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, , , ,

IMG_0023

“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? →

The Power of Intercession

Encouragement, Spiritual, ,

intercessionLooking back at a Saturday morning about six years ago, believers working in the corporate industry throughout the city decided to fast and pray for their companies and colleagues. To me, it was just another day of prayer. I knelt down before the Lord to pray for my colleagues. Something strange happened. A great burden filled my heart to pray for one particular senior manager working in the same building. I could feel there was some kind of urgency in the matter. It was undoubtedly a strange experience for me because I had never spoken or met this person before. I thought of talking to him once I was back in the office. This was the first thing I did on Monday morning, only to find that the manager had moved out of the project with a new assignment and to a new location. This made me quite restless as I had a message from God to convey to him and I felt a deep urge to somehow convey this. I even had thoughts of doubt wondering if I should make an effort, but I pushed myself to take the step of faith. Continue reading The Power of Intercession →

Is Your Radar On?

Encouragement, Spiritual, Walk with God, ,

It’s that time of the year again … the hot summer gives way to a mild winter in this part of the world. In this transition, the mornings are welcomed with heavy fog and mist. It’s more of an eye test for me, as visibility hits low extremes, even driving becomes a challenge. Sometimes there are pockets of thick fog and I suddenly emerge from the cloud to clear view until I hit the next pocket. I always wondered how difficult it must be for pilots who try to land aircrafts in such conditions. Thank God for radars that helps them land safely.

Foggy Road

Faith – a small five letter word, but more powerful that anyone can imagine. To most, it is associated with their religion and what they believe in. To others, it’s Continue reading Is Your Radar On? →

Do You See What I See?

Encouragement, Spiritual, Walk with God,

KeyholeI was hurrying to drop Nathan to school one morning and it was already quite late. Of course, this is not the worry of a 4-year-old and he was in his own little world as usual. He stopped me at the main door and asked me to look through the key hole. I was quite hesitant but knowing the after effects just in case I don’t, I thought I will give a look just to satisfy him. My thoughts were set on leaving home as soon as possible.

As I looked through the key hole, I told him what I saw… ‘The outside gate’. Well, at the back of my head, that was my focus and getting out through the gate was my primary thought. Nathan stopped me asking, “Mummy do you also see my green ball? It is lying in the sun” and then he went on describing his ball.

The description of his vision explained with all colors is what caught my attention. He saw what I couldn’t see. I smiled as I listened to his words. As I drove to school, this message is what God put in my heart. In our busy lives, Continue reading Do You See What I See? →

The Secret to Magnetize Others

Encouragement, Walk with God, , ,

Influence

A story I grew up listening to so often and one of my favorite Bible stories is that of little David and Goliath the giant. While the entire army of Israel stood intimidated by the giant, a little boy walks up to Goliath with his unshaken and unwavering trust in God. This story taught me at a very young age that physical size does not matter as much as ‘Faith-size’ does.

Goliath had a brother just like him and together there were about 4 other giants in the land of Philistine. We read in 2 Samuel 21:15-22 that years later, all of them fell by the hands of David and his men. There were other mighty men of David who accomplished great acts.

Who are these mighty men? Continue reading The Secret to Magnetize Others →

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! →

What Makes a Good Mentor – Lesson from the Life of Eli

Encouragement, Spiritual, , ,

We are all familiar with little Samuel’s Bible story when he heard a voice calling his name repeatedly. Each time he ran to Eli the priest thinking he was calling him, but he kept sending him back. On the fourth call, Eli realizes it is God’s call and guides little Samuel to respond “Here I am Lord, speak to me”. God speaks to Samuel and conveys His judgment upon Eli’s household for their sins.

Eli is often remembered as a bad father and usually gets blamed for his sons doing evil but I would like to share 2 characteristics of Eli that caught my attention, in regards to changing the life of Samuel. Continue reading What Makes a Good Mentor – Lesson from the Life of Eli →

How to Deal with Mental Scars?

Encouragement, Walk with God,

praise you in storm

Last year we visited UK and spend a few days with my brother in London. I had looked forward to this vacation for a long time, but a few days after landing, both Nathan and I fell ill. The remaining vacation was spent in bed, recovering. All I wanted at the time was to get back home to Sharjah.

Every time I thought of London or UK, there was a mental bitterness because of my experience there. A few months later, Continue reading How to Deal with Mental Scars? →

Things I Learnt From a Stained Vessel

Walk with God, ,

A recent encounter in the kitchen with the Holy Spirit has taught me yet another lesson in life.

An unused vessel had been hanging near the stove for a long time and it had been exposed to a lot of oil over the past months. The result – it lost its initial shine, charm, and beauty and now was slightly discolored too. Moreover, Dust and oil combined to form a thick layer over the vessel. I set out on a task to get it clean..Besides, how hard can it be?! After 2 rounds of scrubbing and washing, there was still no change to the vessel’s appearance. Out came my secret weapon against tough stains… my steel scrub! Part by part the layers cleared, and finally, the vessel was restored to its original state.

This could be an everyday story for most women who work in the kitchen but if we pay close attention, the Holy Spirit can teach us something here.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he compares our lives to vessels. A vessel will only be used by its owner if it is clean. There is a constant struggle trying to maintain this cleanliness in our lives as we are so vulnerable to outside influences. Past wounds, our ego and complexes, and other priorities have left us stained with layers over layers. This accumulation has not only made us lose our original shine but dipping our face value (worth). One fine day, we wake up to a realization that we are no longer being used by God and all our so-called ‘achievements’ have gone in vain.

I like how Ravi Zacharias quotes in his book ‘I, Isaac, take thee Rebekah’ –

“If God has reminded us that His desire is to dwell with us and to meet with us in the sanctity of the human body, the violation of that locus destroys its purpose.”

The Bible calls our bodies as the temple of God. The sanctity of this temple is our responsibility. No amount of detergent is stronger than full surrender to the Holy Spirit for a cleansing of all that has defiled our hearts and mind.

In 2 Timothy 2:20-21, we read – “In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”

The next step obviously is not just to ‘go’ through a cleansing but to ‘grow’ through it and not repeat it. Above all else, guard your heart for it is the Wellspring of Life and be a vessel of honor to be used by your master.