Light

"Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house."

Matthew 5: 15

The other day I was walking early in the morning through the hall while the lights were switched off and had my Bible in my hand and sure enough I bumped into my backpack that was on the side of the floor and instantly this is what God reminded me off , " This is why you need to use the word of God always. Because the world is filled with darkness and its only the word which is light . Its a lamp to your feet and a light to your path"

So picture this with me, dark pathway and you have a flashlight and the path is illuminated by you using the flash light and because light dispels darkness you can see the rocks, the wayward paths, the good roads, the obstacles and you can walk clearly. 

Here is the best part, because you have the light shining , those around you who don't have the light are directed towards the right path. They are able to avoid the dangers that lurk in the darkness because you shone the light. 

The purpose of us living out loud the word of God , the purpose of us leading a Christ-centric life is so that all those around us (wherever we may be... at home, at a grocery store , at work , at school....) will be under the influence of light.  The purpose of a lamp burning is to give light  to ? ALL in the house. ALL ! Its never about self !

I pray we will pursue His righteousness and let His word dwell richly within us and that His light will shine through us that those around us will see and glorify Jesus Christ.

God Bless

What's on our hearts?

"Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered."

Jonah 4 : 6-7 

We all are familiar of the story of Jonah. God wanted him to go to Nineveh and he refused and tried running away . And when God finally got him to obey he went and spoke to Nineveh . But when the people sought the Lord, the Lord relented from destroying them and saved their city.  Now Jonah couldn't comprehend this. In fact he was angry with God. In fact in the earlier verses , he complains saying "That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster"

Isn't it pretty interesting that Jonah did what God wanted him to do but his heart wasn't in it. He did what God wanted him to do and yet he was far from knowing the heart of God. In fact technically (from his head) he knew the merciful nature of God, but his heart was not moved with compassion for the people of Nineveh.

Its a good 'stop & reflect' moment just to think of the things we do which are right , which are good, but our hearts are not in it . Technically we know the heart of our God , but our hearts are not moved.  Whether this looks like giving to those in need, placing our offerings before God, praying for those around us, coming to church... whatever shape or form the things we do may look like, may the callousness of our hearts be removed so that our hearts will be moved with the compassion and mercy of Christ.

Gotta love how amazing our God is. He appoints a plant and made it cover up Jonah and then caused a worm to destroy it to help teach Jonah, if Jonah could miss a plant (for which he had nothing to do ... he didn't plant it, water it , make it grow... nothing.. yet he missed it when it was gone because what it provided him) , how much more would God's heart be moved for the people of Nineveh.

The blessings that God has placed in our lives stand as a constant reminder of the heart of God. The fact that we can inhale and exhale oxygen. The fact that we can the faces of our loved ones, the honour of having good knees to be able to kneel before His throne... the joy when a child comes running and gives a hug....Living a life completely ransomed by the blood of the Christ.... How can we not see the heart of God in it all ? And having received such grace and mercy , how can we not extend the same we have so freely and undeservingly received?

God Bless

LIVE OUT LOUD

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. "

James 1:22

I could spend 20 hours looking at a pair of weights or running shoes . But if Im not using it, Im not going to get what is is required.  I could probably even put on the running shoes and sit on the couch for as long as I like. But hey Im not burning any calories or getting any more fit as much as I would hope to.  The true benefit is realized when I start running. In the very least as I start walking and slowly pick up the pace and I start running.

We are called to be DOERS of the word of God. The true intent is realized when inward transformation results in outward reformation.  We read the word, we hear the word and we start to live it out loud.

Its the small every day choices that eventually lead to this huge results. Its prioritizing our quiet times with the Lord, praying together as a family, being conscious of being a testimony to those around us whether this be when stuck in traffic , or at the office or at university, the way we respond to situations, our conscious choices to share the love of God... When this world is so quick to put people down are we those to build people up even in our thoughts and speech ? 

Can we stop for a moment and gauge ...are we being doers of the word of God ? Lets look at the top two : Love the Lord your God with all your heart,mind and soul and love your neighbour as you love your self.

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. "

God Bless

Made uniquely by the Master's design

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb."

Psalm 139:13

Remember how David defeated the Philistines by going around them as the Lord had directed him ? We read in 2 Samuel 5: 17-22 , that when the Philistines went up to search for David and had spread out in the valley of Rephaim, David sought the Lord and the Lord said to David to go on for God had given him victory. And true to His word, David defeated the Philistines.  Now the Philistines came up yet again and when David sought the Lord, this time God gave him a strategy of going around them . And David did as the Lord had commanded him and he defeated the Philistines.  Love the way God works.

