The sin which is conceived in a person does not stay within him; it affects others. Slowly it moves towards the people around him, to the society and to the country and attacks them severely and wipes them out. Sin works the same way as ripples in a lake when you throw a stone in it.
After great difficulties and a laborious journey through the dessert for years, the Israelites reached the border of their Promised Land. God did many miracles for them. The wall of the city of Jericho collapsed. God was their front army and their rear army and fought for them. The whole nation was theirs. Blessing, peace, wealth – they had everything. They had every right to be happy (See Joshua 7).
At the same time God gave them a command. “Beware of one thing when you conquer this land and start to live here. Don’t eye anything from this land; not gold, silver or any beautiful robe. Don’t take anything for yourself. Put everything in the fire and burn it.”
But a person among them hid silver, gold and a beautiful robe from the plundered things. He didn’t take much; he took very little. But he did it. Even his family members were unaware of it.
From the outside everything looked normal. Everything looked beautiful. Joshua, their leader, told them to go ahead and march to the city of Ai. Before attacking the city, he sent some of his people to spy on the city. They came back and informed Joshua, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to conquer it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there. We can easily conquer that city.”
The Israelites, without much practice or planning, sent 3,000 soldiers to attack the city of Ai. They went there with ease. On their way they might have said,” What is this Ai city? We conquered the great city Jericho, and the walls of Jericho collapsed. Compared to that, this is kid’s play.” If you think humanly, it was extremely simple.
But what happened when they reached there was something they never imagined. Ai city had very few people in it. But they overpowered the 3,000 Israelites and killed 36 of them.
When this failure took place, the stone heart of the Israelites started melting like iron melts in acute heat. Their heart became weak like melted iron.
Dear friend, have you been like this in face of some problems? You might have done great things through faith in God. But then you fail in the silliest thing of all. When we believe in Christ, we trust God to deliver us from great sins. But then the joyous experiences which happened at the beginning of our faith are lost. The sins which we consider simple destroy our entire life as they nest our heart. Are you crying because you can’t win over them? Think about it sincerely.
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K.P. Yohannan ( - Present)
Dr. K.P. Yohannan, the Metropolitan Bishop of Believers Church, was born and brought up in Niranam, Kerala. Niranam has immense historical significance in the tradition of Saint Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ who planted the first church there in AD 52. K.P. Yohannan dedicated his life to God at a young age to serve the needy and downtrodden. He prayed, “Oh my Lord, let my heart break with the things that break Your heart” and his life was never the same. It’s his belief that one can only demonstrate God’s love by loving people. After over four decades of selfless service, he says, I have no regrets in praying that prayer for I know God has touched millions through what He did in and through me. It is all God’s grace.He spent the early years of his service in North India and traveled to the remote villages sharing the love of Christ and doing charitable works. Through numerous encounters during those years, he was instilled with an increasing passion to bring hope, peace, and comfort to the needy and deprived. His sacrificial commitment, farsightedness and aptitude to perceive helped him to lead a life of unhindered devotion to serve Christ and His church. K.P. Yohannan is also the voice of Athmeeya Yathra, touching millions through his daily radio and TV broadcasts. His 250 books offer practical and spiritual guidance on hundreds of subjects.
Recommends these books by K.P. Yohannan:
Living in the Light of Eternity: Discovering God's Design For Your Life by K.P. Yohannan
The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness by K.P. Yohannan
Crisis in Leadership by K.P. Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. Currently Gospel for Asia supports thousands of church planters in the heart of the 10/40 window.
Born in a remote village of South India, K.P. Yohannan's personal journey toward spiritual reality began at the age of eight when he gave his heart to Christ. While he was still a young boy, his mother began fasting each week, praying God would call one of her six sons into full-time gospel ministry. Her prayers were answered in 1966 when 16 year-old K.P., her youngest, volunteered to serve in North India with Operation Mobilization.
From 1974 to 1979 K.P. attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies. He was also awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hindustan Bible College in Madras, India. During the time he attended Criswell, he pastored a local church in Dallas. However, he was unable to forget the millions still lost without Christ in his homeland of India, and knew God was calling him to reach his own people. In 1978 K.P. resigned his pastorate and he and his wife, Gisela, organized what is now Gospel for Asia.