Let me die with the enemy

Jdg 16:23 Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, "Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us."
Jdg 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said, "Our god gave our enemy, destroyer of our land and killer of so many, into our very hand!"
Jdg 16:25 When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, "Call Samson in to entertain[to be mocked, ridiculed, despised] us." Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns.

I can say, "I am like Samson." God has given me an anointing, and I live without understanding it's purpose. Here and there in my life there were burst of spirituality, Christian behaviour and victory, but it is the pleasure of my heart is what I seek.

Jdg 16:4 ... he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah.

He fell in love with a woman whose name means feeble. (To enfeeble, overpower, torture, delude, entice. How can I bind you?) Being betrayed thrice, he still went after his lust.

I was listening to Carter Conlon's "Is Darkness Celebrating Above Your Head", which talks of Samson's knowledge which he took very lightly. Samson knew that these will the below 3 ways will not overpower you. I remember a friend of mine, Cyril, saying, "It is not sufficient to know God, or understand the word of God in the mind but we need to know and live the word of God from our hearts". I would like to mention them here, as I was uplifted by the interpretation.

The first one, "If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man". Seven new chords was interpreted as repeated failure. Samson knew that even if he falls in sin again, he is not defeated or destroyed, he would rise up and walk again.
Pro 24:16 A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again.

The second, "Now, tell me how you can be tied up." Samson told her, "If someone ties me up tightly with new ropes that have never been used, I will be like any other man." New ropes was interpreted as new sin. Once we get over with a sin, another sin would come. But Samson knew, not by power not by might but by His spirit he will still rise up.

Thirdly, "Just weave the seven braids of my hair with the other threads in the loom." Weave into a web was interpreted as Confusion/Storm in the mind. Samson knew in righteousness you shall be established[firm]

Isa 54:14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Isa 54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, not by Me; whoever shall gather against you, he shall fall by you.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the coals in the fire, and who brings out a tool for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you shall be blessed; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from Me, says Jehovah.

Samson knew all this, so did I. But as the story goes "when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;" I allowed Satan to to play with my thoughts, my actions and my word. And "vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart........then my strength[my God, my Saviour] will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man[natural man, man living in the flesh]." After this I end up being mocked, by my enemies.

Jdg 16:23 Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, "Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us."
Jdg 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said, "Our god gave our enemy, destroyer of our land and killer of so many, into our very hand!"
Jdg 16:25 When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, "Call Samson in to entertain[to be mocked, ridiculed, despised] us." Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns.

Where is his salvation? Where is his God? Where is his God how sing victory over us? Mocked me and even more allowed God to be mocked.

I like this part, where he searched for the main pillars of this Satanic building. It was like Samson was pray for the Godly sorrow, to reveal unto him the sinfulness of his sin. And then he prayed, "Let me[a living being, a breathing being] die with the Philistines". Let me[a living being, a breathing being] die to my sin, lust, pleasures of the world, laziness, uncleanliness ... God give me the Godly Sorrow, and reveal unto me my sin. Let me die to my sin, Oh Lord, that sin shall no longer have dominion over me.

Sin shall not have dominion over you

Rom 6:3 Know ye not[Shouldn't we be knowing this], that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore[Certainly, Verily] we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as[exactly like, just as] Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so[in this way, on this fashion] we also should walk[to tread all around, walk at large (especially as proof of ability); be occupied with] in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if[Assuming to be true that] we have been planted together[grown along with (connate - to be born with, twins ,Congenial - Having the same tastes, habits, or temperament; sympathetic.), closely united to] in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this[Shouldn't we be knowing this], that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might[possibility] be destroyed[to be (render) entirely idle (useless), become (make) of no (none, without) effect, bring (come) to nought (nothing), vanish away, make void], that henceforth[no longer, more, soon, not any more - Usage of negative in KJV is later] we should not serve[to be a slave, be in bondage] sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed[justified, made righteous] from[usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal] sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over[to rule, be lord of, exercise lordship over] him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise[in this way, on this fashion] reckon[to take an inventory, conclude, account of - It's like take note, to take an acknowlegdement for God] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

A picture of what connate means is shown below. This is a connate leaf. Can we differentiate the main leaf and teh sub leaf?? :)

In verse 6 the body of sin being destroyed is spoken of as a possibility. I would like equate and expand this to an old testement example which I heard from a preacher.

It is like the promise land which God showed to the 12 men (God showed us the perfection & holiness of Jesus even in the flesh). God asks us to go and posses this land. (God has given us proof and asks us through the scripture to live the verse "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.) But there are many who do not believe it is not possible to live a life without sin. Many say we should sin, for these are are gaints - Can we evr control them? The question is what happened to these people - They wandered and wandered and wandered in their unbeleif being defeated by sin again and again. Even more the died in their sin not being able to ever reach this "sin shall not have dominion".

