Tuesday, February 10, 2009

From The Doctor's Diary-48-God's Protection

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5)

Have you ever thought about how much God does to keep you and your family safe? Well, we do not really think much about it until some "near escape event" happens in our life and then we are forced to think of how much "He Cares".

Several accidents have happened in the lives of my Church members this year and God has been gracious to keep all of them safe; save a few scratches here and there. One brother was on his bike traveling early one morning with a pillion and didn’t notice a wire lying broken on the road. As he drove his vehicle the wire just whipped his neck and threw him and the pillion on the ground. The wire slashed the front of his neck but did not cut threw or he would have died immediately. God intervened just at the right moment.

This month when I was conducting a baptism, there was a phone call which brought distress to all of us. An auto in which 3 adults and a child of our church were traveling overturned when the driver suddenly applied the brakes because a snake slithered across the road. God intervened promptly and all were saved except for a few scratches.

One of our members, on a rainy night, last week, went out of his house to feed his dog and stepped on a poisonous snake and he became aware of it because it lashed at him with its tail. God had positioned the snake in such a way that he had stepped on its head. Just imagine if it was the other way around.

Another brother who is a welder, had a spark of fire hit him directly in his eye. God saw to it that the spark hit only the conjunctiva and not the cornea for then he would have lost his sight in one eye.

These are just a few of the wondrous deliverances that the Lord has done for us as a church. All who have experienced these near fatal accidents have testified in church about 2 things- 1) It is the mercy of God that they escaped. 2) It is the fervent prayers of the church that is a shield for them.

If you read the verses at the top of this message and think about the near escapes in your life, you will realize that God’s Word is 100% truth and nothing else. Also do understand that we and our family are shielded by God’s mercy & by the prayers of God’s faithful ones and it is not our righteousness or integrity that is working overtime which is keeping us safe.

From The Doctor's Diary- 47- Demon's Everywhere

It was around 6 am one Sunday. We were getting ready to leave for our morning worship. My wife and children were still dressing.

Those days we were living in a neighbourhood with many non-Christian homes surrounding us. They never approved our kind of worship. We suspected them of working against us through witchcraft too, praying to their idols to thwart our worship and work for the Lord.

This morning as I opened the front door and walked out to get my car ready, I saw a Hibiscus flower lying on my doorstep. Very unusual I thought. How could this land up on my doorstep so early in the morning.

Surely these are my enemies putting this (idol) prayed over object at my doorstep. Creating obstacles for me.

Anger surged through me. I stamped on the flower and rebuked the demon vociferously in Jesus name. Still seething with anger, I was contemplating my next move.

"Dad", my elder daughter called ,as she came out to join me. "Dad, did you see the Hibiscus flower that I dropped while I came in, she asked?

"Flower!! You mean to say…………………. And I could not find many words to tell her what I had just done. She picked up the crushed flower and asked me, "Dad, how did this happen?"

Well……………well…………I just rebuked it, I muttered. You, what? She stared at me in surprise.

Oh! Nothing! I said and burst out laughing realising my blunder.. How preposterous it was ; doing such a fooling thing. That's how we Preachers are. We get carried away too much some times.

We had a good laugh regarding this at the worship too when I recounted the story during my preaching.

Moral
There's no demon hiding behind every soap dish. Unless ofcourse your soap dish is a great blessing to you; in which case he( the evil one ) may fight tooth and nail to snatch it from you.

From The Doctor’s Diary46-Confessions Of A Nominal Christian

Last Sunday after the morning worship as I relaxed at home, there was a phone call and the caller asked whether we would be at home in the evening as she wanted to come over to our house for prayers. Her daughter had been married for 10 years but had no children.

They came at around 5pm and after the initial talks, my wife escorted the lady and her daughter to an inner room for prayers. I was left with the son of the woman who had brought the women from home in their jeep.

We started conversing and the topic was about ‘construction’ as he was a ‘contractor’. He spoke eloquently about all aspects of his occupation and his life in general without touching one aspect of his life-The Spiritual. And the Holy Spirit was prompting me to touch upon that part of his life. I waited for the right moment and then asked him which Church he attended. He said that he was a member of a main line denominational church but never actually attended church. When I asked him why, he said he didn’t see any point in attending church because people just came there to show off their flashy clothes and new cars; no one really cared about calling upon God. Moreover, he said, “When I stand in Church, if at all I go, I am surrounded by rivals in business who are plotting my downfall and I theirs.

When I asked whether his wife went to church, he said, “Yes, but she just hangs around outside the church to catch up with the things that she missed from her friends in the past week.”

Of course, he believed in God, he retorted in self defense when I put that question to him. It’s just that I don’t have any time, he sighed!

When I asked whether he had read the Bible recently, he just shook his head in the negative. Family prayers had become something of a routine though, he added, because excessive crying of his child for one and a half years had made someone comment that God was mad at him. Still they were careful, he added, to adjust the timings of the family prayer so as to not miss important serials on TV.

So what do you think about life after death? I asked finally. I’ve just not thought about that, he said and he had a surprised look on his face which said, “Who’s this fellow and what’s this trap that I have fallen into, on a quiet Sunday evening?”

I took some time to explain to him the “Gospel” and he seemed to be genuinely interested or so I thought. After a while of my preaching, he suddenly asked, “OK, Tell me where do I start?”

And I told him the basics- Pray, Read the Word, Accept Jesus Your Lord & Savior, Worship….

He seemed to be lost in thoughts for a while and then said, “I just don’t know, you see I’m so busy, maybe after all my present projects are complete, I’ll give it a try."

From the Doctor’s Diary-45- What an exam!

I had hard time while I was doing my MD in General Medicine in Gulbarga (a town in Karnataka state, India). We were eleven of us to appear for the exams. Even before the exams took place, everyone concerned said that only four or five people would get through. The subject matter in Medicine is too vast for anyone to study everything and go for the exams. The theory and practical exams are really tough. The internal examiner who is supposed to be a comfort to any student was himself a terror for us. We were all afraid of him. Being an oursider (from another state) I had more disadvantages. There didn’t seem much hope for me to get through.

Those were the days (1992) when I had begun experiencing the wonderful presence of Jesus in my life. I had given my life over to him and given my burdens and griefs into his hands.
So even though circumstances were in the negative. I had one hope and that was my trust in Jesus. I believed he would get me through. My prayers to him were fervent. The theory exams did not carry much weightage; the practical was the one that mattered.

I still remember it was Sunday that the practical exams took place. Those days I had made it a habit to fast on Sundays and so I went for the exams fasting. I had a throbbing headache by the time I reached the exam hall. One internal and two external examiners. Two short cases and one big case(patients with sicknesses) to be examined and diagnosed in the given time. And it was really tough. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a lot of grilling. One of my colleagues was sent away for just talking casually to someone else during the exam time. That for him meant another wait for six months to reappear. I was glad that it was finally over by 5 p.m. Six of us appeared on the first day and five on the next. The speculations were that only 3-4 out of eleven will pass. I couldn’t sleep for the next two days thinking of the result.
Despite speculations, despite unfavourable circumstances; despite evaluations, despite unfavourable people, my hope lay in Jesus because I knew only He could save me. And that is exactly what his name means: Jesus - He saves

At around 2 a.m. a couple of nights later, there was frantic knocking on my door. Three guys heaving and panting and three wonderful words - “You have passed”. I didn’t know what to do. Laugh or cry. But one thing I did and that was to thanks Jesus for his saving grace. The predictions were true. Only four of us passed. But I was one of them. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

The Bible says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

And that is exactly what I did. Not only did I pass, but Jesus helped me to get second rank in the university. Praise the Lord. Truly, Jesus cares for us like no one else can.

From the Doctor’s Diary-44-Double Blessing

We had been desperately searching for a house on rent as we had to vacate the one we were staying in because the term was over. For almost 2 months we looked here and there, asking, enquiring and inspecting. But our search did not yield fruit. Initially our prayers were routine, but as time passed and the deadline drew near our prayers were fervent.During that time, one night the Lord showed me a dream.

“ A very rich man dressed in white, was distributing sweets to people gathered for a function. To every one he gave one sweet but when he came to me, he smiled and gave me two sweets.” The dream ended there.
I woke up the next morning and wondered what the dream was all about. Surely a double blessing was coming my way. I prayed for the same, not knowing in which area of my life it was to be.
“A man in white and a rich man too.”

