A friend in church asked me to do an art for a specific verse. The verse he gave me is
Isaiah 32:18 NLT My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest.
I felt very excited to do this art and landed on a picture for reference and started working on the art. I spent so much time on painting the rustic house, focusing on the details of the wood and such. I felt very happy with the outcome of the art. As I shared the picture with my friends to get their opinions, a friend said, “It seems the house needed lots of work”. I felt touched by those words because it is true that I put so much effort into the house. What struck me is that if a mere art can reflect the effort that is put into it, how much more would reflect as we strive to live a holy life? In the same manner, if we are ignorant in our spiritual walk, then the fruit of the flesh takes over and makes us unworthy of heaven, as it says in
Galatians 5:19,20 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
It takes no effort to indulge in the fruit of the flesh as it is a slippery slope and one thing leads to the other. But the fruit of the Spirit needs lots of work and constant self-analysis.
1 Peter 1:16 Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy”.
If we start to focus on each area of our life and bring it captive to God, we will start to become more and more like Christ in us. Amen!
As I sat at the watch-night service at church, pushing all my prayer requests to God to use me in more and more ways in 2023, (surprisingly I didn’t have any other requests than being used by God ) and I remembered something God had answered in 2022. In 2021, after amma went to be with the Lord, things were really difficult with dad. While juggling all of that, I had a deep desire up to the point of obligation that I wanted to use all the talents that God has given me for His Kingdom’s work. I started to even fret that if I don’t use my talents, God was going to ask me when I stand before Him. I started to earnestly pray for open doors. And my gracious God did open doors for me in 2022 in such a way that I was able to raise a big amount this year. I have contributed more than what I raised for Missions. If I had $40 at a time, I would add $10 and make it $50 and contribute.
The missions God graciously enabled me to support this year through my contributions are
Calvary Missions
Calvary Mission – Rwanda eye surgery camps
Open doors USA – to distribute bibles in persecuted places
Compassion – malnourished kids
GEMS India
Homeless people in our areas
Elohim gospel ministries
Wayside shelter
I am just filled with gratitude towards God as He honored the desire of my heart and opened doors for me and gave me a purpose. My prayer is that God will make me into a vessel that will be useful for His Kingdom in many ways and not just one or two ways.
Also, God who is not a debtor to anyone provided me with the finances ahead of time to be able to cover the costs of the inventory. I was stuck in my job with no raise or promotion for 10 years. Last year God miraculously gave me a promotion and raise and so I didn’t have to worry about the expenses. Isn’t God awesome? Glorify our God with me.
Isaiah 41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, ‘you are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away’.
Today is December 31st – the last day of the year. I came across an article about a hiker lady in her 60s who was hiking thru the Appalachian trail which is considered an extremely challenging route. The hiking started well with another hiking partner. But due to circumstances, her hiking partner had to return back and this lady continued by herself. One day, as she stepped off the trail into the woods, she got lost. As she desperately tried to get back to the trail, she went in circles deeper into the woods. She tried to get help in whatever ways she could, by leaving trails of her stuff, tying her blanket on the tree for attention, and such. As her husband didn’t hear from her as expected, teams were dispatched to find her. Even when she saw and screamed for help as she saw helicopters, they could not see her through the thick trees. She grew physically exhausted and mentally weak. She completely ran out of food too. Finally, she wrote a final note to whoever would find her to inform her husband and daughter and to hand over her things to them. She was found 2 years later, as a skeleton inside her sleeping bag in her tent. Such a heart-wrenching story!
I do not know anything much about hiking. But as I read through the comments, there were several tips people had posted that a hiker is expected to be aware of. If they step off the trail to relieve themselves, tie a rope to the tree in the trail and then take the rope with them inside the woods so they can get back to the trail without getting lost, keep a satellite phone and so many such tips. As I read through these comments, I wondered if this lady went into such an extremely challenging trip underprepared?!
