Last Day of 2014

2014 was a special year for me. I know every year has been, but this was especially special . . . up until this year, I guess.

I had so many new experiences; I learned so much; and I really grew. So many things changed this year — the place where I call home, the people I call my neighbors and friends, academics, and even myself. I made a countless mistakes, but I had the opportunity to learn and grow for them, too. . .

I have many thoughts, but few words to express them with. All I can say is that these verses have grown wondrously beautiful to me:

“For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).

Especially the last verse.

Just this week, our family received a present of the music CD Count It All Joy. I have not had time to listen to all of the songs yet, but I want to include “The Father’s Love for Me” here. Older people might find my choice amusing, and it may seem a bit ironical (because I have more than three decades remaining to turn fifty) . . . but I love the words.

“The Father’s Love for Me”

How the years have gone by as a dream
But what are they to Thee, in the light of ETERNITY.
And though the times have changed, You have ALWAYS been the same
As I look back and see, Your faithfulness to me

In Your goodness and Your grace, I have always found Your strength
You have taught my heart to see, Thy wondrous will for me
And in the joys and tears, in life’s trials with its fears
You have caused my heart to sing, neath the shelter of Your wings

How the years have gone by as a dream
And what are they to me, in the light of Thy Majesty!
And soon Christ comes for me, in Thy presence EVER to be
Then FOREVER will I sing, of Thy wondrous for me
Then FOREVER will I sing! Of my Father’s love for me

— DJP I.F

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future! And I can rest in peace, because He has proved Himself faithful. . . Come, Lord Jesus!

Last day of 2014

2014 was a special year for me. I know every year has been, but this was especially special . . . up until this year, I guess.

I had so many new experiences; I learned so much; and I really grew. So many things changed this year — the place where I call home, the people I call my neighbors and friends, academics, and even myself. I made a countless mistakes, but I had the opportunity to learn and grow for them, too. . .

I have many thoughts, but few words to express them with. All I can say is that these verses have grown wondrously beautiful to me:

“For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).

Especially the last verse.

Just this week, our family received a present of the music CD Count It All Joy. I have not had time to listen to all of the songs yet, but I want to include “The Father’s Love for Me” here. Older people might find my choice amusing, and it may seem a bit ironical (because I have more than three decades remaining to turn fifty) . . . but I love the words.

“The Father’s Love for Me”

How the years have gone by as a dream
But what are they to Thee, in the light of ETERNITY.
And though the times have changed, You have ALWAYS been the same
As I look back and see, Your faithfulness to me

In Your goodness and Your grace, I have always found Your strength
You have taught my heart to see, Thy wondrous will for me
And in the joys and tears, in life’s trials with its fears
You have caused my heart to sing, neath the shelter of Your wings

How the years have gone by as a dream
And what are they to me, in the light of Thy Majesty!
And soon Christ comes for me, in Thy presence EVER to be
Then FOREVER will I sing, of Thy wondrous for me
Then FOREVER will I sing! Of my Father’s love for me

— DJP I.F

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future! And I can rest in peace, because He has proved Himself faithful. . . Come, Lord Jesus!

Christmas — "Christ was Sent"

votretourdumonde.com

The winter sun shone down upon our little group as we stood in a semicircle around my father.

“Now,” he began, “we will go out to the villages to invite the people to the Gospel meeting this evening.”

Heads nodded and fingers gripped the precious little booklets.

“But,” he continued, “what will you say if they ask you about it? What will you say if someone asks you what Christmas is?”

A slight rustle filled in as he paused for a breath.

“Christmas means that Christ was sent. But we are not only telling them that He was sent but whyHe was sent. To really tell someone, you need to know this from your heart. If you don’t, it will not be really effective at all.”

An earnest prayer, a reminder to be back by 3:30, another reminder to hurry and get to as many houses as possible, and a patter of feet crossing the wooden plank . . . each pair set on a mission to obey the Great Commission.

For two hours we walked the dusty roads, handed out tracts, and talked to anyone who would listen. The odd thing was, no one asked me what Christmas was; they all seemed to know it was the special day of those who had set up the tent in the field. But I told them anyway, since they did not know any more than that.

An old lady was quite remarkable. She was sitting in the sun, happy to have anyone to talk to. When I invited her to the evening program, she did not hear. I shouted (almost literally), and she responded easily, “When did this religion came to be? Is it quite new? All the 70 years of my life I had not heard anything like it!”

