Count your Blessings...

Recently I was able to go with the folks from our church to help Scott mission in downtown Toronto which provided food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless and runs a food bank too. As we were driving I was quite amazed by the beauty of the nature surrounding us, the lakeshore, harbour, CN tower ,sky scrapers, also I was quite excited as this was my first visit to downtown Toronto. It was beautiful life was on fast track, street cars, BMWs and looked like everyone had a wheel on their shoes. We went passed the harbour, office blocks, china town and there we reached the Scott mission building.
The scene outside the building was quite a thing, there were so many people waiting to go in to get some food, waiting for the doors to be open. Old, young, children and families. Each had a story to say, one can read it in their eyes, sorrow, pain and suffering. No one can pass by without having a second look and thought.
I was awe stuck with that site. Just couldn’t believe that in Canada and in Toronto there are people suffering like this, with not even one proper meal. Just few blocks away were the high end buildings and offices making millions with whatever they did, there was the rotating restaurant in the CN tower were one would spend about 50- 100 $ a meal and few hundred yards away there were people begging for food, what a contrast…
Living in India this scene wasn’t new to me but then I couldn’t think of this in Canada.
As I came back one thought was left behind. Many a times when we have all that we need provided on time, we don’t seem to realise the importance of life. When life goes well, slowly we tend to forget or reduce the time spent with God. I thought I need to pause for a while and think if all the Blessings God has given us, not the miraculous ones but ones which we never actually think as a blessing say some basic things like
• Clothes- If u ever had confusion on what to wear tomorrow, thank god cos u have two sets of clothes to choose, when someone doesn’t have even one
• Food- If u get to eat three full meals a day, without a problem Be thankful cos there are millions of people who just eat one meal a day or not even that…
• Shelter- we have a nice place to sleep, if it’s cold we have a blanket to cover, and if it’s hot we have our air-conditioning on to cool it a bit, isn’t that a Blessing.
• Family & loved ones- It is indeed a great blessing to have parents, husband/ wife, children, brothers, sisters or someone who cares for us.
Moreover as Christians, we have a father and friend in heaven who is always there for us. Blessing in deed.

I ended up saying a three point prayer, lord today help me to

• Be thankful (for all that u’ve done for me)
• Be content (with all that I have) and
• Help me Have a heart like you(Jesus)to have compassion when we see people in need

Lets start counting our Blessings and specially when there’s something bothering in your mind, lets think of the people like the ones who come to Scott mission or the ones around the world, who don’t have any place to go….

In Times like these...

This was a song written by me recently. I was really upset about something and when i was praying came these words...

Everyday lord Oh every hour
Every word lord that You’ve Promised
Every minute Lord I am waiting for you
Oh let your Glory come….

But sometimes Lord I still feel lonely
Everyone seems heading so fast
Dark and weary knowing not what to do
I stand there waiting for you

In times like these, I come to you
In times like these, I feel your love (so close)
In times like these, you lift me up and I stand
Oh let your Glory be seen

Oh by the day and thru the night
The wall of fire and Glory cloud
To the glory land where milk and honey flow
Lord lead me I long to go

Lord take my life and let it be so;
Holy and worthy lord for thee
I am in your arms; mould me and make me to be
I surrender to thee

Are u there God ....

There once was an older, destitute man. He had lost his family, his dignity, his work, and all his worldly possessions. The only thing he had left was his faith in God.

One day, he walked along the city sidewalks; homeless as he was. Peering around the city buildings, the passing cars, and sidewalk shoppers - he remembered a time when had the love of his wife, the comfort of home, and the camaraderie of his many friends and successful business partners. Just for one moment, he could feel the love and passion he once used to enjoy. But then he looked up into the sky, and he could see the graying clouds rolling overhead; and the wind began to fly past his ragged shirt sleeves.

Realizing that he was who he was, he knew he had to find shelter before the rains began to fall. Across the street, he saw the old city park that he used to visit when he was just a child. In the far end of the park, he spotted the old gazebo he'd frequented with his high school sweetheart. Suddenly, the rain began to fall. These weren't just ordinary raindrops - they were hard, heavy, and oversized droplets of water that pelted his head and neck like small stones. His walk turned into a fast run as he struggled to get under the shelter of the gazebo. Shaking off his shirt and wiping the wetness from his cheeks and forehead, the man sat back on the two seater swing beneath the gazebo. Then he shook his head in disbelief. "Is this what life is all about?" he asked, shaking his fist and peering up toward the grey skies, "What more do you want from me?"

Just then, the sky began to clear and above the skyscrapers, he could faintly see some bright hues of red, purple, pink, and even blue. It was a rainbow; and the sun's rays began to shine through the break in the clouds. Now sobbing, the man looked back up into the sky, and he asked, "Are You there, God?" But there was no audible reply.

