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These days, when we enter a new company, we receive the things we need to work with. An IT professional receives a proper office space, parking, laptop, ID cards, sometimes uniforms, etc., to call himself or herself an employee of the company. These have become like basic needs for a professional. When God raised Joseph in the government of Pharaoh in Egypt, the Bible says in chapter 41 that he received a signet ring, garments of fine linen, a gold chain, a chariot, and a new name. It can be seen in the following verses Genesis 41:42 "So Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring, dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck."Pharaoh made sure no one referred to his past identity from when he was in prison. He gave him a new name. Joseph received a signet ring — it is almost like a person’s signature. Pharaoh gave his ring to Joseph to show all that Joseph now carried Pharaoh’s authority. He gave him fine linen garments, which were worn by royalty in ancient Egypt. We can see royal British women wearing hats at royal gatherings, and men wearing coats. Every kingdom has its own court or royal attire. The linen showed the elevated status Joseph received above ordinary people in the kingdom. Next, we see him receiving a golden chain. For Egyptian rulers, gold represented divine authority. Then a second chariot symbolized military power and public honor.Hey friend, when we receive honor from God, it is something we can’t even imagine to be ours. Joseph firmly believed in the visions God gave him. He believed in the dreams God gave him. Still, I believe this was a dramatic change — how beautifully God orchestrated everything, even the prison time, to lift Joseph according to His plan. Hey friend, whenever I read about Joseph’s prison time, I always remind myself to respect people who are in prison. We don’t know how many innocents are there—some with divine plans and ordination! Hey friend, are you feeling that you are a prisoner of your present situation? When God could do this much for Joseph, who was in prison, how much more could He do for you? Just wait in His hands for His appointed time to raise you to heights you have never imagined. When God raises us, He makes a way so that people around us call us and identify us with a new story. They can no longer see a prisoner but a ruler in Joseph. God changes the past and rewrite the future with a new story, a new identity, new authority, and a new status. Dear God, we thank you for everything you did for Joseph. Lord, you are a promise keeper, a way maker — who could imagine a prisoner becoming a ruler overnight? Your ways are not our ways, Lord. Your plans for us are far greater than we can imagine. May we, like Joseph, remain faithful wherever you place us. May you be with us every minute of the day, just as you were with Joseph.We pray that you fill us with the fear of the Lord that was in Joseph. Dear Holy Spirit, dwell in us and create in us a pure heart that fears you always. May we enjoy complete union with your Spirit. May we always walk in your light and your power. Make us as discerning and wise as Joseph. We know you can raise us just as you raised Joseph. Prison-like situations mean nothing to you, Father. There is always hope for those who trust in your name, dear Lord. We humble ourselves under your mighty hand, which holds all honor and power.In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

It was heavy traffic on a late evening. I was driving my red Nano car on the fully packed Tambaram to Porur road. The car moved inch by inch, and I had to keep my foot on the clutch and brake again and again, which frustrated me. To add to my trouble, my car was stuck in a hole, and I panicked, trying to move it out. With the help of some kind Chennaites, I managed to get it out of the hole and quickly drove towards the church on my left side. I parked my car in front of the CPM church gate. When I saw the Bible verses there, I felt a deep sense of relief. Tears of struggle rolled down my cheeks, but now they were tears of relief, knowing I was in a safe place. When I recalled the incident and shared it with my husband, I told him how grateful I was to God for giving us so many churches in the city. Just the sight of one brings peace to my mind. I always feel comforted when I pass by a church, and I know that beyond all differences, I am welcomed there. I can recall another similar incident when I was in an emergency situation and needed a place to stop. Our family was welcomed into an RC church in Chrompet. I know I can always find shelter in a place that carries the name of Jesus. Another beautiful place in the city—one that stands high above it—is St. Thomas Mount Church, which I used to visit with my husband. It is like a retreat for both of us. The coffee shop run by the sisters serves hot coffee and little snacks. The care they show in raising beautiful plants there is a delight to our eyes. We thoroughly enjoyed the view of the entire city from above. Every time I go there, I thank God for giving His people the mountain to build a house of prayer for Him. I can never forget the tears of joy I shed when I saw the congregation raising their hands and worshipping the Lord by singing the song of Father S. J. Berchmans. St.Th omas church chennai Yesterday, October 12, 2025, was another day when I sang to the Lord with tears of joy. Only my right eye shed tears. It was the day of the long-awaited church opening ceremony. I have numerous testimonies about the building of this church—New Life Worship Center at Pallavaram. Our church, NLAG, began this project two years ago. The vision of our pastor, Mohan, in building this remarkable place of worship is something I still can’t fully comprehend. Our NLAG at Little Mount looks huge from the outside, but from what I’ve seen in my small fellowship of NLAG believers and pastors, we are all simple people with great faith. They have a deep thirst to do something for the Lord with whatever they have. Many families have a hall in their homes dedicated to prayer, which they open for believers to hold meetings. Whatever the Lord gives them, they joyfully give back. I have never seen such cheerful givers—people who challenge their circumstances to do something for the Lord like the members of my big church family. When they declared it open and the worship began, I felt the presence of God filling the whole place. We couldn’t stay idle or talk; all of us were looking at our Father’s face, praising Him for what He had done for us—for building a place that would bless the whole city. Our arms stretched wide in awe of the miracle before our eyes. As I entered, I was singing “Karthar seyal idhu, adhisayam idhu, kaiththatti paadungalen.” It boosted my faith. I know my God can do anything He promises me. I stood in a place that taught me nothing is impossible with God. I stood in a place that helped me look beyond the challenges of my life. When Mrs. Pinto, a strong supporter of this project, took the mic and said, “See, Brother Mohan, God has done it,” I couldn’t stop my tears of gratitude. It was God—it was He who gave His children in this city a place that will be a comfort, a miracle center, a healing center, and a revival center for generations to come. What a glorious God we serve! He uses simple people—their hands, their hearts, their faith—to bless the whole nation. House of Jesus One thing I really loved about yesterday was the way Pastor Chadwick welcomed everyone. He said, “Welcome to the house of Jesus.” Yes, this is a house that tells me I am dearly loved. This is a house that testifies my God can do more for me than I can imagine or ever think of. The things He has in store for me are beyond my wildest imagination. He simply amazes me. What a God I serve. What a God I have. How much help I have in Him! Hey friend, yesterday was another reminder that God has given everyone who belongs to Him a place in the city. It is His house of prayer for all who call upon His name. I can’t even begin to imagine the mighty revival that this city is about to see through this place. Dear God, thank you for your mighty name. Thank you for letting us see the great things you have in store for the whole city. We praise you, Father, for every church you have given in this city. Let your comforting presence be there to guide us, help us, and carry us throughout the days of our lives. May we always be filled with the goodness from your house of prayer. Thank you, Lord, for the house of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for adding another shelter for your dear children in the city. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

