Peace and Joy on earth

In this season we are all enveloped by the spirit of festivity. There is no escape from the marketing pitch by companies wanting to get us the perfect gift, the constant stream of holiday music, invitations for Christmas events - within the Church/Fellowships and at work. Listening to the group which says "Get Christ back into Christmas", you are convinced that they are right and feel unhappy at the barrage of activity aimed at eliminating the word Christmas, to be replaced by Holidays. And of course, you are under pressure to get the gifts for your family, for the teachers/bus drivers of your kid's school, send cards ..I am lousy at this !!

But have you asked yourself what Christmas means to you? Is it the festivity? nothing bad about this.. the gifts? hmm not sure if you foot the bill etc etc. Well it may mean depending on who you are. To a child, it may mean Santa, gifts, the tree. To a youngster, it may mean gifts (again), fun with friends. To an adult, it may mean food, pressures of the season. But whoever you are friend, somethings don't change. Let us go down memory lane back to 2000 years ago, and try to see what changed?

Sometime between Spring and the first rains falling in October, in Judea, a child was born to Mary in Bethlehem. You know the story. Mary, a virgin is chosen by God to deliver a son, named Yeshua who is God becoming a human to be one of us. I am not going to go into the Christmas story in the gospels. But instead let us look at the conditions then. It was a crowded place in Bethlehem. Due to the edict of Caesar, Bethlehem was packed with people -- just like the shopping malls now. Mary and Joseph could not get a place to stay, just like you cant find a parking spot. Everyone were busy enough not to pay attention to a fully pregnant woman and her husband. Life's too busy to slow down. Too many things to do, attend. And then the baby is born. But then the angels appear to the shepherds and tell them about the baby. They go seeking the baby. Now why do the do this? Are'nt they supposed to stay with the sheep and keep watch over them. So they neglect their duty, and decide to check out the mystery that was revealed to them. I am pretty sure they were shell shocked with all the angel thing, that they were overwhelmed, but chose to seek the mystery. Would we do that? Say an angel appeared to you and told you some good news, and then an angelic host appears glorifying God, what will be your reaction?

Well, Mary and Joseph did not have an easy time in Bethlehem. Finding a spot to rest was hard. Nothing was conducive. Sounds familiar? Jesus, even then was not welcome into this world. The prince of this world was indeed hard at work, making it hard and difficult. And then Herod felt threatened by the news of the birth of the King of Jews, and decided to take action. Kill all male children up to the age of 2. Sounds like, lets get rid of Christ in Christmas. But what happened? Jesus grew to be the man He was to be. He died, conquered death, and rose again. He completed what was necessary. He gave/gives His Spirit to all who repent and accept Him as their Savoir who took the punishment that is due on them, and gave eternal life.

But since that time, all out effort is underway to replace Jesus by things like Santa, tree, mistletoe etc etc. But does this change anything? no- because God reigns, and His will is being implemented. If you know His will and are sure that you have the Spirit of God in you, then you are sure about the outcome, your's and God's. Oh there are times of doubt, because the prince of this world is a master counterfeiter that he will scam you. But get back to rest on God, trust in His Spirit to hold you, get you up. Friend - Jesus said don't worry, so much that you are paralyzed with fear. You see, fear is a beast that will cause you to freeze if you allow it to get under your skin. This is up to you. You need to decide whether you trust in God, Who has finished doing all and is Victorious and is offering everything to you to be victorious. Or do you want to be bothered by all the distractions that you worry and get busy so much that you forget that , Jesus has already won the victory and is offering you the peace and joy for your spiritual self?

Do you want that peace and joy? Jesus said - Seek the Truth and the Truth shall set you free. He said, I am the Way, the Truth and Life.

May you have the peace and joy in your heart given as a gift from Jesus.

Happy Christmas.

Tamara Lowe raps - you gotta hear her

The Key to Success

Are you one of those who wish that there is a manual for success? Take a walk in a bookstore like B&N or Borders, you will find many a book that under the covers they will give you a recipe for success. Of course, the author would be the success if you buy one!!

Many a Christian, including myself wish that a clear direction from God Himself would be great, especially in prayer. I found such a direction and want to share. I am pretty sure you all have read the Gospel from Mark 11: 22-25

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” 

This is how I understand and apply it:

V22 - What we should do - Trust in God - Cause
V23 - Effect - if you trust in God,  in God all things are possible.
V24 - instruction: believe that you will receive everything you ask in prayer. This is an extension of the trust that you put on God.
V25: Continuation - I am still in prayer. In prayer, the first thing I need to do is to forgive anyone who has offended you. Without this step you will not receive the power of God. This is because your Father has forgiven you and that is why you are in His presence. God wants you to be like Him, so you too should forgive others the first thing in prayer, when you are pleading God for something.

