Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who are victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. - (Revelation 2:11)

The voice of God can be heard and understood if we apply certain biblical principles to hearing what the Holy Spirit of God is saying. Jesus challenges those who heard his message to really listen — not just with their ears, but also with their hearts.

Different Ways

Just as the Holy Spirit decides to give different abilities to different people (1 Corinthians 12:11), he works with us in different ways. A person with the gift of miraculous words is likely to hear the Spirit in a different way than a person with the gift of compassion. The Spirit will lead a teacher in a different way than a server, because he has different jobs for each person.

For some people, he speaks subtly, in general principles; for others, he must speak with unmistakable details. Each of us must listen in the way that God has made us, in the way that he chooses to deal with us. The important thing is that we listen—that we are ready and willing to hear what he says. We should be looking for his leadership rather than ignoring it.

No Idle Words

Some people would like to have the Holy Spirit as a conversational companion to keep them company. They want to chat, but the Holy Spirit isn’t involved in idle words. He does not call attention to himself (John 15:26), and is often silent because he has already given us enough information and advice. He wants us to use what he has already given; he has been training our conscience to respond rightly to what faces us. That does not mean that we rely on ourselves, but that we rely on what God has already done in our lives and what he has already taught us.

Through Scripture

The Holy Spirit speaks to us primarily through the Scriptures that he inspired to be written and canonized. This is our foundation of faith and life, the word that everyone has access to, the word that can be studied and discussed most objectively. Often the word that we need to hear has already been written, and the Spirit simply needs to bring it to mind. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, for example, his responses were quoted from Scripture. He had studied and memorized those words, and in each situation the Spirit led him to the appropriate response.

Through Experience

We can also hear the Holy Spirit through experience. God sometimes changes his methods with us, but most often he works with us in a similar way from one year to another. Through experience, we see how he has answered our prayers and led us in past situations. This will help us recognize his “voice” when he speaks to us in the present. Experience comes through time, submission and meditation. The Spirit helps the humble, not the self-exalting.

Sermons are a common means of spiritual speech. Those who speak should strive to speak the words of God (1 Peter 4:11), so those who speak in church should strive to listen to God as they prepare the sermons, and those who hear the sermons should likewise listen for the words of the Lord. We need to let our worship services be times of listening, of thinking, of communing with God so that we are letting him change us to be more like Christ. Let us draw near to him, and he will change us.

Responding To Holy Spirit

If we want to hear, we need to listen. But if we want to hear in the biblical sense, we also need to respond. If we hear his voice, if we believe that God is telling us to do something, then we need to do it. We need to do what he has gifted us to do. We are to submit to God, for what he says is for our own good. We bring him honor, and we bring ourselves blessings, by doing his will. It begins with listening. Can you hear the Holy Spirit? It is something worth thinking about.

Let’s be God’s people who hunger to hear what the Spirit is seeking to say to us through Scripture!

Prayer

Father, forgive us — forgive me! We have very seldom sought to hear your voice and your Word and the message the Spirit has for us in that Word. More than forgiveness, O God, give us a yearning to hear the message the Spirit has for our congregation at this time, with our challenges and opportunities. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Love Of Many Will Grow Cold

This is a heartbreaking statement in the ‘Olivet Discourse’ of our Lord (Mk. 13:3). We find extremely difficult to gulp it down and we wonder how true are His words in today’s world scenario? The purpose of the discourse is to warn the disciples of the dangers that lie ahead: persecutions, false prophets and messiahs, rumors of wars and wars, natural calamities and catastrophes of various magnitudes.

The growth of coldness in love is something cosmic – continent to continent, nation to nation, tribe to tribe and family to family. This spiritual cold wave, now swept over the face of the earth is something concomitant to the ‘increase of lawlessness’ in the world. Mathean usage of the verb psucho (blow cold) in the passive voice indicates an act of cooling by blowing.

Neither Hot nor Cold

Another aspect of the cold wave manifests itself in a life of lukewarmness – neither enthusiastic nor tepid. The Church in Laodicea once fervent fell into this trap of tepidity. “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:15-17).

They lived a type of cogitative vegetative life of comfort and ease. “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness” (Jer 48:10). The ‘slothful servant’ received a harsher punishment (Mt. 25:26).

Increase of Lawlessness

Lawlessness is a ‘mystery’ according to St. Paul. None can totally comprehend the mystery of evil in this world. “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (2 Thess 2:7). How can a good God allow it happen? Why does the just suffer? This inscrutable mystery is closely related to ‘the man of lawlessness’ and ‘the son of destruction’ (2 Thess 2:3).

