He is risen indeed! Because Jesus lives.......

Resurrection Sunday - 2010

This day is widely known as Easter Sunday. On Good Friday we reflect on the Cross and the death. On Sunday we reflect on the Resurrection but on Saturday? Saturday is quiet and a day of rest as the Jewish calendar marks it as Sabbath Day!

Jesus lived and He showed Himself to many after His resurrection; nearly 500 people. 

"Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1Co 15:43–55 NLT). How wonderful; His resurrection for guarantees ours!

He is risen, He is risen indeed!

"We serve a risen Saviour who's in the world today! we know that He is living whatever men may say! we see His hand of mercy, we hear His voice of cheer, and just the time we need him, HE is always here!"

"Because He lives, we can face tomorrow! Because we know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because HE lives!"

Resurrection gives hope, He resurrects everything and brings new life.

Joyous Resurrection Day!

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.)
Copyright © KC's Writings 2010

Good Friday, 2010 -

Jesus faced loneliness and longed for human company, feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, yet stayed put and chose to die a shameful death. Angels strengthened Him while he was deserted. 

"Milele Shukurani"- translated from Swahili would be "Eternally grateful"
 kalpana Christian Sharma
Copyright © KC's Writings 2010

Being Clean and Staying Clean

It is a hard thing to come out of bad habits, and it is even harder to stay out of bad habits. On a spiritual note, God takes us out of sin in a moment but taking sin out of our lives takes a lifetime. Daily we need God's grace in ample supply to keep us on the narrow and disciplined path. We need JESUS to help us clean our hands and feet daily even when we have had a bath. That is why JESUS told Peter, "Those who have had baths don't need another shower but they just need to get rid of the dust that settles in every day."

There is a story that Dr. Erwin Lutzer, the senior pastor at Moody Church reminds us from time to time about a Sculptor who was sculpting an art piece of an elephant's figure. Someone asked him what he was doing; he replied, "I am chipping away all that is not an elephant and keeping all that is an elephant." Similarly, God is chipping away all that is not Jesus from our lives and keeping all that is Jesus-like. We are being conformed to the likeness of the One who alone is perfect, clean, and pure.  

John 13: 5-11 "He (Jesus) riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.  Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.  Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all."

It is a good practice to continually introspect and ask God what do I need to get rid of today? Maybe thought life, some speech issues, attitude, ungodly living, addictions? materialism? physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, relational, or deep within? and then request in faith: "I want to be clean, cleanse me, Lord!"


Kalpana Christian Sharma, © copyright kcswritings

Staying Connected - Learning Through Kids' Games

In 2008 I was teaching a Vacation Bible School in one of the churches in the Chicago Suburbs.  I want to briefly share something that I learned on the 1st day that I saw kids playing games.

It was about friendship knots. We form a circle of 4 or 5 people. Hold the hand of the person not next to you but one after the next, i.e. of every other person. The fun part is then to twist in and out of the circle, up and down within the radii of hands, jump, and come out without letting go of anyone's hands - that way untangling is easy!

This is how at times, in life we hold on, and how in turn need to reach out to one another. The thing that I learned as they played the game was: Holding on, not letting go, and yet the goal is to sort out the tangles within. We did a great job many times again and again, and I thought if only we as adults could learn to untangle our messes with each other and our friends without letting go of our hands -without losing our connections with each other, by our love the world will know that we belong to Christ.  Biblically speaking..isn't this what we are called to? Relationships will improve our communities and the world because while being connected we choose to untangle the messes...sort out differences as they come. 

Please note this does not mean that we put up with the abuses in any relationship. In manipulative, abusive relationships, and where powerplay is present distancing is a safe and healthy thing to do. No one is to impose any forgiveness, reconnection, or reconciliation aspect on anyone. We need time to heal and be safe. 

The connection and untangling are meant for a non-abusive and mutually beneficial relationship where talking about differences in a healthy way is possible and there is an understanding that we can agree to disagree and mean no harm. 

Stay connected,

Kalpana Christian Sharma(Mrs.) Copyright © KC's Writings 2010

What Can We Do Without? Simple living.

Having lived in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, for many years, and having worked in the air travel industry, camping was a part of life that we all enjoyed. Camping experience reminds us of the things that are temporal.

Few months back, I was pondering on this thought even as I saw my daughters' backpacks; from time to time they go for their youth camp trips. I  learned that for preparing to go on a camping trip, we usually make a list of what we must carry with us and quite rightly so; but when you flip the coin and see the other side of it, at times, a thought crosses my mind, its not "what I must take with me but what can I really do without?" matters. Have you ever made a list of what can we do without? it would be a great checklist. Authentically speaking, there is a lot of stuff that we can really do without.

