“When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” — John 8:12 (NIV)
💡 Reflection
Diwali is celebrated as the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and truth over falsehood. As followers of Christ, we find this theme fulfilled perfectly in Jesus, who didn’t just bring light — He is the Light.
Darkness represents confusion, fear, sin, and separation from God. The world often tries to overcome this darkness with temporary lights — success, comfort, or relationships. But these fade.
Jesus, however, offers a light that never goes out — a light that leads us to eternal life and gives clarity, peace, and purpose.
When we invite Jesus into our hearts, His light shines through our words, our actions, and our love. We become lamps in His hands, reflecting His brilliance in a dark world.
So, as diyas (lamps) and candles glow around you today, pause and thank God for the true Light — the One who dispels every shadow within and around us.
🙏 Prayer
Lord Jesus, On this day when so many lights shine across our cities and homes, Help me remember that You are the true Light of the world. Chase away the darkness in my heart — fear, doubt, pride, and sin. Let Your light shine through me so that others may see Your love and truth. May my life reflect Your glory today and always. Amen.
As consumers we all expect variety. We don’t completely depend on a single store for all commodities because it may not have the best of all categories. For example, we have a favorite store for clothes, shoes, another for groceries and so on.
But is it really wise to find different sources for our spiritual needs as well? Today we have a variety of choices there too. Some are attractive at least from the outset and some are unfortunately bizarre. Some sources stand on the foundation of certain principles, cultures, locations or heritages while others on public figures of so called spiritual gurus.
But fortunately for me, there is this ONE person I can turn to – the One true God! There is no need for a second option because there is no better choice. He is The best I could and will sought after. And we will try to find out just why.
God by definition is The Supreme being, Creator and Ruler of the Universe.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God (Elohim – the Triune God) created the heavens and the earth.
So, if our needs are within the heavens and the Earth (emotional, physical, material, spiritual) then we can know for sure who to go to – its Creator – God!
God cannot be specific only to a particular area or domain. If we believe that there is a God then He is an infinite being who created all other finite beings that are under His sovereign control. He is not a part of this creation but beyond it. If I say god is everything around me and everything in the universe is god then isn’t that contradicting the very meaning of God? How can there be more than one infinite being? So, if God is this one Supreme being then:
Why would I turn to many gods? When I can have a relationship with the One true God Himself, I don’t need to go to one god for provision, another for protection, yet another for healing and so on. God should be able to suffice all my needs.
Why would I turn to saints to intercede for me?
To start with who is a saint? According to the Bible every believer is a saint or in other words every person who is sanctified by Jesus’ finished work on the cross and set apart for God is a saint.(Romans 1:7,1Corinthains 1:2) In some denominations we see particular disciples and others given undue attention and they become objects of prayer and devotion. This is not biblical since giving a person such attention that he/she be made a mediator between the Father and us is an act of idolatry because Jesus is our only mediator as clearly given in the scriptures. In fact, the reason Jesus died was so that we may have direct access to the throne of God the Father. When I turn to any other human being, I disregard the sacrifice that Christ took on for me. There is only One mediator between God the Father and all of mankind – Jesus Christ. When I bow down to any other I am consciously or subconsciously an idolater because prayer is directed only to God.
Or is my Father in heaven like a strict earthly father beyond approach that someone should recommend for me?
We also find this kind of intercessory prayers made through Mary, the mother of Jesus. They say it is just like how we would ask our mother for something instead of asking the father directly. This is yet another heresy that is prevalent. Our God is perfect and cannot be compared to the flawed characteristics of an earthly father. I need no introduction or recommendation to the One who created me and knew me even before I was born(Psalm 139:15-16). His love for me exceeds any other. Mary was blessed to have been able to give birth to Jesus but she is by no means a deity. She had other sons and daughters after Jesus was born just like a normal woman. ( Mathew 13:55-56) She calls God her savior just like He is our savior.(Luke 1:47)
When we have Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father and interceding for each one of us, we don’t need anyone else to do this task. (Romans 8:34)
We should respect people who have lived out a life of faith and learn good lessons from their lives (both failures and successes). But none is perfect that we may pray to them or worship them. Christ alone can save us and not any human being. Our example to follow is and will always remain Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 1:5 – 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
Acts 4:12 – Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Right! So, I just pray to this God and I get everything I want?
