He is Lord

Romans 10:9 - If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Our christian walk begins in Christ when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. We surrender our lives completely to His Lordship and believe that at the cross He has completely saved us from our sins. Christ is the only answer to all our problems. Reminds me of a quote I read, “It does not matter what the question is, the answer is Jesus”.

And that is the reality, the ultimate truth. But unfortunately we are living in a high paced world that has abundance of knowledge. Things are rapidly improving and it seems more knowledge is gained. But unless the truth of the gospel is not known, salvation is not gained. The reason why I keep on repeating the same expression over and over again is because as christians we sometimes get so caught up with everything else that we slowly forget Christ. We forget the very reason why we accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour. We need Him because we cannot do it on our own. Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.

C.S Lewis in Mere Christianity -

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Let us get back to the basics of the gospel. Christ should be our reflex action to any problems that we face. Surrender to Him. Being in Christ Jesus means recognizing and being conscious of the presence of Christ every moment that is living in us. Just recognizing that every moment, I dare you to be discouraged.

Samuel Thomas (Sam)

Sam is a Christian minister who is serving the Lord in various capacities. He is an integral part of MTU, New Delhi and is also ministering with Crossway Church. He can be reached on samvthom16@gmail.com

God Loves us

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Cross is the proof of God's love for us. Since the fall, man has been hiding from God and doubting God's goodness and love. The very essence of sin has corrupted the authentic design to which we were originally made and come short of the glory of God. God was expressing His love at the cross. Love was the only motivation behind the cross. Since when did He love us?

Ephesians 1:4 - For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.

God loved us before the foundation of the world. That means He knew us before even we were born. Knowing all our weaknesses, faults, unfaithfulness and frailties, He didn't give up on us. God our Father knew we were going to go astray and before even we did, He forgave us in Christ Jesus whom He foreordained (1 Peter 1:20). Isn't this amazing? God the Father loves us and He cares for us. He is mindful of us (Psalms 8:4), knows our struggles and empathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). He is just like the father in the story of the lost son (Luke 15) who forgave his son way before the son repented and welcomed him back with open arms restoring his sonship.

Cross is not the end of His expression of love. God in the ages to come wants to show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). Can we really comprehend what is the width and length and depth and height of His love (Ephesians 3:18)? Can we experience His love that is beyond knowledge (Ephesians 3:19)? The greatest feeling ever is to be loved. Know for sure that you are loved by Him.

Samuel Thomas (Sam)

Sam is a Christian minister who is serving the Lord in various capacities. He is an integral part of MTU, New Delhi and is also ministering with Crossway Church. He can be reached on samvthom16@gmail.com

Christ in us

Colossians 1:27

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Man was made in the very image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). In the garden of Eden man and God had fellowship like equals. And since the fall (Genesis 3), man lost the confidence of facing God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Religion came into existence because man was desperate to reconcile with the distant God and feel complete. Hindus believe in karma, based on good deeds their destiny is determined. Other popular religions today including Christianity believe that there is a day of judgement and God will judge based on good works. Sacrifices were made to stop the pagan gods from being angry. The general philosophy of any religion is that God is seen as someone who is distant and who cannot be associated with man.

During a time when man could no longer have fellowship with God. God promised that He would send a Messiah whose name was Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23). Immanuel means ‘God with us’. This so called Messiah broke all the stereotypes of religion and racism. He used to dine with sinners and had a following of tax collectors and prostitutes (Luke 15:1). He was popular in attending parties and in one particular occasion he invited himself to a sinner's home (Luke 19). He was so radical in his methods that the religious leaders were mad at him. They wanted to kill him and they tried a couple of times.

Jesus indeed became God with us. But the story does not end there. This was just the beginning. After Christ’s ascension, the Spirit of God lives in those who believe in Him. The religious leaders could not kill Jesus, He gave up His life (John 10:18) so that He could change our status of ‘God with us’ to ‘God in us’. We are finally reconciled to God in Christ Jesus and made complete in Him. Christ in us the hope of glory.

