tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48039098508657042372011-09-05T07:32:03.481-07:00MUSINGS OF MY SOULGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-16526781234593843192010-12-08T02:21:00.000-08:002010-12-08T02:21:49.926-08:00The Touch of God!Zamir Dhale, attends our church, but he is blind, deaf and mute! Just imagine his life! There are some of his friends who accompany him. However, they are only deaf and mute. We convey to them using the ‘Sign’ language! But it is very difficult to communicate to Zamir! Most people cannot and don’t. He completely relies on touch! However, it’s remarkable that despite his handicap, he has fought Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-52905435224926336692010-10-04T21:08:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:15:41.883-07:00Mathew 22:37 "Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind"Jesus was answering a question posed to him, perhaps by a detractor or may be he was a sincere seeker! In either case, the answer is what I am trying to highlight and understand better here!Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind. In another place, Jesus speaks of this very command as being the gist of all that the law and the Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-1828028788819990082010-10-04T21:03:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:15:21.850-07:001 Thessalonians 2:1 "You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure"The whole chapter is so enlightening, especially for those who have a zeal and passion to share the gospel. It sheds light on how Paul brought the gospel to the Thessalonians. As expected, Paul surely worked a lot on what he was going to preach (the content), but then, here in this scripture portion, he suddenly speaks about several more aspects that I now realize as things that actually would Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-26153467640396676642010-06-01T06:28:00.001-07:002010-10-04T21:15:03.654-07:00Acts 8:4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went"A mega church was taking shape at Jerusalem. There were meetings everyday, scores of baptisms almost every other day, and conventions, seminars or crusades happening as frequently too! The Church at Jerusalem was happening. Money was coming-in in unthinkable proportions and amounts! People were selling even their house and properties to meet the needs of the growing church! Widows and orphans Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-11434496081960173122010-06-01T06:27:00.001-07:002010-10-04T21:14:44.675-07:00Luke 16:8 "For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light"There are some remarkable insights I received while I was trying to profile the Centurion in the gospel account (Luke 7:1-10). As I wrote them down, I understood the statement of Jesus, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light”.
There are rare occasions mentioned in the New Testament when Jesus ministers to non-Jews. He had his Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-45189575262735388402010-06-01T06:24:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:14:10.614-07:00Romans 1:19 "For what can be known about God is plain to them... (RSV)"I have used this verse and other verses in this passage very often especially during times of personally sharing with people. From the entire passage of which this particular phrase is just a small part of, there are a few things I would like to deliberate on.
What can be known about God is plain. It is clearly seen!
Now whatever it is that is plain is equally plain to all men. Be it from any Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-41481144705357883642010-06-01T06:23:00.001-07:002010-10-04T21:13:22.646-07:00Mat 25:14 "He called his servants together and entrusted them with his property"The nobleman called his servants together, "not differently", and then entrusted them, "not a few of them", but all of them together, with his property. A collective responsibility!
