Prayer of a Believer

For a believer who walks with God, Prayer is more than just a practice, it is talking to a living, unseen omniscient God. Prayer is a profound experience in God’s presence characterized by Spiritual communion where not only we speak to Him, He speaks to our hearts, hence, Prayer becomes a natural response to EVERYTHING in life (good times, hard times and anytime) that is not defined by the hour of the day, or the day of the year.

I have learnt, for a believer, it is a naturalized communication, no, a naturalized communion, no matter what the circumstances. Though it can become difficult to pray at times due to distress in life, we become comforted by the hope in HIM through God’s provisions, to speak with Him by what becomes a natural communion. God's love and kindness shows His mercy on us, as written in the book of Titus. Although He is invisible now, yet, He is as real and powerful by HIS presence as He was to the Israelites in the wilderness, by being a visible spiritual pillar of fire by night and a visible cloud by day, in every situation in life (and of course for the certain beyond).

Titus 3:4-7 reads thus,

4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

The Great Escape from Fire and Tragedy

On the very first day of 2024, Japan faced one tragedy after the other! First, it was a 7.1 Earthquake without notice - this was of a natural cause but killed 62 people and the Second tragedy was one of grave human error - where 5 people of a Japanese Coast Guard Plane, who were taking relief supplies to the survivors of the earthquake, were tragically killed when a Japan airlines plane crashed on it while landing. 

Life is not only fragile but it is also shockingly snuffed out without notice. While remembering the loss of human life and thinking of the earthquake affected people who lost their homes, belongings and everything they had till moments earlier, now stand alone - and then the entire crew and passengers of Japan airlines, which crashed on to the Coast Guard plane, survived in 18 minutes after the aircraft caught fire while landing is a reminder to all of us, that indeed, life is more valuable than things - anything! All the passengers left the plane unharmed, as is, not carrying anything with them except the clothes they had on. 

As intensely terrifying these events are, we can be left hopeless if we value things more than life. For the survivors, leaving everything they carried in the plane, meant nothing, when their lives which is more precious was spared in a matter of a few minutes. So, if this life which is here today and gone tomorrow is so precious, we certainly have to pause and think of what we should do to save our souls which never dies. It is eternal. There are just two places it can be for life. Heaven or the Lake of Fire.

If we can get out of a burning plane in under 18 minutes just to save our lives, how much time would we need to take to save our souls from the Lake of Fire in which it has to live eternally. This is something we all can act on (Romans 10:9). Needs no better lesson.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9

JD

Abide With Me

What should we not miss about such a touching song. The Biblical link is found in Luke 24:29 when the disciples asked Jesus to abide with them when it was late in the evening. It was Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite song and was played every Republic Day in India during Beating the Retreat ceremony till the right wing Hindu extremist Government in India removed it in Jan 2022. Just another sign of the shift of power and power of evil in end times. 

The powerful words of prayer in the hymn was penned by Vicar Henry Francis Lyte, in context of his emotional state when he needed God’s strength while he was visiting his dying friend William Augustus Le Hunte in the early 19th century, that he repeated the phrase “abide with me”. Lyte wrote the hymn in 1820, that has since been played in Churches especially during weddings and funerals, and especially during tough times and national remembrances of history in the background of a struggle such as in India.

May we never forget to pray to our Lord and King reigning in Majesty and say, "Abide With Me".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXYGAEwQaY

Turbulence

Turbulence

An ocean when turbulent, shows its fury with white foamy crests

A river when turbulent, flows with a roar of a thousand voices

A lake when turbulent, exposes its muck from decaying loose sediments

A pond when turbulent, cannot be worse, unless someone tends.

Turbulence in water reveals its nature,

Reveals what it is made of, and what it is capable of,

Turbulence in human hearts and minds, mature or immature, 

Reveals a person’s true character, morals and anchor -

The things we are all made for and made of.

