Day 19 - Genesis : Chapter 19

Yesterday was really a blissful and memorable day. When I close my eyes and re run the day I feel happy. 

Genesis 19

The angels reach the city of Sodom and Lot who is sitting at the city gates sees them. He knows the nature of people in Sodom - that if they see these handsome strangers, they might harm them. So he urges them to go with him to his house. Due to Lot's persistence, they go to his house.

In the night the people of Sodom surround Lot's house and demand him to send the 2 men outside. They want to have sex with them. Lot begs them to not do such a wicked thing. He says he will give his 2 daughters who are virgins instead.

This might be an argument against homosexuality. Lot clearly says that men having sex with the 2 men is wicked and that men having it with women is fine.

But the evil men outside do not listen. As they are about to break  open the door, the angels come forward, pull Lot back into the house and strike all the men outside with blindness.

Immediately afterwards, the angels let Lot know the true objective of their arrival - the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They ask Lot to gather his belongings and relatives and flee. Lot tells this to his to be sons-in-law but they don't believe him. The angels try to hurry Lot but he hesitates. So they take Lot, his wife and his daughters by hand and lead them out of the city. They ask them to go to the mountains and be saved from the destruction. But Lot says mountain is very far and that they would be able to make it only to the small village of Zoar near by.  The angels agree.

Once Lot and family reach Zoar, there is thunder lightning and rain of sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels had asked Lot and family to specifically not look back. Lot's wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt.

Early in the morning, Abraham looks down into the valley of Sodom and Gomorrah from the high place where he had stood with the Lord the previous day. He sees smoke coming out and knows that the cities didn't have even 5 good people and were destroyed.

Next day Lot and his daughters go to the mountains and stay in a cave. The daughters, may be because of their limited knowledge, think that the whole world is destroyed and tell themselves that there are no men in the world to marry them so that they could have children. They induce Lot to drink and in his drunken state sleep with him. Their children become Moabites and Ammonites.

The very fact that they made him drunk means that they knew Lot would not approve and it was wrong.There are other places in Bible where incest is condemned severely.

Day 18 - Genesis : Chapter 18

Today is our anniversary. It's been 2 years. Thanks to God Almighty. We got up early and prayed. A great coincidence was today's chapter being 18 !

Genesis 18

Abraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent. The time is afternoon. Suddenly when he looks up he sees 3 men standing there. Since it is hot, he invites them inside, asks Sarah to take the best flour and bake bread and one of his servants to take the best calf and get it ready for meal. He gets some water to wash the feet of the guests.
We come to know that one of the 3 is the Lord.
While they are eating, they ask about Sarah and when she comes, the Lord says to Abraham that in nine months, she will have a baby. Sarah laughs in her mind since she is very old and thinks it is impossible.
God asks Abraham why Sarah laughed at this
"Is anything too hard for the LORD? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son." [18:14]
She gets scared and denies.

After the lunch, the Lord and the angels (the other 2 men are angels), go to a high place where they can see Sodom. The Lord tells Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah have become so sinful that he is going to destroy the cities. Abraham gets worried and asks the Lord if he would spare the destruction if there were at least 50 innocent people. The Lord says yes. Then Abraham says what if there were only 45 ? The Lord says yes to this also. Abraham asks again and this way, he brings down the number to 5. The Lord agrees that even if there are 5 innocent people in the cities, he will not destroy them.

Day 17 - Genesis : Chapter 17

Sore throat is slowly coming down. Got 'Getting Things Done' from the library yesterday. I've been wanting to read it for years. So here it is ! It's a good sign. 


Genesis 17

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said that he will make a covenant with him that he will make Abram the father of many nations. Abram will be called Abraham and Sarai will be called Sarah. In return the Lord says Abraham and his descendants will have to keep a covenant with him - Every male child will have to be circumcised on the 8th day after birth. God also asks Abraham, his son Ishmael and his slaves to be circumcised.

God promises Abraham a son at the age of 100. Abraham laughs but God says it will happen and he will have to name him Isaac. God says that Isaac's descendants will form great nations. God also promises that Ishmael's descendants will make a great nation.

Abraham obeys God and gets himself, Ishmael and his slaves circumcised.
So circumcision is a sign of complete obedience to God and fulfillment of the covenant from the side of man.
In The New Testament, there is a passage from St.Paul that says , After Christ, circumcision is through spirit and not through flesh. - Romans 2:25 - 2:29

Day 16 - Genesis : Chapter 16

I started the day with a sore throat. It's become a vicious circle. Me getting cold, Ash getting it from me and then me getting it from her. So one of us is not-so-well at most times during winter!

