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.

The heinous amount of violence that has disrupted life in Orissa has shocked me to the core. It is amazing to see that the media sources which have all the time in the world to post stories on Saif and Kareena, could ignore this massive massacre for such a long time. Reports say that thousands of Christian homes have been burnt down, around 30 churches have been destroyed and many many killed, or should I say 'brutally murdered'.

"Is this not terrorism?" said an e-mail I received recently. True, this is exactly that - Terrorism.

Brothers and sisters, it shocked me to the core to see the pictures that I have received through e-mail of the burnt bodies and homes. Many children have lost the comfort of their small homes, and are eating on roads, in order to survive. Women and children have been killed.

I just want to say, in the time when our blood boils to see the situation in Orissa, let us put on Christ. In the midst of this situation, let us put on our dear Lord, and pray for those who are suffering. But let us not forget to pray for those who've committed grave sin in the eyes of our Lord.

Paul says in Romans 8, that these present sufferings are not worthy of being compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. So no matter how much these dear brothers and sisters have suffered here on earth, there are great mansions and much glory awaits them in heaven. But what about those who are instrumental in killing so many? Let us not ignore their great spiritual poverty, and let us continue to pray for them too. They certainly need deliverance more than those who already know Jesus.

God bless.

A few days ago, while I was praying, I had this conversation with God, which was so simple and yet so profound... that I couldn't help but post it here. Hope its an encouragement to you all.

Here goes --

I : What am I created for?
God : To worship the Father.

I : What should I do here on earth?
God : Worship God and love people.

I : Is it as simple as that?
God : Yes

I : Then why is it so difficult for me to love people?
God : Because you don't let go of the sins that are forgiven. Your sins are as far from you as the east is from the west. Don't let your past affect your future.

I : And I should just trust You....
God : Yes

I : You really love me, don't You?
God : Yes, with all My heart.

I : Thank You Lord. You're my Best Friend :)

God is looking for people who will seek Him with their all. Is there anyone who wants God, so much that they'd rather die than be without Him? Such are the people God is looking for.

Are you sold out for Christ? Do you realise how much you're worth? You're as costly as the blood of Christ!
Blood if life... And God bought you with the blood of the Life-Giver, Christ Jesus Himself. You are princes and princesses, children of the Living God, the King! Know who you are...!

Who are you? Who is Christ to you? Who are you in Him? Stop treating yourself as dirt. You were not bought with the corruptible riches of this world, but with the precious blood of Christ.

Even a vessel used for storing water can be an instrument of God's miraculous power; you might turn out to be the vessel whose water is turned into wine. You just need to be available.

Not 'able'; just 'available'.

Wait....! Hold it...! That's the only way to renew your strength. To not faint, to continue to run.. you must wait.

What is it about the Lord that is most reassuring? It is the fact that He never never changes. That's why He is called the ROCK. The ROCK is stable, and is not washed away like the sand. A house built on the ROCK will never be blown off with the wind, neither will the floods rise and be able to wash it away, nor will the rains destroy it. Because the solid foundation of the Unchanging is the strongest foundation possible for ANYTHING.

This is something that the Lord has revealed to me. But there's more to it than just the revelation. Action!

If you want to be a leader in God's kingdom, you have to be like Jesus. You have to be stable. You have to learn to be dependable and trustworthy in God's kingdom. Through thick and thin, you have to learn to be as He is. No matter what we do, God is always the same to us, always merciful, always good, always slow to anger and abounding in mercy. But we are the most fickle, blown off by the weakest of storms in life, the most unstable and undependable. This applies to me as well. But, if we continue to be like this, it will never be a surprise to see ourselves at the sidelines all our life. We will never get to the high places, unless we learn to depend on the Lord and unless we become dependable ourselves. How could God possibly use us to lead others, when we ourselves are struggling to stand on our own two feet?

This is not just food for thought, its something major, that we ALL need to work on. And this can only happen when we confess our weakness before God and allow His Spirit to change us on the inside and make us more like Jesus. I also learnt from a friend of mine, that its a different thing to say, "Lord I have little wisdom", and its very different and rather difficult to accept and say, " Lord I have no wisdom". The Lord can only fill those who empty themselves. Those who are full of themselves will never be filled, simply because there is no space in them to be filled.

After all, it is not without cause that the Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". Oswald Chambers puts it this way - 'blessed are the paupers in spirit...'
Makes sense.

Think about it...

