Stuff Sunil Writes/Has Written

Drag that cross across the stage - A modern Easter/Good Friday programme tribute

2011-04-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
May everybody watching be amazed
At the immense suffering and the pain
Of the Saviour on the day that He was slain

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
Put on the spotlight his act of mercy and grace
Let's celebrate his suffering for it made us free
Oh yes, let's rejoice in that sweet liberty

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
He did it all just for you and me
There is no shame in it, you see
He didn't have any, so mustn't we

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
Let the world know how he quietened the rage
Of sin and shame that bore my name
and put Himself, in my place, to blame

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
Open those wounds and let them bleed
Slash that whip harder till you succeed
In letting the world respond to Christ's magnificent deed

Come on and drag that cross across the stage
Yes, you are sure that even He rejoices
When you make such a happy noise
About the pain He endured all the way

Why don't you drag that cross all the more
Put it up on your shoulders physically
So that we all can very clearly see
That Christ died for just for you and me

Come on, perch that cross up at the back end
So that He can scream in the agony and pain once again
So that we be haunted by those very thoughts
Just in case, of our reference point, we get lost

Let's glorify the wounds that set us free
Let's magnify because we must indeed
Let's make a hoarding, huge, big & gory
We must indeed tell the complete and full story

For our hands and feet are just too weak
To take those wounds entirely
That would invalidate the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb
If we didn't, it would make the whole episode worthless, wouldn't it?

Gotta tell the story, gotta sing the song
Even if we have only one opportunity to do it all year long
And we also got to tell it right
So that we make an unforgettable deep mark in the mind

For it's that cross that we are to sell to the world
In the very size and shape that it was made
Woe be unto us if we take forward its symbolic meaning
Oh, it would be the greatest treason

Yes, because it implies nothing beyond a piece of wood
That on Golgotha was the centre of Salvation hung
To bleed and die, instead of you and me
Oh it's gory in all its beauty

For what it says beyond the event
Let's not venture there, that's not why He was sent
He came so he could die and go
So we could tell the world that He did that so

What it means in everyday life
Is centred on the piece of wood and its strife
Oh no, we don't take it way anywhere beyond that
We must pay obeisance to the blood & the wood

But before you drag that cross across the stage
Just check the case you exactly make
Whether your plea stops in its embodiment of the wooden tree
Or if it implies what it means, thereof, to be free indeed

The form it takes in your life and mine
Is the more important embodiment than that in wood
It's not that the cross is not that the cross is not important
The importance of the symbolism of the actual act must be sorted

So, actually stop literally dragging that cross across the stage
Make it less of an obeisance to the wood
And more of gratitude to the King
And showcase the praise He deserves, in lifestyle & deed, which is what we should bring

Let's put on a show, if it's our heart's desire
Let's celebrate the occasion in the Spirit and with fire
But don't re-crucify Him every year
Even if it's symbolistic, let's give Jesus a break

He's done the act and we're with Him now
He was never meant to be our psychological crutch
Especially ones that we strongly hold close and claim to depend on
Knowing fully well, and silently endorsing, the weakness that we need to depend on it for

Let's talk about some REAL Christian Love

2011-03-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

One of the most misinterpreted passages that I have come across, quoted at will, whenever it suits fancy. The various understandings coming from this verse are extremely painful. Here are some things to put it in perspective.

Before that, here are a few things that must be cleared first:

1. The passage does not indicate that Christians must be a bunch of "nice & sweet" folk.

2. It does not solely seek to accomodate anyone's personal preferences of what love must be. It is for our growth and understanding.

3. Love is given with sincere concern for the good of the person. Always in the best interests of person, it may result in methods which are non-"nice & sweet".

4. It is defined by the values of God and not in a free-for-all sense.

Love is patient. Indeed, but not patient enough to lose you to your own folly

Love is kind. Of course, but it would not 'be so kind' as to let you not revel in pseudo-light/darkness

Love does not envy, except share the envy of being in Christ, ofcourse with the envy intact

Love does not boast, and it cannot boast of anything except gratefulness

Love is not self-seeking, nor does any one become the centre of focus of it

Love is not easily angered, neither is it offered over-the-counter to be valued like that

Love keeps no record of wrongs. It quietly moves past as if they never happened

Love does not delight in evil, and speaks against every bit of it

Love rejoices with the truth, as much as it rebukes the untruth

Love always protects, but not in a manner that you will always feel protected

Love always trusts and hopes, that the right will be chosen, independently, in good judgement

Love always perseveres and keeps on keeping on, never giving up

We often find ourselves not being able to differentiate between a value judgment and a statement of fact, when someone says or does something. Not all people who say what we don't like are wrong. It's not the Golden Rule of Life. It may be so when the entire world actually revolves around you, but till then they can also very well be right. Making value judgments are easy, but we also forget that when we do that we are only doing, ourselves, what we are accusing the other person of doing. The right way to handle it is to talk about it, with reason and understanding, on the basis that either party could be wrong and that the statement or action was indeed the case. Running all over town on the presumption that you are right and the other person is no less a value judgment, even if you are. That's when talking about it with reason and understanding, ego and value judgments aside, brings the real picture into focus.

There is also the correction that we must not be rude. Rude is something that can occur from any direction. Something can be said in utter sincerity, with or without knowing the other person, which can result in the person being hurt. Assuming that the prime reason of saying and doing such a thing was to be rude to you, for no reason at all, would an assumption, again, based on the fact that you are indeed the centre of all thin that must happen, which is not the case. It must, again, be talked over with reason and understanding, putting ego and value judgments aside.

It is also very common to have Christians point out this very verse and tell how "unchristian" our actions are, telling us we must act otherwise. We must understand that while we are supposed to longsuffer and love, when we do it on demand, it is as good as being taken for granted by people who know the loophole. It no longer serves a purpose then. It's like admitting the fault that we're trying to correct and then asking that we be kind about it.Love does not respect the issue. It endeavours for the person's growth and understanding. It is not meant to keep the person fine and happy in the wrong – especially when the wrong is openly admitted and defended.

Love is also not an over-the-counter offer. Christian Love in practice is a struggle for the one who practices it in the sense that he/she fights between crossing the line of sounding rude and offensive when seeking to speak the truth in love. How do you tell someone to snap out of it, when you have given them all reason to and more to do so, and they just aren't going to listen? It is not easy. And sometimes a rap on the head, or any other alternative as closely strong, is just the pill, unless you'd rather have them wallow in their own folly a lot more towards their ruin. How you draw that line is the question. All choices are usually made in best possible known judgment - something that is defined and further defended by the love we profess for the person. That does not mean that we will not be rude, unkind, mean and such. He, very well, just may, all in love, do so that the person makes a step for the better. It, being God's very love, should be a fully God led situation as well.

We must also understand the dichotomic nature of God, whose love we profess. As much as God is for something, he is, as much, anti the same thing. If God is righteous, He is as much as anti-sin. It will sometimes seem contradictory. We like to paint a picture of God on one side of the bargain. If it was not so, He would then indeed be contradictory, and more importantly valueless. He would, then, stand for this and that. He would then have to be righteous and love everybody, sin regardless.

When we speak with love, also, we speak with the truth. We do not encourage people to be out of the truth, rather we encourage them to stay in it. We also correct them when they are out of it. When it is the rap in the head that they need, a rap on the head is what they need – all towards directing toward the truth of Christian Love. Sometimes"love" does not work. Loving one another in Christian Love is not hippie love when we accept each other as we are and all live happily ever after. It corrects and pushes one towards the Truth in correction, with reason and understanding.

Whatever happened to just, “Go”?

2011-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

The word ‘go’ has an enchantment to it. When Jesus said, “Go”, he fully meant that we must simply just GO. He didn’t say wait till you have the means. In Luke 10, when he asks the 72 to, “Go”, he didn’t give them a ministry name, get a few sponsors, tell them who to call so that they get to sleep eat well enough and get people to get the places of meeting ready and inform the people to attend the event. They simply went, of course replete with instructions.

This is in much contrast to nowadays where ministry is as less simply ‘Go’ as much as it is branded. It must have a name and must read X Ministries. I shall, of course, withhold my biased opinion of the different words that replace ‘X’ in quite many cases. If we can take the name of the elements of holiness that are used, we must surely be very sure that we are given the mandate to use those names and the grace, means and strength to live up to them.

One dimension of how we have ‘gone’ wrong is when we seek to ensure a comfortable way forward. We, for some reason, should know how things will fall in place well before we leave and must check up of the arrangements thereof till the moments arrived. While I agree that, when we have the option to do that we must, my main problem is this.

When we don’t just simply go, we lose out on, one, the romance of the affair. The thing that Abraham felt when he just went must have been awesome. Of course, he had a lot with him and not so much to worry about, but he had NO clue where he was going. He just went where he was told to go. I can imagine Abraham, if he was asked to do it today, letting the wind hit his face and feeling the sweet wind of the adventure the Lord would be bringing up on him. Not that it would be very easy in worldly terms, but I thought we leave those terms of reference behind when we choose to follow the Lord. The (truer) intrinsic blessings outdo any possible thing in the whole wide world.

Also, just simply going, paints a rather non-corporate picture of how we are reaching out to the world. It is not a pretty picture, one that is akin to buying tickets to a concert that you want to see or a play or a movie you want to go to. And, while it is nice to attract people with pretty pictures, we must consider what we are attracting them to. Are we saying come have a good time and not telling that we have a message implanted in the programme that will tell them about Jesus secretly? When ever did the actual first step to Christ become one that is desired, wanted or is found cool by a person who has not met him yet? That moment of the encounter when the poverty of the spirit is brought to light and the degenerate heart is confronted, something that acn only be done by Christ himself? Is that moment something that is designed to be enjoyable, wonderful and nice? Does a corporate approach facilitate this entry into Christ?

For generations, the questions have not changed. The quest of the soul has remained the same always. The answer to it is not painted in pretty pictures that corporate ministry only allows. It is a difficult decision when the moment of confrontation comes and must not be ‘sold’ in any easier form. It should be either sold in completeness or not sold at all. The fact that the option must remains open, through the lives of the God’s people around them, does not change.

Lastly, as people in ministry, we are not fully polished and round. We also are being worked in by God as He wants to work in other people through us. We cannot present a polished picture because we are not polished people. We cannot seem, in the least, self righteous. A picture that is rough around the edges is the picture that is one that is only completely true to all of us.

So the question is now, have you just simply GONE as yet?

After much deep and profound brain things inside my head...

2011-02-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

I knocked clear and hard, a distinct rap that you heard
You let me in, with myself in full, a notion that seemed very clear
I seemed welcome enough to at least sit myself down and feel perfectly at home
I later realised that there must have been something, something much more

The welcome-in seemed perfectly clear, sans the warnings on the wall
You, as well, seemed fine as well with my feet on the table, long and tall
If there was a sign of discomfort at the length of my arms when I stretched them
It was laughed off with what I recognise now a sense of absurd mystic humour

When the strange feelings came along, I was wondering if I should keep singing my songs
But then there was no clear opposition to my rants and my suppositions
It very clearly seemed that we were just one big happy bunch of folk
Who really ought to do a regular weekly lunch of sorts because we rock as much

But now you land me this eviction notice, one that I was supposed to see coming
I wonder now who was supposed to be smart enough or am I just plain dumb?
Did I get it all wrong from the very beginning and were you just being gracious?
It seems so very much, as much as you seem to imply the case is

But, wait a minute. No. That really isn’t the case at all
I just realised not one between us was ever perfect. We both had our faults.
Not that we didn’t admit them, but the journey of discovery were we on.
Our paths met, along the way, something neither of us would have known to call

To turn to the tables over now and take a stand of supremacy
I don’t know where you got these ideas in your heads of such Majesty
You, I nor anyone else is the centre of all the action we see.
We are all walking in progress towards our own notions of perfection.

If you weren’t imperfect like we all are in our many little ways
Then I may agree that we must serve Your Majesty all our days
Then there should have been at least an inkling of the wall
Of your supremacy, which I will straight away ignore

If there was an by-the-way hurt that was reached
I’m sorry for launching you into a time of blues
But if you just came to assert that argument and then straightway leave
I’d rather you sit and reason than you come here, your supremacy and majesty to preach

Here’s something you may as well understand that this is how it is planned
The key to the heart lies on the inside, something that only YOU can open up to the outside
You never know who you let in to get cozy, just like they don’t know for what you might throw them out
No one enters perfect persons and no one leaves with perfection really ever achieved

It’s actually a matter of mutual self discovery, one that benefits and progress all sides involved
But only when there’s an adventure in the soul and when there’s passion to figure out, what more is in it
If you ask to be perfectly gratified, you should hang that that up on a wall
So that everyone can see so that they don’t make the step before they fall

Primarily Accommodative, Essentially Radiant - 5 - Allow Yourself To Become The Truth You Profess

2011-02-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

In being Primarily Accommodative, Essentially Radiant, our actions are not mere and meaningless. We are what we profess and, by no means, are we perfectly perfect and round. We are also in the making. As we are made, we are to be emanating (and functional). Hence, no one’s actions will be the perfect picture, neither do we have the right to draw the perfect picture we don’t know as a standard to ourselves. As much as we (in the making) are emanating, we also play a part in the making of the people we involve ourselves with in the great awesome plan of God.