Folks in this passage, the only part that is figurative is V23; Verses 22,24 and 25 are literal and direct instructions. Read the passage and meditate on it and do it. You will find what I meant in saying - "The Key to Success "

2010 July 4th FW

7 Must Have Soft Skills

If you are a IT and Project Management professional, it is highly relevant; if not you can still benefit by reading this. Successful professionals invariably differentiate themselves because of "soft skills". What is a soft skill ? Wikipedia says "Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people.^[1] Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities." .

For further reading go to 7 Must Have Soft Skills - Part One

Who is a leader and how do you know?

This is an excellent read to know the difference between Management and leadership

What Leaders Really do

RI & MA Christian Family Conferences

The annual Family Conferences for RI & MA are being held on 7/25/10, and 7/31/10. Rev Dr Prasanna Kumar, a man of God from India is the keynote speaker. He is speaking on Victorious Christian Living at RI Conference and Power of Prayer at MA Conference. Rev Prasanna Kumar is blessed with the gift of healing.

Bible - Word of God

What is the book since the era of printing started that has been printed the most, sold, bought and revered the most? It's the Bible. For Christians the Bible is the one thing in their life that is tangible proof of their faith. You can touch it, mark the verses, write your notes. Yeah, its the common thing any self-respecting Christian would say. But what about doubts, questions about the contents, books, authors etc? 


As someone who grew up in a home where I was taught to revere, respect and treat The Book - holy, growing up I just took it as told, as I respected my mother. But then as I grew older, I started thinking objectively, digging deeper, how the different books in the Bible came together, who wrote them, their history etc. And of course I had my questions why only the current 66 books should be considered as the Bible, why not other books? In this age of Google and information explosion and deluge, you can be overwhelmed by the information available. Sifting through all that requires one to be diligent, which would be another post some day!!.


At the same time I was aware of the sufficiency of scripture, and its authority. Today reading a devotional that described Billy Graham's story, the light dawned on me what it is all about. Let me share the Billy Graham story first - 


Taken from the devotional of Pastor Jack Graham

"In his book The Journey, the great Billy Graham writes about coming to a point in his life of reconciling himself to the Scriptures as the complete and authoritative Word of God.
You see, early in his ministry, a friend had challenged Billy to change the way he talked about the Bible. His friend said that Billy's approach was outdated and irrelevant. And for a while, doubts swirled Billy Graham's mind.
Finally one night, sitting alone in a cabin, he thoroughly examined the Scriptures and what the prophets and apostles said about God's Word. And a little later on a walk in the forest, Billy knelt by a tree stump and prayed these words: "Oh, Lord, there are many things in this Book I don't understand. ... But by faith I'm going to accept it as Thy Word! And from this moment on I'm going to trust the Bible as the Word of God!"
From that day forward, when Billy preached, he confidently proclaimed, "The Bible says...!" And that message changed the world!"


I have come to know the attributes of God through the Bible (only by His grace). I now have this wonder, thankfulness and my total insufficiency when I look at Him. That is why through faith (strengthened by the scripture) I rely on Jesus for everything. I connected Billy Graham's experience, to mine. Yes I dont understand all that is in the Bible, but this I understand who God is, and I trust Him, and that He is in control, He reigns. Through the ages if He allowed the books to be 66 working through people, I will trust Him that the Bible is complete and authoritative Word of God. What I was missing is that I was focusing on the book and not on God. It is not about the book, but it is all about God, that is what the Bible is. Praise God for His mercies and His ways to open my heart and eyes.

Tagged

A list of tagged topics with verses from my daily scripture reading, which I would like to share with you all -

 

Isaiah's son (1) Isaiah 7:3 ("isaiah's son")
wow praise (1) Psalms 105:3-4 ("wow praise")
A direct directive to be followed (1) Ephesians 5:4 ("a direct directive to be followed")
to those who believed him (1) John 8:31 ("to those who believed him")
control your tongue (1) James 3:3 ("control your tongue")
how to be clean (1) Isaiah 1:16-17 ("how to be clean")
miracle like red sea parting (1) Joshua 3:16 ("miracle like red sea parting")
forgiveness (1) Luke 15:22 (forgiveness)
tongues, prophecy (1) 1 Corinthians 14:22 ("tongues, prophecy")
water (1) 1 John 5:7-8 ("3 testifiers of jesus- spirit" water blood)
all believers are priests (1) Isaiah 61:6 ("all believers are priests")
to lie (1) Numbers 23:19 ("god is not man" "to lie")
Joshua writes a copy of the law (1) Joshua 8:32 ("joshua writes a copy of the law" "the 1st copy?")
justice (1) Jeremiah 9:24 ("delight of god- love" truth justice)
1000 year rule by God (1) Isaiah 2:4 ("1000 year rule by god")
God talks to diviner too! (1) Numbers 22:9 ("god talks to diviner too!")
manna what is it (1) Exodus 16:15 ("manna what is it")

