A year of Hope-2023!

 

Are you contemplating on how the new year is going to be? Probably for some 2022 was a great year with all dreams fulfilled, finding a new job, promotions, great perks, new heights in business, revived relationships, new connections and so on. But on the other side there would also be many who are moving forward with disappointments, regrets, job loss or death of a family member. If you are feeling hopeless and struggling with loneliness or probably confused, not sure what to expect, don't lose heart. Let me remind you that you are still breathing when millions have ceased to exist.

Victor Kiam puts it so beautifully, "even if you fall flat on your face, you're still moving forward.". Crisis, heartbreak and pain would continue to accompany us irrespective of our position and possession. As long as you have breath, keep moving! You are not alone, nor you are far from the sight of the almighty God; the maker. He will watch over you if you submit your life in His hand. He has a definite purpose in your life, i.e., to transform you and nourish your soul so that it connects with the saviour always. Don't just exist to survive, but be in the process of becoming a better person who adds value to others and able to influence love, peace and harmony.

Do you know that it is possible to be rich, big and successful but not that easy to be good, godly, kind and to add value in the lives of the people and fulfilling God's purpose in your life? Since spirituality is just a matter of rites and rituals today, it has not added much value to our character nor has it transformed us as a person. Don't get lost in making money, finding career, reaching unimaginable heights but failing to live for the maker who made you. Spurgeon states, "to make a man healthy in body and wealthy in estate, to educate his mind, and train his faculties, all these are good, but in comparison with the salvation of the soul, they sink into insignificance.". To know the true living God and establish a meaningful relationship with Christ Jesus is your greatest accomplishment in life. He has promised a fulfilled life. Jesus stated, “I came that they may have life and life in abundance.”. When you trust Him and accept Him as your saviour, the blueprint of your life will unfold and be visible to you. There’s no coincidence with God. All things happen because He allows them to happen. He honors our free will, even if our will goes against His plan for us. The Bible says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Trust Him and make your heart His dwelling place in this year 2023. You will not be disappointed at all. A small tip from Rich Villados is worth pondering, "Whenever anxiety surfaces, you may find this acronym helpful (REST) to be helpful to move you beyond reactivity:

REFLECT: on the source of your anxiety

EXPLORE: your own values on the matter

SEEK: out others you can process with

TRUST: that God can give you grace for hard moments

And I would want to conclude with the thought from Amy Carmichael who stated, "It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfil the desires which He creates.". May God bless you and wishing you a Happy new year 2023.

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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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The harsh reality!

 

Our general belief is we all will become old one day and die, although we know this is not necessarily true. Dying young is also a reality - still born, early childhood, adolescents, youth. The reason for death can be many including, ailments, accidents, war, natural catastrophe that snaps life suddenly. George Bernard Shaw puts it beautifully, “Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed.”.

The ones who work in hospitals can narrate incidents where they thought of patients who show remarkable improvement to survive, suddenly pass away. Death is inevitable. And there are cases where doctors give timeframe like few months or days, depending on the medical condition.

I read an article by a person named Tom Elie whose brother was diagnosed with last stage cancer and doctor gives him six months to live. These are the words Tom uses to give him a sense of purpose even at that stage. "You know, people say there's a silver lining to every storm cloud. God has given you a special gift... that of knowing when you're going to die. Many people have no warning of their impending death, no time to say their goodbyes, and no time to say I'm sorry. You have been given a priceless gift."

We are all dying. Yes, it seems morbid, but true. None of us know the final day or hour or year in advance. It made me think deeply. We can just ignore and close this article, but some would choose to stay with me. This is so important.  What if I pretended, I had one year to live? What if I could chart my next six months as though they were my last? What would I do differently? What would I change? Instead of dying with a load of regrets, why not prioritize what is really important, reorganize and strategize how to reach my new found goals.

The Bible says this, "And now abides faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.". This is a beautiful goal to organize things in life. If we could look at those three things, dissect them, learn from them, and try to master them, we would not only be successful, but we would also be fulfilled! You can reach out to Christ for transforming you towards a fulfilled life of purpose and hope. Our destiny is safe in Him alone, because He is the only God who resurrected after death, and promised eternal life. If we believe Him, accept and follow Him as Savior and God, our life in that case, will be different completely.

 

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Unashamed!

Shame is destructive, degrading and destroys people’s hopes and dreams. It makes them vulnerable.  There could be some instance in your life or something you did probably even after long years is still haunting you. You don’t want to talk about it, you wish you could forget it completely, but you notice that it does not easily go away. We have all heard the phrase, “You should be ashamed of yourself!” Whether it is directed at you or another, you instantly know what it means: You should feel awful about yourself.  

If you are struggling personally over something which is making you feel unworthy, useless, and guilty, I want to help you get over the shame and live with hope and dignity. Shame and guilt are the result of sin. Some use this to disrobe people’s dignity to make them feel weak, miserable, inadequate, and dependent on them. Sin uses all tactics to pull down people’s morale and force them to live a life of mediocrity.

In the creation story according to the Bible, talks about the first man Adam and Eve. We usually have a twisted and perverse version of this story portrayed in the movies. We live in an age where anything can be cheapened. Coming back to the original event and story, Bible says, God made man and woman in His image and empowered them to rule and have dominion over this earth. But soon after being tempted to disobey, we see the incident of deception seeping in. Man disobeyed God and therefore they felt guilty and ashamed of their nakedness. The problem of sin begins, and we are still battling with personal and private struggles almost every day.  The first book of the Bible called Genesis, narrates the creation events. My emphasis here is highlighting the problem of shame and guilt.

Shame and guilt are inseparable. Sin is like cancer it will force you to live in regret, lead a miserable life and eventually destroy you. Even if you try visiting all the shrines and any religious places or try to visit all the sacred rivers, guilt and shame are not easily washed away. You need forgiveness and liberation from your sinful condition. 

The good news is that Jesus put your shame on the enemy, and He cancelled all the charges, the accusations, the records of wrong against you by nailing them to the cross. If we really believe this, then we can live unashamed and enjoy freedom. If we choose to live under the voice of shame, we are essentially declaring Jesus’ death was not enough. It’s like saying, “That’s nice, but it’s not true for me. I’m still unforgiven, I’m not worthy, and I need to carry around the shame and guilt of my sin.”   The wonderful news is we can live unashamed when we choose to believe that we belong to God. Reach out to Him in prayer for a transformed courageous living.

 

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