Category Archives: journey

Lent – Day 10 – Gospel in a Nutshell

jesus saves

Jesus came to the world to die for our sins. Death has to be defeated on the Cross so you and I can have an eternal life. Jesus rose again after 3 days thus offering the humanity an opportunity to live an eternal life. Anyone that believes in God , God gives them the right to be called His children and partake in the eternal life.

John 3:16 gives the message of the Bible in a nutshell

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

John 3:16

There was a man called Saul in the Bible, who initially persecuted Christians. He was the one that lead a major persecution against Christians in Jerusalem. On the road to Damascus, Saul made a miraculous turnaround which is recorded in the Bible in the Book of Acts.He witnessed the Christ  he was persecuting and his life was never  the same. He became the chosen vessel of God to proclaim His good news to the nations around the world. He became knows as Paul after his conversion to Christ and his life  was transformed for the glory of God. God’s love is transformational and life changing for good.

Below is what Paul preached about the gospel to the ends of the world.

Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.[b]

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

God’ love is so deep to reach you even in your deepest valleys and His love is so strong to deliver you even from the impossible of the impossible. His love for you stretches above the skies and beyond the seas. He promises to be with you to the very end of age. There can be no friend like Jesus that you can gain on this earth and He extends His love to you today. All you need is to RECEIVE His unconditional love for you to experience it

How ? BY BELIEVING IN HIM

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Romans 10: 9 -10

My prayer for you today my friend is that you will open your heart to receive His love. My deepest desire is for you to taste and see that the Lord is good. May this be a day of resurrection in your lives. The choice is yours ! May you choose the Heavens above and let Him shine through your lives

Stay Blessed in Him

 

Advertisements

Lent – Day 9 – The ‘PEEK A BOO ‘ Game

 billy2

My 4 year old daughter came up to me and said ” Momma, I am going to show you a magic trick but you need to close your eyes for a second “. She had a rice cracker in her hand and she said she was going to make it disappear by the time I opened my eyes.

So here I sit listening to my 4 year old’s instructions, closing my eyes and waiting for her to tell me to open my eyes. I heard my daughter eating the rice crackers and I told her ” Hannah, I hear you eating the rice crackers ” .

Her reply was so funny that I had to laugh out aloud. She said ” Momma, you have to pretend as if you don’t hear anything. That’s my magic “

So there we went again repeating the whole thing over, but this time I pretended that I didn’t hear any of that noise that came from her eating them. Then she says ” Open your eyes, Peek a Boo – look the crackers have disappeared ” and continues to ask me ” Do you like my magic trick ?  “

She is too gorgeous for me to tell her the actual truth or a long explanation so I just responded ” Wow, how did you do that ? ” . Little does she know that Momma is watching all her moves including eating her crackers. I love her so much that sometimes I let her get away with things like this.

Sometimes we play this PEEK A BOO game with God.  We try to do our own things in our own way and try to convince God that our way is either the right way or the best. We actually pretend and live in a delusion state that we can control our lives and manage our lives all by ourselves. Some people even think that they don’t need a God or even worse they firmly believe that Jesus is a myth. But God is not a myth. Just because someone feels a certain way about something, doesn’t change the very existence of that thing

Billy Graham, one of the most faithful servant of the Lord was welcomed Home into the presence of Jesus today. He spent seven decades of spreading the gospel to more than 200 million people in 185 countries in the world.

In the summer of 2015 at his “Final Crusade” Graham said the below

Deep inside we need something else. And that something else can be brought about by Jesus – Billy Graham

Billy Graham encourages us to come to God as we are without any pretence.

In God’s economy, you must go down into the valley of grief before you can scale the heights of spiritual glory. You must become tired and weary of living alone before you seek and find the fellowship of Christ. You must come to the end of “self” before you can begin to live. The happiest day of my life was when I realized that my own ability, my own goodness, and my own morality were insufficient in the sight of God. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mourning was turned to joy, and my sighing into singing. Happy are they that mourn for the inadequacy of self, for they shall be comforted with the sufficiency of God.

Today is a call out in the open. Today is a bold call to wake up from the pretend sleep and trying to put on a show that everything is alright . Today is THE day to STOP the PEEK A BOO game we have been playing with God. Today is the day of salvation, where we turn our hearts to repentance and call on the Lord to save us and set us FREE

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbour’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honoured values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!”
― Billy Graham

 Stay Blessed In Him

 

 

Lent – Day 8 – Let Him BREW your life

brew

As I was driving today and praying about the devotion tonight, I had the word BREW pop in my mind.  By the time I drove back home, I knew exactly what tonight’s post will be about ! I absolutely love the way God speaks words into my heart !

