“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 NIV
Jesus invitation in Matt. 11 rings loud today as it did on the first day it was spoken. It is an invitation to come away from a life of endless pursuits and burden bearing to a life of rest – of focus on the things that matter more on an eternal scale. It is an invitation to experience catharsis and learn a new way to approach life.
Continue reading “Come to Me”It’s Palm Sunday. That special (Sun)day set aside in the year to celebrate the triumphant entry of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, just a few days before His crucifixion. The irony of this sequence of events was perplexing for Jesus’ disciples at the time. But today, that turn of events is no longer surprising – we know it was by divine design.
Continue reading “Hosanna!”He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be
For by His hand He leadeth me
The title of this post is drawn from an old hymn, whose refrain/chorus is the paragraph above. Today, I invite you to set your mind on the blessed thought that the Lord leads you, through every mountain and valley, through happy and sad, clear and confusing moments alike. Let us ponder together what this means for our lives and how we should respond to God’s leadership.
Continue reading “He Leadeth Me”“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Matthew 6:9 NIV
Our Father. Such grace! Faith in Jesus opens us up to a new relationship with the Almighty God – a Father-Child relationship. Before Jesus, the Jews worshipped and honoured God but never related with Him as their Father. To them, that would be laying a claim to Divinity. That claim to Divinity is what Jesus has, and offers to everyone who believes in Him – the right to be a child of God.
Continue reading “Our Father”Today’s post comes from one of my favourites songs by contemporary Christian band, Casting Crowns. The song’s theme is maintaining faith in God through difficult circumstances. Praising God is a powerful way to declare our faith especially when we go through difficult seasons. It is our way of saying “God, I trust You, and I know you’ve got me covered.”
Continue reading “Praise You in the Storm”“People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’ (Job 35:9-11, NIV)
The Bible verse above speaks to the struggles that people go through while often ignoring God, the One who is not only able to help them, but who has set them apart from animals by making them capable of higher reasoning. God, by this, already showed His willingness to help us in our times of need.
Continue reading “Songs in the Night”Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NIV
When, like Paul, we reach out to God concerning a thorny situation in our lives, hoping to have the Lord take out the thorn, hardly do we expect to hear the words: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Continue reading “My Grace is Sufficient for Thee”“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. Acts 20:22 (NIV)
Have you ever gone to a place solely on account of God’s will? Or maybe taken a decision only because you were persuaded it was what God wanted? An action without benefit or profit for you, one that you have to take at great risk to your life or possessions – would you ever take that kind of action? This is what we hear Paul say in the verse above. Let’s look a little closer…
Paul was bidding the elders of the Ephesian church farewell. Convinced he would never see them again, he gave them parting words, sharing his commitment to preaching the gospel as he went from place to place. Although he lived with a lot of uncertainties, Paul knew one thing was sure – prison and hardships awaited him as he spread the gospel. Yet he was was unwavering. He was set for the defence of the gospel, willing to complete his God-given task at any cost.
Just like his master Jesus, Paul was headed to Jerusalem, knowing the danger that awaited him there, but convinced that he was being led there by God in fulfillment of purpose. He was ready to embrace pain, hardship or even death, that could become his fate as he headed to Jerusalem. He no longer counted his life dear to himself neither did he strive to preserve it – he only lived to obey the Lord’s command and follow his bidding. Like Jesus, Paul was sold out to God – a willing slave.
The lesson is clear; the application is challenging; the demand, unwavering. God wants our all – a total commitment to obeying his commands and doing his will regardless of the cost to us. Although He works with us at every stage to accomplish his purpose, God always desires for us to become more yielded by the day, letting go of everything until like Paul, we too can say, with full devotion and complete sincerity: “I consider my life worth nothing to me”.
Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13 (NIV)
Further Reading: Acts 20:17-24, 21:10-14
This week, I’ve had my share of “troubles”, from internet disconnection for 3 days (meaning missed conference meetings and inability to work from home), to ATM dispense error and a trapped ATM Card (meaning I had to visit a banking hall for retrieval). It has felt like things were working against me. Or as we say in local parlance, my “village people” were at work….hahaha. But I count it all joy!
Continue reading “Count it all joy!”No man was ever too hard for God’s Love to break
Only by everlasting wisdom does He decide in Himself
Who in His mercy He would draw to come see the Light
And who in judgment He forsakes to depths of darkness
In the mire of his sins and hardness of his heart
God would easily convert the wicked by His tender love
For never was any man too hard for our God to break
