School of Worship

I am off to the School of Worship for the weekend. Looking forward to some more words of wisdom from Matthew Ling and Dave Palmer
We've already gone through the Tabernacle, David's tent, the Psalms, and this time we have got to read Revelation before we go, so I guess some more of that wisdom on the way! Besides its not Stoney Stanton this time but Leicester so in anticipation of the new venue.

Cheers to the Christian Book Shop!!

I went to the Christian Book Shop on Whitchurch Road today and I should say it was an exciting experience especially to look at all those second hand books. In fact, I couldnt resist and got three books and one audio cd only for 8 pounds. Now isnt that great? And really interesting books.
One of them is exclusively on 'The Tabernacle' explaining in detail all its intricacies. Another one that I got for only 10p is the concise biographies of five major evangelical leaders[John Stott, Martyn Lioyd-Jones, Francis Schaeffer, James Packer, Billy Graham] of this time. The third one is dedicated to illuminate how the whole Bible highlights Christ and his person[I am really looking forward to read this one]. The fourth one is dedicated to the classic hymn writers of old and their life stories and the audio cd is a collection of trimphant hymns of Christ and his work.
Therefore, with a content heart of having satisfied my appetite for a few days, I went back home a happy girl. [btw listening to the cd now and really loving it. There is a certain quality that these hymns carry in themselves, maybe the adoring hearts of the composers, that just causes you to bow down and adore the majesty of our King]

Great attitude!

St Augustine at the beginning of his 'Confessions' offers a very simple yet a very profound prayer to God. I believe this attitude is the key to learn more and more and grow up strong in Christ.

“Grant me, O Lord, to know and understand whether first to invoke thee or to praise thee; whether first to know thee or call upon thee. But who can invoke thee, knowing thee not?... Now, "they shall praise the Lord who seek him,"3 for "those who seek shall find him,"4 and, finding him, shall praise him. I will seek thee, O Lord, and call upon thee. I call upon thee, O Lord, in my faith which thou hast given me, which thou hast inspired in me through the humanity of thy Son,.. 5”[1]

[1] St Augustine, “Confessions”, http://www.albatrus.org/english/potpourri/historical/augustine_confessions_book_01.htm.

Its water baptism this time!!

This month, all of us at the School of the Work, oops! Word grappled with the statement 'It is not possible to live the new life of a Christian until the old life has been buried through baptism'.
And at last with one day to go, I am done with it.
It is quite an experience to go through the whole process of conceiving ideas, receiving revelation, studying the Word, studying other words and then at last, after lots of huffing and puffing, seeing the body of work come into existence gradually.
This includes the joys of opening a random book and immediately coming across a superb quote as well as the immense pain of deleting the same quote due to the word limit.
Many a night, when I was beyond the point of sleep, the music of Gladiator almost running through my veins by now, my mind trying to grasp the mysteries of water baptism, the profound nature of this very experience occured to me. Anyone who has ever tried in earnest to understand something will concur with my thoughts. It is not just the fact that you understand what you didnt understand before, or that you know more than you knew before, but it is just the experience that somehow coaxes you into maturity. It is not always a bed of roses. There are some definite highs and some definite lows, lows being more than the highs many times, but even through all that there is a growing that leaves you content, satisfied and more so fulfilled.
So here I am, a better, more mature, more determined person as a result of my Water baptism essay[thanks to richard, our inextricably un'kuki professor]. And as proof of that, I pledge to post more regularly now.

Year of the King

We had an amazing time of fellowship this morning especially because all of us destined to be the 'young' group of 17 to 24s were prayed for and prophesied upon in course of the ministering of the Word.
God had already talked to me of this year being the 'Year of the King' for me but this put things into perspective in terms of my place in the Body of Christ. It was very moving and challenging when we were asked to walked around hand in hand and follow the baton held by the first person indicating our pursuit of the purposes of God. It is an exciting and challenging time to live in and I am glad I am a part of it.

Purpose in every Step.

