J. PETER DANIEL M.E.

,
76, LIVING SPRING AVENUE,
SANJEEVIPURAM, BAGAYAM
VELLORE 632 – 002
PHONE 0416 2260066
9443800393
Email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in
Website:
http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

SHORT CUT SAINTS

Computers have the provision of shortcut icons which help us reach the desired location by
cutting short the usual procedure. These save both time and energy but sometimes it ends up
with some problems.
Recently I drove my car from Tambaram to Egmore in Chennai. On the way there were several
flyovers without proper signboards. I took one flyover and
landed up in another lane which leading to Avadi (in a
completely different direction). It took a few u-turns, some
tensed moments and a lot of wasted time amid the confusion to
get back to the correct lane.
So too in our spiritual life, we love to take shortcuts to
accomplish certain tasks with our own ways. Sometimes, we do
it and then go to God for ratification or end up facing the
consequences. In just a few moments, we end up in the wrong
lane and start cursing our own actions. .
In the Bible, there are a few examples of those who took shortcuts.
A. Asa the King: 2 Chr 14:2-6
Asa was the son of Abijah who ruled Judah for ten years. Asa did what was good and right in the
eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred
stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their
fathers, and to obey His laws and commands. His nation enjoyed peace without any war as long
as he relied on Lord for all his deeds. From 2 Chr 14:12, we see that Asa defeated Ehopian army
by relying on God during that time.
In the thirty sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified
Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering Asa’s territory. The economy came to a
standstill and famine crept in due to the siege (2 Chron 16:1-6).
Asa immediately took silver and gold out the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his palace and
sent it to Benhadad, king of Aram who sent his army to fight Israel. King Baaha heard of this and
returned to his own country. God sent his seer to warn Asa for relying on the Lord’s treasure and
the king of Aram to send king Baaha back. He rebuked him for taking a shortcut to complete the
task without getting proper guidance from the Lord.
B. Saul the King: 1 Sam 13:9-12
The Israelites cried out before God for a king. God anointed Saul as the king through Samuel the
prophet. One day, the Philistines assembled for war on one side while his own men scattered on
the other side due to the late arrival of Samuel to give the burnt offering. Saul was in a hurry to
get his people together and send his army to fight the Philistines. He began to play the role of the
priest which was against God’s commandment. Samuel rebuked him and prophesied about the
person who would come after him.
Even in our own lives, let us wait on the Lord, get His guidance and do everything in accordance
to His will. We need not take shortcuts which will be unacceptable to the Lord. Let us always keep
in mind that God’s will done in God’s way will never lack God’s resources!

BELIEVER USES A BLINKER

A horse rider uses a leather eye-patch sewn to the side of the halter which
prevents a horse from distracted. It helps the rider to guide the horse in
accordance to his will. The leather piece used for this purpose is called
blinker.
Today, many cult groups / Pastors / so called evangelists use blinkers to prevent the sheep from
going away from their folds. Many teachings against marriage propagating celibacy, treat your
spouse as a sister or brother, teachings against sporting a mustache / wearing of jewels /
propagating unkempt hair under the pretext of not conforming to the world, prosperity theology –
blessings, positive confession – Humanistic psychology, etc. These trivial matters have become
a leather eye patch blocking our vision to hide the need around us. This attitude may damage
our spiritual life and cause us to loose the purpose of being in this world to do God’s will.

Let us see some of the examples who have used the blinker in their eyes.

A. Esther uses a ‘Blinker’:

Esther was a captive from Jerusalem, living in Persia (India to Ethopia) as a refugee. She was
also an orphan but God had brought her up through Morcedai her uncle. God lifted her up from a
small place to the king’s palace after the ousting of Queen Vaisthi for her disobedience to the
king. The blessings of God had become an eye patch and made her unable to see the things
distant to her room. She was not aware of things going against her and community even though
she was at a strategic point of origin of the law. She was unable to see the happenings inside
and outside the palace.
The silence of Esther showed that she was wearing blinkers on her eyes. For removing the
blinker, Morecdai had to send a severe warning message regarding the threat to Jews community
by Hammam, prime minister through Hathach. Esther woke up after hearing the strong word
from her uncle.
In our life also, we are sleeping or pretending to sleep when the need of the people is brought to
us. We are unable to open our eyes to see the things out of our box as God sees.
B Disciple uses a ‘Blinker’:
Jesus was speaking with a woman about the living water. At the time, disciples had gone to
procure food for Jesus. When they returned back they offered the food. But Jesus said that he
had food which the disciples didn’t know. Jesus meant the food means doing the will of God. His
will is to preach the Gospel to the world.
The disciple’s eyes were on the physical food instead of spiritual food which Jesus saw
differently. After this incidence, Jesus commanded them to open their eyes to see the need in
and around the world.
Let us remove the blinker from our eyes and open to see the need in and around the world.
Jesus is coming soon. So we need to think about preaching the gospel at every nook and corner
of the world.

God’s Gallery….
India is moving towards economically and technologically at par with the developed countries.
The development has increased the lifestyle of citizens. Moreover the financial constrain in the
past has not been faced much by the present day people. But the task oriented work load, fame,
self satisfaction and coming up to the top has affected
their quiet movement, enjoyment, and rest.
The same phenomenon has entered into a Christian believer’s life. This is one of the strategies of
Satan to divert the attention from knowing the ultimate purpose of God in our life in this busy
world. We have to be cautious and swim against this world by utilizing the opportunity to do His
purpose in this world.

In Bible, God raised a lot of people at the particular situation to accomplish His purpose in this
world. God raised Ruth, a gentile woman in an appropriate time to bridge the gap in the
genealogy of Jesus Christ. He brought Esther to save His chosen people. The law of storing
food is still alive (food corporation of India) which was imposed by Joseph during the famine in
Egypt.

God shapes His people according to His will to do His task in this world. Let us look 2 Tim 2:20-
21 to know more about this.
1. Criteria for noble purpose:
In 2Tim 2:20, Paul mentions two type of purposes, one is noble and another one is ignoble. The
criteria for being an instrument for doing noble purpose is that the person has to be Holy and
blameless (v.21 Eph. 1:4). Holy is the word which means the internal where God lives in our
heart. The blameless is an external word which resonance the internal holiness to the outside
world. The world has to give the testimony that the believers are blameless.
We have to flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Tim 2:22-23
2. Commitment to Masters’ Noble Purpose:
John Mac Arthur in His book “Found God’s will” - finished by saying that ”do whatever you like if
you follow the first five principles”. A commitment precedes with the criteria. God has called to do
any work. The word ‘any’ and ‘good’ are mentioned before the word ‘work’. The good work is
mentioned about doing His ministry in this world. Jesus fulfilled God’s ministry. In the same way
we have to do in this world. God sent Jesus Christ. In the same way Jesus sends us to this world
to do a global evangelism (Mt. 28:19) and to make a mark in the history.

3. Chose to do His specific noble purpose:

A large house is filled with different articles made up of different materials. The value of the
material depends upon the material used to make it. God also wants to be in the gallery to show
how far we have eagerly sought His will in our life for this world. This will be revealed at last when
we would stand before his throne.
Let us be ready to fulfill His criteria to take up His purpose, commitment to do His purpose and
find out His specific noble purpose in our life. So that in the final judgment God will make us to
stand in the gallery according to our life in this world.

Spectacular Spectators
If a child gazes steadily at an objects an action nor reaction for a long time, the parents begin to
worry about the growth of their child. The development of a child is gauged by his/her activities,
movements, speech etc. Parents become paranoid if their child prefers to be inactive.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, skipper and wicket keeper of India’s

ODI and Twenty20 cricket teams announced that he watched
cricket only for a few moments to see his favorite batsmen such
as Sachin Tendulkar play. He preferred to rather spend most of
his time on the ground practicing and honing his cricketing skills. A cricketer has to be in the
field playing instead of just watching others play.

Similarly, the growth of the believers depends upon their active participation in building God’s
kingdom. The silent spectators are the greatest threats to God’s ordained global mission. God
requires watchmen who are involved actively in His work. He does not need watchers who
wonder what is happening. God wants go-er and not a sender. God wants a performer not a
talker. God wants an achiever not an assigner. God wants a builder not a dreamer.

Let us glance at some salient points of the dangers of being spectators.

Peter sat in the Wrong Place:

The fiery speech of Peter in Matt 26:3535 (But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I
will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same) had ended up in him sitting in
the wrong place among the guards at the courtyard and watching Jesus Christ. Though, he did
not dare to go near Jesus he wanted to watch the proceedings.

Many a time, we prefer to sit at a wrong place and watch wrong doings happening around us. We
remain oblivious to the evil and don’t to even raise our voice against it let alone fight against it. In
the Roman Colossuem, people loved to watch the Gladiator games which involved two warriors
fighting one another to death.

Telemachus, the Monk who created History!

One day when one such fight was going on, a little monk named Telemachus (whom God had
lead to Rome) could not bear it and ran down from the back of the gallery shouting “In the name
of Jesus, Stop!” He came to the edge of the arena and jumped in and stood in between gladiators
repeating “In the name of Jesus, Stop!”

The stronger warrior who was about to kill his rival looked at
the Emperor who signaled to kill the monk. Even as the sword
pierced him, blood gushed out and he shouted one more
time, “In the name of Jesus, Stop!” and he died. That was the
last gladiator game which ever took place in Roman history
(January 1, 404 AD). Three days later, the Emperor issued a
decree to stop gladiator game forever. One man’s action
brought to an end a horrendous game.

Telemachus created history that day. Let us think about our

life. Are we sitting and watching or actively participating in the
enhancement of God’s kingdom? Let us commit our lives to
let others know that our Savior lives!

A BAD APPLE
A team works when the members work with mutual understanding to reach the
earmarked goal. It leads to an upward growth of individuals and the
organization. But if one person has opposed the process then the whole team
moves in a downward trend. This affects growth, unity and team work.

