Dear Father, What if we were all privileged to know Your assignment for us through the ministry of angels? Today, I pondered the story of Mary, when an angel appeared to her and said, “Hail Mary, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” It is beautiful that she experienced this. However, I am mostly concerned with her response to this revelation, for “when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” Perhaps, if we were all visited by angels, we would be shocked by their sayings. Better still, we would be troubled by what they reveal about us. And this is where it gets serious, because, on most occasions, this troubled feeling arises from a gap between who we think we are and who You have called us to be. Perhaps never experiencing revelations like Mary’s could mean that we live below heaven’s expectations of us, for how can we become who we do not know we were called to be? However, we would not all be visited by angels, yet we are all expected to fulfil our destinies. So, perhaps it is also necessary that if the angels do not find us, we find them. I also considered situations in heaven where people are shown the possibilities they had been privy to on earth and how what they thought to be the apex of their calling may perhaps only be just a start. Yet there remain people who do not engage even the least, simply because they do not know. And although the blueprints for our destinies are not necessarily secrets buried so deeply that we must dig tirelessly to find them, yet the only way to find me is to first find You. If I knew what I could become, would I live differently? If I am still unaware of what I could become, would I seek differently? I’ll ponder on these. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #destiny #purpose #encounters #knowledge

Dear Father, What if we were all privileged to know Your assignment for us through the ministry of angels? Today, I pondered the story of Mary, when an angel appeared to her and said, “Hail Mary, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” It is beautiful that she experienced this. However, I am mostly concerned with her response to this revelation, for “when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” Perhaps, if we were all visited by angels, we would be shocked by their sayings. Better still, we would be troubled by what they reveal about us. And this is where it gets serious, because, on most occasions, this troubled feeling arises from a gap between who we think we are and who You have called us to be. Perhaps never experiencing revelations like Mary’s could mean that we live below heaven’s expectations of us, for how can we become who we do not know we were called to be? However, we would not all be visited by angels, yet we are all expected to fulfil our destinies. So, perhaps it is also necessary that if the angels do not find us, we find them. I also considered situations in heaven where people are shown the possibilities they had been privy to on earth and how what they thought to be the apex of their calling may perhaps only be just a start. Yet there remain people who do not engage even the least, simply because they do not know. And although the blueprints for our destinies are not necessarily secrets buried so deeply that we must dig tirelessly to find them, yet the only way to find me is to first find You. If I knew what I could become, would I live differently? If I am still unaware of what I could become, would I seek differently? I’ll ponder on these. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #destiny #purpose #encounters #knowledge

Dear Father, There's a school of thought that points to the struggle of rising, like when a poor man works his way up to becoming wealthy. Yet there's another that speaks of the struggle to remain wealthy. It's almost as though every stage in life requires a struggle, and there are people who assume it gets even more difficult to maintain greatness than to grow into it. I think these perspectives are both reasonable. Having considered the life of Saul, who pursued David to kill him, I wondered about this. Although Saul was king and wore the crown, yet in the strangest and most unreasonable way, he sought the life of a man who had shown no sign of rebellion, in a bid to preserve his own relevance. Perhaps there's more to this struggle than building and maintaining. Perhaps relevance is what we all seek. And so, if building is what it takes, we build. Often, we can become so focused on building that, like King Saul, we become exposed to the risk of losing sight of purpose after becoming consumed by the desire to preserve the crown. Yet Scripture says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." In contrasting the lives of David and Saul as rulers; Scripture reveals that Saul left the kingdom to chase after David when his position was threatened, while David left the kingdom to preserve his life and trusted in You when his position was threatened. They both desired to remain relevant, but they contended differently. And paradoxically, the one who fought to keep it was the one who lost it. I do not write this to advocate for laziness or negligence, but to reengineer our minds back to what truly matters. So, in building, we do not become anxiously driven to the point that we lose our peace. At the end of the day, our building may be appreciated, but true relevance is preserved with You. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #relevance #wealth #building #peace

