GHG - 11 (JESUS CHRIST HAS BEST PLAN ABOUT YOUR LIFE)

“This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” – Psalms 118:23

When I was studying at the final year of my diploma studies, everyone around me were talking about the higher studies. During my diploma studies, my physical health was not so good and I could not study properly. So my percentage is very low and I hated the studies. I didn’t have a plan to go for higher studies. All I wanted is to study a course related to computer hardware and to open a computer accessories shop. 

There was a government college in our city which was so popular for the B.Tech (UG) engineering studies. So many of my friends had a dream to get into the college and they started preparing mentally in the final year of our diploma studies. 

One day my mom came to me and told: “Dear son, the economic status of our family is not so good. So never dream to study in a private college. If you could get through the entrance exam of the government college in the city we can pay your fees or else you have to go for a job. And remember; once you get into a job you can never get into studies again. So all you have to do is to try to get into that government college.”

I know for sure that I won’t get into that government college for I had lost hope on myself. The Head of our department in which I had studied diploma studies is an elderly person. As I said in the previous article he used to smoke in the class hour and ask us to buy cigarettes and tea during class hour itself. He is a very elderly person and best in knowledge related to our studies.

He used to conduct coaching classes for the entrance exam of that government college and only those who study in that coaching class will get through the entrance exam. More than hundred people will compete in that exam and only top six will be selected. I heard that there will be negative marking also. Moreover I do not want to attend the coaching class which was conducted by my HOD because I do not want to buy any cigarette for him.

Once we had completed our final year diploma exams there was nearly one month for the entrance exam. The coaching class was started and all my friends went and joined there. They called me but I refused to join any coaching class. I thought I will sit in my home and study by myself. Soon my friends had forgotten me and they never told me any important questions or the method to face the entrance exam. They all strongly believed that I won’t get through the entrance exam. Even I believed the same.

As my entrance exams day was getting near, I put my trust in the Lord and pleaded to Him for His grace. I studied to my level best and not as best as everyone. My parents were also praying for me so earnestly.

There will be 120 questions in the paper and every correct answer will be given 4 marks and for every wrong answer 1 mark will be deducted. I didn’t know anything about the negative marking because none of my friends told me about this.

The day came. I prayed and went to write the exam. On that day morning my mom told me that she and my dad will be praying during the entire 3 hours of my exam. I kept that on my mind and I went into the exam hall. I decided to answer the entire 120 questions for I thought there won’t be any negative marking for wrong answers. I prayed and started writing. 

Twenty minutes exactly after the exam started I found out that I had answered nearly 80 questions. I do not know how I answered but then I remembered my parents who will be praying for me earnestly throughout the morning exam hours. So I answered the rest of the questions very slowly and came out of the exam hall after the exam hours got over.

Then came my friends who asked me how much questions I had answered and I told them that I had answered all the questions. They laughed at me and said that no one who answers all the questions will get through the entrance exam. I felt so sad and returned back to my home. But somewhere in my heart I had a faith that Jesus Christ will do a miracle.

After two days one of my friends called me and told me that I had got through the entrance. I could not believe that. As promised Jesus Christ did a marvelous thing in my life on that day. I ran to the exam center to see the results and I was placed exactly at the sixth position. 

The other friend who called me that evening told me that they went to see the results as a group. In that group everyone was so amazed to see my name in the selected list. As they stood there surprised one guy who belongs to the other religion told about me to them like this: “We know about him. He didn’t get through by himself and he will never get through this exam. His God whom he believes did this for him and enabled him to get through the exam.”

As he said it’s not me who cleared that exam but Jesus Christ who did this miracle for me. Out of 5 students who got selected from that city, except me everyone studied in that coaching class and among the total of 6 students got selected I am the one who answered all the 120 questions.

Jesus Christ did a marvelous thing on that day in my life and He gave me that degree through His abundant grace.

My dear young friends, Jesus Christ will do marvelous things in your life. You might be expecting a blessing in your life. Do not be discouraged. He will do a miracle in your life. He will never let you go down. He will be your Father and will satisfy you with His blessings. You will dwell in peace and joy that He gives you. When you face a difficult situation just look to Him for help and He will never cast away anyone who comes to Him. Your miracle is on the way.

Not only God fulfilled my biggest desires, but He even fulfilled my smallest desires. There was a time I used to fall sick often and I begun to hate medicines to the core. Then one day I went to Jesus Christ in prayer and prayed a small prayer which lasted for less than five minutes.

Did God heard my prayer and healed me from all the sicknesses? Did He fulfill my smallest desire?         

-         To be continued in GHG-12

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SAYS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU - VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL

“And so we know and rely on the love of God has for us. God is love....” – I John 4:16

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – I John 4:10

Recently I met a guy and we were talking about the love between the opposite genders. He was talking to me about his own life experiences. He had failed in a love relationship in the previous year and now he is in a love relationship with another girl. He was happy about the past failure even though he was not sure about the success rate of the present relationship. As I talked with him he told me one statement which really had surprised me. He told like this: “We can love any girls we want. There is no need for us to worry about the future because once this love matter was known to her parents surely her father will intervene and will not let us to marry. So we can love whoever we want and let not worry about getting married with them for it won’t happen at all.”

