Author: Fannyshiju

What Does God Want From Us? Discovering True Discipleship

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In today’s fast-paced world, we are all individuals striving for career success, practicing self-love, and fighting our own battles to carve out a space for ourselves. Spiritually, many of us profess belief in God but often for reasons shaped by tradition or personal need. Some believe because their parents passed down that faith; others cling to it in hopes of safety, comfort, or blessings. Indeed, there are some percentage of people who believe God for who He is and have experienced His power and miracles in their lives. Most of us only seek God’s grace for our own benefits and needs.

How many of us ever pause and ask: what does God want from us?

We were created not just to exist, but to connect deeply with our Creator. From the beginning, His desire has been to walk with His people (Genesis 3:8). He wants us to know Him, love Him, and trust Him wholeheartedly. God’s commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3), but are meant to bring us life and peace. He desires a heart that obeys—not out of fear, but out of love.

God’s nature is love (1 John 4:8). He created us to be with Him forever, not temporarily, but eternally. Eternal life is an expression of that love, where He invites us into everlasting fellowship with Him.

Christ had been proclaiming the good news of God during His ministry, which is: “The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). The Good News is that through Jesus, God has made a way for people to be forgiven, restored, and have eternal life with Him.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And through His crucifixion, Christ gave us hope – a hope that an eternal life awaits us.

Now, who can receive that eternal life?

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:27–28).

Yes, Those who follow Him! Those who are His disciples! Now, how do you become His disciple?

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). This passage is where Christ was speaking to all the disciples. Jesus shared that anybody who wants to be His disciple must follow three essential steps:

Follow Christ: The very first requirement for being His disciple is to follow Christ. “Follow Me” means: Live like I live. Trust Me. Obey Me. Go where I go. Love like I love. It’s more than just walking behind Jesus. It means becoming His disciple by learning from Him, imitating Him, and giving Him first place in life.

Deny Yourself: What does this mean? Is Jesus saying to hate yourself, lose your personality, or ignore your needs completely? No! Christ is the epitome of truth and selfless love. His crucifixion on the cross is the greatest proof of that selfless love. Christ said “no” to selfish desires that go against God’s will, surrendering control of His life to God, and choosing to live for the Father—not for comfort, success, or ego. This means that if someone insults you, instead of insulting them back, you choose to forgive them. It also means that if you get an opportunity to cheat, when your self says “No one will know, it’s an easy win,” you choose honesty, even if it costs you.

Why do you think God wants this? Because true life, peace, and purpose come when you lose yourself to gain Christ (Matthew 16:25). Following Jesus means walking a path of love, sacrifice, and eternal reward; not just comfort.

Take Up the Cross Daily: During the Roman government, the cross wasn’t just a symbol; it was an instrument of death used by the Romans for public execution. So when Jesus asked His followers to carry their cross, He was calling them to a life of daily surrender and sacrificial obedience.

It means to trust in God’s way instead of what feels easy or popular. Christ meant to endure sacrifice, rejection, pressure, or hardship, choosing to remain faithful even when life is painful or unfair. Christ meant to die to self daily, not a physical death, but dying to pride, ego, sin, selfishness; choosing humility, service, and love over self-promotion or comfort.

Why did Jesus say to carry the cross daily? Because it’s not a one-time decision. Every day, we face new challenges and choices; to follow Christ or follow self. Jesus isn’t calling you to suffer alone; He carried the cross first. He gives you strength through His Spirit to carry your cross. And He promises eternal life to those who follow Him.

What God wants from us is our wholehearted devotion, sincere faith, obedient life, humble heart, and love for others; not as a checklist, but as an outflow of a living relationship with Him through Christ. He doesn’t want perfection, but surrender. He doesn’t just want our Sunday worship, but our daily walk. One who obeys and is righteous in following all these, throughout his or her life is surely eligible for eternal life.

Let us examine ourselves and see if we are truly disciples of Christ and eligible for that eternal life. If Yes, Let us continue to follow what Christ has taught us so that we enter His Kingdom. If No, let us repent and start following His teachings so that He considers us for His Kingdom.

Amen! God Bless All !!

Who is my priority?

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The other day evening while sitting in God’s presence, the complete past week was rolling as a movie. Scene by scene, I recalled the ups and downs, the busyness, the moments of uncertainty—and then a deep sense of gratitude settled in. I realized how faithfully God had carried me and my family through it all. We were safe. We were covered.

And then it hit me: we don’t even know what dangers may have been headed our way—what attacks, accidents, or burdens were silently deflected. But God knew.

He took control without needing to announce it. He protected us without making a show of it.

God took control of everything!

God Made us his Priority!!

Though He could have let us fall into the hands of the enemy, God, in His boundless love, made us His priority. He wrapped us in His protection, shielding us from unseen dangers—a breathtaking testament to His love.

Christ had every reason to turn away. He could have said, “I gave my life, yet they still don’t pray, they don’t walk in my ways, they don’t value me.” But He didn’t. The same Savior who shed His blood on Calvary still chooses to love us—daily, faithfully, relentlessly.

He didn’t wait for us to be perfect. He didn’t wait for us to earn His love. While we were still sinners, He died for us. And even now, He watches over us, surrounding us with His protection, assigning angels to guard our path.

