The Finger of God

Philippians 4:4 , " Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"               The most common misconception among nominal Christians and unbelievers is that once you accept Jesus and become a Christian, Boom! All your sorrows are gone. Of course, the Christian God, Jesus, promises a life of joy and peace beyond understanding, but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be any prospect for trouble or sorrow. To clearly understand this, the Bible says, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33) and also “take up your (his) cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24), “bear my yoke” (Matt 11:30), “…not only believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Phil 1:29). This is not to scare you away, But to help you truly understand the kind of joy Christ gives amidst facing struggle, pain, sickness, and suffering.               At the onset of the Christian life, it mig...

This incident took place on June 11, 2020.      Everything on that day went on well for me except for the stomach pain that crept in during the family prayer. What started as a mild gas cramp at 9p.m intensified to become a deadly pain by the time I went to bed. My parents treated me with all the remedies that were handy: Roasted garlic, cumin water, castor oil, tablets, antacids, etc. but all their efforts came to naught. Things became worst; I could neither lie myself down nor get up to my feet. All I could do was grip my mom tight and writhe in pain. My parents weren’t bothered much initially about the pain but now they were really scared. All my efforts to calm them were in vain. Minute after minute I only threatened them with my novel symptoms. After a few moments, the pain rose to my chest and I was holding my chest and gasping for breath, this alarmed my parents. All they could do was helpless stand there comforting me, calling onto Jesus with every breath; they ...

                                               The Life of Raja   Disclaimer: The name of the protagonist has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.          “Raja, can you please help me? I don’t have a handful of rice to fill my stomach today”, pleaded my friend. His drooping eyes and famished look moved me to pull out a hundred rupee note from my pocket. “Here, this is what I have got right now” I squeezed the rupee note in his hand. It was a small amount but I knew it would help him survive that day, after all, he was a good man and I was pleased to help.   After he left, I rummaged my pocket and took out the other hundred rupee note that was left; out of the two hundred rupee notes my wife had given me. She had stashed it away in the kitchen and that was the only money she had to offer me to buy rice. “W...

1Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith”      This counsel to Timothy (also to us) by St. Paul’s made me think deep. If he had told him ‘keep the faith’ I would have not pondered much, but why did he tell him to ‘fight a good fight of faith?’ I know for a fact that it doesn’t just mean to remain faithful; there is some mystery about faith hidden in these words. The very word ‘fight’, as you know, doesn’t sound pleasant; it is opposite to peace and happiness. Then why are we asked to fight? Let’s discover      We know from the scripture that this is a fight of faith or faith’s fight. Okay wait, I thought faith was just believing that Jesus came and died for us? When I believe it already, why do I have to fight? Does holding on to faith require strenuous efforts? These questions are prone to occur. Let’s dig in        What are we to fight against? It is undoubtedly, Unbelief. Why is this so important? – Unbelief leads to a strin...

July 28,2018.      Yesterday while returning from college something happened which radiated light to some grey areas in my mind.    Munching samosas my friend and I were waiting at the railway station. After having eaten it we were engaged in a conversation while I had this sudden urge looking at a plethora of biscuits displayed in the nearby shop, to get one. When I told this to my friend she gave me a disagreeing look because she knew me as a person who does not buy everything I see. Reminding her that I had already got a packet of wafers inside my bag but still want to get those biscuits, I strode to the shop and bought them. It was an impulsive act I should say. Sitting on the stone bench I was gazing aimlessly while something caught the corner of my eye. I saw a man unkempt and shabbily dressed rummaging the trash bin . I turned to take a clear picture of what he was doing and found that he kept moving from one bin to another searching for food. Immedia...

     "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men" (1Cor15:19) But Christ has risen indeed from the dead and we have hope not only for this life but for eternal life. "We have hope not only for this life but for eternal life" I hear some saying, "make merry for we live once and die". Now my dear friend, if that was the truth I would definitely join with you to live my life as I please and enjoy it to the fullest without paying heed to God (since my life ends when I die). But the truth is different, there is an eternal life waiting for us, that is what the Bible tells me, and I believe that it is the truth. Since I know there's an eternal life , tell me which is wise choice to make; soil my soul in this world and lose eternal life or to carefully guard it clinging on to Christ and win eternal life?  This life that we are living; with all its troubles, sickness and sorrows, is just a passing cloud which cannot stan...

PRAYER IS OUR WEAPON AGAINST THE ENEMY (SATAN)      “Don’t worry mummy, they’ll be here very soon” I reassured her, and got up and walked out of the church. Our church begins at 7:30 a.m. and in those hours there is no possibility of getting stuck in the traffic. So logically dad should've reached the church right after us. All these thoughts followed me as I walked down the aisle. As I reached the doorway of the church, to my absolute horror, I was greeted by my sister with bleeding arms and tattered clothes with her shell-shocked son in her arms. Dad stood beside her utterly bewildered by the whole incident and had no words to share. I gazed at them and the whole scene told me what had happened. “We are fine by God's grace, just scratches here and there” my sister opened up, finally breaking the silence. Tears welled up in my eyes, I held myself together, kissed my nephew and sent a little ‘thank you’ note to God from my heart, and headed towards the Sunday school. ...

THE CONFIDENCE WE FIRST HAD               The Israelites had so much confidence in God in the beginning when they saw how He brought them out of Egypt, but slowly as time progressed their confidence and faith diminished. This had a devastating effect on them because they couldn't enter the promised land even after coming so close to its borders. They did not have the same level of confidence they first had(only a remnant entered Canaan).      When we read about them today we feel so miserable for them. Little do we realize, even in our lives, how near we are for a promise to materialize when our heart whispers "give up on God". The Israelites were promised Canaan(a land where honey and milk flows) but all they saw was a dry wilderness, this plummeted their Confidence in God. The fruit of their unbelief was an unrealized promise. Unbelief is an impediment for promises to be fulfilled.          ...

The Finger of God The Finger of God- The Lord's doing      For quite a long time I had been toying with the idea of creating a blog to share God’s word. But I put it off for the lack of time; this quarantine due to the pandemic has finally opened a door for this new venture (Praise God!). Having decided to get working on creating a blog, I was struck with choosing a blog name. Without much thinking I handed over the job to God saying, “Jesus you know the motive behind opening this blog, I just wanted to share what I had been taught by You to others and I pray that someone, somewhere, at the end of their rope (reading this blog) would find hope and peace in You. I know that all the good things I  possess come from You, so Heavenly Father show me a name for this blog.” After prayer I went on reading the Bible, I was reading Exodus 8 that day and when I reached verse 19 the phrase, ‘Finger of God’ caught my attention and boomed with an assurance that this is the name...

" For He that makes the sun shine high, Also lets the wild wind assail." A call to faith If you believe Him in the clear sky, You ought to believe him in the gale. For He that makes the sun shine high, Also lets the wild wind assail.                 While in the storm Indefinite doubts may arise: Will He stand up to calm The heart that cries? Remember, the prowling wind sent Is not designed to scare; It drives you to relent Your life to His care. Ask yourself this, is it fair In happy times to praise And In harsh tides to swear His ever protecting embrace? Learn today to ever lift His name; The journey smooth or rough be For He remains ever the same; Let your eyes His glories see.   For this tempestuous weather Is put around you as a barbed wire, To guard your soul hither From slipping into the worldly mire. So then know, and stay calm You are gently being transformed Under the shelter of His arms. From this...