“After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin,” says Hebrews 12:4. Paul asks us to fight against sin till we shed blood to overcome it. If there is one man who died in his fight against the sinful propaganda, it is Charlie Kirk. Many called him the modern-day John the Baptist, and I believe it is true. He founded Turning Point USA, and I have seen his videos filled with respectful debates and conversations with college students. He was a peaceful advocate who confronted the sinful WOKE beliefs, raised his voice against abortion, and encouraged people to value family life. He did not hesitate to call sin by its name. Though he received life-threatening warnings, he continued. In one speech, his wife said that for him it was not just work but a calling. Truly, this was not just a politician but a man of God. He encouraged the church to speak about politics and longed to see sanctification spread over the whole nation. Two days ago, during a tea break in college, I was scrolling through my phone when I saw the news that he had been shot. Shocked, I thought—like Trump, he would survive. But a few scrolls later, I read that the shooting was fatal. He had died. My jaw dropped, my eyes widened, and tears flowed as I struggled to accept that this man was no longer alive. An active young man, a husband, a father of two, and a servant of Christ, who dreamed of revolutionizing his country, was gone. Yet he knew the threats. A pastor once shared that just seven months ago Charlie had called him asking for prayer. Still, he pressed on with his debates, standing firm in faith. When asked in an interview what he wanted to be remembered for, he said quickly, “For being brave and for my faith.” That is exactly how he is remembered. Heaven has welcomed a brave soldier back home. I couldn’t help but wonder—what if we had one Charlie Kirk for our nation? When I came across a YouTuber in our country spreading lies to tarnish his legacy, I felt sorrow. No—we need Christian voices like Charlie in Indian politics too. We need them in our media, and we need them among our youth. As an assistant professor, I see students living carelessly, unconcerned about living a meaningful life. Very few live for Christ. My heart aches to see them idolizing movie stars in politics while no leader like Charlie rises to point them toward Jesus. President Trump clearly said there is no one in USA who can understand the heart of students than Charlie kirk. We need such Charlie for our students too. As all we hear here in the media is misinformation, even about men of God. But I believe that even doing half of what Charlie did in one’s lifetime would be a great accomplishment. Looking back, he achieved much and reached countless people in his short years. Yet my heart still prays: “Lord, raise a Charlie Kirk for our nation.” May people who fight against sin to the point of death be raised. May many who turn hearts back to God be raised. Even now, rallies in Korea, Britain, the USA, and Australia are standing for Charlie’s mission. Many speak of the wonderful life he lived, he is now celebrated as a martyr for Christ in the USA. When a young girl once asked him how she could be a good Christian, he simply replied: “Read your Bible daily and pray every day.” That was his strength. A life of prayer, meditation, and passion for Christ made him stand bold in faith. He lived and died for his faith. Dear reader, what do we bring to the table of God? What do we have for His kingdom? Do we know our calling? Can we speak the truth without disguise? Are we ready to fight the hard battle against sin? May God raise such brave hearts in us. Dear Father, thank You for the life of this legendary man, Charlie Kirk. Comfort his family, Lord. Raise us for Your kingdom like this brave servant. Help each of us know our calling. May we live boldly for the love we have for You. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, and do the unthinkable even through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you been in a place where you give so much and receive less or nothing in return from some? Recently, I felt the same and went with a heavy heart to God to tell Him that I quit loving the bunch of people who threw away my efforts for them. After saying a sad prayer to God by night, when I often found my mind moving here and there with a burdened heart, I slept. When I woke up, I just wanted to know what God thinks about me. I opened my Bible and saw the following verses: 43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Every time I fight back with God when people hurt me, He wins with His response. How can you argue with someone who loves you in an unimaginable way and expects that you too can do the same? !Humanly speaking, loving someone to this extent is impossible. But I decided to submit again to God. My healing is in Him. My reward is in Him. He Himself is my reward. I understood my work is to run with patience in the path He has laid down for me. Dear God, strengthen our hearts to forgive and keep on moving forward. We have no power in us to show love to people who hurt us. Strengthen us, Lord. We pray that You bless them and us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

“For out of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace,” says John 1:16. It was Sunday afternoon, and my husband was talking about the shame Jesus endured on the cross. He said his heart was so burdened to see what the Son of God, or God Himself, went through to save us. Jesus was 33 when He died on the cross. I told him how cruel the world is to kill a healthy young man by beating. I was thinking, what made Jesus endure this? He came to save His people. But the Israelites couldn’t even recognize the God who was walking with them like a cloud, couldn’t recognize that they were killing the One who parted the Red Sea, who gave them food and water, who was caring for them and choosing them as His treasured possession. Looking back, I told my husband, these people definitely didn’t deserve such a God. Then I understood—even I, or anyone, don’t deserve such a God who loves us no matter what. Finally, I understood: this is because He is the fullness of Love, He is the fullness of Goodness. It is because of Him and Him alone we are saved. What we have in our everyday life—like calling Him our Father, crying out to Him when in need, getting helped and carried by Him in our weakness—it is nothing but His grace. He is doing it out of His fullness, as in John 1:16. We are walking in grace after grace because God is so good and perfect. Hey friend, how privileged we are to have a God who loves us and made us His own children. How privileged we are to have access to go to Him anytime of the day. How privileged we are to have the Holy Spirit with us all the time. Can anyone be more privileged than the Lord’s people? None. I really wish and pray that none of us in this world should leave without knowing the love of our God, our Father. Your love so high ❤️ Dear Father, we love You for loving us and for helping us to walk and grow in grace. Thank You for the gift of salvation. Use us, Lord, and help all of us to reach everyone in this world with the Good News. May we show that we have an ever-loving Father God who loves us eternally. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Have you ever responded to the negative thoughts that come to your mind? The Bible teaches how to handle it when the devil says, "It’s over for you," "You can never get up," "No one can help you out of your situation," "God can’t be trusted to get you out of any bondage," "The dark tricks of the devil will make you live in sin," "Not even the Bible or the Holy Spirit can help you live a life of victory." A similar scenario can be seen in Isaiah 36 and 37, where King Hezekiah and his people were threatened by the servant of the king of Assyria, who was very well known for making nations his slaves. His field commander said words that made everyone lose hope. He said the king couldn’t help them, and God couldn’t help them from becoming slaves of the king of Assyria. And you know how the people reacted to his words? They were quiet: “But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, ‘Do not answer him.’” When the devil slurs negative words at you regarding any situation of yours, there is no need for us to say yes to it. The devil’s literal words were to make people believe his lies. But unlike Eve, who conversed with the devil, these people were smart and wise in being quiet. And soon we can see God answering the devil. I have seen my mother telling this to me: whenever someone, triggered by the devil, speaks against you, don’t reply, so God will act on your behalf. Here we can see the same scenario. When the people were quiet before the insults of the enemy, God took it personally and acted on behalf of them. In the next chapter, chapter 37, God replies as follows, nullifying every claim of the enemy against God’s people: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant! And when you read further, you can learn that God miraculously saved His people. They never ended up as the enemy’s slaves. Hey friend, when negative thoughts come from the enemy, can we send our prayers and praises like how King Hezekiah sent his prayers unto Him? May you clearly know that no devil can make you live a life of failure. God takes everything said against you personally and is protecting you by nullifying every claim that comes from the devil. Prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your powerful words. Help us to know clearly that You are always there for us. You are nullifying the negative words against us—our physical and spiritual life—spoken by the enemy. May we know that we are under Your care to live a life of an overcomer. Thank You, Lord, for answering our enemies. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

God can restore anything that we have lost. How good it is to hear this, right? Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding of Cana is an example of this. This miracle at the wedding brings us joy whenever we read the passage. A miracle always carries the impossible turning into possibilities in it. Jesus turned innumerable impossibilities in people’s lives into possibilities. Just imagine how long it takes people to make wine from grapes. It is not a one-day process. They say it takes 21 days to prepare wine. A similar process can be seen when people try to make traditional plum cake for Christmas—it takes months together to prepare it. Now let’s go back to the wedding scene at Cana. The wine was over at the feast, and people were waiting without knowing it. And we know the usual time to prepare it is 21 days. But Jesus did not need that much time. He just used His word and changed water into wine. This is one of the examples from the Bible of the fulfillment of the word: “God will restore the lost years(time)” (Joel 2:25). Hey friend, are we in a place in life where we have lost victories, opportunities for growth, lost properties, or are tired of waiting for a long time to receive blessings? Jesus does not need years to bring your blessings. He holds the years you lost in His hands. When you have Jesus, nothing is lost. Everything is in Him. Just pray and ask God to restore the lost years, the lost time—whatever God has placed in your heart as lost. Pray about it and witness God restoring it back to you. https://open.spotify.com/track/1AkjWwQg5ayN47CMUP1OVD?si=AnZrL24eTdSjlVDl56BH7w Dear Father, I thank You for this life. Thank You for being with us as a Redeemer. Thank You, Lord, for restoring the lost years and the lost blessings back to our lives. Nothing is impossible for You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