Men who wore white were few in our town, except ofcourse a certain group of Pentecostals called “The Pentecostal Mission” or TPM. But I had no contacts with them whatsoever.
I forgot about this dream and our quest for a rented house continued. It was almost 2 months that we had been searching. One day after finishing my clinic work, I stopped near a wayside shop to buy a few things.
As I stopped and got down from my vehicle, I saw a Pastor known to me,stop his bike near me. After we exchanged pleasantries, I told him about our search for a house. He spoke of certain possible locations where we could still seek. As we talked, a car came to a stop on the opposite side of the road. Out of it emerged 2 persons both short and stockily built, one older and the other younger, an aura of the rich around them. The Pastor with me said, “Come, lets us ask that person, pointing to the older person who had stepped out the car. I said, “That’s fine with me.”

As the 2 came walking towards us the Pastor with me shook hands with them and asked them when they had came from abroad. After talking for sometime, he introduced me to the two and told them that I was searching for a house on rent. Immediately the older man said “That’s no problem, you can take my house, the top floor is vacant.” Come let me take you home. Pausing a little, he then said, “let me first show you this new shopping complex that I have built.”

A little walk from there, a four storied building built well came into view. He took me to every floor and showed me the rooms; on the top floor he paused and said, “This hall I have specially built in remembrance of my parents.” It is a prayer hall that I got made and it can be availed by any one free of cost to conduct prayer meetings or worship services. In front of me was a wonderfully constructed hall with a side room and bath room. I told him that it would be a great blessing to those who worshipped there. “You can conduct meetings here if you want, he said.” “Me?" I was almost startled.

What did this man know of me to so suddenly give a prayer hall to conduct meetings free of cost.? All he had heard from the Pastor a little while ago was that I am a Physician doing God’s work. I smiled at his offer saying I’ll think about it. A little later we proceeded in my car leaving the younger man, the other man’s son at the shopping complex.
As we traveled he asked me about the work that I was doing for God, about my family, about my clinic.

He had a wonderful house with a beautiful garden, with lots of flowers and all kinds of plants and trees.
“Come, he said as we entered his house.” He introduced me to his wife and told her that we were searching for a house on rent. Later he took me to the 1st floor of the house which was vacant. ‘You can stay here’ he said taking me to each room.
The house seemed ideal for us after such a long search and the rent he asked for was reasonable. I said I’ll discuss it with my wife and let him know.

As I took leave of him, he said “You can use the prayer hall, it’s free.” I smiled and returned home with the great news,. In a few days time after praying over this matter we had shifted to the new house and started a new church meeting in the prayer hall that the man had given us. For 4 years we had been praying for a good hall to worship God. Till then we were worshipping in a dilapidated rental house several miles away. Now God had given us this wonderful prayer hall, all of a sudden. I believe while we prayed, God was building a hall for us at another place.
Jesus said,
"My Father is always at his work to this very day,and I too am working."(John 5:17)

Before we shifted to the new house, one night while I sat in prayer (the next night after I had met the man who gave me his house and the prayer hall) I praised God for his kindness and his love for giving us this rented house and the prayer hall.
“Thank you Jesus.” I burst into spontaneous praise for some time. “As I praised and them sat quietly before the Lord mediating, the Holy Spirit suddenly said, “It’s a double blessing.”
It was then that my mind raced back to the dream that the Lord had showed me about a month ago. “A rich man giving me 2 sweets while he gave only one to others.”
My heart again welled with praise as I thought about the dream fulfilled. But one part of the dream made me wonder. The man who gave me 2 sweets wore all white but when I had met him he was just wearing a casual shirt and pant. As we had talked the previous day he had told me he too was a Pentecostal, but I had forgotten to ask him to which group he belonged. (The man whom God had shown in the dream was to be from TPM as I had recognized in the dream)

To make sure, the next day morning I called him and after greeting him asked him casually to which Pentecostal group he belonged.
Oh! We are from “TPM” (The Pentecostal Mission)Why do you ask? He queried.
Nothing! Just asking! I said, my heart rejoicing for God’s faithfulness.

The Bible says,
"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;he is the faithful God,keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands."(Deuteronomy 7:9)

From the Doctor’s Diary-43- Have you been abused?

“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth-- let Israel say-- they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long. But the Lord is righteous; He has cut me free from the cords of the wicked” (Psalms 129:1 – 4)

Here the Psalmist describes a very disturbing situation about Israel; actually the sufferings of Israel at the hands of their enemies. These verses can also apply to the lives of many of you who read this message. You have been greatly oppressed from your childhood; “abused” perhaps would be a more appropriate word, I guess. Abused in different ways: verbally, physically, emotionally etc.

The Psalmist says, “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth but they have not gained the victory over me.” There are many people who suffer abuse in their lives right from their childhood and this affects their mind to such a great extent that even if they have become believers they are not free from the memories of all the oppression that they have suffered in their lives.

It’s like “ploughmen have ploughed their backs and made furrows so long and so deep”, that the old thoughts and old memories try to destroy the present peace in their lives. If you are such a person, I have good news for you. Our God is righteous. He is able to cut you free from the cords of the wicked, the cords that Satan have bound you with for several years. If your mind is being oppressed by thoughts that are pulling you down and making you unwell and sick, thoughts that are destroying the peace in your life, Jesus is able to set you free and the Bible says, “ So if the son (Jesus), sets you free you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

If you have been suffering, or if anyone in your family has been suffering because of attacks from satan, Jesus is able to deliver you/them, Jesus is able to heal and set free. He can free you from oppressing thoughts and thoughts of abuse that have been ravaging you mind. I believe that Jesus is able to set you free from all the cords that Satan has bound you with. Some of the remembrances & memories are so deeply etched in the minds that it is very difficult to remove them by ourselves, but the Lord is powerful. He is God Almighty; He is able to do miracles in our lives.

Israel suffered a lot because of the oppression of the enemies. But why did the enemies oppress them so much? It was because Israel left the ways of the Lord and followed other gods and disobeyed the true God-Jehovah. That’s why the enemy took control over them.

If there is sin in your life, you have to renounce that first and the Lord will set you free. Is sin the cause of the oppression in your life? Renounce that sin, confess it to Jesus and you will see a great deliverance; a great change in your life. Whenever Israel turned back to the Lord and called out to him, God delivered them.

If you have received forgiveness for your sins, your deliverance is at hand. You can be set free this day by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have you been suffering for a long time by oppressing thoughts. Thoughts that have left you without any peace in your lives, thoughts that have destroyed your relationship with other people. Pray & believe. Jesus will rescue you from the cords of the wicked. He will set you free and your mind will be filled with peace and joy and love of the Holy Spirit.

Trust in Jesus, trust in His Word. He will surely set you free. God bless you.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 42 - Women can be used mightily by God

Women can be effective and efficient sowers of the Word of God and can work to bring many into the kingdom of Heaven. They can serve as efficient sowers by praying, preaching, prophesying, testifying and leading in worship. Right from the Old Testament times we see God using women to fulfill His divine purposes. Miriam, Moses’ sister was a worship leader and led the Israelites in worshiping God after the mighty miracle that God performed by parting the Red sea.

In the book of Judges we see Deborah being used by God: “Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.” (Judges 4:4, 5)
Deborah and Barak teamed together to bring a great victory for the Israelites over the Canaanite king Jabin.

Esther was a woman whose determination to fast and pray for 3 days brought about a great victory not only for her but also for Mordecai and for the Jews. She saved a whole nation by her grit and courage. Huldah the prophetess was used of God in the times of Josiah, king of Judah. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Anna and Philip’s 4 daughters are mentioned in the Word as being used of God to prophesy to their generations.

Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary had the God given talent and ability to praise God with songs and their songs were a blessing to many to strengthen them in times of difficulty and remind them that God is all powerful and able to redeem like no one can.

Women were present at the selection of Matthias (Acts 1:13-26), present at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-18), churches met in women's homes (Acts 12:12; 16:40; Romans 16:3-5; 1Corinthians 1:11; 16:19; Colossians 4:15; 2Jn), women were teachers (Acts 18:26; Titus 2:3-5), deaconesses or wives of deacons (Romans 16:1-2; 1Ti 3:11) in New Testament times.

Women have been given the talents and gifts of the Holy Spirit so that they can sow the Word of God as effectively as men. They are enabled by God to pray not only for themselves and their families, but also their societies, communities, nations and the whole world.
Women are used as sowers by God when they visit hospitals and talk and pray with the sick. Unbelievers abound in our society and hospitals are nearly full of them. Handing out gospel tracts is a good means of sowing the seed i.e. the Word of God. Not only in hospitals, but also during visits of the homes of unbelievers, prisons and other public places, women are used by God in sowing the seed.

Women are also being used in our times to preach and teach the Word of God. There are many women preachers who are really effective in this and they are able to direct many unbelievers into God’s kingdom.

Women can testify to others about the great salvation that God has wrought in their lives through Jesus Christ, the wondrous healings and deliverances they have received from the Lord and again sow seeds to bring others into the kingdom of Heaven.

