Principals of God’s Love- Part-6 : 24x7x365 Guaranteed PALS amid storms and Perils-II”

Today while browsing thru the pages of  web world, I just come across a wonderful, soothing, edifying and thought provoking note.  I would like to re-post the same here for the benefit of my readers, with due credit from the author Anil Kumar Pundir. Read more about him at his page here

His promises and His presence is my source of joy and comfort. He has said , " For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." And definatily we were more than 2 or 3 or even 2+3 :-)  Stuthi Masih, Renu, Anugrah, Beena Ji, Neha, Kewal Kishan, Chauhan ji, Aditya. May God bless you all.


Friends Kindly find below this week study notes and I hope and pray that as you read His Spirit may work in your inner being and bless you.



Principals of God’s Love- Part-6 : 24x7x365 Guaranteed PALS amid storms and Perils-II”
The word PALS is used to address two or more persons when they become close friends and they introduce themselves as a group of PALS. For example I can say Kewal, Dheeraj and myself we are PALS, close friends, trustworthy friends who know each other and have a deep level of friendship and a concern for each other. This word Pal has its source in Roman language which means Brother or Comrade which occurs as phal in the Romany spoken in England and phral in the Romany spoken in Europe. In India in Sanskrit related word is Bhrata which again means Brother and Punjabi people addresses as Bhra. So to speak of a friend as a Pal means a person who is friend and also a brother that means he is more than a brother. We expect our close friends to stand by us in the times of difficulties and uncertainties and to take care of each other. Knowing this fact that our friend is with us brings a sense of Peace and assures us of his love and the security that comes from his presence. One may claim to have many friends but true friends can be few who could be counted upon in the times of trials. Everyone wants to be a friend of a rising star but only few of those can be seen gazing upon him when he fades into oblivion. The time of Peril or need is the crucible of a friendship. Few are the friends but even fewer are the Pals and as we grow old time snatches them away from us for one or the other reason. However I want to introduce you to this one friend who is the only eternal friend and who was and is and will be your friend forever come what may. His loving presence can always generate Peace and assurance in your lives. How great is this privilege that we believers have that God has addressed us as His friends and He introduces us to this Earth and even in Heavenly realms and declares “These are my PALS”.
To His disciples Jesus gave this new teaching. He exalted His disciples, who had the attitude of service towards him and considered themselves privileged to address Him as their Lord and Master, to His level of friendship. Consider this, the Lord of all Creation becomes your friend when you put your faith in Him and submit to Him in service and discipleship.



John 15:15, “ 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 


When can we say that we are in a close friendship with someone!! The sign of close friendship is the presence of an outstanding Love and Trust between two individuals. We can open our heart to that person and speak boldly without holding back our feelings in the confidence that our heart will be felt and we will receive a wise counsel if asked, some encouragement if needed or a hand of comfort to strengthen us in the time of our sorrow. There are no hidden mysteries or secrets between Pals. There is a free flow of love and communication between them without any obstruction. Even before Jesus called His disciples to be His friends He disclosed to them all the learning, knowledge and mysteries that He had received from the Heavenly Father. Why He did that!! My friends He did not want them to be His blind followers but enlightened friends having true appreciation for His Person, His love, His teachings and His purpose in sharing all these Heavenly treasures with them. However one need to humble before Him and sit at His feet and learn from Him otherwise how a person can claim himself to be the friend of God. One need to know Him personally and share the sufferings of Cross with Him and learn from Him personally about His Heavenly Father’s business and His business secrets. He calls us to be His brothers, friends and comrades someone who is occupied in His Heavenly business of Saving Souls and bringing Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. We are not servants but friends who have been imparted His business secrets and who now want to serve Him faithfully by taking care of His business in His Physical absence. Of course if a business owner goes on a journey He entrusts His business command not to a servant but to a very close and dear friend with whom He has shared His business secrets, techniques and Principals and who would not mind taking care of His business as his very own and would take all the decisions and actions to serve his friend’s interests.