"I will bring you out from your cruel hard labour. I will rescue you from slavery. I will buy you back, with great acts that will amaze you. I will adopt you, and you will be mine. I will bring you to that lovely, beautiful and plentiful place where you've always wanted to live. "

Wow, that sounds like a great promise to make to someone who's been beaten till she's lost all her hopes of ever escaping. She's been troubled, stripped and made to work till her back is almost broken. Her grief knows no end. Throughout her life, she's cried out for help and no one answered. She's so discouraged, that she doesn't know where to turn. Even a word of hope seems to be too much to ask, and indeed, she has no hopes of hearing anything hopeful anymore. How terribly heartbreaking. And when she finally hears the words of hope from some funny man who calls himself the messenger of the Redeemer, she doesn't even listen -- because she was beaten down in her slavery and hard labour.[Exodus 6:9]
Indeed, discouragement and cruel bondage had had their toll on Israel. No wonder, when Israel finally heard its LORD, YAHWEH calling out to His children and saying, "I will redeem you, I will rescue you from slavery." It seemed to be a cruel joke. Did she not cry out to God all those years that she was in bondage? Would God indeed come NOW..when the chapter seems to almost be over. NOW..when there was indeed no way they could escape from Egypt. NOW..that Pharaoh had increased their workload and things seemed to just have worsened ever since they listened to this man who called himself the messenger of "I AM THAT I AM" !! Incredulous... But true nonetheless.
God did come to rescue His beloved Israel. With great and mighty works of judgement, God intervened. Exodus chapter 3 says clearly, that God Himself confesses, that He has SEEN the affliction of Israel, He HEARS their cry for deliverance and He KNOWS their pain. How intimately the Lord is acquainted with all our ways!
Why He must wait till there seems to be no way out, I don't understand. Why did He wait when Lazarus was dying, and come to give hope only after he had rot in the grave four days, I don't know. But I know that He came. And I know that He came to save Israel, and He always comes when He says so. He has never deserted anyone, and never will. "If we believe not, yet he abides faithful: he cannot deny himself." [2 Timothy 2:13]
Praise the Lord for His everlasting faithfulness and most gracious mercies that are made evident every morning. Glory to His name forevermore, because He is worthy of our praises.

When the Light of the world steps in, there's no room for darkness to stay. Of course, when light comes, all that is hidden is exposed. And all the muck is visible. But of course, Jesus doesn't embarrass us by showing us all the muck, our sins, our shameful thoughts and intents of the heart.

In fact,I see the Lord..On His fours, leaning down and cleaning all our sins with His bloody hands. Lo! He is weeping. He is weeping at how I've corrupted His beautiful creation. The one He lovingly formed in the mother's womb. He's weeping..... he's washing my feet!

Hallelujah, that His love has defeated the strongest of His foes..! He's scattered satan and his allies, and bought me back.

What happens next..? I fall flat on my face, worshipping Him...

I will sing of my Redeemer,
Lift my voice to praise my Lord
Ransomed by His blood and mercy
I am His forever more

Today is one of those days, when I do not really know what I am going to write... But I know a burden lies on my heart, and I must let it out. I must share it with those who might need to hear it today.

When we begin to walk with God, we learn to come close to Him, and to love Him as a friend. Slowly He becomes one of our closest friends. We learn to come to Him with all the numerous things that happen in our life. However, oft we have been found yet wanting when it comes to depending on Him alone... We often need to go to someone else even though God has taken the burden from us. I am not trying to say, that we do not need friends to talk to, but I am talking about coming to that place, where God is enough.

I am also yet to come to that place, where I would find God to be enough when it comes to my struggles, my trials. I remember in the book, "The Hiding Place" written by Corrie Ten Boom.. She mentions the time when she was at the concentration camp, and she hears that her father is no more. In her desperation, she runs to the door of her tiny cell, and blurts out her grief to the officer passing her door. However, she does not find any of the comfort she was looking for, and instead she finds scorn. When she thinks back in the next second, she realizes that she should have gone to her Ever Present Help in time of need! And she asks God to forgive her, that she went to someone else when God was there to listen to her, and the Comforter was right there to comfort her.

There is surely a place in life, when we are to "Tell no man....." as Jesus spoke to the disciples who saw Him transfigured at the mount.[Mark 9:9]
"But so many of us tell..." (That's how Oswald Chambers puts it)

I believe the first step we all need to take, in our faith walk, is to realise, that God is more real than any friend of ours, than the man/woman sitting to your left or right at this moment. And if God is really that real, then He is sufficient. After all, His grace is sufficient for us. So many of us do tell what we saw at the mount of transfiguration.

