Me and My Eureka Moments

 Unsure Times We praise God and thank Him when we come out of difficult situations. But what about the unsure times—when we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel? How do we react then? Will we praise God as we do when things are fine? Do we have the same faith as we do during " Testimony times "? In fact, " Unsure times " are when our faith should shine the brightest. This verse, although I have read it many times, suddenly made new sense to me: "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" — Luke 18:8 God asks me, “ Do you trust Me? If so, why are you anxious? ” It’s easier said than done. As humans, it’s almost natural for us to give in to anxiety. In times of uncertainty, we’re faced with two paths: Anxiety Faith Anxiety When we go down the path of anxiety, we might cry, spiral into a bottomless pit of "self-pity," and feel like the whole world is against us. But in the end, what does this accomplish? Jesus s...

The Beatitudes. I don't know how I started to write my blog on the Beatitudes, and little did I know the magnitude of each verse until I had written these blogs. I think I learned these verses in Sunday School, maybe when I was 10. Three decades later, I am finally beginning to understand their meaning. I just wonder how many verses I have overlooked. How many verses, which I can recite like rhymes, have truly taken root in my heart? For me, the Bible has recently become a guide. I find answers to almost everything in it. When I first learned the Beatitudes, I thought they were about people suffering physically in this world. I would think, "This isn't for me." Sometimes, I wonder, do we have to go through physical suffering to receive these blessings? And if I'm going through a tough time, I'll think, "Maybe the verses apply to me now." But what a misinterpretation! I was nowhere near understanding what Jesus was saying. How little I knew! How clos...

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:10 This verse tells about PERSECUTION vs RIGHTEOUSNESS. RIGHTEOUSNESS is defined as living according to our moral principles. For us, the Bible teaches what is right and what is wrong, down to the very thoughts we think. It is not just living according to a set of rules but reflects an inner commitment to goodness. As David says: Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. - Psalm 119:10 In His law, he meditates day and night. - Psalm 1:2 On the other hand, PERSECUSION. Nobody wants to undergo pain. Our first instinct at any point would be to protect our bodies. For example, if someone brings something close to our eyes, our eyelid automatically closes to protect them. Our body instinctively protects us from many dangers. It tells us when to stop eating, when to rest, and when to drink water. It is an automatic mechanism. Yet, if someone will...

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. — Matthew 5:9 PEACEMAKERS . Peace is such an important quality. Everyone strives to find peace. Sometimes we mistakenly believe that peace comes from wealth, and we chase after it. But true peace is a matter of the mind. There are people with nothing, yet they are at peace, while others who have everything are still searching for it. What we often forget is that peace is actually within us; we just need to look inside ourselves. Peacemakers are those who not only seek peace within themselves but also desire it for others. They want their surroundings to be peaceful. Sometimes, when we pursue justice, we may overlook peace. But with a little patience or forgiveness, peace can be easily achieved. For instance, if someone hurts us, our first instinct might be, " You hurt me? I’ll hurt you more. " But by doing that, we create a cycle of pain, going back and forth, instead of fostering peace. So, the first question...

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. - Matthew 5:8 "Pure in heart" refers to a heart that is sincere, free from selfish motives, deceit, or hypocrisy. No one but us and God knows our hearts. People see our actions and judge us by them, but God judges us by our intentions—our hearts. Pure heart suggests a state of inner moral integrity, where thoughts and intentions are aligned with goodness, kindness, and truthfulness. Goodness, kindness, and truthfulness refer to the fruit of the Spirit right?.  I think there are two major traits to consider. Integrity and Hypocrisy   Integrity   Heart and actions are the same. yearns for a good name from God. hypocrisy ,  Heart says one, but actions do another.  yearns for a good name from others. Getting a good name from people is fine, but what matters more is a good name from God. In that case, even if other people misunderstand us and judge us as bad, if we are pure in heart, we need not worry, as we have...

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. – Matthew 5:7 The merciful – Mercy can be seen as an act of grace, empathy, or forgiveness, especially toward an offender or someone subject to one's power. When reflecting on the meaning of mercy, the second part is what caught my eye. It is very easy to show kindness or mercy to someone we love. But what about showing kindness to an offender? Will we be able to show grace or empathy toward them? Now, having clarified to whom this quality should be shown, it's time to focus on what mercy really means. Mercy is defined as grace, empathy, or forgiveness. Grace : Unearned love. Earned love is so easy to give. If someone is kind to us, it is very easy to show kindness in return. But unearned love? Showing kindness to a person who did nothing to receive our love? Maybe we show unearned love to our kids. But what about others? What we should really think about is the love we are receiving from God—unearned love. Empathy: Putti...

