Each Person's Struggle is Unique

Let us never belittle or ridicule the struggles of another person.
What comes easy to one person might be a extremely difficult for another person.

Each person's battle is unique in God's eyes. We should never compare our battle with another person and feel small or big.

There is great hunger for love, value and self-worth in this world.
Most of the times, fight for value is as great as the fight for life.
Loss of value and love kills the spirit.
In God's eyes rejection and loneliness is one of the greatest poverty.

God never measures a person the world measures - in terms of achievements and accolades.
God understands what each child is capable of and accepts each one for what he/she is.

PERFORMANCE IS NOT AT ALL A CRITERIA FOR GOD'S LOVE;

We do not perform to earn the love of God; When we experience the love of God, we are motivated to perform.

Also Read: We Don't Have To Work For Our Self-Worth

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES
"Do not judge so that you will not be judged" - Mathew 7:1
 

Desire Is NOT The Root Cause Of Any Evil

Desire is not the root cause of evil or suffering.
God has created us with desires; to kill desire is to kill life; this concept be dangerous and suicidal if it is taken to serious proportions.
If fact, desires keep us alive.

Then problem is not with desires; the problem is with what we desire.
Our perverted mind (sinful mind) is full of sinful desires which is not good for ourselves or for the society in large.
Because we only have sinful desires that get us into trouble, we assume (another Godless reasoning) that desire is wrong.

DESIRE IS NOT THE ROOT CAUSE OF ANY EVIL; SIN IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF EVERY EVIL.

For example: We are naturally not inclined to desire God and his holiness; instead, we are naturally inclined to desire our glory and our selfish desires. Since, we have no clue of what it is to desire God, we assume that desire itself is wrong.

Only if we desired God, we will have a renewed mind which will allow us to desire the right things - that will lead us to wholesomeness.

In fact, we are created to attain self-realization through our desire for God.

I could write at length on this topic - but I stop here because I have intended to keep my articles short.

Also Read:
God wants us to choose what is good for us,
The greatest battle is with myself
Sin is a motive

RELATED BIBLE VERSES

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Mathew 6:33

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." John 3:19


 

Why Do We Live In Fear - The Great Divide

God designed us to live in a love relationship with him.
Our emotional and intellectual systems are fashioned to be motivated by the impulse of his love - unconditional love.
We are not designed to live independently.

When God created us, he intended our body, mind and emotions to take directions from his spirit - because his spirit was united with our spirit through the bond of love. In this setup, we lived in total harmony with God, ourselves and his entire creation.

When man sinned, God's spirit could no longer have fellowship with our spirit -when the spirit of God left man, man was left only with his spirit.

The problem with man's spirit was that it knew what was right and wrong but was not motivated to do the right thing because:

• Righteousness was not a priority; instead self-glorification was.
• Man's spirit became a slave to his emotions, desires and Godless reasoning. The spirit was neither motivated nor had the power to overcome this self-gratification.

So, began the great divide between man and God.

After God's spirit left man, man started to live in fear because he was never designed to be by himself- he was designed for a love relationship.

Man knows he is sinful, he knows God does not approve of him, he knows he is incapable of being perfect, he also knows he cannot go alone through life and beyond, he thinks he can't ask God for help because he has unsettled matters in his relationship with God - in short, he is lost and confused.

MAN IS DESIGNED THRIVE ON GOD'S LOVE. TILL HE SENSES GOD'S LOVE, HE WILL LIVE IN FEAR.

Knowing man's helplessness, God sent his only begotten son to bridge the gap between man and God. Christ's death on the cross, provides the justification that allows us to receive the holy spirit while we are still sinners and be transformed (coming out of sin and darkness) by love - and live in boldness and courage. This is the Gospel.

Also Read: God is not angry with us

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."  - 1 John 4:18

"The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot." Romans 8: 6,7

"He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:5



 

We Don't Have To Work For Our Self-Worth

Why do we compete with each other for self-worth and value?
God loves each of us as if there is only one of us to love.
Shouldn't that make us realize how valuable each one of us is in the eyes of God.

We don't need to work hard to earn our worth.
The fact that we are the handiwork of God is good enough to show us our value.

