my Articulate Heart

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 is reall

Looking at the abundance in my life  (not in terms of financial surplus) people assume that I have lot of money. Some tend to misunderstand when I tell them that I don’t have money to spare, more so when they approach me for a share of the tithe or to borrow some in dire need. To those who listen, I tell them; God has been providing for me because I’m mindful, in little ways, of His Kingdom and His righteousness. House, car, office, and children’s schooling, all these came, noticeably in the absence of sufficient bank balance to look forward to. At the same time, I know I should be mindful of the kingdom not in order that I may have my material needs met. But because I seek something much above what material things can offer (true joy and self actualization in my Creator) these needs of mine become God's business to look after.  How wretched I’m if I give tithe in order to feel justified or to receive the double and triple portions God promised to those who give. Tithing would t

Mother Hen along with it's many chicks move on as the young ones crisscross and sometime mount on her.  A chick that stayed behind spotting something new on the ground catches up with the rest. An unfriendly noise! A warning call from the mother follows. She lifts her wings and the chicks go hiding under it. Frightened chicks keeps total mum. Mother crouches over the young ones. The chicks hear their mother's heart beat and feel the warmth of her body. While the chicks are lost in this extreme comfort and well being, the mother gets up and walks off.  The chicks fall over, afraid being unprotected, look up to see only the vast expanse of the empty sky. They then find their mother who is already at a distance ahead of them. They run to her   The chicks peck on all things mother scavenge for them and move on.  They now come to the edge of the plain beyond which is a big ditch. The mother Hen waits for no one, jumps off with its wings spread and lands few feet below and contin

Every individual has inclinations unique to him. Possessing an inclination does not qualify him to do what he wants with them. Society has identified certain acts to be illegitimate as they are harmful to the harmony of human existence. Someone who is scheming to rob a man and another who is plotting to bomb a railway station are both considered anti social. The society has judicial laws addressing motives such as these.  Same is the case with an individual who has tendency to sexually utilize minors. Anyone, because he is differently oriented, actions, as a result of his disorientation, do not qualify to be legal.  God is madly in love with all of us despite our wrong orientations, motives and methods. A person who is differently oriented, who is sexually attracted to the same gender, is encouraged to identify the disorientation, experience God’s unconditional love which is loaded with tremendous transforming power and strive towards becoming rightly oriented. In a television int

If God has saved our face in shameful situations, averted getting caught in the act of private sins; it is simply because God's love does not permit his children to be disgraced. Have not an iota of doubt that this protection is not God's approval of our sin. The innumerable blessings and providence in our life is no sign that we are any better and we have God’s approval on our side. God lets His sun shine on the wicked and good alike When we preach about our material blessings, we must be careful not to let our brothers think that we follow Jesus for blessings.  Merely attaining salvation or avoiding hell should not be our life’s goal but to be Christ like.