Learn from Him

B. A. Manakala " Save Your people! Bless Israel, Your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in Your arms forever." Ps 28:9 Think of valuables in your possession. How do you value and protect them? Do you leave your money purse unattended? Do you leave your car unlocked in a parking lot? How wonderful it is to know that we are God's special possession. Do you realize that His care for you is more than what you can imagine? He leads you like a shepherd and carries you in His arms (Ps. 28:9). What other security do you need as you live on earth? When you walk you leave your footprints behind; but when you walk with God you don't, because you are in His arms.   Prayer: Lord I thank you because I am Your special possession and You care for me always. Amen

B. A. Manakala "Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others." Ps 28:4 "He beat me twice; so I also beat him twice" may be words we hear very commonly among children. Ps 103:10b says " He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve ." If God dealt with me as I deserve I must have been already crucified. In the NT God looks at us only through Jesus Christ who chose to be punished on the cross on behalf of us. Do we want our enemies to be punished? Do we rejoice when our enemy falls? The proportion we desire for our enemies may be the same proportion that God would use against us (Mtt. 7:2). When it comes to punishment our proportion to others influences God's proportion to us. Prayer: Lord I thank you because You do not punish me as I deserve. Help me to be considerate. Amen

B. A. Manakala I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Ps 28:1 What! Does God have a deaf ear? Nonsense! If a person doesn't respond when we ask something, we may think that person is deaf. We may not hear God for several reasons like: 1. What you ask for is not a "good thing" according to God's definition (Ps. 84:11) 2. God is waiting for you to do what is right (84:11) 3. It's not yet time 4. You need more faith Jeremiah 33:3 says, " Call to me and I will answer you … ." God's "deaf" ear is more powerful than our hearing ear! Prayer: Lord I thank you because you answer when I call in you. Amen

B. A. Manakala Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. Ps 27:10 When I was doing my 11th standard when my mother died of cancer which upset me! Though that was heavy on me, ultimately it led me to decide to serve the Lord, with the rest of my life, filling her gap. Even our parents who love us may not stay with us too long. Often parents think they are fully responsible for their children. Isn't it parents who teach their children how to live and lead them to the right path? If that was true David wouldn't pray, ‘ teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path …’ (v.11). Isn ’ t it really our God who is responsible for us rather than our parents. Thinking further, isn ’ t it God who is responsible for our children? God does not leave me nor abandon me even when my parents! Prayer: Dear Lord I thank you that you never abandon me even if my parents do. Amen

B. A. Manakala For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Ps 27:5 I remember walking around the Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan in the mountain ranges in the district. Forts are generally constructed on hills where enemies cannot reach easily. We are placed on a solid rock where enemies cannot reach, where you can hold your head high above your enemies who surround you (verse 6). Today, our foundation is Jesus Christ the solid rock. 1Cor 3:11 says, " For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have — Jesus Christ. " When you don't realize that you are on a solid rock you begin to fall. Prayer: Lord, I thank you for you have placed me on a solid Rock. Help me to continue to realize this truth even before my enemy. Amen

B. A. Manakala The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most — is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord ’ s perfections and meditating in His Temple. Ps 27:4 If you were given a chance to ask the Lord just one thing you wish, what would you ask? Once when he got such a chance Solomon asked for wisdom. God gave him wisdom and wealth. But it is doubtful whether his wisdom and wealth helped him the way God intended towards the end of his life. David asked for one thing: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life (verse 4). Let's just look at the list of things we pay and ask God. How many of our prayers have any eternal value? If you pray for only one thing let that be something that is eternally valuable. Prayer: Dear Lord I thank you for saving my soul for eternity. Help me to continue to have eternal perspective, rest of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala Vindicate me, LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered." Ps 26:1 (NIV) Can a man truly be blameless? Impossible, right? Jesus was the only man lived on earth who was one hundred percent blameless. No one can make himself blameless! When we acknowledge our sinfulness and repent we are made perfect through Christ. Salvation is possible only through grace, not through anything we speak or do (Eph. 2:8-9). We are blameless only because God looks at us through Jesus Christ. 1Tim 2:5 says, " for, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. " You are blameless because you believe in Jesus Christ! Prayer: Father God, I thank you for making me blameless through Your Son Jesus Christ. Help me to continue to live in You. Amen