Keeping this in mind, it is necessary that we pay attention to ourselves. If we are the vehicle, we are to keep ship-shape. If the vehicle breaks down and does not perform, the mission cannot be carried out. Given that we are in the making and are being perfected by God, it’s not something that’s driven by us. The only place in which our role can possibly come in, is in being sincere and available to that process. In being sincere & available, we are being true to ourselves allowing the growth to happen and allowing ourselves to become wholesome and complete persons of Christ. Not knowing what perfection is, we cannot choose to direct it, decide what we will remain as or where we will remain. We must lend ourselves to perfection, increasing our understanding and seeking to learn more and more.

In the midst of this process, there will be conflict that is mostly internal and it must rage, by all means, and we must be refined. While it rages, we must explore the new directions it gives us and get refined. This internal conflict will project what may be conceived as unchristian behavior, but it is a part of realizing how small we indeed are in all our limited strength. This must be mired in utter sincerity. It is inevitable that the move on up to the next level will be difficult and the value we have for the upgraded life in Christ and its privilege only justifies it. In the meantime, we should keep ourselves open to the correction, understanding and growth that it takes to get there. Fighting it only holds us back from the privilege.

If we are to be what we profess and we are to move on up to the next level, we should allow ourselves to become what we profess at the next level.

Primarily Accommodative, Essentially Radiant - 4 - Recognise the construct

2011-01-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

If we are going to be functional, we have to get ourselves a full & proper understanding of the situation we are dealing with, be it one that deals with ourselves or with another. We have to understand what we are working against (or working towards) in order to bring it down (or change it). It is imperative understand the problem fully well so that we are indeed functional enough to end up being of (some) productive good in our effort.

Problems have issues which they are symptoms of, which is where the solution lies. Without solving the issue, we won’t get to solve the problem. We would then be merely symptomatic, if we acted without recognizing this. The first step to doing that is to recognise & understand the issue. We may only advance a bit in easing the load, but we won’t really be effective in progressing much further as the problem will crop up again as a result of the issue that still persists. Something also very important to understand is that the issue is a part of the person and the change that is to happen is to happen in the person primarily.

Everybody (including ourselves) has their own struggles and their own capabilities to deal with them, be it in merely coping with them or actually tackling them. It seems, though it cannot be conclusively said, these struggles actually do make us the people we are supposed to be perfected into (note Matthew 5). We (are to) recognise the perfectness that lies beyond our struggles to be something we are to reach.

It is, but, conclusive to say that it is also necessary to cross that distance in a healthy manner. It is a part of the moulding that makes us into who we are to become. If it is rushed, we may not fully become that. The journey transpired across the struggle must be building of us, and therefore wholesome and complete, if it is to build us completely indeed. To allow that to happen, we must recognise, understand and respect its construct and thereby allow it to grow within its construct.

Being made of a certain construct indicates that we will not able to rise above it on all occasions, however much we try. We can do our best within it to understand it, with the incapabilities that it poses at the given point(s) in time. We sometimes have an inkling of it, and sometimes more of an inkling, of these things – subject to the wisdom that we receive and also subject to the manner in which we use our minds (with the capability that we have been given to).

What should not happen, in all eventuality, is that we bang our heads on an unbreakable wall because we are working against the incapabilities that we really can’t help. We should realise what the best is that we can do, and maybe if we wish attempt to speculate, test and try further – but there is a limit beyond which we really have no hand in.

All of the above said must be mired in sincerity and honesty. Using any of it as an excuse to, out of insincerity, say that we can’t cross it is something that eventually turns around and hits each one of us on, if that is indeed what we do. If we see an image of the perfection that we must be close to (or exactly at), we must work towards it believing that in the process perfection will be worked in us.

Primarily Accommodative, Essentially Radiant - 3 - Question its functionality

2011-01-04T11:54:00.001-08:00

Our actions are mired with our own experiences and joys from knowing the Truth, which we then share, but only after experiencing them ourselves. And when we share them, we always include our own takes on the matter, as our experiences dictate. We don't always share it in a completely detached way and we can't really share it in a detached way since it is so close to our hearts indeed.

In doing so, we aren't always emanating and functional. Lost in the mire of our own excitement and joy of sharing, it is very easy to have our love lose its functionality in purpose when offered out. We can very easily seem to think that our deeds are of such a nature when what we are indeed doing is solely keeping up the excitement in our own lives.

It may just be one that serves and achieves its own purpose. The only way to check them is to look at our works, as they be, and consider their utility value – as if they were apersonal actions, as if we did those things with absolutely nothing to gain from them. We must evaluate them for the utility value, for it is their utility value that defines their function and the nature of their function best.

Such a test which shows whether it is one that is always moving forward, growing, desirous, outreaching, helping, seeking and such would be to take our ways and add them up in terms of their resultant effect. At the end of the day, what is achieved? Does it achieve such a purpose? Or do we solely serve our own psyche?

The best way to do that is to remove the personal implications from the truth we present and offer, for the sake of evaluation, and then look to see if we are indeed helping the other person. Do this and not let the response, especially the one that we want to see, be a factor in how we offer or whether we offer it or not for that matter. If we expect only the response that we expect, we are not really doing it for them but for us as well, since that is going to determine whether we offer it and how we offer it.

But, it is impossible to completely detach our implications from what we do. If we do that, we wouldn't even be able to even offer it. It would have no meaning and we would have no reason to offer it. So, there must be a balance between the two when it is not meaningless (then it can't be offered at all) and when it completely places the choice to take and use to the one we offer it to. It is difficult to do both - hanging around and offering it anyway until the person wants to take it but hey! that's the only way you really offer love that has only the other person in mind. If it is indeed what it is worth taking, it will come to use to the person when they need to use it. When the person realises that they need it, it will always be there to take it.

Similarly when we deal with ourselves, we should question its functionality as well. Do our ways when we deal with ourselves really add up to something when detach them from our attachment to them? If we were to apersonalise the way we deal with ourselves, what will those steps add up to? Where do they lead to indeed? This comes down to the content value of what we do. What is it that they indeed profess? What kind of lives do they make us lead? What lives to we indeed lead in the process, depending on whether we follow them or not? What does it eventually break down to? If we were to evaluate this, what would be the end sum result? Is all our attachment to nothing of any good that we can speak of? If its content value cannot speak of anything worthy, what is it that we allow ourselves to get attached to? Is it a mere psyche pleasing exercise or is it really something of some worth?

Primarily Accomodative, Essentially Radiant - 2 - Does it hold good to itself, to start with at least?

2010-12-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

The truth that runs our lives, what we believe indeed, are not mere stands we choose to have, arbitrarily. It is very much our choice to choose to believe them. If it defeats its own purpose, it has no functional value and is a dud. For it to be valid, it must hold good to itself as a primary principle that we are to follow. To be functional, it must serve an end. This may not always be a well round and defined purpose but it always will serve an end. It will, however, not be a pointless exercise.

Now everything, whether it serves the psyche solely or not, serves an end. If this end indeed is our psyche (read the narcissistic God that we worship) or an end that is indeed emanating and functional is the what the question is. The other question to ask is if the purpose is self defeating. What does the whole exercise amount to in the end, in total independence? What is the takeaway at the end of it all? Is someone or something served if it/they are in need? Of what consequence is it? Or are we just trading psyche-pleasing experiences and going around in circles?

We either have...

1) something to give

2) something to take

3) a bit of both, which is usually the case.

Whichever be the case, we either...

1) confidently know what we do know indeed to offer it

2) seek out of need, desire, want and/or incompleteness

3) do both of these – offering what we know and seeking what we don't

...in the process, leaving our understanding open to correction.

When we add all of this up, what is the picture that our understanding creates? Is it one that works against itself?

At the end of it all, do we...

1) learn something indeed

2) be of help someone who needed it

3) overall come out of the experience, with more with us because we were helped and we learnt AND have sufficed someone's need, both at the same time

When we indulge in our lifestyle and corporate worship, we do it knowingly, whether we understand it or not. We choose to worship, however worthy of God our worship indeed is. If it does not adhere to a construct that is always moving forward, growing, desirous, outreaching, helping, seeking and such, it is only one that runs in a circle. If so, it only pleases ourselves and our psyches and is as less worthy of God. We are exactly in the same spot that we were at the last time we worshipped, something we fight and defend to stay at-only ending up a serving a God who amounts to being narcissistic. What we are indeed doing is serving our senses and, indeed, not our non-narcissistic God who wants us to be emanating and functional with His love that we carry in us.

Primarily Accomodative, Essentially Radiant - 1

2010-12-08T11:18:00.001-08:00

Knowing God in all His awesomeness makes us want to praise Him more. Indeed. This is our act of worship, either personal or corporate. When we do that, we put Him on a pedestal giving Him the honour and praise that we believe He deserves. That is something that is primarily symbolic of where we stand in our journey with God at the point in time. I say this because we cannot really fully know God in all His awesomeness. We can only know how much of Him he reveals to us. That is also dependent to some extent on how close our walk with Him is.

Moreover, it is not something we are capable of, neither is it something that is critical that we do. God already is on that pedestal before all existence ever was, a million times higher than we can probably ever imagine. It is certainly not up to us to keep Him on that pedestal, neither can we really know it in its entirety to give Him all the glory that He actually deserves. It would be completely narcissistic of him to require that of us. We do not worship a simply egotistic God. If we do, we worship a God with some serious issues of insecurity, surely not the rock we stand upon.

This putting-Him-on-a-pedestal must be only symbolic, and nothing more. Call it default worship, if you will. That doesn’t make it any less glorious an offering to Him than it is. It is simply differentiates it from our primary worship which is our active walking talking worship. If our primary worship were to be our default worship, then it would be only active talking worship as opposed to an active walking talking worship. It would then be something VERY irrelevant and extremely meaningless even to us who practice it. As a matter of fact, it would, at the least, not even be practice worthy.

We are to be functional Christians extending that relationship with God into our lives and out from lives onto the rest of the world, and not simply continuously pay obeisance to God. Our purpose is NOT to primarily continuously tell God how great He is. He knows that more than you can ever know. It is, but, to tell the world how great God is because that same great God is at work in our lives. It’s an all-in-one process. None of these elements can be separated from the others.

Now there’s a slight problem here. The PSYCHE. The psyche likes to be pleased. What the psyche wants, the psyche gets. If the psyche needs to be satisfied, no manner of satisfaction is wrong. The psyche is THE MAN, by all means, apparently. When the prime preoccupation of our worship is the grand manner of God’s ways to us and in our life, with an absence of the dissipation of those ways into our lives and into our living, only the psyche is pleased. The sole purpose of God’s work is not solely for our blessing and our benefit. We are NOT our own. Stopping at His work in our lives and not letting it work in us and go forward through us only ends being a service to ourself and psyche and is not worthy of the joy it gives. We do NOT let God work with us in action, when the only the psyche is pleased. We are not meant to simply comment on his awesomeness but BE his awesomeness so that others can SEE his awesomeness. That means a lot less awe in words and lot more someness in resulting action.

Yes, we will be the fruit of what we are rooted in, but that comes along with a mind that is in our control. If we choose to allow the psyche to take over and be a non-thinking mind, we will only end up serving it. If all we do is only all talk of how great He is by His works towards us, insisting that it is all important, as if they were works primarily and solely for our benefit, there is no be of how great He indeed is with absolutely no relevance to us and therefore no seen impact on the people around us.

We have to check our ways and get over the fact that God has done what He has done for us and go on and allow it to dissipate into our lives and living. God is indeed awesome, much awesomer than the last awesome thing that He just did. If you don't think your God is awesome in the first place, you, first of all, need to expect lots more. Maybe not awesome by your exact standards but awesome, none the less. Leave the jusification of that upto Him. Going over ga-ga and not getting over his awesomeness keeps you a non-functional Christian. He is not that God only to you, but also to other people for whom you are a vehicle of Him.

Expect God to be perfectly God, which means God is as likely to surprise you with his awesomeness as likely as the journey may not turn out to be that surprising. Keeping in mind that what you get is only what you have to live and must give out. Get over it and wait for him to do it all over again. Remember that you are solely SO NOT the point.

The Excuse of Christmas

2010-12-06T01:51:00.001-08:00

The Magi spent quite a while
Following a star day and night
They stopped only at the Light
that shone under the guiding star so bright
They found their perfectly allowable excuse for Christmas

Ebenezer Scrooge thought he had too much too lose
Even on his poor Bob Crachit, he had to enforce his blues
But when the Ghost of Christmas Present took him to Bob's window glass
He underwent an extreme change from his cringing ways to depart
In a yummy turkey for Bob and more, he found his excuse, most importantly, in a change of heart

It's the Christmas Rush in the corner fancy shop
And a happy shopper was walking in, in a happy Christmas bop
Some fancies shine too much, some just right
All in all, for the owner it's another busy night
It seems they found their excuse for Christmas in colour and the shining lights

The dinner for the poor was very much in order
The poor man digging in was free from quite a spot of hunger bother
He looked up at the kind smiling faces who were gracious enough to serve him
At the same time, he was wondering where they were during the rest of his days that were dim
He was wondering whether he was their excuse for Christmas, but was too hungry to think further

The local church had many programmes lined up for the season
They seemed to have to celebrate, quite a great reason
In the midst of the fun, the madness and the frolic
The focus of the reason seemed to gradually lose its logic
That it indeed had nothing to do with their excuse is completely tragic.

