Worldy Christian or World Christian?

Christmas - 2011 is over and some of us have celebrated several Christmases in our lives. There are also people in this world who have never heard the first Christmas story, even once in their lives. Oswald Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard the first.” What is our responsibility as a follower of Christ this New Year? How about being a “World Christian?”


Who is a World Christian? A World Christian is one who has a God's perspective of the world. How did God view the world? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). How was Jesus, when he lived in this world? Jesus felt compassionate to those in need (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34, Mark 6:34, 8:2, Luke 15:20, etc.). And the Holy Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26).


No follower of Christ is exempted from following the “Great Commission.”  (Matthew 28:18-20). This passage has a promise to inherit, and a command to be followed. Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."


How can we make disciples of nations? In a land like India, where there is a kaleidoscope of cultures, every place and geographical state is unique. India is like, nations within a nation. The percentage of Christians is increasingly high in the south and the north east Indian states, compared to the rest of India. The greatest call in this land of India for a follower of Christ is to be a cross-cultural worker in a geographically and culturally distant place (as a missionary). Now with urbanisation a reality in countries like India, in the cities, the mission fields are not geographically distant. They are only culturally distant and they are at the door steps.


However, all of us for sure need to choose to be a “World Christian.” True Mission starts with love in us, like the love of God, which he showed towards this world. It is followed by a compassion which propels us to be involved in missions to the needy. We will also intercede like the Holy Spirit, to the Lord of the harvests, to send out workers into his harvest field (Matthew 9:38). We cannot travel to all the nations of the world and places in India to proclaim the gospel. But we can travel to all those places with our knees. While praying, we need to pray intelligently and specifically for the needs of these places. “Operation World” gives a prayer calendar to help us to pray, every day, for the countries of the world systematically: http://www.operationworld.org/prayer-calendar. How I wish that our churches and houses will turn to be a “House of Prayer for all Nations” (Isaiah 56:7).


All who pray, “Maranatha" (Come, Lord) should say that after reading Matthew 24:14. Jesus said: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. What is our responsibility as a follower of Christ in the New Year to see to that the gospel is preached to all nations? I would pray that the love of God, the compassion of Christ and the interceding nature of the Holy Spirit would grip us all the more this New Year.


Am I going to be a “Worldy Christian” or a “World Christian” this New Year? Wishing All My Friends a Blessed 2012!

Christmas Teaches Me...

We are in a Christmas mood and spirit. The first Christmas has lots to teach us. Here are a few truths Christmas teaches me to adhere to:

Belief, Not Unbelief

When the angel said to Zechariah at his old age that he and his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a miracle baby, all that showed up on the old man were waves of unbelief.  His unbelief was at its peak when he asked the angel for a sign. Yes, a sign was given. He became dumb until the birth of John, the miracle baby!

Now living in the same time and space, was a village girl named Mary, a relative of Elizabeth. She too was told by an angel that she would give birth to a miracle baby even while she was a virgin. But when she heard an encouraging promise from the angel that nothing is impossible with God, she surrendered to the Lord who had sent the angel saying, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). Is that not a sign of belief we see in Mary, the mother of Jesus?

Now, faith is to believe. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. Zechariah and Mary believed in something impossible. Their believing patterns were different. Yet they enjoyed seeing miracles happen. Hebrews 11 gives a list of such heroes and heroines of faith who received in this world what they could not believe. But the latter part of the chapter also gives a list of unnamed heroes and heroines, who did not receive a miracle while they were living on this earth. They were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised (Hebrews 11:35-38)

True believers of God of the Bible do not hope in their God, for their earthly living alone (1 Corinthians 15:19). They live in this world, in faith, looking forward to an eternal life of heavenly bliss with God after their earthly lives are over.

Love, Not Fear

When the angels brought good news, all of them feared: Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds. So the angels had to say to all of these people: “Fear Not’” (Luke 1:12-13, 29-30, 2:9-10).

Can fear over rule our life, ever? No. God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power (2 Timothy 1:7). There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us (1John 4:18-19).  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). One needed fear in all of us should be a fear of punishment and judgment for our wrong doings. Such a fear can only motivate us to repent to this loving God (Proverbs 8:13). For all other fears pertaining to this world, God says: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

Humility, Not Pride

Herod in the Christmas narrative, behaved arrogant and proud. He did not want a King to be born for the Jews. But in his attempt he only failed. The biblical truth that the divine favor is upon the humble is proved in the way, the angel salutes Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28) Mary too shares this truth through her song: “God has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” (Luke 1:52)

Paul defines humble persons as those who consider others better than themselves and those who do not look into their own interests, but will look into the interests of others. Paul then cites Jesus who came down from heaven in a humble manner, relinquishing his own interest as a supreme example of humility in Philippians 2: 1-11. That is the greatest truth of the Christmas narrative.

As a believer, born again as a child of God, I commit myself to adhere to these great truths of the Christmas story as I gear up to celebrate one another Christmas this year. I wish that the teachings of the Bible become more personal to all of us during this Christmas season.

A Merry Christmas to You!

The Four Songs in the Birth Narrative of Jesus

Meaning of Blessing! (From the birth narrative of Jesus)

Do you know that there is a mention of four songs in the birth narrative of Jesus? Let us get to know what blessing is from these songs.