We are never meant to earn our value.
God loves us too dearly to put us into a performance test to accept us.

All we need to do is allow him to show us how much he cares for us.
The only thing he is asking of us is to be totally honest about our sins with him and be willing to surrender our life to him in love.

We don't need to shy away from his majestic righteousness and perfectness... No.. Not at all
We have a picture of an strict God who is waiting to spot every error or sin - because we are like that to ourselves and others.
We should remember - God is not man whose love is conditional.
God is ever understanding to those who are consistently trying to please him but are falling back.
Nevertheless, God loves us as we are.

GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR A SINLESS PERSON; HE IS LOOKING FOR A PERSON WHO IS TOTALLY HONEST ABOUT HIS SINS AND IS WILLING TO WORK WITH GOD TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM.

RELATED BIBLE VERSES

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5: 7,8

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." - 1 John 3:1
 

My Greatest Battle Is With Myself

The path to self-realization is by moving from self-consciousness to God-consciousness.
I did not create myself; God created me with great love and care.
Hence, the knowledge of my potential and purpose is not with me but with God.

When I try to find the answers to my existence on this planet by searching my mind, I will only become hopeless and desperate.
I exist only in relation to my creator; this means I am created by God and for God - any search for answers outside the entity of God will lead me to nothingness.

As long as I am looking at myself (which is what most of us are inclined to do), I am self conscious. This kind of consciousness does not lead me to the truth and an understanding of what I am created for - because I did not create myself.

As long the I am looking at God (which is what we have to ask God to help us to do because it does not come naturally), I am God conscious.
This kind of consciousness gives me a beautiful revelation of how much I mean to him, how much he loves me, how much he wants for me and so on - because he created me for himself.

I CANNOT MOVE FROM SELF CONSIOUSNESS TO GOD CONSIOUSNESS WITHOUT CRUCIFYING MYSELF.

I CANNOT ATTAIN SELF REALIZATION WITHOUT SELF DENIAL - A PARADOX INDEED!!!

The most difficult obstacle in getting close to my creator is myself. My self wants itself to be exalted, admired and glorified. Unfortunately, the self was created by the creator and any glory that the self has only belongs to the creator. Without God, the self would not have come into existence in the first place.

The greatest spiritual warfare that I will be fighting is surrendering myself to the will of God. This is the greatest battle because it is the root of all sins - the rebellion against God's leadership that started from the garden or Eden where man wanted to be like God.

AS LONG AS I AM LOOKING AT MYSELF, I WILL ALWAYS BE LOST. AS LONG AS I AM LOOKING AT GOD, I AM AT HOME.

RELATED BIBLE VERSES

"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3:5

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." - Psalm 139:14

"If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it." - Luke 17:33






















 

Let God Be God And Manage The World

When the world shows us calamities and misfortunes, we get blinded with hopelessness that we fail to see the deep restorative endeavour of God working from underneath.

The troubles that happen in the world usually happen suddenly - hence can be recorded. However, God's healing capacity works gradually over a period of time to heal the greatest wound or bring hope after the greatest loss.
 
The work of God cannot be recorded because God works in ways we cannot see or understand instantly; however, out mind can easily grasp the adversities that happen around us because the world operates at a level that we can see and understand.
 
The world records events from a tangible, finite and limited vision. But God's work happens at an intangible and deeper level that can only be experienced but cannot be easily recorded.


WHAT THE MEDIA SHOWS US IS NOT THE COMPLETE PICTURE; WHAT GOD HAS IS THE ACCURATE PICTURE; OUR VISION IS LIMITED; LET GOD BE GOD AND TAKE CARE OF THE WORLD; LET ME BE MAN AND DO WHAT GOD HAS CALLED ME TO DO.

 
The enemy loves it when we rely on our limited understanding and question the goodness of God


 RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" - Proverbs 3: 5

"Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!" - 1 Corinthians 13:9
 
 

We Are Meant To Be With God Eternally

When God says that he will not leave us nor forsake us, he is talking from an eternal perspective.

Life is just a journey. Just because I feel lost at times during this journey, that does not mean I am actually lost or it does not mean that God has forsaken me.

