How to get Help?

"For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you." -Isaiah 41:13

‘Help’ is a beautiful word, studying its definition can give us some really good insights.

• Providing you with resources, strength and the means to accomplish the task.
• Rescue you when you are failing. 
•  To facilitate you to achieve easier.
•  To make things work for your advantage.

When I’m working on my pc, I get stuck in a problem, I ping my nerdy colleague on instant communicator, he asks me to share my desktop screen, give him control, and BAM he fixes it and says ‘done..Feels Relieved!

I talk to a friend, a well wisher, someone been in the same place before me, they hear, and they say, “Don’t be anxious, it’ll all be alright”. Feels Positive!

At the end of a day before unwinding to bed, I’m complaining, lamenting and articulating my fears to my husband. He listens to it all, and takes me in his reassuring arms. Feels Comforting!

While I am really grateful to each person who adds so much peace and happiness to my life, there are moments in life when I’m desperate for something More.

I need more than relief, positivity and comfort. I need specific help, I need varied help, I need physical help, I need emotional help, I need intellectual help, and so much more that I can’t realize at this point.

I need more that just a magic wand to dispel my problems, rather, I need Someone who will Empower me, Encourage me and Embrace me to go to the next level. And that is why we have a God who promises to take hold of our right hand and help you. 

Only the Help of God can come to us in all dimensions, and is completely enough to take care of everything. 

It is interesting to note the background in which this verse was written. In order to release the Jews from Babylonian captivity, God raises an unnamed conqueror who would capture Babylon and help give freedom to the Jews. God worked in the international political scene to bring favor on His people. 

God shapes world events and directs human affairs to help you. Can we receive a higher form of help?

 

You are probably sitting at your workstation, afraid of the tasks in front of you, or maybe hoping that folks at your workplace will recognize your potential. Maybe you are all set on a new venture, you want to climb up the stairs, you don’t see the whole staircase, and you are trembling in fear to take the first step of faith.

So many things you are afraid of, frustrated about, confused and worried. Not because you don’t have faith, there is a tinge of faith amidst all the fears; but you can’t seem to control the overpowering emotions raging against your heart.

If you are this, God says to you, For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you. 

God could have just said, “I will help you”, but He goes on to say, “I will take hold of your right hand..I will help you”. By saying this, I believe that He means that He is going to work with you, as a partner, hand in hand, in an alliance. 

Holding your hand is a sign that He wants to make a connection to you, the Help that we receive from our God is not like the impersonal donations we make to the hungry children in Somalia, we just make a donation, we don’t make a connection. Rather, God’s help in our life is realized by personal contact with the Creator himself. He connects with us and He contributes to us. 

As I write this, I’m dealing with a minor crisis in my own life. I’m at cross roads in my career and I’m nervous about my future. I keep looking at the past and looking at those around me; consequently I become even more fearful. That is why I took to meditate on this verse. So, what I write here is definitely for me as well.  

To receive God’s help, you have to let Him hold your hand. God will help you by connecting to you. So it is important to work on the things that help a seamless connection.

Stand by Faith

One thing that amazes God is Faith; let your faith defy logic. Do not entertain grumble and complain. A catalyst to make Faith grow is a heart of gratitude. Fill your heart with thanks, and see your life glow with faith.

 Hear from the Scripture

Read Read and Read God’s Word. Re-read, Memorize, Meditate, Write, and just saturate your mind with God’s Word. He will speak to you. (Period) 

Communicate through Prayer 

Don’t Talk to God like you fell out of heaven, don’t resort to empty confessions, don’t ask people to pray on your behalf, don’t run around to prayer-prophesy meetings. Just Talk to God, as you would talk to someone looking at your face and listening intently to your words. If you can’t articulate words to express your need, let the tears fall, He knows what they mean. “When I kneel in prayer and with You my Lord, I commune as friend with friend”. Let this be your prayer mantra.

I think that’s all we need to make a connection. Let Him hold your Hand and you will experience His Help, Don’t be afraid.

Waiting for His Help,

Callie

It’s all about starting again

Almost 2 years since I updated My Master’s Voice. 

With marriage and motherhood, it was a break I expected, but didn’t imagine that it would take so long. When there were needs, I did manage to do some random writing; however, nothing means so much to me that writing my heart out at My Master’s Voice.

