Sunday Quotes

 

“God’s purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” (Hans Urs von Balthasar)

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” (John Wesley)

“We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.” (Max Lucado)

“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.” (A.W.Tozer)

“Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” (R.C.Sproul)

“When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen)

“Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“As the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, so the denial of God is the height of foolishness.” (R.C.Sproul)

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Jesus tends to his people individually. He personally sees to our needs. We all receive Jesus' touch. We experience his care.” (Max Lucado)

“Satan is so much more in earnest than we are—he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost.” (Amy Carmichael)

“A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior.” (Jonathan Edwards)

“He that loveth little prayeth little, he that loveth much prayeth much.” (St. Augustine)

“I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.” (Oswald Chambers)

“If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider ‘not spiritual work’ I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” (Amy Carmichael)

“God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do." (A.W.Tozer)

“Truth is the agreement of our ideas with the ideas of God.”

(Jonathan Edwards)

“The Christians are right: it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” (C.S.Lewis)

“Oh, will you pray? Stop now and pray, lest desire turn to feeling and feeling evaporate.” (Amy Carmichael)

“A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.” (Jonathan Edwards)

Monday Quotes

When the Christian faith becomes defined by who we are and what we do and not by who Christ is and what he did for us, we miss the gospel - and we, ironically, become more disobedient. Tullian Tchividjian

The truth is the real Christian experience is truly about repenting every day because there is no Christian that doesn't sin. Stephen Baldwin

I'm excited to create more awareness about the importance of giving the youth of America a choice. There's a 24-hour music channel. There's a 24-hour comedy channel. I believe there's a 24-hour gay channel coming. Why isn't there a 24-hour Christian channel that's edgy and hip and cool and new and different, like all that other stuff? Stephen Baldwin

Some of us live a Christian life as if we're always under the stern, watchful eye of our Father and he is very impossible to please... No, God delights even in our heartfelt attempts at obedience. Kevin DeYoung

If creators of Christian culture hope to produce work that will bear good fruit, we must draw our life from the true source - our living Savior. He is real. He is present. But all too often we reduce him to an abstraction, giving him intellectual assent, but not our hearts. Michael O'Brien

I never heard a Christian sermon preached in a church. Lincoln Steffens

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. Billy Graham

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. Billy Graham

You're born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there's a loophole. Billy Graham

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. John Wesley

Is it not hard that even those who are with us should be against us - that a man's enemies, in some degree, should be those of the same household of faith? Yet so it is. John Wesley

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Blaise Pascal

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi

I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order. Mike Pence

We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too. Helen Hayes

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. Benjamin Disraeli

O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations! John Wesley

It is not talking but walking that will bring us to heaven. Matthew Henry

He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave. Matthew Henry

It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church. Matthew Henry

Monday Quotes

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. Vince Lombardi

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren Buffett

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Billy Graham

My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world. Billy Graham

Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has. Billy Graham

The main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that's really the essence of the Christian faith. Joel Osteen

When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man, when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man! John Wesley

The Christian missionary may preach the gospel to the poor naked heathen, but the spiritual heathen who populate Europe have as yet heard nothing of Christianity. Carl Jung

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come. Henri Nouwen

First of all, the Jewish religion has a great deal in common with the Christian religion because, as Rabbi Gillman points out in the show, Christianity is based on Judaism. Christ was Jewish. Barbara Walters

The sometimes-tough love of the Christian faith of my childhood demanded a certain amount of self-reflection and, occasionally, self-criticism. J. D. Vance

The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. Albert Einstein

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' C. S. Lewis

God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed. Max Lucado

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Message

 

What's in it for Me?

“Religion today is not transforming people— it is being transformed by people. It is not raising the moral level of society— it is descending to society's own level and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smiling, accepting its surrender.” - A. W. TOZER (1897-1963)

These words reflect the true state of society and Christianity today. As Christians, do we embody Christianity? Or do we take what is convenient and ignore or justify the rest.