People who truly know God can never forsake the Good News or deny that His is the unconditional love. They will confess that there is no wrong but only goodness in Him. When God came as Jesus into the world, He fulfilled the laws of the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus states, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." When we look at the New Testament, the stern follower of Jesus Christ is Apostle Paul. He is writing a letter to Philemon, which played a crucial role in abolishing slavery in the United States. Paul teaches us the depth of forgiveness we must request from each other. Onesimus is a slave of Philemon, whom scholars say had stolen something from Philemon and escaped from him. But when he met Paul, he was drawn towards Christ. Now Paul urges Philemon to have a totally different view of Onesimus. Paul was deeply respected by Philemon, as he showed him the path of salvation. Now Paul is requesting Philemon not just to forgive, but to accept and love Onesimus. He writes so beautifully in verse 17 like this: "So, if you think of me as your partner, welcome him back just as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account." Paul’s love is like the love of a father who welcomed back the prodigal son with open arms. When he says he will pay the amount, he shows the character of Jesus Himself. Hey friend, we might be wronged by people, but when they reach us with a changed heart, can we welcome them like how we welcome the people we esteem most? Dear Father, thank you for your love unto us. Thank you for your forgiveness. Help us to love each other, accept each other, and forgive each other when people who wronged us come back to us like Onesimus. Bless us, Lord, with the compassion of Paul. May we know that we bring more pleasure to heaven when we become a reason for someone entering heaven's gate. Forgive us, Father, for the times we have stiffened our hearts. And give us a heart that loves others like how You love them. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Believers attracting others towards God is ministry. We can see Paul emphasizing that our spiritual gifts like tongues should not be hindering others from coming near us, as they might not be able to understand what it is. In the beginning itself, Paul is emphasizing that. Verse 6 goes like this: Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? Isn't he asking us the right question? What can people understand? It can be seen in verse 1, where he says, Let love be your highest goal. Yes, the language of love can be easily understood by others. Paul gives us an idea to pursue prophecy rather than tongues. What is prophecy? Speaking God's word with the revelation He gives. How is our language? Is it a language of love? Is it filled with God's word? When I heard from some of my students that they don't feel valued when a learned lecturer talks to them in a certain way, I could see how much harm our words can do to others when they are not filled with God's word. Not filled with His love. Dear God, help us to speak to others in a language they can understand. Let them feel loved. Dear Holy Spirit God, remind us and take control of our tongue and use it to heal others and not to hurt others. We submit ourselves into Your precious hand. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

When I was in my school days, I remember us visiting a family friend named Divya in Chennai during summer holidays. She took me to meet a friend of hers who was so lovely. She was a pastor's daughter. We went to her house. Her face was so bright, and though she was young, she showed hospitality like she was excellent at it. She welcomed us, and she let us go only after we said yes and drank the rose milk she gave. We were thoroughly touched by her smile and by her heart that was ready to serve. Yes, hospitality can move people. Can it move God? Let's see.. When we read Genesis 18, we can see Abraham recognizing the three heavenly men and welcoming them into his tent. He repeatedly asked them to stay and dine at his house. One thing we should note is that it was the hottest time of the day. Women know how difficult it is to stay in the kitchen and do hard work and suffer the heat while preparing food in the summertime. Abraham never thought about receiving guests at such a time. His mind was completely focused on welcoming them. God is surely touched by his hospitality. In verse 2, we can see him bowing down with his face touching the ground. In verse 3, he said, "Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping. I am here to serve you." Then in verse 5, he said, "You have honoured me by coming into my house, so let me serve you." We can see him repeatedly saying that he is willing to serve them. Then quickly, we see him on his toes to hurry the preparation of food. Verse 6 says, Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick, take a sack of your best flour and bake some bread." He then urged the servant to prepare the calf too. After this incident, God talked with Abraham and Sarah about the miracle they were going to receive soon. Then, if we continue reading, what we see next is God revealing His plans for Abraham's future generation, and we can also see Abraham interceding with God. God watches all our moves. He delights in us when we welcome Him into our home. He delights to have fellowship with us. He is willing to reveal the plans He has for us and our generation. He is ready to listen to us interceding for people. Similar to this, before giving the blessing, we can see Isaac asking his son Esau to cook for him. God doesn't rely on food to bless, but serving Him and doing His will brings us His favor. This can be seen in the life story of Cain and Abel too. God saw their heart, willing to honour Him with their whole heart. Hey friend, do you have an opportunity to serve God? It is an opportunity to honour Him with what we have got. Are we able to understand the power of having a ready heart to welcome Him and be willing to serve Him? Dear God, we welcome You into our house to visit us like how You came and visited Abraham. Be with us, Father. Hear our pleas and reveal Your plan for us. We are ready to serve You, Lord, with the best we have got. Give us Your visitation that will end our waiting. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Ephesians 3: 18 to 21 I was not able to relate myself very well with Psalms for a long time, as I thought David is a king, but he always talks about the struggles and shame he faced from people. Another thing is, I have seen people memorizing Psalm 119. I have seen people adoring it. But for me, Psalm 119 felt like verses that were being repeated—concepts that were being repeated. But very recently, when I learned about the backstory of David (this info is in the reference book named The Book of Jasher), my views on David's psalm changed. His life revolved around some ill rumours from his birth itself. From his birth, his father renounced him as his own. He grew up without being completely accepted by his father. He says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” in Psalm 27:10. Though he was born to his own father and mother, they rejected him. David endured isolation and lived in an unappreciated environment in his own family. We cannot see his presence with his other brothers when Samuel came to search for the king God wanted to anoint from the family of Jesse. He was sent to shepherd the sheep, while all his brothers took the invitation that was given to the Jesse family by Samuel. But God had a totally different view on David. When Samuel understood that one son was yet to come to the feast, while every other son was present and God chose none of them, he made everyone wait for him. I believe this was the first time they waited for David as a family to join them. When people rejected David, God brought a time when they all had to wait for him. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” Whenever I read about God and this quality of His—where He looks for lowly people, the rejected ones, to raise and give them a throne—I completely adore the beauty of His generous heart that judges people differently. God, who is extremely rich, great in honour, and filled with glory, goes in search of people who are poor in spirit and stands with them to raise them high. Now how can we question David dancing before God? How can any man not love a God who loves him, raises him up when the world looks at him like dust? How can he not praise God's word and His presence, as he has tasted His love in a very special way? He understood how much God loves him. How would it be when we understand the depth, height, and breadth of God's love? 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:18–21) Dear God, Thank you for your love. We adore you for the special way you choose people. Love you, Lord, for loving us in a very special way. Help us, dear Lord, to understand your heart and love you like how David loved you and your testimonies, commandments, words, judgements, precepts, and statutes. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

We all need favour in the eyes of the Lord and in the eyes of people. But we should also know that we cannot earn favour by our own efforts. When we try to end up pleasing people and do things to earn their favour, it will end up in disaster. This can be learnt from the life of Abraham. Abram wanted to be treated well by the king of Egypt. He didn't use a straight way to earn the goodwill of the king. He used his wife Sarai to gain favour from the king and the people of Egypt. Abram did this when he found himself in a stressful situation. It can be seen in the following verses: Genesis 12:11–13: As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Just before he set out for Egypt, God talked to him, saying: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Isn't it such a big blessing? God's word to Abraham was that nations would be blessed through him. But immediately when he went to an unknown nation, fear overpowered him, and he started to devise his own plan to get the favour of the people in the land. The ending was a disaster. He ended up hurting the people around him. The king and his family were hurt. Things went back to normal only when God involved Himself again in the situation. Hey friend, Abram was a person who received a great promise from the Lord. But when he faced unknown people and an unfamiliar situation, he couldn't stand on the promise of God. Instead, he relied on his own wisdom to get favour from those around him. Abraham and Sarai lost their good name with the Egyptian king. When we are in a situation where we need people's favour, all we need to do is not run behind people but remain steadfast in holding on to the promises of God and patiently wait for Him to intervene. Our own efforts will get us tangled in unnecessary situations, whereas involving God will help us progress safely towards His promises. Dear God, Forgive us for the times we relied on people to earn favour. May we rest in You and receive favour from You at the right time. May we learn to trust You in tough situations. May we not fear people and make a series of mistakes in a rush. Protect us, dear Lord. May our steps be guided by you In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

I hope all of us will agree that one of our favourite Sunday class stories is the life story of Noah. When we read chapter 6 in Genesis, verse 5 goes like this: When the Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time, He was sorry that He had ever made them and put them on earth. He was so filled with regret that He said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them.” But the Lord was pleased with Noah. On one side, there is a whole lot of people who gave regret to the Lord. Immediately, when God turned His face towards Noah, He couldn't resist Himself from giving a plan to save the next generation. How are we? When God looks at us, can He give us the same certificate—that He is pleased to the extent that even if the whole world is against Him, He finds us pleasing unto Him? Followed in the story is the great redemption of Noah's family and the animals. Our God can still redeem people. But are we ready to be used? Are we like Noah? Can we be His vessel of salvation? Dear God, may we bring joy to your heart. May we carry your plan of redemption to the generation we live in. May Your favour rest on us. Use us dear Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

