Updated March 08, 2010 at 9:03 a.m. JAN - FEB - MARCH 2010 Edition

My Dad's Memoriam:


Donate Prayer Letter:

 PS  Interest Survey

 

Home |Expressions |Impressions |Hotpressions |News| Greek Life |Education |Entertainment |Multimedia |Sports | Food |CulturalLife |Features| Archives | Top 5

EXPRESSIONS

Custom Search

“Beautifully Redeemer Is Nurturing Giver! (B.R.I.N.G)

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." (Mark 10:13-16, NIV)

APPROACH QUESTION:
Why have you brought people to Jesus?

OBSERVATIONS:
I asked myself what were the people doing?
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them!

I asked myself what did the disciples do?
The disciples rebuked them!

I asked myself what was Jesus' reaction to the disciples actions?
1.
When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.
2.
Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me."
3.
Jesus said to them, "Do not hinder them."
4.
Jesus said to them, "For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
5.
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
6.
Jesus took the children in His arms.
7.
Jesus put His hands on them and blessed them!

Today, I decided to look at what the people did!

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself the significance of what the people were doing?
The people knew and experienced the power of Jesus so they wanted the little children to experience Him too. Hence, they took the initiative to bring the little children to Jesus to have Him touch them.

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life based on v. 13?
What the people experienced and knew about Jesus made such an impact in their own lives that they wanted the little children to experience Jesus to the point that they brought them to Jesus to touch them so I need to do the same. I need to bring others to Jesus so Jesus can touch them just as the paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friends and the little children were brought to Jesus by the people.

I ASK YOU NOW:
I ask you now dear friend, why bring Doggy Poo to Jesus?
Dear friend, you should bring people to Jesus so Jesus can touch them by His agape love where they are at. There is brokenness everywhere and it is revealed through suicides, sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, etc but these are only symptoms of a virus that has infected you and I.  It breaks our lives apart but only the healing touch of the Savior can bring redemption and deliverance to us and those around us. Just  as the 4 friends brought the paralytic to Jesus to be healed and how the people brought the children for Jesus to touch them, we too should take the initiative to bring our loved ones to Jesus despite the obstacles we face for He wants to touch us. Yes, He does friend!

They need compassion and a love that is never failing; they need the kindness of a Savior that Jesus only can offer them as song 'Mighty to Save' goes.

Guess who He wants to use?

He wants to use you friend to bring the 'Voice of Truth' to a dying world. The Voice of Truth tells you not to be afraid as the song,  goes.

Pastor Ed told a story to the kids and adults during the Sunday bilingual service at Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland regarding a Korean cartoon character named Doggy Poo. I hope to use this story to make different analogies about our own lives as Pastor Ed did. The analogy is not necessarily full-proof but I hope to make the point.

Doggy Poo was born from a dog + food it ate. When he was born, he was very smelly and no one wanted to befriend him or use him because of the stench of smell. He felt discarded to the side with no hope and just wished someone would take him to be used. He calls on a cleaner he sees. Then a cleaner comes by to take this stench to a Gardener. This Gardner instead of flushing Doggy Poo away, he touches Doggy Poo and molds him to be used to blossom a beautiful garden for only the Gardner could do that.

What is the connection between Doggy Poo and us?

Friend, you and I became Doggy Poo from the moment we entered this earth. It started with human + forbidden fruit = sin of humanity. You and I have been born into sin. Because of our sin, we have become a stench to those around us especially to God. We have become broken and lonely with no one to take us in. If that were the end, it would be a sad story. But as Doggy Poo, I come across a Cleaner and call upon Him to come and use me in my smelliness of sin. The Cleaner does not disappoint but comes to me. He then cleanses the stench of sin with His precious cleansing Blood. Now, instead of being covered in the stench smell of sin, I am covered in the fragrance precious Blood of the Cleaner who touches me with His loving touch. The Cleaner then takes me to the Gardener to be used of the Gardener. I don't feel discarded anymore but used by the Gardener after the Cleaner cleans me.

Friend, the Cleaner is Jesus Christ and the Gardener is God.

When we are brought to the Savior in our stench of sin, He will not discard us. When you bring others to the Savior, He will not discard them. Jesus did not do that to the paralytic but said to him, "Your sins are forgiven" when the four friends brought him.

Jesus wants to touch you where you are in your sin and cleanse you completely to be used of the Gardener. Yes, He does friend but for that to happen, you need to come to know Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior who alone can free you. He will free you from the brokenness you are facing that shows its face in different ways. But the bottom line is, we cannot heal our own brokenness. We need outside intervention and the Cleaner wants to provide us that. Jesus is His Name and for your and my redemption He came.

So, come as you are to the Savior with all your brokenness and let Him heal you and touch you with His love. Once you are touched and experience His love, you will have ample reason to wants to bring others to Jesus. Come to Him in your brokenness and find healing so you can make that a reality in other people's lives. Yes, you can!