Genesis 16

Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him any child and she was very anxious. So she followed the custom of the day and asked Abram to sleep with her slave Hagar. After sometime, Hagar gets pregnant. She becomes proud that she is going to bear Abram's descendant and Sarai is not able to do it. This upsets Sarai very much. She complains to Abram. But he says that Hagar is her slave and she can choose to do what she wants.
Sarai ill treats Hagar and forces her to run away.
Hagar runs away to the desert. An angel meets Hagar in the desert and speaks to her. He tells her that God has blessed her and her descendants will be countless. He asks her to name her son Ishmael. But tells her that he will live like a wild person. He will be against everyone and will live separately.
Abram is 86 years old when Ishmael is born.

Day 15 - Genesis : Chapter 15

Genesis 15

God tells Abram that he will give him a great reward.
But Abram asks him - What good is a reward if there is none to inherit from me ?
God answers him that the number of his descendants will be more than the stars in the sky.
Abram again asks him - How will I know ?
God asks him to bring a cow, goat and ram - each 3 years old and a dove and a pigeon.
Abram brings these, cuts the animals and places them in the altar. He doesn't cut the birds. He goes off to a deep sleep. When he wakes up, he hears God talking. "Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years" [15:13]

After the sun sets and it becomes dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch suddenly appears and passes between the pieces of the animals.God makes a covenant with Abram that he promises to give Abram and his descendants the land from the border of Egypt across the whole land he sees.

Day 14 - Genesis : Chapter 14

Yesterday's biryani was so heavy that I'd slept early. I guess it was so good that I ate a lot. Was in bed by 10. Got up around 4. For some reason was reminded of Paris travel earlier this year. Started writing about it. Day 1, Day 2 ... after 30 minutes, felt sleepy again and slept. Got up only by 10

Genesis 14

4 Kings attack Sodom and neighboring countries, take everything from Sodom and Gomorrah including Lot and his possessions and go away. A man who escapes from this, runs to Abram and tells him the whole story. Abram calls together all the fighting men in his camp forms an alliance with others (Mamre the Amorite, his brothers Eschol and Aner) and pursues the 4 kings. His army defeats the 4 kings, gets all the possession back and frees Lot.

The king of Sodom is so happy that he offers the loot that Abram gives back to him. Abram doesn't take any. He says he doesn't want anything but his allies should have a fare share.

Day 13 - Genesis : Chapter 13

It's Christmas day. Ash has a slight fever. It might be because of standing in the cold in Church yesterday night. 

Genesis 13

By the time Abram returned from Egypt to Southern Canaan, he was a very rich man - lot of sheep, goats and cattle. Add silver and gold to that. Lot was also rich. It so happened that their servants quarreled against each other. So Abram decided that it was best for them to part. He asked Lot to pick the land of his choosing. Lot chooses the land in the east and Abram stays in Canaan.

The Lord speaks to Abram again telling him that he will bless him and that the number of his descendants will be so many that they will be more that the dust on earth. This to a man who is close to 90 and does not have a child yet. But Abram is a believer.

Abram moves to Hebron and builds an altar for God.

Day 12 - Genesis : Chapter 12

Christmas is almost here. Christmas tree looks fine. Waiting to attend Qurbana in the new Church in the evening. Waiting to eat meat after 25 days !

Genesis 12

The first verse in this chapter is about Abram's calling. Divine calling can come to a person at anytime. The moment it comes, you're a different person. God tells Abram to go from Haran to Canaan and says that he will bless him and make his name famous. Abram does exactly the same - Goes from Haram with his wife and Nephew Lot. Once he is in Canaan, he builds at altar for God.

While he is staying in Canaan, there is a famine and he has to move from there for survival. So he and Sarai go to Egypt. He knows that since Sarai is beautiful, Egyptians might kill him to take her. So he tells everyone that she is his sister. The court officials of the King see that she is beautiful and mention that to the King. King takes Sarai and gives plenty of gifts to Abram. But soon after, the land is filled with diseases. King understands that it is because he took another man's wife. So he give Sarai back to Abram and asks him to leave the country.

Day 11 - Genesis : Chapter 11

The issue got solved. We got the merge approval and everyone is happy. I'm mightily relieved !

Genesis 11

The chapter starts with the story of Babylon and how languages were created. The story goes like this. People came to a plain in Babylonia, settled there and said to themselves, "Let's build a tower so tall that that it reaches the sky. Then we could all be staying here and not be scattered". But as the saying goes, 'man proposes and God disposes' ! God decides that these people are filled up with so much of pride that he decides to spoil their plans. He mixes up their languages and they being not able to understand each other get scattered all over the world.

Next section speaks about Shem's descendants. Shem, as we saw earlier, was one of the sons of Noah. He is the ancestor of all the Hebrews.We see list of Shem's descendants till Terah who is the father of Abram (who will later be called Abraham).

