Who are we going with?

I am an administrator; hence I am highly motivated to 'plan well'.
Whatever it is that which I do, I like it planned & well at that, especially when it's in my control.

Even travelling for a day or two out of my home, i like to make a list of THINGS TO DO before I leave, so I don't miss out on anything.
I hate, when I have to travel without preparation.
I feel lost when I don't have what I needed to have on the journey or when I get there.

Maybe, it's also that I am getting old & very forgetful now-a-days :-)


Genesis 12:1-9 (*4 - "So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him").

I am now reading through the book of Genesis again.
As I was reading through this familiar passage, where God called Abram and the initiation of the covenant promise; I was quite intrigued by Lot's response in vs.4

Abram was going with God, in response to what he had heard. In other words, he was obeying God.
And Lot was going with Abram.

I am sure that God prepared Abram enough to go on this journey; but Lot - he just went on this journey with his Uncle.


And now that's a heck of a lot of difference!

No wonder, when trials came the response from both of them were very different (cf. Chp.13).
Lot moved in the natural; whereas Abram trusted in a God who promised Him many things.

vs.8-10
When they decided to part ways, Lot looked up and saw the plain of Jordan well watered and lush green - the NIV text says, 'like the garden of the Lord'.
And Lot chose the 'BEST LOT' (vs.11). Abram let him have what he wanted.

Though Lot chose the BEST LOT ... God gave Abram the WHOLE LOT (cf. vs.14-17)!

And sometimes, that's the difference between obeying God and following Him; and following someone who follows the Lord.

Now, this throws up a whole new debate on following God's people, quoting Paul here from I Corinthians 11:1 - "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ".

I personally feel, even then we need to hear from the Lord to be doing that.
Ultimately, it's about following the Lord and walking in obedience to His voice.

Who are we going with?
At times, our response to crisis in life, will give away who we are going with.

Hoping against hope?

The word 'hope' is used quite sarcastically in the world today.
For eg: If I say, "I hope to come tomorrow" - it may most probably mean, that i might not come (or) I wish not to come.
It doesn't give a certainty or an assurance which can be guaranteed.
It has a lot of negative connotations to it.
Whereas on the contrary, biblically speaking, HOPE is always the assurance of things to come!
It's something which brightens up our life.
It's something which we live for!

Luke 24:21 - "... but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place".

Here the 2 disciples were on their way back to Emmaus from Jerusalem. It was a long walk (7 miles / 11.2 kms away), but they were willing to take that gruelling walk back, and what more - but with a sense of hopelessness & despair.
Their hope seems to have been dashed.

We see that these 2 disciples had come on a journey this far because of the hope they had. And their expectations were based on that hope - although it was a false 'hope'.
Jesus did not promise what they had hoped for!

On hindsight, these 2 were on the verge of experiencing even something spectacular, when they decided to take that long walk back.
Never mind, how far they had come .. but at the verge of experiencing a new thing, they had given up.

• Where are we today?
• Have we come on a journey expecting something from God?
• Are we disappointed that we are not experiencing that?
• Are we calling it quits, because our hopes are dashed?

Don't give up yet - you may just be on the verge of experiencing His newness in life.

Perhaps your hopes are based on something which is not quite right.
These 2 had a wrong perception of the Messiah - that He was going to literally redeem Israel from the Roman Empire.


The 3rd day after crucifixion was a significant day - it was the day of Resurrection - when the bondage was broken; when the curse over death was shattered.
They even got to hear about the witness from the ladies who had visited the tomb early that day - but because of the pre-conceived idea they had about the Messiah, they couldn't come to grips with what had happened.

Don't quit.
Keep hoping in God.
Keep trusting in His promises.

These 2 disciples had the privilege of having an encounter with the Lord, although they had turned back - but not many have that privilege.

Let's not give up! Let's hope against the hopelessness and despair which the world throws at us.
Let's trust in His promises - promises, based on His Word.

How to Pray?

I find praying boring at times, in fact most of the times :-)
And that's mainly due to the fact; my prayer turns out to be a monologue, without any interaction.

However, when I am talking with friends, I usually do less talking, unless the situation calls me to talk more :-) And that's the nature of my personality.
If such conversation with a friend is a monologue, it usually means the other person is speaking and not me -- and I am not interested in it for too long.
If I am the one who is doing the talking, I can't do it for too long anyway .. as some are in the habit of doing [all the time]!

I 'prefer' a dialogue than a monologue - but that doesn't happen too often in prayer.
When it comes to prayer, I am quick to show the 'one-way' traffic sign.

And the moment I am finished with saying what I wanted to, I sign off.

Usually such things happen because I don't follow any particular method in praying. It's ad hoc!

When such prayer times are finished, I feel like I have finished a 'job' for the day, so I can tick on one more task completed!


A while ago, when I preached on Prayer in a local church here, I was asked the question: "Ok, I know that I need to pray and all that; but how do I pray?"
And this question came from an elder in the church, and not a new believer.

Surprising isn't it?