- An original piece of poetry by Jason David

Fine line

In today's post-modern Christian world, there have been several changes to what we sometimes refer to as traditional. Worship style, songs, prayer, gesturing, etc. Sometimes it makes you wonder, if it is this inherent conflict between "traditional" and "contemporary" that is the primary reason why new church denominations come about. But my blog post today is not about why new denominations emerge, rather to look at what this means to the mindset of people and whether it gives people some freedom to bend the biblical compass.

Many clergy and lay leaders have changed with times in approaching Bible. It is important we talk anything with context moreso, the holy book of our faith, the Bible. Several newer leaders have forgotten the meaning of missionaryship when they reach positions of power within a christian organizational setting. What they do is quite often in contrast to what they preach. They are not held accountable to their lifestyle in Christ's body. There is a little wink-wink between pastors, leaders and the top brass. This is the fine line I am talking about. I think the answer to this issue is to have a mature leadership with old fashioned christian stewardship. This is definitely in short supply.



 

Do Christians have low IQ? run on "empty"?

Christians can sometimes be looked at as naive or dumb individuals based on their body language when their actions come out of  true love and submission. Sometimes I ask myself, can selfless acts run in parallel to rational and intelligent thinking. Those acts can make them look like almost baby-like, so innocent and naive. It could almost appear that they let their brains turn off and behave in a way that is a "christian group setting" think and do! There is perhaps security in such a setting which makes one "cozy" in each other's safe company. This kind of safe setting is found in church services, prayer time, worship, etc.

After careful thought I realized, this naivety stems from a greater intelligent, rational and balanced thinking. And also from the fact that there is limit to human capacity, and the realization that we are weak individuals. Its probably divine design that when we become so naive and even dumb, we become tender and when we become tender in the church environment, its the most fertile time to let the Spirit of God into your heart and mind. In our weakest moment, we can be made whole again. This refilling is required and does not happen in self isolation but happens in church congregation and worship. I have to also add, after careful thought, I realized that Christians use their IQ well, submit themselves to only God, humble themselves among people and are filled to do what God intends to do with them and give Him the glory for everything. Dumbness means tenderness just for one reason, to let God's Spirit to fill us, because we sometimes run too long on "empty".

What is Theology?

Many times we are led to understand the term "Theology" from a seminary point of view. Therefore the definition may be explained as a study of God or religion. This could sometimes be very difficult to wrap around for some groups of people. In fact, its not as complicated or abstract or academic as it is made out to be. Think about this - the mix of mystery and reality is what comprises Theology! I gave this idea a long thought and dissected it in many different ways and I thought the definition couldn't be explained better. If you disagree send me a note explaining why you don't agree. I would like to hear from you.

Words

Words we speak at home are probably the best yard stick for who we are and what our true character is. In public, we almost always try to be our best for others! Isn't that true with all of us. If we use wholesome talk or atleast practice it at home, there is a very good chance the habit will stick with us for a lifetime. Ephesians 4: 25- 5:2 is a great passage to edify us on this front.

Loved this Quote

Came across this, being re-quoted by someone who was in news recently....

"There is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future."

I believe it is an original quote by St.Augustine of Hippo.

Marriage

I heard the other day someone saying that went something like this.... "marriage is like doing a Ph.D. about relationship with your spouse as the study subject". That did really resonate quite intensely with me. In spite of the breadth and length of the "study" you will never still completely understand the subject you are studying. That's the irony. But the good news is, there will be no subject you can master.

Anyway, what will anyone end up finding new or a lesson that will be learnt in the "Ph.D." called marriage? Well, for one and perhaps the biggest one, "Compromise". Put in another way, its the answer to know where your boundaries with regard to your spouse are. I have always found that this is a moving target most marriages are searching constantly. But they get disguised with things such as ego, fear, anger, complexes, chauvinism, etc. If one can master the lesson quickly, better the success rate of marriages. If its slower, it can lead to many aspects of family deficiency, and in serious cases can even lead to break-downs and crimes.

