That One Thought!!

 

We are inundated with powerful suggestions through the day that our mind tends to cling on to one or more. The more we cling on to the thought it becomes a powerful force overtime. Its bends our will to surrender to it. These powerful thoughts can be triggered by a movie, relationships, money earned by wicked means and so on. How are we dealing with them?

It just takes that one thought which can occupy our empty mind. We try to distract ourselves but once the mind is free, it floods our mind more powerfully that before. It hides in our sub-conscious and keeps nagging us. Our idle mind nourishes it and cherishes it to the point that it becomes a full-grown monster that reveals itself as murder, rape, embezzlement, scam, etc.

The Bible gives a good narration of the state of an idle mind, “woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil plans on their beds! At morning light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.”. It all boils down to the power of that person. Usually, the decision to execute plays out, unless the person makes a firm, conscious decision to avoid acting on his/her thought.  Thoughts are powerful and can ruin a person if unattended. Replacing with positive good thoughts or religious chanting does get rid of them, though in the initial period it may look so. 

If you are a person who is captive to that one or more of such thoughts and needs to break free, then you would need to address the source of the thought. You cannot avoid circumstances. But you can train you heart to filter and keep you free from any evil ensnaring thought. Jesus diagnosed the problem and stated this, “For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings:  these are the things which defile the man…”.  If you read further Jesus confirmed the daily rituals has no impact on such issue. Today, people practice anything as part of the traditional rituals and use many mental therapies to free from such captivity. It looks promising in the beginning but fails overtime. When you see your heart as a temple where God can live in it then you get an entirely different perspective. The Bible states, that we are the temple of the living God, Christ Jesus who lived, died and was resurrected. The spirit of God wants to abide in our hearts if we keep it holy which is possible when we surrender our thoughts, the battle of our mind and the cry of the heart. He will deliver us from the ensnaring thoughts and help us to live a life of freedom. 

 

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THE FOUR

When Both Ends Rarely Meet!

 

The rich and the poor equally struggle to keep the balance and maintain the equilibrium of satisfaction. Any person, on planet earth, if given various options, would choose wealth, and that too in excess. The poor assume about rich and vice versa. Unfortunately, both are wrong in their perception of each other because both are comparing satisfaction based on money and material things. Thus, our thought processes never meet. Usually, all are desperate to make it big and find satisfaction with the money they dream about. I like what actor Jim Carey talks about all who dream to be rich. “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”.  Jim was honest enough to experience and state that there isn’t an answer in making big money and reaching the top. 

Rich and poor are struggling to find solution and satisfaction out of money. While the poor struggle to make ends meet, the rich struggle with excessive money and that its the end solution to all the challenges faced. The rich soon finds that he has multiple options to replace and quickly changes anything which doesn’t fit his expectations. He assumes he has the power to try all that his heart desires and eyes want. Everything looks for him as a commodity and since he has the purchasing power the rich assumes he will ultimately make it. The poor on the other hand compares himself with the rich and desperately tries to reach there. The daily struggle of life poses several challenges and threats for which he assumes money to be the only answer to all of life’s problem. Rarely one comprehends that it is not the answer. In this process God and parents are blamed, opportunities are missed and feeling of being lost sets in overtime. The common commodity - money is chased but the most important common factor - God is ultimately ignored.  

Too often, when answering questions on people’s life problems, we give them something other than their finances, we give them the best budgeting plans we know of. If they are working through relational discord, we teach them communication techniques. If they are struggling with doubt, we challenge them to just believe promising that all will get better if they do. But we fail to give them Jesus.

What do you think rich, and poor have in common? King Solomon in his observation recorded in the book of proverbs in the Bible states, “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all” (Prov. 22:2). The gist of the proverb is both rich and poor live side by side in this life and are part of the order of God’s creation. The sovereign God of the universe providentially superintends all creation, and nothing escapes His eye. “The earth belongs to the Lord and all that is in it”(Bible). We are tenants on this earth, and stewards of all that God has given us. The maker and creator of this universe knows all our challenges and wants His people to depend on Him. Jesus is the answer to all problems. He is not a mythological figure but a living God who lived among mankind and rose from dead. He promises to come back again that those who believe in Him and accept Him will find all answers here and in the eternity to come. 

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THE FOUR

When it Hurts!

Prosperity, richness, wealth, luxuries may be far-fetched for some of us, but pain is common to all shattering the boundaries of social status, wealth status, caste status, etc. The problem with pain is that its never ending. The solutions to solve it may differ and increases our ability to customize it to our situation when it gets prolonged. All of us are not fully equipped to handle pain perfectly or have the resources to overcome it. Blessings to mitigate pain can come in different ways like having sufficient financial resources, a caring family and friends or having great connections.