But when I started to think about it - the question which I was faced with was: DID I KNOW HOW TO PRAY? Or did I just assume, I knew, because I had done it for over 2-3 decades now - albeit on & off :-(

So, I started to put some things together on what is prayer and how to pray - which would help us to get into a discipline of praying regularly.
I seriously feel that unless it's done regularly it doesn't form into a habit. We have to inculcate the value of prayer, by doing that often & experiencing the change it brings to our life.

I am not saying that this is the only way to pray, or is the only way to get started with praying - but it certainly helps us have a meaningful time of prayer.

I have used PRAYER as an acrostic and have expanded it to make it easily memorable, for those who don't have it as a 'bookmark' guide.
To view the bookmark, please click on it, to see an enlarged version.

PRAISE HIM - for who He is / use the Names of God to acknowledge His greatness / worship Him

READ THE WORD - have a regular pattern for reading, otherwise it doesn't happen (meditate on the Word / reflect on what you read and how you can apply it)

APPRECIATE HIS WORKS IN YOUR LIFE - thank Him for what He has done for you

YOUR NEEDS / PERSONAL PRAYER - bring your worries and concerns to God

EXTERNAL NEEDS / ENGAGING IN PRAYER FOR OTHERS - INTERCESSION - pray for your family / friends / church / unsaved neighbours / peers / nation - leaders

RE-COMMIT TO GOD / INVITE GOD TO BE WITH YOU - as Him for strength and ask Him to teach you His ways - invite Him to be with you and commit to walking with Him.

Obedience to God

John 2:7,8 - Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet". They did so.

I sometimes wonder, if I am doing what God wants me to do!
It's a mixture of things which makes me wonder like that:
- am I hearing God right?
- if I did what I believe I heard, then will I see the desired result?

The questions can be unending.
And usually the questions come because I am thinking too much of the implications. And I am just reminded that all God wants me to do is 'come to Him with a child-like faith'.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew that Jesus had the potential to do something extra-ordinary (vs.3), even though He hadn't done anything spectacular up until then.
Though Jesus refused (vs.4); she told the servants to do whatever He tells them to do (vs.5).

In vs.7 - Jesus tells them to fill the jars with water .. and they quickly obey.
No questions asked.
And interestingly, the servants filled it to the 'brim'.
They took Jesus quite literally. Jesus said FILL, and they filled it :-)
Maybe, it could be as a mockery, but nonetheless they did what Jesus asked them to.
Notice, that they made sure that nothing else can be added to it. Even if Jesus had a magic potion, to mix ... it wasn't possible!

And at the very next breath, he says in vs.8 to take it to the master of the banquet.
I am sure the servants should have objected and raised a protest now!
But strangely they didn't!

And it's out of that obedience; we get to read about His first miracle.

Are we waiting for a miracle from God today?
Why not just obey Him as a child?
The more we resist, the difficult it is for us to experience His miraculous touch.

Maybe, you are waiting for a miracle which has never ever happened before - He can do it!
The question is: Are you willing?

Obey Him, doesn't matter how insignificant it may seem.
The miracle is close at hand.

Significant moments in life .. Part 6

Luke 24:13-35 – On the Road to Emmaus (part 2 of 2)

This is part 2of2. In case, you haven't read the earlier post, please read the previous entry: "Significant moments in life .. Part 5".

From this passage, there’s yet another encouraging detail which we could so easily miss: this hapless pair was headed back to their ‘own world’, after witnessing something dramatic – didn’t seem like a significant event such as that, had affected their routine much.

What’s amazing is that these people had their ‘theology’ almost right (vs.19,20) – the only place where it was messed up was where they thought he was going to redeem Israel (vs.21); and what more, they were also up-to-date on the news (vs.22-24) – yet, they failed to recognize and see Jesus!

But once they had their ‘hearts enlightened’ (vs.30-32), they will turn around and immediately go right back to Jerusalem to report their findings (vs.33), to another group of confused lot – the disciples.


What are we confused about today?
Perhaps, we may have a perfect knowledge of who Christ is .. but if our hearts are not enlightened to the truth, then we will be in our own little world, oblivious to the fact, that Christ is walking with us – even when we are headed in the wrong direction!

And He does walk with us and stay with us .. in what seems an ordinary moment.

Let’s be open to receiving from Him, even when we are confused in life.
Those ordinary moments can bring about a historical change in our life.
Such moments can enlighten our hearts to something which the Lord wants to reveal to us.

And as we walk with Him and receive this understanding, we might be able to help others who are confused too!

Significant moments in life .. Part 5

Luke 24:13-35 – On the Road to Emmaus (part 1 of 2)

We just remembered Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday & celebrated His resurrection on Easter Sunday. And while reflecting on that most significant act ever in history, I am astonished yet again to see how an ordinary event can lead to extra-ordinary results.
I have taken the following concept from one of my favourite writers, Jeff Lucas on “Life Every Day”.

The joyous aspect of the resurrection of Jesus is that much of what goes on is just so ORDINARY. Think of it. It’s no hyperbole to say that He has just accomplished the greatest victory in the history of the Universe. Angels must be wondering what He will do next.
A whole six weeks will be spent on earth taking the apostles through the most incredible leadership training programme that has ever been.

