Category: New Testament

Look Around

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 13: 14, 15

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

When God called Abram from the land of Ur, he left everything and followed God into the unknown. However, he left the place with his father and nephew Lot. His father died shortly but Lot was still hanging around with Abram. The Lord blessed Lot as well because of Abram. Now the time has dawned for Abram to be separated from one last link to his past – Lot. When strife broke among the herdsmen of Lot and Abram, Abram, being a wise man requested that they shouldn’t fight as they are family. Abram besought his nephew to choose the land that he prefers so he could go the other way. Lot, drawn by the lush, fertile valley of Jordan, chose to settle near Sodom. And thus, uncle and nephew parted ways amicably.

As Abram’s eyes searched the fading caravan of his nephew Lot with a broken heart, the Lord nudged Abram to look north and south, east and west. As Abram scanned the landscape not knowing what the Lord was hinting at, Lord promised Abram that He will give all the land in all four directions to his offspring. Abram looked around and probably wondered if he would actually have an offspring who would inherit all this land that the Lord God was promising him.

God is asking us to do the same. God is nudging us to look around us. He is showing us opportunities where we could grow, be a blessing, and bring glory to His name. However, we seem to look at ourselves, our shortcomings and our infirmities. Unlike Abraham, we trust our weaknesses rather than trust in God’s strength. We are limiting ourselves. We are still clinging to our past. We believe in luck rather than God’s supernatural favor. When God is imploring us to look beyond ourselves and our circumstances, we are wallowing in our own pride and accomplishments. Thereby, we are missing out on God’s best for our lives. We fail to grasp that we have a God who is bigger than anything we can imagine. It is time, dear sojourners, to rise up and step out in faith. Not limiting ourselves but trusting Him to lead on, we are more than conquerors in Christ. May God lead you on to places beyond your reach where your tents are pitched in pleasant places.

The Marked Ones – Part 2

~ Sowmya Gali

Revelation 13: 15-17

15. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

16. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

17. and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

From time immemorial, God set apart His own, those He called by His name. Abraham circumcised himself and his household after God asked him to set himself apart. The blood of the lamb on the doorposts was the sign for the death angel to pass over His children in Egypt. The nation of Israel had been sanctified or set apart for God. They are the apple of His eye. They have been permanently marked for God.

When Jesus Christ came into this world, He called a few and set apart a few disciples. These disciples were given charge to go out into the whole world, preach the Gospel of Good News and baptize them into the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Those who have accepted Christ into their hearts and lives, have now been set apart and they will not be condemned anymore. Their mark is the blood of Jesus on them which they received willingly on their own.

Now that the Bride of Christ – the Church has been raptured, very few good people remain on the planet. The devil is given free reign and there is no Restrainer to hold him back. The copycat devil has to do everything that God did. God marked His own to save them but He gave the free will to choose Him. He only marked those who remembered Him and sought Him, wholeheartedly. People with devotion towards our loving Heavenly Father, were the ones that were saved when the destroying angels slaughtered people.

Unlike the part 1 of the essay where God marked His people, in this portion of the Scriptures, the antichrist forces people to get a mark either on the forehead or the right hand. The devil has to destroy God’s priced creation. He will go to all extremes and employ all means to accomplish just that. He doesn’t offer a free will. Either the person chooses to live or die. In order to survive under such tyrannical situation, man has to choose to either receive the mark or die. No trade happens without the mark.

Devil, the tyrant cunningly deceives God’s children into submission. He will leave us no choice. In contrast, God has given His children a free will. He didn’t force us into submission to Him. He gave us that choice. At the end, it is our decision to either follow Jesus or denounce Him. During tribulation, the antichrist will not be so kind as to give us a choice. Either the people receive the mark of the beast or die. It would be interesting to know how many people would be willing to die and not receive the mark.

God has already raptured His marked ones before the tribulation. Saints are gone to be with their Redeemer for all eternity. Those left behind will suffer the consequences of their choices. Every activity of those left behind is under scrutiny. None can buy or sell without the mark of the beast. No economic activity or travel or any social activity will be possible without the mark of the beast. There is no freedom. Marked people are now bonded and branded slaves of the antichrist. They are marked for eternal damnation. They will never enter heaven.

Whose mark did we receive? Who marked us? Did God our Father and Jesus with His blood mark us? If we have the mark of God on us, then we are eternally saved. We are raptured before the tribulation. However, if we are forced to receive the mark of the antichrist, then we are doomed for eternal damnation. There is no going back after receiving the mark.

Let us enter into light while we still have the Light of God’s Word. Let us receive the mark of the Righteous One!