Jesus
Christ did not come into the world to begin a religion called
Christianity. He came into the world to reveal God's love for all people
in the world. Let us not pretend that God is only for a select group of
people called Christians. And even Christians are terribly divided and
uncertain of any commonality. Our greatest act of worship is love,
modelled on the love of God for all people. If we wish to honour God,
let us love and respect one another and believe in our equal access to
his throne of grace, despite our various, dissimilar paths. On the
contrary, to believe that Christians alone have an access to God denied
to others, and Christ can be perceived only by Christians, may be a
severe underestimation.
If
you are worried about the one who knocks on your door, remember that
you too knocked on Christ's door disfigured and distorted by sin. He
took you in just as you were. If you are in Christ, then you are like
Christ. And if you are like Christ you cannot turn away the person who
knocks on your door, no matter how terrible he is. However this belief
is neither accessible nor practicable to all. We are still a
fear-ridden, self-protective group of people desperate to be like
Christ, yet without the daring to be like him.
Only
God can recover his own territory. And the territory that God prizes
the most is the human heart. And slowly but surely human beings are
turning back to God.
Our
love for one another must reflect God's constant love for us. If God is
constant the people of God should also be constant. To be constant one
must commit to loving at any cost, to enduring any situation or
reaction. It is to persist in understanding love, persevering despite
the challenges in the expression of that love. This alone can be our
greatest act of worshipping a constant God.
God
does not always answer prayers affirmatively. When we do not receive an
answer to repeated prayers, we must still thank God and affirm our
faith in his greatness. We must trust in him to do what is best for us
in his time.
Take time to enjoy the blessings that are out there right in front of you now. And celebrate God's love for you.
The eye is the lamp of the body. To be able to see like God is the greatest of blessings.
Let
our eyes be fixed on God. Let his loving words dwell in our hearts. Let
his promises be the rock on which we stand. Let us not be distracted by
the hatred around us, and let us not pay attention to the curses
uttered to us. Let us absorb God's love and forgive the vilest offender
today. O God grant us the grace to do this!
To
be able to turn to God any time we sin, in the confidence that he will
hear our prayers and forgive us, is the great confidence that God has
blessed us with.
When I entrust something to God I know it is in the best hands. Today I gave something to God. And he turned it around.
Will you scratch my back only if I scratch yours in return? Then your scratching is not inspired by God.
Let nothing be nothing. Let everything be everything. This is my prayer today.
If you cannot help don't offer to help. Just say a prayer for the one you want to help.
When my life is not going according to my plan I believe that it is going according to God's plan.
After a moment of extraordinary weakness comes a moment of extraordinary strength. Be at peace with your weakness today.
Children
of God, I greet you today with the love placed in me by God. May we
rejoice in the love that God lavishes on us without our having to do
anything to receive it. Let us stand firm today and let us stand
together, holding on to what commonly binds us - the love of our God.
Let
us not forget what God is calling us to do today. He is not calling us
to lament over something, or complain about something. He is not calling
us to denounce and curse others who we feel are unfair to us. He is not
calling us to be rude and impolite and hateful. He is calling us to
rejoice over his goodness, and to trust in his timing. He is calling us
to love and bless others with our words and deeds. He is calling us to
be like him. For all that he expects from us, he has already done for
us. If we are his children, we must act like him.
A
touch of love is more than enough most of the time, One word of love
can quieten the fires of fury that are intent on destruction. Yet to
speak this word of love sincerely we need a mountain of strength. That
can come only from God.
The
human being is the most compelling evidence for God. We stand apart
from the entire animal kingdom in our ability to reason. In the very act
of our questioning God's existence we prove that we are unlike other
living forms, and that we are unique in this ability to question and
verify every concept. Thus we prove the biblical assertion that we are
the crown of God's creations and made in the image of God. Like God we
seek what is true and even question truth in the process of knowing what
is true.
One
of the best things we can do for others is to pray for them. But if
there is something more that we can do for them, and we still choose
only to pray, we reveal a reluctance to move out of our comfort zone.
