Living a fulfilling life as a Lean Christian in a Fat World ©

Luke 2:48 : ……His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” According to the Jewish customs, when Jesus was 12 years old Mary & Joseph brought him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover.   After traveling a whole day on their return journey, Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not among them; neither was he with their relatives or friends. They started to panic, and worry and were overcome with grief.   They decided to travel back to Jerusalem in search of Jesus.   After three days on finding him in the temple, Mary asks Jesus , “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” In modern day America , Mary and Joseph would have perhaps faced serious charges of negligence. As parents of a 12 year old child, they would have been responsible for the whereabouts of Jesus.   They assumed that he was with their family.   I presume that they were too busy

Whenever we read the Christmas story, we are always reminded of this verse from Luke 2:7  (ESV) 7  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn . Isn’t intriguing to see that “there was no room in the inn” for Joseph, Mary and for the birth of baby Jesus. In the story of Christmas, we see an obedient young virgin girl Mary who was doing what God said to her through angel Gabriel. One would imagine if God has given her this task then God too would help them through it.   But the story of Christmas tells us differently. The story starts with Joseph thinking to divorce Mary, since she was pregnant, but through an angelic revelation he willingly accepts Mary. Right before the delivery of the baby, there is a decree from King Herod forcing Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.   Travelling through the rugged terrain of Israel, they hope they will find a good place to stay.

Luke 24:32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" It is the 3rd day after the crucifixion and Jesus has just resurrected from his death on the cross.   On the same day we see two people walking to a “ village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem ”.   After a few moments Jesus appears to them and starts walking with them.   These people did not recognize Him and he jumps into their discussion.   However, only later in the evening when they were going to eat dinner did they recognize the person who was walking with them from Jerusalem .   As soon as they recognize Jesus, he disappears from their sight, and that is when these words were spoken by these men.   I believe the words spoken by these men communicate a truth, which many times we ignore.   That is, when Jesus spoke and opened the Word of God to them, every word spoken by Him made their hearts burn.   As I

“I will never succeed”, “I will not get a promotion”, “My dad had cancer, so I too will have”,   "I will not get admission", "My marriage will never be joyful",   "My relationship with my brother will never become okay."  We constantly hear these negative statements within the circle of our family or friends. Inevitably, in due course of time this comes true, even if we believe it or not now.   S uch comments are not only uncalled for, but dangerous. God loves us so much that he wants to bless us, but many times we seem to be inflicting damage on ourselves by putting a curse or a hindrance to our blessing.  There is an interesting story in Luke 1, about a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They both were very old and they “were upright in the sight of God.” However, they never had children. One day, as Zechariah was in the house of God, an angel from Almighty God came and told him that, “your prayer has been heard. Your wif

In the Bible there is a story about the Israelite's, where it took them forty long years to reach their promised land, which otherwise would have taken only 11 days (Deuteronomy 3:1-3).   It is also stated that God took them through a longer path since the Israelite's were not ready to take on their Promised Land on their own and would have become discouraged with the wars with the existing nations. Many times we get frustrated and angry when we see delays in our path of life.   Delays or hindrances seem unacceptable to us, since we are a rushing generation. The shortest path is our preference.   However, the shortest path may not always be the best path for us. Many years back, I remember the time after graduating from High school; I had not got admission into the top engineering schools in India. I was very disappointed, and sad. However, I joined a local college and was determined to give it another try, after studying for an additional year.   A year later

When I was a young kid I used to love watching the stars and the moon in a dark night sky.   I used to wonder how the moon shined and brought light to this dark earth.   It was in my science class that I understood that the Moon does not have any light of its own, since it has no internal source of energy, like the Sun. What we call moonlight was secondary light produced by light hitting the surface of the Moon. The beautiful moonlight was actually reflected sunlight. Another thing that I found interesting was that the moon had a dark spots. However, these dark spots were overshadowed by the magnificence and beauty of the moonlight. As we examine our lives we too can find some dark spots. On our own we too are like the moon. We too do not have a light of our own, since our life is marred with sin. As we journey through life’s struggles, we will be able to see our true nature revealed with pride, selfishness, wickedness, lust, fights, quarrels, hatred…etc.   Bible tells

Some time ago, my wife and I were planting some tomatoes in our backyard. Since the ground was filled with stones I started tilling the ground with a shovel to loosen the rocky ground. I started getting rid of the stones that were restricting the growth of the plants.   We worked hard all morning and were successful in removing most of the stones, but the next day I realized that in the process of gardening I had hurt my back and my hip was out of alignment. One of my nerves started pinching sending shrieking pain to my right leg and forcing me to go to my physical therapist for treatment. In midst of that pain I was reminded of God’s great love, that he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for us. The shrieking pain that I experienced on my leg was in no comparison to the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, which led to his death.  While I was working in the garden I never thought of the pain that I would experience, since I was more concerned about giving life to the plant

Couple of years of back, I had a manager who used to repeatedly tell my colleagues and I that, “Perception is reality.” He used to say it so often that it has become engraved in my mind. As I look back at that statement I believe there was some wisdom in that. However, if we truly understand this to its core, then we will fully comprehend its implications to love and relationships. We all interact and see others with a lens that is defined by them.   They try to understand other people using the same lens or based on their “perception” about them.   We behave, communicate, and express our feelings to others, based on our perceptions.   This perception becomes our reality of our life, even if it is faulty one. Many times we fail to correct that faulty view and continue to live life with the broken view of our perceptions.   This forces us to perceive others, the way they are NOT.   We expect them to behave the way we would expect them to respond. When others do what is natural

