Down the slippery slope

Life lesson 101:
You can never truly gauge the depths to which you can sink, until you actually sink. Therefore, do not judge.

I had spent almost an entire year without praying. What? Why? How? I can only vaguely recall. It initially began as excuses of having a busy schedule, assignment submissions, game practices, parties and finally tiredness from all these. But slowly these excuses transformed into matter-of-facts. Deep within my heart, I knew I needed to pray, I needed my quiet time with God, but, I refused to acknowledge it. I took God's Grace for granted. And so, the journey downward started, spiraling down and down. My journey down the slippery slope was indeed, slippery: from small excuses to small acts of a mischievous child, to mighty acts of defiance.

I knew in my heart that God was watching me, and that He would be disappointed to see that I had fallen below my own standards. But I cared more for the world. I let Him down before the watching world. I.. was enjoying the plenty, the life of indulgence, forgetting that God had brought me to this land of plenty. Well not forgetting, but ignoring. Apart from all this, I was judging others who were no different than me!

Until today, that is. I can only say God woke me up at 4.30a.m. (I usually wake up not before 10 a.m), and then there was a great desire to read the Bible. I obeyed. And then I cried, understanding the depths to which I had sunk, where I was a year before and where I am now.

Ultimately, it is God who lifted me up. God made me realize my "errors and willful sins". I can only say, thank You God for making me realize that we are all very weak and easily misled by the world. It is only You who can guide us and safely take us to our destination.

"But who can discern their own errors?

    Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;

    may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless,

    innocent of great transgression." -- Psalm 19:12-13 (NIV)

Let this be the prayers of our hearts.

Amen!

What is your cornerstone?

"...the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray." -- Isaiah 19:13

To be crystal clear about 'cornerstone', Wikipedia says, "The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure."

With this definition in mind, let's move on. This verse really came as a wake up call to me. Only few weeks back our pastor was talking about the importance of being rooted up and being built up in Christ, especially in these end times. But of course, the effect of a sermon dies away exponentially with time :P , if its not followed up by effective quiet times. Two important references in that sermon were Isaiah 54:10 and Isaiah 51:1. They didn't strike me on my head when I read them in church. But when I began reading Isaiah again and came to the verse 19:13, it all came back to me.

What could have been the cornerstones of Egypt?? To name a few, her idols, her wealth, her wisdom, her skills, her army, her glory, her buildings, her overall power. Are we any better off today, when compared to them. Haven't we too set at least one of the aforementioned things as our cornerstones!!? But God is warning us through 54:10: in these end times, everything, no matter how great or how strong in the eyes of the world (like mountains), is going to be shaken. Every cornerstone is going to shake. Naturally, everything built up on a shaky cornerstone is also going to shake and ultimately collapse and be destroyed. Every stone, except One, in 51:1, Christ the Solid Rock. What is built up on Christ is not going to be moved or even shaken, simply because Christ is the cornerstone. As we pass through these times, what is our focus set on? If we are going to be focused on the things of the world, then we better be wary, because they are all going to shake, and with them, we ourselves too, if our focus is on them. But with our focus rightly set on Jesus Christ, who Himself is unshakeable, we cannot be shaken.

So let us not be led astray by any cornerstone other than Jesus Christ. Let's ask ourselves, "What really is our cornerstone?"

Grace, peace and mercy to all from the Lord.

100% God

Our Father who art in Heaven,
Thanks for giving us Jesus, your Son!
How may we Praise You, we exclaim,
Dear Lord! For You became
To a world lost awfully,
The surest Way to victory.
To a world drowned in darkness,
The Light to save the helpless.
To a world dead by the sin,
Ah! The immortal Life within.

My heart overflows with joy,
At the privileges we enjoy,
To stand in the Most Holy Presence,
And pray to You in silence.
To call You our Abba, Father,
For You are the Greatest Master!
To be forgiven of all our sins
Upon confession, they go into bins.
To receive the gift of salvation,
And in Heaven enjoy our portion.

You promised to never forsake us,
For our spirit is in Your likeness,
Yet when the going gets too tough,
the tempest turns the sea too rough,
Is a spirit of fear and doubt born.
Our faith is tried and worn and torn.
Oft complaining and trying too hard,
Yet, in sight, is no prize, no reward.
Even seeking the counsel of ungodly men,
Lost, beyond hope, in the lion's den.

Always "knowing" that You'll never fail,
That in You, we're free and not on bail.
That in You, our strength is renewed,
That You'd rescue us, Indeed You'd.
That prayer is the strongest ever weapon,
That waves can't overpower us for certain.
That You'd make our crooked paths straight,
For Your rigtheousness is our breastplate.
That Your Word'd always bear its fruit.
Yet "not remembering" all this in our pursuit.