Christianity is not a convenience. It is a way of life to be led by emulating Christ for the Glory of our Father in Heaven. Don't we pray that? When we help someone in need is it for Gods glory or our own? When we perform church activities, is it for our own name to be up in lights or for the body of Christ? When we pray for someone to be healed is it for Gods glory or because we just like that person? Do we use the church as a social and networking platform or THE house of God? Do we follow Christ with a zero agenda ?

The fact is today's society views every thing with the lens of WIFM (what's in it for me) instead of "what's in it for God".

We cant pick and choose as we do. Living the Christian life means going out of our comfort zone and our "convenience zone", with a zero agenda. It means taking a step back from self glorification.

Christianity is not supposed to be the surrender of the church but our own surrender to God. It can involve surrendering small things throughout the day, or surrendering bigger things like hopes and dreams. Are we ready for that or is it an inconvenience?

A Small Peg in the Wall

                                          

A Pastor in Haiti related this parable to make a very strong point. We relate it as it is:

A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2000. Another man wanted to buy it very badly, but he was a poor man and he couldn't give the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house to the man for $1000. But the reduced price came with a stipulation. The owner would sell the house, but he would keep ownership of a large nail, protruding from over the front door.

Several years later, the original owner decided he wanted to buy the house back. Understandably, the new owner was unwilling to sell.

As a result, the original owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog in the street, and hung it from the nail he still owned. Soon, the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell to the owner of the nail.

The Haitian pastor concluded the story with these words: "If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotten garbage on it."

The Coffee Story

The coffee story is quite a common analogy to human nature. If you are carrying a cup of hot coffee and someone jostles your hand, the coffee in the cup (or whatever is in it) spills over.

Similarly, in humans, hidden feelings, frustrations, fear etc spill over and out of us when our life is jostled by circumstances or someone's behaviour. We can take some ones advice negatively and react or some thing which hurts us.

In our life stresses and "jostles" are inevitable.

Consider the cup to be the heart and mind and whatever is in it to be the coffee. Whatever we fill in the cup is what will spill out, when jostled.

King David's cup ran over with Gods goodness and provision in his life because he recognised God. He understood His works. He talked, God answered and he listened. David was Gods friend. King David's heart was filled with God. His cup ran over with God.

Today let us meditate on ourselves: when we are under stress what spills out of our cup? Can I fill my heart with the Spirit of God rather than anger, abuse and violence so that when I am jostled, His spirit spills over?

"You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup runneth over. ."

Quotes to Inspire

 

"God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile." — Max Lucado

"You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read." — John MacArthur

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." — C.S. Lewis

"It is not the trials in your life that develop or destroy you, but rather your response to those hardships." — Charles Stanley

"If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look 'little' or 'big.'" — Elisabeth Elliot

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." — Chuck Swindoll

"The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm." — Matt Chandler

"It is great to be faced with the impossible, for nothing is impossible if one is meant to do it. Wisdom will be given, and strength. When the Lord leads, He always strengthens." — Amy Carmichael

"Life is God's novel. Let him write it." — Isaac Bashevis Singer

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." — Saint Augustine

"When I consider the cross of Christ, how can anything that I do be called a sacrifice?" — Amy Carmichael

"One of the Devil's great lies is that the path to a fulfilling life is to live for one's self." — Andrew B. Ray

"If not for the tests in our lives some of us would not learn to pray." — Aminata Coote

Make Me a Blessing

We all love ourselves more than other people, but we care more about their opinions than our own. Because of this we tend to do, or not do, things which maybe right in our conscience.

But, doing the right thing is a priority in Christian life, following Jesus' way. He said  “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Luke 3:11

Isiaah 1 verses 17-20 lay it out clearly as well. 

Pastor David Jacobs, commenting on these verses from Isiaah says -

"It is not easy for the oppressed to stand up for themselves. Think about the downtrodden and unfortunate in history: the slaves in Egypt and the Americas, the Holocaust, or the plight of women in some parts of the world. It is difficult to hear their voices because they have no power. Nobody is listening. It is our duty, according to Isaiah, to listen and find a solution".

What other people think should not matter. When Jesus ate with the tax men, he knew what others were thinking but that did not bother Him. Healing on a Sabbath was considered wrong but that did not stop Him.