Now the question arises if God the Creator is our friend and the captain of our ship then will there not be any perils in our journey?? Does that mean there will not be any troubles or any obstacles in the path of our lives?? No my friends we are still in this ocean and still it is a journey in the unknown waters and we do not know what danger lurks in the next hour. However our assurance rests in the knowledge of the fact that the one to whom we have committed our ship, He himself has created this Ocean, mighty winds, roaring waves, great islands, all the stars and galaxies in this vast sky and He knows the path to the final destination and He is mightily strong to calm the roaring winds and is able to make a path where there seems to be no path. To Him we claim to know and our trust is based on this knowledge that though all our friends, relatives and even very own parents may leave us and forget us but He has wowed not to leave us alone here in these unknown waters.



He promises us in His Word in the Book of Isaiah 49: 15, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! ”


It is a rare thought that a mother may forget to feed her baby in time or change her nappies in time but it may happen. We have seen this happening in the present day societies specially in the Metro cities most of the young working mother’s join their offices within a few months of giving birth to a child and very small babies are left with Grannies or in the supervision of caretakers at home. Not that they do not love their child but in most of the cases overwhelming demand on the funds and finances for running a family calls for that kind of decision. However God’s concern for us supersedes all other earthly concerns. If we can trust Him like a baby He is ready to lift us in His strong arms like a Father and carry us through the entire crowd in this journey. My friends if we know Jesus and claim Him to be our friend then we can have the river of God’s Love flowing in our hearts and our minds filled with the Knowledge of His Son and in spirit we are lead by His Holy Spirit and in one word we are in complete obedience to His commands.
Now if this holds true for us then are we not affected by the perils of this world!!
Surely we are affected by every pain in our lives and it hurts no matter what remedy we take but how we would react to that hurt and what would be our status post that hurt is guided by Him. When we take a health insurance cover it does not guarantee that we will not fall ill but it does facilitate us our treatment in a good hospital all expenses paid by the insurer. When we put on a bulletproof jacket that does not mean that no one will shoot us but we are confident that it will not be able to penetrate the armour we are wearing not because we know the mechanism of the armour but we know the company and its reputation in making strong, very strong armours. Likewise Tragedies and pains have equal affect on all the people on this earth but how that affect is going to shape you there lays the difference. A promise is given to every believer in the word of God as below:



Romans 8:28, “28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
We already know the Outcome:


Not in one thing, two things or three things, not in one season or two seasons but in all seasons of our lives, not through successes but also through failures God is working in our lives to bring out something good and beautiful in us and around us. We have this knowledge and it is not a fantasy, it is not a wishful thought, it is not a theory which calls to be proved by some scientists by conducting hundreds of experiments in a lab but it is a fact and a promise given by God to all those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. The knowledge of this promise is based on our knowledge of His Son and His obedience to the Heavenly Father on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to transfer His goodness to us, to transfer His eternal life to us, to transfer His holiness to us and to transfer His righteousness to us so that we may share in His rich inheritance.



In all Things good or bad God will work out something Good:
He is good and all that happens in our lives in any colour of the spectrum leads us to bring about a step closer to Him. Now the incidents happening in our lives may be initiated by an enemy and they are designed to harm us but God uses even that for our benefit. How this holds true if a believer’s home is robbed, his car is stolen, someone in his family met an accident, he loses his job, his wife leaves him for good and he is left alone. Now if we go to such a person and read Romans 8:28 to him counselling “Brother. Do not worry this has happened for your good”. This man might think we are crazy and would say what good it is that I lost this or that, how it can be good. Now I do not say that what happened is good surely it is bad and painful but one need to trust that God is able and more than able to bring out good out of this for you. This would need a telescopic vision to understand this verse. As stars are millions of light years away from us and in order to see them we use a telescope. In the same way to understand distant results of the incidents happening in present we need to have a telescopic vision. Generally we humans are in habit of going for immediate benefits and not for the long term benefits. We are living in the time of two minute noodles, instant coffees and hundred km in ten seconds speed etc.etc. Gone are the days of three days cricket matches and people want quick and fast results hence even 5o hour matches have been reduced to twenty hours and so on. But my friends, God is working in eternity. His unit of time is different than ours. As the Psalmist speaks of God’s unit of time in Psalm 90:4, “ 4For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.



