Change

Today I met an old man. He was a fruit seller. He had finished his day's work and was headed home. He had some fruits left in his tottering wooden cart. I could see how difficult it must have been for him to push the cart around in real hot sun. And also he had to scream out loud asking people to buy his fruits.  It is a difficult job. Something that I am pretty sure pays him not enough. He must have been in his 60s. 
I had not had my breakfast and was trying not to munch on something unhealthy. I was looking for some fruits to eat on my way to office. 

I saw this man, and looked at his cart to see if there was something left. There was.

I went up to him and asked for the price. It was 2 rupees for one banana.  I had to go through the whole pile to find some good ones and that would take time. So I decided to buy just one.

Before I keep ranting, let me tell you that I am a real frugal person. I don't spend much. Infact I don't spend at all. I ain't that good in bargaining and my brother would testify to that but I ain't that good in spending either. Let's conclude that I don't like spending at all, my money or someone else's money, none of it is going anywhere under any circumstance. 

Now, few days ago I read somewhere that we should buy atleast something from the street seller's because these are those brave souls who decide not to beg but instead they work hard for each penny they get. 

So when I saw him I was thinking of what I read.  Therefore instead of giving him 2 rupees I gave him ten and asked him to keep the change.  Let me tell you it was not something huge I did, but in my frugal world it's a huge feat. 

But to my surprise, he refused the money! Infact he wanted me to take the fruit for free.  Good thing I dint allow my frugal spirit to take over. She's mean.

I forced him to take the money, but he started walking away without even looking back. I quickly went through my bag to get 2 rupees and ran after him. And gave him the money. 
 
In this day and age where I see beggars with fully functional appendages begging for money, there are some people who really want to go against all odds and earn each morsel of food that goes into their mouths. 
While leaving he said something to me that made me restore my faith in humanity. He said, "how can I take more than what is right. It won't stay with me (meaning it won't be a blessing). I have two daughters. "

God bless such people. We need more people like him. I am sure that he is setting a good example for his daughters. The world change. One person at a time. One act of kindness, one step towards honesty and the world will surely change. Change will begin from you, change will begin from me. One step at a time.

Only Beautiful Outside

If you let your beauty lie in the eyes of a beholder, you better be prepared to see you through their eyes.

Since you’ve handed over the reins you have no say anymore. It’s theirs to see, theirs to judge and theirs is the final call. You chose to take the backseat and now you are stuck in it! They won’t let you take the reins back. Who hates ruling others?  

Don’t let this happen in the first place. You are worth it and even you know it. No one is born with low self-esteem. A child never calls itself ugly.

Have you seen kids building castles in the air, imagining stuffs, laughing at nothing making up stories and living them like it’s all legit? GOD created us like that. Open-minded, imaginative, happy thinkers who can be happy for no reason at all.

We have done this to ourselves. As we grow we set beauty standards. And try to fit in each one of them. We all want to be tall, skinny, fair (complexion) and super pretty. If this really could happen, we’ll all look the same! Literally! And then, what? We’d all start to want to look different then. Which means some might end up looking ‘ugly’ because they dint meet the ‘standards’! Now what? Now this is called A Vicious Cycle!

The truth is if you are ugly in your own eyes you will always be ugly. Because the beauty standards keep changing from place to place and from time to time. One day they will say size zero is in, the other day they will sing ‘I’m all about the base’. You’ll be called dark in some places and pale in others. There is too short and too tall. How long will you keep trying to fit in? Is there an end to this madness?

All this, because we handed down the reins. Our reins. Now we suffer. Aren’t we all headed down that road already. There are people suffering from anorexia and bulimia. There are these creams and so called beauty products trying to make you look brighter than LED lights! Plastic surgery is now called beauty enhancement treatment and now there are discounts and coupons available on being able to cut and reshape your face!

Where has the innocence gone? Why can’t we be like kids, looking in the mirror just to see how many funny faces we can make?  We aren’t just harsh on ourselves we now want to change others too! We want to be friends with people who look pretty even if they are completely shallow inside and detest being around not so good looking people even if they have a heart of a gem!

There are even movies on how once upon a time a girl used to be ‘super ugly’ and had nothing and then a makeover happens and now she is the princes. This makes little girls want to look like her, to want to have a makeover. What is wrong with the original make? Where you wrong? Did GOD do a mistake? No HE just dint make you like the girl you see on you TV screens. That’s all. HE took time to create each and everyone of us just because HE wants us to be unique. But that’s not special at all isn’t it? We want custom made products but not custom made us! We want us to be a mass production of Aishwarya Rai or Angelina Jolie.

This epidemic has spread so far so bad that there is no beauty in the eye of the beholder! None! Just judging eyes and more judging eyes!

