Give me a word please!

  

If we all have to call out words we most encountered and familiarized this year 2020, then I am sure it would be Corona, infected, sick, mask, vaccination, social-distancing, disappointment, frustrated, death, etc. If I want you to name words that haunted the Corporate sectors, institutions and impacted lives then it would echo in line of work-from-home(WFH), austerity measures, attrition, frugality, retrenchment, job loss, unemployment,  cheated, scam, layoffs, cutback, loss, shutdown, etc.

We all understand that these are not just painful words but life-altering words for many people. I hear people saying that with passing time, things would change for the better. Well, I defer to agree with that because time is not a provider, healer or restorer of life situations. In many cases, time made things worse and it is still irrevocable. How are the people who have been seriously affected going to make it? Definitely it is not going to be easy but let us not forget we all move forward by - Hope. The question will remain, where lies our hope?

Let me emphasize, despite of all challenges we still muster our ability to hope and this hope is usually generated from within. Many kindhearted people, charitable organizations/institutions extended help and support in the time of need. With this as a context, if we have to name a word who witnessed and experienced the good act would name words like relief, sympathy, kindness, gratitude, thankfulness and maybe some more positive experiences. Yes friends, we live by hope to see things change for better. It looks like this era is soon likely to become divided like “Before Corona” and “After Corona”. 

Recently Christmas was celebrated globally. In some way most of the people were part of it, at least in celebration. Christmas demonstrates the incarnation of God in the form of man Jesus who made an immense impact in human history. He was not merely a good man or a moral teacher pointing a way of life like many, but claimed, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”. What makes Him special is the way in which He was born is the fulfillment of prophecies made thousands of years ago of His nature of birth - the virgin birth, the holy life He led, the works He did raising people from dead, eg. story of Lazarus, the way He chose to die and His resurrection. This gives all of us a hope because of His jubilant claim He made “Because I live you will live too.”. He further added, “You will have sufferings in this world. Be courageous, I have conquered the world.”. Can we look for help from this God who is willing to transform us and our situation? 

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Looking for stability !

  

The challenges and crisis of life seem unending but quickly we have come to the end of this year, 2020. Everyone has faced some kind of crisis including kids of all ages. In fact, children are affected in many ways even now. They desperately wish things will be normal soon and they can exercise their full potential. Nations are struggling to maintain stability in all possible manner. We are all hoping to soon find relief. Whom do we actually blame for all that is happening? I am sure, we all have someone to blame other than us. We have made our own research based on what we see, hear and read, most often some are biased and some are untrue. But the fact is we have collectively failed in many ways.  

We all suffer because of someone's selfishness, whether it is a nation, government or people. We become recipients of good and bad decisions. Most of the catastrophes and disasters are manmade. They are the result of our choices. What is left for us right now is our responses. How do we respond to things? Choices of our decisions in the past affect the present and help shape us as who we are. What happens in life, however, is not as important as how we respond. We sometimes have little control over what happens but we can always control our responses. Too often, we get upset and fixated over what we cannot control instead of what we can control.

The rich and the powerful are showing to the world that one can manage life successfully if he has both money and power, which is actually not true. If that's true then many powerful people and nations are in mess and brokenness themselves. Some are also struggling to handle many criminal charges slapped against them. Today, committing the worst crime and being caught for it is no more shameful and regretful. People find ways to walk out free.

We often forget that our lives are open in the eyes of a living God who created us. It is high time we listen to our conscience through which the God of justice speaks to us and also through the Holy scripture. James W. Golli from the book "God Encounters States" says, “God’s word and His eternal laws provide an anchor of stability in the midst of confusing world. Scripture can help us know how to respond to circumstances of life, whether good or bad. Some of God’s laws are eternal and will affect our entire lives depending on whether they are broken or honored.”. Don’t look for a God in the cradle, partying with wine and cakes. You can strip away trees, lights, wreaths, candy, chocolate, gifts, festive music and Santa Claus yet you will find the real reason to celebrate, that is - Jesus is the risen Savior and the coming King.  