There is nothing you or I can do as Doggy Poo. There is really nothing we can offer in our stench of sin.  But, the Cleaner by His grace because of His love for us intervened. It is not anything we can take credit for, for how can any good come out of Doggy Poo by itself. The only way the Doggy Poo became useful was because of outside intervention. In the same way, on our own we cannot ever become righteousness but we need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to impact our lives covering us in His precious blood to give us new life and a new beginning. It can happen because Jesus loves us so much that He paid the price for our redemption so He can touch us by His grace. Thank you Jesus.

When you experience His love, bring others to Jesus so they can experience Him too!

May you bring your friends to Jesus knowing beautifully Redeemer is nurturing Giver!

"Beautifully Redeemer Is Nurturing Giver!" (B.R.I.N.G)/"Why B.R.I.N.G Doggy Poo to Jesus?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the lesson you helped me learn. I learned that people brought the little children to you to bless them. They were able to do that because they experienced your love in their own lives. Help us to bring others to you Oh Lord so that they can experience your love in their lives. Oh Lord, we live in a broken world with lots of pain that you alone can help us through. There are suicides around us, alcoholism, anorexia, addictions, etc all around us because of sin. We have become Doggy Poo discarded and left on the wayside to become waste but you have not forgotten about us. You Oh Lord Jesus became our Cleaner to clean us of our sin and make us useful in your sight covering us with your precious cleansing blood. Thank you so much Jesus. I pray right now for the one who is in so much turmoil that only you Oh Lord can touch them in your love. Please touch them and heal them. Take them to the Gardener who is the Father of all creation. Oh Lord, please let them experience the power of your love in their lives. Thanks so much Jesus. Thank you that we can find our identity in you. You are the Vine and your Father is the Gardener and if we remain in you, we will bear fruit because you help. Thanks so much Jesus. Help us to bring others to you once again. Thanks so much Jesus. Thank you for hearing us and answering our prayer. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to LIVE out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But  as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"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, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!

May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen!

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior and would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart. You can invite the GREAT PHYSICIAN right now as you make this your prayer.

Dear Jesus, I want to be free. I don’t know everything about you. I still have a lot of questions. What I do know is that you died on the cross for my sins. When it comes to sin, I am a paralytic Oh Lord. I am infected with this deadly disease known as sin. I am not perfect but a sinner who needs your cleansing blood to clean me of my sin. I confess to you my sin and repent of my sin. I know you have forgiven me when you died on the cross and shed your blood. I want to accept that forgiveness. Thank you for shedding your cleansing precious blood for me. You were nailed to the cross because of me. It is like I actually held the hammer and pounded the nails. Thank you for willingly dying for me Jesus. Thank you for taking the shame and pain for me. Thank you for doing that to set me free. I come to the cross and ask you for your healing in my life. Thank you for the power of your love using your Blood to redeem all humanity that comes to you. Thank you for coming back to life to save us and give us Eternal Life as we yield to you. Your blood can heal us where we are. I love you Jesus. I want you Jesus. Even with my questions, I come to you now and accept you into my heart. Please Jesus come into my heart and make my heart your home. Give me a transfusion of change. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus. I acknowledge you now as my Lord and Personal Savior. Please be the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior Jesus and because of what you have done for me when God looks at me, He now sees me covered in Your blood and His judgment passes over me. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me. Thank you for being with me Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you for saving me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus I now belong to you and never need to be alone! You will always be with me and have given me Salvation.  Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.

As a professional, it is not too late to join a church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this  new year of 2010! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

Spend time in His word and let the Lord speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through.  Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in Bible LIVE Eternally!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

 

 

 

2010 DEVOTIONALS:

Mark 10: "When have you become an A.D.U.L.T.E.R.E.R in life and what now?" (Feb 24, 10, 9:31 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "Why D.I.V.O.R.C.E the one you marry in life?" (Feb 22, 10, 12:15 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "What do you do with what is P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D in your life?" (Feb 20, 10, 10:08 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

1 Corinthians 13: "How will you be someone's V.A.L.E.N.T.I.N.E using 16?" (Feb 13, 10,  12:16 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "Who do you become an A.T.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N to and why?" (Feb 05, 10, 9:43 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "How can you be a S.A.L.T in someone's life today?" (Feb 04, 10, 11:27 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "What do you help your friends E.S.C.A.P.E from?" (Feb 03, 10, 12:30 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "Why bother with H.E.L.L in life?" (Feb 02, 10, 2:39 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "When are you planning to cut your hand, foot, or eye to escape Hell?"" (Feb 01, 10, 1:41 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

 Mark 9: "Why heed Jesus' W.A.R.N.I.N.G in your life?" (Jan 30, 10, 12:41 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

 

 

CHRISTIAN NEWS:

 

Oakland International Fellowship welcomes incoming students to its worship service on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. near North Dithridge St. followed by Sunday School at 11:30 a.m. and fellowship lunch at 12:30 p.m.

...

 

 
   
 

Copyright 2010 Pittsburgh Standard
Reproduction or reuse for profit prohibited without written consent from Pittsburgh Standard