“But, Grandmother, the God Who made the earth and sky always was. We did not know Him, but He is the One Who made us. The stone idols you worship did not make you, now, did they?”

She tried to evade my question cleverly, “Stone? Ah, no, I worship that Tulsi tree over there, they call it Narayan.”

I tried to explain, but she would not listen. Her grandchildren came near and stared at me with wide eyes, and her daughter-in-law arrived with a great load of grass on her back.

“Oh,” she said busily, “we are folk who have to work to eat. I suppose you have a job in this religion?”

Poor woman! She had no idea of the great and beautiful news of the Sent Christ which I had in my heart but felt so inadequate to explain it to her. How could I point her to Him with a few words? How would she, who sat in utter darkness, receive such a great light in a blink of an eyelash? Being at a loss of words, I handed her the tract with a short explanation and an invitation to the meeting. She accepted it with a nod and went back to her work. . .

**********

Maybe 150 or more people attended the meeting that evening. A hymn was sung, and the Gospel message was presented. Right in front of the most venerated temple in the village, God’s truth shone forth. I didn’t realize it at that time, but it was a little ironic that no one protested when our brother repeated again and again, “Idolatry is sin. Worshipping idols is sin in God’s eyes.” But, truly, they have received nothing from that idol in order to defend it, anyhow.

The meeting was closed, the final clean-up finished, and we waited in the village while the van and jeep took the other believers home. While waiting for the van to come back, we drank tea, ate leftovers from lunch, and talked with the local believers.

And I learned some new things; one of which I will mention here: The sister mentioned that when she was married and brought into her new house, she had been given a broom to worship, serve, and bow down to. A broom.

How stark the difference! How the light dispels the darkness! In the program earlier that evening, a testimonial video of one of our brother’s life had been shown, From Drugs to Christ. I whole-heartedly agree that that was amazing; who wouldn’t?

But . . . when I think about it, being saved from idols (like that broom) to Christ is just as amazing. Too often I don’t think much of it since almost everyone is saved from a Hindu background . . . but when I do think, it is wondrous.

Oh, the beauty of the Christmas message — the Son of God sent for us!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

— S. Trevor Francis

Looking back on 12.13.14

I relished those delightful dates ever since I learned about them, one sunny homeschooling day with Saxon Math. But they are gone for the next century now. . .When I was younger, the years seemed to pass so slowly, and my birthdays were so far apart! But now, I wonder where the time went . . .

And, I  think we all tend to look back at the end of the year, at least, I do.

On January, I joined CollegePlus! It was all so new, scary, and confusing. I went through so much during the first 6 months — planning out my degree, scheduling tests to fit into my family’s schedule, testing out of Sociology and Psychology, whipping through four math courses in approximately four weeks of study, taking my first Straighterline courses, and on and on! It wasn’t easy, but I learned much from the new challenges I had to face.

After 6 months, I decided I had gotten the “hang of it.” I scheduled a hold for six months, and said goodbye to my coach. It was exciting! I was going to talk to her in January 2015. I was going to have 30 more credits by then (almost a Junior). Or so I thought — because we had planned it all out. What was God going to teach me? I started a new diary, too.

Immediately, I got stuck on Human Resource Management. I couldn’t test because of my family schedule. What should I do? I decided to leave it, took some Straighterline courses and bam! I became a Sophomore. I now understand why Sophomores are so-called. When I was a Freshman, I knew nothing. I had no experience. I was confused when people talked about “CbEs” and “PLAs.” Now, 30 credits later, I knew. But still, I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. That’s why I was a Sophomore, a “wise fool.”

Thus, I went along the journey. And there were obstacles. My siblings got ill. We had days of traveling (that turned into weeks). I just couldn’t concentrate sometimes. And unexpected things happened: because of the time scheduling, I could not take a CP course as planned; I got a notification that I had gotten a “coach transfer”; one week, we had almost 20 guests at our house (try not to imagine the mess). Then there were special programs to spur me on my way: Summer Bible Training, Ladies’ Annual Meeting, Baptism Programs, Missions Conference, and Winter Bible Training.

Now I’m nearly at the end. One month later, I will meet my new coach. I will have to tell her what I’ve accomplished during my coaching hold. It’s scary. It’s exciting, too.