Prayer is very essential, Yet doing something to help, when such help is
possible is even more essential.
There
is only one way in which evil is overcome. And it is by doing good to
those who do evil. It is by blessing those who curse you, and praying
for those who hate you. You do this only in God's strength, for God
alone is love, and his love alone can extinguish the hatred glowing in
human hearts.
We
should give thanks to God even when nothing makes sense. For this is
what God expects of us at all times, and especially at such times.
Those
who follow Jesus Christ and worship God should be honest with one
another. They should be kind, considerate and helpful whenever they can.
They should honour their word and if they cannot do so they should
explain and even apologize to those who are affected. The God we worship
would find a lack of honesty and kindness among his people more
lamentable than the grief he supposedly feels over the way his people
celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are described by some as pagan in
origin. What God cares about is the way we treat one another. His final
commandment to us is that we should love one another as he loved us. I
believe God cares more about this than our celebration of festivals.
Love even those whom God did not give you. For all need love.
Instead
of telling people that they might fry in hell, tell them that they will
be forever in the embrace of God. That will make a world of a
difference in the way they respond to God.
Faith minus love is nothing.
Regardless of how I am today God will be great.
Today look for what unites you with others. Don't search out what tears you apart.
Love is the safest investment in the world. It always provides returns.
God
is love. And love is the language of his creations. The one language
all living beings understand and respond to is love. So learn to speak
love.
Appreciate
when you want to find fault. Compliment when you want to rebuke. Just
love people today despite their faults. For the day will come and may
have already come when you need the same thing from others.
The worst thing we can do for God is to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude while dealing with his people.
Now
that we are in with God we must look forward to suffering. Those who
are with God become the enemies of the devil. And he will fight against
the children of God all day every day. Be ready. Above all be willing.
Just say, "God will not fail me", even if the ground under you is shaking.
Approach with love and give joy to others. You cannot fail.
"Love
one another as I have loved you", said Jesus to all his disciples. How
did Jesus love us? Did Jesus separate himself from sinners and
unbelievers? Jesus came to save those who were in darkness. Surely
saints and believers are not in darkness. The great commission of the
Lord is to spread the message of love to all people in all parts of the
world. So we the followers of Jesus must tell unbelievers about the love
of God. Separating ourselves from them and forming Christian clubs will
hardly appeal to those who are not aware of God. We must be inclusive
and not exclusive. And we must always reach out, especially to the most
resistant.
He
may have a stern exterior. But no one understands and sympathises with
the human being as much as God. So approach him boldly today expecting
to receive his kindness. He will not disappoint.
Should
we be scared? Or should we be bold? Should we be bound? Or should we be
free? Let everyone answer this question himself or herself. This is how
I answer. I should be bold and free. I should be bold to live without
the fear of punishment, for all my sins are already paid for. I should
be free to serve God without the fear of condemnation, for I am the very
righteousness of God in Christ. And this is not a truth that can be
erased.
There is only one way to run this race. And it is not by being afraid.
There is only one thing that matters today. We need to love one another despite our many irreconcilable differences.
My father was a Hindu. Could I have rejected him and failed to
fellowship with him because of his religion? No I could not have done
that. My father is my father. Ultimately I don't care about his
religion. And my father cared even less about my Christian faith. Our
father son relationship rose above all these man made distinctions.
After he died I cried for many days. I wept for a man whom I couldn't
love when he was alive. And whatever trouble I had with him while he was
al
ive had nothing to do with religion
or faith. After he died, all that buried love was resurrected from my
heart. And that I believe was a work of my Christian God. Think of that.
A Christian God awoke the love in my heart for my Hindu father. If I
have a son someday, and if he were a Muslim, would I fail to fellowship
with him? Absolutely not. I would love my son unconditionally. He is my
son. I am his father. And that is all that matters. Anyone who withdraws
himself from another on the basis of religion or any other distinction
is someone who does not know the first thing about love.