A recent survey explained that one "bad apple" can spread negative behavior like
a virus to propel officemates downward or act as a
means of destruction in a good team. – ‘Conflict in
the workplace’ a study conducted by California
team. Terence Mitchell, co-author a professor of management and organization
says that the negativity of just one individual is pervasive and destructive and can
rapidly spreads. One more research scholar said that the bad apple that spoiled
the barrel and a single "toxic" or negative team member can be the catalyst for a
group's downward spiral

The consequences of a bad apple, negative behaviour are portrayed in the Bible
vividly. Let us look at some of the passages to know about our standing.

I. Achan (Josh 7:1-5):

The Israelites captured many nations and marched towards Canaan under the
leadership of Joshua and with the help of God. When they were on the verge of
getting into Canaan, they were chased by the small country Ai from the city gate
as far as the stone quarries and were struck down on the slopes. They
eventually lost a lot of soldiers. Joshua was unable to accept the defeat. So, he
tore his clothes and fell down at God’s feet to know the reason behind the
Calamities they had faced. God revealed to him that it was due to the
disobedience of one person, God’s presence had departed from the camp.

Joshua tracked down the culprit by screening every clan, down to every
individual. Finally he found out that Achan the son of Carmi had taken the
devoted things and hidden them in his tent.

Due to one man’s mistake, the whole team of soldiers bore the consequences.
Let us analyze whether we are on the problem side or in the side of the solution.

II. Peter Gal 2:11-13, John21:3:

On two occasions, Peter led others to make a wrong direction. One incident is
portrayed in John 21 and is about taking the first step to resort to fishing. The
other apostles joined him and went fishing. God restored him and put him back
on track by asking him three different questions, all of them meaning the same.
Finally he wept and God was later able to use him mightily.

On another occasion, he simply withdrew from the Gentiles to avoid unnecessary

friction with circumcised group. Due to this behavior, the Jews and Barnabas
followed him.
Let us analyze and see if we are withdrawing from a team due to peer pressure
or because of being unable to cope with the problems. Let us be a partaker of
God’s kingdom and also to be part of solution.
 Purge Out….!!!

Regular housekeeping keeps a room clean. Otherwise dust amasses on the

surface of objects. This looks like a thick layer blended with the object. The
cleaning of the heavy grime takes a long time and needless to say, it will be
laborious process.

Recently days, I was stuck up with an airlock in the chilled water pipeline during
the commissioning of a central air conditioning unit. It took a long time to release
the air to make the system functional. After removing all the air, the unit started to
function satisfactorily.

In our spiritual journey too, a lot of dust such as old incidence, scars, emotional
hurt, bitterness, physical abuse, child abuse etc. piles up. This cripples our mind
and thinking. At times it makes us feel low. It comes into our mind often to
commove our day to day activities. The psychologists have named it as
‘depression’. It comes to a believer when the relationship with God soars or while
preparing the Bible study for others or during a superficial study of the Word of
God.

The antidote for this is to perform the ‘Purge Out Therapy’ on a daily basis. If
not our lives would be affected seriously. Moreover, it mars the joy of salvation
and feigns the ministry also. As Christian believers, let us use the ‘Purge
Therapy’ in a habitué to live a happy and joyful life.

A. Purge Out the Old Leaven (I cor. 5:7-8)

The old leaven is mentioned as malice and wickedness. It has to be peeled off
from our lives and be replaced with Sincerity and Truth. The peeling off is not a
one day event since we are living in this world. This will make us dirty. It has to
be subbed with new leaven and new wine which God has given us through Jesus
Christ.

B. Purge Out the Dross (Isa. 1:25)

The dross is the scum formed by oxidation at the surface of molten metals. The
formation of scoria takes place in our relationship with others. E.g slip of tongues,
slur, hiding some of things, playing politics, thinking one thing and then giving
contradicting information,.

Sometimes the slag may be an insignificant and an invisible one. To make it

conspicuous, it is better to evaluate the day’s happening before going to bed and
writing down what God has spoken through that circumstance. It helps us to clear
our impurity and look ahead for tomorrow.

C. Purge Out the Inmost Being (Prov. 20:30)

People of different faith try to control their physical desires by regular external
self- punishing acts. External beatings cannot purge out the inner parts. Here
Solomon instructs to punish the inward part which produces the evil in our life.
Dwelling a lot on the self and inmost being makes us to feel hurt or depressed.
That’s why Paul said in Gal 2:20 “not I but Jesus Christ”:

Let us purge out the old leaven dross and inmost being and replace with
sincerity, truth with the help of our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ.
 Where We Went Wrong….
“Let modesty take a back seat” says an advertisement displayed at a textiles
show room. Another ad on T.V. says, “Neighbors envy, owner’s pride”. “We
‘squeeze to please” is written above the price list of a juice shop. All these ad
gimmicks seek to promote their own goods. However they have blasted the basic
value system in order to selfishly attract the buyers!

The value system in India is slowly declining. People think that education will
provide a value system that would improve the students’ life. This view of thought
went horribly wrong when the child of today started to use the gun to quench his
anger instead of seeking better solutions from the “moral values” learnt. The
moral class failed to impart the desired value system.

Some people seek values from movies stars. That also has become a mockery.
Let’s take a flashback to the two prominent
stars who frequently visit the jail for their
crime of indulging in terror against humans
and animals.
Some people think that riches and wealth will give them the required value
system. The sad stories of the Ambani brothers and the
Mahajan family reflect the fact that money
can’t even solve fights between siblings. The
latter case saw brother killing brother for the
sake of money. The flow of money can never
increase the flow of values into a system.

The world evaded from providing the values which man is in need of to have a
better quality of life. When values diminish, man begins to behave like an animal,
killing other human beings without knowing the cascading effect on the victim’s
family and the society at large.

Many people have an opinion that the value system has to be embedded into a
person at birth or even before birth which would give a better effect. This theory
lies defeated after seeing the news splashed by the media. The value system
has been marred in the birth process itself. The child comes out of the womb
crying and not smiling! The reason behind is that the child has entered into a
hopeless and helpless world.

In Ps 51:5, David said, “surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother
conceived me”. The root cause for the decay in the value system is the sin which
has entered into the human race. The value system has showed negative
progress on the chart due to the sin of man and not because of nature or fate.

The world has allotted a lot of money for safeguarding the value system for
different issues such as protection, preservation etc. The way out for the
degrading value system is to follow the Person who has lived in this world without
any sin, corruption or blemish. That Person has lived in this world already. That
Person was testified by the king, high priest and the people as a sinless man.

He said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He followed the rules and
regulations by giving the tax to the government and encouraged others to pay the
taxes. He had compassion for the poor, the sick and the outcasts. He had the
courage to touch and heal the leprosy patient which was more than touching a
HIV patient today. His values were praised by many stalwarts.

He spoke of Godly values. He practiced those values. On the cross, He died to

take away our sin. He was buried and He resurrected on third day and He
ascended into heaven. Now, He is with us to help us practice those values which
He spoke about and followed; the values which the world is still searching for.
Jesus will come back again to take all those who have accepted Him as their
Lord and Savior.

The demolished value system can be restored by Jesus Christ. If you accept Him
and follow His steps, the world will become in the better place
 LAME DUCK BELIEVERS
The President’s post is the highest and powerful in America. But during the
elections in 2006, many of the powers of the president Mr.
Bush were clipped His power went to democrats who started
controlling him. The news papers portrayed him as a ‘lame
duck president’

The Christian believers also living like this, even though God
has given them power and authority to exercise them (Lk.
9:1-6). In the Bible, Jesus Christ spelled out two words
related to the word ‘lame duck’.

1. Fig tree:
The fig tree has to produce fruit. It is the indication of its growth. If it is not
producing fruit, then it is waste for the soil and also for the place occupied by it.
It is better to throw it and use the place for some other purpose.(Ref Luke 13:6-
7), Then He told this parable. A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and
he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took
care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on
this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?')

The Christians have to produce fruit by His power so that the world will recognize
us. This will make others to come to Jesus Christ. Let us live up to the
expectation of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ and exercise His power in our life to
bear more fruits.

2. White Washed Tomb:

Jesus used the word “white washed tomb” to refer to the Pharisees. They are
the people who never go or allow others to enter in to the kingdom of God. Their
outside life is decorated but inner heart never matches with that. God hates the
people with dual personalities.(Ref. Matt 23:27-28) "Woe to you, teachers of the
law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and
everything unclean. (V.28) In the same way, on the outside you appear to be as
righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.)

Jesus correctly pointed out that they have a name in the society but there is no
inner life. They are just like a tomb which has name outside with no life inside.

In our lives, we are teaching, preaching, and training others to come to Christ.
We have a name in the Christian circles. Do these activities match with our
inner lives? Do our souls have life revived each day in His presence?. Let
us evaluate our lives today in His presence and correct it.

One More Year…

The living room is the place where family members gets together to discuss
family as well as contemporary problems and other issues. These discussions
always revolve around either the person who has instigated the problem or
victims involved or about the politicians (who always seem to be a root cause to
many problems!). Most of the time, such discussions (sometimes lead to
arguments too) end up condemning or giving a clean chit the particular person
involved. Invariably, we all love to give our opinion and pass our judgment on
everything that happens around us (irrespective of whether we are involved in it
or not!) This is a regular feature for most of us in our day to day life.

Similarly, the pre New Year week is the time during which the media reviews the
happenings of the past one year. The highs and lows are analyzed and
predictions and trends for the forthcoming year are talked about.
The last weeks of this year are ending with terrible violence. First was the mind-
blowing terrorist-based assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto. Next was the horrifying episode of school students shooting their own
classmate right inside the school campus as an act of revenge for bullying them.
In another incident in Noida, an engineering college student shot his classmate
who has refused to hang out with him.

After hearing about above happenings, a lot of questions propped up ….What

went wrong? Where is the value system? Is it the problem of the media? Is it
the problem of improper upbringing? Is it the problem of urban and rural cultural
division? Is it the problem of minting money?

In Luke 13: 1-5, Jesus read out the news happenings of that day two thousand
years ago. Then He told that the victims were not
greater sinners than those who were living. He
concluded that the people, whether victims or the
unaffected had to repent or they too would perish.