I couldn’t help but think of how an earthly hiking trip can go so wrong when attempted underprepared, how about the journey towards eternity? Like this hiking trip, are we underprepared without the knowledge of The Way, The Truth, and the Life – Jesus? John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Like this lady who did not have a phone that can connect through satellite regardless of the deep woods where she was, are we trying to live and find our way out without knowing how to connect with God Almighty who is the only One who can take us out of any deep situations? Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. And He alone is the promise keeper. May we hold on to Him who has promised us to lead our way till eternity with Him.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
When my younger son was two months old, we took him out to the mall for the first time on a Black Friday. That night, he had a very high fever and we rushed him to the emergency. The doctors wanted to rule out the possibility of any infection and so wanted to do a spinal fluid tap. They suggested that I wait with my older son outside as it would be hard to watch the procedure. As I stood in the hallway with my older son, I cried out to God. As I stood there crying out, a thought kept coming again and again. That was about me listening to movie songs during that time. As my younger son would cry every time I kept him in the car seat to drive to my older son’s school, I started to listen to movie songs to help me focus on driving and not be distracted by his crying. I realized that listening to secular movie songs is a downward spiral. It makes us more and more addicted to listening to it and it corrupts our minds and thoughts. As I felt like it was God convicting me of this new habit, I cried out to God to forgive me and not punish my son for my mistake and that I will not listen to movie songs any longer. By God’s amazing grace, my son did not have any infection. When the results of the spine fluid came, it was ruled out as fever due to being in a crowded place.
By God’s grace, I kept my promise for close to a decade by not listening to movie songs. Down the line, my promise from the emergency room turned lukewarm and I would listen to these songs occasionally at work while juggling multitasking. I soon noticed a pattern whenever I started to listen to these songs, I would land on a problem from which only God could save me and I started to understand that maybe that was God’s way of reminding me of my promise. Soon after this decision, by God’s grace, I became part of the worship team in our Indian church. From then on, I had set my mind that I will neither listen to nor sing secular movie songs with the same mouth with which I would sing worship songs. James 3:11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? By the strength God gave me, I never wavered from that decision. Though I wasn’t striving to do holy living during those days, this decision had been a starting point. Eventually, God honored that stand and turned around my life and gave me the desire to live in a way that pleases Him, to strive to live a holy life, and not to ignorantly please my fleshly desires.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 God’s will is for you to be holy.
Though many would justify secular songs by saying that it is “just music”, it is not “just music” As we know that Satan was an angel in heaven who was the highest worship leader and fell to his doom due to pride, he knows how to use music to corrupt human minds. I have felt the addiction that secular music brings to our minds. Though while listening, it would feel so entertaining, it does no good to our soul. It simply gives a temporary pleasure while getting us all tangled in this downward spiral. On the other hand, Christian hymns and pure worship songs that praise and glorify God brings so much peace and joy that is unexplainable regardless of what heavy burdens we go through. Devil is so cunning that he infiltrates even the worship songs these days. We ought to be careful about being carried away simply by the tunes and the words of worship music also and carefully analyze if it truly brings worship to God or it exalts oneself.
1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 19. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?
As believers in Christ, we are called to strive to live a life that reflects the holiness of Jesus. Even though we cannot attain holiness in our own strength and ability, Jesus should be at least able to see that we are striving hard to live holy and thus He would help us to live holy.
Galatians 5:16 Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.
We are naturally drawn to the music of the world. But we are having to discipline ourselves to listen and sing only His worship for the same reason as above. Our Christian walk is like a glass of pure milk. Every worldly thing that we allow into us is like a drop of poison added to the milk. If the poison itself is white in color, the milk would still look white, but would we drink it?
Jesus was able to boldly say that the devil had nothing in Him because He did not allow anything of the world to be found in Him. In the same way, may we not give any room for anything that belongs to the devil. There is no middle ground. It belongs either to God or the devil. In everything that we do, may we carefully check if it belongs to God or the devil? Like Daniel, may we set it in our hearts that we will do only what honors God! AMEN!
After taking a break from doing any gardening or outdoor activities for the past two years, I felt very eager to get back to it. That included keeping fish in a barrel with a lily plant. Though I was going to be out of town for more than 20 days, I still went ahead and bought the lily plant and 3 goldfish. The goldfish is cheap to buy, just around 30 cents each and so their life seemed so worthless as if it didn’t matter even if they died. I fed them every day till I left on my trips.
I had no hope that they would survive till I got back home as I was going to be away for almost a month. When I came back, I continued to feed for a couple of days but I did not see any signs of these fish in the water. They never came to the top of the barrel. The water was murky and with algae and so it was impossible to see them. So I believed that they all had died and hence stopped feeding them. Though I had no reason to believe that they were alive, I kept saying a small prayer that they would come to the top so I could see them. And one day, they did come to the top as if a miracle. I saw just two of them. I felt very happy that they were alive. Now I thought the third one must have surely died. I now kept praying that one day all three would come up together. And that happened too. One rainy morning as I looked through the window, all three of the fishes were on the top. I felt incredibly happy that my small insignificant prayers were answered. From then on, I started to take better care of them.