I know this guy for more than 2 years and he seems to be a very good guy to me. Now I understood that because of him, quite a few girls were got affected in their mind. He is trying his level best to help them come out of their problem which was caused because of him. But yet what is the use of it when he failed to love them truly.

Many a times even in our lives we get disappointed when someone doesn't love the way we had wanted. We want to commit suicide as we begun to hate our lives during the path of love failure. We think that no one can understand our pain of love failure not even God.

When I was at my teen age, I heard so many preachers saying God understand your loneliness because Jesus Christ has gone through loneliness as His disciples had fled away and so on. One day I had a question that how Jesus Christ knows the pain of love failure when not even He had not gone through that path.

As I asked God this question, Jesus Christ spoke to me saying: “I love My children so much more than anything. As they begun their life with Me they also love Me truly and we were in a love relationship. But when one particular person or any worldly thing brings in temptation in their life, they leave My love and run behind that temptation. At that moment, My heart grieves for My love relationship was failed. Even when I lived in this earth, I loved My disciple Judas with all My heart as I had loved others. But yet He never cared about My love upon him and He had left Me. Even at that moment My heart was broken because of that love failure. My dear son, I had gone through love failure and I am going through it even today. So I understand the pain of the love failure of My children. Even today I love My children who went away from Me for some other love and whom are standing now in love failure.”

My dear young friends, Bible tells us that God is love. Even today God loves you so much. You might have left God for some other love and today you might be standing all alone as your love had become a failure. God has so much of love upon you and for you.

Even today, Jesus Christ is telling you: “My dear child, I love you so much. I know the pain of your heart. If you come to me today, I will heal all your wounds and I will pour out My love upon your life so that you will forget all the bad days of your life. Do not think that you can come to Me after you become holy. No my dear child. You can’t be holy when you stand away from Me. Come to Me now and I will make you Holy by washing your sins with My blood that I had shed for you on the Cross of Calvary. I will never hate you for your deeds. I love you as you are and My love upon you will never change. I am love and I will love you forever.”

The love of human will fail you but God’s love will never fail you.

I know a young guy who was physically handicapped from his birth. He studied with me when I was doing my UG degree. He was a good guy and his parents loved him a lot. Things were going fine until he got into a love relationship with a girl in our college. She was a junior to us and both started their relationship in the computer chat and soon they fell in love. He believed that she loved him truly. They went so deep into the love relation. I know their lives as I was very close to him.

As soon as our college days were over another guy who was so handsome entered into her life. Slowly she started to love the other guy and begun to hate my friend to the core. One day she returned back all that he gave and had put an end to their relationship. He could not bear that pain of rejection and failure. He used to close his room for several hours and used to cry sitting in darkness.

He used to say to me that there is no reason to live anymore in this world. He thought that the girl will be his world but as she rejected him he could not find a reason to live in this world. As his mind was getting filled with the thoughts of suicide, his mother begun to cry to Jesus Christ in prayer. He also believed in Jesus Christ and poured out his heart to Him.

Jesus Christ heard their heart cries and He poured out His love upon him. Soon Jesus Christ took him to another city for higher studies and before he finished his studies, Jesus Christ gave him a good job with high salary package. Not only that He also blessed him with a loving wife and now He is living with his wife happily in a city called Chennai in India.

My dear young friends, God can do the same thing in your life. If you look to Him, He will change your life for good. He will enable you to overcome the thoughts of your past and He will heal your wounds and remove all your pain.

As you decide to look to God for true love, He promises you today that He will give you a brand new future filled with peace, joy and blessings. God bless you.

MEMOIRS - 1 (VOICE OF THE LOST SHEEP) - WRITTEN BY MS. AYSHWARYA

“Kutti…., Kutti…” 

Do you hear that sweet voice calling my name? Yeah, He is calling me. 

Oh! I forgot to tell you who is He? He is none other than my loving shepherd and I’m His little lamb named as Kutti. I’m living in a beautiful farm as one flock. 

I was enjoying every moment with my beloved shepherd who is always with me. He never left me alone. My great shepherd is sole provider of all that I need ^[1]. He finds pasture with green grass for me to eat and make me to lie down for rest and ruminate. He led me to still waters ^[2]; He would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and waters me ^[3].Every day He will lead me out of fenced pen to different places for grazing, He goes before me to show the way and I used to follow Him for I know and recognize His voice ^[4]. 

He knows my feelings, my weakness, my desires, my fears and anxieties, He knows everything about me, He understands me very well than anyone else because He loved me with an everlasting love. He calls each one of us in our flock by our own name; He gathers me in His arm and carries me close to His heart ^[5]. 