Pain is not exclusively physical but also mental and emotional. C S Lewis in his book “The problem of pain” states, “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say, “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”. Personally, I have gone through a situation which was beyond human help and needed divine intervention. I sought the almighty Jesus Christ to help eliminate this pain that was hurting me a lot. By His grace, He helped me. Right now, the crisis that your facing may be unmanageable. It’s a call that you find your identity in your Creator.

 Usually there are three aspects of control in a painful situation. They are a. Direct control, b. Indirect control, and c. No control. We are familiar with the first two but having “No control” is what takes its toll on us. However, we fail to understand that this is the most blessed state where we can learn to totally depend on God and trust Him wholly. I trust on God who has dealt with the greatest problem of human life, i.e. death. I am referring to Jesus who is the only one who conquered death by His resurrection from the grave and known to be the resurrected Savior. My relationship with Him is beyond a religious identity. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is a risen, living God who lives in our hearts making us His temple. This God who adorns this temple has answers to solve the problem of our pain. All He expects is to look to Him for help. Apostle Paul in one of His books in the Bible states confidently, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”. It is this glorious hope that assures us that we are not abandoned in any painful situation, that Jesus is actively helping us through the pain. King David in the Bible acknowledges God in his situation and this is what he had to say which is so relevant. “Lord when you showed your favor, you made me stand like a strong mountain…”

Whatever may be the painful mountain of problem you are facing, my friend, don’t lose heart. Jesus is not an imaginary God or a God of mythical characters but a God of history and redemption for mankind. All you need to do is call upon Him and express your pain. Apostle Paul once again states, “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”. The secret lies in the persistent calling upon God which is called prayer. He is not a God on a photo or statue to be worshipped but a living God as described in the Bible. Would you like to know more about Him?

 

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THE FOUR

Imprisoned by thoughts, ensnared by words- What’s the way out?

We assume that we are free and independent but, in reality, we are prisoners of many things, most importantly our thoughts. We do whatever our mind dictates, colluding with our heart. Cognitive psychologists say that the thoughts of an average man in a day range somewhere between 30,000 to 40,000 according to research. With our mind active, more than 60% of our thoughts lean towards the negative. The peace equilibrium loses its balance and people end up depressed, spiraling into darkness. 

It is easy to say, “nip your negative and wrongful thoughts right at its bud”. But then, what the good thoughts replace the bad ones? The “good thoughts” are also camouflaged in selfishness, and it is spurious. In the first book of the Bible called ‘Genesis’, it is recorded that God grieved He made man because He was constantly thinking wickedly.  The Bible says, “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.".  Our society, the media, the environment and everything around us has morally degraded resulting in man’s evil intention and action. This eventually affects the way he speaks. Words are unreliable today. Jesus commented that "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. 

The bitterness of the heart is revealed in the words we speak. The premeditated thoughts combined with emotions make us blurt out harsh words resulting in broken families, broken friendships, joblessness, defunct business and so on. King Solomon beautifully comprises the trap of our words this way, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend…”. This shows the dire need to correct our thought process so that our words bring us freedom and life rather that trouble and destruction.

The humility to accept that we have wronged and confessing to a God who is willing to restore everything on our behalf is what is true repentance. Jesus was constantly emphasizing in the gospels recorded in the Bible. The problem of our mind, heart and distorted words is the result of human sinful nature. This needs a true Savior who is holy and powerful to forgive us from all our sins and transform our lives. Instead of seeking Him for help to restore our lives we want to seek Him for, wealth, luxury, power and worldly assets. Your existence here is just a preparation to live in eternity with God. Do you want to accept His offer of salvation and restoration? A simple prayer will change the course of your life.

  

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THE FOUR

Losing & Finding!

 

Life has a funny way of expressing itself. We hide things to keep it safe only to lose it because we forgot where we hid it in the first place.  Some suggest the best way to find where we hid something is to buy a replacement. It is usually referred to ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) which is like having a brain and body that never fully integrated so they just do their own things without involving each other. This analogy captures a key aspect of ADHD, which is often described as a disconnect between different brain regions, leading to a lack of coordination between thoughts, actions, and sometimes even physical sensations, making it feel like the mind and body are not fully aligned and operate somewhat independently.

