WHEN YOU ARE IN DESPAIR, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS - INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE (AUTHOUR UNKNOWN)

When you find it hard to get to sleep tonight; Just remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie in. 

When you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege. 

When you have a bad day at work, think of the man who has been out of work for the last three months. 

When you despair over a relationship gone bad, think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return. 

When you grieve the passing of another weekend, think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for $15.00 to feed her family. 

When your car breaks down, leaving you miles away from assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

When you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

When you find yourself at a loss, and pondering what is life all about, what is my purpose, be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

When you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities, remember, things could be worse. You could be them.

THE WALL - 16

LORD'S FAVOR UPON MY LIFE (CELEBRATING FIRST YEAR MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARY)

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord.” – Proverbs 18:22

One year before exactly this day I got married. Mine was an arranged marriage which was actually arranged and approved by God. Then our parents took care of all the ceremonies. Today when I look back at the past one year I feel so grateful to Jesus Christ for He led us thus far safely. 

When I got married, the marriage life of many people whom I knew closely was moving towards divorce. They said that they had no peace at all in their marriage life. Hearing their life stories, my thoughts and my mind were filled with great fear. But when I prayed and surrendered my marriage life into God’s hands, He gave me peace and protected us. 

Today we are celebrating our first anniversary together not because that I and my wife were good but because God is good in our life. I do not hold the hands of my wife and lead our family life but through His Golden Hands of Grace, Jesus Christ took hold of us and He led us thus far. That is the only reason we are celebrating our first year anniversary today with great peace and joy.

From the age of 17, I used to tell God about the expectations that I had regarding my wife. I thought my wife should possess a loving character and exactly God gave me a wife who has a compassionate and kind heart. 

She never stood as a disturbance for my worldly life as well as my Spiritual life. She wakes up early at 4:30 in the morning and she prays for me when I will be sleeping. Her prayer was a great support in my life. She helps me a lot to find Biblical verses when I prepare to give message somewhere because she memorize many Bible verses which I never did. 

When I usually go to my work place I used to find that many married couples who stay close to my work place will mostly eat their morning breakfast in canteen and at times they used to eat lunch also outside together. But I thank God for my wife who get up early and after prayer she will immediately go to the kitchen and she will prepare everything for me. 

In this one year, not even a day I ate outside because of the reason that she failed to cook. She is an excellent cook and many people who work with me like her cooking. 

I won’t say that we never had any misunderstanding. We are human and we also had some misunderstanding at the beginning. It took few months for my wife to understand me fully and at times we behaved so childishly in certain matters. 

Every time we had a problem and went to God in prayer, He used to point out our mistakes and He will teach us the way we should behave and talk. When we surrender ourselves to follow what God says regarding our marriage life we found peace and His divine joy residing on our hearts. 

I had a different kind of character. I used to stay alone and I won’t mingle with someone so easily. I love being alone and expect that certain things should be done only in certain ways. So many girls who have gone through my life as sisters and friends used to tell me that it is hard to live with me and adapt to my character. 

So when I got a wife who is so different compared to me, I feared. But God stood between us and He made us to accept each other as we are. To be frank I feared many things but God has never allowed those things to affect my life.

I thank God whole heartedly for protecting my family life and carrying us safely in His arms. Also I strongly believe that He will lead us till we die. 

Even today you might fear about certain things. As you see the circumstance and troubles that had surrounded you, you might say that your life will perish soon. Today Holy Spirit is telling you that whatever you fear will not happen in your life for you are protected under the wings of Almighty God. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Stay in faith. You will receive God’s miracle. God bless you.

DO NOT LOOK AT WHAT OTHERS SAY BUT LET GOD TO DO HIS WILL IN YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL BE RICHLY BLESSED

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:2

When I did my tenth standard schooling, elderly people around me used to say that I have to score more than 400 marks if I desire a bright future. By God’s grace I got 428 and I was so happy at that time. My happiness doesn’t last longer because immediately they said that I have to score good marks in higher secondary exams and only then I can have a better future. I joined diploma and everyone whom I know told me that our family had made a bad decision and I won’t be having a future at all. But God enabled me to complete my diploma in first class.

Then they told me that if I need a future filled with happy days all through my life I have to get a seat in a government college to pursue my degree. God gave me a seat in a government engineering college and I was filled with great joy. But people around me never allowed me to enjoy for they told me that I have to get through placement interviews. Whenever I was filled with happiness and peace thinking that I have achieved something people around me had set another task for me to finish. This made me feel tired and weary.

Different people came into my life at different times but they all did the same by setting a huge task before me all the time. Later I understood that if I hear what they say and try to achieve the task set by them I will not rest in peace at all. 

Even a year back many people were constantly asking my family members about the reason for delay in my marriage. Actually we were waiting for God’s will but we faced lot of difficulties through the words of others. They said that only if I get married, my life will be a complete in terms of worldly blessing. One fine day God revealed His will and I got married. I thought this people will leave me.

But soon after my marriage whenever me or my wife talk to our relatives or some known person the question they ask is about whether my wife was pregnant or not. Now they say that my life will be complete only if I get a child. Actually I am not bothered about this at all but my wife was light hearted and she feels bad when someone repeatedly asking her this question. 

There were times she won’t share about this to me but from the way she behaves I can understand her feeling. After my teen years, usually I won’t feel bad because of the words of others. But last week I was so disturbed and worried. I desperately wanted to do something about the situation of my life but I know only God can do that. I had no peace at all and I felt that I was in a helpless state. 

