It has been a while since I last blogged. Though it has always been on my mind to do so but, with the hustle and bustle of working life, being in a relationship and juggling many other things, I never really got around to blogging. Until now that is.
Lent. Holy week. What does mean to me and perhaps to you?
As i was having lunch today with two friends from Church, one of them mentioned that this year, she didn't feel that this week is the Holy week-compared to last year.
Now, Holy week is the week leading up to Good Friday and then to Resurrection Sunday or commonly known as Easter Sunday. This is the week whereby Jesus was preparing Himself to be crucified to save us all and to rise again from death and ascend to the right hand of God the Father.
Crucifixion is the worst kind of death to experience in the history of mankind. Google it for yourself and you will read all kinds of accounts on this topic. You will slowly come to realize that such form of torture is usually meant to make a statement of some kind. In the case of Jesus' crucifixion, it was a public display of informing the people watching that, should they choose to continue to worship Jesus and call Him king, they too will suffer such a fate. As it goes, this had to take place in order for Christ to save us all from our own sinful ways and to redeem us with His holy blood so that we will stand righteous in front of God the Father when the time comes.
Now, this is a God who sacrificed Himself and gave His blood to save us all. But in the world today and for many years as well, many do not know what this mean. Even to the point that they believe that by piercing themselves are they able to thank the god and also to put forward requests that they may have. The question is this: why would a god want you to pierce yourself so that you may bleed just to show your appreciation?
Think about it. Jesus has already given Himself for us all so that we do not have to resort to such things just to give thanksgiving or to make our requests known. He does not demand your blood. He just wants us to love Him as how He loves us.
Jesus died for us. When we did not deserve saving, He struggled with God the Father but yet gave Himself for us all. He is a living God and the true God.
There is an awesome app called Youversion that provides excellent reading plans for devotion-even for Holy week. If you are a believer, I urge you to download the app and find the time to seek the Lord using the devotional plans as a guide. If you are not a believer, I pray that you will perhaps think about the question i posed above. Think about it objectively and not from a defensive point of view but from a honest point a view that perhaps, there is a God who really wants to come into your life seeking not your blood to be shed but for you to know His love, grace and mercy has been freely given to you.
God bless! :)
Monday, April 14, 2014
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Atheism
At any one time, will anyone term a Christian as being an atheist? Sounds weird?
Truth be told, many Christians live their lives as being Christianatheist. Believing in God yet, not living their lives out as desired by God. Looking at my own life, there have been times I have behaved as such. I love God. I really do. But there are times where my behaviour and actions did not reflect that of being a believer in Jesus.
It is one thing to admit to being one and another, to carry on living as one. We are Christianatheist for various reasons. Possibly, we do not feel loved by God because of the way our life is going or we may have shifted our focus from Jesus to the other things that demand our time and attention.
The one way to come out of being a Christianatheist is, going to back to God by basking in His love for us. The love that never changes no matter what. We may feel that maybe we are undeserving of such love but know this- God does love us and His love is unfailing. It is something so amazing yet profound.
I have begun reading a book titled "The Christianatheist" by Craig Groeschel. I've read 3 chapters so far and each chapter has left an impression on me. It made me want to come forward to confess that truly I have not loved God as much as I should and be thankful for what He has done and will continue to do in my life.
My spiritual life isn't how I would like it to be. That's because I have allowed to be as such and I have to change this. Indeed I need God's grace more than ever as I battle with feelings of insignificance and handling the unknowns that will be heading my way.
Just like the prodigal son, I want to run back to my Father and be in His embrace. It is never too late to want to come into His presence again and to live a life feeling blessed and happy, in spite of the bumps along the way on this journey called Life.
I pray that whatever state that you are in and feel that you want to yearn for God or just want to return to Him, that you give yourself that chance to do so and not tell yourself that you are undeserving of such a amazing love and of a God that forgives and wants you to love Him with all your heart and soul.
In His grip and fervour,
Mark Kesavan
Truth be told, many Christians live their lives as being Christianatheist. Believing in God yet, not living their lives out as desired by God. Looking at my own life, there have been times I have behaved as such. I love God. I really do. But there are times where my behaviour and actions did not reflect that of being a believer in Jesus.
It is one thing to admit to being one and another, to carry on living as one. We are Christianatheist for various reasons. Possibly, we do not feel loved by God because of the way our life is going or we may have shifted our focus from Jesus to the other things that demand our time and attention.
