This Week With Jesus

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Matthew 15 Ver 7-9 If we were on trial on our behavior and response to the almighty, GUILTY would surely be the verdict. So, what do we do about this? Here is a great suggestion from Ms. Francis Taylor: "What example do we give others? If we are known as Christians, do our actions proclaim it? We can't take for granted that we are living as Jesus wants us to live if we don't pay attention. Just as in Lent, we are called to a greater sense of reflection, Advent reminds us that this life is not our final home. It can be overwhelming to try to see all of the areas that might need to be improved, so I'm suggesting that we take just one of the Ten Commandments that we might have some trouble with and see what changes we need to make to become more faithful to

                                    Ruth 1:16 “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Reading the story of Ruth has always been an inspiration. Naomi is devastated, Ruth's decision to tie herself into the hopeless situation of Naomi and her life changing decision to jump from the frying pan into the fire is incomprehensible by today's standard. She faced complete devastation yet became an inspiration for us when we face hard and terrible tragedy or circumstances. Joy Burgess  puts it so well when she says - "When life brings devastation, it’s not easy to hope. It’s hard to have faith. But when things are the most difficult, that’s when we need faith and hope the most. In the moments where life feels like it’s crushing you, start with a little faith. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidenc

Jonah 2: 7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple". "The loss of a loved one causes deep sorrow; we feel anguish at the thought of separation from the ones we love". This grief, no matter of how long ago, never really goes but get heightened on special occasions and most of all at Christmas. Memories can cause a lot of pain. "Grief piles so high upon our hearts; we feel suffocated and broken. Then we remember our God and His unconditional love; we feel His presence and recall His promise of eternal life. Although it's difficult to be separated today, we know we will be reunited. God never breaks His promises, and our faith brings us hope for a new day". Ms. Francis Taylor Today we have shared this video which was shared by a reader of this blog. We further share it for all those broken-hearted people who may take some comfort.

I'm on the outside looking inside,                                          What do I see?                                          Much confusion, disillusion,                                          Deep inside me. There is a very powerful devotional called God Calling, https://www.twolisteners.org/ , and we recommend you may get it as well. Its supposed to be Jesus speaking to 2 ladies, seemingly getting overwhelmed with life, as many of us are maybe. We suggest you may get it as well. Today's posting is quoted from this book - Devotional of November 28. "To work from large interests, and a desire for great activities and world movements, to the inner circle life with me, is really the wrong way. That is why, so often, through all these activities and interests, a soul finds me, I have to begin our friendship by cutting away ties that bind it to the outer and wider circle. When it has gained strength and learned its lesson in the inner circle, it can then widen its li

Genesis 42 : 21 ESV Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” This is a very familiar story about Joseph and his brothers. So familiar in fact, that we sometimes overlook the small nuances which is the case in this verse. Nowhere in Joseph's story is it written about what he went through. What he felt. But in this verse, it talks about the anguish he felt as he was left in that pit to die. He was distressed and anguished to his very soul. Such a strong emotion that his soul itself was distressed. Or so he thought. If only he knew Gods plan, he would have happily gone into the pit on his own, singing merrily. Isn't it much like a lot of situations we face in life? We don't know the outcome, so we are distressed and anguished. In that anguished moment we envision the worst outcomes, like probably Joseph did. Or we

                               No, it's not the last Thursday of November. That is a tradition reserved for Americans.  Since its the season we call it out today, though it could be any day in the year to stop to think of His greatness - from the universal to the personal, and all that we have been blessed with. Think life; think Covid; think tsunami; yet we are blessed to be here.  Thanksgiving is a tradition. Let's make it a habit! Creation, by itself, fills one with awe when you stop to think how it could have been made. Imagine this: the earth hangs in the air, with no support, rotates so that each part of it gets the sun and the moon by turns. We praise Him for this creation that we enjoy day on day, night by night, every second. Think about ourselves.  Truly He knew us much before we were born . He brought us into a family or friends who brought us to Him. We thank God for their presence in our lives. Think about the moments of great danger we did not even know yet protec

The world is full of people in need of something. Even the richest have needs, as do the poorest. Everyone has some need or the other. As we are called upon to support one another, how do we fill in the needs of all the people around us? Financial, emotional, education, jobs, medical, loneliness, and the list goes on. No one single person can help fulfill all this. Or can they? We know of a lady who tries to do just that and has developed a very unique operating model. When she comes to know of someone in need, she first listens, ascertains it is genuine to the best of her ability, and then circulates that need to her circle of friends and acquaintances. People come together, contribute what they can, and she then channelizes it to the person who needed it. She does not amass on a large scale and then distribute. She addresses each need separately - be it a wedding of a poor person, or medical needs or education, clothes, food and so on.  In short, she has created an informal support