The Life God designed for you!

 

As Dr. Randy Carlson states, “One of the greatest challenges we face today isn’t a lack of desire to live with intentionality—it’s the confusion that surrounds what purpose really is.” Often, we assume purpose outside of us and we need to find it in something beyond us, like  in our education, career, projects, reality shows, business, money, jobs, moving to a bigger city etc., and the rat race begins. People wish they were rich, had wealthy well-wishers, had robust connections, born in a wealthy family, etc. Their wish list is endless. This kind of thinking often delays one’s purpose and keeps you on the edge. The expectations build up and unmatched reality to these expectations ushers in disappointment. Eventually God is blamed, or karma or bad luck. 

Luck is often given credit for a well-established lifestyle, assuming that’s our end goal. If we fail in life, we blame one’s karma. Such religious belief in Karma and reincarnation leads people to even ignore the cries of the suffering. Why? Because they believe that those who suffer deserve their plight as they have done something wrong in their previous life. So, if you help suffering people you are interfering with karma. Many people accepting this belief have lost all their interest to life and its purpose. 

Jesus’ story and His teachings have turned the tables completely. Jesus is God not just because of His teaching, but because of who He was, and He solved the greatest problem of life which is death. Only Jesus raised people from death, and He rose from the dead. He was immaculate and perfectly holy. Often the story of power attracts us and we ridicule holiness. Jesus’ sinless life and His sacrifice for mankind have given hope to all of us. He promised life and abundant life to all of us. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Only Bible talks about Holiness. Another statement from the Bible, “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”. The moment you understand that the purpose of life in this earth and the life to come is attached to faith in Christ, the perspective on purpose radically changes. 

You could be in medicine, education, parenting, tech, trades—whatever. Your job may change, but your purpose never does. God doesn’t call you to live intentionally someday—He calls you to do it today. Your purpose is not out there. It’s right within you and your environment. Right now. As Randy Carlson emphasizes, “But sometimes living your purpose means walking a hard road. Purpose is not always about what makes you feel good—it’s about what brings glory to God.”.  When you understand the fact that you exist to know Jesus and have fellowship with Him your entire perspective is transformed. He ties your purpose to life in the journey of knowing Him and giving glory to Him. He is a living God who indwells human hearts and that means you could be led by Him to a life that brings peace and joy irrespective of who you are. One of the authors in the Bible states “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”. Do you want to claim sonship by knowing Jesus and accepting Him in your heart?  

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Does truth really matter?

 

The lines of truth and lies have blurred significantly in today’s culture that it’s tough to differentiate. Truth is the only key that can unlock complexities life throws at us. The source of truth is as important as that of solving issues of life. Today, justice and the judiciary system primarily exist to analyze the undivided truth to grant justice to a person, but truth has always been a debate over centuries.

Norman Geisler in his book “Why I Am A Christian” states, “Genuine knowledge of truth and goodness has been questioned by skeptics for centuries, few seriously challenged the very existence of truth and goodness until the eighteenth-century’s hopeful modernism collapsed into the twentieth-century’s chaotic postmodernism. If God is unnecessary (as Darwinism seems to imply), or if God is in fact dead (as Nietszche boldly claimed), who is there to write the rules of life? Like a bratty child, may we not, with justification, incessantly reply to all claims and directives, “Says who?—says who?—says who?” As I pointed out, the source of truth can only qualify and validate the truth itself.

We all know that when someone says, "just be straight with me," they want you to be real with them—they want the truth. So, what is truth? Ironically, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion surrounding the meaning of this word. The phrase "speak your truth,” whatever that means, grants those who care to believe in the creative license to redefine reality. Our society has generally fallen prey to denying absolutes and embracing the preferences and opinions of their own beliefs. The Bibles boldly states, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” If you want to be liberated from your challenges and conditions that imprison you, then you need to know the truth.  Now the big question is which truth and what is the truth? 