So we declare now by blowing the trumpet,
That You are our fighter plane's pilot,
Fearing not the evil, envying not the wicked,
Having been cleansed by Your Precious Blood.
Caring not for the vain, wolrdly pleasures,
How do they compare to the Heavenly flowers.
Judging neither the rich nor the poor,
Ever waiting for arrival of the Saviour!
Praying not for blessings, but for grace,
Knowing our priority, finishing well the race.

Importance of Testimony

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." -- 1 Peter 3:15-16.

When I had meditated upon this verse, some 5-6 months back, I understood that one day, when I declare to the world that I am born again in Jesus Christ, there would be many (MANY) questions, since I am from a Hindu background, and that I must be prepared to give a reason such that its not only acceptable but also glorifies the Lord. But I had always ignored it, thinking that I would not come across such a situation (I seriously don't know why I assumed this!)

But yesterday my friend(a Christian) asked me 2 things:
1) To share my testimony.
2) How could I leave the Hindu gods to whom I had prayed ever since I had started praying, and follow Jesus Christ?

The second question was easy to answer. I am sure that everyone who knows and feels the everlasting last peace of Christ, His love, His assurance, His protection, His grace, His mercies and His miracles in their everyday life, would also agree to this. The answer is very obvious, and I have already answered it (BTW there is a reason that I have put miracles at the end. Still wondering?).

But the first question really put me into thought. I shared my testimony with her; but I wasn't satisfied with what I had said or how I had said it. I felt that it was an indication from Lord that its high time now and that I should be prepared to share my testimony confidently, without any fear and with praises to the Lord, so that my non-believer family members and friends would know the Lord in all His glory.

Now I understand how important a testimony is, not only to a believer but also to his/her non-believer circle. It has the power to bring belief to a non-believer and to bring back believers who had gone away from the Lord back to the Him. I believe that as I grow stronger in the Lord, He will use me as His instrument, and when I share my testimony, I will speak His Words so that He may be glorified.

Happy Easter

This post has been removed from one of my other blogs and posted here for easier access.

Happy Easter to all!

I happened to read these lines today (in India it is Easter day today, 24th April 2010), co-incidentally (of course I don't believe in one single day but I believe that Jesus Christ is resurrected every day). Psalms 49:5-9
"Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me--
those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him--
the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough--
that he should live on forever
and not see decay."

These lines made me cry. As clearly understood from the lines, in the Old Testament, there was nothing "of this earth" that could "save" a man, make him live forever. But as John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." The only price for saving us was the shedding of an innocent blood, the blood of the Son of God. As Romans 5:18-19 says, "Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

Indeed as we see in the New Testament, Jesus Christ, Son of God, came to earth for the purpose of saving us. Though Jesus was God Himself, He lowered himself, came to us in a human form. 1 Peter 2:22 says "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.", and yet He was crucified! For us! So that we, his children may be saved and live on forver. "Eternal life", of course, doesn't mean that we would live on this earth for thousands of years. Instead it means that when are born in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our as our Saviour, as said in Romans 6:4-11:
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly be also united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. the death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

One point that I would like to add here is that I am a new Christian. The above lines from the Psalms touched me so much because, before being born in Christ, never ever could I have even imagined someone dying for my, my family's and this world's sins for the generations to come till the Judgement Day. Never ever had I known so much love before, so much compassion, such an ever-forgiving and an ever-accepting heart. He died for our sake, so that we may be saved. God gave us His only Son, so that He may gain our love, the love of once-upon-a-time-good-but-now-wicked generation, the love of a doubting generation, the love of a blaspheming generation, the love of a weak-in-faith generation. More sadness crept in as I realized that I and my family were also a reason for the countless slashes that Jesus had to bear to save us.

Now I say I am blessed to have Jesus Christ as my Saviour and the Lord my God. But again, "Not because of who I am, but because of what You have done; not because of what I have done; but because of who You are." I am not ashamed to call upon His Name. I am blessed that God chose me, though unworthy, to show me His Ways.

So, lets celebrate this Easter in its full spirit and let us all rejoice in the Lord.

Let glory be to His name forever and ever. Amen.

Relationships

This post has been removed from one of my other blogs and posted here for easier access.

Relationship, according to WordWeb, means a relation between people or a state of connectedness between people. We are "related" to many people on this earth in many different ways, and 2 very important relations being our parents and friends. Almost every relationship here is mutual, that is, one expects something from the other and vice versa. It's definitely not monetary expectations always, but mostly its the expectation of mutual feelings and we are often left heart-broken when we realize that the feelings weren't mutual. To quote a beautiful forward that I received the other day, "Everyone is good to you till you expect nothing from them! And you are good to them only till you fulfill their expectations!"