Let us cultivate the discipline of learning in silence, depending on the Unshakable, the Immovable, Eternal, Unchanging, the only reliable Friend.

Utter hopelessness hits when I see my sinful self. When I look at my own self and am compelled to say, 'The things that I know I ought not to do, I end up doing. And the very things I know I should, I don't do." In all this, I know I cannot please God, not in m flesh, not in my deeds.

"For to be carnally minded is death.."[Rom8:6] "Because the carnal mind is enmity with God.."[Rom8:7]

NOW what do I do?? For I know that at numerous occasions, I have allowed my carnal mind to take over me. I 'know' that to please God, I must live by the Spirit, walk, talk, think...by the Spirit. but who knows better than 'me', that I fail Him most miserably in this very thing?

What then should I do? What should I do Lord?

"And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you", says Paul.

Sin has wages you know -- you EARN something out of it -- Death.

But God gives you not what you deserve, instead He gives you what you do not deserve!! "For if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Christ Jesus." What then should I do?

"Do not fear" .. Why? "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption though whom we cry, 'Abba, Father' ". All praises be to God.

Are you getting my point? This war between the members will always be there. Salvation to us is freedom from the effects of sin (relating to the past), from the power of sin(relating to the present) and the presence of sin(relating to the future). Though we see not this deliverance from sin completely in this life, we are waiting... to be made free. While this may cause us to feel sad that we're grieving God so many times by doing exactly what we want NOT to do, that should not and cannot stop us from getting up and walking again.. For that is what God desires of us. Get up and walk says God!! Get up and Walk...! Be satisfied as long as you're able to get up and walk.

Love that song..

"I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I'll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee."

Samson was an amazing man of God, a Nazarite, set apart for God from his birth. He had an amazing calling on his life, to start the process of freeing Israel from the clutches of the Philistines. This man's life is quite an irony.

And I want to share how he betrayed his calling, so that we all do not repeat his mistake.
Samson fell in love with a lovely young lady, Delilah. Sounds sweet, but the problem was, that she was from Philistine. Nonetheless, he continued in his relationship with her. On her constant prodding (the NIV reads 'until he was tired to death') he disclosed his source of strength to her. This one mistake led to his eyes being gouged out, and a life of grinding grain, and performing feats to entertain the Philistines. The saddest phrase that I find there, is when Samson thinks he'll just go out and shake the Philistines off, 'he did not know that the LORD had left him' [Judges 16:20]

Being totally defeated and humiliated, Samson is led blind to the prison.

But notice what happens next, his hair begins to grow again. A nazirite, once defiled, had to spend an amount of time in consecration to the LORD again, in order to become a Nazirite again. And after that period, he was to offer a sacrifice to God to be sanctified again. Samson had not the ability to offer a sacrifice, for all he had was his own life.

Being in that pitiful state Samson prayed , 'O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes' [Judges 16:28]
'Let me die with the Philistines'[Judges 16:30]

And having said thus, God granted him strength, such that he pushed the two pillars on which the temple stood, and it came crumbling down, the whole temple upon all those within it. In his death, Samson killed more Philistines than he did all his life.

Only one thought comes to my mind, that God has never, and will never forsake his people, unfaithful though we are. God has not forsaken Israel, though they were disobedient and stiff-necked. Neither will He leave us. Take not for granted His mercy. Live a life that fulfils that for which He caught hold of us. Lest you find yourself standing before Him and hear Him say, "Depart from me. I do not know thee."





Available.

What does it mean to be available? This thought was plaguing my head since a few hours. And, I finally gave in to it, and searched for the dictionary meaning on the net. And its as if, somethings were put into the right perspective immediately.
Le me share with you what I found out there..

available
adj 1: obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service; "kept a fire extinguisher available"; "much information is available through computers"; "available in many colors"; "the list of available candidates is unusually available"

When I read this part, I knew what it meant. But when it comes to being available for God, how do I make sure I am doing the right things, and being Obtainable, Accesible, Ready for use?
Then I went on-->

2: not busy; not otherwise committed; "he was not available for comment"; "he was available and willing to accompany her" [syn: uncommitted]

It all made sense suddenly. And it was exactly in line with the correction meted out by God to me recently...