Jesus claimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life” ( recorded in the Bible). He also said, “I am the good shepherd” (recorded in the Bible). Only Jesus in the entire human history had the audacity to claim that He is the truth. Do the claims of Jesus have any objective and universal meaning? Are truth and goodness real and knowable? Or are such matters ultimately beyond our grasp or simply matters of personal preference? Yes, it is, if we are open to know the life of Jesus. His incarnation, teaching, deeds, the incomprehensible works He performed during His lifetime, His prediction of His death and resurrection and knowing the biggest event of His resurrection that changed history set Him apart from all the so-called gods and goddesses of today’s world. If you are open and daring to accept this truth, then all He said and claimed would make sense. Truth does matter because it gives us the guarantee to live a meaningful life here on Earth and at the same time to find hope in the matter of eternity which is life after death. 
 

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THE FOUR

The Loitering Soul!

The word loitering has shades of meanings based on the context. "Loitering" means to linger in a public or private space with no apparent, legal, or legitimate purpose. Here are some everyday scenarios where someone might be perceived as "loitering" without any ill intent:

School Intervals: When children take a break between classes and walk around the corridor or take a bathroom break in school are considered as loitering by teachers.

Waiting for a friend: Lingering outside a store or building for an extended period while waiting for someone can be mistaken for loitering, especially by staff or security.

Being a lost pedestrian: A person who is lost and stops to check his/her phone or map could be perceived as loitering by a passerby, even if they are only temporarily idle.

Chatting as a group: A group of friends gathering and talking in a parking lot or outside a business, but their presence can still make others uncomfortable.

A new form of loitering has emerged with the digital age. We endlessly scroll through social media and get addicted to it. We post/repost or just skim through contents for hours eventually becoming an addict. But we fail to understand its unknown snares. We are hooked on it for happiness, having no purpose and to fill our void due to loneliness but later it becomes a snare. 

In the digital age, loitering is culminated to phubbing. Majority of people are phubbing. Phubbing is the act of ignoring someone in a social situation by prioritizing your phone. This behavior can negatively impact relationships by causing unhappiness, exclusion, and resentment, and even affect mental health. It occurs when one person is more focused on their smartphone than on the person they are with.

Based on recent research, people receive an average of 46 notifications on their phones per day, which equates to roughly one every 10 to 12 minutes during waking hours. However, the exact timing varies significantly depending on the user, their demographic, and the types of apps they have installed and their work culture. This means all of us get frequent notifications that distract us at any point of time.

Social psychologists and counsellors’ advice to find a good book, find a good movie, and spend time in building healthy habits. Though these are good suggestions, what a person misses to know is the purpose for his/her life. Your life purpose is not just physical but divine. Unless we try understanding our physical world with the spiritual view we would miss the life focus. 

The greatest purpose of any human being is to know a true living God and have a fellowship with Him. Many choose to be entertained by distractions that amuses them. And others with religious duties which do nothing to the human soul. Good habits and spiritual obligations cannot transform you and your mind to make healthy choices. It can produce temporary satisfaction but still leave a void in your soul. And when your soul is void you end up loitering and being trapped by something that can hold you a slave for a long time . 

The soul cannot be satiated with anything else other than God who made it. Jesus is the God of your heart, and He is not excited over your duties and obligations but longs for a relationship with you. He has promised to dwell in your heart. And that means your life will be free from any restlessness and loneliness. Learn to know Him more and stay transformed.

 

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Wisdom calls out in the street!

 

This blog is intended to explore some fascinating information on man’s scientific, medicinal and universal inventions that has its roots in the Bible. Solomon the wisest king who wrote the book of Proverbs in the Bible refers to the call of wisdom in this brilliant manner, “Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares. She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates: “How long, inexperienced  ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?”.  We all have our own worldview when it comes to God and finding our destiny. Usually, it is derived from the religious world view, and we accept it as religion dictates.