You may share many "secrets", gossip about others and even spend lot of time together with the other person, and eventually you may start assuming that you have found a very good friend. But in reality (unfortunately), the other person may be there with you only because he/she wanted a break or because they didn't have anything else more "interesting" to do. It would, hence, definitely hurt you a lot if you ever found out the "secret" behind that "successful" relationship (ofcourse only if you are sensitive).

But there is ONE and ONLY ONE who will NEVER EVER let you down in a relationship. He is our ALMIGHTY GOD. At many points in your life, you may feel let down by Him, and that you didn't get what you wanted despite your "thousand" prayers. But remember, life may not (and WILL NOT) always go the way you want it to go, but whatever way it goes, is the best way through, in accordance with Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Can there ever be a secret hidden from God? NO! That means that even the stuff that you are ashamed to share with your "earthly" friends, you can share them with God. Not that God doesn't know about them already. But once you enter into a relationship with God, you will realize that "prayer time" is not just about "asking" for things or even "thanking" Him for ALL that He has given given to us; its about spending time together with Him, telling Him what happened that day (He would, again, know all this; but He will never get bored of listening to it again, or feel irritated) and sharing how you felt at those moments (which He would again know). When you have built such a friendly (yet divine) relationship with God, you will find immense satisfaction at the end of the "prayer session" even though you may not have "asked" for anything in particular that day, simply because you have had a time out with your best friend. Yes, He is the ultimate friend, supporter and parent; we are his best friends (more than that, His Children).

We are all hurt when our best friend starts avoiding us and doesn't spend time with us. So is God when we start neglecting Him. So please make sure you have your daily time out with Him.

God is good .. ALL THE TIME

This post was written when I was not yet reborn and has been removed from one of my other blogs and posted here for easier access.

God is good all the time
I would like to begin this post with this beautiful song:

God is good all the time
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
God is good all the time
Through the darkest night, His light will shine
God is good, God is good all the time

If you're walking through the valley
And there are shadows all around
Do not fear, He will guide you
He will keep you safe and sound
'Cause He's promised to never leave you
Nor forsake you and His Word is true

We were sinners - so unworthy
Still for us He chose to die
Filled us with His Holy Spirit
Now we can stand and testify
That His love is everlasting
And His mercies - they will never end

Lord I may not understand
All the plans He left for me
My life is in your hands
And through the eyes of Him I can clearly see

One point that I would like to clarify is that this post isn't pertaining to any religion, because though I am a strict Theist, I also believe that God is one even though we worship the same God with different names. This post is to glorify and thank our Lord who gives us 3 square meals a day, a home to live in and proper clothing.

God is indeed very good all the time. His love for us is ever lasting and He is ever forgiving. I have felt this on many incidents myself. There are certain things which we do despite knowing that they are "wrong". All that time there is an inner voice, "conscience" that keeps telling us not to do it, yet many a times we choose to ignore it. According to me this "conscience" is the voice of the part of the God within us. It's up to us how much we listen to this "inner voice". For me God is the infinite source of energy that energizes not only ours but all the other infinite universes, for me God is EVERYTHING.

Ok I think I am getting off the point here. I wanted to glorify Him and spread His word through this post. There was once upon a time, a point in my life at which I had felt totally hopeless. All I really wanted to do was to end my life. Words can't express how I felt at that time. Mind you, even though I had always loved God, I somehow didn't pray to him during this time, and I myself wonder what the reason was now. I didn't want to even talk to anyone about what was happening in my life. But I would like to thank a very special friend of mine here, MVK for making me realize how much God loved me despite all the sins that I had committed and that He would actually feel bad if I were to go away from Him and end my life this way because he has great plans for me, as for everyone else. The first thing he asked me to do was to sit and pray. All the doubts I had in mind about myself, all the negative thoughts, disappeared and I wanted to live like never before after that day. I am very happy with my life now and I would not be even here to regret if I had taken a wrong decision then.

It is all a part of God's plan. Anything could have happened then. But God had sent a person for me to help me out and to make me realize how much He loved me despite all my shortcomings because we are all His children. To think that a parent favours one child over the other is wrong, similarly it is wrong to think that God favours certain "class of people" and not the others, because it's false. He is hurt when we go away from Him but always rejoices when we realize our mistakes and return back to Him. He has and will always love us, irrespective of whether we pray or not. But He is very much hurt when we do something which we are not supposed to do. I will not call it "wrong" or "immoral" here, because it depends on the perspective. The least we can do is not hurt such a loving, ever forgiving and ever accepting parent.

Also, I would now like you all to spend a few minutes to watch this video of the song with whose lyrics I began this post:

Lyrics | Don Moen lyrics - God Is Good All The Time lyrics