Dear Father, There's a school of thought that points to the struggle of rising, like when a poor man works his way up to becoming wealthy. Yet there's another that speaks of the struggle to remain wealthy. It's almost as though every stage in life requires a struggle, and there are people who assume it gets even more difficult to maintain greatness than to grow into it. I think these perspectives are both reasonable. Having considered the life of Saul, who pursued David to kill him, I wondered about this. Although Saul was king and wore the crown, yet in the strangest and most unreasonable way, he sought the life of a man who had shown no sign of rebellion, in a bid to preserve his own relevance. Perhaps there's more to this struggle than building and maintaining. Perhaps relevance is what we all seek. And so, if building is what it takes, we build. Often, we can become so focused on building that, like King Saul, we become exposed to the risk of losing sight of purpose after becoming consumed by the desire to preserve the crown. Yet Scripture says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." In contrasting the lives of David and Saul as rulers; Scripture reveals that Saul left the kingdom to chase after David when his position was threatened, while David left the kingdom to preserve his life and trusted in You when his position was threatened. They both desired to remain relevant, but they contended differently. And paradoxically, the one who fought to keep it was the one who lost it. I do not write this to advocate for laziness or negligence, but to reengineer our minds back to what truly matters. So, in building, we do not become anxiously driven to the point that we lose our peace. At the end of the day, our building may be appreciated, but true relevance is preserved with You. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #relevance #wealth #building #peace

Dear Father, There’s an innate desire in every man that leads him to the pursuit of satisfaction. Perhaps this is one of the reasons a man who prayed yesterday would also look forward to praying today; The one who does not know how to engage in spiritual activity would still be in pursuit of something, and even the atheist who denies the existence of God may still spend his life searching for purpose beyond himself. The point remains that the pursuit of mankind is connected to something greater than the actual object of his pursuit. Whether it be a direct pursuit of wealth, fame, or marriage, in reality, it is an innate search for satisfaction. This is explained by the emptiness that still exists immediately after he acquires a goal, and by his desire to chase after something else. Perhaps the solution to satisfaction is not necessarily how much can be acquired when the very thing to be acquired is missing from the numerous acquisitions. A scripture in Jeremiah says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” This scripture speaks to a search for something only You can give--from a different source, and our attempt to build and seek satisfaction from a different source is explained to be broken on arrival. And perhaps water is used as the metaphor to signify mankind’s natural desire for something indispensable. Yet this letter may not seem to concern some who have not underscored the composition of their major pursuits. For it does not say that we do not know we need water, but that we seek to find it in various other places. Perhaps the test can be found in our desperate pursuit of other things versus our skeletal pursuit of You. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #satisfaction #livingwater #seekingGod #goals

Dear Father, There’s an innate desire in every man that leads him to the pursuit of satisfaction. Perhaps this is one of the reasons a man who prayed yesterday would also look forward to praying today; The one who does not know how to engage in spiritual activity would still be in pursuit of something, and even the atheist who denies the existence of God may still spend his life searching for purpose beyond himself. The point remains that the pursuit of mankind is connected to something greater than the actual object of his pursuit. Whether it be a direct pursuit of wealth, fame, or marriage, in reality, it is an innate search for satisfaction. This is explained by the emptiness that still exists immediately after he acquires a goal, and by his desire to chase after something else. Perhaps the solution to satisfaction is not necessarily how much can be acquired when the very thing to be acquired is missing from the numerous acquisitions. A scripture in Jeremiah says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” This scripture speaks to a search for something only You can give--from a different source, and our attempt to build and seek satisfaction from a different source is explained to be broken on arrival. And perhaps water is used as the metaphor to signify mankind’s natural desire for something indispensable. Yet this letter may not seem to concern some who have not underscored the composition of their major pursuits. For it does not say that we do not know we need water, but that we seek to find it in various other places. Perhaps the test can be found in our desperate pursuit of other things versus our skeletal pursuit of You. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #satisfaction #livingwater #seekingGod #goals

Dear Father, I pondered a popular story in Scripture that we were told when we were younger: the parable of the Good Samaritan. The passage says, “A certain man on his way to Jericho was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest went down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” It felt so easy to judge their disposition. Who walks past a half dead, wounded man who needs help? If that isn’t wickedness, or even witchcraft, what is? But now that I think of it, having put a lot into consideration, I may understand the place of the priest and the Levite who walked past him. Help presents a burden that may not be satisfied with compassion alone. Sometimes, the greater the help needed, the more that is required to give. What if, in helping, a person exposes himself to reputational risks or even places his own life at risk? In such situations, would he then be right to walk away? Perhaps this is one of the most difficult parables in Scripture. If helping would place my own life at risk, what is the wise thing to do? Or, if I may ask, what is the “kingdom” thing to do? Perhaps this parable doesn’t just teach, “Who walked away and who helped?” Perhaps it points us to the subtlety of replacing what we describe as wisdom with kingdom values. Sadly, the world is at a place where it would seem wiser to walk away than to stop and help. Because, although famously known, one of the most competing demands is to love my neighbour just as I love myself. Because I won’t let myself die, but to save myself, I may let my neighbour die. Father, how is it measured in heaven? The wise act or the kingdom act? Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #thegoodsamaritan #parables #biblestory #burdens

