Spring of Hope

Buy my book   " Joy in the Journey " on Amazon now 20% goes to missions  New year celebration goes back to thousands of years. The calendar and custom may have been different. But history talks about celebration of New Year as a time of renewal and refreshing. The answer to that lies somewhere in the spiritual instincts of man. A new calendar tells us we have been given a fresh opportunity as a gift to build our lives, as they ought to be and to shed off some of the old and bad things and to refresh. We need renewal. One of the gifts that a pastor received for Christmas was a book titled, “How to preach better”. That was an eye opener for him. But the truth of the matter is that we all can be better. One of the ways we try to achieve this is by making resolutions. And then we wait for the New Year to come around to make them. Resolutions can and should be made any time as and when it is needed or desired. When you are running your credit cards and go...

Buy my book   " Joy in the Journey " on Amazon now 20% goes to missions  The Holiday season is the most stressful season of the year for many people. The holidays present a dizzying array of demands — parties, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining, to name just a few. It often brings unwelcome and unhealthy guests — stress and depression. The celebration of the coming of the Prince of peace has become the season without peace for many. The scripture reminds us of the peace proclaimed in such times. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” ( Isaiah52:7). The scene in Luke’s Gospel of the birth of Jesus is a hectic situation. It’s not just because of the multitude of characters involved. It is also hectic because it involves the collision of multiple and diverse scenes into this singular moment in time: the c...

Buy my book   " Joy in the Journey " on Amazon now 20% goes to missions  We celebrate Christmas every year to celebrate that good news that it is for all the people. A group of shepherds were awakened at night by an extraordinary message: " I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord" (Luke2). The birth of Jesus was announced to the wise men of the East, who travelled thousands of miles to come and experience the good news. The good news announced to the devout man Simeon, who had the Holy Spirit on him and the prophetess, Anna (Luke 2. The birth of the Savior is good news of great joy for all people because all of us need a savior regardless of our status in society. The poor and ordinary shepherds, the wise men and philosophers and the priests and the spiritual leaders. None of us can save ourselves from the bondage of sin and death bu...

Buy my book   " Joy in the Journey " on Amazon now 20% goes to missions  Love is complex. It is both a noun and a verb. The more mature one grows in this life, one finds that love gets more complex because the number of people in our lives are large and complex. Then imagine how complex can God’s love be with billions and billions of people to love. But God showed his love in one simple action, by giving. John says in his gospel chapter 3:16, “God so loved...that He gave..”.  God's love is explained in one simple act of giving Himself. John could not explain that love in a simple sentence, like God loved much or very much or God loved us in vast or great quantity. John knew he cannot quantify the love of God, and used the expression "God loved ... so that He gave his Only Son." The great Christian author C.S. Lewis has written a book called “The Four Loves” that explains love in the Scriptures, based on four Greek words Storge, Philia, Er...

Buy my book   " Joy in the Journey " on Amazon now 20% goes to missions  Those who had the experience of waiting in the hospital waiting rooms know it can be exhausting. Some of those times are filled with an agony and anxiety, filled with sorrow, loneliness, and fear. No one seems to enjoy this kind of sad, passive waiting. But another kind of waiting moves us to put up trees, light candles and stars and sing carols of joy. This anticipation brings hope and thrills our souls. We look forward to it all year long — waiting for the celebration of the coming of the Christ child. As we mark each day off the calendar, the excitement grows, moving us to acts of love and kindness toward friends and strangers alike. We wait, full of hope, because we know that good news is coming to a manger and into our hearts. This Advent, may we join the psalmist in singing, “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning" (Psalm 130:6), like a sleepy guard on the...