More than us singing and listening to sermons at church, our living aligned with God's word is important, said our pastor. And in the middle of the service, we saw ourselves going into a kneel-down position to rededicate our lives to live according to God's standard. It left a profound impact on everyone who came to church that day. We are living in times where we are told that rising and falling is totally fine and that it is a normalcy in Christian life. Of course, we are humans who are prone to make mistakes. But does that understanding make us fall again and again? Do we have a standard for ourselves up to which we want to live? Or do we easily leave our spiritual standards when things get tough? Is stress our reason to fall into every ugly pit that we come across? Are we becoming comfortable with this rising and falling culture—being one with the pig for some time, then being one with the Holy Spirit? In Amos chapter 5, we can see how God feels about us when we lower and upgrade our standards often. Verse 21 goes like this: “The Lord says, I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them! When you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will not accept the animals you have fattened to bring me as offerings. Stop your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps. Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.” Here in the above verse, God expects us to have righteousness that never dries up in us. Being righteous is the opposite of being sinful. Regret is important to change, but that alone cannot bring a change of heart. Only God's word can change us. To have righteousness that cannot dry up, we need a heart that is not drained of receiving God's word. Hey friend, how ready are you to face the world? How ready are you to overcome the challenges that the enemy is going to aim at you? Is your heart filled with God's word, which is the power in us to defeat the enemy? Hey friend, I want you to pose a question to yourself, as this helped me a lot. Whenever you see an ugly pit, ask yourself whether this ugly thing is more valuable than the blood and love of Jesus. Every small victory counts. Arresting every small habit that leads to the fall is a big victory. Take charge, my friend. Dear Father, we rededicate our lives into your hands. Strengthen us, Lord. Let us grow your words in us to have righteousness that never dries up in us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I was thoroughly touched when I read about Leah, the first wife of Jacob. She was a woman whom the Bible refers to as less loved by her husband. What a nightmare it could be. But thankfully, Leah was a woman who was generously loved by the Lord God. And Leah understood that the Lord sees her, hears her. It can be seen in verse 31 of chapter 29. The most striking verse is in verse 33. It says, “The Lord has given me this son also, because He heard that I was not loved.” Yes, my friend, you have read it right. God hears what is happening in our life. Leah understood that God heard the talks around her — they reached the ears of God. Isn’t it comforting to hear that God knows, sees, and hears everything we go through? Hey friend, sometimes we are surprised to hear people’s little talks about us. But nothing is a surprise to God. He knows how anyone labels us, thinks about us — He hears everything. Leah took a long time to understand this loving God who was after her heart. She was after her husband's complete attention and love for a long time without realising God's love for her. Are we after people? Are we occupied with thinking about what others think of us? Are we waiting and wasting our love and time trying to get approval from others? May God help us to love Him back with the love He deserves from us. May we pray to grow in such grace — to love Him more and more. Dear God, Thank You for Your unfailing, remarkable love towards us. May we abide in Your love always, and may we grow in our love for You — the One who loves us beyond measure. Give us the grace, Lord, to grow in love with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

I Corinthians 1 :8,9 How great it is to have a companionship like the Holy Spirit, who teaches us, warns us of dangers, protects us, and comforts us with His calm presence. On the other hand, we have someone who is the opposite—who will always blame us. None of us would like to live in an environment where people blame us. We all know that whenever we are attacked with blaming as a weapon by the enemy, the battlefield is always our mind. I Corinthians chapter 1, verse 8 goes like this: He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus returns. We always have help in Jesus. The Bible affirms that He is able to keep us strong and, at the end, blameless. Whenever we are blamed wrongly, we feel helpless, worried, and confused. But we always have a Shepherd who can lead us into still waters, who carries us and keeps us safe with His life. Yes, you heard it right. To keep us blameless, our God shed His blood. None can be as fierce as Him to protect us from any blame. The Lamb of God protects us with His blood. He promises His strength for us in times of difficulty. The next verse confirms this. Verse 9 says: God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. When Jesus is our partner, our friend, our comfort, our shelter—nothing, no blame, can stand before us. Hey friend, Be of Good courage with Jesus we can face and overcome anything. Dear God, thank You for Your love, care, and protection. You have always been faithful to us, Father. Thank You for being there whenever we were blamed wrongly. Thank You for fighting for us, to keep us strong and, at the end, blameless. In Jesus’ name, we thank You, dear Lord. Amen.

Way to fearless living 2 Kings 6 talks about how a man of God works with God to protect the nation of God, Israel. God protects Israel,His Nation like the apple of His eye. We are His nation now. The same protection of God is for us. When you read 2 kings 6 you can see the enemy planned to siege the nation of God with various plans to keep the troops in certain places, all his plans were thwarted as God revealed every military plan of attack to Elisha, who in turn informed the king. The enemy’s army was thoroughly confused as every discussion they had in their official meeting was leaked. He was clueless until someone told him about the God of Elisha, who reveals every secret to His servant. What a great God we serve! He is interested in our life, our job, our home—to be completely protected. He protects us from what is being planned behind us. As God’s children, we are happy to know that we have two angels that God has kept for us. But here, when God’s servant was in danger, He sent an army to protect him. It can be seen in verse 17: The Lord opened the young man’s (Elisha's servant’s) eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. When faced with danger, how are we? Are we like the servant of Elisha who is afraid, or are we like the servant of God who is fearless in the face of the army of the world? Finally, when God gave the enemies into the hands of Elisha, what did he do? Did he seek revenge? No. He gave them good food and sent them away to their master. When the God of Elisha reveals the plans against us, can we be like the servant of God? Dear God, Give us a bold heart that completely abides under the wings of Your protection. May we not have even a slight fear of the enemy or his plans. May we stay assured that the God of Elisha is surrounding us with the army of fire. When we are afraid, open our eyes, dear Lord. Shape us as brave in heart. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