God does mind making my journey through life uncomfortable if that helps me get to the right destination. In other words, if God made our life too comfortable on this earth, we would forget that this is just a journey and place our hope on this temporal world - which will disappoint us ultimately.

When God says that he will not forsake us, he is telling that we are his forever and ever; we are meant to be with him eternally; that all that we are going through on this earth will not and cannot not separate us from him forever; that suffering is not permanent because this world is not meant to last; that he is calling us to see things through his eyes.

Death, destruction and suffering that we see around causes hopelessness to those who eyes are set on things that are not meant to last; but to those whose eyes are set on the one who is meant to last, life on earth is just a preparation for life eternal.

 ALL EVENTS ON EARTH ARE MANAGED BY GOD FROM AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE; THIS EARTH IS NOT MEANT TO LAST BUT THE WILL OF GOD IS; JUST BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND DOES NOT MEAN IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.

 

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts."  - Isaiah 55:9

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:18

God Wants Us To Choose What Is Good For Us

God wants us to have love; we choose power.
God wants us to have joy; we choose pleasure.
God wants  us to have peace; we choose excitement.

What God wants for us is good for our soul, mind and body.

What we want for ourselves good for our ego and desires.

I cannot choose to have what God wants for me without denying myself (ego and desires).

I cannot deny myself when I am a slave to my pride and desires.
I cannot come out of my slavery without the power of God's spirit working from inside me.
I cannot have the spirit of God inside me when I am full of sin.
I cannot have sin justified without paying the price.

And God out of his great love has sent his dearest son to pay the price, so that we might be justified to receive the spirit that will give us the power to overcome the flesh that is stopping us from having what God wants us to have.

Even when I receive the holy spirit, I can only experience the power of the spirit if I let the spirit take control over the self and not vice versa. - This is a struggle for many of us still.

RELEVANT VERSES

"I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." Romans 7:15

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there." Galatians 5:24

 

Sin Is A Motive

Sin is first a motive before it is an action or deed.

If I love God, my motive for every good action/deed is love - because God is love.
If I love myself, my motive for every good action/deed is pride.

Love and pride cannot coexist in a person.
I cannot live for myself and God at the same time.

In God's eyes only deeds done out of love matters - because it is a reflection of our faith in him.

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives." - Proverbs 16:2
 

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." I John 4:8

 
"If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:3

God's Goodness Should Not Be Challenged By What We See

We should not doubt the goodness of God when we see an unexpected death of loved ones, innocent children or good people.

God allows death to good people and children who he knows will not be able to handle what lies in store for them if they lived.

If we are alive today, it is because he knows we are strong to handle and overcome what lies ahead of us.

God is a good father - he knows what each child can handle. He loves all and is always tying to protect.

The world is evil because of our sins - not because of him. Yet, he will never let evil have its way ultimately.

WE SHOULD NEVER LET WHAT WE SEE DOUBT THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

 

If we just knew where innocent children and good people went when they died, we will be nothing but happy for them.

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSE

"The righteous perish,
 and no one takes it to heart;
 the devout are taken away,
 and no one understands

 that the righteous are taken away
 to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
 enter into peace;
 they find rest as they lie in death." -." -ISAIAH 57: 1,2

Heaven Or Hell - We Make The Choice

Heaven and hell is not a place that God sends us to - it is a place that we choose and go.

A child is born with no knowledge of good and evil. After a certain number of years, the child/teenager wilfully starts breaking the law of the conscience and comes under the power of the evil one.

When a person wilfully breaks the law of the conscience, he automatically cuts himself from God (because God cannot have fellowship with sin and darkness) and falls into darkness where the enemy rules.

God cannot befriend darkness and there is no way God can get a fallen person out of darkness without proper justification - because he is just. If he had to overlook justice to take that person out of there, then he cannot be God.

To justify us (for all have fallen), he sent his dearest son Jesus (in whom there is no sin) to become sin and suffer a cruel death on the cross - so that he can see us justified and give us the chance to break the power of darkness and enter into light - because as long as justification is there, God has fulfilled his righteous requirements and can help all those who are willing to be helped.

Now, I have two choices before me - to repent of my sins, accept the justification sent by Jesus and enter into light (which leads to heaven) or stay as I am under the power of darkness where the enemy is the ruler (which leads to hell).

