The halfbaked Bard

David had a desire for God. He wanted to build a house for God. 1 Chron:17:1 The Lord's promise to David was corroborative. I will build a house for you. 1Chron:17:10 You desire something for God. God is no one's debtor. He will take care of your need.  Mal:3:10 ascertains the same fact. God challenges to test Him on this. This is about tithe. God challenges this very day as well. Test Him on this. - You spend time with Him. You spend time listening to others, encouraging them. You wouldn't complain of lack of time. - You desire on knowledge of God, wanting to know Him more. You invest in prayer. Invest in your relation with Him. You will grow in wisdom. God will heal your relations. Your children will be taught by the Lord. Invest in right things. God will take care of your needs. Even a desire is enough.

Give to the Lord, the glory He deserves That is acknowledging and telling it aloud And to people around; what the Lord did. It is praising and thanking Him for What He did for you in your life . It is not out of pride say; thank you Or even it is the Lord who helped me There is an"I" in the centre of it all. But it is like Jesus saying, I can do nothing on my own Because I carry out the will of the Father He also remind us, Apart from me you can do nothing  Jesus also reminds, Human effort accomplishes nothing In our intellect we may know this But in our minds do we realize the practicality of it  To acknowledge, to proclaim, to publish Him alone To tell everyone about the amazing things He does It is indeed and fully the Lord's doing. Phil:2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose

A question that would define my existence and my belief. Is it not illogical, some might ask. Science is a better answer. Here is my take.... Might not be flawless. But this is how I want to put it across..... God and covenants - a beautiful story. When we look through the Bible,  Everything that He has said, would come to pass, would definitely come true  Retrospectively; when all the pieces of the puzzles are finally fit, we see one beautiful painting that God Himself was orchestrating. That He is a covenant keeping God. That He is true. That He would keep His word. And none of His covenant He has failed to keep. None He has broken. None of His promises He has failed to fulfil. God is true. True to His word. True to Himself. No matter what. * God's promise to Abraham, Issac and Jacob about the promised land. * God's covenant with mankind in the garden of Eden that a Saviour is coming. * God's covenant with Noah, that He wouldn't destroy the earth yet again

God would clearly help As He executes His plan for us As He gives grace for us to carry on He would direct and guide as well. He is not a leader, who gives a task And expects us to carry it out somehow By hook or by crook, I need results Not a hard Taskmaster. But a loving Father, He is For He plans well ahead, plans to prosper And helps us, aides us,guides us He makes sure, this comes to pass. He is willing to take us through Difficult terrain, He allows us to walk For through it all, we ourselves get strengthened Our faith muscles grow stronger; we cling more. And because God is clearly helping It becomes easier for us. That is when we would say like the psalmist With God's help I can scale a wall. 1Chron:15:26 And becuase God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the Lord's covenant.

The first time it was all messed up An utter failure, it turned out to be Costing someone's life, resulting in the anger of the Lord Anger and fear was David's ensuing emotion. The second time David sorted it all out Sought the Lord; entrusted Levite leaders Brought the Ark, the right way With resultant joy and dancing. Why was there a second chance for David? His heart deeply wanted the Ark back. That was his nethermost passion His primary theme at that point of time. He asked the Lord what should I do He sought Him the correct way He set himself to bring it the right way The way that would be pleasing to God. Yes, life would give a second chance And when life gives;sort it out the right way. It is worth it, because God has given you one more. Set yourself to do it right. Keep pursuing, keep seeking, keep chasing But this time sort it out with God. Asking Him what should I be doing How should I be doing, not the wrong way yet again. Ask Him, what is your will O God

God moves ahead of you 1Chron:14:15 What bolster of tenacity? What cushion of chutzpah? What boost of confidence and morale, when you truly realize that whatever you are in, the Lord moves ahead of you. In the midst of uncertainty and unconfidence, there is surity. Going through a job interview? Going for an exam? Financial uncertainty looming around? Fearful of very many things?  The Lord moves ahead of you. A categorical statement which escalates your trust in Him more. From the abstract, God moves to reality. From the shadows He becomes the obvious. That is exactly what we need to remind ourselves today. That God is very much real in our lives. Devil has partially succeeded in making us believe in this lie. That God is abstruse. Where as God promises and He is faithful in fulfilling the promise He hath made, to move ahead of us. Has He not done in the past? When all was looking gloomy, the sun comes out of the shadows suddenly. Look back and see how God has been moving a