To NOT BE OTHERWISE COMMITTED is the key to it all! If I choose to NOT commit myself to anything without God's approval, that is the
only way I can be available to Him. And I mean, right down to the level of our thoughts and dreams, and not just our actions and deeds. Let us take the stand to not
even commit our THOUGHTS to anything without the Lord's approval. Only then will be be soft and pliable in His hands...

Obtainable, Accessible and Ready for use... Not being already committed to something...

This site has been really helpful for me and my friends. Its hosted by All Peoples Church & World Outreach, Bangalore, India

http://www.apcwo.org/OnlineResources/Online.htm

May it be a blessing to you as well.

My friend shared this wonderful thought with me...and I'd like to share it here.

When we wait upon God, its generally a painful wait. Sometimes we lose our patience, and start getting frustrated. Sometimes we try, try, try, try to make things happen..and hence lose our state of rest in God. And once again, the result is none other than frustration.

We know the Word of God says, "Rejoice in hope".. But we fail to rejoice having not seen, and hoping for a long time. Then, what's the secret? How can we wait upon God so that we can walk and not faint, run and not be weary, and soar with wings like eagles, and mount up, above all our circumstances?? Simple... :)

Our problem lies in the perception of the word "wait". Waiting does not mean sit around waiting, and doing nothing. It means to wait upon God as a waiter waits upon the customer. The waiter keeps a sharp eye on the customer, seeking to fulfil his every need. At the slightest signal from the customer, the waiter runs to serve. THAT is how we are to wait upon God. And when we're busy serving God while we're waiting upon Him, we will have no time to get frustrated. Because we will learn to be sensitive to every move of His, we will be satisfied serving Him, while yet 'waiting upon Him'.
And in the right time, He will reveal His will to us, and we will walk in the way He shows us. This is how we can learn to "rejoice in hope".

Thank God for the friend who was failthful to share this principle of waiting with me...her name's Rosylint. :)

When the israeliets were bring led by Joshua to their Promised Land, an amazing incident occurred - the crossing of the River Jordan.

Believe it or not, this incident was also pointing to the future incident of the salvation of mankind by the blood of Christ. Let us see how.

Joshua 3:13 - "And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
Today, our High Priest carried the New Covenant, the covenant of His blood and His Spirit.

Now think of the River Jordan to be the sin and judgement that awaits us, and we can't cross over into our Promised Land, heaven till that River separates us from it.

Joshua 3:15b-16a - "Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing."
The moment Jesus touched the judgement, or should I say, took it upon Himself, the River of Judgement stopped.
And not only did the River stop flowing, but "it piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam" [Joshua 3:16]

And the amazing part is this -
"Herefore, just as sin entered the world through one man[Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men........
so also through the obedience of the one Man[our High Priest, Jesus Christ] many will be made righteous." [Rom5:12-19, Highlighting mine]

This is my family. My Mumma, Dada and Babui(dad). I decided to write something different today. Indeed these three are the most wonderful gifts of God in my life, among all the people that I have known in all these years.
Let me start -
Mumma - She's a very beautiful woman. I love her eyes and her smile. She's also very naughty...! Sometimes when she's really in mood for fun, she'll dance around and make funny faces till we're all splitting with laughter. She's very approachable, hence I keep talking to her and telling her all that's happening in my life...specially what God's doing in my life. I remember from the days of old, how we've fought, made up, fought again. I was very stubborn, and she was equally stubborn! hehe, we have had lovely fights!! But praise God, through them all, I've known her to be my best friend. She can't tolerate ANYONE speaking against me or my brother!! And she misses me....:) aww... i love her.

Babui - For the first five years of my life, I believed Babui was a bengali word meant to be used for a father. haha..I was mistaken, it was the word my brother used to call dad when he couldn't say Baba(the actual bengali word used for the same)!! Anyway, Babui is one of the nicest people I've ever met. He's truly simple at heart, and very very intelligent. He's so quick and intelligent, that we all seem to bore him sometimes! :D I've spent years rebelling against him, and yet when the time came for me to leave him, I can still remember how he was kissing me goodbye at Borivli station. And he kept telling his friend, "Take care of my daughter."Sigh... it brings tears to my eyes to just think about it again. But, oh well, this is life. And yea, whenever I visit them at home now, my dad gives me the longest hugs! :)

Dada - That means 'brother'. My brother is five years elder than me, and as is very expected, he has been the protective, concerned brother all these years. He takes good care of me, and is always ready with advice if I ask him about anything. The few incidents I remember very vividly are when we used to go for walks at night, during the loadshedding in Indore.. When we used to go out to have dinner, and drive around late night.. :) Oh, and also all the ice-cream treats he gave me at Top-n-Town!! :D yum yum.. Also some incidents from the earlier years... When we were playing around and I was blindfolded. I happened to bang my head to the wall, and because I was very young, he came running, and hugged me. Oh there are so many more.. But I'll share just one more - When I got my results of 12th Standard CBSE board exams - they had wrongly declared my math marks as 33, and I had actually got 81. This was rectified two months later, but the day I got my results, he had specially called me in his room, and sat beside me, comforting me, because I was at my wits' end. God bless my brother...!!!