Many times, we compare ourselves with others and

say that we are better than so and so. But God has
warned us not to do so but think and evaluate our
own life in God’s perspective. In the following
verses Jesus narrates a parable.
1. God expects fruit:
A person who had planted a fig tree expected fruits
from it. When it did not give the expected result he
called it as a barren tree. It had no use to either man or to the soil. It only
occupied space. It affected the growth of other plants. It sucked the resources of
other trees without much outcome.

The barren spiritual life of a person affects the place where he/she is planted to
be a witness. They will only fill the space without causing much impact in that
area and the purpose of being placed in that area (for instance, our workspot /
place of study) would be defeated.

God expects us to bear fruit which will be everlasting.

2. Man pleads for one more year:
A barren tree is used for firewood and not for any other purpose. In the Bible
passage, the man who had been tending the vineyard requested the owner of the
garden to give a grace period of one more year so that he could try out two
things.
1. Dig around it - To make the water flow through it freely and be
absorbed by the root of the tree. This was to strengthen the
root Eph 3:17
2. Fertilize it. Luke 13:8-9 – To protect it from decaying
 3. Man gets one more year:
The owner gave one more year, a last chance for the tree to bear fruit. If the tree
failed then the tree would be cut down.

God has given us one more year (2008) as the extension of His grace. He is
expecting us to bear His fruit for this forth coming year. He is expecting us to
bear fruit instead of comparing and condemning others.

Let us take a resolution as a Christian believer to bear more fruits for His glory.

PEACE IN PERPLEXITY
Sometimes, the meaning of a word becomes applicable only when a contrary situation
happens in an individual’s life. The importance of the word ‘democracy’ was revealed
when the emergency was imposed in Pakistan (last month). Iraqi people realized the
value of ‘peace’ when they lost it during the tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein in their
country.
Over the recent days, I have undergone a lot of stress in and out of the workplace and
the ministry. During those times, I studied the book of
Psalms which enabled me to identify with David’s life which
was studded with several stressful events. The verses
became more appropriate even though I read the same
passage before and had a great impact on my life.
In the same way, the Christmas has to be seen in the light
of the first Christmas. The celebration of the birth of the
Prince of Peace took place in the heavens, synagogues,
deserts, hills and plains when there was a lot of pain and
grief each time a baby’s life was lost to the wicked plans of
King Herod to destroy the Son of God.
Let us look into the two incidents clearly and then compare them with the birth of Jesus
Christ.
A. Peace amidst Hopelessness:
The pregnant woman Mary and Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to
Judea, to Bethlehem to register themselves as per the decree of Caesar Augustus. In
the olden days, traveling was never easy. It was a cumbersome and painful process
which was to be endured and not enjoyed. When the couple reached the lodge to settle
in for that night, the inn keeper sent them out just as how in India we even refuse to give
place for a fellow passenger who is sick.
The hope of settling in that night in the inn had gone (Lk.2:7). They did not know where
to go. However, God had arranged a manger for them. The insignificant manger
became significant due to the birth of Jesus, the visit of the wise men, the Star which led
them, the angels and shepherds who came to worship the Savior.
At times, God allows hopeless situations in our life to fulfill His delightful purposes. The
manger proved to be of greater use than the inn.
• The indication for the shepherd was very easy – as the manger was related to his
profession.
• The star rested on the manager which was easy for the wise man to identify.
• The place also big enough for them to accommodate Jesus and the many
visitors.
Often, we get depressed and sad when things don’t go the way we desire them to. God
allows such situations for our own good to make us to understand that God’s peace is
unbreakable and unshakeable always!
B. Peace amidst Utter Confusion:
The envious and insecure feelings crippled Herod after the Magi had outwitted him. He
ordered the killing of all male babies under the age of two in Bethlehem and its vicinity.
The first Christmas had been a bloody event for those who were in Bethlehem. It turned
out to be a time of weeping and mourning in Ramah. No one was able to comfort the
bereaved families (Matt 2:16-18). In the midst of these horrific happenings, the Prince of
Peace was born in the manager. The message of Christ’s birth was proclaimed to the
shepherds and to the whole world.

In our life too, we face unacceptable situations such as accidents, natural calamities,
terrorism, sudden deaths, disease, illness, poverty, problems at work, unanswered
prayers and so on. What will Christmas this year mean to those in such situations? The
celebration of Christmas will be very difficult just as it was two thousand years ago. The
celebration of first Christmas was for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace
and not for mourning for the tragedies. .
Very often we dwell in the scars of the past and incidents which cloud out the real peace
which God wants to give to each one of us. Christmas is not just about thinking of our
bad past. Instead we need to focus on Jesus Christ who has come to this world to give
peace to the world which the world cannot offer.
Let us remember that in this world we will always have trials and tribulations. The good
news is that even in the midst of perplexity, God will give us His everlasting peace
because He is the Prince of Peace!
 C(G)RAB CHRISTIANS….?
A child likes to move from one direction to another to grab the things which are
scattered on the floor. The toddler’s moves depend
upon the attraction of the object. The attraction of one
thing wanes when the child sees a more attractive
object. This process goes on and on still the child
becomes tired.

Recently, one of my young friends was part of a team

that conducted a conference on Radiotherapy. They
had designed a logo which portrayed a crab that was partially trapped within an
atom. With great curiosity I asked him to decipher its meaning. He explained that
the crab signified cancer which can spread in all directions and destroy the body.
However the atom symbolized the radiation treatment which was a powerful tool
in destroying cancer cells. The logo showed that the battle of the crab and the
atom was an ongoing struggle and more and more innovative techniques were
being developed to the defeat cancer.

Many Christian believers are also like the crab, moving aimlessly in different
directions for different types of ministry and churches depending upon their likes
and dislikes. Several crab Christians never prosper and never really allow others
to prosper too.

In our Christian life, God uses each and every one according to our abilities and
talents. As a Christian, we have to find out His will and Purpose for our life and
move towards the goal. Otherwise we too will be like a Crab without any proper
aim.

Let us refer two passages to understand the clear direction of a Christian’s life.

I. Focus on Primary Aspect (Acts. 6:1-7)

During the apostles’ period, the Grecian Jews among them complained against
the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food. These types of complaints and criticism are the part and
parcel of the ministry. It is better to use the criticism and complaints as a tool for
development of the ministry instead of going into a depressive mood.

The disciples analyzed the complaints from different angles and brought out a
beautiful solution without compromising their stand. They formed a separate
group who were interested in this type of activity. They stuck on to their prime
focus of preaching the Word of God. They anchored to the primary aspect of
taking the Gospel to whole world which also lead them to bring the Gospel to
India.
II. Focus on the Vital Aspects:
Battery charging is essential for cell phones, laptops and other equipment. The
performance reveals the level of charging. In the same way, the level of ministry
depends upon the time spent by the Christian in the presence of God.

In Luke 10th chapter, God clearly gives His expectation from the believers. He
sent seventy disciples to go to the nearby village by giving them a list of
instructions to follow (v.1-12). They went and returned with the joy of seeing
demons submitting to them in Christ’s name. However Jesus asked them not to
rejoice about the submissive demons but rejoice for their names were written in
Heaven (v.17-20).

In the next verse, He explained the meaning of neighbor with a parable of The
Good Samaritan. He pointed out that we are the neighbors to the person who is
in need. The object of the neighbor in the question has been turned to the
subject in the end of the story (v.21-37).

At last verse of the chapter, He demonstrated another significant aspect at

Lazarus’ house (n the village of Bethany) where He stayed. At that time Martha
who was busy cooking, expected Jesus to send Mary to help her in the kitchen.
In response, Jesus told her that preparing meals or doing many things was not
the vital stuff. The most vital aspect was that Mary had chosen to spend time at
the feet of God.
Luke 10 starts with the sending of the missionaries and ends with the central
theme of spending time with God. Without His presence the ministry and minister
are in vain.

Let us focus on our calling and the vital aspect of spending time with God.
Thereby we will not end up as C(G)rab Christians

Slur... Slur...
A little baby's language is neither easy to define nor easy
to comprehend. However everyone loves to listen to the joyful gurgles the baby
makes and enjoys its talk thoroughly. Yet the same child-like speech is not
acceptable from us "grown-up children". We need to be responsible for every
word we express. Sometimes we let out words without our control and simply
justify it as “the slip of tongue”. It shows our inability to control our language.

On 08th August 2006, a one-day cricket match between South Africa and
SriLanka took place at Colombo During the match, Dean Jones, the former
Australia batsman who was on air as a commentator made a casual remark
during the commercial break. “The terrorist has taken another wicket.” He was
talking about the South African batsman Hashim Amla, a devout
muslim. Unfortunately for Jones it was relayed across the world. One
worng word ‘terrorist’ marred his name as well as the core values of the game in
a split second.

On 19th September 2006, Sania Mizra, the Indian tennis superstar said in
Kolkata that she had to assess every word she verbalized. An "if to but" from her
lips could create a national crisis. If a secular person is analyzing every word she
speaks then how much more careful should a spiritual person be!
In the Bible James 3:1-6 talk about the tongue using three important words.
A. Bit:
A bit is a piece of metal held in a horse's mouth by
the reins and is used to control the horse while riding. For
us human beings, the origin of the word comes from inside
our heart (Matt.12:34 – 35). If our heart is filled with God’s
presence then pure and encouraging words will come out
from our mouths. Let us fill our heart with His word and
speak His words to others. (Col. 3:16).
B. Rudder:
A rudder is just like a steering wheel which guides a vehicle or a ship to the right
direction. It equates with the tongue which leads the whole body. The
spiritual person's life should be controlled and maneuvered by His
Spirit. Isaiah 30:21 says that God guides our way by speaking to us.
Let us listen to His voice and channelize our life according to His
command.
C. Fire:
Just as a small spark destroys the whole forest our tiny tongue can muck
up our life as well as the lives of others. Instead, we need to master and steer
the tongue with the help of filling our heart with the Word of God and His
guidance. If we do the above then our words will be powerful and will bring
transformation in the lives of others.
Let us control and direct our tongue with His help and spread His gospel
across the globe like a wildfire!
 FIVE PRECIOUS STONES

In the 18th century, buyer did not have freedom to choose products according to
their desires. They had to abide by the market availability.
(Sellers’ market). In the 19th Century, the situation changed a
bit in favour of buyers. In the 20th century, the option has
wide opened to the need of the buyers. The buyers have a
lot of choices to make. Due to these recent changes, the
business man has found it difficult to penetrate into the
market.