Amidst merriment; it is time. Amidst surplous; send a reminder to yourself. When all is well, that is the time for an aide-memoire. For sorrow in itself will remind you to look unto God. Being in the trough, being helpless all you can do is to cling to Him, to put your trust in Him. When your fortresses are strong, when your moat is deep, when you are on the top of your stronghold, we need reminders. For we neglect that we are literally helpless. We forget our plight when we were in the trench. Let us prompt. Let us nudge. Set reminders in the phone. Or as bits of paper in your pocket, or in your handbag. Remind ourselves what we learnt today morning. Let us indulge in it the whole day. It is time we develop this habit of God-orientedness 24x7. It is high time we set our habits and routine around God. It is time that we stop forgetting God in the busyness of our life. 1Chron:13:3 It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.

Do not worry. A word with heavy meaning and substance. A sentence we often love to hear from our loved ones especially in times of trouble. An assurance that it is okay. In Malayalam a very close word is "saramilla". How comforting it is to hear someone say that. He might not have things under control. She might not have a solution for it. All it means probably is, I am with you in this. We will face it together. And we will come over this together. It doesn't look too big to scale. It is fine. It is okay. What if it comes from the strongest boy in school, who is your friend. Oh! Huge will be the impact. Huge will be your confidence. Phil:4:6 The Almighty God, your Father says - do not worry. Instead what should we do? In every situation. In each and every situation, pray. Tell it to your loving Father. With thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Just keep on telling to Him. And then what will happen? The peace that passeth all understanding will guard yo

Satisfy - to meet the expectations, needs or desires of someone.              - to please someone by giving them what they want or need. What is one thing that satisfies you? It might be different things in different times. Those very things which makes you happy at one point of time may dissuade you later. Those that appease you now will bore or annoy you later. Ice creams are definite delicacies. But would you want to indulge in something sweet after you are so full following a seven course meal. Our satisfaction and level of need changes. But only one thing remains. The longing to be with your Father. He can only satisfy always. No matter what your situation is. Elated? Excited? Overwhelmed? He can still satisfy. Bored? Annoyed? Agitated? Depressed? He is the only one who can satisfy. There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the creator made known through Jesus Christ - Blaise Pascal. Psalm:63:5

Being in a cocoon is comfortable Not disturbed by the outside world No responsibilities to carry out You and your thoughts and your problems alone. When confused; yes you can be in that cocoon But make every effort to seek Him there. He reaches out to you there as well The word is there to guide you there too. The word encourages; the word builds up A time alone can be made a time with God His promise is to never leave you His promise is to be always with you. You can be in that wrap; but can still talk to Him Gethsamane became meaningful When Jesus prayed; though He was in agony Prayer was a habit especially when He was in a cocoon . You can close the doors to others; it is fine Be alone; But don't close the door to your Father That thread should always be there Never ever cut it off. Can isolate off. Take a break. But do not seperate from God. Don't be like the seed that fell on rocky soil But let go your roots deeper in this heavy hour especially.

The deciding thing of your life. The commodity around which your life revolves. The final point about which all your decisions converge. All your actions point to that centrality. All your motives connote to that axis. Gaining things, hurting others, the words you speak. All converge to that point. What is that core? Cannot and should not be money. For it is futile - moths eat and gets rusted. Focus on a centriole which lasts. The rock of salvation. Eternal God. Psalm:62:10b  And if your wealth increases, Don't make it the center of your life.

Phinehas and Bartholomew. They were both born on the same day. May be minutes apart. Probably that was their bond. May be that is why they gelled. As children they met first in kindergarten. It was there where everything started. They could sense that intimacy. They always wanted to be together. Into elementary school and middle school they grew up in the same bench. They played together. They learnt together. They had fun. Immense fun especially when they were together. They had their alone time too. They were quite unlike other friends. Not the superficial hi-bye. But intimate, brotherly love.  They both were of the Levite tribe. But their status were totally different. Phinehas was of the priestly order. His father was destined to be the next high priest. Bartholomew's father was one of the men who was allocated to clean the altar. But that didn't come between them. Other fellow Jews looked with odd eyes at them, at their bond. It looked like bondage to them. Eve

