Ask, Share & Receive

My mom had a tough pregnancy and had almost nearly lost me . Many were covering us in prayer during that time. The nuns in the convent, I have been told were offering prayers for us ,when mom went into labour .My parents not only prayed for a healthy and normal child but also pleaded with God for a girl child as the older two were boys.   And then I arrived,frail,feeble,shivering,a tiny baby girl. An answer to their prayers. The   nuns in the convent wished to be the ones to give me a name and they decided to name me - Mini !!  Not knowing that the tiny child would grow up to be so very tall that people would call her 'maxi' !   Being tall,in my school days caused me so much of embarrassment. People used to look at me as if I came from some other planet. In the northeast of India where I grew up and did my schooling and college most of them typically have an average height which was 5:5 and I exceeded that by 4 inches .   It really no...

What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”Matthew 8:27 Jesus and His disciples were traveling in the boat on Lake Galilee when a storm hits the boat.   The above statement was a conversation between Jesus's disciples. The disciples of Jesus followed Him wherever He went . They have been witnesses to healings , deliverances and many miracles performed by Jesus . Despite all of it ,when they were caught in a storm they trembled . Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves and the storm, it became still ! His question to them was ‘ You of little faith , why are you afraid' ?   Are we not afraid when we are caught in the storms of life . Or are we not tossed around by winds, not knowing what to do? Have we not received breakthroughs ? Were not our prayers answered in the past ? Why do we still doubt then?   Sometimes our children also go through challenges and tough times ! Have we ever wondered how they cope up with the issues they...

Bangalore days have been a great chapter in my life . One of my greatest blessings was my first job where I made friends for life .   I stayed in a hostel and commuted to work. The food at hostels one need not explain -and a welcome change was times that I had opportunities to stay with cousins or friends and have some good home cooked meals .   Once I went to keep a friend company as her husband was traveling . At the middle of night something woke me up. As though I could sense danger. I saw a hand coming in through the window. I woke up my friend and we both froze .Then we heard someone trying to open the back door. Though the thief did not succeed in breaking into the house we had such a horrific and a traumatic night.   When we went to work and told our colleagues they were horrified too. Some of my friends advised that I should not go back there that evening . I was scared too but went back again as I did not want my friend to be alone and anyways th...

I was new in Bangalore and was looking for a church where I could go to. As I stepped into one I heard the pastor read out loud from the Bible .  “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.”[ Luke 4:18-19 / Isaiah 61:1-4] These verses were new to me but it stirred up something inside me . Looked like these verses were meant for my ears only as it brought me immense healing and com...

Driving in Delhi is definitely a great and overwhelming experience. With cows,dogs,humans crossing a busy road, our very best comes to the forefront coupled with a few flowery phrases. Amidst all of this one needs to be even reminded where ones headed to and be realigned to the course of one's destination. I have been told that if one has driven in Delhi then you can drive anywhere in the world !!!!   After driving for 15 good years and acing it with a degree in obstacle race   -driving in the Middle East was a different ball game.   The toughest of it was trying to unlearn what I had learnt before,to let go of my ego and learn driving right from the scratch as a new driver.   Though getting my license gave me a high the thought of driving here made me edgy. Fast lanes , high speeds , speed cameras, unfamiliar roads , stringent rules made me nervous . However in all this I learnt quite a bit ! Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to spea...

Isaiah 40:31   But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.   One weekend we were trying to decode a video clip that my son was given as his English homework. We watched the clip as a family and decided to bring in our own perspective to the table . It was a very interesting watch.  The story from my perspective was of a man ( who looked very alienish ) and was journeying in space . He had seen a   glimmering light in a distance to which he wanted to steer his space ship. Along with him was some treasures that he was carrying and also a dragon that was tied to the ship . Suddenly a storm starts raging . He and the space ship could have gotten destroyed . However he started discarding   the treasures he had hoarded and had no option but to released the dragon too . His space ship became more lighter and started prop...

It’s strange but being as human as we are , we keep going back to our hurts . Nursing our hurts means our wounds get deeper and fresher with no signs of healing. It’s difficult to forgive specially when you have been wronged and deeply hurt.   Technically you have every right to remain that way .   However let’s see if the Bible has something different to says about forgiveness .   The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to forgive others (Mathew 6) Jesus says that we need to forgive others seventy times seven . Means en number of times . (Mathew 18-22) We need to partake in the Lord's supper in a worthy manner so that we don’t stand in judgement(1 Corinthians 11:27) We need to get reconciled to our brother and then come and offer our gifts at the altar (Mathew 5:24) When we stand praying, if we hold anything against anyone, we need to forgive them, so that our Father in heaven will forgive us our sins ( Mark 11:25) The secret ingredient to be...

Be still, and know that I am God [ Psalm 46: 10 ] Being still was not something in my dictionary for a very long time .   When I look back to my growing up years I was the one who would not be quiet at home or in class . I was always mischievous and daring and always ended up getting pulled up or getting hurt and at times landed up with critical injuries   . My dad used to be so anxious if there was a call from my school or home while he was at work as invariably I would have ended up hurting myself and had to be rushed to hospital .  However when I transitioned from school to college, I was a more mellowed down person - Thankfully !!! In my initial spiritual walk too , the fact of being still was missing for a very long time . Always anxious, fretting, burdened and worried when I was faced with difficult and trying situations.   During one very trying time and left with no option I started having a monologue with God - “ Lord you said that ...

Have you felt that your sins are too many to be forgiven   ? Are your sins from the past hounding you ? Then let me introduce you to the verse which says - ‘there is therefore now no condemnation if you are in Christ’ . This means what ever be the nature of your sins , Christ will forgive you . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow- Isaiah 1:18 In the Bible we see the passage where a multitude of people were waiting to stone an adulteress. Jesus did not preach a long sermon to her and remind her of her sins and all that she had done . He saw her heart which was in anguish and shame and tells her that her sins are forgiven and that she should sin no more  [ John 8 ] Likewise the Samaritan woman at the well had a life changing experience [John 4]. Jesus being God knew her past and the life she had led but He forgave her and spoke goodness into her life . She went back home feeling blessed and overcame every guilt and sin from her p...

The 'Eye' Specialist in the medical term is called an Ophthalmologist ! However there may be many in our midst who may be an ‘I’ specialist or for that matter may have met   few ‘I’ specialists at some point in time .   Well how do we recognise this kind of - specialist  ? The ‘I’ specialist specialises in putting themselves first in everything - This means ' I ' want to have my way all the time , ' I ' know   everything , ' I ' need to have the last word in every conversation, ' I ' am right and the others are wrong ,' I ' need to be in charge always, ' I ' need to be in the limelight , I- I -I all the time !!!!  Sometimes I feel that it’s only the great   “ I am “ who can open their eyes to see things in a better perspective. It’s ok to let go , it’s fine to put others before you , it’s good to hear what the other person's perspective is even if that means if it’s coming from a junior employee at work , ...

2 Corinthians   2:15   One Sunday morning on one of my metro rides in Delhi , I got super impressed when I saw a young gentleman(non Indian) carrying a big Bible with him . During our very short conversation he told me that he is new in Delhi and still figuring out a church to go to . I was happy to help and decided to give him my number when he asked me for the same.   However this was a bad decision. Despite him knowing that I have a family he started   to bother me with unwanted calls . It was getting too much that my husband had to intervene. He was upset that I trusted a stranger with my number. However I got easily misled by the big Bible that he was carrying and thought he would be a fine gentleman! Must say this incident left me to be more wiser and discerning. Carrying a Bible does not mean that we carry Christ like qualities in us . Christ like qualities translate into actions . This can only happen when we become not only hearers ...