Fill me with your love O God. Your love alone will help me absorb the wickedness of this day.
We may not always know what a blessing is. But it is important that we know that God is with us always and that he desires to bless us.
Those who curse are the weakest ones in the world. They deserve our pity, even our blessing.
I need only one recognition. That is God's recognition. Every other recognition is ultimately useless.
I'll not forget the benefits I received from God. This day and every day I will remember His many kindnesses to me.
Don't give up on yourself. God has not given up on you.
Everything
is a miracle. Every breath is a miracle. This day is a miracle. And if
we are here tomorrow, tomorrow is a miracle as well.
The situation seems impossible. Hope seems hopeless. But God is with you. And He is faithful.
There's
nothing to fear. That there's something to fear is the great deception.
You won't get lost. God redeems your life from destruction and leads
you in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You can't get
lost. God's name is at stake. And he won't let it be tarnished.
We
don't worship an inept God who does not know how to keep us. We are
safe in his hands. And though we may wander a fair distance we are never
really out of his grip. No one can pluck us out of his hands. If we
believe this we can rest.
The
Lord is my Shepherd. I WILL NOT be in want. This is not merely a
declaration of faith. I believe it has already happened, though I am
still very much in need. For this is the way of God's people. They live
by faith. They look at the unseen in great hope without being defeated
by the hopelessness of what is seen.
We
are all little yet God esteems us greatly. Let us also respect and like
one another despite our faults and shortcomings. Let us learn to look
at others as God looks at them. This is how we discover the image of God
in us.
A prayer is a beautiful offering we can give to God. Yet sometimes we can do even more.
The
greatest challenge in faith is to believe in the goodness and
faithfulness of God when he appears to be anything but good and
faithful. The greatest challenge is to be still, and to be hopeful, when
nothing seems to happen and everything seems to deteriorate.
Love God more than you love anyone else. And you'll be well.
We
have the mind of Christ, whether we experience it or not. And we have
everything that is required to live the godly life. To be sane is to
know that God is good even when He appears to be anything but good.
Whatever trouble you go through know that God is with you. And you will never be separated from His love.
Don't give up. God is good despite our worst doubts.
God is great. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We ARE free despite how we feel.
Weeping
may endure for a night. And the night may seem endless. But remember
this, and look forward to this: REJOICING COMES IN THE MORNING.
Don't
forget to say thank you for every blessing that you know and for every
one that you do not know. Great love is given to us sometimes without
even our knowing it. Every moment of our life is a testament to a divine
love.
No blessing is small. Let us remember our blessings today, even the ones we think are small, and give thanks to God.
The
greatest hindrance in a time of dryness is the inability to count one's
blessings. For life is not only what it is but also what it was and
what it will be.
It
is hard to imagine a God who would bless beyond a person's imagination
when he has not yet blessed within that person's imagination. It is hard
to think of great blessings even when small blessings have not arrived.
Yet this is what Abraham was asked to believe even as he spent many
childless years, dreaming of being the parent of many nations. God tells
us to stretch our faith beyond reason and even sanity.
I
pray to the Lord to give me the strength to carry out the tasks that he
has assigned me. I am going through a lot of trouble trying to connect
with the world with the message of God. A lot needs to be done to
improve the facilities that I have now to carry out the work. I ask God
to supply my needs as soon as possible. I have been waiting long with
the hope that some relief will come soon.
It
does appear at times that God is not interested. It does appear at
times that God is absent. It does appear at times that God is even an
enemy. But we are told that God is our friend. Saint Peter said, "Cast
all your cares on God for he cares for you." Saint Paul said, "And my
God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory." Let
us be reassured today. No matter how difficult life is, let us trust in
God, for there is simply no one else whom we can trust. God alone can be
trusted. King David said, "Some trust in chariots, others in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Shall we learn to trust
God like King David today? Shall we declare our faith along with him?