Serving people who are in need is an opportunity. An opportunity to be a blessing.

Remember this song we sang in Sunday school? We asked to become a blessing. 

Make Me a Blessing 

Out in the highways and byways of life,

many are weary and sad;

Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife

making the sorrowing glad.

Make me a blessing,

Make me a blessing,

Out of my life

May Jesus shine;

Make me a blessing, O savior, I pray,

Make me a blessing to someone today.

Give as 'twas given to you in your need;

Love as the Master loved you;

Be to the helpless a helper indeed;

Unto your mission be true.

Full Song is available here 

Sunday Quotes

                            

"We can look at Job, we can look at Lamentations, we can look at the Psalms, we can look at so many heroes of the faith who at different times had questions, who faced unbelief, yet God kept them, and they continued, in their doubts, to lean towards God, to lean and doubt in a way that continued to keep them attached to the vine and seeking Jesus in all of it." — Laura Wifler

"Every single thing He has ever or will ever say is true. The simplicity of faith is this: taking God’s Word for it." — Jackie Hill Perry

"No matter what has happened to you in the past or what is going on in your life right now, it has no power to keep you from having an amazingly good future if you will walk by faith in God. God loves you! He wants you to live with victory over sin so you can possess His promises for your life today!" — Joyce Meyer

"Hearing how God is moving in other places encourages and inspires our faith for what God wants to do in our own corner of the world." — Matt Brown

"The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness." — Henry David Thoreau

"A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being." — James E. Faust

"Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them." — Mahalia Jackson

"The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith." — Billy Graham

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." – Martin Luther King Jr.

"She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails." – Elizabeth Edwards

"Every single thing He has ever or will ever say is true. The simplicity of faith is this: taking God’s Word for it." — Jackie Hill Perry

"We can let go of burdens like condemnation and worry, perfectionism and insecurity. And we can cling desperately—even through tears—to the assurance that God knows, he cares, and he loves us with an infinite love. We can lay our burdens at the feet of Christ and receive what he offers instead." — Sarah J. Hauser

"Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” — C.S. Lewis

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." — Saint Augustine

"In faith, there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t." — Blaise Pascal

"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." — Voltaire

Sunday Quotes

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. – Francis of Assisi

The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor – Charles Stanley

Jesus’ mission is not to make converts, and it never has been. His mission is to make disciples. – Jim Putnam

It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor. – Martin Luther

The greatest proof that the Bible is inspired is that it has stood so much bad preaching. – A.T. Robertson

We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first. – Oswald J. Smith

Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented that He shows Himself. – Leonard Ravenhill

God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him. – Hudson Taylor

The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: life is a story about me. – Donald Miller

The world needs Christians who don’t tolerate the complacency of their own lives. – Francis Chan

Dear Jesus…how foolish of me to have called for human help when You are here. – Corrie ten Boom

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. – Oswald Chambers

Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love. – John Stott

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. – Charles Swindoll

Nothing so clearly discovers a spiritual man as his treatment of an erring brother. – St. Augustine

The Pilate Syndrome

Pontius Pilate: To Jesus
And what is 'truth'? Is truth unchanging law? We both have truths. Are mine the same as yours?
What is truth? Pilate’s answer to his own question could be a question asked in despair. How do we know right and wrong, good and evil, what is the right thing to do in any situation? How can anyone believe in a universal truth that transcends this world of suffering and despair?
Whatever his motive, he didn't get an answer because the truth was right there, standing in front of him.
Today we, like Pilate, do not recognize the truth. The truth was standing in front of Pilate, to be judged to die or to live.
Bob Kaylor says "For Pilate, anything that got him advanced in status in the eyes of the emperor was truth. Truth is whatever you decide it is, whatever is most pragmatic, kind of like throwing darts at the wall and drawing targets around them. Actually, Pilate would have been right at home in the 21st century, where truth is always relative."
Yes, we are mostly in what we can call the Pilate Syndrome:
The Pilate syndrome is a term used to describe the tension between the voice of truth and the world powers. It can also refer to the idea that people are desensitized to scandals and wash their hands of their civic responsibility.
We practice relative truths, making the truth very convenient. We justify our deeds, our wars, our destruction of nature, of human relationships and most of all destruction of our relationship with our God - our creator - all in the name of "truth".
We have the truth in our Bibles, yet we ask - What is truth? The Bible is right in front of us, yet we search for the truth. Instead, we should put our trust in God, in Jesus and His word and see (not seek) the truth work in our lives.
Billy Graham spoke truly when he said - "Truth is not found in the majority vote. Truth is found in the Word of God."