My friends God’s decisions and His plans are for sure and they are perfect. He is working on his divine Plan continuously throughout all the history whether new Nations are created or wars, diseases or natural disasters reduce civilizations to dust, things become obsolete, the way people think and the way they do things it becomes obsolete but His ways are righteous and just and His works are perfect. Good things may happen and they are good and bad things may happen and they are bad but the culmination of all the incidents and things will result in our good. For the end result is our resemblance to His Son Jesus Christ in Spirit and in a new glorious body. However only two conditions need to be met which are interrelated and cannot be seen in isolation. There is no either- or in above sentence.
  • Those who Love Him!!
First one presents to us the same question that Lord Jesus after resurrection put forward to His close disciple Peter. The question was “Peter do you love me?”
Peter was one of the first disciples of Jesus and he was very close to Him. He was the first one among the disciples to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ; Son of the Living God and Jesus declared that on this rock He would build his Church. But before that question was put to disciples, Jesus has asked another question to His disciples and Peter was the only one who gave the correct answer as lead by the Spirit.
Mathew 16:13-18,” 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Now it is not the flesh and blood of Peter on which Jesus wanted to establish His Kingdom but on the Spirit lead faith in the person of Jesus Christ that Peter demonstrated in presence of others that lead Jesus to declare this promise. Today my friends, Jesus is ready to build His kingdom in your lives, in your families, in your works in your cities and in your nations. However He is asking each one of you two questions. The same questions those He asked His first disciples. However whether Jesus is going to ask you second question or not will depend upon your answer to the first question.
  • His First Question is “Who do you say I am?”
He is not interested in knowing what other’s say, if you have read complete Bible or if you are a Christian, Hindu or a Moslem or of any religious background, if you are a good person or a bad person or if you are a very intelligent person or a dull person or if you are a very rich person or a poor person whether you are running a multimillion Rupee business or a daily wager. This is not about you, my friend for you have already been considered valuable enough that Son of God came from Heaven to Earth to save you, He gave His blood to wash your sins and cleanse you and create in you a new being and now it is about Him and Him only. What do you think about Him, what you say about Him, about His identity, about His love for you, about His sacrifice, about His stripes that He bore for you, about His lonely hanging on the Cross, about His death, about His resurrection, about His ascension and about His glory and about His Kingdom? What do you think about Him or say about Him! Is he just a prophet to you or you think he is just another incarnation! Or you think he is just a good man or a prophet!! You need to go into the recesses of the deepest part of your soul and touch the shape of the void that leads you to illusions and all the running in life for the complete satisfaction, for the liberation from all kind of darkness and you will find that only True Love of God has the enormity of power and grace that dwells in perfect balance in Jesus Christ. He can fill that void and is able to bring the true enlightenment to your soul by sealing you with the seal of Holy Spirit. Once you surrender to God and accept His Son as your Saviour only than you will be able to address Him with the proper adjectives and names.


Then once you have realised who He is! The Creator Himself, the redeemer of Mankind then you will hear the voice of God calling you from Heaven and asking you another eternal question;
  • Now He is asking you directly my friend “My Son Do you love me? “
“Yes Lord I love you.” This confession to Lord Jesus is the perfect answer that pleases God and that is your key to learn all the secrets of His Heavenly Trade. Love of Christ flowing above you, below you, in you, around you and flowing out of you in all the directions with the sweet smelling aroma of Jesus Christ. This is the Love of God, friendship of God with mankind and crucible of your love for God. One can love God only with the love that He has given us in His Son Jesus Christ and anything less than that is not acceptable in God’s sight. I remember when bride goes to the bridegrooms chamber she wears that perfect, most beautiful wedding gown and that is the sign to others that she is the bride. Other girls may wear beautiful dresses as well but to wear that special wedding dress is the privilege of Bride only. No one can enter in that secret chamber of bridegroom but the bride only wearing the wedding gown, wedding ring and with the sweet smelling aroma of her love for the bride groom. If you profess to love God, you need to possess the sweet aroma of Jesus. A true confession of your love for Him is an acceptable offering in the sight of the Lord. Love Him with all your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your soul and with all of your strength empowered by the blood of Christ.
  • Are you in His Purpose? :
Now the second condition that is given in Romans 8:28, ..... who have been called according to His purpose. I say my friend that you pray to God to give you this revelation for no one can come to Christ until unless he is lead by the Spirit of God. No one can claim Him as Lord until he is called according to His divine purpose. No one can hear Master’s voice in the inner being until he belongs to Him. For rightly Jesus said to the listeners.



