Being a Channel of blessing!

Last Sunday I heard this story in the church! Long ago in England, long before the dawn of electricity and motor cars, a doctor was summoned in the night to a home to treat a sick man. The doctor started in a horse-drawn buggy but could not see the road because of a snow storm. However, the people of the hamlet guided the doctor from the doctor's home to the sick man's house by hanging a lantern at their doorstep so that the doctor could follow the lights and reach the sick man! Each person's light pointed the doctor in the right direction, and following the lights, the doctor reached his destination without being lost in the intimidating weather. Everyone that day became the channel of blessing to the sick man that day!

God promised Abraham that al...

The Fear of God

I believe that our earthly life is like the board game, 'Snakes and Ladders'! God's plan for our life is the very best, like the 100 in the game. However, it is not easy to reach that point. Due to our choices and actions, we either get elevated through the ladder or swallowed up by the snake. I guess we encounter more snakes in real life! Only when we get to heaven, we will know the blessings we have lost due to our bad choices! As I read the story of Abraham, I came upon a particular verse that caught my attention. Gen 18:19 says, "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to...

The Covenant Relationship

I recently had an opportunity to study the covenants of the Bible and understand what they have to teach us today. Covenants are usually based on relationships only. The Bible is not a random collection of laws, moral principles, and stories. It is the story of a God who bound Himself to Man based on covenant-relationship. So, the Biblical covenants are the backbone of the storyline of the Bible. The story of the Bible unfolds and advances through the covenants God made with His people. We have to make an effort to understand the covenants in order to understand the Bible and the God of the Bible!

There are two types of covenants in the Bible: conditional and unconditional. A conditional covenant is a bilateral covenant. Under the conditional covenants, the bless...

Noah walked with God

Genesis 6:5 tells us what was going on in the days of Noah. "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."Genesis 6:11 tells us that "the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."Jesus pointed out that in Noah's day, the people were completely oblivious to the coming judgment of God. It was pretty much business as usual. They did not realize anything was wrong until the rain actually began to fall! When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of His coming and the end of the world, and Jesus answered saying, " But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven...

The God of Creation!

Many theories have been put forward about creation. If you carefully read the first three chapters of Genesis, you can clearly identify the problem. Genesis 1:1,2 says darkness was on the face of the earth, which was without form. When the Bible says, 'In the beginning,' it means at the beginning of time. So sometime after the 'beginning' light was created (Gen 1:3). God separated the light from darkness, calling the light 'day' and the darkness 'night.' This was the 'first day' of creation. It was only on the fourth day that God created the sun, the moon, and the stars to give light on the earth. But light as such was created on the first day itself. The reason for God creating the sun, moon, and stars, apart from givi...

The Breath of Life!

Elective surgeries are very different! When things 'happen' to us, we somehow think, it is God's will that we have to go through that path and that He is in control, come what may! But when you opt for a surgery or a line of treatment, you are somehow not sure as to whether it is God's will or not! There was a fibroid in my uterus, but it did not give me any trouble whatsoever, and it was found to be benign too. But I somehow 'wanted' to get rid of it and I opted for a total hysterectomy! I was very troubled. I waited on His Word for assurance to know if my decision was right. The Word God gave me was, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63...

The importance of Obedience!

Obedience is an important virtue! The human heart is so prone to breaking the moral and ethical rules of the society that we need a figure of authority or a Word of authority to keep us from straying! As parents, we want our children to obey us not because we love to throw our weight around and boss over them. It is because we do not want them to commit the same mistakes and suffer! We may not be able to explain the reasons always, but if they can just obey, they can be saved from many problems! Many times, life opportunities are lost permanently due to disobedience! My mother, who was an excellent pianist tried teaching me to play the piano. But I did not practice enough and learn from her, and thus, I lost a great opportunity in my life, forever! Parents are the authorit...

The Good Works!

It is said that Alexander the Great, on his death bed asked his generals to fulfill his last three wishes. His first wish was that his physicians alone must carry his coffin because no doctor can really cure anyone. Doctors can treat all they can, but healing comes from God. Secondly, he wished that when his casket was being carried to the grave, the path should be strewn with gold, silver, and the precious stones he had collected all through his life. He wanted the people to realize that chasing wealth was a waste of time. Thirdly, he wished to have both his hands dangling out of his casket for he wanted the people to know that he came empty handed into this world and that he went empty-handed out of this world.

The Bible has a lot to say about 'works.'...

The Amazing Grace!

Our daughter in law had put together a write-up on 'Grace' to teach our two granddaughters about being kind, tolerant, and forgiving towards one another! They are just 10 and 8 but still, I guess, it is never too early to understand Grace, or to try living it out! She had brought out how we can live out the Grace which we have received unconditionally in such abundance from the Cross of Jesus in everyday living. She had said that we can show Grace by looking after the needs of others. We can show Grace by keeping short accounts; by forgiving; by accepting everyone and by being the first to say sorry. It touched my heart, afresh! As adults, we think we know all about Grace, but many times we forget the Grace we have received at the Cross in our everyday dealings...

Humbling ourselves before God!

Some years back, I really got confused about fasting. I thought, if my 'fasting' can bring answers, then it was like God's answers were based on something that I can actually 'do.' That cannot be true for God cannot be manipulated by our 'actions'. Answers to prayer depend on many things like our faith, our choices, God's time, and His will for our lives. So, for one whole year, I stopped 'fasting,' but of course, I prayed! If we sincerely seek answers, God has a unique way of answering our questions and providing answers! Here is what I understood!

'Fasting' is a way of humbling ourselves before God. What then is humbling ourselves before God? We think kneeling and praying is humbling ourselves before G...