January 2016 - Light of Life magazine

Light of Life 1 January 2016

January 2016 (Total pages 72)


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How to Apply: Complete our application form found at http://mdis.net/employment/apply/ and email to [email protected] along with a copy of your current CV.

Eligibility CriteriaOf Christian faith and worldview.Minimum of BA degree in specified subject as applicable.Teacher certified (or soon to complete certification) ideal.Desire, flexibility and ability to teach children from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

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www.mdis.netSchool Website

Metro Delhi International School is a Christian international schoolfrom KG - Grade 12. We exist to provide academically excellentlearning opportunities within a college preparatory course of study;following an American school curriculum.

How to Apply: Complete our application form found at http://mdis.net/employment/apply/ and email to [email protected] along with a copy of your current CV.

Eligibility CriteriaOf Christian faith and worldview.Minimum of BA degree in specified subject as applicable.Teacher certified (or soon to complete certification) ideal.Desire, flexibility and ability to teach children from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

Biology | Chemistry | Math | Drama | Music | Foreign Language Physical Education | Special Education Positions start date: 1 July 2016 Applicants can be a combination of the above needs.

Teacher Vacancies

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Light of LifeThe Magazine For Christian Growth

Vol. 59.01 Jan. 2016

Editorial Board:Jacob Ninan – Chief Editor

P. Abraham Brian Michael Vivek Salins

Cover Design: Ebenezer Printing House

5LIGHT OF LIFE MARCH 2013


Vol. 55.5 March 2013

Cover Design: Ebenezer Printing House

Your Letters 6PoemKeep Me Going 12Janet EdwinYour QuestionsMaking The Bible Come Alive 33Sandeep Poonen

Editorial:

RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS 8

DEPDEPDEPDEPDEPARTMENTSARTMENTSARTMENTSARTMENTSARTMENTS

13 CHRIST’S RESURRECTION Are you experiencing Christ’s resurrection power?asks .Samuel Manoharam

17 BEAUTY IN THE BEATITUDES Suresh Manoharn describes God’s pefect order in creation, redemption and

sanctification23 IS THE CROSS TOO HEAVY?

M.J. Jacob writes:God is fashioning us so that we reflect His glorious image.27 THE CROSS RECONSIDERED

Rev. P.M. Joseph analyses the cross of Christ to discover its objective...33 OBEDIENCE

Wherever there is disobedience to God, there is chaos and ugliness, warns Zac Poonen.35 ADORN THE DOCTRINE

We are to be the ornaments that adorn or decorate the Lord’s teaching, says Kuruvilla Chandy.43 FACEBOOK VERSUS FAITHBOOK

God is busy adding to the list of the friends of His Son, points out Mohan Adinarayn,47 REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING

Shantanu Dutta points to a few necessary things we need to focus on.51 HOPE FOR HUMANITY

There is hope for humanity, affirms M.G. Mathews.61 WHAT IS JESUS CHRIST TO ME? K.V. Varghese passionately writes what the Lord Jesus means to him .65 WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU CRYING?

Justice and mercy is what God requires of Christians, points out R oy E.Joy.71 LEADERSHIP LESSON FROM THE BOOK OF JOSHUA-3 Vijay Thangiah writes on Christian leadership.87 NOTES ALONG THE JOURNEY -42

Oby Cherian writes that we can do everything through Christ.

Rescued 57 Arny Roberts Word And The World No Other Fount I know 69 Cyril Georgeson Young Life 77 A Summer Vacation to Shimmer for Jesus Duke Jeyaraj Debate 81 “Should The New Believer Couples Set Up New Homes...? News 89

SHORT STORY

13 A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Let us quickly lay down our pursuit of an earthly paradise and live in the light of eternity, says Lois Morse.

19 IN FEAR, WITHOUT FEAR We need not have fear of anyone else, but God we must fear, emphasises Kuruvilla Chandy.

25 FAll OF BElIEVERS Satan will try to bring many storms, but be assured that he cannot sink faith’s boat, on which you are travelling to the promised land, warns Praveen Chand.

29 THE HOlY SPIRIT AND THE BElIEVERLet us live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit and glorify God with our lives by living a life of obedience, asserts Lily Abraham.

35 SHOUlD WE FOllOW GODlY MEN OR ONlY JESUS? If you find a godly leader who has the desired qualities, it will be good for you to follow his example, exhorts Zac Poonen.

41 WAlKING WITH UNDERSTANDINGSome of us still do not make the effort to listen to God directly but depend on others to tell us what God wants, points out Jacob Ninan

43 KNOWING ABOUT ‘KNOWING’!One day, we shall indeed be like Jesus and thereby know the Father’s ‘goodness’, writes Suresh Manoharan.

48 KNOWING GOD’S WAYS There is a difference between seeing God’s acts and knowing His ways, points out Sandeep Poonen.

6 YOUR LETTERS8 EDITORIAL: PEACE AT ANY COST?52 WORD AND THE WORLD - THE

YEAR OF THE SElFIE STICK - Cyril Georgeson

57 NOTES ALONG THE JOURNEY – WHAT IS lOVE? - Oby Cherian

61 CROSSWORD NO.23 J. Fredric Dawson

63 NEWS


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LETTERS

YOUR

AppopriateChristian Yoga? by Latha

Jebackumar (LOL January 2013) isvery appropriate and urgent. Thewestern Church is already in thegrip of yoga cult. The so-called mar-tial arts like judo and karate havethe same demonic origin. ManyChristian schools include all theseoccult practices in their curriculumwithout the knowledge of its origin.Every true Christian should stayaway from such demonic practicesto keep their body, mind and spiritholy.

John Samuel, Bangalore

Article On YogaI had been planning to write an

article on the inadvisability of Yogafor Christians for quite some time.Somehow I couldn't do it. Glad thatLOL has published LathaJebackumar's Christian Yoga?(January 2013). 'Christian Yoga'does not exist. Proverbs 28:26 says,"A man is a fool to trust himself! Butthose who use God's wisdom aresafe." Christianity neither says "No"to self-confidence nor under-esti-mates the need to boost one's mo-rale. Latha has proved beyonddoubt the Satanic deception in theform of Yoga. Self-examination ledto the fall of the archangel Lucifer.A popular Tamil lyric begins likethis: manithan enbavandheivamaahalaam (man can be-come God, perhaps a deity). Never!

"I (God) have helped them andmade them strong, yet they turnagainst Me" (Hos.7:16). Do youwant to practice Yoga as a physical

Great BlessingI thank the Lord for this

wonderful magazine. It is, really, a great blessing to me and my church, and it gives light to show the way of the Lord. This is the second month that I have received the magazine. When I start reading it I forget everything, even my food. I could experience the presence of God, and God speaks to me through this magazine. From the bottom of my heart, I thank the team of Light of Life.

Sambhrama Bebarta,

So SignificantI'm very glad I'm able to write

to you after a long time. Thanks for the November 2015 issue of Light of Life!

I read with avid interest Esther Robinson's article, The Three Triggers. Esther has so nicely concluded her writing: “Let us trigger the God-given triple gift of talent, time, and talking to transform India exactly as the Lord Jesus desires to see it.”

Every word she has used in this sentence is so significant. While reading this article, I could recall my message shared at church, on Luke 14 : 27-32. It highlights the


need for preparation, planning, and proposal. The same way we should prepare ourselves to invest our talent, time, and talking in the Great Commission to transform humanity. Of course, we've to begin that in our society.

Sharon Sugumaran, in her article, One Minute Without You, says emphatically that even a single minute without God (in our life) would (only) be a rational disaster. I agree with her. I hope every Christian does the same too!

I can't but agree with Hermon Khonglah, when he points out that we have more intellectual giants today than spiritual. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Media, by and large, keeps proving the author's concern.

May Light of Life flourish in it's ministry that is so needed these days!

Dr. P. Selvaraj, Pollachi, TN

Irreparable LossK.V.Varghese Ampat's journey

to his heavenly abode is a great loss for the Christian community as a whole, and the family of Light of Life in particular. His After-death, What? seems to be a product of his vision he had before Sept. 23. The loss is irreparable. He will be remembered by his readers now

and forevermore.Chandan Lal Tewary,

Balasore, Odisha.

Immensely Pleased Since I received your valuable

magazine’s October issue, and I came across the article, Sanctification by Bro. Sandeep Poonen, I was immensely pleased for his personal commitment, with dedication in putting forth the Biblical truths about the difference between, “justification” and “sanctification”. I just felt like saying, “Hats off to him,” as one of the very senior citizens and a humble believer in Jesus Christ.

I wish the present day preachers, particularly in churches, put forth their personal experiences and commitment, based on the Biblical words, to preach the Gospels or Biblical truths, thereby the congregation too will cherish and personally introspect each one of them.

P.D. Arthur Prasad, Yelavala, Mysore

An Eye-OpenerI thank you for the December

issue. Apart from all the articles being good, Dr. Oby Cherian’s article on Pacifiers needs to be singled out as being an eye-opener and a good educative material.

Dr. Jayaprakash, Coonoor, TN.


Editorial

Edito

rial

PEACE AT ANY COST?

Most of us know this verse, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for

they shall be called the children of God” (Matt.5:9). But some do not seem to know this verse, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt.10:34). The fact is, the truth lies with both these verses, and the reality of life is also reflected in both. The problem is that many of us focus more on one and neglect the other.

There is a German word used in English, ‘zeitgeist’ (pronounced ‘zite-giste’). It is translated generally as ‘the spirit of the times’, and explained as “the intellectual fashion or dominant school of thought that typifies and influences the culture of a particular period in time” (Wikipedia). The zeitgeist nowadays is ‘peace and

tolerance at all costs’. People follow ‘political correctness’ to the highest degree so as to be seen as being broad-minded and tolerant and also to avoid creating any controversy by disagreeing with popular opinion. Ironically, the people of the world are even willing to fight and kill people who disturb their ‘peace’ as they define it! Sad to say, we Christians also are being influenced to a great extent by this spirit of the times to seek peace and avoid conflict.

