Walking With Jesus

Just a disclaimer- “This article is not a formula of doing what I want to address here.” I am sharing the journey of my personal pursuit hoping it blesses you.

I am sharing the most vital and indispensable path of my faith , which if I would not have walked upon would  determined whether i would have been alive today or just existed like the walking dead.I am talking about pursuing an intimate walk with Jesus. . Faith for me hinges on a word which for many is a pretty far and distant thought but is the fulcrum of what I want talk about today-  INTIMACY With God.

I think it is my duty to inform you, that being disciple of Jesus is not easy and definitely not a painless walk at all (when has learning to die to yourself daily been easy?), Yet full of satisfaction and peace knowing even though you are crossing the valley of shadow of death you are headed towards the right direction !!)

Here are  some very important lessons i have learnt during my  personal walk with God and reflecting on my pursuit to Godly INtimacy and on HIS unfailing faithfulness towards me

1.DESIRE

This is the precursor of every healthy sustainable relationship to attain intimacy. Unless you really desire to walk intimately with Jesus, there is no way you will pursue it. After all, has not our Creator created us to be people of passion and love. Anything we are passionate about we run after it like our life depends on it !! It is incorrectly said a lot of times that we are naturally selfish. I beg to differ, as i think people have this innate and this wonderful capacity to love unconditionally and pursue the object of their affection even though it rejects or refuses to reciprocate. . I want to tell you that when you pursue Jesus you can have the surety and confidence of finding HIM because HE wants to be found by you, yes “you”.(Jeremiah 29:13))

2.TRUTH OR REFERENCE POINT

This aspect of my walk pushes me to look for  the truth,

1.The truth about who really God is.

2.What are HIS ways, what are not HIS ways

3.His clear perspective over a specific situation,

4.who you are to HIM and who you are not and so on. Lord is so extravagantly good and desiring of us that HE accepts us they way we are, adopts us as HIS legal heir without changing anything in us!! In the middle of all of this we cannot negate that though God loves us unconditionally, we do carry mindsets, baggage, lies, hurts, disappointment, fear and a lot of stuff that keep us from fully experiencing the love of our Father.Dp not be afraid because God completely understands, is aware of and can clearly see all this even before we remotely come into the awareness of them in us) I learnt that to deny lies I need to recognize them and I cannot recognize the lie until I pursue the truth.(John 8:32)

I want to give an example here, I grew up in a home with thin emotional support where words like anxiety, depression, feeling lost, grieving were banned. In my parents’ defense , they were not really depriving me of something but they did not consider this to be an important need because I was just a kid. So, automatically I learnt that I do not need help during emotionally messed up days! I needed to act like I am fine and carry on. Did that stop God from loving me? Nope, but it did make me stop myself from running towards HIM, especially when I was anxious, hurting or grieving. I had to lay down my understanding of relationship and accept HIS. I had to humble myself and pray my way ((1 Peter 5:6) into this new way of life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where He is closest to me when I am hurting  (Psalm 27:10 ;Psalm 34:18))

3.Nakedness

This is the toughest part to learn in our relationship with the Lord. Not because HE is hard on us but because it is easier to pretend than accept our weaknesses and shortcomings We use big words like merciful, gracious, savior, forever loving for HIM but we do not want to accept that these words are only useful if we accept that we can and do run short.

Grace and mercy are not required if you are perfect. God saved us so that we can run to HIM on our bad days even if we caused those bad days instead of running away from HIM (Hebrews:4:15-16) Do you take off your clothes of pretense and come to HIM naked? Greatest honour you can ever give to Jesus is to let HIM see your worst part, the part that does deserve to be rejected knowing Jesus won't reject it but will take it and make it new. Do you trust God enough to bring your heart to HIM instead of just praising HIM with your lips?(Isaiah 29:13)  And please give me a break if you are thinking that I am asking you to bring your love to HIM when I say heart. No, bring your deceit, bring your anger, bring your hurts, bring your weaknesses, bring your hatred, bring your wickedness, bring your sin, bring your unfaithfulness, bring your fears, bring your mistrust and you will receive grace and love because HE did not come for the perfect but for the sick (Mark 2:17) . Stop singing - HE came for the sick and think that you are not sick . Yes, Jesus came for the wicked but am I wicked? No, I am godly. Just shut up!! Seriously, take off your clothes of self-righteousness because JESUS has already covered us with HIS righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) Accept it as a lifetime journey and you are not damaged but highly favoured because you have been chosen to be confirmed into the image of Christ.