Street Food and Hunger: A Short Story

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

God works. And He does not do things with a wave of a magic wand, but through people like you and me. We all can be used for good, in some way, big or small.

Let me relate a short story of a simple act of kindness and love, which I happened to have witnessed.

"Every place in the world has two common things: street food and hunger.

One day, a person, call him X (since I do not know his name), saw some enticing street food being cooked. It was a rainy day and the smell of the food, hot on the stove, was more than he could resist. He walked over to get some packed for himself. As he was waiting with the rest of the customers, he noticed a small girl, maybe 6 or 8 years old, dirty, filthy and obviously hungry. She went from person to person begging for some food. Most people ignored her; the shop worker scolded her half heartedly; he had seen enough hungry folks to know she was ravenous.

One customer broke off a morsel of her food and offered it to the girl who politely refused.

The little girl waited for a while, maybe in hope, but then finally gave up, resigned to her fate. She went to the water stand and drank lots of water filling her stomach. Water was free. 

Seeing all this, this gentleman X who had had his food packed, was moved enough to pay for a plate of food and told the shop worker to give it to her. The worker, himself poor, showed his happiness. He did not wait to be thanked. He simply walked away.

When we witness such acts of unselfishness, caring and love, regardless of how someone is -  dressed or filthy, we realize that that God in Heaven is looking down at each one of the 8 Billion people in this world, to care and to provide. Such acts of humility and empathy prove that God has still not given up on man. God has not given up on me.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” — Mahatma Gandhi.

Sunday Quotes

                                 

“When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.”—James Hudson Taylor
“Joy is the infallible proof of the presence of God.”—Madeleine L’engle
“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”—Elisabeth Elliot
“For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”—Saint Teresa of Ávila
“Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”—Garth Brooks
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”—C.S. Lewis
“Christ literally walked in our shoes.”—Tim Keller
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”—Saint Augustine

Living the Word

Man giving his own slippers to a child. (The Kindness Blog)

It’s a paradigm shift…
Let’s look at this from 30,000 feet…
At the end of the day…
Let’s get our heads around this…

The world us full of buzz words and jargon. I guess they make the speaker feel a little wiser and knowledgeable and "in".

Dis you know that Christianity too has a lot of buzzwords ? One of the many is "The Living Word" . Yes we all know what it means but do we really live it? Jesus said many will say Lord Lord... Matthew 7:22.

Yes, Jesus is the living word from God to us. His ressurection proved that.

The problem is unless we don't live the word it's a dead word as far as we are concerned.

He also made it so simple: love and honor God above all else and love people. Do we love people apart from Sundays in church? Do we help our neighbors even if it's inconvenient? If someone Need's medical support, though we may not be doctors, we could arrange for them to meet a doc. Or if someone needs money genuinely, and I don't have it, I could use my friends and family to come together to help.

The point is we should be genuinely interested and concerned enough to do it. Following Jesus takes effort and a commitment to live the word. Let's Live the Word! 

In case you missed

 

The Boat with a Hole - A short story. Read it HERE

Quid est veritas: what is truth? Pilate's key question, we are still trying to answer today. Read it HERE

What does Forgiveness from God look like?

Pastor David Jacobs, trying to understand his mothers forgiveness asked her, "Would you be able to forgive me of I had committed murder?"

She answered - "You will always be my son. I would not approve of what you did but I would be there in jail, visiting you whenever I could." So would God! 

This leads to a thought: what does forgiveness from God look like? 