The excerpt from the Bible that you read above challenges every person to find out the wisdom and knowledge that can be valued and relied upon. The Bible is still number one best-selling book in the world which is found in most of the languages in the world. As of August 2025, the full Bible is available in 776 languages, spoken by 5.75 billion people, while portions of Scripture are available in 1,433 languages for a total of 7.3 billion people having some form of Scripture in their language. Very few people are open to knowing other worldview. But this blog wants to emphasize how this book has contributed so much to universe and science per se. I request you to give a fair chance to knowing some of its contribution. 

Bible is the only sacred book which is called as “The Holy Bible". It addresses the problem of sin including the sins of the human heart and claims Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life; a way to experiencing salvation and the assurance of eternity. Let me emphasize, Christians are not at the mercy of one author to write the entire Bible. The Bible comprises of 40 authors written over a period of 1,500 years who were from three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa. They were some who lived with Jesus and witnessed all that He did, later boldly spoke what they witnessed and were martyred for the faith on Him.  All the 12 disciples who lived with Jesus and witnessed His deeds were martyred for their faith. Why would someone be willing to die for something they believe is not true? This is something we need to give a thought to. 

Bible was the basis of many scientific inventions quoted from this book “The Scientific Facts From The Bible” by Ray Comfort.

The Bible and Earth’s Free-float in Space

At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant (1500 B.C.),

the Bible spoke of the earth’s free float in space: “He . . . hangs the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7 Bible ). Science didn’t discover that the earth hangs upon nothing until1650.

 

The Scriptures Speak of an Invisible Structure

Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of things that we cannot see—invisible atoms. In Hebrews 11:3 Bible, written 2,000 years ago, Scripture tells us that the “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

 

Book of Genesis (Bible) and the Universe

Science expresses the universe in five terms: “time”, “space”, “matter”, “power,” and “motion”. Genesis 1:1,2 (Bible) perfectly revealed such truths to the Hebrews in 1450 B.C.: “In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter]. . . And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters.” The first things God tells man is that He controls all aspects of the universe.

 

The Bible Reveals that the Earth is Round

The Scriptures tell us that the earth is round: “It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22 Bible). The word translated “circle” here is the Hebrew word “chuwg”, which is also translated “circuit” or “compass” (depending on the context). That is, it indicates something spherical, rounded, or arched—not something that is flat or square. The book of Isaiah author from the Bible was written sometime between 740 and 680 B.C. This is at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested, in his book ‘On the Heavens’, that the earth might be a sphere. It was another 2,000 years later (at a time when science believed that the earth was flat) that the Scriptures inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around the world.

 

The Bible and the Science of Oceanography

Matthew Maury (1806–1873) is considered the father of oceanography. He noticed the expression “paths of the sea” in Psalm 8:8 (written 2,800 years ago) and said, “If God said there are paths in the sea, I am going to find them.” Maury then took God at His word and went looking for these paths, and we are indebted to his discovery of the warm and cold continental currents. His book on oceanography remains a basic text on the subject and is still used in universities.

The Bible and Radio Waves

God asked Job (character from the Bible) a very strange question in 1500 B.C. He asked, “Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?” (Job 38:35). This appears to be a scientifically ludicrous statement—that light can be sent and then manifest itself in speech. But did you know that all electromagnetic radiation from radio waves to x-rays—travels at the speed of light? This is why you can have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. The fact that light could be sent and then manifest itself in speech wasn’t discovered by science until 1864 (3,300 years later), when “British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing” (Modern Century Illustrated Encyclopedia).

The Bible and Entropy

Three different places in the Bible (Isaiah 51:6; Psalm 102:25,26; and Hebrews 1:11 Bible) indicate that the earth is wearing out. This is what the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the Law of Increasing Entropy) states: that in all physical processes, every ordered system over time tends to become more disordered. Everything is running down and wearing out as energy is becoming less and less available for use. That means the universe will eventually “wear out” to the extent that (theoretically speaking) there will be a “heat death” and therefore no more energy available for use. This wasn’t discovered by science until recently, but the Bible states it in concise terms.