What is peace? It may be defined as ‘the absence of war’, ‘freedom from disputes’, ‘absence of mental stress or anxiety’, etc., (WordWeb). It is a good thing to have. Therefore, blessed are the peacemakers. But it is unrealistic to expect that we can have this kind of peace on this earth at all times because


not everyone is a peacemaker. Jesus, Himself, said that in this world we were going to have trouble (Jn.16:33). The zeitgeist seems to consider peace as if that is the supreme goal. On the other hand, the Bible says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom.12:18), implying that it is not going to be possible at times to keep that peace.

The problem is that peace is not the only thing we have to pursue. “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). If we follow after holiness of life, we are going to disrupt peace for many others. Even if we don’t go around telling other people what they are doing is wrong, just our witness can cause furious responses from others who get pricked in their conscience seeing our example. When we speak out for the truth, we will immediately face opposition from others, and if we follow the zeitgeist we will hide our light under a bushel, keep quiet about our opinions, and follow ‘peace’! But we think we are following love, when, in fact, we seem to be pursuing a love Jesus didn’t show! Jesus’ love always had the

good of the others in view, but the kind of peace which many follow is influenced by an aim for self-preservation.

The zeitgeist tells us to avoid controversial subjects. So, even among mature Christians, we skirt around the doctrines that divide us, and each one continues to keep whatever opinions we have been holding earlier, even though being open with others could have helped us to learn something more or something better. Preachers avoid ‘sensitive’ subjects like sin, judgment, hell, etc., to avoid convicting the hearers and offending their feelings, and ‘fast-forward’ on subjects that might hurt some (especially the wealthy or the influential) members of the congregation. The zeitgeist in the pulpit is to talk only about the ‘positive’ things, the promises of God, His mercies, His love for sinners, how to receive all the blessings from God, etc.

If there are disputes in the family or the congregation, the zeitgeist tells us not to probe into them or deal with them squarely, but to just pray for them, ‘speak prophetic words of life’ into their situation, restate the promises of God, cast out


the spirits of dispute, or break the ancestral curses. In the Old Testament, God was very angry with prophets who would not address the sins of the people, but ‘covered them over with whitewash’ (Ezek.13:10), superficially and super fast. Why would these prophets do that? In this way they would keep the peace (and also become more acceptable and respected).

So, what happens when we seek only peace? We tend to compromise on truth and godly values. That is the cost we pay for the sake of this kind of peace. Then, we also lose our peace with God; in other words, our conscience becomes tainted and slowly hardened. Some Christian leaders are now willing to call certain words in the Bible as ‘ancient’, ‘not applicable’, ‘rigid’, ‘not relevant’, etc., in order to go along with the zeitgeist. They accept the opinion of people about what is acceptable to them and give up the truth that what God tells us about right and wrong is final. We notice that

what the Bible identifies clearly as wrong and what all people used to acknowledge earlier as wrong is now being accepted as right.

Parents, who want peace with their children, give in to whatever the children ask for, and create the potential for ‘war’ when the children grow

up to teenage years. Discipline is rejected as it goes against peace in the home, and when it is used, it is immediately labelled by others as child abuse. Many husbands and wives learn to ‘live and let live’ rather than sit down

together to sort out differences. Organisations ‘overlook’ wrong things that officials or workers are doing just to ‘keep the peace’.

Everywhere, ‘peace’ is the driving factor. Because peace is good, especially as it sounds, we are ignorant about other factors that are also important in life, and also about what is being compromised in the process.

Parents, who want peace with their children, give in

to whatever the children ask for, and create the

potential for ‘war’ when the children grow up to

teenage years. Discipline is rejected as it goes

against peace in the home, and when it is used, itis immediately labelled by others as child abuse.


Jacob Ninan

58LIGHT OF LIFE FEBRUARY 2013

scient and omnipotent, but alsosovereign, doing whatever Hepleases (Ps.115:3). No one cancontrol Him or tell Him what Heshould do. At the same time Heanswers our prayers and actsaccording to our request! Hetells us to ask whatever we want,but answers us if we pray ac-cording to His will(Jn.14:13;1Jn.5:14,15).

This mystery of prayer haspuzzled people throughouttimes. Some argue that weneed not pray anything be-cause anyway God will dowhat He wants, and others in-sist that God will do whateverwe ask. Many times we don'tget what God wants us to getbecause we don't ask, and atother times God doesn't an-swer because we ask wrongly(Jas.4:2,3). Many times Godgives us what we need evenwithout our asking (Mt.5:45).God's truth here has manysides, and it would not be rightto take one sided views by ne-glecting the other sides.

Leaders And ServantsIn the kingdom of God, the

greatest ones are those whoserve all (Lk.22:24-27)! Jesussaid that in the world leaderswould lord it over the others,but in His kingdom they wouldserve the others(Matt.20:25,26). For leaders toserve seems to be a contradic-tion in idea as well as practice.When we look around we seemany Christian leaders who do

not seem to have understoodthis and who go on lording itover the others in their pursuitof the top position.

Equal But DifferentWhen it comes to husbands

and wives, there is equality inGod's eyes (Gal.3:28), yet thereare differences in roles, andwives are to submit to theirhusbands who are their heads(Eph.5:22,23)! Some men findit difficult to accept the fact ofequality and consider womenas if they were an inferior cre-ation. Some women fight forequality and find it difficult tothink of submitting to theirhusbands. Yet both are truthsfrom God's word. Actually ifhusbands love their wives asChrist loves the church itmakes it easier for their wivesto submit to them, and if thewives submit, it makes iteasier for the husbands to lovethem!

ConclusionThere would be many other

similar examples we can takefrom the Bible. But what thisshows us is that we should re-sist the temptation to make toomuch of a truth which we likewithout looking to see if thereare other truths we need in or-der to get a balanced view.

Jacob Ninan enjoys writing,speaking and counselling.

Jesus knew that if people took their life with God seriously, they would find themselves against some others and others against them. “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Lk.12:51-53). He also knew that since the large majority of people would

always be choosing the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt.7:13), the minority who followed righteousness would face opposition. When He offers peace, He makes it clear it is not the peace that the world offers, which is the absence of problems (Jn.14:27). His peace is one that stays even in the midst of problems. Peace from God comes with the assurance that God is with us and our hearts are right with God. It is this peace that we forfeit when we seek peace in the world.


While reading the book of Hosea, I was struck by this particular call

of God to Israel, “Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips’” (Hos.14:2). And I thought, nowhere is there a more beautiful statement of what should be the daily prayer of every serious Christian writer.

As Elihu said to Job prior to confronting him, “I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay” (Job.33:6).

I come to you facing my own challenges, carrying my own burdens, watching out for the stumbling blocks that lie in my pathway—ever hoping, praying, longing that some word I write will address the challenges you are facing, lighten the burdens you are carrying, and remove some of the stumbling blocks that lie in your pathway. I say to myself, “Should I go in this direction or that direction?” You never leave my side. And so it is with serious Christian writers.

Interestingly enough, a thought that may take only a fraction of a minute to put on paper may actually be the prod-uct of years of painful struggle and growth on the part of a writer. But, as serious Christian writers, we press on toward the light and pray that because of the lantern we hold, someone may see the pathway just a bit more clearly. All to the glory of God—the One who gives words, inspires thoughts and connects the imagery of thoughts, till hopefully they burn in the heart of the reader.

God’s Fatherly LoveThe incident recorded in 1

Kings 3:16-28 (when two women fought over a baby and one of them thought it was better to kill the baby rather than let the other one have him) is a shadow of what happened in the Garden of Eden. Having lost his place in heaven, Satan sneaked into the Garden to take revenge against God by stealing His two children through deception, resulting in their spiritual death. “He was a murderer from the beginning, not

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVELois Morse

Choosing between religions and ideologies can be very impersonal.


holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (Jn.8:44). But God so loved His children and was so filled with compassion that He sent His Son to die on Calvary’s hill to save them and their coming generations from Satan’s grip and give them life (Jn.3:16).

At the heart of it, our choice is not between multiple religions and ideologies, but between two fathers. As Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews, “‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and now am here… You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning.’ At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” (Jn.8:42-59).

Choosing between religions and ideologies can be very impersonal. For example, when I say, “You choose the religion you want, and I’ll choose the religion I want,” we exercise our personal choices. But everything changes suddenly when we realise we are choosing between two fathers! You can hold religions and ideologies at arm’s length; but fathers are up close and personal! We are most vulnerable when our private world is invaded. And so we come to a fork in the road.

God’s GloryYou may be asking, “How did

all of this come about?” As for Satan, John writes, “There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Rev.12:7-9).

As for Christ, the author of Hebrews writes, “In these last days He has spoken to us by His Son… through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being… After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (1:1-3).

As for God’s ultimate plan for those who believe, Paul writes, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal.1:3-4). Some may think Jesus could not be God because He came into the world in human form. The truth is, if God could not come into the


world in human form when He wanted to for His own purposes, He would not be God!

God’s ForgivenessKeeping all of this in mind,

consider the contrasting postures of Satan and Christ as they interact with us. Satan, who comes “only to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn.10:10), crouches stealthily at our door—like a lion ready to pounce on its prey (1Pet.5:8). God warned Cain when he was on the verge of killing his brother, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you” (Gen.4:7). But Christ, who came “that (we) may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn.10:10), stands at our door and says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne” (Rev.3:20-21).

Roughly two thousand years ago, Satan tried to sabotage God’s plan by crouching at the foot of the cross. Using the rulers as his mouthpiece, he sneered at Christ, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God” (Lk.23:35). But Christ remained on His cross and prayed, “Father, forgive

them, for they do not know what they are doing” (v.34).

