Tag: love

Reality Check…1…2…3…!

The following question should help you put some perspective into how you see your walk with God:

“If God, in His infinite power and might, should decide to take His throne and all His glory into the very flames of Hell, would you follow Him there?”

Not like the aforementioned scenario would play itself out, but the question helps to bring into sharp focus the main motivation that drives people to God.

You see, for many people, that motivation is THE FEAR OF HELL!!!

Yes! Trust me.

People have a skewed view of God, which has been sold to them by religion, tradition and the devil. They see God as a taskmaster that seeks 100% adherence to 10, 000 dos and don’ts.
So, they think, “How can we escape the distasteful ending to haters of God? Well, we’d claim to love Him, so we don’t end up in Hell!”

But that’s not the character of the God I worship and serve.

His personality is far from that of a taskmaster. Instead, He is loving and caring. He knows our shortcomings and has our best interests at heart.
He craves for a loving and working relationship with as many that would avail themselves to Him.

God is not looking for those that would worsip Him because they are scared of death and Hell. Neither is He looking for those who just see worshipping Him as a free ticket to Heaven.

God is searching for those who love Him for the sake of Love itself.

In conclusion, the fear of death or Hell should not be what drives you to God.
Your driving force should be a loving heart and a desire for a working, loving relationship with the King!!!

Number Of The Day: 100 (Dedicated To Thanksgiving Day)

As you’ve probably noticed, I briefly discontinued my Bible Story series.

My initial plan was to celebrate my 100th post on this blog a little bit more subtily. However, this was not meant to be.

You see, just a couple of hours ago, I used to be part of a select group of special humans who thought that Thanksgiving Day was the Fourth of July!

(Disappointing! Yeah, I know 🙁 )

Well, as soon as I settled that ‘minor’ issue of dates, a significant verse popped into my head:

The Message Bible translation of Psalm 100:4a which reads,

“Enter with the password: Thank You”

One shouldn’t wait till Valentine’s day before love is shown to everyone around him. Only hypocrites do that. Love is to be shown everyday.

One shouldn’t wait till Christmas or Easter, before Christ’s redemptive work for mankind is remembered. Only the heathen do that.
We should walk in the awareness of Christ salvation of our souls everyday.

In the same vein, we shouldn’t wait till Thanksgiving Day, before we appreciate God for all He has wrought in our lives.
As the Message Bible rightly points out, thanking God on a continual basis is the only way to get even more goodies from His inexhaustible blessings!

Thank Him.
Bless His Name.
Give Him praise.
And worship Him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Four Cardinal Points

When I was younger, I used to tease my female classmates. A lot!

For instance, I once asked them how they would feel if on their wedding day, the officiating minister read John 4:18, instead of I John 4:18.

The latter reads:
‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love’

And the former reads:
‘For you hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly’

Needless to say, the very prospect of that scenario sent shivers down the spines of those ladies. Bless their hearts!

On a more serious note, the most memorized Bible verse is John 3:16. It talks about God’s love for humanity and how God sent His Son to give everlasting life to as many that believe in Him.
However, not many Christians are familiar with I John 3:16:

‘Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’

For some reason beyond me, we all have been indoctrinated with an attitude of selfishness.

Our 4 cardinal points seem to be: Me, My, Mine and Myself. For others, it’s worse: I, I, I and I!!!

We all naturally want to amass and amass for ourselves to enjoy alone.
But alas, we are instructed to walk in the steps of Jesus.

Jesus put aside the splendour of His glorious heavenly majesty and came to the earth as a full man. Yet He was without sin. This fact alone should motivate us to be less self-oriented.
But Jesus didn’t even stop there!
He went on to die for our sins and imputed us with His righteousness. And we’d never be able to repay Him for His act of love.

Now, it’s highly unlikely that you are going to die for another person. Christ has already done that!
But are you willing to get ‘spent’ for the benefit of the less priviledged?
Are you willing to offer yourself as a living sacrifice in whatever manner that seems neccessary at any point in time?

Remember, you can’t walk with God and stay alive (to your Self-ish Cardinal points)

Lose your (Self) life, and you’d find your (God) life. The difference is so clear!

A Rare Flower: A poem

Grrriiinnnggg! It’s morning.
I check the mirror and find myself set
Purposefully, I walk into the Garden where Adam once found himself alone
Taking a meditative stroll in the company of the early morning sun,
I see it
Either by coincidence or by Divine providence, I cannot tell
But it’s right there, in the far corner of the Garden
A young bud sprouting,
A rare species, a jewel in any man’s eyes,
So beautiful and natural,
Intoxicatingly delicate, the pick of them all.
Instantly, I’m in tune with it

Zzzuuuuppp! The Indian music in my ears stop and
I find out that I’m in a fix:
Do I leave it to nature, or do I protect it
from the many non-existent wandering predators of my imagination’s creation,
Who have no other agenda than devouring all in their paths.

