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A tribute to Ruth

As I wrap up 2021, I am amazed and overwhelmed by the happenings in this year. In 2020, I did a role for a few months to help the people impacted by the covid situation in our country and I came across a believer coworker, Elizabeth. As we were all asked to introduce ourselves, we were asked to answer the question “What did we miss due to social distancing?”. Elizabeth was the only person who answered that she missed church and hugs. Her answer caught my attention because mentioning church or God in corporate is not easy. In the next couple days, we were able to talk to each other in relation to the job and we made an instant connection just as it happens when believers connect. In that role, we encouraged each other by even sharing Bible verses that uplifted our spirit for each day. This was a very difficult role for us. Once she got to exit from this role, she decided to retire. We still stayed in touch over text and phone calls.

One day she mentioned that she was traveling through Chicago and if we could meet. By God’s grace, we met at a fast-food place and we talked for an hour. It was an amazing God-centered conversation. At the time, Elizabeth showed pictures of her sister, Ruth. This was around the same time when I was going through some very difficult times with my dad, after my mom went to be with the LORD in February. As I poured out my burdens to God, I felt Him say, “You give your concerns to Me and you continue to do what I have asked you to do”. A year back, when I desperately needed a project at work, He had told me to pray for others while I am waiting on Him to give me a project. And in those days, the only places where I saw God’s hands were when I prayed for others so I prayed more and more for others. So when Elizabeth showed the living conditions of Ruth, my heart was instantly touched and the images just stayed in my mind. So from then on, Ruth had become the first name in my prayer list and I, by God’s grace, diligently prayed for her salvation and for being a vessel for God’s glory. I am grateful to God for teaching me to be diligent and consistent in praying for friends this year.

On Dec 24th, I got a text from Elizabeth saying that Ruth had died the previous day. I felt indescribably shocked by the news. My first question to God was, “Did my prayers even matter?”. Because I had been praying that she would be saved and also she would share the gospel with others who are in similar situation. So to hear that she passed away was hard for me to digest. Later when I talked to Elizabeth, she mentioned that how two weeks before her death, Ruth had mentioned in a conversation about a tornado destruction that she is a Christian woman and that she is ok to leave this life when her time comes. I felt touched by those words and in the coming days, God gave me so much peace regarding Ruth. I looked back and I saw how God brought her story to me. There are billions of people in this world. God brings certain people into our path. If not for God, I would not have even known Elizabeth or Ruth. God connected the dots in an amazing way and when her story was brought to my ears, He worked in my heart to pray for her. I felt so content that I did the part that God gave me to do.

He also taught me lessons through this. 1) the importance of accepting Jesus as our Savior is the one and only way to heaven 2) to have ears that are aligned to His heart and a heart to be obedient to His instruction 3) to pray for the salvation of everyone whom He puts in our path 4) to not instruct God on how He should answer my prayer, but to leave it to His higher ways.

Isaiah 45:9 Shall the clay say to him who forms it, “What are you making?”

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

As an answer to my question, I came across this teaching of Jesus.

Luke 17:7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8. But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?. 9. Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do”.

Salvation belongs to the LORD. His ways are higher for us to understand. Our times are in His mighty hands. I have never met Ruth in person. But I am hoping by the redeeming grace of Jesus that one day when I go to heaven, Ruth will also be one of them who would welcome me. I am grateful to God for giving me the privilege to pray for Ruth. I am surrendering myself to be an obedient vessel to be instructed by Him to pray for more and more of His children. AMEN!

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Broken vessel shines His light

On Sunday we had Christmas Carols from our church family at our home! As I had attended the carols in other houses during the previous days, one question that was asked to everyone in those houses was, “What does Christmas mean to you?”. Most of the friends compared their childhood Christmas and then how the perspective changes from fun towards the spiritual meaning. I don’t have any issues with the spiritual side of it as by God’s grace, I am growing in Him. But what I could not remember was even one good Christmas memory from my childhood. We moved to a place as we bought a house where we did not know anyone at all. I was very active in church and participated in Sunday class, choir etc. That was the only good thing I remembered. All I could remember fondly about Christmas was these 18 years in America after I got married.