God’s RighteousnessWhen we speak of God and

Satan, it is imperative for us to know that God has no opponent. There isn’t a divine good Being and a supernatural evil being on the same level of existence, but only God, the Father of all mankind, who was never created, and one of His creatures gone awry, the father of lies, that ancient serpent called the devil, who leads the whole world astray (Rev.12:9).

And what was the curse that fell on the whole human race when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden? After God created Adam and Eve in His image, He gave them the freedom to eat from any tree in the garden except one. Please note, that tree was not just ‘the tree of evil’, but ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (Gen.2:17). Man, apart from God, is still capable of both good and evil. Then what is our problem? The curse that fell on us because of the fall of Adam was not the implanting of Adam’s sin in us (Ezek.18), but the uprooting of the righteousness of God, which left us in a fleshly state—capable of both good and evil, but bereft of the righteousness of God.


The apostle Paul understood the tragedy that befell the whole human race and climaxed his own struggle with this heartrending cry, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom.7:24-25). Jesus explained it this way, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again’” (Jn.3:6-7). Paul similarly explained, “This righteousness from God” (which we lost in Adam) “comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom.3:22).

God’s ParadiseWhen you were a child and

you sinned against your father, was it not he who decided what needed to be done to make things right between you, rather than your brothers and sisters? The problem with man-made religions and ideologies is that, as children of our heavenly Father, we allow our brothers and sisters to dictate what needs to be done to make things right with God, instead of listening to our Father, against whom we have sinned (Psa.51:4). When the Jews who crucified Christ realised that He was the Son of God, they were cut to the heart and cried out, “Brothers, what

shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts2:37-38). In Christ, we regain what we lost in Adam—the Holy Spirit!

Ever since you and I were thrust out of the garden of Eden, along with Adam and Eve (Gen.3:23), most of us have looked from afar at the “cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (v.24) and determined, in our fleshly nature, to create our own ‘garden of Eden’ to take its place. This inordinate desire to have what God has taken away explains most of the human struggle.

In these final hours of history, let us quickly lay down our pursuit of an earthly paradise and live in the light of eternity. For, soon our dust will return to the ground it came from, and our spirit will return to God who gave it (Eccl.12:7). Only one question is relevant: are we ready to enter the paradise of God? (See Rev.2:7).

Lois Morse served as a missionary in China,

Burma and Thailand for several years and now lives

a retired life in the USA.


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IN FEAR, WITHOUT FEARKuruvilla Chandy

Many Christians have a big, cuddly, soft toy. The toy is the

‘Loving, Heavenly Father’. Pulpits major on the theme of God’s love. ‘Fear God’ messages are gone from the menu. When modern folks talk of fearing God, they think that it’s only for the grossly sinful (thieves, murderers and adulterers). We don’t think we need to talk about fearing God when all a person is guilty of is a little bit of lying or jealousy or anger, or even hatred! Christians, especially, feel that they don’t have to fear God at all, because “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” (1Jn.4:18)! However, our Lord did say to His disciples that they did have to fear the One who had the authority to consign people to hell (Lk.12:5).

Hypocrisy Must EndThe Lord said this in the

context of warning His disciples and requiring them to guard against hypocrisy. He compared hypocrisy to yeast (Lk.12:1). In a parable, the Lord said that a

little bit of yeast would spread its effect in a larger quantity of flour (13:21). In that context, Jesus said, that was what the kingdom of God was like. It would grow. So there’s yeast of the Pharisees and there’s yeast of the kingdom of God. What is the yeast working and spreading in your life? Paul warned the church that when it is arrogantly unrepentant, the harmful yeast takes over, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor.5:6-8).

After warning against the yeast-like influence of the religious leaders of that ancient society, Jesus said that secrecy would not succeed (Lk.12:2-3). In an indirect way, Jesus was telling His disciples not to have a secretive life. People practising


hypocrisy hide the truth about themselves. They pretend to be something other than what they really are.

Next, Jesus told His disciples not to be afraid of those who could do extremely hurtful things to the body (Lk.12:4). They only have limited powers. The ultimate in power belongs only to God. Fear of what people may do to us, or may not do for us, drives so many of our decisions and actions. Fearing people is no use in the end. Neither is the favour of humans enough. “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there” (Psa.146:3NLT). “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans” (Psa.118:8).

Though Jesus urged His disciples to fear only God, to whom all power belonged, He described God as the one who cared for sparrows and even for our falling hair (Lk.12:6,7). Jesus was saying, “Fear God, but don’t be fearful of Him. He is gracious and loving and caring.” Acknowledge the Lord in your life. Confess to all, “He’s my God,” and He will

acknowledge that you belong to Him on the day when the whole world will stand fearful before God (vv.8,9)

As for what you will experience temporarily at the hands of those with temporal power, Jesus said that not only did God have very much more power than them, but He would not abandon them to

fend for themselves. His Spirit would be with them to give them the words that they will need in defence (vv.11,12).

God is the only One to be feared and if you fear Him, there is no need to be secretive or scared or anxious.

Fear God AloneThe apostles learnt these

lessons well. Peter wrote, “Honour all, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor” (1Pet.2:17). It is noteworthy that Peter said that both commoners and kings deserve honour. All people are to be given due honour. Only God is to be feared. Those with authority and power were not to be given any more than their due. They are not to be given the place of God.

The ultimate in power belongs only to God. Fear

of what people may do to us, or may not do for

us, drives so many of our decisions and actions.

Fearing people is no use in the end


God is the only One to be feared and if you fear Him, there is no need to be secretive or scared or

anxious.

The apostles were fearless before the Jewish Council when they demanded that they desist from teaching or doing anything in the name of Jesus. They said, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard…We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts.4:19-20;5:29).

HolinessPaul said that it

is the fear of God that would move us to become holy, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2Cor.7:1 NASB). Without holiness we cannot see God (Heb.12:14), and without the fear of God we cannot become holy (2Cor.7:1).

God is totally not like anything created. He is ‘set apart’. And, when a person seeks to be holy, he or she is drawing away from all that keeps us apart from God. Holiness is being set apart. That is why there is such a state as “holiness unto the Lord” (Zech. 14:20). We are called to move away from what is offensive to Him. “What partnership have

righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2Cor.6:14,15). God’s promise, to stay with us and identify Himself as ours and claim us as His, motivates holiness. “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people…And I will be a

father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me” (vv.16,18).

We must not think, though, that our acts of

dedication will bring us to the totality of holiness, being holy like God. The holiness we can have is in a state of ‘perfecting’ (process of maturing - 7:1). The apostle Paul, after all his mystical experiences (12:7) and all the missionary journeys and planting churches that he did, wrote, “I want to experience the power of His resurrection and join in His suffering, shaped by His death, so that I may arrive safely at the resurrection from the dead. I’m not there yet, nor have I become perfect; but I am charging on to gain anything and everything the Anointed One, Jesus, has in store for me—and


nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go. Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission. I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed” (Phpl.3:10-14 Voice).

This side of heaven and eternity we will always be on a journey—on the Way (which is the earliest description of the followers of Christ, Acts 9:2;22:4). “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will

know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1Cor.13:12 NLT).

In Genesis, God is called “the Fear of Isaac” (31:42,53). This descriptive name of God emphasises that He is almighty and to be duly feared. Jacob uses the name to keep his uncle Laban from crossing limits and attacking him. There is a sense in which each of us needs to think of God as “my Fear”. God is the only one I fear. We need have no fear of anyone else. But God we must fear because He is almighty and sovereign. In the end, He is the Sole Power of the entire cosmos and beyond.

Kuruvilla Chandy is Pastor of the Grace Bible

Church, Lucknow.

Light of Life

INVITING ARTICLESLight of Life magazine is meant for inspiring, instructing, informing and

influencing people in becoming better followers of Jesus Christ. We welcome original and unpublished articles, poems, testimonies, book reviews, etc., that would be edifying. Authors must be those who affirm the final authority of the Bible in all matters of doctrine and ethics, that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that Jesus is the only Saviour of the world.

The typical length of articles is 1500 words or less. Articles will be selected by the editors at their discretion and further edited to correct errors, fit available space and to align with the format, style and layout adopted by the magazine.

General guidelines for authors is given in the Light of Life website at www.lightoflife-india.com


FAll OF BElIEVERSPraveen Chand

Satan continues to lead men and women to destruction by his false promise that they will not die.

But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will depart

from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons” (1Tim.4:1).

Since the time of Adam, it has been seen that many believers cannot stand firmly on the foundation of their belief. It has also been seen that when an adult comes to the Lord, he comes with great zeal, full commitment and repentance in the fellowship of the church. For a few years, he participates in all the activities of the church. But, as time goes by, he falls from the foundation of his faith and becomes busy in worldly things. Why?

The Fatal LieWhen the serpent came to Eve,

he said,“Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen.3:1). In other words, he asks, “Has God really said so?” Satan’s craftiness cre-ated doubt in Eve’s mind about God’s clear instructions. The prime work of Satan is to create doubt in a believer’s mind, caus-

ing the believer to waver in his child like faith in God’s word. A believer who wavers in his faith runs the risk of entertaining un-belief, leading on to a slippery path of backsliding.

Eve replied, “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it” (Gen.3:3). During her conversation with the serpent, Eve got trapped in the grip of Satan. He first lured her with a lie and then uttered the lie, directly contradicting God’s truth, saying, “You shall not surely die” (Gen.3:4). No wonder he is called “a liar and the father of it” (Jn.8:44).

Satan continues to lead men and women to destruction by his false promise that they will not die. Today, many Christians are trapped by doubt. They say, “Brother, we are tired of pray-ing. God doesn’t hear us. Is God real? Who has seen Him?” Believers today are in a situation far worse than Eve was after she ate only one forbidden fruit. Many professing Christians are eating varieties of forbidden


fruits, some of which are listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, forget-ting God’s warning that they cannot inherit God’s kingdom if they continue in their disobe-dience even after knowing and embracing God’s truth.

