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Daily pearls from the shore🫧 “The leaves that didn't wither” “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5: 3-11 and Luke 6: 20-23 talks about the people who are encouraged that when they go through a certain season, they are considered blessed. But what kind of blessing is this? Psalms 1:1-3 puts it as "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers". Perhaps the blessings that are mentioned in Matthew and Luke and here in the Psalm are actually blessings being able to survive and thrive, even in the hardest of seasons. The leaves don't just help the tree survive; they are an indication that it is alive. Having leaves on a tree through every season is also a blessing, because it indicates that even when the tree is not in season, when it is not "producing fruit", it still has leaves which can still be used to give shade to others, and make food for its own survival. So maybe, in some seasons, the blessing is that you were able to survive the hard season. Maybe the fruit was actually just the leaves that didn't wither. If you are going through such a season or had been in a winter for some time, we would love to encourage you. Reach out: Voice Of The One Calling @+918437213863 #BlessedMan #beautitudes #survivalinseasons #mentalhealththroughseasons #perspectivematters #Christiancounseling

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 A Good Medicine C.S. Lewis in his earlier life defined joy as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” Later, he found it as per Psalm 16:12, “You shall show me the path of life; in your presence is the fullness of joy, and at your right hand there is pleasure for evermore.” None of us can deny the longing for joy, but most of us end up looking for happiness. And in a moment, we find happiness, and in another, it isn’t there anymore. And the heart is like a desert again. Dr. P. van Niekerk says, “Joy is a constant state that comes from a place of strength. Joy doesn’t always have to be happiness.” Joy is a profound state of the heart and mind that gives one an ultimate sense of delight filled with peace and wholesomeness. It is independent of circumstances, feelings, and physical responses. A person can be calm, sitting with silent facial or bodily expressions, and can be experiencing the most joyful of moments. Another person may be appearing thrilled, jumping, laughing, having teary eyes while in a state of fullness of joy. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is produced by abiding in the Source and is deeply embedded in the knowledge of belonging to the Source. John 15: 4 says, “abide in me as I abide in you” Nehemiah 8:10 declares that "the joy of the Lord is your strength," In John 15:11,Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." It's an ultimate expression of faith in God, trust in His promises, His everlasting, never-leaving presence, His unconditional love, and hope born in His faithfulness in all circumstances. Joy can co-exist in trials, unlike happiness, which is fleeting in challenging hours. Billy Graham puts it profoundly, “… Joy does not mean that we are never sad, that we never cry. Instead, joy is a quiet confidence, a state of peace in the heart of the believer.” The Apostle Paul famously wrote his letter to the Philippians 4:4 about "Rejoice in the Lord, always…” Galatians 5:22-23 mentions joy as a fruit that results from the internal transformation through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Forgiveness and compassion prepare the ground, and gratitude and generosity nurture this plant to bear the fruit of joy. Joy is not passive. It’s an active daily choice regardless of comfortable or challenging circumstances. As David says in Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” He makes an active choice regardless of his circumstances. “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." — Henri Nouwen. Joy is not available in the carnal things. It is eternal, so it can only be found in the eternal. To get it, we need to approach the eternal source. “... Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24) A persistent lack of joy—often called anhedonia is often the result of consistent performance in our own strength, which eventually wears us out, leaves us drained, and burnt out. “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17: 22) As you navigate back to the Source, you can rekindle your joy. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". (Romans 15:13) If you have struggles with feelings of numbness, anxiety, depressive thoughts, or hopelessness, allow us to help you reclaim your joy; contact: Voice Of The One Calling @ +918437213863 #JoyAndHappiness #burntoutprofessionals #christiancounsellors #medicineandjoy #numbnessandtingling

