Watch my interview with Grace TV regarding the release of my newest book, "Round Pizza In A Square Box." Tune in to Grace TV on Monday, February 18th, 2013 at 9 p.m.

For all those who have been waiting patiently for your copy of my latest book, Round Pizza In A Square Box, I am excited to announce that it is now available through Westbow Press. Click here to purchase your copy.

I do hope you all enjoy reading it. In the months that follow, I will be posting excerpts from each of its chapters as a little sneak peak inside the story.

“Round Pizza in a Square Box reads like a movie script--entertaining, but also insightful.  This book is filled with principles that will motivate and inspire.  Amitabh Singh has served the poor for many years and has committed his life to challenging others to do everything they can to serve those in need.  His message is both timely and compelling.”

– Hal Donaldson

Round Pizza In A Square Box:

India is an ever-evolving country. While democracy inspires innumerable achievements in the arts, education, technology, and business, in rural and impoverished India, the gulf between the rich and poor grows increasingly wider. Amitabh Singh in Round Pizza in a Square Box shares a number of hard-learned lessons that have inspired him to over 25 years of service on behalf of India’s impoverished men, women and children.  His message encourages even the most distant reader, showing that with the right mindset and a strong dose of compassion, they too can make an immeasurable difference in this world.

I have thought about these questions many times in my life, especially when God has told me to do something rather out of the box. In the Bible, out of the box commands are quite commonplace with God. Take, for example, God’s command to Noah that he build an ark. Incidentally, it took Noah around 100 years to build it, meaning he probably underwent one hundred years of ridicule from his friends and neighbors. Noah, why are you building an ark for a flood when there is no sign of rain?!

As I struggle through such faith-related issues, I find strength from Abraham’s walk with God. Before Abraham, there were great men like Adam and Noah. Yet, we find that it is starting with Abraham that God becomes more intimately known to a great multitude of people. Imagine how close Abraham must have been to his Maker for God to become known as the ‘God of Abraham.’

Genesis12:1-3 records God giving an important command to Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

I wonder if it was easy for Abraham to pack his bags, leave his community, and begin walking towards a land about which he knew nothing. How easy would it be for you to leave your air-conditioned home, television programs, Internet access, favorite movies, and sports, and walk into the wilderness?

Abraham trusted God and obeyed His command. I consider this no small act of faith. Abraham was from the city of Ur in Babylonia. He was a city boy. Yet, he was willing to leave his place of comfort and assume a nomadic lifestyle. For the first several years of his journey, all Abraham had was a promise and nothing to show for it.

While we revere Abraham today as a man who received a great blessing from God, the truth is, he and his wife had to go through fire – a difficult test of faith – before they received what was promised. In Genesis 12:7, God said to Abraham, “To your offspring I will give this land.” The only problem with this promise was that, up to this point, Abraham and Sarah had been unable to produce any offspring.

Abraham was only human and so he tried to make the promise come true through his own hands. He decided to birth a son (Ishmael) through his maidservant Hagar. It was a mistake that would have profound implications.

Abraham experienced a great deal in his lifetime. As a source of tragedy, he saw the death and destruction of the city of Sodom. As a source of joy, he finally experienced the birth of his son Isaac through his wife Sarah.

But then came Abraham’s toughest test of all. God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. I am not even sure how Abraham gathered the courage to obey God in this regard. It was a test to his very limits.

The story has a satisfying ending. Just as Abraham was about to obey the command, God stopped him and provided another sacrifice. I love this conclusion as it daily reminds me that I serve a God who is merciful and kind.

Mount Moriah is where the near sacrifice of Isaac took place (Genesis 22:1-3). This is also where Solomon built the Temple of God (2 Chronicles 3:1-2) and where Jesus was crucified. The place was then called ‘Golgotha’. Today, it is popularly called the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Dome of The Rock, a famous Muslim site, currently sits on top of it.

