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Sunday, December 22, 2024

Knowing the True Christmas!

Christmas is a yearly celebration with gifts, cakes and vacationing with family and friends. It’s a time of relaxation from the busy life we endure the entire year. It helps us enter the new year rejuvenated and replenished, ready to take on new commitments. This celebration is of global significance uniting people from all religion, race and language. Unfortunately, the key figure Jesus Christ is totally missed out in all this festivity and forget why we celebrate it in the first place. Jesus’ birth was the greatest miracle of all time. His birth was the fulfilment of prophecies written 700 years ago on the birth of Messiah, virgin birth, place of birth, etc. His birth alone in history records all the prophecy about His birth, His lifestyle, His nature of death and resurrection. King David who lived 1000 years prior to Jesus states, “My faithful God will come to meet me…” in the psalms recorded in the Bible.

Human race has invented it own gods, idolized people, things, natures, and stars to worship. Jesus Christ is the only God who took the form of human, the one He created, and lived among us. The creation story describes that God created the entire world, the heavens and the earth, and all the that is existing by His word. After 4,000 years, John one of Jesus’ disciples witnessing the miraculous birth of Jesus writes in His book, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” and continues to say, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”.

The Bible is the only book with no contradictions and maintains cohesiveness from the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation. It talks about the truth, the truth which is claimed by Jesus when He said, “I am the way truth, and the life.”. Allow me to showcase some of the prophecies foretold 700 years ago:

About His birth:

Isaiah 9:6:“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 7:14:"Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel".

Matthew 1:22-23:"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"

Matthew 1:24: "Joseph kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son"

About the His birthplace - That Jesus will be born in Bethlehem

Micah 5:2: "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days".

About the His name

Matthew 1:22-23: ²³“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Jesus is not the God of the Christians alone. He is the Savior who came to forgive the sins of the world and save us from our guilt, wretchedness and failures and connect to God for abundant life and eternity with Him.

Would you take time to read the Gospel of John this December to know the truth?

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Sunday, December 15, 2024

Decisions – The Game Changer of your Destiny

What would retrospection of your actions in the year 2024 look like? Were they based on convenience or morality? In the choice between ethical dilemma and survival, our leaning is always towards survival. John Maxwell in his book “Ethics 10” states, “An ethical dilemma can be defined as an undesirable or unpleasant choice relating to a moral principle or practice.”. As humans we tend to do wrong than right. We cheat, cut corners, use treachery believing we will not be found out.

The common cause in our wrong doings is pressures of life. In our urgency to mitigate the crisis we take quick unethical decisions, which we regret in leisure. The good news is there is a way out of all this guilt and shame we go through for the messed-up decisions we make. This is the Christmas story of God born as a man, crucified on the cross, died and rose again, so that you and I can have forgiveness of sins because of wrong decisions. Jesus modelled His life where He showed how to take ethically sound decisions in deep crisis and vulnerability. In the Bible it states that Jesus, before starting His miracles and healing He fasted 40 days with no water and food. The devil chose this opportune moment to derail His mission by tempting Him when He was at His weakest.

According to Dostoyevsky’s view, devil offered three easy means of inciting belief. Miracle, mystery and authority and Christ refused all three. Listed below are the three temptations Jesus had to face:

1. Instant gratification: The devil appears to Jesus’ physical appetite and offers instant gratification to use His miraculous power, whether to use it for selfish reasons or to help others. Jesus denied Himself the opportunity to satisfy His hunger, even though He had been fasting for forty days and nights.

2. Attention seeking: Devil puts a challenge to Jesus to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple. This is a temptation to do something dramatic (though not productive) to attract attention. Again, the challenge to Jesus was to misuse His power.

3. Selfish ambition: The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. He said to him, “I will give you authority and splendor… if you worship me. It will be yours.”. This temptation tested Jesus’ devotion to God and desire for political power. However, Jesus showed that His idea of a Messiah was not one who had political power but one who put God’s kingdom first.