B. A. Manakala Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. Ps 25:20 What makes you shameful in life? A failed attempt? Financial crisis? Terminal illness? That you are not as popular as others? We may be ashamed for several reasons. As the psalmist prays, when we take refuge in the Lord we will not be put to shame. Ps 34:5 says, " Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. " If we are ashamed of anything we might have to ask ourselves whether our trust is in the Lord. The more you look unto him the more radiant you will become! Prayer: Lord, thank you for carrying my sins and my shame on the cross. Please help me to continue to take refuge in you. Amen

B. A. Manakala My eyes are always on the Lord, for He rescues me from the traps of my enemies. Ps 25:15 Just as David we also probably think that our eyes are always on the Lord. But are our eyes really on the Lord always?   Maybe in the morning and evening we purposefully look to His face; but what about the rest of the day? In reality we humans cannot look to Him continuously. Being narrow-minded we may even ask God to turn to us as David prays in verse 16,   " Turn to me and have mercy ..." The truth is that God is always watching over us. Job 34:21 says " For God watches how people live; He sees everything they do ." Ps 34:15 says " The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right ..." God is always watching over us, even if we turn away from Him! Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for watching over me always; teach me to look to You continuously. Amen

B. A. Manakala Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. Ps 25:12. Is it good to fear? 'Do not fear' is a great and repeated encouragement in the Scriptures. But it also encourages us to have a healthy fear. The only healthy fear is the 'fear of the Lord'. In Ps 25:12-14 a number of benefits are listed for those who fear the Lord: 1) Clarity in choosing a path, 2) Prosperity, 3) Land as inheritance to children, 4) Lord remains a friend and 5) he teaches them his covenant. Often unhealthy fear rules over our lives. But it's important to fear the Lord. Ps 31:19 says, 'how great is the goodness You have stored up for those who fear You'. Take a moment to reflect on your fear for the Lord. When we fear the Lord unhealthy fear has no role in our lives. Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to fear You and trust You completely in all circumstances of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala The Lord is good and does what is right; He shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them His way. Ps 25:8-9 A stray dog has no owner and usually wanders around aimlessly anywhere. Sometimes, we become like stray dogs. Yet, God is willing to bring us back to the right path over again. A sheep may not jump over to the wrong path quickly, rather, while grazing it may be attracted to various things and gradually get lost. Jesus said, “ I'm the good shepherd ” (Jn. 10:11). A shepherd patiently guides a wandering sheep to the right path. He is the best Shepherd; but remember we need to humble ourselves when He will lead us to the right path (verse 9). Reflect in what way do you seem to go astray. Prayer: Lord, thank you that You are always with me like a shepherd. Continue to lead me back to the right path when I tend to go astray. Amen

B. A. Manakala O Lord, I give my life to You. I trust in You, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. Ps 25:1-2 No one generally likes to be defeated. If you wish the same here's is the secret: entrust your life completely with God. We manage certain areas of our lives ourselves because we think we can. By doing so we unfortunately take control of those areas and in a way we keep God away. Often Israelites turned away from God and acted according to their own wisdom and in turn they were often defeated by other nations. Which areas of your life do you think you are still controlling using your own wisdom with no dependence on God? God is patiently waiting for us to carry all our burdens. 1Pet 5:7 says 'Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. Prayer: Lord, help me to give myself fully into Your care so that I will never be defeated. Amen

B. A. Manakala Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. Ps 24:8 Our God is invincible, incapable to be defeated! He is invisible also. We are on a battle continuously. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but with the unseen (Eph. 6:12). God who fights for us is invisible, but He sees even the invisible. Nothing is hidden from His sight (Heb 4:13). Moreover, He is invincible, and greater than the one who is in the world (1 Jn 4:4) and can never be defeated. Do you always recognize the presence of our invisible and the invincible God? Prayer: Lord, help to continue to realize the fact that You are invincible though You are invisible.