No, it’s not like God keeps giving you everything you want. But rather when you have a true relationship with this Almighty God, you lack nothing. You find your purpose in life and everything you need is taken care of within this wholesome relationship.
In the old testament we see many names given to God in worship and adoration by different people at different instances. These names, unlike today, had great significance and described a particular attribute of God as revealed to these people.
We too can pray claiming these attributes of God over our life situations.
Although God is more than any name could ever contain, these names help us understand and experience certain aspects of God’s character in our lives.
Below are few of the names of God and instances where it has been used in the Bible:
El Shaddai– Lord God Almighty
God specializes in impossibilities. When He says “Yes” there is nothing that can change it. Faith in God’s faithfulness is what you need to see the fulfilment of God’s promises.
Genesis 17:1 – When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
El Roi– The God who sees me
Ever felt like you were invisible to the world around you? He is the God who sees you no matter where you try to hide yourself. Call on Him because His eyes are watching over you and
Genesis 16:16 – She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen[a] the One who sees me.”
Jehovah Raah – The Lord My Shepherd
When you follow the good shepherd, you will lack nothing. Even if you wander away, He will come in search of you. The good shepherd lays His life down for the sheep. Jesus is our good shepherd and in Him we have everything we need – protection, provision and guidance.
Psalm 23:1 -The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
Jehovah Rapha – The Lord That Heals
God who can heal both our body from sickness and our soul from sin. I have experienced His healing in my body in a second. The same God who healed me can heal you too if you have faith in Him.
Exodus 15:26 – 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness
Our righteousness comes from God and not by any of our own deeds. The blood of Jesus cleanses us of all our sins and makes us righteous before the Father. So, don’t condemn yourself but repent before God and exchange your shame for His righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:6 – In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
Qanna – jealous, zealous, or envy
The fundamental meaning relates to a marriage relationship. God is depicted as Israel’s husband. He is a jealous God, wanting all our praise for Himself and no one else. When we distribute the worship that only God deserves among other man-made gods and saints we are committing idolatry.
Exodus 20:5 – 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Jehovah Jireh – The Lord Will Provide
When we have exhausted our resources and strength, He provides for those who call on Him. He makes sure they have enough in times of need. In His perfect time, He will provide beautifully. We need to trust and wait on Him to see the miracle.
Genesis 22:14 – 4 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Jehovah Shalom – Prince of Peace
He is the God who calms the storm with a word. He can give you peace amidst the chaos. In His presence we find peace that is beyond our understanding. Our peace rests on the fact that God is in control.
Judges 6:24 – 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts
The Lord of angel armies who goes before and behind us is our Protector from the evil one. Even when we are alone, He is with us. Where no man can reach out to us, God is still with us. No wall is too thick for God to come through if you call on Him earnestly.
Isaiah 47:4 – 4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
And so, One God is enough for me. I don’t have to run between different gods for my different needs. And this privilege is freely available to you if you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your personal Lord and savior. He is enough!
Always a topic that make heads turn in the Christian circle. So, what is all the talk about Christians not being allowed to get a tattoo? And what does the Bible say about it?
Leviticus 19:28 – “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
This was one among the many rules that God gave the Israelites so that they would be set apart for God from among other pagan religions and cultures of that time.
Though all of these are not applicable to us today, there are some outright Nos that we need to follow as children of God. We should not get a tattoo of any kind of pagan gods/symbols, anything related to sorcery, witchcraft, Black Magic and so on because that would be an idol. These are clearly against what God wants His children to do.
Also, in Revelation we see something called the mark or number of the beast(666). This is said to differentiate the followers of Christ and the followers of antichrist in the days to come. If you do not believe in Jesus and follow the antichrist then you will have this mark on you(which is not an impossible idea anymore with the development of technology in our times) and only if you have this mark will you be allowed to buy or sell anything.
So it looks like the mark of the antichrist is outwardly and visible whereas, the mark of God is the Holy Spirit inside of us and is invisible.
Revelation 13:16-18 – It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
So, what about Christian tattoos?
What about a “John 3:16”, a cross, “Jesus loves you” or something along the same lines which is purely giving out a gospel message?