There are times in my life when God came to my rescue. And there are
other times when God appeared absent. But I'm still going on. I'm still
here. I'm still holding a camera. I'm still speaking despite the
difficulties, despite the wreck that my life appears to be. Despite the
troubling, dismal outlook I'm still here, still doing the work of God.
And for once, it appears that I'm being heard.
If you want to succeed you must be prepared to fail many times.
To trust in God means to stay with him, even when he appears to go against your wishes.
There
is no ultimate profit in blocking the love of God. God loves us though
we may block him again and again, We who are loved by God try to love
like God, and we too are blocked by our objects of love. Still we go on
loving, expecting our love to be received someday, no matter how
determinedly we are blocked. Blocking is a childish attempt to go on in
one's strength. But it is in receiving, in acknowledging our need of
love, that we will be fulfilled. If we block always, we are blocking
ourselves forever from the one thing that will eventually save us.
Conquering evil with good is no piece of cake. But let's do it as Christ did it on the cross. It will be excruciating stuff.
God is your best friend even when he appears like your enemy.
When a person notices what no one else noticed or bothered to notice, he or she is special.
You don't have to carry your burdens. God cares about you, and is waiting for you to cast all your cares on him.
A faith in God based on fear of punishment, no matter how right it feels, is ultimately wrong.
The
thing that breaks me is also the thing that makes me. What weakens me
is also what strengthens me. What fills me with despair is also what
fills me with hope. This is the irony of life. This is the game that I
have long played, and this is the game that I must learn to play without
fear.
Will
you not speak? Will you always remain silent? Will your voice always be
marked by no audible sound? Will you always be something I long for and
never find? Will your words be only sweet sounding theory totally out
of place in the world that I live? Will I always fail to please you, for
you are so hopelessly out of my reach? Will this great love of yours
never give me the courage that I ought to have, but always end up
filling me with fear and the thought of punishment? Why is such a
beautiful truth so terribly distorted? Why is such a happy tale so sadly
twisted? Why do I feel like crying when I should be smiling endlessly?
Today I was afraid and hopeless. For I fell again. It feels like I
will always fall no matter how uprightly I walk. I cannot walk even a
short distance without falling. The more I try to be like you the more
hopeless the transformation appears. Am I to be like you in my own
strength? How does this process of being like you work? I can hardly
feel any change except the cosmetic kind. Sometimes deep within I know
that I feel differently. But always I am reminded of who I am and
what I think and how I feel. And it is most humiliating. Should I even
try to be like you? Is that even desirable? Yet this wretched condition
begs to be rid of. This darkness yells to be ended by your light. Will
you just have your way with me? Will you just overpower me and make me
yours somehow in the way only you can? Will you end this hopeless
speculation and just whisper it is all right?
When
you accept me just as I am, why can I not accept myself? Why am I
ashamed of who I am? The truth is I am yours. You are my father,
teacher, friend, and everything. If you will walk beside me, and talk to
me, and live with me, why can I not be happy with that? Why should I
better? Why should I try to be something that I am not? No parent ever
forces his child to be anything that he is not. You cannot be that. You
will never be that. At least I hope so. Yet the pressure of being like
you, and measuring up to you is so great that this makeover process
seems ridden with a certain hopelessness. But why should I try to be
like you when I cannot be that in my own strength? The only way I am
going to look like you is if you say so. You must share your glory with
me. You must fill me with yourself for me to be anything like you.
Whatever
I do and no matter how well I do it, it is never going to be good
enough for me me to enter where you are. In you alone I am what I need
to be. So let me not forget this today as I wrestle painfully with my
inadequacy, as fail I yet again, and condemnation and denunciation set
in. Let me remember that I am already what I need to be in you, and no
improvement is possible.
God's
immense cross-bearing love conquers hatred and sin. His love outweighs
the collective hatred and waywardness of humanity. May we taste his love
today, and we will then be able to swallow the bitterness and hatred
that flow from human hearts and tongues. We will welcome them with a
smile on our lips and our hearts will be ready to forgive their wrongs.