But Jesus will also be mistaken for a gardener, a cook – cooking breakfast for some friends returning from a frustrating night shift (cf. John 21:12).

And as we see here, He also takes a walk with some distraught friends. They had experienced something extra-ordinary that evening, which saw them witness one of the greatest events in history.
Vs.15,16 – “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him”.
Though the English translation puts it very mildly that they were kept from recognizing Him, the original word here is ‘krateo’ ~ 'their eyes were kept under arrest or in custody' – the same word used to describe the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane by Matthew & Mark.

Perhaps, tiredness, disappointment, unbelief or a pre-occupation with just getting home after the most difficult week-end meant that Jesus was right there with them and they didn’t notice.

What kind of thoughts are we pre-occupied with today?
Are we tired with life? Are we disappointed the way things are going right now? Do we believe something which is not the truth, and so are under stress?

In the meantime, what is interesting to note is that Jesus journeys with them – which is an encouragement for those who have prodigals “out there”. Jesus is able to walk with them, even if they are headed in a direction which offers them no hope. Jesus ends the day by sharing supper in their home.

Now, all of this looks very pedestrian to me!
That’s the nature of our faith – the extra ordinary God walks with us through the mundane bits of life.

Yes, Jesus washed my sins away .. but I still have to do the cleaning up of the dishes, reconcile my bank statements, struggle through the traffic jams in the city, and do a host of other rather numbing things.

Do we see God active in these roles of our lives, or do we only see God active when we are worshipping Him and while serving Him in ‘sacred’ places?

Significant moments in life ... Part 4

Luke 22:7-13 – 'Preparation for the Last Supper'

As we enter into the Passion Week / Holy Week (the last week before the Crucifixion), we remember the struggles which Christ went through, even before He took upon Himself the sins of the world on the cross.
And I am stunned to know that ordinary times/events in my life, can be a significant contributor to God’s manifold plans for this Universe.
Yes, Christ's work is complete - but, we have a job at hand.


vs.10 – He replied, ‘As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters…’

How many of us would dare venture to find a place/location, when the landmark given is not stationary but mobile (a moving object)?
Many of us have trouble finding a place, when the address is clear and directions and landmark are straight forward.

Imagine, if I invite you to my house for a dinner, and I tell you, “Take Bus No.55 and get down at the last stop, walk 10 ft ahead and you will find a cow on the road - well, it’s possible in India, as cows are everywhere :-) and there you take left, until you reach a place where there will be 2 dogs barking (which is also possible in our country), and then 5 ft from there take right, and the house in front of a person riding his cycle is my house”
– with that kind of a direction, will you try to come to my house?
Wouldn't you think I am crazy to give you such a direction to my house?

Here in this passage, we see Jesus precisely doing that as He sends Peter & John to fix a place for them to have their Last Supper, with that kind of a direction in response to their “Where?” question.

Now, interestingly Peter doesn’t have any questions (for once)!
And they both set about their task.
A delayed obedience here would have meant, this ‘landmark’ man wouldn’t be there anymore – because he is moving!

What is even more interesting is that, this man doesn’t even know what’s going to happen, when he is going about his regular mundane job of fetching water. He was NOT commissioned to be Peter & John’s guide or to bring them home. He was just about his ‘menial’ work, and very faithfully at that, if I may add.
That turns out to be a very decisive pointer for Peter & John to find the house and organize ‘The Last Supper’.

This man who was carrying the water jar – could his movement have been orchestrated by God?

Sometimes we need to go about doing things, which we need to do in life.
Who knows, as we are faithfully discharging our duties, it might be a pointer for someone else, in their walk with God.
Hence the need to go about our work - in other words, MIND OUR BUSINESS, before someone else says that to us :-)

Yes, God is Sovereign, but that doesn’t relieve us of certain jobs. Let’s carry our water jars, as it were!!

Significant moments in life ... Part 3

John 4:1 & 3 - “The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, … When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee”.

Background:
Jesus left Judea and started north for Galilee. He could have taken one of three possible routes:
(a) along the coast;
(b) across the Jordan and up through Perea; or
(c) straight through Samaria (the easiest & the best possible route).

Orthodox Jews avoided Samaria because there was a longstanding, deep-seated hatred between them and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed race (‘mongrel Jews’ as per Matthew Henry) - part Jew and part Gentile that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in 727 BC.
Rejected by the Jews because they could not prove their genealogy, the Samaritans established their own temple and religious services on Mt. Gerizim. This only fanned the fires of prejudice. So intense was their dislike of the Samaritans that some of the Pharisees prayed that no Samaritan would be raised in the resurrection! When His enemies wanted to call Jesus an insulting name, they called Him a Samaritan (cf. John 8:48).
Source: Encyclopedia of the Bible

Jesus meeting up with the Samaritan woman was a divine moment and it seems orchestrated by God. However, when we read the incident, Jesus’ trip towards Galilee and going via Samaria (vs.4) all seem prompted by the jealous attitude of the Pharisees, who didn’t like Jesus’ popularity.