The Choice of Life and Death

I was reading my daily scripture portion from Deuteronomy 30, and verses 11 - 20 hit me bang, real hard. The section heading was " The Choice of Life and Death". In verse 11 God , Elohim, Yaveh is telling Moses, look what I have given to be followed is not hard, nor it is far off, and it is not in heaven or beyond the sea, that you say who will bring it to me?  But where is it? Now comes the clincher. V 14 - "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it".

Honestly in all my life I did not hear this being preached or heard this portion of scripture. God is telling us the word is in my heart and in my mouth, so that I can do it. We tend to love the word, but what do we do with it. God is saying I gave you my word, placed it in your heart and in your mouth, to do what ? to do it. And in the next verses, a clear choice is given, the choice between life and death. Of course if I dont care about life or death , there is no need to do anything, but what if this is true. So the choice is clear and up to you. For those who have made the choice, one thing is clear. God called you to do his work, and He has put His word in your heart. That is all that I and you need.

Compliance Vs Commitment / Communication & Relationship

Mature Organisations constantly work on assessing the degree of Compliance and Commitment in their workforce. Leadership strives to implement policies that result in committed employees rather than just compliant employees. Studies have shown that if you succeed in having a committed workforce, productivity, innovation and the environment all together is positive. What is Compliance and Commitment? Webster's thesaurus defines Compliance as "a readiness or willingness to yield to the wishes of others" and Commitment as "something one must do because of prior agreement". A CEO would like to have his workforce be committed, rather than compliant. OK, let's ask ourself the question what am I - Compliant or Committed ?

Let me put it this way from the perspective of the Bible - Compliance is like following the Law, but Commitment is when you love your God with all your heart, soul and strength and follow Him, because of your agreement with God when you fell on your face, repented and accepted Jesus as your savior. When you are commited, because you love your God, you fulfill the law because you love Him. What does the Bible convey - Compliance or Commitment ? Those who think it is compliance, fail in being faithful, but those who view it as commitment - rise up even against all odds. I find that the core of Management theory is lot like what the Bible teaches.

Communication is critical in any organization. The type, frequency and channel used to deliver communication is critical in getting the message from the top to everyone. I place interaction and collaboration, equally important. When communication, collaboration go together, the result is a relationship. This is also recognized in the spiritual growth of a believer. Communication equals studying the Word. The Bible is the recording of God's communication to you. When you read the Word, it means that God is talking to you. That's one part of the communication. How do you respond ? It is through prayer. So without the reading of the Word and prayer, communication is not complete between you and God. You are also interacting in this dual activity of   reading the Word and being prayer, and this results in a growing relationship. All through the Bible, there is one single theme. God's relation with man. Do you have a relationship with God ? do you think that you have a relationship with God ?

My mother has run her race to receive her crown.

My dear mother passed away on April 12, 9:00 pm, at the age of 77 years in India. When I heard the sad news, around 10 am est, while I was at work, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Pulling together, I focussed on getting on a plane to India. My wife Anne, comforted me and took on the task of getting a ticket, packing my bags. A few hours later I was on a BA flight to Hyderabad via London. The flight is a long one, about 8 hours to London from Boston, 10+ hours from London to Hyderabad. As memories rushed through my mind, I wept silently. I loved my mother, who loved me the most.

She was a prayer warrior, who got things from God through prayer. She was a model of Lam 2:19 - "Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children".
She lost her husband, my dad at the age of 39 years and had 5 children to take care of. By her unceasing prayers, she brought us all up in life gave us good education, and blessed us always. I and my sisters are living testimonies for the power of prayer and God's grace and promises. Psalm 23 and Roman 14:8 were the promises given to us when my dad passed away back then when I was a very young child.

She was a fearless, strong , structured and loving person. All these qualities came from being a prayerful person. She believed that all things should be put in prayer, from even trivial things to major ones. She was blessed with the gift of healing, and through prayer healed even cancer. She was a giver, she gave her life to the Lord and to us.

Mom, you have run the race, and have reached your goal, to be with our Lord. We will miss you sorely, love you mom.

Good Friday Note

On Good Friday , the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ will be observed with much somberness, self examination by many Christians across the world. The physical pain, torture and agony described and shown in the movie " Passion of th Christ" captures this well. Many know that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind, around 2000 years ago. 