Though I get very excited when people read my work and say that it helped them, I primarily write here to become a better person, because everything here comes from a conversation with my Master. I feel accountable for my words; I write-pray-read the Word-study the Word, then write again, and at the end of a piece, I have an answer to take to my heart, an instruction to follow, and a word to encourage. 

I missed all of this. Though I always had many other things that made me feel blessed, I always missed My Master’s Voice. 

My vocabulary has rusted, my flair with words is blunt, fellowship with God has become a part of routine, and what I’m really concerned is that I’m steadily losing my sense of hearing my Master’s Voice, so it is time, I stop waiting for motivation, or for other things that I think will give me the time to write, it is time to 

“ Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.”  [Paraphrased from Habakkuk 2:2 ]

I start again…

Starting again,

Callie

But when you pray - First Note

[This is the first post on my series "But when you pray". To catch a glimpse of the background of this series please read When I didn't pray. ]

Today morning I left home angrily after losing a verbal spat with my mom. Quite obviously I forgot my umbrella and raincoat. As I reached the ground floor, I saw the gray clouds floating above;"The clouds are always fooling around, it won't really rain", I told myself.

After boarding the bus and traveling close to 10 kilometers, I heard the the sound of rain pelting hard. The sound which would have otherwise been music to my ears, now alarmed danger. I need to walk for 15 minutes from the bus stop to my office, "OHMYGOSH, It's raining so hard.. I would reach office dripping wet now!"

I sat there staring at the rain, observing the dimensions of every drop. I twisted my head sideways-upwards to catch a glimpse of the obscure skies through the rain splattered windows. My brain did some probability calculations trying to figure out when the rain would stop. For once, I really wished that the bus would slow down and reach the destination a little late.

I eyed every person with an umbrella or raincoat enviously. For me, right now, they were the happiest people in the world.

And then I started talking to God, "Oh please...I'll change....but stop the rain now". But the Master had another lesson in store.

It struck me that a praying life is quite often like an umbrella we carry.

An umbrella can't stop the rain, but it sure can cover you through the storm.

The providence of God in times of pain reaches us through prayer. We receive His promise, build our faith and stay rooted in steadfast hope through prayer. We can't control the flood or the storm by praying but we can weave a water tight basket for ourselves and others to stop us from sinking.

I am yet to experience a prayer life that can influence the will of God (if it can). But prayer for sure, helps us experience His cover of Grace and love through all difficult paths. Praying for others is like holding a bigger umbrella, covering many who are unprotected and trembling in cold. And that is the power of intercession. Going that extra mile, to enlarge our umbrella , strengthen it and extend our boundaries so that we can drawi many hurting people inside the cover of God's love.

The Bible rightly says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." Ephesians 6:18. I like how it says "all occasions", because you never know when its going to rain. Sometimes we get busy and leave prayer behind, and then wonder why we're drenched in anxiety.

Don't ask me how prayer works. That's for each one to find it for themselves. But one thing is for sure, it works.

Don't be like me.
Carry your umbrella today,
Before you can go
Just stop and PRAY.

Callie

P.S I'm excited about how the Master started off this series, and waiting anxiously for the rest of the lessons I'm gonna learn. It would be awesome to learn together and pray together..share your lessons too.

Image Courtesy
http://img3.visualizeus.com

When I didn't pray

I was tired of sitting silent in prayer. I had lots to talk to God, when it concerned me. But when it was about others, I was rambling a senseless string of words and very soon I was finished. People who know me, will agree that I am a person of many words. I know it sounds odd, but I kind of use different people as targets to aim my words at.

My amma gets my words of fury and nonsense, my younger sister has no choice but to endure my boring 'insights' about life and my friends have to face my bland and predictable humour. Though prayer is about talking to God, I painfully realize that in prayer, my many words mean nothing.

It is the heart, the persistence, the faith and the desperation that connects to the heart of God. It's that crushed and broken spirit that can knock the doors of heaven. Intelligent words and graceful oration can make our prayer sound great, but God makes no sense out of it. This truth kept hitting me a lot and I was pushed to the point of frustration, when I scribbled these words..

Time is running
But I am not.
Haven't turned a soul to You.
The things I've been denied
Never hurt at all..
But it pricks real hard
When I think of those that I am due.
I wonder if it's my guilt
or..
the devil...
WHAT'S PARALAYSING ME ?
That I cannot move forward and heal the pain.
I'm longing for a future
That I have no hope to see
I'm longing to transform that life
That I don't know how to reach
Help me Lord
I don't know how to pray..
I don't know what to ask...
But I won't give up..