There are so many other  things that culminated to inventions. The Medical science and the Bible for example cites many such areas example:

• The Bible and the Correlation of Mind and Body
• Insight of Bacteria from the Bible
• The Bible and the fat intake
• The Bible and immune system
• The Bible and the law of quarantine

You may want to grab a Bible and read the New Testament with the open mind to understand God’s plan for your life and experience Jesus who transforms life from inside-out

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A Lonely Journey with Self!

 

Have you noticed people who just live for themselves and have nothing to do with people around them? Sometimes you would assume such people need not have anything to do with you because they are strangers. But what if they happen to be one of your family members or your loved one? For example, spouses, children, siblings and close friends who turn out to be selfish and indifferent.

We live in a world where people use one another at their fullest convenience including your own people. Every act turns out to be selfish and you wonder if they even care. It all starts right from a very young age where babies learn to have it their own way. Though I have cited this study several times earlier in my blogs, I want to refer to it once again. Minnesota Crime commission puts their observation beautifully, " Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered: he wants what he wants—his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is dirty; he has no morals, no knowledge and no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children, but all children are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want—every child would grow up a criminal, a killer, a thief, and a rapist." 

When it comes to children, parents most of the time tolerate their folly which makes children assume it's their entitlement. This applies in other relationships too. You wonder why your loved ones don't care how much you love or understand what you go through? Life changes over a period in any relationship. Suddenly one of the parties thinks they no longer need anyone for various reasons. The heart is unpredictable by itself. It can revolt anytime and offend the loved ones without having any guilt. They would come up with sufficient reasons to give you why they behave the way they did.

Human heart is wretched and selfish, controlled by self and ego. People can have no clue how life can change in a split second although to some extent people are aware they don't have a guarantee for their next breath. Yet they behave puffed up with vain pride and arrogance. At times all you can do in such a situation is to allow such person to live by themselves. There is a possibility that consequences of their behavior may alert them but, in the meantime, pray for the change in heart.

Cognitive psychologists talk about emotional tank. They state when it is drained, people react in a particular way and therefore there is a bigger need to ensure it is always filled with love to the brim. But then which love are they referring to? There are different ways to fill that emotional tank. But unless Christ's love fills the human heart, man would continue to  wander and live like a beast. Jesus diagnosing the human heart stated this "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person..." (Matthew 15:19-20 Bible) The human heart is an idol factory.  Rosaria Butterfield puts this so nicely, "One very difficult aspect of sin is that my sin never feels like sin to me. My sin feels like life to me, plain and simple. My heart is an idol factory, and my mind is an excuse-making factory.".

If you are that wretched person who cares sporadically, love intermittently, controlled often by mood swings and emotions then you need help. You need a Saviour, a God of love. The Bible states "This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5 Bible). When you make room for this God, the spirit of Jesus Christ will indwell your heart to transform your emotional condition and fill you with love and peace.

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Calculated times!

 

Humans are skilled to calculate how our destiny should turn out to be. We toil, plan, position and move strategically to find ourselves established yet most of the time speculating and striving to make it through our assumptions. We want to believe that each one of us is responsible for making our own destiny. Life is difficult and our options to survive change with time. When the Bible refers to man’s life, it talks about God’s sovereignty and His overall plan for our existence. Here is what it states:

1. Your life period in history: (The time of existence, e.g., which era or period) The period and era we are supposed to exist is determined by God. This means we are privileged to live now in this time frame when millions ceased to exist (Acts 17:26 Bible).
2. Your boundary of existence: The place and area of existence, whether you are from Asia, Europe, Africa even narrowing down to your country, region and the area you live right now. This means our place of birth and our boundaries are determined too according to the Bible (Acts 17:26 Bible).
3. Your life span: In your overall existence, how long you are going to exist on this earth is determined too (Job 14:5 Bible).

