Are you a fan or follower ?

We are living in times, where entertainment is one of the lucrative fields such as movies, sports, social networks, etc and celebrities are considered as icons of our society. We celebrate, admire and even try to imitate their looks and costumes of the celebrities, whom we admire the most. We love to have a pic with them or spend some time with them. But we cannot have a personal relationship with them. We can have personal relationship only with the ones with whom we can share our lives and love their presence even if we don't get benefits from them. When Jesus was in this world, he was also considered as a public figure, who was popular among the crowds. When he was ministering people, many people went after him, some for miracles and signs, some for healings, some for accusing him, etc. But unfortunately, only a few recognized and followed him by completely surrendering themselves.

In our present times, we can see that christianity has spread all over the world but unfortunately the sacrifice on the cross has been diluted and most of the christians today have become mere admirers of Jesus looking at him only for benefits but not for Himself. Most of our churches have become stadiums full of fans, who are enthusiastic admirers cheering and being entertained but leave Jesus when they leave the church failing to enrich their lives. In chapter 6 of John gospel, we can see the picture of huge crowd following him. But when Jesus offered himself and invited them to follow Him, fans went home and the crowd thinned out. Jesus was not interested in fans looking only for benefits but he is looking for ardent and committed followers. Jesus did not try to stop them from leaving him, in fact he looked at the left out disciples and asked them whether they also want to leave Him. He says in Luke 9 : 23 "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." He sets up the prerequisites of two qualities to follow Him, one is dying to self and other is to carry the cross. Dying to self refers to dying to our own plans and desires and obey to His plans completely. Cross represents the symbol of suffering and sacrifice. Until and unless sacrifice is demanded, true commitment does not come out. Relationships are often tested only during the trials and crises. As long as things goes the way they expect it to be, everyone love to be in their relationships. But when things does not happen the way they want it to be, relationships starts to fall apart if it does not have deeper commitment. Even the left out disciples have also been tested from time to time to see whether they have the deeper commitment to follow Jesus.

We can have a deeper commitment to Jesus only when we can have complete surrenderance to Him. He does not want us to keep him off the limits in certain areas and complete surrenderance only in few areas. When he started to preach in the sermon on the mount, he talks about every area of our lives : our anxieties, finance, relationships, work, etc. he does not want us to surrender keys only in a few areas but to surrender the master key to him with complete obedience, because he is not interested to merely change our lives but to turn your life upside down with a brand new life. He is not interested to settle in our lives in a small box of religion or ritual of few minutes of prayer whispers in morning and evening and few hours of christian meetings. He expects us to love him with all our heart, because he first loved us unconditionally when we are still sinners and sacrificed himself on the cross to redeem us from our bondage of sins. C T Studd rightly said that

"Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last."

Jesus loves to have an intimate relationship with us, the way Jesus had with the father. But are we willing to love him not for benefits but just to be in His presence. If we look at the history of christianity since the ascension of christ, we can clearly see that disciples are the ones, who are game changers of the world. They are the ones who have created a difference among the lives of the people and effectively shared the love of Jesus through their lives not just by mere words. Are a fan or follower of Jesus ?

- Inspired from external sources

Are you acting in faith or fear ?

Life is a tide of crest and troughs, where there will be peaks of celebration, joy, happiness, success and valleys of trials, temptations, suffering, failures.

As Bethany Hamilton, a committed believer and renowned surfer says " Life is a lot like surfing… When you get caught in the impact zone, you’ve got to just get back up. Because you never know what may be over the next wave."

It is very true that sometimes when we are caught in the impact zone, we stumble, get confused, loose hope and succumb to sorrow and depression. But Paul says in Philippians 4: 6-7 " Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything....Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. ...."

In the Chapters 13 and 14 of I Samuel, we can see the response of two people, who are going through a tough time, where one acted in fear of people but the other acted with faith in God. We can see the ironical behavior of a father and son, where the father Saul acted in fear that his army was dwindling, philistines are attacking and disobeyed God by offering the burnt offering to God, which was supposed to be done by Samuel. He was looking for God's favor without having patience to wait for God's time. On the other side of the story, we can see the son of Saul, Jonathan acting with faith in God. He took his armor man and creeped near the philistine army and started attacking the Philistines trusting that God will deliver them into his hands. Though he was alone with his armor man facing a vast army with innumerable soldiers and huge number of chariots, he remembered the great things God has done in the past and trusted that the God whom he worships is powerful than the vast army and He will fight on behalf of him.

