Hi There!

Its a joy to write again today, and to also announce that I am officially Mrs. Rini Abraham now! Praise God!

I thought I should share a small testimony with you all. In the face of the seemingly insurmountable economic needs that we ( Aby and I ) felt mounting up, we were made to really trust God to provide for ALL. And as if God were saying it, I kept getting mails about 'planting a seed'. So I spoke to Aby and we decided to plant a seed, by doubling our offering every Sunday, and believing that God will provide for our needs.

I can say over and over again, that God is faithful! He provided not only enough, but with the wedding now done, we still have a bank balance! (Giggle) And we also got more cash, plus all the commodities that we needed for our home! And more's on its way (from what my friends tell me)

All glory to God! This might seem small, but its a HUGE thing God did for us, and we both just praise Him!

Thank You Lord!
-Rini

I'd say this is a powerful prayer to make on someone's behalf!

Colossians 1:9 - 23

9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;

Mathew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

I read recently in a devotional from "Our daily bread", of people leaving their careers to take care of ageing parents, ailing siblings, family members, and the like. And the writer reflected upon these situations saying, it seemed these people didn't leave their work, instead they assumed a new work for their lives.

And then again, today, this verse stares me in the face! As much as you did to one of the least of these God's brethren, you did unto God Himself! What have you done today?

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.

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."