But the beautiful thing about this is the moment when we find the lost precious thing. The joy felt at that very moment is beyond one can explain. Jesus explained this in a parable in the Bible. It goes like this, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!”. Here is a precious coin that the woman lost but her search for it without giving up hope is what paid off and she found the coin. She calls her friends and rejoices with them over the lost coin.  

Sometimes in life we replicate the same thing with truth. Precious truth is hidden, and it calls for diligent effort on our side to find the truth when it comes to relationship with God. Many people are hiding from the truth and from the God of truth. The more we do this we are groping in darkness hoping to find light. We try to worship gods of imagination and myth that the truth becomes hidden from our eyes, eventually getting lost in the process. 

Religion blinds us into thinking it can give contentment and joy. If we are true to ourselves, we will acknowledge that with religion, we are lost to frustration, depression, loneliness, panic, fear of tomorrow and towards the longings and yearning of the heart. The core of the matter is finding Jesus Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life”. Having a relationship with Him is finding the precious coin that you have been searching for so long. Jesus stated that He came to seek and save the lost. If you think you are lost in your problems, pain and pleasure you can reach out to Christ. Just ask Him for help and invite Him in your life. I guarantee your life will never be the same.  

 

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THE FOUR

Best recipe- lasting taste!

 

Man is ever consuming and insatiable. We desire all that our eyes are fixated at. There is a longingness for contentment and fulfilment but never reaching the point of satisfaction. This is more profound in our sense of food where our belly is always hungry, our taste buds are looking for exquisite food all the time. We ensure that we get our daily calories. We toil in our kitchens for hours to prepare a delicious meal only to finish eating it in minutes. This has become our untiring activity till our death.

Regarding food Jesus states, ‘Do not labor for the food which perishes’. He addresses this to a crowd where He performs a miracle with five loaves and two fishes. He multiplies this to feed five thousand men alone. With their families the number grows to twelve to fifteen thousand. He makes an important observation to them, “Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”.

Is Jesus asking the people to stay hungry and seek God? Of course not. He is encouraging them to seek something more valuable, i.e. to satisfy the hungry soul - ‘but for the food which endures to everlasting life’. Unfortunately, as humans we try to suppress the hunger of the soul by feeding our bellies. We try to shut the cries of our soul by overindulging in food. The Bible further records that for many who do not set their mind on the matters of God and for them “their god is their belly”. The untiring lifetime activity of working for food ultimately does not sustain man for life. Man is still, always hungry and restless. 

Do not confuse the need of your soul with physical satisfaction. You need Jesus who satisfies human hunger. The gospel of John records what Jesus claimed, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst". Man is continuing to search God in the work of his hands, and in his creation and believes he has found God. The biggest mistake we make is finding a god for ourselves and personalizing it. Jesus came to the world to seek and save the lost. Those who are lost in the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction and God. You just believe and accept Jesus to find meaning in life and hope for an everlasting life in eternity. 

 

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THE FOUR

The 10% control!

We humans are control freaks and its more obvious when we have sound financial condition, guaranteed resource flow, commendable social status and good connections with powerful people. Even with less resources we are motivated that one day we will make it big. Positive captions like ‘believe in yourself’, ‘you can do it’, ‘you are more than enough’ assures us that we are in perfect control of our lives. Sometimes our hard work, and favorable situations also ascertain a positive result. Life keeps fluctuating between success and challenge, therefore our control over it is 10% or little more.  

As humans we fail to take in the fact that we are dependent on God for our next breath. Bible likens man to a vapor. Kind Solomon who encountered immeasurable success and amassed riches beyond measure states, “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”. This exposes our fragility as humans with absolutely no control and that means we need the grace and the favor of God each moment.

King David in his writing recorded in Psalms in Bible says, “the horse is prepared for the battle, but the victory is from the Lord”. We can do all the preparation but ultimately, we need the favor of God for helping us in each endeavor. We are not at the mercy of the 10% chance. We have a living God, an incarnated God who lived among men. He proved the fact that there is no challenge in this world that could destroy humans if they are rooted in the living God, Jesus Christ. The ultimate problem of human lives is death, and Jesus overcame this very thing through His death and resurrection, thereby defeating the power of death too, over us.

You don’t have to struggle with your 90% even if you are powerless. Speak to Jesus Christ who is willing to indwell in your heart. Whatever is your hopeless situation, there is hope in Christ Jesus. Acknowledge Him, receive Him and follow Him all your life. You have a hope to live here in this life and in eternity. Jesus claimed this, "because I live ye shall live also.". Do you want to know this resurrected living God who is in perfect control of your life?

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