Ever looked at a flower and wondered at the amount of detail that has gone into it ? Our God is so amazing.  I had purchased a new desk and was busy assembling it together looking at the instruction manual. Now in my head I was like , "how hard could this be?" While the instruction manual was pretty precise, my patience to read every line wasn't . And I had to re-do a few of the parts just because I didnt pay attention to the details.  Now here is the thing... The question wasnt "Do I have the ability to place the rods in place and join them together" , the question was "will I be able to assemble them as per the manufacturer's design?"  See for me couple of the rods looked exactly the same.  But then as the plan came together, I saw the subtle differences in them and why they were placed in specific places for a reason. The manufacturer had this beautiful design in place and everything had its precision.

A lot of times we think of just getting through the day... But the real question is ..."Am I living as God has desired?" See God has this amazing plan for us. He is a God of great detail. Everything about us is by His heavenly purpose. There is a reason why you and I are alive at this point in time of history. 

When David went to battle it wasnt just about running with what he knew , but it was about doing everything with God.  He didnt live based on past experiences or head knowledge. He lived based on a relationship with God. 

The word of God says that He knitted us together ! Isnt that so beautiful. And I pray that we will live as per our Master's desire walking with Him.

God Bless

Forever !

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

Psalm 136:1

As part of my personal reading Im currently in the book of Job. Now get this, whichever portion of the Bible you are reading, time and time again you see God's faithfulness. Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance, He is in complete control working all things for our good by His grace and for His glory.

Whether its an Elijah situation or a David situation or Job situation or Peter situation or Paul situation or Silas situation.... however things may look like , we read God always has something amazing in store. He is good, He is steadfast and His love endures FOREVER. We are never alone. We are never forgotten. James describes Him as the "Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

God Bless

Recipient of His Mercy

"Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice"

Luke 17:15

We read from verse 11 that on the way to Jerusalem Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers,who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 

Have Mercy on us ! Mercy ! Webster's dictionary defines mercy as "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender" . Lepers in those days were considered unclean and were kept away from the city. So here are these ten lepers who see Christ and they are pleading "Jesus, Master have mercy on us." They know there's nothing they can do or that they are that entitles them of Jesus's attention, so they plead for mercy. We read that when Jesus saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

The Samaritan when he saw that he was healed turned back and praised him with a loud voice and fell at Jesus's feet and gave thanks. This person had received the same healing as the others. What was the difference ? His heart was conscious of the fact that all he had received he did not deserve, but yet it had been graciously showered upon him.

Jesus said to him," Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well". The literal meaning for the word "well" in this context is "saved" (same Greek verb) . It was more than a physical healing. It was inward transformation.

Lets take a moment to reflect upon the gracious love and mercy that God continues to shower upon us... none of which we deserve but yet He having loved us, having called us His own, having paid the price on the cross for us and redeemed us , as our Father showers His mercy upon us. May our hearts forever be lifted up in gratefulness to the one who deserves it all.

God Bless

Faithful

"Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him."

Daniel 6:4

One of best things of growing up in a small town is you get to see the simplicity of things. My church growing up wasn't filled with scholars or great theologians. But it was filled with amazing men and women of God who simply loved the Lord with all their heart , mind and strength. They may not know how to read or write, they may not know a lot of things of the world, but they know the heart of God and they give God their all. Every time I think about them I am so overwhelmed by the honour of growing up with them , those who poured into me and continue to cover me in prayers. Servants of the Most High King. Im so humbled by God's favour.

Being faithful. Daniel and the lions den is one of the most love sunday school stories of all. Daniel 6:4 says the high officials and satraps tried to find a ground for complaint against Daniel but they couldn't because he was faithful ! All that God had entrusted to him , he did it faithfully. 

He always prayed to the Lord 3 times a day. Now when the decree had come saying people were not supposed to pray to any other god beside the king, we read in verse 10 , "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."

Faithful. Circumstances never dictated his time with God. Even a law that would have him be put to death never deterred him. And we all know the amazing things that followed after. Out of the faithfulness of the little God will rise things as a testimony to a nation. 

In honouring God above everything else, great things will overflow. If the devil tries to deter us from our daily time with God, take it as a hint... There's something powerful thats there and he doesn't want you to have it.  

I pray by His grace we will be found faithful. Faithful in seeking His face and walking in His ways. Its about knowing His heart.

God Bless

Just look to Jesus

"Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."

Psalm 34:5

When I heard this verse as a kid, the first image that popped into my mind was someone looking at the sun.  Growing up in India we were never short of sunny days :)  Step outside and there it is... shining brightly. Keeping it simple, couple of things that are an automatic outcome of looking at the sun... Well for one, you are automatically covered in the light of the sun ! Its radiance is all over you.  Stand there long enough and theres transformation thats happening that cannot be seen with our eyes but its still happening.. what is it ? Vitamin D formation in our body. Yeah grade 4 science... The Sunshine Vitamin. The body makes Vitamin D when the skin is exposed to the sun allowing the body to absorb calcium and phosphate better which is key for bone formation.  

