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"

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