I guess God heard this and opened my eyes to some opportunities at church to commit a certain hour of prayer for intercession. I heard him tell me, "Baby, you ain't gonna learn to pray without actually praying! just like you can't learn swimming from a book..." So I have decided to dive in..

I am writing a series of posts on praying, these posts are retold versions of several teachings from books, sermons and studies.

I've titled the lessons to resonate Matthew 6:6 "But when you pray"

I write these posts hoping that it would help me practise prayer the way it should be. Hope you find them useful in your prayer walk too.

Still learning,
Callie

The REAL REASON

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

I usually remind myself of this promise whenever I go through a period of confusion or disappointment. When there's nothing worthwhile on the surface and when I am experiencing a season of fruitless labor, it is encouraging to dwell on the thought that God is working on the background preparing something that I could even never dare to ask.

I say this , I sing this , I pray this , I believe this and I feel a lot better.

Recently, I was very happy about the way things were taking shape in my life and felt pampered by God. Eventually, God brought this verse back to my memory.And I learnt a very valuable lesson.

When God gives us something , it is natural to believe that what we have received is an answer to our prayer to fulfill the longing of our heart.

But there is lot more to it.

God's thoughts are higher not only when you are waiting.Maybe your prayer is answered, but God's not finished yet. The apparent purposes of God are not His implied purposes. Certainly, your desires are important to God ; but only if they are in line with His.God's Word accomplishes only that which He pleases and purposes and it shall prosper in the thing for which He has sent it.

God had a beautiful vision in His mind for mankind, when He created Adam and Eve .He blessed them with all the good things that He created and gave them complete power and dominion. If they would have lived for God's desires, the world would have never seen decay.

But because they became victims to fulfill their own desires, they disobeyed God and subject the entire human race under curse and destruction.

In the same way we try to draw selfish plans, centered around our own lives out of the resources that He has graciously given out of His love for us.

Maybe God has given us a gift in the form of a job, a fulfilled desire, a relationship or a breakthrough.Praising God and testifying about His goodness is not enough.

Are we waiting in His presence, asking Him what He wants us to do with the gifts He's given us ? Are we ready to surrender our short term immature desires for the long lasting powerful desires of our Creator God ?

Our responsibility as God's children is not only to desire, believe and receive; But also to pray , understand and be willing to surrender our lives to what our Father wants to do through the many good things that HE has given us.

When I was praying for answers, my intentions were way too lower than the purposes in Your mind. Lord,now you have answered in a way good enough to excite me. But Lord,I want to know what's Your plan for things that You've given me. Teach me to use them in accordance to Your thoughts.Because Your ways are Higher and Your thoughts are Greater.Master, help me find the REAL REASON.

Do you have an answer ?

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5-7

When we read the newspaper everyday, (I'm learning the habit with a lot of effort). We see different things and glimpse at different worlds. The law made, the law implemented, the law broken we get to read everything in there.

But do we have a Bible based Christian opinion about the things we read in the paper and exposed in the media ?

When two large democracies come together for a strategic partnership, God had the major say in it. Did we, the laborers in the kingdom seek to find out what it is ?

When war causalities rise in different parts of the world, and innocent civilians are killed, Do we spend time with God's word to find out what is God's answer to the pain ? No, we read and proclaim Psalm 91 for our protection.

When new tax , education and other civilian laws are being made, do we look for any precedences in God's Word ? or is our response to it based on majority popular opinion ?

When we read about the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, did we just raise our eyebrows and say, "These are the last days!!" or did we find out why God despises it and what is God's gracious response to them ?

When we read about the Naxal elements isolating certain zones under terror. Did we try to peek into their hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the reason for their frustration ?

Our eyes readily move, through every bit of the juicy rumours and gossips of the showbiz industry, but after reading and enjoying the whole of it, we make this face and become super righteous judges saying, "These people are living for their own lustful desires!! SHAME ON THEM "

Does it make sense when I say that we need to wait on God to ask Him to show us how to intercede for them ?

I believe that every Christian should have strong Bible Based opinions on every political ,economical ,social and cultural issue. This is a great tool for evangelism.

(I really don't qualify to talk about effective evangelism because I haven't yet led anyone to the Lord completely, but I am convinced in the truth of what I am saying)

It is easy to start a conversation from the day's headlines.When we talk to outsiders , unbelievers, are we taking enough effort to work on our conversations to lead them to an understanding of God's stand on the world He created?