Mary’s Song: Magnificat - “To Glorify” (Luke 1:46-55)
This is how, Mary calls herself blessed in her song: “From now on all generations will call me blessed!” (v.48). Elizabeth twice addresses Mary as a blessed woman: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (v.42) Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (v.45)

God in particular blessed Mary, by choosing her as an instrument to carry baby Jesus. Even if someone has a thesis that, it was Eve, a woman who brought sin into the world, here is an anti-thesis that another woman, Mary offered herself as an instrument to bring forth the Saviour. But we should know that for being an instrument to carry Him, she needed to be obedient to the word of God brought through the angel (v.38). She was asked to give birth to the Savior as a virgin, which she could not understand at all, yet obeyed. Also Mary had the Lord as her Saviour, for she said, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, (Luke 1:46-47). A woman in particular, who has the Lord as her Savior and obeys his commands at any cost is an asset in the kingdom of God and not a liability as viewed in some countries in the world.

Zechariah's Song: Benedictus - “Blessed” (Luke 1:76-79)
Zechariah was a priest. Both he and his wife, Elizabeth were blameless people. Yet they did not have a child. So childlessness is biblically not a sign of unrighteousness or unblessedness. (v.6-7). At the birth of the miracle baby, John, the dumb Zechariah began to talk. The people on seeing the miracles one after the other exclaimed, “What then is the child going to be?” (v.66). Zechariah’s song is an answer to this question. The second part of Zechariah’s song contains words of blessing to his son. “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." (v.76-79) John undoubtedly was blessed as a great man of God. Jesus himself praised John in many occasions.

Living in a world with deteriorating values, some of us have the question, "What is my child going to be? How am I going to raise my kid?" One thing we can do is to speak blessing to our children. Blessed parents would in turn bless their children. We can speak out/sing words from the Bible to them. The Gaithers were like most of us parents, praying for their third baby. They were seriously thinking about raising their kid during a difficult time in the US history. They were undergoing pressures in their family lives and their ministries too. It was during their time of anxiety about the future of the child, that God gave Gloria and her husband Bill, this wonderful song:
How sweet to hold a new born baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

The Angels Song: Gloria in Excelsis Deo - “Glory to God in the Highest” (Luke 2:14)
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" was for sure a blessed news in a time of Roman oppression for the people of Israel. The angels passed the message of peace and blessing to the right kind of people, the shepherds. They were not given an astronomical sign like a star which was given to the wise men. Look at the sign given to them: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (v. 9-12). The wise men went to the wrong place first. But the shepherds found the manger straight away. It is said that these shepherds were tending sheep meant for sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple. It was in such mangers in that area that these sacrificial lambs dwelt. What a divine co-ordination it is to see that JESUS the Lamb of God, was born among these sacrificial lambs. The shepherds not only were blessed to see the sacrificial lamb, JESUS, but they also spread the blessed message about their Saviour. We need divine discernment to find out who are the right people in our context for us to share the blessed news, so that, they in turn would spread the blessed news across.

Simeon’s Song: Nunc Dimittis - “Now Dismiss” (Luke 2:29-32)
Simeon was an old man waiting for his death. He was a righteous man. He was also waiting for the Saviour to come into this world. When he saw baby Jesus and his parents, he was moved by the Holy Spirit and he started to praise God: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." Blessed people are ones like Simeon, who look for salvation from the Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus is the greatest blessing one can ever have in their lives. His people have a blessed end for they do not die for ever, but live with him for ever! What a blessed end!                       

                               

Babies Speak Out!

We know of the famous contemporary babies born during the first Christmas – Jesus and John. They were special babies born after angelic announcements. But have we ever thought about the unnamed contemporary babies born in that same time and space, but who were not privileged ones like these two? Let’s spend some time pondering about the Christmas Babies!

Baby Jesus had a Righteous Dad

I admire Joseph, the foster father of Jesus who was termed righteous (Matthew 1:19) for many reasons. He accepted his virgin wife who got pregnant mysteriously. He there after executed his responsibility of a dad to baby Jesus, fulfilling  every detail. He respected Mary by not having a union with her until baby Jesus was born (v. 25). In the meantime, he went from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register with Mary, who was fully pregnant with baby Jesus (Luke 2:4). After the baby was born, he took them both and made an emergency exit to Egypt during a night (Mathew 2:13-14). After some time, he again took the two of them back to Nazareth (2:20-21). Joseph executed his responsibilities in raising baby Jesus who was in no way his child. Dads today find their model in Joseph in raising up their own children!

Mary and Joseph brought up Jesus according to the Mosaic law. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons (Luke 2:22-24). They got the baby blessed by children of God like, Simeon and Anna (2:25-32, 37-38).

Even as a child, Jesus was in his heavenly Father’s business in the temple (Luke 2:49). He was obedient to his parents. He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (v. 51-52). Later during Jesus’ ministry a woman commended mother Mary as: "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." (11:27). Jesus had poor parents, but they were a blessing to Him.

Baby John had a Priest Dad

Mary and Joseph were from the so-called laity parental context. But baby John was raised by parents who were in ministry, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly (Luke 1:5-6). Both parents were filled with the Holy Spirit (41, 67). No wonder baby John was filled with the Holy Spirit even when he was in his mother’s womb (v.15).

I like Zechariah the way he pronounced blessing on his child (Luke 1:76-79). True to the blessing of Zechariah, John later was commended by none other than Jesus as: " I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Luke 7: 28). We learn from Zechariah the need to bless children in an audible manner.

Babies in Bethlehem had a Killer Herod

In his pursuit to kill baby Jesus, evil king Herod butchered the boy babies under the age of two in the small town of Bethlehem. I guess, the Roman soldiers in their killing spree would not have stopped to enquire the age of the baby or even the sex of the baby. So a reasonable number of innocent babies were killed on that fateful day.