Vs.6 – tells us that Jesus was tired when he rested near the well – and it was then that this Samaritan woman turns up. She came there at a time, when no one else was expected to be there!

It seems God uses our mundane day-to-day routine and schedule to weave His divine plans in our life! At times, I don’t feel that going through the daily rut is anything significant – in fact, it seems far from being so .. when I am sweating it out.
At times, I am confused as to what next!
Have you been through such a phase in your life? Are you in one right now?
Take heart.

I am reminded of one incident, which took place 12 years ago in our life.
In ’98, we were pursuing our trip and studies in the UK. The process started off in a very insignificant manner, but there were clues here and there to indicate that something great was going to unfold before us in that, we were accepted for the school, without us filling out the application form and when we didn’t have any money to pay towards our school fees, airfare, etc.

As time moved on, the process for obtaining our visa became a nightmare. We had to undergo a medical test and the papers were sent to the wrong person from the embassy and then the hospital sent the wrong report back, all caused some serious frustrations and not to mention the time was drawing close and most of the items in our house already disposed. So, if we didn’t get the visa, we didn’t have anything to go back to.

During our penultimate day in Pune, before leaving to Mumbai to collect our passports and tickets and flying out .. we were waiting for one letter which was due to come from Chennai. We had to submit this letter to collect our passports, without that our whole trip would have to be postponed and/or tickets cancellation, etc. This letter was couriered to us 5 days prior to that and what should take only a day or maximum 2 days hadn’t arrived until then.

We were nervously wondering around and awaiting the courier guy to come. On that day, one of our friends had invited us for lunch. I nearly called them up and cancelled that appointment as we were waiting for this URGENT letter. But then we decided to go, leaving a note on our door for the delivery guy to give us a call when he comes or to come to this other place to deliver it to us.
We delayed our going by a few minutes, hoping against hope that he would turn up before we leave.
Eventually, as the clock was ticking by we decided to go, leaving a note on our door.

Usually, we take a long proper road out of our house to hit the main road .. and on that particular day, though I was headed on that road, I turned back and decided to take one of those windy mud roads to get to the main road. And as we turned a couple of corners, I saw one guy in a cycle whistling away, who cut in front of me. And very briefly my eyes fell on a bag which was hanging in the front, which read PROFESSIONAL COURIERS. I didn’t think much of it .. but as we crossed each other, something prompted within me to go back and check with that guy, if he was indeed from the courier company. I told Carmen about it and she said, “he didn’t seem like he was looking for any address, but anyway, let’s check”.
So, I turned back and soon caught up with him on my bike, and asked him if he was from the courier company. And to our amazement, he said YES.
I asked him, “Do you have a courier for RAJAN from Chennai?”
To our utter surprise and shock, he said, “Yes. I have been looking for this address for the past 2-3 days and I can’t find it. And in fact, I am going back to the office now to send it back to the sender with a note: CAN’T FIND THE ADDRESSEE”.

Wow – what a relief! We got the letter .. we had the luncheon meeting .. we were able to pick up our passports/tickets the next day and eventually we flew out.

What could have happened, if we had decided to stay put in the house, waiting for the courier to be delivered? We would have obviously missed it.
What if we had taken one of the wrong turns?
What if I hadn’t spotted the COURIER bag in the cycle, or if it was turned the other way round .. I wouldn’t have seen it?
What if, I would have delayed going by a few seconds or gone a bit too early?

There are endless ifs and buts here … but, God was in total control.

Here the Samaritan Woman was blessed with a divine contact, because of the Pharisees’ jealous attitude, which prompted Jesus’ move.

Sometimes, divine moments unfold before us, as we trudge along not knowing if it is worth doing what we are doing.

Let’s not wait for that special moment to act a certain way, as we may never see it coming!
The Jews missed out on the Messiah, because they thought He was going to come in a certain way.

Significant moments in life ... Part 2

Numbers 20:1-13 – The narration of the incident when Moses struck the rock rather than speaking to it.
Deut.32:48-52 – this was when God passed a verdict for Moses & Aaron that they will not enter the Promised Land.

Deut.32:48-52 – “On that same day the LORD told Moses, "Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel." (NIV)


Just this one disobedience cost Moses an entry into the Promised Land. It was a harsh call. Perhaps, Moses was not even thinking that it would be anything significant - after all, it was the same rock - instead of talking to it, as God had said, he hit it - and that's the only difference.

This was a SIGNIFICANT moment in the life of Moses – but sadly, he didn’t realize it.
If, Moses would have known that this disobedience was going to cost his entry into the Promised Land - do you think he would have done that? Probably not…

Imagine, having a role like Moses – having to lead that many grumbling / murmuring people for that many years. I’m sure he should have had the grace to at least disobey God once. But that’s not the case.