It is mind-blowing to meditate on Jesus' love for us. In Exodus 7, God instructs Moses and Aaron as follows. In verse 9, He says, "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,' and it will become a snake." In the end, we can see the snake that came alive because of God's word and swallowed the other two snakes that came through secret art. The snake became word again—it became a staff in Aaron's hand as told by God's word, after swallowing the two snakes that had poison in them. The snake from Aaron's hand didn't become more vicious, even after engulfing the poisons of the snakes that came through Egyptian witchcraft. In the same way, Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, carrying the sins of the world. Though He carried their sin, were the people grateful? Regretfully, the answer is no. They scorned and despised Him; they rejected Him. Matthew 27:41–43 (NIV) “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.’” Matthew 27:39–40 (NIV) “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’” Now, Satan thought Jesus would curse the people and die—like the word in the book of Job, where, in the height of trouble and pain, Job's wife asked him to curse God and die. But Jesus, at the height of His pain, said, "Forgive them, Lord, they do not know what they are doing." With this word of love—with this powerful word—Satan got the last blow of defeat. The darkness, poison, sins, and pain he brought over the lives of people became powerless. He never hated the humans but loved them on the cross and asked the Father to forgive their sins. In contrast to the victory of Jesus against Satan and his tricks, we have Eve here. When Satan became an enemy of God after falling from heaven, he thought there was no one else to replace him in singing for God. But God took the dust and made man to sing for Him, to worship Him. Satan poisoned man with evil thoughts. He told Eve that she could become like God when she ate the forbidden fruit. Poor Eve—looks like she didn't know that she was already made in the image of God. But she naively believed the lies and fell again from the presence of God, like how Satan fell once. Hey friend, how careful are we in not believing the lies of Satan that lure us into sinning against God? Can we hold our mouths from cursing people? Can we hold our minds from reaching out for forbidden fruits of the world? Every excuse that the enemy gives us is a lie. So how can we avoid falling into his lies? Make yourself girded with truth. Fight his lies with God's truth. Learn how Jesus won against Satan with God's word, which is the truth, a way to live. Dear God, thank You for Your Word and the power You have given to Your Word. May we live according to it. May we know the lies of Satan and never fall for any of them. Give us a vigilant heart that discerns and keeps away from anything unholy. May we live as Your children, as the epistles many read. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Have you been surprised by God? God heals us in a different way. When a person spurred on spreading rumours, I went and asked God for an answer. I was reading Romans 1 and 2. In Romans 1, it is written that God let some do things that they can never do. So what is such a thing? The verse goes like this: “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.” The last word GOSSIP was a total surprise to me. I took the same issue to God, and God really showed me that He has already written about it in His words. I understood that God is very serious about us not indulging in gossip. So I was waiting for God to say that He will stop it, or that He will do something to the person who spread gossip against me like wildfire. But God, in His way, surprised me. He asked me to continue reading the second chapter and asked me to remember how much grace He has shown unto me—and I have to do the same to the person who is speaking tirelessly against me. It is in the verse: “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?” The verse continues, saying He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. When I read God’s Word, He turned the focus on me, asking me to press forward in doing good—be patient, kind, and tolerant, as God is to me. And He showed me how pearls are made. Whenever an oyster produces a pearl, it is not because it is completely protected. It is because it is getting attacked, gets wounds, and receives healing. When God wants us to be like a precious oyster that produces more precious pearls, there is no other way but to endure the hurts, the wounds, and allow God to heal—and let a pearl form in us. Dear God, we submit everything we go through into Your hands that heal us. Heal us, Lord, and may we produce pearls of great worth for You, our Master. Help us to forgive others as You have forgiven us. We submit our complete will into Your hands. Keep us as the apple of Your eye, Lord. Hold our hands, dear Shepherd, and lead us to the gentle stream, to the still waters. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today, when my husband read Psalm 119:72, which says, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold," he laughed and shared an interesting story that came to his mind after reading it. Unlike me, who loves to read and meditate on Bible verses for a long time, he is a person who memorizes and recites them while driving his bike—which I adore a lot. After reading these beautiful words today, he said he remembered a time when he found himself searching for the gold bracelet on his hand while sleeping. But the psalmist here says that for him, God's law is more precious than much gold or silver. How much David must have loved, cherished, and protected the Word of God in his heart! Do we have this habit of meditating on God's Word day and night? I received salvation at the age of twelve. I remember attaching myself so much to the Word of God then. I call it my first love. I remember using all the beautiful shiny stickers and flower stickers to paste at the beginning of every book in the Bible. I remember kissing the Bible often. How great it would be if the love we have for God's Word is kindled again! Dear God, we pray unto You, seeking to be blessed with the love that King David had for Your laws. May Your words be our meditation day and night. When we wake up at night, may our minds go to it. Fill us with Your precious words, Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Devotion from the last chapters of the book of Acts Have you been with people who are not for you—who want you to be in chains? Paul was with such people. After multiple trials before kings because of the false accusations of the Jews against him, he appealed to Caesar. He wanted to be on trial before Caesar so that he could escape the cunning accusations of the Jews who hated him. To meet Caesar, he was sailing with the guards. More than two hundred people were travelling with him. He warned them not to take the voyage, as destruction lay ahead. The officials failed to listen to him but trusted the words of the captain and began the sailing. As Paul prophesied, a storm came. But Paul reacted in a godly way when these people lost hope. He encouraged them and told them that God had revealed to him that they all would survive. I was thoroughly impressed by this beautiful, godly character of Paul. Firstly, they didn't listen to him. They acted as if his words didn’t matter to them. But Paul prayed for them to God, and the angel told him that God spared everybody’s life for his sake. It can be seen in the following verse from chapter 27: “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” Do we have this attitude of Paul when we are with people who ignore us—people who act as if our opinions don't matter? When such people are in a difficult situation, can we encourage them? Are we willing to revive their spirit? More than all, are we willing to pray for their well-being and their safety? How humble Paul must have been to show such compassion to his fellow travelers of the voyage. Selflessness of Paul. In a very similar way, when the ship landed safely, he met the Malta islanders. They thought he was cursed when a snake bit his hand, but later they thought he was a god when he remained unharmed. The following verse says they brought sick people to him so that he could pray. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.He prayed for their healing, and God healed them. Paul was completely selfless and was not focused on his own needs. He was interested in bringing Christ to others, no matter what they thought of him. We can see him loving, forgiving, praying for his enemies, and doing good for his enemies in the chapters of Acts. Simply, he lived his life by applying what Jesus said. May God give us such grace to testify to everyone—even before people who are not fond of us. Dear Father, We come into your presence. Bless us with hearts that can extend help to our enemies when they are in need. Bless us with wisdom like Paul—to humble ourselves in places and before people, to present your Gospel. Use us, dear Lord, to bring healing and transformation to many, and draw them closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

May I be a place in which you love to dwell Lord God is someone who created everything in the world. And isn't it amazing to call a city His own? And a nation His own? Psalm 48 beautifully talks about the city of God and how God protects her. Verses 12 and 13 go like this: People of God, walk around Zion and count the towers. Take notice of the walls and examine the fortresses, so that you may tell the next generation: "This God is our God forever and ever; He will lead us for all time to come." God is someone who protects the city He calls His own. Jerusalem is God's city. What is so special about it? It is the center of worship—where He built His temple. And now, we are the temple in the New Testament days. When God protected by raising a city which had His center of worship, with mighty walls and towers and citadels, how much more would He protect us when we dedicate ourselves as His temple? And now can you see why the spiritual attacks happen—against us dedicating our lives, our choices, our body unto His will—as His own? When we need to be protected like the city of God, we should go back to the Lord and rededicate our body as His own temple. Can anyone tamper with God's temple? No. He is its protector. Dear God, thank you for the mighty truth you have in store for us in the Bible. May we open our eyes and claim the protection that comes from You. Dear God, we rededicate our body unto You. May You raise towers, mighty walls around us and protect us. You are what we need, dear Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