Terah had 3 sons - Abram, Nahor and Haran. Abram has a wife Sarai. Haran dies at a relatively young age. Haran's son is Lot. Nahor marries Milcah, Haran's daughter. Sarai is not able to have children.
Terah takes son Abram and his wife and grandson Lot, leaves the city of Ur and goes to Canaan. Terah dies once they are in Haran (This is name of a place though it is same name as Terah's son. May be they settled in this place and named it after Haran.)

Day 10 - Genesis : Chapter 10

Yesterday was bad. Not the worst though. A had already sent a mail saying we cannot meet merge approval. I couldn't just give up and had been trying to get things straight the whole day. Escalated to all levels, involved so many to resolve the issue. Came back home from office at 2 AM. Slept at 5 AM. The issue is still not solved. The deadline is 4 PM today !

Genesis 10

This whole chapter is completely filled with names of people - descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth. It is like a chapter from Chronicles has been lifted and placed here.

Day 9 - Genesis : Chapter 7/8/9

The weekend was really terrible. Was down with flu from Friday night till Sunday night. Ash did remark that I work like a donkey day and night the whole week and crash on Friday night ! Barely recovered yesterday night to go to Church and do offshore call.

Genesis 7 / Genesis 8 / Genesis 9

These 3 chapters talk about the Flood and what happens after the flood.
The flood happens when Noah is 600 years old. As instructed by God, Noah takes 7 pairs of ritually clean animals and 2 pairs of unclean animals. 7 days after Noah put everything in the ark as God told him, the flood comes. It says water came from underground and above. The flood continues for 40 days. Even the highest mountains on earth are completely covered with water in the great flood. Rain stops after 40 days but the water doesn't come down for another 150 days.

Interesting to note that in the movie 2012, people come out of the 'ships' to see the outer world after 40 days !

At the end of the flood, the boat comes to rest on Ararat mountain ranges.  After 40 days after the 10th month (land begins to appear at the end of 10th month), Noah sends a raven which just circles around and doesn't come back. Then he sends a dove which comes back since it doesn't find any land. He waits for another 7 days and sends the dove again. This time it comes back with the branch of an olive tree. Then he waits for another 7 days, sends the dove again. This time it doesn't come back.
After a year, earth starts to become dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.God tells Noah to come out of the ark with his family and multiply and fill the earth.
He also promises that he will never again put such a curse on Mankind.

God blessed Noah and his sons and said, "Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth. [9:1].  God says that he is placing all the animals and plants under the control of Noah. He says that now Noah can eat animals as well as plants. So it means before this man ate only plants ! So even though Cain gave an animal as offering, he didn't eat it ? May be. So man was a vegetarian first and then non-vegetarian. Vegetarianism is natural. Non-vegetarianism is advanced.

God also places Rainbow as a sign of his covenant with Noah. It is to remind us of his promise that he will never again bring such a big calamity on earth.

So Noah started his new life on earth. He planted a vineyard. Once it so happened that he drank so much that he lost consciousness and was lying down drunk naked. His son Ham saw this and told his brother. His brothers took a robe and covered him. When Noah woke and came to know this, he cursed Ham.

Noah died at the age of 950.

Day 6 - Genesis : Chapter 6

Today we need to complete My eBay integration. Otherwise, we may not get merge approval. I checked the FP in the morning and it still looks bad. Looks like unless I get into it again, it may not really happen !

Genesis 6

God looks at the world and is totally dismayed. It probably degenerated into a very bad place much soon that it should have been. He decides that people will not live longer. 120 is the maximum age. This chapter also warns strongly against wrong kind of intercourses. "Heavenly beings" mentioned here are probably people with great physique and personalities. Angels cannot marry humans. In fact angels do not marry at all. They are spiritual beings and not human beings. Read commentary in the link above for more explanation.

God tells Noah - "I have decided to put an end to all people. I will destroy them completely, because the world is full of their violent deeds." [6:13]
He also tells Noah to build an ark and gives the exact dimensions and material. Also tells him to put all kinds of animals in it.

Am reminded of the movie "Ewan Almighty" - It truly captures how people would have ridiculed Noah and how tough it would've been for him to construct the Ark. It was indeed a miracle.

Noah, a true believer, did exactly as God commanded.

Day 5 - Genesis : Chapter 5

It had been raining badly yesterday. Hope today would be fine.

Genesis 5

This chapter talks about the Descendants of Adam and about the extra ordinary number of years they lived.
Adam - 930
Seth - 912
Enosh - 905
Kenan - 910
Mahalalel - 895
Jared - 962
Enoch - 365 - He was such an excellent man that God takes him away. He just disappears and does not encounter death. The only other person who is taken up in flesh is Elijah.
Methuselah - 969 : Oldest man mentioned in The Bible
Lamech - 777

The chapter ends mentioning that Noah was 500 years old.