Moses had very good intentions. When the people grumbled for water, he didn’t assume that water would come from the rock like last time, but went to God to enquire. And as he was returning back after hearing God, perhaps he might have gotten a bit upset with the people for so quickly forgetting that God was their source of provision and no matter what the circumstances are He was able to provide for them. And it could be, that’s when frustration crept in – and when he arrived at the spot instead of speaking to the rock, he hit it in anger, maybe!
Interestingly, if you read through the incident in the book of Numbers, you will realize that the RESULT was the same, in spite of Moses' disobedience. People didn’t know that Moses disobeyed God; they were quenched of their thirst; but in the background God was not happy with Moses for what he had done.


How can God be so cruel and punish Moses with such a big consequence for a one-time mistake?
When we look at why God was so harsh for that one disobedience - to me, it’s NOT so much the disobedience - but God had other ideas about that moment in the life of the Israelites. And Moses failed to reflect just that. People saw the same old strategy like last time and perhaps they failed to see the Lord’s act behind this provision.
Here’s a powerful verse, which reveals that idea.
Cf. Psalm 103:7 – “He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel”.

Maybe, God may have wanted the people of Israel to know his ways of provision, but sadly Moses’ act only depicted an act / deed of God .. and perhaps, that’s where Moses failed in upholding God’s holiness.

Whatever the interpretation, the truth is MOSES was punished for an act … which seemed like any ordinary moment at that time.

On the side here, note that Aaron was punished too .. for a long time, I had been wondering it was Moses who disobeyed, so why was Aaron punished? The fact is, Moses was told to speak to the rock – and the speaking was supposed to be done by Aaron, who failed in his responsibility as Moses’ mouthpiece – hence the punishment for him too!

As I dwell on this passage only one thing comes to my mind. I do not know what may be a significant moment in my life. I need to be in constant obedience to God’s command and His Word. And in light of that, I am called to make right choices at all times. Only God knows whether it’s a significant moment or not – so, rather than taking risks, let’s live our life as though it’s one of those moments in our life.
A split second decision can alter our life and our course/path forever!
Let’s hear God and obey Him.

Significant moments in life ... Part 1

We all go through seasons in life, where God emphasizes a certain truth at that moment. And right now, I am in a phase where one truth is coming back to me again and again. I have been reading through some passages and interestingly most of them have some thoughts which are connected to this idea.
So, the next few entries on this blog would be centered around this thought.

And it’s a principle which God had first revealed to me in 1998, when we were involved in pioneering the “SCHOOL OF ADMINISTRATION” in YWAM in Pune. Now, for the quote:
“Significant moments in life are NOT ALWAYS significant, when we are going through it”


I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT I SHARE HOW I RECEIVED THIS REVELATION:

I had been working in the office ever since I joined YWAM in 1991, and 5 years prior to that in various Mission organizations.
In ’97, there happened to be a few staff at the YWAM base in Pune with strong administrative capabilities. And we met every so often to discuss the difficulty we were having in retaining people to work in the office within the Missions context. Those who came, we forced them to work in the office, as we were in desperate need and they were not skilled, neither did they give it 100% when it came to work. And by the time, we taught them the skills, they left citing, God has called them to do the “actual ministry” – as if, working in the office was not a ministry. And we didn't help them in any way in making them feel that working in the office was a ministry, but rather a punishment. It was done more out of desperation :-(

So, we who were called to a ministry like that seriously started praying for more workers to be released into the Mission field, especially in the area of administration. Our expectation was God would send people with strong administrative skills (so we didn't have to teach them), and those who will come with a long-term commitment to work in the offices, which was our struggling point - so the other ministries could continue.
But God had other ideas.
While we were brain-storming and praying we felt an urge to pioneer a School, which would not only teach skills and train people to work in offices, but also impart the value & the gift of administration within the Body of Christ.

After much planning and discussions and getting a formal approval, the much awaited course began in April ’98.
It was all exciting because it was a pioneering school.
Plenty of affirmations kept pouring in; yet we found getting students enrolled a difficulty. We persevered through that and the students were eventually there, and some good staffs.

The first 3 weeks was like a cruise … everything was perfect tailor-made, as the doctor ordered.
Come 4th week, things began to turn a bit turbulent.
We were having struggles with the students; the staffs were not getting along; tensions were brewing; there was no money in the kitty; suddenly there was no sense of purpose in running that school.
The excitement faded and the day-to-day frustrations and challenges loomed large.
- What didn’t seem to be a problem early on suddenly became a major issue!
- What could have been worked out now seemed disastrous, beyond remedy!

I began to wonder if all this effort was worth it.
Was it, after all a significant school for the Mission, as we thought it was?
If so, was this the right time for this school?

We all knew it was - but reality and circumstances were far from it.

One morning, after our small group discussion we had gone to a nearby tea-shop, to sip a cup of 'chai'. On our way back, the question popped up in my mind again: “Is this a significant moment? Why am I wasting my time in doing something new, when there is so much of existing needs around?”

At that time, I felt God speak to me and say: YES, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SCHOOL & IT IS A SIGNIFICANT MOMENT.
But there was a reality check.

And I was thinking about why the difficulty then, God began to show areas in my life from the past – many things had happened in my life, which were significant. When I recalled those moments, none of those seemed SIGNIFICANT as I went through it.
In fact, some of the significant moments in my life, were my worst night-mares.
For eg: EDUCATION. I didn't do very well in school and it was a nightmare to face each new day. But now, I see that it had laid a foundation for my present ministry at large.