B. A. Manakala Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. Ps 24:3-4 Lie and truth, two antonymous words with lot of implicit meanings! Do you ever tell lies? Or do you always speak the truth? How do you know you are truthful? Probably scripture doesn't define the term 'liar' how we do. First John defines the term in multiple ways. Liar is: 1) Someone who claims to know God and doesn't obey his commandments (2:4); 2) Someone who denies the Father and the Son (2:22); 3) Someone who loves God and hates his fellow-believer (4:20). Generally lie is something we say; but in all the three instances above it's about doing than saying. Prayer: Lord, please help me to be truthful in word and deed. Amen

B. A. Manakala The earth is the Lord ’ s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. Ps 24:1 Don't we often say, I own a piece of land, a house, a car? My children, my parents, my siblings, my gifts etc. may be regular phrases in our conversations. Do we realize that we are not the real   owners of any of these, but there's just one Owner for everything? Even people belong to Him (Ps. 24:1). Then, what is our role here? We are just stewards! We are responsible for the growth of whatever is entrusted to us; and one day we will have to give an account (Mtt. 25:14-30). We are called to be faithful stewards of all the gifts given to us (1 Pet 4:10). How would you reflect on the fact that God is the owner of everything and that you are expected to become a more faithful steward? Prayer: Lord, I thank you for finding me worthy to entrust many things. Help me to be a faithful steward till the end. Amen

B. A. Manakala Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Ps 23:6 We are very glad to hear that God's goodness follow us all the days of our life. But what are the kind of 'goodnesses' we expect from God? We are often narrow-minded and desire for physical and temporary goodness. Rom 8:28 says " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God … . " When we love God He converts even the 'bad things' that happen in our lives to goodness. The greatest goodness is that we become like H is Son (Rom 8:29) and live in the house of the Lord forever (Ps. 23:6b). Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your goodness follow me all the days of my life. Help me to see the goodness in everything that happens in my life Amen

B. A. Manakala Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me. Ps 23:4 We may even have to walk the darkest valley in our lives! But David also expresses his confidence that he will not be afraid because God is close beside him. None of us welcome such painful valleys. But they are inevitable. Ps 34:19 says " The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. " It is certain that we will have both mountain-experiences as well as valley-experiences in life. When our focus becomes the Lord the valley experiences will go out of focus. Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you for your presence is close beside me even when I go through valley experiences. Help me to stabilize my focus on you always. Amen

B. A. Manakala The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. Ps 23:1 Can you make a list of   the very urgent needs in your life? I need … . I need … . I need just one more thing. Was there ever a time you felt you have no more needs. Perhaps, we may have to redefine and distinguish between needs and wants. Ps 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart ’ s desires." Ps 145:19 says, "He grants the desires of those who fear him … ." In other words, those whose delight is in the Lord can always say I have all that I need. They will want or desire to have only what they actually need .   Prayer Dear Lord, deliver me from the desires of this world. Help me to delight in you which is all I need. Amen

B. A. Manakala   My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?" Ps 22:1 'God has abandoned me!' may be the kind of feeling that we often have, especially when we face troubles. David asked this question when he was in trouble. Later even Jesus asked the same question when He was on the cross. In fact David was used to prophesy about Jesus' suffering on the cross. It's natural to feel abandoned by God in the middle of suffering or pain. Also as David and Jesus did let's be open to God and express our feelings truthfully. It's ok to be upset with God when that is the reality from within. But remember He has promised in Hebrews 13:5 that "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you". Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the promise that You will never abandon me. Please continue to affirm me with Your presence even in times of trouble. Amen

B. A. Manakala   You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of Your presence. Ps 21:6 God blesses us with our daily meals, shelter etc. But they are all temporary! In the Lord's Prayer, 'give us this day our daily bread' is a request for physical need; while 'may your kingdom come' has a long-term perspective. God heals us from our physical sickness; but we may be sick again. Lazarus who was raised by Jesus is not alive today! He died again because that was a physical healing. God takes away our sin; it is an eternal blessing. Jesus promised salvation to the thief who requested to remember him. The thief chose to have the eternal blessing rather than a momentary deliverance from the cross. Do we focus on eternal blessings? Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the eternal blessings You bestowed upon me; help me maintain eternal perspective throughout my life on earth. Amen