Day 4 - Genesis : Chapter 4

We don't have approval to rollout code today. There are still some bugs pending. If we get quiet period approval today, we might be in trouble. Well, I'll just have to say that we cannot rollout today and give explanations. I promise self often that I will not check work the moment I get up but I did today. It was the thought that I got up with.

Genesis 4

This chapter begins with the story of Cain and Abel - children of Adam and Eve. Cain becomes a farmer and Abel a hunter. They give offerings to God and he accepts Abel's but rejects Cain's. Win of Non-Veg or Veg ? May be Cain's food was not cooked well. Anyway, since Cain is rejected he is furious, so furious that he kills his brother. God had warned him against this but he did it anyway. So God punishes him to be a wanderer but puts a mark of protection on him when he says that he could be killed.

Descendants of Cain are mentioned after this. First man to have 2 wives - Lamech is also mentioned at the end. He commits the second murder and says "If seven lives are taken to pay for killing of Cain, seventy seven will be taken for mine." Either he was too haughty or he had too much of favour from God.

Day 3 - Genesis : Chapter 3

It's been a bad morning. I've gotten up with an enormous feeling of being highly over burdened. I know it will pass.

Disobedience of Man

Chapter 3 talks about the disobedience of Man. Snake tells woman that if she ate the fruit in the 'Tree of Knowledge', she would not die (this is what God had told the Man and Woman) but know what is good and what is bad. Well ! the snake didn't lie. The moment woman and man ate the fruit, they became aware of themselves - their nakedness and covered themselves with fig leaves.

God's Judgement
Snake would crawl on the ground.
Woman would have childbirth.
Man has to toil !

They are sent away from the Garden so that they don't eat from the Tree of life.

Greatness of God is that immediately after he pronounces the punishment, he clothes Adam and Eve.
3:21 And the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.

Day 2 - Genesis : Chapter 2

My Friend, N had a baby yesterday (Actually today ! since it was around 1 AM). It was so nice to see a new born baby. Makes one wonder and appreciate God's miracle in the world.

Genesis 2

The second chapter tells 2 things
a. God took rest on the 7th day
b. God made man from dust and woman from his rib.

The second creation account can be viewed independently or as a detail of God's creation of Man. Here Man is the focus.

We have the famous quote that we see in Marriage invitations here
" That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one. " Gen 2:24

God formed Man from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils and he became a living being. God put him in the Garden of Eden. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The river from Eden separated into 4 rivers - Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates.

God tells Man,
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." - Gen 2 : 17

Then God decides to make a companion for Man and creates Woman.

Why God created the Tree of knowledge if he knew that Man and Woman would eat it ? He knew that they would eat and be banished to suffering. May be it reminds us that all our suffering is due to a cause. For every suffering, may be we will ask ourselves the question, "what did I do ?". What if we didn't do anything ? God has a reason, better things are yet to come.

List 1 - Creation Events

List 1 - Creation Events

Day 1 : "Let there be light".
Day 2 : Creation of Sky.
Day 3 : Creation of Water and Land.
Day 4 : Sun and the moon appeared in the sky regularly, seasons also became regular.
Day 5 : All kinds of living creatures on the sea and birds were created.
Day 6 : All kinds of living creatures on the land were created. Then, after all this, God created human beings.

Day 1 - Genesis : Chapter 1

It is a Sunday. It is 9.30 AM. Qurbana in Palli starts in exactly 15 minutes. I'm sitting at home feeling vacant since I'm not in the church. I have a really bad cold, throat pain and headache. Bad combination. This winter has been tough.

Read the first chapter of Bible. Genesis Chapter 1.
I've read this chapter countless number of times. Reading from "The Good News Bible" that I got as a gift after 10th standard in Sunday School.

Genesis 1

This chapter explains the story of creation - the first 6 days.

First day God commanded "Let there be light". So earth got light and darkness before anything else.
Second day, Sky was created. That means atmosphere as formed.
Third day, land was created. That would mean that earth was covered with water at first and then land began to emerge. Once land was formed, there were all kinds of plants. So plants were the first living things to be created.
Fourth day, Sun and the moon appeared in the sky regularly, seasons also became regular.
Fifth day, all kinds of living creatures on the sea and birds were created.
Sixth day, all kinds of living creatures on the land were created. Then, after all this, God created human beings. Viola !
God looked at everything and he was pleased !

Question
I wonder why God refers to himself as "us" or "we"

Common Verses
1:3 Then God commanded, "Let there be light"---and light appeared.
1:27 So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,

The Robinson/Bible Project

Inspired by the Julie/Julia project, I have once again started reading The Bible. 
I must have started this more than 10 times in the past so many years.

This time, I'm hoping to finish it - cover to cover. 1 chapter a day.

1189 chapters 1189 days. Hoping to complete this in a little over 3 years.

