God is always there...

It is placement season and I know that all of us are filled with anxiety. Our hearts are pumping hard and though we may not admit, we are a bit scared of what's going to come. I am writing this down to share with you the assurance that God has given to all who believe in Him.
This is a story but it's very relevant to our context.

Once there lived a prophet. God asked him one day to go to a far off place and carry God's message to the people there. The place where the prophet was supposed to go was very far and on the way there was a vast desert. The prophet knew that it would take weeks, perhaps months, to get there. At the same time, he was not very sure that there would be no dangers on the way. He was not excited and unwilling to go. God realized this and asked him,"Son, what is it that bothers you?"
The prophet replied hesitantly,"Father, the journey is scary and long. I would go only on one condition that you walk with me."
God agreed to it.
As they started the journey, the prophet was assured that God was with him when he saw two pairs of footprints on the sands. He knew that one belonged to him and the other to God. Though he could not see God, he felt God's presence and kept conversing with Him.
After they had crossed some distance, there arose a sand storm. The prophet panicked. He looked at the sands and could see only one pair of footprints. He grew anxious and scared but he kept moving. When the storm calmed down, he again saw two pairs of footprints.
He was angry and said,"Father, how can I trust you any more. When everything was fine, you were by my side but when the storm arose, you left me alone."
God said,"How can you say that I left you alone?"
The prophet replied angrily,"I can't see you but I kept looking for your footprints. During the storm, there was only one pair, where was yours."
God looked at him lovingly and said,"Son, the footprint you saw was mine. I was carrying you during the storm."
Do not be afraid, God is always there. Some of us may not believe in God but remember that even if you don't see him or his footprints, he is always ready to carry you through when there is a storm.
Let the storm in our hearts and minds calm down so that we can converse with God and feel his presence.
God bless you all...

Matthew 4:1-11: Overcoming Temptations

Temptations are the biggest hurdles that come in our way of righteous and godly living. In these verses, we find that Jesus was also tempted by Satan and He emerged victorious. You may argue that He is God but remember that He took the form of man and had all the weakness of a man as well. He also felt hungry and felt the pain. We find Jesus in different moods as well in the New Testament. He is happy, sad, angry, agonised...

Jesus could never have been able to free us from the bondage of sin if He were not a man. We see Satan tempting Jesus shortly after Jesus finished his fast and was hungry. But Jesus overcame all the temptations by believing and living according to the Scriptures. As human beings, we are not strong enough to overcome all the temptations that come to us in different forms but the Holy Spirit which God gives us when we give the control of our lives to him is always there to help us in overcoming the temptations that lure us into sin.

God has given us the wisdom to discern good from evil and at the same time he has also given us the power to say NO to the evil. When we stop listening to our conscience and to the voice of God that tries to correct us whenever we go wrong, we lose the control of our own lives and the power to say No. thus, we get tempted and make mistakes that we could have avoided. Remember, the Scripture says that we are tempted by our own evil desires (James 1:14) and we can never be over-tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13). At the same time, 1 Corinthians 10:13 also says that God will provide a way out.

In spite of all this, we still fail because we do not turn to the One who can help us in overcoming temptations. It is time to reflect upon our lives and see how we have lived our days. Is it worthy of the holy life that God has called us for? And it’s time to let God work miracles in our lives and through our lives by letting him take control.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we know that we are weak but You are the most mighty One. You are the creator and redeemer of our lives and know all that we are going through. You alone are capable of strengthening us by your strength. We offer our lives to you. Take our lives and help us in living a holy and righteous life that can be a pleasing sacrifice to you. In the most precious name of Jesus we pray, AMEN.

Matthew 3: The Baptism of Repentance

In this chapter, we read about John, the Baptist, and the baptism of repentance. Now Jesus had come into the world and according to the prophesies and the plan of God, He was to suffer death to bring salvation to all mankind. Through The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has made it easy for man to be saved from the fire of hell. Earlier, there was the law that people had to follow and for going against the law, they had to offer sacrifices. The law demanded a very strict life bordering on servile fear. But our God is a loving God and He wants us to fear Him as His own children and not as slaves. God knows that the law was burdensome for man and thus He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to offer himself as a permanent sacrifice. After Jesus’ sacrifice, there is no more sacrifice required forever and ever. He has paid the penalty for all our sins. But we are still governed by the power of sin and we are still in the presence of sin. We can be freed from the power of sin only when we admit that we are sinners and Christ died for us and ask God to help us overcome our weaknesses and the power of sin.

Therefore, people needed to repent to be saved. Thus, John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to work in our lives. The Baptism through water is just a sign. Actual baptism is the baptism of the heart when we actually do what we profess. When we confess our sins and try hard not to sin again. When we let God take complete control of our lives so that the forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice can be granted to us and we can be holy just as our Heavenly Father is holy.

And John clearly states here that the choice to accept or reject the salvation granted to us through Christ is solely ours. No man will be saved just because he is the descendant of Abraham and similarly no man will be saved just because his parents baptised him when he was born. There is only one way – Jesus Christ. So, it is still time, when the Kingdom of Heaven is near, to accept our sins and to repent for them, to accept Jesus as our Lord, God and Personal Saviour and give the control of our lives to Him.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, today as we stand before You, we thank you for loving us so much that you gave your only son Jesus Christ as an atonement for our sins. We believe that He died for us paying the penalty of our sins and by rising up again He has defeated sin and freed us from the power of sin. We are weak but we believe in your strength and we know that by your grace we can be holy like you. We admit our sins (you can tell your sins to God personally with a repentant heart) and we are really sorry for all the wrongs that we have ever done. Wash us and purify us and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we can walk in the path of righteousness. We trust in You. In the Precious and Mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray, AMEN.