While reading Leviticus 16, it occurred to me that the sequence of events starting from Pilate's action of asking the gathered crowd, who should be released - Jesus or Barabbas ? was something like the a practice instituted amongst the Israelites by God Himsel? Turn to Leviticus 16: 8

8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. [a]
Aaron the Chief Priest was to take 2 goats, cast lots to choose one for the Lord and the other as a scapegoat. The goat chosen for the Lord was sacrificed as a sin offering to the Lord, for the sins of the people. The goat chosen as the scapegoat or for Azazel, was led to the wilderness, after laying all the sins of the nation.


The scriptures record as well as the witness of the apostles provide us clear understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus, as a sacrifice - a sin offering - for the sins of all mankind. There is also a striking similarity or maybe was the intention of God's way being fulfilled, that the blood of the sacrificed goat be sprinkled seven times on the altar - Jesus spoke seven words on the cross as his blood poured out from his wounds.


Why am I saying all this ? Sometimes we become so familiar with the the gospel presentation of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, it helps in realizing and trying to understand the laws of God. Yes the sacrificial system instituted by God in the old testament seems to be so bloody and out of place with our present day thinking and culture, that we miss the bigger picture. I am trying to understand the bigger picture, so that I realize my part in the crucifixion of Jesus.


Coming to the scapegoat of Leviticus 16, who is this. Initially I thought this may be Barabbas, and then I read about the way that this scapegoat that was led into the wilderness was actually thrown from the top of a precipice so that it never returns back into Israel. Judas came into my mind, was he the scapegoat ? How does this tie back ?


What do you think? Let me know, you can post your comments...........


I need to say that this is what I believe - I believe in the risen Jesus, who sacrificed himself for my sins, and has provided me the only way for me to get back to the Creator. Through Jesus I have everything, eternal life, His strength to stand up and have victory in life. It is good to recall His sacrifice, to reflect on our self, but Jesus is not on the cross any more, He is risen, victorious and is coming anytime. Are you ready to receive Him?

Valuation

Just like the people in the time of Jesus, so are we, missing the big picture, misunderstanding what the Kingdom of God is all about, confused between Spiritual and material blessings. This leads to frustration, defeat as we are confused. Even the apostles were not exempt from this confusion, despite their closeness to Jesus untill they received the Holy Spirit, and understood what the Kingdom of God is all about. The question "Who do you say Jesus is" becomes extremely important in order to get a clear perspective. Our greatest victory(s) for Christ will only come when we are clear on the difference between heavenly and earthly matters. Mat 6:33 (KJV) "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Unless I know or realise the value of an article that I am after, how would I prepare myself to attain it ? The parables of the hidden treasure in the field and the pearl of great value tell us what the value of the Kingdom of heaven is all about. You are the best person to get answers to any confusion you may have.

How much does one need?

How much does one need ? This has been a question asked since the beginning of mankind. We can categorize our possessions within the 3 T's - "Time, Treasure, Talent". Using our talent to work within our time, we gather treasure. We use our treasure to acquire goods, that we need to satisfy our hunger, shelter and clothing. So after a certain amount of time if we have surplus treasure, depending on our financial skills, it can be used to generate more. This is good. We need to be prudent in our financial plans. Some of us may not acknowledge that money is a major factor in our well being, relationships, quality of life. But it is indeed a force. So much so that Jesus during His ministry on earth talked about money quite a deal. Either we use money or allow it to abuse us!

For instance how is your cash flow? It would be a positive cash flow if you are using it in a right manner, if not it is negative. Having a good positive cash flow for companies is a sign of strength, and it is true for our personal budgets. So let me come to my point, if you want to be free from the clutches of money, you need to be on top of everything involving money.

For example you may have been touched by the Haiti earthquake, and would like to donate some money. How much would you like to and how much can you actually donate? This depends on your cash flow situation. If you are someone who is organized with a spreadsheet that tells you how much you earn, and how much you spend, it is possible to see it right away. Or else you don't have a clue.

Going back to the 3 T's, you can donate your time, talent or treasure to the Haiti Relief effort, or some charity that you are passionate about. If you are the average person in US, your biggest investment may be your home. You can open up your home to have, say a Bible study or host a meeting to come up with ideas to help with the relief effort. In the Bible, God asks you and me to give to the needy, His temple. If we take the view that everything that we have comes from God, and that we are only managers of the possessions, we can do a better job in managing our resources to the maximum effect. The "effect" depends on your stand on charity or ambition. But the stewardship view provides you peace of mind and joy, try it.

Lion Chasers Manifesto

Love this manifesto from Mark Batterson's book “In a Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day”

Lion Chasers Manifesto:

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Criticize by creating. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.