Daily pearls from the shore 🫧 T & C Who all walked the earth that didn't really look like qualifying for God's mercy, grace, and love? Jacob- the cheater Rahab- the prostitute Ruth- the outsider David- the adulterer Matthew- the tax collector Peter- the law breaker Paul- the persecutor Mary the Magdalene- the possessed Roman centurion- the uncircumcised They all had one thing in common: they were all ‘SO NOT QUALIFIED’ as per religious or societal norms for anything good, especially from God. They were considered to be only qualified for rejection from society, religion, and God because they were sinners, unclean, and not worthy of God's grace. In Matthew 20:1-16, the owner of the vineyard decides to hire people at different hours of the day and pays equal regardless of hours worked. When objected to by workers who worked more, the owner simply says that he is the owner of his money and he gets to decide to be gracious and pay as much as he wants to. In Luke 18: 10-14, a Pharisee and a tax collector both approach God for mercy, but the Pharisee boasts in his righteousness, and the tax collector humbles himself as a sinner. In both stories, the decision lies in the hands of the giver. But who gets to decide on God's grace? Well, that would be GOD ALONE. The Lord said, “...I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19) Who qualifies for God's grace? Surely, only a righteous. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" (1 Corinthians 6:9) And then, how can I be saved? Am I doomed?! No, God gets to decide, and He did. He alone can make one clean, and He did. He alone can swap you into righteousness, and He did. "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9) “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5: 21) The day God allowed Jesus to finish the work on the cross, God swapped everything around. Jesus stood on your side, and now, you can stand on His side. Key 🔑: Faith in His finished work. What's the finished work? Reconciliation to God. “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15: 38). The separating veil was destroyed, and access was granted. He makes us worthy to be in God’s presence again, and we receive mercy, grace, and God's love. Do I qualify for His love and grace? Yes, you do because, like Rahab, David, or the tax collector, you know you need A God. And Jesus is the passkey to get to Him. Are you battling with any labels, shame, guilt or shortfalls that make you feel unworthy? Allow us to help you break out from limitations and walk in freedom, fully accepted and loved. Contact: Voice Of The One Calling WhatsApp @+918437213863 #myworth #lowselfesteem #guilt #shamestruggle #rejectiontoadoption #christiancounsellor #mymentalhealth

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 The LIKERT SCALE In my professional experience, I have come across a lot of survey, performance, and assessment forms that would need people to express the intensity of a certain emotion or opinion with numbers on a scale. For example, a Likert scale of 1 to 10: do you agree to disagree. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47) This expression is in the context of a certain woman who had a sinful past, washing Jesus’s feet and kissing them, expressing her daring and devotion in the then most culturally unfit manner. Jesus then honours her act as an expression of love as thankfulness for her forgiven sins, which were many. As much as the text emphasizes the magnitude of this woman’s love towards the Lord, it points directly to the fact that it was in return to the love the Lord expressed towards her first, in forgiveness, as John puts it in 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” In Luke 7:41-43, Jesus told this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, cancelling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Hence, the love of the woman was more. Next, He goes on to mention how the love of some for Him was less because of “apparently less sins” forgiven. Amazing how in one context, the character of GOD and humans displays in measures. Here, God is not stingy in forgiving less for some and forgiving more for others. He forgives freely and all, as much as we bring to Him. The context points the fingers back at us. We bargain, we sugarcoat, or we present ourselves more as holy and lesser of sinners. We rob ourselves of receiving the great love, by acting like less of a sinner. There is no Likert scale in God’s assessment tools to quantify sin. No one is less a sinner or more. In Matthew 5: 21-22, a man who murders and a man who calls names to his brother are equal sinners and due for the same magnitude of punishment. It’s on us. Either we can take the attitude of Paul as in 1 Timothy 1:14-16, where he mentions himself as the worst of all sinners being a persecutor of believers earlier, and how he ended up receiving the mercy of the same level of forgiveness from Jesus. Or we can choose to be like a Pharisee who boasts in his self-righteousness or in being a “less of a sinner”. (Luke 18: 9-14) For God displayed His love in forgiveness of many sins through Jesus when He wide-opened His arms and prayed for the forgiveness of the very people who were crucifying him. (Luke 23: 34) Ephesians 3: 17-18 says, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, Let’s bring our debts in full and receive forgiveness for much and love Him much for He forgives freely, and He loves freely. What is it in your life that is holding you back from experiencing full forgiveness and love? Allow us to help you let it release and let you receive. Contact: Voice Of The One Calling: WhatsApp @ +918437213863 For more: click the link https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBa08gDjiOe8m6dap1s

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 I am because He is. We are all created beautifully. We are all created wonderfully. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalms 139:14) Because we are created in the image of the One who is the most beautiful. “God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27) But not many of us believe that. One of the major issues that people are struggling with in the present times is self-image. School kids are being body-shamed and bullied. Young people are ready for anything to conform to the latest trends. Men are into bodybuilding, and women are into all kinds of cosmetic surgeries. Apart from outer looks, another struggle that is weighing people down is self-condemnation. The “not good enough”, “not a good person, “bad person,” and many such wrong beliefs are disfiguring the identities inside out. All this is taking such a mental toll on them that some even get into depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Because we measure beauty either by outward looks, by our deeds, or by how we feel, it all directs the pressure towards us. The truth is something else. Next time you look at yourself in the mirror, look at the beauty again, because it's there. Ask God to show it to you, because He knows where it is. He has knit you together. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms 139:13) This applies to both outward and inward beauty. The only thing you need is to measure your beauty with your Maker’s eyes and not by worldly standards. Colossians 3:10 mentions finding that by renewing yourself in that image. “.. and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge of the image of its Creator.” When we ask God and allow Him to show us that beautiful side of ourselves, we stop finding faults or comparing. But there is a catch. The new self that is there, the beautiful self, comes out only when you get to know Lord Jesus, because He is the true Beauty. And we were created in His Image. When we get to know Him, we get to know ourselves and the beauty within ourselves that God put there. The beauty is not about our physical or internal attributes but about His beatitudes in us. So, stop beating yourself up. You were looking at the wrong person all this time. You are beautiful because your Creator is. Remember this and believe. If you struggle with self-image, low sel-worth, eating disorders, labels or body shaming, let's help you get rid of those and meet your true self that is beautiful and wonderful in and out. Contact: Voice Of The One Calling:WhatsApp @+918437213863 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16yH2n18W3/