So, I looked back over my diary, trying get an overall-view of the past six months. As I look back, I see where I’ve been victorious, where I’ve failed, and where I could’ve done better by trusting more, obeying more, walking closer with my Savior, being more productive. Yet, I know, through it all, whatever happened, HE WAS MY GUIDE. I couldn’t have done it without Him and His gentle guidance. I didn’t have a coach to check on me and look over my shoulder, but He was a Guide all the time. I am so glad.

When I was finishing up high school, I used to worry what I would do after 12th grade. Graduation seemed to me a dreaded doom, an unwelcome door of uncertainty that was soon to be opened for me. God’s Word had comforted me, and it still does. Psalm 48:14 is one of my favorite verses:

“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Ps 48:14).

A quotation from Amy Carmichael

Being single-hearted?

That is very hard sometimes. Or so I am finding it.

Wake up, devotions, kitchen work, guests, house work, school, kitchen work, music, kitchen work, school with familyandmusicandchurchandrelationships squashed in somewhere amongst them. . . At last the heart in the grist mill begins to wonder if the whirl will ever end, if there will ever be a peaceful hour again . . .

The daily duties can become a grind and life can seem lifeless IF you don’t abide in the Giver of Life.

For sure, there are countless things in life that try to tear the life apart, but the patience that will look to the Life will survive. Patience isn’t doing anything. It is just abiding, staying, waiting. I like to remember that word in 2 Peter 1:16 — it means to simply stay under and remain under whatever is pressing from above. God has not commanded me to lift the weight that is over me; but He has commanded me to be patient as long as I am under it. And He will be with you, as He has been with me — even under the trials! And with Him, all is joy and all is peace.

“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.”

He has provided the way of peace! Praise Him!

Promises you've made to others

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Do you keep your promises? Or, in other words, can you remember any promise that you haven’t kept?

Who can’t?

We all have broken our word at one time or another. Perhaps we may have forgotten, but be assured that the person to whom you made the promise has not. That person will probably be hesitant to remind you of your promise; you might even convince yourself that he has forgotten. Though it might never be spoken of, that promise will remain.

I stare into space, not really looking at anything — I’m going backward in time, in my catalog of memories. I can see them all before me — the place where we were, the exact position we were in, the words he said. Many of them were not really promises, either. They were just small, seemingly insignificant things.

But still, I remember. When I think of that person — separated by oceans and continents — his words come back to me and make me wonder if he has forgotten.

Today, my uncle came to our “new” house for the first time; and he had lunch with us. Nine years ago (it seems like yesterday!), he had come to our village house in the mountains. I was just ten years old, then. I was helping mother with small tasks around the kitchen during mealtime when he said with a laugh, “The next time I come, I want to eat the meal that you have prepared yourself!”

I can remember my consternation with a smile today. Countless times did I remembered that little joke with fear and apprehension. I wouldn’t mind (much) if five uncles dropped in around mealtime today; but I truly worried about it when I was little. . . And, today, I wondered if he remembered.

Go back today. Remember the little promise you made to that child and make the plans to fulfill it. Don’t fool yourself. Don’t lie. Be true!

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Through the Fog

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Fog. I wonder if there is any traveler who likes fog. Artists and poets might find something good in it, but I doubt that any pilgrim could appreciate it.

As for me, I hate fog — especially when we are traveling. The grayish-white cloak of monotony is wearisome: it shrouds the scenery with gloom and an all-encomassing despondency. It is a veil that conceals every mountain, tree, and rock. Even the edge of the road is barely perceptible, sometimes!

Some time ago, we were traveling through fog. It was not the thickest fog we had seen, nor was it nighttime. Still, the bleak surroundings seemed overwhelm me. I was tired — tired of the fog, tired of the tortuous roads, tired of traveling. My soul seemed to be as dreary as the fog outside the misted window-glass.

Then I remembered a song I’d learned years ago:

Why should I care if the sun doesn’t shine?
Jesus is mine, all of the time.
Why should I care if the storm clouds are low?
Jesus is with me I know.
He will never forsake me, I am under His wing,
Tho’ trials o’ertake me,
I will praise Him and sing.
I am ever so happy,
So why should I care if the sun doesn’t shine?
Jesus is mine all the time.

Then, the remembrance that Jesus is mine aroused me, invigorated me, and fired me with zeal for my Lord. . .

