Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Category: Reuben Page 5 of 7

My Personal Lord

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On May 7, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben

When our beloved Reuben (4 year old) is taught to memorize Bible verses, he often questions us (Sangeetha and me) on the meaning of certain words, but recently instead of asking for the meaning of a word, he asked for clarification. We were teaching him Psalm 34 and verse 11 reads “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” Reuben paused and questioned, is it the Lord or is it my Lord? I did not pay that much attention to it at that moment, but answered that it could be “the” Lord or “my” Lord. Then when meditating from the book of Philippians, I noticed that the apostle Paul, refers to Jesus Christ as “my” Lord (Philippians 3:8). This lead to the revelation of the hidden treasure – Paul personalizes Jesus as His own. Reuben, in a sense was asking for the same and we ought to as well. Jesus is the Lord over all, and many believe in him being the Lord, but what matters truly is if one can answer the question, “Is Jesus ‘my’ Lord or not?”  We ought to make Jesus our personal Lord which in other words mean that we must be willing to submit to His personal Lordship.

Now with this revelation, I went and re-read Psalm 34 and was thrilled to learn on what it assures when I substituted the word, “the” with the word “my”. You will understand what I mean when you read below.

1 I will bless my the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in my the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify my the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought my the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and my the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of my the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that my the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9 O fear my the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek my the LORD shall not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of my the LORD.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of my the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16 The face of my the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and my the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 My The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but my the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22 My The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Spiritually stunted!

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On April 26, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben

My beloved son, Reuben and much loved wife, Sangeetha, had this conversation yesterday in which my son asked, “Why do I need to eat?”. My wife, using the Socratic methodology questioned him in return, “You tell me, why we should eat?”, to which my son, paused a moment and then replied “To grow”. Isn’t it the same in our Christian walk as well? We are to eat of the word of God so that we can grow according to God’s will.

Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds by the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). So the word of God is essential for man’s living. Jesus further affirmed that his meat (food) was to do the will of God the Father, who sent him and to finish it (John 4:34) and the Bible says that Jesus increased (grew) in wisdom (mentally), in stature (physically), and in favor with God (spiritually) and in favor with man (socially) (Luke 2:52). Our food must be to do the same as well, to DO God’s will and not just start it, but finish it as well. In doing God’s will, we consume ordained food (the Spiritual manna), and this enables us to grow in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)

Point(s) to ponder:

  1. If someone was to see you/me, would they consider you/me to be Spiritually stunted?
  2. What is your/mine food and are you/I growing to be like Jesus  Christ, the Lord and Savior, full of grace?

1 Peter 2:1-3 (KJV)
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Faith expression – Can Jesus or Jesus can

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On April 21, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben

It was March 07, 2010 and I was having lunch with my four year old beloved son, Reuben, and loved wife, Sangeetha,  in one of the restaurants at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, Orlando. A man guided a lady who was blind with her guide dog, to the table next to ours where he seated her. Reuben was intently looking at this lady and as I was on the verge of telling him not to stare, he suddenly mumbled something.  Since I did not hear what he said, I asked my wife as to what Reuben had just expressed. He said, “I said, Jesus can make her see“. It caught me by pleasant surprise and I soon realized that this was a expression of faith; simple faith. Many times, instead of expressing faith, we question God’s faithfulness. Rather than stating confidently, that ‘Jesus can make her see’, we tend to ask, ‘Can Jesus make her see?’ But my son reminded me that day as to how we ought to express our faith in Jesus. I learned a valuable lesson on faith that day from my four year old son. It is important how we express our belief (faith) in Jesus and our prayer is that Reuben never loses that sense of faith, one that he imparts to all, including his parents.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The Bible is alive

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On March 23, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben, Videos

When our beloved son, Reuben was about two years old, one of the first portions of the scripture that he had committed to memory, besides the Lord’s prayer and the Fruit of the Spirit was the Armor of God from Ephesians 6. But we taught him and he learned to end it always by saying … and the sword of the Spirit, is the word of God, “The Bible”. Little did I realize then that the addition of the words, ‘the Bible’ not only affirms that the Bible is the sword of the Spirit, but that it is the ‘Only’ word of God.

The Bible tells us that All scripture (The Bible) is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and we see in the creation of man, God breathed into man’s nostrils, the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). We also read that within the ark  of Noah was the breath of life (Genesis 7:15). So if the Bible is God’s breath and the breath of God is the breath of life, the Bible is the breath of life. This establishes the fact that the Bible is alive (life). Jesus affirms this when He said that the words He spoke are life (John 6:63) and rightfully so Peter asks him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have THE WORDS of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Only in the Lord Jesus Christ, the ark of eternal life, is the breath of life (His words of eternal life). The question really is “does the words of Christ Jesus abide in us?” for without it, there is no life. Let our prayer be that we abide in Christ (the source of life), and let His words (life-giving) abide in us! (John 15:7)

John 6:63,68 (KJV)
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Hebrews 4:!2 (NKJV)
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Delight in the Lord

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On February 17, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben

When our son, Reuben repeats Psalm 1, he says “But his delight is in the LORD”, instead of “But his delight is in the law of the LORD”. As we attempted to correct him, I realized a profound truth hidden in his expression.