His sacrifice wasn’t just a moment in history—it’s a living reminder that we are His priority. Romans 5: 7-8 says “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.“

Let us think if we have that level of love and emotion for Christ. Do we prioritize Christ over our mundane works? Can we, even while we are busy in our life take a moment to thank God for his unfailing love and care.

God Bless All!

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Blessings!!!!

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The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6 : 24 – 26

What is the something that we need atmost? Money, Job, House, Family, Security ?

Money can give the freedom to fulfil all our dersires but cannot content our hearts as we keep getting greedy seeing others wealth and life. Our whole day revolves around these thoughts on how to increase our wealth. We work without rest to fulfill all these needs. Sleep is the only activity in our life where we leave all worries and provide rest to our body and soul. We all want to sleep without any disturbance because we feel relaxed while sleeping. That is because we find peace while sleeping.

Peace is the only thing we look for at the end of the day in our life. When we have peace,we do not carry worries of life with us. Christ gives us this peace through his love. The love of christ for us such that he gave his life on cross bearing the unbearable pain for our sins so that we have peace and reach the eternal life.

God who created us is our father in heaven . He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us at every step of our life so that we do not fall prey to wrong hands. He gave us right to call him father to whom we share all our sorrows , worries fear and happiness. He who listens to us and provide us everything in his time. Christ Showed us his such a great love for us, we also should show our gratefulness and love towards him.

Romans 8:15 says ” The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Wont we love him for such a unfalling love he showd to us? What will happen if we dont love our father or mother? When we go wrong , our parents teach us to walk in the correct path . Our Lord who is the creator of the world is a jeleous god. He loves us , punishes us also when we go wrong.

2 Chronicles 7 : 14 says ‘if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Let us humble ourselves , ask forgiveness to God and be with him. His unfalling love will keep us, protect us and give us the eternal peace.

Amen!!

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Nourishing the 3P’s in Christ

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Philippians 4: 6,7  – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Greetings in the matchless name of our savoiur Christ Jesus !!! We all have anxieties, tensions, and concerns regarding our lives ,our jobs, our kids, and all that we call “ours”. Especially due to the current situation of Covid -19 ,we are forced to think about what will our life be post Corona. Amidst of all these thoughts wandering,  people give upon their lives without thinking what god had prepared for them. Christ through the scriptures comforts us to believe in him to have a peaceful life.

What do we need to have a peaceful life? The scripture above starts with the sentence ‘ do not be anxious about anything’ . How can we stop being anxious , right ? The author of this book Philippians was Paul. He was a disciple of  christ and was often put behind bars for proclaiming the Word of God. He wrote the book Philippians when he was in prison.

Even when in prison, with all the physical suffering he received, he advises the church to be anxious free. In verse 4, he says ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!’ .

Can we keep ourselves at Paul’s place for a moment and think if we could say the same ? What an immense  mental strength he had !!! With all the pain( pain in his hands and legs due to the huge chains he was tied with, pain on his body due to the beatings from the soldiers) he endured , he comforts his fellow believers to Rejoice in christ , and Do not be Anxious.   Anxiety in a person leads to wrong decisions,  negative thoughts and sin. We, as children of God should keep ourselves away from the sins. Praise the lord !!!

lets understand what Paul has tried to share with us –  He has advised 2  very small but Powerful words  to overcome Anxiety.

1. Pray – The greatest gift god gave us is the free access to Pray. In the old testament people worshipped & asked forgiveness to god through sacrifices and burnt offerings , but through Jesus Christ we have received the spirit of sonship whereby we can call him our father . A father to whom we can pray and cry out our pains, ask forgiveness for, directly. 

We are blessed to be his children, as we are offered this great sonship because the Jews dint respect. So Paul asks us to pray to God . When we place our burden before the Almighty, he listens to us and gives us his eternal peace. Jesus said to his disciples through a parable  in Luke 18 to keep praying and never give up. When we sit before God, all kind of negative forces take a step back.Pray to God for his will not your wish. It may happen that what you wish may not be granted, but whatsoever God gifts turns out to be the best for you. Pray with a faithful heart. Pray.

2. Thanksgiving-  Paul says to be always submissive before God and thank for all that God has done for you. Thank God for all that he has given in your life, be it sorrow or happiness.  Do not thank him by counting the happiness but also the sorrows as only God can lead you peacefully through tough times. Do not thank him because you want a favourable answer for your prayers, but thank him for leading you victoriously all the times even when you made wrong decisions and asked God to fulfill them.

Now , what do you we get when follow these two powerful weapons?

When we ernestly pray to god whole heartedly keeping everything aside, God gives us the peace ; this peace is not the peace that we get when we receive any wordly goodies, but is the eternal peace from God. The peace from God makes our hearts and mind calm, gives us security that whatever will happen , will be taken care by God himself.

This eternal peace allows us to face the tomorrow without anxiety.  This peace helps us to rejoice in whatever situation we are.

Let us be submitting ourselves towards the Word of God. Let the Peace of God comfort us and strengthen us to be tomorrow’s rising star for Him.

Amen!!