Or . . . that is what . . . should have happened, right?

Well. It didn’t. It was good to remember; but still, my heart was weary. I was still tired of staring at the fog. You see, simply knowing God’s truth isn’t enough for victory.

Until I decided that I was going to trust God that He was with me although I couldn’t see Him through all the weariness of my mind and obey Philippians 4:4 in spite of the fog, that song was just an ideality to wish for.

But when I did trust, He blessed. Sure, the fog was all around and the U-turns were as bad as ever, but I had the peace that passeth all understanding. Faith as a grain of mustard seed, and He accepted it.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

How amazing He is! And He is the ever-faithful one that always rewards even our feeblest footsteps to draw near to Him (James 4:4).

We climbed higher and higher up the mountain. Reaching the summit, we broke through the fog. Behind, I could see the impenetrable gloom. Ahead, the mountains and valleys were spread out in majestic grandeur. And I remembered the sweet promise in Isaiah 44:22:

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.”

Brother, a Boeing 747-8, and a Believer

flyflytravel.com

Trees, trees, and more trees. Rolling hills and valleys. We are flying through the Nepal East-West Highway at 100 kph. I stare out the window, and my mind wanders.

“Baba?” my brother’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

“What?” my father answers him.

“I think —” he says ponderously, “I think the pilot of the Boeing 747-8 must be like God.”

Hearing his awed voice, I stifle a giggle. Sumpurna has fallen in love with that airliner this month because of the video Baba downloaded for him.

My father is wiser. “Why?” he prompts him.

“Because there are all those dials and things,” my brother replies, enthusiastically. “There are so many things that he must be like God to know everything all at once!”

“Well . . . I think he is more like a believer more than being like God.”

Now it’s my brothers turn to ask, “Why?”

“The pilot cannot use his eyes to pilot the plane — I mean, he has to, but not by looking out the windshield. He has to look at the dials to guide him to the airport. He has to pilot by faith. It is like the believer looking at God’s Word and walking through life by faith, not by sight.”

Anyone would think that my brother would be satisfied with the answer; but, no, he has more questions: “Don’t the dials ever go wrong? What happens if it does? Doesn’t the pilot look out of his windshield to look at the lights when he is landing? What do the people on top of the tower do?”

“The people on the towers direct the pilot as the Holy Spirit directs the believer. If he doesn’t hear them, the pilot will not be safe.”

The conversation goes on and on. We have crossed the jungle and reached the suburb areas. I stare out the window, and the houses flash by.

Board games?

  “Didi, what shall I do?” my seven-year-old brother whimpers for the twenty-seventh time. I look up from the Human Resource Management flashcards on Quizlet. “Want to play with me?” “What?” “International Business.” His face lights up. Since he forgot his chess board in the other house, this board game has become his favorite. “But,” I say, “We have to set the time first.” “Okay,” he agrees, happy with anything he can get. “How long?” I ask, in a warning voice, “Don’t say too much or complain or else I won’t play.” “Five minutes?” he asks, hopefully turning up his face to look at me. I can’t resist the eyes. Feeling guilty, I reply, “I’ll play for 15 minutes if you arrange the money while I go get a drink.” When I return, he is ready and waiting for me.“I’m yellow, and you’re blue,” he grins. “Let’s roll only one dice today.” “Why?” “I don’t want to count,” he reasons philosophically. “It will take forever for us to get one round done that way! We’ll roll both, and I’ll add up your numbers for you.” “All right,” he replies. “Let’s start then.” “Three, five, eight,” I say. “Pay 500 Rupees to get out of jail.”

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Then, losing all sense of time, I play with my brother until I have to go and prepare tea. Wasted? No, invested. Such an half hour makes up for the all the three e‘s in the past (embarrassments, exasperations, and exhaustions). True!

. . . and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24).

Praise be to God.

Getting trained in Bible training

That was rigorous. Still, I do not regret it — rather, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to take part in it!

We studied the Tabernacle the children of Israel made in the wilderness according to God’s directions to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Mr. David Cloud taught and my father translated the message into Nepali. Because I heard everything twice, it really helped to cement things into my memory! However, the more I learn, the more I find how little I know. Though I learned a host of new material (much of which I have probably not retained very well!), there is one particular thing from this series of lessons that I most treasure.