I would guess pretty much the same. When we sin, He would still love us and still guide us, if we wished, but He would not approve of what we had done. David's story is a case in point. He broke the 6th, 7th and 10 commandments and had to pay the price, yet God loved Him. Like David, we sin all the time, yet God sacrificed His son to save us from complete annihilation.

Just as knowledge of the depth of our mother's love fills our heart with joy and gives encouragement to abstain from hurting her, understanding the depth of God's love also gives us that desire to not hurt him, but try and please Him, visit Him and talk to Him. 

THE DAY SHAY GOT TO PLAY

 

If you had a choice between winning or losing what would you choose? This is a story of Shay, shared by a well-wisher, friend and a social worker. In this story there is no hero, no punchline and yet brings tear to the eyes. This is how it goes:

"At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. Athe pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. 

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

It is said, Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero.  (Our research does not suggest that). 

In my opinion, that day both teams won. But the biggest winner of the day was HUMANITY. 

Songwriter EJ Nolan has written a stirring tribute to the Shay story and Baseball Almanac is honored to share with you The Day Shay Got To Play.

"Somewhere angels are laughing 

But one dad shed tears that day 

For that one Grand Slam - meant Both Teams Won...

The Day Shay Got To Play".

Depths of Despair

"Are you afflicted and burdened excessively? Do you feel as if you're under such intense pressure these days that you are close to despair? I have some surprising news: you're exactly where God wants you to be. It took all these years to get you this low, this needy. Now, look up!"

That was Pastor Chuck Swindoll.

This statement can make us wonder if our God is a sadist. But, if you have ever lived by grace alone, if His grace alone has ever been truly sufficient, one can understand what Pastor Chuck means. But why should God want us to be at our lowest? 

Firstly, God wants us to be reliant on Him and His grace alone. Not on self or money or power or position. He will take away all such crutches and teach us to walk independently with Him. This is critical because of point no 2 -

Second, blessings given us by God need to be shared. His blessing needs to flow through us - not stored in us. On our own, we will never allow them to flow through us to others unless we have learned to live by His grace alone.

Lastly, if something new has to be built, it is necessary to completely break the old. It's the same thing with us. God will not put our new self in our old framework. (Remember the story of new wine and old wineskins).

So. If anyone is going through the very depths of despair and affliction, take it as a training period to prepare us for a role in Gods team. In this world or the next.

The Higher you Grow, the deeper you must Bow*

Have you noticed how the tallest trees bow the most before the wind, while humans (mostly) bow before none, not even God? 

1 Peter 5 Ver 6 remains a verse in the Bible, to be referred to once in a while. 

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time".

Commenting on this topic, Chipo Biti wrote - "When we try to live our lives according to impulses inspired by pride and our egos, we are simply setting ourselves up for failure. There is no good that can ever come from thinking that we know better than God. When we try to rush for opportunities that we are not ready for, we simply end up setting ourselves up for embarrassment.

When people are not used to delayed gratification, they believe that they deserve to get whatever they want whenever they want it. This is not a wise way to live. When this happens, we ignore God's instructions and we choose to follow our own way instead because we believe that it is far better than the path that God has planned out for us".

The problem is humans have been conditioned to be goal oriented with complete dependance on self. The truth is we think God is just a helping hand and we are the main cause of our success or failure. We are so proud of our own knowledge, we become so arrogant that we lose the ability to recognize our own arrogance.

"But", Chip Biti says, "the truth is: we cannot do anything significantly meaningful without God. If we try to live our lives on our own terms it means that we are turning our backs on God."

Genuine humility lies in the fact that we put God's will, direction and timing before our own desired outcomes. The Bible defines humility in Proverbs 22:4 as - "...the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life." (Please read "fear" as reverence). It not only defines humility it also states it's benefits.

It is of critical importance that along with other things, we pray for genuine humility to fill our lives. 

Humility is an important characteristic to develop as a follower of Christ, because "pride and arrogance" are the biggest barriers to a relationship with God.

It’s hard not to gloat about the praise, glory and all the accolades that come our way. But humility requires us to point that recognition back to God.

* Old Chinese saying