The Bible says that your body is the temple of the living God. Inflicting pain on it should be a serious thought.
Always better to get Him tattooed on your heart than on your skin. Internal transformation over external expressions.
What is tattooed on your heart will speak louder than what is on your skin. God can use your life as a bigger testimony than a tattoo.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Am I obeying the golden rule that Jesus told me?
Golden rule:
Mathew 22:36-39 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
You can get a tattoo and exercise the freedom you have in Christ but is it beneficial?
1 Corinthians 10:23 – “I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but not everything is constructive.
If I know I can get a tattoo that spreads the gospel message and can be a window for starting a conversation with others about what God did in my life but still my culture is not open towards the idea, I should still rethink about exercising my freedom by getting a tattoo done.
Why?
Because God died not only for me but for each of them and they are all valued before His eyes.
So, to be able to share the gospel to them I need to be approachable first.
Does this mean that culture is greater than God’s commandments? Never. But, when it is not against God’s commandments I should, for the sake of others try to keep up with it. This shows my love for them just the way God wants me to win them.
What about those who already have a tattoo? There is absolutely no problem if you already have a tattoo, and it is not a sin that will keep you away from God. You can always run to your Father. A tattoo dosent make you any less or any more of a child of God. May God help you to glorify Him with everything that you have.
I encourage you to know that our identity comes from God alone. We don’t need a tattoo to remind us who we were, who we are or who we want to be. We will always be a daughter/son of the Most High God. Nothing, nothing at all can take that away if we believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross. He died for the forgiveness of all our sins and reconciled us back to the Father.
Romans 8:15 – “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.'”
Live by the explicitly clear commands that Jesus has laid down for us in the Bible. Once that is taken care of all these fringe issues (like tattooing, drinking, partying, movies) will also fall in place when we are guided by the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit. Don’t try to fix the fringe issues first and forget all about the core!
What is the core?
Jesus died for me and by His death He took away all my sins and I am forgiven. I have been made a child of God who is loved and cared for and I will live for His glory by reflecting His love to others around me. So, tattoo or no tattoo on my skin does not matter but I need to tattoo God in my heart because God sees my heart.
1Samuel 16:7 – The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I hope this topic doesn’t excite us anymore and that we will be mature in Christ to look at things that really matter beyondink and skin.
“I love you” – we often hear this from friends and family. But what does it really mean to love someone? Do we have a standard we can look up to? We need to get our definition of love right.
Why? Because everything revolves around love. Why? Because God is love. – 1 John 4:7
How do we possibly share about God to others when we do not even know the actual essence of His love?
1 Corinthians -13 gives us an amazing definition of love.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is notself-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does notdelight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.
Keeping this as our checklist we need to find what’s lacking in the way we love. No one else has/can/will ever love you this way but God. We however need to keep trying and get better and better with this standard in mind.
God did not tap on your shoulders and tell you that He loves you, but He screamed it out to each one of us from the top of a hill called Calvary. Not with words, but with His life. The kind of love that tells He loves you even without using words.
So, when God has shown us such an extent of His unconditional love, can we thank Him with words alone? It is not enough to only wake up in the morning and say, “I love you Lord” and then go ahead with daily chores completely forgetting Him.
Romans 12 says that worship is not just words of praise but also shown in deeds. So, if you love God what should you do? Jesus said in John 14:15 that – “If you love me, keep my commands.”
When Jesus ascended to heaven, He left us with a great commission to carry out. Mathew 28:19-20 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So, love is much more than just words. It doesn’t mean that we stop using words but it means that it goes beyond. It goes on into actions. If you love, it needs to overflow into actions.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God did not love us at our best but at our worst, and still does. May we not be so blinded as to not see His love towards us. We need to love people knowing that they are God’s creation and are valued in His sight. When we look down on someone, we are looking down on the creation of God! We love because He loved us despite our shortcomings.
So the next time when you say an “I love you”, remember that it means a lot. May we not say it less, but may we live it more. Love is about giving, not getting. The more you give, the more you will be filled with God’s love and will never run dry.
“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” ― Amy Carmichael
Anyone can give when he has enough, but may we love enough to always give. Love the right way! – let’s keep the standards sky high – Love the way Godloves.
Affirm Truth 