Vision Alive

“I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.”                                                                                                                                 Isaiah 43:12 Introduction You can divide the book of Isaiah into 3 parts. Ch 1-39 is written before the people of Israel were taken into exile, chps 40 to 55 was written during the period of exile and the remaining chapters were written after the people came back from captivity. So this ch 43 is written when the people were under the bondage of Babylonians. It was at that time that God asks the Israelit...

I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family. My mother, Jayanthi, was a pious lady and she religiously offered daily prayers to several images of gods and goddesses in our house. I remember as a little child, I and my sister used to sit beside her early in the Tuesday and Friday mornings, watching her chant the mantras and sing the  bhajans (slogans). We did not miss a single festival – these were times of great celebrations. Our balcony, corridor and entrance were filled with lights – light from the diyas (candles). There was so much fun - new dresses, relatives and friends at home! We had all that we wanted in life. Both my parents were working in a bank. My grandparents took good care of us, when our parents were away at work. We were financially able to look after ourselves in the expensive city of Mumbai. But in spite of having everything and despite persistent prayers, my mom felt something was missing – the peace she was longing for.  Things went on. Amidst several health...

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8 Do we really care for the poor and needy children around us? India is home to 400 million children, the largest number in any country in the world. However sadly, one third of the world’s children living in poverty are in India. Childhood is the time when a person needs nurturing, schooling, time to play and explore the opportunity to grow both emotionally and physically. We all say, children are the future of a nation. Yet they have been neglected a lot in India, which is evident from the existence of infant mortality, child morbidity, child malnutrition, childhood disability, child abuse, child labor, child prostitution, street children, child beggary, child marriage, drug addiction and illiteracy. What are we going to do? Are we just going to be mere spectators of things happening around us? Or are we going to raise our voice for their justice? Abandoned children have ...

A small thought: If someone would ask, what is the sin of Sodom, 90% would say homosexuality (with references to Lot). But look at what God says: Ezekial 16:49, 50 Look, this was the iniquity of you sister Sodom. She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me, therefore I took them away as I saw fit. Look at the little things that God looks? 1. Being proud and haughty 2. Fullness of food 3. Abundance of idleness 4. Not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy How are we? A small thought to reflect upon! - Sunitha Justin

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Luke 16:19-31 There are 3 types of people in this world. 1. Rationalist: These are the people who say there is no God. They do not believe in the existence of God. 2. Ridicule: These are the ones who believe in God, but they feel it silly to speculate about spirits being fried in fiery place. They don’t believe in spirits, hell or heaven. 3. Religion: Their main question is ‘Hey man, you worship God of love. How can such a loving God send you to fire? Luke 16:19-31 talks of the rich man and Lazarus. It is believed to be a parable by many. But it is not so. It’s apparently a true incident that took place. Parable never uses any name. Eg., the parable of lost coin, lost sheep, lost son and so on.. Here, from this passage, we can know what is hell? There was a rich man, and another poor man named Lazarus. v 19 says, this poor man ate from the rich man’s table. The dogs licked his sores. On the other hand, the poor man lived a comfortable and luxurious ...

You would have heard of God of Abraham, God of Isaac or God of Jacob. But this day, I want you to know something very different. God of Uzziah! Did you know that Bible recognizes Uzziah by two names – Uzziah (2 Chr 26:1) and Azariah (2 Kings 15). This is clear from the fact that both of them took the throne at the same age, reigned for the same number of years, and had the same father, namely Amaziah. 1.                     He is a God who can use anyone irrespective of any conditions II Chr 25:27 ‘----- but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.’  Here we find Uzziah’s father, Amaziah, was murdered. Why was he murdered? We’re not very sure. However, it must have been God’s plan as he turned from following the Lord. I was just thinking how this 16-yr-old Uzziah would have felt at this time. His father is dead, not just dead, in fact murdered. No wonder, he would have thou...

and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”  Ezekial 9:4 Read this passage carefully. Here, one group of people are pardoned while another group of people are killed. In Exodus, when God destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt, he spared the Israelites who had a mark on the doorpost of their house. Any Israelite who believed God’s word spoken through Moses and applied the blood of the lamb on the doorposts were saved. The angel of death did not enter their houses but simply passed away when he looked at that sign. In this passage too, something similar but radical takes place. God calls the man clothed with linen and having a writer’s inkhorn and asked him to put a mark on one group of people. While in Exodus, it was the Israelites who decided whether to believe God’s word and put the sign on the doorpost, here God decide...

  “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7  Many a times, you may think of yourselves as weak, inefficient, useless and fit for nothing. But how often have you realized that God has placed a great treasure in you? Here Paul is talking of a great treasure - the knowledge of glory of God. True, we are earthen vessels. That means we are fragile and can be broken easily. We are liable to any accidents and mistakes. There is nothing in us that will guarantee our strength and perfection. In spite of our weaknesses, gracious God chose to place this great treasure in us. The purpose of placing this treasure in us is not that it should be hidden. Matthew 5:15 says, “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all   who are   in the house.” We are to proclaim this treasure to the rest of the world. Imagine costly diamonds are placed in ...

An interesting article I read! What would have happened had Moses tried to figure out what was needed to accomplish God's command? One of the biggest arithmetical miracles in the world was required in the desert. Moses led the people of Israel into the desert….Now what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 3-1/2 million people required a lot of food. According to the U. S. Army’s Quartermaster General, Moses needed 1500 tons of food a day, filling two freight trains, each a mile long. Besides, you must remember, they were cooking the food. Just for cooking this took 4000 tons of firewood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long and this is only for one day (not to mention for keeping warm, and if anyone tells you it doesn’t get cold in the desert don’t believe them!). They were for forty YEARS in transit!!! Let’s not forget about water, shall we? If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes (no bathing?!), it took 11,000,000 gallons EA...

‘ Fear of God ’ is a very familiar term among Christians. In fact, it has become so familiar that it has lost its true significance. There are many people in the Bible who have feared God, but I was particularly touched by the way the ‘midwives’ feared God. Exo 1:17 -  The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded but saved the male children alive                                                                                                                          Looks simple, isn’t it? But truly, it wasn’t. After the death of Joseph, his brothers and the entire generation, children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and g...