Samuel Thomas (Sam)

Sam is a Christian minister who is serving the Lord in various capacities. He is an integral part of MTU, New Delhi and is also ministering with Crossway Church. He can be reached on samvthom16@gmail.com

Give Wholeheartedly to the Work of God

Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

A country preacher once delivered a sermon on giving. He said, “Now church, you know we’ve got to go somewhere and so we need the church to walk.” And the deacons lined up on the front row and they said, “Reverend, let the church walk. Let the church walk.” The preacher said, “We’ve got to start moving.” And the deacons said, “Let the church walk.” The preacher saw that he had the deacons with him, and so he said, “And then after we’ve walked for a little while, church we’ve got to run.” The deacons said, “Yeah, let the church run!” He went on preaching, getting the congregation and the deacons more excited as he continued. He said, “Then after we’ve run for a little while, it’s time for the church to fly! We’ve got to fly!” The deacons said, “Yes, Reverend, we’ve got to fly! We’ve got to fly!” Then the preacher said, “Well, now, you know it’s going to take money for the church to fly,” The deacons said, “Let it crawl, Reverend! Let it crawl!”

Most Christians are excited about the “Concept” of church. They are in agreement with the ideas pertaining to church function and growth. However, God’s work cannot grow without resources. He has given us the resources to be good stewards of it. When Ezra and Nehemiah were rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem, it was the wholehearted support of the people of God that enabled them to successfully complete the work. My prayer for us is that our love for God be evidenced by our wholehearted giving to the work of the Lord.

Stephen Thomas (Bobby)

Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com

Live and let Live

Philippians 2:22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

The story is told about a guy who went to the doctor with the problem of body pain. He stated that whichever part of the body he touched, it was paining. He showed the same to the doctor as well. The Doctor after a thorough examination gave his diagnosis. He said your body is totally fine, you just have a broken finger.  

When Timothy was called to serve the Lord, his task was to please God and honor HIM. But it could be done only by serving men and women by drawing them closer to God. He was at it and gained the approval of God and HIS people.

Bible reminds us that we are in the world but not off the world. We don’t have to become worldly but we have to live in the world as a witness of Jesus. So while we talk about gaining approval from people, it doesn’t mean that we have to become men pleasers. On the contrary, in the name of Godliness and so called spirituality we don’t have to fight with everyone that comes our way. As we Love the Lord genuinely we will for sure love God’s people as well. Live and let live.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Death is Only a Shadow

1 Corinthians 15:54—55; “54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 55 ‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’”

Donald Grey Barnhouse, was an American preacher, pastor, theologian, radio pioneer, and a writer. He was pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1927 to his death in 1960. As a pioneer in radio broadcasting, his program, The Bible Study Hour, continues even today and is now known as Dr. Barnhouse & the Bible.

After burying his first wife, while returning home with his little kids in his car, one of them asked, “Daddy, where did mommy go? What do you mean that she died?” While Barnhouse was trying to come up with an explanation of death to his kids, a truck passed by and cast a shadow over the car. Just then, he looked back at the kids and said, “Kids, would you have rather been hit by the moving truck? Or hit by the shadow?” Well, of course, they would have rather been hit by the shadow, because the shadow doesn’t hurt. It just darkens things for a moment.

All of us have experienced the loss of a loved one at some time. Separation from the ones we love is difficult to bear. However, death is only a shadow. When Christ rose up from the dead, death lost its sting. Furthermore, the Bible says, “…the Lord Himself will descend one day from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16—17). My prayer for us is that we all be found in Christ when our number is called. Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Amen.

Stephen Thomas (Bobby)

Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com

Stop! Take Some Rest!

Mark 6:31; ‘And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.”

We live in a world of relentless pursuit of “Achievement.” And in that vein, we even forget to stop and take a breather or two. This morning, I attended a men’s bible study at my church. The bible teacher related the story of two foresters, who decided to compete against each other and see who could chop down more trees in a day. One was young and new to his profession, while the other was considerably older and more experienced. On the day of the competition, the younger forester rose up bright and early, and began chopping trees. For eight long hours he continuously toiled, without even taking a break. He was determined to outdo his opponent. “After all, I am much younger, more energetic, and a lot stronger than him,” he thought to himself. Moreover, as the day progressed, he noticed his opponent taking a ten minute break, every hour. “Victory is certainly mine,” of this he was assured of. At the end of the day, count was taken to determine the victor. To his utter surprise, his opponent chopped down forty trees, while he ended up with twenty-one.

