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And everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save His people. He is victorious in battle, and He will put all of you in our power. This verse is found in 1 Samuel 17:47. These are the words of David before he battles the giant Goliath. The whole story ended the same way—with no weapon, Goliath was brought down . (So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. ) No matter what giant we face today, may we have the attitude of David, because it is not our battle; it belongs to the Lord. Our God is the one who is always victorious. From ages past, God has always rescued and saved His people. 1 Samuel 18:16 says, "But everyone in Israel and Judah loved David because he was such a successful leader." Not only is our God always victorious, but He also makes us successful leaders. Recently, with the result of the presidential elections in the USA, we can see how people celebrate their new leader—a successful one (though he has his own faults). The Lord made him victorious and loved by the people. Victory in battles and success in leadership come from God. Now, when everything tries to overpower us or battles against us, we should have the attitude of David and conquer it. Dear God, may we be Your successful leaders. You are the Lord who is always victorious. Help us to win our battles just as You helped David when he had no weapon in hand. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

It was the day of the science exam. The teacher told the students that they had two exams. The students came prepared for the one exam scheduled in the timetable. They wondered what this was all about. The teacher looked at them and said, "Do not panic. The test for today is science, but it is also a test of integrity." He continued, "I have seen many students fail science tests with honesty but pass in life. But I have never seen any of my students succeed in life after failing the test of integrity." The Bible gives us an example of integrity in Moses, the leader who led Israel out of captivity into freedom and the Promised Land. In Numbers 12:7, God said concerning Moses, "My servant Moses is faithful in all My household" (Num. 12:7). How incredible it is to receive such a testimony from God Himself! May we aspire to hear such words about ourselves too. But how do we lose integrity? When we make something meaningless, like fame or wealth, our priority. For example, when students achieve full marks by copying, they are pursuing success that is not permanent. Moses, on the other hand, stood the test because of his faith. "By faith, Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house" (Hebrews 11:24-25). He learned to say no to the attractive privileges that came with compromising with the world. May God help us to do the same. God is pleased when we walk in His ways. He is like a loving parent who says these words in delight: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 John 1:4). May we bring joy to His heart. Prayer Dear God, we desire hearts and lives of faithfulness, hearts of integrity. May Your faithfulness and holiness be present everywhere You have placed us. May we, like Moses, be faithful in all Your household. All that we have is Yours. May the mark of faithfulness be written on everything we do. "Holy unto the Lord" is what we want inscribed in every area of our lives. Strengthen us, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

The Bible talks about a man who was in dire need of bread and asked his friend for it. However, the friend didn’t treat him well for making the request late at night. The situation was awkward. The Bible says that sometimes, just to push you away, people may give you what you ask for. In Luke 11:8, it is written: "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need." But with God, we can approach His throne boldly and ask Him to provide for our needs. As Hebrews 4:16 (KJV) says: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." God is the only one who never puts us to shame when we ask for something. He gives without expecting anything in return. He is a good, good Father. We see an example of Solomon asking for wisdom, and God not only granted him wisdom but also gave him wealth, fame, and a long life. A pastor named Sathish from Andhra Pradesh prayed to God, asking Him to bless him. God told him to change his prayers.God said, "Ask Me to make you a blessing." Later, Pastor Sathish built India’s biggest church. God kept him as a blessing, enabling him to provide free education by building a school, free medical services by constructing a hospital, a free wedding hall, and monthly aid for the destitute. May we boldly draw near to God and ask Him to make us a blessing. We are not here on earth as God’s children to beg for our needs from mere men, but we have a God who is able to make us a blessing. May we expand our horizons of faith and pray the same prayer. Dear God, Thank You for this life. Thank You for our family. Thank You for the fellowship we have with our fellow believers and everyone around us. Keep us as a blessing, Lord. May our borders be expanded. May we provide for countless people. May we experience Your abundant grace, goodness, and mercy throughout our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

