Super Duper Faith

Hi Friends in Christ .Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus .

Writing these blogs have helped my spiritual life a lot. In fact whatever I write has been encouraging to me personally. I thank the Lord for helping me grow everyday. Glory be to God .He has been my rescue every time my boat was swaying in the hardest winds of trials and temptations .Jesus has always been there for me . Day by day I see an increase in faith when I read the Holy Bible .

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God -Romans 10:17 

How relevant and true is the word of God ! Amen to His word.

I want to write about the faith of the Canaanite women in Mathew chapter 15 . We have all heard of the incident and know it by heart . This lady she came from the nearby cities of Tyre and Sidon to Jesus. She cried for God's mercy .

 

22 A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, "Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly."

She didn't just say in a normal tone . She was in fact wailing out loudly to the Lord . Its surprising to me now .

What did Jesus do ? He just kept quiet. Wow. He didn't say a word and this woman kept on disturbing the religious atmosphere. Look at the disciples. They were terribly disturbed by this woman. The disciples of the Lord were actually begging Jesus to send her away . 

Jesus begins to try her out by saying certain things that would cause the woman to worry or doubt in the middle of her requirement. 

24 Jesus answered, "I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep." 

25 Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. "Lord! Help me!" she said. 

26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to their dogs." 

27 "Yes, Lord," she said. "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owners' table." 

What a conversation of persistence ! Jesus keeps throwing those words of controversies but still this lady refused to give in .Sometimes we need to to be persistent enough to keep on praying and never letting go. Frustration and worldly confusions often cause us to lose focus on what our prayer request is sometimes . This lady is a perfect epitome of persistent faith .

28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for." And her daughter was healed at that very moment.

The woman is a achiever  and  an over comer as she has finally succeeded in making Jesus say the word of healing and assurance . Her daughter was healed at that very moment. She received faith appreciation from Jesus himself . What a blessing . I want to have that steadfast, stubborn faith.

 If the Canaanite woman expected the reward at the beginning, she should have not continued anymore.So greater rewards are always at the end of the journey and not the beginning. So never lose hope upon something you are praying for today . 

One of the reasons people feel frustrated and worn out is that they can’t handle the trials and difficulties associated with treading the path to victory.However, this must not be the case for us. We must keep moving on holding on to His promises.Never try to figure out the process of your miracle .Have child like faith . Hold on to Jesus like Jacob and never let him go until he blesses your life . I pray that your faith will increase every day .Keep reading the word of God on a daily basis in that way God will work in your life to help your faith grow and multiply everyday.

Whatever you are praying for these days ,I want to reassure you that Jesus has already heard your prayer need. He wants to know how badly you need . He sees your heart . Don't worry your reward is awaiting your inheritance . His perfect will will be done in your life regarding your needs. He loves you my dear friend. Your prayers and tears are going to be wiped away soon .

Shalom Blessings . 

Season of Exultation - Day 5

Today we will talk about forgiveness . This is an area where many of us struggle . Sometimes we can't really forgive a person when they have done something wrong against us . It might be actions or words but still it is actually hard to get over with certain incidents in our lives.Many people say that "I can forgive but I can't forget " No where in the bible God tells us to forgive and forget. Did you know that ?God only tells us to forgive others because Jesus has already forgiven us of debt which we cant even repay off.by forgiving we are actually doing our minds and bodies a favor of  having good health and sound mind.We do not want our hearts to be a culmination of hatred and bitterness. Do we ?

So we just need to forgive and let God do the rest . When we truly forgive others God makes us forget .We cannot remember the wrongdoings of someone when we say that we have actually forgiven them in our heart.

Joseph had forgiven his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness. 

We read this in  Genesis 50:15-17

"When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 

 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept."

God had already given a forgiving heart to Joseph .That's how God will help us to forgive others. 

When  we forgive others , we need to forgive by faith not by our feelings.Do it once for all.When we forgive by faith we see the root of bitterness being removed from our hearts We will experience the divine comfort and peace filling our hearts . That's the true forgiveness God wants from us. Today if you are having any kinds of hard feelings on anyone , Just let it go and Forgive them. Let your hearts be free of any burden . Leave it to God and let your inner souls be rejuvenated and restored in Jesus name . 