The business man wanted to cash in on the celebration
He wanted to send out a very good vibration
So, he packed his products in to a Christmas case
And put on them on sale, all tied up in fancy red silky lace
As the profits rolled in, he seemed right at home with his excuse for Christmas

At the ever present carnival down the next corner
People rolled in, for lots of fun to order
They shouted and screamed as the excitement reached its peak
They began to start to want more excitement to seek
Their excuse for Christmas, at least, for the evening was just absolutely fine

As I pen this poem on a regular office day
These thoughts pester, in my mind, all the way
Why the wait, I wonder, to do it all at once?
Why the hurry to fit it into one single month?
What's the fuss over the day?
What's with the impulse, to which we sway?
If you love somebody, just show it anyway.
If you love a party, get down with it anyway.
If you want to buy stuff, why wait?
If you want to gift, why wait?
If you want to pretty up your crib, pretty it up already.
If you want to make a fuss, why suffer and wait for the Christmas Bus?

I'm still looking for mine, for years on end.
It doesn't look like there is one that will justify the trend
When you find yours, one that makes at least some sense
I will consider some in all this nonsense
I don't need an excuse, leave alone an excuse for Christmas or any other season.

The Reason Why

2010-09-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

I know you love Jesus

You don't give me a choice

I've heard all about Him

His amazing ways and the power of His voice

You seem bent on talking about Him

Until the end of your days

But there is a slight problem

With what your saying

We usually do things for a reason why

I can understand,if it's not all logic

There's no need for you to start getting all apologetic

If there's something I am not seeing (or whatever)

Then it must be upto a being, much higher

To open my eyes and do its job

And show me that I am such as slob

Dude, it's got to have a reason I can atleast buy

If you can link it to my present situation

You may be able justify the effort to take it to all the nations

But if you throw around morality

Subjective belief and comprehension

of things a book says that call for fearful apprehension

I have a much better reason to die

So, I say with much respect,

Before you put your belief to the test

To those in whom it hasn't been inbred

That you live by your choice of bread

And I live my life instead

Down the road, we shall head

When the winds prevail and when blows the heavy gale

And my understanding of life and all else fails

Then the Jesus, whom you speak of, may be the reason why

Are you primarily accommodative or essentially radiant?

2010-09-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

To be or not to be, that is the question indeed. The virtue of a life in Christ is much decided by what of the above two we are – primarily accommodative or essentially radiant. Note the adjectives primarily and essentially. We, at all times, are a bit of both. Being the latter is progressive from being the former. The question is in which category we are now.

To be essentially radiant, we need to have something to be radiant of. Our cup has to be filled by the Lord in order to actually over flow. We have to allow that filling to happen. Rather, we must accommodate because without it, it is impossible to even be essentially radiant, because we will be then be radiant of nothing. Note John 15: 4-5.

Being primarily accommodative, on the other hand, is a state in which we seek our own selves – both with full intention or without knowing it (but end up doing it, none the less). Like already mentioned, there are needs, both sincere and necessary. The importance of these needs which we are accommodative of, in either case, present themselves and are some things we can’t deny. Needs that are necessary, just are by virtue of being so.

There is no objective line to draw before which the need is sincere and beyond which it is not. Sincerity cannot be taught. On the other hand, it can be seen and recognised. It can be said, with dispute (do tell what you have to say on the matter), that our sincerity lies towards the direction the heart tends. Someone asking that they be accommodated in a manner they demand, everything else regardless, is not sincere if they consider that more important than being available to be where God would have them be. At best, a sincere heart will not cause a legalistic argument to be accommodated. It will trust the Lord and choose to be where the Lord would have it be and radiate. Note Luke 9:23-24, Heb 5: 12-14, Matthew 6: 24-34.

Now there are two levels to this principle. The first one is at the level of our intended approach. If we approach our every moment of life towards being the former, primarily accommodative, we do not allow our cup to overflow and let our light shine. If we are essentially radiant, we do that. Note Matthew 5:13-16.

The other approach is in our efforts to do what God would have us do, which category do we come under? Do we end up being primarily accommodative, despite our efforts to be essentially radiant? The best way to look at this is from an outside analysis of our efforts and matching the results. The link between the intention and the result is lost when the psyche takes over the actions and there no more exists a connect between our intentions and our actions. We stop thinking and doing but we constantly seek that emotional high, understandably. That's why we must see if our actions, at the end of the day, are right and are representative and intune with our intentions - breaking it down to the last detail of what they represent. Note I Thessalonians 5:21. One of the main qualities of being essentially radiant is never giving up hope, with love. Note Revelations 3:20, I Corinthians 13.

Therefore then, let us ask the question: are we primarily accommodative or essentially radiant and work towards being the latter. Note Hebrews 5:12-14.

Choose Your (Un)dignified

2010-08-22T23:07:00.001-07:00

Context:

I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes...

I Samuel 6:22

"I will not become even more undignified that that. No, not intentionally. Neither will I be humiliated in my own eyes. The Lord didn't make me to tear me down for a joke. I don't get the point. Either have no (intrinsic) self-worth or self-value. Why would I ever, now?"

Versions:

I will dance, I will sing,
Sensibly for my King,
The work of God is better directing the passion in my soul,
And I'll remain perfectly dignified like this,
It really doesn't concern me what anyone may think,
And I'll remain perfectly dignified like this.

I will dance, I will sing,
Sensibly for my King,
The work of God is better directing the passion in my soul,
And I'll remain perfectly dignified like this,
Call it a dose of God-given self worth,
And I'll remain perfectly dignified like this.

I might dance, I might sing,
I might seem glad for my King,
I don't have to bust a move when I am joyous in the Lord,
But I'll remain perfectly dignified like this,
It's not about mode, It's about heart and soul,
But I'll remain perfectly dignified like this

I may not dance, I may not sing,
But I'll surely have joy for my King,
I may not jump, scream and shout, for that matter, for my Lord.
And I'll be sure to maintain my dignity like
I was made and won't act like no throwaway
And I'll be sure to maintain my dignity like that

Must I dance? Must I sing? When I am glad for my King?
He knows better than for me to do it for the sole sake of going so far
But I know I'm a child of God, regardless
If I have two left feet or if I can't move for nuts
But I know I'm a child of God, regardless

Do I have to dance? Do I have to sing?
Is God such a narcissistic King?
Do I really have to do go ALL the way?
But I don't have really have a point to make
If it just don't flow, there's nothing to show
No, I don't have any point to make at all?

AT THE FEET OF JESUS

2010-03-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Christian Faith is not only a faith that works but also a faith that must work – a real faith, if you will. If it is not, it becomes only a novelty. What’s more is that the Christian faith is not an inanimate faith of mere action points that some divine entity has passed down that we simply follow and that’s all. We indeed have a fully animate faith because of its cause who is a Living God who incidentally is the definition of life in its totality.

When we look at the reality and the working aspect of our faith, the Bible speaks of it being validated by its fruit (Matthew 7:20) and a bad tree cannot give good fruit and vice versa (Matthew 7:17-18). So to bear the fruit of our faith, we must abide in Him and He in us (John 15:4). Therefore, abiding and bearing fruit are not separate modes of functioning. It is only by abiding in Him that we can bear fruit. In no other way can we bear the fruit of our faith.

So therefore, our efforts towards our faith should be directed towards abiding (Being) in Him and not the fruit (Doing). At the same time, Being and Doing go hand in hand and the whole matter of action ought not to be an issue. All the while, we must realize that if we do not know Who we are talking about (if we are not in Him) when we do in His name, our actions are like empty vessels. If we do but not in His name, we are not really doing something worthy of the faith that we profess.

When we say Doing, it is not just the few things that we do a day, week or month that constitute profession of our faith in action. The Bible asks that our every millisecond is worthy of our God (and of our faith) (Romans 12:1, 1Corinthians 6:19). Included is everything we say and do - right from the get go.

Now having established that our faith is fully animate by virtue of us serving a Living God and that it is more than just a code of conduct and a way to be, our Being lies in the relationship that we have with our God when we abide in Him and He in us. The relationship with God is ongoing (always in present continuous tense) and growing (the sweet communion gets better every day). If this relationship that is ongoing and growing is the root of our faith, staying in tune with the root of our faith in order to BE so that we DO and thereby speak well of our faith in our actions is very vital. There is nothing that needs attention more than this. This is so vital that it is the only thing that needs attention – the rest that follows is only by the way.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8 talks about a man who is rooted in such a manner in God saying “neither shall cease from yielding fruit”. Fruits in any case grow by default and only by being rooted in to the source right and proper. There can be no other way that one can be fruitful. If the tree or plant is not right and proper, the fruits will grow likewise or will not grow at all. The tree or plant, in any case if it existed, would have to be planted in something to exist (and grow). It would simply be fruit of that in which it is planted.

What comes to mind is Luke 10: 38-42. When Martha asked Jesus to ask Mary to help because there was much work to be done instead of simply sitting at the feet of Jesus, Jesus answered her in saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Let us then do that which is necessary which cannot be taken away from us. Furthermore, it is necessary because we cannot do what more God expects of us unless we do that first. We are also to do it ALWAYS because it is the very blood that runs through the veins of our real and living faith – simply sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Jesus is the only source of our everything. He is reason we exist. He is the reason for our salvation. He is the reason we have hope of a better world to come. For without him, we are nothing. In Him, we are everything. He is the embodiment of our hope, and all that our faith results in is only because of that hope - bereft of which it becomes devoid. In short, if we have not Christ, we, then, have no story to tell of His salvation. Then, we have no story to tell at all.

It must not be forgotten that at the feet of Jesus is the place where the Christ life starts and remains.

Having the established that the Christ Life starts at the feet of Jesus and remains there, there are certain almost obvious implications.

1) We bespeak our belief and therefore our God in ALL things we do. The range of doing this goes from the way we dispense the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our every word/action and the tone we speak/do those words/actions with (the general default fruits of the Spirit) to the larger more specific works and life choices that we decide to take up (careers/life direction). It must, by all means, be worthy of God (and the Word of God) and that is the test. Christ Life that is at the feet of Jesus will be such by default. We must check it by the Word and always also think about and must really consider whether the things we do are really worthy of the God that we proclaim asking ourselves why we do them which then involves going back to the point of it - Christ.

2) Sitting at the feet of Jesus is not an activity that keeps busybodies busy with activities that are representative of Who our tree is planted in - it keeps us busy in Who our tree is indeed planted in. We simply bear fruit thereof. Once you are busy in activity and the activity becomes the mainstay, you no more sit at the feet of Jesus. You move away from the feet of Jesus to the activity.

3) All our works (actions) must remain inspired. The true Christ Life, especially the works aspect, is only resultant of sitting at the feet of Jesus. We can only keep our works inspired if we are sitting at the feet at Jesus. Our efforts must therefore not be towards fabricating works that ought to come from sitting at the feet of Jesus but towards remaining at the feet of Jesus. All else will follow suit. It would then become like limiting your understanding of Jesus to a few x number of things that He is and is not and working in accordance with that and not the real living Him. It does not, then, remain an animate faith and boils down to works not worthy. We should rather just abide in Him and let the Him in us speak for itself.

CHRISTIAN CELEBRITYISM

2010-03-27T12:52:00.002-07:00

Within Christian circles a lot of times, we “wow” other people who seem to be more and “better” gifted than us and insist that if at all the Lord be praised then it must through them. Moreover, we give them that special place and hold them in high regard for the fact that we are not “as good as” them. A look at this matter in strict Biblical perspective is…

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness."

Romans 12:6-8

So, if I may rephrase – we must do what you are given to do in the proportion and manner that we are given to do it with. Now, the celebritist culture can lead us and has lead us to think that we are not as useful as someone else and the types who are spectators and not actors of the Christian faith, so to speak. The Bible does address this in…

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

I Corinthians 12:31

The reference above speaks of this “most excellent way” to “desire the best gifts”. If you read on right up to the 14th chapter, this most excellent way is Love.

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts...”

I Corinthians 14:1

It also instructs that these gifts are to be made manifest most importantly with love.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

I Corinthians 13:1-3

What would this love be by Biblical definition?

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”

I Corinthians 13:4-8

The manifestation of our gifts ought to be guided by the love the above verse describes. Moreover love (this love) is the love that we know to be God and that which comes in abiding in Him for true Love is God (rather God is love) as it says in I John 4.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. “

“We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him”

I John 4:7, 13, 16

Then comes the question – How do we follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts?
Let us take a look at the following references surround the passages that have been referred to. The verse that unites the message regarding of how we are to “eagerly desire the best gifts” is very much akin to…

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

I Corinthians 10:23-24

The passages in question are exhorting the believer to use their gifts for benefit of others. In particular…

“But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?”

