. There is only One who can respond to our cry for help anywhere, any time and any circumstances! We tend to trust in people and things around as they are physically available. But God is waiting to respond to our prayers. Do you know that God is faithful in answering our prayers even when He seems silent? There is no place in the universe where God cannot reach to respond to our prayers! Prayer: Lord, help me to remind myself every day that you are faithful in responding to my prayers. Amen

B. A. Manakala What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us inside your holy Temple (Ps 65:4 nlt). In many families I noticed that children stay nearer to mother than father. When eating, sleeping, playing or whatever, they find a way to be near to the mother. In this verse we see that God chooses to bring near those who live in His holy courts (65:4). God has a process of choosing; but that is based on our desire to live in his presence. Our ability to sing, preach, pray, even going to church cannot be considered as qualifications to be selected by God. Once Jesus addressed the Pharisees and said, ‘these people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’ (Mtt. 15:8). How much desire do you have to be in His presence? God will not choose to bring near those whose hearts are away from Him and worship Him with their lips! Prayer: Lord, help me to live in your temple all the days of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all (Ps 65:3 nlt). Once I attended a wedding. The bride's and groom's family members looked similar and attractive in their uniforms. The lighting in the hall changed the colours and made all the audience look alike. Once we are part of His family we all look alike. All the sins we committed except … , sorry, including the ones you think cannot be forgiven, are forgiven! As long as we live in the flesh there are chances for us to sin again; repent and get back on track. Do you believe all your sins are forgiven? Forgive others as much as you are forgiven! Prayer: Lord, help me to believe that you have forgiven all my sins when I accepted you. Amen

B. A. Manakala for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you (Ps 65:2 nlt) The school began as usual. Afterwards, suddenly the principal announced an assembly of everyone in the school for an emergency. And EVERYONE assembled very quickly, because the principal is the highest authority in the school. One day ALL must come to Him (Ps 65:2) There is going to be no one who can be exempt from this. Different levels of authorities exist. All of them are set by and controlled by the Supreme authority. When the Principal announces the assembly one day even those who are hesitant will have to gather. Do you submit to the supreme authority along with all the authorities given to you? You have no authority other than what is given to you from above (Jesus)! Prayer: Lord, help me to understand that the authority I have is given by You and that You are the supreme authority. Amen

B. A. Manakala The godly will rejoice in the Lord and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him (Ps 64:10 nlt) Many years ago, I remember meeting a godly man when he was going through very tough times in life. As soon as he saw me he gave me a brilliant smile that made me think, 'what makes him smile so well even in such a time'. Even today his smiley face comes to my mind! In verse nine we see that 'everyone will be afraid' because of the situation. Yet, the godly will rejoice.  Naturally no human being can rejoice when the situations in life are going from bad to worse. But there is something supernatural in the godly that they can still rejoice. Are you able to rejoice even in the midst of the pandemic or the troubles in your life? People can easily differentiate between artificial and natural smiles. Prayer: Lord, help me to always smile at others because of your presence in me. Amen

B. A. Manakala Then everyone will be afraid; they will proclaim the mighty acts of God and realize all the amazing things he does  (Ps 64:9 nlt). When Daniel came out of the lions' den unharmed, king Darius announced: 'everyone in my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel'. Some of us have seen the mighty acts of God; but some of us are still waiting to see them. If we saw them we cannot withhold ourselves from proclaiming it. And such proclamations can cause disturbances among the people. Let us open our eyes and see how God is at work in a marvellous way. There is going to be a day when every tongue will have to declare Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:11).  What mighty acts of God do you see and proclaim to others? The louder you proclaim the mighty acts of God, the more people would realise who God is! Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to see your mighty acts daily and proclaim to others about them. Amen

B. A. Manakala Their own tongues will ruin them, and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn (Ps 64:8 nlt). In my childhood when I went to school there was an ironworker on the way who used to frighten the children passing by. I used to run by the other side of the road whenever I reached the place. Some people are not approachable for various reasons. When we see such people we would want to shake our heads and go away from them. Jesus set the best example for us. People always drew closer to him. He blessed people, healed them, fed them and taught them. When God blessed Abraham he was blessed to be a blessing to all families on earth (Gen 12:2-3 nlt). Even today we are blessed to bless others. How much are you able to be a blessing to others that they like to come to you? If you have only very few friends, check whether you are able to be a blessing! Prayer: Lord, help me to grow in every way more and more like Christ that I will always be a blessing to others. Amen