I long to do that which is my utmost desire. My heart's deepest passion. The one thing which rules my heart. Always my heart is preoccupied by the very same thought. Whether I eat or drink, this rules my heart. I crave for something deep down in my heart. Always dreaming. Always desirous. Always wanting. Passionate. This very thing decides all my actions. All the roads lead to that same Rome. What is it that my heart longs for? May be my vocation. My parent's wishes. May be to become somebody in life. May be to enjoy life. May be to go to places. May be to be alone and sleep. May be a sinful desire. May be a pure and good thought. What runs through your mind all the time? I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Psalms 61:4

1Chron:7:48 Their fellow Levites were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle, the house of God. Only Aaron's descendants were allowed to serve as priests. All the other Levites had other responsibilities. Some were musicians. Some had to clean the altar on which the sacrifices were made. Some were responsible for the bronze wash basin and the like. Some had menial jobs to do. While some others had exceptional and respectable jobs  But all of the Levites were stationed in the Tabernacle, the house of God for proper functioning. Each had to function individually for the proper and meticulous running of things. Imagine the altar not cleaned up. Imagine the bronze wash basin not cleaned up. Imagine the priest not offering the sacrifice in the right way. Imagine the oil is not there in the lampstand. Imagine the choir not singing properly. Topsy turvy. Do not consider other's responsibility as respectable and mine as menial. Do not be sad that they are doing

Based on 1Chron:5:1 Just missed the blessing; for a momentary pleasure Reuben is the oldest; but not the most powerful tribe Not the one with Israel's birthright Because he chose fleeting desire more pertinent. Though it wouldn't seem; it will have long-lasting consequences Reuben learnt it; Esau learnt it Moses learnt it; the whole of Israel learnt it Judas Iscariot and Peter learnt it too; the hard way. Forgiveness surely granted; to the one who repents But missed the best piece; reserved for them by God Passions and desires lead to sinful actions Which will only take you farther from God. Dear one; did you just miss the bus? Repent, run back to God; Return beating your breast But getting back what you just lost; is not worth it too Considering the fact that you are acceptable in His bosom That you can be reinstated back to a Holy God That He would forgive and forget That He wouldn't be eternally angry; but filled with love That my dear one; is the best piece

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is there anything difficult for Him? He is Almighty; All Powerful; Infinite. Not just a God; but my Father. And if He is for me; who can be against me? He plans to prosper me; not to harm With my God; I can scale a wall  He is Jehovah Nissi; my Victory Flag. He raises a banner for me; He causes to move He causes me to pledge allegiance to Him He causes me to celebrate; because victory is mine He is my honour; I am His possession His property I am; no iota of doubt . Yes I can do all things through Christ Who is my strength; only I have to trust. All His promises are yes and amen in Christ My God shall supply all my needs In accordance with His riches and glory. He has called me to bless me. For the battle is the Lord's.

(Albrecht Durer - Praying hands) Jabez (1Chron:4:9-10) started his life with pain. More so for his mother. She might have been extremely fed up that she named him Jabez. Which means he makes sorrowful. But his epitaph was different. A man honourable than any of his brothers. He decided to transform his pain to honour. It was not his determination. It was not his will power. But his decision to pray to the Almighty God. To bless him, to expand his territory. To be with him in all he does. To keep him from trouble and pain. He translated all his pain and the pain he caused to prayer. AND GOD GRANTED HIM HIS REQUEST. What is your theme of prayer? For Today. For this month. For this year  For your life. Jabez prayed for his expansion of territory. And God granted him his request. Is it not wonderful that we follow a God who has promised, I will do whatever you ask in my name. John:14:13 So what do I ask? God is eagerly listening to what I pray. 1Pet:3:12. Ha! Will He be disappo

Ps:59:14-15 They return at evening snarling like dogs And prowl about the city They wander about for food And howl if not satisfied. Snarling and growling is for animals who are aggressive to get what they want. And when they do not get or are dissatisfied, they utter a helpless howl. It is beastly to behave based on your mindset. It is feral to react based on your habitude. To yell when you are angry. To raise your voice to express dissatisfaction and to ascertain your point. But What will the godly do?  What will the wise do? What will the one who has found his strength in Him as his fortress do?  Sing praises.  Sing of your love  What a stark contrast? Assured. Completely at peace. Completely satisfied. No matter how adverse my situation is, I will not be loudmouthed. I will only move about confident in my position in Christ. That I am the Lord's beloved. For He is my God, my very great reward. My fortress. My inheritance.