“You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified”

I Corinthians 14:3-6, 17

One important thing to implement with our gifts is that we serve the purpose of Love through them. As discussed I John 4, (only) God is Love and to love we have to be born of God, know God and live in God (vs. 7, 16) by which we bear fruit of Him…

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

…and therefore of Love (since God is Love). It is not an intended effort but rather a resultant effort.

A close to the topic is only apt in the form of…

“Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.”

“But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written:
"Through men of strange tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord.”

I Corinthians 14:7-9, 19-21

There is a sure balance between the two. While we must speak “intelligible words” using our gifts which translates into effective communication of whatever means concerning the gift in question, it also means that we must be always speaking fully completely of God concerning which I Corinthians 12:3 says…

“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.”

…by which we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to do it intelligibly taking into consideration the need of the ones whom we are ministering to.

Therefore if you consider yourself a non actor in the Kingdom of God, you must eagerly desire the greater gifts and do so by following the way of love, by being in God who is love, intending to edify the Kingdom of God (inclusive of the Church) by asking God himself to bestow them on us if He so intends and enable you to reach out to his people and the unreached intelligibly.

But do not think that you have not a role to play if you think that you are not bestowed a gift. Each step of the way that you take in Christ is an act that bringeth forth fruit the fruit of God from one who is in God and that can go a long way if you strut your stuff as God would enable you too. We must be as we are called and furthermore as we are enabled to be and must also think of ourselves in the role that God has placed us in no less that we ought to like the different parts of the body play their own roles each as in I Corinthians 12.

The celebritist nature that we impose on people who seem to be “more talented” than us must not perturb our role in the Kingdom of God and we must consider ourselves as equal as each one of our brothers in Christ differing only the grace that has been given to us to do that which God would have of us but toward Christ and His Kingdom is our call and we all play our parts as needed as the other by God’s ordination.

Keep Christ The Institution

2010-03-27T12:52:00.001-07:00

Christ did not come to start a religion. He came, walked and talked the Christian lifestyle. And that’s all He left us with – a lifestyle and the reason for it (to properly state - NOT another option for a choice of religion) that was but only natural to live with the design that He created you and me in should we choose to see the Light. He did not come to establish the Christian Church, determine its hierarchy, set in place traditions and so on and so forth. He did not even coin the word Christian. All of these were symbols, signs and traditions that were adopted that represent the very beliefs that the Christian lifestyle is based upon that were chosen by the people as they chose to follow Him. He asked people to drop everything and simply follow Him – something that one could do very easily in that day and age but not in this day and age with its career minding and its existential preoccupancy.

In keeping with His motto of functioning, when we look at the set institutions that our beliefs have crystallized into – well defined structures with a pre defined statement of belief for those who enter it after they are created – there is a reality to address. That is the reality of being real in the midst of all this Institutionalization and subsequent Crystallization. Maybe a better question to ask is if whether it is really worth.

On one hand, it did not come about with the explicit intention to Institutionalize rather it came about with, as history tells the story, the recognition of the fellowship of the people of the same mind and beliefs. There are of course different cases where such is not the case but as early as Institutionalization is known to have happened the intention was as pure – to simply state belief with those like-minded – fellowships which grew and which inspired further fellowships both by their passion (to create similar ones) and by their differences (steering away from the root Reason To Be – something that is arguable – very!!!).

With the years that these have been passed down, they have stayed put as they were ages ago when they were created and have been strictly been followed and taught – the basis of which has remained the certain assumptions that have remained assumptions that include those that have Bible Basis (something that is also arguable – very!!!) and those that don’t but which have not been questioned. Call it second hand belief if you will. Hence we have doctrine, creed, dogma, statement of belief, tradition – all not bad – each with their own kinks.

Now the question to be asked is are these things leading us in the right direction to God? Once having sound belief and understand of why it is that each one of us believe the beliefs that we do, then we can make a better discernment of these things. That these are sound is a separate matter. If we were to educate (ourselves and others) of their relevance in belief, would they make sense in actually taking the trouble to do them? Or in prospect of the reality of what we believe, must we just be as our expressive selves as would be the mandate – concentrating on the BEing in Him and in effect leaving the expression to be made manifest as it will be? Basically not even consider intended institutionalization and crystallization even if it stared us in the face and let it take root from the Root in us.

Now even if we deinstitutionalize and decrystallize or if we don’t, it is important that we are grounded right. That we don’t run our lives on belief handed down the centuries which we simply believe since it has been handed the centuries but on the Root of it (which involves the knowing of the Root of it) and what He has said his Word which is why (assumably) those beliefs are paramount. It must be rooted back to where they came from and not because it was again handed down from another person but because it is known by the believer.

A very strong factor in this institutionalized and crystallized or deinstitutionalized and decrystallized belief is the living if it and not the mere theological aspect of it for belief reduced to mere theology is not one that is worthy. When we intently Institutionalize and Crystallize real life belief manifestations** in both in Christian and “non-Christian” setups run by Christian people/minds, we may pose a block for the Holy Spirit to work through us as He would because that is the streamlined manner that we have set ourselves to function in. It, being crystallized, can’t be broken easily once it is a set process in motion even if we desire for the Spirit to work within such a setup.

It may not be always so that a Crystallized setup is detrimental to the work of the Spirit in our lives. It may be of the Spirit and may be as accommodating as it is required to be (maybe even more) for the work of the Lord to be accomplished. But a Christian individual/organization or group, while focused on certain kinds of work, is Christian (read Representative of Christ) by nature primarily and secondary to which is an agendaized individual engaged towards certain kind(s) of work. Institutionalization and Crystallization must not allow him/her or the organization to make his/her life or its work consist less of being Representative of Christ and more of the set agenda.

There must be a balance between the two – Institutionalization/Crystallization & a Free Form Structure that allows one to do the Lord’s bidding as the inspiration flows. While the former keeps discipline which we so need, the latter allows for the free flowing of the inspiration from Heaven to turn into action in the manner that the Spirit leads. Our structures must not disallow the Holy Spirit to work among us and inspire us to work as we must. Our Free Form Structure must not allow things that are not Representative of Christ in the free spirited (and not so free spirited) manifestations that result from belief. The best amalgamation of the two, in the light of the above said, is Institutionalization/Crystallization of Bible based (and Spirit led) belief and a Free Form Structure that allows for manifestation of that as the Spirit would lead. Key phrase – AS THE SPIRIT WOULD LEAD.

P.S:- Institutions are not created. They ARE or they are based on ARE's.

Christ is an Institution and the Church (local or global) is not.
Belief is an Institution and doctrine is not
Worship is an Institution and a schedule/program/agenda is not
Obedience is an Institution and following protocol is not
Sacrifice is an Institution and involvement in the Lord's work* (in its guise) is not necessarily one
Giving is an Institution and how you are available to be taken/asked of is not.

All Institutions ought to stay put while manifestations must take their course AS LED BY THE SPIRIT.

- Sunil Noronha

* As the Lord may lead

** Belief in action - ways in which it is lived out during each moment of our everyday lives (for belief reduced to mere theology is not one that is worthy)

LEVEL-3 Christians (By The Razor's Edge)

2010-03-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

What really comes into your mind when you think of THANKING GOD?

At one level (let's call it LEVEL 1), we thank God for material blessings. Home and hearth, family and kin. Health and wealth, roof over our heads, clothes on our bodies, food to eat, needs being met, healing from sickness, prayers answered, etc, etc. "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance," we say with the Psalmist. Basically, this is saying thanks for a good digestion, for a long life, for our fluffy pillows, for not being born or living in modern-day Afghanistan (or even Orissa these days!!!), etc. If in fact we had continued hardships, our spirit of thanks would vapourise like the morning mist.

At another level (LEVEL 2), we thank God for deeper things. We talk of thanks for being "saved" (whatever that means), of being "God's children" (we never ask HOW, but we take it for granted anyway). We thank God for "who He is" (or rather, who we think He is).

When this level gets deeper, the polite, anonymous, discreet world of "saying thanks" disappears. It is replaced by a world where other words quickly appear and become themes of life. We no longer just MOUTH thanks with our lips. We live it with our lives. We're so utterly and irrevocably altered and transformed by knowing that though God needn't have had anything to do with our filthy lives, He still chose to sign His matchless Name with our pariah lives, took us home, and nursed us back to life. Even if He asked NOTHING in return, we are prepared to give EVERTYHING, even our lives.

In this deepest of levels (LEVEL 3), words like "gratitude" appear. Do you realise that whereas you can easily "thank" someone you don't really know too well politely for a perfunctory favour, it is impossible to feel gratitude to a stranger? Gratitude IMPLIES relationship. You've GOT to know the person you are grateful to, and you have GOT to know what he/she did for you or means to you, to feel GRATITUDE. Gratitude has none of the anonymity of mere "THANKS". And gratitude becomes more of a life statement, an attitude, a way of living. We don't just SAY thanks, we LIVE IT every moment.

At which level are you today?

If you're at LEVEL 1, God is associated with security in life, and only security in life. If today you were suddenly transplanted to Afghanistan, God would become academic to you, because your survival and your security would become paramount. God would be a luxury to you that you couldn't afford. At LEVEL 1, we make security and survival our only goals in life; if God supplies these, well, let Him be God; if He doesn't, we move on. LEVEL 1 terminology is "thanks" (if at all), not "gratitude". God might as well be a stranger.

If you're at LEVEL 2, you "accepted" or "made a decision for" Christ at some time you can vaguely remember. It was like, among the many options that life presented, Christ seemed the most lucrative, so you "chose" Him. You feel entitled to a lot of rewards, one of which is 'eternal life' and 'going to heaven' - you feel God MUST bless you with this because of YOUR great step of just picking up His free gift. It's just as business-like and transactional as it was in LEVEL 1, but here there is a small warmth of possible relationship. At least, some of the terminology is better :):) But it is still THANKS more than GRATITUDE, because the relationship isn't as cemented as can be.

If you're at LEVEL 3, a whole new world has opened up. Levels 1 and 2 don't even seem like levels anymore; for those of us in LEVEL 3, there are only two levels - either LEVEL 3 or NOTHING. At LEVEL 3, even life is too small a price to pay for what Christ has done for us. Think for a moment of what that really means. It means that we understand fully the following:

1) Before we met Christ, we were objects of wrath meant for destruction in hell, just like the 'devoted things' Achan stole.
Ephesians 2:1-4 says: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.
We weren't just people who did not know God; we were objects of wrath destined to be destroyed by fire. All our goodness, our coming to church, our tithing, our appreciation of spiritual things, mean NOTHING, till we realise that before we met Christ, we were headed straight for destruction. The 'good' ones among us would share the same fate as the 'evil' ones.

2) There was nothing we could have done to help ourselves. We might have done some "whitewashing" of the tombs of our lives, but our bodies would still only be housing dead spirits, just like whitewashed tombs.
Romans 5:6 says: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

3) In fact, we did nothing; God did everything.
Colossians 2:13 says: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.
I John 4:10 says: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Have we forgotten that it is always God who makes the first move in reconciliation?

4) We take no credit for being saved; we just live our lives in gratitude.
Ephesians 2:8 says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

Think long and hard about the implications of being in LEVEL 3. Here we have moved on from being mere acquaintances with God, to a loving, deep, intimate relationship that God initiated even WHILE we lay undeserving. In response, merely spouting insincere thankful phrases in church won't do....our deep, deep gratitude must be plain to see, a testimony to God and to others, in each moment of our lives. We now realise that we do not live for ourselves at all. Every moment of our lives, we are deeply reminded of what wretches we were, and what we are now raised to.

This has to be life-changing. I seriously challenge you to consider the implications of LEVEL 3 and still go on living your life unmoved. Here are the distinguishing marks of LEVEL-3 Christians:

1) We are REPENTANT people. Every moment is a moment of repentance. There is no sense of "right-ness" inside us except in the Cross of Jesus Christ. We are so deeply grieved at sin that we ruthlessly root it out in our own lives.

2) We look at ALL THINGS (no exceptions; blanket rule - no fine print) through one single mirror - the Cross of Jesus Christ. If the Cross does not matter to us, if it does not bring repentance rushing in to our daily life, then we are still in outer darkness, though we may come to church every Sunday. The Cross of Christ should do MORE than just matter - it should be the only hinge on which our lives turn. Nothing less is enough; nothing more can it be.

3) We have no RIGHTS, except the right to be identified with the Cross of Jesus Christ and all that it means. We have signed away our rights to our earthly comforts, our 'entitledness' and our 'deservedness', even our very physical lives. We have just one thing, that we hold on to with all our being - the Cross of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we just give away ourselves to charity - whatever we hold, we hold as stewards of the one who gave it to us. This applies as a blanket rule to ALL THINGS we have been given - all material and all spiritual blessings. We are to treat NONE of it as our own, but be faithful stewards who will give an account to our Father on that day.

4) Our lives are gratitude itself. Since we can never repay, we DESPERATELY hope that we can at least be as grateful as we possibly can, in ALL THINGS. We feel we don't have enough time to be grateful!!!!