Do we have an answer for everyone ?

When we do, we can lead them to the love of Christ.

Aspiring to read the Newspaper with the Bible in my heart and intercede for the horrifying reality that we live in.

The Master Delayed

There are a few strands of silver on my head (I never obeyed my mother when when it came to gulping jumbo tea mugs!!). I think its that......or maybe the fact that I am now a graduate who is very conveniently 'occupied'.I don't really know what.....but there's something on my face right now, that makes people think that I can help them make decisions.

Appearances can be deceptive, and so is mine. My mind is always in a state of creative chaos, and before I make a decision, huge tornadoes take over my thinking faculties.

But I have a faithful Master. The slightest disturbance will bend me, but the even the greatest crisis can't break me. His Grace has always been sufficient.

I had an opportunity to speak to a younger girl, a few weeks ago. She was in a fix about her college education. She had decided to discontinue due to family circumstances, and really didn't know what to do next.

She thought I can help her and came to me for some advice.She came up with her problems, and within a few hours, she left my room with a solution.

A few days later, I was in a faith crisis. My prayers were reduced to silent sighs because my heart was filled with so many questions that I could never dare to ask.Doubts certainly make you sink, but they sure can't drive the Master away and my faithful Master came to my rescue.

He made me to recall the counsel that I had given the girl a few days back.The thoughts that were in my head that day rang back.

First, I listened to her situation.As I did so, I started taking mental notes of her limitations.Her personality faults, Her financial constraints, her lack of exposure, her family burdens and all the other things that have made her life so hard.

Second, I started looking around for the various options available for a person of her age and background.

Third, I began to map the options available to the limitations in her life. In another sense, I gave her a solution carved from within the painful circumstances in her own life. She had only this much, so this is all that she can expect for her life.This was my attitude.My solution.

My conscience knew that my solution would not give her the best life,however she could begin to see something immediately. I was more concerned about how fast she can settle in life, than how best she can settle in her life.

Fortunately, my Master's mind is so profound and honorable than my short sight and tunnel vision.

The human mind, is always looking at the finite. Looking for answers within boundaries.But God does not work within our boundaries. He does not give us an answer from our limitations. Rather He works to transform our disadvantages to our greatest assets.

There is something beautiful and perfect in God's design for each of His children. But we mess up allowing the adversary to eat up our potential and sap our energy.Then we allow cobwebs, boulders, thorns and weeds in our beautiful garden. Now, we get on our knees and ask God to help us bring forth a few wild berries, because we believe that that is all we are capable of producing now.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. John 15:16 [NIV]

But it was the Master who planted the garden.Only He knows the harvest you are capable of producing. Just because you asked, he wont give you just the few wild berries. He'll remove every weed, every rock and thorny bush and push you out of your boundaries and extend your borders and bring forth the huge harvest that He intended.

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2 [NIV]

Nothing in the hands of the Master is ordinary material.

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. " 1 Peter 5:6 [NLT]

Waiting times, are not just times when your faith grows and your intimacy with God intensifies.But while you are waiting, it means God is working. He is working on your character, on your family, on your future,on your finances, on the wounds of the past, on the consequences of your wrong choices.......

He is working on His Masterpiece.

While He is working, it is a lot more easier when you are praising instead of grumbling, learning instead of idling, repenting instead of resisting and depending on the Master instead of running after the demands of the world.

" Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. " 1 Thess 5:18 [Amp]

At the end of it, you're not going to get what you asked for, but something more than your imagination.

" I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1 [NIV]

Do you want a quick fix in your life ?

Or

Do you want the real Masterpiece in you to be revealed ?

WORSHIP , WORK and WAIT.

P.S : You sure are worried about the girl I counseled. God didn't leave her to the mercy of my pathetic counsel. :-) He was her counselor, He intervened in her finances and led her to do a great course beyond all her perceived limitations.

From Danger to Refuge

From Danger to Refuge

Every period of transition makes you a little uncomfortable.And it is common to think that what you're going through is the most difficult phase of your life. But the truth is, that in every step up ; your journey has its own share of trouble and pain.

In the previous stage of transition in my life, I spent the entire time, in denial. Unable to accept the things that were happening.Until then, I was in control, I chose what I wanted and did. The very thought of stepping into a life, that was way different from my aspirations put me in tremendous anxiety.