I noticed a few things in this. The first time we tried goldfish in clean water, they all died. But even in this dirty algae-filled water, they survived fine, and still, they didn’t lose their beautiful orange color. Even when their lives seemed worthless, God still kept them alive, just as He feeds the birds of the sky.
Luke 12:6 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
As an answer to my prayer, our church hosted an artisan fair to sell our handmade crafts.
By God’s grace, my booth had a great sale. As always, God came through! This opportunity itself was an answer to my prayer from last year when I asked God to give me a greater purpose. Since the day pastor announced this, I had been staying up late every night to make at least one art each day. I felt super excited and very hopeful about raising a good amount which I wanted to give entirely for the missions. God’s faithfulness is beyond what I can fathom. Every now and then, I do spend time and money at the craft store and never worried about the bills that would add up because I always enjoyed doing these handicrafts. God is not a debtor to anyone and the way He compensated me for the expenses even before I hosted the booth – one of my managers recommended me for recognition at work and I got reward points which I could redeem and I received it this week.
As we started to set up our booth, the disappointments started. It was windy and my idea to display the arts didn’t work. My spirit had gone completely down and I had no hope left that I could sell anything. My kids and I held hands and we prayed giving it all into God’s hands. Within 5 minutes, Kavitha stopped by at our booth and she suggested putting up the bookmarks to display which would hold up better against the wind. It worked! We quickly got a hang of how to greet the people who stopped by and start the conversation. By the end of the day, our CIC friends also stopped by and contributed generously and we finished well.
Some of the miracles from this event are
A missionary who is supported by Calvary and serves in Japan stopped by my booth and I felt so happy to talk to her. In my opinion, missionaries are the ones whose life holds much value before God. While this sale is being done to support missions and for a missionary to stop by – it is like a confirmation.
I had made some pieces of jewelry in the past years which I had listed on so many craft sites and they never sold. I had given up on their selling but at this fair, I sold almost every one of those.
At the end of the day, I had sold 16 pieces of art.
Today the miracles continued. After the church service, I bumped into a lady who had bought a bookmark and she started talking to me and so amazingly she started to share a couple of prayer requests. Even she kept wondering how she was saying all these things to me as we had never met before.
When I was disappointed about being unable to display the arts, my husband came up with the amazing idea of displaying them in a creative way. If not for that idea, we could not have displayed the art which I had worked hard on for a month. Jayden got great compliments from a school teacher for his marketing skills.
The reason I wanted to support missions is that it is an easier way of storing our treasures in heaven. There are lots of parts in the world where even a small dollar amount would add up to a big amount. Life is short and eternity is forever. We tend to spend our time making our life in this world comfortable and yet not knowing how long we would be here. Rather it is wise to focus on storing our treasures in heaven to make our eternity comfortable.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.
At the spring time of the year when kings go out to battle, King David stayed back by just sending his troops to fight the battle. He committed adultery with Bathseba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite while Uriah was fighting David’s battle at the war zone. David who was certified as a man after God’s heart went spiraling down in his sinful ways. A lustful look which was not plucked off the root soon enough sent him spiraling down the crooked paths of deceit.
Just like how Adam and Eve’s one disobedience cost them everything, we learn that it doesn’t take much to lose grip of everything and fall on one’s nose into the pit of sin. Starting with adultery, followed by betrayal and murder is how sin works. Sin is a downward spiral. Immediately after this, David was informed that Bathseba was pregnant with his child of adultery. To cover this up, he calls in Uriah from the battlefield to the palace and asks him to go to his home to be with his wife Bathseba hoping to convince that the child is Uriah’s. Unimaginable crookedness from a man like David!
But Uriah didn’t go to his house. Instead he slept at the door of the king’s house. When David asked why Uriah did not go to his house, Uriah replied, “The ark of Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? I will not do this thing“.