5) Our preoccupations, our thoughts, our lives are built around God's marvelous work of redemption in us; we can never stop marveling at it. In fact, we FEEL so blessed that we continuously step out in faith, trusting in God for great things and putting our lives at stake. We expect God to do great things all the time. Tell me this - what is being a Christian COSTING us today? If our answer is "nothing", then our focus is not right. There must be a spirit of sacrifice, of denial to oneself, of giving up.

6) We want to keep on telling the wondrous story of the Cross!!!! We can never tell it enough.

7) We don't merely live for our needs or for our security; we live first for Jesus and then purely for others, and lastly, for ourselves. We've stopped providing for our needs; God's doing that already, we say; rather, let me do something for Him!!!!!

8) We've finally learned that WE ARE NOT THE POINT; GOD IS!!!!! In Levels 1 and 2, we thought we were the point of everything. In LEVEL 3, the scales drop - we realise that we have been left alive on this earth only to glorify God with our lives.

I want to ask a serious question - is your thankfulness for material blessings and secuirty MORE than your gratitude for Jesus and the Cross? If so, you have a serious, serious problem. If the Cross of Christ is only something you think about at Church, you have a log in your eye. Are your prayers only for material and physical needs? Then you're not getting through to God, and neither is God getting through to you.....

It's not possible to come to God without coming to Jesus. And it's not possible to come to Jesus unless you come to the Cross.

I pray that I will not thank God merely with my lips on Sunday, but that I would come to the Cross and feel my gratitude for the Cross so much that I will live every moment for Jesus. I want to move deeper into what the Cross means, because it is the SUPREME expression of God's love for me.

The writer to the Hebrews said, addressing LEVEL 1 and 2 Christians, in my view:
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
- Hebrews 5:11-14 and 6:1-4

How long ago did we 'accept' Christ? How have we grown in our knowledge of God since then? We sit in church Sunday after Sunday, but is it possible we still are living 'on milk' and not on 'solid food'? Is our knowledge of Christ still the same as the day we first believed? How can our knowledge have grown, when we still are grappling with the 'elementary teachings about Christ' and still scrambling to meet our own needs, bargaining with God for blessing after blessing? Forget being teachers, we still need teaching (and that too elementary teaching) ourselves, even now!!!

If our encounter with Christ has NOT PROVEN TO BE a life-changing one, then we would have to question whether there was an encounter at all in the first place; because it is not possible to truly come to Christ and live the same life after that.

YOUR REASON TO BELIEVE

2010-03-27T12:46:00.001-07:00

I have been hard pressed to address this after a recent exchange of discussion with a few of Christian brothers and sisters:

Every Christian (active and believing Christians for there can be no other) must have a reason to believe what he/she believes. And must be able to express it and more importantly say it when asked. More than often, reason for believing is taken to be theology - which is understood as complicated funda among other things. While theology itself is quite a "deep" topic, reason to believe is not deep at all. It is only as deep as our understanding, knowledge and experience of God Himself.

This is something I have always argued for. If we know a BIG God, then how can we restrict talking about our BIG God to few and small words? That depends on the size of the God that we know. And since we know the SAME God, our basic reason to believe and hence the manner of expression of that must hardly differ. For some, even a note such as this will be considered theology but (correct me if I am wrong) is far from it. If my reason to believe is the same as another's and that person were to express it in 20 words and me in 500 words, then surely we will be able to see eye to eye on the matter because we will recognize the essence of what we both believe.

The expression (outright by default) of one's reason to believe can be creative and can take the form of painting, writing, singing, songs, music etc. In all cases of expression, we must be able to SAY it and back up what WE say. Let us take for example, if someone were to wear a shirt saying "God Loves You" to his school/college where he is questioned as to what God, how He loves him/her, where this God is etc., one cannot state his/her reason to believe by saying "Listen to this song. It tells you all about it", "Look at this painting I drew. It is based on what I believe" or "I wrote a piece on my reason to believe. Here it is". He/she must be able to say it clearly, in other words SPEAK it. An inability to speak it shows that there is an improper/unfounded/unsound understanding of what he/she believes - basically that they don't know what they are talking about.

A factor that enables one to effectively SPEAK what is believed is the fact that they have experienced what is believed. Infact, it is the experience that makes them as passionate about what they believe and which directs their outrightness in expression. Speaking it, then, becomes a non-issue in such a case and is done with ease. If I may be allowed to use the pun BE/LIVE for the word believe. My understanding of belief, especially of that in Christ, is that we must BE it and LIVE it. If we BE it and LIVE it, then surely we will KNOW it to SPEAK it to do which we must EXPERIENCE it.

Therefore, I encourage you that when you speak your belief (in any form) that it be founded to do which you must know the what, why and how of it. This what, why and how needn't be a theological or apologetic exposition of any sort. It must be the reason why YOU believe. By that reason, you must be totally convinced that it is what to be believed. It could be simple faith, the fact that there is nothing else more convincing, reason, logic, 2+2 must be equal to 4, common sense, the fact God or anything sensible/credible cannot contradict itself...whatever is YOUR reason to believe but it must be founded. Founded in this case would obviously mean founded on the Bible and hence the God of the Bible.

HE IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD (Collosians 1:15) (By Biju Mathew)

2010-03-27T12:45:00.002-07:00

John 1:18 says “No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.” Let us take a minute and meditate on this bold declaration of Jesus. He specifically says here that no one has seen God at any time. Jesus is referring God the Father which is clear from the verse itself and passage, which starts by saying “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” This is to say that no one from Adam has ever seen God the Father. The question that challenges our mind immediately is who did Moses speak to? Whom did Abraham see in Gen 18:1? Or whom did Isaiah see in Is 6:1? What about Jacob, David and the few men of God who had experiences with the LORD?

It is worth studying the Scripture to get a deeper understanding of this mystery. As we read through various passages, remember the basic rule of interpretation: scripture must interpret scripture.

Let us start with Paul’s writing to the Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the Invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” In verses 15-20 Paul is writing about supremacy of Christ Jesus that it is by Christ that all things were created and it is in Him all things hold together. Coll 1:15 tells us that God is invisible and that Christ is the only image of the invisible God.

This doctrine is established by Jesus himself when he was faced with Philip’s request for a conclusive revelation of the Father himself whom Jesus was talking about through out his ministry. In John 14:8-10 Philip said to Him “ Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him “ Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so, how can you say “Show us the Father?” Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? Coll 1:15 makes perfect sense when we read it in conjunction with Jn 14:8-10. Jesus was trying to tell Philip that God the Father is invisible and the only way Philip could see the Father is in Jesus himself.

Let us look at another scripture in Hebrews 1:1-4:
“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, who He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better that the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

The author of Hebrews confirms Coll 1:15 by saying that Jesus is the express image of God the Father which again confirms Jn 14:10 and Jn 1:18. This is scripture interpreting scripture. One is complimenting and confirming the other.

Here are a few more passages that support the same doctrine:
John 5:37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form."
John 6:46 "Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he who is from God, he hath seen the Father."
I John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

We read in the passage of the woman at the well, Jesus said to her in Jn 4:24 “God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth.” This supports the doctrine that God the Father is spirit and Jesus is his true image.

Conclusions:

• Jn 4:24 God is spirit
• Coll 1:15 God is invisible
• John 1:18 No-one has ever seen God the Father
• John 6:46 Only Jesus has seen God the Father
• Coll 1:15 Jesus is the only image of God the Father
• Jn 14: 9 The only way to see God the Father is in Jesus

If God the Father is invisible, whom did Abraham see in Gen 18:1 or David see in Psalm 110:1 or whom did Isaiah see in Chapter 6? Let us examine the Word of God comparing the Old and New Testament passages. Remember,
Scripture must interpret scripture.

Case study 1: David

Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, untill I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Mt 22:41-45 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them saying “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord” saying: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
If David calls Him ‘Lord’, how is He his Son?

From the above passages, we clearly understand that David (1011-971 BC) in Psalm 110:1 had an encounter with God the Father speaking to the Son. And Jesus was challenging the scriptural insight of the Pharisees by saying that if He (Christ) existed before David, how then can be Jesus the son of David? And although we find David in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:6), when He chose to be physically born into this world through Mary, in reality Christ was always there along side with the Father and His Spirit as the Triune God.

Read the following verses to understand this truth:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Vs14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His Glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”

Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.

Note that the Son was not born, only a Child was born. Son was given. Which means to say that the Son existed even before He was born as a child to Mary and Joseph.

Case study 2: Moses

Exodus 3:13-14 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘what is His name? What shall I say to them?”
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM” sent me to you.

John 8:56-58 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and He saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them “Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM”

I see Jesus making two important points in this passage:
1. Abraham saw Christ in the Old Testament.
2. The “I AM” Moses met in Exodus 3:14 was Christ.

Now this may seem contradictory to what you may traditionally believe, but, scripture must interpret scripture. Now the real question is, if David, Moses and Abraham met Christ in the Old Testament, did they meet God the Father as well?

Again, scripture must interpret scripture.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Colossians 3:15 He is the image of the Invisible God.

So it seems that God the Father is invisible and no one has seen the Father at any time, which leads us to the probability that it was Jesus who appeared to all these men of God in the Old Testament.

Exodus 17:1-7

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out their journey from the wilderness if Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore people contended with Moses, and said “Give us water,
that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
And people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said “Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
“Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying “Is it the Lord among us or not?”

The New Testament confirms the identity of this Rock. Take a look at Paul’s letter to Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ.

If the person (LORD-17:5) addressing Exodus 17 is Christ, who is in previous chapters or books?
We read in God’s Word that men of God have heard the voice of both the Father’s and the Holy Spirit. For example, Father’s voice was heard in MK 1:11 during the baptism of Jesus saying “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The same was heard by the disciples on the mount of transfiguration in Mt 17:5. The disciples heard the Holy Spirit for example in Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” But I haven’t found a passage with conclusive evidence of men seeing the God the Father of God the Holy Spirit.

Case Study 3: Isaiah

Part A

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple.

John 12:37-41 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, Lest they should see with their eyes And understand with their heart, lest they should turn, so that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah saw when He saw His (Jesus – NIV) glory and spoke of Him.

Part B

Isaiah 48:12-13 “Listen to Me O Jacob, and Israel, My called:
I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.

Now compare with what Jesus said in the book of Revelation.

Rev 22:12-13 And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give everyone according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last.

Take a look at this verse: The only verse I have found in the Old Testament, which clearly states three persons in the Trinity.

Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I (Christ) was there. And now the Lord God (Father) and His Spirit (Holy Spirit) have sent Me.”

From the above verse it is clear that the person who was addressing Isaiah was Christ.

Case Study 4: Solomon

Carefully read through the passage given below, compare with the references and conclude in your own heart if this passage is talking about Christ.

Proverbs 8:12-36

12: I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. (Wisdom seems to be a person who is addressing)

13: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

14:Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
(Isaiah 9:6 The Counselor)

15: By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice.
(Rev 1:5 Ruler over the kings of the earth.)

16: By me princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
(Rom 13:1 All authorities are appointed by God.)

17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. ( Mt 7:7 Seek and you will find)

18: Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
19: My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
( Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in fire that you may be rich..)

20: I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice.
21: That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
(Mt 6:20 … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….)

22: The Lord possessed me at the beginning of the way, before His works of old.
( Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.)

23: I have been from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was even an earth.
24: When there was no depths I was brought forth, when there was no fountains abounding with water.
25: Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was bought forth;
26: While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
27: When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28: When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29: When He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters could not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30: Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him,
31: Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and His delight was with the sons of men.

(Coll 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.)

32: Now, therefore, listen to me my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
33: Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.
34: Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
(Jn 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.)

35: For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord;
(Jn 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they m ay have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.)

36: But whoever sins against me wrongs his own soul; and all those who hate me love death.
(1 Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)

Again, it seems that the person who is addressing this passage is Christ.

Conclusion

Though the voice of the Father was heard both at the baptism of Jesus and at the mount of transfiguration, I have not found any passage in the Scripture where it categorically says that God the Father has appeared to men. So, if the person in the Triune God who spoke to Moses, David and Solomon was Christ, was He not the same person who walked with Adam and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

Although, He was called the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) before coming down to earth in a bodily form, before His birth, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said to him that he shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. And thus He is called Jesus Christ. And thus the scripture is true that “He is the image of the invisible God”

Christian Entertainment - a N0-No

2010-03-27T12:45:00.001-07:00

The Christian life is abundant and abundant indeed. The Bible says it in –

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”
John 10:10. (KJV)

This abundant life that we receive from the Giver of it cannot be described as completely as it must be, even when said fully right, in words that comprise anyone’s vocabulary. So great indeed is this life – anyone who has it can only agree with me more. If you don’t have it, you will not fully know what I am talking about. Now the change, that takes one from a life of worldly non abundance to divine abundance meted out by the God of the Bible, is liberating to the extent you just want to revel in it, again you will only know it if you have been in it. And it is very likely that due to the sheer magnitude of it, you will not want to escape out of it. All this is understandable. While the Bible encourages corporate worship which is an entire topic by itself, there are stipulations according to which we must do much more than that.

