My Walk with God 🌱

  "And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end." - Hebrews 6:11 I stumbled across this photo over a decade ago. I saw a resilient tree, holding on to barely any soil, and yet it found a way to survive. Its roots searched for and found something to hold on to, and dare we say, it even appears to be thriving, against all odds. In life, many, if not all of us, at one point in time or another, may find ourselves in circumstances or seasons where we may feel like this tree. You may have been crowded out of your comfort zone by grief, despair, unfulfilled desire, displacement, need, depression, disappointments, challenges, struggles, the cares and worries of this life. You may find it difficult to find your way back to a place of assurance, stability or security, contentment or fulfilment.  Tonight, be reminded that all is not lost. Like this tree, as long as we have life, we...

"Bless the Lord oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name." -Psalm 103:1 This week, this particular song has been replaying in my mind. What a beautiful joy it is to find oneself in a state of gratitude for all of ones blessings, and praise and worship to our Creator and Redeemer. It lightens our hearts, and is infectious to those around us. It doesn't always come easily though, because as individuals, we go through several ups and downs in life, with regards to what may pre-occupy our thoughts and minds. Reflecting on God's goodness and His mercies and blessings in these times will then have to become an intentional exercise, one that re-directs our thoughts and heart to Him, acknowledging and refreshing ourselves with the reminder of the goodness of God through it all, generally and in our own personal lives.  The psalmist David wrote a beautiful tribute to the Lord during one of his moments of reflection and appreciation. It is one that we can all ...

Happy World Steelpan Day! "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" -Psalm 150:6 This week, I was engaged in a conversation that happened to centre on the workings of artificial intelligence. We touched on the fears about serious possible implications of it, and also on all the many benefits that can be derived from it. It took a while admittedly to come around to dropping parts of my guard about it (perhaps the movie " i Robot " is still playing on my sub-conscious to this day), but I had to have a good chuckle at myself when an article was later shared with me which traced some pretty early inventions and explained the controversy surrounding them at their inception.  For example, the train when it was first invented was feared because it was thought that the human body couldn't withstand moving at such a high speed (50km/hr) and would be dismembered automatically. Similarly, the telephone, telegraph and radio when first invented were...

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. - Ecclesiastes 3:11 This month was the start of my vacation, and I felt quite exhausted, run down and out of shape, but oh so thankful for the break. I was being convicted that I needed to start taking better care of myself and I was determined to let this vacation find me at the end of it in a much better condition than I was in at the beginning. By God's grace, I have set out to be more intentional about my diet, to have a more consistent exercise regime, and I have established some goals that I hope to see achieved by the end of the period. This week my mind went back to a photo a student shared of a butterfly captured a few days before vacation began. The decision to have a 'self-care July' came first, but the photo lead me to use the butterfly as a source of inspiration and motivation to the end goal. I imagined mysel...

Walking with Jesus “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13-14 A picture is worth a thousand words. This so true. There are some images that capture my attention, and make me reflect, find meaning, and extract a lesson. I came across this image years ago, and I stored it in my memory. The foot on the left I visualize as mine, small, walking together with and keeping up with the sandaled foot on the right, which reminds me of Jesus. I sense him to be a like a big brother, a father, a friend, who I look up to, whose feet have purpose, and invites me to join Him. I look at His feet and know they are big shoes to fill, and inspire admiration and respect in me. He is a worthy companion on this journey called life, who knows the way, shows the way, and welcomes me to walk beside Him. No matter the t...

  "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."  - Isaiah 9:6-7 Have you ever looked at a painting and the more you look at it, the more detail you see? Or how about a movie? Have you ever looked at a movie, or read a book, or verse of scripture, or a Bible story, and every time you look at or read it, you pick up on details you missed before? I don't know about you, but those moments for me are like finding treasures. They open up new perspectives, new understandings, new insights! This week, I have been enjoying attending virtually an online seminar entitled Messiah. The...

"But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works." -Psalm 73:28 This week, the world watched in shock as the frantic search for five passengers aboard a missing submersible vessel named the Titan ended in the discovery that it had already self-destructed in a tragic implosion. It is deeply ironic that this same vessel had gone in search of the sunken ship, the Titanic which had also met a tragic end on April 15, 1912. While there are many mixed emotions about the recent tragedy, my attention can't help but return to the historical demise of the SS Titanic. Maybe it was because of its size, or the idea of the rich and famous being on board that attracted so much attention, or maybe it was the hype surrounding the new ship, with someone famously boasting that "not even God could sink this ship" . Maybe it was the subsequent namesake movie made that helped to further immortalize its story in our me...