Learn from Him

B. A. Manakala God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. Ps 53:2 I get around many of my problems through Google-search. The more complex the issue is, the harder it is to solve. Sometimes, I end up making a mess, though Google handles about 20 petabytes of data. Man is created as a social being (Gen. 2:18). He needs to share, learn and trust, for his survival. Adam couldn ’ t survive without Eve. We need God as well as other people. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight (Is. 5:21). One who constantly seeks God is truly wise (Ps. 53:2)   Prayer: Lord, teach me to seek you all the days of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala Only fools say in their hearts, “ There is no God. ” …  Ps 53:1 Wind blows where it wishes; you cannot see it though you may hear it (Jn. 3:8). Am I a fool, if I asked ‘ Where is God? ’ and ‘ Does He exist?, ’ during tough times in life? Isn ’ t it natural for any of us to ask similar questions? Was Father God hurt when Jesus asked, ‘ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ’ (Ps. 22:1) We are limited in understanding the depths of God (Job 11:7; 36:26; Ps. 145:3). My knowledge about God is just enough for me to say, ‘ I do not know God ’ ! The whole creation, proclaims that God exists (Rom. 1: 20) God neither gets offended because you think He doesn ’ t exist, nor cease to exist because you think so! Prayer: Lord, open my heart, eyes or whatever, that would help me see and understand you. Amen

B. A. Manakala I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people. Ps 52:9 Some people are very keen on introducing themselves only with their surname, about which they might be very proud. Here is a name that is above all other names! One day at this name every knee will bow (Phil. 2:9-10)! I have been crucified and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Let him and his name increase and let me and my name decrease (Jn 3:30). Rejoice that your name is written in heaven (Lk.10:20) and one day you will be given a new name (Rev. 2:17). Earthly names are temporary; gain a heavenly name. Prayer: Lord, help me gain heavenly name than earthly fame. Amen

B. A. Manakala The righteous will see it and be amazed. …  Ps 52:6 Sometimes I sit speechless staring at something, but without seeing what I am looking at, as my mind would be elsewhere. Idols have eyes, but do not see (Ps. 115:5; 135:16). Foolish people have eyes that cannot see (Jer. 5:21). Jesus asked his disciples: you have eyes, can't you see (Mk. 8:18)? The righteous can see a lot more than what others around them see. They can see beyond a pandemic, flood, technology and science. God does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants (Amos 3:7). Moreover, the upright see God's face (Ps 11:7). Look beyond what your physical eyes can see! Prayer: Lord, help me see your amazing plans for the universe. Amen

B. A. Manakala You love to destroy others with your words, you liar! Ps 52:4 In the Old Testament 'eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth' is found as the penalty principle. Generally, what we do is more important than what we speak (1 Jn 3:18; Jam 2:17). But the effect is reversed when we are angry: our words become more powerful than our actions (Pro 15:1). Words are powerful to crush even the spirit (15:4), not the actions. Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body (16:24). Be cautious about what you speak, especially when you are angry. Remember, too much talk can lead to sin (10:19). Spit only the words that will bless and nourish others, swallow the rest. Prayer: Lord, teach me to use my words only to nourish everyone. Amen

B. A. Manakala You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. Ps 52:3 We parents love to have some vegetables with meals; but our children hate the idea. How do we decide something as good or evil? Knowing good and evil was God's character. We acquired it through eating the fruit of the tree that was in the middle of the garden (Gen 3:22). We think 'whatever I do, talk, suggest and teach is always good; and whatever others do, talk, suggest and teach is generally not so great.' We tend to love evil more than good (52:3). Woe to those who call evil good and good evil (Is 5:20). When we don't fear God we turn to evil (Pro 3:7).   Do not call evil good and love it, and call good evil and hate it. Prayer: Lord, teach me to love good and hate evil. Amen

B. A. Manakala All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you ’ re an expert at telling lies. Ps 52:2 Recently we purchased a knife for our kitchen. It is sharper than any knives we ever used! It often cuts our fingers too. Our tongue can become like a knife (52:2). The wounds made by the kitchen knife are often silly. But the wounds by tongue are tougher to handle. The Bible has many references to tongue: over talk (Pro. 10:19), perverse tongue (15:4b), gossip (26:20), fire (Jam 3:6), unwholesome talk (Eph. 4:29) etc. Most importantly tongue can bring healing too (Pro. 15:4a). You can determine how to use your tongue, whether to cut or to heal Prayer: Lord, help me use my tongue in the right manner. Amen