Yet another transition now, this time; its not denial but reflection.

And I just made a very frightening observation...

I have been living a very dangerous life.


DANGER #1 Instead of drawing a sense of fulfillment and joy out of my relationship with God, I have been using broken and cracked pits, even some 'spiritual' ones that I've made for myself.

My longings are the most powerful part of my personality. It drives me forward, shapes my thinking and fuels my enthusiasm to stay alive.

The things that I long for, do 2 things to me ; they give me a great deal of personal satisfaction and challenge the growth and maturity of my spiritual life.

One of the things that I long for, is to communicate God's heart through the written word.Though, I am nothing but a terrible amateur; each time I finish a writing piece, I feel so elated and blessed. But recently, I was wondering, what if I can't write ? what if someone stops me from writing ? what if a career comes in between ? what if I stop receiving that divine spark..???

Will I still be happy and satisfied..?

Was I wrong in enjoying the fact that I can write ? Ofcourse not. What was wrong was depending on that for fulfillment.

We all have foolish strategies disguised as noble motives, that we depend on, to fulfill God's plan for our life. Instead of finding our security and significance in God, we try to find them in our own efforts.

Jeremiah 2:13 (CEV)

You, my people, have sinned in two ways-- you have rejected me, the source of life-giving water, and you've tried to collect water in cracked and leaking pits dug in the ground.

Are you depending on anything else like a good career,a bright academic record, a fruitful ministry or a happy relationship for fulfilment ? Then you are living a dangerous life.


DANGER #2 I sometimes get caught up pursuing lesser goals than God and His Glory. Many legitimate objectives of my life (like education, excellence ,missions or even service) sometimes override the priority that I give for God and His honor.

Charles Colson, the one time assistant of President Richard Nixon, went to prison due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Later he surrendered his life to Christ Jesus. He is famous for his unique ways of presenting his clear grasps on God. In his book Loving God, he writes, "There seems to be a desire in many of today's Christians, to be more interested in finding themselves than in finding God."

Eccl 3:11(NIV)

...He has also set eternity in the hearts of men...

I think that the thing which brings more pain to God is the fact that His children settle for superficiality.I have God in my intelligence but the world is in my heart. This is evident when I sometimes compromise on my eternal goals.When I think that I am the centre of God's plan, instead of giving His will priority over mine.

It took me some time to understand that God's will and plan is not just the 'best'thing out there, but it is the only thing that will establish my identity. If I end up doing anything else, my life would rot away and I'd just be an unsatisfied, unhappy wanderer.




What if God were to say to you today, that the goals that you have for your life, are not in His mind ? Will you be able to take that ?





DANGER #3 I don't find worth in who I am but in what I do.

While I was evaluating my Christian life, I realized that my condition is not bad enough that I need counseling, but also not good enough that I can call it an abundant life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). I react with anger or guilt or spend my days in fear and anxiety. I am not the kind who can say with Ezra: "The joy of the Lord is my strength".

Thus came the painful realization, that I was really paying lip service to God but depending more on my ego strength than spiritual power to progress ahead in my journey.I never experience satisfaction or devastation either. I am just holding myself together. How different is my life from the rest of the world?
God bases your worth not on your performance, but in who you are in Christ.When we assimilate this , we'll have the joy that was meant only for His children. A joy that will never decrease.

Colossians 2:10(NKJV)
...and you are complete in Him...

.

Do emotions of worthlessness take over you often because you don't perform very well? Instead of learning from your mistakes, do you think that your life has no value at all?

Such a thought pattern, will allow a huge range of negative emotions to take over . Remember your worth is in, who you are in Christ.






DANGER #4 Not knowing God enough that we can understand His magnificent love.

Recently in a communion service, God confronted me about my nature of grumbling. The words that brought me to my knees was this, "Grumbling and Complaining is a symptom of ungratefulness."

I asked God for forgiveness and told Him that I'd rather not have anything at all than to be called an ungrateful daughter. I said, "God, teach me to love you enough".

But recently, the Master taught me that I cannot manufacture love towards Him. My love towards Him is a consequence of His love towards me, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19). Selwyn Hughes says, "Our problem is not that we don't love God enough, the problem is that we don't realize How much God loves us".

In the fiction, The Shack, William P Young writes; "So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing".