David gave it another try. He invited Uriah to the palace again to eat and drink and made him drunk. David hoped that Uriah would go home after being drunk. But Uriah, even in drunken state, slept diligently at the King’s gate. As David’s crooked plan did not work out, he wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter, he wrote, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die”. Unimaginable fall into crookedness in a wink of the eye, right? Once Saul did the same to David by sending him to the toughest battles hoping to get David killed. David was not killed in Saul’s plot but Uriah got killed in David’s plot.
After the mourning period was over, David married Bathseba and the son was born. So far it would have seemed to David that he successfully covered up everything. Because he had completely forgotten that God saw everything. So the LORD sent prophet Nathan to David to rebuke him of this sin. Nathan said to David as mentioned in 1 Samuel 12:9-15
“Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad day light before all Israel.’You are not going to die.14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
And the LORD did just as He said. He struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David and it became ill. Regardless of how much David pleaded with God for the child, the child died on the seventh day.
God forgave David as soon as he repented but consequences could not be escaped. In this story, mostly our focus is on David as he is the decorated King who was praised as after “God’s own heart”. Bathseba is also equally guilty because she did not oppose or correct David’s act. The forgotten and the overpassed character in this story is Uriah the Hittite. This man had the sincerity and the zeal for the ark of God and his job of fighting the war for Israel. This man was betrayed by his wife in an instant with no second-thought and by the King who had the authority and the resources to cover up his mistake. Even Uriah did not have any way of knowing about the chain of injustice done to him- if not for God who sees everything and who does something about it.
God is the defender of the ones who suffer injustice. God did justice for this poor man by bringing what was done in the dark to light.
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
This is the cruelest plot mentioned in the Bible. David might have easily fooled the people but God can never be mocked.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
As the song “How deep the Father’s love for us” was sung during the Good Friday service, I broke down into tears. Even with us who are in the Christian circle for ages, the love of God-the Father towards us to send Jesus His Son to die on the cross for us is quite un-understandable. Those who are not in this circle yet have even harder time understanding the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Though the Father’s love is vast and indefinite, I got a tiny glimpse of how a father’s love might look like. Love itself seems undefinable. My father went to be with the Lord in March. He was in coma for 4 weeks. God gave me the privilege of helping with my father’s last journey by reading the Word, praying for him and reconciled with him resulting in an amazing bonding. We had a sour relationship for quite a while. God spared me from regret by removing all bitterness from my heart. I asked my father to forgive me and conveyed to him that I realized very late that I did love him much – loved him enough to plead to Jesus for his eternity in heaven.
Doctor had told me in the first couple days that he will not sustain after removing from the ventilator. But by God’s amazing miraculous grace, my father started to breathe on his own. Not one day, not two days but for 21 days. Everyday I read the Word to him, talked to him a lot just as if he was conscious and prayed. Though there were times I couldn’t understand what God’s plan for my father was, each day made accomplishments in my life. Even before I got to the hospital, God had given me a word, “The yoke will be removed from my shoulder”. During this time when my father continued to breathe, God removed so many yokes from my life. As I wrote down the happenings of each day, I saw that each day accomplished something in my life towards my good future. It was like my father, even in his unconscious state, might have requested to Jesus to make provisions to protect my future and then to take him. I truly felt like there was probably no father in this world who would have done this for his child. Of course, behind this amazing happening was God’s grace towards me and my father.
If a father who did not have a great relationship with his daughter could do such a loving deed, how much more love would our Heavenly Father have for us?
Hebrews 9:22 Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Without forgiveness, no one can enter into God’s Kingdom. And the only other place with doors open wide is the hell. So, God sent His only Son, to suffer extreme pain and humiliation and then to die on the cross for us, to pay our debt in full. The Father’s love is so deep and vast. It is un-understandable for our little human wisdom. This is a glimpse I got of a father’s love from my own father. May we ever be grateful for the love of our Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of Jesus and for the guiding and comforting presence of our Holy Spirit Lord! AMEN!
Luke 22:3 Satan entered into Judas. Whoever betrays Christ, or His truths or ways, it is Satan that puts them upon it. How Satan entered into Judas was in awful stages. The awful stages were 1) Covetousness being his master-passion, the Lord let it reveal itself and gather strength by entrusting Judas with the money bag, as treasurer to Jesus and the twelve disciples.
In the discharge of that most sacred trust, he became a thief, taking the money from time to time to his own use. Satan, seeing this door into Judas’ heart standing wide open, determines to enter by it, but cautiously putting it into his heart to betray Him, suggesting the thought to him that by this means he might enrich himself.
