stephen-on-bible

One of the privileges of being born in India is that you may most likely fall in love with cricket. My children and I love playing cricket. But there is something funny and weird I find when I play cricket with my two kids. When Joy, my eldest son, does the bowling, he demands that I should hit the ball in a way that it would fall straight into his hands. If I play in a way that makes him difficult to catch the ball, he thinks I am not batting well, even playing unfair with him. And when I do the bowling when Joe, my youngest son, does the batting, he demands that I should bowl in such a way that the ball would go straight and hit his bat, making it easy for him to hit shots. If I don’t, he thinks I am unfair with him and don’t know how to bowl. To my kids, a good cricket player is the one who makes it easier for them either to catch the ball or to hit shots. But to us grown-ups, it sounds silly, killing the challenging excitement of the game. We also know that if they co...

Interestingly, this week I met two different people in two different circumstances. They both knew what pain is and what it is to go through suffering, but both have cultivated worldviews that are polar opposites. Turning Away The first incident I would like to share happened this way. Ashamed of being not so active in evangelism, few days back, I decided, along with my wife, to go to a public place once a week, in the evening, and share the gospel of Christ Jesus. When we went this week, we saw a person sitting on a cement bench. I went near to him and initiated the talk. After our initial talk, when the time came to speak about God, he started to blurt out his angry feelings. He shared how he lost one-third of his left hand in an accident occurred in a company for which he was working, and how, as a result of this accident, his marriage that was fixed called off. He went on expressing the various difficulties he underwent, like finding a good job and so forth. He is now...

(This week’s article is dedicated to my eldest son "Joy". On June 10th, 2011, he turned 7 years old. We had the privilege of celebrating his birthday in HOPE’s orphanage at Secunderabad. Anyone who is willing to be a blessing to orphans, I heartily recommend to support HOPE where children are properly nurtured with God’s love. Pradeep leads this orphanage and I testify that he is a man of integrity and the resources are rightly used for the welfare of children. You may write to: pradeepmanchala@yahoo.com ) ______________________________________________________ These days I am teaching my son to type on the computer system without looking at the keyboard. He has to position his little fingers on the keyboard and slowly learn to type without seeing. Believe me, it is painful and so tedious, especially for a kid of 7 years. Initially, he was reluctant to learn, but I motivated him to do so without giving up on him. His face was downcast and with great difficulty he began to lea...

The other day, my dear friend Kamal and I were traveling back home after having our ministry meeting. As we were conversing on our way, he made an insightful comment. When we go through suffering, we generally tend to comfort ourselves and others by reviving the focus on the reward that we would be receiving in heaven. True, we do receive a great reward on the Last Day when we endure trials, for it is written, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (Jas 1:12). But then, why don’t we also realize the rewards that we get here on earth because of afflictions? Kamal further talked about the blessings that we receive as a result of suffering in this world. What could be those rewards? As I was reflecting on our conversation, the following Scriptures come into mind. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the test...