Some women have been given the talent of writing Christian articles and poems which are an encouragement for believers and unbelievers alike. The talent of singing have been used by God in women to bring healing to the body and mind of many.

Distributing gospel tracts and Bibles, witnessing, teaching, preaching, praying, prophesying, leading worship are the various ways in which women can effectively sow the seed of the Gospel and bring glory to God.

From the Doctor’s Diary-41- How God Speaks-3

For God does speak--now one way, now another, though man may not perceive it. (Job 33:14)

God’s ways of speaking to His children are quite amazing and also amusing sometimes. Have you ever felt speaking to you through bumper stickers/ stickers pasted on vehicles? Well, I have had the grace to get His advice in this manner on quite a few occasions.
Several years back when one of my uncles’ died and the funeral was taking place, I was very worried about my now widowed aunt as they had no children and she was not keeping very well. After the funeral, my mind kept musing over the unfortunate condition of my aunt and the more I thought about it, the more sad I became. It so happened that I had to travel to another place after the funeral and as I got into a cab with these thoughts running wild in my mind, I saw this sticker pasted on the inner side of the front glass and I knew for sure that God was speaking to me. The words just jumped at me and gave immediate peace. The sticker said, “Relax! God is in control.”

Quite amazing! I mean God is so powerful that He can just speak to us through even the most insignificant of things.

Recently stormy winds hit the area where we live and the electricity was disrupted because of trees having fallen over the electric cables. Lack of electricity, I guess is a major problem for us who have been used to it’s availability since the time we were born. And not having it for a couple of days was just too upsetting for me. So as I traveled back from my Clinic, I was just speaking to the Lord and telling Him of my woes of not having electricity and the resulting difficulties. Suddenly another vehicle overtook my car and God just spoke to me from a sticker on the back of that car. It read, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” God was just saying, “Whatever be the circumstances son, rejoice in me.”

I believe God is always speaking to His children. If only our ears and minds were tuned into His loving voice, we would hear Him more often. I hope you agree.

From the Doctor’s Diary-40- How God Speaks-2

“Who remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endures for ever.” (Psalms 136:24)

One Sunday I was invited to attend a Bible College Worship and deliver a message from the Word Of God, but when I woke up that morning, I felt really sick in my stomach. I had griping pain and loose motions. Usually I fast on Sunday mornings and eat food only after the worship, but this time I couldn’t help it, so I took some medicines for the ailment. As the time drew near for me to travel to the venue, I had a fear in my mind whether I could really make it to the venue and preach because my stomach was in a bad condition. I was praying and praising God for this problem to go away but there was no relief. In between a thought came to my mind that I should perhaps call my hosts and tell them that I wouldn’t be coming, but this program had been arranged a long while ago and a last minute cancellation could mean problems for the college authorities. So I just kept praying and hoping that God would heal and everything would be OK.

My message was all ready, but contemplating on whether I should cancel my trip that morning, it just came to my mind to pick a book from the shelf and read a bit. It was a true life story of Harold Morris, the author of “Twice Pardoned” (a great read). This book was called “Beyond The Barriers” and I just opened it casually to a page and I was just stunned at the words that leapt in my face the moment I opened the book. It was God speaking to me directly in my situation. Here is what it said.
“One thing I know about you is that you are not a quitter, you can surely do it.”
I did not check what was really happening in the book or who was saying to whom, but God here was directly speaking to me. I was so over whelmed with tears of joy flowing down my cheeks. God had spoken and I didn’t need any more assurances. That morning as I traveled and as I attended the Bible College worship, I just kept thanking God for His love and care for me and my family.

I didn’t have much problems with my tummy after the words that God had spoken to me through the book that morning. I could preach well to the students at the Bible College that morning and it was a good day for me and my family.

Praise God that He speaks to us and comforts us in our times of distress.

From the Doctor’s Diary-39- Are you an idiot?

Recently I posted an article titled “Are you weary and burdened” in an Indian Forum. There was a small prayer at the end of the article for those who needed to pray for peace in their times of crisis.

A couple of days later I found a few comments put under this article. One of them was in the form of a question posted by another forum member and it read-“Are you an idiot?”

The comment didn’t startle me as I am used to such things from the pen and mouth of unbelievers and Christ haters. Surely I was not an idiot with 20 years as a Consultant Physician and 2 Doctorates behind me. Yet the question reminded me of a few verses in the 1st book of Corinthians. Here the Bible says,

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

Here we read the Apostle Paul advising the Corinthians to become fools in order to become wise. Surely this would be not comprehendible to the wise of this world. It’s a great thing if we are able to humble ourselves and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior by faith. Paul says, “the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight.” That’s because the world and it’s inhabitants collectively cannot save the world that they live in, how much ever they may try. Of course many of them do not realize it and are trying to grow even wiser by their efforts.

In a poll that I conducted online recently (At Buzzle.com), about truthfulness or otherwise of “Da Vinci and the Gospel of Judas” I was amazed that 67% of the 78 people who voted, were of the preposterous opinion that the things written in the above 2 controversial books perhaps were true. Paul says, “The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight” and he also says “He catches the wise in their craftiness."

And how true this is going to be. For the Lord’s coming is nigh and He’s going to catch the wise in their craftiness. He’s caught many before and He’ll catch them all. So blessed be the name of the Lord.

From the Doctor’s Diary-38- Casual Prayers

In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.
(1 Samuel 1:10)

Ever heard that term? Well, it’s something that the Lord taught me recently. Many of our prayers are “Casual Prayers”; prayed just to complete the process, so as to say. Without any real burden! That’s what it means. Have you been praying like that without realizing it? You need to change that burden less prayer that you have been praying all along. That’s if you have to get some positive and concrete answers to what you are praying for.

Look into the Word and we see some of the Biblical heroes and heroines praying with passion and burden. And did they get results? You bet, they did. Hannah prayed with such a heavy burden that the Lord answered her in a marvelous way. Jacob was determined not to let go off the angel until he received the blessing. The psalmists prayed to the Lord with such a heavy burden that they had the confidence that the Lord would answer them. Many of the psalms of David begin with sorrowful laments to the Lord, but he mostly ends on a positive note, his faith having been renewed that the Lord will take care of him in all situations.

The same is true when we pray for the lost masses, be it some of our own or people unknown. Unless we have the burden that these unsaved will perish and experience infinite suffering and unless that thought touches our heart and we feel it in ourselves like Jesus carried the burden of the human race, we aren’t really achieving much in prayer. But pray with a burden and see the difference. Praying with a burden touches the Father’s heart.

I have personally experienced that when I carry a burden and pray and there are tears in my eyes that testify to the intensity with which I have interceded, a positive result with come forth. And I also believe it is not easy to have a burden for every prayer topic that I have at hand.

The Bible exhorts us to “carry each other’s burdens” and this can very simply be applied to our lives not only by helping others but also by praying with a burden for them. That will bring about wonderful results. May the Lord help us all in this.

From the Doctor’s Diary-37- How God Speaks-1

One of the gifts that the Lord has blessed me with is "The word of wisdom" and "The word of knowledge"

The Lord speaks very clearly to specific situations that I encounter in my life and my ministry.

Recently after I preached at a meeting, a believer came to me and asked me, "Doctor, can you pray and tell me whether it's the Lord's will that I go into fulltime ministry or that I continue doing my secular job in the gulf.You see a couple of servants of God have told me that it's the Lord's will that I go into full time ministry and i need a confirmation."

That night as I sat to pray for this brother, I heard the Lord's voice saying,"Yes,I have called him to my work fulltime."I made this known to the brother who had enquired this of me.But he said,"I have already booked my tickets to go back to the gulf. I don't think I want to go into fulltime ministry now. Can you pray for me once more and let me know what the Lord has to say regarding my going back." Not wanting to disappoint him, I said OK.

The next night as I sat for prayer, I asked the Lord what he had to say about the brother's decision. After a while, I heard the voice of the Lord and He said,"If he wants to go to the gulf, let him go and he will not have anyone but himself to blame for the consequences."

I made this known to the brother and he didn't say much; he had already made up his mind to go against the Lord's directions. This inspite of God speaking to him through several people.

What I tell the people in my Church is this:If you want to ask the Lord for directions, obey what He tells you to do, otherwise don't ask at all.
There is no point in disobeying when the Lord shows you the way. It will only lead to disaster.

The Bible says,
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own nderstanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

May the Lord Jesus grant us grace to obey His voice.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 36 - Wine is a mocker-Part 2

Here’s a warning found in the Bible for those who consume such intoxicating drinks –

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.”(Proverb 23: 29-35)

Have you been mixing drinks just for gaining popularity or is “on the rocks”your favorite?