Many times in our lives, we try to fight the battle on our own. When we are caught in the impact zone of our lives, we fail to realize that the one who is within us is greater than the one who is in the world. We try to look for help from people, our job, our relationships, our money, and act in fear of our circumstances and succumb to depression eventually hurting our God as well as ourselves. When we get depressed, it not only hurts us but also our Lord because He wants us to be filled with the river of living water but we fill our hearts with fear and depression. David says in Psalm 62 "Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Let us introspect our lives and ask God to help us to act in faith but not in fear. It is easy to trust in God when everything goes fine in our lives but our true faith comes out only when things become tough in our lives. Are you trusting God even at times when you are caught in storms and things goes out of your control ? Let us examine our lives and ask God to help us to trust him at all the times of our lives.

Only One Life By C.T. Studd

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

                                                                  - C T Studd

Tragic Ending or Blessed Ending

When the race was about to start, most of the athletes will be very enthusiastic and energetic to win the race. Unfortunately, some may loose the pace of their race, some may get injured and some may get lost before completing the race. Only a few will make it to the end and finish the race with flying colors. As Paul rightly says in I Cor 9 : 24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize", it is very important to be consistent and complete the race than just a mere beginning. It is a general tendency to take resolutions during the start of a new year. But only a few will be consistent in their decision till the end of the year. When we look at some of the lives in the word of God, we can see a lot of people, who faithfully started their relationship with God but failed to complete well, which ended up in tragic ending.

Eli started with a faithful relationship with Lord for many years. But when we look at his last days, he was cursed and died due to the failure of being a responsible father. Iscariot Judah started well and followed Jesus though many deserted Him, but failed in the end. Saul was chosen by God and started with a humble beginning, but failed to be a successful king, struggled with self-esteem and lost track of his vision and finally committed suicide.

In our relationship with Jesus, we might have started well when we got saved. We might have started our spiritual journey with lot of burden for perishing souls and passion to live for God but over the course of time, many of us loose track of our goal and waylaid by worldly attractions and shallow commitment with Jesus. Do we have a strong commitment to stand for Jesus to go to any extreme to pay the price whatever it takes or mere believers with shallow commitment. Jesus clearly says in Revelation 3 : 16 "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." C T Studd rightly said that "Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last." Acts 7 : 56 shows the beautiful picture of the son of man standing at the right hand of God to receive Stephen, when he was being stoned to death. How marvelous and blessed it will be to hear that one word "Well Done My Servant" from our master when we are reaching the end our race. Let us examine and recommit our lives with a strong commitment to live for Jesus till the end. 

Barren Woman to a blessed mother and Faithful Priest to a Cursed Father

Parenthood plays a crucial role in shaping the character and faith in their children. The great evangelist Billy Graham rightly said that

" The great legacy one can pass on to one's children and grand children is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith".

If a parent fails to raise a Godly generation, they not only bring condemnation to their family but also become a threat to the society. I Samuel tells us the story of two parents, one barren woman turned to become a mother of the great prophet "Samuel" and the other one is a faithful servant of God but failed to influence his kids and turned to be curse to his family as well as the people of Israel. In the first seven chapters of I Samuel, the ironical transformation of these two parents was beautifully portrayed.

If we look at the life of Hannah, she was second wife of Elkanah, who loved her so much more than his first wife. Though her husband loved her so much, that did not satisfy Hannah as she was barren woman, who was provoked and irritated by her counterpart, first wife of Elkanah. She was deeply anguished by her situation of not being able to conceive a child, being rejected and subjected to derision by her counterpart and the society. In spite of her anguish and deep sorrow, she did not loose faith in God and trusted Him, which was mentioned in I Samuel 1: 18 that "She went her way and ate something and her face was no longer downcast". It was beautifully conveyed in this verse that she completely left her worries and anguish in the presence of the God and came back home with hope and joy. When her husband made love to her, it was mentioned that God remembered her in I Samuel 1: 19. Hannah's prayer was a perfect model on casting our worries on Him that she completely left her worries to God and did her part to receive the blessing from God. Are we still carrying our burdens even after we submitted our anxieties to God ? Later we can see that this child is separated from his parents at a tender age and brought up in the temple of God under the priest Eli and Bible says that Samuel grew in favor with the Lord and with people in I Samuel 2:26. This blessed child has later turned the people of Israel from their sin towards God and became Israel's leader all the days of his life. Though Samuel was born in a family of polygamy, which was not intended by God, his father being an unfair husband, mother being derided and scorned by his stepmother, separated from his loving mother at a tender age, he was mightily used by God, which gives us hope that no matter how you messed up in your life and how devastated your family background is, still God can bring out a blessing from our broken lives.  