Broken Flow

Ah ! I couldn't maintain the flow of writing a line or 2 daily on Grace.
It's been more than a week.
Will try a hand at twitter and edit this post to put the link here.

Here it goes -> http://twitter.com/grace4themoment/

The Worshipful Heart

"Come, let us worship him and bow down,

Let us kneel before the LORT who made us."

- Ps 95:6

Even after so many years of praying, even after having such a rich heritage of prayerful fathers, we still stumble to pray. If we have to pray from our heart aloud, words stop short in our throat. Why? 

We need to ask ourselves why. But we have a gift, a sourcebook that can solve the simplest and the most complex of our troubles - the Word of God - The Holy Bible. 

Let us read the Psalms. It has prayers for all occasions. Very very heartfelt and intensely personal prayers. Glory to God for giving us the Book of Psalms. 

40th Day of Great Lent (40th Friday)

Hymn (Qolo)

Today is the end of the Fast and the Passion of Christ is near.
Blessed are those who pleased Him by fasting
and who carry spiritual gifts for the day of the Resurrection.
They will receive their reward with those who loved Him.

Our Lord fasted forty days for our sake
and He gave us an armour with which we can defeat
the wicked Adversary who, at the beginning,
caused our fall by eating and deprived us of our inheritance.

Let each one consider how much he has gaind by the Fast
and what he has obtained through the glorious warfare.
He shall come, the Lord of the talents,
and behold, it shall be as He foretold:
He will reward each one according to the increase.

We give thanks to Jesus, the Victorious King,
for His goodness and for His victory over the Evil One,
for His humiliation and His recovering of strength by His Holy Fast,
for His being trampled underfoot for the sake of the believers.
Behold, they sing praise and offer thanksgiving to Him.

source : http://mymalankara.wordpress.com/

You Were in His Prayers

"Then Jesus went about a stone's throw away from them,
He kneeled down and prayed."
- Luke 22:41

The final sentence in the passage is this and it makes you think a lot.
On the eve of the cross, Jesus made his decision. He would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.
If we know the depth of suffering that Jesus went through, we wouldnt spend a moment without thanking him. He led a model life, he cured people, he prayed for us, he also died on the cross for the sins of others.
Many people have so much hatred in them that they plot putting someone into danger every moment and other plot putting these into to a pothole of misery in turn.. and it goes on. Jesus became a victim for all to vent out their anger and dispair. Once the anger went out, there was only love left. Jesus, thanks for absorbing all the evil in the world.

A Man of Sorrow

"He is despised and rejected by men.

a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief."

- Isaiah 53:3

The passage shows Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane. 

Jesus as a man of sorrow.

The first scene in the movie - "The Passion of The Christ". 

Reminds me of a sign at the back of a car that was just before us a couple of days back - "Pray until something happens". 

In your sorrow, keep praying. God will strengthen you and solve your problems. 

A Cross-Shaped Shadow

"John said 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"
- John 1:29

Jesus had said I'm the Shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep.
He knew all along the cross that awaited him.
A cross-shaped shadow always loomed over him.
Yet, he knew that it is God's will and his purpose in life.

Whatever happens in our life, we should go ahead by knowing that it is God's plan for us. Be hopeful that God has planned better things for us.

God's Name

"The LORD is my shepherd, I have everything I need."

- Ps 23:1

God has a name and we can call him by name - "Yahweh" or "Yehovah".

The fact that we can call God by name itself proves how close he is to us.  How close he chose to be to us. Thanks God. 

The Meeting of Moments

" They put him to death by nailing him on a cross,
But this was God's plan which he had made long ago. "
- Acts 2:23

The passage re-emphasizes that God knows everything.
Sometimes when we see how the world moves and all the things happening around, we might feel like - Why is God letting this happen ? Does he know that they are happening ? If he knows bad thing would not happen. The thought process might leave us completely confused.
But everything happens with a purpose. Everything is for good. Everything is for God's glory. He knows what is happening and what will happen.
He saw the cross when the forbidden fruit was eaten.
Let's trust in the infallible wisdom of the Almighty.

Love the Overlooked

"Put on the apron of humility to serve one another."

- 1 Peter 5:5

I'm reminded of a Christmas story in which Jesus appears to a man in his dream and tells him that he will visit him on Christmas day. He is very joyful, makes great preparations and waits for Jesus on the day. 

The day come, the man eagerly waits with a lavish feast and best arrangements in his home. He hears a knock and goes to the door to check. It would be a beggar asking for a little food or money ! He gets disappointed. Not wanting to waste time, he shoos him away. 

After sometime an old lady comes and asks for some heat since it is very cold outside. He says he doesnt have any space. 

This goes on a couple of times and the man always shoves them away with one or the other reason since he is waiting for his main guest - Jesus.

The day goes by and Jesus doesnt come. 

