my Articulate Heart

I often thought, to be doing a big sacrifice and favour to God by choosing not to sin. It is as if I have been forced to forgo something really exciting, probably like staying determined not to eat from a bowl delicious Biriyani, that’s beside me, even as the strong aroma appeals to my senses to stretch-out and grab a handful and yield to the lure. Little did I know, that it was a bowl of “excrement” cleverly disguised as delicious, highly desirable and real. What deters me from sin must be “extreme aversion” not fear, duty or sheer determination. Extreme aversion to sin must be a result of the true knowledge of sin in the light of the love of Christ. I force myself to avoid sin still assuming it is something good yet forbidden. This is far from truth.  Keeping my gaze fixed on Jesus brings me to the knowledge of truth. Sin is truly understood only in the light of His super abounding love. May this understanding  help me elude sin. For the LORD God is a sun a...

When we come to face with the brutal mutilation Jesus was subjected to and the completely inhuman and unjust proceedings that ended up in crucifixion, we often are moved to tears. These tears are that of sympathy and a reaction to the magnitude of infliction Jesus underwent. Yet, sadly, we fail to recognize “His love for you and me” that prompted Jesus to carry though this extreme cruelty and complete this mission to save us. Jesus said in Mathew 10: 8 “ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. Here Jesus is elevating our thoughts to a higher realm surpassing body and mind. Jesus does not desire our sympathy. He said looking at the women of Jerusalem, who wept bitterly, as their eyes met with the disfigured Jesus who was dragging his steps to the peak of Calvary "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children”.   Even in the thick of s...

If Christ and Christianity could be reduced to a word, that would be “Love”. God has a system installed which takes care of all the day to today processes concerning our lives, all living and non living things and the planets. God, like we tend to assume, is not busy dealing with innumerable issues at all time. The system takes care of it. Sun rising, Birth of babies, Consequence of bad deeds, blessings, giving grace, recording even the tiniest good we do, warning men of the impeding danger, hair falling etc are all executed and updated promptly in this supernatural software. The latest system He established was the “Process of Salvation for all mankind” by sacrificing Himself on the cross. So then what is God doing, if all these processes are automated? The answer is “He is Loving”. This is precisely why His love is new every morning. His love is ever renewing and is ever growing. This love that binds the Trinity is extended to each of us. Tapping into this love is wh...

After a slack or a grim period, as we try to get back into the relating- interacting relationship with Jesus, the mistake we often make is to focus too much on the lapse itself. We dissect the wound left and right, trying to understand what went wrong, how it happened, what I should have done to avoid it, what I must do in the future in similar situations and the agenda is endless. All this super scrupulousness leads to chronic guilt. Guild leads to discouragement and slowly the enthusiasm “to relate” dies down. The beauty of Jesus stops to draw our attention. Imagine our self to be a paint brush. The fulfillment of every brush is the beautiful painting, the artist paints, using it. The artist is God. The brush is you and I and the painting is our life. God the artist has a canvas for each of us. He is forever ready to use us but the problem is that we are not available or we would have taken a sabbatical after a period of co-operation. This sabbatical is the lapse we saw in the prev...

Never in my life have I really understood the true spirit of Lent. This morning I was led through the following thoughts by Jesus. Shifting Focus from self to Jesus On all previous lent, my focus was on what I did, what I sacrificed. This lent, may my focus be on Christ alone. What I do and what I give up would be the fruit of my being in YOU. Lent is a privilege and a special season of grace Jesus is giving me to identify with Him, the God who left the riches to become like me, the God, who walked the path of complete self denial, for my sake, until the peak of Calvary, the God who was obedient unto death on the cross, the God who went beyond forgiveness and cared to understand why his executioners did what they did, and interceded on their behalf to father saying “ forgive them for they know not what they do ”. As I deprive myself of the privilege of eating and drinking at my will and as my body signals to me of it's thirst, hunger, I would attend to it with love and unde...

How irresolute and frustrated I get when my kids do not care to listen to my ways. I lose temper and grow impatient.  My genuine concerns and warning bounce off as empty uttering. When they get hurt in the frenzy, I think to myself “you deserve it”. When they cry, I look away, determined that they are acting, trying to get attention. I  conclude its all a ploy, part of the game plan. I see them trying to prove that one is better loved and cared for than the other. The looser screams at top of his voice and I wonder where so much sound is coming from!. They cry as if their audience is a thousand miles away. I grumbled, how beautiful my weekdays were. I experienced Christ at my will. But alas at home, on weekends, I’m lost and helpless. This morning in prayer I heard a gentle voice saying to me, instead of yelling “better stop this nonsense or you will get hurt and if you get hurt, don’t come to me crying and if you do, I will give you whack” try saying this, “Children, Appa...