Even today, innumerable innocent babies are killed in the name of abortion, many a times, because of immoral life styles. Even educated parents are unwise in planning a pregnancy and they so easily abort their baby, without realizing the worth of the baby’s life. Worst of all, some parents abort girl babies. There are many places in India where girl babies are killed after their birth, brutally. Some parents though they may not literally kill their children, they are ruining their lives by being bad role-models. None of these parents are in anyway better than the wicked Herod.

Parents can either raise or ruin a child’s future. What sort of a parent am I?  Are our children privileged to have blessed parents like how Jesus and John had? 

I pray and wish that the Herodic schemes of killing children in brutal and subtle ways would be given up. I want to involve in all ways possible to prevent abortion of babies and brutal killing of girl babies in my own context.  

கிறிஸ்மஸ் கற்றுத் தருவது...

அவிசுவாசமல்ல, விசுவாசம்

வயது முதிர்ந்த நிலையியிலும் குழந்தை பாக்கியம் இல்லாதிருந்த‌ ஆசாரியன் சகரியாவிடம், தேவதூதன் அவன் மனைவியாகிய எலிசபெத்து ஒரு அற்புத குழந்தையைப் பெற்றெடுப்பாள் என்று சொன்ன போது அவனுக்குள் அவிசுவாசம் தலைத்தூக்கி நின்றது. அவிசுவாசத்தின் உச்சக்கட்டமாக ஒரு அடையாளத்தை நாடுகின்றான். குழந்தை யோவான் பிறக்கும் வரைக்கும் அவன் ஊமையாகிப் போனதே அவன் அவிசுவாசத்திற்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்ட அடையாளமாகும் (லூக்கா 1).

கன்னியாக இருக்கும் போதே பரிசுத்த வித்துவினால் "இயேசு" என்னும் தெய்வக் குழந்தையைப் பெற்றெடுப்பாள் என்ற செய்தியை  எலிசபெத்துவின் உறவின் முறையான மரியாள் என்னும் கிராமப் பெண் கேட்கின்றாள். "தேவனாலே கூடாதகாரியம் ஒன்றுமில்லை" என்ற  தூதனின் ஊக்க வார்த்தையையும் கேட்கின்றாள். "இதோ நான் ஆண்டவருக்கு அடிமை. உம்முடைய வார்த்தையின்படி எனக்கு ஆகக்கடவது" என்று மரியாள் சொன்னதே அவளது விசுவாத்தின் அடையாளமாகும் (லூக்கா 1).

விசுவாசமானது நம்பப்படுகிறவைகளின் உறுதியும், காணப்படாதவைகளின் நிச்சயமுமாயிருக்கிறது (எபிரேயர் 11:1). ஆனால் அவ்வதிகாரத்தில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ள விசுவாச வீரர் பட்டியலில் கீழ்கண்டோரையும் காணலாம்: வாதிக்கப்பட்டவ‌ர்கள், நிந்தைகளையும் அடிகளையும் கட்டுகளையும் காவலையும் அநுபவித்தவ‌ர்கள், கல்லெறியுண்டவ‌ர்கள், வாளால் அறுப்புண்டவர்கள், பரீட்சைபார்க்கப்பட்டவர்கள், பட்டயத்தினாலே வெட்டப்பட்டு மரித்தவ‌ர்கள், செம்மறியாட்டுத் தோல்களையும் வெள்ளாட்டுத் தோல்களையும் போர்த்துக்கொண்டு திரிந்தவர்கள், குறைவையும் உபத்திரவத்தையும் துன்பத்தையும் அநுபவித்தவர்கள். இவர்களெல்லாரும் விசுவாசத்தினாலே நற்சாட்சிபெற்றும், வாக்குத்தத்தம்பண்ணப்பட்டதை அடையாமற்போனார்கள்.  இம்மைக்காக மாத்திரம்  இயேசுவை விசுவாசியாமல் இருப்பதே உண்மையான விசுவாசமாகும் (1 கொரிந்தியர் 15:19).

பயமல்ல, தைரியம்

தேவ செய்தியை பெற்றுக் கொள்ள சகரியா, மரியாள், மேய்ப்பர் அனைவருமே பயந்தனர். இந்நிலைமையில் அவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்ட இறைவாக்கு என்ன? "பயப்படாதீர்கள்." (லூக்கா 1:12-13, 29‍-30, 2:9-10).

தேவன் நமக்குப் பயமுள்ள ஆவியைக் கொடாமல், பலமும் அன்பும் தெளிந்த புத்தியுள்ள ஆவியையே கொடுத்திருக்கிறார் (2 தீமோத்தேயு 1:7). மேலும், தேவன் அன்பாகவே இருக்கிறார்; நியாயத்தீர்ப்புநாளிலே நமக்குத் தைரியமுண்டாயிருக்கத்தக்கதாக (தேவ) அன்பு நம்மிடத்தில் பூரணப்படுகிறது; அன்பிலே பயமில்லை; பூரண அன்பு பயத்தைப் புறம்பே தள்ளும்; பயமானது வேதனையுள்ளது, பயப்படுகிறவன் அன்பில் பூரணப்பட்டவன் அல்ல (1 யோவான் 4:16-18).