B. A. Manakala … Don ’ t you realize God ’ s justice continues forever? Ps 52:1 Isn't it injustice that God keeps silent in the midst of Covid19? Is it injustice, if you have grey hair when you are young? Is it justice if your enemies were hanged to death? How do you define in/justice? God is just in everything He does (Dan 9:14). Man cannot argue with God and win (Job 33:5). God gave Job over to Satan (Job 1:6-12). God doesn't make or allow anything without purpose (Pro 16:4), including Satan. God knows exactly where Covid19 originated, how many will be killed, when it will end and how the world will be affected! No one else! Man's justice contains injustice, only God is truly just Prayer: Lord, help me to understand Your justice even in the midst of this pandemic. Amen

B. A. Manakala The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Ps 51:17 I pay tithe of everything I get, and I fast twice a week, the Pharisee claimed (Lk 18:12). David was the king and had enough to offer to God. But David also knew when God owns all cattles (Ps 50:10), he cannot offer anything more valuable than himself - his own body, soul and spirit. Doing good and sharing with those in need are sacrifices that please God (Heb 13:16). A continual sacrifice of praise is expected of us (13:15). Even our bodies are to be offered as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1). A broken spirit with repentant heart is the best sacrifice   (Ps 51:17) Prayer: Lord, help me offer the sacrifice You desire. Amen

B. A. Manakala Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of Your forgiveness Ps 51:14 I go into a silent mode when I am upset! But I speak a lot when I am excited! How do you express? David imagines how he will sing when he would experience God's forgiveness (51:14). We may have to be still to know who God is (Ps 46:10); but we cannot be quiet when we truly know who God is (100:1) and about His forgiving nature. Happiness should make us sing (Jam 5:13). There is joy even in heaven when a sinner repents (Lk 15:10), or when his sins are forgiven. When you are truly joyful you will shout about it Prayer: Lord, teach me to be joyful in Your   presence. Amen

B. A. Manakala Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Ps 51:12 My wife prepared a special curry for us, and children were excited about it. At the dining table they were disappointed that it had some herbs. The salvation experience brings us immense joy (Ps 9:14; 13:5). But David lost the joy of salvation when he sinned (Ps 51:12)! We must know what the world offers: physical pleasure, craving and pride (1 Jn 2:16). They are temporary and often steal the joy of salvation. If you love what the world offers you cannot love the Father (2:15). Do not exchange eternal joy for temporary pleasure Prayer: Lord, help me to hold on to the eternal joy and not temporary pleasures. Amen

B. A. Manakala Do not banish me from Your presence, and don ’ t take Your Holy Spirit from me. Ps 51:11 What if God just decides to take the Holy Spirit from us because of our sins? In fact, it is the Holy Spirit that leads us into truth (Jn 16:13) and leads us away from sin (Gal 5:16). The key is confession and repentance. When we confess and return to God, He forgives us (1 Jn 4:9). God's forgiveness is beyond our understanding (Lk 15:11-43). But do not think grace will abound when we continue to sin (Rom. 6:1-2). If you have the Holy Spirit you belong to Christ (Rom 8:9); if you belong to Christ the Holy Spirit will never leave you (Jn. 14:16). Holy Spirit is the guarantee for our inheritance (Eph 1:13) Prayer: Lord, teach me to be guided by the Spirit always.

B. A. Manakala Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Ps 51:10 Once my son ran to me and said, "Pappa, please fix my bicycle". He tries to fix any minor issues; but this time even I had to take it to a workshop as it required a major repair. We can fix many problems ourselves, but not everything. Just as I knew the place I can fix the bicycle David knew the One who can create a clean heart that he wanted desperately. Heart is something that gets dirty often quickly. Moreover, only it's creator can clean it. Renewing of mind is a continuous process (Rom 12:2). Man can fix many things, but he cannot fix a sinful heart Prayer: Lord, help me to submit myself for the cleansing process as often as required. Amen

B. A. Manakala Don ’ t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Ps 51:9 We often keep looking back at our own past sins! For worse, we even keep remembering others' sins. We   think God keeps blaming us for our past sins. God forgave David (2 Sam 12:13). Once forgiven, God never remembers our sins anymore (Jer. 31:34). God desires that we His children also do the same thing. We may never feel like counting David and Bethsheba in Jesus ’ lineage; But God did (Mtt. 1:6)! Don ’ t keep looking at the past sins of yourself and others that have been forgiven. Learn to forgive yourself and others just as God does Prayer: Lord, help me live a guilt-free life for the sins you have already fogiven me. Amen

