All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Minor but profound incident
An incident that took place in my life long back, about 7 years back came back to my mind this afternoon very powerfully. Something that could otherwise be dismissed and even forgotten as a daily occurence in India has, for whatever reason, been etched in my mind's memory forever.
It was May 2003. I had gone to India for my sister's wedding. All preparations for the wedding were going on in full swing and just a couple of days before the wedding, I had gone to a men's clothing outlet, Raymonds, to buy my dad a nice suit for the occasion. I was in the rear seat of our car, simply looking out the window while the driver we had employed for the occasion was driving the car.
We stopped at these traffic lights in the Basheer Bagh area and suddenly there came, as if from nowhere, this old beggar, perhaps in his late 70s or early 80s, stooped low and his stomach almost bent in. It was very evident that this man had not eaten for days. He came and with desperate tears in his eyes earnestly begged for something and said that he hadn't eaten anything for a long time. All the while, the driver of our car was simply scolding this old beggar, telling him off and to not bother us. But something within me just couldn't dismiss him. My heart went out to this old beggar. Those tears in his eyes, that pleading and desperate look, his frame bent low and stomach turned in, I haven't forgotten that sight till this day. I simply took what I had in my shirt pocket, a 5 rupee coin and gave it to him. His face immediately lighted up, and this time it was tears of joy in his eyes. He said to me many times, over and over, "devudu ninnu challagunchuthaadu, devudu ninnu deevisthaadu babu (God will bless you son)". Those words are ringing in my ears till this day.
I have always wondered if he was the one Jesus was referring to when he said in Matthew 25:35 "For I was hungry, and you gave me food...".
Obviously I have no idea if that old man is even alive now or has fallen victim to his hunger pangs eventually. But those words of blessing from an old beggar has meant a lot to me. God bless his heart, if he is still alive.
It was May 2003. I had gone to India for my sister's wedding. All preparations for the wedding were going on in full swing and just a couple of days before the wedding, I had gone to a men's clothing outlet, Raymonds, to buy my dad a nice suit for the occasion. I was in the rear seat of our car, simply looking out the window while the driver we had employed for the occasion was driving the car.
We stopped at these traffic lights in the Basheer Bagh area and suddenly there came, as if from nowhere, this old beggar, perhaps in his late 70s or early 80s, stooped low and his stomach almost bent in. It was very evident that this man had not eaten for days. He came and with desperate tears in his eyes earnestly begged for something and said that he hadn't eaten anything for a long time. All the while, the driver of our car was simply scolding this old beggar, telling him off and to not bother us. But something within me just couldn't dismiss him. My heart went out to this old beggar. Those tears in his eyes, that pleading and desperate look, his frame bent low and stomach turned in, I haven't forgotten that sight till this day. I simply took what I had in my shirt pocket, a 5 rupee coin and gave it to him. His face immediately lighted up, and this time it was tears of joy in his eyes. He said to me many times, over and over, "devudu ninnu challagunchuthaadu, devudu ninnu deevisthaadu babu (God will bless you son)". Those words are ringing in my ears till this day.
I have always wondered if he was the one Jesus was referring to when he said in Matthew 25:35 "For I was hungry, and you gave me food...".
Obviously I have no idea if that old man is even alive now or has fallen victim to his hunger pangs eventually. But those words of blessing from an old beggar has meant a lot to me. God bless his heart, if he is still alive.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me
These are the words of Christ to His disciples
"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." - Mark 8:34
I was reading a blog post by someone on this and found it very useful in understanding better what it means to deny ourselves and taking up our cross. So, I am posting it here, not the complete article, but the portion which specifically talks about denying ourselves and taking up our cross. I added some notes wherever I had my own thoughts while reading this passage
"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." - Mark 8:34
I was reading a blog post by someone on this and found it very useful in understanding better what it means to deny ourselves and taking up our cross. So, I am posting it here, not the complete article, but the portion which specifically talks about denying ourselves and taking up our cross. I added some notes wherever I had my own thoughts while reading this passage
What does it mean to deny ourselves? Blessed Theophylact writes that we can learn what it means to deny ourselves by considering what it means to deny another. [My notes: A good illustration in the bible is when Peter denied Christ. How about if Peter had turned around that denial on himself? Instead of denying Christ. What would he have done? Confess Christ and let come what may? Arrest? Imprisonment? Even his own death at the same time? Most likely yes. This is exactly what he does years later when Peter has finally learned to deny himself and is crucified upside down by Rome. So, in essence denying ourselves is confessing Christ in us and confessing Him alone and not even acknowledging ourselves] What do we tend to do when we see the suffering of another person? Do we intervene? Or do we go our way, and say nothing? To deny ourselves is to say nothing when it is us who are suffering – to consider ourselves as to be of no value in this world, and so to endure whatever comes our way in this world without protest, without complaint.
