Where is He … the King of the Jews?

I read this story in 'Our Daily Bread,' and it made much sense to me! It seems a young Mom invited her friend to the birthday party of her two-year-old son in a fancy restaurant. The friend carefully chose a gift, wrapped it up in bright colors, and went to the party. When she reached the place, she found the place decorated and filled with people. She looked around for the little boy, for she wanted to see the sparkle in his eyes when he opened her gift, but she could not find him anywhere. She finally asked the Mom about the whereabouts of the boy, and her reply shocked her. The mother had left the boy with the grandparents! That little boy was not welcome to his own birthday party! How very sad!

Somehow the consumerism around Christmas has hijacked th...

Who is this?

My mother had excellent memory till the end. As long as she was able to go out, she used to accompany me to weddings and other social events. She will invariably want to know those who come and talk to me. She will ask me, 'who is this?' while the person is still present with me! But I had a unique problem. I am not a person of names and faces! Sometimes I may not be able to recall the person who is talking to me, and her question will put in a fix! So whenever I took her out, I will give clear instructions that she should never ask 'who is this?' while the person is still with me!

During the time of Jesus too, many asked that same question. When Jesus forgave the sins of the woman who anointed His feet with an alabaster flask of fragrant...

A Christmas Question!

Charles Spurgeon was an English Baptist preacher who pastored the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. It seems he preached this message titled 'A Christmas Question' on December 25th 1859, based on the text Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". Spurgeon drew their attention to the two words, "unto us" and posed three questions to his congregation on that day:

Is it so?

If it is so, what then?

If it is not so, what then?

Let us also focus on those two words and see what the Lord is teaching...

Eyes in the Sky!

'Eyes-in-the-sky' is a term popularised by the casinos of Vegas! Something about gambling, probably the presence of large amounts of money, seems to encourage people to cheat, steal, or scam their way into a jackpot, instead of trying to win by random chance. That is why casinos spend a lot of time, effort, and money on security. That was the industry that pioneered the use of elaborate surveillance systems known as the "eyes-in-the-sky" that allows security personnel to watch the entire casino at once. Cameras in the ceiling watch every table, every slot, including the restaurants and coffee shops to spot the cheats! These days since cameras have become very cheap, we find them in unnecessary places too!

The Bible says in Psalm 34:15 that, ...

The Lord, who carried me!

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the new generation of Israelites who are ready to enter Canaan about how God had helped them during the forty years they had wandered in the wilderness. He says, "… in the wilderness … the LORD, your God, carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place(Deut 1:31)." It seems fathers carry their children on their shoulders so that the children can see things that even they cannot see! That is to say that the father desired his children to achieve greater heights than what he had made. It brought to my mind, my father, who used to carry me on his shoulders all the time when I was a little girl. Those were the days when there were no cars or scooters,...

The will to obey!

After my father bought his first car, an old Standard 8 in 1963, we used to travel a lot by car. Our first dog was a mixed breed terrier by name Billy and from the time he was a pup, he loved the car rides! Once we were on our way to Tirunelveli by car, and we decided to stop to get down to a river and play in the water. In spite of my Dad's warnings, I dipped Billy into the water holding him in two hands. If I had let Billy into the water, he might have been free to swim. Seeing me, my Dad said, 'dip him well.' I missed the irritation in his tone and mistaking it for approval, dipped Billy again and again! Billy almost died that day, for he was barely two months old. He was shivering so much that we had to stop at a hotel to get warm milk for him!

With God in the Wilderness!

After the fall, I believe, the greatest disaster for the people of God happened in the Wilderness of Paran. The people of Israel camped at the Wilderness of Sinai, where they received the Ten Commandments and other instructions for life and worship. Now God was preparing them to finally enter the land that was promised long ago to Abraham. After they celebrated the second Passover in the Wilderness of Sinai, they moved and camped in the Wilderness of Paran. Just when they were ready to enter Canaan, the people told Moses that they should send men to the land to check it out (Deut 1:22). The Lord agreed to their suggestion and told Moses to send men to spy on Canaan (Num 13:2). This must have been a test allowed by the Lord, and the people failed miserably! Thus, the elev...

God of Numbers!

Until my sixth grade, I was not considered up to the mark in mathematics. I used to be so scared of math that I decided that I will run away from math as soon as that option became applicable. But all that changed when P. K. Master (P. Krishnamachari), as he was popularly known in the school circle in Neyveli, became my tuition teacher. He made me understand the basic concept of math, and from that day onwards, I have not looked back. I opted for composite mathematics as the elective subject in the eleventh grade, took mathematics in the pre-university course, and went on to complete my Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy. I thank God for His timely intervention that changed the course of my life!

Our God is a God of numbers! God created the heavens a...

The Trespass Offering

We read about five main offerings in the book of Leviticus. They are burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and a trespass offering. The burnt offering signified complete dedication to God, and the grain offering signified thanksgiving to God. The peace offering signified fellowship between the worshipper and God. Both the sin offering and trespass or guilt offering appear to have the same purpose. But if you look deeper, you will find an important difference. The two offerings were also administered differently.

Both the sin offering and the trespass offering, covered unintentional sins. The sin offering was for cleansing or sanctification. The trespass offering was instituted to include willful sins as well as unintentional sins. The t...

The Relevance of Old Testament

Some people think that the Old Testament is not relevant for today and that only the New Testament is essential for the faith. As I was reading the book of Exodus, I found many chapters devoted to the construction wilderness Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was central to the relationship between God and His people. In Genesis, we saw sin separating Man from God and the lost fellowship. If God had nothing to teach us through it all, the Holy Spirit would not have included these details in the Bible, and that makes it an important topic as far as God is concerned.

On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses more than just the Ten Commandments. God gave a set of elaborate instructions for the building of a structure that would serve as a meeting place for God and His people. It was a...