John 10:27,”27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
If you already belong to God and if you are already called by Him then surely you will respond to His call. You will know my friend in your heart of hearts that you are not one of the crowd but you are a special child of God, chosen by God, called by God the almighty Creator to Know Him, to Love Him and to follow Him to the cross of Calvary and through the Cross and Cross only leading you to the glory and eternity. What a joy even fills my heart when I share this good news with you all that you are those whom God has lead to listen to His call. When you listen to Him and follow Him He reveals to you His divine plan for this universe, for this earth and for you. Step by step as you grow in Him by listening and following His voice and surrendering in obedience, He reveals to you His Heavenly mysteries and Plans and your role in this vast Universe. So that you do not wander in this world without a purpose but with a mission, with a purpose in alignment with His divine Purpose and plan. We are just the builders and labourers and He is the owner of this grand Heavenly Kingdom. He has laid a firm foundation in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the Owner and the chief architect of this glorious Kingdom and He knows the complete design according to His purpose and plan we can see only one portion of wall from our standing point but He already has the complete building in His mind. Only by listening, surrendering to His will, to His purpose and allowing Him to work in our lives we can be part of this Heavenly Kingdom design.
  • Blessed Assurance is mine :
Be assured of His friendship and His Love for His promises are not empty words as you hear in this world every now and then someone tells you that he loves you or she loves you and is a friend to you but hides his or her face when you are walking in the darkness of failure, fallen, wounded and weary then He is the only one who comes to you and gives you hope and extends His nail pierced hands towards you to lift you and put your feet on the rock that is higher than you. King David spoke of His assurance in His unfailing love while writing below verse in Psalm 23.



Psalm 23:4, “4 Even though I walk, through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Today my friends you may be walking alone in a dark road full of uncertainties in life and you might be looking for some hope or you may be at the top of the world for you may be young, beautiful and successful and you may think you do not need God. My friends whatever is your outwardly condition in your own eyes or in the eyes of others; you may be Ok but I tell you until unless you know Jesus the Son of God and put your faith in Him there will remain a hidden vacuum in your life which only Jesus can fill. I like tracking in mountains and forests. Whenever I go to mountains for a tracking trip I carry a strong staff with me. It supports my wait while climbing up mountains and acts like a break while climbing down the precarious slops of mountains especially while it gets dark in evening time. Even I know it can act as a weapon in case a wild animal dares to attack me. In that kind of adventures journey, a staff acts as an instrument of comfort and security in precarious mountain paths. In the like manner we can experience the comfort and Security by experiencing the presence of unseen staff of God with us and by trusting in Him and in His Plans. Knowing the end of a journey before even it begins can keep our minds and hearts in a peaceful balance. I do not know the full plan but I know the planner. I do not know the whole of the journey but I know the guide and I do not know the territory but I know its Creator. I believe and trust that I am a friend of God and everything that is happening will result in good.
  • Personal Invitation : Respond to God’s Friend add Request in your Book of Life :
Now my friends I say come to Him and experience the true Peace, Assurance, Love and Security. Enter in the love of Jesus who was in the bosom of Heavenly Father before the creation and came to earth 2000 years back and sacrificed His life for your sins, for my sins and for everyone’s sins in this World and now we are bathed in this shower of Love, His precious blood that flows from the Cross of Calvary where Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for us and let us live as PALS with God. He is inviting you to add Him in your friend list. You might be adding tens of unknown people as your friends on FB but there is one who wants to add your name in His Book of Life. That is the biggest book with the longest list. If you fail to make it to that list than the sum total of your life is a zero. For whatever you have earned, whatever you have made, whatever you have gained on this Earth will remain here. Your list of friends will not be able to help you. God is going to see in your list just one name and that is the name of His glorious Son Lord Jesus Christ. He is going ask just two questions:


1. Have you known my Son Jesus Christ while there was still time on Earth?
Your answer if it is Yes: Good. Second Question will follow.


2. Have you loved Him with My Agape Love?
Your answer if it is Yes: He is going to say, “Come my obedient son here is your crown, here is your palace and here is your seat near me. Come and dwell with me in this Heavenly Kingdom.”
Let us journey with our PAL, Lord Jesus Christ.


Thank you my friend
your servant in Christ.
anil


Source:

Anil Kumar pundir, New Delhi

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