Life-Changing words!

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."  The Lord God created the heavens and the earth through the spoken word.  Words have power!  Words can surely change our life.  Two words that change our lives forever are 'I do.' Three words we always long to hear are 'I love you.'  Three words that changed our lives forever and changed the history of mankind are "It is finished" (John 19:30).  This phrase was only one word in the original text, 'tetelestai'.  Bible scholars say that this word was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to indicate paying in fu...

The Power to Change!

Michael Jackson, in his song, 'The Man in the Mirror' sings as follows:

As I turn up the collar on my favourite winter coat.

This wind is blowing my mind.

I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat.

Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could've been any clearer

The Challenge of His Call!

The call of the Lord comes at unexpected times.  Matthew was at the booth collecting taxes (Mt 9:10) when he got the call.  Prophet Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa in Judah (Amos 1:1).  Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians when he got the call.  The call of the Lord came to unexpected people.  One would expect the Lord to call the Levites, the scribes, and the priests.  But God called the sinners and the uneducated.  Mary Magdalene became the first evangelist bearing the good news of resurrection!  (Mt 28:7).  The call of the Lord always called people out of their comfort zones.  The call came to Mary to be the mother of Je...

The Challenge of the Cross!

The Cross of Jesus is perhaps the most significant event in the Bible.  For different people, the Cross means different things.  It is an ornament; for some, it is a good-luck charm; for others, it is a fashion symbol.  The Pharisees and Sadducees despised it.  It was a “stumbling block” for the Jews and “foolishness” to the Greeks.  As Christians, we use the symbol of the Cross for everything from marriage to funeral.  There is no ceremony without the Cross.  Using the Cross becomes an empty ritual, something of no value if we do not understand the Cross’s importance and significance.  

What...

DENY YOURSELF ...

During the Lenten season, it is common for us to practice self-denial!  It seems my grandfather on my father's side, who was known as 'Kaanathu Asirvatham,' used to walk everywhere during the Lenten days and then give the money thus saved to the Church!  For some of us, it is food; for some, it is entertainment or TV; and the list goes on.  It is good for us to understand what the Lord means when He says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Mt. 16:24-27).   There is no way the Bible talks about doing something just for forty days!  I believe self-denial goes far beyond just physically denying ourselves for a short ti...

Fasting chosen by God!

Fasting is a way of humbling ourselves in the presence of God.  The realization of the awesomeness and holiness of God should make us realize our sinfulness and unworthiness.  We see how Isaiah felt in the presence of God (Is 6:1-6).  When we fast and pray, we expect God to answer our prayers.  So, after all, it is good to understand what kind of 'fast' is acceptable to Him.  In verse 5, God says, "Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?" This question made me think.  'Only a day to humble' means God does not want us to humble ourselves for just one day.  If we fast food every day, we will die, so that is not God's plan!&nbs...

BURDENS ARE LIFTED AT CALVARY

A friend of mine lost her husband while she was very young.  When I visited her just after that, she shared this thought with me, and it has stayed with me fresh through many decades.  She was not crying after her husband's death, which made her worry if she had loved her husband enough to feel his loss intensely.  She asked the Lord what was happening to her.  Then suddenly, all her grief and loss came back to her with such force that she could not even get up for two days after that.  The Lord told her that He was carrying her grief and loss since she could not carry it herself.  It is wonderful to experience rest by having our burdens lifted at Calvary!

Fathers and Mothers

Paul attributes the genuine faith in Timothy to the faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).   It is incredible to see King Hezekiah turning out to be a Godly king, especially knowing what a wicked king his father Ahaz was.  Hezekiah opened the house of the LORD, which his father had shut and restored worship as soon as he came to power.  I believe it must have been because of his mother's  Godly influence.  While the Bible does not say so explicitly in the case of Hezekiah, the Bible says Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother Athaliah advised him to do wickedly ( 2 Chronicles 22:1-3).  Even though...

Manasseh

It is sad to read the life of King Manasseh of Judah.  His father, King Hezekiah, was a Godly man.  The Bible says that Hezekiah “did what was good and right and true before the LORD his God.  And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart" ( 2 Chronicles 31:20,21).   But Manasseh did evil in the sight of the LORD.  He rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah, his father, had broken down.  He built altars for the Baals and made wooden images.  Manasseh built altars for the hosts of heaven, worshiped, and served them.  He made his sons pass through fir...

The Journey of Faith!

Faith, I believe, is a journey. 

The beginning is in believing in God's character.  Abraham fully believed that God had the power to do what He had promised (Rom 4:20,21).  God is able;  God remembers us;  God has engraved us on the palms of His hands.  The end is standing firm in our faith, believing in God's promises, for all His promises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.  God will do what He says;  God is not a liar;  God is faithful.  The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as "... faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not...