For a while, I step back from the garden and withdraw into myself,
Only stepping out occassionally to discuss my plight
with the self-proclaimed elders in the perimeter of my consciousness

Yet, the familiar still small voice lovingly warns me
of all the dangers and perils of nipping a rare scion so soon.
Alas, my conceit captains the suggestions of the ‘know-alls’,
and they all urge me to follow my ‘seat of smartness’

I’m back in the Garden, and I tell my Self, ‘Fish out your bud’
I’m excited and carefully become a wee bit careless
However, with crude expertise, I cut it off,
from whence it knew as home.

I saddle myself
with the responsibility of fending for it.
It is resilient, and with a stubborn desire to survive.
It thrives, but only at its normal rate,
Not less, but I’d never know whether it could have been more

So, what was all my fuss about?
I commune with my heart,
during my pillow-talk at night.
And the intuitive, inner, inspirator interferes once more, saying,
‘The Father in His Nature wills the Perfect rather than the Permissive for His own’

I wake up.

** THE PLATINUM GIFT FEATURED ARTICLE: The Gift By Theresa Gabriel **

Once upon a time…

There was a girl whose name was Mirabel. Mirabel was one of the most beautiful girls you’d ever lay your eyes on. She had very long, straight, shiny, black hair. You could even see your reflection in it. She had the most captivating and piercing grey eyes you could see on anyone. Here eyes appeared to see through one’s body and soul. As amazing as those grey eyes were, Mirabel was blind! For all the beauty of those eyes, they had never seen the stars or oceans or trees. She lived in darkness. Mirabel had been living in darkness all her life. It was ALMOST all she knew…

But in the midst of it all, there was a glimmer of sushine for her.

His name was Harry.

Harry was the best thing that had ever happened to Mirabel. He loved her so much and could do anything for her. He wanted to marry Mirabel and spend the rest of his life with her. So, he manned up and asked her to marry him.

But Mirabel was relunctant because of her condition. She said to him,
‘Harry…Oh Harry…if only I could see you, if only I could see the world, I’d marry you’

The next day, Mirabel found that a pair of perfectly healthy eyes had been donated to her. She was so happy. Immediately, she called Harry to tell him of the news. Harry was ecstatic. He was happy that Mirabel’s dream had come true, and as a result, his was also in line for fulfilment.

Mirabel underwent surgery. And it was successful. The doctors told her that she’d see after a few weeks of recovery after which the bandage would come off.

The day soon came for her to take the bandages off. As the bandages were peeled off, the first thing Mirabel saw was this angelic face. Nobody had to tell her it was Harry. This was her sunshine in her darkness. The bandages were soon fully off and she saw him. He was magnificient, but….

Well, Harry got down on a knee and asked for Mirabel’s hand. In Marriage.

To his surprise, she said ‘NO!’. You see, Harry was magnificient, but he was blind too! Mirabel didn’t want to marry a blind person. And she said this to Harry’s face.

Harry was devastated. He was heartbroken. Words cannot describe his pain and mental anguish. So, he got up from his knee and turned to find his way out.

But before leaving, without turning his back, Harry said to Mirabel,
‘Take care of MY EYES for me…’

And then, he left.

** THE END **

P.S: Though this is fiction, I was deeply moved, especially when I remember the extent Jesus Christ went for us to redeem us from our sins. Good write-up Theresa. More Grace to you

XOXO

During my initial forays into the social networking world, I used to see the word ‘XOXO’ at the end of many emotionally blissful status updates. Females are mostly ‘guilty’ of this. Being my usual inquisitive self, I googled ‘XOXO’! I saw that in online messaging, it meant ‘Hugs and Kisses’. Still vague to me, I ‘researched’ a bit more. Then I found it. Each ‘X’ stands for a person’s four limbs while each ‘O’ stands for a person’s head. Thus, ‘XOXO’ stands for two people embracing. Albeit an horizontal one!

If I was asked to summarize life in one word, I’d say: Relationship. With God. With man. With your family. With your neighbour. With your bosses at work. With strangers. Relationship! Relationship!! Relationship!!!

All of life’s problems are relationship problems. And all relationship problems bore down to love. Today, we speak of spiritual dryness in our worship centres. Why? Because we don’t love God and have a relationship with Him.
We speak of strife in our families and neighbourhoods. Why? Because people are not relating in love.
There are political tensions in every nation of the world. Why? Because the people and the leaders don’t have a working loving relationship with God and their fellow citizens.

So, how do you think you are faring ‘relationship-wise’? Good? Bad? Moderately okay? Whichever you pick, a healthy relationship with God and man is possible. Let’s make an effort to make our world a better place because it begins with you and I.

XOXO