In his dream, the man sees Jesus and asks him, "Jesus, I waited for you all day. Why didnt you come ? "

Jesus answered , "I came not once but many times. The beggar, the old woman, the cripple .. they were all me"

The Shepherd's Voice

"A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live"
- John 5:28-29

The passage is about the day when everyone will hear Jesus's voice. The living and the departed.
For some, his voice would be familiar. For some, it would be strange.

The sheep who've been always near him would hear his voice as they've always been hearing.
Others who went away would hear the voice but only once. They would not recognize it.

I think Jesus talks to us daily. In the very minutest of things that we do, he urges us to do them all right. Let's listen to him.

You Are Mine

"Our lives are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ"
- 1 John 5:20

Tonight's passage has a short anecdote about how Max worked with his publisher to get this book out. The publisher could've stopped this book from getting out but they signed on. They had trust in the power of the book and the effect it would have on everyone who read it.

God knows our entire story, entire life. Even if we go astray, even if we're imperfect in his eyes, he lets us go on. He has trust on us. He says "You are Mine. I know you will do well". Thank You God.

One Incredible Plan

"He humbled himself and was fully obedient to God,
even when that caused his death - death on a cross"
- Phil 2:8

God has a plan for everyone in this world.
He is someone who knows each hair in your body and knew your course of life while you were in your mothers womb.
Amidst all tribulations and triumphs, all ups and downs, let's remember that things will get better. Everything is for good. It is all for the glory of God's name.

The 6th Sunday of the Great Lent - Catholicate Day

We reached church exactly at the time when Qurbana started. 

The veil opened and we saw sushrooshakkaran holding candle and walking and Achen following him with dhoopakkutti 

( Deacon holding candle signifies John the Baptist and Priest is Jesus himself). 

Since today was "Sabhadinam", I thought we'd be able to see flag hoisting but I guess we missed it by just a few minutes (or so I thought). 

Today's Gospel

The Gospel of the day was about Jesus healing the blind man. 

His disciples ask him, "Rabbi, who sinned, the man or his parents ?"

Jesus says "None of them. He was born blind to glorify the name of God. "

Jesus healing the blind man is probably the most amazing of all miracles. A man is experiencing, for the first time, something that he'd never experienced in his entire life. 

In all the other miracles, be it 'Healing the leper', 'Raising Lazarus from the dead', 'Healing the paralized' ... people always went to a state they wanted or knew about.  The blind man could never have any idea of how the world looked when his eyes were opened. 

I think in many ways this is the exact experience that every one who received Gospel had. 

Achen's message today was not on Jesus healing the blind but about "Church day".  He said how wrong it was to say "Why should we come to church, we can pray from home. God is everywhere".  He said it is a heresy to say that. We should never ever speak anything evil of Church. It is the bride of Christ. Church was established by Christ himself. 

He said he couldn't do the flag hoisting in the morning. I was kind of glad to hear that. 

We had it after the Qurbana. 

After reaching home, I searched for some more material on Catholicate day. Found this in an ICON post in ICON yahoo groups .

Source :  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/22908

The Church celebrates Catholicate Day on the sixth Sunday of the Great Lent. The

Catholicate was relocated to Malankara on September 17, 1912. On that day,

Patriarch Abul Masih II of the Syriac Church installed Murimattathil Paulose Mar

Ivanios as Catholicos Baselius Paulose I in a solemn ceremony at Niranom St

Mary's Church, signalling the assertion of freedom and independence of the

Mother Church of India founded by the apostle St Thomas.

On each Catholicate Day, we renew the pledge to uphold the freedom and

self-respect of the Church under all circumstances and pray for the primate of

our church so that the Good Lord grants him long life, wisdom and the ability to

lead his sheep in the path of righteousness.

Along with that we also pray for the Holy Synod as well as the clergy and lay

leadership of the church so that the Good Lord guides them in taking wise

decisions.

Let's also use the occasion to reflect on the sacrifices made by the founding

fathers of the Catholicate to keep the flame of freedom aglow.

We remember LL HH Catholicos Baselius Paulose I of blessed memory who allowed

himself to be raised to this office in old age braving a phalanx of opposing

forces determined to snuff out the independence and self-respect of the Church

at the behest of foreign masters. He suffered greatly for this sacrifice but

remained steadfast to his ideals till his last breath.

We remember Vattasseril thirumeni, Saint, Malankara Metropolitan and architect

of the relocation of the Catholicate in Malankara. This valiant soldier braved

many a provocation, including an unjust excommunication, strife, threats,

violence and litigation, but held firm in his resolve to reclaim the dignity of

his church.

We also remember Patriarch Abdul Masih II, who travelled far in old age, to

repair the damage done to the fabric of fraternal ties between the Syriac Church

and Malankara by the usurper Patriarch Abdulla II Satuff. To prevent a

repetition of such events, he consented to the installation of the Catholicate

in Malankara, and using the authority of high office vested in him, issued two

bulls explaining the circumstances leading to the installation of the

Catholicate and the rights bestowed on the Catholicos, which reduced the powers

hitherto enjoyed by the Patriarch to a vanishing point.