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Verge of closing 2020!

 

Every day is a new day and each month is a new month for all of us. However, with December comes the finality of the year. We gather our thoughts and matters of life and bring them to a common table to analyze and know how good things went - better or worse. Generally, people want to think in terms of profit and benefit. There's nothing wrong with such parameters but it is also worth pondering our progress as a better individual.

We live in a world of dilution whether it be commodity or relationships. Things are getting increasingly spurious on which we have very less or no control. People are living in an unsafe environment with every passing day. The claims of human testimonials on accomplishments are both good and bad. We advance in knowledge but we regress in morality. But does it even hurt us anymore? It is good to check on ourselves to make room for personal change as we come to the close of this year 2020.

With Christmas, the greatest celebration around the corner, let's consider to make some amends in our lives in light of this festival. Let me enlighten you that Christmas is absolutely not about Christmas trees, Christmas Cakes, bells, balloons, wines, mistletoes and Santa Claus. All of this is fiction and has no reference in the Christian holy book, The Bible. This tradition, mythology and culture has messed the true essence of Christmas.

The birth of Jesus, His death and crucifixion are the fulfilment of more than 300 prophecies that was recorded in the Bible written by 40 authors over the period of 1,500 years. It displays perfect cohesiveness and it is devoid of any contradiction. The purpose of the birth of Jesus as recorded states, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!”  

What makes Christmas so special is not the celebration of a birthday. For that matter there are many great people whose birthdays we celebrate. What makes Christmas so special is the cause for which Jesus was born. He took human form to give us salvation by His birth. The purpose He fulfilled by the way He lived, His death on the cross of Calvary and most importantly His resurrection (rising from the dead) after three days makes the difference. No one in history who claimed to be God was predicted of his birth nor were they resurrected.

You have a choice to accept this salvation by acknowledging His sacrifice and by making a small prayer. Following a God should transform lives, give us meaning and assurance about life after death and make us a better person than just confining to a religion succumbing to rites and rituals.

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So you think you are free?

 

There is a saying that, "There are somethings money just cannot buy, like manners, morals and intelligence". However, we live in a materialistic world running after things that can be bought by money. The more the money, more are the obsessions. People are not content with what they are but want to notch up their existence a bit through drugs, alcohol and sex. We long to fill our emptiness, that void we feel with these "no goods" but once we have crossed the threshold, we feel we have got caught into their tangled web. In all of this the causality is our morality. The Bible says, " Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.” Our Heavenly Creator intended us to be upright. 

Somehow the concept of being upright puts us in the bracket of being a nerd. But is it really? Why is being a child of God or leading a moral life makes us boring? Why is it that if we experiment with evil habits or be addicted to them somehow makes us look like heroes?

Don't these habits make us slaves rather than heroes? As far as my understanding goes once you become a slave to something you are no more a master and there is nothing desirable or dignified about that.

Money has played spoil sport turning men into beasts and sadly has blinded them of this transformation. Today, you observe the wealthy. They have traded their uprightness for filth and shame. From their lifestyle to the way they dress it's all about how shameful and degrading one can be. We have totally lost the essence of why God created us. We have made our lusts our idols and defiled our bodies thinking God is confined to a building.

My dear friends, the Bible says, "And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said:  I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.". To rephrase this once again, you are God's temple. Your body belongs to Him. God dwells in you and only He can fill the vacuum, that emptiness you feel even after feeding all your lusts. If God has suggested some boundaries for us to lead a moral life it's because He wants to protect us from harm.

Relinquish your evil habits, be it drugs, alcohol or sex. These are risky ventures that harm you and make you their slave. Be a slave for your Creator. Be sold out for Him and spend your life fulfilling the purpose He brought you into this world. He has called you to have high moral standards, eventually leading to holiness. Be the complete man or woman known for being the child of God.

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