Leaving behind the familiar for a newer lifestyle!

 

Familiarity is the quality of being well known; recognizability based on long or close association; close acquaintance with or knowledge of something. Does any of these give you that warm vague yes? That yes is the deeply ingrained feeling of Déja Vue, and our brain showing us where we stand with familiarity. You know the “I’ve been here before” experience—are all stored in our brain’s perirhinal cortex. The perirhinal cortex is the area of the brain where the old seems new again.

Fran Pedron the executive contributor of Brainz Magazine cites, “Many times, we fall into the grind, the discomfort, the self-abuse that sickens our quality of life, or the mediocrity that messes with our joy, abundance and stops us from living the life we always dreamed we would live. We just go through the motions or tread water, always remaining stagnant, feeling safe and secure in our domain of unhappiness, depression, low energy, and displeasure, while the life we desire passes right on by—leaving us where we choose to stay.”

Jeremiah Johnson founder of Altar Global cites,  “God is calling His people into territory they have never walked before, and the familiar will not take them where they are going.”   We have overtime become so comfortable with the familiar that we no longer wish to be part of the change. 

Let me point out to you an incident from the Bible the story of a blind man called Bartimaeus who was begging on the roadside of Jericho. The Gospel writer, Mark in the Bible, states that Jesus came to Jericho. As He was leaving Jericho with His disciples, a large crowd was pressing on Him. Among the crowd was the blind Bartimaeus begging from the roadside. He cried out in a loud desperate voice, "Rabbi (which means master), I want to regain my sight!" (Mark 10:51​ Bible). This phrase is generally interpreted to mean he lost his sight after birth, rather than being born with the condition. And now, his physical disability had forced him to beg for his survival. 

It was a large crowd but the way the writer puts it is dramatic. It states, ‘Jesus stopped and said, “Call him”’. And then Jesus asked a question, “what you want me to do for you?” I used to wonder why he had to ask this question knowing Bartimaeus’ physical condition. But probably to check if he really wants to be healed or if he is looking for some good alms. Probably Bartimaeus got so used to begging Jesus, wanted to check his real yearning. Immediately Bartimaeus exclaimed “I want to see”. And the story ends by stating that in one sentence Jesus totally transformed the condition of the blind beggar. Now, he could see. The Bible refers that Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus on the road (Mark 10:52 Bible).

Maybe you could relate your condition to this blind Bartimaeus. You are constantly dependent on external circumstances and you feel hopeless. If this is you, then you need to allow God to meet you in your point of desperation, in the point of your familiarity. Be assured your faith in Christ will change your entire situation. You don’t need to be a helpless prisoner of your condition. Jesus promised an abundant life, which is rich and fulfilling. What you know about your past hereafter will simply be a point of reference. God is releasing “new coordinates,” “new blueprints” and “new plans and purposes” for those ready to step forward. It is not about movement but transformation. May God bless you as you step into this New Year 2026 learning to know more about Jesus Christ and putting your trust in Him.

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Christmas is about “Christ” not “Claus”

Billy Graham, a world-renowned evangelist exclaimed in one of his discourses,

“I’m afraid many people today have lost sight of the original meaning of Christmas. Instead, it has become more and more secular and commercialized, focusing mainly on gift-giving or holiday parties or family gatherings. These aren’t necessarily wrong—but far too often we lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas, and we fail to reflect on the greatest Christmas gift of all: God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation.” 

My dear friends Christmas is only about Jesus Christ, whose existence is recorded in history. He is God who came in human form to save sinners like you and me. In the historical records of the Bible one of the gospel writers called Luke puts this information in a logical sequence. You can refer to Luke 1:1-4 in the New Testament Bible. Luke was a physician and a writer who gathered information from eyewitness accounts to create an orderly and detailed narrative of Jesus's life and the early Christian church. He was likely a non-Jew, and his writings often highlight a message of salvation for all people, including the poor and marginalized. The Gospel of Luke was written likely between 60 and 90 CE. The earliest writing compared to any accounts recorded in human history. Jesus’ life is not fiction, mythology or a tale of imagination but an historical account of 40 different authors written in different time periods with one message - the salvation of mankind and the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

The greatest miracle of virgin birth is recorded as the greatest event in human history.  Mary conceives and gives birth to Jesus, a prediction fulfilled.  It is a direct fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, primarily Isaiah 7:14 (Bible) was written around 740-700 BCE, where a virgin (Mary) conceives a son named Immanuel, meaning "God with us" as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew & Luke signifying God's miraculous intervention and fulfillment of His promise to be with His people. 

