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...

Are you a Christian?

A friend of ours shared this true story! One day as he was driving to work, he found a scooter and a man knocked down on the side of the road. The vehicles were steadily moving along, and he had a split second to make a decision. The man was in his sixties and had trouble getting up even though he was not severely hurt. So, he stopped the car and got down. He helped the fallen man up, gave him water, and offered to take him to some doctor. The man thanked him and said that he was alright and that he can manage by himself. As our friend turned to leave, the man called him and asked him a question, "Are you a Christian?" Our friend was shocked by that question, knowing how people relate 'good works' with being a Christian. From that day, whenever our...

Trials and Temptations!

In the Bible, the words trial and temptation are translated interchangeably, and that is kind of confusing. In the Lord's prayer, the Bible says in Matthew 6:13, 'Lead us not into temptation' but James 1:13 clearly states that God does not tempt anyone! A preacher once explained it beautifully.

To understand this, we have to first find out whether God can tempt anyone to sin. Knowing the nature of God through the Bible, we must understand that God will never deliberately lead a person to commit sin because that would completely go against His character and His purpose. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the Cross and imputed His righteousness to us so that the Father will see us as sinless and righteous. It is not in His interest that...

Dare to Leave the Boat!

Decisions are always hard. Critical decisions are very hard! Sometimes God closes all the doors and opens just one, and that is the best of all! But many times, the Lord allows us to choose. He expects us to make responsible decisions based on His Word and His revealed will. That I guess, is the hardest.

Sometimes we take some split-second decisions which we regret for life! After feeding the five thousand men, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side. We read about this incident in Matthew 14:22-33. While the disciples were all in the boat, they experienced rough weather. Jesus saw them struggling (Mark 6:48) and went to them walking on water. Initially, they were afraid but then as soon as Jesus spoke to them, Peter want...