I am a big fan of a freshly brewed coffee. Just enough for me to refresh my tired mind and boost my day ahead. Or should I say that is what gets me out of bed everyday morning.

To brew a classic cup of coffee, one needs to master a few fundamentals to perfect the technique. According to an article published by the National Coffee Association How to Brew a Coffee, you first need to get the brewing essentials right like the equipment, the beans, freshness, the grind, the water, coffee-water ratio, water temperature and most importantly the brewing time, which is an important flavour factor.

For a coffee to reach its perfect flavour and colour, it needed to be left to brew. It has to go through a series of defined processes, for the desired outcome. Research proves that if a coffee is over- extracted ( the brew time is too long ) or under – extracted ( the brew is too short ) , the very essence of coffee is lost

When God destined our lives on this earth, He set up a ‘brewing ‘ stage for each of our lives. Everyone’s ‘brewing ‘ stage totally different and uniquely varying to everyone else’s. Those ‘brewing’ stages include stages of yearning for God, learning about God and growing in God. Those ‘brewing’ stages set us up developmentally in what God has planned for our lives. Those’ brewing’ stages teach us the virtue of patience and the importance of waiting in His presence. Those ‘brewing’ stages bring us one step closer to God and bring us a revelation of who God really is

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. Psalm 139:16

The ‘brewing’ stage of God in Joseph’s life setup him for a greater purpose that God destined for his life. Joseph did not allow the length of his ‘brewing’ stage tamper with his God’s love for Him and his God given dreams. He was steadfast in God’s faithfulness to him and persevered trusting in His grace and mercy. And eventually Joseph’s ‘brewing’ stage came to an end, with a sweet aroma of God’s goodness and unfailing plans being proclaimed to the ends of the earth.
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Gen 50:20
You might be going through a ‘brewing’ stage in your life, where things are super slow and situations seem impossible. My encouragement for you today is to HANG ON to that ‘brewing’ stage that God has placed in your life right now,  for at the end of it is your BREAKTHROUGH. Make sure you add the right ingredients during that stage, Word of God and fellowship with God for your life to be a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Let your life BREW in Him , with the Hope and Blessed Assurance that He will work all things for good
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
My Prayer for you is as you wait for Him and on Him patiently as He BREWS your life, May every promise of God you are clinging onto speak life into your situation. May He bring breakthrough in your situation like you have never seen before. May He reveal to you the depths of His unconditional love for you
In Jesus Name
Amen
Stay Blessed in Him

 

 

 

 

Lent – Day 7 – Rooted In His Love

joy of the Lord

It’s a very common usual thing  for us to feel happy when something good happens to us and sad or discouraged when things don’t happen the way we wanted or expected. These feelings of happiness and being sad are triggered by our life circumstances or happenings.

The Bible talks about a joy that is not dependent on any situation or person in our lives, THE JOY OF THE LORD

The Joy of the Lord is your strength – Nehemiah 8:10

Wait , what does that mean ? Let’s explore that a little bit

We can rejoice in the joy of the Lord when we are rooted in His love. We can be partakers of God’s joy when we REALLY KNOW who God is and believe in His sovereignty. The joy of the Lord comes naturally to a Christian who has  personal relationship with His God the Father . That’s why we see some people not shaken in the natural realm even when terrible things happen to them. They trust God for their life completely,  they hold onto the promises of God in those tough times and go on with their lives with the blessed assurance that Jesus will never leave them or forsake them or fail them

I would just like to share a bit of personal testimony here.Reflecting back, 4 years ago I was dealing with a separation that ended in divorce. Along with the trauma of whatever that happened while I was a Christian, I was also a first time mom to a 3 month old. I had so many questions on why I had to face a divorce when I was still a Christian. I wondered what will happen to me and my child now. My heart was gripped with fear and my mind had a thousand questions to deal with, in addition to my sleep deprivation and exhaustion from having a newborn baby , having to find a place to live and returning to work to make a living for both of us.

I definitely was not happy with my circumstances but the joy of the Lord that I had in me gave me the hope to hang on, the strength to stand up and the courage to move on.  I was able to build myself up again in-spite of the numerous challenges I had to deal with of being a single mom. The doctrine became a life experience for me and became my source of strength for my life. I was and am so very  grateful that I had God in my life then and now. Else honestly I am not sure where my life would have been. Probably it might have taken a different path.