What does it mean to take up our Cross? It means to be willing to suffer, even die, for Christ. At some times, and in some places, this means a martyr’s death. Yet even when it is not a literal death, we are called to be willing to endure the ridicule and rejection of a “social” death – to be cut off from those who live in the world around us because we choose to follow the way of life we have been blessed to receive in the Church, rather than to live according to the ways permitted in the world. We are meant to be witnesses to Christ, to show Him present in the world because He is living in us – and so we live according to holiness, and not the way of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
[The complete article is here
http://orthodoxsermonsonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/deny-yourself-take-up-your-cross-and.html]
Friday, September 18, 2009
Some random thoughts...
All that I have, everything good, everything right, everything noble, everything righteous, everything truly profitable, everything worthy of praise is from God. I did not form or create myself, I did not bring myself into this world, I came into this world not of my own choosing, and neither am I leaving this world of my own choosing. I was brought into this world without being asked and I will be leaving this world without being asked. So what am I that I should boast about myself?
So, give God the glory for He alone deserves ALL the glory and honor and praise. For the world is His and all that is in it. For He alone is the one who formed you, brought you into this world, sustained you and sustains you still and give you life evermore if only you will place your trust in Him.
So, give God the glory for He alone deserves ALL the glory and honor and praise. For the world is His and all that is in it. For He alone is the one who formed you, brought you into this world, sustained you and sustains you still and give you life evermore if only you will place your trust in Him.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sin, a hindrance to answered prayer
First of all, I want to say upfront that this is not something written by me. This short but powerful article was written by one, Mr. Carlos Garcia and I found this article posted in turn by someone else in their website. But I myself also liked it so much that I thought I'd post it too here. I couldn't find the original article or the website of the author. So, will all due credit to Mr. Carlos Garcia, I post his article here with the sincere hope and desire that someone else visiting my blog may also be blessed by this article as I myself have been.
Have you ever found that the prayers you have before God have gone unanswered? Have you ever wondered what it could be that is holding back the answer to your petition? After spending some time in fasting in prayer the Lord revealed to me five hindrances to receiving prayers answered, they are the following: sin, fear, self, time and disorder. Today, I’ll be discussing the first point, sin.
God’s word says that without obedience there is no blessing. Disobedience to God’s word is sin. We may be faithful in tithing and church attendance, but if we are not walking according to God’s word, we are in disobedience and sin.
We may want to become angry with God for not answering our prayer, but if we walking in disobedience to God then we are hindering ourselves from receiving a blessing.
Sin seems to develop in stages, A) Thoughts, B) Words, and C) Action. The Scriptures state, “as a man *THINKS in his heart, so is he.” If the thoughts of your heart are angry, lustful, jealous, and the like, then it is an indication of whom we are, even if it is not whom we want or claim to be. (cf. II Co 10:3-5)
As Christians we must strive to keep our thoughts pure and in line with the word of God. Philippians 4:8 challenges the Believer, “Whatsoever things are holy, … pure, … and of good report …think [meditate] on these things.”
If we keep our thoughts on the Lord, we will be much more effective in keeping our thoughts pure. And since our objective as Christians is to be more like Jesus, we must meditate (keep our thoughts) on the Lord so we can become more like Him. And if we walk in obedience we will be at a place to receive the blessing we have petitioned God.
The Bible state, “the power of life and death is in the tongue” and we will eat the fruit of those words. For example, if we are asking God for a financial blessing, but on our “non-prayer” time we keep speaking doubtful or negative words, we will eat the “fruit” of our doubt and miss the blessing of our prayers.
Action speaks to what we live and walk out in our day-to-day lives. There are believers who have the misconception that because we “talk the talk,” behind close door we are not obligated to “walk the walk.” Yet, in Galatians 6: 7-8 it states plainly, “God is not mocked…he that soweth to the flesh…will reap destruction.” We cannot look to blame others for our lack of blessings.
In essence, if we live life as if God is not omnipresent [present in all places] and omniscient [all knowing], than we deceive ourselves. Our Christianity is not only about words, but it’s about actions. As it says in the book of James, “Faith without works [actions] is dead.”
If we desire the blessing of the Lord, we must walk in line with His word. If we walk in obedience we will be in the place to receive God’s blessing.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
It's been a while since I posted something here. So, I thought I'll just post some of my thoughts as I was meditating on the scripture passages in Mark 3:22-30 and Matthew 12:24-32.
Here is where we see Jesus talk about the "sin against the Holy Spirit" or "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost", something which theologians and bible scholars wrestled with for centuries since the time of the early church.
So, I thought that I will add my name to this illustrious list of eminent men and women by posting my own thoughts on the matter. :-) But lest I make the list no more a list of eminent men and women by adding my own name to it, I thought I'd add my thoughts to my own blog. :-) So here we go.