Psa:58:11 There truly is a reward for those who live for God. Reward; not just on the other side of death. Not just a fantasy. Nor a fantastic imagination  Because the verse begins - then at last everyone will say... In this world everyone will see and acknowledge God  If you live for God - if God is your standard God will surely reward here on this earth  But far be it; that I am focussed on that reward. Far be it I am focussed on the golden crown I will receive. When I die and and go to heaven. Waiting for what I am gonna receive. Because that is the picture we often have perceived. Secondly, What is the reward that I desire? Is it a golden house which my Jesus has gone to prepare For me; studded with the most precious stones  Is it a wonderful orchard with lots and lots of trees. That comes to fruition in the corrected appointed time. Is it the riches and glory and the pompous treasure that I would inherit I am your very great reward; God says Do I react with ecstasy or

2Kings:25:27 Jehoiachin was a king of Judah who did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It was during his time that Babylon invaded Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar himself came as patrol and Jehoiachin was taken prisoner along with others in the royal lineage. 37 years Jehoiachin was in prison. Lost all hope. He might have thought of ending his own life a thousand times. A king by blood. Now worse than a slave. A captive. An exile. And then his time changed. Another king named Evil- Marodach  comes to power and he shows kindness to him. He is released from the prison. He is given a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. He is given new clothes and allowed to done with the king. The king was kind to Jehoiachin. He raised the head of Jehoiachin. Why? No reason. It comes all under the umbrella of God's grace. It is natural to point fingers to the Babylonian king and question him. Accusing him of partiality. Why did he show mercy only to Jehoiachin? But let me ask yo

Psalm:57:1 Have mercy on me O God, have mercy I look to you for protection I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings Until the danger passes by. The safest place I would ever want to be Is under the shadow of your wings. The Lord is my protection. He covers me with His pinions Security. Assurance. Confidence. From the heat of the evil around me. From the claws of the evil one. From the dangers of his evil angels. Safe under His protection. Safe in the shadow. He will cover you with His feathers He will shelter you with His wings. Ps:91:4 In that shadow will I rest. Serenity. Calmness. Peace. No frantic running about. No frenzied delirious rat race to be involved in Just close your eyes and indulge in His shadow. He is in control. He is my Abba. For nothing can seperate me from The love of my God. For under the shadow of His wings. I am closest to His own heart.

2Kings:23 Josiah was running around that day. Quiet a hectic day. Why was he busy? He was busy obeying the Lord. He did all those things in response to reading the law of the Lord. There was no rest for him because he pledged himself to obey the Lord. He demolished and removed everything that defiled the Lord's temple. He was restless and uneasy till everything was done. How busy are you today? What have you planned today? Bed; pillow and a comfy mattress is not your destination. Let your footwears wear out walking for the Lord. Let your nibs break writing for the Lord. Let your muscles ache. Let your voices crack, speaking for the Lord. If there is still nothing else to do, sit on a chair and study the Word. Kneel down and pray till your knees hurt. Shed your tears and intercede. Pray for your children. Pray for your friends. Not for blessing. But that they too would be restless till they obey God. That they would pledge themselves to obey God  This is no time to relax

Afraid? Fearful? Uncertain? Fear is one emotion which paralyses you. It ties you up. It corners you. It sometimes amputates you. Sometimes it decapitates you. You are not sure what to do when you are captivated by fear. It might be fear of an event or a person or about the uncertainty of future. It might be fear of performing or fear of being acceptable before others. Whatever the cause is, fear kind of constrains you and prevents you from taking further action. This verse has been with us ever since a time of heavy uncertainty in our life which happened about 9 years back. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. Psalm:56:3 Yes, you can't think of doing anything when you are afraid. All you can, is to trust. Because this same God said. Do not fear, for I am with you. Isa:41:10 Yes when you are afraid, just activate the trust mode. Just hold all the more tighter on to the strong arms of Jesus. Hug Him more tightly. Enjoy His embrace more fervently. Just close your