The formula to put compromise into action is the four letter word that the Bible is all about.....LOVE. It can be hard sometimes if its just stemming out of the temporary burst of infatuation, but luckily, real love can be learnt by practice.

Identity

What is your identity? Who do you want yourself to be identified with or by or what? Generally the forces of society makes you identify with one or the other although you may not genuinely agree with everything that the culture or person stands for. But that's what life is all about and as a result culture and society constantly evolve.

The other day I had an earful from our very gifted and pragmatic pastor Rich Nathan about a Christian's identity. I have always thought by separating people by their country and origins you weaken humanity as a whole but seemingly strengthen an identified intended group. More stronger the division, more negativity of comparisons, maddening race to supremacy, resentment, disagreement, hate, etc. grow. There is still no one who has shown or written how this problem can be addressed. I dabble with the idea of global citizenship which many have spoken about but does not appear to have traction as it does not address issues of patriotism, treason, loyalty, backstabbing, and so on. In this context, the pastor's thoughts were quite nice to think about. He talked about primary identity being one that hinges on the fundamental nature of us being God's children. One of the benefits to that to the mostly distraught human beings that we have known to be is to be hope-filled in a depressing world.

Success and Failure

Ask God for strength of faith every time you pray. Strength comes only from God. Praise and glorify Him for your every success. Say, if you are given credit by people for something you did, you need to tell them that it was not you, but God through you was the reason for your success. Its hard but  admitting the power within you, which is God. You may realize this when it produces a good steady state or sometimes a catapulting powerful effect on your being and your future successes.

For failures, when it happens, be thoughtful of the Biblical person Job. He never gives up praying. Pray and keep on praying, even if it takes several decades, because God answers, even if it is something you become unable to pray for. Failure can lead to making you work harder towards what has been elusive. Setback is a set-up for a come back.  There is nothing sweeter than when your hard work mixed with perseverence, got from the strength of prayer, produces success and success beyond measure.

Coal or Him

When Jesus walked this planet, there was no electricity. People still used fuel. Wood to cook food perhaps. Oil to light up their houses and other places. Coal which is a popular and the most used fuel in the modern world for producing electricity was available then but people were ignorant of its existence or knew nothing of its practical uses or both. I wonder why Jesus, whose Father created this Earth, and by that token Jesus would have known about the existence of this black mineral in Earth, did not tell the people then about this mineral and its possible potential of how it could possibly transform their lives, as it has in modern times. Don't you think Jesus should have let His people know?

Well, there are probably more reasons than I can think of as to why Jesus would not have attempted to do let His people know. First, He was not here in Earth to let people know what was in the Earth, but to tell people what was in Heaven. Second, things in Earth are for people to see, discover and use. But telling of things of Heaven, which people cannot see made more sense. People, generally, by nature would not believe anything they cannot see, even if it was told by the Son of God whose Father created it all. Moreover, his emphasis on the Heaven than Earth can be best summarized when he said, that things of the Earth will pass away, but His word by which God himself would not.

Isn't what will not pass away more precious than the black mineral we rely on for our lifestyle today? By the way there are more people in this world who don't have proper power supply than those who do. The irony is, there are probably more treasures that we may still discover in this world, and many more we may never be able to discover and tap into, but I am glad that I have what I can claim to never pass away. What about you?

Book review "God and Evolution" edited by Jay Richards

A recently published book edited by a renowned author Jay Richards and contributed by more than four eminent authors titled "God and Evolution" looks at the angle of evolution through the eyes of Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. This is a very interesting and thought provoking book to say the least. Its a must read for every church going Christian and also for the pastors and priests who preaches to them.

Jay Richards is a very intelligent and articulate communicator, and the book will be a very interesting read for anyone interested on the idea of "marrying" evolution and creation.

All saints die!

Saints! What a word man has created and how nicely it has become to be a word of value when attributed to a finite human being. Who is a saint? A person without corruption. In today's world do we not see innumerable self proclaiming saints? Are they really saints? They apparently are - for some...in fact for many hapless people.