People, today I am feeling especially thankful for my family.. Its not that we never had tough times. In fact, we've survived some of the worst things that can befall a family. But, God was with us throughout. :) And I am thankful for everything, and everyone in my family.
Oh and yea.. not to forget...Buto!!(Black Beauty)


She's my koochie koooooo!! :D muah muah!!

Joshua 1:11-15

So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."

I've read this passage so many times. But today it seemed to speak something to me. And I want to share it with you all.

Do we realise, that we are not to sit down and rest till our brethren have received what God wants them to?! Have we not failed to fulfil our responisibility towards God and His people again and again? Let us ask God, and repent. Let us make a new start, determined to help our brothers and sisters...whatever it takes.

Didn't the Gadites,Reubenites and those of Mansseh's tribe know, that it could be a long time till their brethren receive their Promised Land? Did they not think, that it could cause them a lot of pain and separation from their families if they went ahead following Joshua's directions? Yes they did. Yet they said , "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go"

How beautiful would it be, if we believers would not rest till our brethren have all that they need... I can only imagine.

Light Without Sight.

Worthless.
Can a blind man see when it is brightly lit around him? Can a seeing man see in the darkness? No.

John 9:25 states the blind man witnessing to the pharisees saying..."One thing I know, though I was blind, now I see." Full stop!!

The Pharisees, though they saw the Light of the world with their own eyes, failed to see. And Paul, saw only when he was struck blind. What mystery is this?

Those who are veiled by the god of this age, fail to let the glory of Christ, the Light shine through the darkness surrounding their lives [2 Cor 4:3,4]. He has veiled them, and hence they do not see. But we see...! How? Because we have received the Spirit of God, who knows all things. After all, no man can say that Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. [ 1 Cor 12:3]

Praise God, that we are made to see, though we were blind. And those who believe they see, are actually blind. Let us pray, that God would use us to let His light shine through us into the lives of all the blind around us, that they may see and say "Though I was blind, now I see"

43% Geek

Just a short study on what humility brings in our lives -
Wealth [Proverbs 22:4]
Honor [Proverbs 15:33,Proverbs 22:4]
Life[ Proverbs 22:4]
Safety from God's wrath [Zephaniah 2:3,1 Kings 21:29]
Guidance [Psalm 25:9]
Sustenance [Psalm 147:6]
Rejoicing [Isaiah 29:19]
Grace [1 Peter 5:5]
Exaltation [Matthew 23:12,Luke 18:14,Luke 14:11,James 4:10]
Wisdom [Proverbs 11:2]
Forgiveness [Luke 18:14 - because the man was humble before God, he went back justified!!]
Deliverance [2 Samuel 22:28]
Turns God's anger [1 Kings 21:29]
Esteem from God! [Isaiah 66:2]
Blessing [Luke 1:48]
Healing of the land [2 Chronicles 12:7]
Obedience [Philippians 2:8]
The crown of salvation [Psalm 149:4]
The humble are the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven!! [Matthew 18:4]

Humility is a necessity in God's children[Philippians 2:1,Colossians 3:12], and I think the reason is quite evident! :) Praise God!

Thanks for the suggestion Sarah!!

I remember around three-four days ago, I wrote in my journal that one of my greatest weaknesses is the inability to see God in both His aspects - love and wrath. And I wanted to understand what it really was like.
I must say, God is so true in everything that He says, including where He says, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you".
Today I got perhaps the most vivid explanation of what I was seeking - the Cross.
When we behold the cross, we shall see, the love and wrath of God, manifested in its fullness. The wrath of God that must be satisfied, was the necessity of the cross. And the love of God that saved us, was manifested in the only Son of God, Jesus Christ, giving His own life on the same cross.
Think of it, its overwhelming!
God punishing, and God accepting the punishment on our behalf. What love is this??
The unfathomable, incomprehensible, unchangeable, incomparable, indescribable love of God...
Hallelujah!