Similarly the 21st century students have varieties of fields, colleges and courses
to select and pursue their career. Moreover the question pattern for the
examination has changed into multiple choice questions from conventional types.

Today, many of them are living in this 21st century with the 18th century outlook.
Shalini, a believer from a staunch Christian family secured high percentage in the
pre-university exams. She wanted to pursue her career in engineering field,
especially in the IIT. She applied only to the IIT and not to any other engineering
college or other degree courses. The entrance results were published. She
failed to get through the exams. Now she can not enter into other engineering or
degree colleges since all of them have closed their admissions.

Like Shalini, many people have damaged their careers due to the wrong teaching
of “ask in faith, God will give whatever your request” by some of the believers.
This type of teaching has no room for God to intervene in our life. If you refer to
the Bible, we can see lot of examples where people kept the options open.

1. David went with an option:

David ventured into the battle field with five precious stones instead of one stone,
even though God promised him to handover Goliath. For this, we can’t brand
David as a sinner or faithless person.
God has promised the victory but He hasn’t given a blueprint to fight. David used
three important T’s – Trust, Tools and Training to win the battle. As a believer,
follow the footsteps of this great king to face this competitive and contemporary
world. Let us keep our options open so that God can fulfill His will in our lives.
2 Five wise virgins went with an option:
Matt 25:1-13, describes that ten virgin’s had gone to meet the bridegroom.
Among them, five were wise and the other five were foolish. These wise virgins
kept a jar of oil as an option to rekindle the fire. The bridegroom came and took
the wise virgins for the wedding banquet. The door was shut for the foolish
virgins.

Let us go with our options open and with a open heart to God our Saviour. He
will do miraculous things in our lives.

GREAT REWARD
A man strives hard to get a good name or fame. A sportsman likes to win the first
prize. Politicians try to implement the poll promises to get the votes from the
people. The world distributes the cup, medal, rolling shield etc for the highest
achiever.

The reward at first may seem glamorous but it loses its appeal soon. A famous
tennis player once won the Wimbledon tournament. When a journalist asked her
how she felt after her feat, she said, “I felt happy but the felicitousness receded
slowly within a span of time.” This trend of seeking appreciation has crept into
believers lives too.

In the Bible, we see the paradox in Abraham’s life. Abraham won the great battle
with Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him (Gen 14:17). The king of Sodom
tendered a great reward to Abraham. But he turned down and told: "I have
raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and
have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread
or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram
rich.'(Gen 14:22-24). After this incident, God granted two promises in his vision.
(Gen.15:1)
God is the reward:
“God became a reward for Abraham. The creator of this world has
become the great reward for the creatures.” Many times, we are exploring for the
appreciation from the world. If it dodges then we will go through depressions or
sleepless nights. Here Abraham declined the goods (Gen.14:21), So God
rendered himself as a reward for him. First of all, we have to disdain the
insignificant worldly rewards. Then God will be our reward. Let us have our
Great Global God (3G’s) as the Great reward in our lives.

God is the shield:

Abraham and 318 trained persons fought with the four kings and the soldiers to
liberate Lot and his family. Abraham won the battle without
any causality because his God was the shield for him. He
never expected his trained man/skill/experience as a shield.
He acknowledged that only the Most High God delivered
the enemies into his hand. (Gen 14:20). In our lives, we
are considering a lot of things like fame, amassing money,
paper publishing as a defending mechanism for us. Let us
depend on God so that He would be our shield.

Let us proclaim that Lord Jehovah is our reward and our shield.

RED CAR(D)PET
The course completion certificate is given to one who has completes the
course successfully. This certificate is a prelude for getting degree certificate.
The children’s promotion depends upon their attendance and performance. The
athlete has to complete his race following all the rules, and then only the result
will be decided. The end result will always be considered after completion of
their course or degree. Etc.,
It is better to finish rather than starting. The statement becomes true to
Golden ball winner and France Captain Zidane. He
started his carrier in street and ended up as a street
fighter before 11 million people watching the FIFA
2006 football Final world cup match. He used his
head to butt the chest of the opponent instead of
butting the ball. His career ended after the red card
shown by the umpire.
In Bible, we see a lot of people finish their race abruptly. Losing the
focus is the main reason for this. e.g King Solomon. God gave him wisdom and
wealth but he ended his life in worshipping pagan God. King Ahab disobeyed
God by giving freedom to the enemy. King Saul disobeyed and lost his kingdom.
Samson started and ended his life with pagan girl.
 Some finished the race successfully. King David started well. In
between, he missed the path. Yet, he came back and finished his life
successfully. Paul said “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day- 2 Tim 4:7-8.
John the Baptist started and finished the race successfully.
Jesus commanded the disciples to work out the cost before following
Him. He gave the examples of a king and the builder as examples to explain the
project of unfinished task (Luke 14:28-33). In New Testament, Jesus and Paul
used the word ‘finish’.
1. Jesus used the word – ‘Finish’:
Jesus came to this world to finish the work which Father has given John
5:36. In the cross he uttered the word ‘finished’. God expected us to complete
the spiritual journey which we have started after accepting Jesus Christ as a
Savior. He has given a command to carry it on to completion till the return of our
Lord (Ph. 1:6). Let us carry his promise and move towards completion.
2. Paul used the word ‘finish’: Acts 20:23-24
Many will participate in Marathon race. In the initial stage few will back
out. After an hour most of them will back out. At last only a few will complete
the race. The spiritual race is to complete not for competition.
Let us fight the good fight and finish the race (2 Tim 4:7-8) by fixing our
eyes on the author and finisher of life (Heb. 12:1) so that Our Lord will welcome
us with a red carpet to His kingdom.

One man..........
A man has the capability to change the course of action by taking proper or
improper decision. The choices are many in this world but choosing the best
depends upon the individual. A few leaders will take decision after analyzing the
pros and cons. Some will take hastily.

Recently, Skipper Rahul Dravid had been given a chance to take a decision after
winning the toss in Test match against England. He gave a choice of fielding
or batting. He took fielding which led to a great defeat. The decision of one man
affected the team as well as the country.

One man – First Man:

The first man in the history made a wrong decision which affected globally. “The
first deviation of the line will mar the entire picture”. In the same way one man –
first man – Adam’s mistake affected the beautiful world. Sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men,
because all sinned Rom 5:12-6:1 Adam brought condemnation, disobedience,
curse and trespass to this world. He has become a pattern for this world.
If the wrong decision of one man has to be rectified, then, one who is sinless and
able to rescue man from the curse, condemnation and sin has to offer himself.

One man – Last man.

God gave a gift of His own son to revert the decision made by Adam. He came
to show His love in this way: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He
removed our iniquity and justified us by shedding His blood on the Cross.
(Without shedding blood, there is no forgiveness). He once again restored this
broken relationship by His death.

The first man Adam brought death by his wrong decision, but Jesus Christ
brought redemption from sin through His resurrection. He made the sinners
righteous and delivered man from death to eternal life. He turned Adam’s
generation (race) to God’s Race by His death and resurrection.

If we have faith in Him and have been justified, then we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us believe and accept Him, so that we will
have peaceful relationship with God.

9/11 AND 7/7

Suicide bombers assassinated Late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, eminent,
energetic, enthusiastic leader. After this incident, terrorist
organization used the same strategies to destroy the
fabric structure of the country. E.g. Suicide bombers
attacked twin tower by hijacking the passengers plane on
09/11. Suicide bombers attacked underground railway
station and bus in London on 07/07. Suicide bombers
launched attack even in Egypt and other countries also.

The world devised so much plans to combat

terrorism by waging war and making beautiful
statement like “War on terrorism” “Global
struggles with violence extremism”. The end
result is failure. The root cause of terrorism is
an individual selfish motive. Terrorists are not
born but their own attitude develops them as
one.

Terrorist means fulfilling his own selfish desires,

murderer, taking vengeance, and killing. If we
think in this line, the Bible clearly reveals the character of terrorist in Genesis 4th
chapter itself. The name of the person is Cain. Cain brings some of the fruits of
the soil as an offering to the LORD. He keeps the good portion. His brother Abel
offers fat and first portion as an offering. This incident reveals Cain selfishness.
The slogan goes on “The selfish attitude alienates us from the society.” The
disapproval of Cain’s offering leads him to angry and downcast. Slowly The
anger develops hatred feeling towards his brother.

Selfish attitude and hatred makes him to devise a cunning plan to kill Abel. He
murdered his brother. The reward for his action is that God made him to be
wanderer in all of his life.

Terrorist are not only killing others etc. The Bible says that those who are
thinking evil in their heart will come under that category.
E.g 1. Anyone, who is angry with his brother, will be subject to judgment.
2. Anyone, who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin.
3. Anyone, who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
4. Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery.
The simple and effective antidote for terrorism is the following three verses from
the Bible.
 consider others better than yourselves Phil 2:3
 Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matt 5:44-
45
 Jesus said the first commandment 'You shall love the LORD your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' Second is like it: 'You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matt 22:38-40
As a glocal youth has a role in this world to combat terrorism by spreading the
Jesus` message to all the people. I am challenging you to spread the effective
God’s message through out the country and win many to Christ.
 Cricket creeping in....
On 28/11/05, I tuned my television to the Doordarshan channel for news. It was a
disappointment, as the DD channel was telecasting the live cricket match of
South Africa and India. I looked at the bottom of the screen to read the headlines.
Nothing was being displayed. I wondered whether
cricket has become more important than what’s
happening around the World. Which one has to
come first?