God gave His children the Ten Commandments to keep. If we find ourself breaking those commandments by simple white lies, coveting, dishonoring parents, having other priorities than God etc, we should have the wisdom to understand that we are doing what the devil wants us to do and not God. Neglecting these in the beginning makes the heart and the conscience callous and then it makes one go in a downward spiral with the devil.
The devil’s tactics are old and nothing new. He blinds people into being ignorant. Amazed by how Judas after making a pact with the Chief Priests still came over for the Passover meal with Jesus and the rest of the disciples. This Jesus who always exposed the crooked thoughts of the Pharisees and Sadducees, would He have not known what Judas was upto? But the devil blinded Judas from realizing that Jesus is omniscient and omnipotent.
Amazed by how the chief priests who claimed to keep even the smallest of the laws had no problem plotting to kill a sinless man because He came in the way of their earthly agendas.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
The God who created the universe and all the living things in it has promised that He will feed us and provide for us without fail. So we don’t have to exhaust ourselves in such meaningless pursuits after wealth rather focus on the heart of God and His Kingdom.
Of all the disciples, only Judas was given the money bag because he was the only one who was greedy while the rest of them laid down their lives for the sake of the gospel of Christ. And the noose of that moneybag strangled Judas’ neck to his death.We are tested in our area of weaknesses more than the strengths. May we ask Him not to lead us into temptation but to deliver us from the evil one! AMEN!
For more than 4 weeks, I had been trodding the hospital corridors in these shoes along with Indian outfits and thus screaming, “She doesn’t belong to planet India”.I went to India with the verse – Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Little did I know that I was going to be walking through the fire – in these shoes.
Same way, when I came last year for my mom’s last days, God sent me with the Word Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Thanking God for speaking through His Word and then keeping it without fail. Even before I left to India, the verse Psalm 125:1 came to me twice
Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. This was the verse in my mom’s gravestone. And by March 22(the day my dad went to be with the Lord), I got this verse 5 times. And yes, it is the same verse that was put in dad’s gravestone too. This has been quite a journey for me. And God has been faithful to His Word and He is bringing me out of this fire stronger than ever. He did not allow me to be scorched or burnt but refined me as gold to serve His Kingdom purpose.
I learnt several lessons in this journey. Standing in the gap for the souls matters preciously in God’s eyes. As it is, without having to do anything, hell fills up quickly in multitudes; Heaven, on the other hand, one soul at a time, is it not? Because the standards of heaven is too high. God got me to pray for my dad for this entire past year. Little did I know the urgency of time back then. I wouldn’t let go of my dad without making sure that he is headed to heaven. As he was in coma, I did everything possible from my side, as guided by God on what to pray, what Word to read to him, what to say in his ears to get our relationship restored from bitterness and regrets etc. I am not even exaggerating when I say that I literally was knocking on heaven’s doors for my dad. God has been so faithful. I truly believe that because God had grace for both my parents, He prepared me beforehand to lead them through those doors.
Another lesson I learnt is the joy of finding the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. As I have read these parables for years and I never understood what that joy felt like. I never could put myself in their shoes of “lost and found”. But in the end of this journey, I very well understood that joy. Because, during the first 10 days I was in India, I got just 2 hours of sleep. I would fall asleep at 9 out of exhaustion only to wake up at 11, every night. After that, it was just tossing and turning and praying for my dad, as I didn’t know if he got everything right with God and he was in coma, so I had no way of knowing. And I wouldn’t let him go without making sure and helping him in every way from my side. I truly felt what the birthing pain would be like, for the sake of a soul. I had asked God for an evidence to know if my dad made it to heaven. And God gave him a peace-filled face on the entire day of the funeral and filled my heart with peace that comes only from Him. That night also I couldn’t sleep, not because of desperation, but because of overflowing peace.
Third lesson that I learnt is for us to point people to the saving and redeeming grace of Jesus. The Son of God made the biggest sacrifice of all – laid down His life on the cursed cross for the sake of redeeming us. If we truly say that we care about the people in our life, we should point them to Jesus and thus to heaven. The mystery of life is that we don’t have a way of knowing how much of our life is left. And this life is what decides about where we will spend eternity. As we see lives ending in front of our eyes in an instant, let us wisen up and make use of the time in hand and live a life pleasing to God so that there be no regrets when we take our last breaths.