I attended Saturday service in church and God gave me an amazing surprise as Pastor Ross who was the previous senior Pastor in our church came as guest preacher. As I am burdened for my dad’s salvation these days, seeing Pastor Ross was an instant reminder of salvation because he was a drug addict who wanted to kill himself in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve to taunt his parents for their lifetime. But God spoke to him and he gave his life to Jesus and became a mighty man of God. So to me, seeing him that day was like an instant assurance of salvation. After that I went caroling and woke up at 5 am as usual to pray. I thank God for the valleys in my life that finally I have a disciplined prayer life. I wanted to make a ginger pepper coffee to help my throat from carol singing. So I went to the kitchen and instantly I was reminded by God of my childhood Christmas days which were actually bitter. Lot of times when I have a bothering question which I ask, the answer comes from Him as first thing the next morning. I broke into tears as I remembered the many Christmas’ I had at my parents house. Like a pattern, my dad would have a fight at our home every single Christmas. As we didn’t have anyone whom we knew in that place, no one really knew how we lived inside the four walls. But amazingly I had completely forgotten those bitter years after having peaceful years in this country. I felt, with all honesty, I should share about my bitter years so that people can see that what we see is not always what it is. We all know how the devil works fears in our mind. Though it started off with so much enthusiasm about sharing this, soon my mind started building up fear. My concern was when everyone shared happy memories, how can I share a broken story. I felt extremely stressed and resulted in a terrible neck pain as I could feel the stress on my neck. I just prayed that Lord if it is Your will for me to talk about this, help me. Also please give me a sign.

I went to church and soon by God’s grace my neck pain went away. Minutes before the Indian service started, we decided to do “Silent night” with parts and I am one of the Alto people. I have not sang in parts since my tenth grade. God gave me the forgotten desire of my heart to sing alto. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.

In church, worship was led by the youth. One of the songs sung was “In the bleak mid winter” and instantly to me that was the sign because that is a song I had sung on Christmas Eve with two friends when I was young. After decades, I heard that song yesterday. For us to sing that song, it was a sign to me and I instantly felt enthusiastic about sharing my broken Christmas story.

I had to cook lots of food for the Carolers. As I kept thinking about what to share, I started feeling very stressed again. I kept asking, “Lord, should I really say? I am scared. ” There were moments where I thought of skipping it. But somehow I didn’t want to be in a spot of disobedience and regret.

I could not completely focus on cooking as I was stressed about this sharing. I can go on and on about God’s goodness in my life, but to share a broken story where everyone portrays a perfect Christmas was a very difficult task.

Then the time came for me to share. I started off sharing about how I had no good childhood Christmas memories and how God reminded of how broken our Christmas’ used to be. I shared about how we always had a fight between my parents every Christmas without fail and we just adjusted having some food while everyone would make special food on Christmas. And I shared about how God blessed us with peaceful Christmas days since I got married – a new Season of peace in my life. I shared about how my mother in law went to be with the LORD in January 2020 so unexpectedly. She had lived a life of legacy and how I felt this word again and again “Well done , good and faithful servant”. From then on I started praying for my entire family so that we all will make it to heaven. Just in a year, my mother went to be with the LORD. I shared about how she held my hand and said that she is going to Jesus. And how her last words before she had breathing issues and went into the ventilator, ” I am going to Jesus”. About these two women, “they went to be with the LORD” was not just a statement. It was a very clear fact. I shared that my prayers are for both our dads who are not walking quite right with the LORD, though they both know the LORD too.

Now that is another broken story because it is not easy to share to the world a picture like that. People will rather go to hell than let the world that I am not heaven-ready yet. I shared about how my father in law is from a Hindu family and that he left his house because of the Christian faith and yet, as the path to heaven is narrow and hard, became like seeds sown in rocky area. I declared with boldness that I can’t yet share about my dad but as I serve this faithful God, I can say for sure that Jesus will redeem my dad and I will share a testimony one day.

Now came the words that helped me to land the plane. I had not thought of any of these words so it was truly the Holy Spirit Lord’s doing. I shared about how death is real and hell is real and heaven is real and the path to heaven is not easy. I shared about how we tend to make our living in this world comfortable when we don’t know if we will live tomorrow. I shared about how we have the chance to accept Jesus as our savior only as long as we live. Once the breath stops, there is no more chance left. I shared boldly about how there will be no regret in choosing Jesus as one’s Savior. I never had the courage to share the gospel but had this intense desire in my heart to have the boldness to speak the gospel. And yesterday was the day, I was enabled by God Almighty to share the gospel to Christians and non-Christians.