In our personal life, many time’s important things

have been replaced with unimportant things vice
versa. Satan strategies is to deviate, distract us
from reaching the proper destination. Satan
weapon is same what he had used 2000 years
back, to deviate Jesus Christ from His plan and
purpose. Let us analyse Satan’s three important
weapons.
I. Useless things become useful things:
Satan strategies to convert useless things to be a useful things in believer’s life.
He did the same things to Jesus by requesting Him to convert the stone into
bread. Similarly, he distracts us by evoking to accumulate wealth and earn more
money to maintain the status. It is not wrong to have earthly treasures. These
treasures should not cloud us to worship the source of all treasures Jesus Christ.
Let us store the heavenly treasures of bringing souls to Jesus Christ. Remember
Jesus’ word uttered to Peter, “Follow me, I will make you fishers of men”.
II. Sharp becomes unsharpened:
Satan slants the God’s word to use it for his own purpose. He shows the one
side of the Bible verse and hides other verses. He disturbed Jesus by showing
the promise verse and hiding the verse, which Jesus stated to overcome the
temptation.
The strategy of Satan is to give importance to let out our emotions by praise and
worship service not for correcting word of God. This type of services has
replaced the importance to God’s word. People will deluge to the church where
the pastor is soothing the heart with God’s promise and prosperity messages. It
is better to sharpen our character, life and attitude by His (s)word. Let us
remember 2Tim. 3:16,17. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
III. Temporary becomes permanent:
Satan exposes temporary things to make us to believe as though it is permanent.
He stimulated Jesus by promising to give the whole world but requested Jesus to
worship him. He uses the weapon by showing the temporary world as a
permanent one. Many times, we give excuse for permanent spiritual things like
prayer meetings, fellowship, venturing for God’s work but we spend the time to
watch the cricket match etc. Let us seek the permanent and eternal things of
obeying his will and doing God’s ministry.

Let us correct our priorities by giving first place to God and His kingdom. Ida
Scudder said “He came to build God’s kingdom not a medical school”. Are we
willing to build God’s kingdom in
 GROOMING YOUNGSTERS FOR THE FUTURE
Greg Chappel, the coach of team has been quite firm on giving youngsters a
chance at regular intervals. He said that, resting important players from minor
tournaments could be considered besides using the rotational policy to groom the
youngsters and make them ready to step in when
key positions become vacant.

"This is one lesson the Australians learnt two

decades back when they had almost all their senior
players quitting at the same time. It's much easier for
a few youngsters to come into a team of experienced
players than all of them coming in together," he said

Great Chappell’s principles of grooming youngsters

or mentoring second line leader to take up positions
of new responsibilities are neither new nor innovative one. This has been
already revealed in the Old Testament where God trained successive leaders to
take up His ministry. Effective training needs the following 3A’.
1. Associate:
God promised His presence to Joshua to do Himalayans task of taking the
Israelities to Canaan. Leaders have to be with their successors during their
trials and difficulties. A successful successor develops by the support given
by the trainer. Proper support is not to squeeze them but to comfort,
appreciate and encourage them.
2. Assign:
Moses gave Joshua small assignments such as fighting with Amalekites and
spying on Canaan. Joshua did the job well.
Assigning work has two important elements authority and responsibility.
The successor needs authority to take decision to get the job done.
Moreover the people under the successor will respect to him because of his
authority. (Num 27:20-21).
The responsibility is to complete the assignment within the stipulated
timeframe.
3. Anoint:
God anointed Joshua as the successor to Moses before his tenure came to
an end. The smooth transfer of leadership did not affect the Israelites. Since
Joshua had been trained earlier, he was able to effectively lead the people
with the help of God.

Jesus Christ trained 12 disciples during His period of three years ministry. They
went on to accomplish his ministry to the ends of the earth. We are doing ministry
for many years and even decades. How many student leaders have been sent
from our home. How many Joshua’s have we raised from our colleges?

Let us take this as a challenge and develop leaders in the local level to go unto
do the ministry in the Global level.

A PROBLEM FOR GUY?

Sam was studying B.E. Ist year in one of the reputed engineering college. He
was good and meticulous student. One day, his classmate, Geetha showed
shinning golden ball to her classmates. He was attracted towards the ball. He
decided to touch and explore the ball. He made a plan and executed to get it.
The guys are stimulated by sight 1. Gals need attention or need to be noticed by
guys. This is the common character existing in gals and
guys.
The gals can really tempt a guy with what they wear.
Prem, a believer was studying Ist year MBBS in one of
the reputed medical college. He stopped going to EU
bible study. He told that the girls are coming in the
shots, skirts, sleeveless blouse, tight pants and T-shirts.
He ran away from that place to protect his purity just like
Joseph.
The struggle of Mark Student – (In his own words) “I
should at a girl in a midriff baring top, a short dress or low-cut shirt. I had find
myself daydreaming about what I had seen. Sometimes those images I tucked
into my brain led me to masturbate.” 3The gals are thinking that sexier the dress
the more attention will get. They are wearing different kind of tight T shirt with
vulgar wordings which shows their belly button, Denim short dress to show their
legs and uncomfortable to the person wearing and to other person at the sitting
posture.
Seeking attention by sloppy dresses not really good for gals. When dress to
impress guys notice, but when you try to live a life that’s honoring to Christ a
whole different set of guy’s notice. Because they are not looking you up and
down, instead of thinking about you with no clothes on, they are thinking about in
wedding dress. Instead of one night of sex, they are thinking about what it would
be like to grow old with you. Instead of wondering if you are a cheap date, they
wondering if you are gonna be a good mom1.
The sloppy dress has penetrated into EU circle. The EU student’s parent may
happy just like Chennai parents2&4 if the dress code implement in EU circle.
Bible verse Luke 17:2-3, If anyone is a stumbling block for others should tied a
stone on him and throw him into the sea. The provoking others to sin leads to
great penalty. 1 Cor 8:11-13So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is
destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way
and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ
Try to help the guys by dressing modestly. Attract them by your heart not by
body. Make them to be loved not lusted over.
Reference:
1. What’s Wrong in wearing This? Amber Penney
2. Ref. sept 4 2005. http://rss.indianinfo.com
3. Every Guys struggle – LaTonya Taylor
4. Students Oppose TN univ ban on mobiles, dress code.
 God’s Brand Ambassadors?
Each individual reflects someone in the world. Small kids
resemble their parents who resemble their own parents.
Students represent their schools / colleges. Employees
represent their companies. The image of parents, schools,
or companies depends on the behaviour of the
individuals.

The 18th Commonwealth Games at Melbourne 2006

commenced on 15 March 2006. The Indian athletes
represented one billion Indians. Before the opening
ceremony, Indians had lost their credibility due to the
misbehaviour of the 35 year old masseur Dewan Nabi
with a Games worker. The shameful behaviour of one player dented the image of
India. Good conduct is more important than winning gold medals.

Believers are to reflect the true God. The world calls us as strangers but God
has called us to be representatives of Him. God’s name will not be glorified if we
live a careless or worthless life.
God expects our life to be like salt to the society. Matthew 5:13
S A L T Salt has three vital qualities:
1. It Preserves:
A pinch of salt preserves a big quantity of food products. God chooses the little
faith, a small group of 12 disciples, unwise and
unlearned men, to shake the world. The small group / individuals have a power
to preserve God’s values in this wicked, dying world. But remember, the One
who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world, 1 John 4:4-5, 2 Kings
6:16, 2 Chron. 32:7-8, and Romans 8:31.
2. It Penetrates:
The pinch of salt penetrates into every nook and corner of the food product.
Penetration starts, and only then the preservation starts. God called us to
penetrate (go) into this world. A student can study the method of fishing but, to
catch fish, one has to go where the fish live. Penetration means to go inside the
world to preserve the people from destruction by preaching the Gospel.
3. It Performs:
The pinch of salt performs irrespective of season, time (7/24/365) and substance.
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season,” 2 Tim 4:2.
Delay in performance will decay the substance. The believers have to work as
God’s representative without any break. A break in God’s ministry will break our
relationship with God. Some people apply for one year sabbatical from ministry
after their marriage. This may lead them away from the ministry for the rest of
their lives.
Let us analyze our life and see if we are Preservers, Penetrators or Performers
just like salt in God’s Kingdom. God calls us to be salt to the earth to bring His
kingdom to earth.
SPIRITUAL MIRAGE...!
“Incoming calls…free for lifetime!!”, “Just pay Rs. 999/- for a brand new cell
phone + free talk time!” These catchy advertisements bait the customer easily
with their tempting offers. The advertisers never reveal their hidden agenda
which only benefits them. Advertisements are illusions which trap the unwary
customer into buying their products.
A couple of months back, as I was driving my car to Chennai with my family and
my friend Timothy (GYV. Hon. Advisor) I saw a puddle of water on the road at a
distance. I prepared myself mentally to swerve in order avoid the puddle of water.
However, to my real surprise, as I reached the spot, it was just dry road with
absolutely no trace of water! I was simply amazed to see this repeatedly happen
over and over again as we went along. Timothy, who is a physicist, explained
that it was a mirage. A mirage is an optical illusion in which atmospheric
refraction by a layer of hot air distorts or inverts reflections of distant objects. In
short, a mirage is something illusory and unattainable.
Many people are seeking to quench their spiritual thirst (which exists in every
man) by going after the worthless mirages offered by this world. They are
wandering everywhere to find real peace, real joy and real happiness. All they
find is real emptiness. Many a time, they approach Christian believers only to find
out that they are spiritual mirages too! Believers, whose lip and life styles do not
match with their beliefs and faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus branded these people
as white washed tombs whose insides were unholy and dirty.
Let us see Jesus’ stern reaction to a mirage (illusion) in Matt. 21:19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except
leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree
withered.
Jesus Expects:
Jesus saw a tree by the road which resembled a fruit bearing tree. When He
went near, He found leaves, branches and roots, but no fruits. Fruits are the
evidence of growth of a tree. Jesus expects us to bear fruit and be salt and light
to the world. But as believers we end up being spiritual mirages without light and
salt
Jesus Rebukes:
A purposeless life is as good as a dead one! Jesus knew that a fruitless tree
only would occupy space being useless to the land and
would stunt the growth of the neighboring trees by taking
up their nutritive food and water. So Jesus rebuked the
tree not to bear fruit. The tree withered.
God has placed us in different places and positions so
that we may be like an oasis in the desert. Let us
spread the aroma of Jesus Christ to this world and bring
many people to Christ by our behavior, attitude and actions. Instead of being a
worthless mirage, let us be a life saving oasis to make a real difference in the
lives of the dying people around us.
SPIRITUAL PROMINENCE.....?
Every human has a tendency to portray himself different from others. He spares
no effort to stand out amongst his peers. Just as much as a scientist wishes to
zoom into fame by getting recognition for his achievements, a journalist too
wishes to get all the glory for reporting some fantastic news before anybody else.