Dear Father, I pondered a popular story in Scripture that we were told when we were younger: the parable of the Good Samaritan. The passage says, “A certain man on his way to Jericho was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest went down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” It felt so easy to judge their disposition. Who walks past a half dead, wounded man who needs help? If that isn’t wickedness, or even witchcraft, what is? But now that I think of it, having put a lot into consideration, I may understand the place of the priest and the Levite who walked past him. Help presents a burden that may not be satisfied with compassion alone. Sometimes, the greater the help needed, the more that is required to give. What if, in helping, a person exposes himself to reputational risks or even places his own life at risk? In such situations, would he then be right to walk away? Perhaps this is one of the most difficult parables in Scripture. If helping would place my own life at risk, what is the wise thing to do? Or, if I may ask, what is the “kingdom” thing to do? Perhaps this parable doesn’t just teach, “Who walked away and who helped?” Perhaps it points us to the subtlety of replacing what we describe as wisdom with kingdom values. Sadly, the world is at a place where it would seem wiser to walk away than to stop and help. Because, although famously known, one of the most competing demands is to love my neighbour just as I love myself. Because I won’t let myself die, but to save myself, I may let my neighbour die. Father, how is it measured in heaven? The wise act or the kingdom act? Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #thegoodsamaritan #parables #biblestory #burdens

Dear Father, There are so many possibilities in Your kingdom, and sometimes it is easier to imagine what we could become when we have a picture before us--perhaps through a grace someone carries or a mentor who embodies such grace. I considered which biblical mentors to emulate, and so I began studying the life of Daniel. There were profound and enticing manifestations in his life, most of which I am thrilled by. Yet, in becoming a partaker of a grace, I’ve realised that sometimes, the anointing of the man whose grace we desire isn’t what we receive, but his zeal, perhaps because it would require more than supernatural impartations to manifest a grace on earth. For instance, the Scripture says Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him; yet, again, it says they sought to find fault in him but found none because he was trustworthy and was neither corrupt nor negligent. First, we learn about an excellent spirit; then, we see the works. In other words, as much as the spirit of excellence was upon him, he was also not negligent. This highlights not just the fact that we can be helped by You, but also what is expected of us. If I desire an excellent spirit, I should perhaps first commit myself to judiciously carrying out the responsibilities placed in my care, down to little tasks. Today, I write to You not just about Daniel or my desire to be endowed with his graces, but to emphasise the possibilities that exist in this kingdom: that there are no limits to what is obtainable if we desire to put in the work as much as we desire to manifest the grace. Whoever reads my letter to You may ponder on what he would commit to studying or doing more of, but for me, my journey towards excellence begins today. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #Grace #spiritofexcellence #excellence #excellentspirit

Dear Father, There are so many possibilities in Your kingdom, and sometimes it is easier to imagine what we could become when we have a picture before us--perhaps through a grace someone carries or a mentor who embodies such grace. I considered which biblical mentors to emulate, and so I began studying the life of Daniel. There were profound and enticing manifestations in his life, most of which I am thrilled by. Yet, in becoming a partaker of a grace, I’ve realised that sometimes, the anointing of the man whose grace we desire isn’t what we receive, but his zeal, perhaps because it would require more than supernatural impartations to manifest a grace on earth. For instance, the Scripture says Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him; yet, again, it says they sought to find fault in him but found none because he was trustworthy and was neither corrupt nor negligent. First, we learn about an excellent spirit; then, we see the works. In other words, as much as the spirit of excellence was upon him, he was also not negligent. This highlights not just the fact that we can be helped by You, but also what is expected of us. If I desire an excellent spirit, I should perhaps first commit myself to judiciously carrying out the responsibilities placed in my care, down to little tasks. Today, I write to You not just about Daniel or my desire to be endowed with his graces, but to emphasise the possibilities that exist in this kingdom: that there are no limits to what is obtainable if we desire to put in the work as much as we desire to manifest the grace. Whoever reads my letter to You may ponder on what he would commit to studying or doing more of, but for me, my journey towards excellence begins today. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #Grace #spiritofexcellence #excellence #excellentspirit