Then, the Bible says, to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one - to each in proportion to his own personal ability. Now did the nobleman have only eight talents in all? No, not at all! He had Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-6045756825658040182010-06-01T06:22:00.001-07:002010-10-04T21:12:24.259-07:00Mathew 22: 36 "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"In a world and time wherein practically everything and everyone is vying for attention, and companies splurging very high proportion of their budgets on ads and promotions, and media and brands aggressively and literally climbing and rolling over each other to have an edge, be it direct or indirect competition, the customer, the audience, the client surely is the king. At least he is made to feelGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-26894161883215844622010-06-01T06:21:00.001-07:002010-06-01T06:21:42.652-07:00Praying More!!These days I have committed myself to praying more. But I have to admit that it has always been a struggle. Every time that I have decided so, the devil, since he knows the power of prayer, tries every trick in his book to dissuade me.Now it’s important to decide a particular time and pray at that same time everyday. That way it can become a habit. I decided on early mornings and also decided to Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-35357398326802272602010-06-01T06:20:00.001-07:002010-10-04T21:11:45.808-07:001 Corinthians 12: 5 "There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord"There are two major labels that attach to me as a disciple of Christ - son of God and servant of God. The first I receive by grace, but the latter is the expression of my gratitude for what I receive. Son-ship symbolizes my privileges and rights, while servant-hood, my duties towards him. As a son, my inheritance is grand, but as a servant, there is an earning too that I must do by the trading ofGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-66930765187390992852010-06-01T06:19:00.001-07:002010-06-01T06:19:46.966-07:00Never Give Up!!For the last few weeks I have been working on Spiritual Warfare and I feel that I need to highlight something very vital from it in the musings this month instead of the matter I previously promised to continue in the last issue.One fact that I realized in a new light during the course of the meditations was that just like we take Satan as our enemy, he takes us as "his enemy" too. This knowledgeGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-761113393483114522010-06-01T06:17:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:11:19.369-07:00John 13:33 "I am to be with you only a little longer: you are not able to come where I am going"The scene is that of the Last Supper. Jesus knew that his time to be crucified had come. It was time to prepare his close group for what was coming. Jesus firstly exposed the role of Judas. After that, Jesus said, "I am to be with you only a little longer: you are not able to come where I am going". Though perhaps he had spoken of it several times before, this time around he had managed to get Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-21512924777820368442010-06-01T06:09:00.000-07:002010-06-01T06:33:14.759-07:00Luke19:13 “Buy and sell with these while I go and then return.”Jesus and his disciples were getting very close to Jerusalem and expectations were building that God’s kingdom (Jesus’ reign) would begin any time. I am assuming that the disciples were already deciding on the portfolios and different roles they would play in the new kingdom. We are aware of how a couple of them even had their mother to intervene! It is at such a time that Jesus tells them a Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-70173128337496053002009-06-19T21:24:00.000-07:002010-06-01T06:30:07.167-07:00Luke 13:3 “I tell you, No; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”Jesus was referring to the Galileeans who were killed by the Pilate, and whose blood he had mingled with their sacrifices. He also brought up the event of the fall of the tower of Siloam and the accidental death of eighteen people. He then declared that these accidental deaths were not because these people were worse sinners than the once who were alive.So then, was he saying that if one repents,Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-41371590168719678862009-06-19T21:18:00.000-07:002009-06-19T21:20:46.979-07:00John 6:53 “….unless you eat the flesh & drink the blood of the Son of man, you have no life in you!”Jesus had opened the eyes of the crowd to a new level of understanding about him. All He did was bless the bread, break it and give it to his disciples and more than 5000 men and all those who accompanied them had there fill! Oh what a man. Perfect to be their king! He was apparently Israel’s answer to Rome’s Caesar. They all tried to make Jesus king by force. Jesus escaped!Jesus why did you Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-69324883501620988052009-06-19T21:16:00.000-07:002009-06-19T21:17:15.720-07:00Psalm 131:2 “….I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast!”Recently I had started traversing on a journey of trying to discover the attributes of God as revealed in the Bible. As I navigated through the first few attributes, I comprehended that I was venturing into something that would need