Today, Christmas is merchandized and made into commercial marketing strategy. The story of Jesus is about the hope for man’s sinful condition. But we notice that in all the history of mankind, man tried to reach God by doing all the goods works, practicing all kinds of rituals, finding religious places to smother his guilt incurred from all his sins, yet never found hope for life and assurance of salvation. Man assumes what he is doing for God is acceptable and will draw his favour. The problem of every culture, religion, race, country have their own narration of God. People judge and worship gods based on influential stories and powerful events but rarely based on facts.

People hardly take efforts to know the truth. Because if they did, then they would discover different accounts of the history of gods. We are all comfortable with a story of gods that are not much different from us humans.  Even if you have not read all about Jesus these few facts are the greatest proofs. Jesus’ birth was predicted 750 years ago; the virgin birth of Jesus is the greatest miracle and the prediction of Jesus about His death and resurrection happened. This means the story of Christmas is the story of Hope. If you read the Bible (New Testament) Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life”. Jesus added, “without me no one comes to the father.” You may want to learn more about Him during this Christmas season.

Advance Christmas Wishes!

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A glance that transformed!

The best glimpses are not so easy to get. People plan and travel to different parts of the world to experience picturesque scenes for fulfillment and satisfaction. Cheap thrills are usually accessible, but some priceless moments require our extraordinary effort. It’s not always money, though it can give a temporary relief. Soul satisfaction is beyond this.

 

Soul satisfaction is a deep, inner fulfillment found not in external achievements but in aligning with your true self, purpose, and values, and only through spiritual connection, meaningful relationships, passion, and inner peace. It leads to lasting contentment. This is all possible when you get to find the right glimpse of someone who is our source. 

 

I want to introduce a man named Zacchaeus in the Bible.  As Jesus was going to villages, towns and cities of Galilee teaching about the need of repentance by experiencing forgiveness of sins and introducing the eternal kingdom of God, He was also healing all kind of sickness by touching them. People we healed instantly. Bible records a large crowd was following Him to listen and most importantly, to be healed from their sickness.  Who would not want to have glimpse of this man Jesus who could instantly open the eyes of the blind, heal the deaf and the mute, raise people from the dead.

 

When Jesus entered a place called Jericho, Zacchaeus was excited to have a glimpse of this man. People today throng and go crazy to meet celebrities. Well, there are incidents we are aware where many have lost their lives in stampede to get a glimpse of their favorite celebrity. Here the case was different. The book of Luke states, 'He (Zacchaeus) was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. ' Luke 19:3.

 

As we read the passage it tells us that it was not easy for this man to have a glimpse of this person due to two significant reasons:

 

1.         Due to a large crowd (external situation)

2.      Zacchaeus was a short man. (Personal condition)

 

But this didn’t prevent Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus. The Bible records that Zacchaeus was trying to see Jesus, the savior of the world. He tried by running ahead and climbing up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way. 

 

Zacchaeus was a "chief tax collector." People like him (tax collectors) were not held in high regard at that time. That is, he was a Jew who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman oppressors. So, he was a traitor to the political cause. In the rabbinical literature, tax collectors are akin to robbers. This means Zacchaeus was wealthy. How did a Roman tax collector get wealthy? By extortion and embezzlement. By taking advantage of the elderly, by exploiting the working poor, and by taking care of his associates. There's an unspoken assumption of corruption. Zacchaeus is a man who deserves our contempt. 

 

Now this man of questionable moral standing made all efforts to see Jesus. Behold, something historical happens. Jesus noticed His bold efforts. When Jesus reached that spot, He looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and told him to come down. He then invites himself to stay with Zacchaeus: "I must stay at your house today." Zacchaeus immediately climbs down and "welcomed Jesus gladly." What a privilege!