2Kings:22:3-13 Because Josiah sought the Lord; he found the Lord. The scrolls of the law were somewhere lost in the temple. At the time of Josiah; when there was restoration of the temple, the scrolls were found. And when it was read out aloud; Josiah got the revelation. We have not been doing everything it says we must do. There is conviction of sin. There is repentance and there is more inquiring of the Lord. God wouldn't be found in His entire identity on the busy roads. His attributes, His very nature will be found only when you decide to restore the broken temple. And conviction of sin is an integral stone in that restoration.  Unless there is tearing of clothes, there is no true encounter. Unless there are rended hearts, there is no true healing. Unless there is wearing of sackclothes there is no blessing. Unless there is repentance there is no restoration. Because sin was the original thing that prevented your access to this Holy God. So unless this root cause is

You can be the difference. Neither Josiah's father, nor his grandfather were good. For the past fifty seven years, Israel was filled with all sorts of evil and detestable practises.  Everything was evil. Everybody was evil when Josiah came to power. A helpless eight year old comes into power. Not knowing what to do. All his examples before him was evil. But he chose to be different. He chose to do things that was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord  Are there these curses that run in your family? Are there things which you are not sure whether you will be able to get over? Are there habits which you yourself started unknowingly and are now unable to overcome? Are there traditions that you have been doing which you know is wrong but not sure how to stop doing it? The Spirit convinces,nudges. Yet you face the reality. You struggle. You strive hard to get it over. But all invain. Josiah, the eight year old could do it. So can you! You might not be that strong willed. Do you h

I have heard your prayer 2 Kings:19:20 It is indeed a wonderful notion that your prayers are all heard. That your prayers do not go invain. And it is not heard by a helpless being. But an Almighty God. The confidence that your tears do not go waste.  Psalm:56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows You have collected all my tears in your bottle You have recorded each one in your book When you can't even utter a word, your tears would tell it out for you. Those times would never go in vain. The Spirit prays. Don't worry, your cryings and your prayers would never go in vain as long as it is in His presence. In the presence of the All surpassing King who is your Abba. Wouldn't He act on your favour?

Based on King Hezekiah's prayer after he received a letter from the messengers of King Sennacherib of Assyria. 2Kings:19:14-19 You are not a God who is confined Is anything difficult for you; is anything impossible? All you ask is that we would come to you When all aides fail; when all helps cease You alone are God; Help me Lord. You are not a God, whose identity is a figure Wooden or golden or metallic, who is limited. Yet a person: who has an image and likeness A God who is in favour of those who love Him You alone are God; not abstract You are not a god, created by imaginations Created by necessity of a supreme being that can surpass all A superhero, created by man's fantasy to rescue him You are God; always existing; Alpha and Omega You alone are God; Almighty All powerful You are not a god, like the shifting sands Who has a standard today, something else tomorrow Says something today, and then a different one tomorrow Who compromises; who has favourites You alo

You think you will be at peace when you let him win? You think you will be left alone for good, when you succumb? You think you will enjoy the pleasure, when you submit to the temptation and yield to him? There is more misery. More slavery. There is more internal conflict. More being entangled. More deeper within the maze. More being trapped, rather than being released. The heaviness of the weight he exerts, it will be more arduous. More onerous it would be to release yourself from the tangles. His offers are all in vain. He is the father of all lies. 'Just one more time.' But it would never happen. Never satisfy. Money, lust, power, pride, fame, loneliness, disappointments are his powerful weapons. Each time you surrender, he finds it easy to conquer the next time. But a NO would change it all. Each victory will help you some other to win. But not by your might or willpower. But by grace. In quietness and rest in your Father who would rush to disentangle you. Just

One of the idols that Judah worshipped was the Nehushthan, which was nothing but the bronze serpent that Moses raised in the wilderness. This was demolished by King Hezekiah. - A national entity - Raised by the greatest of them - A rememberance of God's deliverance - As instituted by God Himself Becomes an idol - 2Kings:18:4 No idol is sacred. All of them God abhors. What is your Nehushthan? Do i have the courage to throw it away from my life? From my home? No matter how sacred it seems. Can we pursue only God and His word in our lives. Sometimes the Bible also becomes an idol. In the sense, you keep it under the pillow for protection. You read it with the wrong motive. Not to know Him. But for the sake of it. For the fear of punishment. As a responsibility. As an obligation. You kiss the bible. You touch your face with it and all the other rituals... No matter how sacred it looks, can I live without it. (Again very thin line. The question is not, can I live without rea