my grey cells to stretch their dendrites and axons a bit more than the usual to grasp the concepts even faintly and my mind will have to stretch beyond limits to evenGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-63368220903896865032009-06-19T21:11:00.000-07:002009-06-19T21:15:40.797-07:00Luke 13:9 “….but if not, you can cut it down”Grape vines grow the best on very unfertile soil that cannot be used to cultivate anything else. That’s the reason why mostly the hilly terrains are used for the grave vine. No wonder the beloved of Isaiah 5 dug up his vineyard and removed the stones from it. The beloved was developing a land that had been written off and was actually in an uncultivable shape. Oh the heart of God! It is still theGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-69597936129630514642008-03-06T18:32:00.000-08:002008-03-07T04:39:26.458-08:00Psalm 111:1 "Hallelujah"Recently I came across what is known as an acrostic Psalm. Psalms 111 and 112 are acrostic Psalms. It simply means that the first letter of the phrases in the Psalm correspond to a Hebrew alphabet. Both these Psalms have 22 phrases with each phrase representing the alphabets. Also these Psalms, 111-118 were learnt by heart by every Hebrew child. So that means, if you were to ask a Hebrew child, “Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-80732808111709920242008-02-13T04:41:00.001-08:002008-02-13T04:43:55.375-08:00The truth about Valentine's DayIn 3rd century Rome, the god Lupercus, the god of fertility, was also said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the hordes of wolves. So the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm came to them. As part of the purification ritual, the priests of Lupercus would sacrifice goats and a dog to the god, and after drinking wine, they wouldGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-77919525877393548272008-02-10T19:53:00.000-08:002008-02-10T19:59:05.952-08:00Luke 19:13 ‘Do business with these until I come back.’This portion is a part of the famous “Parable of the talents”. Thought most of us know it quite well, I want to just highlight something that was impressed upon me recently. God has entrusted each one of us with talents, abilities and resources. His expectation from us is that we do business with these, trade with it.No, it’s not the call to make it a profession rather it’s a call to engage dailyGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-57195029186772569412007-12-25T05:53:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:31:07.177-08:00A Fresh Christmas ThoughtDear Friend,I bring you greetings from my family (my immediate and also my extended family-my church).Just want to share with you an important thought this Christmas.The Church remembers and celebrates the "death" and the "resurrection" of our Lord whenever it meets. This is expected of the church and so we have the Lord's Table in our fellowships. So according to the Bible, its Good Friday and Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-26975647059195278352007-12-11T19:37:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:31:07.341-08:00Zech 1:3 “…Return to me and I will return to you!”The ageless call of the Most High, that resonates on the planet since the fall of man has been, “Return to me”. God always had a remnant across the ages who responded to Him. Abel paved the first way as a response to the call, Enoch walked it till he was not, Noah shouted it to an unmoved generation till they all drowned, Abraham left everything to return to Him, Isaac and Jacob followed suit Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-90914845127923355522007-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:31:07.502-08:00Psalm 131:2 “….I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast!”Recently I had started traversing on a journey of trying to discover the attributes of God as revealed in the Bible. As I navigated through the first few attributes, I comprehended that I was venturing into something that would need my grey cells to stretch their dendrites and axons a bit more than the usual to grasp the concepts even faintly and my mind will have to stretch beyond limits to evenGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-16962863843172223992007-12-03T10:35:00.001-08:002008-11-13T05:31:07.634-08:00John 6:53 “….unless you eat the flesh & drink the blood of the Son of man, you have no life in you!”Jesus had opened the eyes of the crowd to a new level of understanding about him. All He did was bless the bread, break it and give it to his disciples and more than 5000 men and all those who accompanied them had there fill! Oh what a man. Perfect to be their king! He was apparently Israel’s answer to Rome’s Caesar. They all tried to make Jesus king by force. Jesus escaped!Jesus why did you Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-75317961995742835462007-12-03T03:39:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:31:07.764-08:00Luke 13:9 “….but if not, you can cut it down”Grape vines grow the best on very unfertile soil that cannot be used to cultivate anything else. That’s the reason why mostly the hilly terrains are used for the grave vine. No wonder the beloved of Isaiah 5 dug up his vineyard and removed the stones from it. The beloved was developing a land that had been written off and was actually in an uncultivable shape. Oh the heart of