The Bible states the fact “since a person’s days are determined and the number of his months depends on you (God) and since you have set limits, he (man) cannot pass.”. This brings me to emphasize the fact that our days are numbered, and no amount of lifestyle change will guarantee eternal life here on earth. Our total existence is a mere portion of time on this earth. Bible does not support rebirth based on our good or bad deeds. Some religion blames the human condition to Karma and rebirth. Who knows what form someone would take on their next birth. If this is true then we would all be under the mercy of the uncertain fate and by this standard even God becomes meaningless. But this is not the case, the Bible gives us clarity that we all will be resurrected for either eternal life with God or for eternal damnation.  Life after death is so certain because only  Jesus in human history rose people from death and He himself after crucification rose again from the grave. And he promised that all who believe in Him and accept him as a savior will be  resurrected but only the destination will be changed based on our commitment.  

The book of Job in the Bible describes God’s sovereign love as, “you put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet” (Job 13:27 Bible). Man’s sin brought  death but through Christ’s resurrection we are given a hope to live again. Jesus did not give just a proposition or a passing statement for human life. He was definite in what He stated and declared. Because of his resurrection the Bible becomes authoritative and stands validated.

We can change our destiny without assuming by getting to know Jesus. The sin and guilt of this fallen world need not overwhelm us. Apostle Paul, one of the authors in the Bible who previously persecuted followers of Christ, states, “He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).

You are destined for an abundant life inclusive of your life after death, i.e. eternity, which Jesus Himself demonstrated by rising from death. The only condition is that we all must pass through the judgement before His throne. The Bible states,“because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him (Jesus) from the dead.” And further it also states “Before God and Jesus Christ, I give you a command. Christ Jesus is the one who will judge all people—those who are living and those who have died.”.

He is coming again to establish His kingdom as said in the Bible. Christ Jesus is going to judge the living and the dead. Beloved this means the dead are also going to come to life to face judgement and be part of the eternal kingdom of Christ, as Jesus promised. Do not limit your hope to this life alone or on the fate of uncertain rebirth. Learn to know Christ the resurrected Savior. You will find life enriching and promising. 

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Choosing Between the Two Saviors!

 

“Who is Jesus?” by Greg Gilbert, writes a general point of view in his short book and helps the common man to understand who Jesus was? “Here was a man who claimed to be a prophet, a savior, a king, even God himself—a man whose listeners would have been perfectly justified in chalking him up as a lunatic or a charlatan if only he hadn’t kept on doing things to back those claims up! Then there was the way he treated people in such unexpected ways—compassion to outcasts, wrath to the powerful, and love toward the unlovable. On top of it all, despite his claims, Jesus didn’t act like a king or a god. When he was offered a crown, he refused it, told his followers to keep quiet about who he really was, and talked instead about how the authorities would soon crucify him like a common criminal. But then again, he spoke as if all that were somehow part of his plan all along. Little by little, as they watched him and heard him, Jesus’s followers came to believe that he was more than just an extraordinary man. He was more than a teacher, more than a prophet, more than a revolutionary, even more than a king. As one of them put it to him one night, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The Most Important Question You’ll Ever Consider So, who is Jesus?”

Now diving into His biography that is found in different books in the Bible we come to know that He was not just God incarnation, but God Himself. He could heal people from any kind of incurable disease, including people who were born blind, born paralytic, born deaf and mute, raising people from dead and healing the most dangerous disease of the time which was leprosy. Hundreds and thousands of people were blessed by Him and followed Him. Bible records that people from Galilee, Judea and from all surrounding towns and villages thronged to see Him, listen to Him and be healed from all the sickness. Jesus never asked His followers to do a set of religious rituals, perform various rites or build a temple for Him, though we have Churches today where Christ followers gather to worship Him. He was demanding people to repent from all their sinful behavior, receive forgiveness from their sins and promised eternal life (life after death) through Him. 