Regarding unanswered prayers, David says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart; the Lord will not hear me” (Psa.66:18). Firstly, if we pray with iniquity in our heart, God will not hear. Secondly, God does not hear sinners, because their sins sepa-rate them from God (Jn.9:31). Thirdly, a ‘dead’ church cannot give life to the dying world. If a pastor gives a teaching that con-tradicts God’s word, the congre-gation gets deceived.

The Bible says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowl-edge” (Hos.4:6). Let us look at examples from the Bible of those who backslid.

AchanAchan was from the tribe

of Judah, and he participated with great zeal in religious and spiritual activities under the leadership of Joshua. He had been marching forward during the destruction of Jericho. Over a period of time, covetousness gripped Achan and he stole gold, silver, etc., from the accursed land (Josh.7:1).

Covetousness that leads to fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness…continues to lead Christians astray (1Cor.6:10). Our sin separates us from God, and when we pray with sin in our hearts, God will not hear us, for God does not hear sinners (Psa.66:18).

SamsonSamson was a great,

physically powerful man of God. He was anointed by God as a Nazarene. Samson was the man upon whom the Spirit of God descended mightily and he performed many astonishing acts. When Samson was on his way to Timnah, a young lion came roaring toward him and he tore the lion apart (Judg.14:6). He was the strongest man of his generation, but was unable to control his lust. When he saw a gorgeous woman, he wanted her. His parents tried to dissuade him, since her religion and culture were unacceptable. But he would not listen, for he lusted after her. After that, he went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her. A man who was anointed by God as a Nazarene fell from his faith by giving in to covetousness and was destroyed (Judg. 16:20-21).


GehaziGehazi was the servant of

Elisha, the man of God. Gehazi lived with his master and was in spiritual fellowship with him. Naaman, who was miraculously cured of his leprosy through Elisha, offered Elisha valuable gifts. When Elisha refused to accept the gifts, Gehazi thought his master was foolish to refuse such costly gifts and devised a secret plan to grab the gifts for himself (2Kg.5:20).Gehazi succumbed to the sin of covetousness and brought upon himself the curse of leprosy (v.27). Despite his spiritual fellowship with a great man of God, Gehazi could not lead a godly life.

These men had fellowship with God and served Him, but they failed to exercise their faith when temptations came.1. Adam and Eve ate and

enjoyed the forbidden fruit, resulting in spiritual death.

2. Achan received worldly wealth, but was stoned to death.

3. Samson fulfilled his lust, but eventually had his eyes gouged out.

4. Gehazi grabbed the gifts through covetousness, but he and his generation became lepers.

Remember, sin gives us that which we desire and also that which we would never desire – misery and death, both spiritual and physical. Hell eagerly awaits people who linger in their sin. Sin separates us from God. It is the devil’s business to lead believers astray and send them to hell. But our loving, Almighty God is waiting to receive and embrace the prodigal sons and daughters so that they do not go to hell. That’s why He came into this world, bore our insult, shed His precious blood and finally was crucified on the cross so that we may have life more abundantly, which is in Christ Jesus only.

Someone said, “If Jesus is in your boat, it does not mean that you will not face any storms. It only means –no storm can sink your boat.”

Therefore, be courageous in faith. Satan will try to bring storms in your life, but be assured that he cannot sink faith’s boat on which you are travelling to the Promised Land. May the Lord richly bless you that you may stand firm in your faith and overcome every temptation.

Dr. Praveen Chand resides in Dehradun,

Uttarakhand and serves as an

evangelist.


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The promise of a new covenant was given in the Old Testament,

both in ‘Jeremiah’ and ‘Ezekiel’, in addition to the well-known prophecy in Joel. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Jeremiah 31:33 says “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

The Promised Holy SpiritEzekiel talks about God

putting a new spirit in man, in the place of his spirit which died in the Garden of Eden. He is also promising to put His Spirit in man. The result is that man will be able to walk according to God’s statutes and His law. A careful reading of the passage

in Jeremiah also brings out the same meaning. It says that He will put the law into their minds, and write it on their hearts.

The prophecy of John the Baptist that Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit is recorded in all the four gospels. We read about Jesus establishing the promised new covenant in His blood (Matt.26:26-33; Lk.22:19-20), just before His crucifixion. Jesus Himself taught about the Holy Spirit, whom the Father would send (Jn.14:16-17,26;16:7,8,13-15); the Holy Spirit would abide with us for ever, He would dwell with us and will be in us. He will teach us all things, and will bring to our remembrance all that Jesus Himself taught. He is the Spirit of truth and will guide us into all truth. He will tell us things to come. He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. We read, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses” (Acts.1:8), and about the

THE HOlY SPIRIT AND THE BElIEVER

Lily AbrahamThose who are led by the Spirit of God are empowered to obey

God’s commandments.


promised Holy Spirit coming on the believers in Acts 2.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom.8:1). How do we know, who are in Christ Jesus? Those who are in Christ Jesus are those who walk according to the Spirit. They do not walk according to the flesh. God did something to save us, because the law could not save us. “So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit…has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death… God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent His own Son in a human body - and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. So, we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us”(Rom.8:1-4 TLB).

Who are the sons of God? “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God” (Rom.8:14). If a believer does not obey the Spirit but he/she is

living according to the dictates of his/her heart, the Holy Spirit is grieved. Paul warns us against grieving the Holy Spirit.

Led By God’s SpiritThose who are led by the Spirit

of God are empowered to obey God’s commandments. Praying the sinners’ prayer, responding to the altar call, or filling up a form at the end of a revival meeting are all the work of the Holy Spirit; but that is only the

first step in one’s spiritual life. Babes in Christ need to grow up spiritually by drinking the pure milk of the word and then eating solid food. If the baby is not hungry for milk, something is wrong. It may be stillborn, or it may

have been crushed by the thorns, or dried up for lack of soil, as the Lord said in the parable of the sower. The proof of healthy growth is bearing fruit. So, we need to check and see what fruit we produce. Let us not be deceived into believing that we are on our way to heaven, while continuing to live our lives on our own terms and not in obedience to the control of the Holy Spirit.

The proof of healthy growth is bearing fruit. So, we need to check and

see what fruit we produce. Let us not be deceived into

believing that we are on our way to heaven, while

continuing to live our lives on our own terms and not in obedience to the control

of the Holy Spirit.


A believer can know the things of God only through his spirit, which is in communion with the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit of God indwelling a person, one cannot have a real relationship with God (1 Cor. 2:10,11). If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Rom.8:9).

Led By The FleshWalking in the flesh need

not necessarily mean to be living in the ‘listed sins’. It could be struggling to obey the commandments of God in one’s own strength. That was the problem with the Jews. They were trying to keep the Law in their own power (Rom.9:31,32). What the Law contains is God’s standard of righteousness as clearly spelt out in Exodus 20-23. His standard of righteousness has not changed over the years. He is the same unchanging God. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. Grace has not annulled the law, and grace does not make us exempt from the law. The only change in the new covenant is that we who are saved by His grace through faith are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to obey the commandments. It is not a legalistic obedience in one’s own power, but obedience by faith with His power. One can

obey God’s commandments only by submitting to God’s righteousness by faith and being empowered by His Holy Spirit. In case we sin unintentionally, God has made a provision for us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn.1:9).

For those living under the bondage of establishing one’s own righteousness, obedience is a burden.

They try to obey because they have to obey. But those led by the Holy Spirit obey the law because they want to obey. Obedience to God becomes the aim of their lives (2 Cor.5:9). Living by the Spirit becomes a joy for them. They have cast out the bondwoman and her son (Gal.4:30), that is the human effort to please God (v.31). James calls it the ‘law of liberty’(Jas.1:25;2:12). Every act of obedience is an experience of joy and not a burden. Sadly, only a few Christians enjoy this kind of a life – a life of obedience by faith. They do not look for loopholes in the Bible to fulfil their carnal desires. For example, they do not try to justify their drinking habit by saying that Jesus changed water into wine! Those who live their Christian lives by faith start in faith, and go on every day in faith, ‘from faith


to faith’ (Rom.1:17). They have a strong, living, love-relationship with the Lord. They do not obey grudgingly, but joyously out of love.

A lot of false teachings are floating around, deceiving many into living in the flesh and in sin. Though we are saved from sin and condemnation by God’s grace through our faith, it should not make us lawless. Jude warns against taking God’s grace for granted, quoting many examples from the Old Testament regarding the judgment of the ungodly. If it is a ‘free for all’, as some seem to believe today, why are the apostles warning us, not to be deceived?

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). Paul lists the works of the flesh, which are adultery, forni-cation, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, con-tentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissen-sions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like (vv.19-21). The last part of v.21 says unambiguously that those who practise such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Instead, those who walk in the Spirit will produce the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit in their lives: love, joy, peace, long-

suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (v.22).

Be Not DeceivedJohn writes that those who

live in unbelief and sin shall have their part in the lake of fire (Rev.21:8). The deception is the belief of those who practise such things, that their names are written in the Book of Life. It is to such people also that the Lord will say, “I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.” A true child of God cannot and will not continue in wilful, deliberate sins (Jn.8:44). It only shows who his/her true father is! The Lord’s words to them will be “you wicked and lazy servant.”

So, let us not take God and His word for granted. His word is truth (Jn.17:17) and it is by His word that we are sanctified. Let us live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit and glorify God with our lives by living a life of obedience, and looking forward to hear from the Lord, “You good and faithful servant.”

Lily Abraham lives in Mumbai. She

enjoys leading groups in Inductive Bible study.


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SHOUlD WE FOllOW GODlY MEN OR ONlY JESUS?

Zac PoonenIt is the Holy Spirit who has commanded us to follow the

examples of godly men.