  

On the other hand, we can see the the priest of God Eli, who faithfully judged Israel for 40 years failed to correct and influence his sons, when they committed sin against God. Though Eli's sons had been raised in the temple of God with his father, they failed to honor God. Though Eli was faithful to God, he could not leave his legacy to his children, for which God curses his family as mentioned in I Samuel 2 : 32-33. Though Samuel and Eli's sons are growing in the same premises, temple of God under Eli, Eli's sons did not obey his father and brought condemnation to their family as well as on Israel. Many times we can see that God separates us from our comfort zone and closed circle and moulds us for His glorious purpose, which is evident in the lives of Samuel. Samuel was separated from his loving mother at a tender age and trained under Eli in the temple of God to become a leader and blessing for the people of Israel. Though Eli's sons are enjoying comfortable life with his father, they failed to follow his father and became a curse to many. 

Because of Eli's failure as a responsible father, he lost his two sons, brought destruction on Israel, lost his life, his daughter-in-law lost her life while giving birth to her son and eventually lost the privilege of priesthood from his family and lost the ark of God to philistines. Because of the faithfulness of one barren woman, God could bless her with many kids and used her to be a mother of a great prophet and bring blessing for the people of Israel.   

All I need is your presence

There is joy in your presence

There is peace in your presence

There is hope in your presence

There is comfort in your presence

Fill our hearts with your presence

     in the midst of my trials

in the midst of my tears

      in the midst of our happiness

in the midst of our failures

      in the midst of our temptations

I need thine presence 

in all of my life Lord

How great it is to be in your presence 

I need neither riches nor glory

All i need is your presence Lord

Are you seeking self or God ?

Jesus said in Mark 16 : 24 "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

In this verse, Jesus told explicitly that discipleship starts with self-denial. Self - denial is the first step to our journey of discipleship.

Today, we are living in a self-seeking world, we all want to take control over our lives. We want God to satisfy our needs and bless us, we want our relationships to meet our expectations and please our desires. We want to make our dreams come true at any cost. We feel so depressed, so discouraged and downcast when things wont work the way expected it to be.

But God says we are not here to satisfy our desires and live our lives as we plan, we are here to please our creater and fulfill His divine plan and vision for our lives.

Self-denial does not mean having no desires or killing our desires, it means that placing the will and desire of God above our desires and placing the needs of others above our own needs.

It is perfectly exemplified in the life of Jesus. Jesus did not come to this world to fulfill his desires but to accomplish the plan of the Father. So God the father exalted the name of Jesus above all names.

When we are too much occupied to please our self,  we not only hurt our selves we hurt the people around us. Self-seeking always ends up in destruction.

Satan always uses our desire of self-seeking and exploits it to fall into his trap. He used the same template from the beginning at Garden of Eden to tempt Eve by luring Eve to gratify the desires of her eyes, which ended up in a fallen world. It used the same strategy to tempt Cain that he could not accept when God rejected his offering, which, resulted in murder. Even it tempted Jesus by claiming that it can offer whole world to Jesus if Jesus can worship him.

So let us examine our lives and discern the cynical schemes of devil whether we are too much occupied to please our selfish desires or we are placing our desires in the hands of our creater to be blessing for many people.

Facing the giants

Accept your problem or  suffering

• Until God allows nothing happens in the lives of those who loves God

How not to deal with your suffering

• Do not blame anyone in your suffering

• Do not be in self-pity

• Do not hate the person for the problem

• Do not get angry at the person for the problem

• Do not hold grudge against anyone for the problem

How to deal with your suffering

• Discern the cynical schemes of devil behind the problem

• Bring God at the center of your problem

• Approach your problem with patience

• Introspect whether there you committed any sin for your suffering

• Pour out your anger and emotions at God's feet during your suffering

• Admit and confess your sins if you are confronted

• Forgive the person involved if you have to