The Bible talks about a place called Bethel, where Jacob saw a vision of a ladder reaching from heaven to earth. This ladder represents Jesus Christ, the Word. The angels ascend and descend on it, signifying that they are appointed by God to minister to us, going up to God’s presence and returning to us. The Bethel experience is about receiving the word from God, claiming it, and sending it back to Him in prayer. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28. When God sends us His words to encourage us, are we receiving and claiming them, then sending our claims back to God in prayer? Whenever God gives us promises, are we accepting, claiming, and declaring by lifting them up to Him? It is the best way to get strengthened and empowered in the spirit. In recent months, I have seen Pastor Sammy Thangiah illustrating this practice in short videos on YouTube. We can watch these too to learn how to claim the Word. In Genesis 35:1-26, God tells Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.” God is calling Jacob to return and prepare an altar, to offer sacrifices unto Him in Bethel. He is inviting Jacob to renew his relationship with Him. We, too, may have received visions and promises from God. Let us return to Bethel, giving back our worship and prayers to our God. It is never too late to trust God again with His promises. He is ever faithful; are we still trusting? Are we ready to declare his promises in faith and walk with power? And finally let us declare it to people we encounter in our everyday walk. I have added here a screenshot of a beautiful prayer which is similar to this, Dear God, thank you for the promises you have given us. We claim the power, love, and strength you have promised. We come back to you with a heart of worship. May we not only be receivers but also senders of Your words. May we prepare our altar to offer true worship by keeping our bodies as a living sacrifice unto You, as in Romans 12: 1 offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. May we reach out to You in Bethel, dear Father. May we become all You intend for us to be, according to Your faithful promises. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Whenever we dress well and are ready to step outside our house, our eyes search for our footwear. I am surprised that the Bible speaks about this too. Once, when we met with our pastor as a church, an elder in the group said, "This particular work in the church is supposed to be done by the ministers of God." Immediately, our pastor asked, "Then who are you all?" I was stunned. God expects each of us to be His missionary. Wherever we work, He expects us to be carriers of hope and love. Some say we are the only Bible others read. So, when we go out to preach or to do our daily work, the Bible expects us to wear sandals/shoes and be ready for the journey ahead. Why do we wear sandals, generally? To protect us from unseen bacteria and viruses that can enter our bodies through our feet as we explore the outside world. We might step into stagnant water, unclean things scattered on the street, or even prickly thorns. To guard ourselves, we wear footwear. Similarly, when we go outside to face everyday life, it’s important to be prepared. Before every Sunday, the pastors at our church have two hours of prayer together. Before we preach the Gospel, we should be prepared; we should pray at least an hour. The Bible lists this “sandal” as a weapon we wear as God's soldiers. Ephesians 6:15 says, "and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." Another version goes like this, Ephesians 6:15 says, "and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace". Hey, friend, let’s read our Bible and stand in God's presence before we step outside. May we enter each day with the Good News, with peace in our hearts that fills us when we stay in His presence. How does God see us? He sees us as carriers of the Good News. Romans 10:15 says: “As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” May God see our feet as beautiful unto Him. May we bring joy to His unconditionally loving heart. Dear God, protect us today as we carry Your hope-filled words to the world we live in. May we reach out in peace, in readiness, in love. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have you made God’s heart glad? Recently, I was talking with one of my dear sisters, who is like a mentor to me. She has always been someone I admired. Her family went through tough times in the past months; an immediate family member fell sick with a terminal illness. She worked tirelessly to take care of this family member. The frequent hospital visits and the care she provided at home took a toll on her. After a few months, she called me and said she was exhausted physically, mentally, and spiritually, and she began questioning whether she was still pleasing God, as her prayer life had struggled. I told her to take plenty of rest. She was so worried about her relationship with God in the midst of all the troubles she faced. But God spoke to her through a man of God with the following verse: "I was glorified in you, and I will be glorified in you." The joy she felt after this was so great that she forgot her worries and regained her strength. This made me realize that God sees us so differently than we see ourselves. And most importantly, God knows all our struggles and watches us closely in every step of our journey. He is honored by the way we handle the challenges before us. It makes Him happy. The way we go through suffering and yearn for His presence and love honors Him. Psalm 46 says: "A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it." Hey Friend, God speaks of the river that flows continuously, bringing joy to Him. He promises to send help early to it and to protect it at all costs. No matter what pain, suffering, or challenging path we go through, may God help us to be like this flowing river that brings joy to His heart. When we bring Him joy, He is in our midst, even if we don’t feel or understand it. Focus on glorifying God with everything you do. May He be joyful and be in your midst. Dear God, thank You for Your love. May You be glorified in everything we do and say. May we bring joy to Your heart. May we receive Your help early. May You be in our midst. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Jesus chose His disciples. When a certain scribe came to Him, saying he would follow Jesus wherever He went, Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). Who is a scribe? A scribe was a member of a learned class in ancient Israel, through New Testament times, who studied the Scriptures and served as copyists, editors, teachers, and jurists. That scribe who talked with Jesus didn’t follow Jesus afterward. In contrast, Matthew 9:9-12 talks about Jesus calling Matthew, the tax collector, to follow Him. Verse 9 says, “So he arose and followed Him.” God chose His own scribe; He saw a biographer, a writer of the Gospel, in Matthew. "You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away,’ says Isaiah 41." Hey, friend, how great it is to be chosen by Jesus Himself to follow Him. It is beyond our understanding that we are His choice. We don’t know what lies ahead, but the One who calls us fulfills His calling in us. Romans 11:29 says, “For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]” When Jesus calls us to serve Him, it’s not because of what we have in us. It is always to transform us to achieve the unimaginable through us. Yes, He is able to do above all we can ask or think. Can you hear His voice? Can you hear the gentle calling of the loving Shepherd? Can we follow Him like Matthew? Dear God, how blessed are we to be chosen by You. How great it is to carry Your words as Your vessel. Thank You for Your calling, God, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for this privilege. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Our God is called the God of armies. Whenever the Lord steps in, no war ends in defeat. We see Elisha and his servant standing against the king's army with the army of God on their side. This story can be found in 2 Kings 6. The king of Aram sent an army to kill the prophet. The servant was afraid of the coming attack, but when Elisha prayed for his servant to see what he saw, the servant saw that the army of God with them was greater than the army of the enemy coming against them. Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 2 kings verse 15,16 The Lord of armies has given each of us a sword. We use God's sword when we quote His word in prayer. Instead of focusing on our list of wants, needs, and dreams in prayer, we need to learn to use appropriate verses as powerful swords, unlike the ordinary words we use. We can meditate on, memorize, and use those verses in prayer. When we are in trouble, the Spirit of the Lord will bring them to our mind to wage war. Immediately, the verses will bring peace to the storms in our minds. When we repeat the same verse again and again throughout the day, loudly, we can see ourselves becoming stronger in spirit. The way to be prepared at all times is to keep filling our minds with God's words. I clearly remember a time when I was walking on the main road of my colony during a morning walk. The enemy was telling me that Iies and was trying to bring me down. But God empowered me with a verse that strengthened my heart. God asked me to repeat Job’s words, " My Redeemer lives ." As I said it again and again, I felt a powerful presence filling me, and the thoughts fighting against me faded to nothing. We must know that we can stand against an army with our God of armies by our side. Nothing can stand against us as long as we are rooted in God's words. Like Joshua, we will defeat all 32 kings. Like Elisha we will stand courageously knowing that the army against us have no chance against us. Dear God, thank You for Your mighty name. Thank You for being on our side as the God of armies. May we live lives of power. Help us not to fight against each other, but against the enemy with the strength of the God of armies. May we not have defeated wars, but always be victorious in the battles we face. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Deborah is called a mother of Israel in the Bible. She can be described as a gifted and anointed woman of God. First of all, Deborah is a prophetess. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.Judges 4:4 A prophet is someone who receives the word of the Lord and shares it with the people, whether written or spoken. Prophets are those who tell the truth amid deceiving, sugar-coated, twisted theories. Secondly, Deborah is a judge. A judge should know and declare what is right, who is right, and who is wrong. The Bible says that God is the righteous Judge, and wisdom for judgment comes from the Lord. This is also evident in Solomon’s life. A ruler must tell people what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. There can be no beating around the bush; people need righteous judgment, and Deborah provided this with God’s wisdom. Thirdly, Deborah is a military strategist. She devised military plans for Israel’s army and even went to battle. And she said, "I will surely go with you.(To the battlefield ). Judges 4:9. Fourthly, she is a worship leader; we see her singing in Judges, chapter 5. She says, "I will sing and make melody to the Lord." What a powerful life she lived. I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel". Judges 5:3 Judges 5 is a song sung by Deborah and Barak after they defeated the Canaanites and King Jabin. The song praises God for saving His people with great power. Deborah also sings about God raising her up as a mother to Israel when they won their enemies. A group of students from a Bible college visited John Wesley’s house, which is now open to visitors. They saw his room, his table, his Bible, and his place of prayer. The students looked at the spot where John Wesley knelt in prayer. Then they returned to board their bus, but one student was missing. When the professor and other students went back to search, they found that student kneeling and praying in the very place where John Wesley had prayed. They saw the student repeatedly saying, "Do it again, Lord. Do it again, Lord." That student was none other than Billy Graham, the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen. Hey friend, people like Deborah, John Wesley, and Billy Graham lived before us and showed us what God can do through a man or woman in a lifetime. May we pray like Billy Graham: "Do it again, Lord." Dear God, thank you for your love and for the Good News you desire to share with those around us. Use us, dear Lord. Like Billy Graham, we ask you to do it again, dear Lord. Use everything we have to build your kingdom. Use our lives; fill us with the anointing of Deborah. May we be like her, a mother of Israel. Lord, give us your anointing to share your words with people, to judge and declare what is right and what is wrong before you, to strategize and wage wars in the army of God, to sing songs, and to lead worship. Use us, dear Lord; may we be your Deborah. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble." Mathew 11:28 to 30. Once, my psychology professor, who was also my college counselor, said, "We, counselors, need someone with whom we can share our burdens. We solve people's issues, and we need help too." Yes, our human tendency to help, listen, and counsel has its own limits. When we spend time with emotionally drained people who need us to supply strength, by offering help, we become weak. Do we have a tireless counselor who can welcome us at all times? Who will walk with us through seasons of both ups and lows? Who is able to lighten our heart's burden and give us a life of ease? Yes, it can only be done by Jesus. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22) These days, people advise each other to have "me time." One of the greatest things one can give oneself is prayer time, which surely is the true "me time." When we share our burdens in prayer to God, we are strengthened. Our heart is healed, and our burdens are lightened through the conversation we have with God. When He speaks, we feel right. In God's presence lies the permanent solution. you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11. May we train ourselves to go to Him and find rest in His presence. Like Hannah, like the woman who washed the feet of Jesus, our answer and peace are in Him. Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. When we respect someone highly, we make an appointment with them and check their availability before meeting them in person. When God said He has all the time for us, do we take Him lightly? Do we have an appointed time and a place set aside to meet Him? My dad, who has seen visions, used to describe Heaven and God with words that are vast. He said, "You cannot comprehend how majestic God is and how incomparable Heaven is." Meeting great people of the world can never give us the same satisfaction, but our time with God transforms us, strengthens us, rejuvenates, and refreshes us. It is the time where we breathe fresh air. Choose a room, a small corner. May we keep a clean place, a beautiful one, to honor and welcome God's presence in our everyday life. Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus says, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret”. Jesus withdrew to pray (Mt 14:13; Lk 5:12-16; Jn 6:14-16) . Dear God, help us and open our eyes to see the wonders in prayer time. May we learn to keep our appointment with You and honor You. May our weary hearts find rest in Your presence. Thank You, Lord, for offering support and rest in the midst of a trouble-filled life. Be our rest, Lord. We thank You, Jesus, for Your gentle presence. May we too reflect Your humility. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Is it enough to be a good Christian? No, God expects us to be brave too. Joshua, a young leader, was instructed by God to be brave. God instructed him to meditate on His word to make him bold and victorious. Joshua proved to be a faithful leader who followed God, and as a result, he defeated 32 kings. When we look at why 32 kings and not more not less it has definite truth behind it. Hebrew numbers have deep spiritual meaning. God is referred as Elohim in Hebrew. The word Elohim appears 32 times in the first chapter of Genesis where God created everything through the word. 32 in Hebrew is spelled as Lamed Bet. Here Lamed is considered as a letter with superior significance because it is the 12th letter of Hebrew Alphabet and is considered as the heart of the alphabet because it is the central of the 24 and the tallest of all the alphabets. Because it towers over the other letters it is said to represent Malekh hemelakhim which means King of Kings. Joshua, the man who meditated the words had victory over 32 kings and showed with power that God is reigning over all kings as the KING of KINGS. We, as God's children, are called to be brave. Joshua 1:9 in the Bible says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." In verse 8, God says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." The same can be seen in Psalm 1: "Whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers." Do we have the patience to spend time meditating on God's word? Do we love our time with our Bible? Recently, in a prayer meeting, my pastor encouraged us to write down whatever we hear from the sermon. He asked if we have the habit of writing whatever God says to us every day in a diary. To encourage the people, he took out his own diary where he had meticulously written the revelations God gave him. He showed us how he uses highlighters to differentiate one message from another. These simple yet profoundly meaningful spiritual disciplines will make us God's brave soldiers. They fill our hearts with God's powerful words. It is these habits that will give us victories and triumphs over kings. Dear God, help us to understand the greatness of your word that is in our hands. May we never live a life without these spiritual habits. Help us to be victorious. Bless us to be successful. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Heat waves in Chennai are something that cannot be easily forgotten by people who have experienced them. I used to tell my friend that I feel like I am walking between hot pots when I walk on the road. The city has become a kitchen full of heat waves. One can literally feel the hot waves rubbing against the face while walking the streets. When we think about the Israelites walking in the desert, we know it must have been horrible. Was it horrible? But here is a God who allowed them the wilderness and walked with them as a cloud during the daytime and as a fire during the nighttime. We know that the only shelter we seek during summer is the air conditioner. But here, God is giving them a natural solution to walk on the path that was laid before them. Exodus 13:21: "By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." Those of us who are walking in the desert season will know that God has given us the special grace to face it, to walk through it. We see fire around us, but we are protected under the clouds; nothing can touch us because we have the fourth person who walks in the midst of fire with us. Another beautiful thing about the wilderness is that as much as there is no way to buy new flashy things, God made it so there was no need for them. Which clothes shop, butcher shop, biryani shop, or sandal shop could the Israelites find in the desert? . God literally led them in such a way that there was no need for them to search for one. He was their supplier in the desert. He met their needs supernaturally. It was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, Exodus 16:8 As much as buying new refrigerators, washing machines, clothes, and sandals sounds like a blessing to us, it is also a blessing when God miraculously prolongs the life of the old fridge and the little washing machine. It is indeed a miracle. God ensures you literally don't end up on Amazon looking for things but turn to Him as He trains you to receive provisions supernaturally in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 29:5: "I have led you in the wilderness forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet." When God wants us to occupy extraordinary blessings, He makes us walk through the desert and trains us to trust in Him alone to receive everything—from chicken biryani to the big stuff. The important thing we learn is to depend on Him, not on our own hands, for anything and everything. The same God who makes us walk through the desert is also able to lead us out of the desert with a giant faith that overcomes the giants in the land. Attending exams is to understand our level of understanding of the subject so that we can move into a higher grade, a promotion. Our desert season, walking through fires and waters, will end when we pass the faith test that is laid before us. We will finally say, "Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me," as in Psalm 23:4. Dear God, thank you for being with us as a cloud when we needed to be protected from the fire around us. Thank you for making us cross the Red Sea, and thank you for training us to look to your presence, your hand, for everything we needed. Thank you for walking with us and helping us to strengthen our faith in you. You have tested us in the furnace, and you are going to make us shine like gold. Thank you for holding our hands throughout this path; in every step, we were never left alone. We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, we thank you. Amen.

