All posts by StephenCherian

A Fantasy Letter

Encouragement, ,

Shalom!

I’m James! Many of you may know me as the brother of Jesus and the writer of the book of James in the Bible. I’m also one of the leaders at the Jerusalem Church. As I sit here listening to the cries of the lambs being taken to the temple for sacrifices, I’m reminded of my cousin’s (John the Baptist) words about Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.

People often ask me what it was like growing up with Jesus as my older brother. I suppose it was as ‘normal’ as it gets! We grew up in the city of Nazareth and our childhood was quite Continue reading A Fantasy Letter →

Let Love Bells Ring!

Encouragement, , , ,

give-love

In our recent visit to Europe, we discovered a world of beauty, history and fascination. On one side there were castles filled with art dating back to early centuries and showed the lavish spoiled lives of the royalty. On the other side, we saw natural sights which left us gaping for words for their sheer beauty and craftsmanship of its Creator! Every street corner had a story to tell and something to acclaim for itself. But like everything else in life, I know that, with time, all this memoirs of our journey will fade away. But there is one thing we will not forget! Continue reading Let Love Bells Ring! →

HE is in Control!

Encouragement

p108-god-is-in-control

Filled with anxiety and intrigued for any update, my fingers reach to refresh the news app on my phone every few minutes. This has been one of the biggest events to hit the world since the 911 attacks in the US. The shocking and mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian airline MH370 aircraft and the fate of 239 passengers and crew on board, has gripped many eyes and ears to the media over the last week. The best technology and resources are being used by several nations around the world to find the whereabouts of the aircraft and what could have caused it. Continue reading HE is in Control! →

The Sound of your voice

Encouragement, Walk with God,

Every morning as I leave for work, I make it a point to kiss my wife and son bye without fail. Occasionally, my 2 year old wakes up and says ‘daddy bye…love you’ and hugs me, even in sleep mode. Hearing those words always brings a smile to my face. On most days, when I return from the office, I hear his excited voice as he screams ‘daddy’ and runs to me. And then, there are days when he simply ignores my arrival because he is too busy or engrossed in something else.

This made me realize Continue reading The Sound of your voice →

Where is God?

Walk with God,

The day started like any other, but took a huge dip when I watched the news about the shooting incident in Connecticut. To calm myself, I started listening to a familiar worship song “Hallelujah Hosanna”. It reminded me of the scene when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and how He was welcomed by the people with rejoicing and shouting ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’. For a moment, I imagined myself as one among the crowd and I was elated by the sight of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, being welcomed as a King. For a moment … I forget about myself!

 

Continue reading Where is God? →

It Wasn’t Me!!!

Spiritual, Walk with God

 

The title of this article is a very famous song by a reggae artist Shaggy.

Listening to this song reminded me of a time in my childhood when my little sister and my elder brother used to fight. My sister would end up crying and my parents would come running and ask her what happened. Innocently or craftily (I don’t know to this day), she would point in my direction or call out my name. The repercussion for me was quite severe. This article is not a pay back, but just a reminder of how easy it is to blame someone else for whatever happens.

Very often our life takes unexpected turns and we end up in places we shouldn’t be or in the middle Continue reading It Wasn’t Me!!! →

What is your code?

Spiritual

Have you ever woken up some morning and wondered who you really are or what is the purpose of your life? I have! It is surprising how God can answer your million dollar questions through the smallest things.

 

I was at the billing counter of a grocery shop when I noticed the cashier scan my items using the barcode on each product. This of course made the cashier’s job much easier as opposed to punching in numbers as in the good old days. All he had to do was put the item under a scanner and all the details would appear on the screen. My thoughts wandered around the bar code system. Continue reading What is your code? →