God! It is still theGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-8275290966583633102007-12-02T22:56:00.001-08:002008-11-13T05:31:08.019-08:00Luke 13:3 “I tell you, No; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”Jesus was referring to the Galileeans who were killed by the Pilate, and whose blood he had mingled with their sacrifices. He also brought up the event of the fall of the tower of Siloam and the accidental death of eighteen people. He then declared that these accidental deaths were not because these people were worse sinners than the once who were alive.So then, was he saying that if one repents,Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-68407216704884242752007-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:31:08.174-08:002Peter 3:16: “some things hard to understand…ignorant & unstable twist to their own destruction”This letter was the last book to be admitted into the canon. Fisherman Peter’s carefully weighed last words. The gospels are bejeweled with Peter’s utterances, but after the advent of Paul, Peter became more silent (at least that is what appears). But towards the end of his ministry, he comes with two epistles that are like bombs. But in one of these masterpieces, unexpectedly and impulsively, heGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-85898750978405055862007-11-29T11:01:00.001-08:002007-12-03T03:51:50.155-08:001Peter 1:3: "May grace and peace be multiplied to you…"Recently I was sitting with a business man in one of the government offices, our talks strolled around opportunities and threats that businesses in India faced, and as we discussed the threats, presumably, one of the threats that figured most poignantly was the government itself! Though it’s ironic, yet on one side as minister after minister, government after government, makes every effort to Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-82489109591963478922007-11-29T10:59:00.000-08:002007-12-03T03:16:49.197-08:002Kings 3:7 (NKJV), "Will you go with me..?"This question features at the beginning of almost every crisis that I have got myself into. Often it is for the same causes and situations that this question pops up and always I answer it in a way that makes me feel that I will never learn. When the devil, this world and my flesh ask me, "Will you go with me?" I never seem to be able to say 'No'. But then, everyone is challenged with this Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-63836779300812104162007-11-29T10:58:00.001-08:002007-12-03T03:47:07.252-08:002Kings 3:7 (NKJV), "Will you go with me..?"Though the format of the question may differ, yet, it is a question that is shot at all people, perhaps many times during a single day! So many times in my life I have faced this question. During my primary school days, I remember the boys in my colony asking me that question and interestingly their timing used to concur with my parents decision that I should be studying! Were my parents and my Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-5983227432345451592007-11-29T10:56:00.000-08:002007-11-29T20:42:18.520-08:00Mathew 10:22 (NLT), "And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me.."This story that I came across recently just brought up some pending issues to my mind. This is how the story goes.During First World War, Donald Barnhouse, led the son of a prominent American family to the Lord. He was in the service, but he showed the reality of his conversion by immediately professing Christ before the soldiers of his military company.The war ended. The day came when he was to Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-70328976097367911762007-11-29T10:55:00.000-08:002007-11-29T20:45:28.987-08:00Philipians 2:13, 14 (NIV), "Work out your salvation…"Painters, Carpenters, Masons, Construction workers, Farmers, Plumbers, Electricians, Fitters, Welders, Laborers etc are people who have a very active work routine. They really earn their living through "the sweat of their face". I am using that ‘expression’ to signify hard work. There are other classes of professionals, the white collared ones, who do not have to sweat while they work. Though theGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-42835128236392880392007-11-29T10:52:00.000-08:002007-11-29T20:47:53.014-08:00John 14:21 (NIV), "We will make our home with him…"Nothing has recently touched my soul like this apparently non-profound verse. I will stick to the NIV as I make these interpretations of this particular portion of the scripture.Jesus begins the introduction of the Holy Spirit in these portions. He starts by saying in John 14;15, "If you love me, you will keep my command, I will ask my Father to give you the Holy Spirit". Reflecting upon this Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803909850865704237.post-80839926056305666032007-11-29T10:33:00.000-08:002007-12-03T03:55:14.553-08:00Luke 5:1, "People pressed upon him to hear the Word…"When I, a "Disciple of Christ" go to a crowded place, I who am being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory that comes from God, there is no crowd of people pressing upon me for "Anything"!! India has no dearth of crowds anywhere, and every time I go to a crowded place and remain there for a significantly long time and still fail to impact even the smallest section of that crowdGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0