Imagine if we all become beautiful face with no soul inside, we’d just be mannequins! Imagine what our gravestone would say- “Only Beautiful Outside”.

Don’t be harsh on yourself and on others. Life is too short for that. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and special in every way! Please spread love!

Happy New Year

My tears blur my sight

My pain weighs my heart down

It seems hard to see HIS plans 

Feels difficult to praise HIS name

Circumstances question my faith

Prayers are answered late

My hope is failing

But I am still calling

LORD Increase my thirst

LORD renew my faith

Build my hope again

I will praise you in the storm

I will sing all through the night 

I will see you rescue me to the light

Let's Worship!

When Hannah received what GOD promised her she spoke praising GOD(1 Samuel 2:1-10). Moses and Israelites sang songs of praise after GOD had brought them through the red sea and drowned all their enemies (Exodus 15:1-18). Mary sang when she was overjoyed in knowing the goodness of GOD in her life (Luke 1:46-55).

Do we sing to GOD only when our prayers are answered? Do we sing only when we are happy and fully satisfied. James 5:13 says,”Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”  Does this mean that we don’t sing at all when we have things not working out for us?

I understand that it is difficult to thank when we do not know what to thank for or praise when we do not know what to praise for. When we don’t receive what we prayed for its difficult to say “thank YOU LORD”, let alone sing a newly composed song! So do we always wait for that time when we are cheerful and sing a new song then? Is GOD different in your different situations? Is HE not the same yesterday, today and forever?

I think this verse simply means that we should make ourselves cheerful by singing praises to HIM. Good days will come. Why wait until then? Let us sing, let us sing praises for the things we have not yet seen. Let us praise like David did when he was in his lowest. When David pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left he says I will extol the Lord at ALL Times; his praise will ALWAYS be on my lips Psalm 34:1. In Acts 16:25 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to GOD, in prison!

It is high time we realize the power and importance of praising GOD. GOD deserves praise. Who are we to decide which situation is right to worship and which is not?  Let us praise GOD, not because of what he has done or for what HE is going to do, instead let us praise GOD for who HE is! Our Lord God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power Revelation 4:11.

Double for your Troubles

Hey my dearest readers! This post is a sermon from last Sunday. I hope you are encouraged from this like I was!

When you read 1 Samuel chapter 30, you will find out that when David and his men returned to Ziklag from a battle, they found out that the Amalekites had taken captive all their women and children. When they found out that their women and children had been taken as captives they wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep!

Here are 5 things that the pastor said we can learn from this passage.

1. Everyone has to go through a Ziklag experience. The men whose wives and kids had been taken away were planning to kill David. This made it all even worse for David. Verse 6 says that David was greatly distressed. It would have been super painful for him. He had been running from King Saul for his life. He was promised the kingship but all he got was more pain and fear of getting killed any minute. He had to live in caves, in open and in the most adverse situation, always watching out for any danger. And now to top it all he finds that all he had, all he had worked hard for is now taken away and his own fellow workers are now planning to kill him. The Ziklag experience is a place where David lost all hope. All that he had was lost. All he owned all he had ever worked for. Now it is all gone. He is all alone. All he got was pain after pain, loss after loss, and defeat after defeat.
   
   
   If you my friend are going through such a situation, just remember that GOD is not done working in your life. GOD is big enough to turn your disappointments into divine appointments. Romans 8:28 says,“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” GOD is working in your situations.
2.          Gifts by GOD come in different wrappings. JESUS did not come the way people expected the Messiah would come. They never thought that the king who would bring salvation to the entire earth would be born in a manger. If you read 2 Samuel chapter 1 you will find that three days after they recovered their possessions and family, David received what was promised to him. He did become the king!
   
   
   It is amazing how exited we become when GOD promises us something. But when we don’t see it happening and end up waiting years, and sometimes we don’t just wait but also suffer during the wait, suffer so much that in the end we totally forget what GOD promised us. We stop asking for the promises to fulfil; now all we ask is for GOD to help us just get through each day. We forget our great calling; the truth is we stop believing that anything good can happen anymore. We have waited for so long that it just seems too late for anything good. We stop reasoning we just simply think what we have is all that we will ever have. We make our peace with it. Every small victory is what we end up celebrating. We just stop hoping for breakthroughs.
   
   
   Little did David know that he was so close to the day when all the promises will be fulfilled. On the third day he found out that all his enemies who were planning to kill him, were dead. Dear friends, I don’t know how close you are to your promise land. But, each day you are getting closer. Please don’t give up. Keep trying. The day will surely come. HE who promised you is faithful. Remind yourself every day, that something good is going to happen.
   