And this moment now, was no less significant.

All of a sudden, I felt a new leash of energy well inside of me.
I came back to the classroom all excited – but things were still the same.
The struggles still tormented me no end. But I decided I will look at that phase, as though it was a significant moment in my life and in the life’s of the students and for the Mission.

Little did I realize also, that it was the beginning of a principle, which God would want to make it my own. And I was to live such moments, being aware of this truth.

Now, having shared how I received this revelation, I would like to pause here. In the subsequent thoughts, we will take 1 passage at a time, to see how we can live our lives and how we can know such moments.

For now, it’s time to analyze and see what were some of the significant moments in our life:
a) the time we got saved
b) the time we make/made a decision about our career
c) the time we committed for full-time service / or to a job
d) choosing a life partner / some of you are in the process!!
… & many such moments … just think of one such time and reflect on it.
It's simply an event which happened in our life, marking a milestone.

Did those moments seem significant at all while we were going through it?
Most of the time, the answer would be NO.
Seldom would the answer be YES, and even if we knew that, the difficulties & challenges of getting through were always there.

OUR RESPONSE DURING SUCH TIMES …
These moments don’t last for a long time - But the way we respond during that time has lasting implications.
IMAGINE - you have gone through a season like that:
i) you responded negatively while you were in it - how does that make you feel right now?
- do you feel awful / miserable?
ii) you responded positively - and how does that make you feel?
- good / great / you are on top of the clouds…

Perhaps, you are in a significant moment right now. And you haven’t realized it. What is your response going to be?

Again, such moments don’t last a life-time. It’s a season - which could be short or long.
But the way we respond will have a lasting effect on us and others around us.

Significant times in life are not always significant, when we are going through it.

Do we Meditate?

Psalm 39 (full chapter)

Meditation is a powerful tool for us as Christians. No wonder there’s a counterfeit for this act.
When Joshua took over from Moses, it was a huge role / a big gap to fill – but, God gave him a key to succeed: MEDITATION

Often people think of meditation as something complicated.
But we all do that every single day of our life, even without being taught how to do it.
For eg: Do we know how to worry? The answer is YES, almost all the time.
That is, meditation - dwelling on something which is negative.

Meditation is nothing but thinking about a certain thing over and over again. So, there can be negative meditation, as we just saw – ie: when we start worrying about an issue / being anxious / dwelling on impure thoughts / etc.

Meditation leads us to something – usually an action.
Hence, the need and challenge for us to fill ourselves with Godly thoughts, so our actions are geared towards living a holy life-style.

There is a wonderful reflection of who we are as human beings in God’s perspective in this chapter (Ps.39): that we are mere phantoms (one who comes and goes without a trace – in light of eternity), like a breadth that can’t be traced.
And in light of that kind of life, how we relate towards these 3 things becomes a very key issue:
a) Sin (vs.1)
b) Tongue (vs.1,2)
c) Wealth (vs.6)

And we see in the opening verse that David is pro-active in making a commitment to watch his ways. If he didn’t, he would be ensnared in this fleeting world.
The good thing about this Psalm is that, David in his usual style unlocks the mystery as to how to go about it – and that’s what we see in vs.3 - “My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue”.

Here we see a positive reflection of who God is and seeing ourselves in that light. And it helps David to keep his focus right.

There are scores of NT reference, where we are called to dwell on things which are godly (cf. Col.3:1-17; Heb.12:2; II Peter 1:3-11; Rom.12:1,2; I Cor.1:26; Phil.4:8,9) – which will yield positive results.

Those who dwell on earthly things bring out the acts of the sinful nature (cf. Gal.5:19-21). Usually, dwelling on such things, lead to actions which are devastating to self and others.


As we are about to enter another year - let’s keep our eyes fixed on our Lord Jesus. As we reflect on Him and allow His Spirit to kindle us, we will be prompted to live a life-style reflecting His image and also perfecting our likeness to Him who formed us.

The Advent Message

I don't mind repeating this one again ... as it is the passage of the Advent. This was posted on: Friday, December 12, 2008, entitled:
Wise men can trip too - BUT, we don't have to!


Matthew 2:1-12
"The Visit of the Magi / 3 Wise men"

The advent season is always a good time to read the story of Jesus' birth.
As I was reading through that story yet again, I was quite intrigued when I read the verses above, as to what constitutes to being 'wise'?
The normal criteria which we might want to list down is not evident in the lives of these 3 wise men.



We know nothing about these 3 men, other than the fact, they came from the East and they were wise - supposedly 'learned'! They knew how to read the stars and signs and interpret the times.




There is an old saying in Tamil:




Literally translated: "Even the elephant can slip".



1) vs.2 - these men first of all, assumed the 'King of the Jews' must be born in a palace.
It's a natural assumption for anyone to make - so, let's excuse them here.