The Rose Bush

I have a special interest in gardening. Although I am not that very dynamic about gardening, I do love the colors these flowers bring about in people's yards during each seasons .To be more precise ,I have this penchant to admire roses .

Who would not love a sweet smelling satiny appealing captivating roses?

I could add more attributes to this particular flower. Roses are so special and alluring and that is why I wanted to have my own rose bush in my front yard .I thought planting a rose bush would amplify the look of the house.So I got these bare root rose bushes from the store and planted them.Every day I would wake up in the morning and rush outside to see if there was some growth . I kept watering the plant and waiting upon it for days and weeks.The first plant seemed to have some life in it but eventually it started drying out and finally was out of life. I so much wanted a rose bloomed yard that I planted another one again next year . My efforts were futile . I serial killed three roses in a year .

I came to a conclusion that my yard wasn't the right fit for these beauties.I almost gave up on them.

This year ,I had these strong urge in myself to buy those roses again  and I ended up giving in and buying a rose bush again.

Sounds kind of crazy huh.. Yes I did buy those roses again.

To change things a bit , I researched and found out what roses like and what kind of soil should I use and all that. I planted the rose but with huge prayers. 

"Lord , I pray that this rose plant will bloom well and fill up my yard with colors. I believe you are going to protect it and sustain it in my yard.In Jesus name, Amen." 

After planting it I kept checking on it for weeks and months .It appeared as though I would lose this one too. I was very positive and trusted God that he is still doing something in the background and He was . Little leaves buds popped up and now we have a beautiful rose bud ready to blossom into a radiant sheen rose flower. 

You might be wondering why I am talking about each detail behind a simple incident. There is a message behind this rose bush which the Lord taught me this afternoon.

We humans have this notion that we are know it all and do it all super beings . We try to handle everything ourselves .We reason out on issues . We think logically and scientifically to bring out answers to our various questions .We think this problem is not big enough for God to handle it .I thought my yard wasn't  good enough for my yard but God proved me wrong.This rose was the right fit for my yard. Our identity and worth doesn't come from our deeds but our true colors are from Jesus.He overturns our present situations to create great moments of heavenly bliss.

"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
 Jeremiah 32:27

God taught me not to lose my sleep  and panic about little troubles . He is all capable and ready to come in to our rescue any time we call Him in our need . Only thing is that we don't really let Him take full control. Even if we let Jesus behind the wheel we try to give directions instead of sitting in the back seat and enjoying the ride.

Let us not fret over our struggles , health issues , situations etc but give it all to Jesus. Cast all our cares on Him for He cares for us. He is our peace .He is our healer .He is the author and finisher of our faith.The God who Raised the dead, Parted the Red sea, Walked on water is alive even today . Trust Him .He is our hope for tomorrow. Be amazed on how God will lead you when you hand over your everything into His hands. 

The Lord will fight for you ,You need only to be still "

Exodus 14:14

New Driver In Town

Turn on the car's ignition. Keep your feet gripped on to the brake pedal.
Switch the gears to the drive mode.  Slowly release the brakes and gradually press on your gas pedal.
Move on.  Yield to pedestrians. Turn right . Vroooooooom.....

**Guess what I am driving the car.

Oh! Really .. that's so sweet of you.
You know ,  I don't see anything special with  your driving except that you are a confused, nervous ,senseless  driver.

** please .. I am just learning to drive. I will improve with practice and time.

How long ? You don't have common sense or road sense.  Simply you just cant do it. You cant stop at a stop sign correctly. You cant drive in the lane. You cant make a turn on the  road. I am afraid you will end up creating  an  accident  on the road. Totally you don't make  a good driver. You don't have that spark or whatever to drive within you.