A few moments passed when a park ranger made his way up to the old gazebo, "Top of the day to you, sir," he said to the man. The man glanced at the ranger as the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Sure enough, the man remembered the park ranger as a friend he once knew many, many years in his past.

I think I know you, the man replied to the ranger, aren't you Ed from the country store?

The ranger was slightly taken aback as he too, recognized the man. But the ranger's name was not Ed; that was his father's name. "My name is Paul," said the ranger, stretching out his hand to the man on the swing, "Ed was my father."

"Oh," replied the man, "I'm Mark Baker," he paused to shake Paul's hand. The similarities were uncanny, but Mark certainly remembered Ed, and this ranger was the spitting image of him. "How'd you know my dad?" asked Paul. "Oh, it was so long ago...you wouldn't want to hear how we met," replied Mark. Taking a couple steps beneath the shelter, Paul said, "Humour me."

Mark explained that he and Ed had met each other in the local hospital. Mark had gone there to pick up his lab tests where he and Ed had struck up a conversation while they sat in the waiting room. By the time all was said and done, he discovered that he was the perfect match for Ed - the perfect kidney match. "Needless to say," said Mark, "one thing led to another and we were kidney partners for life."

"What happened to you?" asked Paul. "Wall Street called me, greed took me, and I played my last bit of luck," he replied. Sighing aloud, Mark blinked to clear the water from his eyes, "and then I lost it all."

"I remember you," said Paul, then he pulled out a photograph from his wallet, and pointed to two men standing side-by-side by the old country store, "that's you, and that's my dad." Peering at the old black and white photograph, he could faintly make out the faces of the worn picture, "Sure does look like me, doesn't it?" asked Mark.

Paul began smiling and he replied, "It is you," then he took a deep breath, "do you know for how long I have been looking for you?"

Mark simply shook his head, "well, you found me...I wish under better circumstances" Just then, Paul placed his hand upon Mark's shoulder, "I wish my dad would've been able to see you again. He talked about you all the time...and especially right before he died," Paul sighed, "because of you, he was able to watch me graduate and get my high school diploma, and later, he got to hold his newborn grandson - my son."

"Wow" Mark replied, "I didn't realize that one kidney could do all that"

"You don't understand, Mark," said Paul, "when he died, he left you the old country store and the house. It's been waiting for your return but you never came until now"

And suddenly, Mark had received his answer...and his solution to his homelessness. It had been there the whole time but it took him losing everything before he would rediscover the rainbow of hope once again.

Even in your darkest hour, when you ask - God shows up in the
most unlikely places.

(From the Internet by an unknown authour)

Blessing and curse: (Deut: 11)

Who wants to be a curse we all want to be blessed and be a blessing to others. We try to do our best to stay Blessed. Well here’s the way, let see what the Bible says…

Chapter 11 in the book of Deuteronomy talks about this, it says “love the Lord your God and keep his commands always” and it goes on to say that “Blessing and curse is in our hands” so to stay Blessed its a choice and not something which comes automatically, God expects us to do something and so we could be partakers of his Blessing which he has set before us.

Well what happens when we love God and obey his commands.

• Strength to Go and Possess
• Live long
• Blessings (not just spiritual but also material)
• Provision on time
• Blessings for generations
• Enemies Driven away

Strength to Go and Possess:

Our God is a God of promises and the Bible is full of promises. I am reminded of the chorus which goes…

Every Promise in the book (Bible) is mine, every chapter, every verse, and every line

All are Blessings of his love divine; every promise in the book is mine

In this case for the Israelites after all the suffering they went thru in Egypt they were looking forward for the Promised Land were milk and honey would flow. So when we Love our God and keep his commands he gives us the needed strength to go possess what he has promised for us no matter what obstacle seems to be there before us whether it’s the pharaohs army or the red sea.

Long life:

What’s the point having abundant wealth and all that you need but you don’t get to enjoy all that? We all want to live long; I haven’t heard anyone wishing to die unless they’re told by some one due to some unchangeable situations or reasons. Here seems to be a simple tool, than investing our time and money on other things which claims to give us long life. When we posses what God had promised for us we need to live long to enjoy every bit of it and the Bible says you will live long in this land when u love God and follow his commands

Blessings:

In the case of Israelites it was material Blessings apart from others which they enjoyed anyway after leaving Egypt. Imagine the joy the Israelites would have had after all the hard labour they did for decades. They were going to posses the land with milk and honey. I am so taken away by the way it is put here; u don’t need to water your land, it will drink on its own thru rain from heaven, secondly it says, It is a land your god cares for, so the eyes of the Lord is continually on it from the beginning to the end. He is going to take personal care for it. When we love our God and obey his commands we not only enjoy the relationship with him, we also become partakers of his kingdom and so he promises to be our provider for all our needs right now when we choose him.