The one way to come out of being a Christianatheist is, going to back to God by basking in His love for us. The love that never changes no matter what. We may feel that maybe we are undeserving of such love but know this- God does love us and His love is unfailing. It is something so amazing yet profound.
I have begun reading a book titled "The Christianatheist" by Craig Groeschel. I've read 3 chapters so far and each chapter has left an impression on me. It made me want to come forward to confess that truly I have not loved God as much as I should and be thankful for what He has done and will continue to do in my life.
My spiritual life isn't how I would like it to be. That's because I have allowed to be as such and I have to change this. Indeed I need God's grace more than ever as I battle with feelings of insignificance and handling the unknowns that will be heading my way.
Just like the prodigal son, I want to run back to my Father and be in His embrace. It is never too late to want to come into His presence again and to live a life feeling blessed and happy, in spite of the bumps along the way on this journey called Life.
I pray that whatever state that you are in and feel that you want to yearn for God or just want to return to Him, that you give yourself that chance to do so and not tell yourself that you are undeserving of such a amazing love and of a God that forgives and wants you to love Him with all your heart and soul.
In His grip and fervour,
Mark Kesavan
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I have to admit, trying to apply the above verse to my life was difficult, to say the least. This was the verse that spoke to me as I talked to God and shared my life with Him.
I guess for most, if not for all of us, it is always easy to give thanks when things in our lives falls in favor of how we want it to be. Asking God to give us a wonderful job, a perfect spouse or even having our ministries in Church being blessed immensely makes it so much easier for us to give thanks to God. However, what if we we are experiencing the reverse of all the scenarios as above? Would we be able to give thanks as easily as when we have everything not going our way?
I for one, have been facing some personal struggles and have been lamenting about it. I had been asking God why, was I facing such challenges when most people have it easy for them? It came to a point where, I even doubted whether God was there with me in my struggles.
But God is good. Even when we question Him, He holds us and assures us through His word and uses people in our lives to remind us of His grace and mercy. Spending time with God is so important as it will allow you, to just listen to what God has to say to us.
Thus, as I was questioning God why, He said "give thanks for everything!". A short but immensely powerful statement that allowed me to transform my view. I attempted to thank God for the good things He did for me throughout the week and also, the not so good events that took place as well.
Romans 1:21 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Giving our thanks to God is a way of honouring Him as well. Especially for believers, it is so important to give thanks to God everyday!
Have you stopped to thank God for what He has done in your life? Good and bad? I pray that you will give thanks in all circumstances and feel God's love and presence in your lives, everyday!
I have to admit, trying to apply the above verse to my life was difficult, to say the least. This was the verse that spoke to me as I talked to God and shared my life with Him.
I guess for most, if not for all of us, it is always easy to give thanks when things in our lives falls in favor of how we want it to be. Asking God to give us a wonderful job, a perfect spouse or even having our ministries in Church being blessed immensely makes it so much easier for us to give thanks to God. However, what if we we are experiencing the reverse of all the scenarios as above? Would we be able to give thanks as easily as when we have everything not going our way?
I for one, have been facing some personal struggles and have been lamenting about it. I had been asking God why, was I facing such challenges when most people have it easy for them? It came to a point where, I even doubted whether God was there with me in my struggles.
But God is good. Even when we question Him, He holds us and assures us through His word and uses people in our lives to remind us of His grace and mercy. Spending time with God is so important as it will allow you, to just listen to what God has to say to us.
Thus, as I was questioning God why, He said "give thanks for everything!". A short but immensely powerful statement that allowed me to transform my view. I attempted to thank God for the good things He did for me throughout the week and also, the not so good events that took place as well.
Romans 1:21 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Giving our thanks to God is a way of honouring Him as well. Especially for believers, it is so important to give thanks to God everyday!
Have you stopped to thank God for what He has done in your life? Good and bad? I pray that you will give thanks in all circumstances and feel God's love and presence in your lives, everyday!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Time
It's been a while since I last blogged! Though I remember in my last post that I said I'd try to blog more often. I guess that didn't go as planned huh?
But thankfully, I have downloaded a blogger app on my iPhone! Now I have no excuse not to blog as often as I'd like to.
Past few months or so has been filled with so many happenings! One of it is about me getting a job! I really thank God for having managed to get a job especially with the economy not doing as well as it was.