The Bible says that though it goes down smoothly, in the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

And the poison gets deposited in every part of the body, right from the hair on the head to the soles of the feet. Are you experiencing the poison of this ‘viper’ called ‘alcohol’ in your body these days? It’s time to take a firm decision. No more of it. You may not be able to subdue this “evil spirit of alcoholism”by your human power but there is a person called JESUS who has all authority in heaven and on earth. He will defeat this devil that is tormenting you. Are you willing to give your problem into Jesus’ mighty hands? He will set you free!

You may experience withdrawal effects on stopping taking alcohol but you can get through that phase too if you cling to Jesus.
One of my patients who was an alcoholic died because of the toxic effects of the drinks on his liver. A few days later a young man came to see me for complaints of dizziness and headache. On enquiring he told me he was so and so’s son ( the alcoholic who had died). On enquiring further he told me that he had been drinking alcohol heavily since his father’s death. What a pity! Like father, like son! He had taken to the habit on seeing his father enjoying drinks with his friends.

The Bible says,
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”(1 John 3:8)

The son of God, Jesus appeared to destroy the devil’s work. Through alcohol has the devil been working in your life, destroying your body, your business, your family? If yes, then cry to Jesus. He will set you free. He will destroy the destroyer that is playing havoc with your life.
Remember, a day will come when you will have to stand in front of your Creator and give an account of your life to Him.

The Bible says,
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”(1 Corinthians 6:9, 10)

You may say, “I don’t care.”“ Hell is fine for me”
No; dear friend. Never say that! Imagine getting 95% of your body getting burned , being conscious & not dying. That‘s hell in more simplified terms.

Mel Trotter who established 66 rescue missions in leading cities of America had a life transforming experience and is an example of how Jesus can change a person’s heart and life by the regenerating power of His Holy Spirit.

In his youth Mel considered education unnecessary for success. His parents did their best to get him to go to school but he was more interested in his father’s saloon and the gambling den. Mel followed in his father’s footsteps. Early in life he experienced the taste of liquor and like his father became a drunkard by the time he was 20 years old. He was desperate to drink every day. Sometimes he was broke and that was a terrible time. Once he sold his shoes to buy whisky. For 10 years the devil made him live this life of drunken hopelessness. Mel despised himself for his weakness and again and again begged for his wife’s forgiveness and promised never to touch liquor again. But each promise was followed by another drunken spree.

One wintry, snowy night, he left his wife and 2 year old son at home and went away to satisfy his awful craving for drink. He came after drinking heavily for 10 days only to find his wife in their cold bare home and saw her clutching on to their dead son. He looked at his heartbroken wife and the dead child and then he could think of only one thing-that he was a murderer. He decided to commit suicide. He turned away in despair and headed to Lake Michigan to drown himself. On the way to the lake his walk was made difficult as a blizzard raged on the town. It was snowing heavily and his progress to the lake was hampered. The snow bit into his foot through his torn shoes. He found a small shelter and walked into it, helped by a man who stood at the door. The man who helped him was a preacher. Once inside the shelter, he squatted in a corner, a hopeless and defeated soul, but as the meeting started and progressed, God worked a great change in Mel Trotter’s heart. God’s Word when spoken by the preacher not only brought comfort to his soul but at the same time made him acknowledge in his heart that he was a bad sinner. At the close of the service the preacher said, “Put up your hand for prayer, let God know you want to make room for Him in your heart.”Mel Trotter raised his hand and the preacher putting his arm around him told him the story of God’s redeeming love for mankind by sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross for everyone’s sins. Mel cried out for mercy and forgiveness from God and God saved his spirit and soul from eternal destruction that night. Not only did God redeem his spirit and soul that night but He also broke the fetters which the evil spirit of alcoholism had bound him with. He never touched another drop of liquor from that time.
Instead he started to witness about the lifesaving power of Jesus to every one around, especially to alcoholics like he was, He went on to become one of the great evangelists of America in his time.

Dear friend, are you in despair this day? Have you been trying to quit drinking, yet failing repeatedly? Look to Jesus this day. For you, Jesus gave his life on the cross. He carried your sins, your pains, your worries and weaknesses on the cross.
He will surely set you free if you ask Him to free you.
Call out to Him today. You will not be disappointed.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 35 - A wakeup call

….."Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" The watchman replies,
"Morning is coming, but also the night…..(Isaiah 21:11,12)

The winter mornings were very cold that December. Still I ventured out on to the terrace of the house where we stayed, pulled up a chair and eased myself into it wrapping myself in a warm blanket to keep the chill away. It was 5am and the stars were not yet gone and a slight fog was around. Praying didn’t seem easy that morning with the cold atmosphere and as it sometimes happens in my life, I began wondering whether this was so important so early when I could get another hour of sleep.

Half praying, half pondering over things, I was startled to hear a voice distinctly call out from the lane nearby, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” As I turned my head and looked, I could see a man riding his bicycle on the lane nearby and disappearing into the fog. But before his figure faded into the fog, he answered the question that he had himself asked, saying - "Morning is coming, but also the night”

I remembered this verse from Isaiah 21. This small incident invigorated my spiritual life for many many months. Unmistakably it was God’s way of speaking and affirming the truth. Perhaps He had sent an angel to give me a wake up call.

Firstly, He had made me a watchman for the city. To watch and pray; whether it was warm or cold or rainy; I was not to forget my duty. Secondly, as Jesus told His disciples in the Gospel of John, Ch.9, v. 4. “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent us; night is coming, when no one can work.”
Thirdly it was God’s assurance that He is with us through the thick and thin of it all, day in and day out.

Dear friend, If God has chosen you as a watchman to watch and pray over your city, do not backtrack. Remember, there are several precious souls at stake.

From the Doctor’s Diary-34- 1st Da Vinci,Now Gospel Of Judas

“The Gospel Of Philip”, “The Gospel Of Mary Magdalene” and now “The Gospel Of Judas”

Looks like the devil is working overtime to confuse Babes In Christ and Nominal Christians and also trying some mudslinging on Christianity , by some who know little about the Gospels, leave alone the Bible.

The Gospel means Good News, but the recent so called unearthing and publishing of untrue matter is bad news for us Christians.

First, the Da Vinci Code was served, trying to pollute the Word Of God by making ludicrous claims, that Jesus married Mary Magdalene according to the Gospel of Philip.

The book promotes these ideas:
•Jesus is not God; he was only a man.
•Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.
•She is to be worshiped as a goddess.
•Jesus got her pregnant, and the two had a daughter.
•That daughter gave rise to a prominent family line that is still present in Europe today.
•The Bible was put together by a pagan Roman emperor.
•Jesus was viewed as a man and not as God until the fourth century, when he was deified by the emperor Constantine.
•The Gospels have been edited to support the claims of later Christians.
•In the original Gospels, Mary Magdalene was directed to establish the Church.
•There is a secret society known as the Priory of Sion that still worships Mary Magdalene as a goddess and is trying to keep the truth alive.

“The Gospel of Philip” cited as proof that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married was produced at the end of the 3rd century AD, almost two hundred years after the Gospel of John, the last of the four New Testament gospels to be written. It is hardly part of “the earliest Christian records” that the book professes to assert. The Gospel of Philip was written most probably by Valentinus, an Egyptian gnostic teacher who taught in Rome. (Gnosticism is an term that scholars use to describe a number of religious movements in the ancient Roman world, many of which were not at all related to Christianity, all of which had several common themes: that members of the various gnostic sects had a secret knowledge not available to others)

The Gospel of Philip and The Gospel of Mary Magdalene are commonly called “gnostic” gospels by New Testament scholars and historians now. They are pseudonymous works very unreliable as historical documents and in fact contain no historical outline of events in the life of Christ whatsoever, in contrast to the canonical New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that clearly speak in historical terms of the birth, baptism, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

If this wasn’t enough, now we have articles published in newspapers all over the world about “The Gospel Of Judas” which claims that it was Jesus himself who asked Judas to betray him to get a higher status than the other disciples.

I believe that there will be many more gospels coming out soon because the devil knows that his time is short.

But Christians must remember what Paul, the apostle wrote to the Corinthians and the Galatians:

“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10)

Praise the Lord for those who are servants of Christ and may the Lord have mercy on those who are polluting gullible minds with a different Gospel that they may come to the knowledge of the truth.

Be on your watch Christian, for “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8, 9)

From the Doctor’s Diary-33- He who takes crooked paths......

"The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out." (Proverbs 10:9)

I remember an incident from my childhood when I hid my marklist from my mother because I had very poor grades in a language. I thought I had safely hid it under our mattress and was feeling rather secure that my plan had worked when no one found it for a week or two. Then suddenly one day, my mother happened to search for something that my sister had lost and there she stood now with the marklist in her hands. That situation needed a lot of explanation on my part and the going was tough.