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 Empower Together When Jesus was being led to Golgotha for the crucifixion, He was carrying a heavy wooden cross, and He was too exhausted by the beatings to carry it on his own. Then, a man named Simon of Cyrene was led to carry Jesus's cross on the way to Golgotha. (Luke 23: 26) This might seem like a very intense situation, but the context explains how a shoulder offered by Simon to carry that cross was a crucial moment for Jesus that allowed Him to continue His walk to establish the work of salvation. This act of bearing the burden signifies that every form of encouragement helps the other person keep going. 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Hebrews 10:24, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” Encouragement is essential when we are living a life that goes against the grain, against what is popular. God was aware of this need for encouragement when He called every one of us. He knew it would become difficult, there would be opposition and persecution, and that it may feel lonely. And He had a plan for it. God gave us, firstly, His Holy Spirit as a Companion and Comforter. John 14:16, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—" Secondly, He gave us each other, so that we may keep encouraging each other and strengthen our faith, individually and as a whole. God called us to walk together, as a family, as brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging each other. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) Sometimes we need encouragement, and sometimes we need to give out the encouragement to others, because we need to realise that no matter how "put together" and "sorted" someone may look, there exists almost always an internal struggle. Sometimes your encouragement is an answer to their prayers; other times, it may look like bearing burdens or walking an extra mile alongside them. So let us ask the Holy Spirit who we can encourage today and every day. Let it be a part of our everyday lives. Life can be heavy but you don't have to do it alone. We are here to encourage you as you carry your cross daily. Reach out simply to talk, even: Voice Of The one Calling @ +918437213863

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 It isn’t logical. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) God loves you with passion, with a divine Agape love that knows no boundaries, and no reasoning. Love that is unstoppable and unconditional. John 3:16 says, “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." It may not seem logical, but that's the whole point- it isn't "logical"! It's passionate, it’s divine, so true, so all consuming, that Father God did everything He needed to do to make us right with Him AGAIN. He did what He needed to do to FIX what we, humans, BROKE. And that is hard to understand for us, because we're used to "fair" and "getting what we deserve"... But if we stop and think for a second what the deserving actually would have looked like for the kind of deeds - we might not ever reason what we deserve. If it wasn't for His love and mercy, the only thing we deserved was punishment. God will show you that what He is giving you, as a Good Father, is infinitely better. Titus 3: 5 beautifully brings it ," ..He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..." And God, being God as He is, even gives us the opportunity to understand His love for us, so that we may receive it even more fully. Only He can show us the entirety of His Love. "..may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ... " (Ephesians 3:18) So today, let’s choose to rest in the knowing that the Creator of the Universe loves you. He loves you passionately. So passionately that He gave His Only Son to die on the cross and be raised again from the dead, so that He may be able to be with us again. What longing that must be? You know why? Because He loved us enough to miss us. And He has been missing us since the Garden of Eden. If you feel unloved, abandoned or unworthy of love, it’s time to step out of the lies and run to the One who calls you "beloved". Let’s help you find love of God for you and help you join the family again. Connect with us: Voice Of The One Calling: WhatsApp @ +918437213863 #agapeloveofGod #AbandonedNoMore #Christiancounseling #reunitedwithfamily #BelovedofGod https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18q3xMJwea/

Daily pearls from the shore🫧 Desperate prayers 1 Samuel 1:10, 14-15 "In her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.” “ …Eli the priest said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.’” Her desperation for a child led her to pray so intensely that she appeared drunk to Eli, the priest. Sometimes the world doesn't understand your deep, desperate desire for that something special that's planted into your heart by God. But this kind of deep desire or desperation isn't wrong; it's just an intense emotion. And the intensity of emotions is exactly how God wants His people. He loves us with everything. "John 3:16, “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." And, He wants us to desire Him deeply. Psalms 63:1, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." So, when you are feeling like no one understands you, you're right- they don't - but God does. He gets intense emotions. Psalms 34:18, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Strong emotions are not the issue. Where we direct them is. And they will only bear fruit if we direct them to the One who can turn anything into something fruitful. Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." So where are you directing those strong emotions to? Those desperate prayers to? Whose got your heart? Make sure it is HIM.