Stipulation 1:

One who has truly experienced the abundance in Christ cannot but live to tell it. Though you could look to the scriptures to quote many an example the best one being Acts 4:19-20, it is no secret that the abundance that comes from life in Christ is incomparable and simply makes you want to scream and shout it out. Whether or not you are heard or if another understands/hears it, it gives your soul utmost joy to simply express it out in a manner that is worthy of it.

Stipulation 2:
The other stipulation is that, considering the abundance that we have in Christ in comparison to that which the world has, it is a plain crime by any means to hold it back from them. Let’s not forget we are told plainly told to be salt and light…

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16 (KJV)

…which we cannot be if we simply revel in it constantly. We must go out and shine it. How else can we be salt and light unless we make the amazing and liberating truth of our life seen?

An unbiased observation of the points mentioned above in context to their relevance in today’s Christian community puts forth my point – Christian Entertainment. Once having tasted the liberation of Christ in our lives, it has become seen that many of us who have, seem to want find constant shelter in this reveling feeling. Possibly because of the amazingness of it and maybe because of the insecurity of losing it (read the not necessarily healthy emotional response to it). And hence, we do all we can to keep ourselves in it (understandably) via worship concerts, church activities and other means which eventually keep us away from the reality and the real world that the truth of Christ works in practice which is its testimony. At the same time, we ignore the second stipulation made in this article that we must be salt and light and tell. As a result, we choose to entertain this reveling feeling so that we don’t have to step down from it. Thus, we make it an establishment and a setup hence bringing about Christian Entertainment.

Hold that thought while I bring forth another adjoining thought that makes my point even clearer – Worship. Worship, as we know it experientially, can be compared to a glass of wine that overflows and the overflowing wine is what our worship is. When the glass is full and can’t hold anymore, the wine flows out because it can’t be held in any more. Biblically, we must not only worship Him for the abundant life that makes our cup overflow but also because He is who He is and He does what He does. Read Psalm 30:4, 9:1, 59:16, I Chronicles 16:9, 2 Kings 17:36...the list is long.

More importantly, if we are to worship the Lord out of His abundance in our lives, Him, His ways and His works then it is a natural thing to do because our glass is full and can’t possibly hold anymore and also because we simply must. Another aspect of worship is that it is to happen where you are. If indeed my God is a real God (like duh!!!) and His awesomeness is so awesome because it gets me where I am (need I assert that it is indeed so) then I will simply worship him where I stand and will do so immediately with no restraint in form or magnitude.

It is not an applied effort. The applied effort is to be in God which again is not an applied effort rather is the outcome of knowing God truly which is not hard considering what He has to “offer” in comparison to all/any worldly realm(s). Even the effort of breaking free from the clutches of our worldly holds is absolutely no effort, once we see the reason to break free from it via the bondage that it binds us under, unless we are truly blind. Even if the bondage has a hold on us beyond the power of our true intentions and actions (which could make us truly blind), God can even break through that with a snap of his finger if He wishes.

Making worship an institution and a setup to realise our desire to eventually constantly entertain the reveling (read emotional) feeling of knowing God is what Christian Entertainment is. But God is a real God and anyone who has tasted the reality of God in their lives can testify that and that is the true test of what we proclaim at these worship concerts, at every moment of our lives, at times of praise in our churches and other means of Christian Entertainment. That is the reason He is the savior of not only you and me but the rest of the world who have real issues and problems and who live real lives. We cannot simply continuously revel in the emotional high of the feeling of knowing God because what validates its truthfulness is only its application. And I can assure you (and am sure that you will know if you have applied it) that once you do it, it beats the emotion by far. Each time you come back to worship the Lord after experiencing the reality of it, you can only see a greater God and hence worship a greater One. And when you go back again to experience this realer and bigger God, you will only come back and worship a much bigger and realer God the next time and believe me, there is no end to this. God is by all means absolutely HUGE & AWESOME bigger than your biggest dreams like you’ve ever dreamed ever.

This does not mean that one must not organise worship concerts, have church activities and more. This means that there is the need to draw the line at where it stops becoming worship and starts becoming entertainment. There is the need to nurture/teach/fellowship (read corporate worship) and there is the need to then take all that is taught and go and do. It becomes entertainment when we stop worshipping the Lord as our hearts lead us (read as we remain inspired to by Him) and continue worshipping him when it’s time to get out and be salt and light because we are so comfortable in the reveling feeling.

There is something wrong if a worship concert gets done by booking a hall at so and so place, getting sponsors, booking sound and lights, getting the “best” worship leader in town/nation/world, selling tickets, making posters selling the idea saying it will be an “awesome” worship concert by the “best” worship leader (any true worship by default is awesome) and telling people to come worship the Lord at so and so hall between such and such time. Worship is where you are and immediately. Where you are and immediately does not indicate that one must not take the trouble to organise it rather it should be representative of the collective desire of the community in question to come forth and glorify the Lord as their hearts lead them to. It is not as much a planned/organized event as it would be if it is not representative of the collective desire of a community. Moreover, any worship by itself does not constitute a “concert” unless misquoted when said in terms of organizational aspects.

The other category under this is church activities. The Church is a community of believers in the Bible and the God of the Bible and things that follow. While the Church (read leadership/pastors) should nurture its flock and teach them to live lives of God and go do what it is that God would have them do, it’s becomes a busybody filling its calendar with activities. If these activities actually contribute to their nurturing, they actually do no harm but the sheer volume of them keeps people in churches and does not send them out there – again only entertaining Christian selves to no profitable end towards the Kingdom of God.

Christian Entertainment is not a worthy enough cause in the name of our Awesome & Real God and moreover we are called to be salt and light of the earth. So entertaining our Christian selves is not called for and I can assure you that living it i.e being salt and light is far far far more entertaining that any worship concert or any other form of Christian Entertainment.

NOTHING IS DISCOUNTABLE

2010-03-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

What unites all Christians the world over is the God that we choose to worship. Going by practical example, God has given us abundance galore. Going by His Word and its promises…

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings…"
(Proverbs 28:20)

…of course given that we are faithful. Now after having been given this privilege, we must understand that each one is given in his own measure.

"…according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith…"
Romans 12:3

"…having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us…"
Romans 12:6

Now if we are given in our own measure of grace, then all forms of comparison in any context (excellence, form of expression, inclination or any other that there may be) are ruled out. No one is greater than he is and “ought not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think”. Furthermore, it also rules out any judgement and applied opinion/bias (thinking more than we ought) regarding such things.

By this evaluation, nothing in the Kingdom of God is discountable. Nothing should be taken for granted and nothing should be given any less value to but should be appreciated and valued “as they ought to be”.

Now the question arises - how much ought we to value and how much ought we not to value? How do we decide to what lengths it is that we should go to doing what we ought? What is it that which we ought to do in the first place?

The measure dealt out to us is the mandate of we ought and ought not think of ourselves. Measures dealt out vary according to the grace given to us and accordingly must we do as is our measure…

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness."
Romans 12:6-8

The question now is how to identify a measure dealt out in the first place. Measures of grace and the gifts thereof usually tend to be humanly categorised into broad distinctions (passable perfectly by normal human nature) and all proclaimed measures of grace and the gifts thereof as we may see them are not always true measures dealt by God.

Many things that may be considered to be such measures are sometimes used so that we make of ourselves that which is not in fact in line with what our true measure(s) of grace mandate and vice versa – we don’t recognise what indeed our measure is and are of no use in that respect (and in most cases in every other respect except that).

How then do we differentiate between a purported measure and a true measure of grace and the gifts thereof? Far from naming what true gifts given exactly are and are not, the Bible is very clear on what qualities these measures come with. For one, the weaker is given preference against the stronger, the unprivileged against the privileged, the one with lesser means against the one with more means…with equal support given to all members together suffering and rejoicing is done with an equal policy on sharing of burdens. Sufferance by one member eventually becomes sufferance by all once shared and similarly rejoicing.

"…and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness…having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it…"
1 Corinthians 12:20 – 26

Another quality of measures meted out to us is when we have a need – supply chain going when everybody plays their role to fill in the puzzle and pitch in. We need to fill the gaps for each other for as much as we can and are given measures of abundance that enable us to. We also need to look to others to fill the gaps in us so that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with each other - each one as strong (rather as strengthened) as the other.

"But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:"
2 Corinthians 8:14

The practical implication of it is clearly, in simpler words, an as-long-as-we-can-be-of-any-good-let-us-be-of-what-good-we-can-be stance. So, if you can either assist someone else’s measure by fitting your measure into the puzzle and helping complete it or if you can be of any help at all to anybody in achieving what their measures mandate (or do both), then that you must. This also goes to explain the giving of more honour to the part which lacked. By assisting each other, we abolish any disparity between measures and ensure equality of strength for all measures and purposes.

Thereby, everybody in every capacity has a role to play whether “small” or “big” and nothing/no one can be discounted in the light of God’s big amazing plan.

The Youth And Their Inactiveness In Church

2010-03-27T12:42:00.001-07:00

Jesus never did see what he was going to get out of dying for mankind.He has priced himself high with concessions depending how on familiarone is with the process. He did so and expects the same to be done bythe beneficiaries of his love and grace. But even his good work of inexplicable love came from a heart in a soul that had its every wish fulfilled. Ones best can be given its prime and there isn't anytimemore prime than his days of youth.

From birth till then is either too small a time to know it all or one is too young in during that period of time to know it all. There arestill dreams to make true which the world only makes harder, so muchmore to know because nobody else knows either or nobody knows anybetter to tell somebody else who is heading to where they have been. They pretty make their own rules. As long as things work, what theylive by is fine.

One can go ahead anyway and do it because that's the way its supposedto work but there'll be a lot to know and regret at the end of it all. With the change in times and the world getting more and more vague,nobody can afford to lose time, opportunity and a chance to wear their fascination out and get to know what they want to- find out if its what they need because there is no one to tell them, not even those who have been there.

They're going to keep on looking till they get what they want.Meanwhile the world can go around supported by anybody else who caresenough- of whom there are plenty who can afford to.

YOUR INNER PERSON

2010-03-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

Everybody's got to have at least some kind of sense made out of theworld otherwise they would end up in an identity crisis which they all recognize and try to avoid lest they end up being in one. Being forced in upon such decisions that make your perception of the world, what it has to offer and what you think it needs can bring about certain choices of what you choose to believe and what you don't, what you're life will made of an
d what it wont.

It's an observation that when people don't understand, they assume.They assume what they already know or what is already known. It is instinct to dwell on known ground, especially when that is an option. Like how a child however small doesn't get frightened as long as he isholding the hand of someone he is familiar with or someone he knows.Upto a particular point in life, we don't feel the need to understandwhat kind the world is that lies around us after which we need tounderstand it so badly that we allow only a particular kind of worldto surround us.

A lot of how well you are the judge of what should surround you and what you should surround yourself with depends on the environment youhave been familiar with for the most part of your life. Since that hasevery chance of being biased, it may be just the best option to look inside ones self and find out where exactly, in what kind of anenvironment, that person deep inside can be accommodated.

A biased exposure to things unnecessary for that inner person doesn'tkill it. It can be denied and only denied but will still remain the essential core of every one of us respectively. Denying it onlyaggravates us more and we blame that aggravation on everything elsebut its denial. It is the route to any happiness that we can ever achieve. In and through it only can we find purpose. If you deny it, you'll feel guilty because it will feel so right.

THE SYSTEM

2010-03-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Being good enough to make it- you might even say it is unnecessary.It's not about who's deserving and who's not. There is a system of accreditation, through which you pass through, to successfully to makeit. It can cause you to compromise on the way you wanted to make it but you're going to have to pass through the system if you want tomake it anyway. Going through the system is the only way you can make it.

The system doesn't give you credit on merit. It has a predecided list of things that you can do to be credited. This list is too general to cater to the development of the individual with the diversity of each of our specific abilities. If we are clever enough to realize that the credit would do us good, we'd get the credit giving it first priority.That credit gives us the respect we need from people who can "get us there". Beyond a point, qualification, achievement, capacity andability lose value and that respect takes us there. How you get it doesn't matter because once you get it, you are given charge and then you're free of the system and you can then handle matters how you wish to.

Through the system, we achieve our goals but it makes us compromise on our true essence in cases when there is a conflict of intrest. We end up wasting the time when we have the most potential by earning our way up the system. We get through it by the time that time is over and a lot of time gets wasted inbetween.

Just because it's said that every pleasures got its edge of pain, we shouldn't make it so. The trouble we sometimes go through to enjoy happiness makes us unable to make the whole process worthwhile. The system passes on a lot of regret and unhappiness from one generation to the next. That's the price you're going to have to pay anyway.Everyone from the previous generation goes through the process and we have to go through it too compromising and giving something or the other up.

Are the future generations going to keep on regretting? Are dreams going to be a heavily priced commodity forever and ever? For how long more is the regret going to be passed on or is it too late too ask that question? Is it for us now, this generation, to refuse to takethat regret on? Where will it go then? It cannot vanish into oblivion. Someone has to suffer for that to happen. Who will? Are people willing to forget and forgo all that having to regret makes them lose in the end?