In the Word Of God, we see of God's marvellous ways of finding the culprits who do wrong and then keep mum about it thinking that no one will find it out.

Joshua, who lead Israel after Moses, once encountered a grand failure at a place called Ai because one of the Israelites had sinned by taking devoted things from the defeated enemy at Jericho.
Joshua cried to the Lord when he and the Israelites were defeated. God told him that there was sin in the camp and someone had taken devoted things from the enemy at Jericho.

And then the story goes thus....
Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. (Joshua 7:16-18)

So as the proverb goes, "he who takes crooked paths will be found out" (how much ever he may try to hide his sin)

Recently I was astounded by someone sending me a devotional by e-mail. Well! What can be so astounding on getting a devotional by e-mail? Nothing much except that it was a devotional that I had written and mailed to many; now it had returned to me with a new name under it. When I enquired of the fellow of why he (an evangelist) had done so, he apologized but he didn't stop doing it. I visited his website and there they were:all my weekly devotionals and now he had his name under it, telling all that it was his work. God bless him.

I believe some day God will speak to him about it, for the Word is 100% true and it says that "he who takes crooked paths will be found out."
Praise God for His ways.

From the Doctor’s Diary-32- Wine is a mocker, Beer a brawler

The year was 1986. I was working as an intern in a general hospital after completing my MBBS. In the general wards that I worked for 6 months, we took the opportunity to train ourselves to give injections & dress wounds of the patients, reducing some of the nurses work load. Sterilizing spirit was used as disinfectant to clean wounds and as antiseptic agent on the skin before giving injections. The spirit bottles would usually be empty when we checked them each morning though we would have left enough in the bottle when we left the previous evening.

On several such occasions we enquired of the staff what the matter was but instead of getting an adequate reply to our question the spirit bottles would be filled once again. We decided to get to the bottom of the matter and finally discovered that a certain wardboy was using the bitter drink to whet his appetite for liquor. Poverty and low wages seemed to have forced him to the habit of stealing spirit from the different wards rather than buying better drinks outside.

The fellow was just 25 years of age but had all the bodily signs of a chronic alcoholic –lean and thin body, unsteady gait, trembling fingers, a bloated abdomen and the rest. No one seemed to bother and he seemed to be enjoying himself when suddenly one day we found him on one of the hospital beds vomiting blood. There was not much that anyone could do those days considering the facilities and his poverty and all that was done proved futile and he died an untimely death very soon.

This story can be written thousands of times with the characters changed but with a similar end in many cases.

Alcohol has been a major cause of morbidity and morality in our country. Premature deaths, unproductive lives, destroyed families are the usual end result.

Most people start out to have a drink casually for pleasure, for enjoying company or for relieving stress. But once the habit catches on, it threatens to destroy a persons’ body, soul & spirit. Some never realize unless it too late and at that stage they are helpless because death would have already grabbed them with its deadly tentacles.

So, have you been drinking lately?

It’s better to stop before its too late. Perhaps you may laugh at my advice telling me to mind my own business. But wait a minute! Let me tell you some interesting stories about people who took to the vice and destroyed themselves and their families.

But for a moment, read this verse from the best selling book on earth – The Bible.
“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”(Proverbs 20:1)

How interesting isn’t it?
This verse from the Bible describes the nature and potential evil of fermented drink. As you gulp it, it’s constantly mocking you of how it can overpower you soon and make you do things it wishes.
If that is the case, then the intoxicating drinks that you drink, have a power of their own. It’s an evil power or a power of darkness or evil spirit actually that mocks you as you have the drink. The evil spirit of Alcoholism has many slaves and perhaps you are one of them.

There are 1 peg slaves, 2 peg slaves and bottle slaves.
The “evil spirit of alcoholism”challenges the one drinking the intoxicating drink to do things that person would not even imagine of doing when he is sober. The Bible says “Beer is a brawler”


That proverb is self explanatory and has been acted out millions of times in all ages. Brawls, fights and killings all have resulted after people have temporarily ceased to think and reason properly because of the effect of alcohol on their brain. Once sober, many who drink are remorse and guilt ridden that they have hurt others – perhaps the wife or the children or friends. This guilt and repentant behavior lasts for varying periods in the person’s life and then once again the story runs the same course.

The “evil spirit of alcoholism”is cunning and catches its prey by the throat and will not usually let go unless God intervenes.
And God is always wishing to intervene if you go to him in all humility and tell him,
“Dear Jesus, I have a problem with alcohol. Help me and free me from its clutches.”
The Bible says,
“So if the Son (Jesus, son of God) sets you free, you will be free indeed.”(John 8: 36)

From the Doctor’s Diary-31- You can't trick the Lord

One day as I was finishing my work at the Clinic, my assistant informed me that someone from the vigilance department of the police wanted to see me urgently. I wondered what the cause was and asked my assistant to usher him in. After saying “Hello”, I asked him what the reason for his coming was. He was reluctant to say much and proceeded to show me a letter that had been received by the vigilance department. I asked him what the letter was about and again hesitantly he stated that someone had sent a written complaint that I was ‘a quack’ and did not have the required qualifications for practicing Medicine.

This made me smile and I told him amusedly that this was the 5th year that I was practicing after my post graduation in Medicine. He said that he had been enquiring the matter and knew that there was foul play involved but they couldn’t really pinpoint the culprit behind this. Anyway as this was considered as a serious offence, the Superintendent of Police had sent me a notice to appear before him on a set date with all my records. After he left me, I wondered who could have played such a trick on me, because I did not have any overt enemies in that place and never was any animosity shown towards me by any one in that place.

That night I prayed to the Lord and asked for His guidance regarding the matter, all the while wondering who could have played such a trick. As I slept, I saw a dream. In the dream I am in an elevator with a man who works in a coffee shop near the Clinic. As we ride the elevator, this man smiles at me and says, “The police will never know that I wrote that letter.” Waking up at night after the dream, I praised God for His faithfulness and asked the Lord why that man did so? In reply the Lord said that the man didn’t like the Gospel work that I did at the Clinic-distributing tracts and books and it was a sort of harassment that he had planned. I knew this man very well but did not go to confront him regarding the thing leaving the matter into the Lord’s hands.

A few days later, early one morning, I traveled with my wife to the SP’s office to show him my records. It so happened that the SP was sick that day and as soon as I entered his office, he asked me to prescribe some medicine for his illness. He just glanced through my records and told me that he was sorry for the trouble, but he was just following regulations. I asked him whether they were able to catch the culprit but he just shook his head and said, “It’s not so easy.” I felt like telling him that it would be easy if he could ask the Lord for some help, but just kept quiet knowing that he wouldn’t probably understand or appreciate what I said. As I said “Good Bye”, he smiled and wished me the best.

To end the story, I do not know for sure whether it was God’s way of avenging for what the fellow had done, but in a drunken brawl that week itself this man was stabbed and was hospitalized for quite some time.

God is faithful in all His ways and He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
And His Word exhorts us in this way, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19)

From the Doctor’s Diary- 30 - 4 Lepers

A pastor friend of mine had to find a house on rent urgently as he and his family had been asked to vacate the rented house that they were living in as soon as possible. He had been praying fervently about the matter and searching for a house in different places for the same, but to no avail.

I too joined in the hunt and for several days searched and enquired of houses that were to be rented. It had almost been a week and the pastor had to vacate the house that he stayed in now, the next morning.

Early next morning I had to go to the market to buy groceries and as I drove my car towards the market, I was telling the Lord how my master friend needed a miracle that day. It was then that I saw them- 4 lepers walking together and in a moment the Lord spoke to me & reminded me of the 4 lepers during the great famine of 7 years when Elisha was prophet in Israel.

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, `We'll go into the city'--the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things. from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace.” (2 Kings 7:3-9)

What the Holy Spirit was impressing me was that ‘this was a day of good news’ (verse 9 above). At once I knew that my pastor friends’ prayer had been answered.

Surely enough later that day one of the patients who came to consult me in my clinic told me (without me asking him) that his brother’s house was available for rent should someone whom I knew needed it.

I smiled when he said that and soon my friend had the rented house that he needed so urgently. This was another occasion that the Lord had spoken to me clearly and performed a much needed miracle. Praise the Lord.

From the Doctor’s Diary-29- A Rich Man

In March 1994, a man came to visit me. He was very rich, had a big bungalow and several acres of land in Trivandrum, Kerala (South India). He and his wife lived a high society life, went regularly to parties and gave parties often. He was eager to listen to the gospel message but always had a habit of postponing in taking a decision to accept Jesus as His Saviour because of his rich life style. As he entered my room he saw a beautiful picture of a house on the calendar hanging on the wall. He was fascinated by the picture and immediately asked me to give him that picture.