I thank Almighty God for making the day a milestone in my life. He sent Pastor Ross exactly this week so I would feel the assurance of salvation for my left behind parents. God sent a white friend who has a special heart for Indians to help us learn Christmas songs with parts and He granted me the forgotten desire to sing alto. God answered my one line prayer and sent a sign through a song and gave me the boldness to speak the gospel to both believers and non-believers. Last but not the least, the food which I could not focus on while cooking, tasted so good that we ran out it in no time. When I got so many compliments for the food, I felt it was the hand of Jesus which turned the food tasty in peoples’ mouth.

Why do I share my broken stories? Because my broken stories has a redemption side which glorifies Jesus. Also, when I bring my prayers loudly, I know that God reveals His faithfulness, just as He was faithful to answer Hannah’s silent prayers.

Revelation 12:11 And ^tthey overcame him(the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, ^uand they did not love their lives to the death.

Did caroling till Saturday midnight. But

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Taste and say

John 2:8 And Jesus said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast”.

The first ever miracle Jesus did was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus and His disciples were invited for the wedding. Blessed wedding to have Jesus at the wedding. Yet there was a lack at the wedding. They ran out of wine for the guests. In the Jewish tradition, that was a huge disgrace for the hosts. As Mary, Jesus’ mother reported this to Him, He asked her, “What does your concern have to do with Me?”. Yet He does what His character is – Jehovah Jirah, the provider.

There were six water pots of stone kept outside, as per the purification manner of the Jews, to wash their feet before they enter inside. So obviously, the water pots did not have any other greater purpose. Perhaps the pots were not frequently cleansed. Perhaps the inside of the pots had sediments of dirt because the purpose of it is not for drinking, but for merely washing people’s feet. Perhaps the pots had not been moved around since they were placed there and had only one purpose to serve the dirty feet of people. Perhaps the water was just some ordinary water, which could not be used for drinking purpose. In an ideal day, the Jews who had so many cleanliness traditions would not have consumed this water even by mistake.

Jesus is the Master of using those who are despised and valueless in people’s eyes. He asks the servants to fill these pots with water. And they filled it to the brim. No one had experienced the miracles of Jesus yet, but they obeyed Him. Jesus did not say any prayer or speak any miracle over the water. He just said, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast”. The master of the feast exclaimed that the bridegroom had saved the best wine for later. Amazing change in purpose from dirty water to the best wine because of the intervention of Jesus. The taste of the wine was so good that no one inquired about its origin. We might be very ordinary people with very ordinary purpose. But when we yield to Jesus, our destiny is transformed and surpasses our origin.

Psalm 34:8 Oh, Taste and see that the LORD is good. The wine had to be taken and served to the master of the feast before he could taste. Unless God in His mercy gives us opportunities to taste His goodness, we only hear of His goodness from His Word and from others. Those who did not come for the wedding never got to taste such amazing wine. They only got to hear it from others. May we seek God earnestly to give us opportunities to taste and proclaim that He truly is good. AMEN!

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My Kids’ bathroom

Today is the day before thanksgiving and I took the day off from work. Not long back, I used to be so addicted to work and could never enjoy a day off without thinking about work. Now by God’s grace, I am delivered from work addiction. I work sincerely during the work hours. But on my days off, I keep work off my mind and day. So unusually, I started cleaning the house right from morning on.

I have two boys – one teen and one tween. I am not that incredibly responsible kind of mom. I grew up as the only child to my parents. I never did any much chores while growing up. And once I had my own family, I got to learn on my own. Somehow, I didn’t want my kids to end up not knowing to do any chores. Also probably because I am a lazy kind of mom, I got them to do some of the stuff on their own, like washing their plates after eating, washing and folding their laundry, taking the trash out etc. In a way that relieves me from so many such responsibilities, which probably I will not be very diligent in keeping up. It is definitely a great idea to teach them the basic work for their survival. One chore my kids had a late start on is cleaning their bathroom. I didn’t have the stamina to handle their whining if I asked them to start cleaning, so I kept continuing to clean their bathroom. I would feel so frustrated seeing the way they leave the sink and the entire bathroom so filthy. A few months back, I had enough and I put down a schedule for the kids to take turn every 2 weeks and clean their bathroom. I demonstrated once to them and from next time, they were expected to do on their own.