4.Ask and Pursue

What are you asking from God today? I am not against asking God for things and the generous King HE is , HIS hand is always open to fulfilling our natural needs but a lot of people in this world have it all and yet they commit suicide or spend half their lives in depression.This proves, things can never fully satisfy us. In the middle of all your seen needs do not forget that you need to ask Him for a greater understanding of Jesus, and yourself in HIM. Ask God to help you see you the way HE sees you or whatever that makes you more like Jesus the SON in your respective season. I am so thankful to Mr. Luke for recording the most important aspect of the ask, seek and knock deal which I do not know why Mr.Matthew did not.So yeah, Luke right after telling us to try asking and so on, quoted Jesus with this - “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Jesus clarified that the Holy Spirit is the real good gift and that HE wants you to keep that on the top of your asking, seeking and knocking list. For it is the Holy Spirit that will guide us into all truth and the truth will set us free. (Luke 11:9-11 ; John 16:13)

5.Courage and Belief

God calls me to be courageous and I was so stuck because I wanted to understand what does it really mean to be courageous (Joshua 1:9) mean we have been taught courageous means brave, ability to stand against danger and fear right? Well, I wanted to be courageous for Jesus but did not know how? Do I build up a church ? start a ministry ? put myself in difficult situations to test my courage? I was so confused .After searching earnestly, I finally found the definition I was looking for, being courageous means - “Being able to walk according to your beliefs despite of fear and difficulties” and belief means - “accepting something as truth without any visible proofs”. So, I found a new mission for my life to fulfill everyday - “walking according to what I have accepted as truth despite of fear etc.” I knew I had to believe I am forgiven and cut off from the past despite of the guilt that attacked me. I knew that I was called to be courageous on the days I felt like I had squandered so many years of my life without Jesus , believing that HE is able to use it for a greater good (why ? because HE says so). It is a choice we need to make everyday until it renews our mind and creates in us the new way of living compared to the usual way of living. Some seasons He teaches us to be bold because of who we are and in some HE teaches us to be meek despite of who we are. To be courageous and to work on our beliefs is worth it !! And yes, guess what when we decide to repent (change our mind) God himself supplies us with courage.(Isaiah 57:15)

God's grace has been given to us for so many things but more than anything else it has been given to us to draw closer to HIM and letting HIM renew us into the image of HIS son. USE GRACE WELL !!

Why Sinner`s Prayer Disgusts God

I have been reading a lot about the human trafficking , prostitution and child rape lately. I am left with this one question how do i tell a 15 year old who has been raped 18 hours a day for 10 years of her life -  repeat this after me -

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

And so on……

The very thought of saying this to someone like her makes me feel like thousand of insects are crawling on my body. Even if i happen to ask this girl to say this to me - i would want her to slap me hard and  and ask me - “how am i a sinner ??? , Sneha I was defiled , used and raped all my life and I am the one who needs to say sorry to God?? Thanks but no thanks"

Let me ask you this - how will you explain gospel to a hindu priest who all his life has never ever thought even one bad thought and has a clear conscience - you dare not even ask him to call himself a sinner , because if you do in a way you are calling his entire life a big lie.

And yes , my favorite one  - oh he doesn't know Jesus - he looks fine but I am sure he has sleepless nights and he feels empty and he cries alone in bed every night No ma`am , unfortunately he does not - he is educated and he has embraced his imperfection and he loves himself even without you shoving your gospel down his throat.

Do you want to hear the super epic one ? Hey i know you have depression - Jesus loves you now say this after me I am sinner and my depression is a result of my sins... " SO spiritual wow. 

See the problem with this church version forgiveness of God is that i need to tell myself and convince myself that I am a bad person. That I better know that I am “sinner” and I have sinned against God. Really ? that girl has sinned against God the girl whose dad sold her off - that man has sinned against God who rejected your gospel because it required him to see himself as less and bad.

Forgiveness and my shortcoming is glorified so much that the gospel stops here for today`s church -forgiveness is nothing but just a massive representation of God`s immovable longing for me.It is not the mourning of my sin but celebration of my God crazy obsessed love for me.

I reject this gospel and this sinner's prayer. I reject it because I have tasted the Lord and i know He is good. My God is too charming and loving to let men woe me into believing less of myself.
I won`t let people tell me that the life of my Lord was so cheap that He gave it up for a bunch of filthy sinners. This so called prayer offends God - it turns the eyes of my brother and sister towards their sin and not Gods heart.

What Forgiveness of God is Not or Related to :

1. Highlighting of my sin

2. Realization of how bad of a human being I am

3. How unlovable I am that Jesus had to die to make me lovable

4.Constant reminder of my shortcoming

5.Choice that God could have avoided

What Forgiveness of God Definitely is:

1.His longing to get back into an unbreakable relationship with me

2.His heartiest desire to restore me back to my original position of a king

3.Proof of His relentless love for me

4.Clear definition of my real worth in His eyes

5. Beginning of my new life in my new family with God as the loving Head 

6.His plan A for you with no plan B 

If ever in my life I happen to baptize anyone or God uses me to plant a church this will be our “Prayer of Salvation” which sings the reality of God's Triumphant love for me and not the defeated sin.

