Category: Articles

As I begin to pen this down, I thank God for his grace and providence he has showered on me in all things specially to have the chance to learn His word.

What I have received from the Lord, I would like to share with you my dear ones.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reads;

“5Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.”

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived! Solomon with the wisdom and understanding that is many folds above ordinary men, here in verse 5, asks two questions;

1.“Why do we lean on our understanding during important situations in our life?”

2.“Why is it, that we don’t turn to God in those moments?”

Is it our pride? our self-confidence? or more specifically our overconfidence with our knowledge, or as Solomon says, “Our Understanding”?

The Lord’s council will lead you to a greater and permanent victory and this is a fact, as His ways are always and surely better than our ways and His understanding, infinitely better than our human comprehension.

The other day when at church, I thought to myself; ‘one way or another, I have always found a way to keep in touch or talk with my friends.
Why is it that I hardly ever find a way to equally keep in touch with God?’

Remember this if not anything else;

“God is only as far as you keep Him”.

It says Adam and Eve closely interacted with God and even physically felt his presence while in the garden of Eden. However, when Adam did that which was not pleasing to the Lord, he hid from the Lord.
….. He wished to be far from the Lord!!…

Proverbs 5:6 says ‘in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths

It says ‘in ALL your ways’!!
Let go to the basic of your ways…. when you’re eating, when you’re drinking, when you’re walking, when you’re talking… Basically wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, do it with the firm belief that the Lord is the only reason for your being and the only reason you are able to do anything you do.

This firm dependence in the Lord is what He expects from us and what it truly means to acknowledge HIM.

Let me conclude with

Psalms 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Thank you.

May the Lord bless you all.

• CHRISTOPHER PRINCE

Throughout our lives we make relationships starting with family all the way to friends. We learn to trust and love and care for people. However, while we spend whole lives perfecting and exploring our relationships with people, we neglect the one that was created with sacrifice, unconditional love and solely for our benefit.

The Google definition for prayer is as follows – a solemn request for help or expression of thanks.Gratitude and thankfulness are the most deeply felt emotions. Gratitude for the things you have and for knowing God can change one’s perspective on life. We convey our gratitude, love, worries and sorrows through prayer. Prayer is often mistaken for a ritual or a ceremonial monotone activity that one must complete in order to appease God, when in reality it is a manner by which we vent our feelings and worries and happiness. Every emotion under the sun can be communicated to God through prayer, for he is the one who created all things and no other could fully grasp the extent of them like he would.

If we want to draw near to God and build a normal relationship with God, the most crucial step is to quiet ourselves before God and pray to Him with a concentrated heart. Because we will encounter all kinds of people outside, matters and things every day that often disturb and occupy our hearts, and quite often our prayers just cling to rules and are just spoken as a formality without really meaning any of it.

We could be talking to God all the time, not just before bed and in the morning. When we drive to work or go to school, when we’re cooking in the kitchen and we’re taking a shower. All the time is as good a time as any to be talking to our father and creator. Just as we would tell a close friend about the details and the minor things in our life, and maybe even more, we can always talk to God.

Just as prayer is how we communicate with God, the word of God – the Bible – is how God talks to us. The Bible truly has all the answers if we only read and listen with patience and an open heart. We may not always like things in the bible but the truth does not alter itself to our liking, it is eternal and never changing. Meditating and understanding his word and viewing it from different perspectives is always the way to go when listening for God’s advice to us.

Sometimes when we feel the most burdened is when a certain verse speaks to us, a miracle, a comforting and uplifting hand from God. It’s also good to know that the burden and the weight we feel from the pressures of life is not always a bad thing. It’s important to sharpen the burden, the pain and worry, it keeps us grounded and closer to God. In comfort is where sin thrives.

John 15 verses 15 to 17 say: No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

Just as we would share good news with our friends and partake in their joys, we can share the joy we have found in Christ and the friendship we have with him. It is certainly possible to be respectful about other people’s beliefs while sharing our own. Nevertheless, even then we may be rejected and treated outcasts because of our friendship with God. In John 15:18 – 20 it says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecute Me, they will also persecute you. If they keep My word,
they will keep yours also.”

Like any friendship or relationship, there may be hurdles and obstacles. There may be times of doubt when your faith in God is tested. That is when you will taste the true goodness of God, because while worldly friendships may fail you, God never will, even when you don’t see the purpose he has for you. God will never give up on you or reject you, he will always await your companionship and love while showering you with his. It’s up to us to receive it.

“I am doing a new thing!” We all know, believe, and have experienced that our God can turnaround hopeless situations. He can make a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. But can we change situations to have positive outcomes? God wants us to be a game changer!

In the Word of God, we see many who were non-prominent but made crucial moves that impacted the outcomes.

The chief butler in Genesis chapter 41 who is introducing Joseph to Pharoah reformed Pharoah’s troubled spirit to understand the spirit of God, (“can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?”), which led to Joseph’s blessings. In Exodus chapter 2 the daughter of Pharoah who had compassion on baby Moses, who in fact named him and raised him as son, (she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water), ultimately presented a leader for Israelites. Jethro in Exodus chapter 18 shows how to give wise counsel. He has provided leadership insights to Moses, (“every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge”), and made his life easier. The Saul’s servant who recommended David to Saul in 1st Samuel chapter 16, (“he is skilful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him”), helped Saul to feel refreshed and to get relieved from the evil spirit. In Esther Chapter 4 we see words of Mordecai (“who knows whether you were brought into the kingdom for such a time as this?”), which made Esther realize her incredible destiny which in turn changed the destiny of a nation. And in Gospel we see the thief on the cross who believed Jesus at the last moment of his life and was blessed to receive the eternity with God, (“truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”).

Most of the above Bible characters are not eminent but all of them are game changers. By their natural but powerful and timely moves they handled and utilized the situations that they have come across gracefully in a blessed manner. Like the chief butler we can introduce God or men of God to those who are troubled in spirit around us which will ultimately result in blessing of many, have a compassionate heart for others like the daughter of Pharoah so as to save those who are appointed to death, like Jethro let us give wise counsel to those struggling to manage various situations and make their life easier, let us be able to understand people and make sound recommendations in times of need like the Saul’s servant so as to cast out evil spirit from many, speak words like Mordecai that pours courage into others to do the seemingly impossible and like the thief on the cross by trusting and believing Jesus and taking right decisions at the right time let us save and guard our own lives to enjoy the eternal life with our Saviour and Master.

As a child of God, each moment we are playing in God’s team, He wants us to give our best game following the rules in the Word of God and make a difference. To be a game changer, we should leave normalcy, step out of our comfort zone, and run for God. In this game we will often be challenged to compromise our Christian convictions, but we can stand before the world and make our moves boldly that glorifies Christ. Yes, our God can dramatically change desperate situations and its outcomes, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we also can be game changers and impact our lives as well as the life of others to finally receive the unfading crown of glory!