We also remember all the departed spiritual leaders of the Church and the

valiant soldiers among the laity who gave a good part of their earthly life in

the pursuit of upholding the Church's independence and self-respect.

On this Catholicate Day, let's rededicate to conduct ourselves in a manner which

cherishes the heritage and pride which comes with being a member of the Mother

Church of this great country of ours.

God bless the Catholicate in Malankara which represents the aspirations of a

people.

ICON MODERATORS     

Other links

• http://www.stmarysnova.org/documents/Catholicate_Day_2007.doc
  
• Origin of Catholicate , Patriachate & Vision - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/10071
• Catholicate History - http://www.icon.org.in/icon_catholicate_hist.icon

Loved by God

"The Lord loves you."

- Deut 7:8

This is a great message that echoes through many of the passages in "Grace for the Moment". 

God's love is a deep well from which we can always draw from. When we have this everlasting and unending source, why should we hesitate in giving our love to others ?

If we love others, we lose nothing. 

But if we don't love, do we lose something ? 

What is the use of keeping all the treasure that you got for free ?

What is the use of a well that has water but is locked that no one can draw from it ? 

If we could give something to someone, something worthwhile, it is love and consideration. 

Footprints of Discipleship

"All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other. "

- John 13:35

The passage starts with a glimpse of a father and son walking on snow. The father walks ahead and son stretches, jumps to follow him on the footprints. 

God led the way.

The disciples followed his footprints.

Our ancestors followed the footprints of the disciples.

We're following the footprints of our ancestors.

By following tradition, we're following the path of God. 

Teachings of God is the only lasting thing that we can pass to the next generation. 

It ends with a question. Will others be blessed by following your steps ?

Hear His Music

"The Lord disciplines those he loves"

- Heb 12:6

Oh ! today's passage was a bit shaking. 

God's music is lovely. But due to all the noise, we just igore it. So he stops them one by one and makes you listen to it. When all is gone, job, wealth, health, what is left.. but God ?

A says God does that often. He takes luxuries and sometimes necessities away so that we can pray? May be it is to make us understand the price of things. 

God's Priority

"Depend on the LORD;

trust him,

and he will take care of you."

- Ps 37:5

Paul says a man who doesn't feed is family is the worst kind. 

We are God's family. He will feed us. He will attend to all our needs.

God will give everything that we want. 

God's Child

"The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God.

And we really are his children."

- 1 John 3:1

There are so many positive assertions in today's reading.

You are God's heir and a co-heir with Christ

You are eternal like an angel

You have a crown that will last forever

You are a holy priest

You are a treasured possession

..

If there is something important to us, it is important to God.

Reliability

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much"

- Luke 16:10

The passage talks about saints, who were always reliable, who were steadfast in their faith. 

We need to follow their example. 

But does "Being Reliable" mean you always do what is expected by someone else ? A thinks that is what the term means. Playing to the expectation of the relatives and the world. Hmm.. I think we always set the expectation with others. Why would others expect something that we cannot do. We set the expectation, we meet it, we're reliable. If someone sets unrealistic expectations of us, we need to make things clear. 

Life Is Not Fair

"Love your neighbor as you love yourself"

- Gal 5:14

The passage says "Life is not fair. It is a fact".

It's so jarring just to hear this. 

Yes yes, we know .. but you always think.. sometimes life is a little unfair but most of the times it is ok. It is probably our impression that it is unfair and it is really not so..etc.

But when someone says point blank, "Life is unfair", you're a bit lost. You might get angry a bit. Why is life unfair ? 

Well, it doesnt matter if life is fair or unfair, what matters is if we have harboured hatred for anyone or not. 

A Godly Touch

"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said

'I will. Be healed!'"

Matt 8:3

If we've been touched by Jesus, we can touch others and make a lasting impression in their lives. 

Helping someone is the best thing we could do in our lives. 

What is Grace?

"My grace is enough for you.

When you are week, my power is made perfect in you."

2 Cor 12:9

These lines in the passage struck a cord. 

Grace is something that you did not expect.

It is something that you certainly could never earn. 

But grace is something that you'd never turn down. 

The passage made me think of people who preach Gospel. I've always wondered what motivates them ? What motivates someone to take the risk of preaching a concept (or "religion" if you call it) to a stranger ? Why would you even talk to a stranger when you know that the world is full of weird people who might hurt you ? I guess it is "Grace" ! The overwhelming feeling of having received something so great for free wants you to give some of it to others. It is the yearning to make the world a better place. 

Today is "Vachanippu Perunal" - this is celebrated exactly 9 months before 25th December to mark the day on which Angel told Mary of the good news. 

