Walk with Jesus: Life Application of Teachings of Jesus Christ

By Anandkumar Peter

This book contains an assorted collection of short messages, inspired primarily by the Bible, and by what many have written and preached on various Biblical topics. The messages present the authors perspective of the profound truth in the teachings of Jesus Christ, as applied to life situations. It is believed that the essays would provoke the reader to undertake indepth study of the Bible. At the end of it all, it is hoped that the reader will find his or her own way of walking with Jesus.
It is further hoped that this collection of essays would be used as a basis for devotions, group Bible studies and as outlines for topical sermons.
Finally, this book is all about Jesus Christ, God the Son and is presented with humility for His glory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493133130

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Copyright © 2014 by Anandkumar Peter.

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4931-3314-7

Ebook 978-1-4931-3313-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture references taken from the New King James Version® of the Bible. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission.

Rev. date: 01/23/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.xlibris.com.au

523100

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Life Applications

Take A Walk Through Your Soul

Are You At Peace?

Are You Contented With Life?

Are You At The Crossroads?

Are You Facing A Wall?

Are You Pressured By Covetousness?

Facing Rejection? Don’t Quit.

Have You Been Deceived?

Are You Terrified Of Death?

Are Our Hearts Conducive To Gospel Truths?

Humble Before Jesus, He Will ‘Justify’ You!

The Believer Cannot Be An Oxymoron

Your Response To Sin Happening Under Your Nose

Coming Clean About Our Weakness

Are You Anxious That You May Forfeit Salvation?

Who Determines The Course Of Our Lives?

Jesus Is Not A ‘Spanner In The Works’!

Should God Grant Us Whatever We Ask For?

Does The Church Get On Your Nerves?

Who Are You Putting Up The Show For?

Are We Performing True Worship Of Jesus?

To Be A Servant Leader

Who Or What Is Shaping Our Lives?

To Be A Church Leader

As Unto Jesus!

What Is Your Excuse Today?

Are We A Reconciled Community?

Are We Shy To Confess Jesus?

Rate Your Maturity In Christ

How It Is Between You And Jesus Christ?

Is Jesus At The Centre Of Your Life?

Be Truthful And Remain In Christ

Jesus Is My Shepard!

Why Attend Church?—A Perspective

Prayer Is Not A ‘Head Or Tail’ Game!

We Are At Equal Distance From Jesus Christ!

Why Do We Crucify Jesus Again?

The Amazing Makeover Of Peter -A Lesson For Us

Jesus Christ

The Person Of Jesus Christ:

Jesus Reveals God

Doctrine Of Holy Trinity

Jesus In His Tweens:

Did Jesus Use Reverse Psychology?

Peter’s Response To Jesus?

Lessons From The Olivet Discourse

Three Commands Of Jesus Christ

Doing Something Beautiful For Jesus

God Wants To Talk To Us Through

His Creation!

The Choice Is Yours

Jesus Grand Me The Serenity… .

Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Master, model of all perfection, we thank You for all Your tender mercies and abundant Blessings You have showered on us while

we do not deserve Your love. You continued to be as

merciful to us as ever. Grant us the strength to imitate

Your example, to be like You, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and resigned. Let our efforts be to see Your image in all those we meet.

AMEN

PREFACE

There never was, is, or will ever be a substitute for the Bible. The Bible is the living Word of God. However, innumerable books and essays have been written by theologians, researchers, historians, and even the critics, on Bible. I am certain many more will be written in times to come. This is so because humanity continues to grapple with the profound truth of God as contained in the Bible; this is so because the Bible contains the Word of God; this is so because every word, verse, passage, chapter and book of the Bible presents such depth of knowledge, wisdom and truth that, humanity continues its quest for understanding what the Bible is telling us. The Gospel according to John concludes thus: And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.—John 21:25. No wonder the interpretations of the Biblical proclamations also will be an on-going activity.

All who read Bible face one challenge; elucidation of what it conveys to the reader. Take for example the insightful parables of Jesus Christ, a teaching aid He effectively used to drive home the point He was making. His parables are contextual and He used imagery His audience would relate to. This should have made His parables simple and comprehensible by ordinary people, like you and me. The parables served this purpose at the time Jesus spoke to His audience. Jesus, however, did not want to limit His teachings to a restricted audience who lived during the time He walked the earth. The real import of His teachings is intended to extend into the limitless time. It is only natural that as we try to learn from His teachings, we tend to get into an overdrive of interpretations. This is the reason why we hear preachers tell us something different each time they speak about the same parable or passge.

I may not be wrong in saying that, as we read the Bible, we are permitted to relate His teachings to our own circumstances. In doing so, we begin to apply the Word of God in our lives, and as the Biblical truth sink in, we begin to connect with Jesus and start our Walk with Him.