I would stay away from checking their bathroom as I didn’t want to end up cleaning again. Today, the day before thanksgiving, as I took a peep into their bathroom and honestly I was amazed. Their bathroom actually was clean, lot cleaner than I have ever seen before. I just saw a toothpaste cover, deodorant protector covers etc still sitting on the sink. I couldn’t help but appreciate them and told them that as I am happy to see this, I will do a complimentary cleaning.

That got me to think that how our spiritual walk also needs a constant check and cleaning. Previously, when left unattended, their bathroom gets cleaned after it gets lot unclean. Once they started being consist in cleaning, the easier it got each time, as there is less filth piled up. If we would constantly do self-analysis comparing with the Word of God, the lesser sin gets piled up. Constant repentance helps us have a cleaner relationship with Jesus.

Psalm 139:23,24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Why do Christians who follow and believe in Jesus talk about sin all the time? For the world who is busy living their lives trying to make more and more money, increase their status in the world and climb up the ladders of power, it would seem strange and idiotic when Christians speak about sin and repentance all the time. We all know one fact that will happen to everyone who lives in this world – one day death will meet every single one of us. Can we take any of the above mentioned things with us? NO. When we plan so much for a mere vacation we take in this world, making sure we know where we will stay, the whereabouts of the place, where we should go and what we should do, should we not know what happens when our life in this world ends?

Psalm 144:4 Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

Does this not sound true? In Mathematics, whether we like it or not, have we all not come across how the mathematicians prove theorems? A theorem is a result that has been proved to be true. Bible is the Word of God which is proved to be true. From the first page till the last page, every Word is God breathed. And we have the privilege to read it, learn it, most importantly follow it – only till we have our breath. Once our breath stops, the timer stops and then the eternity is determined by whether we chose to walk by the Word of God or not. In this age of technology, the Word of God is at everyone’s finger’s reach. May we not take for granted the greatest privilege God has given us – His Word and His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins! AMEN!

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NO HALLOWEEN HERE

1 Peter 1:15,16 But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy”.

I am a mom of two sons. I grew up as an only child to my parents and my parents were pretty strict who restricted me from doing any fun stuff that the other kids got to do. I never got to go on school trips. I always had to braid my hair and never allowed to have any stylish hairstyles like other kids. Like keeping candy off kids, I was kept off from anything fun. I did have bitterness towards my parents. I didn’t want my kids to have the same kind of childhood. So, YES, I did take my kids for trick or treat in the neighborhood. And we did give candies to kids who came to our door. But, in my heart, I always felt like it was a very wrong thing to do as it is clearly such a demonic activity. I still took my kids year after year, but repenting my heart out to God each time as I walked with them in the neighborhood. I knew that I was doing a very sinful thing but along with repentance each year, I justified it saying to God about my childhood and how I did not want my kids to miss out on the fun. I think the heaviness of having to repent repeatedly for the same things when we commit it knowingly becomes huge to bear.

So in the initial years, it was just a slight uneasy feeling of doing wrong. But starting around 2018, God started working in me. He started breaking unwanted things in me, moulding me, refining me like silver or gold through fire. He is faithful God who gently fixes us one thing at a time. Where we deserve punishment, He shows grace and baffles us. He binds us captive by His grace that we overflow with gratitude, for we know what kind of severe punishment we deserved. I started understanding that a believer in Christ cannot live however their heart pleases. We are called to be set apart, a royal priesthood. And I firmly took a stand that I will no longer take my kids for trick or treat. My young son did feel disappointed because he loved to run to houses with his friends. I explained to them that as Christians we should learn and practice to sacrifice our desires and will and that we need to learn not to compromise God’s values. As they were still kids, I did offer to buy a bag of candy for them. They are to be content with that bag of candy. He agreed to it though he did want to go trick or treat. I am grateful for my kids who obeyed me even when it wasn’t easy for their age. To avoid kids from ringing the door bell, I put a note outside which said ‘NO HALLOWEEN HERE’. And not a kid rang the doorbell. I felt such a relief that year that I did not have to repent for this. Also, I understood at that moment that taking a stand for God is not that hard as we would assume. It gets easier once we set our heart like Daniel did. It gets easier once God’s way alone becomes our priority. Galatians 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

