Heart Of Worship
Every Sunday you sing so many songs at church. Have you ever wondered how were these songs written? It is the worship of the song writer. Those anointed songs have been written under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Those songs minister to us, but that is not our worship.
Worship is not just singing songs, but it is offering yourself to God. Worship is a lifestyle; living in His presence each day and enjoying His freedom and love.
Every Monday, as I sit to pray, I use a song to worship. I sing that song for the entire week. I make it my song. That song isn't my worship, but the song that comes from my heart, the words of thanksgiving for the Lord is my worship. My words may not to be too fancy, but what matters is my heart. Am I being honest with God? Am I giving Him my best or am I giving Him my leftovers?
So, I will be sharing a song every Monday. Don't just listen to it. Don't just sing it. Let the song minister to you. Worship and let a new song rise from your heart to your Maker.
V Rage
How does it feel to fight for something that is already yours? Does it make sense to fight for the rights that have been already given to us?
I have been pondering over it for a long time now-ever since I heard about 'STOP THE V RITUAL'. For those who don't know about it, here's the story:
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/meet-the-stop-the-v-ritual-cousins-who-are-fighting-the-kanjarbhat-communitys-demand-for-virginity-tests-on-brides/articleshow/62677606.cms?utm_source=mumbaimirror&utm_medium=Whatsapp&utm_campaign=referral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ge7rRalP7U&feature=youtu.be
https://www.mid-day.com/articles/90-year-old-grandmother-female-executive-schoolgirls-challenge-virginity-test/18987150
I really felt proud of the bold step taken by my childhood friend, Priyanka. It hasn't been easy for her nor for the others who stand against this social evils. They receive threatening calls and face the risk of physical violence.
As I read the news articles, heard the story from her and saw the interviews, I could feel a rush of rage within me. In a time that we talk of development, empowerment and modernisation, we carry a baggage of rituals. We all have certain beliefs that seem rational to us, but someone else might find it irrational. There's nothing wrong in following the traditions that seem right to you, but is it right to enforce these beliefs on other individuals? Is it correct to embarrass and insult our daughters or sisters in the society for nothing?
How practical and rational is the idea of enforcing your beliefs on someone just to cause embarrassment? How are women being empowered by it?
As a woman and a citizen of India, I have a right to enjoy my freedom and equal status that my Constitution offers me. I shouldn't be struggling to enjoy these basic rights. But on the contrary, our women struggle; struggle to have access to these rights. Some are not aware of these rights, some are too afraid to stand up for their rights, while those who stand up for their rights are faced with hatred, called names, beaten, raped or even killed.
I rage against these evil practices. I rage against the people who try to curb my freedom. I rage against the unequal treatment I receive. I rage against the fight for something that I deserve and belongs to me. I am not a garbage bin, and I won't keep accepting the thrash the society decides to throw in me.
Can you, as a woman, decide to stand up for yourself? Can you, as a man, decide to respect the individuality of a woman?
#VRage
#Stopthevritual
Psalm 23 - Part 3
How Do You See Yourself?
David has not only beautifully described the role of our Shepherd, but he has also recognised himself to be God’s sheep. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. He acknowledges them and boasts about the grace of God that alone carries him through.
Psalm 100 : 3
Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
As a sheep, he knew that there were times he got distracted and strayed away from the word, presence and promises of God. He went on his own on dangerous paths; yet he was never afraid because his Shepherd was always around. With His rod and staff, he would discipline and comfort getting him back on the right track.
He is assured that he will always walk in the grace, favour and victory of God. He was calm because he knew the power of God. He knew that His Shepherd will always be faithful and will love him and care for him even in his darkest hours. He was sure of being encompassed by His presence till eternity. Can you trust that your Shepherd watches over you with the same confidence that David had?