One of the apostles I admire most is Apostle Paul. Apostle Paul lived a life with which he challenges others to imitate. One verse from Acts struck me deeply, which reveals his love towards Christ and his dedication towards doing the ministry for Jesus Christ. It can be found in Acts 20 verse 24: "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God." How grateful is Paul for Jesus Christ—for saving him and transforming him into a new person. What if we live with such passion for Christ? He knew the seriousness of the sacrifice of Christ and was sure to make it known everywhere. When I went to invigilate a group of students in an exam hall, I couldn't stay quiet and watch a kid trying to cross the norms of the seriousness of the hall. I was thoroughly disturbed. I thought the kid was not taking the seriousness of the norms of the exam hall—or the consequences of not abiding by the rules. But later, when I thought about it, I was wondering how much discomfort I must have caused Christ when I was not abiding unto the laws He has given to live. It made me say a prayer that came from a broken heart. I understood salvation ought to be an everyday experience. And here Paul understood the seriousness of God's love a lived a life that showed his devotion unto God. Another great thing about Paul can be seen in verse 34, which goes like the following: "You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard." He worked hard for the Lord. And he set an example in working for his needs and the people in need. What a flawless living. A life devoted only unto God. A life that is defined by hard work. Dear God, fill us with understanding of the sacrifice you have made on the cross for us. Whenever you look at us from above, may we bring a smile to your face and not discomfort. May we be filled with the deep understanding of the devotion that we ought to have for the unconditional love that you have shown unto us. May we work hard and earn the fruit of our hard work. May we see you blessing it and increasing it enough to be shared with people in need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Lydia is the first convert of Paul from Turkey in the New Testament times. Research says she belonged to the Philippi church. Her name signifies "beautiful one," "noble one," or "woman of purple." She is one of the few women mentioned in the New Testament. While the Old Testament introduced women with the word beautiful, the New Testament focuses on things that are altogether different. Acts 16:14–15 says: One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” The Bible here introduces us to a woman who is independent, strong, and bold. Now we are talking about women having financial independence and becoming entrepreneurs. But Lydia was selling purple cloth then. It was similar to selling silk clothes. And she was able to accommodate ministers of God at her home. Isn't it wonderful to see what a woman can do for God's work when she has financial independence and stability? She listened to God's word with an open heart. She worshiped God with all her heart. How do we feel when we read our Bible or when we listen to the sermon on the Bible? Are our hearts open to receive the word, or are we reading with distractions? Lydia proves to be good soil, who received the living word of God well into her heart. She is one of the women leaders from the church of her times. We men and women want to do something for the Lord. We can learn a lot from Lydia. Be independent. Let God open your heart and work on you when you listen to His words. Dear God, strengthen our hands to have independence like Lydia to do great things for Your kingdom. May our hearts be opened when we hear Your word. May we find success in whatever our hands find to do. We pray all these in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts 10 Seeing angels, having visions… we must have read about it. Have we experienced it? Cornelius experienced it. His life story is written in Acts 10. What does the Bible say about him? Verse 2 says, He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He generously gave to the poor and regularly prayed to God. It means he was a man who sought God through prayer regularly. He was doing good to the poor as much as he found to do. Not only him, but his whole household feared God. And the most beautiful thing about this chapter is—God saw them and their devotion. He came forward to reveal Himself to them. This makes Peter say the following verse about God. Verse 34 says, I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right. And He poured the gift of the Holy Spirit over them (verse 44). How good and great is our God. He sees, He follows us to answer whenever we seek Him with the fear of God. Peter, on the other hand, understood the heart of the Lord and ministered unto people as God wanted him to minister to them. He refused when they bowed down at his feet. He stopped Cornelius and asked him to give such worship to God alone. Hey friend, how blessed are we to know, worship, and love the Lord our God—the God who searches, blesses, and reveals Himself to those who seek Him truly. Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Dear God, thank You for Your love. Thank You for revealing Your name to us. Bless us and our family with the fear of the Lord. When You look at us, may You see a godly generation who continually prays unto You. May we not be far away from knowing You through visions. May hearing Your voice be our daily experience, Lord. Bless our families with a generous heart when it comes to giving to the poor. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Biblical lessons from the humble heroes We have seen dashing heroes in the Old Testament. For example, mighty judges like Samson, Jehu, Jephthah. Mighty men of God like Abraham, Job, and Moses. The list goes on and on. But the New Testament presents people with humble backgrounds being used by God in many simple ways. We have Ananias here, a small character—for him, not many verses are allocated. He obeyed God and went to meet Saul, who was changed into Paul by God. Though he was afraid to meet him because he was a persecutor, he listened to the voice of Jesus and obeyed. (ESV: Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord.") Acts 9:17 Hey friend, how great it would be—how simple life would be—if we are able to listen to the instructions from Jesus like Ananias. And the result of that simple obedience gave birth to one of the greatest apostles who ever lived: Paul. The man who defeated arguments, faced trials, stood before kings, challenged storms, challenged witchcrafts, and whatnot. Then comes another humble heroine—Tabitha, a believer in Joppa. She took her own space in chapter 10 in Acts. The Bible says she was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. How beautiful the Bible exemplifies the character of this New Testament woman. Acts 9:36 Then we have another humble fellow—a hard worker, a man who had a tough job for his livelihood. He worked as a tanner of hides. He helped Peter to stay in the town for a long time with him. Historically, tanners played an important role in societies by supplying leather for clothing, shoes, belts, armor, and tools. However, the work was considered unpleasant due to the strong odors and manual labor involved. Hey friend, no matter how unpleasant his job was, or how lowly his place seemed, he had a heart to help Peter to stay with him. No matter how small or big you are in the church, we can be like this tanner—Simon—to build the kingdom of God with what we have got. Acts 9:43 These people are there in the Bible so that we can learn from them. God honoured Tabitha, Ananias, and Simon—and every simple act of faith and obedience they did. May He help us to do the same. Dear God, thank you for this life. Help us to be useful to you. May we glorify you with our acts of kindness and helping tendency like Tabitha. May we make room for ministers like Simon. May we hear and obey your voice like Ananias. Use us, Lord, like these humble people of yours. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Let us grow in the Lord We know the growth of the early church. It was rapid. The beautiful thing about this growth is not the growth in numbers but in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. How can we see these two happen to a church and lead to multiplication? It is because the church was "edified." "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." ACTS 9:31. "Edified" means to be instructed or improved morally or intellectually. It's often used when someone gains deeper understanding, wisdom, or spiritual growth. We, as the church of God, need this edification. The Lord should fill us and purify us with His words. Hey friend, we are tied up with many responsibilities. Does our schedule have time alone with our God, with His words?Amidst our busy schedule for the day, may we let the Word edify us. May we as a church grow in the fear of the Lord, and may we feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Dear God, help us to grow in You every day. Teach us, Lord. May we grow in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. May we be filled with Him. May we carry the comfort that comes through Him. May Your words and Your teachings fill our hearts, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

As God's children, we are more cautious about guarding our testimonies. In general, we like to guard our reputation. As even the world says, when character is lost, everything is lost. What can harm our reputation? One of the main things, as said by Jesus, is what comes out of our mouth. Matthew 15:11 (NIV): "What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them." I have seen people give more care into preparing the food in a very clean manner. Some others give importance to cleaning all the vegetables. They boil and boil till even the good bacteria dies. The Bible is not saying that harm to character comes through what goes inside your mouth, through the tongue, but through what comes out as words. Ugly thoughts bring ugly words out of one's mouth, leading to ugly actions. Isaiah 6:5 (NIV) says: "‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’" As in the above verse, we are living in a world with unclean lips. When Isaiah saw the Holy One, the Lord God on a throne being worshipped by seraphim, he felt too humbled. And the unworthiness that comes through sinning rose up in him. He praised God and confessed about his unclean lips. Hey friend, can you deny whether we are living in a world of unclean lips? When this realisation came to him, a seraphim touched him with the coals from the altar. Then verse 7 says, the angel said that his sin was purged. Hey friend, do not fall for the standard of this world. We, the children of God who serve God and whose angels are watching over us, cannot have unclean lips. Let us go to the altar and be willing to be touched by the hot coal. Let us not get comfortable with the unclean lips. We are born to carry His pure words. May we seek God's holiness to purify us and use us to lift His praises. May we boast about talking about holy things, not about mean things. Do not participate in the worldly laughter or the double-meaning jokes. They are not our purpose. We are His. We need His words on our tongue. We need His touch to be holy and get away from the with unclean lips. Dear God, Thank you for the truth you have in the Bible for us. May we be touched by You—touch us with the coal from the altar, Lord. May we be cleansed. May we come closer to You to see Your glory, to feel Your holiness. May we be like the prophet Isaiah and long to have a clean tongue. Touch us, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Acts 6:15 The Bible talks about Stephen in the book of Acts. Chapter 6, verse 8 says, Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. What would we do if such a believer or leader lived among us? Wouldn't we be celebrating him for what God does through him? But the reactions from the people around him were different. This shows that there will always be two sets of people who react in their own way when they see a rising leader. Here, some reacted as in verse 11: So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of the religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. Stephen and his reaction to the accusations can be seen in verse 15. It says, Amidst all these accusations, they couldn't stop staring at the face of Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's. Hey friend, will our face be like angels’ when we are accused wrongly? May God help us to carry His presence in such a way that even our accusers will stop to stare at the glory God reveals through us. Dear God, may we not live an empty life, but a life that carries Your glory, Your story. May You shine through us. As in Psalm 34:5 (NIV): “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” May our faces never be covered in shame, but with Your radiance. May we look nowhere else for any help but at You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 35 reminds me that we, God's people, struggle with the world every day. The moment we enter the world from our home, we should know that we are entering a world that is not the Kingdom of God. His Kingdom—His ruling—is inside us, but we enter and face many, as in Psalm 35. Verse 7 — Those who want us to end in a pit. Verse 4 — Those who plot our hurt. Verse 11 — Those who witness falsely against us. Verse 15 — Those who rejoice in our adversity. Verse 20 — Those who devise deceitful matters. Verses 15 and 16 — Mockers and attackers. Verse 26 — Those who rejoice at our hurt. Verse 13 — These are the very people—the ones who did all this against David—for whom David fasted and prayed. He prayed for them as if they were his own brother or his mother. Hey friend, are you facing such struggles, plots, and people against you, around you? The same happened to David and to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He was surrounded by conspiracies and plots against Him—to kill Him, to destroy Him, to steal from Him. These were done in secret. But the funny thing is, they didn’t know that Jesus knew everything about their hearts and their deceitful plans. Amidst all these, Jesus lived a victorious life, fulfilling the will of God for Him on earth. He is able to help us. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12 (KJV): "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Pray over God's protection for yourself and your family. May God, the Avenger of His people, take up your case and fight for you. As we notice, everything—the plot, the people, the false witnesses—is twisted and placed in such a way to attack the peace in our minds. May the Lord God completely cover us with His peace, which the world cannot take away. No matter what the evil one of this world do against us, we have the Prince of Peace in us, who gives us victory over everything by guarding our peace. Dear God, Thank You for Your divine plan over our lives. You have determined for us to have complete protection from the evil one in this world. We commit our case at Your feet. Be our peace, Lord. Protect our minds, and guard our hearts, dear Lord. May everything—every plot, every deceitful plan, hidden ones, the ones meant to hurt us, every ungodly word and action, and every evil that rises against us—be nullified in the name of Jesus, the name above all names. Guide us, Father. May our actions and reactions represent You when we are in this world. Hold our hands, dear Father. Plead our cause and be our salvation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

