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Today morning I was reading through the the book of 'Acts of the Apostles' in the Bible. And as I was reading, one verse just touched my heart so powerfully, that I couldn't resist sharing it here.

These words that proceeded from the mouth of God lay the foundation stones for salvation to the Gentiles; to you and I.

In Acts 11, Peter is rehearsing the events that just took place to the rest of the disciples, and as he relates how God showed him a vision of a sheet with all kinds of animals. As the voice from heaven asked him to arise, kill and eat, he answered back - "Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth".

But the Voice answered him again from heaven, saying "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common."

God said this to Peter for you and I. What God has cleansed, no one can call common. What God has cleansed, no one can call unclean. And most importantly, what God has cleansed, we ourselves cannot call unclean.

Brothers and sisters, God has extended salvation to us, Gentiles - People who were not called as a chosen people, are now a chosen generation. All this, just because of the redemptive act of Jesus on the cross. And God has cleansed us. God has extended His mercies to us. He's adopted us as His own children, given us the right to be called the 'children of God'. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation unto our God. He is our Daddy and we are His children.

And when the accuser of the brethren comes, reminding you of your past sins, just tell him to his face - "What God has cleansed, that call not thou common or unclean!"
God bless you!

The passage of 1 Kings 17 is amazing.. and there's a ray of hope tucked in there, for all of us. Let's explore it...

Elijah says to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." I want you to notice the confidence Elijah had in the Lord His God. He knew exactly whom he served, and he knew Who His God is. He also knew, that the LORD is trustworthy, and "heaven and earth may pass away, but the Word of the LORD shall remain".

When we serve God, we must know Who we're serving. He's not just anybody, He is God!! He's is true, just, awesome. Think about it.

As we see, after procaliming the Word of God, Elijah is directed by the LORD to a ravine, where He has "ordered the ravens to feed him" [1 Kin 17:4] and where he can also drink from the brook. I am sure, as the rain didn't come, Elijah must have noticed the brook drying up. THe Word says, "Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land"[verse 7] When I look back, I can see some situations, where God has made me go through it as well.  Times, when I could see, that my resources (the Very resources provided by God) were drying up... However, God actually always makes me wait, till the brook is completely dry, before He shows me where to go from there. And He did the same for Elijah. Elijah had to wait there till the brook dried up, and then God told him where to go next.

When GOd finally did tell him where to go, lo and behold! The directions were towards a widow!! Why a widow of all people? Were widows very well-to-do financially? Of course not..!

However. Elijah went there in full confidence, that she would have enough, because God had spoken. And God cannot lie.[Heb 6:18]On reaching there, as probably expected, the widow had nothing at home to offer him. She had only a "handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug" [verse 12] Surely, a widow, who served God, must have been disheartened, that she couldn't serve a man of God, when he asked her to. We all are inadequate at some point or the other, and mostly at the time when God calls us. We feel there is nothing to offer. We feel we can't do it. But I remember a saying from one of the preachers Ifirst heard "If you're equipped for it, then its not God's calling for you". And its true. So that we may never boast in our abilities, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when we feel inadequate, then the Lord says, as Elijah said to the widow...."Don't be afraid"[verse 13] And then comes the promise, "'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land"[verse 14]

And when we do what God asks us to, surely, God keeps His part.. as we can see "For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah"[verse 16]

So,I want to tell you, if you feel you don't have what it takes.. Just trust in the LORD. If He's called you, He will also provide all that you need to fulfill the calling.

May the LORD bless you!

Once upon a time, there lived a young boy in a village. (I love beginning stories with 'Once upon a time...')

The little boy had never been to the city and he had no idea about the lovely things you could buy there. Deep inside his heart was the desire to buy a big cycle and ride it all around his village. But he did not know where to get it.

Once a huge city fair came to his village. There were different kinds of acts, hoola-hoops, the trapeze, elephants that did tricks, lions that walked and roared according to the command of their trainers...! He was so excited!

So, he saved up on the money he got for lunch and took the money to the fair to see if he could get a cycle there... the kind that the fair riders rode upon!