The two words, `prominence’ and `pride’ are two of Satan’s sharpest tools used
to destroy the spiritual of a Christian. A few months back I
happened to be at the sports day of my elder daughter’s
(Praisy Tryphena) school. I was eagerly watching all the
events and was busy looking out for Praisy who was
competing in two of the races.
In due course of time, it was the turn of the preschooler’s
to race. The first event involved running 25 meters (that’s
because preschoolers have very short legs!) to pick up a basket and drop two
colourful balls into it before running to the finishing end. The bubbling
preschoolers lined up. The shrill sound of the whistle rang out and the children
began their race. They got of their baskets and put those beautiful balls into the
basket and waited till all had done so. Then they all ran together to the finish
line. All the children who ran finished at the same time. The surprised judges
could not decide on the winner. The event was repeated only to get a similar
result. There was no individual winner. The unselfish nature of the innocent
children left all the parents shell-shocked.
This event echoed me the following verses.
Matt 18:1-4, tells how spiritual prominence was becoming more prominent when
his disciples asked Him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus
didn’t give a lecture on maturity or psychological counseling or suggest a course
on personality development as this present generation would have done. Instead
He called a little child and had him stand among and thought them great lessons
Become
Jesus warned the disciples about having exalted opinions about themselves. He
knew that such an attitude would wreck havoc within the fellowship of the
believers. The little children did not to be desire prominent. That was why Jesus
asked His disciples to become like little children.
‘Become’ and ‘behave’ are two different words. To ‘Behave’ like children would
mean to act with immaturity (in a childish manner). Instead to ‘become’ like little
children would mean to put on their character of meekness and humility. True
spiritual humility comes when we realize our inadequacy which leads us to
depend more on the Lord than ourselves.
God does not want us to strut around like proud peacocks donning our cloaks of
self-righteousness. Jesus showed us the way of humility when He became
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. As much as He humbled Himself,
God exalted Him to the highest position (Phil. 2:5-11). True spiritual humility will
result in the greatest rewards in heaven

Am I proud and arrogant about my spirituality? Let us analyze ourselves and

became like little children for this is a prerequisite to enter the kingdom of
heaven...
 WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST
When Nehemiah heard that the wall of Jerusalem had been broken down,
he wept and prayed to God earnestly. God opened the way for Nehemiah to go
to Jerusalem. Nehemiah surveyed the city and its wall to know the status before
building it. (Neh 2:13-14).
Information is important for
missionary work. Jesus Christ
taught his disciples to do three
important matters before venturing
into the field.
• Open your Eyes
• Look at the Field
• Harvest the Yield
A. Open your eyes:
Disciples showed their concern for Jesus by urging Him to eat (Jn.4:32).
However, Jesus explained that finishing the work of His Father was His food
(John 4:32-35).
The eyes of the disciples were confined to earthly elements - just like food
and other temporary things. But Jesus saw it in God’s perspectives. He directed
his disciples to open their eyes to empathize the heartbeat of God. The
heartbeat of God is “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" (Isa 6:8).
Isaiah responded positively. Let us open our inner eyes to see God’s plan for the
perishing student community.
B. Look at the field:
Secondly Jesus turned the disciples’ view from physical hunger to spiritual
hunger of the Samaritans by saying, “look at the field”.
If we look around us we can observe that many young students are passing
away without knowing the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
. Let us go, walk through the length and breadth of the land (Gen 13:17),
God will give us this world.
C. Harvest the Yield:
The Samaritan woman’s testimony brought the whole village to Christ. .
The village was harvested by one Samaritan woman.
The college campuses and schools are
already white for harvest. God has commanded us
to reap the harvest. In Rom 10:14-15, Paul says,”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not
believed in? And how can they believe in the one of
whom they have not heard? And how can they hear
without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are
sent?
"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
 Let us move forward as soldiers for Christ to the campuses to reap the
harvest of student community.

BATON. Dt. 31:14-23

Tom was an athlete, specialized in relay race. After his studies,

he got a job in sportsman quota category in a reputed institution.
As a representative, He went for national relay race. The team
name was announced. They took their position. After hearing the
whistle sound, Tom, the starter, ran fast to give baton to his team
member. In the time of transferring, the baton slipped from his
hand. The team went out of the race.
Tom’s mistake made the team to stop from proceeding further. In the same way, the
improper transfer of leadership will affect the institution to move forward to reach the
goal. God’s way of transferring the leadership is described in this passage.

First, God reminds us that the leadership position is temporary. If the

leader realizes this, then he will never take pride in his position or achievements.
In turn, he will nurture other person to take up his responsibilities.

Secondly, God commissions Joshua who associated with Moses (Josh. 1:1).
Joshua was raised and trained by God in all aspects to take up the leadership
position. E.g Caleb and Joshua gave correct report and entered into Canaan.
The second line leadership has to be developed and commissioned by the
present leader from their own place.

Thirdly, God never changes even the leadership change. His promise never
fails irrespective of person. In Josh 1:5, God said that as I was with Moses, so I
will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. God’s promise of
presence is an antidote of fear. God was dealing with Joshua personally as he
dealt with Moses. Our God is a personal God.

Finally, God reveals the mind of Israelites. God prepared Joshua by revealing
the situation and nature of the Israelites. The leader should explain the situation
and roles and responsibilities to the successor. This will make the successor to
prepare to move forward in the time of struggles and hurdles.

Let God gives us His grace to transfer the leadership in a proper orderly manner.
For reflection and discussion:
1. If God hadn’t transferred the Leadership from Moses to Joshua, what will
happen? In the same way what will happen in our departments and
institution?
2. Are we delegating our work to our coworker/junior students? If so, are we
explaining the situation and giving the authority and responsibility to complete
the work.
 SINGLE MIND
‘‘Once the mind has competing bosses, the individual starts to have
arguments with himself about what to concentrate on. In that state it is hard to
muster the single-minded focus needed to make runs consistently at
the highest level.’’ Often the reward is the greatest competition to
performance and when that starts to come first, performance declines.
With Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar, two of the greatest
sportsmen of the last fifteen years, the body has started coming in the
way as well.
Chappell believes that Tendulkar is struggling with
his mind and his body and with conflicting thoughts that
can therefore arise. ‘‘If he (Tendulkar) is to return to his
best then he is going to have to recapture the thinking
process that allowed him to dominate bowlers. Because
his focus is not clear he often finds himself looking for
cheap runs on the leg side early in his innings. Early in his
career, when his mind was clearer he would walk in and
meet the ball with the full face of the bat.’’
In our Christian journey also after some time we feel depressed, dejected,
declined and deviated from the first love and zeal for Jesus Christ. This is time
for us to compare our present life with our joy in accepting Saviour as our
personal Saviour. Find out whether our focus on Jesus Christ was clouded with
wordly things just like cloud blocks the sunshine. Let us focus our life on Jesus
Christ. Bring our thought life into the right track of pleasing the Lord Saviour
Jesus
Let us recommit our life for Jesus. Let us do God’s will, God’s ministry
and live God’s pleasing life. Let us focus on God given vision. Let us remind
Paul’s word in Phil.1: 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain..
In this newsletter, we are focusing ICEU year plan and district details. Try
to pray and participate. In last we have mentioned our focus and mission. Let us
keep the focus and mission clear in our mind and move with the help of God to
conquer north region.
 LET US.....
David Beckman a great soccer missed the simple penalty shot in the
match between France and England. This lead to a great defeat.
His son Romeo Beckman cried like anything that became the
headlines in many newspapers. The small issue has become a
big issue in England. In our spiritual life journey also the care
should be taken in each and every area. Daily Christian living is
very much needed the one day believer. In Heb 12:1-4 – Gives
how to run our spiritual life... In the 4 verses let us phrase has
come three times,
LET US THROW OFF A.EVERYTHING – HINDERS
The sportsman cannot run with a heavy luggage in his hand. He has to throw off
everything that slow down the race. Spiritual life, let us throw off our ancestor
tradition, culture, caste dowry etc. etc. otherwise it will slow down our
spiritual growth BSin: Burden slow down our speed but sin entangles
from the path. It is very much dangerous. In our struggle against sin,
Let us resist to the point of shedding our blood (v.4).
LET US RUN A With perseverance:
The sportsman will get weary and tired due
to the emotional stress. In spiritual journey we will get tired of seeing
the circumstances and situation. At that time consider Jesus Christ who has
endured hardship (V.3,7) and shame with patience for us. B On our
track: God has planned for each and every one. It is better to adhere
to his plan instead of crossing to others track.(Heb,.
11:40,NIV).
LET US FIX The sportsman must focus on the final line.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our
Life. Let us fix our thoughts on Jesus. Let us run our race with a
purpose of getting a reward.
 SHED THE SHEATH
Man becomes very stressful when he pushes himself beyond a limit to fulfill the
expectations of the world. It leads him to manipulate, pull others and push himself our
self forward. This type of gimmick will happen when the person wants to show who he
is. In one word, the world calls this as EGO.

The dictionary meaning of ego is “An inflated feeling of pride in

your superiority to others” and “Your consciousness of your own
identity”. Kenneth Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute
Manager said “I define ego as Edging God Out”.

Ego stimulates to live under the constant pressure of

consciousness of worthiness. This leads to unnecessary stress
and strain. Let us look at two needles needed to puncture the
ego.

A. Humbleness:
It is not like pretending as though we are aught in this world. The hypocritical humility is
a mockery of Christian life. Billy Graham said "Nowhere in the Scriptures does this word
carry with it the idea of being spiritless and timid. It carries the idea of being tamed, like
a wild horse that has been brought under control".