I recently read a post from Derek Prince where he said, "I grew up in a day when learning was supposed to be hard work. Then a philosophy emerged in education which said, if it's difficult, don't try it. Believe me, both in the natural and physical, there are many things you will never achieve without hard work." If we ask a question like, what spiritual effort have we made recently to achieve something spiritually? What would be our answer? Here is someone in the Bible who was a sinner but made an effort to get a closer view of Jesus. This is seen in Luke 19:1-9: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him since Jesus was coming that way. He was short, but he did not allow it to be a barrier to see Jesus. He climbed, he fought against his human condition to see someone much greater than himself. He was a sinner, but he made an effort to be noticed by Jesus. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Last month, when we went to our church in Chennai, we were thoroughly surprised to see the pastor who raised me from my young age (from my native)was in the room behind the stage. With no plan of ours, God placed us in a row where he could see us directly. At the end of the service, before we could run to meet him, he came running towards us. Similarly, Jesus, all the while, knew his heart that made the effort to seek him, looked up at him, and rewarded him by going to his house. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Verse 5. How joyful Zacchaeus must have felt when God entered his household. The identity of Zacchaeus changed from someone who forcefully took money to someone who gave back more than he received. None who came to Jesus seeking to meet him left without transformation, without a change of identity. He changed Saul, the man who caused suffering, to the missionary Paul, a man who endured suffering for Christ. He changed Mary Magdalene, a possessed woman tormented by evil spirits, to the first woman to whom the resurrected Christ revealed himself. The list goes on and on to this day. May God see our efforts, spot us, and reward us. May we stop wandering on the ground and climb the stairs. May we stop drinking the milk and grow to a stage where we can eat solid food. May we let Jesus know that we want to see him. When we love or care about someone, we make an effort to do things for them. When I drove 55 km on my bike to see a relative of mine, people there were taken aback at the effort I made. In a way, it changed the dynamics of our relationship. The people of the world are ready to appreciate us for our efforts to meet them. Won't God, the giver of good gifts, do even more? Dear God, Help us to train ourselves in godly habits to grow in You. Help us to cut off habits that keep us far away from You. May we be seen by You, and may our efforts be rewarded by You. May we have a new, much more beautiful, and meaningful relationship with You. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Sundays are the best. I hope you all will agree if I say this. From my young age, it was the church that has been my support. My mom was very young when she started to work. We were in Surandai, a small town then. In those days, there were no specific daycare centers. But our pastor had a helper who was childless for years, and he took care of me throughout the day at church. Literally, I was blessed to be raised by that godly man for a few years until I started joining classes. I still remember the place where I used to sit with my mom. I remember the Christmas tree celebration where I eagerly waited to receive gifts wrapped in colorful papers. My childhood was simply awesome, with my parents who gave me a love for God's house at that very young age. I am ever grateful to my God for my mom and dad. One day, I was playing with my cousin, who is like a brother to me, named Vinoth. He was pinching and biting me. My pastor came running toward us and gave him a nice scolding, which made him play gently with me afterward. For me, my pastor was a family member, like a grandpa. Then we shifted to Tenkasi, where we started going to the church of Pastor Steve Jayaraj. I remember him driving a car, and when he saw us, he asked us to get in. My small feet entered the beautiful sedan for the first time. I was in awe, and I started to explore by trying to check how the window worked. When my hands went near the windows, my mom knew I was up to something and gave me a stern look that made me sit quietly inside. I understood that I was traveling with someone who was highly respected. Only later did I realize that my pastor was the correspondent of the school where I was studying. As a teacher's child, my parents paid half of the fees. God knows how much that helped my early education. From then on, I was in awe of my pastor. I have known him since my third standard, and we started to see him every week at our church. Our church was a small shed behind our assistant pastor's house, with so many flowers along the pathway. I learned the discipline of being quiet and listening to the sermon whenever it was given. At a very young age, I developed the habit of collecting beautiful palm-sized diaries and writing down whatever I understood from my pastor's sermon. My pastor laid the spiritual foundation for my growth there. I received the pure word of God and perfect principles from him. I used to be amazed whenever he brought in amazing worship leaders and preachers from around the world. I loved the way my pastor spoke English, and I enjoyed hearing stories and life experiences of missionaries from around the world. I remember Pastor David Steward coming to our church and talking about how, when he was very young, his parents would ask him to share his room with the men of God whenever they visited their house. My mind always wanted to listen to the various experiences of pastors and people who came to our church. I truly enjoyed the rich heavenly food—the spiritual manna—that I received from my church. It built my inner self and filled me with a love for God and His word. When I was about to reach my teenage years, I went to an SFC (Students for Christ) meeting at Shencottai. We stayed at the house of Glad Bible Center, and we had fun at that meeting. I received my salvation there. Later, I had the experience of anointing at another meeting at Tenkasi SFC, where I even dedicated my life to God. My pastor always wanted the best for us. I have fond memories of our church celebrating Mother's Day. My mom received many beautiful gifts, of which the cute golden candle stand still stays in my mind. My pastor made us thank God for our mothers before giving them the gifts. The same went for Father's Day. I loved giving something to my pastor on Father's Day. I remember making and giving small handmade cards with Bible verses on them. It was my dad who always encouraged me to honor my pastor, telling me that he was my spiritual father. I can never forget the sing-song services we had at our church before we celebrated Christmas. That was when I started singing with my mom. It was the song "Aadhi Pidha Kumaran." On that day, every family would come forward to sing a song. The air was filled with joy for the season and the reason. We celebrated Jesus Christ for coming to earth to save us with immense joy. My pastor sang all the Christmas carols with his family. The picture of him singing with Nirmala Athai, Steffy, Stacy Akka, and Joshua is still fresh in my mind. Christmas and New Year services were very special at my church. When my pastor learned about my love for singing, he became a great encourager. He motivated me to continue in my journey of singing and worshipping God by lifting my voice. His genuine appreciation and love helped me thrive in singing. He was nothing short of a perfect, loving spiritual father who cherished seeing me grow in the Lord. Incidents often occurred where he encouraged us to answer questions from the previous sermon and joyfully gave gifts when we answered correctly. He was so proud to see us, as a church, growing in the Lord. Later, we moved to a newly built church, which is my favorite place in the whole world to this day. I have felt the love of God deeply surrounding me whenever I raised my hands in worship there. One of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed in my life is my pastor leading, loving, and helping us grow and thrive in our church. The pure love he showed us by searching for us in the crowd, calling our names, smiling at us, and running toward us whenever he saw us—there are no words to describe it. My husband recently told me, "You are so lucky to be loved by your pastor like this." Yes, I am greatly blessed by God for this man of God who touched my life, and many others, with his love and ministry. Happy Birthday, my dear spiritual father. Thank you for loving us with the love of God.

