“And she [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.”   Luke 2: 7                                                        Tinsels are the decorative items which makes the Christmas tree or the house beautiful. Our Christmas celebration is full of it. Apart from the literal tinsels, we have figurative tinsels which were slowly added in due course in our Christmas celebrations. Among the several Christmas activities like the carols, presents, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, early morning Christmas service, family time and obviously the good food, we can easily spot what are tinsels and what is connected with the core of Christmas. Now that we are in England, we see a different type of Christmas tradition – the turkey, Christmas pudding, Holly w...

  “Your word is a lamp to my feet…”  Psalm 119: 105 There are always many questions about the nature of God’s guidance and how the Word of God should be used in the context of providence. Some imagine that Bible could be used as guidance by seeking to find random verse which could be source of encouragement or a word of promise.     Some expect God to show some verses to them for clear direction. Some even use it as a spell book which could be recited to get the preferred outcome.     But in this verse by describing the Word of God as a lamp, Psalmist is talking about the nature of God’s guidance to his people in different terms. Lamp is the source of light which could guide the steps. Lamp, with its oil, thread and container which holds the oil, does not represent the light it brings out but the inner mechanism which ultimately produce Light. The power of the Word and its guidance begins by first working inside us. It changes our inner being so that we dev...

The Earth is Lord's   “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”  Psalm 24: 1 Christian stewardship springs from the belief that everything belongs to God. God’s ownership extends to every single thing in this world, including all we have. It doesn’t matter whether I inherited a big property from my ancestors or I have worked hard to earn my comfortable life. Everything belongs to God.  Firm belief in this concept makes a person a mere manager of resources and not the owner. If a person is just a manager, he or she is accountable. The manager should give report about the way resources were spent to the owner at one point of time.  This understanding gives a new perspective for us to see our lives.   God has given us different types of resources – money, property, healthy body, time etc.  Are we good stewards? Are we using them for our luxury or to fulfil the will of the owner?     Take money as...

  “ We preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles ” 1 Corinthians 1: 23 God is full of surprises. He sprung a great surprise in Jesus Christ that both Jews and Gentiles (Greeks) were equally taken aback. Jesus was a complete contrast to the expectation of both the groups regarding the salvation of men. Jews longed for a Messiah – a Messiah with power to overthrow the Romans. The Greeks expected an emergence of a revolutionary philosophy from the saviour which could supplant all the great philosophies of ancient time. They believed that this knowledge could save men. But both groups were disappointed with Jesus and what He did to save the mankind. What Jews got was a Messiah who suffered and died at the hands of the Romans. What Greeks got was the ‘message of the crucified Christ’ which in content was not appealing to their speculative mind.  If Jesus had been an astute leader who mobilised the masses against the Romans, Jews would have accep...

  Baptism or Preaching? “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel”  1 Cor 1: 17 Paul had a clear conviction of what God wanted him to do in his ministry. He had prioritized preaching the gospel over other things e.g. baptising, based on his understating of God’s will for his life. He was not attempting to do whatever comes his ways, but focused on God’s calling in his life. By saying that ‘preaching’ is his focus, he is not minimizing the role of baptism in ministry. Instead, he says that baptism is not the primary work for which God called him. Though he baptised few (vv. 14-16), he wanted to spend his energy on his primary calling – i.e. to preach the gospel.  Even Jesus had to face this type of pressure of prioritising in his ministry. Mark tells of one occasion when Jesus went to pray early in the morning, while his disciples came searching for him (Mark 1: 35 – 39). They wanted him to come back to Simon’s house where a huge crowd was waiting to...

  Simple faith + stone = A dead giant “It is not by sword or spear the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s”  I Samuel 17: 47 A shepherd boy defeating a trained, gigantic warrior is one of the best loved stories in the Bible. David’s victory over Goliath showcases the formidable faith he had in God. As a shepherd boy, David was not familiar with the sophisticated military strategies or gadgets of his days. But his outlook on life was shaped by his experiences in the wilderness while taking care of the sheep.  He knew a spiritual lesson which King Saul and the army of Israel did not understand: God saves his people, not through sword or spear, but in his own unique ways. He was not relying on any weapon to defeat the gigantic Goliath. The stones and the sling were also symbolic things to show that he is relying only on God – who can win a battle with just stones and sling?  He understood that when the battle is Lord’s, it doesn’t matter whether he has a sling or s...

    “The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’”   Matt. 4: 3   One of the ways Satan disorients Christians in their walk with God is by sowing doubts into the reality of their status and identity. We could see this vile strategy in the first temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Satan was trying to stir up doubts regarding his status as the Son of God. He is indirectly challenging Jesus to prove his identity by turning stones to bread. Satan’s point is simple: If indeed Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah, he should be able to do this simple miracle and satisfy his hunger.    But Jesus did not attempt to do what was told by Satan.    Was he short of power to do this miracle?    No! Gospel is full of supernatural signs and miracles performed by Jesus.    Then, why didn’t Jesus prove his sonship by simply proving Satan wrong?   The clue lies in the events ...