As Jehovah God set down His plan of deliverance for His children, the Israelites, from the nation Egypt where they were slaves, He sent 10 plagues upon the Egyptians. He set apart the Israelites. Though the entire nation of Egypt paid a huge price for 10 plagues, not an Israelite in that nation was impacted. As the tenth plague which would set the stage for the deliverance of Israelites out of captivity, God instructed the Israelites to do certain things. Exodus 12th chapter – He commanded them to take a male lamb of one year old and without any blemish. At the twilight, each Israelite family is to kill the lamb, take its blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of their houses. The LORD said that He will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you(Israelites) are; And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Every single family in Egypt were burying their first born – be it the father of the family who was a first born, or the mother, or the first born child and the first born of their animals. Can we imagine the number of burials that would have happened in each family in that age of time? All because of what? The living God who had the capability to strike the life out of them were not on their side to command them to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on their doorpost – the lamb later demonstrating the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. All because of the missing blood on the doorpost. Jesus has shed His precious and Holy blood. We are to be set apart from the world. We all tend to justify saying “Oh, it is just candy! Oh, it is just this and that!”. Satan’s snares are known to be subtle. He doesn’t come and stand before us in a red jumpsuit and pitchfork. His snares comes as subtle as “It is just a fruit! No big deal. See, how pleasant it is for your eyes!”. And here we are today. There is no middle ground in our choices. We either take one decision closer towards God or towards the devil. The choice is given in our hands though!

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

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Chili making contest

Luke 9:17 They all ate and were satisfied.

Our church brings together all worship teams which are part of our various church services through a meet on a monthly basis so we all get an opportunity to meet and know each other and learn and grow. Being part of Indian worship team, I always felt too small in knowledge and skills compared to the main worship team who are simply phenomenal. After bailing out couple times, I decided that I should attend the next time. This time was a fun event with chili competition and costume competition. For some reason, my eyes got drawn towards the chili competition. Ideally I am not the kind who participates in any competition. And I have not made proper chili before. The only closest to chili I have made is dump the soaked beans and a packet chili powder in the crockpot and cook which doesn’t sell well at my home. But still, I somehow felt interested in signing up for the competition because I love to take food to church. I consider that a blessing.

As the day of the event neared, I started to feel very nervous. I have never gone for such meets before and I felt inadequate to be part of this meet. On the day of the event, I started to feel like my beginning days in the worship team. Both these experiences seemed very similar. I joined the worship team purely out of gratitude towards God for what He has done in my life and not because of my talent or skill. So initially I was clueless on how to integrate with the music and sing. I felt the same way for this competition because I had no idea on how to make a real chili or if it is tastes the expected way. That morning I prayed earnestly that God would not put me to shame and people would try my chili. By God’s grace I came across a recipe that sounded good for traditional chili and I followed it.

It looked good and smelled good, but still I had not much idea on what it should taste like to be an authentic chili. I gave 2 bowls with few spoonful chili to my sons to try the taste. They both said that it tasted good and they wanted to try more.Then I headed to church as a nervous wreck. My younger son came with me to help bring the slow cooker and as we kept it there, he again asked if there would be left over. I didn’t answer as my plight was that will any one try and like it even. I had no idea on how such competition would be held. My interest was not on the competition part or the winning part. I just had the interest to take food to church. But felt clueless on what to expect there.

I felt nervous just as how I started in the worship team. I would like to share the story of how I started off in the worship team. Around 2006, a preacher came from India. We were part of a small prayer group and a friend who led worship asked me also to be part of worship team which had just 3 or 4 women. I refused so strongly that I cannot. But I could not sleep that night. I felt God asking me the question “I gave you one opportunity to glorify Me and is that how you respond?”. And I kept replying, “Lord, how can I of all people go to the front and sing? You know that I have anxiety issues and then how can I possibly do”. But God wouldn’t address my justification but He kept asking me the same question. I felt like I denied Jesus that day by refusing in such a strong way about worship. I felt that I was getting no where in this debate and I was losing sleep too. So finally I said, “Ok Lord. Tomorrow I will tell him that I can be part of the worship” and then I slept. I did take part in the worship with so much nervousness. And that day, the preacher prophesied about me. That was the first time I got a prophecy so I was overwhelmed and was in tears and so could not remember most of what he said. I remembered only one line that God will fill my mouth with words.

