Spring of Hope

Matthew Henry, the famous Bible scholar was robbed by thieves. He wrote in his diary: "Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed." The Bible says, "Give thanks in everything" (1 Thess 5:18). Only one of the ten lepers healed by Jesus came back to thank Him (Luke 17). The others probably ran back to their families and children they had been missing for so long since lepers were isolated away from the community. We tend to concentrate on the gift more than the giver. Thanks is forgotten when the receiver overlooks the giver and gets preoccupied with the gift. When our children were young, we used to plae gifts under the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, they were so excited that they would just rip open the wrappers with out taking time to notice the name of the giver written on the tag. The one leper who was healed and...

After Apollo 15 mission to the moon, astronaut James Irwin wrote about his experience in space. He said that he was a witness to both the glory of God and and plight of man on earth when he experience the weightless body floating in space and seeing the rising crescent of the earth. On the mount of Transfiguration, people from heaven joined people on earth to witness the glory of God in light of the plight of man. Moses and Elijah from heaven met with Peter, James and John and witnessed the declaration from heaven, “He is the beloved Son, Listen to Him!” to testify that 'law and prophets' have given way to 'grace and truth'. John later wrote, "We have seen His glory" (John 1:14) and Peter wrote, "We were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16-18). When Moses met God at Mount Sinai, he forbid people from going near (Exodus 19). Jesus came to take people to the Mount Zion where mortals meet the immortal (Hebrews 12). Moses and Elijah came down ...

Helix Nebula is a massive cloud in the outer space referred to as “a trillion-mile tunnel of glowing gases.” It looks like the blue iris of a human eye when viewed through the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomers call it the “Eye of God.” We may use it as a reminder of God's constant vigilance on us. "The One who keeps you never sleeps nor slumbers" (Psalm 121). God's care gives us peace in troubles, protection in our dangers and provision for our needs. God’s eye was on Hagar in the desert, on prophet Elijah in his fear, on Jonah in the depth of the sea, on Daniel in the lion’s den, on Jesus in his trials, and on many others. God’s eye watches over you regardless of where you are. There is technology now that can transcribe your eye movements into words. I recently read a devotional written by a lady by name Gail Babula, who is paralyzed from the neck down. She wrote the whole article with the use of her eyes. Even when we are in situations where we cannot spe...

Jack Welch, the former CEO and management expert said, "Control your own destiny or someone else will." Ronald Reagan learned that at a very young age. When he was a child, his aunt took him to a shoe store to make him some custom-made shoes. The shoe maker asked if he wanted shoes with square toe or round toe. He couldn’t make up his mind. When he went back to pick up the order, he found out that one was round and other was square. If you don’t make decisions in a timely manner someone else might and you may not like them. Making important decisions are very difficult to many people. A presidential candidate in the US was asked why he did not enlist and avoided the Vietnam War. He could have answered that he had the legal rights to not enlist. Instead he candidly replied, "I didn't know back then that I'd be standing before you today." In other words, "If I had known what I know now, I would have made a different choice." Many people have echoe...

The International Happiness Day is observed on March 20 every year as decided by UN conference on Happiness. World Happiness Index is released annually by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). They measure countries and regions on a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index. The success of a country would be measured by its citizens' happiness. In the recent years, countries like Norway and Denmark ranked on the top and Syria at the bottom, and US ranked around 14. The reasons of declining happiness reported were decline of social support and increase in corruption. The main factors found to support happiness were caring and security. Many countries have taken steps to improve their happiness index. Dubai established a department to improve happiness while the UAE appointed a minister of happiness. But studies have indicated that happiness is not based on objective circumstances. A study on Olympic medalists discovered that those who won Bronze were ...

While working with a lawyer on some legal matters, I wanted to get answers to some scenario questions. What if the customer doesn't pay, what if there is a property damage, what if there is a liability case etc. The lawyer took my list and scribbled his answers. To most of them he wrote, “we will cross that bridge when we get there”. There I learned that there is no need to know the answers to all scenario questions. Most of them will not happen, and if they happen we need to face them with the resources that are available at that time. Joshua and the people were at the brink of the river Jordan, but there was no bridge (Exodus 3). They must have felt a sense of desperation and disappointment. The promised land was in sight and a flooded river stood as obstacle. They spent three days waiting there looking at the torrential flood and listening to the roaring water. We wish God would give answers to the 'what if' questions before we get there. It would be easy if God woul...

Mother Teresa said, "Loneliness is the greatest poverty." In spite of the blessings like the social media, virtual friends and user groups, loneliness seems to be increasing. No generation has had more amusements and entertainments than ours, but there has never been more lonely people. We live more in what is called 'Elevator experience' with a crowded place, physically close to each other, but no one talks. Loneliness is no respecter of person. It affects the poor and the rich, infants and seniors, the strong and the weak. David in the cave, Joseph in the pit, Elijah by the brook; Job in his affliction; Moses when people worshipped idol; Jesus in Gethsemane and on Calvary are all examples from the Bible who experienced loneliness. The writer of Psalm 102 wrote, “I resemble a pelican of the wilderness, an owl of the desert and I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop". Loneliness is a private tutor who offers a free course which will make you a stro...