With work, managing my time is necessary. By this I mean managing the time I have once I am done with work. It's not like how it used to be. Where I had more time than I have now to do the things I want to do. Now, I ensure I spend what little time I have wisely.
People these days hardly have time for themselves. And this, is not a very good thing. If you can't make time for yourself, what are the chances of making time for God? At this point, I'd like to confess that I do struggle with my desire to spend time with God over doing other things.
Thus, I believe that all of us should ask God for wisdom in planning our time and managing it effectively. It is only when we come before God asking Him to help us in this area, do we find ourselves being able to set aside some time to spend with the Father.
Facing some challenges in spending some time with Jesus? Pray and ask God for help. Thank Him for all that He's given to you and that you will want to desire after Him everyday-be it for 5 min or 5 hours. What counts is that you be honest with yourself and your relationship with God.
In His grip and fervor,
Mark Kesavan
But thankfully, I have downloaded a blogger app on my iPhone! Now I have no excuse not to blog as often as I'd like to.
Past few months or so has been filled with so many happenings! One of it is about me getting a job! I really thank God for having managed to get a job especially with the economy not doing as well as it was.
With work, managing my time is necessary. By this I mean managing the time I have once I am done with work. It's not like how it used to be. Where I had more time than I have now to do the things I want to do. Now, I ensure I spend what little time I have wisely.
People these days hardly have time for themselves. And this, is not a very good thing. If you can't make time for yourself, what are the chances of making time for God? At this point, I'd like to confess that I do struggle with my desire to spend time with God over doing other things.
Thus, I believe that all of us should ask God for wisdom in planning our time and managing it effectively. It is only when we come before God asking Him to help us in this area, do we find ourselves being able to set aside some time to spend with the Father.
Facing some challenges in spending some time with Jesus? Pray and ask God for help. Thank Him for all that He's given to you and that you will want to desire after Him everyday-be it for 5 min or 5 hours. What counts is that you be honest with yourself and your relationship with God.
In His grip and fervor,
Mark Kesavan
Monday, January 3, 2011
Resolutions
Happy New Year to one and all! ;)
Indeed, 2010 has flown by so quickly and we now sit in the first few days of 2011. How was 2010 for you? For me, and for many people I believe, was on roller-coaster ride! Many highs as well as many lows. But in the midst of all this, I thank God for being with me in each and every one of my highs and lows.
One of the highs of 2010 was the passing of my Traffic Police test! It was my second attempt and I passed with 18 points! This is the passing marks required to get a license. Anything above 18 points and, I would have to book another test date and that means spending more money again. Indeed, God was there with me for both test, my failed one and the one I eventually passed. For the failed one, I went for the test having had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting just as I was leaving my house. It baffled me how such a thing had happened. I had to take medications and as such, it induced drowsiness. To cut a long story short, the medication affected my judgment and eventually cost me to fail. I was disappointed to say the least. But, I chose to look to God and talk to Him and told Him how I felt. I then decided to book another test date.
On my second attempt, I didn't have any bout of diarrhea or vomiting. But I was a little apprehensive as, compared to my first attempt, I had gone for just 2 refresher lessons leading up to the test. And during the test itself, I could have easily failed if God had not intervened at a specific and crucial time for me to perform a specific turn as per instructed by the tester to do so. I was really thankful that God heard my prayers and that He willed for me to have passed the test!
Now to 2011. My resolutions? To read through the Bible from start to finish, within a year. I never have read the Bible in such a manner. I want to do this because I believe, God has reiterated to me of His desire for me to do so. Personally, I want to grow and deepen my relationship with God and what better way than to read the Bible! My other resolution is to run a marathon. A daunting task but, I want to do this. I want to start preparing early and by the end of 2011, run a 42km marathon! I have loads to work on till then!
Finally, I have neglected blogging in the past months on 2010 and so, I want to take a more ardent approach in blogging.
I wish you all the best for 2011! God bless!
In His grip and fervor,
Mark
Indeed, 2010 has flown by so quickly and we now sit in the first few days of 2011. How was 2010 for you? For me, and for many people I believe, was on roller-coaster ride! Many highs as well as many lows. But in the midst of all this, I thank God for being with me in each and every one of my highs and lows.
