Christmas- A New Hope!

 

Who do you think gets the most attention during the Christmas season, since there are countless attractions which gets attentions in Christmas story. The so-called attractions are the manger, Christmas tree, star, Santa-Claus, Christmas Cakes and his birthplace. And then there are others too who get importance from the story of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. Some of the characters are Mary, the shepherds, the wise men who followed the star which led them to Jesus's birth place, and not the least is king Herod inquiring the wise men of Jesus's birth. Do you know what is drawing the attention for all of us today? Undoubtedly the spirit of festivity, visiting Churches as part of religious rituals, partying, gifts, Santa Claus dramas, booze and being in high spirits. Sadly, people continue to misunderstand the true meaning of Christmas even today.

The book of John in the Bible which is written around AD 90 opens with these words. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. He was in the beginning. All things were created through him and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men… The word became flesh and dwelt among us.”.  This passage also talks about the creation story where the Bible records in the first book, that God created the world by his word. And then thousands of years later the author John states, that the word became flesh, referring to Jesus, the God incarnated. The Bible  when referring to the creation story narrates the disobedience of the first man and woman. And as a consequence death came into existence. Paul who authored the book of Romans in the Bible which is written during AD-57-59, twenty-five years after the resurrection of Jesus states, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death though sin, in this way death spread to all people because all sinned.” The Bible declares “the wages of sin is death.”.

We are all victims of sin. But the story with the perfect coherence states, “For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”.  This talks about his sacrifice on the cross of Calvary and the redemption plan for mankind. The God who created the world was God incarnated, based on all the prophecies recorded in Bible. It is recorded that the wise men who reached the place of His birth, met Mary, and many others, but then seeing the child, fell to their knees and worshipped the savior of the world presenting the gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The greatest event of Jesus' virgin birth and his resurrection from the grave after three days as predicted, is not just a unique miracle or an amazing incident, but a story of God's provision for man’s sin. Our righteous works cannot sum up to the great sacrifice He made on the cross. And because of his resurrection we have hope to live eternally with him in Heaven, provided we believe and accept this Savior. By denying the saviour, we are making a choice to spend dark eternity without Him. No church building, Christians shrines are closer to the commitment you can make to accept and follow him. With a small prayer you can receive the savior in your heart. I guarantee you would experience unimaginable Joy in abundance, perfect peace and a hope for the future.

You Can watch the short story in your preferred language  HERE

 

You can watch the full biography Movie in English HERE

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Existing before existence!

 

 

We all come to exist only after our birth. We are identified and recognised as somebody on account of our accomplishment, popularity, power and wealth. No one in history was a born leader, celebrity, influential or even a godman. Most of such significant icons have made their path by means of accomplishment, contribution that gained them popularity. But the story of Christmas is one of the unique events in history where the birth of Jesus was unique and remarkable.

Christmas is the greatest and unique event in human history. The birth of Jesus was predicted by prophets more than 800 years prior to His birth. The place of birth in its specificity and the nature of birth (the virgin birth) are recorded in the Bible. This virgin birth of Jesus that was referred in Puranas, in Hindu literature and in Quran is not the validation alone but the history stands with this event all through His life. He was God incarnated to take away the sins of mankind. No one was born like Him.  The Bible records that the angel visited Mary, announced His name and the purpose which are recorded in the Bible. “She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” And the next verse as recorded by the writer called Matthew says, “See this virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son and they will name him Immanuel which is translated “God is with us”.

Some may say Bible is the Christians book so how is that so important to us. Let me state the fact of this highest selling book in the world. The Bible has been translated in more than 3,350 languages which makes it, the most translated book in the world breaking all records. 5.6 billion people have access to the full Bible in their language. The Bible was written over 1,500 years by 40 authors in 3 languages which are in Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek and they come from 3 Continents which are from Asia, Africa & Europe. Yet it is remarkably coherent.  This is not a religious book pertaining to Christians, but it is the way of life and hope. The birth of Jesus was during King Herod who lived between 72 to 4 BCE. You will find so many details that syncs with historical names and places.

No one lived like Him. He is the only person God incarnated who came to die for the sins of mankind. He predicted His own death and resurrection which is recorded in the Bible when he said, “The son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him and on the third day he will be raised up.”. This next fact is unique because no one was resurrected in human history. So don’t stop with His birth, His death and resurrection are the hope. No one died like Him. The biggest challenge of mankind is that we all will cease to exist one day. But Jesus confidently announced this by saying, “Because I live you will live also.”. How does it happen? He promised that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life. Heaven is real. We have every reason to believe Him and follow Him so that we can be forgiven of our sins and receive salvation. Our efforts to find salvation is futile, He has already paid the big price. Check the accounts of Greatest historian like Josephus (AD 37–c.100, Jewish military leader and historian), Tacitus (AD 56–120, great Roman historian), Pliny the Younger (AD 61–c.112, Roman senator) and so many others. None of them were Christians but vouch the great attributes to this man who is the Saviour of mankind.

