Love is in the air

I log into facebook today and I see a lot of Valentine's Day greetings and definitons of love being shared! Sometimes, facebook is a beter dictionay than Oxford! And there's #thatslove trending on twitter. I would be kidding if I said that I didn't expect to see this. I click on #thatslove to see what people have tweeted about and no prizes for guessing what I read. There are tons of movie made each year on the power of love. And not to forget the forward text messages that you receive at this time of the year! Truly, love is in the air.

How often have you felt let down by this 'love' that man has to offer? Ever felt that solitude was a better option than trying to earn the love of this world? You've definitely been looking for or experiencing the wrong "love". What exactly is 'love' then?

While everyone is trying to come up with their own definitons of love, the Bible comes up with one as well. 1 John 4:8 says,

God is Love.

It doesn't say God 'has' love. He is love which means that He is the source of love. He proves it everyday in my life. How about you? He sends me sunshine every morning to light up my day. He sends me flowers during spring. Whenever I want to talk to someone, He is there by my side listening to me. He has provided me with all my needs. He tells me, "I have cared for you from the time you were born. I am your God and I will take care of you until your hair is old and grey. I made you and I will care for you; I will help you and rescue you." He has promised to give me strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.

But above all this, He displayed His love for me on the Cross of Calvary. He has done that for you too. John 3:16 says,

For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life.

Today, the world tries to impress each other, trying to demonstrate their love for each other by getting expensive, impressive gifts.  But my Jesus took only 3 nails, 2 wooden blocks and a crown of thorns to win my heart. He didn't buy me a gift but He bought ME at the highest price!

He has done the same for you as well. He is not someone who is going to disappoint you and you just needn't fear that He might one day leave you. Why? Because He is crazy about you. Face it. He can live anywhwere in this universe but He choses your heart! He stands at the door of your heart and knocks. Will you let Him in? I just did!

Yes, dear friend! God wants to develop a 'love affair' with you. Listen to this beautiful song which is more of 'love-song' written by Jesus for you!

True, love is in the air. But do you experience it in your heart? Is your heart yearning for this 'love-affair' with Jesus? On this beautiful day, I pray that you find this True Love - that love which is perfect, pure, free and wanting to be with you to guide you through forever!

Your driving force (Part 2)

As I promised, here's the continuation from where I left in my last post. Driving Force - Part 2, another reason why God should be your driving force.

(If you had missed out on part 1, then here it is : Your driving force (Part 1) )

God didn't create you to leave you as a 'no-man' in this world. He also takes complete responsibility to give you a good future and decide on your life's destinations if you are willing to let His will be done in your life. (You can read more about it here on my post : 2011 - A Happy Voyage)

You and I do not know what lies ahead of us in the future. And so hoping that our parents, friends and relatives know about OUR future is out of the question. Who knows it then? Only our Creator. Only He knows our destination because He destines it for us. If He is the One who decides our future, how can someone else drive us to that destination? In otherwords, how can others' approval (by 'others', I mean anyone other than God, includng YOU!) be your driving force?

Life's journey is like traveling by car to a destination. Will you ever allow someone who doesn't know the route to drive you to that place? If you do that, there may be chances that you reach your destination but what guarantee do you have for reaching there on time with no wrong turns and unnecessary 'take diversions'? That's exactly what happens when you allow others' approval be your driving force. You might go in all the wrong paths which are unnecssary and therby face extra disappointments and pressures!

But when God is gonna drive you, you have the comfort of sitting in a car that is not just gonna take you to your destined finish line, but also ensures that you reach your destination exactly on time for the Bible says that 'In His time, He makes all things bautiful.' He will accelerate the car at times and that's when you will see a lot of success, He will drive slowly at the other times when you might just feel that things are not moving at the pace you would like them to move and He will even put on the brakes at times when you might just find the entire world moving forward but you will seem to be stuck up at one place. When God is gonna drive us through, we might have to face acceleration, sudden brakes, some slow rides in traffic and some sharp turns as well. If only we could put on our seat belts and let Him continue to be our driving force, nothing can stop us from reaching the heights He has destined for us to reach.

Why should God be your driving force - in a nutshell :

• He has promised to be with you always while the world doesn't guarantee that.
• The world's approval will break you (because you are trying hard to gain acceptance) but God's approval will mould you into a vessel of His choice.
• The world will judge you using a good-o-meter but God judges you using His grace-o-meter (You needn't try, you needn't cry.No, you just needn't do that ).
• And finally, a perfect reason to have God as our driving force - He is our Creator and our Destination decider. After all, He Himself has said,

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

WHO/WHAT IS DRIVING YOU NOW?

WOULD YOU LIKE THAT TO CHANGE?

"LET GOD DRIVE YOU. GIVE HIM A CHANCE."

Your driving force (Part 1)

It's been over a month since I posted something here! Hoping to be regular atleast from now on. So, what do I write on? Just thought of sharing a few things that we shared in the college prayer cell last week.

If I were to ask you what is the driving force of your life, what would you say? Or have you ever given it a thought before? 

The dictionary says that a driving force is an act of applying force to operate or control or guide something. Now, can you think of the driving force of your life? i.e., what controls your life?

Pastor Rick Warren, in his book 'The Purpose Driven Life' puts it beautifully. He says that there are four main driving forces that drive our lives.

• Many people are driven by resentment and anger
• Many people are driven by fear
• Many people are driven by materialism
• Many people are driven by the need for approval

(My suggestion : All of you should grab a copy of this book and read it. It's beautiful. You can download it for free here. )

I think, as youth,we all might just say a big 'yes' to the fourth point. How much of our time have we spent thinking of what others think of us, our lifestyles, the way we walk, dress up, our vernacular etc etc (fill up the 'etc etc' with those that you keep thinking of). By doing this, we let others' approval become the driving force of our lives. Are you one of them? Then you've got to read this.

If not these, then who else should be the driving force of our lives?

If you have been following my blog, you might have read on how God took efforts to create us (you can read it here - Masterpiece).So why not let Him be our driving force? 

If I were to give you a new invention and ask you to operate it, what will you do with it? You have no clue about its purpose! What do you do? You twist it, turn it, see if it can be of any use to you, in the process damage it at times and when you have finally failed in your attempt, you throw it! That's exactly how you are in the hands of others if you make their approval your driving force. They didn't create you.So obviously, they don't know for what purpose you were created. So at first, they try to use you and then when they are done with you, they throw you away. 

But if the very same invention was given back to the inventor himself, what would he have done with it? He would in the first place, take it proudly in His hands and display it to the entire world, waiting patiently until all the cameras have finished clicking. Later he would have demonstrated to the world on how useful it is not only for him but for the enitre mankind. While it is being used by others, if it incurs any faults, the concerned technicians and the inventor himself are in the best position to figure out the problem. Right? In the same way, was it not God who created us. Is it not He who knows us inside out then? Shouldn't He be the one who should be our driving force then? If He is our driving force, then He will show the world why you were created and how precious you are to Him and to the world! 

Yes, dear friend. If anything or anyone other than Your Creator is driving you, you know the perfect reason as to why you have been down and depressed, unable to be yourself. It's high time that you give God the space He deserves in your life. Various kinds of forces might have been driving your life all this while. You have given them all a chance. Why not give God a chance now? Like they say, 'When everything fails, try Jesus.' He is sure not to disappoint you! He definitely garners a place in your life. You are much safer in the hands of your Creator than an invention in the hands of its inventor!

P.S. : Your driving force (Part 2) will be my next post giving you another reason why God should be your driving force. I split it up into two because I didn't want to bore you with long posts! :D