The model for humility is described clearly by Graeme. He describes Billy Graham’s
humbleness like this: "I was on an elevator with Billy when another man in the elevator
recognized him. He said, 'You're Billy Graham, aren't you? '"'Yes,' Billy said. "Well,' he
said, 'you are truly a great man.' "Billy immediately responded, 'No, I'm not a great man.
I just have a great message." His quick response is due to intimate relationship with
God.

Jesus set aside all His identity as Lord, to identity with us as a human, and took the
nature and appearance of a man. (Phil 2:5-11).

B. Self-Perspective:

Man has two problems: One is viewing himself in the elevated position and the second is
expecting others to view him as he views himself. One of my friends pats himself saying
that he is a good programmer. He feels inferior and he says this often to overcome that.

We have to change our outlook by substituting ‘I’ with ‘Jesus’. Paul in his letter to
Galatians 2:20, He engraved like this, “Not I but Jesus Christ”. Billy Graham said “"if
anything has been accomplished through my life, it has been solely God's doing, not
mine, and He—not I—must get the credit."
Let us have humility and supplant ‘I’ with ‘Jesus’ so that we can shed the ego in our
lives. This is a life time process so exuviate it daily.
 SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE
Every father likes to grant the very best to his children. Be it expensive toys or mouth-watering
chocolates or any special present which costs him. Children too wish to inherit all what the
parents possess. As parents, are we really imparting beautiful and elegant futures to our
children? If we evaluate the state of affairs, we will find that we are rendering them a bleak
future. It means that the next generation is inheriting violence,
environmental pollution, poverty, disasters etc.

In line with this, Kiran Desai named her book as “The Inheritance of
Loss”. It got the Man Booker Prize 2006. Her extraordinary new
novel manages to explore, with intimacy and insight, just
about every contemporary international issue:
globalization, multiculturalism, economic inequality,
fundamentalism and terrorist violence.

If we refer to the Bible (Ps. 33), we see that the inheritance of the believers is different from what
the world inherits. As believers we can expect to inherit three special things from above.
A. Inherit Lord’s Plan: (v.10)
Just as an architect’s plan is postulated for constructing a building, an
automobile engineer too needs a plan to assemble a car. In the same way our creator
has a unique design for each one of us. He reveals His excogitate after foiling the plan of the
nations. Many times, our plans crop up from our desires. These have to be extinguished first, for
then only God can reveal His Plan to us.
His Plan stands forever. He maneuvers us from the womb to the grave and from the grave
to heaven. In heaven, Jesus promised that He would provide a good place for us (John. 14.
3)
B. Inherit Lord’s Purpose: (v.10)
A building’s plan reveals its location and dimension. However, it never
unveils the purpose of the building. A plan without purpose is vain. In this verse, The Lord
reveals His Plan knitted with His purpose from His heart.
There are two purposes in an individual’s life. One is the general purpose which is
common to all, while the specific purpose may vary from person to person. The general purpose
is to please Him. Each person has to find out his/her specific purpose from God.
God’s purpose is not for one generation only. It has to pass on to successive generations
too. Let us pass on God’s purpose to the next generation!
C. Inherit God is the Lord: (v.12)
Just as an engineer forgets the architect and his plan after constructing the
building, we too tend to forget the Provider of the Plan due to our busy schedule
and even due to our trying to fulfill God’s purpose in our life. These activities and even the
blessings we receive can cloud the Source of the blessings and the Giver of the Plan.
 Let us make God as the most important priority and thus live a more abundant life
as the Lord Jesus promised!

MOMENTARY LAPSES?
Several accidents happen due to tiny human errors or split-second lapses on the
driver’s part. These lapses often prove to be costly with disastrous
consequences. Momentary lapses also lead to law-breaking.
Along the same lines, the world has gone one step further to consent the law
breaking by redacting words such as lapses, mistake and so on. A Punjab trial
court awarded the death sentence to 30 year old Amrit Singh for luring an eight
year old girl and molesting her. On finding her alone he raped her in a field. She
died due to excessive bleeding. He appealed to the Supreme Court for reducing
the sentence. In a shocking verdict, India’s highest court reduced the sentence
and validated it by stating, “The way the girl was raped may have been brutal, but
it could have been a momentary lapse on the part of Amrit Singh, seeing a lonely
girl at a secluded place” (14 Nov, 2006 0058 hrs IST Times News Network)
The Bible (Psalm 19: 12 & 13) gives us a step by step procedure of what follows
momentary lapses.
A. Errors:
The INSAT 4c rocket failed because the propellant regulator in the failed
engine had much higher discharge coefficient in
its closed condition. The reason for this could
have been an inadvertent error in manufacturing,
which escaped the subsequent inspection and
acceptance test procedures. The error caused
the exchequer 1600 cores of rupees and
damaged the name of the scientist.
In our lives such errors can be avoided
when we walk closely with Jesus Christ. The
Word of God warns us when we go in the wrong
directions (v.11). Let us mediate on His word and live according to it.
B. Hidden Faults:
Piling up of errors leads to the second step of hidden faults which when
secretly kept inside harden our heart and make it like stone. These hidden faults
pop up now and then to disturb our normal state of life just like the ugly pop-ups
on the internet..
It is better to allow radiant God’s Word (V.6) to penetrate in our life to
remove all our hidden faults.
C. Deliberate Sin:
Hidden faults cause a person to deliberately sin and traps him in a
bottomless pit of endless sinning and covering it up by more sins Unless we
address the grey areas of our life it will be difficult to get out of the bottomless pit
of sin. We must openly ask God to intervene and change us completely
Let us pray to the Lord to give us strength to live a life pleasing to Him,
the Redeemer and the Rock (v. 20).

Christian Ignorance
The grown up child shows a little bit of childish character in their behaviour. It takes
some times for the adolescents to shake away the infantile character. The parents
disdain the baby character in striplings because it will affect the development of the
child.
Similarly, the spiritual child tends to follow the former ways which he resolved not to do
when he accepted Christ. The former ways crab the growth and freedom in Christ. One
of the students described like this after referring to the verse John 8:32. “The
Christians have a lot of freedom when compared to other faiths.” The
statement is almost true. Nevertheless many are not able to enjoy it due to their desire
to follow the ancestor’s tradition, rituals and customs.
Recently the Hollywood Superstar Amitaabh Bacchan
forced her daughter in law to marry a Peepal tree at
Benaras and a banana tree at Bangalore to overcome
astrologically (mars bearing Manglik as per the
horoscope for removing dhosham) differences with
her finance Abhishek bachan.
It penetrates even into Christian believer’s life by keeping
the dates, seasons, celebrating different type of functions
like installing Main door frame in the constructed building, full term pregnancy
celebration, teenage girl attaining puberty, installing green bamboo in front of house to
commence the wedding ceremony etc. in the name of prayer and thanks giving meeting.
Not only that, we use the same type of stuff like banana, cocounut, candle, 14 types of
rice, fruits etc. without knowing the symbolic behind this.
The custom has filtered into Christian faith so that the world is not able to identify true
Christians.
Paul rebuked the Galatians in Gal 4:8-10, formerly, when you did not know God, you
were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God-or
rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and
miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are
observing special days and months and seasons and years! By observing the dates and
times, we are showing the ignorance…no no.. denying..............
A. God’s Creation:
God created the beautiful world for man to enjoy it. God Himself acknowledged
His creation each day by saying Good (Gen.1:4,10,12,18,21,25_. In the sixth day, He
saw the whole creation and said very good (Gen.1:31). The word good means moral
excellence and superior to the average. God created everything well so there is no need
for us to consider one day inferior to another day. If we give importance to the days and
times then we are disbelieving God’s creation. All the days and season are equal in
God’s sight. In Matt 12:8 Jesus said,” For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
B God’s Salvation:
 Aiswarya Rai married an idol to pass on her mars bearing manglik
dosham(curse) so that the dosham should not pass on to her finance and their
family.. This type of rituals is illegal moreover it carries punishment of
untouchabilities. As a Christian, we believe Jesus Christ has remove away our
dosham in the cross once for all. There is no need to do any rituals or customs to get rid
of dosham in our day to day life. If we do it we are crucifying Jesus Christ to the cross
once again.

C. God’s coming:
The return of the Lord will take place in any time, any season. God never
expresses an auspicious day of His coming. He will come like a thief. It means some
countries has night other countries it may be a day.
As a glocal member, try to think globally before give in to any rituals or seeing the
date and time. The time is not uniform to all. It will differ from place to place. So it is
better to treat each and every day as God’s gift and grace.
 SPIRITUAL SHAM (E)
Children pretend that they are at par with the cartoon characters like Wincy, Barbie and
superman. Sometimes it becomes their habit. It is revealed in their behavior. This
continues for a while then their originality disappears slowly. At last, they forget their
own individuality. It makes them lead a pseudo life.

The make believe attitude in Christian believer’s life is

very dangerous. It is just like window of a shop
showing off its things. But the real man is hidden
behind the mask. The end of such Christians is a
pathetic one. As the time goes by, they think that
whatever they are doing is correct. It leads them to
justify their way of life. Moreover, they are not
conscious of drifting away from the Lord.
A. Self Satisfied life:
This spiritual sham leads to the popping up of the selfish spiritual nature. The mind is
fully occupied with the applause and appreciation of past and it devises strategic plans
to do things to get more appreciation in future. This leads to a self satisfied spiritual life.

Israelites completed the building of temple in 516 B.C. It made them think that one
duty or achievement to God was over. But God’s plan for Israelites was not only to build
the temple but to go beyond the border to magnify His name (Mal. 1:5, 11,14). Their
achievements clouded and crippled their spiritual life. In this situation, God had to raise
His messenger Malachi to warn them.