நாம் ஏன், எதற்காக இன்று பயப்படுகிறோம்? நம்மில் எவரும் பாவம் செய்ய பயப்படவேண்டும் (நீதிமொழிகள் 8:13). மாறாக எதற்கு எடுத்தாலும் பயப்படக் கூடாது. அப்படிப்பட்டவர்களைப்  பார்த்து, ஆண்டவர் கூறுகிறது என்ன? "நீ பயப்படாதே, நான் உன்னுடனே இருக்கிறேன்; திகையாதே, நான் உன் தேவன்; நான் உன்னைப் பலப்படுத்தி உனக்குச் சகாயம்பண்ணுவேன்; என் நீதியின் வலதுகரத்தினால் உன்னைத் தாங்குவேன்." (ஏசாயா 41:10).

பெருமையல்ல, தாழ்மை

தன்னைத் தவிர வேறு ஒரு ராஜா எழும்பக்கூடாது என்ற குறிக்கோளோடு செருக்கோடு செயல்பட்டான் ஏரோது மன்னன். ஆனால் அவன் செயல்களில் தோல்வியையே தழுவினான் (மத்தேயு 2). தாழ்மையுள்ளவர்களுக்கு கிருபை அளிக்கும் இறைவன், மரியாளை, "கிருபை பெற்றவளே, வாழ்க" என்று அழைப்பதன் மூலம், மரியாளில் அவர் எதிர்பார்க்கும் தாழ்மை இருந்தது என்று அறிகிறோம். அவள் பாடியுள்ள பாடலின் வரிகளும் வரலாற்றில் செருக்கானவர்களை இறைவன் தள்ளி, தாழ்மையுள்ளவர்களை நோக்கிப் பார்த்ததையே உயர்த்தி உரைக்கின்றது (லூக்கா 1:46-55).

மேலும் மனுஷ சாயலில் ஒரு குழந்தையாக பிறந்து, நாம் படும் அவதிகளை ஈன சிலுவை பரியந்தம் அனுபவித்த இறைவன் இயேசுவையே தாழ்மையின் தலையான எடுத்துக்காட்டாக பவுல் உயர்த்திக் காட்டுகின்றார். ஒன்றையும் வாதினாலாவது வீண் பெருமையினாலாவது செய்யாமல், மனத்தாழ்மையினாலே ஒருவரையொருவர் தங்களிலும் மேன்மையானவர்களாக எண்ணி, அவனவன் தனக்கானவைகளையல்ல, பிறருக்கானவைகளையும் நோக்க வேண்டும் என்று மனத் தாழ்மைக்கான விளக்கத்தையும் பவுல் தருகின்றார் (பிலிப்பியர் 2:1-11).

 கிறிஸ்மஸ் கற்றுத் தரும் உண்மைகளை என் வாழ்வில் செயலாக்கம் செய்வதே கிறிஸ்துவில் மீண்டும் பிறந்த அனுபவமுள்ள என்னுடைய கடமை என்று உணர்கிறேன்.  கிறிஸ்மஸ் கொண்டாட்டத்தில் கிறிஸ்துவின் போதனைகள் நம்மை ஆட்கொள்ள விரும்புகிறேன்!

Relationship Struggles - Who Helps?

Managing relationships is one hard thing in life. When sin entered the world, one important turn of events that happened was the marring of relationship between fellow human beings. Getting along well with one another became a strain beginning from Adam & Eve onwards. Cain did not want to be Abel’s keeper. He killed him. Even today, the worst struggle happens with in families. We tend to be good with strangers. But serious struggles happen among the closest members in families, with whom we live for longer times. What to do in a difficult relationship? Can we throw away someone who hurts? If not, who helps and how?

Abigail was an intelligent and beautiful woman married to a surly and mean man called Nabal. The story of Abigail is recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 25 in the Bible. Her husband, Nabal's name literally meant "folly" (v.25). Living with a husband who was surly, mean and foolish would have been very difficult for an intelligent wife like Abigail. Women had no choices in ancient marriages, like how it happens even now in some parts of the world. King David was living as a fugitive at that time with his handful of men in the wilderness. These men of David helped Nabal, by protecting the 3000 sheep and the shepherds he owned from the attack of robbers and wild animals. A sheep shearing event happened in the Nabal household. Such events were festivals in the Jewish culture. David, according to the culture of that time, sent his men to collect gifts for their service. But Nabal insulted David and his messengers and refused to help them. This triggered David and his men to set out on a backlash on Nabal and his household (wars were frequent in Old Testament times).

What did Abigail do on knowing that? Let’s see her intelligence in handling the crisis situation:

1. Abigail had the right understanding that wars in those days were "wars between worshipers of Yahweh-God and the Yahweh-less" or simply "wars between gods." (v.28)

2. With so many lives in her household at jeopardy, Abigail did not choose to go and consult matters with her surly husband, who was also drunk at that time.

3. She had the discernment to understand David, a fugitive then as the future king of Israel.

4. She did not set out with an anti- squad comprising of her men to fight against David.

5. Rather she set out of her house with lots of good food stuff for David and his men.

6. Since she did not have her husband’s support, she took her young men who were in their house, as a support group along with her.

7. Upon meeting David, the first thing she did was to take the blame of her husband upon her (v. 24, 28).

8. While Nabal addressed David as a ‘servant who broke away from his master’, (v. 10, 11), Abigail addressed David as ‘master’ and future ‘leader and prince’ of Israel. She foresaw the covenant of the Lord with David (2 Samuel 7:16), which she states in her address. Also note words of prophecy and wisdom in her speech: “… the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. When the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you…then remember your servant." (v. 28-31) David heeded to her petition and sent Abigail with peace back home.