So now if we focus on that thought and did the same thing with our daily living, and while making a list of what we must buy, what if we make a list of things that we really don't need and can do without? I guess in these days of hard economy that would be a great way to live life with contentment, look at life, and praise GOD in ALL circumstances..always rejoicing as Paul says.

So where is our identity? is it in the stuff that we own? or the cars we drive? the homes we live in, the latest electronic device that we possess? or the community we associate with? 

Someone has said, 'We buy things we don't need to with the money that we don't have, to impress the people we don't know." May I dare to add, "and we incur debts that we sometimes seldom recover from?" One kids' song from A Kiddie-Viddie video song series says, "Little is much if God is in it" and 1 Timothy 6:6 reminds us. "Godliness with contentment is a great gain."

I dare to add to this quote from a great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore that was reiterated in one of the Hindi movies, "Bawarchi: "It is so simple to be happy but it is so very difficult to be simple."

Would you give simple living a try?

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.)
Copyright © KC's Writings 2010

Love - from a perspective

This writing is from the year 2006
Wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day... a day that the world celebrates as what it knows as love..

I read that "In the game of tennis, 'love' means nothing, in a relationship, love means everything."(Harold Sala)

I am amazed as I read the 1st Corinthians chapter 13, "the love chapter", saying, so profoundly that if you have all knowledge and are all in all, and are full of power, and all that you can think of, and if we give up our bodies to be burnt up for what we stand up for, and even if we are so kind even to give all our goods to the poor, but IF we have no love... WE ARE NOTHING... 

ouch!!!! that is so powerful.

and in the end, it says, now abide these three, faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love...

I am also learning that love is a CHOICE rather than a feeling...we choose to love. 

I am glad that there is one day we can celebrate (though it should be an everyday event) but just one day set aside to acknowledge and express Love.

so, we need to "LOVE THE LORD OUR GOD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, WITH ALL OUR SOULS, WITH ALL OUR MIGHT AND WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH AND LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OUR SELVES!"

"Beloved, let us love one another, for the love is of GOD and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God, he that loveth NOT, knoweth not God for God is love"...1st John four seven and eight...

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.)
Copyright © KC's Writings 2010

Humbling before God and learning from HIM..

These are some of my old writings that lift me up at times when I read, and I want to encourage readers as well. This was written on October 15th, 2005---

The Bible says, "Humble Yourselves under the mighty hand of God that in due time, he may lift us up." (higher and higher and he will lift us up) You and I have sung this chorus many times but recently I understood that in today's fast-paced world where success counts and being aggressive and being numero uno/#1 is the deal, the self that is so glorified comes in between us and God, as that self is so much against God! Even pride dresses up as false humility. 

While with God, humility is what counts. The Bible says God inhabits eternity, (can you imagine that? eternity?) and yet, (watch this) He lives in the hearts of those who are humble!

I also learned that it says to humble Yourself. God expects us to humble ourselves before He brings circumstances to humble us.

The qualification to come to Jesus is "all who are weary and with heavy burden...come to me and I will give you rest..." Isn't this qualification different? I mean the world looks at your resume, your success, your ability what you can boast about 'you'!! while Jesus says, come as you are, with your inadequacy...with your heavy yoke..' As I heard someone preach, "Ground is always leveled at the foot of the cross!"

It has been a long since I played my guitar. This week, after many years, I picked up my guitar, and in the quietness of hours, I played this chorus. I have sung it many times but singing it alone, not to anyone but to GOD, tears rolled down my cheeks as I sang with the meaning, humbling myself before God....that led me to sing this lovely hymn, I know it will bring tears to your eyes as you sing alone before God! Please take a few moments to sing and ponder upon the words written by Benjamin M Ramsey in 1919 as follows:

"Teach me Thy way O Lord! Teach me thy way, Thy gracious aid afford, teach me thy way, help me to walk aright, MORE BY FAITH, less by sight, lead me with heavenly light, teach me thy way.

When doubts and fear arise, teach me thy way, when storms overspread the skies, teach me thy way.
Shine through the clouds and rain, through sorrow, toil, and pain, make thou my pathway plain, teach me thy way.

When I am sad at heart, teach me thy way, when earthy joys depart, teach me thy way,
In hours of loneliness, in times of dire distress, in failure or success, teach me thy way...

Long as my life shall last, teach me thy way, where ever my lot be cast, teach me thy way..
until the race is run, until the journey is done, until the crown is won... TEACH ME THY WAY..."

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow!
Kalpana
Copyright © KC's Writings 2010