“How is it possible, old man?” In shock he asked. “You took a break every hour, and yet you downed twice as many trees as I did? How did you accomplish that?” The old man, in a quiet, deep voice replied, “Yeah, yeah, I understand your question. It is true that you were working hard, grunting and groaning, sweating profusely. But every hour I sat down for ten minutes, I did two things.” He said, “First of all, I recovered. Secondly, during the recovery time, I also sharpened my axe. It is true, you were working hard, but you were working with a dull equipment.” Friends, even Jesus, seeing His disciples weary because of the people around them, and the fact that they hadn’t eaten anything, tells them to “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” I pray that God will help us to take time to rest, in order to prevent exhaustion.

Stephen Thomas (Bobby)

Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com

Our Identity is In Christ

Romans 8:9—17; “9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

When the Indian cricket team wins, we are all quick to take credit and exclaim, “We won!” We who? We weren’t on the field, for crying out loud. We didn’t bowl; neither any one of us bat. We didn’t do anything to take credit for the victory. Yet, we take credit for the victory by identification. Because we identify with the team, their victory is our victory. In fact, we gloat so much in the victory, that if we had any friends that were supporting the opposite time, we sometimes make the effort to even call them and taunt them, relishing our victory. On the other hand, it is also true that, if the Indian team loses, we vicariously identify with their loss.

My fellow Christians, our identity is in Christ. This means that when Christ died, we died. When He arose, we arose. When He comes back, we will rise to go with Him, because of our identity is in Him. We have a new identity now.

Stephen Thomas (Bobby)

Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com

May Our Lives Glorify God

2 Corinthians 5:17; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Most of us have seen mannequins (dummies) placed on the display windows of textile stores. These dummies are clothed, and made to look extremely attractive, with the purpose of luring customers into the store. The dummy cannot clothe itself. Someone dresses the dummy, and makes it look attractive, so that the passersby are attracted by the way the dummy is presented.

On our best day, we are like these dummies. God has given us new life in Christ, and has clothed us with Christ. And since we are clothed with Christ, people will be attracted to Him, no matter what circumstance we go through. That is why Paul say that we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15). May God be glorified in and through our lives today.

Stephen Thomas (Bobby)

Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com

He is the MAN

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

The citizens of Feldkirch, Austria, didn't know what to do. Napoleon's massive army was preparing to attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town, which was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday, and the people had gathered in the local church.

The pastor rose and said, "Friends, we have been counting on our own strength, and apparently that has failed. As this is the day of our Lord's resurrection, let us just ring the bells, have our services as usual, and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness, and not the power of God to defend us." The council accepted his plan and the church bells rang. The enemy, hearing the sudden peal, concluded that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the service ended, the enemy broke camp and left.

Christian life and ministry is always a challenge. But the exciting factor is that God is with us in everything that we go through. He knows us in and out. So every time we stand for things that come against us, we stand in the strength of God. Be it a challenge on any front of our lives, we need to understand that God is really concerned about it and wants us to be conquerors in it. But we should only get into things in which we can let GOD be a part as well.

God is concerned about each and everything of our lives. No matter it be small, big, physical, financial, spiritual or etc etc etc. The underlying aspect is that HE is concerned about HIS child. Let us be assured by HIS strength. HE is the MAN.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Let’s keep going.

Acts 15: 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

In the game of football (American - Soccer), it is often held by the commentators, that a team is most vulnerable to concede a goal when they have scored one. It is not because they have lost their skill or are tired. But simply because they are on the top and might just take it for granted.