Under the old covenant, the Israelites could only follow the

written word that God gave them through Moses and the prophets. No one could say, “Follow me” – not even the great prophets like Moses, Elijah or John the Baptist. God’s word alone was the light for their path (Psa.119:105).

But Jesus came and initiated a new covenant. And He gave us not only the word of God, but an example to follow, by His own life. He was the first person in the Bible to say, “Follow Me” (Matt.4:19; Jn.21:19; Lk.9:23). So, in the new covenant, we have both the written word and also the word made flesh in Jesus – or in other words, the written word made visible in a human life – to guide us.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for merely studying the word of God, but not coming to Him, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. But they testify about Me; and you are

unwilling to come to Me to have life” (Jn.5:39,40).

The life of Jesus is now the light for our path (Jn.1:4) – and not just the written word. If we are unable to find clear guidance in God’s word in some matter, we can look at the life of Jesus (as revealed by the Holy Spirit to our hearts) and we will always find an answer.

Further, in the new covenant, the Holy Spirit also inspired a godly man like Paul to say, “Follow me – as I follow Christ.” And the Holy Spirit made him say that three times – to emphasise the fact that we should also follow the example of truly godly men who follow in Christ’s footsteps (1Cor.4:16;1Cor.11:1;Php.3:17).

A true new-covenant servant not only proclaims God’s standard in the written word, but also says, as Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

Some Christians say, “We must not follow any man. We must only follow Jesus.” That sounds


like a spiritual statement. But it is totally contrary to the word of God. Because, as we have just seen, Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) told us to follow him.

The reason why Paul told the Christians in Corinth to follow him and to imitate him was because he was their spiritual father. He said, “If you were to have ten thousand teachers in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be followers of me” ( 1 C o r . 4 : 1 5 , 1 6 ) . One cannot follow a Bible-teacher – because even if his teaching is good and accurate, he may not be a good example by his life. According to the above verse, one spiritual father is better than 10000 Bible-teachers. So, it is good for all Christians to have a spiritual father like Paul, whose example they can follow. Following such a spiritual father can save us from sin and from false teaching.

Paul urged Christians to follow other godly men also, who were “following Christ’s example,” as he was doing. He said, “Pattern your lives after mine, and learn

from others also who follow our example” (Phil.3:17 NLT).

The word of God also commands us to obey our leaders and to imitate their faith. “Obey your leaders and submit to them” (Heb.13:17). “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; consider the result of their conduct (their life), and imitate their faith” (Heb.13:7).

We are not called to follow a person’s ministry, because

God gives each of His children a unique ministry that others cannot have. Christ’s Body has members with different functions, just like our human body has. When Jesus called people to

follow Him, He did not expect them to do miracles or even preach as He did. That was His ministry. He called people to follow the example of His life – that is, to live by the principles by which He lived. Likewise, when Paul called believers to imitate him and follow him as he followed Christ, he was not asking them to be apostles or to heal the sick, but to live as he lived – by the principles by which Christ lived.

When Jesus called people to follow Him, He did not expect them to do miracles or even preach as He did.

That was His ministry. He called people to follow the example of His life – that

is, to live by the principles by which He lived.


It is the Holy Spirit who has commanded us in the above verses to follow the examples of godly men. Those who are too proud to follow the examples of godly men usually end up following carnal men, or the promptings of their own self-life. Then the results can be disastrous.

Immediately after telling the Philippian Christians to follow his own example and the example of other godly men (Phil.3:17), Paul warned them not to follow the example of some others, “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil.3:18,19).

If, however, they followed Paul’s example, they would be saved from being deceived by those other ungodly men. Here are seven tests by which you can evaluate whether a man is a truly godly man worthy of being followed:

1. Is he a humble man – easily approachable and easy to speak to? Jesus told us to learn humility from Him (Matt.11:29). A godly man is one who has learned humility from Jesus.

2. Is he free from the love of money and one who never asks anyone for money (as far as you know)? A godly man will follow Jesus’ example, who never asked anyone for money, even for His ministry. Jesus said that one who loves God cannot love money and that one who holds on to God will despise money (Lk.16:13).

3. Is he pure in his life – and especially in his dealings with women (as far as you know)? A godly man will not just avoid the temptation to sexual lust, but will flee from it (2Tim.2:20-22).

4. If he is married and has children, has he brought up his children in godly ways? A godly, married man will be one whose children are believers who have been brought up in a disciplined way (1Tim.3:4,5;Tit.1:6).

5. Have his closest co-workers become godly men through their association with him? Godly men will produce other godly men. Timothy became a godly man through being with his spiritual father, Paul (Phil.2:19-22).


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• Students should pass the entrance exam in English, General Knowledge & Bible Knowledge.

• Students from Non-ATA background will have to pass the qualifying exam.

• Application forms duly filled must reach our office before the 28th of February, 2016.

Contact: The Registrar, Calcutta Bible College, 31, B.B.Ganguly Street, Kolkata 700 012. WB, Cell:09830492267, Office Phone: 033 –22362747

Email: [email protected]


6. Is he active in building a local new-covenant church? Jesus came to earth to build His church (Matt.16:18). He gave Himself up to death to build the church (Eph.5:25). Godly men will not only bring people to Christ, but will then build them up as a local church.

7. Does he connect you to Christ and not to himself? A godly man will connect you to Christ, so that you in turn can become a godly example for others? (Eph. 4:15; 2 Cor.4:5).

We cannot follow most Christian leaders, because they fail in one or more of the above areas.

If, however, you find a godly leader who has the above qualities, it will be good for you to follow him as a spiritual father, because he will help you to come closer to the Lord and thus be saved from sin and false teaching.

He who has ears to hear let him hear.

Zac Poonen is a Bible teacher and the

author of a number of books on the deeper Christian life.

He resides in Bangalore.


WAlKING WITH UNDERSTANDING

Jacob NinanWhat do we think of God’s commandments to us today?

When Satan began his attack on Eve, he questioned her

whether God had actually forbidden eating from any tree in the garden. He knew God had only forbidden eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but he put it as ‘any tree’ in order to confuse Eve. Eve’s reply was that God had only forbidden eating from the tree which was in the middle of the garden (Gen.3:3). Why would Eve say ‘the tree which is in the middle of the garden’ and not ‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil’? We do not know exactly. But perhaps if Eve had thought earlier about the implications of the term ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’ instead of thinking of the tree as just some tree in the middle of the garden, she would have been better equipped to deal with this temptation. As it was, she may have considered God’s commandment as an arbitrary

commandment without any meaning, and not seen the importance of obeying Him here.

What do we think of God’s commandments to us today? Perhaps we think of Jesus’ instruction for believers to get baptised as just one of those rituals which do not have much relevance. Perhaps we put the ‘holy communion’ in the same category. Or that is the vague way we think about

being a member of the church. What about not getting married to unbelievers? Are the commandments and instructions

which God has given to us in the Bible vague like some ‘tree in the middle of the garden’?

If we have not taken time to think about, ask questions and understand what God wants us to do, the chances are that what God says does not mean much to us. In that case, it would not be difficult for us to

If we have not taken time to think about, ask questions and understand what God wants us to do, the chances

are that what God says does not mean much to us.


think in times of temptation that something else is more relevant or expedient.

After God gave the Law to the people of Israel, they told Moses, “Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says; then speak to us all that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it” (Deut.5:27). God’s response was, “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” (v.29). God’s desire is that His people would respect His word and keep it all their life. As we do that, His blessings will increase over our lives.

In the Old Testament, people could not go directly to God to hear Him speaking. They needed someone like Moses to do that and then pass on the

message to them. Even now, under the New Testament where the least of us can know God directly as our Father (Heb.8:11) and be in His presence all the time, some of us still do not make the effort to listen to God directly, but depend on pastors to tell us what God wants. Is it any wonder if we remain without real understanding of what is in God’s heart and the commandment looks like ‘not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden’?

Shall we meditate on God’s word and get understanding on it? Let’s get to know not only what God wants, but also why He wants it.

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58LIGHT OF LIFE FEBRUARY 2013

scient and omnipotent, but alsosovereign, doing whatever Hepleases (Ps.115:3). No one cancontrol Him or tell Him what Heshould do. At the same time Heanswers our prayers and actsaccording to our request! Hetells us to ask whatever we want,but answers us if we pray ac-cording to His will(Jn.14:13;1Jn.5:14,15).

This mystery of prayer haspuzzled people throughouttimes. Some argue that weneed not pray anything be-cause anyway God will dowhat He wants, and others in-sist that God will do whateverwe ask. Many times we don'tget what God wants us to getbecause we don't ask, and atother times God doesn't an-swer because we ask wrongly(Jas.4:2,3). Many times Godgives us what we need evenwithout our asking (Mt.5:45).God's truth here has manysides, and it would not be rightto take one sided views by ne-glecting the other sides.

Leaders And ServantsIn the kingdom of God, the

greatest ones are those whoserve all (Lk.22:24-27)! Jesussaid that in the world leaderswould lord it over the others,but in His kingdom they wouldserve the others(Matt.20:25,26). For leaders toserve seems to be a contradic-tion in idea as well as practice.When we look around we seemany Christian leaders who do

not seem to have understoodthis and who go on lording itover the others in their pursuitof the top position.

Equal But DifferentWhen it comes to husbands

and wives, there is equality inGod's eyes (Gal.3:28), yet thereare differences in roles, andwives are to submit to theirhusbands who are their heads(Eph.5:22,23)! Some men findit difficult to accept the fact ofequality and consider womenas if they were an inferior cre-ation. Some women fight forequality and find it difficult tothink of submitting to theirhusbands. Yet both are truthsfrom God's word. Actually ifhusbands love their wives asChrist loves the church itmakes it easier for their wivesto submit to them, and if thewives submit, it makes iteasier for the husbands to lovethem!