A Few More Scenes

"'In this world you will have tribulation.' Jesus promises, 

'but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world'"

- John 16:33

Today's passage is about Christ having overcome "the world". 

We have so many troubles in our day-to-day life. But we need not worry because our faith is in a God who became Man and overcame the world. When he says "It is finished", that encourages us to go through with life amidst all the troubles cheerfully.

A Cloak of Love

"Love .. always protects" - 1 Cor 13 : 4 - 7

If there is anything that can save the world, if there is anything that is more precious than everything else in this world, if there is any word more important than others .. it is Love.
Love is a 'cloak' that protects us from evils and troubles. It saves us from trouble, it saves us from doing trouble.
Our God, our friends and family .. they are the ones who give us the cloak of Love.

The Standard

"Are we qualified to set the standards for holiness ? Why or why not ? Who is qualified ?"

The question reminded me of a TV program that I saw last Sunday evening. There was this guy who went out in the public and asked random people about God, whether they accepted if there was a God or not. Many people answered no !

Among the crowd of people our man spoke to, one particular person grabbed my attention. He said, he's been living a just life, has kids, wife, been married for over 20 years and has been a very good man always. So the TV host says, you are judging yourself by the standards of men. They are much lower than the standards of God.
"Have you lusted in your mind ? "
"Yes"
"Have you told a lie ?"
"Yes"
"There you go. You have sinned"

At that moment, I thought it was absurd. How high can one have his standards ?
It makes sense. God's standards are much higher. We don't set them.
Jesus said "You must be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).
If we think we're good, we must strive to do better.

God's Family of Friends

"Christ placed us in his family of friends. How have you been helped by members of God's family? How can you reach out to help your members and sisters in Christ?"

The passage says "when you put your trust in Christ, he not only pardons you but places you in his family of friends".
Church is a place that shapes the future of many people. If we look at people who are truly helpful and giving and ethical, they mostly had a very good community in their Church. One learns to truly share and do things as a group in Church. In Church, we start with the thought that "Everyone is good. Everything done is for Christ".
I have been helped by my Church members. I thank them every day in my prayers. There are many ways I can reach out. I could teach something. I could give money.
"How can we reach out ?" is a good question. There are so many ways to reach out to people in trouble. Yet often we tend to think, we're the ones in trouble and everyone else is leading a happy life. We probably tend to look only at our colleagues, that too only the ones who're doing well. May be we're seeing only the outside. They may have their issues. God, help in making the world a better place. Amen.

The Cloak of Humanity

Question for the day :
"Take a moment to read the fourteenth chapter of Mark. What are your impressions about Christ's prayer? How does this encourage you to trust God? "

Mark Chapter 14 describes the events that became the turning point for humanity. These are the main events (Headings from my Bible)

1. The Plot against Jesus
2. Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany
3. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
4. Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with His Disciples
5. The Lord's Supper
6. Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
7. Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
8. The Arrest of Jesus
9. Jesus before the Council
10. Peter Denies Jesus

It was good that "Grace" recommended reading this. The day started well and made me think a lot. Jesus, who knew what is coming, prayed so earnestly at Gethsemane. How hard should we, who know nothing about what is coming, pray ? He taught us that however great our troubles are, we can pray. We have a God who listens to us. Pray earnestly. This is probably the best lesson during this Lent.

Remember Jesus

"Explain why we are always better off to forget the negative and focus on Jesus instead"

If we dwell on negativity, we tend to lose hope and become bitter.
In anguish, we might sin more.
Remembering Jesus elevates us to Godliness.

Dark Nights - God's Light

How does God want us to respond when the night is dark ?

God wants us to have hope and faith.
He wants us to take our troubles to him and know that he will solve all our problems.
Pray. That is the solution to all problems.
Pray and we will have no problems.

Grace For The Moment - Enlightenment

We've been reading this book for over a couple of weeks now. 

It is really good. Inspiring and thought provoking.

There is a question at the end of every reading and I always write a sentence or two. 

A gave a good idea to blog this. 

Grace For The Moment - Discovery

March 8th !

A & I were in Barnes&Noble after a very good game of Scrabble. She said she wanted to buy something for me and suggested going to Macy's, I said we'll go to B&N and buy a book. 

"The Ode Less Travelled" was the book I had in mind. We were in the bookshop for a couple of hours and didnt decide on a book. Some were too large, some too small, some had poems that we'd already read, some were costly.. I just found some reason to not buy. 

I always felt that all the books that I bought always beckoned me. All the books were not conscious decisions but they'd just happened. 

"Grace for the moment" happened just like that.

We thought we'd just browse through the "Religion books" section and there amidst all the books was this leather bound edition. It was a special edition which contained Morning and Evening versions.

We will try to read this every day - day and night.