The interesting information you would find in the Bible which also records that many stopped following Jesus. It says, that ‘many withdrew and no longer followed Him’, not because He was controversial, misused power, found leading an immoral life, embezzled money but because He demanded people to repent of their sins, to live a holy life and have a relationship with a holy God. Bible is the honest record of 40 authors who dared not to mince words and falsify facts. You would rarely find such logical flow of information in any other religious scriptures.

It was difficult for people to comprehend how could Christ be so holy and blameless. Jesus even challenged His enemies by asking them, ‘who can convict me of any sin?’ It was a daring challenge. People were so immersed in their sins that this high calling of holiness was nearly impossible. At that time the Roman empire was ruling the nations. It was a period when Palestine, the area where Jesus lived, was a territory under Roman control. Jesus was born during the reign of Emperor Augustus and crucified under Emperor Tiberius. The Roman Empire was a vast territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and from the Danube to the Nile, and it maintained order through its military and administrative power.

Finally, out of envy Jesus was handed over to be crucified. We find that people were given a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, because it was a customary to release one prisoner each year. At that time, it is documented that Barabbas was a notorious prisoner in jail for insurrection. Now let me point out the fact that Barabbas's full name was most likely Jesus Barabbas, according to some ancient manuscripts of the Gospels. The name "Barabbas" itself is an Aramaic term meaning "son of the father". Therefore, the crowd was presented with a choice between releasing Jesus, also known as the Messiah, or Jesus, who was the "son of the father".  Dr James L Johnson presents his finding by stating this, “Barabbas was technically a surname. They had to choose which Jesus they wanted: the one who brought a kingdom in love or the one who did so with violence. We get to choose which Jesus we want.”. As Gilbert pointed out great facts, why don’t you give Jesus a chance. It may be that the more you learn about Him, you’ll realize that there are some very good reasons for believing what He said about Himself, about God and about you.

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The Dynamics of Decisions!

Decision making is a crucial feature in our day-to-day life. It comprises of important ones as well as insignificant, unimportant ones. It can vary from what we wear, to the pen we use, to cooking, an outing, etc. Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon one of the founders of the fields of organization theory and information processing has coined a term called ‘satisficing’. It means you are satisfied and sufficient. The idea behind the term is to describe not getting the very best option but one that was good enough. Satisficing is one of the foundations of productive human behavior; it prevails when we don’t waste time on decisions that don’t matter, or more accurately, when we don’t waste time trying to find improvements that are not going to make a significant difference in our happiness or satisfaction.

Our daily life is about making decisions and with every passing generation it is becoming an increasingly daunting task. There is so much distraction in the current lifestyle that it’s not as simple as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. When someone is communicating with us, there is a need for our minds to process and come up with decisions. Study says, to understand one person speaking to us, we need to process 60 bits of information per second. With a processing limit of 120 bits per second, this means you can barely understand two people talking to you at the same time, leave alone three people. 

Best decisions are made in the satisficing stage, i.e. when you are satisfied and sufficient. Recent research in social psychology has shown that happy people are not people who have more; rather, those who are happy with what they have. Happy people engage in satisficing all the time, even if they don’t know it. They exhibit a better mental frame than those who are anxious and struggling. Apostle Paul, the author of one of the books of the Bible states, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”.  The tension of dichotomy in living a satisficing life in an ever-wanting world can be eased only through divine intervention in our lives. Apostle Paul further states, “I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”. What and whom you value above all the temporal things matter. Getting to know Jesus Christ will give you the satisfaction and sufficiency that your soul is always longing for. He is the only one who can fill that void, the puzzle piece that your life needs to experience harmony because He created you for a purpose.

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Finding your religious identity!

 

It is amusing to know the perception of how one is labelled under a religious category. If you are born in the Middle East, you are a Muslim, if you are born in India, you are a Hindu and if you are born in Europe or America, you are a Christian. Looks like religious beliefs are more geographically inclined and not through divine providence. People invoke the argument that "If you were born in X country/region, you'd belong to a particular religion predominant in that area”. I believe the idea behind that argument is that since those who are born in a country belong to a particular religion then majority must belong to that religious identity only.  I can admit there is some logic to that, but I find this argument erroneous. The other way of people arriving to such conclusion is based on legends of gods that exist in that geographical region. Hence, the land takes the religious identity. Eventually those born in the country carry the same religious identity. This inadvertently limits gods and religious identity to a particular region and territory.

