stephen-on-bible

He was not an apostle. He didn’t hold any high ecclesiastical office. He held an ordinary responsibility, just to serve food to the Hellenistic Jewish widows. Perhaps, in our modern terminology, we can call him “waiter.” Yes, Philip’s ministry can be called, “The Waiter’s Ministry.” He is an example in the history of Christianity about how God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He went in the fullness of the Holy Spirit to Samaria and did an awesome ministry. Many came to the Lord. People got baptized. Amazing wonders and miracles took place. Now, what is the secret of his astounding ministry? A life lived under the full control of the Holy Spirit. During the peak of his successful ministry, one day Philip was told by an angel of the Lord, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Later, the Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” He obeyed the Lord, leaving his successful ministry in Samaria, and eventually leads...

Have you ever wondered why God at times doesn’t help us in overcoming our weaknesses? Why is it when we cry out to God to free us from our moral failures, He seems to hide Himself from us, as if He is not willing to come for our aid? We may be pleading to God to deliver us from vices, such as anger, lust, anxiety, impatience, greed…etc, and yet we find ourselves again and again staining ourselves with these evils, and therefore thinking, “When will God help me in these areas to live a life of an overcomer? If God wants me to be holy why is He not answering my prayers for holiness?" God shuns the prayers of proud As I was pondering over this issue, the Spirit of the Living God taught me an important lesson. One of the reasons God doesn’t help us in our weaknesses, no matter how much we pray (even fast), is that we are not compassionate towards others’ weaknesses. How highly critical we are towards the weaknesses of other people! How unkindly we criticize others’ failures! How car...

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“Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours” - C.S. Lewis Recently, I read in the newspaper that with a net of worth of $29 billion (more than Rs. 1,32,000 crore), industrialist Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian. He is the world’s fourth richest, according to Forbes . But, is he the fourth richest or the fourth poorest person in the sight of the Living God? People generally think those who possess abundant wealth and gain everything that is in the world are really the blessed ones. This may be true in a sense. However, God judges things quite different from people. The rich and poor on earth are not viewed by God in the same way as we do. In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God ” (Luke 12:21). Take a note here - those who store up things for themselves are not rich toward God. They are not the blessed ones in His sight. They are, in actual fact, impoverishe...

Last Saturday, i.e. on 13th March, a seminar was held on “Healthy Family Dynamics”, addressing especially on parenting. Although being in an embryonic stage in the field of parenting, the Lord has blessed me with the gracious privilege to speak on this topic. After uncle Joy David and sister Hazel delivered their lecture, encouraging the participants on healthy parenting, I was left with only few minutes to share my message. Considering the short time I had, I gave up the message I had prepared and was inspired in my heart to speak to parents on honoring their parents. In my extensive study on parenting, I have observed that this aspect is mostly unaddressed by many. One of the instructions we find in Ten Commandments is to “honor your father and mother” (Ex. 20:12). This is also cited by Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise—that all may go well...

(Continuation of Part 1) Marriage Another example that comes to my mind is marriage. Who doesn’t know that marriage is not always sailing on the romantic moods of honeymoon! Feelings of tension and frictions between husband and wife aren’t uncommon in many homes. How effortless it is for the once bed of flowers to turn into bed of thorns! It doesn’t come as a surprise when the deeply-fallen-in-love couple reaching the stage of dryness and boredom. There are times, even often, when once passionate-for-each-other couple may fall into the land of wilderness, where the desire for intimate communication with his/her spouse can be lost. What could be done at such dry situation? One most significant advice wise counselors offer to bring life into marriage is by improving communication. Spending time with each other prevents a relationship from departing from one another. It is by working on such relational areas that marital life can be revived. Lukewarm couples realize at that time— m...

We all are aware of the fact that Christian life is not always a mountaintop experience. There are times we have to walk through the valley, which, in the words of St. John of the Cross, is called, “Dark Night of the Soul.” When our soul is plunged into darkness, one most important commandment we find it hard to obey is 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” How painful are those moments when we are externally encircled by darkness and internally filled with dryness! What can we do when we don’t feel like praying? How can we walk with God when there is no inner desire to talk with Him? When prayer is an activity whereby we are enabled to get through life’s struggles and temptations, what can be done when our heart do not wish to open itself out to communicate with its Creator? When there is no passion in us to walk on the path of spiritual disciplines, how can we take a step? There is a song, in one of my vernacular languages, which goes like this, “The goal is in its place a...