All posts by Phebe Stephen

Rahab’s Unswerving Faith and God’s Unconditional Love

Encouragement, Walk with God, , , ,

We all carry labels. Labels that we sometimes give ourselves or given to us by family, friends, or our profession. But what does God have to say about all the things we are and we do? While some of us have learned the art of getting out of our messy places and shake off our labels, some continue in them.

In today’s society, people with low-level jobs, education, or a minimal range of skills are often overlooked. On the contrary, God looks beyond all this and sees our hearts and the potential of what one can become in the light of His Word. Continue reading Rahab’s Unswerving Faith and God’s Unconditional Love →

The Glory of Humility

Spiritual, Walk with God, , ,

I was about 8 years old when I first read Aladdin and the magic lamp. Since then, at different stages of my life I have attempted to answer this magical question –

If you would be granted one wish, what would that wish be?

I’m sure many of you have attempted to do this too and have come out with some really innovative ideas, including asking for a ‘million wishes’. With our ever-changing desires, you probably would ask for wealth, fame, travel, or even be the best athlete /singer/dancer, etc.

One man was asked the same question by God, and he found himself receiving more than what he asked for – Solomon, better known as King Solomon. He is known as the wisest man who ever lived on earth. Kings and queens from far-off nations would visit him to hear his words of wisdom. Yet, the more significant message is the reason behind this great wisdom of Solomon. Continue reading The Glory of Humility →

The Blessing of Mourning

Encouragement, Spiritual, , , , , ,

The Beatitudes – one of the most familiar portions in the Bible, eight precious teachings of Jesus that most Bible readers or church-goer can’t miss – they are mentioned in the book of Matthew Chapter 5. I remember memorizing these verses as a child without understanding the true treasure and beauty they carried. I always found the teachings quite controversial, as I saw it from the lens of what I had learned from people and things around me. Until recently, when I got the opportunity to study the Beatitudes.

The reason why so many of us do not understand these teachings is that Jesus is talking about an ‘up-side-down’ kingdom – a place that does not work on the principles of ‘happiness’ the world around us teaches. He teaches that we can remain blessed and happy always.

I want to share what I learned from one of my favorite Beatitudes – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Continue reading The Blessing of Mourning →

The Invincible Struggle

Encouragement, Spiritual, Walk with God, , ,

If I were to ask you to describe someone for me, say people at work, college, church or within the family, I’m sure at first instance, we come up with a list of people whom we remember for all the nice things they have done to us or for the kind of person they are. Subconsciously, there also lies another hidden category of people that we definitely do not want to remember or associate with. By remembering them we invoke memories that caused pain – Judgment. Hate. Negativity. Arrogance.

The list could go on. We all live in a world where such things are bound to exist. Most of us at one point or the other are -Hurt. Betrayed. Manipulated. Misunderstood. Backstabbed. Continue reading The Invincible Struggle →

Understanding Temptations

Spiritual, ,

“Children, what do you know about temptations?”

No sooner had I asked this question in the Sunday School class than I saw shy looks and naughty grins. Some even put their heads down as if to completely avoid the question. The reason is obvious. There is a general conception that temptation is a sin. But is temptation a sin? Continue reading Understanding Temptations →

30 Scriptural Prayers for Your Children

Encouragement, Spiritual, Walk with God, , , , ,

Don’t we all make it a point to pray for our children? As a mother, I do! I pray for my children every day without fail. While this seems like the ‘normal’ thing to do, the quality of our prayers often surrounds our concern for our children’s safety, studies, spiritual growth, health, exams, future, etc. And sometimes very generic such as ‘Lord, bless my children’.

While all this is good, it is equally important for us to pray the Word of God over our child’s life. Because Continue reading 30 Scriptural Prayers for Your Children →

I Am Cute Because My Daddy Says So

Encouragement, , , , ,

Certain conversations leave a deep impact on our minds. Often, children are our biggest tutors of life. They teach us so much about life, faith and values through their innocent acts or talks. This is one such simple conversation with my 2-year-old, which made me pause and reflect on the words he spoke to me.

My husband had just given him a shower and I was getting him dressed. As I was buttoning up his shirt, he said: “Mummy, David is cute”. (Don’t you love it when kids refer to themselves in the third person!)

“Are you sure?” I asked. Continue reading I Am Cute Because My Daddy Says So →

How This Popular Sunday School Song Inspired Me!

Encouragement, ,

“My God is so big
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do”

You all remember this song? Yeah…?

Recently at Sunday school, Children sang this over and over again… I watched them sing with actions, from the youngest to the oldest, as loud as they could, as energetic as they could. The teens, as usual, were teasing each other and having fun as probably they felt they were made to sing nursery songs.

As I stood there watching them enjoy this good ol’ song, a few thoughts crossed my mind. Continue reading How This Popular Sunday School Song Inspired Me! →

The Path to Promise

Encouragement, , ,

 

How do we react when we receive certain prophecies from God, that would change our life positively? We often react with joy and welcome such promises with a ‘Yes and Amen’!

One would think the path to such promises would be quite short and easy. However, I’ve learned recently that God likes to test our submission to His will before He fulfills His plans for us.

Everybody knows Mary as the mother of Jesus but not many remember her as the little girl (probably in her teens), gleaming with excitement and dreaming of her life with her future husband Joseph. It was at this point, Continue reading The Path to Promise →

I want to be ‘Somebody’ or Part of Everybody?

Encouragement, Walk with God, , , ,

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“All the other kids do it so why can’t I?” – Nathan said, as I questioned him on something he did.  He tries to defend saying “Mummy, because he did that to me”, with all the expressions and pointing fingers at the rest of the kids.  “It was never his fault”! Well, that’s what he wants me to think of him. How many of you have heard this elusive statement from kids when we ask them why they did certain things?

What if I told you that even we, like most kids, still play this blame game?! Continue reading I want to be ‘Somebody’ or Part of Everybody? →