GOD CAN HELP AND SAVE ONLY THOSE WHO WANT TO BE SAVED. WE ARE CREATURES OF FREE WILL - WE CANNOT BE FORCED INTO HEAVEN.

Also Read: God Calls - Come As You Are

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:16

"Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." 1 Peter 3:18

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

 

God Is Not Against Enjoyment

When Christ calls us to deny ourselves and follow him, he is not trying to spoil our fun and enjoyment. NEVER!!!!

If he has created all good things for us to enjoy, why would he do that?

That is the lie told by the enemy to keep us away from God the father – who loves us so dearly.

The truth is, the self is marked by sin, is cut off from the spiritual source, does not know the truth and is taking the person towards destruction.

Every reasoning that is done by the self (without God) is done in darkness. The self has no clue of the light and makes all wrong decisions.

The self has a will but does not know how to use it. In addition, the self will never choose God if there were no consequences or pain.

How could a loving God allow us to self-destruct by following self?

Hence, he has asked us to deny self and follow Christ for our own good. This is painful for us in the beginning but produces everlasting joy, happiness and peace in the long run.

Sometimes, for some of us who want to follow God but are unable to deny self, God out of his great love will allow suffering that will cause brokenness – that will force us into denying self and following Christ.

Also Read: God Wants Us To Choose What Is Good For Us
 

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit." - Galatians 6:8

"For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will." - Romans 8:7

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." - Galatians 2:20

"Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

God Does Not Love Us Based On How Good We Are

God doesn't love us based on how good we are.
We can never be good enough for him.

The truth is, God's love (despite our imperfectness) drives us to be good.

God loves us so much that he gave himself for us on the cross even though we do not deserve it.

This is grace.

GRACE CANNOT BE EARNED BY GOOD DEEDS. IT CAN ONLY BE RECEIVED WITH HUMILITY.
 

Also Read: God does not show favouritism

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

""For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:8

God Does Not Show Favouritism

God does not show favouritism.
God's grace, mercy and favour are available to all.

But, only the humble are able to receive it.

A humble man's prayer is something like this: "Lord, I am struggling with my sins. Please love me as I am and help me to become more like you".

As God is light and there is no falsehood in him, he will not be able to pour out his mercy on a person (or make his dwelling in the heart of a person) who is not honest about his sinful condition.

Also Read: God is not against enjoyment
 
RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy." - Proverbs 28:13

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." - Romans 3:23

"These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word." Isaiah 66:2

"Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud." - Psalm 138:6

God Is Not Angry With Us

God is not angry with our struggle in following the law (or the conscience) - not at all;

He understands too well that it is extremely difficult - almost impossible.
He knows that sin comes more naturally to us than holiness.
If it were easy, he would not have sent his dearest son to the cruel death on the cross.

However, it makes him sad that many of us think that there is no way out because we can never be good enough to earn his love.

This is not true.

He welcomes all those who come to him with a humble and repentant heart because he no more see us as we are - he sees us excused, atoned or purified by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

When we accept this gift of grace, Jesus will send his holy spirit who will work with us to transform us into his likeness- over a period of time.

Also Read: Heaven or Hell - We make the choice and God Calls - Come Just As You Are
 

 

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

"This High Priest (Jesus) of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin." - Hebrews 4:15

"He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." 1 John 2:2

God Calls - Come As You Are

We think we need to be clean (blameless) in order to enter into God's presence.
That's not true.

If that was the case, we can never be worthy enough to enter his presence our entire life time.

On the other hand, we enter his presence to become clean and blameless.
We can boldly enter his presence through the knowledge of what Christ accomplished in the cross for us.

 

ONLY THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF CHIRST'S LOVE CAN ENTICE US OUT OF OUR SIN INTO PEACE, JOY AND HOLINESS.

THERE IS NOT OTHER WAY WE CAN DO IT!!!
 

 We can only experience this love after we come into his presence.

Let not guilt keep us away from God's presence. This is the plan of the evil one.

Also Read: God does not love us based on how good we are

 

RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." - Isaiah 1:18

 

"All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." - John 6:37