Before, I usually saw the Israelites as being always rebellious, ever ungrateful, and completely faithless. But I had been totally missing out on their obedience and faithfulness in building the tabernacle. Though I remember noticing the verses that mention this, I had not focused on them.

“. . . as the LORD commanded Moses”

“. . . according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.”

They did exactly as He had commanded: they did not change anything. This is pleasing to God, and is truly acceptable to Him. May we follow their good example in everything we do — big or little!

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

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The schedule?

5 A.M. — Wake up, but do not disturb the guests!

6 – 10 A.M. — Prepare three meals for about one hundred people. Arrange the bedding after the guests get up. Serve (and eat, if we have not run out of time or the food supply) morning tea and breakfast. Clean up the kitchen, rooms, gathering hall, and grounds. Get dressed (and comb your hair!) for classes! RUN!!! The keyboard is already calling for assembly!

11 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. — Attend classes. Run if you don’t want to queue up outside the restrooms!

1:30 – 2 P.M. — Serve (and hopefully eat) lunch.

2 – 5 P.M. — Attend classes.

5 – 7:30 P.M. — Cook, serve, and eat dinner (if we have run out of rice, you’ll have to wait until more is cooked). If there happens to be too much, then you’ll have a proper feast!

7:30 – 8:30 P.M. — Attend the last class for the day. Tickle the roof of your mouth with your tongue if you’re feeling drowsy. For shame! Take a gulp of water if you are drifing off!

8:30 – 10:00 P.M. — Arrange bedding to accommodate everyone.  Lights out at 10 for the guests! Too bad if you happen to be one of the singers: be prepared to sing your vocal chords off to practice the special songs for the next day (and hope you don’t choke yourself by laughing too much; also hope that the rehearsal ends by 11 pm! If you happen to be hungry, you can dine on the leftovers again).

By the way, you can whisper under the covers until 1 A.M. if you want to — but you’ll pay for it next morning!

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We are found pleasing to God not because of our service, but because of our position in Christ. Because the Father sees us in His Son, our service to Him is acceptable in His sight. Praise Him for the blessed opportunity we had to serve Him in those days!

Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things – things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him.

— Oswald Chambers

An unexpected turn

paradoxicator

Tuesday, August the fifth. The year 2014. All the clothes tightly rolled and shoved inside “jebra” bags, all the schoolbooks packed in sturdy boxes, all the indispensable cellphone and laptop rechargers safely (but rather unkindly) thrown into bags, all the dishes washed, the kitchen spick-and-span — we were all set to go! Tomorrow, we’d start on our trip to the mountains at 6AM!

Packing is always tiring, but the anticipation of returning to our beloved village-home spurred our tired hands and feet to further tasks.

“Baba? Let’s go! When are we going to Palung?” my little brother Sumpurna is ever the impatient one to start! Kicking up his heels and lying placidly on the couch, he is a big motivator, indeed — a good cheerleader, though not exactly a helper. But now, at last, the packing was all done.

Too bad my sister Upasana was feeling a bit unwell. But she would probably get over that fever overnight. . .

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abcnewsradioonline.com

Wednesday, August the sixth. The year 2014. Morning dawned, we hit the road. Not all of us went, though. Only Baba and Upa went to the hospital. Examinations, prescriptions, and an order to rest — we resigned ourselves to a normal day, hoping to travel in several days. She had caught the circulating virus.

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Thursday, August the seventh. The year 2014.Sumpurna got sick, too. A raging fever of 105, an 11-cm spleen (it should have been 4), tonsillitis, mouth sores, and what not. A praise: it was not malaria!

bobreyes.com

Some highlights:

My brother was assigned in a second story room. My father heard a beeping horn. Looking outside, he saw the pediatrician honking his motorcycle horn and waving at Sumpurna.

“Blowing the horn is not allowed in the hospital area. Isn’t it, Baba?” he said.

Another time, the pediatrician asked my brother who his best friend was.

“Didi,” he replied.

I approve.

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Friday, August the eighth. The year 2014. Brother came home from the hospital — not sent — came. He still had the needle-whatchamacallit in his wrist, poor boy! He wanted me to post the pictures here, so here they are, for “all the world to see” (according to him).

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Saturday, August the ninth. The year 2014. There was no way of going to the village 2 hours away for the church meeting, so Saturday was not really a Saturday that day. Watched youtube videos “How to Teach Your Child to Swim,” “Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the Berenstain Bears. I had to watch ever single one with him — content check, music check,  etc., etc.