B. A. Manakala As they plot their crimes, they say, “We have devised the perfect plan!” Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning (Ps 64:6 nlt). Sometimes when I read loudly my heart and mind would not be listening to what I read. In other words, I think about something else while I read! No one can touch or see the heart and the mind. We can control them as we like. Our hearts and minds can travel around the world. With all of these special characters, they are great weapons for Satan. He targets our heart and mind (2 Cor 11:3) very often. You may have heard the saying ‘an idle mind is the devil's workshop’. We are responsible to fill our minds with what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8). What are you trying to fill your heart and mind with? Our heart and mind are so deep; but we can fill them to the brim with good things! Prayer: Lord, help me to build my heart and mind with the things fro...

B. A. Manakala They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask (Ps 64:5 nlt). "Apply for easy car loans in one minute! No down payment. Less paperwork! Instant approval!", sounds very simple. The advertisement is very encouraging. The wicked also encourage one another; but they encourage each other to do evil (Ps 64:5). Some of us may be good at encouraging others. But we need to evaluate what happened as a result. Our encouragement is right only if the results are glorifying God ultimately. If we encourage others to sin we will face the consequence (Mtt 18:6). We are to always build others up for good (Eph 4:29). What are you encouraging others for? Always encourage others; but be cautious about the purpose! Prayer: Lord, help me to always encourage others with good intentions. Amen

B. A. Manakala They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly (Ps 64:4 nlt). My heart still aches about the forty innocent CRPF personnel who were killed on 14th February 2019 at Pulwama. This is not just an isolated incident of this kind. You may be innocent; but your enemy enjoys shooting arrows at the innocent. And do not forget these four things: (1) that no weapon turned against you will succeed (Is. 54:17); (2) that God himself will shoot your enemies (Ps 64:7); (3) never shoot arrows that may hurt or kill others in any manner; and (4) do not rejoice when God shoots your enemies and when they fall (Pro 24:17). How do you respond when you see your enemies shoot at you? Your enemy keeps shooting arrows at you; God keeps blocking them! Prayer: Lord, help me to see your arrows more often than those of my enemy. Amen

B. A. Manakala They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows (Ps 64:3 nlt). Our younger daughter is just one year old and began to speak one or two words which are also not clear. But she is improving daily and over a period she will speak like any of us. We are sharpening our tongue daily whether we are intentional about it or not. Do not sharpen your tongue with bitter words (Ps 64:3) and use it to beat others (Job 5:21). Let us train it to bless God and others (Jam 3:9-10). Moses had a stammering tongue (Ex 4:10); but God trained it to bless and save Israelites. When God's Spirit is in us He puts words upon our tongue (2 Sam 23:2). When the Spirit of God is in us we can only bless with our tongue and not curse! Prayer: Lord, help me sharpen my tongue to bless others. Amen

B. A. Manakala Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers (Ps 64:2 nlt). When someone dies we say, 'he is no more'. Is it really true? But the reality is that he doesn't exist anymore on earth in his bodily form. He has been hidden from our physical eyes. The Psalmist prays to hide him from his enemies (Ps 64:2). I often wished and prayed that God hides me from the sins and wickedness on earth. But all my life I see them prosper on earth. But there is one thing that I am sure of: I am dead to life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). And I am certain that God, who began the good work within me, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Phil. 1:6). In what circumstances in life you do not recognise that you are hidden with Christ? When you are hidden with Christ, your enemy has no power over you! Prayer: God, help me to remind myself often that I'm hidden with Christ. Amen

B. A. Manakala O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies’ threats (Ps 64:1 nlt) The husband complained during the meal 'the curry is too salty'. Wife responded 'have you ever told my curry is tasty?' Do you think either of them will take the complaint well? 'Can't you see that my enemies are threatening me?' is David's complaint against God (Ps 64:1). Complaints are generally not well-taken by anyone, especially when it is accusive. God can take even our complaints well, as He knows that we are human beings. We may see even Jesus' question to His Father 'my God, my God why have you forsaken me?' as complaining in nature. However, it is best if we can let Him know our problems without complaining. Have you ever complained against God in an accusive manner? God is not tired of your complaints, though you may be tired by complaining! Prayer: Lord, help me to let you know my problems rather than complaining. Amen