So I run with purpose in every step. 1 Corinthians 9:26 NLT

Its good to run but its useless if we do not know where we're going. Paul is talking about his apostleship here. And he says that his run is not a mindless run, rather he knows what he is running for, he knows there is an eternal prize waiting for him. Therefore, he is running 'to win'[v. 24]
Let us also run with God's purpose in every step and there will be no room for doubt or failure. Let us fix our eyes on the author and perfector of our faith[Heb 12:2] and continue our race.
And at the end of the day we are indeed going to be the overcomers, the winners of that eternal prize.
Let us alongside David, fulfill the purpose of God in our generation.[Acts 13:36, KJV]

KINGDOM KINGDOM KINGDOM!!

A really big sorry for all who have come on my blog these few days and found nothing new. Actually these few days I have been trying to get my head around 'The Kingdom of God does not consist in not words but power'. It is such a massive topic, I dont really know what to add and what to leave. Anyway, if you have some amazing insight into it and the essay title really captured you, you can write 5000 words on it and send it to me within two days. I will definitely oblige you by giving my approval.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so go right ahead!!!!

The Christmas market's amazing!!

I went to the Christmas market in town today and what a splendid display ranging from food to clothing and lovespoons and ceramic lamps and the list goes on!! It was a wonderful experience especially because at last I saw something that matched our market back in India[though in the last few years my city has also turned its eyes towards the whole palatial mall culture].
There is nothing better than going to shop in those long lines of shops with the adventurous anticipation of good deals and good food. Ofcourse, there are the soar feet at the end but then, the journey is worth the pain!!!
Is it like a tradition to have Christmas markets here or is it just a Cardiff thing?

Today we had church history at college and for all of you who just groaned, I recommend attending Mike's class. Your view of church history will change radically.
He reviewed the Medieval Church Age and the depressing nature of its outcomes but the point is that all that misery could not stop the plan of God. There were still people like John Wycliff, Jan Huss who stood strong for their simple faith and fought their battle faithfully all through their lives.
It is amazing how God shakes the high and mighty of the age through ordinary people. Wycliffe and his translation of the Bible became such a pain in the neck for the power hungry authorities of that day that they dug up his remains thirty four years after his death and burnt them charging him of heresy. What a desperate move and shame on their part! and yet it shows how God can exhibit his sovereignty through any period of time. No one is too powerful to supercede him.
It is also very encouraging for the people of God today who have seen the King and his Kingdom because as Tony always says "they can kill you but they cant take away your victory"

Breath taking!!

A friend sent this story:
Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Good shot Lara!!

For all the cricket fans who visit my blog[a very wise thing to do] Brian Lara has become the leading Test run scorer of all time, passing the 11,174 mark set by Australian Allan Border; cant ever forget the World Cup when he had outshined everyone else. Great going!! I am waiting for the day when India becomes the top team. I miss the 1995 team and the unforgettable Kapil Dev brigade. It had the best qualifications for that. now who cares?? These guys dont seem to have any passion.

Should I or should I not?

Yes; you should or No; you shouldnt!! Confusion is never from God how much ever you try to reason with it!!
'Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.'
Matthew 5:37 [NIV]

Brand new warm boots!!!!!!!!

thats what life is all about! brand new fur lined boots!! ask me why i feel that? well, just got blessed with a pair.
God knows our every need. it was just amazing how the exact boots that i had in mind actually found their way to that shelf and that Heather decided to bless me with them. God's amazing. He is interested in every detail of our life, every possibility, every capability. So as people of God we should never underestimate any talent that God has given us because you never know when he may summon you to use it or any need however big or small it is because once again you know he will satisfy it and overwhelm you.
he is pretty much doing that on a daily basis in my life!!! its just such an adventure to be on board with God!

Its simple, just follow him!

It was almost midnight and I was stuffing my journal with my thoughts. I found myself talking to God and asking him very dramatically to keep me from any wrong paths. The Holy Spirit immediately prompted me and said in very clear and candid words "just follow him. you will never go on the wrong path" and thats so true isnt it? sometimes we want to complicate everything up, make everything too dramatic whereas the solution is as simple as it can be staring us right in the face only that we dont have the eyesight to see it.
Apart from the momentary embarrassment which I have gotten used to by now I just hope I see right from now on!!

hey!!!!

hello everybody!! this is a new venture for me but i know u will never regret visiting my blog!
i am not very familiar with all the dynamics of this technology but u will surely get a literarily sound experience.
boy! that sounded boring but dont fret there are better things to come!