Many times, we as a believers are satisfied with conducting programs, retreats,

conference, seminars etc. This achievement should not overshadow God’s will for future
course of action. Every day, we have to sharpen our lives to move forward. For that,
Malachi stresses two things
1. Burden for the Word of God (Mal. 1:1)(KJV)
2. Fellowship with believers (Mal 3: 16)
B. Senseless Life:
The spiritual sham leads to spiritual leprosy. The make believe attitude leads to a
senseless life. In Malachi, Israelites asked eight important questions to God. The
questions reveal their dead spiritual life. Each question starts with ‘In what way’ (6times)
and ‘yet you say’ (2times). See the references below:
'In what way have You loved us?' Mal 1:2.
'In what way have we defiled You?' Mal 1:7.
“In what way have we despised Your name?' Mal 1:6.
"In what way have we wearied Him?" Mal 2:17.
“'In what way shall we return?' Mal 3:7.
“In what way have we robbed You?' Mal 3:8.
Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against You?' Mal 3:13.
Yet you say, "For what reason?" Mal 2:14.
We, as believers have to live a sensitive life so that we will be able to listen and do
God’s work according to His will.

C. ‘Service for profit’ life:

The spiritual sham comes up when we start doing God’s work for expecting returns. The
investments for God have no returns in this earth. The God’s work is based on the
God’s love only. Israelites have done God’s work in the expectation of reward in the
earth.
In Malachi 1:10 we see, that the people do the God’s work with the intention of getting
his blessings. This is revealed in Mal 3:14.. ("You have said, 'It is futile to serve God.
What did we gain by carrying out his requirements...)
Let us live a Christ centered life, sensitive to God’s voice so that we can serve others
with God’s love.
 REVERSIBLE...REVERSIBLE...
“Irreparable loss, critical condition, death, lost...” are words which people hate and refuse to
utter. These words are mostly used when loved ones are on the verge of departing or already
dead.

People, who lose their dear ones, expect them to come back to life. This is not possible unless
and until God does the miracle.

Once lost is lost and there is no way of recovering it. When I was
thinking about this, I got this word “Christos Anesti” – Christ is
raised. This word makes me to think about the promise of
reversibility.
I. Resurrection reverses our sinful nature:
The moral decay, chaos, insecurity of the minority, war on
terrorism show the real selfish nature of human beings. Selfishness
originates from sinful nature. The sinful nature was inherited from
Adam. David said, “In sin did my mother conceive me”
(Ps.51:5). The result of sin is death (the wages of sin is
death Rom.6:23).

The reversal of our sinful nature can happen only through the blood of Jesus Christ. He died for
our sin and resurrected on the third day to give us power to overcome the sin. He died to
release us from the fear of death.
II. Resurrection gives us hope for living:
People are dying without any hope of life after death. The resurrection of Christ gives us hope.
After death, there is eternal life. It gives us a living hope and a living faith. It demonstrates the
uniqueness of Christ. Paul clearly says in I Corinthians 15:17:“If Christ is not raised, our
faith is futile and we are still in a sinful state”.
III. Resurrection prepares us to meet God:
The resurrection gives a clear cut message that our God is a living God (Phil.2).
Now, He will come back to judge the world and not to save the world. During His return, all the
dead will resurrect and those who have accepted Him as their personal Saviour will definitely
meet Him. We will be changed from perishable to imperishable and corruptible to
incorruptible.

During the Easter Sunday, Let us rejoice that the Lord has given His one and only Son to
die for us and resurrect on third day to reverse our sinful nature . This has offered us
a new hope of meeting Him face to face when He returns to this world.
 SEESAW CHRISTIAN
Children are not stable enough to fix their mind in one particular
activity for a long time. They are used to deviate from one type of
activity to another activity.
The unstable character in children is depicted in
a recent days children’s movie. I recently saw a
movie called ‘Sherk II’ along with my children.
The hero of the movie character started and
ended as an Ogre. In the intermediate period,
Ogre changed into a Prince to please his father-
in-law -a king to get his blessings. After
overcoming the wicked god mother and villain,
he turned again to an Ogre to please his wife
who liked him to be Ogre and not a prince.
The life of believers resembles the
Ogre. They change according to the
need of the situation or people. Their
life is like an object floating on the
sea shore. It moves and comes to the
same location. Otherwise, they can be
called seesaw Christian.
King David sinned against God. After that
his spiritual life was tossed here and
there. So he penned down Psalm 51. He pleads God using three
important words ‘Create’ ‘Renew’ and ‘grant’
a. Pure Heart (51:10):
Man can create robots, computers etc. by using God given
brains. He can also mix-up DNA and other characteristics to bring out
another Photostat copy of the man by cloning. But he can’t transplant
a pure heart.
This can be done only by the creator. God promised to remove
stone heart to give a heart of flesh. Ezek 36:26. This heart will receive
the word of God gladly and provide the fruit of thirty, sixty and ninety.
Let us ask God to create a pure heart in our lives.
b. Steadfast Spirit (51:10):
“Slow and steady wins the race” - Old statement but it is true in
a Christian life. Christian’s life should be a consistent life till to the end of our
life. Consistency is not in one phase of life but it should be in
wholesome development. Globalization brings consistency in the
quality of the product through out the world. This makes us buy the
same product anywhere in the world. . Let us ask God to give us a
steadfast spirit to live a consistent life in whatever situation.
c. Willing Spirit (51:12):
The consistency of a Christian’s life depends upon the Spiritual
nourishment. This gives sustainability and growth in our spiritual life.
Let us ask God to grant a willing Spirit to know more about Him by
reading the word of God, praying to God and having fellowship with
fellow believers.
Let us ask God to create a pure heart to make room for a steadfast
and a willing Spirit to dwell in our pure heart. So that, we can live a
steady life till the end.

DIVINE LOVE
J. Peter Daniel M.E.,
“Face is the indication of what is inside the heart” the statement is true and it is
applicable to all. The man face changes when the things are not going favorably.
Few people blame the fault on others. Some of them accept it as their own fault.
This type of thinking depends upon person to person. People liked to accuse
others easily for their fault.

Recently the media has started to pinpoint Saddam

for his mischief. Every one cast their vote for his
death. No one is willing to forgive me for his deeds.
Even the Christian society refused pardon for him.

One of my friends told me that we won’t forgive the

person who has done grave mistake even God
forgives him. God’s love is different from others. If Jesus is here in this
Christmas surely He forgives Saddam if he comes to him. His love is greater
than our love. His love is divine love. Let us look out how valuable loves His!

A. Unconditional Love:
Terms and conditions are the preliminary discussion between clients and
suppliers. The human love is as no exceptional in this matter. Many
relationships break due to conditional love. E.g. “If
my wife loves me I will love her”-told by two months
old married man.
God’s love is a voluntary one. He took the first
voluntary step by stoop down to our level to lift us to
be His child. He accepted us as we are just like
prodigal sin. He never asked us to clean up our bad habits to have fellowship
with Him.
Let us emulate our Lord’s unconditional love to others by taking one step
further to help others.
B. Universal Love.
The globalization is a catch word today. The people are thinking about
global after the intervention of internet and other gadgets. Our God has uttered
the word ‘Global’ when He sent His son to this world (Global) (Jn. 3:16). He
didn’t send His son especially to one region or one particular community or caste.
He sent Him for His created world.
The follower of Jesus Christ, whether do we love each and every one in
this world irrespective of colour, region, language, caste, church background,
denomination background? Let us think so that our love may be universal love
C. Unique Love.
God love is a unique one. He loved each and every individual. He called
the individual by his name. He called ‘Samuel’ ‘Zaccheeaus’ and so many.
Each and every one is precious in His sight. He lavished His love on us by
shedding His blood for us.

Let us show God’s unique love to our neighbors, friends, and relatives in a
unique way.

d. Uniform Love.
God’s love has no hierarchy. He loves everyone in same degree. He
loves poor and rich, educated and illiterate, handicapped and healthy, refuge and
slave, terrorist and non terrorist, black or white in a same balance.
Let us analyze ourselves how our love differs from person to person.

It is a time for us to show our life not only in Christmas time but through out our
life. Let replace our nature of pointing others using ‘U” word by ‘U’ like Universal,
Unique, Unconditional and Uniform love.
 Core of believers life
The children visualize the parents as a model for their life. Their action reveals the
imitation of their parents. The grown up children imitates their peers or icons. The
imitation leads to worship them. In one more step, the person becomes demi gods to
the worshippers. The worst part of the whole process is that the failure of the expected
persons leads to resentment.

The same has happened in the cricket. The people worshipped the cricketers and
expected them to bring coveted world cup 2007 to India. They failed to qualify even for
super 8. The cricket fans (worshippers) showed their anger in different ways.

Similarly, Christian believers are trying to worship the charismatic speakers, TV

evangelist, so called pastors etc. They are attracted and influenced by their talents and
presentation skill. After some time, the people feel depressed and dejected after seeing
their real colour of the life. Ultimately, they reject the person and even God.

Jesus said, that the man are compared with vapor, grass (Ps. 37:1,2,20,36)etc. The
men are mere breath and their actions changed time to time. Let us peep into col. 3rd
chapter to find out ABC of our life.

A. Above:
In Colossians, Paul asked Colosse church congregation to set their minds on things
above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2). The pig puts her face below. It never lifts up.
But the plant from the seed is different. As soon as the seed open the outer shell in the
underneath of ground the stem comes out. It searches the light and grows upward
against the gravity above the ground. In our life also, we have to look above to grow and
glow in the spiritual life.
B. Beyond:
The expectation of small appreciation shows the selfish nature of human being. The
vain glory of this world is nothing when compare with the glory of Jesus Christ to come
to this world. Let us hope that we will be like him during His second coming to this
world.

C. Core:
Our mind should be set above and beyond the things not of this world. Lastly, the core
of our life has to be protected from the evil of this world. For that we have to do two
important things.
1. Our life should be hidden with Christ. It means that our life will be like a
pearl hiding inside the shell. The outer shell is Jesus Christ who protects us
from all the glamour’s, evil etc.
2. Our life is hidden in Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ becomes our whole life. In
Galatians Paul said “Not I but Jesus Christ”. (col. 3:4)

Let us set our minds above the heavenly things, think of appearing with Him, our life
Hidden with Christ and slowly Jesus Christ Becomes our life. Let us allow God to take a
in charge of our whole life.