A decade later, when Indian church was started as part of the American church, the Pastor in Indian church asked me to be part of the worship team. This time I had no debate about being part of the worship time as I have gone through the drill earlier. Because God had been so faithful in my life and had been my Ebenezer and carried me thus far, so I asked myself, “How can I of all people say No to this?”. Even though I didn’t have music knowledge or skills, I readily said yes. God has brought me a long way from where I started and now I earnestly pray to be anointed to do worship in a way that brings pleasing aroma unto His presence.

Back to my chili story, people did try my chili too. There were few people who even so graciously asked which one I brought and they tried that. I told them that this is my first time making chili like this. And there were 5 categories for prizes – Zesty/Spicy, Richest/Thickest, Most Creative, Most like Mom’s(traditional) and Best Overall. To my great surprise, I got the prize for ‘Richest/Thickest’. Usually if I take food to church, I would be very happy if all my food gets over with no left over meaning people liked it. This time, more than receiving a prize, which even could have been as encouraging a newbie, what I felt so happy about is that most of my chili got over and when I brought the crockpot home, both my sons had just enough leftover to test elaborately this time.

And I remembered my meditation part over which I prayed in the morning for my chili. Luke 9:17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. I had just enough left over for both my kids to have. How much attention God gives even to the details!

Also, this is a great motivation for me to do something which I had put on the back burner for sometime now. I had this desire to cook hot food for homeless people in the streets. I didn’t do it yet. But making this chili which turned out good is like a reminder to me from God to put into effect as it is soon going to be winter and a hot meal would be much benefited for people in need. Praising God for His sweet presence in my littlest things! AMEN!

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Bike ride with Cookie

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Cookie is our one year old puppy. I truly believe that he is God given gift for us, to ease me a bit through stressful days. As first time pet owners, we did miss out big time on teaching him commands and obedience. Staying within the boundary of the house, there is not much need to test his obedience skills.

We love camping trips and have gone for 3 years till the pandemic lockdown happened in 2020. I did miss camping trips and didn’t know when we could go again. Suddenly, it worked out as a friend initiated the conversation and plans started making effect and we got to go on our camping trip. We took Cookie with us. I had bought a basket for Cookie to ride with me in the bike. I myself am a very amateur bike rider. In my young age, I did not have the need to learn to ride the bike. Only few years back, I learnt to ride the bike as I have two boys and I didn’t want to be left behind when they all went biking. So, putting my trust is the Lord, I learnt to ride the bike at this age which itself is a miracle. But I can ride only my bike. I can’t just take anyone’s bike and ride. My height and lack of skills makes it scary for me to ride on unknown bikes.

We set up our tents on Friday evening. I had not done any biking during the entire of last year and this year. So biking skills on my own bike had become rusty and Cookie felt terrified to sit inside the basket. It was hard and scary for me to pedal with him trying to jump off from the basket. The camping area suddenly got so dark and we were biking to find the rest rooms. My friend suggested to try her daughter’s bike while my husband took my bike with Cookie. My friend’s daughter’s bike was right size for me and I was able to ride it but it got pitch dark. With my rusty skills on a different bike in pitch dark, I felt scared that I would fall off and hurt myself. So as I was riding in pitch dark not really knowing how to ride it and what is on the way, I prayed and asked God to help me to be able to ride without falling off. And the God whom I know who is always my very present help in my time of need did help me. I made it safe back to the tent.

The next day when both the families started off with the bike, I did a few trials with Cookie, all by myself. Again, I prayed that Cookie would stay still inside the basket without jumping off. And he did stay still this time. And I got the hang of riding with him. As it was hard for me to pedal with him for long, I just did a few back and forth rides close to the tent. Though I could not have gone biking for miles, I felt happy to have made use of the basket and to be able to even do short trips with Cookie. I thank God for answered prayers, even the smallest ones. In fact, I praise God more when He answers the smallest of prayers because that lets me know that He is very close to my prayers whenever I cry out to Him.

Psalm 20:1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. Amen!

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Give me oil in my lamp

John 1:4,5 In Him(Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

In the above verse, Jesus is called the light that shines in the darkness. And Jesus calls His followers, that is us, that we are the light of the world.