John 11:22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God , God will give You.” Several years ago, when my older son Edwin was a teenager, he asked me for a basketball hoop (as seen in the picture) at our house as his birthday present, we went shopping and found one at a good deal.   I had it installed next to our driveway, so that our children could play. My son was thrilled about it and continued to enjoy it for several years, until he moved out of the house for college.   Just like my son, don’t you hope that all our requests are answered like this and we too experience the same thrill?   However, when we are praying to our Living God, we do not seem to be getting the answers of what we ask. I am sure you have wondered why!  All the prayers seem to be vanishing in thin air and we seem to be without any peace.   We seem to be missing the thrill that my son obtained. I believe one of the key reasons for that is that we always seem to be approaching God with vague pet

On September 11, 2001, as I was working in my office in New Jersey , my wife called me and said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center (WTC). I was shocked to hear this news and checked the news websites for more information. As I sat about 35 miles away from WTC my heart was still in New York, since it was just 6 months back that I had moved to work for a firm in New Jersey. The subway under the WTC was part of my daily commute. I used to reach NYC every day around the same time when the two planes hit the Twin Towers . Who knows, I could have been one of the 4000 people who died on 9/11, but that day I was safely sitting far away from this terrible destruction, but  I was in a state of shock and sad to see the destruction of 1000's of lives. As utter destruction came into New York City in just one day, many people were caught by surprise.  But there was one symbol of hope that we all saw in the ruins of the WTC, it was the Ground Zero cross. Couple of years

The book of Exodus amazes me every time I read it.  It is an awesome place to see the mercies of God being exhibited on a bunch of self centered & rebellious people.  The verse in   Exodus 32:4  seems like an epitome of Israel ’s rebellion against God., " He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel , who brought you up out of Egypt ."    We see that God has just delivered millions of Israelites from their 400 years of bondage, made them cross the Red Sea without a single boat, destroyed all their enemies, gave them food to eat and water to drink in the middle of the dry desert and finally seventy elders of Israel went up to the Mount of Sinai and “ saw God ” and “ ate and drank ” with God ( Exodus 24 ).  Now these people who have witnessed, seen and experienced the power of the living God are so quick to make up an idol, and call it a god and best

The world we live in teaches us that if we have to be successful, we have to take care of our needs first, no matter what the cost. Other’s needs are not important for us. Does man get happiness when he or she considers their needs first? As a matter of fact, research tells us the opposite. According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one thing surpasses all the rest in terms of importance: "The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period." Good relationships cannot happen, when we are too focused on self, it happens when we begin to consider others first, give them time and be there for them, so that we can develop a good lifelong relationship. There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lif

About two weeks ago at least a billion+ people across the globe celebrated Easter. Wishes were sent through Facebook, WhatsApp, emails, twitter and phone calls were made to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. But today everyone has moved on with their life, the celebration is over and many have forgotten that, “Christ is risen!”   A question that we may ask, is Easter to be celebrated just one day in a year? Before we answer that question, let me share about a journey that God took me over the past 3-4 years. About three years ago, I came to a point in life where my life came to a standstill, when every area of my life was negatively affected by other people’s actions and behaviors - my work, my family, my friends, my activity at church & ministry and my own self esteem. It seemed like I was in the middle of a perfect storm. I had done nothing wrong to be in it, nor could I do anything to get out of it. In midst of that I started asking - When will this end? What did I

Many years ago when my son Jacob was young he was trying to ask permission to do something that was not allowed in our house.   He tried to by-pass me by asking his mom for permission. I recognized his sly trick.   I asked him to come close to me, but he would not come.   I persisted, but he continued to stay away from me.   He knew that he had asked the wrong question and now he was scared.   He thought I would punish him.   I called him again and promised that I was not going to spank him. I just wanted him to be close to me, so that I could explain why I had put that rule in our house.   Finally, after some persistence, Jacob took the courage to move forward and come close to me. I explained the reason for the rule and he agreed to do the right thing.   I know that he did not fully understand the reason, but my love for him, made him do the right thing. At that moment all his fear vanished, since I was able to hug him and make him feel comfortable.   All his  fears were N

Trouble, trouble, trouble, everywhere where will I find peace and hope!!!! If we are living on this earth, our life is filled with circumstances that many times make us lose hope with life. Some time ago, I know of a friend who lost her house & husband due to a big fire in her home. She survived with her son and daughter, who were not in the house. I am sure you too can relate some challenging circumstance like this? What can we do? Should we stay miserable, depressed or lose faith in God?      In Genesis 35:18 there is a story of Rachel, who has a terrible childbirth, where “As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni . But his father named him Benjamin. ” Rachel in her misery named her son Ben-Oni which meant “son of my trouble.” Can you guess the son’s future? If he had grown up with that name, he would feel terrible. He would always feel responsible for his mother’s death. All his friends and family would ridicule him for life, especial

Last week, Dr. Larry Nassar from Michigan State University (MSU) was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse of more than 150 athletes (including Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney, who won gold medal for USA in the Olympics). One of the 150 was one of my mentor’s daughter and listening to her testimony broke my heart. I could not come around to listen to others, since the pain was too much for me to handle.  Many of these girls/women were so broken that they had a tough time forgiving Larry for his crimes and the injustice they faced from all the authorities. As a man, I don’t think I or many others can fully comprehend the pain and suffering that these women went through or continue to struggle to find solace. All we can do is simply pray for these young women so that they can find hope and healing. Their life is ahead of them and God will bring them healing. Jesus assures us in, Matt 5:4 (ESV) “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I a