ConclusionThere would be many other

similar examples we can takefrom the Bible. But what thisshows us is that we should re-sist the temptation to make toomuch of a truth which we likewithout looking to see if thereare other truths we need in or-der to get a balanced view.



Knowing’ assumes significance in the light of the words Jesus has

used to describe some misguided ‘servants’ of God at the time of reckoning, which would shock them. He said, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt.7:23).

What? An omniscient God (Pro.15:11;Heb.4:13) not knowing about some of His own servants? Does it not go against all canons of spiritual logic based on the Bible (Psa.119:142,160)?

To answer these questions, we need to understand the meaning of the word ‘know’ in the original Greek text. There are three Greek words, each describing a higher level of intimacy and knowledge of the subject. The first Greek word is oidate. This word is used in John 7:28 (you know where I was born), and also in Matthew 20:22;24:42, and conveys merely ‘superficial knowledge’. The second Greek word is, ginosko, which is what is attributed to our Lord in Matthew 7:23, which means, “knowing through personal experience.” (Also see Lk.1:34, Jn.8:32;10:14.)

KNOWING ABOUT ‘KNOWING’!Suresh Manoharan

The Christian life begins by knowing God and Jesus Christ experientially.

What the good Lord is actually saying, in Matthew 7:23, is that between His professing servants and Him there was never any ‘oneness of mind’. In other words, their priorities, while purportedly doing the ministry, in His name, probably influenced by a self-seeking lust for fame, wealth or pleasures, were never His. They never knew Him well enough to align their priorities with His, despite His many efforts to correct them.

Let us apply this thought to three important doctrines to understand their impact on our Christian life.

Justification“And this is eternal life, that

they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn.17:3).

The Christian life begins by experientially knowing (ginosko) God and Jesus Christ. It means being quickened from spiritual death by the receipt of the life-giving Spirit of God (Rom.8:2). Until that Spirit is known and received as an earnest of the soul’s inheritance, there can be no saving knowledge of God and


Christ (Rom.8:9). The scriptures attest this truth, “Hereby we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He hath given us His Spirit” (1 Jn.4:13).

This new birth experience is bound to generate respect and love in the saved for the Saviour (Lk.7:47). If success in the words of Thomas Edison is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration, then let it be said that the major component of the “all odds surmounting love” (1Cor.13:7) in the forgiven one is respect for the Forgiver. Respect in essence is the core belief that my Divine Deliverer from sin is good all the time.

For instance, did the Jews in the wilderness, who missed out on the Promised Land, really ‘know’ Him? Obviously no, since one can easily discern from their frequent rebellious outbursts (Exo.16:3;17:3;Num.11:4-6;14:3) that far from loving Him, they did not even respect Him in the first place! True knowledge of the Saviour would lead to respect in one’s heart, culminating in a love-laced obedience at all times to the One who gave His all at the cross to ‘buy’ our pardon (2Cor.5:21).

SanctificationAfter receiving new life from the

Saviour, while we earnestly do our bit of praying, Bible-reading, church fellowship and witnessing, in order to be transformed into

Christ’s image (2Cor.3:18), which is the basic purpose of us being ‘justified’, the good Lord does His bit in moulding us into His image. We need to co-operate with Him in this matter. Paul wrote, “That I may know…the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil.3:10 KJV).

Ginosko has been used here again for the word ‘know’. Compared to this (in the process of sanctification), Paul reasons that every other thing, like his rich spiritual Jewish heritage, is ‘dung’ (Phil.3:8 KJV). What is a Christian’s ‘sufferings’ if it is not consistent cross-bearing for God’s glory (Lk.9:23), much like what the Saviour did (Heb.9:14)? This cross-bearing produces Christ-like virtues (Rom.5:3-4) in a Christian.

The resurrection power in a child of God is the presence of the same life-giving Holy Spirit which quickened his dead spirit at the point of re-generation (Rom.8:2,11) and who now manifests Himself in him by way of continual joy (Acts.9:31;Rom.5:5). It is in this rare ‘atmospheric’ condition of pain outside and joy inside that a Christian’s character gets built. Focusing on the work of the Spirit in tandem with the cross, in making a Christian grow, it has been said,Cross without the Spirit, you dry-up (Psa.106:15 TLB)


Spirit without the cross, you puff-up (2Cor.12:7 TLB)With the cross and the Spirit, you grow-up.

While Christians are growing up, some out of the Lord’s mercy (2Cor.4:1) would further be consecrated by Him to be used in the five-fold ministry of the church, as apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists (2Tim.2:21;Eph.4:8-15). It has to be noted here that, for experiencing salvation, the qualification is realisation of one’s sinfulness; for consecration into a God-ordained ministry, the qualification is consistent cross-bearing with the power of His indwelling Spirit.

Glorification“All things have been handed

over to me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matt.11:27).

The Greek word used here for ‘know’ is epiginosko, which is the deepest level of experiential knowledge about the person concerned, surpassing even that of ginosko. Any wonder, then, that this knowledge in the Son led to immeasurably greater respect for the Father and a love which was able to take any sacrifice in its stride?

Also, the Son knew the Father’s glory – the sum total of all

His unique traits of goodness constitutes His glory (Exo.33:18-19) – to such an extent that the all-consuming desire to uphold it led the normally serene Lamb of God to even rare acts of aggression, a la Roaring Lion (Jn.2:13-22; Matt.21:12,13). Jesus was also all ‘fire and brimstone’ in condemning the hypocrisy of the clergy of the Jewish temple (Matt.23), who not surprisingly had lopsided spiritual priorities (v.23). As I wrote earlier, ‘not knowing’ God properly would lead to skewed spiritual priorities in service ostensibly done in His name. By contrast, the more we know God clearly, the more we would love Him dearly, and the more we love Him dearly, the more we would follow Him nearly.

The Son’s understanding of the magnitude of the Father’s glory can also be discerned clearly from the prayer He taught His disciples (Lk.11:1-4). The phrase, “Hallowed be Your name,” comes right at the beginning, where it rightfully belongs. One proof of a Christian’s growth is that he would bear anything to uphold His Lord’s name. Sad, isn’t it, when we consider that some genuine heroes of faith allowed the Almighty’s name to be tarnished in times of terrible provocation or temptation, paying heavy costs in the bargain? (See Num.20:1-12;2Sam.12:13,14). In


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stark contrast, picturise the scene of the cross at Calvary, when Satan, through his human agents, hurled everything at God’s Son in order to provoke Him into at least one God-dishonouring act (1Pet.2:21-24;Heb.12:3), but wouldn’t succeed. Why? The Son had a clear-cut agenda in the matter of protecting His Father’s glory, and steeled Himself to bear the most excruciating torture in human history, even while being aware that the eventual rewards would by far outweigh the pain endured (Heb.12:2; Phil.2:5-11).

Paul wrote, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to

face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor.13:12). The Greek word used for ‘know’ here is epiginosko which in English has been translated as know fully.

Yes, for every child of God, this hope of knowing the Father, just like His Son Jesus, holds good. For, one day, we shall indeed be like Jesus (1Jn.3:2) and thereby know the Father’s ‘goodness’.

Suresh Manoharan is Associate-cum-Youth

Pastor in Christian Fellowship Church,

Hyderabad.

1LIGHT OF LIFE JULY 2011

Zac Poonen is a Bible teacherand the author of a number ofbooks on the deeper Christianlife. He resides in Bangalore.

Dr Shantanu Dutta is aDevelopment Professionalliving in Mumbai, servingas the Executive Directorof Oasis India.

Suresh Manoharan isAssociate cum Youth Pas-tor in Christian FellowshipChurch, Hyderabad.


P. Samuel Manoharam livesin Andhra Pradesh, who, afterretirement from Central Govt.Service, has been pursuing per-sonal evangelistic ministry.

Rev. S. J. Walter SunderSingh is engaged indiscipling ministry atRanipettai, Tamil Nadu.

Dr. (Mrs.) Vimal R. Ramis a retired Lecturer livingin Chattisgarh.

M. J. Jacob was workingwith the Railways and nowlives in Tiruchirapally.

Imanuel G. Christian is involved inwriting original Bible commentaries inGujarati.

Dr. Peter S. C. Pothanis the Associate Deanfor the Global School ofOpen Learning, SABCCampus, Bangalore.

Vijay Thangiah is theNational Executive Directorof Youth For Christ.

Dr. Oby J. Cherian is aConsultant Urologist workingin the Christian FellowshipHospital, Ambilikai, Tamil Nadu.

Cyril Georgeson, based in Mumbai, iswith RZIM Life Focus Society.

Azariah Jerry Manuelis working with InfosysTechnologies Limited inMangalore.

Dr. Joan Vimala Siddiquiwas a colonel in the armyand is now working as aProfessor in a private medi-cal college in Lucknow.

From, Rev. Dr. Devanesan 11-12-2015 Academic Dean Soul Winning Mission Theological Seminary Puthenkada, Parassala P.O, Trivandrum 695502, Kerala

To, The Editor

Light of Life, P. O. Box – 4576 21 YMCA Road, Mumbai 400008

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When the people of Israel left Egypt, they were in high spirits.

And over the next 40 years, they had some of the most amazing experiences anyone could have.- They saw the waters of

the Red Sea part, and they walked across the sea bed

- They saw water gush forth from a rock when Moses struck it with his stick

- They saw enemies van-quished under them as Mo-ses simply raised up his staff

- They received 10 commandments on two pieces of stones, written by the very finger of God

- They received detailed instructions from God Himself about how exactly to live in daily life

- They were led every day by a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night

- They saw fire come down from heaven and burn up a sacrifice

And that’s just a few of the amazing things they

experienced. But in spite of all of that, see what the Lord says about them, “When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest” (Psa.95:9-11).

There were at least 600000 Israelites. Only two of them (Joshua and Caleb) made it beyond the wilderness and into the Promised Land. All of them had seen God’s miraculous works and had heard His words, but only two of them knew His ways.