   
3.         Encourage yourself when you go through problems and difficulties. Though in verse 6 David was discouraged, in verse 7 he realizes that the only one who could encourage him was GOD and GOD alone. He enquires of GOD. And when he knew that GOD was with him, he was encouraged. It is good to acknowledge GOD in whatever we do. This all happened because he chose to ask for GOD’s will before he took any step ahead. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM, and HE will make your paths straight.”
   
   Another way to encourage yourself is to always speak positive. I know it seems overwhelming to be the positive one when all around you is nothing but negative. But, Proverbs 12:6 says, “Our words have the power to destroy and the power to build up.” Don’t confess your fear but confess your faith.
4.        Victory is on its way don’t give up. Yesterday I saw this clip by Joyce Mayer where she said how easy it is for Satan to attack us when we lose all hope. It’s good to hope in the LORD. It’s good to remind ourselves every day that “something good is going to happen”. A hopeless Christian is a defeated Christian. We need to keep moving and keep hoping for a breakthrough.
   
   
5.           And last but not the least. You shall receive everything that you lost. Everything that the Satan took away from you will be restored back to you. You will receive double for all your troubles. Just like King David received everything that was taken from him, GOD will restore everything back to you.

That is what I pray happens to you my dear readers. May all that you lost be found in JESUS name. Amen.

Beautiful

Hey my beautiful/handsome readers!

A few days ago I was thinking why do we always ask people to smile for pictures. Though we don’t think of it but subconsciously we all know that everybody looks beautiful when they smile. It’s a GOD given natural makeup. No matter what color a person is, their caste, their gender, background or anything else. Everybody looks nice when they smile.

Smiling just automatically brightens up our face and automatically makes others looking at us smile too! It is so cute. I really ask those who are reading this to smile for a second. Even if you don’t feel like. Just for a second. Didn’t it just make you feel a little lighter?

I once saw a video where in they asked a couple adults and kids,  “If you got a chance to change something in their body what would that be?”

Every adult wanted to change something, increase their height, have a smaller forehead, be a little less chubby and so on. A few kids wanted no change and other kids wanted superpower! But there was an old lady who said that if she changed anything about her she would not be her. And she didn’t want to do that. She liked the way  she was.

Why does it take so long for some people to realize that. We try so hard to fit in when we were made to stand out. We want to be taller, fairer (this mostly happens in India!), more skinny (sometimes more skinnier than a skeleton!). Unfortunately these are man-made standards, which is sad. For whom are we trying to look pretty. A person who can accept you when you are completely flawless will never love you fully. He/she will always want more from you. But, love is unconditional. And for how long? If tomorrow they find someone more “perfect” than you they will dump you with no remorse or guilt! They will get over you like you never existed.

1 Samuel 16:7 says “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” He knows what’s important. No one can bear someone with a beautiful face but stinky heart. Their real nature shows up sometime or the other and no matter how they look outside they are not “beautiful”. One has to have a beautiful heart. Luke 6:45 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart”. 

My dear friend, you know what you are capable of. You know your strengths. Cultivate them, let you good works speak for you. If you are a person who always speaks positive, talks kind and is humble people will love you no matter what. In fact they will even draw towards you. Inner beauty attracts the right people towards you.

Beauty is only skin deep. It will not last forever and certainly not all the time! Stop hating your body. And stop feeling sorry for yourself. There is always someone out there who would swap his/her life with yours in a heartbeat if they got a chance. You and I just don’t realize it.

Just be you. Be confident in your own skin. Be your own fan! Love what you have been given. You are beautiful. You are handsome. And if you still don’t believe me. Smile and look in the mirror, you’ll know what I am talking about.

Good bye my loves

Brokenness Producing fruitfulness

Hey Lovely Readers,

Today I wanted to talk about something I heard in my church this Sunday. It really encouraged me. And I thought that it will surely encourage you guys.

The passage is taken from 1 Samuel 1: 1-18. The story is about Hannah. Hannah had no kids. She was barren. And in those days being barren was curse. People thought the only purpose of a women is to produce children. And if she is not able to then she is cursed. And to add to her misery her husband’s second wife had kids. Her name was Peninnah. And she loved provoking Hannah and irritate her (verse 6). Every year Peninnah would undergo the pain of childbirth and seeing that Hannah would undergo the pain of not having a child (Pastor’s quote).

The title of the message was “Brokenness Producing fruitfulness”. We all feel like being broken and we just don’t get it. We would be doing all thing right, but still we keep failing. Being broken is not a very good experience. Its not a situation we want to be in for long. But sometimes its not our choice. That’s how Hannah was feeling. Fully broken and desperate.

The illustration the pastor gave was that of a horse. One cannot just jump on any horse and make the horse obey their orders. It just doesn’t work that way. The horse has to be broken. The will of the horse has to be broken so that it does not do what it desires but what the rider wants it to do.