One of the highs of 2010 was the passing of my Traffic Police test! It was my second attempt and I passed with 18 points! This is the passing marks required to get a license. Anything above 18 points and, I would have to book another test date and that means spending more money again. Indeed, God was there with me for both test, my failed one and the one I eventually passed. For the failed one, I went for the test having had a bout of diarrhea and vomiting just as I was leaving my house. It baffled me how such a thing had happened. I had to take medications and as such, it induced drowsiness. To cut a long story short, the medication affected my judgment and eventually cost me to fail. I was disappointed to say the least. But, I chose to look to God and talk to Him and told Him how I felt. I then decided to book another test date.
On my second attempt, I didn't have any bout of diarrhea or vomiting. But I was a little apprehensive as, compared to my first attempt, I had gone for just 2 refresher lessons leading up to the test. And during the test itself, I could have easily failed if God had not intervened at a specific and crucial time for me to perform a specific turn as per instructed by the tester to do so. I was really thankful that God heard my prayers and that He willed for me to have passed the test!
Now to 2011. My resolutions? To read through the Bible from start to finish, within a year. I never have read the Bible in such a manner. I want to do this because I believe, God has reiterated to me of His desire for me to do so. Personally, I want to grow and deepen my relationship with God and what better way than to read the Bible! My other resolution is to run a marathon. A daunting task but, I want to do this. I want to start preparing early and by the end of 2011, run a 42km marathon! I have loads to work on till then!
Finally, I have neglected blogging in the past months on 2010 and so, I want to take a more ardent approach in blogging.
I wish you all the best for 2011! God bless!
In His grip and fervor,
Mark
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
COSI
Cambodia Mission trip-Day 1
The first day, has been a pretty eventful day. Even before departing for Phnom Pehn, our flight was delayed to some error on the side of the airlines. Nevertheless, God still brought as through the 2 hours flight safely and also, clearing through customs without being stopped and inspected. I was abit nervous of being stopped as we were bringing in medical supplies without declaring it to customs.
One of the Missionaries from COSI picked us up from the airport and since we were slightly hungry, decided to stop by along the way, to have some beef noodles. The noodles were awesome! Really tender meat pieces and and the noodles were really smooth and tasty too. The best part? It only costs 2 USD. Can you imagine. Even the coffee was really good too. It was really value for money spent on such great yet cheap stuffs.
We then met the older youths and brought them out for a lunch buffet. To think we just had a meal prior to the buffet, we were going to start eating again! But I guess, that our stomach had some space left to chow down some more food items. I should mention something at this point though. Our flight was at 630 am. As such, we had to meet at 430 am to check-in. Most if not all of us, had not gotten adequate rest and by the lunch buffet, most of us was craving for some much needed sleep! In between traveling from one destination to the next, most of us were cat-napping along the way. It was that bad.
After lunch, we dropped them off back the Methodist Mission School and we proceeded on to stocking up necessities for the team. As the water at the hostel we would be staying at is non-portable, we had to stock up on mineral bottles of water and also, to get some comfort food as it is quite inaccessible for the team to return back for more items as, the hostel is quite a distance away. We then made our way back to the hostel itself- the main highlight of the day!
The path to the hostel was terribly rocky as, it was filled with potholes. It was indeed a really bumpy ride. The moment we got down from the van, we could see the kids running to greet us! Especially those whom the kids were familiar with. We settled stocking up the medical supplies first before, exploring the place and interacting more with the kids. Dinner was provided by the hostel as well and it was no wonder, that the other team members were saying that we could put on weight instead of losing any! The food was nice and I was filled by the end of it. Looking forward to day 2's dinner!
After dinner came Vesper. It is a time where, the kids of the hostel come together for a time of devotion. They start off my singing songs and then the village pastor, Mama Yun, will come in to share the gospel to the kids. For today's session, we introduced ourselves to the kids. Really cute bunch! Some of us are new to COSI and they were eager to find out our names and chat with us. Looking forward to working with them in the coming days :)
We will be starting devotion tomorrow. Guess who's doing first? I hope I'm adequately prepared!
The first day, has been a pretty eventful day. Even before departing for Phnom Pehn, our flight was delayed to some error on the side of the airlines. Nevertheless, God still brought as through the 2 hours flight safely and also, clearing through customs without being stopped and inspected. I was abit nervous of being stopped as we were bringing in medical supplies without declaring it to customs.
One of the Missionaries from COSI picked us up from the airport and since we were slightly hungry, decided to stop by along the way, to have some beef noodles. The noodles were awesome! Really tender meat pieces and and the noodles were really smooth and tasty too. The best part? It only costs 2 USD. Can you imagine. Even the coffee was really good too. It was really value for money spent on such great yet cheap stuffs.