The Psalmist exclaimed that blessed are those who abide by the law of the Lord (Psalm 119:1). Jesus summed up the entire law of the prophets into love for God and love for man (Matthew 22:37-40) and Apostle Paul clearly states in the book to the Romans, that the law of the Lord is fulfilled in love (Romans 13:9-10). This means that to delight in the law of the Lord is to delight in its fulfillment, which is Love and since God is love, to delight in the law of the Lord is to delight in God.

We are to rejoice in the LORD, we are to joy (delight) in the God of our salvation (Habakkuk 3:18)  just as much as we need to, in His law that is royal and liberating (James 2:8,12), holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), spiritual (Romans 7:14) and is the new covenant, written on our hearts and mind (Hebrews 10:16).

Verily, for of children is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14) and our delight is to be in the law of the LORD and in Him, as our beloved son says.

The gift of my mother

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On January 21, 2010

In Christian, Reuben

Napolean Bonaparte is said to have quoted ‘Let France have good mothers and she will have good sons’ which is often paraphrased into ‘Give me a good mother and I will give you a good nation’. Mothers and grandmothers play a vital role in the upbringing of a child. Lois (grandmother) and Eunice (mother) are credited for rearing Timothy, Paul’s young protege  with unfeigned faith (2 Timothy 1:5). While Napolean was accurate in his estimation on the power and influence, a mother has on her children, the real reason as to why good sons can rise, goes back to a promise that was made by God to his friend Abraham when he promised that Sarah (as her name is to be called) will be blessed of being a mother and kings (rulers of nations) of people shall be of her (Genesis 17:16).

It is my mother, Dr. Iris Paul’s  birthday and as I tried to recollect my childhood days, memories of yore inundated my mind. She used to fast and pray each evening for her children. Before administering medication, she would tell her patients that it is not the medicine that will heal them, but Jesus Christ, the healer of all diseases. She stayed alongside my ailing father till the very end of his life on earth. One statement she said that still rings in my mind was on Easter morning when she expressed that what the pastor had preached that morning was true; that even if the mother’s heart is cut into many pieces, each piece will still yell out, ‘I love my children’. I must admit that I did not understand that saying then as much as I do now, as I see my wife (Sangeetha) be a mother to our son (Reuben).

To be a mother is a reward from God for the mother (Psalm 127:3) but at the same time, for the child, a mother is the means to hear of God, when she acts as a prophet of God (Proverbs 31:1) teaching her children to listen to the voice of God. Many know my mother as a missionary of Jesus Christ, who joined with and continued the work started by my father, Dr. R.A.C Paul,  to people groups inhabiting the remote hills of Orissa in India. She has been the voice of God to many in the villages of Malkangiri and neighboring areas, as she has been to me and my brothers (Ragland Remo, David Livingstone) and sister (Mary Smrutha), both through her words and her life.  And on her birthday, I wish her many more happy returns of this day and pray that she continues to be a voice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to all lost in this world without the knowledge of Jesus’ redemption and to her own. Happy birthday, Amma. God bless you richly. Thank you Jesus, for the gift of my mother, from whom kings of people shall rise.

The gift of our Son

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On January 20, 2010

In Christian, Reuben

It is Reuben’s fourth birthday and as we celebrate this day of the Lord, the day in which He has made us (Sangeetha and I) glad, we reminisced on the wonderful past four years that the Lord has graciously merited unto both of us and thank Him for His gift of our Son, Reuben Abishai Paul (RAP). Our prayer today is that Reuben grows up as Jesus did (Luke 2:52), in Wisdom (mentally), in stature  (physically), in favor of God (Spiritually) and in favor of man (socially).

Specifically, we pray that Reuben has

  • the Spirit (soul) of Joseph to run from evil and seek hidden treasures from God’s revelations;
  • the zeal and heart of David that always sought after God;
  • the resolve of Daniel to not defile himself;
  • the strength of Samson;
  • the wisdom of Solomon;
  • the beauty of Esther;
  • the faith of the Centurion;
  • the boldness of Peter and Paul; and
  • the mind of Jesus Christ, meek and submissive to the will of God.

Psalm 127:3 informs us that children are a HERITAGE OF the LORD. The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines heritage as something possessed as a result of one’s natural situation or birth. Note the verse does not read ‘from the LORD’, but ‘of the LORD’. In other word’s, children are God’s own possession naturally, and the fruit of the womb is a reward (Psalm 127:3) granted to earthly parents.