As I went through struggles in my mind, Jesus Christ spoke to me through Holy Spirit saying, “My dear son, you can never fulfil my will if you look at what others say about your life and what others think about you. I know what you need and particularly I know when to give the blessing that you need and when I give it at My time it will be a great blessing to you which you can’t understand when you wait for that blessing. So My son, do not look at what others say but submit yourself and let My will be done in your life and then you will be richly blessed.”

My dear young friends, there were times in our life we feel sad even after we had received God’s abundant blessings because someone around us might say that our life was lacking something. We thrive hard to be a successful person in the sight of the world but on that way we miss God and His ways. We stand vulnerable as we tend to lean completely on the scale by which this world measures our success. Finally we end up losing our peace and we feel tired about our life.

Today Jesus Christ is looking into your heart. You are tired. You lost all your peace because the words of your relatives, parents, spouse and friends had affected you a lot. The words they have spoken had already made you to feel like a handicap. You think you are of no use and your life was gone. You might have also lost the habit of doing God’s will and so guilt has occupied your heart and mind. Do not worry for anything and do not lose hope. 

Submit yourselves to the hands of Jesus Christ. Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world. Jesus Christ loves you so much and as you let God to do His will on your life, you will be richly blessed. 

Today Jesus Christ says to you, “My dear child, you are so precious to Me. In My sight you are a victorious person because you are saved and protected through My blood. Even now, you have not gone so far where My hands could not reach you. I will fill you with My peace and I will pour out My grace upon you. My grace is sufficient for you to overcome the temptations of this world. You will be a testimony for My glory. I will renew your mind and Spirit. I will exalt you at My time. You will live for My glory and I will bless you abundantly. You shall lack nothing” 

Let God's will be done in your life. God bless you.

BOOK REVIEW - 7 (LOOSE THAT MAN AND LET HIM GO BY T.D.JAKES)

 
There were certain times when I read some books I had felt the moving of Holy Spirit and His anointing upon the words written in those books. This is one such book in which you can sense God speaking to you through so many pages.

Surely God might have poured His anointing in a mighty way upon His servant when he started writing this book. Even though this book was written so many years ago, yet it touches the Spirit. The areas in which men were struggling was openly discussed and also the solutions were rightly pointed out through the guidance of Holy Spirit.

“We can no longer allow our past to destroy what God has for us in the present. All of us have crippling wounds and disadvantages hidden within. We know something is evading us. The ‘something’ we are grasping for is out of our reach. Although we work hard to obtain it, it keeps moving back. We blame each other, but we still know that we cannot get it. The only hope any of us have is in Jesus. Only Jesus can walk us through the barrier of time to invade our past. There He can make us comfortable with our uncomfortable parts and at peace with our frailties and brokenness. From the executive to the drug dealer, from the deacon to the doper, we have but one God to go to, yet something is standing in our way. We are in for a battle if we are serious about breaking free from that thing. One truth confronts you: ‘You can never become who you want to be until you can drop who you used to be’.”

As you read this book you will find some astonishing truths explained simply with some beautiful illustrations.

“Our salvation lies in the fact that God has put His hand on us. He set a chair in the midst of the angels in eternity. Then He told them:

“I am going to bring that man to sit in this seat, and he shall be Mine when I make up My jewels. I am going to bring him right here.”

The angels protested, “But Holy One, the man was dropped. He isn’t whole.”

“That doesn’t matter. I am going to bring him right here.”

“But he is a liar!”

“That’s all right. I am telling you, this is his seat. I have inscribed his name on it.”

“Oh, but he is a molester!”

“That’s ugly but that’s all right. I am going to bring him right here.”

“But Ancient One, I heard he was a pervert.”

“Even so, when it is all said and done and I have completed My teaching, preaching and ministering through My servants, that man is going to sit right here!”

This book will engage you at all levels and you will find some astonishing truths about the way we live and the way we behave. It deals with our inner thoughts and also with our outward behaviour.

“How can we condemn abortion and then shun women with illegitimate children? How can we condemn divorce and fail to teach and practice restoration for damaged marriages? How can we minister to drug addicts, homosexuals, alcoholics, and other addictive/compulsive behaviors and fail to prepare to invest the weeks, months or years it may take to untangle the grave clothes that are holding up the divine recycling process? What good is it to get the former criminal out of jail if we won’t give him a job when he returns to society?”

Even though this book was written based on the struggles and behavior of men it also carries some advice to wives whose husbands were struggling.

“If you are the wife of a man who has been through a highly addictive situation that traumatized you both, then I understand your pain, your fear and your reluctance to trust again. If you really want to see the glory of God raise him up completely, then you must be courageous enough to release him. The greatest gift you can give him as well as yourself is the gift of forgiveness. Take the handcuffs off him and allow God to heal or un-forgiveness will imprison both of you. If you can’t trust him, then trust God. It will not be easy but it is important for you to experience healing and forgiveness on a deeper level.”

I can definitely say that Holy Spirit will speak to you, encourage you and enlighten you through this book. If you are a guy or men who are struggling and wants to know the reality of your masculinity and God’s purpose at various stages of your life, then this book is definitely for you.

As you read this book definitely you will not be the same. This book will surely help you to grow in your Spiritual life. Not only that but this book will also mould you to be a good son to the Heavenly Father, loving husband to your wife, caring dad to your children and a man of rich character to the society. Read this book and be blessed. God bless you richly.

(Note: The passages that were bold and typed in italic was taken from the book itself)