I find it rather interesting that Abraham was neither a Jew nor an Arab, yet Jews look at Isaac and Arabs look at Ishmael as the beginning of their ancestries. The words of Genesis 12:7 have come true: “God said to Abraham, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’”

I am not sure if I will ever have as much faith as Abraham did. Yet I do know that when God tells me to do something, I must do it. His promises are true, and God continues to be merciful and kind to all of us. May we experience Him in the most wonderful ways that Abraham did.

I am jealous of Adam and Eve as they did not have to spend a precious dime on rent, food, or clothing.

I am jealous because they seemed to have lived each day like it was the first day of their honeymoon. They were on a non-stop vacation and that too, in paradise. Only God knows how many such years they had in this wonderland between the second and third chapter of Genesis.

For Eve, her marriage was made in heaven, and Adam was her dream husband. No other woman or flirtatious thought could distract Adam from her. Obsolete were any feelings of insecurity. No matter how Eve looked in the morning, I bet she felt confident.

For Adam, Eve brought an end to his loneliness while introducing a new kind of happiness. He did not require a remote control with 100 channels for entertainment. He was content with his wife at their home in Eden, which means “delight.”

All was perfect for the happy couple until sin entered the garden. From the moment they partook of it, everything began to go downhill.

I can understand Adam’s temptation of the “apple.” I find my household sometimes tempted by the same – Apple iPods, iPads, iTunes, iPhone, Macbooks... These are the delights of our times! Yes, Adam faltered and that is only because Eve introduced him to an Apple store!

While I have some initial reasons to feel jealous of Adam and Eve, I eventually end up feeling more sad and sorry for them. They had so much but lost it all. Tragedy struck that which was meant to be an eternal honeymoon in the best of vacation destinations.

The story closes with Adam having to toil hard to meet some of his basic needs. Eve suffers too with great pain in childbirth. Years down the road, they both witness the death of their second son in a horrible family fight.

What do we do today when things go wrong and get ugly?

I like how Jeffrey Archer, the millionaire novelist and politicians put it after being freed from prison after a two year sentence for “perjury and perverting the course of justice”. He said, “But I certainly made mistakes, for which I regret, I think most human beings in their lifetime make mistakes, mine ended up in two years prison – two very remarkable years from which I learnt a lot.”

I do not feel jealous of Adam and Eve anymore. Instead, my prayer is a simple one borrowed from Philippians 3:13-14: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Today, John the Baptist is my sorry target.

The moment John entered this world, he was a blessed guy. For one, he was the cousin of Jesus. Can you imagine the attention this brought him?

When John desired to preach, he did not have to go to a Theological College. Forget learning Greek or Latin. The gift of ministry came knocking on his doorstep.

Picture the special camera moment when Jesus came to John, at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. If I were John standing at the Jordan River with Jesus by my side, this would be my big moment worth a television spot or four-color glossy finished brochure.

Oh John, you got it so easy as the cousin of Jesus. I am so jealous of you.

However, I forget in my moments of jealousy that John’s life ended early, beheaded by King Herod. Herod imprisoned John for standing against his divorce and remarriage to his brother’s wife.

While in prison, I can imagine the doubts that must have run through John’s mind. He was the cousin of Jesus, yet he sat in a cold, dark cell. Surely he knew Jesus’ power to save, as Luke 7:18-23 attests:

“Calling two of [his disciples], [John] sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

John never left his prison cell. Instead, his head found its way onto a silver platter, put on display at a royal party.

I think upon Jesus’ last word to John: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Jesus’ words are as much for me as they were for John. This is a sobering thought as I am reminded of some trial moments in my life when I doubted my loving Savior. Thank the Lord for his untiring forgiveness and promise to one day rescue me from the grave.

I no longer feel jealous of John. I am just blessed to know his cousin, Jesus.

“So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be” (1 Kings 3:11-12).

Consider the breadth of Solomon’s wisdom:

“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:29-34). 

Impressive. In my house, my older brother had the natural brilliance. For me, everything came with a lot of hard work. Perhaps then I have every right to feel jealous of King Solomon. Why did God give him so much and me – so little. Why? Why!

But what really gets under my skin is not Solomon’s wisdom. It is what he ate. I Kings 4:22-28 says:

“Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree. Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses. The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.”