The problem further escalates when people of a particular religion enforce their faith on people of other faith living there and try to expand their territory. This makes gods less powerful than man as they determine a god’s place of abode and territory. In trying to be an ambassador for their gods, man has turned into a beast. He hurts, kills, destroys people, demolishes worship facilities and promotes by enforcing his idea of who God is and what God wants. 

The moral law, meaning a sense of right and wrong has become a dichotomy. Love, peace and harmony are a gamble today. Man is writing the stories of God based on what he wants and how he wants to be treated. People carve God based on their imagination that would give them the liberty to live as one pleases yet be in a miserable state. Religious places and facilities are means to promote their religion and faith. Hardly one wants to probe the true version of who God is and how a God should be. If we were to observe objectively, people live better lives than existing gods. Some stories of gods are limited to man’s imagination and documented under the category of mythology. Some have lived a miserable life and passed away and some left this earth with frustrations.  

All religions are not the same as people claim. Superficially they are one but fundamentally different. The protagonist of the story, God, is important to be researched. Most of the stories of gods states they lived for themselves and passed away. But it is not the same in the case of Jesus. He lived a holy life, claimed He is the way, the truth and the life, He raised people from death, healed the sick, preached about repentance and commanded people to repent of their sins. He confirmed life after death. He proved it by predicting the nature of His death and about His resurrection. Finally, He was resurrected. He never demanded to build Churches but instead asked to preach about repentance, to believe in Him to be saved from sins and have hope of eternal life, a life after death spent in heaven with God. The greatest purpose of man is to know the true God and have a fellowship with him, more importantly a God who rose from dead. Jesus not only resurrected but promised to live in human heart. 

 

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The Consequence Blinders!

We have all come across situations where it’s hard to convince a person about consequences for their wrongful actions. Made up minds are shut for any concrete advice. People may not understand the consequences of their wrongdoings due to a lack of self-awareness, a cognitive bias like the Dunning-Kruger effect (The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a specific area overestimate their own competence, while those with high ability underestimate theirs), a fixed mindset, or an external locus of control where they blame outside forces. This happens because those with low competence lack the cognitive skills to recognize their own deficiencies, leading to overconfidence.

Immediate evident consequences maybe delayed resulting in impaired emotional state of a person to learn from their harmful behavior. Emotional regulation issues, fear of failure, perfectionism, or cultural influences also play a role.  A healthy response to correction involves adapting your behavior to a situation, even when emotions are difficult. Some of the psychological factors affecting such a behavior are:

>Lack of Self-Awareness: An individual must first acknowledge their mistake to change their behavior. Without this awareness, it's impossible to learn from the experience. 

>Fixed Mindset: Believing that abilities are static can prevent individuals from seeing a mistake as a learning opportunity. 

>Mood swings: Frequent and rapid changes in one’s emotional state. 

>Outbursts: Intense and unpredictable expressions of anger or other emotions, even over small things. 

>Feeling overwhelmed: Experiencing emotions so strong that they are difficult to control or manage. 

>Impulsivity: Difficulty controlling urges and behaviors due to strong emotions. 

If you are a parent, friend, well-wisher trying your best to advise and counsel an individual when making a mistake but failed to convince the person, then I understand the emotions you must be going through. We correct our loved ones to protect them from consequences whether now or later. Bloated ego and stubbornness become a major hurdle to accepting correction. Delayed consequences have a downside as they encourage pride. The book of Proverbs in the Bible states, "He that withdraws himself seeks his own desire". You will find this state more in children and youth as they think they know it all. In the age of information, they feel powerful. Bible states “…Knowledge puffeth up…”. Knowledge alone is not enough, they need wisdom and discretion, which is again the matter of the heart. God is gracious enough to bless them with these to those who long for it.