Saints are revered in countries like India because people find an answer to a problem they face through their teaching or a certain religious practice which focuses one's mind. Thereafter they just follow the saints blindly. Saints also heal people of diseases, protect from accidents, etc. at least so they say. But here is the thing.....why can't saints heal themselves or prevent themselves from harm? This tells that saints are just humans as we are and all humans die, so do saints. Saints are just as infallible like humans be it Sai Baba from Puttaparthi or Mother Teresa from Calcutta. Hope this truth percolates deep into the human understanding.

One more thing, Easter is the day Christian believers celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection from the death. That is the same day a "saint" (in Sai Baba) died  and to me it tells a powerful narrative. Worship worthy God rose from the dead, and "Saints" die....sometimes on the same day! 

Reliability and Independence

Its been a while! Not that I have not had thoughts or ideas that I wanted to share. But just wasn't able to blog due to a handful of other things that demanded more of my focus and attention. But that's in the past now.

This one is a simple thought. Does our trust in God create a sense of dependence or independence?

Normally when we trust someone or something, we expect in all probability that, that person or thing will deliver what is expected of it. Let me give an example, if I take my well maintained car for a long drive, I start out with a trust that my car will be reliable enough to complete the demanding  trip without breaking down on the way. It gives me a sense of independence and lets me think about other activities I may plan during the trip. That is independence to me due to my car's reliability. Should God's reliability give me independence? OR more dependence on HIM?

I can see a smile on your face on reading this tricky question. Abundance of money affords a great flexibility and independence in life and no question about that. Most of us well realize money is just a means to the end and not an end in itself. What is the true end then? Worldly "stuff"? or stuff that puts your focus always on God? Love and peace cannot be bought with any amount of $$$$, fortunately. There is only one source for these valuable possessions in this difficult world. A source which is unending and everlasting. That to me makes me so dependent on God and not independent of God. So, trust in God makes me more dependent on HIM because of his RELIABILITY. What do you think?

Another Poem by this amazing boy Mattie

Future Reminiscing


It is good

To have a past

That is pleasant

To reflect upon.

Take care

To create

Such a gift

For your future.



December 25, 2000

© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

http://www.mattieonline.com/about.htm

This poem is by a 10 year old kid, who died because of a rare genetic form of muscular dystropy, is inspiring!

We need to stop.


Just stop.

Stop for a moment.

Before anybody

Says or does anything

That may hurt anyone else.

We need to be silent.

Just silent.

Silent for a moment.

Before we forever lose

The blessing of songs

That grow in our hearts.

We need to notice.

Just notice.

Notice for a moment.

Before the future slips away

Into ashes and dust of humility.

Stop, be silent, and notice.

In so many ways, we are the same.

Our differences are unique treasures.

We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts

To nurture, to offer, to accept.

We need to be.

Just be.

Be for a moment.

Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,

Like children and lambs,

Never judging or vengeful

Like the judging and vengeful.

And now, let us pray,

Differently, yet together,

Before there is no earth, no life,

No chance for peace.



September 11, 2001

© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek


P.S.
I am reading more about this truly amazing boy Mattie; I heard one of his recorded interviews today on the radio and was truly moved. Hope it does for you too.

Time for a riddle!

Not a word is spoken, but everyone understands,
No one hears, but they communicate...
What can it be?

Answer: TJHO MBOHVBHF
(Clue: Put together one letter preceding each letter in the answer for the right answer.)

Is there an Adam and Eve in your family?

Normally indulgence is self driven. But sometimes its driven by others. Especially in a family, if its another person who lead you to indulge, it is the spouse. When we fall in a trap - sin trap, there is always a reason or a person behind it. It may not be even true but we easily find a scapegoat. Rarely we own or take responsibility. If its true that the spouse was the reason the actual blame should go to the person who acted on the motivation to indulge. This is what I like to call the 'Adam and Eve syndrome'. Is there a Adam and Eve syndrome in your family?