I asked him, “Why do you want this picture?”
“I want to build a house like that, he said”
“But you have a bungalow in Trivandrum, a big house here, then why do you want to build another house? I asked him.”
“It’s so beautiful”, he said, “I will build a house just like this. Kindly give me this picture.”
I told him, “This page of the calendar is of the month of March. You can come on April 1st and I will tear this page and give it to you as soon as March ends.
When I talked about God and Eternal Salvation he, said,
“I don’t have time now, We can talk of that some other time.”
While going his eyes were still on the picture on the wall.
I forgot this matter totally because of my hectic work. On April 1st when I glanced through the paper, I was shocked to see his photo in the column for the deceased.
He had died of a heart attack on March 31st. I remembered his words, his worldly desires and his habit of postponing in making a decision for accepting Jesus. What a pity!

In the gospel of Luke Chapter 12, verses 16-20, we read of a parable told by Jesus.

“And he told them this parable: The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.”
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

How very true the words of Jesus in this man’s case.

From the Doctor’s Diary-28- A strange funeral

One morning as I traveled to my clinic, I was thinking about a certain servant of God who had died a couple of days back and today his funeral was to taking place. As I approached the place where the cremation was to take place there was such a big queue for the last time view of the servant of God. There was a mammoth crowd and people were thronging around the place.

Certain thoughts regarding the event came to my mind and I was making my own conclusions-Certainly this man deserved this kind of a last minute send off, if one could call it that. He had labored for Christ for so many years that such a heavy crowd had turned out for his funeral. Surely any one so great will naturally have many admirers and it was logical that people had to wait in large queues to get a last glimpse.

Quite unexpectedly Lord spoke to me and very clearly said something unique. He said, “There was no one around when I buried Moses.”

Now this was something extraordinary. I could never have brought up this thought by myself. It’s just the way that the Lord speaks to us. Out of the blue on certain occasions. He didn’t say another word but just what He had already said, but that itself was worth a day’s thinking.

Moses was a great servant of God. The Bible vouches for that.
“And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:5-8, 10-12)

Wonderful, isn’t it? All these things that are written about this great servant of God. Perhaps some critics may argue that He deserved a better burial but there couldn’t have been a better burial for Him. God Himself set the time and place and Himself conducted the funeral service.

Of course before the actual burial took place there was a fight for his dead body as we read in the book of Jude.
“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9)

For what I often wonder did the devil contend for the body of Moses? Perhaps he was trying to establish the view point that Moses disobeyed God regarding speaking to the rock instead of hitting it. Well, he has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. But he got the right reply from Michael who said that his accusations against Moses and his contending for his body deserved a rebuke from the Lord.

The Bible says that the Lord knows them who are his and He knows them who are truly faithful to Him even though the devil may bring all sorts of allegations and accusations against them.

Praise the Lord for He is always just in all His ways.

From the Doctor’s Diary-27- The Blood Of Jesus

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.(Revelation 12:11a)

Last night (17/03/06)as I slept, I saw a dream. In the dream I happen to be walking along a road and there are a few others walking beside me. After a while 3-4 vicious looking guys come from the opposite direction and they have several fierce looking dogs with them. As they come near me, the guys command the dogs to attack me and the whole pack rushes at me barking and snarling. In the dream I am at a loss of what to do but as the dogs are about to pounce on me I rebuke the dogs in the mighty Name of Jesus and pray to Jesus to cover me with His precious Blood.

As soon as I do that, the dogs just stop in their tracks as if they are hit by something violent and they seemed to be weak and helpless. Soon they recede and disappear.

This was a warning from the Holy Spirit that a satanic attack was about to take place in my life, but if I trusted in the Name and Blood Of Jesus, victory would be mine.

Today, since morning, I had shortness of breath and chest discomfort. I remembered the warning that the Holy Spirit had given me and rebuked the evil forces that had brought that upon me. The difficulty persisted till evening, but God delivered me as I placed my trust in the Name and Blood Of Jesus.

It's true what the songwriter says,

There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

The Blood Of Jesus is our protection. Every believer every day must cover himself/herself, their family, finances, homes and whatever they have been given by God with the Blood of Jesus. The Blood of Jesus not only cleanses us from all sin but also protects us from our enemy-the devil who is out to kill, steal & destroy.

Praise God for the Blood of Jesus.

From the Doctor’s Diary-26- Have I ever done you any wrong?

Spiritual lows are frequent in the lives of believers and it's nothing different for me even though I am a teacher and preacher of the Word.One night as I sat to pray, I could think of nothing else than all the problems in my life. One added upon one as I started thinking and it seemed to be like a huge mountain in the end.

So I started complaining to the Lord about all the problems and the causes of the problems and the persons involved.

It must have been quite a while that I kept on and when I finally did end, I dozed off a bit and in the semi-sleep stage, the Lord startled me with His unmistakable voice and said, "Son, have I ever done you any wrong?"

That question not only made me awake again but also brought tears to my eyes and I replied to the Lord,"No, Lord, you have never ever done me any wrong, only good."

Yes, Our God is the God of all compassion. He says,

" I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3)

No matter what the problem in our lives, He is always there to help and heal, save and deliver. Praise God for such a Saviour.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 25 - The Nazirite Vow

In the book of Numbers in the Old Testament, we read of the Nazirite vow. It goes like this:

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
" During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD."(Numbers 6:1-8)(NIV)

Samson, one of the judges of Israel, Samuel the prophet and John the Baptist were the ones who had chosen to live by these vows.A certain group called the Rechabites also lived according to these vows.

Samuel and John the Baptist are classic examples of men abiding by the commands that the Lord gave in their lives. They were faithful in all respects of their calling and that's why the Bible speaks so greatly of them.

Of Samuel, the Bible says,
"The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word." (1 Samuel 3:19-21)

Of John the Baptist, Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.(Matthew 11:11)

But look at the life of Samson, God's chosen one to be a judge of Israel. Though called to be a Nazarite, he broke God's commands and thus had to pay a heavy price. He scooped honey from the dead remains of a lion and gave them to his parents too without telling them from where he had gotten it.
He had a weakness for women and had affairs with prostitutes and finally he gave away the secret of his strenth-that not shaving it gave him his divine strength. Thus he was caught by the enemy and they made him blind and put him in fetters in prison. Samson repented but he had to go through a lot of pain for breaking the Nazarite vow.

We as believers are called to be faithful to God and live in obedience to the Holy Spirit. No Nazrite vows as such for us, yet God expects us to be faithful to His Word all the days of our life. May the Lord help each one of us to stay true to Him each and every day of our lives. God bless you.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 24 - God never forgets

Recently I had to travel to a neighboring state in India for some personal reasons. Before I traveled and in between small talk with my children, my elder daughter made a request. She said, “Papa, when the train goes through a tunnel, remember me.” I thought of it as a strange request, but said yes and forgot about the whole matter.

The day of journeying arrived and I was traveling and suddenly after a couple of hours of the train journey, we passed through a tunnel. And right away my mind ran back to the moment that my daughter had said, “Papa, when the train goes through a tunnel, remember me.” I had a chuckle all by myself and thought about the many little requests that children make of their parents.

I believe Our Father in heaven also remembers our small requests that we make of Him day in and day out in our lives. Perhaps after a few years we may think of that request to have been trivial. Perhaps people who hear of our requests may think it to be strange, but Jesus loves us so much that He doesn’t consider any thing that we ask of Him to be trivial.

Sometimes we ourselves may forget some of the things we asked of God; but He doesn’t forget us or our requests. He says,
“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! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” (Isaiah 49:15, 16)

People have the habit of forgetting, but God never forgets. In the book of Genesis we read of Joseph, Jacob’s son who explained the dreams of the cup bearer of the Pharaoh and then requested him to say a kind word about him to Pharaoh and get him released from prison, but the cup bearer forgot the whole matter. Yet God did not forget Joseph and delivered him from prison and made him the 2nd in command in Egypt.

Remember this day, that Jesus will never forget you or the work that you do for Him. He will reward you plentifully when the time comes. Know this that He never regards your requests to Him as trivial. The Bible says,

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” (Psalms 113:13)

May the Lord Jesus bless you abundantly.