The Bible states, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”. It takes humility to accept advises. Parents can feel helpless when knowing their children who refuse to be corrected and accept advise are going to hit rock bottom. In times like these all one can do is to be there for the person and show immense love.  Certain consequences because of an action are hard to be deterred but pray that the person is open to correction. "Open rebuke is better than secret love" is a biblical proverb, meaning that honest, open correction or criticism, even if painful, is more beneficial and a truer expression of care than love that is never shown or expressed openly. Bible also states, "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy". May His mercy be showered on all such people who are struggling to receive correction and know the truth.

 

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The Crisis of getting along!

If only cordial relationships with parents, sibling, spouse, friends, neighbors, colleagues could be easy without hiccups.  We wish relationships were cordial all the time, but we know that’s far from reality. Take for example a parent and child relationship, it all begins when a child depends on the parents for almost everything and they adopt to parent’s wish, mostly.  However, this changes when the child grows big. They tend to move from dependency to independency. Now, the parents are concerned about the child making mistakes especially when some of the mistakes can be costly. In the urge of protecting the child from any disaster due to the result of their choices the parent jump-in to alert, warn and rescue. But in some case, they overdo. Now, this does not guarantee the child is going to appreciate the good intention of the parent. The high chances are the child is going to rebel and defy. The question of invasion of space arises due to generation gap. Children always feel the parents have not understood them well.

Each relationship is different and can be challenging. For example, in a marital relationship things can get complicated especially when everyone wants to make a point and expect other person to accept it as the right view. When one of the persons fails to or refuses to accept it as the right view then there are friction, contention and disappointment. Well, in the initial stage of marriage the case can be different but then the true nature of both individuals collides as time passes. In some arguments one of the persons maintain silence allowing the other person to be right and not to forcefully try to make his/her point. But we all know this is not a fool proof method as such suppression doesn’t mean all is well. It can always erupt again in a different form later at some point. 

We all wish to be right all the time. The question of fact can always be missed during confrontations. Confrontations are not bad, but it can aggravate as the subject matter gets blurred as we go deep into an argument. The members start picking up matters which are non-related arising out of the heated conversations. Usually, we all want others to know they are wrong, that they have made a mistake and in doing so we can end up hurting in many ways. And in a work environment as we all are aware the boss is always right. And between the colleagues the competitions and the need for survival takes precedence. 

There’s compelling research that spending time with the “other side” and engaging in goal-oriented conversations is a critical part of building a more culturally intelligent world. This was an idea first developed by Gordon Allport, something he called “Contact Hypothesis.” Allport offered guidance on how to use solution-focused dialogue to reduce conflict and discrimination:

>The members from both groups need to have equal status. If one group is treated as subordinate, the interaction makes things worse.

>There has to be a common goal (such as Helping the people in need. Reaching out to the vulnerable etc).

>The members of both groups have to commit to DOING something together. It’s the act of solving something together that begins to change attitudes about one another.

Some of the techniques and efforts will help when people are conscious and sensitive towards one another. The pressure to be seen right by others is intense that it deviates and disrupts the entire relationship. In critical situations and while having crucial conversations just state the fact keeping the tone at check without blaming or labelling the person failing which you will now have multiple argument points you may have to deal with. Ask God to give your calmness. After stating the fact allow people have a space to internalize and ponder over. Solomon the wise king states as recorded in the Bible, “…Calmness puts great offenses to rest.”. It may not be possible by nature but as you learn more about Christ your life is transformed. Jesus was known for His kindness, compassion and gracious words. The gospel writer Matthew in his gospel records about people perspective and their testimony. It says,“They were all speaking well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth…”. Knowing Christ changes your identity and helps you tackle relationships and situations more maturely. 

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Resources:

Knowing the Saviour 

THE FOUR