But for the few who believed ..... For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. And again I say to you - Likewise[in this way, on this fashion] reckon[to take an inventory, conclude, account of - It's like take note, to take an acknowlegdement for God] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This possibility is a certainity only through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Song of the Believer

I was listening to Freedom from Sin and praise God for Psalm 124. The snare is broken!! THe one that captures me has been captured by Christ. ("When he went to the highest place, he took captive those who had captured us and gave gifts to people." Eph 4:8 GW)

Below is a Psalm of the Believer read by Zac Poonen in above mentioned audio sermon.

Song of the Believer (Psalm 124)

Had it not been the Lord who was on our side, Let every child of God now say that;
had it not been the Lord who was on our side, when satan, men and lust in our flesh rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive, because the anger of satan is been kindled against us, because we became God's childern;
then the waters of spiritual death would have engulfed us, the stream would have swept over over soul,
the raging waters of death would have swept over over soul.
But blessed be the Lord, he did not leave us alone, He did not abandon us defenseless to be torn by thier teeth.
Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper, the snare is broken we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, the name of jesus through whom we conqueror.

Sin has nor dominion over me. I am set free, by the love of God.

There is no condemnation. God throws our sins over his back. When do I throw things over my back? I throw thing which are useless. It is like throwing the peanut shells over my shoulder, when I am sitting on the wall at the ocean with my back facing the ocean.

Sin has nor dominion over me. I am set free, by the love of God.

Hope of Salvation

I thank my Lord for He has given me a chance to praise and glorify Him today. It all started with a very bad head ache, I was not able to sleep because of it. I sat up and start praising and glorifying God. I began to claim His healing. Now I am amazed of how it led me into worshipping the Lord. Later, the pain just vanished. It was no more! Praise God!! Praise God that He healed me. But I would praise Him even more for changing my painful circumstances to praise and worship - glorifying my Lord.

During my worship, I remembered a very stupid prayer I once prayed. My vehicle tires was frequently being punctured. It was around 3 to 4 times. If I fix it in the morning, and when want to return home, I would find my tires flat. Then I would fix it, but when I would take it to work in the morning, there would be a flap again. I wasted around Rs. 15 every time I fix it. More than the money, I was frustrated. I was so agitated, that I prayed in faith that the tires on my bike will never have flap till it has worn out. Since then, praise God - there has not been a flat tire on my bike. It would have been a year since I prayed this silly prayer. I was just thinking that if God could answer this, how much more the present needs of the hour. Thank God, that He is faithful.

My meditation of the day was Psalm 38. I saw a King on his knees, with grief in his heart for all the sins and inequity that has drowned him. He walks with a long face through out the day. Quiet in his sorrow, he hopes in the Lord. For God is his salvation.

Though I may be a sinner - wretched to the core, Jesus says, "There is hope for you. I am your Hope! I grieved not for myself in the garden but for you. I long to fellowship with you. Even more I died for you, that you may have hope for salvation. I am your Hope of Salvation. I am the resurrected Lord, your miracle working God."

Friend in need

As I was going through Job, I was grieved of how this man bore it all. Job had lost all in a matter of 5 - 10 minutes I guess. Yet he was silent, worshiping God in his grief.

From a King/Prince, he is now sitting besides a trash heap and scratching his sores. Had he been rich, he would have been attended by his children, servants, wife and doctors with a soothing oil. He remained silent for 7 days after he was striken by the disease, worshiping God in his grief.

His friends came to him. I like the phrase "made an appointment". It has been almost 2 years, I had been away from the Lord. I was in grief too, many a times I used to pray like Job, cursing the day I was born and longing to die. In these days I longed for the my dear friends Cyril and Jon. I used to ask, why did Cyril go away, had he been here, I could have cried out aloud on his shoulders. Had I communion with Jon, I would held his hands high in the air, and asked God for forgiveness.

Though I had been a wayward son, I always used to pray for you - Cyril and Jon. I prayed, that you may never leave the Lord like me and asked the Lord bless you with the richest of gift.

Cyril and Jon, if you are reading this brother, pray for me too.

Have lost all !!!

In his prayers, the man on his knees recited, "Blessed is the name of the Lord!". Though there was a cry from his heart, he just worshiped God. Louder and louder his heart cried. With his cries, his worship got stronger. "You have lost all your oxen and donkeys", yet he said, "Blessed is the name of the Lord!". "You have lost all your sheep and camels", yet he said, "Blessed is the name of the Lord!". Finally, with a taunt, "Your children too...", said the cry of his heart. Yet, this man said "Blessed is the name of the Lord".

It is amazing how Job, worshiped God even after losing all. He makes it impossible for me to believe, when he says, "Blessed is the name of the Lord". Only a man how know his God dearly can say this.

"Lord! I want to know you"

.... I am blank

How strange it is when I ask my God, "Bring me back to Your presence"? I am totally blank right now, all I pray is, "Lord, I am a wretch being. Dash me to pieces with Your rod - break me, for I am arrogant and wayward".