The system makes us depend on it (because it determines our success) and then when we have passed through it, all stripped of our strength, we depend on it to move on further. What we lost through it, we don't allow the next generation to have or attain by pushing them throughthe system to lose the same. The system can only be disabled if we don't allow it define our rise up towards our goals. If it has to be passed through anyway, for what we lose through compromises we shouldnot blame it but press on until it breaks- atleast for us. If we havewhat it takes, we will make it. What "gets us there" will be our own merit and abilities and we wont have anyone to oblige and nothing to regret to blame anyone or anything in the end.

THE OTHER SIDE

2010-03-27T12:39:00.002-07:00

The way we are taught life, there is the other side the journey across to where is not a guaranteed safe one. Glamorous though, it has got its own price to pay. When we see people who have reached there strut their stuff, we feel like doing the same. They become muses for shortlived fantasies that die quickly and come to life the few times thatthey can and then again die quickly, the whole process repeating itself over and over again thus making it a waste of a process to go through. Yet we go through it intentionally realizing that it is the closest that we can get to the other side from such a distance.

We repeatedly remind ourselves of the real world and how unrealistic it would be to head there. When we see potential, even more so when we can take it to where it can get the worth it deserves, we remind them and ourselves of the reality of life that it can only happen if itwill and that it can never happen if it wont. The other side is a place one is lucky'n privileged to be in. Potential plays no role inwhether you deserve to get across or not. If you gain passage to the other side and its not where you want to be, you might as well make use of it. But who wouldn't? Life doesn't get any better.

The secret of the other side is that there weren't supposed to be two sides. That should have been the end and this side should have been the beginning. The problem is that when you do what you love doing,you lay it all on the line. That involves risk and leaving things tochance but there's no safety net under you- that's the adventure part.That's what scares people. It holds them back from venturing across.

If no one can tell you any better and you don't know any better,figure it out for yourself. Figure out what you don't understand and what you want to know. For your own good, you wouldn't want to be as old as people who should have seen and known it all by virtue of their experience in life and be asked by someone as old as you are now about life and the way it works and be too illknowleged about it to givethem the answer. If that were the only way to go about things, anyother way around or about would only give you less. You cannot expect more out of life than what you put in.

THE INTERNET

2010-03-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

We can speak of the world as a global village-the entire world at the click of a button. Be it a hyperlink, URL or send button or even a keyon the keyboard, information interchange and interaction happen in real time. One can literally mean it when he says that once he is toldwhat to do, its done provided his medium of operation is the Internetand he has a connection that is fast. The Internet makes interactionfast and easy and also more less personal. Saying what we have to andwhat we need to, passing it through wires digitally decoded and thenencoded again so that it can be understood, relieves us of thepressure and tension that we sometimes go through in a face to face interaction. It makes sure the point gets across without us having todo the dirty work. In making things easier and faster, things get less personal.

One has to no more go through, look and search books, files and catalogues that would have replaced otherwise the list of sites thatcontain the information you want that you can get by entering a keyword on the Google Search engine page and then clicking on the search button. Every trade, art, vocation, passion and each of their individual styles have a website that the interests of the people whopursue them and most of them don't cost. You can enter a number ofcompetitions- some depending on your luck, some depending on your goodfortune and some depending how good you are- though it is still a undebated dispute whether those amounts are actually given away. Servers hosting email services keep on adding better facilities to the already offered services. The amount of space offered for email usage and storage is never ending. If you can't afford your own site, youcan have one on a Yahoo Groups!, Hotmail Groups or another suchfacility till you can actually afford your own space on the World Wide Web.

We can meet people whom we don't even know and whose introduction wecannot always trust but yet have a good decent conversation across amessenger service facility and not meet the same person again. He/she could be lying about his/her sex, age, education, family, location buttrust doesn't play a real vital role in such an interaction even if it's taken further. If they want to withhold more and lie about somemore, they can do so with the protection of a username that can tell you nothing about them ?-all of this not hurting anyone on either sideof the conversation. You are only having good harmless fun.

The Internet takes away the privilege of the joy of an in personinteraction. A lot of older people would say, if you asked them, that nothing beats writing a good old letter- not even an email. All that'sleft to say is that wires cant pass on soul if that is what everyinteraction is based on. Wires cannot speak the language of the heart.Maybe that's why we prefer the internet and more than that the speedand convenience that it brings us because all of that put togethergive us a good enough excuse to distance ourselves from the trouble ofa real soul to soul interaction with people-both whom we love and who are not acquainted with us, the difficulty of what it would take tomake our dreams come true and the reality of how hard, cold and mean"the real world" and real life can be- things we've got to facesometime down the line.

THE BIGGEST REASON WHY I SAY YOU SHOULD BELIEVE IN JESUS

2010-03-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Put yourself in this situation. You are sitting in a room with me(for the sake of the argument) and in front of you and me is a newspaper which is folded and the side which is readable has this small column/write up/ oneliner.

Now take Probability 1:

You and me could have no taste for literature at all and would pass our judgements on it and say its boring...Considering that we have no idea what we are handling our opinoins would hold almost or no value at all.

Now, Probability 2:

One of us has a intrest of an appreciable level in literature and the other has nothing of that sort...Considering that the person knowing something about at an appreciable level, his views could do the expounding of that passage some good.

Probability 3:

Say now for the arguments case assume that we both have an equal appreciable intrests in literature...in this case both our opinions would hold a little more value than the total value of the opinions expressed in the case of Probability 2.

Probability 4:

Now say that you are either one totally clueless about literature or one with an appreciable level of intrest in literature and the other guy is the writer of the piece...whose opinion would prove more profitable then in expounding the piece-the writer or himself or the other person.

Think about it...God is not finding us a solution out of this mess called life. He is not saying that he has a way out. He is saying that he created it all and hence will know more about it than anybody else.

SARCASM OF PREVENTION'N BACK STABBING

2010-03-27T12:36:00.002-07:00

This is a well revered society were living in. It is looked up to more for its quality than for the impression that we give it. The world sees a lot more in it than we show. We have better chances of making it shine if we keep our differences to ourselves. We would then be living a lie but if we open up to each other, we could be deprivingthe world of lots of hope because it would bring about thedisintegration of our solidarity. Not only so, even if such disintegration of our solidarity doesn't go outside the walls that we live in we could discourage a weak faith or turn someone away who is looking in our direction not knowing what he will see.

On the other hand, such a strengthened status of faith, strengthened through pretension will lose all that it is strong of once the truth is known that it was strengthened by a pretentious act of support. Victims will look for true strength else where, a search that will upset their entire basic belief system but lead them to either find a different version of the same belief system that has no hitches or give up searching for any belief system.

Its better that we keep any action concerning our differences, whether to resolve them or to maintain them, silent. Since they are too difficult to resolve without either or both of us blowing our tops off, its better kept undercover because it will cause more damage than good.

PART OF THE PROCESS

2010-03-27T12:36:00.001-07:00

The church is a gathering of the faithful. Its purpose is to encourage, uphold and support its members among other things. It's members in turn uphold it in prayer and participation. It is groundfor every member to exalt the Lord with what He has given them ability to do. In it, mediocrity is not one of the criteria taken into consideration. Wholeheartedness is only what is considered and that is all what the Lord looks for. As much as it is important for regular and off'n on programmes to happen, getting the job done shouldn't be where the emphasis is laid. The Lord appreciates service but requires participation from the church-which calls for commitment.

A Church should have its greatest impact within its four walls. When that is achieved the impact will be felt, multiplied by its strength, outside. It nurtures and should be nurtured back in turn. People who stand by it in event of good, bad, exciting and boring times. There is no provision that one should but they inherit the role of nurturing it. They nurture it until they have nurtured the next in line. That's the way it's supposed to work. Their service is not to the Church but to God. No kind of response should change their interest in performing this duty.

It needs to be understood that failure on ones part shouldn't stop the cycle otherwise the system breaks. Each one of us should play our part and not let that hinder us. Blaming and pointing fingers doesn't help. Compromising only weakens the system. We should remember that we arenot accountable to anyone down here for anything we do. There is the Man up above whom we are to live for. As much as He is our master, He is our father and brother too. In our service to Him, He wants to enjoy, and he wants us to enjoy too, the communion that it brings.

ONLY PASSING THROUGH

2010-03-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Can I interest you in my queries?
I've figured out what satisfies them.
I feel that they are stupid.
They don't make much sense to me.
These things, they make life, at least as it should be.
I'll suppose you're only passing through if you show no interest.

I feel terribly wrong, just playing along
Now and here is what and when counts
You can go a long way by what goes anyway
Things can really get out of hand
if we make our own rules over and over again because the rules that we made and were
following earlier didn't do us any good
You're going to have to understand sometime down the line that if you're going to get anywhere during the course of your life
You're going to have to give into the calling for which this life is purposed

That calling we have no say in
That calling's been determined well in advance
That calling's your place in the cycle that's created
so that the world doesn't stop turning
That calling's no enslavery
It doesn't bind you down from anything
Freedom is only a choice in which you choose the consequence that follows
To only pass through or not, you can choose.

Passion defines purpose and is borne within ones self
Passion is contagious and needs no
instigative response to be going strong
Passion comes from deep within ones heart and soul and only has the ability to speak to another's heart and soul
It can irritate you or you can fall in love with it
Apart from standing in awe of it whether you choose to deny it or not
Passion lives life for you otherwise you don't live at all
Passion isn't a rat race, it's the goal of life
It separates one only passing through one living life away
If it irritates you, it shows you only want to pass through

MY HEART FELT STRANGELY WARMED

2010-03-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

I had the best mother anyone's ever had.
Along with my father, she never made times seem bad.
She was the greatest woman alive.
A disciplinarian, she made me what I am.
So if people have been telling you, you ought to be like me
This poems for you, listen to me good.

I studied and was ordained a priest in the church
But that didn't teach me things that it should've
Things I wanted to know.
Brother Peter, I used to talk to him a lot
He told me to preach faith till I have it, till it's all I got
But that didn't make my heart feel strangely warmed.

I went to a meeting I didn't really want to go to.
Someone was reading Luther's Epistle to the Romans
Then at about quarter to nine, at that point in time
The part being dealt with how God changes
the heart of a man through faith in Christ
Then I felt my heart strangely warmed.

From then on, I just couldn't hold it in any longer
My urge to tell the world kept on growing stronger
So I did what no ones done as yet in the name of the Lord
I traveled on horse back as far and wide as I could
Letting peopleknow what they should
So that their hearts too might feel strangely warm

I did what I could for as long as I can
I wasn't a messiah, I was only a man
Now the remaining is left to you
If it wasn't for me, it wouldn't have been for you
If it isn't for you, it wont be for
so many people's hearts feeling strangely warm

Before I leave with this to ponder upon
et me tell my secret what made me go on is that
Salvation is all about that point in time.
he power you have is not got during the aftermath
You're as saved as you are when you have what you got
only during the instant when you made your choice

So, go and do what your heart tells you to
That depends if your hearts been warmed as yet and
Even if it does feel a little strange
But if you can't appreciate don't criticize because
The day will come when you'd really want to feel your heart strangely warmed

JUST DO IT

2010-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

There is this buger who comes back from a hard day at work. He comes back from work and chilils out on the sofa with his legs streched on the table puts on the TV looking to just chill out and enjoy the evening. Now the door bell rings and grumbling he opens the door. He opens the door only to see God standing there. God calls him by the name and says "Son, I have something that needs doing. I want you to do it for me" holding out in his hand a old parchment. With a tired day behind him he is in no mood for "God" so he slams the door back on him.

In another part of the world, is the same situation with a different person. This person thankfully is one whom you can call a semi-religous man. So God is no "stranger" to him. He opens the door he sees God standing at the door. God calls him by the name and says "Son, I have something that needs doing. I want you to do it for me" holding out in his hand a old parchment. He politely says to God, " God I am not interested working for you."

In a third similar situation, God knocks on the door of a religious enthusiast in a similar situation. He open the door to see God standing there. God calls him by the name and says "Son, I have something that needs doing. I want you to do it for me" holding out in his hand a old parchment. He politely asks God to come in for a cup of tea. Between sips of tea, God tells him about what he wishes getting done through him. After the discussion that he and God have, he says "God, I appreciate the nobility of the idea but people just wont buy it. I'm sorry. Maybe later. It's not that I dont believe in you but this just wont work. People are not ready to know in all your glory. They'd prefer their own version of you-one that fits into their lives, one that is convenient enough for them to beleive in."

In a the last of these situations, another person tired from a hard day at work has just come home. Being a man of faith, he bows down his head and says a small prayer to God thanking him for the wonderful day at work and then he turns the TV on to watch his favourite show on MIracle Network. The door bell rings and he open it up. He is taken aback by the figure of God at his door. After a few moments he recovers and goes on his knees. Oh what a moment this is- God at his door!!! God calls him by the name and says "Son, I have something that needs doing. I want you to do it for me" holding out in his hand a old parchment. He says "My Lord, an honour it is. Willingly I will follow." He picks up his coat and God signals for him to follow. They both start walking- God in front, him behind God. Darkness is all that he can see but God he is following and thats all that matters.