We don't usually doubt God's power or His authority. We all know that He is Almighty God capable of doing mighty things in our life. But during periods of exhaustion, we don't doubt his power but His love. If the devil can succeed to make us believe that God does not love us enough, then you're already in his track, with time he'll be directing your life and influencing your decisions.

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

..pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Do you spend enough time getting to know God ?





Maybe you too are in a transition like me, with a head full of dreams and a heart full of God. I encourage you to wait, for a moment and receive some inner strength from the Source. My dad often says, "If you have one full day to cut a tree, spend half a day sharpening the axe".

The greatest privilege in my life, is to be able to be picked up by God and given the grace to receive Him into my life. When I received Christ Jesus as my personal saviour, He did not just give me something to make my life better, but I received Christ Himself to think, feel and choose in my life.

But most of the time, I fail to experience the life that He wants me to have and depend

on my foolish strategies for fulfilment ,
on my lesser goals for honour ,
on my performance to evaluate my worth and
on my own capacity to love my Creator God.

This kind of living is dangerous, because it makes me a candidate to a whole range of negative emotions that could take over any time.

So I've decided to

depend on my relationship with God for fulfillment ,
to never override my goals for God's glory and honor,
to evaluate my worth based on who I am in Christ,

and to enjoy every moment of life feeling cherished that God loves me with a love that I can never imagine.

Enjoying my lessons!
Callie

With Chance, Merry Christmas

Everyone likes a happy ending movie . Everyone wishes that the the poor beautiful girl married the handsome prince and lived happily ever and after. Everyone likes a happy story.

The mood of Christmas is in the air, the message is in our hearts.

"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son", Jesus was the revelation of God's love.

But I believe that my Master had another message as well when He sent His Son.

Jesus is, God saying, "Here, HE is your last chance".

Since the devil corrupted the human race, the one thing we all do in common is play the blame game. Blame each other and get kicked out of Eden, we do this all our lives. This eats our joy and most importantly our potential.Our potential to be what our Maker really made us to be.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

You started off with zeal, but somewhere down the road, you lost track of your route.Now you find yourself in a place that is truly detestable. A life steadily drowning in a deluge of secret sin.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

Nice words no longer heal your wounds, you've seen that no relationship kept its promise. You are thirsty and distraught but every love you find is a shallow puddle. You are betrayed and bitter.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

You thought, life could not be any better.Your world was perfect.Suddenly everything came crashing down. Before you could realize what's going on, you were buried inside rubble and debris.You are bruised and bleeding but no one can help.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

With the economy tumbling down, your future is turning its back on you too, you don't find the opportunities which promised you a great life there any more.You are afraid and confused wondering how you will journey in a strange and different world all by yourself.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

You feel you are living somebody else's life, feeling overtly responsible and completely lost track of your passion and purpose. You are just dragging your life along, instead of living it.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

You feel that you've worked too hard and deserve a luxurious break, but that seems impossible,considering the pressure,competition,responsibilities on your back, life just seems to get harder and complicated everyday.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

You have tasted every good thing in life, but still there is a vacuum that refuses to settle. An emptiness that sucks your peace, making you feel worthless and your life meaningless.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

No one cares to see the jewel that you really are, no one cares to recognize your rare potential. You don't fit in the crowd, because you are special. But people call you strange.Even you can't understand yourself, and absolutely clueless about what you will amount to.

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

Things have begun to slow down, and you wonder, if everything you ever slogged and sweat for is really worth it. The greatest question of life become to strike real on your face."Is death really final?" "Where is my journey from here?" "Can anything be done about my not-so-perfect past?" "Am I really hopeless?"

If it is you out there, Jesus is your last chance!!

Christmas, by itself is only the beginning of a story that began in a tiny place called Bethlehem, the angelic choir or the royal gifts alone don't make it a happy story. Surrendering yourself to this Last Chance given to you by God can recreate the magic of Christmas in your life and in your home, and spark the beginning of a spectacular journey and a glorious destination, with the Master Himself.

Many are dying everyday without knowing that they have a Last Chance, and many of our brothers and sisters are forced to depart their earthly bodies so that the rest of the world may see their Last Chance.

Have you used your Last Chance?
Have you helped someone see their Last Chance?

Wishing you a Merry Christmas filled with true Christmas joy!!

Living with my Last Chance and enjoying every bit of it..
Callie

Will you step out to serve?