Now this is just the sun. Imagine the gravity of looking to Jesus Christ the founder and perfecter of our faith !!! Oh wow ! The transformation that takes place within, being covered in the radiance of His glorious presence ... walking in victory !

"Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."

Have a wonderful blessed day and weekend

Everything

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  "

1 Peter 2:9

Last year when I was on vacation , one morning I sleepily staggered upstairs to be wonderfully surprised to the sight of some of my church family busy baking cakes and cupcakes :) Its the best sight ever :) Kids whipping stuff , some looking on , while there's the watchful eye of  a friend who's our baking whiz ensuring all goes well while checking on the oven.  The cake and cup cakes had all these amazing colours from within that flowed out... It looked terrific. Now what if I said , "Well though the cake was made by them, Im going to call out this lil chunk out of the cake and say that no this specific part wasn't made by them"   ... You would probably look at me and say "Go back to sleep. You need rest. You are not making sense"  Yes it does sound absurd. It was a cake made with great love by amazing people. To demarcate certain portions of it and call it anything less would be a meaningless statement with absolutely no point or purpose.

Sometimes though, we tend to apportion our life and say "Well this aspect of my life is God's... but this part of me God cant use that.. This is not God's"  We are created in His image , set apart for Him. All that we are is His.  Sometimes we focus on our spiritual gifts and become poor stewards of the natural gifting that God has given us. Sometimes we focus on doing things that are visible to the world and lose out on developing a Godly Character.  ALL that we are is by Him and for Him ! God is interested in every aspect in every area of our life.  We are called to a life of complete surrender. We are called to put away things that are dishonourable and be set apart for Him. And we do this not by might but by His Spirit. He gives us the grace and the strength to pursue Holiness. God is as interested in our university life/work life/family life just as much as He is our church life :)

This is who we are : "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  "  and I pray by His grace every area of our life be a reflection of this truth

God Bless

Seek Him

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Matthew 6:33

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"

Matthew 5:6

Yes, decided to have two verses today :) 

If you were craving cheese and I said "Here you go, here's a cheese sandwich... Try it"  Its as simple as taking a bite into the sandwich and knowing how good it is. 

In His presence there is fullness of joy. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness the word of God says we WILL be satisfied (not maybe, but definitive).  And in the laying of everything at His feet , in the seeking FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness, all other things that God knows we need will be added to us.

We read in Psalm 34:10 , "The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing"

Let our every day be a reflection of giving God our first, our best , laying it all at His feet. Let's do it. 

Have a wonderful beautiful awesome blessed day by His grace and for His glory.

Pressing on Toward the Goal

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"

Philippians 3:14

Boxing day here is meant to be a day for great sales and shopping. I needed to pick up a gift for a dear friend of mine. Now I knew the store I wanted to go, had already checked out the store timings, when I woke up I got to meet up with my church family and their kids , the moment the clock struck 9am I was out the door on my way downtown. Now there are tons of shops to go to on boxing day, like literally every place is buzzing with some offer or the other. While the temptation to swing by a few other stores was always there , but I knew my goal.  So drove straight to the store, by God's grace God showed me exactly what to buy and I was back home in just over an hour :)  

A wonderful man of God once said "How do you know what's a distraction unless you know what your goal is ?" :)

Now this is something so small. But yet knowing my goal directed my choices. It changed what would consume my time. 

Paul writes "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". In fact in the previous verse he says "But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead"

The upward call of God in Christ Jesus ! I pray this be the goal that rises from within us... The very reason for our existence is to live by His grace and for His glory.

May that drive our choices , may that cause us to think and choose and live differently.

God Bless

The Day to Day

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23 

It is great to get back to the groove of writing and wrapping more discipline around my schedules by God's grace :)  One of the many things that God's been impressing upon my heart is the intimacy and specialness of a daily walk with God. 

Those who know me know how much I love spending time with my youth. However , what captures my heart is not this one off big dinner (though those are terrific and valued too), its the day to day.  I love knowing what tea or pizza topping they love. I love knowing how their day went. I love the day to day. I love knowing how their classes went, listening to them just share anything. I love holding the toddlers and seeing them recognize me.  The day to day ! Its the heart behind it all.  And this is just me as a flawed human being :) If my heart can recognize this, just imagine the day to day with God. If I being human with all my flaws and imperfections, would love to listen to one my kids just talk their heart whatever it may consist of (be it food, the weather, hair styes, lip balms,  theology, Word of God, issues, school papers...) , can you imagine the heart of God !

There's something just so intimate about the day to day. Often our mind is warped around this and we have turned our relationship with God into a ritual.

Its time to get back to being real and enjoy this awesome daily walk with God. No relationship as important as His ! Created by Him and for Him.  

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness."

 

God Bless