Q) What was the essence of the scribes' or the Pharisees' sin?
A) They saw the miracles Jesus was doing and they attributed those miracles to the devil.
Taking it a level deeper, they saw the work God was doing, but attributed it to the devil.
They saw and knew the truth, but were so caught up in their own sins (legalism, self-righteousness, pride, envy, lust for power) that they willingly blinded themselves to the truth and were willfully rejecting the truth.
Q) But what made their sin different from the sin of the other people who also rejected Jesus and His teachings? What made the Pharisees' sin one that was categorically branded as the sin against the Holy Ghost?
A) There were surely a lot of people who did reject Jesus as the messiah, but stopped at that. They did not so brazenly and defiantly rise up against the Almighty God Himself as did Lucifer and the one third of the fallen angels when the first great fall happened in the heavens. These scribes and Pharisees were not only rejecting Jesus as the messiah, but not content with that, they also willfully and actively turned against God and started making charges (yes, here's where blasphemy comes into the picture) saying that the whole thing was the work of the devil. In short they called the Holy Spirit of God....I will not even dare to write this.
Q) How do you know that they did indeed recognize it (though they weren't acknowledging it) as the work of the Holy Spirit?
A) When Jesus asked them the question in Matthew 12:27 "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?", He asked it because He knew that they knew where the power to cast out demons comes from. In essence, He was exposing not just their foolishness, but much more their sin (with a high hand).
Just thinking about the whole thing shakes me up and fills me with fear. Wasn't this attitude and behavior of the Pharisees the very essence of something that can never be forgiven? Remember, not all sins are the same. There are degrees to sin and there are different kinds of sin. Yes, every sin is worthy of eternal condemnation, but what sets each sin apart from the others is the brazenness and the defiance with which it is committed against God, which is why Jesus didn't say that murder was the unpardonable sin or rape was the unpardonable sin, as heinous as these may be. It's not so much the act itself as it is the willful and active rebellion in the heart against Almighty God Himself.
Salvation is at it's very deepest level not deliverance from the eternal fires of hell and neither is it deliverance even from sin. At it's root, salvation is deliverance from the Almighty God Himself. Why? Because it is deliverance from the fierce wrath and fury of the Almighty God which is poured out upon the unrepentant wicked (like the Pharisees in this passage) which is what makes hell, hell. So, when one goes up against the very God who's supposed to save Him, what is he doing, but literally running headlong into the wrath and fury of the Almighty God, which is nothing but eternal condemnation?
So friends, if you are saved already by the grace and the mercy of God, thank God with me for saving us and giving us such a beautiful salvation. But, if you are not saved by the blood of Jesus, please repent of the sins in your life, cast them away at once and put your faith in the Savior who died for you taking your sins upon Himself on the cross so that you could have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" - John 3:16,17
Here is where we see Jesus talk about the "sin against the Holy Spirit" or "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost", something which theologians and bible scholars wrestled with for centuries since the time of the early church.
So, I thought that I will add my name to this illustrious list of eminent men and women by posting my own thoughts on the matter. :-) But lest I make the list no more a list of eminent men and women by adding my own name to it, I thought I'd add my thoughts to my own blog. :-) So here we go.
Q) What was the essence of the scribes' or the Pharisees' sin?
A) They saw the miracles Jesus was doing and they attributed those miracles to the devil.
Taking it a level deeper, they saw the work God was doing, but attributed it to the devil.
They saw and knew the truth, but were so caught up in their own sins (legalism, self-righteousness, pride, envy, lust for power) that they willingly blinded themselves to the truth and were willfully rejecting the truth.
Q) But what made their sin different from the sin of the other people who also rejected Jesus and His teachings? What made the Pharisees' sin one that was categorically branded as the sin against the Holy Ghost?
A) There were surely a lot of people who did reject Jesus as the messiah, but stopped at that. They did not so brazenly and defiantly rise up against the Almighty God Himself as did Lucifer and the one third of the fallen angels when the first great fall happened in the heavens. These scribes and Pharisees were not only rejecting Jesus as the messiah, but not content with that, they also willfully and actively turned against God and started making charges (yes, here's where blasphemy comes into the picture) saying that the whole thing was the work of the devil. In short they called the Holy Spirit of God....I will not even dare to write this.
Q) How do you know that they did indeed recognize it (though they weren't acknowledging it) as the work of the Holy Spirit?
A) When Jesus asked them the question in Matthew 12:27 "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?", He asked it because He knew that they knew where the power to cast out demons comes from. In essence, He was exposing not just their foolishness, but much more their sin (with a high hand).
Just thinking about the whole thing shakes me up and fills me with fear. Wasn't this attitude and behavior of the Pharisees the very essence of something that can never be forgiven? Remember, not all sins are the same. There are degrees to sin and there are different kinds of sin. Yes, every sin is worthy of eternal condemnation, but what sets each sin apart from the others is the brazenness and the defiance with which it is committed against God, which is why Jesus didn't say that murder was the unpardonable sin or rape was the unpardonable sin, as heinous as these may be. It's not so much the act itself as it is the willful and active rebellion in the heart against Almighty God Himself.
