TRANSFORMED LIFE WITH CHRIST

  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith . 2 Timothy 4:7 Dear Friends, in the above verse, Apostle Paul is speaking about how he lived a faithful Christian life till the end. It was not easy for him as he had to fight to finish the race well. What was this fight about? With whom did he fight? We find the answer quoted in Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We need to understand that there is a war waging in each of us in the spiritual realm, between the spirit of God and the spirit of the devil, commonly referred to in the scriptures as being “of the world”. There are only two choices before us- either follow God’s way or the way of the world. If we make the decision to follow God’s way, by repenting of our sins and accepting the salvati...

                                                                            He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun . Psalms 37:6 How does God want us to live during the trials in our lives, so that we can reap the eternal rewards intended by a compassionate and merciful God. Below are some ways that could help us to keep ourselves aligned to God during our hard times. Prayer and Worship   When faced with troubles and difficulties, we lose heart and give up praying.   We are so emotionally spent that we do not have the strength or heart to pray. But, this is the time we need to yield our distress to God.   Even if we cannot pray, when we kneel down in His presence, His Holy spirit will intercedes for us, bringing u...

  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light 1Peter 2:9 Some things are loved because they are worthy and some things are worthy because they are loved. Dear friends, I believe like me, most of you have at times heard words of rejection or humiliation from those around us, may be from a teacher in school, or from your parents, spouse or colleague at work. At times we tend to believe what we hear and feel depressed and humiliated accepting ourselves to be what we heard. But this is not true. Our worthiness does not come from who we are. All of us by ourselves are imperfect beings and not worthy to stand before our holy and righteous God.  However, God Almighty who created us, loves us and deemed us worthy enough to send His Son to die for our sins, to redeem us by His blood to be His sons and daughters forever.  We are children of t...

  Dear All, today when we watch or hear the news, hardly a day goes by, when we do not hear incidents of violence and wickedness. Immorality is no longer a strange fact. Atrocities against mankind has reached to such an extent that all of us especially the younger generation have been desensitized to violence.They no longer feel any apathy towards evil, because they see and hear about it every day. Phrases and words which were deemed unsuitable and indecent in our youth, are now being used freely among children and teenagers in schools and colleges. Such language are considered as a normal part of conversation and are hardly corrected. Society has accepted these changes. However we as children of the heavenly kingdom should not conform to the pattern of this world, as written in Romans 12:2 :   Do not conform to the pattern of this world,  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, ple...

  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 Dear Friends, let me tell you there is  power in our words . Our words can build or destroy others. Words once spoken can never be taken back. Later, we might regret what we spoke , but to the person who heard it, especially if they are our dear ones,  the hurt and the effect of the words will remain for a long time and sometimes will never fade from their heart and mind. This could even lead to a break in relationships inside the family. We read in the Bible  James 3:8-10 - that no man can tame the tongue. Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. This should not be so. We need to guard our mouth from speaking evil of others, gossiping and grumbling. Whatever comes out of our mouth proceeds from our heart. If we harbor evil thoughts which are against the commandments ...

  Dear Friends, all of us are prone to be anxious about our children at each stage of their lives. When they are in school, we worry about their safe transport to and fro, we worry about their studies, or their health. When they are teenagers, we worry mostly about their character- their obedience, peer pressure, and conformity to social standards. When they are older, we worry about their jobs, their marriage, family life etc. But there is Good news !! we are not left alone to parent our children. We don’t have to fear what will happen to them because God has ordained the whole of their lives and they are engraved in the palms of His hands. All we have to do for our children is to  LOVE  them,  GUIDE  them and  TRUST   the one who loves them even more than we do. God’s care for our children is always better than our control. God has gifted us with prayer – a way to communicate directly to the Most High God! I hope you’ll be encouraged by t...

  Dear friends, I expect all of you like me are ever conscious that our children are living in a violent, stricken society. Daily news reports make us aware that evil is rampant among us. We wonder how we can provide safety for our children as they go about their daily lives- be it to school, college, work or even at home. We cannot always be with our children or look out for them.  One day, reading through my daily devotionals, I came across these 3 verses from the bible to be spoken as prayers. I make it a point now to pray these blessings over my children every morning, afternoon and night. Here are the 3 blessings I speak over their names: “May God bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon your face. May He be gracious to you. May you find favour in His eyes. May you have peace all of your days.”  Numbers 6:24-26 “May the Lord keep you from all harm as you trust in Him. May He watch over your life, your coming and your going, both now and forevermore.”  Psa...