  

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Whose month it is anyway? Part 2

 

Speaking about celebrating a religious festival in a particular month, the last edition addressed how it is used more to exercise power and display a sense of majority over actually finding the need of a true living God in human lives. Christmas is not a religious festival nor an event to be celebrated by Christians alone. That is a completely wrong assumption. In that connection the last week edition pointed out verses from Upanishad and Vedas and Puranas about the mention of the Saviour named Jesus and His virgin birth. You may click HERE in case you missed the same.

This week let’s see how Jesus is mentioned in Quran.

A passage in the Quran (Sura Al-Imran 3:42-55)

“42 And when the angels said: O Maryam! Surely Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the world.

43 O Maryam! Keep to obedience to your Lord and humble yourself, and bow down with those who bow.

44 This is of the announcements relating to the unseen which We reveal to you; and you were not with them when they cast their pens (to decide) which of them should have Maryam in his charge, and you were not with them when they contended one with another.

45 When the angels said: O Maryam, surely Allah gives you good news with a Word from Him (of one) whose name is the Messiah, Isa (referred to Jesus) son of Maryam, worthy of regard in this world and the hereafter and of those who are made near (to Allah). . .”

To summarize three things are about Isa (Jesus):

1 Isa is holy. The passage describes Isa as the Word of Allah (Allah is the standard Arabic word for God); he is the Ruhullah (Spirit of God), and he is the Messiah whose name means Savior, He is righteous and born of a virgin.

2 Isa is powerful. He gave sight to the blind, healed lepers and raised the dead, It is a Muslim’s duty to Allah to obey Isa. To know what Isa has told us to do, we must read the Injil (which is the four gospels in the Bible).

3 Isa knows the way to heaven. Allah raised Jesus to himself. Isa is in heaven and knows the way to heaven. Those who follow Isa are above those who disbelieve.

The intention of this article is to encourage you to find the true story of Christmas from the Bible. If all books history, archaeology, sociology, science and world religion point to this Savior Jesus, then probably it’s worth finding the reality. The Christmas event is an amazing story of God finding man in his wretchedness and giving hope of life after death which is conditioned only through Him. It makes sense because He is the only person in the entire human history who rose from the dead. May God Bless you as you complete this month with joy and hope.

 

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Whose Month is it anyway? Part 1

 

We have arrived at the final month of this year 2022. This month is usually celebrated with variety of cakes, chocolates, wines, partying and Santa Claus. Sometimes it projected like this month's celebration belongs only to 31% of the Christians around the world. But is it true? Not at all! It is we who have tagged specific months and days to a religious festival and copyright it. And then, if by any chance two different religious festivals fall on the same day, then it sparks animosity and hatred. This is an added pressure for the law enforcement to maintain national harmony during festivals.

Man is lost in his religious sentiments and religious festivals and yet ignorant of the fact that most of the time he/she has nothing to do with God at all. Religion is marked by its festival. People who belonged to a particular faith come together during their religious festival to boast and exercise power. And off course fun and partying becomes a part.

Christmas is celebrated in this month. It is not a Christian festival but historical event marked in  the Holy Bible, a historical book validated by Archeologist and anthropology and science. This article wants to highlight the story marked in Hindu scriptures too.

The words of God in the Bible which says, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”. (Isaiah 46:18). References to the Birth of Christ in Hindu scriptures the following quotations speak clearly about Jesus Christ. The second quotation even mentions the name of Jesus.

After creating the sky, waters, and the earth, the supreme spirit of the Lord almighty thought “I created the worlds. Now to provide for and to save these worlds I have to create a savior.” Thinking thus He gave birth to a man from himself. (Ithareya Upanishad 1.1.3). The Puranas explain the Vedic truths in the form of stories. The Bhavishya Purana1 is the ninth in this set of eighteen sacred books. Its third part is entitled Bharath khand, and the second chapter in the third part is entitled Pratisarg. This chapter has thirty-four verses that clearly tell the story of Jesus Christ and His incarnation. The following verses show the main parts.

Verse 31:

Yeesh moorti parapta nitya shuddha shivakari:

Yeesha masih itticha mam nama prathishtatham

Translation:

The revelation of God who is eternal, Holy, Compassionate and giver of salvation; who dwells within our heart is manifested. His name is yeesha Masih [Jesus Christ].

Speaking of this Savior and God incarnate, the sages call Him Purusha shubham (blameless and Holy person), Balwaan raja gaurang shweta vastrakam (sovereign king in a holy person robed in white) Yeesh putra (Son of God ), Kumari garbha sambhavam (one who is born of a virgin), and Satya Varatha Paraayanam (one who is the sustainer of the path of truth).

The birth of Jesus through virgin Mary is one of the fascinating history in entire human mankind. Jesus is unique because He was God incarnate to provide salvation to man. And for that reason, He is referred to in all scriptures. There is no salvation in any other name. Would you like to invite this Jesus in your heart, the Saviour of this world? I assure, you will experience joy, happiness and be filled with hope.

 

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