Mathew 5:14, 16 You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Even in a pitch dark place, a small candle makes a mighty difference. The light from a small candle can drive away the darkness and bring clarity to our eyes. Our spiritual light should grow from a candle to a lighthouse, shining the light so bright so that the lost can find their way back to the Way, the Truth and the Life, that is, Jesus Christ. Our Spiritual light is not to be kept hidden. Our light is not a personal light. It is to shine so bright for others to find their way to Christ. John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”. Our heart should overflow with the living water so that we cannot contain it within us.

Mathew 5:14,15 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Rain or shine, how can we be a light continuously? Referring to Mathew 25:1-13, we need to be like the five wise virgins who took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

What kind of oil do we need to be a light in this evil world? Anointing oil is what I want. Isaiah 10:27 It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

Psalm 23:5 You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. The anointing oil should overflow from within us and break the yokes of people around us.

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Valley=Water

2 Kings 3:17 For thus says the LORD:’You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ 18. And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

For the valley to be filled with water, first they had to make that valley full of ditches. Verse 16 says “Thus says the LORD:’Make this valley full of ditches. “

King Jehoram of Israel took King Jehoshaphat of Judah and the King of Edom in a war against the King of Moab. They went by the way of the Wilderness of Edom. They marched on that route for seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. Prophet Elisha was consulted to ask of the LORD for a solution. Elisha asked to bring a musician. As the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him. Referring back to the verses 17 and 18, after seven days of wandering without water, as they came to a point of seeking God versus dying in thirst, God gives the solution and even guarantees them victory in war which they did not ask because at that point living itself was at stake. Next morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water. Just as the LORD said, it was as simple as that.

The Moabites rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water as red as blood. Moabites thought the blood was because the Israelite armies killed each other and hurried to gather Israelites’ plunder. When the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them.

Ditches had to be dug before God could provide water. If there were no ditches, there would be no room to hold the water. If we look at the Old Testament great people, most of them were the outcome of tremendous shortcoming or lack undergone by someone. Samuel was born because of the emptiness experienced by Hannah. Isaac became a reward for Abraham after a really long wait. Jacob became Israel in his broken lonely desperate fearful moment. The greatest prophet of New Testament, John the Baptist, was born at the old age of Zechariah and Elizabeth who lived a righteous life before the LORD. When we undergo tremendous shortcoming in any area of our life, we are worried and we fret. We think low and inadequate of ourselves. We undergo shortcoming not always because God is disciplining us. If it is because of God’s disciplining, once we learn the lesson, He is our good father who rewards us. Even after righteous living, if we still undergo tremendous lack or shortcoming, that is for God to bring about some amazing blessing out of that. The above characters of the Bible are examples for that.

We just continue to do our part in serving God in all righteousness and God will definitely do His part in His time according to His will and plan. We might not always see the signs of it. Neither wind nor rain brought the water. Israelites did their part by giving the grain offering and the water gushed into those valleys which quenched the thirst of the three armies and their animals and also caused confusion on their enemies and with no war done, the enemies were defeated. The same water that quenched the thirst of God’s children destroyed His enemies by causing confusion among themselves. It all depends on “Are we on God’s side or His enemies side? Do we want to be taken care by God or destroyed by God? Choice is ours. There are only two sides- God’s side or the opposite side. There is no neutral ground”. Abundance is preceded by lack in order for us to see God’s hands in it. So let us not despise the lack. Let us praise God in advance for the abundant blessing that follows the lack. Amen!

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Huffing and puffing uphill

Today is our 18th marriage anniversary. Life isn’t easy. Marriage isn’t easy. Parenting isn’t easy. Christian walk isn’t easy. It started at the garden of Eden itself. Till we are in this side of eternity, everything is hard because of our rebellion and disobedience before God.But by the saving grace of God alone, we continue to run the race, without giving up. We fall. We break down. We get bruised and wounded. We bear the scars. But Jesus is right beside us, walking with us, running with us, cheering us on, picking us up when we fall, and promising to see us through till the finish line.

I used to mark and make all occasions like birthdays, anniversary etc in our family special. As time went by, not seeing much meaning in all these rituals, like baking a cake, cooking special food, buying gifts hoping to surprise etc., this year, I did none of the above. Because I feel, more than any of these activities, walking according to God’s heart and not on my own fleshly will is more important.