One of the tiresome things one can do is shifting houses. All of us dream of a stable life. When I look at my parents, they were moving to places, but at one point they settled in a town and stayed there for almost twenty-five years. When we were doing this shifting, I often used to wonder, "Is this common?" Here is a set of people from the Bible who amazed me with the shifting they did for years together. It is the people of Israel. When we read chapter 33 of Numbers, from there alone we can see them moving to 42 different places before they reached Canaan. The wilderness experience took them from place to place. It must have been a tiresome journey, but it was also a journey of numberless miracles. They got water, food, and meat in a miraculous way. And Etham is the third point where they halted. It is the edge of the wilderness—the beginning point of their journey in the wilderness. When God let them begin their journey on that tough path, He made sure His presence traveled with them. God was leading them as the pillar of cloud and fire. Hey friend, are you finding yourself in periods of transition again and again in every area of your life? I know the thirst to reach Canaan is great. But enjoy the little moments with our God now, where He makes sure you don't walk alone, where every emotional, physical, and mental need is met only through Him. Eventually, we will reach the destination. But make sure you enjoy the path, which is hard yet beautiful, when we hold His hand and walk together with Him. Dear God, thank you for Your loving presence and Your divine provisions. We believe in the process, in Your path. Help us to be joyful and walk by holding Your hand. May every step we take today, throughout this week, and every day be guided by You. We love You, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

May our eyes be touched by Him who is the light In Isaiah 61:1, the prophet says the following about Jesus, which was fulfilled by Jesus through many miracles that He has done through His ministry: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." In John 9, we have a man who was in a prison that bound him. He never had the freedom of seeing. Jesus came to him and healed him, as described in verse 6: "He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay . And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.'" When he did what was told by Jesus, he received his healing. Surprisingly, in this miracle, it was not the man who was asking Jesus to heal him, but Jesus Himself went and did the miracle to fulfill God's work at God's timing for that man. When Jesus healed him, He told everyone around Him that He is the Light of the world. The receiver of the miracle didn’t only receive eyesight but also the Light of the world. Yes, he received Jesus into his life. He got the revelation about Christ, about who He is, and followed Him when he got the revelation. His revelation was so great that even the Pharisees could not understand it in their lifetime. The wisdom he received was revealed in his answer to them in verse 31, which was his response to the Pharisees when they accused Jesus of being a sinner. He said: "God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him." It is like the prophet says—the words of one whose eyes were opened. Before he met Jesus, he was just a blind man, not even seeking healing (maybe out of tiredness from waiting for his miracle). But after Jesus touched him and anointed him, he received revelations and preached about the glory of God. It was not just healing that came to him but also the anointing, as seen in verse 11, where he previously answered the Pharisees about his healing: "A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.'" Hey friend, to get revelations about Jesus, all we need to do is just sit where His feet cross our path. That is where He touches us, frees us from the prison, and does miracles—even the ones we have stopped seeking answers for. His ways are amazing. Let us go into His presence, and may He see us and anoint us with revelations about Him, His Word, and His kingdom. Dear Jesus, may our eyes receive Your light. May Your anointing be over our eyes. May You be glorified in our waiting. May You be glorified in the revelation You give us about You and Your kingdom. Like You did the work of God's kingdom when You were walking among us, may we do Your work. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Our God restores Can something that has been destroyed be rebuilt? The Bible is the book of new beginnings. The Christian life is a life of new beginnings. God brings us new beginnings when we expect them the least. It was another leisurely day that I ought to have started with a joyful song. But the news updates I saw on my mobile upset my mind. I felt burdened for one of the families as they were going through severe trials. It was one of my brother’s families. With so much worry, when I reached for the cooker on the stove, it left a burn mark on the outer layer of my hand’s skin. I spent some time praying during the day. And by the evening, when I went to make tea, I left it on the stove for too long. I came running when I smelled something burning. But inside, what I saw was a thick, creamy layer of milk. I realized I couldn’t make tea, but the process had given me rich condensed milk. I took the thick milk, added sugar, and spread it between slices of bread, making a fantastic sandwich—perfect for an evening snack. At that moment, God spoke to me. The problems my brother’s family was going through were like a burnt situation, but in the end, it was going to become sweeter. From then on, I never worried about the issue. I held on to God’s revelation in my heart. And today, when I saw my brother’s wife sharing her testimony for the first time, saying that storms in life come for a reason, I understood. God allowed the trials so that this woman could shine and stand before everyone to honor Him. When the children of God go through storms, they won’t be broken—they will be built up. Hebrews 3:4 says, “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of all.” Hey friend, are you seeing a broken situation in your life or in the life of a loved one? Even if it is in a burnt state, God can bring sweetness into it again. He will rebuild. Dear God, Thank You for Your plans in our lives. You are the God who brings beauty out of ashes. Thank You for situations that seem hopeless, like ashes with no future. We confess that You will bring beauty from them. Even if things seem burnt and beyond repair, we submit them into Your hands—rebuild them, dear Lord. Restore them sevenfold, Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

God is interested in every single detail of our lives. He sees everything that happens to us. He protects us and fights every single battle for us. An example of one such incident in the Bible is the following episode of Jacob. Jacob had a transition, and Laban never let it go smoothly. Jacob left him because he changed his wages again and again. Laban knew that it was the God of Jacob who blessed him because of Jacob. Yet Laban's eyes were not on the God of Jacob but on abusing Jacob under the disguise of doing good to him. Jacob understood Laban’s intention and wanted to flee. Even then Laban and Jacob tried an agreement, which failed very soon. Now Jacob had no other choice but to flee from Laban. When God saw what Laban was doing to Jacob, He came to him in a dream and said, "I am the God of Bethel," (Genesis 31:13). And when Jacob was in the middle of moving, Laban came and searched for his possessions, thinking Jacob had stolen some of his things . How humiliating that must have been for Jacob! Though Laban pretended he was pursuing Jacob just to see his daughters one last time, he could not conceal his true intentions to harm him.Laban’s disguise was revealed in his words when he said, "It is in my power to do you harm," (Genesis 31:29). Yet the God of Bethel was with Jacob, protected him, and led him toward the land He had marked for him. I always think it is worth not only reading what we find in the Bible but also experiencing it. Who is the God of Bethel? He is the One who intervenes, helps, and protects us from our enemies in our everyday lives. He is the God who helps us reach the destination He has prepared for us. El Bethel, the door of heaven Dear God, Thank You for the portion You have set aside for us. You are our God of Bethel, who intervenes and protects us from harm. Thank You, Lord, for being our shield. In Jesus’ name, we thank You. Amen.

All of us have WhatsApp, where we update our "about" details. Sometimes, people set it as "busy"; other times, they keep it as "at work" or "available." When we look at our contact list, these details are visible. What would Jesus' "about" be if He had a WhatsApp account? Imagining my answer based on the Bible, it would be "In His Work." John 5:17 goes as follows: "But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.’" When Jesus speaks of work, He is not referring to carpentry or His earthly father, Joseph. He is speaking about God the Father and working for the kingdom of God. While living on earth, Jesus was doing heavenly work. Like Jesus, may we long to do our Father's work while we are here. When our Father in heaven sees us, may He find our "about" as "In His Work." He also says: "I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his Father doing." Are we trying to accomplish anything on our own? May we learn from Jesus to work with our Father, not doing anything out of our own will and strength. May our thoughts not be consumed by work and its worries. If we truly believe in His willingness to work with us, we will not worry about anything—we will be at rest. Dear Father, Give us wisdom to be like Jesus and work alongside You, wherever You have placed us in this life. May we never forget to be at work for You and with You. May every movement of our day be directed by You. Keep us away from anything that distracts us from doing Your work or Your will. We place our earthly responsibilities in Your hands. May our thoughts not be filled with fear or worries about it but with the desire to work it out alongside You. May You hold our hands and lead us every minute. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I often hear people asking someone, "Are you a true Christian?" It is a big statement that carries weight, but it is a much-abused question with easy usage. Before we ask that question, may God give us the courage to ask it of ourselves. The book of John beautifully captures a word in verse 23: "For they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." It doesn't only mean that those who seek God should worship Him in spirit and in truth. But it says that God seeks you when you worship in spirit and in truth. What a God we worship! There was a story about a man called Jim who did not know how to pray eloquent prayers. But he chose to go to the church gate every day and simply say, "Jesus, I am Jim." One day, when he was absent and admitted to a hospital, Jesus went seeking him, appeared to him, and said, "Jim, I am Jesus." Hey friend, as long as your prayer reaches God as a true prayer, know that He will seek you and find you to be there for you. Do not be quick to question others about their truth and faithfulness to God. Instead, may we know that it is for us to reflect upon. Dear God, thank You for Your love. May we always be true and faithful to You. May we be found when You seek Your true and faithful worshipers. May no deceit be found in us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