Whenever my shepherd saw me approaching poisonous weeds or getting close to danger of one sort or other He uses rod and staff to correct me and comfort me by keeping me under His protection ^[6]. He would risk His own life to save me from any dangerous situation that I my selves got into.

Once, while we were grazing in an outfield, there came a furious lion to attack our flock. We all were startle and scared. My true shepherd didn’t flees away leaving us to guard His own life, rather He leapt in front of ferocious lion wrestling with it ceaselessly in order to protect us. As I was watching this terrible tussle I was even more agitated to see my Shepherd fighting against dreadful being by laying His own life for the sake of rescuing us.

After a prolonged struggle, He was able to slay it. When I looked at Him I could only see His blood bleeding all over His body. He was severely injured. Even in this state of death agony, He was mindful of us ^[7]. Because immediately after slaying the lion, He came running to us, looked us with great love and quickly counted us to check and make sure all was well with us. He cared for us, sustained us and rescued us ^[8].

Day and night, He watches over us. Every night He lay down near gate of pen to protect us from our enemies. He is my great defender and I’m under His constant vigilance. As long as I’m with my dear shepherd I know for sure that I’m safe and secure from all danger.

On one particular day, as usual I was following my shepherd who His leading our flock to a new place for grazing, suddenly I was attracted by something out in the wilderness away from flock. It was very appealing and tempts me not to pay attention to my shepherd’s voice. Being a stubborn creature, I failed to obey His voice and I started to move on my own way which seduced me. 

As I strayed away from right path and moving forward to path that lead to a dark, shadowy valley which I ever thought about, I aimlessly wandering on and on, without knowing that I’m lost my way. 

All of  Sudden, I fall into a pit covered by labyrinth of wild roses and brambles when I tried to come out of pit soon thorns were so hooked in my wool. I couldn’t pull free by myself Instead I caught in firmly. 

I have been tossing to and fro to set myself free but everything went in vain, only pain and hurt that remains. As all my escape attempts failed miserably great fear gripped my heart due to real danger of wolf, which shall spy me out or the lion or the bear shall spring upon me and I would be torn into pieces in an instant. This very thought made me so nervous and was greatly terrified as I was out of my comfort zone, I will be perished soon. 

I’m going on bleating piteously in pain and dying because of thirst and starvation. I’m all alone vocalizing in high pitch calling out someone to save me and get me out of this distress condition, but no one turned. As time passed by I could hear a weir noises made me agonize. Oh, there is absolutely no one to rescue me from this pitiful, perilous and pathetic condition. I understood that I shouldn’t have left my defender because I’m utterly defenseless, hopeless, helpless and presently in great danger of cruel death. I thought that’s it… It’s the last night of my life. 

Although, I realized the fact that if at all I would have obeyed my shepherd’s voice, right now I too would have been stayed safely in my shepherd’s arms as other flocks are, but nothing can be done now.

A while later, I could hear mild foot step from a long distance which is very familiar and I recognized that it’s my shepherd’s foot step, my joy over bounds.

As He was nearing me I could hear my shepherd keeps calling me by my name and searching for me: “Kutti Where are you? , Do you hear me? , where are you?”. 

As I heard His sour voice, I could understand that He was calling me persistently for long time that’s why His sweet voice has become too sour. I hurried to respond to Him; merely I couldn’t raise my voice since I was totally exhausted. But still my heart is desperate for Him to find me and even He strikes me violently with His staff I’m not going to bother because I really deserve it.

Suddenly a shadow fall on me I lifted my head, It’s my shepherd and utter shock to see His ruddy and radiant face ^[9] turned into dark and dull. I astonished to see a drastic change in His appearance that He used to be charming but now because of me, He was too traumatized, weak and worn-out completely. As soon as He found me, He stretched out His hand and used His staff to rescue me by clipping away the bush and gently snipping away my wool.

He used that same staff to set me free from my entanglement. He lifted me gently and hugged me tightly to His bosom; I felt how much He missed me? At that very moment I thought how precious and special am I to my shepherd. Even Though I refused to listens His voice and ignored His direction still He didn’t give up looking for me. He left all other healthy good sheep and came thus far for me. I know I’m not at all worthy of His love; this thought brought uncontrollable tears which started to roll down my cheeks. He gently wiped away my tears and carried me upon His shoulder ^[10]. 

Will it be fair if I ever leave this loving shepherd anymore??

Note:
GHG Team thank Ms. Ayshwarya for taking up the responsibility to write this article.

Biblical References: 

[1]Psalm 23:1, [2] Psalm 23: 2, [3] Genesis 29:3, [4] John 10:3, [5] Isaiah40:11, [6] Pslam23:4, [7]Psalm 8:4, [8] Isaiah 46:4, [9] Song of Solomon 5:10, [10] Luke 15:5.

This article is written based on Luke 15:1-7 and Matthew 18:10-14.

THOUGHT - 18 (JESUS LOVES YOU A LOT)