This lent season we might be expectantly looking to God for answered prayers. We might be crying out to God like David

“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” Psalm 13

He asks God ‘ How long ‘ 4 times in this Psalm. But at the end of the Psalm, He shifts his focus from his sorrow to his trust in the Lord and His salvation

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me” Psalm 13: 5-6  

David was tempted to drift towards his sorrow based on his feelings and circumstances. But he was quick enough to re-focus his attention on the Lord , which is his true source of strength. My encouragement for you is to find your joy in Him. When we do that, it’s like a package,  along with the joy comes your yearning to spend time with Him, along with that comes His wisdom to handle your mountains and along with that comes the contentment which is a great gain in the Heavenly realm

My prayer for you today is Col 2:7

7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Stay Blessed in Him

 

 

 

Lent – Day 4 – Our Life Storywriter

craftsmanship

As I reflect on my journey with God so far in my Christian life, few things that stand out for me is God’s faithful love for me, His incredible patience at my ( well, not so often ) childlike tantrums and the amazing strength He provides always whenever I need it

Life experiences teach us some valuable life lessons. So often God has reminded me that My Story is My Own and I can’t live someone else’s story. My story is My Own and someone else can’t live mine. But God is the one that orchestrates all our stories

We often get caught with the ‘game of comparison’ due to which  we either elevate ourselves than others or underestimate our lives. The result is either pride or discouragement. Somewhere between these two we need to find a balance to live at peace with each other.

It so happens in Christian prayer life, we always see God’s miracle power at action and rather than taking encouragement from that happening we ask God to do EXACTY the SAME thing for us

Some conversations with God that might ring a bell

‘ God, I have been asking for a child. Can you please bless me EXACTLY like the way you blessed my friend when they prayed ?’

God, I have been praying for a job. Can you please bless me EXACTLY the way you did to that family ?’

‘ God,  I have been asking for healing for my sickness. You healed that person. Can you heal me JEXACTLY the way You healed my friend ? ‘

See, the issue here is not asking God to provide or heal. The issue here is asking God to something for your life EXACTLY the way He did in your friend’s life . When we start comparing our lives to someone else’s , we are setting ourselves for the enemy’s trap of ‘envy’ . When we do that we miss out on the BIGGER picture of God’s unique plan for our lives, plan that He intends to bless us and not harm us, just because we lack the trust and patience to take His guided path

God has created each of us unique and for sure each of us have a storyline that is far different to each of us. Don’t try to write someone’s story on your storyline , when you have got your own to write

4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Galatians 6:4-5

Stand on God’s promises not on other people’s experiences. You are God’s masterpiece. God created you unique. There is no one like you and no one can be like you.

We are God’s Masterpiece

Ephesians 2: 10

My encouragement to you today is to pray your heart out to God and place all your supplications to Him WITHOUT comparing your life to others. When you have a sense of belonging in God’s kingdom which comes with your constant fellowship with God, you will gradually learn to trust Him and God loves it when His children put that mustard seed of faith to action.

REFLECTION FOR YOU

Read this prayer aloud to Jesus and ask Him for guidance for your life

3. Psalm 119:73-74 You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.

Stay Blessed in Him

Time to put ‘privilege’ to action !!

Hey Friends,

The ‘LoveCareShare’ campaign is still ON. Final 12 more days to go ! My heartfelt thanks to all the generous hearts that have donated so far ! For those that haven’t had a chance to donate yet, please have a read and donate as your heart leads. Your small donation even as little as $4 could make a world of difference to someone’s Christmas this year ! It’s a blessing to be a blessing and to do something for someone that can’t do it for themselves is a privilege we all hold ! Let’s put that privilege to action this Christmas ! ❤️

https://www.gofundme.com/lovecareshare-christmas-mission?pc=fb_co_dashboard_a&rcid=e4b7d2a6385640b1a379041ae8dc9d3f

Quit 1 Coffee =$4= Bless Someone’s Christmas

Hey Friends,

Massive thanks to all that are contributing and making this dream a reality !We are at 7:9% of our goal and slowly progressing . I am super proud that my 4 year old is also onboard with us. Hannah had listed her unused toys and we are selling them on our local platform. Hannah is happy to give that to this cause . As a 4 year old all that she understands is she is going to make someone happy this Christmas.