9. Please note that, Abigail handled the entire episode quickly, loosing no time (v. 18, 23, and 34).

10. After returning home, on seeing her husband drunk, she waited for a day and a night for him to get over his drunkenness. When Nabal turned sober in the morning, she informed him all that happened. On hearing that Nabal's heart died within him. About ten days later, the LORD struck him and he died (v. 36-38).

Who threw away the mean and surly Nabal from the troubling scene? It was neither David nor Abigail. David referred the death of Nabal as the judgement of the LORD. He then took the widowed-Abigail as his wife (v.39). I think more than beauty, David liked the wisdom in her (v. 33). The Bible says in Proverbs 24:10 that our strength is small if we falter in times of trouble. What gave Abigail the strength in her time of crisis? The fear of the LORD was in Abigail. This gave her all the wisdom she needed (Proverbs 9:10). She spoke with wisdom and faithful instruction was on her tongue (Proverbs 31:26). Abigail had the discernment of a prophet. True to her prophetic words, God took away the trouble maker not only from David’s life, but from her life too.

Annoying relationships are difficult to handle. God does not want anyone to live in such a relationship for ever in this world. Galatians 3:13 says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” He died on the cross and gained victory over curses through his resurrection. He has given HIS believers deliverance from relationship strains. Led by this great God, make wise moves: like what to talk and talk not, when to talk and talk not, what to do and do not. We can then find God performing miracles in difficult relationship struggles through natural and super-natural ways!

Children’s Special

November 14 is celebrated as “Children’s Day” in India as a mark of honour to our former Prime Minister Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru who loved children. My meditation for this day in my one year chronological Bible happened to be Galatians 3 and 4, which excited me because it had lots of “children” stuff in it. It said we are God’s children by faith. It talked about Paul considering the Galatians as his spiritual children. It also talked about Abraham’s two children, children of the slave woman and children of the free woman. The former represents mere human effort in becoming children of God. The latter represents God’s involvement in our human efforts to become children of God. My memories then went back to my childhood days.

My brother and I were raised by our parents in a “pietistic” background. We never ever saw a cinema in our childhood days. Sundays were not mere Holidays but “Holy Days” too. Church, memorizing scripture , sumptuous lunch, resting together, singing songs from the “Golden Bells”- were some typical Sunday events. At a very young age, I was leading my own “Girls Fellowship” in the Sunday evenings. My brother had his own “Boys Fellowship.” These were children Christian gatherings which was conducted in alternate houses every Sunday. Children from other faith joined us some times. That is a typical reminiscence of my childhood Sunday.

My dad reminds us often from a  story in Jeremiah 35. It is about a family called the “Recabites.” The children of this family had followed for generations simple commands of their forefather, Jonadab (2 Kings 10:15-31). They abstained from drinking wine and from settling in cities.  In Jeremiah 35, God uses the analogy of this family’s obedience and chided the children of Israel who were adamantly disobedient to their father God. The first of the Ten Commandments which comes with a promise is to honour our parents, by obeying them. The promise is that everything will go well with such children and that they will enjoy long life on the earth (Ephesians 6:1-3). It is interesting to see that Jonadab reminds the same promise of “living a long life in the land” to his children (Jeremiah 35:7) as an incentive, when they obeyed his principles.

Children today need to follow the “contextual Christian principles” given by our godly parents. In my opinion if a godly parent says about abstinence from wine, watching films, observing Sunday as a “Holy Day” and commands such as these, a child has to simply honour it by obeying it.  However our human efforts in merely obeying parents, cannot make us a child of God. The overarching principle is to obey the commands of our Heavenly Father. To be a child of God one needs to be part of His family. One must be re-born into His family (John 3:3). How can one be reborn in the family of God? The Bible says, “Yet to all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13) I am a child of God because I chose to receive Jesus. I obey my parents because the Word of God expects me to do so! This is possible because I love my God, His Word and my God-given Parents! Let us enjoy the status of being a "child" both to our parents and to our God.

A Brand Plucked from Fire

During one of our earlier visits to US, Pastor Jerry Van Dyken, a Methodist Pastor (who was then serving the Christ Methodist Church, Venice, Florida) on hearing my testimony of how my life was spared from a burning bus (the link to that story is: http://graceidarajan.blogspot.in/2011/08/grace-my-life.html ) said that I was like a brand plucked from fire like the one mentioned in Zechariah 3:2. I have always realized that this miracle in my life, is not a matter of pride, but is an act of God’s grace to fulfill His purpose for me in my earthly life. I also learnt that John Wesley always considered himself as a brand plucked from fire. Because when he was a mere five year old, he was graciously spared from a fire that engulfed the Wesleys house. So I found this phrase “a brand plucked from fire” interesting and was curious to study Zechariah 3:2.

Joshua was that man mentioned in this verse as a brand plucked from fire. He was a high priest, who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Some say that, he was spared in a fiery furnace that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king used to punish prophets from Judah. The fire consumed two false prophets Ahab and Zechariah, who were liars and adulterers of neighbor’s wives (Jeremiah 29:22-23). Some extra Biblical records say that Joshua was spared when 8000 priests once fled to a temple and were burnt in it.  His rescue from fire is true whatever be the case. After his rescue he received a covenant from the Lord : 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts… (Zechariah 3:6-7). God also spared Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the punishment of a fiery furnace given by the same king Nebuchadnezzar, just like how he spared Joshua. Through these miracles, the King and the people in the kingdom came to know the power of the Yahweh God (Daniel 3).