God,I have got to know that you love me so much and  and I am not what this life has taught me till now. I am not a liar , a whore , a thief , a robber , a rapist, useless , good for nothing  , imperfect idiot or_________  I am not what people defined me to be but I am Your beloved creation. I am so worthy and madly loved by you and wanted by You that you decided to buy me back and bring me back to my original place of being your son/ daughter even though it costed You your most precious thing - Jesus. I know Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the things i did wrong because I did not know who I am. I accept the sacrifice of Jesus which has removed the wall of separation between You and me. I know that You have willingly, very happily and intentionally and legally adopted me as your son/ daughter in Jesus and today I accept you as my Father. I give you the right to take care of me , love me and be my family till forever.I know You will never change Your mind about me and I will always be apple of Your eye. I believe that now I have been born again out of You and Your fullness dwells in me as Your Spirit.Satan is under my foot now because from this day onward as Jesus was so I am.I am excited about this journey with You.

Amen !!!

And yes , feel free to create you own version ladies and gentlemen but make sure it is oozing out our Father's love which is like a river flowing down on us.

Booya !!!!!! Old Salvation prayer - you never had a place in my Daddy`s journal.

No Greater Leader than God`s Heart

How easy it is to see David`s faith and confidence in Psalms but missing out on what David could see i.e- burning love of God. The love that lit David`s heart and kept Him with God in the deepest of His troubles and heights of his success.

We do and speak things that David said but forget to ask his (our) God to quieten us with His love and show us HIS heart. David fought in public because HE seeked God`s heart in private. 

I was asked by God more than a year back to give psalms HIS voice - to show people what HE wants to say to them through psalms more than what David prayed (procrastinators has this problem and hey ! I am improving I promise !!!). When we focus too much on a human being it limits us and when fix our eyes on GOD` s character it makes us capable of doing pursuing limitless and impossible. 

Why should you and I focus on that David (more than I do on GOD) who did not have the authority on the enemy of our souls , who did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him 24*7*365 and who did not have JESUS representing him in heaven. I would focus more on Jesus (God) who said you and I are capable of doing things greater than what Jesus Himself did when He was on this Earth.

I do not mean to say that we do not get to learn anything from David`s  life but what I mean is this- David had a close relationship with GOD and that is the reason he was everything he was. Instead of trying to become like David how about we seek the GOD who made David what David was so that we can become what God has called us to be. Confusing right? haha . It was for me too. Praying you understand what I mean here .

Psalm 27 - is the closest to my heart - and this is the first one of hopefully many more to come !!

Dearest Child of Mine,

I am the one who shows you the reality of your life
It is I who interprets and tells you the mysteries of what you face
There is no reason at all to be afraid because you in the grip of My hands 
I know you feel like - this will swallow you but no it wont 
It is not stronger than My arms that hold you so tight right now

Even though you cannot see it and do not know it 
Let me show you the reality of what you are facing right now.

These people , situation  trouble or whatever you want to call it 
They are standing against you and are gathering many more to attack you
But they cannot do anything to you - Nah! they cannot -in fact they will go back 
or retreat because of the defeat i have already written over their faces

Stop trembling and come on! ask your heart to calm down
When you see the attack is becoming stronger 
Let your trust in My favor on you become mightier
That is the only counter attack you need to charge on them

In this dissatisfaction, misery  and displeasure
Where you feel like you have no one to go to and no one offers help to you
Do this My child - Seek My heart for you 
Then you will know - how perfect and complete My love for you is.
Then you will understand that why wont your Father not protect you
Why wont he not hide you in HIS arms, these doubts will fade away.
Relax ! Things will become clearer to you
You would understand that because of My power that works in love for you
You were and always will be out of enemy`s reach

I promise I will hear you say everything, I have not hidden my face from you
Do not let this disappointment tell you that I have - it is a lie
I will hear you sing praises , your cries , your insecurities and your fears
That is what your Father longs for the most
that you look to Him for love in despair, nourishment in desert and courage in dark


I am the One who cares for you and understands you 
My mission is to be there for you so come on speak to Me - what is bothering you ?

I have never ever thought of leaving you
In fact I am always onto helping you even in the deepest mess of your life
Even if you feel or people made you feel like you are no good !!
When the ones who have been with you since you were a child give you a cold shoulder
It means nothing to Me- you are My most perfect child
How i feel about you is the only thing that should matter to you 

Come to me !! Come closer to me. Look into my heart 
I want to teach and will teach you how to live all days your life purposefully 
Lets start in the middle of this trouble  , lets not wait for it to get over
right now give me your hand -I will hold it and take you on a new path 
Path that will give you pleasure and delight

As we start this journey together-I am showing you the end right now
Stay confident and hide these words in your heart
The end will be - you and this world seeing my immense goodness over your life
Not just see it but will learn from it and seek Me because of it


                                                                            Your DAD -Almighty God