Must I go Empty handed?

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 5: 15-21

The hymn ‘Must I Go, and Empty-Handed?’ was written by George Coles Stebbins (1846-1945) after hearing a story from Rev. A.G. Upham about a young man who was about to die.  The story goes that the young man was a Christian for only a month and was upset that he had so little time to serve the Lord.  On his deathbed, he said, ‘I am not afraid to die; Jesus has saved me now, but, oh!  Must I go empty-handed?’

My mother loved this song too.  It was this song that motivated my parents into outreach activities in a village near Neyveli.  My mother always felt...

Love of Christ!

Bible Reading: Luke 14:1-6

My mother, Indrani Asirvatham, was a pianist and church organist who loved singing.  She loved this song very dearly.   In the late sixties, the salvation movement swept across India, and she accepted Christ in her late thirties.  She loved many songs, and this song, "Love Lifted Me," written by English-American lyricist James Rowe and set to music by American organist Howard E. Smith, became her testimony. 

Love lifted me!  Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help, Love lifted me

Bringing up Children!

Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 2:12-26

Our youngest granddaughter, Nicole, is in the age of imitating her parents and teachers.  She plays 'School' with her dolls and pretends to be on office calls just like our son and daughter-in-law.  She imitates in great detail.  It is amazing to watch her play like that.  You can understand many things about her school and her parents from the way she imitates them!

Parenting has two sides.  

One is showing the children how they should live by life and example.  Remember, our children are constantly watc...

Break up your Fallow Ground

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:6 – 4:4

Jeremiah was a prophet from the thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah (626 BC), until after Jerusalem's fall and destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586 BC.  This period covered the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.  God sent Jeremiah with warning messages for Judah.  In Jeremiah 3:6-7 we see God calling Judah more treacherous than Israel because even after seeing the punishment Israel suffered in the hands of the Assyrians for their immorality, idolatry, and disobedience, Judah did not repent and change her ways.  

The g...

Land Flowing with Milk and Honey …

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 11:8 -17

As we completed our tour of Israel and Jordan in Sep 2014, one question was ringing in my heart continually:  Why did God give the Israelites this kind of terrain, which is 80% wilderness?  After all, the Lord created the whole earth (Gen.1:1) and filled it with lush green pastures, rivers, and trees.  As human parents, we want to give our children good things.  Then, why did God give His children a land filled with rocky mountains and wild bushes?

God did not set up Adam and Eve in a wilderness when He created them.  He set them in Eden, which was watered by not...

Be the Light!

Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

If we have to walk right, we need light.  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).  If we follow Jesus, we have the light of life!  Paul says there is a connection between evil and darkness and good and light.  Darkness kills, and light gives life.  Seeds need light to grow, and light produces fruit.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth...

So, what should our motive be?

Bible Reading:  Job 1:1-22

In the book of Job, we see Satan accusing Job of his motive in serving God (Job 1:9).  Satan questioned Job's righteousness by saying that Job's love for God was really self-serving.  Satan pointed out that Job worshiped God only because it profited him.  After all, God had put a hedge around him and his household.  Satan also said that if God were to stop protecting Job, then Job would curse God (Job 1:11).  Satan accuses Job saying the only reason Job served God is because God had blessed the work of his hands.  Satan said that Job was interested in God's ways, not for God's sake, but for his own prosp...

Motives

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:1-6

I read the Bible when I was young because I was asked to read.  After coming to know the Lord in my teens, I started studying the Bible.  But my motive was to win prizes in Bible Quizzes, not to know the will of God for my life.  My action was right, but my motive was not!  The word motive is derived from the same Latin root as the word 'motion.'  It means 'that which causes something to move.'  Our motives are the thoughts, desires, and fears that motivate us to act as we do.  The reason for concern with motives is that wrong motives lead to bad actions!  If we desire to see real change in o...

Growing in the Knowledge of God

Bible Reading: Colossians 1:9-18

Knowing God lies at the center of the Christian faith.  Growth is a sign of life, and growing in the knowledge of God is the sign of a Christian's life!  This knowledge is not book knowledge or hearsay. It is personal knowledge that arises from personal experience.  The knowledge of God is at the heart of salvation and all spiritual experience.  Paul prayed for the believers in Colossae that they would grow in the knowledge of God (Col 1:9-12).  Peter also prayed similarly in 2 Peter 3:17,18.  Not only did Paul and Peter pray, but Jesus also prayed that we may know the true God (John 17:3).

Are the Lord's Commands Burdensome?

Bible Reading: 1 John 5:1-5

When we read the Ten Commandments (Ex 20) and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-26) together, the Lord's commands seem too hard to do!  But the disciple John, the beloved disciple, seems to think that they are not burdensome!  The dictionary defines 'Burdensome' as 'difficult to carry out or fulfil'.   John says in 1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome".  How can we understand this paradox?  Keeping His commandments is not a definition of the love of God, but it is the effect of the love of God upon us and how it is...