2) vs.2b-8 - when the King heard that the magi's had come to worship the new born King he was disturbed & all Jerusalem with him.
Reason: There was no baby born to Herod, at the palace.
Going by historians, Herod was insecure and had this fear that he might be dethroned by another, who is not from his lineage.

It's strange that the entire nation is disturbed by this news. Why?
Perhaps, they didn't want a coup!


Given this background, King Herod calls for a meeting of his counsel and finds out more about this King who was born.
Then he summons the magi's in SECRET and finds out the exact time they saw the star first, and tells them to make a careful search for the child and let him know, so he too may go and worship the child.


Look here: When the wise men mentioned that they came to worship the child to Herod, he and entire Jerusalem were disturbed by that statement; but how come the 'wise-men' were not disturbed by this news from Herod?
Surely, they should have sensed something - but they didn't!!! Very strange.

- And what were they doing there anyway, all this while?


3) vs.9,10 - When they realized that Herod's response was not in the affirmative, they continued on with the star leading the way.
- The star lead them in the first place, but then they assumed and headed off to the wrong place (that's what we call, 'running ahead').

Now that they didn't find what they wanted at that place, they continued following the star again.
Why didn't they do this all along???
It seems like the star was always out there to guide them.
But they stopped following.

Running ahead sure messes up things not just for us, but for many others as well.
A little later, we read that there was a massacre of boys less than 2 yrs. old (vs.16-18), as per the time given by the so-called wise men to King Herod in secret!


4) vs.12 - it took a visitation from God, in the form of a dream, with a warning for them to return by another route - otherwise, they could have well messed it up again.


When God guides us, He wants to lead us too!
Many times we assume a lot along the way and loose focus on His guidance and leading.
Here assumption, got the better of the 3 wise men.
I can understand if it is just one guy messing it up, but 3 of them, all at the same time? Well, it's possible, and with wise-men at that!

Let's take NOTHING for granted. Hearing God and following Him is a process, which shouldn't stop. It's ongoing. Let's stick to it!

When we wander off, it takes a while to realize that we are in the wrong direction, but God waits for us patiently to return.

May this season bring new hope for all of us; and may we all move forward into the New Year with a renewed hope, as we commit to follow Him and in His steps.
Let's not run away from His leading or His guidance!

May CHRIST be the reason for this SEASON!
Merry Christmas!!

Are we far from Hearing God?

II Kings 1:1-18 (full chapter)

This chapter reveals the death of King Ahaziah in Samaria, of the Northern Kingdom.
This also reads for an interesting story - as it's not just about the death of a bad king - but there are principles for us on 'how to live'.

In a nutshell, this is what happened. King Ahaziah falls through the lattice from his upper room and injures himself. And he sends messengers to a pagan god, Baal-Zebub of Ekron .. to see whether he would recover from his injury.

Now, the thing to note is: Ahaziah is the King of the Northern Kingdom, Israel - and he was in its capital, Samaria. As far as we know, there was no righteous king in the northern kingdom [there were 19 kings in all and 1 infamous queen]. King Ahaziah was the 8th king, since Jeroboam-1, took over the northern part of the Kingdom – which was divided after the death of Solomon.

This is the Kingdom which was set-apart to reflect God among the other nations. Sadly, right from the start, there were no proper role-models for any of the Kings to follow. Time and again, a prophet would be raised to warn the people – but the kings were always ruthless and ran after the gods of the pagan world.
Ahaziah was no exception – he followed the ways of his father Ahab (cf. I Kings22:52,53).

As the messengers from King Ahaziah head out towards Ekron to consult an evil medium, Elijah appears to them and gives them the message from the Lord (vs.3), “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?”

And they go back and report this to the King.
As soon as he hears these words, he asks them what kind of man it was and as they described, he knew it was Elijah, the Tishbite. He recognized because it was the same prophet Elijah, who also predicted the death of his father, King Ahab (cf. I Kings 21:17-29; 22:29-38). And Ahaziah, who took to the throne after his father, knew about the punishment that God meted out to him.

Perhaps, that’s the reason why he sent a captain with 50 men (cf. II Kings 1:9). They invite the wrath of God upon themselves and as per Elijah’s word; fire comes down from heaven and consumed them (vs.10).

Somehow the word gets to the King, and he sends another captain with 50 more men (vs.11). Here we see the arrogance of the captain in demanding that Elijah comes down to meet the King; and they too meet with the same fate (vs.12).

The King is still persistent that he sends a third lot (vs.13). This captain seems to be a bit wise when he approached Elijah, perhaps he was scared for his life after he heard of the plight of the other 2 groups who had gone before him(vs.13b,14); and the angel of the Lord guides Elijah to the King.

Elijah speaks the same word as he did, when he first met the messengers whom the king had sent. And it seems like there was no positive response from the King.
Earlier we saw that his father was humble and mourned, when he heard the verdict and God relented from doing certain things during his life-time. Here, Ahaziah resigned to his fate, and it so happened as Elijah predicted (vs.16,17).

As I mentioned earlier, there were no role-models in Israel for this King to follow.
Even though he was desperate for guidance, in that he sent to find out from other gods, when the Word of Lord came to him, he was in no mood to listen.
Perhaps, he had gone so far away from the Lord that he failed to connect with him.