 

This encounter transformed the life of Zacchaeus forever. Meeting Jesus aroused the guilt of all his wrongdoings, and he makes a public confession that he will give half of his possession to the poor and was willing to pay back four times as much if he had extorted from any. There was immediate transformation. Jesus immediately acclaimed, “today salvation has come to this house”.

 

Encountering Jesus is not a religious experience but life transforming experience where one feels guilty about his personal sins and willing to set things right. It has nothing to do with fulfilling religious or ritual obligations. Today, people are still accepting Jesus and their lives are transformed forever. Whatever is your situation and condition I encourage you to try and behold the living resurrected Savior. This can be done by getting to know Him, believing the claims He made and willing to follow Him.  You can probably take an effort to know about Him this Christmas season and find meaning and fulfillment  to life. 

 

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We believe what we want to believe!

 

It’s strange how people hold on to beliefs even if they don’t make any sense, be it life or spirituality. Alex Edmans points out why people sometimes believe in things even though it doesn’t make factual sense. They are as follows: 

 

Confirmation Bias – We accept what supports our beliefs and reject what contradicts them. 

 

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias describing the human tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values, while simultaneously minimizing or ignoring information that contradicts those beliefs.

 

Black-and-White Thinking – We oversimplify complex realities into binary extremes: good/bad, true/false, always/never.

 

Black and white thinking, also called dichotomous or all-or-nothing thinking, is a cognitive distortion where people see things in absolute extremes—either good or bad, right or wrong—without considering the middle ground. This rigid mindset can lead to emotional instability, unhealthy relationships, and difficulty coping, and it often involves using words like "always" or "never" to describe situations. This way of thinking can be a response to stress and is commonly seen in conditions like anxiety and depression. 

 

Together, these two turn even the smartest thinkers into believers of absolute rubbish. However, it gets more interesting. Edmans dissects confirmation bias into three distinct types:

 

Biased Search: You only look for information that confirms your view.

 

Naïve Acceptance: You blindly accept what supports your position without questioning it.

 

Blinkered Skepticism: You aggressively scrutinize anything that challenges your view.

It’s not just that we are biased. It’s that we use our intelligence to become better at being biased.

 

In Eastern culture one who spends a good amount of time in giving a discourse on human goodness can be considered as a god. There are spiritual gurus who are revered and worshipped. Institutions, trusts and charity organizations are established in their remembrance. We all need inspiration and motivation to be good. Unfortunately, not all what inspire us and draw us can rescue our souls. The matter of life, death and afterlife cannot be the matter of confirmation bias. If it happens that way then the possibility of missing the truth is greater. 

 

I happened to have a conversation with a doctor who made the statement that many patients who visit have so much to say about their personal challenges and stress more than their physical ailment. As our conversation ended, we agreed that people are struggling and fighting their personal battles, alone. The social hierarchy, caste system, inequality, patriarchal society and religious demands are burdening them and having an adverse effect on their physical and emotional wellbeing. 

 

People approach their personal favorite gods for help and peace. The religious environment brings calmness to some extent but the personal problems and challenges remain unchanged. Talking about the spiritual systems, the middleman or the agent manipulates people to advocate on behalf of the people. The matter of gods and religious system are boxed within the framework of financial institutions. Man at the best cannot be gods because even they are the victims of the greatest problem of mankind, i.e. death. 

 

If there did exist a person in human history who defeated death and rose again, it was Jesus Christ. He pointed out sin to be the greatest problem of mankind and not physical death. Jesus could raise people from death just by His words. At the same time, He rose from the dead after three days, as He predicted. He makes this bold claim, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;”. Jesus is not a religious leader. He is our Saviour. 

 

What’s a belief you’ve held for a long time that feels true? 

Truth can never be relative which means, all cannot be true at the same time. It is not about whose truth wins. It is about finding the absolute truth that can tell us how we can find forgiveness apart from religiosity and find hope of resurrection from death. You don’t have to exist to survive this life somehow. God of universe promised that “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

 

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