As he walked into the hustle-bustle, the fun, the frolic... He saw these big tents into which people walked in, and came out laughing! He too walked into a few, and enjoyed the acts that he saw in there. It was all fun till he reached the biggest tent he'd ever seen! He saw all dignitaries and well known people walking into it, and felt shy to walk in. He wondered what was inside it, but alas! He'd finished all his money to go into the little tents, and so could not dream of walking in and discovering what was inside! He was also mesmerized by the beauty on the faces of those who came out of the tent.. And was sad!

As he was walking around, he heard a whisper.. "Walk in! Your ticket's been paid for!" But he assumed that was being spoken to someone else. A little way on, he heard it again! "Walk in! Your ticket's been paid for!" And again he ignored it. After sometime, he heard another whisper.. "Don't waste time! The fair's leaving today evening, and it will never come back! Just walk in...! Don't worry about the consequences!" But he felt pressurized into walking into the tent, and stubbornly refused, and walked out, never to return to the fair again

When the fair was gone, the little boy saw his friend from the village riding along on the same bike which was his dream!! And he went over to his friend and asked, "Where did you get this??!!" And the little boy answered, "Oh that huge tent in the fair!! That was amazing! Somebody had paid for all the people in this village to be able to enter for free! And whoever went in, found whatever was their heart's deepest desire! So I got this bike! Isn't it a beauty??"

Isn't this what happens to those who refuse to accept the greatest gift, the death of Christ on the cross and His salvation for us. They choose to refuse to accept that it is for them too! Not just for the Christians! We all can be forgiven and loved by God if we opened the door of our hearts to let Him in...

Jesus says, in Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

"Precious Lord, Reveal Your heart to me..."

If God were to reveal His heart to me, I believe my whole life would go topsy-turvy. I would probably be completely transformed, maybe even ruined. But I believe, the complete ruin can be the way to a molding that has eternal rewards. No wonder, Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am undone !"

And no wonder God says, "No one shall see the face of God and live"

But I still want to know His heart, I want to see His face and know His ways. I want to be completely ruined so that I can be completely like Jesus.

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The last chapter in the book of Habakkuk has these beautiful lines, that say --

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

One day as I was reading these lines, a thought crossed my mind. We must REALLY trust the Lord, to be able to say what the prophet had just said. And I have no doubt that he really meant what he's written here.

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine. Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food.Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls" The prophet literally means, that even though there be no food to eat, and ALL our labor goes in VAIN... We will still bless the Lord!

It has a resemblance to the sentiment of Job presented earlier in the Bible, when Job said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." [Job1:21]

To be able to bless the name of God, and to laugh in the face of adversity, requires pure and simple - T-R-U-S-T.
How difficult would it be, to wake up one morning,and realize, that all our labor has been destroyed the previous night, while we were sleeping, and then say, "Praise the Lord"!!! Oh, but its that kind of reckless faith, that God wants! He expects it.

I've just been going through a rather rough patch, and I've been talking to God. Spent sometime simply crying, saying, "Lord why? Why does it have to be so difficult?" But then I'm reminded of one saying, "If God NEVER again does ANYTHING for you, in your WHOLE life.. You still have reason enough to praise Him. Because He's saved you from an eternity of misery."

The last three lines make sense in the face of troubles and trials. Let us read them again -
"The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills."

God doesn't promise to remove the problems...! He simply promises to be our strength when we're in trouble. The LORD God is my ''strength''.

God doesn't promise to make the roads flat and easy to walk on. He simply promises to give us the kind of feet we require to scale those steep roads. He's making our feet like hind's feet, and setting them on our high places. He doesn't want to make scardey-cats out of us, He's making warriors out of us. He doesn't always remove our problems, though He can! He is well able to deliver us, but even if He doesn't....its ok. We will still not bow down before our troubles, but will magnify the name of our God. [Daniel 3:17-18]

I know the road is rocky at times, just wanted to remind you.. Stick on. God is able to deliver, and He will. In His time, He will hasten it, He's promised that.