From the Doctor’s Diary- 23 - Water Baptism

Water Baptism by itself does not guarantee a place for the believer in heaven. In other words one does not take water baptism to go to heaven. The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

But that doesn’t mean one should not take water Baptism. Water Baptism is taken by the believer after one accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour for the following reasons:

1) It is the Lord’s command (Mathew 28:18-20),
2) It is an act of being obedient to God (Mark 16:16)
3) It is an Apostolic Doctrine for the New Testament Church (Acts 2:36-38,41)
4) It is a pledge of a good conscience (1 Peter 3:18 -22)
5) It is a public profession of faith in Jesus &His victory over Satan(Romans 6:3-5)
6) It fulfills all righteousness ( Acts 10:44-48) (Mathew 3 13-17)
7) It is an act of faith (Colossians 2:11-12)

Some say, “Let God speak to me directly, then I’ll submit to this. He has spoken about it clearly in His Word. Perhaps He has been speaking but they are not hearing.

Let me give you an example.
One day as I traveled to my clinic in my car, I heard the still small voice of God telling me, “Sir” has not taken Water Baptism yet.” Very unusual I thought because I hadn’t been thinking about that man or praying for him. God was referring to a man who left his vocation in teaching and administration to serve God. He is a good believer working for the Lord in his capacity; often I had been telling him for the past 2 years that Water Baptism is important and that he should take it. And now the still small voice tells me “Sir has not taken water baptism yet”

I parked my car and walked to the clinic; got busy with seeing my patients. After I had seen a few, guess who walked in? “Sir & his Wife.” After exchanging pleasantries I asked him why he had come. And he said, “Doctor, did you forget? You told me to come here today. I was surprised. I asked him. “When did I ask you to come?” Yesterday Night”he said.

“But I didn’t meet you yesterday night.” I replied smiling. “Well, I called you at 8.00 p. m. and you told me that I can come and meet you today at 10.00 a. m.””. It couldn’t have been. I was preaching at another place yesterday at 8.00 p. m. “But that’s impossible! I called you at home and you gave me an appointment today.

“Sir! I came home at around 10.00 p. m. yesterday and there were no phone calls after I had left home according to the servant of whom I enquired when I came back. “Look! He said; Isn’t this your number? You gave it to me three months back when I saw you last. When I saw the number, I immediately knew what this was all about. The number that he showed was of my phone which I had already cancelled and given back to the exchange. This was an astounding miracle that God had done just to bring this man once again to me so that I tell him to get Water Baptized. Sure, he must have dialled the number that he had. But perhaps God or his angel answered him on the phone and said “Come tomorrow, 10.00 a.m.”I laughed and told him the thing that God had spoken to me while I travelled to the clinic that morning. God’s voice being very clear “Sir has not taken Water Baptism yet”

He and his wife listened very intently as I once again spoke to them about Water Baptism; They left after a while astounded at what had happened. But the tradedy of it all

I met this man after about 3 months and while conversing I asked him, “Sir, so did you finally take Water Baptism?”
“No he said, God has yet to speak to me about it”.

Jesus once said, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving”(Matthew 13:14)

From the Doctor’s Diary- 22 - Jesus Heals

Our loving Heavenly Father says,
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”(Isaiah 55:10, 11).

Many years back, I suffered from severe tonsillitis for 6 yrs. Atleast twice a year this sickness used to trouble me and when it happened, I found it very difficult to swallow food and even water for atleast a week. I used to sit up all night with fever. My throat used to dry up and I would walk here and there in my room, not knowing what to do. Medicines only had a temporary effect on my sickness but no cure. My medical college professors said that it was due to allergy that this happened.

In 1992 I suffered greatly because of this ailment. I did everything that I could. I had my medicines regularly, I prayed with fervour. Those were the days when I had started learning the Word of God and knowing of what faith in God can do for me. I used to hear a lot of Christian Radio Programmes. One evening someome gave me an audio cassette titled “Living stone and success”. The preacher spoke authoritatively from the Word and then said that he was going to pray for the sick and that those who needed healing may come forward.

I thought in my mind, “It’s true that this message was preached 10 years ago. But if God healed people then, he was able enough to heal me now”
The preacher said, “Lay your right hand on the part of your body that is sick and now let’s pray!”

Quickly I laid my hand on my throat and cried out to God, “God, have mercy and heal me;I am suffering greatly”. “Be healed in Jesus Name”, the preacher said as he prayed. Suddenly I felt a warmth come all over my body. All the pain in my throat vanished. All the fever departed. I felt a new power surge through my body. I knew God had healed me. I praised him loudly, giving thanks for his wonderful love.
It’s been 10 years since the Lord healed me of tonsillitis and till today it has never recurred. Great is his faithfulness.

From the Doctor’s Diary-21-Only one way to the Father

I had been to my Chartered Accountant's office the other day for submitting certain forms and after the official work, the talk shifted to spiritual matters.

I had no knowledge of his spiritual state or his personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.He asked me why I had shifted to the Pentecostal denomination leaving a mainline Protestant Church. I told him that there was a phase in my life where I had to face several mountainous problems that crushed my life and the leaders in my Church were not able to help me out of those situations. The Pentecostal brothers and sisters at the church that we were led by God to attend showed us the way to deliverance by Jesus through the Word Of God.They taught us how things can change dramatically by fasting and prayer.

My chartered accountant opined that one can attain salvation in whichever denomination one attended.

I asked him about the idolatrous practices of some of the mainline denominational churches and he replied that there were problems in all denominations, leave alone the mainline."All one has to do to attain salvation is live a good life and do good works", he added.

My next question to him was whether he believed that all who lived a good life would attain salvation irrespective of whether they believed in Jesus and he said yes.

So you believe that there are other ways to the Father other than Jesus?I asked.

Yes, I believe he replied.

I had to stop my talk with him there because both of us had other things to attend to. I am praying to God that I get another chance to speak to him about Jesus.

What do you think? Is there any other way to the Father and Heaven.

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

A Christian cannot have 2 opinions regarding this; either you believe the whole truth or you reject it totally.

So, what's your opinion? Have you made your decision?

From the Doctor’s Diary- 20 - Be a link in God's plan

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."(Mark 8:38)
A lot of Medical Representatives come to visit me at my Clinic everyday. I take this opportunity to either talk to them about their spiritual life or if I am busy, just hand out a gospel tract or booklet. Most of them are non-Christians and are often surprised at my gesture. Some of them respond by asking questions then itself or at a later date.

One of the guys who is a non-Christian just thought of trying out this God that I believe in. He dropped a letter in the prayer request box kept outside my consulting room. My assistant handed me the letter as I was about to leave the Clinic after a hectic time of work. I did not open or read the letter but gave it back to him and told him that he could pray for that topic as he assisted me in my Gospel work.

A couple of weeks later a medical representative walked into my consulting room after taking permission outside and told me that he had not come to brief me about his company’s products but to thank me for praying for his prayer request. I asked him what his problem was and he said that a couple of weeks earlier he had put a prayer request in the box outside, since he was undergoing terrible mental strain and had been unable to sleep even a couple of hours at night since the past several months. Your “Jesus” he said delivered me from my mental strain and now I am able to sleep well. Thank you Doctor for your prayers, he said. His joy was clearly visible as he spoke and I rejoiced with him.

Looking back, I realize I didn’t do much to get the deliverance for him from Jesus. I was just a link in God’s plan for his deliverance. So was my assistant. Just as links on a web page that lead to other desired pages, God uses His children as links in His great plan for this world of ours.

Shall we be faithful then in the task that God has placed in our hands to spread the good news of the Gospel wherever we in this world?

From The Doctor's Diary- 19 - Greatest in the kingdom of Heaven

The other day, for the fasting prayer that we usually hold every monthend at our Church, I happened to be preaching about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Using Matthew 24:45-47 (Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.) and the first few verses of Matthew 25 (At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.), I exhorted the Church members to prepare themselves for the Lord’s return.

It was a blessed time and later as we retired at home, my younger daughter aged 8 seemed to be in deep thoughts. As we put out the lights she snuggled up close to me. What’s bothering you? I asked. Papa, she said, “If Jesus comes tonight, will He take me to Heaven with you and Mama and Salome (my older daughter). “Definitely”, I said, you are so innocent, you will surely go.

“But didn’t you say in the Church that those who have sin won’t go” she said. “Yes, that’s true, but you have no sin.” I started explaining something about reaching the age of accountability but then stopped, thinking that she wouldn’t understand it.

Well, I’ve got something to confess she said. “I beat Salome the other day”. I said, “You better confess that to Jesus” and she did. Next she said, “I called her names” and I led her to confess that too. I thought she would be finished with that, but there were a couple of other things, scratching and pushing her sister which she confessed.

When she thought she had finished with cleaning her heart, she went off to sleep, believing that if the Lord came that night, she would surely go with Him.

As I lay thinking of all that had transpired between us, I remembered the words of Jesus from Matthew Chapter 18.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

How true! If only grownups could humbly and meekly accept the words of the Lord like little children, how wonderful it would have been.