Here is my big question:

How did he eat so much and not have cholesterol problems?

In my house, my wife gives me oatmeal in the morning in an effort to control my cholesterol level. She should read what Solomon ate and allow me to revert back to the regular-sized fries at McDonald’s.

I remain jealous of Solomon. But of course, while I am throwing a pity party for myself, my bible opens to Job Chapter 5:2. It says:

“Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.”

Ok, ok. I get it. It’s all right, Solomon. I see God’s lesson here. I will get back to my oatmeal and stop complaining about it.

Watching the film, I believed Moses had it so easy. While thousands of people spend their entire lives on cold Himalayan mountains in search of truth and God, Moses went up a single mountain and immediately found God.

While I learned to read and write in school, Moses did not even have to try. God wrote for him.

While I struggled with subtraction, Moses forewent this as well. He did not have to reduce a long list of do’s and don’ts to only ten commandments. God did this for him. Oh, how I envy Moses.

The modern day equivalent might be sitting on a couch, eating popcorn and watching television, and in the same moment, voila, your life is organized with only ten remaining items on your to-do list.

For the rest of us poor, mortal men to whom God has not yet spoken as clearly, we have to get up in the morning and spend most of the day just figuring it out!

However, here are four thoughts about Moses that we can consider:

1. Moses left the crowd.

Lesson #1: You have to be willing to walk a lonely road.

2. Moses climbed the mountain.

Lesson #2: You have to work hard to get where God wants you to be.

3. Moses spent time praying while everyone else had a party.

Lesson #3: You have to focus on the important things in life.

4. Moses came down to share.

Lesson #4: You have to communicate what you gather.

Considering these lessons and adding to them Moses’ wilderness journey, I suddenly do not feel so jealous of Moses. He received his 10 and acted on them. You are getting four. How will you use them?

“These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Matthew 10:2-4).

Just as I read this passage and begin to swell with admiration for these initial recruits, my eyes stop at the words, “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Imagine being handpicked by Jesus only to go down in history as the close friend who betrayed him.

Before we shake our heads in judgment, the other disciples bear their share of scrutiny. Every Sunday school classroom teaches about Peter’s great failure to stand by Jesus on the night of his death. Peter is sitting in a courtyard as Jesus stands accused. A servant girl identifies Peter as someone who stood beside Jesus. Peter denies her claim and in that moment, becomes “Peter the Denier.”

Poor Thomas. We have heard the phrase “a doubting Thomas,” which originates from the biblical account of Thomas doubting the resurrection of Jesus. Rather than trusting in the proclamation that he has risen, Thomas demands a sign - to see Jesus face to face, touch his cloak, and feel his wounds (John 20:24-29).

No, life was not easy for the disciples. Peter, Philip, Batholomew, Andrew, and James son of Alphaues were crucified. Matthew was likely murdered. Saul executed Simon the Canaanite. A sword likely killed James son of Zebedee, and a spear killed Thomas. Judas hanged himself.

Suddenly, I don’t feel so jealous of the initial twelve. Following Jesus comes with a cost and the twelve apostles gave all that they had, even their lives, on his account.

It is well said that the grass is greener on the other side. Perhaps we should be grateful for the life that God gave us in the here and now, trusting in the plans and purposes He has for us.

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” – Seneca, a Roman philosopher from mid-1^st century

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” – Colossians 3:16

“I am attracted to my God who has searched me and knows me. He knows when I sit and when I rise and can perceive my thoughts from afar. He discerns my going out and my lying down and is familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, he knows it completely.” -Psalm 139:1-4

There are ten things that my God tells me that give me great strength.