Psalm 23 ~ Part 2
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
A part of Psalm 23 talks about the Shepherd. While meditating on this Psalm, all I could imagine was the intimacy between David and God. He knew His Shepherd so well. No wonder he could so freely and without any shame worship the Lord. No wonder he was so crazily in love with the Lord. He talks about how the Shepherd loves, cares and corrects. Jesus has laid down the best example of a good shepherd. https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.biblegateway.com/passage/%3fsearch=Isaiah+40:11&version=NIV&interface=amp
A few qualities I could understand about what David saw in the Lord were :
- He takes care of all our needs. There’s nothing we need to worry about when we know that our Shepherd is in control. https://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/passage/?q=matthew+6:25-34
- He ensures that we are satisfied and that we will lack nothing. He is sensitive to our needs and proves to be more than enough for us. He comforts His sheep with His presence. When the Shepherd is around, the sheep will be at peace and will have a sense of security. https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.biblegateway.com/passage/%3fsearch=Psalm+27:3&version=ESV&interface=amp
- The sight of the Shepherd rejuvenates the sheep. They can trust their Shepherd to lead them in the paths that are right and involves no danger. The Shepherd is always around and never leaves His sheep. https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.biblegateway.com/passage/%3fsearch=Psalm+27:10&version=NIV&interface=amp
- He disciplines and comforts because He loves His sheep. With a rod, a shepherd can gently nudge a stray sheep back into line or, using the hook, pull a sheep from a dangerous spot. The rod is also used as a weapon to defend the flock against wolves and other invaders. He makes provision for His sheep in advance. His anointing over His sheep is enough to get them abundant blessings. When the battle seems lost, the Shepherd completely turns the table in favour of His sheep. He ensures that His sheep is always on the winning side, even if it means laying down His own life. https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.biblegateway.com/passage/%3fsearch=John+10:11&version=NIV&interface=amp
Psalm 23 ~ Part 1
Whom do you trust?
David had a rock-solid confidence in God. He didn’t wonder whether God was going to give him food to eat, clothes to wear, or a place to live. Part of that confidence came from his experiences. And part of that confidence came from the fact that David knew God very well. All of David’s hopes and dreams were caught up in the Lord. Even if he had been forced to go without some of the things that people consider necessities, he wouldn’t have missed them much. His trust was in the Lord.
Your situations might make you feel that you’re alone, you’re hopeless and cannot be healed again. Rather than living in a dead situation, live in the life Christ offers you. Before you let the Devil know about your God, you need to know Him and trust him; the Devil already knows the power of God. We let him in through open doors because we don’t trust in God and we don’t realise His power. I saw every problem as a dead end in my life till I didn’t completely recognise the power of God in my life. Today when I do, I can easily depend on Him even in the times of trials. I can easily praise and worship Him, dance even when it hurts and rejoice even when there is no reason to do so. My situations may not give me a reason to rejoice; but my God surely does!
Touch Me Not!
All of us have learnt about sensitive plants like the mimosa. They close themselves when touched. As kids, we used to find that very amusing. And as grown ups now, it is equally amusing to find people with so much of sensitivity. As Vishwas, a brother in church once told me, ‘I find people become more sensitive after accepting the Lord.’ As I pondered over it, I found it to be a fact. We can find ‘touch me nots’ more in the church than what we may find in the world outside. All of us, somewhere down the line, feel bad about almost everything and anything thrown at us, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally.
We feel bad about not being smiled at, not spoken to, not taken extra care of, our needs not being noticed, being discussed in our absence, being addressed in our presence, and so much more!! And each one of us has gone through this phase at some point of our Christian life in our fellowship with our spiritual family. Some of us have matured through it while some of us prefer to remain stuck down there.
Most of the sensitive people would be the old members who demand personal attention for everything. The scenario should actually be the other way around; the new members should be given more love, care and attention by the older members. That’s how we work together in the family of Christ. Not putting down one another, but encouraging one another. When we gossip and not be open about how we feel, we create barriers for ourselves. Much of those barriers are unnecessary and wouldn’t have ever existed if we were open and clear in our communication with each other.
Philippians 2 : 1 - 7
Hebrews 5 : 12 - 14
When God was dealing with this issue in me, I realised why did I feel so bad about little things that shouldn’t make a difference? And God showed me the answer through my mom. When I see her serving people in the church, as their spiritual mother, I see her love for them just as her love for my sister and me. I don’t find her service for them any different from all that she does for us. When I learned to embrace people as they are and love them, even though we do not belong to the same biological family, I found it easier to accept correction from people, take jokes lightly and be open about how I felt. I realised that just as you can’t develop a close bond with every other person in your family, you might not be able to bond closely with everyone in your spiritual family. In spite of it, the love of Christ keeps us bound and even if we are not closely bound, we can still be available for each other to help, love, care, share and pray. When we view our spiritual family like our biological family, we’ll be able to stand by each other at all times with unconditional love. My mom has always taught me that the spiritual family is as important as the biological family and she has lived by it.
1 John 4 : 7 - 21
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