This trivial incident is the reason behind this blog. After all its a simple thing to control a car on the road. I thought I  am totally  dumb to do this thing. I had so much negativity  within myself to just give up on things. The more i tried  the more I  failed.
All I  heard from around were  hopeless confidence  sinking words. Tears rolled down, not because I  didn't want to try  but my circumstances weren't  really good to let me try. Encompassed  in fears and anxiety, I  told myself  " I  am done with this driving crap" . Daylight is gone and the night fell.
I went to bed repeating to myself that I  wont drive more.

I woke up in the morning only to get reminded that Jesus  never gave up on me till date and he wont ever more. I felt sorry for all my unfaithful thoughts. I started to praise God  for all his goodness. I started to declare in faith that I can do all things  through Christ who gives me strength. I shut my ears and heart to every tit bits of negativity cause I knew it was the devil who was trying to discourage me and keep me away from trying back. God is full of mercy and kindness. He calls us by name and lifts us up how many ever times we fall. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. I was completely filled with peace. I felt the soft rays of hope cover my heart.

A question from my doubtful heart arose in my mind, "Hey ,what if you don't get it right at all?"
I said "  Though I may stumble, I will not fall. Though I may fall, I will rise up to glory soon"
"I will conquer and master this driving in the name of Jesus of Nazareth . His grace is sufficient for me"

There is a good  saying from Babe Ruth  which says
"Never let the fear  of striking out keep you from playing the game"

He is able, more than able to accomplish what concerns us today.

Jesus Christ, He is our anchor  of hope forever.
As long as we stand on Christ the solid rock, you don't have to  fear cause our savior is always near.
Greater  is He who lives in us than he who is in the world.

Water Walker Or Boat Sinker ?

I happened to hear a sermon some time back about how Peter walked on water. So I started pondering on it.Certain revelations hit hard on my fist sized brains

Let me brief the story a little bit.

The disciples were sent away in a boat in the sea of Galilee. Jesus went to the mountain to pray in solitude after feeding the multitude. By the fourth watch at night (2 am to 4 am) Jesus comes walking to the boat on the waters.

The disciples are terrified thinking that its a ghost. Jesus pacifies them saying that its him. Peter asks Jesus to command him to walk on waters if he is really Jesus.

Look at him, he knows he is Jesus ,still tests him...

Jesus said" COME"

Peter walked on the waters of the sea. When the wind was boisterous ,our Peter lost faith and looked at the waves and cried to Jesus to save him.Jesus lent his hand and pulled him and said "Oh you of little faith. Why did you doubt??"

Pretty long narration uh.. 

Here comes the core thought behind all this story telling

The winds were really strong and the boat was sinking. I would say Peter wasn't dumb to ask the Lord to command him to walk on waters. This man was strategic. While the other fellow mates were fearful of sinking, our Peter wanted to step out of the boat to be saved.He did not want to sink with the ship.

1.Stop sinking in the present situation and step out in faith

The disciples were afraid that it was a ghost when they saw Jesus as it was believed in those days that fisher men fished at night . say from 2am to 5am. The fish usually come to the surface only at night. The fishermen believed that at night dead spirits of other Fishermen appeared to them to say that they will also be dead soon.

It was a bad omen.The disciples being fishermen by major it I believed in these things.

Jesus was thought to be a ghost

Peter got only the word "come" from Jesus. Nothing else.

2. God has given his word for you already .

You have a word in your heart. Hold on to it. Keep progressing .

You might have got many promises in your spirit from God long ago. This is a reminder to let u know that you still have the word. God is not a man to lie.The word is alive in you.

3. Never look at the circumstances and situations

The waves above the water made Peter to doubt on the word. Keep walking on the waters to what God has called you to be .You may fall  but you will never fail.You may sink,but you are not sunk

4.Even if you fall, God has his arm reaching to you

Jesus stood above the waters to save Peter sinking in the waves.

Remember your lifeguard stands on the water.

Your current situations may be a sick,your job may suck, your finances may be empty, you life may not be smooth. 

Remember and hold on to the promises that God gave you long back .

You still have the word.

You are not forgotten 
Remain Blessed Folks