Salvation is at it's very deepest level not deliverance from the eternal fires of hell and neither is it deliverance even from sin. At it's root, salvation is deliverance from the Almighty God Himself. Why? Because it is deliverance from the fierce wrath and fury of the Almighty God which is poured out upon the unrepentant wicked (like the Pharisees in this passage) which is what makes hell, hell. So, when one goes up against the very God who's supposed to save Him, what is he doing, but literally running headlong into the wrath and fury of the Almighty God, which is nothing but eternal condemnation?
So friends, if you are saved already by the grace and the mercy of God, thank God with me for saving us and giving us such a beautiful salvation. But, if you are not saved by the blood of Jesus, please repent of the sins in your life, cast them away at once and put your faith in the Savior who died for you taking your sins upon Himself on the cross so that you could have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" - John 3:16,17
Friday, April 10, 2009
Jesus asks from the cross - What have you done for me?
నీ కొరకు నా ప్రాణం అర్పించితి సిల్వలో
నా కొరకు నీవేమి చేసితివి అని ప్రభు యేసు నిన్నడుగుచుందే
పరిశుద్ధ పరలోక రాజ్యము - పరమ తండ్రి సహవాసం
ఆ దివ్య సింహాసనం - దూతాళి స్తోత్ర గానం
సర్వస్వం విడచి ఏతెంచితి
...నా కొరకు నీవేమి విడచితివి?
English Translation (not word for word, but thought for thought)
For you, I laid down my life on the cross
What have you done for me? asks the Lord Jesus
The kingdom of heaven with all it's glories, fellowship with my heavenly Father
That glorious throne, praises and worship of the angels
ALL I left and came down for you
...What have you left for me?
Message
Jesus left it all, paid it all. He didn't hold back anything. Not even His life. For YOU and for ME. So, what have you done for Him? What have I done for Him?
Prayer
Lord, the only right response to this can be to myself lay it all down for you O Lord! My life humbly laid down at your feet, as an offering. Please accept this humble offering of mine and use it for YOUR glory. Bind the sacrifice even to the horns of the altar that I may not take it back again as I am wont to. Please Lord. Take this offering. In Jesus name, Amen!!!
నా కొరకు నీవేమి చేసితివి అని ప్రభు యేసు నిన్నడుగుచుందే
పరిశుద్ధ పరలోక రాజ్యము - పరమ తండ్రి సహవాసం
ఆ దివ్య సింహాసనం - దూతాళి స్తోత్ర గానం
సర్వస్వం విడచి ఏతెంచితి
...నా కొరకు నీవేమి విడచితివి?
English Translation (not word for word, but thought for thought)
For you, I laid down my life on the cross
What have you done for me? asks the Lord Jesus
The kingdom of heaven with all it's glories, fellowship with my heavenly Father
That glorious throne, praises and worship of the angels
ALL I left and came down for you
...What have you left for me?
Message
Jesus left it all, paid it all. He didn't hold back anything. Not even His life. For YOU and for ME. So, what have you done for Him? What have I done for Him?
Prayer
Lord, the only right response to this can be to myself lay it all down for you O Lord! My life humbly laid down at your feet, as an offering. Please accept this humble offering of mine and use it for YOUR glory. Bind the sacrifice even to the horns of the altar that I may not take it back again as I am wont to. Please Lord. Take this offering. In Jesus name, Amen!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Rebel without a cause???
Find a cause. Find YOUR cause.
A cause worth living for and a cause worth dying for.
A cause worth it all.
Let your heart cleave to it. Let your mind obsess it. Become one with it.
I'm sick and tired of living life without aim, without purpose.
You are born, you grow up, you marry and you have kids, you raise your kids, marry off your kids, play with their kids, see them grow up and then die...is that it?
What waste!
Dare to swim upstream. Dare to go against the flow.
Dare the world with your cause.
Be THE REBEL.
A rebel with a cause. A worthy cause.
May that cause be Christ Himself, the ULTIMATE rebel who changed the world.
"Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30
A cause worth living for and a cause worth dying for.
A cause worth it all.
Let your heart cleave to it. Let your mind obsess it. Become one with it.
I'm sick and tired of living life without aim, without purpose.
You are born, you grow up, you marry and you have kids, you raise your kids, marry off your kids, play with their kids, see them grow up and then die...is that it?
What waste!
Dare to swim upstream. Dare to go against the flow.
Dare the world with your cause.
Be THE REBEL.
A rebel with a cause. A worthy cause.
May that cause be Christ Himself, the ULTIMATE rebel who changed the world.
"Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30
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