No sin is greater than God's love. No insult can repulse his
outstretched arms. For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are
dust. Still he will not let go of this dust till he has renewed our
inner beings, for he has formed us in his own image.
Bless all those who are hard to bless. Forgive all those who are hard to forgive. This is the way of God in Christ.
God's
love will reign in our hearts today. We will not be provoked to anger
and bitterness. But we will forgive and bless. We will love even as we
are hated today. In this way we will glorify God and show our allegiance
to Jesus Christ.
It is the decision to believe when all others will have stopped believing that ultimately distinguishes the people of faith.
When
nothing makes sense, close your eyes and think of God as your very best
friend, who is working for your benefit and will not let you down.
One of the kindest things you can do for people is not to raise hopes which you do not have the will to fulfil.
Anyone can show faith. But it takes a special person to live up to his or her word.
What is the most compelling theme of the Bible? Is it love or
judgement? Can it be convincingly said "God loves you so much that he
saved you", while at the same time saying, "You will go to hell if you
cannot accept God's love." Can a person be inspired to love by saying,
"You were a hopeless case. But God loved you and still loves you. So you
should love God." No. God's love for human beings is a most beautiful
thing. It is the love of a father for his children. It is the
love
of a creator for his creations. It is an unending, unquenchable love
that no disobedience or sin could limit. It is love that survived great
disappointment and anger. It is love that refuses to let us go. It is
love that reaches out to those who are determined to walk away. It is
love that waits patiently for the most rebellious runaways. It is love
of a kind that we desperately want but do not know where to find. And if
we know where to find it, we could never run away from it. There is a
father out there waiting for his runaway son, who broke his heart. The
father is waiting for his son to return, and his arms are aching to hold
him again. This is the most compelling message of the Bible.
After reading the Bible I ask, "Now what? Do I really love anyone
except myself? Can I love people who are often quite unlovable? Can I
love God whom I don't see, and from whom I want things? Can I love God
without an ulterior motive? Is there any point in following any
commandment of God when the breaking of one commandment means the
breaking of the entire law? How can it be said that I fulfil the law by
just being in Christ? Am I really in Christ, when I feel like I'm still
a part of this world? How do I have a relationship with God who seems
nowhere to be found? How am I a new creation when I feel terribly old?
How do I make sense of the jumble of messages in the Bible? Am I saved
by works or by grace? Is it Jesus or Paul that I must consider? Is it
Paul or James?" The Bible is the starting point to a study of God
that must go well beyond it. God is the one who wants to be found. I am
the one who should seek him. And he wants to be found in the world,
disguised and hidden in the most unlikely places.
To love God you must love those who bear the image of God no matter how terribly disfigured that image is.
The
Bible is only an introduction to God. An experience of God requires us
to seek God beyond the Bible in the world among those around us who bear
the image of God.
A
church could be a place where people make an insincere attempt to
please God. The world is a place where people will either sincerely
demonstrate their closeness to God or their distance from him simply by
the way they react to everyday situations. A spiritual person is best
observed outside the church.
If we should spend hours reading the Bible without spending a few minutes loving someone, we are still very far away from God.
The
key to our living a life that is pleasing to God does not lie in our
understanding the Bible or our acceptance of its doctrines. It lies in
our recognition of God's heart which loves and forgives. It lies in our
knowing and receiving this love and forgiveness. It lies in our
reflecting this love and forgiveness in our own conduct toward others.
No reading of the Bible or attending a church can ensure this happening.
It comes from a personal determination to be like God when when we see
God as he really is.
We
can read the Bible and sit in churches all our lives. But we may never
do what we are ultimately expected to do. We should care about others as
we would care about ourselves. We must be willing to forgive at all
times without giving in to bitterness and rage. We must learn to be
silent in the face of all opposition, and put our trust in God, who
alone can fight our unending battles. These things one may not learn
from the Bible or the church. One may learn this only from real life
experiences that one lives through in communion with God.