I feel, marriage starts off in a nice biking trail which is flat and plain, and we whistle and hum along as we ride. As time goes by, the trail turns into valleys and mountain tops, and we have to catch and juggle lots of baggages thrown at us. Down the line, as we keep going, it seems like we end up biking uphill huffing and puffing, towards each milestone.
It is not just the spiritual walk that displays the invisible warfares for which we are asked to put on the armor of God everyday. Spiritual warfare attacks all areas of our life. Marriage is what God instituted as the first thing after He created everything else. So it is extremely important in His eyes. No wonder, the devil attacks Christian marriages all the time, especially when we mindfully strive to walk with the LORD.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. If my spiritual walk was all about me reading the Word, Praying and walking with the LORD, it probably would not be as hard. But it involves all aspects of my life – marriage, parenting, workplace, my relationship with others etc. I am to bear the fruit of the Spirit in all these areas without taking a break. That would mean that I am supposed to be on a vigilant watch 24/7 for the schemes and attacks of the enemy of my soul. In my case, I have come to realize, the devil places hurts right before such occasions in my heart and gets my spirit downcast, which leads to self-pity, and my withdrawal from others, and moping in my hurt.

When I am hurt, in my flesh, I love to make others miserable as well. I would tend to withdraw from family, refuse to take part in any happiness and would recite in my heart about how I am going to act. But these days, by God’s grace and His Holy Spirit at work in my heart, I am a lot mindful about what Jesus would want me to do. If I do in my will, I know perfectly well what I would want to do. But, these days, I get reminded to ask,”LORD, this is how I feel. I am hurt in these areas. This is how I want to act on this occasion and make their lives miserable. But what do You want me to do? Because, what You want is more important to me than satisfying my petty grudges”.

As I started praying today morning, I started off with my venting out my hurts to God. The devil’s tactic is to make me feel unworthy of any good things, by whispering in my ear to not to accept any kindness shown towards me, and to withdraw from the family emotionally, thereby making them miserable too. A little into venting out in prayer, I realized that and said, “LORD, I give this day in Your hands. I know this much that if I hold this day in my hand, I will perfectly well ruin it. Would You show me what You can do with this day for me?”.

Prayers are mighty weapons, my friends! And prayerful friends are mighty warriors! My prayer friend texted me and asked if she can pray for me. I gladly said yes. As she was praying, I realized, if I keep the petty complaints aside, there is always so much to be grateful for. We look around us and see the many different and very difficult circumstances that so many people are going through. Compared to those, our little hurts are put into perspective. The devil wants to keep us in a complaining and a whining mode. However, may God help us to continually remember to thank and worship and praise Him instead.

My husband loves to buy gifts for me for special occasions. But I would feel so unworthy to accept the gift. Because I had asked God to help me to do the right thing according to His heart, as my husband mentioned about going out for lunch and to go pick a gift, I nodded quietly without opposing him. I put aside my fleshly will and yielded to choose peace. Similarly, Christ’s gift of salvation is offered to us freely, as Christ is always willing to redeem and forgive those who come to Him humbly and earnestly. The devil instead whispers in our ears, reminding us of all our shortcomings to make us feel unworthy. But Jesus has paid the price on the cross in an unimaginably painful way. So let us not give ear to the devil’s lies but with a grateful heart accept the free gift Jesus offers us with arms wide open.

Prayers are mighty weapons. Just as I asked God to take the day and show me what He can do with it for me, He did! He gave me a good anniversary day! I got to experience an instant reward from God. My husband and I picked up a nice gift for both of us which was for almost regular price with no discounts. But the shop attendant said that they can match the price with Amazon for 15 days. When we checked Amazon while being at the shop, there was no price reduction in Amazon. So we thought we will keep an eye for the next 15 days. We got home after half hour and we checked Amazon again, and to our great surprise, there was a price reduction for the same item, so together we saved a pretty big amount. To me, that was a reward that came from God.

Yes, the daily struggles would still continue. We would still fall, bear bruises and wounds and carry the scars. Love God and love others as yourself are the two greatest commandments. Loving God is even easier because He is always good and perfect. But loving people is not always easy because we are all imperfect and I am one who would love “my way or the highway”. We deal with imperfect people as imperfect people. But Jesus will still continue to be right beside us, walking with us, cheering for us, without forsaking us, and seeing us through till we reach and cross the finish line!! All glory be to Him alone!
Amen

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