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Sunday, August the tenth. The year 2014. Upa is better. Sumpurna finished all 7 doses of his intravenous medicine this evening. Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Palung. This week was an unexpected bend for us all. But, our Father worked it all out according to His perfect plan that He had established before the foundations of the earth were laid!

The special verses God used to speak to me this week:

^“Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Ps. 60:11-12).

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:2).

Mazes, dead-ends, and the Way to Success

freehdw.com

And Theseus . . . returned to the entrance of the Labyrinth. . . with a pelekis, a ball of red fleece thread, and great intuition . . . he had prevailed over the fearful Minotaur. . . 

If you happen to have a puzzled look on your face, go read Greek mythology to find out  . . .

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Is life a maze?

Sometimes I feel that way — especially when I see the same dead end before me again and again. Finding myself at the same place I had hoped to never see again is quite disheartening.

How did I get there? Obviously, I arrived there because I went through the same entrance, followed the same path, and made the same turns.

How was that possible? Probably, I forgot. Most certainly, I did not realize it was the wrong path. If I had, I wouldn’t have come all the way there!

For me, the most grievous part being deflected in such a way is the knowledge that it did not have to happen. As a child of God and redeemed by His infinite grace, I know that it is not my Father’s will for me to waste my life by “going in circles” and ending up in cul-de-sacs.

What light, direction, and guidance I need, He has already provided. It is when I step into the darkness, depart from the way, and leave my guide, that I get lost. The Psalmist has said,

“Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:103).

He has not promised to light up the whole maze, but He has promised to be our guide, even unto death (Psalm 48:14 ). The light we need to take one step ahead of us, He has promised to give. But when I step away from the Light of Life, how can I possibly expect to walk in the same path as He is, in Whom is no darkness at all?

He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. He is the Light, the Lamp, the Guide. Dear reader, do you have Him with you? He has given His promise that those who put their trust in Him shall not be ashamed. The flip side of it is: if we do not, we shall be.

I wonder how I could have lived 13 years of my life without that Light. I wonder how I can still turn my back to Him and step aside, into the darkness. It is possible — it is easy. The old one within me loves that. But the end of it are the ways of death.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deut 30:19).

Choose life, choose life! That is the beautiful command of our soul’s greatest Lover.

T-shirts and thoughts

“Look here — I think these kids are twins.” I looked at the photo my sister had snapped of two children. They did look alike. They were eating plums (before their mother had finished paying for them, obviously), and they were wearing similar clothes — the “I love Nepal” t-shirts that have come into fashion this summer.

It seems that people love wearing those shirts. When we are traveling, my sister and I can count “countless” people wearing those kind of shirts. In addition to “I love Nepal,” we’ve seen “I love Katmandu”, “I love Nawalparasi” (a district), and even an “I love China” — though why a Nepali would want to wear that, I do not know.

Those t-shirts are catchy — they stand out. Not because they are so strange as in the new message they are promoting in our country. If people had worn them during the civil war 10 years ago, it might have passed for sarcasm. Today, it is all the range to wear them.

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What does it mean to love your country? Is it to wear a t-shirt that says so? Or is it something more? Something more, everyone would agree. If one loves something, it is valuable to him. It means something to him. It is in his priority list.

“I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

Everyone knows that Nathan Hale loved his country — enough to give his life for its sake. How could he? Because his country topped his priority list.

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Leaving patriotism aside, I want to ask, what is it that you love — your country, your family, your friends, your work, your church, your God? True, God has richly given us all things to enjoy, but He has said:

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

— Luke 14:26

We are to love Him so that all our other loves are not to be compared to it — if compared, they could be seen as hate. Even our very own lives are we not to deem more precious as to keep it back from Him.

 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

— Matthew 16:24

Then, are we today wearing the clothes to show that we love Him — the robe of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel? Wearing them does not mean that you automatically begin to love Him (or even that you love Him at all), but it is a good indication that you do.

Have others seen you in them? The message we have of showing we are His is not popular or fashionable in this world. It stands out — in a way that people don’t want to stand out. But if we love Him, if He is our priority, if He is our treasure and inheritance, shall we not be His witnesses?

O that our hearts were ever united that we may love Him first and foremost always!