Years back, on this same day, I said, "I still can't believe that I lost my father." It was what I told one of my school friends who called to comfort me. If you ask me, those words still feel fresh today. I still can't believe it, even now. In the Bible, we have another person who believed a lie that someone was dead for a very long time. It was none other than Jacob. He mourned, put on sackcloth, and refused to be comforted. Jacob tore his clothes and wore sackcloth, a rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair. He refused to be comforted. Jacob said, "I will go to my grave, mourning for my son." He continued to mourn long past the customary week or month and insisted he would keep grieving until he died. Everything he went through is what a grieving person experiences. I have personally experienced this for at least four years. We, as families, go through very tough times. But in Jacob's case, the truth was that he was crying, mourning, losing his joy, and neglecting his appearance. His way of worshiping God often wasn’t in its usual form because he believed a lie. Yet, Joseph was still alive on the other side, and God was with him. Genesis 39:21 says, "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor." I can deeply relate to this; I couldn’t sing when I was grieving the loss of my dad for years. I am sure heaven heard my singing very rarely during those years. I still can’t say it is completely restored. I almost felt like I lost the anointing and a heart that sings to God all the time, and it definitely did no good for me. It is foolish to tell someone, "Don't cry, don't think of your loss; it's in the past." But one thing we can say is that we don’t need to be hopeless. We have hope that our loved ones are still living on the other side with God, whom we will meet one day. I don't know if any of you are going through a personal loss, but I encourage you not to let go of God's hand during this difficult time. We allow ourselves to enter into hopelessness by letting go of His hand. And do not give up on worshipping God. May God hear from you. The Bible says that Jacob's spirit was revived when he heard about Joseph: "But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived" (Genesis 45:27). Hey friend, God will revive our spirit and restore the joy we lost. He will give us a revived heart, full of zest to worship Him all the time. No matter what happens, we have hope. Just as Jacob heard about Joseph and his spirit was revived, may God send us His words of hope to revive us and help us live our lives fully. May we relentlessly believe that we will see the people we think we lost on the other hand. As much as Jesus is alive, God is there this truth about Resurrection and our hope is there. Dear God, thank you for your power of resurrection. May mourning never take anything away from us. May we be filled with hope and a revived spirit, joyful and eager to worship You, the ever-faithful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Fill us with words of hope, Lord. Revive our spirits. May we truly know and feel heaven and You while we are living on earth. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

We all love the story of the five loaves and two fishes. When we were living near Vandalur, we have seen a hotel named "Five Loaves and Two Fishes." We want God to bless and increase what we have, don't we? The incident about the five loaves and two fishes goes like this: "And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." Matthew 14:18 to 21. Sometimes when we have less, we end up believing we have nothing. But what seems like nothing to our eyes, according to Jesus, can be used to feed thousands. How did Jesus bless the bread? He took the little that was available in his hands and blessed it. This means that when we have less, without hesitation, we should bring it to Jesus to bless it. Without murmuring or comparing the less we have with the plenty someone else have,You might not be a great artist, or a cook, or a great prayer warrior or a musician but use what you have for God. Bless what you have, and start thanking God for what is in your hands instead of worrying about what is not there. Next, Jesus broke the bread. The experience of going through the breaking is needed for each of us before we can multiply. Whenever we are being broken into pieces, the world may say it is the end of the story. But for God, it is the time for multiplication. May we thank God for what we have, use it gratefully, and soon witness God using it to feed multitudes. Dear God, thank you for revealing the truth from the Bible to us. May we never consider ourselves as having nothing when we have less. But may we gratefully give ourselves unto you, to be blessed and to be broken in order to be a blessing to many. To numbers that we can't count. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Why do we need to give thanks to God all the time? Is it even possible when we don't feel good to do so? Can we give thanks to Him when we lose our job? Can we thank Him when we are forced to leave a place? We have heard that all things work for good for those who love God. Is it true? We walk by faith. We know it's true. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 Yes, God has not revealed answers to all our whys, but we can never ignore the answers He has revealed so far. They have absolutely been done for the best of us. The closed doors and missed opportunities are included in His divine plan. His ways are marvelous. A few months ago, I was watching a clip from a Christian movie. In it, a man was talking to a person who was complaining and crying about God to him. He told the person, "I can tell you one thing: when we meet Jesus, and He answers all our questions about every prayer that has been answered otherwise, the answer He would give will simply be perfect. Because our God always wants good for us. He has no other thoughts but only good for us." What a blessing it is to know this God, what a blessing it is to serve Him, what a blessing it is to be led by Him. How great it is to have a God who always thinks to do good for you. Yes, this makes me say, I am a blessed daughter who is greatly loved and divinely favored. I know this is true for each and every one of us who walk with the Lord. May all glory, honor, and praise be unto our good, good Father in Heaven. We love You, dear Lord. Hey friend, I really wish and pray that God reveals His goodness in everything He has allowed us to go through, so that when we thank Him, we will not be saying memorized words but words that come out of us with pure love and pure joy, which He truly deserves from us. Because there is absolutely no one who can love us like Jesus. Dear Father, We thank You for leading us and guiding us in our lives. You are a God who does only good to us. We love You, Lord; we love You, Lord, with all our hearts. Thank You for protecting our city. We continue to uphold our city in prayers. Bless our cities and every growing city in our state with better infrastructure that can easily get rid of water clogs. Thank You for Your unstoppable, unconditional love for us. In Jesus' name, we thank You. Amen.

For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rainstorm against a wall. — Isaiah 25:4 Dear God, we have faced floods in the past; many have lost houses, lakes overflowed, and rivers crossed their boundaries. Some lost their businesses, and their vehicles. We seek Your protection for this rainy season, Lord. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on the delta regions. Have mercy on Tiruvallur, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, and Tiruvarur districts, Puducherry, coimbatore Madurai, Tutucorin and Karaikal area. May You protect us and be our defense. Be a refuge for everyone in these places, Lord. May the children, the working men and women, and those with businesses be safe. Those who travel for emergencies, be safe. May the government officials, police, and volunteers be safe. May the poor on the road and the animals on the road be safe. Be merciful towards our city, dear Lord. May no damage to any lives occur. Keep us all under Your wings, Lord. May nothing harm us. We completely surrender ourselves to be covered with Your precious blood. "The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." — Proverbs 18:10 Be our safety tower, dear Lord, we are running to You, seeking protection for our state and for our cities. 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” — Psalm 91:1-2 We trust You, our fortress, our shelter. "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers." — Proverbs 11:14 May every official who plans to guard our cities be filled with wisdom. Guide them and let our state stand tall and not fall. "The prudent see danger and take refuge." — Proverbs 27:12 May none foolishly play with the water bodies, may we take refuge to protect ourselves. May no harm come against our cities. We pray over our cities and every person in them to be under the protection of the Almighty. May His wings cover us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I have seen people memorizing Psalm 119 . I have found it difficult because of the words: statutes, commandments, precepts, law, word, way, judgment, and testimonies. I felt like some of these words have similar meanings, making it very difficult to memorize, as my mind memorizes best when it clearly understands the meaning of something and has clarity about the concepts. Yet, I have admired my husband and my friend Angella for memorizing Psalm 119. Both of them had great visions and pursued excellence by preparing themselves for one of the most difficult exams in the country—the civil services exams. Both of them tasted success in different levels and still stands apart in the knowledge and memory power they hold about things. God honours those who honour Him. David talked about his love for God's word, and I have personally seen no one write, think, or talk as much about the love for God's word as David did. In Psalm 119:176, David says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments." When Jesus spoke about parables, He mentioned the shepherd who searched for one lost sheep, leaving the 99. David, the former shepherd, knew the heart of God. David didn’t forget His commandments; he knew the laws. He went astray, but he yearned for God, the Shepherd, and asked God to seek him. David and God had a unique relationship. I was thoroughly taken aback by the verse where God said the sword would never depart from David when He saw him sinning against Him by killing poor Uriah, the faithful servant. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. 2 samuel12:10. This is the same God who blessed David by saying his generation would have a king forever. For this is what the LORD says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever. Jeremiah 33:17 Doesn’t that make it clear that we should be aware of the consequences of our actions? God is a righteous judge. We receive good or bad from God as a consequence of our actions even if we say we love him so much. A woman psychologist who worked at a renowned college once said, "We shouldn't fear God but love God." But each of us likes to be loved in a different way. God loves it when we have the fear of Him to depart from evil for the glory of His name. We can be a woman or man after God's heart, but may we also know that our God gives us righteous judgment. May He strengthen us to live His word: "Let the one who does right continue to do right, and let the holy person continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:11-13). Dear God, Give us a heart that loves You and a heart that trembles to do anything that keeps us away from You. Father, thank You for being our Good Shepherd, for doing everything to find us and keep us close to Your heart. May we know the depth of Your love and grace, and may You strengthen us to live up to the love You have shown towards us. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.