How far are we from His presence?
Are we so far away, that we can’t hear Him, when He is speaking to us?
Are we desperate to consult another medium for guidance?

Let’s not stray away too far .. He is there to guide us and He wants to speak to us.

Deeds or Ways?

Psalm 103:7 – “He made known His ways to Moses; his deeds to the people of Israel”.

This Psalm in particular is useful in helping us to remember the deeds of God in our lives, so we can bless His Name in all circumstances.

Several years ago, when I first committed to full-time service, I was pioneering a little village church, approx. 200 kms. away from Chennai. I usually went there on a Thursday evening … visited a few families on Fridays and on Saturdays – encouraged them and prayed with them & invited them to come to church on the Sunday; and send their kids, if any, to Sunday School.
After the service on Sunday evening, I would return back to Chennai. This happened for 6 months.

During one such visit, I saw this lady - a new believer, who was downcast. Upon inquiring, I found out that her only source of livelihood was gone – her calf was dead (which meant, the cow stopped giving milk – which she used to sell in the market).
I didn’t know what to say to her and how to comfort her. While I was thinking of something to say to her, she started speaking: “This incident taught me a valuable lesson to seek Him”.

I was perplexed & wanted to know more about how God spoke to her.

She began, “3 days ago, when I woke up in the morning to milk my cow, I saw the calf dead. My whole world came crashing down, as the cow wouldn’t let me milk her. And while I was sitting there, I suddenly remembered the Prayer Oil which you had given me; so I brought that and sprinkled a few drops on the dead calf and said, ‘Jesus, Jesus…’ – because I didn’t know what else to say in prayer. And within a few minutes, the calf sprang to life, and I was able to milk the cow and take it to the market and sell”.

I thought to myself, "this is a great story; in fact, it's a newsletter kind of a material - so, why is she sad!

After a brief pause, she continued: “In the evening, when I came to milk the cow, I saw the calf dead again. But this time I was not worried; I knew exactly what needs to be done. So, I went in and brought the oil and sprinkled on the dead calf and said, ‘Jesus, Jesus’ – nothing happened. I thought I am not saying it loud enough, but that didn’t work either. Perhaps, I didn’t sprinkle the right amount of oil – still no hint of the calf coming to life. While I kept trying different methods to apply and sprinkle the oil … suddenly, I felt someone saying something to me: ‘Don’t run after the blessings, but run after me – for I am the Blesser. When you have me, you will have ALL the benefits’.”

Wow – that was a revelation for me!

She went on, “I knew I was running after the blessings from God, hoping my calf would come back to life; but God was challenging me to seek Him, so I could have all the blessings & not just one I am after”.

That story truly encouraged me. I went there to encourage her, but I came back very encouraged and lifted up in my Spirit, by what had happened in her life; and a timeless principle which the Lord taught me through her.

Often we run after a miracle, we pray prayers to see or experience something which we are desperate for at that moment.
But do we run after God? When He comes He brings everything with Him. Not just what we are seeking for at that moment!

The verse before us here states just that: the people of Israel knew God’s deeds. Every time they needed to see a miracle they cried out and when it happened, it was a miracle – it was an act of God. Yes, they praised God, but quickly forgot about it also. Largely because they failed to see the God behind that miracle!

On the contrary, Moses knew His ways - in other words, he was caught up with a God, who performed all those miracles – so he was not fazed when confronted with a difficult situation.

The people grumbled because they did not experience God or learn that He is able to take them to the Promised Land, when the tough got going.

Do we want to experience His ways? Or do we want to settle for His deeds, once in a while?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (cf. Isaiah 55:8), claims the Lord.

Let’s not settle for experiencing something small, when He is there to offer us Himself.
It’s a much richer experience, when we have Him.

Do we KNOW God?

John 8:48-59
Here is Jesus’ response to the accusations of the Jews as to who He really was.

In vs.41, they protested saying they knew who their father was. In the subsequent verses, they went on to say that He was of the devil / demon-possessed and that he was a Samaritan ~ who had nothing in common with the Jews (as per their belief).

There is a stark contrast here to 2 kinds of people:
a) The Jews who thought, they KNEW who their Father was; &
b) Jesus, who KNEW who His Father is
Which one of them actually knows the Father, and what’s the difference?

Well, Jesus gives us a clue in His response to the accusations leveled against Him.
Vs.55 – Jesus defines the difference between them is: I KNOW HIM, BECAUSE I KEEP HIS WORD.
So, ‘Keeping the Word’ becomes crucial in knowing Him.

It’s not about just knowing in our head, but do we know Him it in our hearts – which comes by abiding and walking according to it.

The end result of this is the way in which they both responded:
If at all, anyone should be angry here with the kind of remarks passed at them, it must have been Jesus – but He remains calm & composed here, while we see the exact opposite from those who accused Him.
Vs.59 – the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus. Is that the kind of response one would have, when they know God?

How about us?
- What kind of response do we have when accusations are leveled against us?
- Does our response reflect the God we know & how much we know of Him?