Job’s Complaint

The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. It records some troubling questions and terrifying doubts. Job practically lost everything almost overnight. The common thinking about suffering is that a person’s suffering is always the result of his or her personal sin. So, the more one has sinned, the greater he or she is expected to suffer. If we base Job’s suffering upon this thought, then Job must have sinned gravely! But we see God Himself testifying about him saying, “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil”(Job 1:8).

While we go through trials and times of suffering, when we walk through the valley of tears, we are often overwhelmed by self-pity! It makes us question the very purpose of our...

Faith and Works

Karma is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Karma means action, works or deed. Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering. Karma is a Sanskrit term that literally means ‘action' or ‘works'. In a way, karma is everything in a person's life!

On the other hand, the Bible understands the frailty of Man and how no man's intent or action can be ‘pure' in the way God, in His holiness, expects. We can do nothing- no works or karma- can ever make us holy and acceptable to God. That is why Christ became the ultimate sacrifice and paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. By accepting Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, we are...

Imitate me…

I read this story long ago in ‘Our Daily Bread’. It seems a father after finishing the bedtime rituals for his son, thinking he had fallen asleep had made his way to the local pub to share a drink with his buddies. Suddenly he was startled by his son’s voice calling him ‘Dad’. The man was shocked to see his son and demanded to know how the son had found out his whereabouts. The son’s reply shook him up. The son said, ‘Dad when I suddenly woke up called out to you, there was no answer. Soon I found out that you were not at home. So, I opened the front door where I saw your footsteps clearly in the snow. I just followed them and they brought me here!’

When I was in the College of Engineering, Guindy studying Engineering, I did not take my studies too seriously. As...

Micah’s Message

The book of Micah centers on the threat of the Assyrian invasions that began in around 730 BC against the northern kingdom. The people who thought that they cannot be touched because they were the chosen people of God, were disheartened. They turned to the Lord and kind of blaming Him for their miseries! Micah pictures a court of law (Chapter 6), with Israel "on trial" before the Lord in the presence of unshakable witnesses, the mountains and the hills and the strong foundations of the earth.

In the subsequent verses, we see God stating His case. God brings to their mind how He had redeemed them from Egypt. Not only did God not do evil to Israel, but He also did them an enormous amount of good. He redeemed them and gave them godly leaders. Even when Ki...

Master the Tempest is raging…

My father was transferred from Neyveli and we came to Chennai in April 1971. At that time, choirmaster uncle Arthur Muthiah used to have the choir practices in his home in Shenoy Nagar. One of the first songs we sang there was the song "Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!" written by Mary A. Baker. It really spoke to our hearts and encouraged us! Many times, our calm and peaceful existence is thrown out of gear by some news. It can be a call from the doctor's office, loss of a loved one or even loss of a job can throw us into a raging storm!

We read about this incident in Mark 4: 37-39. We see that it was Jesus who said, "Let us cross over to the other side." Their journey was initiated by the Lord Himself...

Balaam’s Sin!

I met a friend of mine after many years. She looked so downcast that I could not help but ask her what the problem was. And she had a story to tell! She is about my age and her husband is much older. Recently her husband had confessed to her about a relationship he had had with a woman for some years during the early years of their marriage because the Lord had put the burden in his heart. Whatever may be the age and however many years ago the affair may have ended, such knowledge is always life-shattering! She was completely heartbroken.

When Balak, the King of Moab, invited Balaam to curse the children of Israel, Balaam could not curse them. But Balaam knew the nature of the God of Israel. Balaam knew that Israel will be blessed if they continued to obey God. He...

The Fastball

It is 39 years since my father was called to glory. He used to tell this story often. A little boy once went to a local shop to buy something. An old lady was there and when she opened her purse to pay the shopkeeper, the coins fell down and scattered. A one rupee coin rolled and came to rest just next to the boy's feet. A battle raged in the little boy's mind! He quickly shifted his foot a little bit and covered the coin. It was the fastball that bowled him out!

We have all been there some time or other. A quick lie or a temper flare-up or a temptation has caught us like that ‘fastball'. Any amount of determination and any amount of self-discipline cannot overcome sin because sin is so deeply rooted in our nature. This type of overcoming through s...

The Heart of Barnabas

Some time back I was asked to preach on the text from Acts 11:19-30. As I read the passage and meditated on it, one person stood out and that person was Barnabas. When the news of a number of people from Antioch believing in the Lord Jesus came to the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to discern what God was doing in the lives of the new believers. When Barnabas saw the grace of God in their lives, he encouraged them in their new faith. ‘Barnabas’ means “son of consolation or son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36).

Barnabas played a major role in the life of Paul. When the newly converted Saul/Paul came to the Christians at Jerusalem, they fearfully avoided him. But Barnabas took Paul and brought him to the apostles and spoke up for him (Acts 9:27). Barnabas pl...

The Presence of the Lord

When the Word of the Lord came to Jonah, asking him to go to Nineveh to cry out against it, Jonah decided to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But as we see the story unfolding, we can well understand that he was not able to escape from His presence at all! David observed this in Psalm 139. David says that God knew everything about him, even his sitting down and his rising up. God understood even his thoughts and his words even before he could speak! Psalm 139:7,8 says, "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ​​If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there". So, Jonah could not escape from the presence of God!

The Bible shows us another picture through the vi...

His hands, His feet…

When God created Man, the Bible says that He created us in His image! But God is Spirit (John 4:24) and hence there is no form or shape! Then what is this image or likeness the Bible is talking about? God created each one of us in His moral likeness. That is to say that God created us with a capacity to love, forgive, and to have compassion just like Him!

Jesus touched the leper; welcomed women and children; dined with the sinners; washed the disciples' feet; and went about ‘doing good'. Jesus had compassion on those who were suffering. Jesus was moved by the grief of the widow of Nain who had lost her son; Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus. He was in the ministry of reconciliation and restoration!

If we are sensitive to the prompting of the...