What a beautiful thing is the institution of marriage. We recently attended our brother's wedding, and it was so heavenly to witness. The large church hall, filled with the presence of God, and the loving parents who had carefully arranged everything to keep things in order, was a wonderful sight to behold. Most importantly, the faithful waiting of the bride and groom before God to find each other according to His plan. It was a profound moment of their life. God rewarded them by uniting them in His presence. They brought honor to their upbringing, to their family, and to the church they grew up in. I wondered how much effort my Chithi must have put in to attend to every detail. It was simply perfect. The Bible verse "A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands" from Proverbs 14:1 is often happily used to advise a newly married woman. Along with that verse, we also have another passage from Matthew 7:24-27: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand." Here, God refers to a man who builds a house. He, too, faces a choice like the woman: to be wise or to be a fool. A marriage is at its best when the man and woman of the house join together and build it upon Christ, the foundation. If we build our families upon His word, we are the family that will withstand the floods, the wind, and will not fall. Finally, Hebrews 3:4 says, "For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." As families, may we allow Jesus to build everything in our lives. May the builder, God, help us to build better families, united as couples who are holding the hands of God. Dear God, May you fill us as husbands and wives united in Christ and build a strong family that can stand tall and strong on its foundation in Christ. You are the builder of all. Fill us with every bit of knowledge and wisdom we need to build our families. We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, we thank you. Amen.

Travelling across Madurai gives me pure joy. The familiar roads, the familiar routes usually put a gentle smile on my face. We visited our brother in Christ and spent time in conversation about our faith walk. When none of us were expecting it, the little one in the family got hurt by a bee sting. We got him help, and they told us that snakes are in that area too. My husband then shared a fact about snakes: they have very poor eyesight or hearing ability. I suddenly exclaimed, "What! Why are we so afraid of it when it doesn't even have proper eyes or ears and only knows our presence when we get near it?" The family laughed, and God placed something very clear in my mind at that moment. Yes, we often don't realize that our enemy is weak when we are far away wrapped up in God's presence. The enemy can only hurt us when we go near him and give importance by committing sins, which take us away from God's presence and make us vulnerable. The learning is simple, Be wrapped in God's presence. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7. Later, when we attended a meeting with our pastor, he said that God expects us to be stronger like Him. Knowing who is our God, adds strength to us. The knowledge of God comes from seeking Him in the Bible. If we know Him and His word, we will know who we are, who our God is, and who our enemy is. When we are covered by His presence, we are more powerful and mightier in the army of God. As my dad would say, "The enemy will run away when we just make a small move." Reinhard Bonnke, a powerful man of God from Germany who went as a minister to Africa, was doing crusade after crusade and needed a lorry for his sound systems. He went to an old yard and prayed to God for a lorry. God asked him a question, "Do you know who I am? I am able to give you a new vehicle." Bonnke sought God's forgiveness and left that yard. Now, do we know who our God is? Do we have a relationship with Him? Do we know Him personally? Simply getting to know Him will make our spiritual muscles stronger. When we search for Him, we will find Him. Proverbs 8:17 says,I love them that love me; And those that seek me early shall find me. Seek Him early in the morning. Feeling tired from the burdens of life? Go to His presence to receive the powerful life backed by the Holy Spirit of God. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Says, James 4:8 Dear God, Help us to know You closely. Open our eyes, Lord. May we know Your might, Your power, Your love for us, the freedom You can give us, and the courage You can give us. May we break every barrier with Your strength. Be our might, Lord. Be with us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I recently read an article from The Times of India with the title, "Beach drives clear the shore, but how do we clean up our act?" It meant that while organized efforts by environmentalists or volunteers can remove litter from the beach, what are we doing to clean up our basic habits of throwing plastics or other waste into the sea, which is harmful to the living beings inside it? Without addressing the root cause, there can be no solution to the problem. Similarly, the Bible says, The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:9. but when sin becomes a habit, the solution lies in eradicating the root cause. Simply praying and getting cleansed, and going back to sin again cannot fully purify us before our Father. The Son gave His life to cleanse us from sin. What are we doing to stay away from it? Are we still with the same friends? Are we still in the same places? Are we neglecting our Bible reading and prayer life? God expects—and even we desire—a stable Christian life. Rising with determination to be clean and running towards the Father will help us live a holy life. Cutting the root cause is what Jesus meant when He said, "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire". Matthew 18:9 We ought to be like our Father—the Holy One, the conqueror, the strong tower. May we learn to behave like His sons and daughters. Dear God, Thank you for the power you have given us to live a clean life by being cleansed with the blood of the Lamb. May we give our full effort to cut our roots. Thank you for the strength that will help us climb the mountains we thought we couldn’t climb, for the strength that will help us leap over walls, and for your mighty strength that will help us crush an army. In Jesus' name, we thank you. Amen.

We were all just finishing a sum of holidays. I believe we have taken some small trips to visit friends, family, and relatives. Recently, when we traveled as a family in our car, we stopped for a while before a field of green grass. Behind it were mountains in different shades of grey. It was so beautiful, and when we stared at it for a few minutes, it gave the feeling of a huge painting on display before our eyes. How much care God must have given to create the colorful nature with different shades that refreshes our minds. There are no words to describe the beautiful golden sunset. When God created nature, He used His word. He sent a word to create it. Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.”Genesis1:24. But when He created us, human beings, He worked closely to create us. He used His own hands to make Adam out of clay. He gave His own breath, the breath of life, to make us living beings. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us". Genesis1:26. He definitely has a different plan for us than for nature. He wanted us to talk to Him, spend time with Him, and love Him. That is what He expected from Adam. God was walking in the Garden with Adam and talking with him. God yearns for our companionship. Before we fall into our everyday mundane activities, let us not forget that He has come to us to talk to us. Let us cherish God's word and talk to Him in prayer. He is the source of everything. In Him is everything we need. May we give ourselves a time when we walk with Him in His Garden. May our house be His Garden. Let God walk in it happily and talk with us. May our workplace be our Garden. May we let Him help and guide us as we start working. May we let Him be our beloved companion everywhere. Dear God, Thank You for Your presence in our lives. May we seek Your companionship all day and be filled with goodness throughout the day. May our souls rest in Your love and in Your guiding assurance. Hold our hands and talk to us, Lord. Open our eyes to see You lovingly holding us close to Your heart. In Jesus' name, I thank You. Amen.

We are called children of God. Romans 8:14 says, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." Parents are the ones who lead their children and teach them about the world. As God's children, we are being led by the Holy Spirit to walk in the light. "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light," says Ephesians 5:8. What are the deeds of light? These are the deeds of Christ, as described in Ephesians 5: a life of love, a life of sacrifice, free from sexual immorality, impurity, greed, foolish talk, or coarse jokes; not worshipping the things of the world; making no excuses for sin. Those who walk in the light produce only what is good and true. They expose the deeds of evil and do nothing ungodly in secret. No secret sin can stay in a believer's life, as everything will be exposed by the light within us. We must make use of every opportunity, understanding what the Lord wants and acting thoughtfully. We should avoid drinking habits, be filled with the Spirit, sing and make music to the Lord, and give thanks to God for all things. Dear God, thank you for guiding us in your light. Help us to rid our lives of every darkness. May we walk victoriously in your light and be a pleasing aroma unto you. May we be filled with your Spirit and your light. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Controlling our mind and keeping it focused is a huge task. When we sit to pray to the Lord, what thoughts rush towards us? Most of us can relate when I say it is about the people or needs around us. Bible reading time too cannot easily be spared from these attacks in our mind. But we all know and desire that we should think about God and adore Him with all our heart when we sit for prayer. Do you know what the Bible calls us when we are able to hear, take it to heart, and act accordingly without distractions from thinking or worrying about our problems? The Bible says we are seeds planted in good soil. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." says, Matthew 13:23. Good soil is something that doesn't have thorns in it. Thorns refer to the worries that come to our mind when we try to focus our attention on God to hear and do as He taught us. Thorns also refer to our attraction toward worldly pleasures and the luxurious life that we seek and dream to attain. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Matthew 13:22 May God help us to be good soil that can receive the seed (God's word) and bear fruit. May the Spirit of the Lord unite us in Him so that we feel one in Him when we pray to our Father in heaven. Dear God, Take away every thorn that distracts us and keeps us away from You. Whenever we seek You, may we find You with all our heart. May we produce fruit. Give us a heart and mind that adores You and remains in unity with You throughout the day. Fill us with Your grace to do so, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

