Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Why Christmas is unique!!This is why....


Act1:24 Dec,1999 , militants of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a Pakistan-based extremist group, brought India on it knees hijacking Indian Airlines Flight with 191 passengers and crew aboard. To end the hostage crisis in the Kandahar hijack, then Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee surrendered before terrorists and agreed to release three militants, who later planned and executed 9/11 attacks, the kidnap and murder of Daniel Pearl and 2006 Mumbai terror attacks.

3 guilty men released as a ransom for 191 innocent people.

Act2:1-3 A.D(approx): “Don’t you know anything? Can’t you see that it’s to our advantage that one man dies for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?”...that day on they plotted to kill Jesus...Cheif Priest Caiphas in Jn11:50-53(Message Version).

1 innocent man crucified for billions of murderers for every generation that was, that is and that is to come.
Whats Unique about Christmas. It was this day in history that Jesus,Son of God chose to come down to earth as the Son of man and to give his life as a ransom for many.Mk10:45
[Hope you also got a clearer understanding of the word "Ransom" from these two Acts]

Now Christmas is unique becasue on this day ,unto us a child is born,unto us a son is given [Isa9:6]Notice a Son was not born, a child was born on Christmas day and a Son was given because Jesus as the Son of God always existed.
The Bible teaches us that God is One, He exists in Three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If God were just One Person, He could not possibly have vacated His throne in heaven and come down to earth as a man in the person of Jesus. Who would run the universe then? But because God exists as Three Persons, the Son could come to earth and die for our sins before the Father in heaven Who was the Judge.
If Jesus were merely a created being, He could not possibly have taken the punishment for the billions of human beings who have lived since Adam! For one man cannot be hanged in place of one billion murderers! But Jesus could take that punishment because He is the Infinite God.
Further, because He is infinite, He could also take an eternal punishment within three hours.
If Jesus Christ were not God, and God the Father had punished Him for our sin, that would have been a great injustice. God cannot punish one person for the crime of another, even if the person is willing to take the punishment. Your friend cannot take your punishment and be hanged in your place. That would be unjust. So if Jesus were merely a created being, and He was punished for our sins, that would have been the greatest injustice.
So it is clear that no created being could possibly have taken the punishment for our sins. God alone could take that punishment, because He is the Judge of the universe. He has the right to punish us - and He has the right to take our punishment Himself. And that is what He did, when He came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ. The foundation of the Christian faith lies in these two great truths: First, that Christ died for the sins of humanity. Secondly, that He rose from the dead after three days.
If Christ did not rise from the dead, there would have been no proof that He was God. His rising from the dead was proof that all that He had said was true. No religious leader has ever claimed that he would die for the sins of the world. And no religious leader has ever risen from the dead. These two facts alone make Jesus Christ unique.
All religions may teach us to do good to others and to live in peace. But the Christian faith has an unique foundation: Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead,and thats the Gospel(1cor10:5,Rom10:9) If these two truths are removed from Christianity, then Christianity becomes just like any other religion. These two truths are what make Christianity unique and hence Christmas Unique!

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

POVERTY AND RICHES


Deepika, an EU student doing her Ba Bed in Bhubaneswar instead of staying in the city/or going home, decides to spend her christmas holidays in a remote less urban place exploring the idea of being a teacher in a needy place. God takes her to Asha kiran academy in koraput district, Odisha.

After a week long Mission exposure trip , deepika sums up her experince this way, and i
i quote-"In the city Spending is a habit, over here in the village, spending is a need "

Is this true for you too my dear student. I am more convinced than before the need for EU students to take mission exposure trips even during their college days. "A lot can happen over a day of mission exposure trip"

But the god of this world wants to keep us indoors.With the advent of 21st century we have entered into the Global market of consumerism, everything can be home delivered.Smartphones, social media, etc. All lock us insde… all that is required is – ‘Can my pocket afford it?’

Oh, I thought it’s Christmas light!
No Problem, how much I need to pay Mr. Cop?

My son’s rash driving broke your Sabji (vegetable) trolley!
No Problem, How much money for damage?

“Comparing money to Repair” has become the trend of the generation.

Dr. Ravi Zacharias retells this story of a man boarding a flight:

“A rich business man boards his flight and sat beside a beautiful lady. In a short while they started introducing each other. Tempted the rich young man proposed the lady, "I want you for tonight….what’s your cost? I will pay you 1000 dollars."

The lady stared at him and kept quite. As the flight was about to land, the lady said, “It will be my pleasure to be with you tonight. But I don’t want 100 dollars, I am okay with 10 dollars.(it turns out the lady was a prosititute) The rich man with high tone said, “What do you think about me? Do you know who I am?”
The lady smiled and replied, “Cool down man. We both now know who we are!
We are just haggling over the price!”

Jesus said "what use is it if a man gains the whole world and loses his soul".
No one can serve 2 masters.
Phew!!Is it true that every person is saleable, just have to quote the right price.
Is it true everything can be bought with money.
Dear friend, the enemy of our soul makes us a offer daily, we have to refuse.
Its not just poor, bu the rich have much problems too. The problem of self sufficiency, and not knowing what lack is.

(Abrahams nephew)Lot chose the greener pasture when offered the open field
Esau sold his birth right over a morsel of grain.