B. A. Manakala For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Ps 51:3 Until sometime ago Covid19 kept bothering me almost always. But now I am not bothered about it much, and have learnt to live with it. What is always before you? For David in this situation, his sin kept haunting him (51:3 NLT). We need to recognize our own sins (51:3a); but we need to repent and get back to a restored relationship as quickly as possible (51:2). God said to Moses, I will   go with you (Ex. 33:14). Jesus said, I am with you always (Mtt. 28:20). His Word in us keeps us away from sin (Ps. 119:11). Don't learn to live with sin; learn to live with God and His Word Prayer: Lord, help me fill myself with Yourself and Your Word always. Amen

B. A. Manakala Yet You desired faithfulness even in the womb; You taught me wisdom in that secret place. Ps 51:6 'I get 5000 points in 30 seconds!' said one boy to another in the middle of their game! In the modern world man has a lot of knowledge and wisdom. And he keeps teaching others a lot based on his own wisdom. But remember the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God (1 Cor 3:19)! What seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25 nlt)! God grants wisdom even in the womb (Ps 51:6)! He is the true source of wisdom (Prov 2:6). Man's wisdom can be foolishness; God's foolishness can be wisdom! Prayer: Lord, teach me to seek true wisdom always. Amen

B. A. Manakala Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight. …  and Your judgment against me is just. Ps 51:4 Though elephants and lions are much more powerful than man they are tamed. Can we ever do anything against God? I think I don't intentionally do anything against God as I know he is sovereign and powerful. The only thing that creates enmity between me and God is sin! This also results in God's judgement 'against me'. But when I repent I find God's   mercy through Jesus Christ (1 Tim 1:16). Jesus is pleading constantly for you and me (Rom 8:34). Sin creates gap between us and God; Son fills the gap between us and God Prayer: Father, help me to approach You only through Jesus Christ. Amen

B. A. Manakala But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God. Ps 50:23 'Thank you for the trouble'! Is that sentence meaningful? For man it may not be. We can easily say 'thank you' to anyone who does something good to us. But the Bible teaches to be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thes. 5:18) whether it is good or bad. Even a more radical step is to rejoice in your troubles (Jam 1:2). Let's thank God for all the good things we enjoy. Let's also learn to thank God even in pain and troubles, because he turns even such situation to good for us (Rom 8:28). Thankful heart is the easiest way to truly honour God (50:23) Prayer: Lord, teach me to be thankful in all circumstances. Amen

B. A. Manakala While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn ’ t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Ps 50:21 In my childhood I kept stealing something from someone daily. He kept silent for a few days and caught me red-handed one day. Do not think God doesn't care when he is silent about your sins. Pretension, refusing His word, approving thieves, adultery, wickedness, lies and slander are sins listed in verses 16-20. God's grace sustains us. But should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Never (Rom. 6:1-2)! Keep on sinning is like gradually cutting the branch you are sitting. Prayer: Lord, help me to know that You care about every moment of my life. Amen

B. A. Manakala For you refuse My discipline and treat My words like trash. Ps 50:17 At the end of each meal usually our children's plates will have lots of leftover while our plates will be generally clean. They throw vegetables, we eat them. Though children consider vegetables as essential part of a meal by the end of the meal it is evident that it is wasted. I don't think any of us ever consider God's Word as trash (Ps 50:17). But don't we often hear and ignore it (Jam. 1:21-25)? Don't we disobey His Word (1 Jn. 2:3). Don't we distort the Truth (Act 20:30). What we ignore and consider worthless becomes trash, even if it is the Word of God. Prayer: Lord, teach me to value and obey Your word better every day.

B. A. Manakala For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Ps 50:10 When they were young my children picked up something from my own shelf, gift-wrapped it and presented to me on my birthday. I appreciated their love and the desire to gift me. Do we give to God only what He already owns? Can we give to God something that He doesn't own? Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High (50:14) . Call on Him and glorify Him (50:15); offer sacrifices of praise (Heb 13:15-16). Ensure that you do not pretend (50:16) and treat His commands like trash (50:17). God loves our gifts if they originated from our hearts Prayer: Lord, help me to give You what You desire. Amen

B. A. Manakala From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. Ps 50:2 My brother's house has an emergency master switch in the bedroom that lights up the whole house inside and out. Our God is a glorious radiance that lights up the whole world. It also brings to light those hiding in the darkness. There's a judgment and a fire that devours everything on its way (50:3-4). Whatever is of wood, hay and straw will be burned; whatever is of gold, silver and jewels will remain (1Cor. 3:12-14). Have you thought about what in your life will show up and sustain on that day? Fire on a candle lights up a room; fire on straw devours everything! Prayer: Lord, help me to live in the light of the glorious radiance. Amen