When we love Jesus so much, we will find one way or another to tell others about Him. I remember a pastor telling of an incident where he found many street-cleaning women in the city early in the morning, dutifully cleaning the streets. He simply asked one of them whether he could pray for her. Hearing that, tears started to roll down from the woman's eyes. She shared her burden about her own son with him and requested prayer. God's compassion filled him, and he prayed for her, bringing comfort and hope to her soul. After sharing this incident, he added, "It is true that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9: 37,38. In the above verse, Jesus is not even asking the people to become harvesters. He is asking them to pray to God to raise them. We might not go to the streets and share about Him, but can we start by doing what Jesus did? May we ask the God of Heaven to send harvesters where there is plenty of work to do. Who knows, we might become one, but first, let us pray for it. Dear Father, Thank You for our country, for our cities, and for our villages. We bless everyone in our country. Let us all be filled with the knowledge of God and come to know Him, just as the waters cover the sea, cover us. May we, as a country, know the hope in You for eternity and to overcome everyday struggles in this life. Send the harvesters for the plentiful harvest in our beloved country. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I was surprised to see a shop where tiny vessels that little girls use to play were sold nearby our area. They had all sorts of vessels and equipment. When I saw a mixie and other items, I asked the seller whether they had a refrigerator. He showed me a double-doored one, but I asked for a small single-doored fridge that would have tiny bottles in it. He said, "Yes we have it" I told him I wanted a red-colored one. He was surprised at my detailed description and took it and gave it to me. I was able to describe everything because I owned one when I was a little girl, and a girl who visited our house stole it. I had no idea it was stolen until my mom said that the mother of that child asked if I had gifted it to her. We never got it back, and that was a stab to me at the time. I forgave and never mentioned it to her whenever she visited us. But when I got it back years later in this shop, I was thoroughly joyful because I got back what was mine. I got back what had been stolen from me. The Bible says, "David recovered all" in 1 Samuel 30: "And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them: David recovered all." Just before this happened, David and his men were exhausted from crying, but David strengthened himself in the Lord and looked unto God, who was able to give him back everything he had lost. The recovery was so complete that the Bible says, "David recovered all." Hey friend, are we in a situation where we have lost things? Has our joy, loved ones, assets, beauty, health, opportunity, dreams, our first love for God, physical or mental health or time been stolen from us? We have the God of David with us. Jesus died on a cross at the mountain of the skull, where David buried the head of Goliath. This can surely be considered a symbol: at the very place of David's victory, Jesus destroyed the one who steals and destroys, recovering all for us. Going back to the cross, to our God, is the answer to recover everything we've lost. David pursued the enemy to gain victory over them. Whether it's an exam, a job search, or learning a skill, let's not grow tired. It is not finished yet. Let’s not stop pursuing until we recover all the victory that has been stolen from us. When we are in Jesus, we shall recover all, with nothing left behind. Even if we forget about our stolen things, trust me God has not forgotten about it. He is giving back our things to us. Dear God, thank you for your power of restoration. We believe that you will recover everything we have lost in our lives that the enemy stole from us. We pursue what is ours in the name of Jesus and claim victory. Thank you for helping us get it all back. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

What will Jesus offer when we follow Him? Some say wealth, positions, or popularity. But here is how it is in the Bible. Matthew 8:23 says, "Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him." The disciples simply did as Jesus did. They entered the boat where Jesus stepped in. The next verse says, "And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves." The disciples must have expected a smooth voyage with Jesus in their boat, but what happened was the opposite. The situation was so intense that the waves not only surrounded the boat but also covered it. That must have been truly frightening and could make anyone feel helpless. Amidst all the confusion, it says that Jesus was asleep. When they called for help, He told them not to be fearful and taught them how to handle the waves that made them feel as though they would perish. Verse 26 goes like this: "He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea." The end result, as the Bible says, was that "there was a great calm." When we are in the middle of doubt, confusion, and fear that scares us, let's not be afraid or believe we are going to drown and perish in it. Instead, let us stand in faith, with the waters covering our feet, and rebuke them in Jesus' name. As we know, the winds and the sea must obey Him. Let us never forget that Jesus lives in us, even when we feel scared or depressed. Let us not ask, "Who is this?" but rather know who is inside us and rebuke that which instills fear in us. Hey friend, waves are often symbolic of troubles and confusions in our lives. The disciples had Jesus with them—they had someone who could calm the situation—yet they were afraid they would perish. Even when we know Jesus is with us, when we see and feel trouble around us, we let the power of Jesus, our strength, who can overcome the world, sleep within us. Let us always remember to rebuke the troubled thoughts that try to depress us, overcome the storm, and receive the calm from Him who is in us, before whom the wind and the waves will submit. Now let's ask ourselves what will we get when we follow Jesus? We get calm in the midst of strom. We get clarity in the midst of confusion around us. We don't have fear but faith. We do not perish but overcome! Dear God, we submit our troubles and confused minds into Your hands. Now, we rebuke the spirit of confusion that rises against us in Jesus' name. Thank You for Your powerful name, Lord. We subdue every thought against us in Jesus' name. Thank You for giving us calm. In Jesus' name, we thank You. Amen.

Are we in love with God's Word? I usually sit in a row where there are three chairs in the church, where my husband and I regularly sit near an old woman named Ruth. She is a frail lady. I know her name because she often asks me to write prayer requests for her on a piece of paper, with her name written in the top corner, which she then gives to the pastor to pray for. She frequently asks me to help her locate verses in the Bible whenever the pastor mentions one. I gladly do it for her. During worship, she celebrates God with all her heart. I have never seen her lift her hand halfway; she always stretches both hands fully toward heaven to praise God. I often feel ashamed when I worship God half-heartedly while standing next to her. She doesn't know how to read, but she keeps her Bible open during the sermon. This Sunday, she asked me to take notes for her by handing me a piece of paper. I took it and started noting down the Bible verses the pastor mentioned. After the sermon was over, I turned toward her to give her the sheet. What I saw put a big smile on my face. She had just kissed the Bible and held it close to her heart. It reminded me of the days when I used to do the same. Yet, here is someone who doesn't know how to read or write but loves God's Word with all her heart. The Bible says about God's Word: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11). My dad used to say the Word is Jesus. The verse says it is to be sowed, and it is to be eaten like bread. It is a word full of life and accomplishes God's purpose. When we have the Word inside us, we have a seed that grows. We have bread that satisfies our hunger. When it is in us, it accomplishes God's will in our lives. Hey friend, let's check our lives and love God's Word, adore it, and celebrate it like old Ruth Amma does. Dear God, Thank you for Your Word. May we sow it in our hearts. May we bear good fruit. May we eat it to satisfy our hunger. May we fall in love with the Word with all our hearts. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I was listening to the interview of a pastor on YouTube recently. He is a man known for his great faith. His messages usually have a motivating tone. In the middle of the interview, he said, "When I understood the meaning of prayer, I stopped asking God for my needs." That was a very strong statement. It took me a while to understand the meaning of it. But, after finishing the interview, I said to God, "God, you told me you are my dad. When my earthly dad was alive, I asked him for anything I needed. Now you are my dad, so no matter what prayer means, I am asking you for this and that." And to my surprise, God answered everything to encourage my little faith. It reminds me of Matthew 7:11, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him." But then God also revealed the meaning of prayer through the Lord's Prayer. In prayer, Jesus taught us to call God "Our Father," which means we are within the Son, going to the Father with the help of the Holy Spirit, and calling Him our Father. The prayer continues with God wanting us to think about His Kingdom, His work, and His mighty name before we present our list of needs to Him. This can be seen in the next verses: "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." After that, Jesus teaches us to pray not only for our own needs for food, but for everyone who calls Him Father to receive their food. This is evident in "Give us this day our daily bread." Again, we ask for forgiveness, which includes everyone who is His child, not just our favorite brother or sister. God's forgiveness is for all who trust in His name, as seen in the verse: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Finally, we ask for protection, and once more, we are reminded that His Kingdom is not far from us—we are part of it every day, whether we feel it or not. We are asked to end the prayer by glorifying His name. This gave me the revelation that prayers are meant for the whole community, not just for ourselves. God expects us to put others in need before Him in prayer, before presenting our own requests. After I understood that, during my prayer time, I began writing down all the prayer requests from friends and family before bringing my own. May we all understand and pray prayers that are a pleasing aroma in His presence. Dear God, thank you for your love for us. Help us to pray the prayers as you have taught us. Open our eyes to the wonders in the Lord's Prayer. Integrate the sense of the Lord's Prayer into our regular prayers. May you transform the way we pray, and may our prayers be a pleasing aroma to you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. (To have deep understanding of the above blog listen to the message of Dr. K.Muralidhar which he delivered in the All night prayer dated September 6@NLAG)

