What if it were a stranger, or a casual acquaintance like the postman, barber or petrol station attendant? Most people would not be willing to exchange places. But who would lay down his life if the man were an enemy? Probably, no one would. (One may in fact secretly rejoice that one’s enemy was going to get his just reward. Or, at best, mutter “tough luck” and remain indifferent.) How about Jesus? Scripture tells us that it is rare that anyone would die for a good and righte

Imagine you are walking along a busy road crowded with people and vehicles. Then you see a man crossing the road and at the same time notice that a heavy truck is speeding his way. The man seems oblivious of the impending accident. Your throat dries up as you try to shout a warning. But suddenly everything freezes! The vehicles and the people all stop in their tracks, as if someone had pressed a pause button. Even the wind dies suddenly. You are the only one affected by the g

What happens to us in the next moment is not really in our hands – it is only a delusion we carry in our minds. Without God sustaining us, we cannot see the next minute. God’s grace and mercy are needed not only for eternity but also for the next moment. That is why we must pray without ceasing. The second question: ‘How can we do this?’ We pray not just because we are dependent on God, but also because we love God. Prayer is essentially a relationship. We relate to God throu

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” wrote the Teacher in Ecclesiastes. There is wisdom in that, for he reminds his listeners that there is “a time to be born and a time to die … a time to weep and a time to laugh … a time to keep and a time to throw away … a time to be silent and a time to speak …” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Life’s journey takes us through different stages and ages, different circumstances and roles. In each of these ther

The other two satanic temptations also tested the identity of Jesus. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple.” Satan assured Jesus that He would not be hurt (Matthew 4:6). Instead He would create a great spectacle and win instant popularity. But Jesus had no interest in pain-free magic, for He was the Suffering Servant, not a celebrity. Satan also attempted to distract Jesus with a false and glitzy image of the world in order to make Hi

The water from his baptism in the Jordan River evaporated quickly in the hot, dry Judean desert air. Jesus was not on his way to where the action was in crowded Jerusalem. Neither was He walking in the direction of the hills of Galilee where the sea and the familiar little towns were. Surprisingly, Jesus was heading out to the desert, a barren, wild place – for what purpose? There seemed to be a measure of compulsion in the way Jesus was directed towards the lonely hills in t

Some have gone through very difficult circumstances when advice from relatives, experts and friends was of little help. But when they turned to God alone, they were most often transformed by their experience. Clinging to God is a life-changing experience. It changes the way we look at God and ourselves, at life and death. We can cling to God out of desperate need, but we can also cling to Him out of the deep desire of holy love for God as portrayed by Psalm 63. The psalmist e

Many people wear their faith lightly. They may wear their religion loudly, but in their inner lives, they touch God lightly – their brushes with the divine are fleeting and superficial, accidental and incidental. This was not so for the psalmist who declared, “My soul clings to you [O God]” (Psalm 63:8) from his inmost being. His experience was intense and personal. He did not wear his faith lightly. Instead there is an earnest, whole-hearted hanging on to God, and it was wit

To be yoked with Jesus is to be united with Him, as in being tied to Him in a three-legged race. The wisdom of the world says that this would not work, that it would be cumbersome and affect one’s freedom and mobility. The paradox is that only when we are tied to Jesus will we find true freedom and restfulness – because He is the only one who knows how to run. He is the Master of the race and knows all about the rhythm, direction and ways of running well. The ones who are uni