We react differently to different situations. Surprisingly, our enemies have different reactions to everything that happens to us. We can learn this from David and the Philistines. We know how David waited patiently and dealt with Saul before he was anointed as the king over Israel. At last, when he became king, we expect him to have rest. But when the enemies of David saw his anointing, they wanted to come against him. This means the enemy doesn’t want us to have rest. But we don’t need to be restless about it—we should go to our stronghold, our God. Verse 17 says, "All the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold," a place of refuge. When the enemy tries to overpower us, we need not fight in our own strength but should hide in the strength of the Lord. And when David was at war, he inquired of the Lord for his enemies to be delivered into his hands. The Lord never withheld David’s enemies. He said in verse 19, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand." Now, the Lord sends His word to send David up against his enemies. When we strengthen ourselves in God's presence and wait for Him to deliver our enemies into our hands, the Lord will rise against them, empowering us with His powerful words and doubtlessly delivering them into our hands. The times when we hide in caves and wilderness will come to an end. The times of anointing will come. The times of getting empowered by the Lord’s strength will come. And then, the Lord God Jehovah Perazim enters the scene to give us a breakthrough over our enemy. Verse 20 says, "So David went to Baal Perazim and defeated them there; and he said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.'" Water is one of the mightiest forces in nature—the calm and still water is one side, whereas the power and current in waterfalls and tsunamis come from the same water. When the Lord comes against our enemies, it is not going to be a gentle rain but a breakthrough of water. Hey friend, the Philistines were in David's life from the beginning. Do not get tired of seeing the work of the enemy and how they keep coming against you in life. The Lord our God is the God of breakthroughs—when your breakthrough comes, there is no other way for the enemy but to flee from you. But the Philistines didn’t stop there. Just like the spirit of Pharaoh after defeat, they followed David again. Now, once again, David inquired of the Lord. But this time, the Lord did not set him up against the enemy; instead, He Himself moved before them. God revealed His move to David. Verse 24 says, "And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For the Lord will go before you to strike the camp of the Philistines." The result? David drove back the Philistines from Geba to Gezer—a distance of 28 kilometers. Are you in a place where you need to take a step against the enemy who is coming against you, crushing you? Inquire of the Lord. Let Him be your stronghold. Let Him go before you, give your enemies into your hands, and drive them miles away from you. Praise be to our God, Jehovah Perazim—the Lord of breakthroughs! The Lord who doubtlessly delivers the enemy into our hands, who helps us chase them away from our land. Hey friend, do not worry about the enemy who tries to overpower you in any area of your life. The Lord’s plan is to doubtlessly deliver the enemy into your hands—not you into his. Learn from David to trust in Jehovah Perazim. Dear God, we praise You, our Jehovah Perazim! We praise You, our God of breakthroughs! We praise Your mighty name. Thank You for going before us and making our enemies flee from us. Thank You for empowering us. Thank You for Your anointing. Thank You for deliverance. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.

Whom do we consider a blessed in the world around us? We might think of people with better jobs, higher positions, more wealth, top-tier cars, or those who live in the main part of the city. Possessing any of those are not sin. But do we feel secure by having it. Our minds are so tuned and deceived to believe in the vanity and deception of the world as our strength and blessing. In Luke 12, I stopped at a passage that we usually overlook. A man made a request to Jesus as follows in verse 13: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus didn’t even want to deal with the issue. Instead, He wanted to set the man’s heart and soul right before God. His answer was so beautiful as He said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." We live in a world where we want to possess more land, more houses, more powerful positions wherever we go. But Jesus does not appreciate us pursuing the riches of the world. He calls such people "fools."A life well lived is not about how much we have acquired in our lifetime. Verse 21 shows us the other way around: "Do not lay up treasure for yourself, but be rich toward God." Are you giving to God,are you seeking His presence more than all? Then God is interested in your motives. Are you concerned about your share? Then be ready to be called a fool by Jesus. Jesus even gave an example of a rich man who had good land that yielded a large amount of crops. He was so happy and thought he had a secure future with plenty to eat. But God said, "All such is of no use, for he will die and leave it all behind on the same day." Jesus is much more concerned about our souls than about us living in a land of plenty with no room for Him. True riches come from a life dedicated to God—obeying His Word, growing in faith, and producing spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Dear God, may our minds not be carried away with thoughts of land and riches. May we be found rich toward God. May we be truly blessed in our lives on this earth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

There is this wonderful passage in Luke chapter 8, where verses 1 to 3 talk about women who provided for Jesus from their substance: Luke 8:1-3 "Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance." This passage means that these women helped Jesus and His ministry by using their own resources and wealth, such as food, shelter, or financial support. This reminds me of the wonderful woman and her husband who shared her testimony yesterday at our church, whom I would love to call a modern-day Lydia. Previously, in his messages at church, our pastor used to mention a family who had given him the keys to their house in Chennai to use anytime he wanted to pray alone. And yesterday, when we saw this family on stage—whom we had rarely seen before—I understood that families and women can do so much for local churches and the families of ministers in their own way, by staying behind the scenes. When the Global Prayer Center was opened yesterday in Chennai, we saw dignitaries gathered in a red carpet area. On the other side, we saw a few men working to make things ready for the service that was about to happen. They were arranging the flowers; some were working on the sound system, while others were setting up the seats. What a blessing it is when everybody uses what they have for the glory of God—whether on the red carpet or at the ground level. Are we ready to do God's work, to support His ministers with what we have? In the Old Testament, we see a woman who prepared a rooftop room for Prophet Elisha to use whenever he needed. 2 Kings 4:8-11 "One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, 'Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.' One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there." Whereas in the New Testament, we see Lydia serving God's men in their ministry. Acts 16:15 "When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.'" Lydia and her household became the base of operations for Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. May God give us the wisdom to allow ourselves and what He has given us to be used for His glory. Dear God, Thank You for Your love. You are doing marvelous things on earth. Use us to establish Your kingdom on earth. May we be Your Lydia. May we use our substance to serve You in every way we can. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

A few weeks back, we were crossing Marina Beach and saw the vast sea with waves crashing against the shore with loud sounds. As we were driving along the coast, we came to a place where boats were coming ashore and being kept. At that moment, a picture of Jesus sitting on one of those boats came to my mind. Luke 5 talks about a similar scenario. He got into one of the boats that belonged to Simon. As the passage suggests, Simon must have been washing his nets with his friends, reflecting on the outcome of his efforts. Initially, his net was empty. How do we feel when we work hard all night and return with nothing? It must be disappointing. Yet, the beautiful thing about Simon is that he didn’t hesitate to give Jesus a platform when He asked. He let Jesus use what he had—his boat, which had just returned from a failed adventure. This brings us to Simon’s powerful response to Jesus. Verse 5 says: "Master," Simon answered, "we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will let down the nets." What an attitude for a man who had just faced failure! He wasn’t discouraged by his empty nets but instead trusted Jesus with his boat (his life) and his net. Are we allowing our past failures to stop us from moving forward and trying again? May Jesus step into our boat and lead us into deeper waters. May our faith grow stronger in the midst of failure. May God bless our efforts with an overflowing catch—a blessing so abundant that we cannot contain it. May He amaze us. May this season of failure come to an end. May Jesus be in our boats, guiding us to a great harvest. And may He prepare our hearts to look beyond just catching fish, to seeing the greater purpose in faith. Dear God, We thank You. Strengthen our faith and help us look beyond the fish. Help us dive deeper in our relationship with You. May we have the grace to immerse ourselves in Your Word. Whether it be pearls or fish, help us to receive our rewards in due time. Bless the work of our hands, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.