Provision on time:

Our God is a God of details when you read Leviticus and Numbers you would see how detailed everything is told to Moses and his people, to the minute detail, well planned and I see a God of perfection here. He not just provide us with the things once and for all but then he also promises to continue with provision as and when needed including the rain, for us to be full and be satisfied. Isn’t that amazing?

Blessing for generations:

When we obey God the Blessings don’t stop with us but then he promises to Bless us for generations, we witness that with the Israelites when they entered the promised land it was a complete new generation of people not one who left Egypt entered but their children and generations, but then it comes with a clause though, only if we teach them and they choose to do the same- Love God and follow his commands

Enemies driven away:

What a promise it is “when we know that our God is for us and no one can be against us” no one, no forces smaller, larger or even stronger can stand against us. Every place where you set your set your feet will be yours. Amen. We can always see people not so happy when we are Blessed and happy as Christians. So we are for sure to face these big giants on our way but then lets win them cos we know this- when God is for us who can be against us.

So as I said before it is a choice: whether it’s Blessing or curse its set before us;

If we want to receive his Blessing: Obey the commands of the Lord our God which is set before us.

If we want to receive a curse: Disobey the commands of the lord and turn away from him

Being his children and having experienced his Agape Love for us, let us be sure to obey all the decrees and laws the lord has set before us today. Let us Love the Lord and serve him with all our heart, our mind and soul so that we may be a source of his blessings not just today but for generations to come.

Stay Blessed

Augustine

The Royal Blood line

Recently my wife and I got to attend the Toronto mission fest and we were going thru the exhibitor’s and I couldn’t believe that there were so many Christian organisations just working among children in need Globally. The need seemed to be so real and it was right there in front of us.

Child abuse is becoming regular news in our dailies and news channels. You might have read about Tori the girl who went missing from a school in Toronto mysteriously, the father who kept his daughter chained in the basement for years, father who raped his own daughter because he wanted good luck on his family and the story goes on. In India every day over 10000 kids are born, it’s a good number still even after reducing the high infant mortality. I use to work in a rural mission hospital in India and I have seen how a father reacts when a female child is born (especially in the states of Uttarpradesh and Bihar). Sometimes the father wouldn’t even come to see the baby in the hospital after its been delivered. There’s a big gap between the literate middle class and the illiterate rural poor. One of my good friends unfortunately she had a miscarriage and lost their baby, its over a decade now, even though they have had children after that, even today they talk about the lost baby and count on her as their child, at the same time in the other hand, I was really surprised once when I was doing a survey in a village and when we asked the man how many children he had, he answered two and as we talked we realised he actually had 7 children. Two died, 3 girls, but then when he said two he meant only his boys. Others weren’t even counted, Isn’t that mind-blowing?

Many a times if it’s a girl who’s sick, often they don’t bother to take her to the hospital no matter how serious she is. At the same time if it was a boy, they would try every possible thing to save him cos according to them a Boy is an Income and a Girl is an expense keeping dowry and the other local practices in mind.

As I was thinking on these lines, suddenly I realised how privileged most of us are to have parents and family who really care for us. I have the privilege of having a very strong and loving family presence always around me. We often take them for granted, I can’t think of my parents ever thinking something bad for me but then it can happen, Bible says “even your father and mother may forget u and leave u but I (Jesus) will never leave you nor forsake you.

Think of those children dying there without love for a moment and also think about Jesus who tells us a different perspective on the fathers love who sent his only son to die for us on the cross. What greater love can we see in this world than this? We have his inheritance. He has given us the privilege to call him Abba father what a great privilege it is, to have the king of kings, Lord of ‘lords and the maker of this whole universe our own father, isn’t that something to think of…

We are Blessed not because we are righteous but for what he is to us, cos of the promise he made to our forefathers. We receive it free because of his Amazing grace. If we are his children, we are blessed for sure cos we have His Royal Blood line in us.

So today my friend if u think things aren’t going too well with you, cheer up cos you have the royal blood line in u. Being an Agriculturist I can say this, when u look at a genetically modified seed, it will look just the same as a normal one and u might think, even doubt on whether after paying so much money u will get any better results, but then because of its genes and modifications its proven that when it grows it is going to yield plenty times more and will give more value for your money.

Sameway, you and me having the Royal bloodline in us no matter what we are and what we are going thru right now, we shall overcome for sure and we will be Victors. Amen

Stay Blessed.

Augustine

The Sanctuary

May God Bless you.
Augustine & Caroline