Miracles such as these are acts of grace from a God of mercy. It also affirms the purpose of God in the recipient's  life, which has to be lived out for His glory. We also need to know that sin is more dangerous than a physical fire (Isaiah 9:18).  It follows a person who committed it (Numbers 32:23) and also affects people around. More importantly, the Bible says that sin leads a person to eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Salvation from sin is the process of getting plucked from eternal fire. Who will not like to be a brand plucked from eternal fire and enjoy the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ?

Stamping Stigma Out From Your Status

To live with stigma nearly kills one's life. How can stigma be stamped out of an individual's life?

Jephthah in the Bible had a stigma, a tag around his neck labeling him as a “prostitute’s son.”  It was the pain and the ridicule he earned from his father’s other children and the then society that made him run away from them. But Jephthah was a godly man (Judges 11:11). He was honored because of his relationship with God. He delivered the Israelites from the Ammonites. Jephthah is mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:32 as a man of faith.

The sons of Korah had a collective label, branded as the sons of a rebellious father. Korah was a notorious name in the Israelite history .The details about Korah and his rebellion along with Dathan and Abiram is narrated in Numbers 16:1-40. They resisted Moses' leadeship and as a result were swallowed by the earth along with many of their households. However the children of Korah were spared and remained alive (Numbers 26:11). Now, who will want to be called as a child of a notorious person? But the sons of Korah realized the grace of God that saved them from the death pit. They remained thankful to God all through their lives for the grace that spared them. They wrote 11 psalms (42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88) These singer-gatekeepers surrounded the Jerusalem temple, standing every morning and evening to thank and praise God (1Chron 23:30, 31).

Well, Jesus did not consider it an ignominy to be called as a child of a virgin. In the christian faith, we believe that Jesus was born out of a miraculous conception of the seed of the Holy Spirit and virgin Mary. Now, Jesus' own human story helps him to identify with all children who have stigmas stitched to their labels. But, what matters is something more than such stigmas that comes out of past. Ezekiel 18 in the Old Testament drives in the fact elaborately and clearly that the sins of the parent are not a disadvantage to children as long as the children repent for their sins and turn to a God who sets them free.

The stigma statuses in our present situations are varied ranging from being born in a low caste, or an abominable race or having a status as an orphan, a widow, a divorcee or as ones suffering with stigmatic diseases like leprosy, AIDS. Whatever the status is - being a child of God as Jephthah did helps. God honors his children like how he honored Jephthah. Serving God, realizing the grace of God like how the sons of Korah did, helps. Above all, Jesus understands the pain of a person suffering from a stigma. He is concerned about something more, that is, the sins and wrong doings of an individual. It is Jesus who helps to get rid of the stigma of sins in the life of an individual.  A life free from sins is possible with the power of Jesus Christ. To me, it is Jesus who helps me to walk with my head straight stamping any kind of stigma out, during my brief stay on earth!

Being a Good Samaritan!

                                           Mission Trip - September 2011

Cheers!

Greetings from Charis Seva Mandal and Charis Institute of Leadership Excellence! Thanks for your valuable prayers. We could feel an increase in the bonding between the trainers and the trainees in the Lay Leaders Training (CILE-Session IV) in the Sunderbans Islands. We had one Bengali teacher added to our group, a committed minister of the Nazarene Church and our friend, Rev Trisha Baran Das. We could see the smile in the faces of the trainees to see a teacher, training them in their own language.

Rev Trisha Baran Das -facilitates a course in Hermeneutics 

We had our training in a facilty, where a student of Calcutta Bible Seminary (where we had taught earlier for nearly ten years), Pastor Tarun Singh is working.  The training spot was a beautiful place with all facilities, except electricity. So we could not have late evening sessions, which we used to have in earlier trainings.

Preparing for Bible Quiz

The zeal for learning the Scriptures was seen in the way the trainees got ready for Bible Quizzes in the books of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of John. Though they are materially poor, they are getting spiritually strong through the Word of God.  We distributed old clothing to them which we had collected from friends and well-wishers. The trainees also had sumptuous food that satiated their hunger during the three days of training.

Lay Leaders

This mission trip to the Sunderban Islands gave us more focus as to how to proceed further. Our whole aim in our mission to the islands is to empower local leaders who would transform their places with the power of the gospel.  We have a faculty-in-training who is an islander, who  will be in-charge of the child-care program too and will become our full-time worker from the month of December. As part of the Child-Help program, we distributed school supplies to twenty-five needy students in a tribal settlement in the islands.

School Supplies distributed in a tribal settlement in the islands

Giving School Supplies to Esther, a princess living in Kolkata slum!

We want to cater to selected children of poor migrants in cities too because they are the worst affected when it comes to their education. They do not have choices to learn in their own native languages, but have to go to English medium schools which is quite costly in a city.  We intend to implement the Child Help program in cities of our acquaintance, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Vibrant House Churches, at least five of them are in immediate need of church buildings. All of the above mentioned works - the Leaders’ Training program, the Child-Help program and the Church Planting initiatives are aimed to empower very needy communities.

Please pray for our forthcoming ministerial visits to Doha, Dubai and the United States. As usual, we covet your prayers for the ministries of CSM. We wish that you would join us in this Kingdom building business by roping in as Good Samaritans. You could offer appropriate voluntary services in any of these programs or pay in cash/kind for empowering needy people both in this rural and urban ministry of CSM. Get in touch with us for more relevant details. May the Lord’s name be glorified in and through all our efforts.

Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)

My e-mail id: graceidarajan@yahoo.com

Greedy or Godly?