When I became conscious of this process, I could see why the interpretations are so varied in presentation. I also began to understand the Bible in my own perspective. It is needless to say at this point that, the ideas propounded by many writers, discussions in my Bible Study groups, and many a sermon I heard during church services have substantially influenced my own understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. These, obviously, will reflect in what I write. This book is a compilation of my thoughts, presented to you in all humility, with a hope that these may challenge you to deliberate and come up with your own interpretations and application of the teachings of Jesus Christ in your lives. A word of caution: being fallible by nature, I believe, we can never be 100% Christ like; but we are expected to make our best efforts to reflect Jesus in our lives. If this humble submission of mine is of some help to someone to make such an effort, I would consider my effort meaningful.

The chapters in this book discuss the possible application of the teachings of Jesus Christ, to address the challenges we face day by day. I accept my gross limitations, as an unworthy human, more so as a layperson. I have, therefore, made no attempt to answer the questions a reader may have. Rather, I have put forth my perception on various subjects and given pointers to the passages in the Bible for the reader to ponder on and arrive at his or her own interpretations. I expect the reader to challenge my overview and fine tune it to their own personal circumstances. The chapters are not, therefore, placed in any specific sequence and may be read at random.

It is my prayer that, as you read through the topics in this book, the Holy Spirit be your constant guide and mentor and direct your paths in the right direction, in your endeavour to walk with Jesus rest of your earthly existence. AMEN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am quite conscious of the sequences of events in my life which gave me the conviction and courage to work on this book. Viewed in isolation, we usually consider some events in our lives as either something memorable or as nightmares better to be forgotten forever. Such events may seem like disjointed pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle. I desist the temptation of narrating these events of my life here, as this book is not about me but about my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is sufficient to say here that as I managed to stitch together bits and pieces of these events together, I could see the providence of Jesus at work startlingly clear. I could then, unhesitatingly, proceed with the tasks ahead of me; work with immense satisfaction in fulfilling His purpose for me. I dedicate this book for the Glory of my Lord Jesus Christ.

I acknowledge Rev. Dr. Paul Swarup, a Biblical scholar and the present Priest-in-charge of the Cathedral Church of Redemption, the Church of North India, New Delhi, who challenged me into preaching, writing, and engaging in the work for Jesus, and nudging me into participating in the ministry of Jesus Christ. I thank him being instrumental in launching me onto the path of spirituality.

I acknowledge the invaluable advice I received from Bishop P. B. Santram, who was kind enough to read through the first draft of the manuscript of this book. Encouragements I received from him, a Biblical Scholar in his own right, and the practical suggestions he offered me gave me the courage to proceed with this book.

I acknowledge Rev. Sumesh Jacob, Priest-in-charge of St. Mary’s Church, Pune for encouraging me to think and preach using unconventional styles. I admire the depth of knowledge this young pastor possesses. He may not know it, but I learnt a lot from him.

I acknowledge all the fellow worshippers at St, Mary’s Church who continue to encourage me by reading my blogs on the Facebook and encouraging me to write more on Biblical subjects.

I want to thank my good friends at Christ Church, Noida who had expressed appreciation of my work and also many unknown readers of my blogs from all over the world, encouraging me to make this humble attempt at authoring a book.

I want to thank the members of my family, who directly and indirectly supported me in all my spiritual pursuits and facilitated writing of this book.

Last, but not least of all, I want to acknowledge and thank my brother Dr. Prem Peter, without whose support this book would have never happened. Assuming the role of a caring father figure, he had gone all out to support me. The travel the two of us did through the Holy Land was an enriching experience and had brought much clarity in my understanding of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Anandkumar Peter

Life applications

Take a walk through your soul

Years ago, my wife and I got off the Paris Metro at a wrong station, on our way back to our hotel, after a great day of shopping. Soon we realized that we were in a suburban area, and all our attempts to find a cab were futile. Language presented the biggest hurdle in seeking directions. So we walked, looking for some familiar building, a sign board, or a landmark. We walked through immaculately maintained parks with beautiful flowers; we walked along messy construction sites; we passed garbage dumps; we saw a brawl between two drunks; we saw old people, young couple in love. We were on the strange roads of Paris for nearly three hours, resting on the road side benches every now and again, before we found our hotel.

If you dare to take a walk through your soul, your experience would be somewhat similar to what we experienced. The first thing you will realize is that you are threading through unknown territory! You would have never imagined that your inner being looked like what you see. Nevertheless, you should press on through the twists and turns of your soul. Such venture, however, should have a purpose. For my wife and me, in the suburbs of Paris, it was to find our hotel. A walk through your soul should be to find your Christian faith. If you successfully complete the journey, you will be blessed with a bonus-Jesus Christ!

This walk through your soul is not going to be easy. You are going to discover plenty of landmines of hidden sins, the wrongs you did, the good you have failed to do, doubts about Christ you secretly harboured, fear of the unknown and deceptive ideas planted in you by the evil one, and much more. These are memories and matters you have managed to hide deep in your inner-self. You need to look out for these, like the soldiers do, without stepping on any, but neutralizing each as you go on.

You need not get petrified when you encounter these landmines. Remember what Jesus said: I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.—John 8:12. His light will guide you on this journey of yours. Jesus will restore your soul and