St. Paul forewarns about the distressing signs of the last days. “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of religion but denying its power. Avoid them!” (2 Tim 3:2-5).

In a long list of twenty traits, what horrifies the reader is the use of some of the strongest expressions like, the ‘inhuman’ and the ‘brutes’ or the ‘savage’, who are wild in their behaviors. The Greek term astorgoi implies the heartless ones, bereft of any human affection. Similarly anemeroi denotes the untamed animals, irrational and unreasonable in their behaviors.

Redemption and restoration would be preceded by a period of unprecedented spiritual and moral chaos, and rampant religious apostasy, where the tyranny of relativism raises its ugly head; and nobody can say anything to anyone (2 Tim 2:1-12).

Cold Indifference

People should be dissatisfied with anything material. Why? Our hearts are created for God and it cannot rest in anywhere in creation or among the creatures, but in God alone. The religious indifference would be manifested in coldness in things related to God and the supernatural. In fact, some would be allergic to it and they ‘switch off’ their ears to any mention of it. What do they want? Shall we play the flute? Will you dance? No. Shall we play the dirges? Will you cry? No. They are like children sitting in the supermarket dissatisfied with anything in life (Mt. 11:16-17).

Hardening of Heart

Most of the hearts become hardened as it happened to Pharaoh, in spite of the fact that he witnessed numerous portents and signs performed by Moses. Some hearts will ‘grow faint’ with fear of the evil reports (in the mass-media). Still other hearts will be ‘weighed down’ with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.

The mystery of the ‘hardening’ of the heart of Israel until the full number of the gentiles coming in remains incomprehensible. As regards the Gospel, many Christians today are ‘enemies of God’ (Rom. 11:28).

At this juncture of history, what is required of believer is endurance, which alone will save him. A faithful disciple of Christ must bear witness against the godless nation, with heroic courage and perseverance. The gospel of the Kingdom must be preached throughout the whole world; and then the end will come, when the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, Come Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:17, 20).

- – - written by Fr. J. Eapen SDB

Go on 360 Degree Panoramic Virtual Tours to pilgrimage places, right on your screen.

Here we present exceptional quality panoramic images for panoramic virtual tours to pilgrimage places. It gives us the effect of actually visiting the places. The 360 degree 3D panoramic images are captured using rotational cameras with special lenses. 360virtual images are full 360 degree spherical panoramic images used in building photographic “Virtual Reality” style virtual tours. You can interactively “be there and look around” with the full realism.

Here is the presently available list of Virtual Tour Pilgrimage Places :-

1. Velankanni Church, Chennai

Click here to visit Velankanni church on a virtual tour

2. Bharananganam Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Bharananganam church on a virtual tour

3. St. Alphonsa Divine Home, Bharananganam

Click here to visit St. Alphonsa Divine Home on a virtual tour

4. Malayatoor Kurisumala, Kerala

Click here to visit Malayatoor Kurisumala on a virtual tour

5. Manarcad Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Manarcad church on a virtual tour

6. Parumala Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Parumala church on a virtual tour

7. Arthunkal Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Arthunkal church on a virtual tour

8. Vagamon Kurisumala, Kerala

Click here to visit Vagamon church on a virtual tour

9. St. Marys Forane Church, Kudamaloor, Kottayam

Click here to visit Kudamaloor church on a virtual tour

10. Puthupally Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Puthupally church on a virtual tour

11. Calicut Cathedral, Kerala

Click here to visit Calicut cathedral on a virtual tour

12. Vimalagiri Cathedral, Kottayam, Kerala

Click here to visit Vimalagiri cathedral on a virtual tour

13. Vallarpadam Church, Cochin, Kerala

Click here to visit Vallarpadam church on a virtual tour

14. Missionaries of Compassion, Hyderabad

Click here to visit Missionaries of Compassion society on a virtual tour

15. Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours, Thrissur, Kerala

Click here to visit Dolours basilica on a virtual tour

16. St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, Kallooppara, Kerala

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17. Manjinikara Church, Kerala

Click here to visit Manjinikara Church on a virtual tour

Go and click on the above links given, which will take you on a 360 Degree 3D Panoramic Virtual Tour to each of the above pilgrimage places mostly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad. I hope all of you will really enjoy the virtual tours.

Once you are on the tour page, wait for some time for the 3D image to load completely. Then move around by clicking the left-mouse button and keeping it pressed, move around the place as you like. You can zoom also by using the mouse’s scroll button. Take a look! All the best and enjoy your 360 Degree 3D panoramic virtual tours. God Bless You All.