Recently Income Tax officials seized a huge haul of gold jewelry and cash from Saravana Stores Enterprises in Chennai, India. The three brothers who own these stores were evading tax and investing the money in stocks. Why are some, like these brothers, greedy? Why are they saving money for generations? Probably they think that materialism is the answer for everything in this world.

Jesus has illustrated such a similar story nearly 2000 years ago. Here is the story: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' (Luke 12:16-20).

Through this story, Jesus enforced the truth that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. He therefore asks us to be on the watch out every kind of greed (Luke 12:15). Greedy people bring trouble to their families (Proverbs 15:27). Gehazi, prophet Elijah’s servant coveted the offering Naaman brought for his master. Gehazi’s greed caused him and his entire family and his descendants to be afflicted with leprosy (2 Kings 5:27). Ananias and Sapphira’s greed for money costed them their lives (Acts 5).

The Bible contrasts the greedy to a Godly giver. Psalm 37:21 says that the righteous (the godly) give generously. The Psalmist re-iterates that the righteous are ‘always’ generous and lend freely (v.26).  The wise writer says,  "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done" (Proverbs 19:17). He also says that the righteous give without sparing (Proverbs 21:26). True to these verses was the life of Cornelius. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. Cornelius gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (Acts 10:2).  He and his family and relatives were blessed to be the first followers of Christ from a gentile background in the early church history.

The Jerusalem Church (the mother church) was a model in giving. The members of this church sold their possessions and goods and gave to anyone who had a need (Acts 2:45). Because of this giving, there was no one who was in need (Acts 4:34-35). And if we consider the Jerusalem church as a model on giving, it was the Macedonian-daughter-church which resembled the mother in that aspect. Later during an adverse situation in Jerusalem, it was the people in the Macedonian church, who in spite of their poverty, who supported the suffering saints in Jerusalem. They gave beyond their ability (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). So generosity is best measured not by the sum of what is given but by the sacrifice that comes with it. David said that he would not give an offering that would cost him nothing (1 Chronicles 21:24).

Instead of defining our worth by our bank accounts, God wants us to be rich in good deeds, to be generous with our money, and to share with those who need it. God gives us money to use in His name, to do His work on earth. And God keeps very good records. He will reward generous givers here, while they are on this earth and in eternity too.

Now he (God) who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).

GRACE- In My Life

GRACE, the name my parents chose for me is God-ordained. GRACE means unmerited favor. I was an unworthy recipient of the GRACE of God on 18 August, 1992. God lifted me out of the clutches of death on that day. I had finished my studies in an Engineering College in 1991 and was working as a lecturer in a college in Salem, Tamilnadu.

On 18 August, 1992, when I was returning from my job, the bus in which I was travelling from Salem to Mettur Dam got into an accident, killing five people on road. What was thought to be a road accident turned worse, as the bus caught fire (the diesel tank had exploded) which was sudden and roof-high to start with. I was sitting in the middle of the bus, closest to the fire. The bus also had illegal fuel carried for sandal wood smuggler, Veerappan who was living in our area then (which we came to know later). The bus was also in a tilted position and so reaching out to the exits became all the more difficult. Seeing my co-passengers getting scorched one by one in a fraction of a second, at the same time, desperately yet consciously thinking that I have not achieved much in my life, I started to scream, “JESUS, save me.” The vanity of beauty and status flashed before me. The more I screamed, the more I inhaled smoke and started to choke. Almost at the nearest proximity of fire engulfing me, I was thrown and my head got struck in a half-closed window. The window had horizontal rods across it .  So there was not much space for a human-size to squeeze out. It was at this point of realization, something, which I would call as a miracle, happened. With no feel, of either extricating myself, bruising myself, or leaping, I was standing out in a safe place, gazing at the by-then, fully scorched bus. It did not take time to realize the GRACE of a miracle in my life. An angel had carried me out. About thirty people died in that accident (some of them were my close friends). I realized that God by showing his GRACE on me had an added purpose through me, with a fresh lease of life.

God’s plan started to work out. My testimony traveled many places like a wild fire. One evangelist who had heard my testimony suggested to my father about my marriage with a servant of God who then was working with the National Missionary Society of India. Every thing worked out very well and very fast. Suresh, my husband (not yet then!) and his family members came to our place and saw me and in a week's time, we were engaged. Our marriage was solemnized on the11th November in the very same year. The accident changed the entire course of my life.

After marriage I was into jobs related to my engineering specialisation for a while. My husband was a pastor with the Evangelical Church of India then. Finding more fulfillment in the job of a pastor's wife, I resigned from my job of a Production Engineer in Teletherm Instrumentation, Chennai.   I then joined as an evening college student for a MA program in Christian Studies in the Hindustan Bible Institute. Even before I could complete it, we had to move to Kolkata as a family in 1998 on a mission of reviving a run-down Bible School. By this time God had given us a gift of a son after six years of marriage.

In Kolkata, God prospered whatever our hands found to do. We developed the Bible school from its run-down state into a seminary with full-fledged activities. Many students of this Bible school are instruments of peace and joy working all over the world today. In the city where Mother Teresa worked, we were into social work also, choosing to work among the poor. A "Happy Home" for destitute children also came up. All of our Kolkata mission was team work and the Kingdom of God was built in and around the city. Worship centers came up even in the remotest villages of the Sunderban islands. Praise God!

