Vision Alive

  There is a tendency in all of us to measure our Christian life by what we do, how much we serve, how often we attend church, or how busy we are in ministry. But in John 15 , Jesus shifts our focus from activity to relationship. His command is surprisingly simple: Abide in Me . A branch never struggles to produce fruit. Its only responsibility is to remain connected to the vine. The fruit is the natural outcome of that connection. In the same way, Jesus never asks us to manufacture spiritual fruit through our own strength. He calls us to remain in Him. Yet many of us live disconnected lives. We look to people for approval, circumstances for happiness, and our own abilities for strength. When these fail, we become weary and dry. Jesus reminds us that He alone is the source of life.  "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." ( John 15:5 ). Abiding is more than believing that Jesus is Lord . It is choosing to stay close to Him every day, through His Word , through prayer, and throu...

As we step into a new year, we might find ourselves reflecting on the past and anticipating the future with a mix of emotions. On one hand, we are deeply grateful for God’s protection and provision throughout 2024. On the other, we may wonder what 2025 holds for us—will it be a year of breakthroughs or challenges? For some, 2024 was filled with joy, victories, and blessings. For others, it may have been marked by loss, struggles, and unanswered prayers. Regardless of how this past year unfolded, as believers, we are called to face the future with unwavering faith and patience. Hebrews 6:11-12 reminds us: "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." This passage challenges us not to lose hope. The realization of God’s promises requires diligence, faith and patience. Often, our hopes—...

Does God really exist? This is a foundational spiritual question that all of us would have asked ourselves at some point in time. The Bible provides us with the answer. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1 The first verse in the Bible is the foundation of the rest of the Bible and is fundamental to our understanding of who God is. As a child, and perhaps even as an adult, we have all gone crazy at least one point in time, as we think about how this whole existence of life began. If scientists say, everything has evolved over billions of years, the question remains - when and how did the first particle come? How did the sun, moon and stars find their place in the universe? Even as you grapple with those questions, the Bible opens with an answer. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. As simple as it may sound, this is so profound and may take a lifetime to analyse. It answers three important questions: when, who, what? The q...

We have a God who satisfies all our needs And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Exodus 16:18 God led the people out of Egypt. In Egypt, Pharaoh asked Joseph to choose the best land for his household and he chose the land of Goshen. Goshen was one of the best lands in Egypt, a fertile land, a land for crops and livestock. In years, a new Pharaoh came to power who did not know about Joseph or what he did to save the people of Israel. The people of Israel came into bondage, but still, they had enough food to eat because their land produced enough for them. When they were led into the wilderness, we see a sharp contrast. They were in bondage earlier, but now they are free. However, they had enough to eat, now they are starving. So they were grumbling against Moses and Aaron and in doing so they were grumbling against God. ...

We live in a world where we have more ‘speak-ers’ than ‘listen-ers’. Everyone wants to be heard. Give opinions. Suggest an idea. Give counsel. Make recommendations. But no one wants to listen. How many times you’ve desperately wanted to blurt your heart out to someone, but there was no willing listener? Or people around you are hurting too and would rather have you listen to them. And if at all someone came forward to listen, they are quick to accuse, judge and condemn, when all you wanted was love and comfort. Here’s some good news. Our God is a good listener. And He is constantly attentive as He listens to you. "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer…” (1 Peter 3:12) He is not watching a mobile as He listens to you. He is not talking to someone else. He is not thinking about solving another problem. He is not preparing himself for what’s next on His agenda. He is attentive to you. John 9:31 says, “if anyone is a worship...

  Psalm 62:8 - Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. When my little daughter comes and pulls the end of my garment, I know she wants something. She doesn’t stand there thinking about how she’s going to phrase her request to me. Should I start with “I want ..” or maybe I’ll first appreciate mom for what she has done and then I’ll ask! Nope. She spills out her thoughts spontaneously, straight from her heart. Her sentences are not edited, not rehearsed, not thought-through. Her request is sincere and true. She conveys her desires and longings to her mother whom she loves and trusts. Isn’t God a loving Father to us? You can pour out your heart to Him in all sincerity because He is never too busy to listen to you - your petitions, your worries, your burdens, your questions, your tears, your grumblings. And He doesn’t just listen to you, but gives you an answer! So, don’t edit your prayers. Express yourself honestly to the One w...

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom . Shalom is used as salutation by Jewish people at meeting or parting, meaning ‘peace’. Shalom means  peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquillity.  Shalom doesn’t mean ‘absence of problems’ or ‘absence of trouble’. Rather, the word refers to a sense of calmness both internally and externally, no matter what the circumstance is. Christmas is always associated with peace as much as it is associated with love and joy. In Isaiah 9:6, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would be the Prince of Peace. And when Jesus was born, angels sang of peace. Luke 2:14 - Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Christmas, or coming of Jesus into the world, brought us peace in three ways. 1.        By coming into this world, Jesus brought us peace with God. Romans 5:1 says ‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God...