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. - Matthew 5:6 Hunger and thirst. Jesus talks about feelings that we all can experience physically—hunger and thirst—and relates them to something spiritual. But it takes some thinking to actually connect the two. The feeling we experience when we are thirsty: water would be the one thing on our minds, and our bodies do all they can to find water. We will be satisfied only when we get water. It is the only solution to our thirst. But thirsting for righteousness? Do I have the "THIRST" for righteousness? Being satisfied only when I do the right thing? That's a question to ask ourselves. What is "righteousness" anyway? Everyone can have their own definition of righteousness. But where can we learn what righteousness really means? Here comes the "Word of God." It is a guidebook to righteousness. How blessed are we to have not one but multiple copies of the Word of God in o...

 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:5 Meek. For a long time, I misunderstood meekness as weakness. But what a stark   difference the two have! Meekness refers to a quality of being gentle, humble, and patient, especially in the face of adversity or provocation. It involves showing restraint and not reacting with anger or aggression, even when one has the power to do so. Meekness is not just about being submissive; it is about taking control of our emotions. It is common to give in to our emotions, especially anger, but it takes an enormous amount of willpower to control it. Paul says, 'In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.' - Ephesians 4:26-27 'In your anger do not sin'—What does this mean? In the heat of anger, we have little control over what we do or say. We easily give a foothold to the devil and put our relationships at risk. As the old saying goes, ...

  Blessed  are  those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. - Matthew 5:4 What is the quality that Jesus talks about here? "MOURN".  What does it mean to mourn? Mourn :  to feel or express grief or sorrow. A person can mourn only if they feel truly sorry - sorry from the heart. Is it possible to fake mourning? No. Fake crying is not mourning; it's just acting. When does a person mourn? A loss of something or someone and regret are the two reasons that come to mind. A loss of something or someone is something which we can't do anything about, other than finding comfort in God and hoping that we would meet them face to face someday. The other reason - REGRET - is something that is within our control. If we truly regret something and confess it to God, He is able to comfort us. I love how David expresses his regret. He talks about his regret in  many of his Psalms . For example, I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch wi...

 "The Beatitudes" Many of us know these by heart. But what does it really mean? I, for one, did not know or did not give it a thought until now. I am writing this blog as I dive  deep i nto these verses. Let's split the verse into two: "What should I do?" and "What will I get?". I like to concentrate on the former, and the latter is a gift which will follow. So what is expected of me is what I would like to know better.       Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5 : 3   After some research, found out that poor in spirit means "Humility". What is humility?  Humility -  the quality of not thinking that you are better than other people; I would love to be humble, but there is really a thin line between PRIDE . HUMILITY . INFERIORITY Often, I do find myself swaying from the one end to the other. Sometimes it ...

  Be still, and know that I am God - Psalms 46:10 This is a memory verse I learned when I was very little by heart. But it wasn't until recently that I truly understood its meaning. BE STILL .. what does it mean? Doing nothing, right? But when there is a storm raging around us, how can we be still? Or if we are going through a really difficult time, what does BE STILL really mean? This verse has been popping into my head for a while. My version of BE STILL has been "not thinking" about the situation at all. Maybe like an ostrich, hiding its head under the ground and pretending that everything is fine and being still. But when we think about the situation we are in, it all comes rushing back to us - the anxiety.  I don't think this is the right approach, this is where the second part of the verse comes into play.  " and KNOW that I AM GOD "  We cannot BE STILL if we think that we have everything under control. We can't manipulate our minds into not think...

"Why do you want to go to heaven?" This question changed my whole perspective. It made an impact on the way I see things.  I can think of three major reasons to go to heaven. I do not want to go to hell.  Well this was my reason. I was so scared of going to hell so I thought I will do whatever it takes to go to heaven. But if you deep dive into this reason, the  major focus here is ME . 'I'  do not want to get hurt. I stands tall here.      I want to go to heaven.  This would have been my second best answer. I love the description of heaven so much and would love to see all the beautiful things and enjoy the "happily forever" life. But if you take a deep dive again, the  major focus here is ME again. 'I' stands equally tall here. I want to be with God. If this is the answer, well.. heaven and hell does not matter at all. Heaven is just a gift and hell merely a punishment. But what I see, is GOD and not the gifts or the punishment he gives...

I was praying one day for a blessing that I needed very badly. I was so depressed and I couldn't stop crying while praying. I felt that my heart was so heavy and I couldn't bear it anymore. That is when a verse popped out from nowhere into my mind.. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for  and assurance about what we do not see. -  Hebrews 11:1 I started thinking about that verse. I have already asked God for this blessing. I thought if I had faith would I be crying now?? Hmmmmm.... NOPE... It was like the blessing is waiting for me in my timeline. I just need to reach there in order to receive it.  Now read the verse again stressing on the CAPS.. Faith is CONFIDENCE in what we HOPE for and ASSURANCE about what we DO NOT SEE . "DO NOT SEE" is what we couldn't accept. We have money in the bank. But we also have a passbook to see how much money is there in the bank. Hence we are happy because WE SEE the statement although we do not see the actual mo...