We had to move to the city of Bangalore thereafter where I had the joy of completing my Doctorate in Ministry at South Asia Institute of Christian Studies (SAIACS). We were part of a mission agency named, "Charis Seva Mandal" (CSM) through which we reached out to the socially and geographically neglected people in the Sunderban Islands near Kolkata in West Bengal. Under Charis Institute of Leadership Excellence (CILE), the training wing of CSM, we gave Bible training to laity. We served in ACTS ministries, Bangalore briefly and then served for a term in the National Missionary Society of India, head quartered in Chennai. As we are Methodist ministers from the Bengal Regional conference we moved to Bhubaneswar as pioneering missionaries of MCI in Odisha.

During our brief time of ministry there we could develop a city congregation but had to move to South India after talking a leave from the Methodist church because of some personal challenges. We now live in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. We are freelancing ministers as of now.

18 August, 1992 was the reason for both our marriage and our ministry. My husband has been a constant support through the many years of marriage and ministry. Today what I am is because of the GRACE of God that was showered upon me on the 18th, August 1992. That GRACE is the reason of my sustenance every passing day. Praise be to God the Almighty for His Amazing GRACE. I want to conclude with this word of blessing for all of us!

"God is able to make all GRACE abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work!" (2 Corinthians 9:8)

What if the Worst Offenders are Christian Leaders?

A lady shared with me her experience that is quite common in the roads of Bangalore. She was walking in the path meant for pedestrians. A motor cycle nearly bumped on her. Not even noticing who the motorist was, she caught hold of the shirt-collar of the offender. To her surprise she found that he was a city-police. How often we find the same scenarios in Christian families, churches and organisations, where the worst offenders happen to be regular church-goers, bible-lovers, worst of all pastors and bishops? I am citing two cases of such offences from the Scriptures and the ways they were dealt with.

A group of the people of Israel who lived in exile, including the priests and the Levites trespassed the laws of God. These Yahweh worshipers and most of all, leaders married from non-Yahweh backgrounds which they were not supposed to do (Exodus 34:16). God used Ezra, a priest to deal with this unfaithfulness of the leaders (Ezra 9:2). Ezra was altogether a different priest because the Bible tells that he had devoted himself to read, practise and teach the word of God (7:9-10). Now we know that the offenders of that day and today can read and even teach the word of God, but not practise them! What did Ezra do on seeing such an offense? He was appalled and tore his clothes, pulled his hair and interceded to the Lord and confessed the sins of the people (9:5) . The fear of the Lord gripped the community to an extent that the offenders confessed their sin and agreed to get rid off their foreign wives (chapter 10).

The Corinthian church had sexual immorality within the church. Paul adds a shameful note here to say that, that was a kind that does not occur even among non-Christians (I Corinthians 5:1). Paul’s advice here was not to associate with such offenders and he even says to expel such a wicked man who is in wolves clothing in a community of believers (v.9-13). Paul adds to the offenders’ list the so-called Christians who are greedy, idolaters or slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. The question is: how to judge Christian offenders and who will judge? Paul says that the ones inside the church have to do that (chapter 6). And what if the judgement is unfair? The judges inside the church may wrong the one who raised the issue. But Paul says it is better to be wronged, cheated than to wrong and to cheat (v.7-8). Paul fears the worst too, saying “Dare not take it to legal courts,” because exposure of such sins of Christians in front of unbelievers puts God’s name in vain (v.6). Even in cases where offenders win, the Bible says that such people will not inherit the kingdom of God (v.9).

The Bible expects a practical-Christian to deal with the worst offenders within a Christian community based on Biblical principles. In unfair judgements, it is better to be wronged, cheated than to wrong and cheat. And it is better to choose to glorify His name than to gain glory by winning a case! After all, is not following the counsels of God the "best" choice than choose to do anything else?

Beautiful Feet and Good News!

Good news brings health to our bones (Proverbs 15:30). They are like cold water to a weary soul (Proverbs 25:25). In the Old Testament, we have read about men from the war front who came running to proclaim the good news of a victory. When Israel was under siege and was suffering from a severe famine, God chose a group of lepers to get to know where there was food for all (2 Kings 7). Mordecai sent the good news of salvation for the Jews through mounted couriers who rode fast horses. The royal horses raced out, spurred by the king’s command (Esther 8:10, 14).

The proclamation of the good news of restoration to the exilic Jews has been pictured  by Isaiah as follows: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) Nahum, who prophesied later to Isaiah, visualized the same restoration scene in a similar tone: “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!....” (Nahum 1:15)

There were angels who brought good news both in the Old and the New Testaments. Jesus bringing the good news to the world was prophesied by Isaiah centuries earlier to His coming, as follows: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1) Jesus indeed preached the good news in the villages, towns and cities of Israel. The apostles of Jesus, proclaimed that good news to the rest of the then world.

What is the Good News? It is nothing, but the atoning death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. It comes from the Greek word, “evangelion”. The missionaries brought evangelism, the good news to most of our fore parents. Someone told that good news to us. What are we doing about that “good news” today?

D.T. Niles said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” God chose most of us, beggars, lepers, lowly people to receive the blessing of Jesus, "The Living Bread" much before the rest of others. Can we now, identify us with the lepers of the Isrealite camp and reflect on their dialogue: "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." (2 Kings 7:9)

What have we done to the people who have not heard that good news not even once in their life-time so far? Jesus is the Way to heaven. All who believe in the reality of this fact need to shoulder the urgency of spreading the good news fast, spurred by the command of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.“(Matthew 28: 18-19)

The Bible says: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Let’s ask to ourselves: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?  (Romans 10:13-15)

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"