Who are you?

Read John 1 19-28 Here

If someone asked you today, who are you, what would your reply be? Most of us would give our name, profession and maybe address.

John the Baptist was asked the same question, repeatedly, and his answer can become a standard for us.

Most of us, when questioned, focus on the creation rather than the creator. We would say our name, our occupation, or position and so on. But John introduced himself by his mission. He was clear on what it was and what he was committed to do.

In our case our mission defines our focus. Is our mission to become a CEO or a political leader etc. Or is our mission to become an instrument of Gods work. And if so what exactly can I do in His kingdom? What is our role?

The answer to that question will tell us whether we are "creation focused" or "creator focused". Whether we have made idols in our lives or not.

Today, as an exercise can we craft an answer like John's which we can answer people with when asked "who are you". For example, say a doctor is asked. He could give an interesting reply - "I am Dr. John Deo and I am Gods assistant in healing the sick". Or say a teacher - "I am Jane Doe and I teach people through God given wisdom, to learn to live in this world". A mother could say I help God create life. A Gardner could say I help God propagate the nature He made.

So let's craft an answer for ourselves today, giving God the glory for what we do and the skills we have to do it. Let us proudly say how we help God in His work here on Earth. 

Force Majeure

Every time I think about life and all the numerous small and big miracles I have experienced, I recall Romans 5:5 where it says -

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us".

it follows then that if we want God's wonderous participation in our lives, through the Holy Spirit we need to relinquish control. But we confine the Holy Spirit, muzzle Him, constrain Him, all to remain in control.

One thing is for sure: That Miracles are not the "normal" of today. They are acts of God - The Force Majeure. Even the law recognizes that.

Miracles are always within the grand design of God the Creator and fall within the category of prophetic symbolism intended to draw attention to something beyond themselves that confirms the word of God. They are not isolated gestures on the part of God but play an important part in the execution of the grand design of the Creator for the redemption of His creatures.

However, they are beyond the natural forces. Stanford university defines a miracle as something beyond the productive powers of nature. They violate natural laws as we know them. The dead, in nature, remain dead. The living, in nature, have to die. A river will naturally flow, you cannot stop it. For any of these examples to reverse, they need an intervention, beyond nature. And that intervention is God, as the creator of nature.

But. Miracles happen everyday. The sun rises and sets each day; small seeds grow into mighty trees; the many components of our body work together, enabling us to breathe, run, dream, and eat. Inspired advances in medicine and technology are happening every day, and we can now communicate with almost anyone anywhere. God’s power can be seen in every detail of our lives. His power is seen, yet not His participation.

Often, a miracle doesn’t prevent suffering or tragedy at all. God performs miracles for two basic reasons: to strengthen faith and to accomplish good.

But if we seek miracles for the wrong reasons, we can run into trouble. The most common problem comes if we seek signs as proof of God’s existence. If we don’t add any faith to the equation, these miracles and signs won’t ever lead to real, lasting conversion.

4 Steps to wisdom

As we get older, we become wiser and we gradually realize that a $30 watch and a $300 watch show the same time...Whether we wear $30 or $300 purses, the same amount of money can fit in both.. Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car, the journey and the distance are the same, we always reach the same destination..

Wisdom is what we all want and need. It helps us to make the right choices, to make the right decisions, to know right from wrong. It gives us discernment. But wisdom is not easy to find nor get. It is a challenging process, requiring us to rise above our own selves. While wisdom is a keen desire of all, it requires us to work towards it. It is a process in steps. So what are they? 

1. Desire - the first step is to have a consistent desire to get wisdom, throughout the process. Consistent because, frequently we will find that wisdom tells us to do something while not doing it is more attractive. Not to desire something, while that desire is so pleasurable. And so we frequently over-ride wisdom. This is detrimental to gaining it because it does not allow us to experience the pleasure of a wise decision.

2. The second step is to search wisdom. Fortunately for us, we have the Bible as the world's best reference, guide and textbook. We need to be committed to read and learn.

3. Thirdly, we should talk to the Author of the Bible, pray for wisdom; for Gods word to speak to us. As James tell us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

4. Finally, we need to fear the Lord. Solomon says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverbs 9:10). But how should we fear God? 

Philipp Melanchthon, a collaborator of Martin Luther, discussed what it means to fear God by contrasting filial fear with servile fear. Filial fear is the type of respect and love a child has for a parent, a fear of offending the one they most adore and trust. In contrast, servile fear is the kind of fear that a prisoner has for his jailer or executioner. Guess what? Contrary to the image of the word "fear" God expects Filial fear and NOT "servile' fear. 

Age by itself does not give us wisdom. But it does give us time to take those 4 steps to be wise. To start with dedicate 1 day a week to be truly wise, not deciding things based on your emotions or gut feel but on the word of God, His counsel through prayer and patiently wait for Him to guide.

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The Iron Man

Ted Hughes, in his novel Iron Man, describes the fantastic story of a creature who finally saves the earth in spite of humans viewing him as an enemy. Sounds familiar? 