We then met the older youths and brought them out for a lunch buffet. To think we just had a meal prior to the buffet, we were going to start eating again! But I guess, that our stomach had some space left to chow down some more food items. I should mention something at this point though. Our flight was at 630 am. As such, we had to meet at 430 am to check-in. Most if not all of us, had not gotten adequate rest and by the lunch buffet, most of us was craving for some much needed sleep! In between traveling from one destination to the next, most of us were cat-napping along the way. It was that bad.
After lunch, we dropped them off back the Methodist Mission School and we proceeded on to stocking up necessities for the team. As the water at the hostel we would be staying at is non-portable, we had to stock up on mineral bottles of water and also, to get some comfort food as it is quite inaccessible for the team to return back for more items as, the hostel is quite a distance away. We then made our way back to the hostel itself- the main highlight of the day!
The path to the hostel was terribly rocky as, it was filled with potholes. It was indeed a really bumpy ride. The moment we got down from the van, we could see the kids running to greet us! Especially those whom the kids were familiar with. We settled stocking up the medical supplies first before, exploring the place and interacting more with the kids. Dinner was provided by the hostel as well and it was no wonder, that the other team members were saying that we could put on weight instead of losing any! The food was nice and I was filled by the end of it. Looking forward to day 2's dinner!
After dinner came Vesper. It is a time where, the kids of the hostel come together for a time of devotion. They start off my singing songs and then the village pastor, Mama Yun, will come in to share the gospel to the kids. For today's session, we introduced ourselves to the kids. Really cute bunch! Some of us are new to COSI and they were eager to find out our names and chat with us. Looking forward to working with them in the coming days :)
We will be starting devotion tomorrow. Guess who's doing first? I hope I'm adequately prepared!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Cambodia
I will be leaving for Cambodia in a few hours time! I have been looking forward to this trip as, this will be no ordinary trip. Its a mission trip, one that I have been wanting to embark on for as long as I can remember.
Most of my stuffs are packed and I am all ready to go! I have a strong feeling that I might not be able to sleep tonight due to the excitement that is building up, as the hour to leaving for the airport draws near.
Basically, I will be going to COSI home hostel to teach the kids there English. Though, this is not purely an evangelical outreach, you will never know how the Holy Spirit will lead you and what awaits for the team there. Expect anything and everything, so I was told. Anything can change any moment and we have to be prepared. I am going there with such a mindset. To not rest on my laurels but to be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit will be guiding us along there.
I shall not blog too much as I am sure I will blog about my trip alot more in detail when I do arrive back. In the meantime, I humbly ask that you keep me in prayer. We all need prayer warriors and I hope you can be mine. Here are some prayer pointers that perhaps, if you are unsure of what you should pray for.
1) Being humble and able to discern to the Holy Spirit
2) Building spiritual friendships
3) Understanding what God is saying and doing in life with regards to the mission field
4) Able to overcome any difficulties that might come our way
5) For my family and friends back home, that they will be kept safe while I am away
I shall blog about my trip soon! Till then, take care and God bless :)
In His grip and fervour,
Mark Kesavan
Most of my stuffs are packed and I am all ready to go! I have a strong feeling that I might not be able to sleep tonight due to the excitement that is building up, as the hour to leaving for the airport draws near.
Basically, I will be going to COSI home hostel to teach the kids there English. Though, this is not purely an evangelical outreach, you will never know how the Holy Spirit will lead you and what awaits for the team there. Expect anything and everything, so I was told. Anything can change any moment and we have to be prepared. I am going there with such a mindset. To not rest on my laurels but to be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit will be guiding us along there.
I shall not blog too much as I am sure I will blog about my trip alot more in detail when I do arrive back. In the meantime, I humbly ask that you keep me in prayer. We all need prayer warriors and I hope you can be mine. Here are some prayer pointers that perhaps, if you are unsure of what you should pray for.
1) Being humble and able to discern to the Holy Spirit
2) Building spiritual friendships
3) Understanding what God is saying and doing in life with regards to the mission field
4) Able to overcome any difficulties that might come our way
5) For my family and friends back home, that they will be kept safe while I am away
I shall blog about my trip soon! Till then, take care and God bless :)
In His grip and fervour,
Mark Kesavan
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