This clearly is a danger for us as well today. The Bible tells us that what we read about the Is-raelites are for our instruction (1Cor.10:12). So here’s some-thing we can learn.

Some can have a deep desire to see God’s works, things like our church growing in size, or seeing healings and miracles. Or we might long for worship

KNOWING GOD’S WAYSSandeep Poonen

There is a difference between seeing God’s acts and knowing His ways.


experiences and emotional highs.

For others, there can be a deep passion to study God’s word. So we can enjoy listening to fiery revival preachers, or digging deep with verse-by-verse Bible studies. Or we can enjoy the in-depth exposition of the Hebrew or the eloquence of gifted preachers.

But if we do not get to know God’s ways, we too will find that we will frustrate God’s plans for our lives, and we will not enter into a life of rest in the Lord.

So what does it mean to know God’s ways? I find my answer here, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1Cor.1:22-25).

Paul says that some might seek for signs and others might seek for wisdom. The Israelites had a lot of both signs and wisdom given to them. They saw plenty of miraculous signs in the wilderness. And the Israelites were handed wisdom on a platter as well – including

a Top-10 list of commandments of God, written by the finger of God Himself. But Paul saw that could be meaningless. So he did not seek to please either instinct. He simply sought to preach Christ crucified.

But what does it mean to preach the crucified Christ? Does it mean that Paul simply preached about the cross of Calvary? The cross of Calvary was definitely a key part of the message. But the message of the crucified Christ is much more than the cross of Calvary. It cannot simply be the cross of Calvary, because Paul himself tells us later in this same letter that if Christ was not raised after being crucified on Calvary, then his preaching was in vain (1Cor.15:13-14). So the resurrection of Christ is as important as the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary.

So when Paul talks about preaching ‘Christ crucified’, he is referring to the crucified lifestyle of Jesus when He was here on earth.

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (Lk.9:23). Notice two things: Jesus used the word ‘daily’, and that we must follow Him. So this is clearly what Jesus Himself did every day – He said


‘no’ to His self-will (He denied His self-will) and picked up His cross. Anyone who picked up a cross had one objective: to crucify something.

We must remember that when Jesus was on earth, He was fully God and fully man. Since He was also fully man, He had a human will that tempted Him to not do the will of His Father. He however rejected that desire every single time. He crucified that desire every single day of His earthly life. And instead, Jesus chose to always do the will of the Father (Jn.5:30).

So the crucified life is where we too say ‘no’ daily to our selfish will and we always seek to do the will of God. This is the crucified life that will help us know the ‘ways’ of God.

Think once again about the story of the Israelites. How did they prove their lack of knowledge of God’s ways? They did that by not believing that they could defeat the giants in the promised land with God’s help. The spies came back and painted a picture to the people. They said that they were like small grasshoppers and the people in Canaan were like huge giants. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who painted a different picture by including one additional fact: the Lord was

with them (“Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them” – Num.14:9).

All the signs and wonders that the Lord had performed had a purpose: to convince the Israelites that God could help them defeat the giants in the land. And the Law written by God Himself was also meant to show them how interested God was in their well-being, so that they could have confidence that He could help them defeat the giants. But all of that was wasted on the Israelites, because they simply could not see God with them in the picture.

Now think about our lives. Our promised (holy) land is where God resides – and that is our bodies (1Cor.6:19). And the giants we face are not physical and made out of flesh and blood (Eph.6:12). So they are not our bosses, our neighbours, our families, or government leaders. The giants we face are the giants of sin that rule over us and cause us to corrupt God’s holy temple.

Now the Lord wants us to keep our bodies holy for Him – so He wants us to drive out the giants of sin within us. His promise is that He will never leave or forsake us (Heb.13:5-6). And His presence with us will


help us defeat the giants of sin within.

So we must not be fooled by merely going to church on Sunday. We must not be fooled by great times of praise and singing. We must not be fooled by great Bible studies and deep intellectual discussion about the Bible. We must not be fooled by great acts of service and sacrifice. If all of these do not result in our defeating the giants of sin within ourselves, then we make the same mistake as the Israelites did back then.

Think about all of the good or even miraculous things that God has done in the stories of the Bible and in your personal life. And think about all the great teachings that you have learned from listening to godly men or through your own Bible study. None of this has an end in itself. All of this is meant to give us confidence in God – that He will help us defeat our giants of sin within.

Jesus led the way. He showed us how to do it. This is the ‘new and living way’ that Jesus paved for us through His flesh (Heb.10:20) so that we can be in the Most Holy Place with God.

The message Paul preached was not an explosion of

miraculous signs and wonders. The message Paul preached was not an exposition of intellectual theology and doctrine. The message Paul preached was our example of Christ and His crucified life.

So may we be true disciples of Jesus. May we follow our Example in living the crucified life every day. Then all of God’s works and God’s words will lead us to know God Himself and His ways.

Sandeep Poonen is a software engineer who

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THE YEAR OF THE SElFIE STICKCyril Georgeson

Word and The World

The narcissist is one who has an inflated sense of his own importance, a

deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others.

This dialogue has been clandestinely sourced and is being printed without permission. This, of course, is understandable because they would not want others to know their schemes. Glock the senior devil is in conversation with Bakt his understudy and trainee devil.Bakt: Who declared 2016 the year of the selfie stick? Is it the UN or some group of countries? The EU, AU or…Glock: Not the humans! We did! The selfie stick will be sold the most this year and so it is only fitting that we should celebrate something that draws attention away from our Enemy (God).Bakt: But will not greed, lust, ambition, materialism do their part? Our history book tells us that these have won great battles of the soul for us.

Glock: We’ve had suitable bait in every period of their history. The last successful one was materialism.Bakt: So why should we change it? Don’t the time tested ones like unbridled passions, cunning and selfishness continue to work?Glock: You’re right, the old ones work to a large degree even now; yet we need to do something new which they are not attentive to. The Enemy has alerted them to the dangers of alcoholism, addiction, materialism and a small number of them have taken heed. Tragically even our children have used the perverse gifts of the Enemy – ‘logic’ and ‘knowledge’ (gaaarrrrrk) to come to the conclusion that these are self-destructive. Now we are managing to fill the urban landscape with narcissists who use the selfie stick to feed their craving for self-attention.Bakt: I can see what you mean – this trend began innocently enough with what was called the ‘front facing camera’ on the


cell phone. Then the marketers of cell phones realised that by just changing the nomenclature to ‘selfie’ camera their phones would sell well.Glock: That’s how they become their own paparazzi. Click, Click, Click, Share, Share, Share! Go online – check how many likes! Twenty five likes in just thirty minutes – feel elated! Repeat! And this has become their new drug – humans get their highs based on the number of likes… And the Enemy is out of the picture! They just love their grins, pouts, grimaces and keep on falling in love with themselves.Bakt: But like for the earlier distractions we have used, humans are now alerting one-another to the danger of living like this. Time magazine carried a cover page article titled the ‘Me Me Me Generation’ way back in May 2013. In fact it went to the extent of captioning the article as ‘Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists…’ Would not humans realise that they are being trapped?Glock: Well no! That is the genius of our approach. Those narcissists may have a large number of followers on their social media accounts but their greatest follower is – self! And as long as self is well settled

on the throne they will not pay any heed to the Enemy who (garrrrrrrrrrkkkkkk) sacrificed Himself for them. When they are captive to self, they are captive to us… and the ugliness of it is that they do not even realise it.Bakt: More than 15 million selfies are uploaded every week on social media accounts. Times Life quoting Kim Stolz a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model says, “We are in a big worldwide digital reality television show. We are all contestants competing for who has the best friends, the best Saturday nights, the best relationships, the best trips, and the best puppies.”Glock: So it’s a no holds barred competition of self vs. others. Can’t you see we are driving them fast down the path of nihilism!Bakt: What is nihilism?Glock: Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy. This runs completely counter to the Enemy’s perversity that His disciples should deny themselves and love their neighbours.Bakt: But isn’t there any danger of the Enemy’s human agents


in churches and Christian ministries alerting them on the dangers of this selfie trend?Glock: We have them mostly on the hook on that. The Enemy’s servants are largely irrelevant. Though one of the Enemy’s very insightful teachers Gresham Machen warned them decades ago, they have not paid heed. He knew that if church preaching met the challenges of the Christian’s daily life we would be weakened. He tried to instigate (Princeton) seminary students, “You can avoid the debate [over contested issues of the faith] if you choose. You only need to drift with the current. Preach every Sunday during your seminary course, study as you studied in college – and these questions will probably never trouble you. The great questions may be easily avoided. Many preachers are avoiding them. And many preachers are preaching in the air.” True to what he anticipated, most of them have not engaged in the challenges that we have thrown up to their beliefs - in current issues, intellectually or culturally. We’ve brainwashed them to think that all these areas are secular and out of their bounds.Bakt: What if some of them still manage to get through?