From the Doctor’s Diary-18 - Praise Works

In 1996, for 3 months I suffered greatly from a chest ailment. It all started with an allergy to petrol fumes. On inhaling that I used to feel breathless and a tightness in the chest. This increased rapidly with allergy to other smells too and day in and day out I used to feel breathless. To add to this I had a problem of acidity in my stomach. I did not have peace of mind and had very little sleep. I could not work properly at the clinic and could hardly preach. The suffering was terrible.

I got some relief from my chest problem on having medicines but the medicines increased the problem in my stomach. This made me quit taking medicines. I prayed and fasted but to no avail. The problem persisted and increased.

After one month of suffering thus, one night as I prayed, the Lord spoke to me saying, “You will suffer from these sicknesses for 3 months. After that I will heal and deliver you totally.”
Another 2 months of suffering! I became dejected, but there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. I waited expectantly for the next two months to get over.
The sickness had started on September 16. I kept praying and reminding God often, “Lord remember your promise, You must heal me on December 16th”
The next two months were difficult to get through. It was by sheer grace that I made it to December 16th.
Here was the day that I waited for so anxiously. December 16th came and went but I did not receive the healing.
On 17th I was at my wits end. Anger and grief flooded me.
I told the Lord, “Look Jesus, you said 3 months and now my condition is just the same!”

That night as I sat to pray, I heard the still small voice of the Lord say, “You have forgotten to praise me all the time that you were sick”It was around 11.00 p. m. that I heard the Lord say that. I started praising him, one by one for everything and everyone that my mind focussed on. I kept praising him till late at night and went to sleep praising Him.
In the morning when I woke up, God had worked another great miracle in my life.
Healed and Delivered from 3 months of bodily suffering and mental agony. All gone, when praise ascended to heaven. Praise the Lord!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”(Hebrews 13:8)
He is an unchanging God
His love for you is great. He wants you to be healed and living a healthy life. So trust in Him and His promises. And do not forget to praise Him everyday of your life.

From the Doctor’s Diary-17-Taste & See that the Lord is Good

My wife came to know Christ through the healing that she received from Him.

She had experienced the love of God in a great measure from her childhood onwards. Abundant blessings materially and physically and great peace of mind were gifted to her from God. Her friends and teachers were always eager to know the secret of her all round success.
As she grew up she often used to ask God, “God, why is it that others around me do not experience this great peace that I have? God what is your intention regarding this world filled with unrest and sorrow?”
To her persistant questions to Him, God decided to show her what will happen if he removed his abundant love upon her life.

On March 13th 1983, almost suddenly her mother fell ill. Her life which was a bed of roses till then fell apart almost immediately. She hoped that everything would comeback to normal but things started worsening. She cried to God but he seemed to keep very silent. Every new day brought new troubles. She lost her peace of mind. She felt as if her prayers would never be heard by God again. She started experiencing throbbing headaches.
She wondered, “Is this God’s wrath upon me?”“Perhaps I am very sinful in God’s sight”“Why is God allowing all this?”
She used to vomit all the food that she ate. This made her very weak and tired.
She couldn’t concentrate on her studies. The medicines that she took made her more weary.

One evening, after a few months of bodily and mental agony, her friend called her to play.
She thought in her mind, “I’ll play as much as I can today and then die.”For 2 full hours she played badminton. After that her condition worsened. She couldn’t breathe properly. She could not bring words to her mouth to express herself. She felt as though her head would burst any moment because of the headaches. Her surroundings seemed to be blurring. Clutching the walls, she climbed the stairs to her 2nd floor flat with much difficulty and flung herself upon the bed. Death seemed to be very close to her. Panting heavily and suffering greatly, her thoughts shifted once again to God. She said to herself,
“If God heals me now, I will know that he exists, otherwise I will believe that what I thought of him till today was all a lie.”
While she lay thus, her eyes fell upon a New Testament lying close to her on the bed. She reached out and opened it. The verse that she read made her laugh inside her.

It said
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”(John 14:18).
All these days she was crying for a healing which never came and now this verse was promising someone coming close to comfort.

Her eyes fell on another verse, It said,
“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it”(John 14:14).
She read the verse more carefully. Who is this who promises to give anything? What is this name that promises this? When she read a few more verses the knew that it was Jesus, the son of God who promised to give anything that was asked in his name. Till now in her life she had never asked anything in Jesus’ name. She had known God and prayed to him, but due to the lack of knowledge of the Word, never known that Jesus was the cornerstone of her faith and that it was Jesus’ name that mattered most. A new hope sprung up in her. She said to herself,
Jesus says, “If I ask anything in his name, he will give it to me”
“Dear Jesus, she cried, my body and mind need healing. Kindly let this headache go away. I cannot bear it anymore. Kindly heal me dear Jesus.”Time seemed to stand still.
Then she said, “I have done what I had to do, now you must do what you say dear Jesus.”

She started counting the moments in her mind. As she counted to 5, she heard a clicking sound on the right side of her head and the headache disappeared immediately. A great change came over her body and mind. She felt like a new strength coming into her body. Her whole being was flooded with his presence.
Her heart swelled with praise and gratitude towards him. She praised and thanked God for his loving kindness.

That very evening, she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.
Thus she realized a great truth that day, that the King of kings and Lord of Lords still lives and has all authority with him to heal and deliver.

It's been 22 years since that day and never once has the Lord left her nor forsaken her even in life's most trying situations.Praise the Lord.

From the Doctor’s Diary-16 - Worthless Words

"God, I don't think you really care for me,"
I said ,as I woke up one morning after seeing a horrible dream.
I had just preached my first sermon the other day (April 1994) and was waiting expectantly for my next venture for the Lord.
Well, I don't know just how the words came out, but I believe it must be just as Jesus said, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)

I didn't think about the matter much until late that afternoon when I happened to stroll into my room and felt like picking up the Bible and reading it at random.

And the words just jumped out at me and hit me like a hammer inside.

It said "Therefore this is what the Lord says, "If you repent, I will restore you ,that you may serve me, if you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman." (Jeremiah 15:19)

The words really sank in and right there made me confess my worthless words that morning.I believe God immediately forgave (as His Word says).

But it was only a long time later that I got to preach my 2nd sermon. And justly too. It was not God's fault that I saw a horrible dream that night.

In Proverbs 29:20 we read "Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than him."I had spoken in haste allright and probably faced the penalty.

Moral

The Great Preacher Solomon says, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God." God is in heaven and you are on earth so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

From the Doctor’s Diary-15- Our Homes

Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) (NIV)

An easily noticeable and admirable fact in this verse is that Jesus said, that He and His Father wants “to make their home” with the one who obeys His teaching. Jesus didn’t say He and the Father were going to stay in such a person’s house. They were going to make their home with him.
A house differs from a home in that; a house may not really be a home. A home is different. Home is where one is cared for, loved, cherished and nourished by one’s own. A home need not be a house too, for in India where I live, there are the poor, some of whom who live in huts and concrete pipes. No one can or will dare to call huts and pipes, houses but they are homes to families. Homes they can come back to, after work; whatever work it may be, perhaps even begging. A curtain at one end of the concrete pipe and another curtain at another end for privacy and that’s the home for some for decades.
Wherever it be, the Lord said He and the Father were going to make their home with the ones faithful to Him. How wondrous this promise.
Pity the rich and affluent, living in mansions sans Christ and rotting away spiritually in their rebellion to His voice.
A home with the presence of the triune God is blessed. Not that such a home has no problems, but this one has a blessed promise for it.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalms 46:1) (NIV)
An ever present Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
But nothing here is forever though, not even our blessed homes.

King Solomon once wrote,
“Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. (Ecclesiastes 12:5c) (NIV)
Yes, that’s the final destination of all who are born on earth. Sadly for some, this may not be the very thing that they desire though, for they land up in torment in the place prepared for the devil and his cohorts. But for those who have walked the narrow path, what a homecoming it would be with the prophecy of Revelation 21 being fulfilled.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) (NIV)

Looking at it in another way, home now for us is where our spirit and soul live, that is our fleshly body. But that too is a temporary home for our spirit and soul. For this fleshly body will not last long. The Apostle Peter speaking of this says,
“I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” (2 Peter 1:13, 14) (NIV)

Be that as it may, believers have a glorious promise from the Lord and we read this in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians,
“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1) (NIV)

The “earthly tent” here being our physical bodies now and “the eternal house in heaven” being the glorified bodies that we will receive when we enter eternity.
The things that we call “Homes” here and now on earth could be rightly termed “Temporary Homes.” Be it our physical bodies, be it our congregations or be it our shelters where we and our loved ones live. Every believer in Christ is exhorted in the Word of God to look forward, to hope and pray for something more everlasting- “An Eternal HOME.” Praise the Lord.