God tells me to not be afraid:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” -Matthew 10:29-31

Before I was formed in the womb, God knew me:

“The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’” -Jeremiah 1:4-5 

God has lavished great love on me:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” -1 John 3:1

God gives me good and perfect gifts:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” -James 1:17-18

If I will seek God, I will find him:

“If from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” -Deuteronomy 4:29

Nothing can separate me from the love of God:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-40

Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned:

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believed in him is not condemned.” -John 3:16-18

God rejoices over me:

“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” -Luke 15: 8-10

God gives me the desires of my heart:

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” -Psalm 37:4-6

God wants me to come to him:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30 

Negotiating with God – Genesis 18:22-32

I love the conversation that Abraham has with God in Genesis Chapter 18. In the midst of the city of Sodom’s sin, Abraham approaches the Lord and asks: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”

Then starts an amazing negotiation.

“What is there are fifty righteous?” Abraham dares to ask. “How about five less than fifty?”

After bringing down the number a great deal, Abraham ends his negotiating saying, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

The Lord answers, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

It is my desire to have such a real and heartfelt conversation with God. It is a beautiful prayer.

Wrestling with God – Genesis 32:26

While Abraham negotiates with God, Jacob takes the concept of prayer a step further and wrestles with God. Near morning, the Lord says to Jacob, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But Jacob replies, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

It is my hope to have such a persistent hunger for the things of God.

David’s Repentance – Psalm 51:2

For those of you who have not had a perfect run in life, David’s prayer is your road map. He says to the Lord, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”

Humble, honest, and direct, David heart of repentance is an example for us.

The Prayer of Jabez – 1 Chronicles 4:10

For many years, I had this prayer on the door of my house in Calcutta, India.

Jabez cries out to God, “Oh, that you will bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”

The verse ends with the Lord granting his request. This prayer reminds us that when we talk to the Lord, he hears us.

Moses Interceding for the People – Exodus 32:11-13

The prayer of Jabez is directed towards himself, and there is nothing wrong with that. Moses seeks the favor of the Lord for his people.

“Lord,” he said, “Why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?”

Moses goes a step further and reminds God of his promises, as if God had forgotten. He says, “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’”

It is good from time to time to claim the promises from the Bible. Use these promises as words of prayer to God. God’s covenant and promises do not fail or fall flat, but are yours to receive.

Hannah’s Prayer – I Samuel 1:9-18

Samuel’s mother, Hannah, says a prayer to God that sheds light on the value of not giving up. She asks God for help, but also vows to do her part. She finishes her prayer saying, “May your servant find favor in your eyes,” and walks away no longer downcast.

This prayer is worth reading for its sincerity, humility and confidence in God’s ability and willingness to answer prayer.

Jonah’s Prayer  - Jonah 2:27

Jonah prays aloud to the Lord when he finds himself in some deep, deep trouble. He quickly admits that he is praying because he needs help, saying, “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me.”

If I was writing a book called “Prayer for Dummies,” this is what I would say: “When in crisis – pray.”

Stephen’s Prayer for His Murderers – Acts 7:60

Recall the words of Jesus while he is being crucified, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Stephen in the book of Acts is being stoned to death. He falls down on his knees and prays a similar prayer for his murderers: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

In my own life, I have visited the home of Gladys Staines in Orissa (India) after her husband, Graham Staines, and two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6), were burnt alive by antagonists on January 22^nd, 1999. Gladys and her daughter, Esther, stunned India by what they did. Gladys mentions it this way:

“I cannot express how I felt when I got the news of my husband and sons being burnt alive. I told my daughter Esther that though we had been left alone, we would forgive and my daughter replied, ‘Yes, we will.’”

I have never felt pain from such a loss nor have I ever been able to pray as wonderfully as this. Prayers of this kind are examples to me when I need to let go of injustices. To pray a prayer of forgiveness is not easy, but possible.

Jesus’ Prayer of Unity – John 17:21

At the last supper, while Jesus is with his disciples, he prays for the unity of all of us who would believe in him. Jesus says:

“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

The Lord’s Prayer – Mathew 6:9-13

The disciples came to Jesus and asked him how we should pray. Jesus answers:

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’”

Allow me to close this blog with the words of Andrew Murray:

“Shut the world out, withdraw from all worldly thoughts and occupations, and shut yourself alone with God, to pray to Him in secret. Let this be your chief object in prayer, to realize the presence of your heavenly Father.”