God knows how to approach people and where to meet them, to touch and change them. This can be clearly seen in the incident where Jesus met a Samaritan woman who had married and divorced many men in her past. It is commonly said that she went to the well at a time when she could not be seen by others. But Jesus wanted her to receive the transformation she longed for in her life, and He met her even when she tried not to be noticed. Jesus asked her the right questions. He knew she wanted to feel complete, she sought comfort in marriage after marriage, where only God could give her the peace, forgiveness, and redemption she needed. Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” in John 4:13 He met her, offered her the living water which will finally put a fullstop to her thirst and made an evangelist out of her. When she received the living water that is Jesus(the unconditional love of Jesus), she could not contain herself and went out to share the good news with others. Jesus can see through us. He can see our deep needs. He knows our longings and fills us with His unconditional love, which will heal everything we have gone through in the past. Hey friend, in life we see people around us who are trying to hide themselves from others for various reasons. Can we welcome them, converse with them, and give them the living water which will quench their thirst? Let us be ready to meet people in unexpected places, in unexpected conversations and offer Jesus to those with challenging pasts. May God use us and fill us with compassion to reach out to everyone we come across in this life of ours. Dear God, thank you for your love. Thank you for reaching out to us when we were in an unthinkable pit. Help us lift others as You did. Fill us with Your unconditional love. May our eyes find people who are hiding themselves from the light and share the good news with them. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

The Bible has instances where people made room for the Lord. The Ark of the Lord was placed in the house of Obed-Edom. There is an instance where a Shunammite woman made room for the prophet Elisha. In Genesis 26:22, Isaac says, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." I have seen people going through what Isaac went through in everyday life. There are instances in our lives where we are pushed from place to place by people for various reasons. Isaac simply departed whenever people stopped him from staying in a place. Your Enemy know you can only grow and be fruitful when you remain in a place. Whenever Isaac tried his hand at something, they (the Philistines) shooed him away. But God saw and gave him a space where no enemy could stop him from becoming fruitful in the land. None could stop Isaac when the Lord made room for him. Later, Abimelech came and tried to make peace with him. When God makes room for us, our enemies will have no power to push us away. They will have no option but to ask for peace. May the God of Isaac be with us in every injustice we have been through. None can stop our dreams and visions when God has made room for us. When God steps in, the barriers, envious eyes, intentions, and actions have no power over us or our work. Dear God, You are awesome in your deeds. You are the God who makes room for us to be fruitful. You are the God who answers the injustice done against us. Thank you for stepping in and making room for us. In Jesus' name, we thank you. Amen.

Happy Teacher's Day to every teacher who is shaping the minds of students out there. God has blessed me with a mom who is a Tamil teacher. My dad started his career as a drawing teacher. We are a family of teachers. I have seen my mom working at home; she used to rise early in the morning, finish her prayer, then get into the kitchen and complete all the work for the day. She gave me the feeling that she did it with ease. But when I grew up, I understood that working, praying, providing food for all, and doing it all effectively can never be easy. Happy Teacher's day to every teacher who are doing their best out there. All of us have come across many teachers and professors in our lives. I don't remember every lesson they taught or every lecture they gave, but I remember the lessons they taught with their lives. As students, we are attracted to our teachers for their brilliance in delivering knowledge, and we never forget those who showed us love and kindness.I remember my fifth standard teacher (Rani ma'am), who helped me stand on my feet after I fell. She stood with me for a few seconds and comforted me. I remember another teacher (Aruna athai) and a dear aunty who sent me birthday cards every year. I remember a social science teacher (Pandiyan sir), who made me fall in love with the subject. The list goes on and on. It is awesome to be an excellent teacher, but it is noble to be a kind one. Teachers' words have the power to empower a child or to break them down (these are very true lines). This is a delicate job. As much as I remember the kind teachers, some made an impact in other ways too. No one is perfect; no professional is perfect. My professors, on the other hand, deserve no word but the word "mother." I have seen them living a life of care, love, and inspiration. I am filled with gratitude for everything they taught me. I want to mention my dear sister in Christ, who was loved by all for who she is in her workplace. Her name is Victoria Jebarani. When I asked her the secret, she said, "Just pray before you enter the class, dear. That is the secret." Dear Teachers, in the midst of the problems we face every day in our homes and workplaces, how prayerful are we? Use this weapon to ease your work. May God help you in becoming a blessing to everyone around you. Dear Teachers, may God help us to be filled with His words, as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." With God's words, we can surely bring out the best in our students. May God give us wisdom to use it at the right time. Titus 2:7: "In every way, be an example of doing good deeds." Children watch our deeds more than our words and remember us for the lessons we teach with our lives. Be an excellent deliverer of the subject, and at the same time, may we also be an example in doing good deeds. Titus 2:8 says, "When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us." Children and our fellow teachers watch how we live our lives. May God help us to be honest and serious in our commitment to our job. We all remember some teachers who didn't prepare well. As students, we could sense where some teachers took their jobs seriously and others did not. May God protect us from falling into that category. Proverbs 21:11 says, "A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." More than anything, as teachers, we have the time, space, energy, and responsibility to refresh every person we come across on our campus. The gentle smile you give to a child, the kind response you give to coworkers, non-teaching staff, the bus drivers, the watchmen, can make your campus a beautiful place for everyone. Dear God, As teachers, help us to excel in our jobs. Give us grace to be kind to everyone we meet on campus. May we know when to use Your words to encourage those around us. May we bring a refreshing air wherever we go. Bless us, dear God, to create better individuals, better human beings, and better children who will bring joy to Your heart. We thank You for everyone who taught us. Bless them today and every day. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

God can use our broken dreams to build our future. I have always wanted to be a worship leader and sing praises to God. Being a literature student, I was expected to become an English teacher or professor. I followed that path because it was the easy option laid before me. God blessed me with a partner who loves books and was so proud that he married a literature person. People used to make fun of us, saying, "Your house is full of books more than anything else, and you should get rid of some." Amidst all this, I never imagined or dreamt of writing a book. But Ephesians 3:20 says, "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." God provided me with a salary to translate a book and publish it—something I would never have dreamt of in my wildest imaginations. God gave me a partner who understands the value of words when used for God and encouraged me to do so. Trust me, with my partner and my career, I always left my choices to God. Yesterday, my junior spoke with me and said she was reading a book about Don Moen called "God Will Make a Way." She told me how God led Don Moen to realize his calling, and she added more light to my own calling to serve Him. Hey friend, are you in a place where you are wondering, "What am I doing with my life?" Trust me, I have been through the same. But God has a great plan that is completely designed by Him for each of us, and it is greater than our dreams. We don't need to worry about anything as long as we commit ourselves to do His will. He is the God who made an evangelist out of a rebel like Paul. He is the God who brings out goodness where there seems to be no hope. I remember one of my professors who asked, "Do you even know English?" after reading my thesis. On that same day, God took me to my college chapel and said, "I think of you as a star, as a winner. Throw away the certificate the world gives you. March in your calling. Use what you have for God." God has led me to write His words, translate His words, and publish them as His literature, even though that one learned person considered me unworthy to write anything good. God writes history with what is broken in you. You are His masterpiece, says the Bible. Stay hopeful, my friend—God will finish what He started in you, through you. Praise be to our God, who does as in 1 Corinthians 1:27-31:"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. You are worth every ounce of energy you invest in yourself says Preethi Daniel a renowned social worker. Put your energy in shaping your skills. Give it to the one who multiplies it to feed thousands. Dear God, Reveal Your calling for each of us. May we march in Your calling by holding Your loving hands. Be with us, Lord, and glorify Your name in us. Give us a life of testimony. Shape our lives in a way that glorifies You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