It was unfortunate though, that recently when I was cleaning a wardrobe my eyes fell on the gift I had given a loved one.

My mind raced back remembering where I had bought it, how many other different gifts I considered before my mind set on this , how dear and precious this loved one was, that I wanted to get something that would help the person in a special way.

And not just that, I had penned down a few words straight from my heart. The words too were there glaring at me.

That cherished gift that I had presented with a lot of noble intentions was lying there, uncared for, unnoticed, and unused.It stung my heart hard.I was angry and disappointed wondering if the person ever understood the value of what I had bought and I wished if I go right out and give that person a piece of my mind. But my Master had other lessons..

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

I realized recently, that the gifts God give us, does not come with a bright red wrapper, that we usually expect, I also doubt that if God always uses dramatic visitations to impart his personal gifts to His children.But since, we get carried away looking for tags and wrappers, we miss the point and don't identify the many gifts God has given us.

It is my imagination that after God created me., my basics and my framework without which I cannot survive on the planet. He took me to His secret place and placed several special, precious, and unique gifts in my life., because thats what people do to what when they call someone as their "prized possesion"...they give them things immensely valuable.

My Master does things differently, not just because He is God but because His love is Higher and His ways greater, and because He is my Father. He chose not to make the gifts reveal themselves from the day I was born, but only after I personally identify and acknowledge and honour those gifts.

It is the responsibility of everyone who claims to be a 'born-again', 'spirit-filled' Christian to honour the gifts given by God. Failing to do so, is a clear sin.

I believe firmly and I have experienced personally, that when we begin to serve, the gifts that God had embedded in our framework start to show up.

• For a long time, I wasted a lot of my thinking fuel trying to figure out what exactly I was good at, I was brainstorming, meditating and tried every other tactic to find out my gift. Nothing helped, it only made me feel worse and one fine day, I gave up, concluding that gifts were meant only for special people, not for an ordinary girl who's just struggling every day to keep her Christian life intact.

When we give up, God starts up. He gave me few mundane unappealing opportunities, and waited to see if I'll serve.Serve like a servant. A great man of God once said, "You know that you serve like a servant by seeing your reaction when you are treated like one."

I stopped looking for 'big' things and started serving in small things for ordinary people whom I meet everyday,little then did I realize that through that I was serving an extraordinary God.The more I gave myself up for serving, slowly but gloriously I began to see different gifts in my life unveiling everyday.The truth was that my loving Master, did not put just one gift, (actually I was searching for just a single one!!) but several interlinked and related gifts in my life.

People who complain, that they are not talented or gifted are those who've not really stepped out and dared to serve. God's gifts will remain wrapped up and sealed all the days of your life if you are not going to decide to serve. Serving is not a gift by itself meant for a few who are 'called', rather it is the vehicle for any gift to actually operate.It is God's "Directions for use" for your gift. Unless you embrace this, you cannot use it, honour it or even identify it.

"As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]."1 Peter 4:10[Amplified Bible]

• Another thing that stops us from stepping out is the fear of making mistakes. This is one thing that am fully convinced about. As long as you are going to be afraid of messing up somewhere, you'll be doing nothing.

I've also made this observation from my own life. I have never been a 'perfectionist', but I have been a very skillfull fault finder. I used to find fault wih everyone and with everything . Becuase of this attitude of mine, I was afraid to be used, fearing that people would find fault with me. God changed this attitude of mine, and taught me that it was not my business to judge others' works.

Once this changed, I stopped seeing mistakes and started embracing every opportunity. When I let down the burden of judging the acts and works of others, my life became easy and free to do the things that God had wanted me to do.

• I gave lack of recognition as an excuse for not using my gift. But that's not the purpose of God's gift.God does not give gifts to His children to impress others but rather to impact others.You need to be a boss to impress, but you need to get dirty and stoop down with your serving attitude to impact lives for the Master.That's when your gifts begin to surface and shield you with power to administer God's grace in the lives of others.

Today, I don't know of any who are blessed or comforted with what I write but I know of many, who began to write for the Master's glory after seeing me write!! Maybe God will bring up an annointed writer from among them who will touch the hearts of millions with the healing power of my Master. Can you see how I am used?

When the Master returns, He's going to be very angry if he finds your gift unnoticed, uncared and unused, because the gift in your life is an exclusive one.

Your gift has an assignment that bears the responsibility of many other lives which it has to touch, heal and transform.

Will you step out to serve?