We often underestimate our potential and our ability to give. It’s the heart that matters.

Just visualise this. There is a big ship sailing in the sea which starts sinking suddenly. There are people thrown into the water without choice due to this catastrophy and people that manage to be safe on board, try to help that are sinking. If they know swimming some risk their lives, dive in and rescue people. If they don’t know swimming, they try to throw life boats at the people drowning so they can climb onto it and stay safe. Some try to get help calling services

This is just a metaphor and the situation in real life is more or less the same. We all sail in the same boat of life. Catastrophe strikes and people are thrown out of their comfort zone, without choice and into deep pits. I believe as a fellow human being it’s every person’s responsibility to help each other in need. If you are brave enough, jump onto the mission and take a leap challenging yourself to give your best. If you are unsure, throw a life boat which could be a small donation, insignificant for you but massive significance for those in need.

The decision is yours today. It could be the greatest feeling this Christmas that you have helped brighten someone’s Christmas this year. One coffee, $4 is all it takes. Little drops make a mighty ocean. Never underestimate what our little drop of $4 could do to impact a persons life in a positive way.

Thanks for joining me on this journey ! If you haven’t and you are reading this, welcome aboard ! Click on the link below

https://www.gofundme.com/lovecareshare-christmas-mission

Pic Courtesy : Google

Blessings

Sindu

When Perception Overrides Perspective

Let your perspective of things not affect the way you perceive things in the present

Let your perspective of things not affect the way you perceive things in the present. Let your perspective be based on what you perceive in the present world. When reality hits hard, one needs to let go of their perspective of things and embrace perceiving things just the way they are to find a way out.

Perspective according to the dictionary can be defined as ‘ a particular attitude towards or a way of regarding something. A point of view 

Perceive could be defined as the ability to recognize, discern or understand. 

Say for example, each of us view life from our own perspective, contributing factors could be our age, culture, family, life circumstances and possibly a lot more. For example from a new mom’s perspective life could be both exciting and exhausting at the same time, a students perspective on life could be both adventurous and sometimes boring, a working mom’s perspective on life could be both rewarding and sacrificial.. the list goes on.. The point here is if you need to understand a new mom’s perspective on life, you need to perceive life through the eyes of a new mom to really understand their view point on why they feel and act a certain way

Looking at things from a new perspective can change your perception of things. And when we do that, we learn to appreciate each other’s differences in the most gracious way.

Continue reading →

Random Acts Of Kindness – LoveCareShare Christmas Mission

Massive thanks to our very first donor 🙂

A little inspiration for your giving today !!

I read this article on google today and thought its worth a share !

‘Random Acts of Christmas Kindness – Make Someone’s Day!

With all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, sometimes you may find it difficult to remember that this holiday is about sharing peace and joy with others.

A movement called Random Acts of Christmas Kindness addresses that issue, spreading the spirit of giving by helping others during the Christmas season.

“A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people”

Also known as RACKing (get it? Random Acts of Christmas Kindness), this movement is growing as people enjoy the thrill of knowing they’re making a difference to others in ways great and small. Some people try to perform 25 daily acts of Christmas kindness in December while others let the spirit move them more randomly.

If you’re fortunate enough to be RACKed, then you can pay it forward and show someone else a Random Act of Kindness. Imagine this idea spreading through the world until everyone has shared and received a Random Act of Kindness. Then we could begin all over again! “

Though we are not part of the RACK movement as such, I love the idea and that’s what I am passionate about. How many times have been blessed with a random act of kindness, someone buying you a coffee, a free ride home or free food when you just couldn’t afford it. Now is the time to pay it forward. Don’t delay, someone is waiting at the receiving end. Let’s do it friends. Come join me.

Together we can make a difference and sprinkle joy into our community

Click the link below to donate today

LoveCareShare – Christmas Mission

https://www.gofundme.com/lovecareshare-christmas-mission

Keep Moving ON to Keep Going ON

hiking

I absolutely love my Sunday afternoon naps, for I know after a ‘refreshing’ nap, comes my ‘ever challenging mission’ of cleaning my home for the week ahead.

Becoming a mother has so far been one of the most rewarding and joyous experience in my life. In saying so, in order for me to keep my ‘joy’, I need to constantly and continually work on it. Parents of young toddlers can totally relate to what I am saying ‘Toddlers and Cleaning don’t go together, they JUST don’t ‘

Continue reading →