What a fresh way to start a day early in the morning with birds chirping behind you. May the Lord carry us, protect us, and provide for us in this new month of September too. One of the beautiful stories in the Bible is how the Lord unites Isaac and Rebecca. I always believe that when we wait for the Lord and let Him have His way in our lives, especially in choosing a life partner, God miraculously unites those whom He has planned to bring together to fulfill His perfect will. I was reading Genesis 24:66, which says, "Isaac loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." I used to think that Rebecca, with her love, brought comfort to Isaac. But this verse is even more beautiful than that. It says Isaac was comforted when he married Rebecca and loved her. This verse just stunned me. When we go through grief, we feel a need to be comforted. Though Isaac was in a need to be loved and comforted,Isaac pursues Rebecca in love and finds his joy and comfort by loving first. In many instances, I have seen the love of Jesus compared with Isaac's love. Now I can see why. He loved more. For as 1 John 4:19 tells us, "We love because He first loved us." How great is the love of God towards us! May God give us a heart that loves more than it yearns to be loved. May our heart know it has been deeply loved by someone (God) first. Dear God, Thank you for loving us more, for loving us first. May you open our hearts to see, feel, and understand how deeply we are loved by you. Give us a heart that always pursues you with love. And may we be like Isaac in showing love to our spouse. May we love first. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

A man was walking a long distance. On his way, he saw many people. Each person who saw him carrying a sack put a stone inside it. He walked a little further and met another person who added another stone to his sack. This continued for a long time until, eventually, he became exhausted, unable to carry the burden any longer, and fell down. In the same way, in our Bible, Jesus Christ our Lord carried the cross and walked in pain. Researchers indicate that this walk could have lasted for more than an hour to three hours as Jesus stopped in many places. Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross, as stated in Matthew 27:32. It was not a willing help, yet he assisted as Jesus carried the cross. In our Christian walk, we are all carrying our own cross. Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Nothing in the Bible is a random act. Simon helping Jesus is there to teach us that we need to help each other with prayers, sharing, caring, and offering support in any way we can to carry each other's cross. It is meaningless to say, "Go carry your cross by yourself. Live, endure, suffer, and die." In any little way, if you can ease another person's burden, may God help you to do so in love. It may be simply listening to someone, praying with someone, giving verses of encouragement to them, talking someone through a difficult time, or buying someone what they need. Do the little things. Go along with them a bit further, lighten their burden. When we do so, Jesus will be watching and clapping for us. He knows the importance of the help you offer in easing a burdened person's load. Dear God, thank you for letting us learn about these beautiful Bible passages where we are taught about carrying each other's burdens. Help us to lighten the burden of our brothers and sisters in need. Surround us with people who align their lives with these words. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

How great it would be to have happy endings all the time in everything. We would be then thinking, "What a blessed life we have!" Wouldn't we? Playing treasure hunt is an interesting way to give a surprise gift to someone. I remember playing treasure hunt to wish one of my friends at our college hostel who is very dear to my heart. We saw the joy on her face once she found the surprise. Matthew 7:13 says, "Difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Finding eternal life is also like a treasure hunt. Amidst tough situations and difficult decisions, as we strive to please and fulfill the will of God, and make sacrifices to keep the word of the Lord, we find the treasure—life. Hey friend, it is not easy to live a holy life. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." But let us know that in giving up worldly pleasures, there is freedom. Hebrews 11:24-26 says, "It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of the king of Egypt’s daughter. He chose to suffer with God’s people instead of enjoying sin for a short time. He thought it was better to suffer for the Christ than to have all the treasures of Egypt because he was looking for God’s reward." What a life Moses lived! He dared to be different. He fought the waves by moving against them. May God strengthen us to do the same—to leave all the ungodly pleasures that seem harmless but are still vicious. May God help us to swim against the current. May we find life through our everyday choices. And may we never forget, in due time, God will reward us. Dear God, thank you for opening our eyes to see the beauty in the difficult path that is laid before us in our faith walk. May we make choices like Moses and be rewarded richly by you. May you guide us throughout the day. Amen.

Do you think anyone loves us more than our God? Absolutely no one. He cares about every detail of our lives. He is watching our conversations. He knows our thoughts. He understands how situations make us feel. He is our Creator who cares about our every move on earth. In the past few days, I thought of getting something I would like to buy for myself with the birthday money I received from my dear mom. My husband took me to all the shops, where he patiently waited for me to choose a gift. When I saw the baby shop, I told my husband we should get a baby dress for our promised-to-be-born daughter and son from God. We should buy a dress and pray with faith, keeping it as a symbol of our belief. When we were just trying to park our bike in front of the shop, the security man shooed us away, saying that the parking slot was for the car that was arriving. We saw the car and moved away from the place. We didn’t talk much about it with each other later. My heart did not desire any other gifts then. I returned home without buying any gifts for myself. My birthday came, and an unplanned meeting with a man of God happened in the morning. We received huge promises and prophecies from God. He blessed us with some cash and said, “You both should receive this. This is for the child whom God is going to give you. Buy whatever you want now and pray, keeping that in faith.” What a profound, well-planned moment (which I least expected) my loving God gave me. Psalms 139:1-6 You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. LORD, even before I say a word, you already know it. How could He not give any blessing to us? He is the God who listens to our prayers, our gentle whispers, even the thoughts we try to ignore so that we won’t feel hurt. He answers, heals, restores, understands, and cares to make you live with hope and joy. Hey friend, let’s utter words of faith in receiving the blessings we are waiting for. He is the Father of good gifts. None can encourage us in our faith journey more than our loving God. Dear God, Thank you for your love for us, which is beyond our understanding. Thank you for your comforting presence. Thank you for strengthening us in our tough times. What could we do but lift up your name high for the goodness you are showing to us? In Jesus’ name, we thank you dear Lord. Amen.

Have you ever gone out of your house in a rush and headed to school, college, work, or even for a casual outing without checking your appearance in front of a mirror? We don’t need to be someone who stands before the mirror applying makeup to be a person who is careful about their image. Just standing before the mirror will show us what needs to be corrected in our appearance. But the simplest and most magical thing about the mirror is that our reflection fades from our mind as quickly as we move away from it. The Bible is like a mirror, but it helps us correct our flaws. It fixes us permanently when we seek its wisdom every day. The Bible teaches, corrects, leads, counsels, appreciates, and prophesies. But when we read and don’t follow, we are like the person described in the following verse: “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” James1:23-27. If we don’t use this godly mirror properly, we may even try to fix others without fixing ourselves. Matthew 7:3-5 "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log..." "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye' while the log is in your own eye?. It's ok to correct our brothers. But let us do it with Love. We call that as ministry said Joshua J. Yestov in His beautiful morning message. May God help us and fill us with wisdom to be doers of the word. Someone said, “Be the change you want to see.” Instead of worrying, gossiping, watching critical videos about fellow brothers or sisters in Christ, or panicking about the future of the church, families, country, etc., may we look into the mirror and do what we can to correct ourselves. Let’s be the change we want to see in this little life of ours. Take your mirror, the Bible in hand and note down what needs to be corrected to correct our selves. Dear God, Help us not to worry about anyone’s life but ourselves first. Help us to read the Bible and be doers of it every day. Open our eyes to recognize the log in our eyes. May it never blur our vision. Remove everything that stands against your word in our lives. May we obey the voice of the Holy Spirit and be your beloved children who glorify your name. Guide us, Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

At one point or another, we must have wondered how industrious the woman of Proverbs 31 was. The usual thought shared about this wonderful woman is that she took care of her family well. I was listening to Pastor Gabriel Thomasraj, whose wisdom I always seek to understand the hidden treasures in the Bible. One point he made touched me deeply. It is about verse 19: "She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth," and verse 22: "She makes bedspreads and wears clothes of fine purple linen." My initial impression of the verses was that the woman was a hard worker. But the revelation went like this: It is true that she took care of others and even made winter clothes. She planned ahead. Most importantly, this wonderful woman made things for herself. She wore fine clothes. She not only kept herself busy for others but also took care of her own needs. Sometimes, we who want to be women after God's own heart neglect our own needs. We are determined to serve the best food for our loved ones, but are we doing it for ourselves too? We iron clothes and want our loved ones to look presentable in what they wear. Are we doing the same for ourselves, or are we choosing to wear old clothes throughout the day while being busy looking after others? Let's not stress ourselves or try to outdo this Proverbs 31 woman. Let's take care of our appearance, eating, and sleeping habits. Let's work on our skills, learn new things, and be productive in a meaningful way. Most importantly, let's take care of our relationship with God. We cannot ignore that this woman is praised not for her looks but for the fear of God she had in her. Let's align everything in our lives in order before we take care of others. The Proverbs 31 woman is as much about self-care as she is about caring for her household and loved ones. Be of good cheer, my friend. Each of us deserves better self-care. Take charge of your needs too. Be a wonderful daughter and mother, and also be good to yourself. Make it a practice to have innovative ideas that push you to take care of your needs. Keep a glass jar and write down the self-care activities you would like to give yourself. Pick up a chart and write a routine you want to follow to take care of yourself. Paste it in a place where you can see it often. Enjoy the process. Dear God, Thank you for your wonderful words. Give us wisdom in balancing taking care of ourselves and others. Help us to have an excellent spirit in facing our every day. Bless us with the fear of the Lord. Thank you for your encouraging words, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.