It’s the same thing with us. We become more sensitive to GOD’s voice when we are broken. We understand better that we need GOD more than any other thing we were praying for.

In the bible GOD had to break many people to finally reveal HIS purpose in their lives. Take for example Abraham. He had no children, GOD had promised him children but he had to go through a process of waiting and a time of brokenness. Jacob had to run away from his brother work hard labour under an unforgiving father-in- law. He had to fight with GOD. Loose his beloved wife. Almost loose his sons. He did have a lot of struggle in his life. Job had to undergo a lot of trouble till he got double for all his troubles. Even Peter. Peter before becoming one of the greatest Apostles of his time denied the same JESUS he was preaching 3 times. It completely broke him.

A soil needs to be broken before it can produce any fruit. The bread needs to be broken for people to be fed. The perfume bottle had to be broken for JESUS to be anointed. And JESUS was anointed with that ointment before HE was broken for the sins of you and me. It all starts with breaking.

The truth is that if you are broken today remember that you are in good season. Because after brokenness comes fruitfulness. Brokenness is good.

Now let us get back to the chapter. Hannah means grace. But unfortunately she couldn’t see any grace in her life. All she endured was bitter taunts from Peninnah. There was no grace in her life. Or so she thought. But lesser she knew that GOD was planning to turn her disgrace to grace. GOD had amazing plans in her life.

The other character is Elkanah which means sent by GOD. And indeed he was sent by GOD. You know when GOD leads you through a time of pain he doesn’t leave you alone and hopeless just to suffer. But, HE also sends HIS comfort. HE cares for us. HE will let us be pressed but HE will never allow us to be crushed, we might be persecuted but we will never be abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. You and I are blessed beyond the curse. Elkanah was a source of encouragement for Hannah. In verse 8 Elkanah says, “don’t I mean more to you than ten sons”. Isn’t that real sweet. The pastor said that husbands should learn to be more like Elkanah. Its good to be the source of comfort. And when we as a Christians act comforting to a broken hearted it’s the most amazing thing that we can do.

Peninnah means Pearl. But unfortunately she had no qualities of a pearl. That’s sad. She considered what GOD gave as a blessing a tool to taunt others. Though she was a mother, she dint have a mothers heart. Its funny how people with everything don’t enjoy what they have, but instead they take pleasure in provoking and hurting others who don’t have what they have. How sometimes people don’t value others emotions. It hurts me to think that such people still exist among us. They use their words and their actions to hurt people’s feeling. And they drive pleasure from it.

These people are heavenly sand papers as our pastor says. They keep rubbing us. It hurts us, in fact sometimes it hurts a lot, but the constant rubbing smoothens our rough edges. It makes them less rough and more shiny. So much so that the next time the sand paper rubs us it has no effect. There is no more friction! It just glides through us, and now the sand paper has to find someone else to rub J

Peninnah had kids and Hannah did not. But that didn’t make Hannah any less blessed than Peninnah. We see others blessed and we start comparing. We think they are blessed and we are not. But the truth is just opposite. What they have is nothing in comparison to what we have. Or what we are going to get in the future! Hannah was barren because GOD wanted to do something amazing in her life.

My dear friends, GOD wants to do something amazing in your life too! HE is about to bring you into a season of fruitfulness. There is going to be a divine intervention in your lives.

Peninnah drove Hannah to absolute desperation, so much so that she decided to ask GOD for HIS divine intervention. What she did was a prayer of desperation. Her heart was so hurting that her prayer was not at all like any other ordinary prayer. Even the priest there didn’t call it a prayer. HE just thought that she was drunk and was babbling. He even suggested her not to drink more. Its funny and sad how a man of GOD didn’t realize the conviction in the prayer of a desperate woman.  But the prayer did work. GOD does answer prayers. HE is not a GOD who has ears and cannot hear, has eyes but cannot see. HE is the creator of all things. And HE does care.

Hannah met 3 E’s in her life.

         1)   Elkannah: He was a natural man. All he could do was comfort Hannah. But he did try his best. Stood by her side when she needed help. But there was only so much he could do.

         2)   Eli: He was the priest. He represents influence. His words of encouragement made Hannah stop weeping. Though at first he could not understand the situation, but later he did say what GOD wanted to tell Hannah. He said that GOD has heard her prayers and that now she can go home.

         3)   El Shaddai: And when she met HIM she didn’t have to meet anyone else.

Later on in this chapter it says that it came to pass that GOD heard her prayer. And today I want to let you guys know that, it shall come to pass when GOD will intervene. It shall come to pass for a divine breakthrough. HE who promised is faithful to do what HE told. GOD is not a man that HE should lie. HE will do more than you and I can ask think imagine.

Remember a season of brokenness is a good season.

Thanks for dropping my loves

GOD Bless you