Right after Paul and Barnabas had a major victory in the course of missions at the Jerusalem council, they could have easily taken things for granted and laid back to enjoy the success. But they did not throw a party or call a celebration. They went about doing their business as seriously as they could. They remained dedicated to their calling. Their mission in life was to take the gospel to the non-jewish world. They kept doing that even after having a victory. Simply because there were many more to come.

Several times in our lives and ministry, we become satisfied with the small victories that come our way. We are satisfied by the brownie points and some appreciation. This somehow distracts us from the real mission and original goal. Let us be reminded of the fact that there are many more victories to come. Let’s keep going.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Lets encourage

Acts 15: 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.

Edward Steichen, who eventually became one of the world's most renowned photographers, almost gave up on the day he shot his first pictures. At 16, young Steichen bought a camera and took 50 photos. Only one turned out -- a portrait of his sister at the piano. Edward's father thought that was a poor showing. But his mother insisted that the photograph of his sister was so beautiful that it more than compensated for 49 failures. Her encouragement convinced the youngster to stick with his new hobby. He stayed with it for the rest of his life, but it had been a close call. What tipped the scales? The vision to spot excellence in the midst of a lot of failure.

The Non - Jewish Church in Antioch was looking upto the Jerusalem council for their ministry ahead. They were somehow dependent on the message they would receive from the apostles in Jerusalem. Lo Behold, when it came, it came big and changed the course of the history. The message was of hope and encouragement. The council accepted the non-jewish approach of Church at large and encouraged them to grow in the Lord.

You and I need to understand that a word of encouragement goes a long way. It might be a few simple words for us, but the impact it makes on an individual and other spheres is just awesome. There are so many people out there who are discouraged. We are called to bring hope of Jesus in this dying world. Let us continue to encourage people with our words and all that we can. Lets encourage.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Take it easy MAAAn

Acts 15:19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Albert Einstein had a mind that could fathom the most complex ideas, but he was a fan of simplicity. He said, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction." He later added, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

As Paul and Barnabas defended their calling and ministry in the Jerusalem Council, there was a huge support from the Apostles. Apostle James stood up to humbly accept the mistakes of past and suggested to make things simple and clear for the missions to progress. It was hard to do the same, but they were ready to sacrifice their ego and glory for the sake of the gospel.

In our Christian lives, several times we tend to complicate things for the sake of our importance. But we have to make it as simple it is. It doesn’t mean that we have to compromise with the truth, but simply let the truth speak for itself. Let us not add or subtract things from truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Take it easy MAAAn.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Grace alone

Acts 15 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

It was G.W. Knight who said, When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God's unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

When Peter stood up to speak at the Jerusalem council, it was the make or break time for the missions ahead. Thankfully God gave Peter the same revelation as received by Paul & Barnabas. It took a lot of humility for Peter to accept the fact that we Jews are saved by grace alone and not by keeping the Law or good works.

As we go out about our daily routine and desire a life of achievements, let us be rest assured that HIS grace is upon us. Jesus has done it all at the cross for us. For sure we are saved for good works. We just need to dwell on HIM. None of our works can save us. We are saved by HIS grace alone. Our lives are run by HIS grace alone. Let’s be rest assured and run the race. Grace alone.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com

Let’s face it

Acts 15:2 - This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

I was once part of an organizing committee in college for a very prestigious event. But somehow I was not very satisfied with the team. Being a bit disappointed about it, I shared the same with my professor incharge. He opened my eyes with one simple statement, I quote, “Stanley, you will never find perfect people in life”.

Paul and Barnabas went about sharing the gospel to non-jewish world with lot of challenges and pain. But they went about serving the Lord in HIS grace. They had a huge setback from their very own people who considered themselves as the custodians of the law. But they did not give up in front of an issue. They were ready to stand up and talk it out in a peaceful and decent manner.

We need to realize that God has of course promised a safe landing, but the journey will be a bit bumpy. As long as mankind inhabits Earth, there will be issues. The challenges and allegations might come from the least expected front. But we need not give up. If we know truth is on our side. We just need to stand still and go about sorting the issue with a mature approach. Let’s face it.

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Stanleytisac@gmail.com