Today let us look at David - another Iron Man. Where did David get his sustenance and strength?  Pastor Colin Smith explains this rather wonderfully in his  sermon, "He sustains Me" on what gave David that strength and is a promise for us as well. 

As we know, David did not have a peaceful life like many of us do. He was plagued by a continuous stream of troubles, even death. Yet he was a man of God. In spite of his continuous troubles he fought on and accomplished what he was entrusted with. What gave him this strength? What did he have that we are missing? 

Pastor Smith has explained all this and more in his message, "He Sustains Me" which we recommend you read/ hear. The message is available here

Do not Forget

Deuteronomy 4:9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Waking up every morning is a miracle in itself, and that’s worth celebrating. Each new day is a gift from our gracious God.

We are so miniscule we cannot even begin to create a certainty in our future. The only certainty we have is the past.

Our past shows us that we are dear to God and being that we can be sure that He will ascertain the best for our future. That best may not be in line with what we want, but it will be what we need, to live a life as God would like us to.

In the words of Ms Francis Taylor -

When you feel abandoned by God it is so important that you remember when God was there for you. This is what Moses was trying to impress upon the Israelites before they entered the promise land. (In the quoted verse)

He had many instructions for them, including the necessity of keeping the commandments. They would forget to follow the commandments, but when they were at their lowest points, they would remember that God always came through. As generations came and went, this message was repeated in the Scriptures. It was contained in Psalm 22 which Jesus would quote while he hung on the cross. It is important for us as well to remember and not abandon God when bad things happen in our lives, because if there is any certainty in life, it is that bad things will happen. No one escapes suffering. The challenge for us as for the Israelites is how we respond. Do we continue to trust that God will be with us through it all, or do we turn away from God, or even deny God's very existence? The way we handle tragedy teaches our children and grandchildren about our trust in God even more than the words we use. When our first response is prayer, we are teaching trust. When we recall the blessings we have received, it is easier to stay faithful.

Sometimes we think that if God is with us, we won't have to face these problems, but that is so unrealistic! Jesus knew that his Father was with him IN the suffering, and that is what helped him to face it. God will be with us in OUR suffering as well. 

When we count our blessings daily, we are keeping the memory of them alive and we will be more able to survive what life sends us.

Did it Hurt? : A message based on Pastor Rajiv's Message on Sacrifice.

It is widely believed that the those who are poor are often more generous than the rich. Jesus recognized this in the temple when he saw a woman put in all she had into the offering bag. This may be due to the fact that the poor rely on God for their daily bread and  they recognize that fact that whatever they have came from God.

This is not a universal law. There are so many well to do people who share their wealth in many ways. Yet, some Acts from the Bible take the prize as in the verse below. 

Acts 2:45

"and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need".

One of the points raised by Pastor Rajiv in his message earlier was that sacrificial giving goes beyond the specific giving. The word sacrifice comes from the Latin word sacra which means sacred and à ficeo à meaning ‘to make. SO SACRIFICE MEANS TO MAKE SACRED OR TO MAKE HOLY! In other words  to devote to God. 

As we near the middle of Lent, some of us sacrifice something or the other, like food, alcohol, some luxuries, money etc. While that is good for us, it may not fall in line with the typical understanding of the word. For example, if we have sacrificed some food, what did we do with the money we saved? Did we give it to the church, the poor? A long time back, the Church used to distribute money boxes which you were supposed to fill every day and at the end of lent it was given back to the church. 

Today we would like our readers to consider an aspect of sacrifice they may not have already. That 

A. Sacrificial giving has to benefit another needy person. 

B. Sacrificial giving hurts. 

C. It is not the same as sharing. 

Then only can we really term it as Pastor Rajiv's definition. 

The real question is whether my sacrifice came from my own expense or from my surplus? Did it benefit someone else or me alone? 

When Jesus sacrificed Himself, He did it for us; it hurt Him till death; He didn't share His life. He gave it for us. 

This story recounted in 1Kings 17 verses 10-15 says it all 

"So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’”

So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days".

Dear Readers, it is good to give up certain things during lent, but when we sacrifice something, does it really help someone else? Did that sacrifice hurt? Was it from our little or was it from our much. 

Abandoned By God

Psalm 22 verses 1 and 2 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

Yesterday we talked about unanswered prayers. Today we go a step further: when we think our prayer has not been answered, in some extreme situations like the death of a loved one, or a serious illness which won't go away, we can feel abandoned by God. But is it really so?

Feeling abandoned is not the same thing as being abandoned.

So, having made that distinction, do we feel abandoned or are we really abandoned? Or is there some wisdom or logic, beyond oir comprehension?

Recently, while researching on the topic of unanswered prayers, we came across a real-life account of a person who felt abandoned. We will not try to reproduce the story, but let you read it yourself. So here it is.

https://thecatholicwoman.co/letterstowomen/reckoning-with-grief-and-unanswered-prayers