Jesus was an all-powerful God who raised people from the dead. He could have always defeated his enemies like the myths and stories we read in few religions. However, He was humble enough to go through the humiliation and pain of the cross to save you and me from eternal damnation. Even during the temptation, Jesus did not waver from His destiny because there was a larger purpose for His incarnation as God. I urge you to change the course of your life by deciding to follow Jesus who is both holy and perfect. May God bless you and all your decision to be right and do right in this coming new year 2025!

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Sunday, December 8, 2024

Is the Earth sending a distress signal?

It is usually said that the Earth is sending distress signals due to several climate change-related events, including:

Water cycle: In 2023, streams were unusually low, and glaciers lost the most ice in 50 years. At the same time, some areas experienced severe flooding.
Record temperatures: The last eight years have seen record-breaking temperatures.
Warning signs: The President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has described the events as "stark warning signs".
Draught: the reality in many places.
Earthquakes: Constant earthquakes happening in some part of the world.
Landslides, Flash flooding etc.

Do any religious scriptures refer to the ultimate catastrophe happening that can affect the global system and humanity? Yes, it does! Let me quote from the Bible what it is said, In the book of Romans 8:22 in the Bible, the author states, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now”. This passage declares that creation “eagerly awaits” God's future glory. This is a particular type of groaning. Creation groans like an expecting mother in labor, awaiting a future hope. Similarly, the children of God groan in anticipation of our adoption as God's children. Due to the fall of man, every part of God’s creation was subjected to a curse. Under that curse, all creation groans: the ground was cursed for the first man Adam’s sake, thorns and thistles and noxious weeds began to grow, all of Eve’s daughters have labored painfully in childbirth, and death entered the world an mentioned in the first book of the Bible called, Genesis

Paul the author of a book in the Bible explains that the entire universe, held under the curse, eagerly longs for the day when it will join with God’s children in glorious liberation from death and decay. Everything created has an expiration date including earth. The Bible emphasizes that earth is not permanent. If we are witnessing natural disasters, catastrophes and wars on all sides resulting in mass deaths, then it is a signal that we are hurtling towards disaster.

The very fundamental components that make up the earth and everything in it will be completely consumed. The Bible records that “the heavens will pass away with a great noise,” which indicates “something passing with great force and rapidity.” “The elements will melt with fervent heat.” The elements are “the basic elements from which everything in the world is made and of which it is composed”; and they are going to “melt” which emphasizes “the parts of the universe [will be] broken up and destroyed in the final conflagration.” The word for “fervent heat” means to “be consumed by heat, burn up…destroyed by burning.” “The earth and the works that are in it will be burned up,” which means to “consume by fire.”

There will be nothing left on which man can take shelter. Bible promises this, ‘But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells’. This whole idea may look very theological and philosophical, but in simple terms it emphasizes the fact of eternity which Jesus has promised for all who believe and accept Him as the Savior of their lives. He rose from death and He assured this, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”. We can count on Him because He rose from the dead and therefore can receive forgiveness from all our sins and live with Him eternally. He is the way, the truth and the life so that you can place your hope on Him and speak to Him. The forgiveness of sins cannot be acquired by any of your good works or fulfilling any religious obligation. You must just believe and accept Him in your life. Remember everything is culminating to an end. Our time on this earth is short.

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Sunday, December 1, 2024

The Great Regret!

The ultimate regret is to keep doing what we hate. This is more evident in those addicted to alcohol or drugs or with persons with deviant behavior. They fall into a vicious cycle of addiction and regret. Some fail even with therapy and medication. Interventions like self-control, mind control and spiritual meditations don’t stop them from relapsing. Amidst all this chaos have we ever wondered why we fail to be good but choose evil instead? If our inherent nature was good evil will become a forced action. Unfortunately, the reverse is true. This is what the Bible call as the nature of sin.