  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Galatians 4:4 What does fullness of time mean? It is like eagerly waiting for something and suddenly the time comes very appropriately. Like a ripe apple ready to be picked. In this context Paul describes a moment in history when everything was in place and the stage was all set for Christ to be born. The birth of Christ did not happen all of the sudden. From the beginning of creation, this plan of God of sending His Son into the world was revealed. It started in the Garden of Eden when God promised that one day the seed of woman would crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). Centuries later, in Genesis 12:1-3, God told Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Years later, God said that the sceptre would arise in Judah (Gen 49:10) which meant that Christ would be born in the tribe of Judah. The promise narrows down from Adam to Abraham to the...

  When you count your blessings, it means you’re being grateful. It helps you recognise and admit God’s favour and mercies even over little things in life, that would’ve possibly been overlooked. It makes you more and more positive and optimistic. Simply because, you can’t be pessimistic and grateful at the same time. You can’t be murmuring and thanking simultaneously. God led the people of Israel miraculously out of the land of Egypt. Their eyes saw wonders that no one had ever seen before nor after till date. ·        The Red Sea was parted so they could cross over the dry land, the same Red Sea drowned the Egyptians. ·        God fed them with manna throughout their journey in the wilderness. ·        He was their pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day. ·        Lifting of Moses’ hands brought victory to Israelites from the Amalekites. ...

Acts 27 is a familiar chapter that talks about the shipwreck of Paul. Paul undertook three missionary journeys in his lifetime. This is Paul’s fourth and final missionary journey to Rome, where Paul was taken as a prisoner and would be tried before Caesar. Along with 276 other prisoners, Paul was travelling in a ship from Caesarea to Rome. This missionary trip is largely different from the other three. During the other journeys, Paul chose to travel to places he wanted so he could further the gospel. Not so this time; he is now a prisoner and had to go where he was taken. And the bad news is that the ship would soon go through a storm. These three verses are easy to ignore, because they are full of some names, names of places and names of men. However, these verses point to the favour of God that was so extensively available for Paul in the midst of the hardships that he was going through. Every individual mentioned here were not there by chance. You will find that God had specia...

If I told you that iron could float on water, I bet you wouldn’t believe. And if I told you, the sun and the moon wouldn’t revolve for a day. You would call me crazy. And if I said, a fiery furnace cannot burn you although you are in the midst of it. You wouldn’t dare invite me into your house again. But you know they are true, God did them in the past. But to believe that He could do the same thing today is so difficult! Most of us don’t have a problem believing what God already did. We have a problem in believing that God can do it now. In our life. In our families. In our children’s lives. In our workplace. There are certain laws of nature that pervades through the entire universe. And, although, the crown of creations, human beings are equally subjected to these laws. But, not our Creator! He can reverse the law when he feels like. He can pause them when he wants to. He can undo them. Or even delete them. Because He is the one who coded them. B ib...

Two days back, while watching news on Television, my five-year-old daughter suddenly came up to me and asked me something. What she asked kind of surprised me. She said, “Why mama, everywhere and every time, it is all about corona, corona, corona…. “ The impact that this invisible organism has caused is tremendous. It’s across age groups, across geographical boundaries, across economic status and it transcends all man-made divisions. The question to us is as Christians, what should be our response or our reaction in a time such as this. I just want to highlight two things from the scripture today: 1. GOD IS IN CONTROL Ps 99:1 – The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; Psalm 47:8. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne. These two verses remind us that God is supreme. And that He is in control. Although this is totally unprecedented, God knew it would happen. He knows why this is happening. And he also knows exactly how long this is going ...

It is very human to expect miracles to happen in the usual way. You think of something exciting and hope things would happen the way you planned. But remember miracles are miracles because they do not happen the usual way. They happen the God's way. Are you facing a touch situation in your life and waiting for a breakthrough? Do you know for certain that only a divine intervention can solve your problem? Moses was in a similar situation. The thousands of Israelites cried against Moses, because they were tired of eating manna for days together. But what else could they find in the wilderness, other than that divine provision? Where would Moses go to get meat for the murmuring and craving people? Annoyed, Moses felt he was a failure. He sought death rather than facing that situation. At that juncture, God promises to do a miracle. Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearin...

I don’t know if there is anyone who likes to wait. Do you? Waiting is hard, frustrating and at times can test our faith. Desires we long for, prayers we’ve been praying about or news we’re waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, to be discouraged, to worry or to even wonder if God really cares. When God tells us to wait, trust Him. Trust Him completely. God has your best interest in His mind. Here are three things to remember even as you are waiting. 1.  God prepares you inwardly to receive the blessing or in other words God is working on your character God uses your waiting periods to prepare godly character in you. Interestingly in ladder of faith that Peter writes about in 2 Peter 1:6, godliness follows perseverance. Godliness does not follow faith or knowledge but it follows perseverance. When you wait, you develop patience and thereby godliness. The period of 40 years, from the time Moses received the vision from God to when it was actually f...