On one’s birthday we give the one to whom the day belongs (the birthday child) many gifts. With this day truly belonging to God, what is the gift that we can give Him?
The best gift that Sangeetha and I can give to our God is the gift that He has so bountifully given to us – our Son. This would be the true expression of our Love for him. It is His model that we must emulate. He loved us so greatly, that He gave us His Only begotten Son (Jesus Christ; John 3:16). Hannah’s dedication of her son that she was merited yielded in one of the greatest prophets that Israel (or for that fact, the world) saw. Likewise, we dedicate Reuben to be the servant of our loving Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Reuben is a possession of the LORD, rewarded unto us and we pray that He will be a cherished possession of God, beloved and instrumental in fulfilling God’s will in his life and in the lives of everyone’s he encounters.

Happy Birthday, Reuben, our beloved beloved beloved Son. Thank you Jesus for the gift of our Son.

Faith, Hope and Love and Patience

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On January 6, 2010

In Christian, Reuben

What comes to your mind, when you hear the word, ‘Patience’?

My wife Sangeetha and I have to sometimes pray,  ‘Lord, give us patience’, when parenting our darling son, Reuben, who prefers playtime over study. If you have prayed that prayer, have you ever wondered what you are really asking for?

So far, I was under the impression that patience was an attribute of one’s character, until I read what the Scripture has to say about it. James 1:4 reads … let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. This verse expresses that patience is personified as a person (her) who actively works not only until perfection (perfect) but also until completion (entire, wanting nothing). Hold that thought.

When talking about the greatness of Love in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, the Scripture states that there are three things that remain. These are Faith, Hope and Love.

What does this have to do with patience?
Faith is patience with God;
Hope is patience with self and
Love is patience with others

Now, what comes to mind, when you hear the word, ‘Patience’? Let it be the things that remain, Faith, Hope and Love until we are found perfect, and entire, not wanting anything.

James 1:4 (KJV)
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing

Confusing God

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On January 5, 2010

In Become a Child, Christian, Reuben

After telling our darling son Reuben, the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11, as is customary, I asked him to narrate it back to me. He told me the story in fine detail, but when it came time for him to tell me about how God confused the people by confounding their language, he innocently said that the people confused God.  I first corrected him stating that it was not the people who confused God but it was God who confused the people. Only later did it dawn on me that from the mouth of my son, who is turning 4 years old this month, God was trying to teach me a valuable lesson.

We are capable of confusing God. We do this by claiming to be his and acting like we aren’t (Titus 1:16). In some eastern and middle eastern countries, one belonging to a family is expected to behave in the demeanor that reflects the qualities of that family. If they fail to do so, they are deemed to be a disgrace to that family and in some cases even disowned when they act in an unbecoming manner. If we bear the banner as belonging to the God of the universe, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, whose name is Jesus Christ, our claims should reflect in our character; our lives should substantiates that which is uttered from our lips. We must profess that we know God and act like we do as well. We must not just talk the talk, but walk the walk as well.

Point(s) to ponder:
Are you/I confusing God? Is our lips and our lives in sync? Let’s not just talk the talk, but also walk the walk, lest we proclaim with our lips and deny Him with our lives.

Titus 1:16 (KJV)
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Jesus in the OT :: Psalms

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On December 10, 2009

In Christian, Jesus in the O.T., Reuben

The book of Psalms gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

What are some familiar Psalms that come to mind? There are 150 of these in total.
Psalm 1, 8, 23, 91, 100, 150 are the more commonly referred to ones and let’s start with Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1-2
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalm 2:12
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Do you see it?

Psalm 1 is about the LAW
Psalm 2 is about GRACE – Blessed are all who put their trust in the Son of God. Psalm 2 – the first Messianic Psalm (verse 7)

Psalm 2 refers to the phrase “Kiss the Son?” – a.k.a. Love and embrace Him.
We kiss whom we love and embrace. Reuben our little boy, loves to be kissed by Sangeetha and they play this game often.

What are the events that come to mind when we say “Kiss” in the Bible?

  1. Judas’ betrayal kiss (Mark 14:45)
  2. Israel beheld his grandchildren and kissed them and embraced them (Genesis 48:10)
  3. The woman that would not stop kissing the feet of Jesus as she anointed him (Luke 7:45)

Judas kissed Jesus to show who Jesus was.
Aren’t we supposed to do the same, save with the right attitude of Heart, wherein, we are to kiss Jesus to show Him and His Love to others, because in doing so, we expression of love for Him and we tell the world that we are EMBRACING HIM.

Now let’s move to Psalm 23.

Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is my Shepherd
Psalm 22 is The Psalm of the Cross, that is a prophetic description of the Messiah who comes.

See without Psalm 22 where Jesus lays down his life willingly for us, and is rejected of God (as he cries out My God, My God, why have you forsaken me), so that man could be accepted by Him, He cannot claim to be the good shepherd (as described in John 10)

To the final Psalm, Psalm 150.

Psalm 150 commands Let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord (verse 6). Those who kiss and embrace him, can boldly then move to Psalm 150, where ALL that have breath are commissioned to praise God and worship Him.

In Psalms, He is the Grace of God, to be kissed and embraced; He is the rejected servant and THE Good Shepherd, worthy of all our praises – praises from all that have breath.

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