The halfbaked Bard

Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials ofany kind. James:1:2 How can you be joyous when you face trials? You know for sure that God is in control. You know that God will work on your favour because you are His beloved. All things God works for your good. You know that God will bring about a solution. These are good reasons to be joyous. But apostle James tells even more better reasons. Persevere during testing times. Cling on to God during these difficult times. Because perseverance when it finishes it's working, you will become mature and complete. Your character will change because of that perseverance. You will become more Christ like. Just as He desired you to be. Complete. Just like silver is purged of gross when it goes through fire. It is difficult for the silver. Painful. Nothing complete happens for the silver which jumps out of the refinery. It remains unpurged. Therefore cling on. Hold on. Hold fast to the One who allows you to go through this. He will...

James:1:1 James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This James is the brother of Jesus Christ. The elder of the church. But his address is different. He is humble enough to identify himself as a servant of his own brother. The very person whom he did not acknowledged when they were younger. It was filled with disbelief and skepticism. Mk:3:21 Jn:7:5 But after the resurrection, things started to change.  Acts:1:14 What made James believe? There was a personal encounter.  1 Cor:15:7 But is that all? More than that, James knew about a Jesus that none of us knew. The silent 30 odd years. He saw the perfect righteous sinless elder son, the brother Jesus. That convinced him that Jesus is the Messiah. That He is the Son of God.  An intimate relation with Jesus will instead of swelling us up with pride, will humble us. The more you know Him, the less you will think of the positions, the less you will brood over lost accolades, the more you humble yourself a...

Heb:13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. The sacrifices with which God is pleased are doing good to others and sharing with one another. Selfessness written all over it. No hoarding. When you give to others selflessly, God is pleased. When he prayed for others, Job's situation was changed. Do to others what you want them to do to you. Not with a motive of getting things to be done for you.  But a genuine interest and love to others. The greatest commandment according to Jesus, apart from loving God is, to love your neighbour as yourself. Image credit: https://naturefriendmagazine.com/hand-feeding-birds/

Heb:13:15 Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name. A sweet aroma, a sacrifice pleasing to Him who hears. Confess Jesus' name. Acknowledge His authorship in our lives. A sacrifice of praise. Nothing much sweeter for Him, than His child giving glory to Him, despite the circumstances. Praise is the natural word that comes in the mouth of the believer in all situations. Out of his belief that his Father has got all things in control. It is pleasing for Him to hear. Because it involves trust. And trust is something which pleases God. Let praise be your anthem. In joyous circumstances, let it be an anthem of thankfulness. In difficult situations let it be an anthem of trust and hope. As much as it pleases the Lord, it disturbs the enemy. The devil flees with the shout of praise. Let it be a natural response. Image courtesy: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/studio-mic

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Heb:13:5 Love of money is the root of all evil. 1 Tim:6:10 Not money perse. But love for money is the root of all evil. You will never be satisfied. America's first billionaire John D. Rockfeller was asked, how much money was enough? He replied, "Just a little more."  This endless pit of discontentment and greed will never be quenched. Money is needed. But love of money is dangerous. It will never satisfy. You compromise on the basics and discredit the ideologies when you try to be filled. But it is like drinking salty water. The hunger just keeps increasing. The solution is to be content with what you have. The promise that follows in v:5b-6 gives you the key. Because God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.  So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. W hat can man do to me?  That the Lord is enough. That He will provide. That He ...

Without holiness no one will see the Lord. Heb:12:14 Therefore make every effort to be holy.  Holiness is an attribute that God cannot keep aside. In fact none of His attributes can He do away with. But holiness is of a different league. His love accomodates. His forgiveness draws us to Him. His glory inspissates. But His holiness, He cannot compromise. He is so holy and pure that He cannot accomodate even an iota of sin. He lives in inapproachable light. And man was created in this image of God. But man fell. And now he cannot come to God. Therefore he hid from God. But His love still accomodates. His love still longs for man, for his good. But He cannot let sin go unpunished. He wants to forgive. But He has to deal with sin, because He is holy. He cannot compromise His holiness and include sinful man. But He loves man that He wants to forgive him. He cannot shove sin under. Blood has to be shed. Man has to be punished. Therefore He Himself chose to bear it for man's s...