B. A. Manakala   How the king rejoices in Your strength, O Lord! He shouts with joy because You give him victory. Ps 21:1. What makes you the most joyful? All of us rejoice in many things. In fact we must enjoy all of God's creation. The more we know Him the more we rejoice in Him, His Word his strength etc. Once God becomes our primary focus we become His primary focus. As found in the second part of the verse even our victory over our enemy becomes His concern than ours. As Paul says in Phil 4:4 let's rejoice in the Lord always. Let the Lord himself be the primary reason for our joy, everything else secondary. Prayer: Lord, Please help me rejoice in your strength always. Amen

B. A. Manakala Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. Ps 20:7. We know what Iran and the U.S. are boasting about these days. It's quite natural that we human beings often boast about various things. I think there's no one who never boasts! But have you ever reflected what you boast about? Boasting generally has a negative meaning: 'showing off with pride'. We may boast about our power, education, abilities, influences, family background etc. But all of these are temporary. As David said here, only our boasting in the Lord has eternal value. Such people may fall, but will rise up and stand (verse 8). Prayer Lord, we thank you for the hope we have in you. Help us to boast only in you throughout our lives. Amen

B. A. Manakala   In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm. Ps 20:1. Yes! The Psalm starts with the phrase 'In times of trouble'. Trouble is not something anyone wants to have. However, it is often a reality. In fact, it is necessary to recognise that troubles we face are God-ordained. God doesn't desire to trouble us. But he desires for a better relationship with us and somehow we do better in relating with him when we are in trouble. Let's remember that 'He will answer' (verse 6) when we call on him during troubles. What troubles do we have in our family or in our organisation? How much are we able to trust Him and call on him? He is eagerly waiting to answer. In this world you WILL have trouble (Jn 16:33) Prayer Lord, I thank you because you are aware of the times of trouble we go through. Help us to call on you sincerely. Amen

B. A. Manakala   How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Ps 19:12. Sins in a believer? Yes, even as a believer sins can hang around with us! David also speaks of sins lurking around in his heart. But what is important is how you deal with it. If we willfully continue and enjoy sins in our life there is something wrong, and we are heading in a wrong direction. 1 Jn 3:9 says, "those who have been born into God ' s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God ' s life is in them. So they can ' t keep on sinning, because they are children of God." A true believer would not intentionally keep on sinning; rather he repents and gets back on track with God quickly. What are the lurking sins in my life that I need to run away from? It is easier to run away from lurking sins than getting out of the guilt after falling in them. Prayer: Lord, please cleanse me from any lurking si

B. A. Manakala   They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. Ps 19:10. "The flowers are full of honey, but only the bee finds out the sweetness," said Goethe. Have you tasted something sweeter than honey? Here David speaks of something sweeter than honey: the word of God. Everyone doesn't know the real taste of this "honey". The specialty of this "honey" is that the more you eat it the sweeter it becomes! So, let's set aside some time to enjoy this 'honey' regularly. How sweet is the word of God to me? There is nothing that is sweeter than His word; if at all we think there is, then it is because we have not truly tasted it! Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your word which is available in a language I can understand and is sweeter than honey to my mouth. Help me to enjoy it's taste on a daily basis. Amen

B. A. Manakala   The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. Ps 19:6. On 26th December 2019 there was a total solar eclipse when the sun was hidden by the moon. We were on a journey and experienced a gloomy sun and cool weather. Psalm 19:6 says, nothing can be hidden from the heat of the sun. The heat of the sun is necessary for our survival. God created everything with a specific purpose. Each of his creations fulfills their respective purposes. He created me and you with specific purposes. Do you know if you have been able to fulfill his purposes for your life? All of God ' s creations will have to fulfill His purpose! Prayer: Lord, I thank you for creating me with a purpose. Please accomplish your plans for my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. Ps 19:3-4. "Always preach the gospel; when necessary use words", said St. Francis of Assisi. All of God's creation keeps proclaiming who God is; but they use no words! We proclaim better through demonstration. Proclamation without demonstration is meaningless. Let us listen to what the creation proclaims about God. And, let's continue to proclaim and demonstrate him even without words. What are you proclaiming without words? Deeds are always more powerful than words! Prayer Lord, I thank you that you reveal your glory through all of your creation. Help me to reflect you more through my life than my words. Amen