Apostle Paul in the Bible gives us the diagnoses for the problem of sin. He says, “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate…For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now f I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me.”. This tug-of-war of the soul is not a Christian problem but a universal one. We advance in knowledge but regress in morality. Dr Ramesh Richard states, “Many believe that one needs to discipline himself to perform good deeds in order to master his faults and weakness. They don’t correlate except that the resources for sinning are channeled in doing good. Doing good doesn’t conquer faults which have to be handled at an entirely different level.”. We always try to address the symptoms but never the core of the problem.

The Bible talks about the cleansing of the conscience. It says, “This is the symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshipper’s conscience. They are physical regulations and only deal with food and drink and various washings imposed until the time of the new order.” The Bible further states on the importance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross of calvary. His blood is precious, holy and has the power to cleanse our conscience from dead works. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works so that we can serve the living God?”

We need our conscience to be cleansed and purified by a holy God who has the power to do so. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin birth, who led a holy life, was accused falsely, crucified on the cross, after being buried He rose again from the dead after three days from the grave and became a provision for all our sins, guilts, and failures. The failures which become our regret. The Bible states, “God treated them in the same way that he treated us. They put their faith in him, and he made their hearts pure.”. All you need to do is believe on the finished accomplishment of Jesus on the cross and say a prayer for forgiveness. He has the power to deliver you from any regret whatsoever. May this season of Christmas draw you closer to the Savior

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Sunday, November 24, 2024

The “God” Identity in a Leader

The recent US elections witnessed the battle between Kamala Haris and Donald Trump. It was a nail-biting race for months which resulted in Donald Trump emerging as the winner. There are many layers to this election and politics is not what I intend to discuss in this blog. However, what I found interesting is the religious identity that played a major role in all this drama. During voting it is said that people from Tamil Nadu, India, offered special prayers for Kamala Haris. There’s little to distinguish the village of Thulasendrapuram from any other rural community except for its connection to Kamala Harris, a woman who was expected to become America’s first leader with South Asian roots. The temple reverberated with rhythmic Sanskrit and Tamil hymns, as a Hindu priest held a flame before the god. “Our deity is a very powerful God. If we pray well to him, he will make her victorious,” said M. Natarajan, the temple priest that led the prayers in front of the image of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva. Well, we now know how that ended.

Interestingly, there is one more woman who is now grabbing the news, that is Tulsi Gabbard. The Indian newspaper titles, “Hindu Congresswoman appointed by Donald Trump as US intelligence director” Another news media states, “Meet the Hindu American appointed by Trump as US Director of National Intelligence”. The media is quick to highlight her religious identity rather than all her achievements and hard work that has earned her the position in the first place. Today’s world tends to segregate people based on religion and claims that you are born to be one. However, we are all aware our identity is in God and not religion.

We have one identity, ‘the image of God’. The best thing described in Human creation is when in the first book of Genesis in the Bible records, “so God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”. Genesis 1:27. We do not resemble any four-footed beasts or created out of nothing. We stick to these beliefs as we do not want to be known as children of a divine sane God. The Judeo-Christian worldview is the best narration of a perfect image of a human being. The Bible states that we are created in the image of God making us His masterpiece. The religious identity doesn’t add any value to our existence. Our sanity as human and our love for brotherhood, are the ones that make the difference.

We create divisions using religion to gain mileage for our political advantage. This sentiment disturbs the unity among us. We tend to forget that we are God’s image bearers. We refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as He is a God who offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for forgiveness of our sins and hope for eternity. We are apprehensive to invite Him into our heart as there is a dire need for us to change as a person once we do that. Whereas religion does not require us to change. Religion is okay with our superficiality of rituals and puts us in a spiritual coma. It does nothing to save our soul.

The mark of true leadership will manifest itself when we have a close relationship with Jesus Christ. He was a true leader who modelled it well for us. He showed us what true sacrifice is, what it is to serve in spirit and in truth and how to be obedient to your calling. The beautiful part of following Him is that we don’t have to go to a religious place to find Him because He longs to live in our hearts and make us His temple but first to become that we need His forgiveness and truly repent of all our sins. Then He is faithful enough to live in this sanctified heart transforming you into a remarkable leader.

Source:

HINDUSTAN TIMES

TIMES OF INDIA

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