After a while he stops and asks, "God, What will we do for dinner? It is late. I will soon be hungry and I havent even brought money to eat out." God stops and he almost bumps into God. God turns around and says "Dont worry my son." A while later after walking down a little more, He asks God, " God, what will I do for work tomorrow?. I cant take leave without a atleast a days notice. How will I do what you ask of me?" God stops and he almost misses bumping into God. God turns around and says "Dont worry my son. Just do it. I will handle everything else. You just do what I tell you to."

"God will people accept what you ask of me?"
"God will I face opposition ?"
"God, what if I cannot do it?"
"God, what if I find my self unable"?
God, what if, what if, what if...

Many steps more and many questions later, the questions keep on coming. But the answers remain the same-"Dont worry my son. Just do it" with God getting angrier with each time. God tells himself, "For heavens sake, just do it man. What is wrong with you? Dont you understand that I have it under control? Why dont you just trust me? Do you not have faith in me? Dont you understand that I have it all under control? Do you think that you will be unsuccessful under my guidance? Do you fear that you will fail under my guidance? Why wont just trust me and do as i tell you to?"

JUST A POEM

2010-03-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

Good times will never be lost
As times change for better or worse
Development comes with a cost
It binds upon time a curse
A spell that it casts upon the world
Not of its own blame
But of the constant endless song
That's sung by every man and dame
Of the undying thirst that they have
For anything that they do not know
Of which they become savvy
In the knowledge of which they grow
This is the present state
Of this day and age
When our fate we look to create
And feel like were bound in a cage
Bound on all four sides
By the knowledge gathered from around
Like when men used to wear animal hides
But their cage was their only known ground
They found a way through
Which leads to you and me
But the same path backtracked is blinding
Because of what we cannot control
Meant to make life easy
But which brings complications upon us
Gone are the days when every man could say
"I've looked around and I have found my way."
Now a mans only reward for something that he thinks he should do for a living is decided by the majority of minds and the change of the development tide into which giving into is a must.This trend is now fast changing because man is rearranging his thoughts, prioritizing them with contentness and harmony with himself.

THE EVOLUTION OF LOVE

2010-03-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Songs have been saying it for generations together. Ask anyone what the world needs and the one answer you would get is-"love". We need love at all times. It is the basis of all our relationships in one form or the other. Despite knowing and understanding the need for it, we haven't been able to understand it well enough. It has evolved and here is its story.

Everybody's saying that love can change the world
but no one really knows what it is.
Some have had enough, some have had so much
and they won't let anyone else go without it
But behind it all, someone's got to take all the pain involved.
Some of them give it away with a price
but they don't attach the price tag.
Some of them give it away because
they've never seen a loveless world
and they don't want to see one
because they know the pain that it would cause.

Nobody states their case before they give it away.
If they did it wouldn't be called love.
But everyone follows up when they've given enough
or when they want their due.
Since it's done in the name of love, they stop
giving if they can't get and taking if they can't give it back.
But behind it all, someone's got to take all the pain involved.
Some of them give up on trying
they prefer to do with what they have
because it's never ended in a pretty scene.
Some of them only if they really need it all that bad but only as much
as they need since they can also manage without it.

You decide on which side you are on-whether you have stopped giving if you can't get or if you have stopped taking if you can't give back. Maybe you find yourself on one side some time or the other. You may also find yourself in the middle- fighting to make people believe that love doesn't have to hurt. It too has its price that has to be paid. You have to understand that nothing comes a beneficiary then someone from either side has to pay what it costs regardless whether he/she can afford it or not. Payment can be in the form of time, money or even petrol. But there is a thing such as perfect love embodied as follows

I've offered my services.
You said you don't want to use them
You said you'd manage on your own.
I've been where you are
I know what you need
I could have done with it when I was there.
But no one told me, no one told me like I'm telling you now
I just didn't listen to them or use help from around
I just want you to know that I'm at your back door
Anytime you want you can let me in because I know
Only when you can appreciate what I'm saying
When you do what I'm praying for you to
You can take me for all that I have
That's how this works the best
This way no one gets hurt.

To like is much easier than to love. To like is to love with knowing that you will gain out of the relationship. A relationship that comes about because you like someone embodies the element of selfishness "making that aspect of the world and the people thereof happy because they find happiness in sharing their joy and because that is wherein happiness lies."

The biggest blow that love has suffered is it being felt by default. Some have had enough, and some have had so much that they won't letanyone else go without it. It pains them to see anyone not enjoyingthe benefits of love. They, in the process, satisfy their own selvesnot making much of a difference to other person. They should understand that love is profitable to the human race only when itsupports one till he can "stand on his own two feet."- supporting him till he can. When it is used to support and not to teach him in the process to "stand on his own two feet", he is left alone when the verysame people who had the resources to support him cannot help himanymore because they cannot afford to.

The offer's always on the table
You can use it when you're as sure as I am that you need it.
There's something you need to know
I'd rather tell you now than later
Don't depend on it, as if it's going to carry you through
Even if it does towards the end, you'll have to bid it adieu
Because on that day
When He comes to see who can be taken away
You're not allowed to count on my loveYou'll be on your own.
I say that love doesn't have to hurt.

One way of that happening is by not overrating it. To be able to stand alone and be the strongest he/she can ever be like that should be the purpose of any relationship. A relationship is not made strong because the dependencein each other that it involves but of the surety each the two or more people involved have of what they are, what they are doing and how they can afford to help and support each other- in the process also learn and get stronger.

A platonic relationship distances one from the true binding that canexist between two or more people. Let's not love because we should. Let us not expect to be loved because people are supposed to besensitive. When we find ourselves expecting such expectations, let us take it as a challenge to only make our selves stronger. Let us learnto love ourselves first because only when we have to give can we give.

COMPLACENCY IS NO VIRTUE

2010-03-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Complacency is no virtue
The world's so huge and wide
There are many things to see and know
And many to keep by your side
You may have been given it all.
That's why it sounds so unimpressive
But I promise that if you make an effort to understand
You'll be able to look at the world in a way
that will make all things passing by contain
an element of wonder which you would enjoy
Making that aspect of the world and the people thereof
happy because they find happiness in sharing their joy
and because that is wherein happiness lies.

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE SOCIETY

2010-03-27T12:27:00.002-07:00

For all the fiery messages delivered every so often about doing Gods will in ones life and going about it with passion and with ones entire heart and soul, the response isn't all that impressive. The Christian still seems to act with extreme caution being careful not to step out of the boundaries of what society accepts.Society and the world endorse competition. God doesn't. In it, you have to make sure you end up on the right side of your decisions,choices and abilities because even though it doesn't affect society and its members- if they don't like it, you're going to suffer for it.Neither does God endorse this. He only asks us to serve Him and Him only, not only upto when we stop to appease society, but the entireway. He is the only one whom we are to impress.

The race that everyone is to run respectively is not necessarily thesame. Among the races that are to be run, there are a few that don't have the approval of the society. The Christian hasn't yet come to terms with the fact that those too are or can be of Gods plan. If God endorses them, then with faith we can go ahead and run them against their risk. Society always rates and its standards are none like Gods. That rating is what carries weight in society.

In my life, there's no one to prove myself to
I've to keep myself fully satisfied
that I've used what I've been giving well
and will beable to give an account to God
because he gave it all to me.
But I don't want to be the greatest or the best there ever was
whatever the yardstick is according to all the rest
I just want to have the best time that I can
don't want to be a partof the competition
because life's a race to run, not a race to be won

Some people don't do what they'd like
but they do everything that it takes to show the world
that they're better than somebody else
The injuries they sustain when they have proved their point
takes away everything that makes it worth its while
Nowadays you lose too much if you're intentions aren't
kept up with those I just mentioned
You might even lose what you deserve otherwise
But when Jesus comes again, I know he's going to judge me on
the trail I left behind, not on how far from the finish line I am.

THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING HEARTS AND AFFECTING LIVES

2010-03-27T12:27:00.001-07:00

In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
There is no judgment of efforts especially when they don't prove to be successful.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
There is no space or time left to laud achievements because of the amount that is to be accomplished.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
There are no departments'n duties to restrict our efforts within.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
The completion of the duties in a department necessarily doesn't guarantee immediate results or any kind of result at all.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
Failures shouldn't be condemned.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
Failures shouldn't make ones endeavours any less strong.
In the business of changing hearts and affecting lives
A true achievement is only one that is rooted in the understanding that dreams, goals, affiliations, circumstances, afflictions and affinities don't classify a man. Everyone is the same under the Sun and everyone deserves an equal opportunity to do what they want to.

We should persevere on because no effort in the business of changing hearts and affecting lives goes in vain. If it does not bear fruit, it will only linger on in those whose minds it was intended to bear fruit in. It will come into play when they realize that protecting their own intrest selfishly doesn't get anyone anywhere. The Human Spirit carries the answer that were all looking for, which when we need and cant find we selfishly protect our own intrests so that we don't lose out in the process. It is this very Human Spirit which enables us to understand each other past the versatility of our goals, dreams, difficulties and circumstances based on the fact that we deep down are all the same. We just have different ways of being that.

The Human Spirit is dying. Very few people believe in the other's soul for its basic worth. The Human Spirit- the bond that every human being has with every other human being based on the fact that all of us are human beings- transcends across the kind of affection, love and carethat one has for another on the basis of familiarity, common circumstances and other conditions which either happen too early for us to realize their effect or which are beyond our control. That is what the business of changing hearts and affecting lives is about-waking it up to its arising.

A CHRISTIAN'S DISCLAIMER

2010-03-27T12:26:00.001-07:00

I've been brought up with principles of Christianity as the only thing to be adhered to. Any other kind would have to be in accordance with them. When you're young, you don't have anything to oppose something in favour of because you only know what you're told and you only have people around you who would tell you the same. When you're big enough to make sense of things, it's the only thing you find yourself able to make sense of.

Maybe that shows how crazy the world can get. What you understand is only that what has been driven into your head. That could be crazy but it's the only thing you can understand the world through. Everybody's got to have atleast some sense made out of the world otherwise they would end up in an identity crisis-which they all recognize and try toavoid lest they end up being in one. Being forced in upon such decisions that make your perception of the world, what it has to offerand what you think it needs can bring about certain choices of what you choose to believe in, what you don't, what your life will be made of and what it wont. But there's so much more of the world to see, a lot that can change what you will eventually turn out to be. I don't mean to blaspheme but I've really lost my stand. When I'm down in the dirt, that's when it can hurt that what I chose to believe in has let me down. That could only mean that it isn't worth it and that I've got to find myself somenew ground.

I can stay holed up in my cell.
I can say that all is well (that thereare too many fools for me to be wise).
I can look for options that Ican use.
I can scout around for choices that I can choose from
That can show me the more sense that I am looking for out of this life
But I'm looking for what's absolute.
I'm looking for the truth that's so complete
That no point of view can change the way you see it
No opinion can change its impression on you.

I've brought myself to understand that the truth wouldn't have to be called the truth at all if there wasn't anything opposing it. It wouldbe only thing that ever made sense. If it works, it's got to workright down in the bottom of all that opposes it. I'm heading there. I hope both worlds level because both the worlds are looking for thesame thing- they only need different things out of it. One world makesit harder in superiority- the other shuns it all in pride. NOBODY OWNS THE TRUTH. NO ONE CONTROLS IT. One is just lucky to know it earlier than the other.

NO IMPLICATION THEORY

2010-03-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Approval in society has almost become mandatory. We somehow need to be understood perfectly by those whom we associate ourselves with. So much so, there's protocol to follow for every occasion. Everything that needs to get across all the time cannot be contained in this predefined behavioral code. There's bound to be room for misunderstanding when there exists such a gap between what's meant to be understood and what eventually is.

Such a mandate of common opinion for approval brings about the concept that every action and every word spoken has an implication. These implications can differ depending on whose on the receiving end. Sensitivity to a particular subject can invoke a response of anger, hurt and pain. Paying attention to protocol prevents such occurrences while keeping lots that is meant to be said quiet, allowing them to cause many a misunderstanding. When what is kept quiet is required to be known, to ask for clarification is awkward because protocol defines the unsaid but cannot define all that remains unsaid.

The root causes of this issue is the approval we seek from each other for what we do and the things approved of that we expect from each other. They surround and dictate our modes of interaction, our opinions and our points of view when these matter. They are a limiting factor to the human capability. They also create unnecessary dependence and reliance that neither promotes nor supports a cause. They serve society no profitable purpose.

If done away with, society will need a replacement system. One in which every action and word spoken is done so in complete conviction of its purpose and goal. One in which every action and word spoken is received only if it is in tandem with ones purpose and goal. To not be in approval of yet to be in respect of everything we see and hear while perfectly understanding our purpose and goal and do what it takes to achieve it while causing no inconvenience to those we involve in the process is what such a replacement system would require. It is a better recourse to making the world a better place-when you act in the above mentioned interest not looking for and not depending on positive encouraging response for what you do. It makes the self stronger, confident and provides space for one to grow to boundless measures.