Glock: Yes! That’s always a possibility. A remote one, really! But, if they pay heed to the Enemy’s warning swing them to the other extreme – that the selfie stick and camera is all evil. Make them think that all those who click a selfie or use a selfie stick are evil. We’ve used this also very successfully – movies, music, clothes and even what they eat and drink. Either way we neutralise His servants.Bakt: Yes, I’ve also found that it’s easiest to work with some so-called Christian leaders, ministries and churches. They get a real kick out of self-obsession trips. We’ve made many of them contestants - competing for attention and funding. So, they keep posting on how they are or have the best speakers, most gifted musicians, host the largest conferences or have unbelievably influential admirers and supporters.Glock: We have also kept them busy building brands like the corporate world is doing – and that brand is not ‘Jesus’. They are crazy about their own popularity and they cover up their falling into our trap by using words like grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.Bakt: But, isn’t that what the Enemy is promoting. His incarnation, death and all that


happened at the crucifixion is all about that, isn’t it? Should we not avoid them focusing on those (yucky) words?Glock: See how much you need to learn! Get them to use those words - but steal them of their true meaning; then the Enemy cannot communicate with them. Get them talking about grace and keeping on harping about how it is all free.Bakt: But… but… I’m confused. Isn’t that what grace is? Why would we do the enemy’s work?Glock: You junior entrants are so daft! You ought to be absorbed by our father below instantly! Get this right for once – we need to keep them talking about ‘grace’… ‘free’ and on-and-on. But, don’t let them realise that it’s actually very, very costly – our Enemy paid for free grace

with His life. The highest price possible! If we steal the word of its full meaning and encourage them to keep on using it, the value will be lost to them – it’ll become cheap grace. So, they think they are His disciples when they are truly our messengers.Bakt: And don’t encourage them to read the Bible. They may find the true meaning by reading of blubber heads like John the Baptist who said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”Glock: Sure! Keep them from that perverse book and prayer.Bakt: So the selfie stick is a simple instrument though which ‘we increase and He decreases’. Let’s take a selfie to that!

Cyril Georgeson serves with InterServe and

resides in Mumbai.

Send us your brief, reasoned opinion, based on the Bible, to our postal or e-mail address. Whoever you are and whatever your view may be,

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They were married for about eight years and had two children. Now

they were having difficulties.They sat across the table from my wife and me trying to sort out their problems. We were not prepared for what the husband suddenly said. “It’s like I feel I don’t love her anymore.” We were taken aback and nobody moved or said anything for a while. The wife remained impassive; her face betrayed no feelings except for the almost imperceptible sadness that came into her eyes as they dropped just a little bit. In time the conversation moved on and the evening ended on a cordial note. Later that night my wife remarked indignantly, “How could he ever say that? What would she have felt like?” Its more than five years now and these two have done quite well for each other.

From time to time I think on that evening’s transaction. There is no doubt, what the man said was thoughtless and cruel. But I want us to look beyond the obvious to that little

NOTES ALONG THE JOURNEY

WHAT IS lOVE?Oby Cherian

“If you love Me (implied) take care of My sheep.” John 21:17

word ‘feeling’. He felt he did not love her any longer. But on the contrary, there are numerous things he has done for her since then which show that he loves her. So, what he was actually saying was that the initial emotional feeling of love is not there anymore. Now, feelings are important and their lack is one sign that real love has taken a hit. But this is no reason to assume that it has permanently departed from the relationship altogether. It is no reason to throw in the towel and visit a lawyer. This is a phase that every relationship goes through. The important thing is to realise that the real love as talked about in 1Corinthians 13 has little to do with feelings. It has everything to do with the will.

When you will to love somebody you do something.It may be some mental activity like being patient and forgiving, or something physical like making her a cup of tea. When we do it even though there is no romance in it, then we are on the way of true love and what is more; we will be obeying the


Lord’s command. So we need not despair and think we have lost the capacity to love. We may have temporarily lost the feeling but we can still love, we have the choice to do something- to act. We may choose not to, and that is another matter. But to love is a choice we will always have.

Some of us are tempera-mentally less adept at expressing love but that does not mean we don’t love. It is good to learn the art of expressing love but it is more important to love. Let me give you another example. An elderly lady (well past eighty) was lamenting that she found it difficult to feel love towards anybody. Yet I happened to know that during the preceding months she had done so much for so many. I pointed these out to her telling her that her feelings could be deceptive; I think she was reassured.

It reminds me of the lines of a song from the movie-Fiddler on the roof. A couple’s daughters were having what we would call ‘love marriages’, something new in their rustic old village. So one day Tevye, the main character, candidly asks his wife, “Do you love me?” Startled, Golde replies, “Do I what?” Tevye persists, “Do you love me?”

His wife ponders for a while before asking, “Do I love you?”

Then she continues, “With our daughters getting married and there is trouble in the town, you’re upset. You are worn down. Go inside. Go lie down. Maybe it’s indigestion.”

Tevye does not give up and ask, “Golde, I’m asking you a question. Do you love me?” “You’re a fool!” she snaps back, going into the kitchen to continue with her work. “I know,” he says nonchalantly as he follows her into the kitchen and then he asks yet again. “But do you love me?”His wife goes off into song. “Do I love you?For twenty-five years, I’ve washed your clothes,Cooked your meals, cleaned your house, Given you children, milked the cow.After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?”Tevye remembers, “The first time I met you was on our wedding day. I was scared.”“I was shy,” says the lady.“I was nervous,”admits Tevye.“So was I,” adds his wife.

The husband now sings. “But my father said we’d learn to love each other. So, now I’m asking, Golde, do you love me?” “I’m your wife!” Golde retorts. “I


know,” he replies, “But do you love me?”Golde carries the tune again,“Do I love him?For twenty-five years, I’ve lived with him,Fought with him, starved with him.For twenty-five years, my bed is his.If that’s not love, what is?”

“Then you love me?” says Tevye triumphantly. “I suppose I do,” she replies. “And I suppose I love you, too,” he declares with a beaming smile on his face. Then they both together sing the last verse.

“It doesn’t change a thing, but even so, After twenty-five years, it’s nice to know.”

Don’t wait for feelings to do love and when the feelings fade away don’t stop doing love.

That is the one commandment above all else. “If you love Me you will keep My command-ments” (Jn.14:15). “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn.15:12).

Dr. Oby J. Cherian is a Consultant Urologist

in Christian Fellowship Hospital, Ambilikai, TN.


CROSSWORD NO.23Exodus Chapter 19-40 (New International version IBS)

J. Fredric DawsonAnswers received after 5th February 2016 will not be considered

Send in your answers with Bible references by E-mail ([email protected]) or post, to reach Light of Life, Post Box 4576, 21 YMCA Road, Mumbai 400 008, not later than February 5, 2016. Please indicate your name, address and Light of Life Subscription Number while sending the answers. – Ed

Clues Across:1. God asked Moses to take some of the blood

from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments and then they will be ………………. (ch vs )

6. “And on the lamp stand were four cups shaped like the almond flowers with buds and blossoms.”(ch vs )

8. “Moses placed the ……. in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain.” (ch vs )

9. “Make all its utensils of bronze – its pots to …….. the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and fire pans.” (ch vs )

11. “One …. was under the first pair of branches extending from the lamp stand, a second …. under the second pair, and a third …. under the third pair-six branches in all.” (ch vs )

14. The Lord asked Moses to go up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, with the law and commands He has written for their ……………. .. (ch vs )

15. Moses asked God to show him His …………. (ch vs )

16. “Then …….. Aaron in the sacred garments,

anoint him and consecrate him so that he may serve me as priest.” (ch vs )

Clues Down:1. ”The Israelites are to observe the

Sabbath,………….it for generations to come as a lasting covenant.” (ch vs )

2. “You should not misuse the ……. of the Lord your God.” (ch vs )

3. “ The ….. end , towards the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide.” (ch vs )

4. The …….. atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord. (ch vs )

5. “Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his …………so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.” (ch vs )

7. “Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first … there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl.” (ch vs )

10. “The cherubim had their wings spread upwards, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim …….. each other , looking towards the cover.” (ch vs )

11. Israelites were commanded not to accept …… as it blinds those who see it. (ch vs )

1 2 3 4 5

6

7 8

9

10 11

12 13

14

15 16


12. “Come, make us gods who will go before us. … for this fellow Moses who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” (ch vs )

N.T. Crossword puzzle No. 21

1. Ishmaelites (37:28); 7. Tamar (38:6); 8. ate (39:6); 9. exact (43:21); 11. care ( 30:29); 12. ruler (45:8); 14. Leah (29:31); 16. top (28:8); 19. one (41:25); 20. Reuel (36:4); 21. spies (42:14).

1. Interpreter (42:23); 2. Hamor (33:19); 3. Agree (34:17); 4. Laban (27:43); 5. That (31:6); 6. Shepherdess (29:9); 10. Ten (32:13 &15); 13. Herds (47:1); 15. Hori (36:20 &22); 17. Pau (36:39); 18. oil ( 35:14).

13. “They made its seven lamps as well as its wick trimmers and ….., of pure gold.” (word used in singular) (ch vs )

Across:

Down:

All Correct Winners:

Syam B. Pattapu, Amravati, Mah; Mrs. Jalaja Sulochana, Telangana; Helen Vasanthi, Hyderabad; Mohan Bankapur; Monica Divakar, Solapur, Mah.;Mrs. Christy Inbaraj, Roorkee, Uttarakhand; Ivor Valentine, Chembur, Mumbai; D. Alexander, Mazagaon, Mumbai; A. Sunderraj, Ambernath, Mah.; Mohan C. Kamalam, Nagercoil, TN; D. Hillel Johnson, Vellore, TN: Mrs. Keren Peters S., Pune, Mah.; Biswa Ranjan Mohanty, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand; Mrs. Stella Nadugaddi, Gadag, Kar; P.J. Satyavan, Tenali, AP; Viola Kumar, Sec’bad, Telangana; Mrs. Thelma

Roberts, Hyd’bad, Telangana; Anjali Sahu, Cuttack, Odisha; Chandan Lal Tewary, Balasore, Odisha; Greta Amanna, Nallasopara, Mah.; G.S. Bhalla, Shimla, HP; Damara Samadanam, Hyd’bad, TS; C.N. Tigga, Ranchi; Licy Oomachan, Bjopal, MP; Mrs. G. Susan Abraham, Hyderabad; Mrs. Sarita Amanna, Ambarnath; Elcy Johnas, Thane, Mah.

One Error: Adv. T.J. Poppally, Borivli, Mumbai; Percy Charles, Thane, Mumbai.

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LOL ..............................................18, IBCLove Maharashtra (PTS Master Academy) ...................................12

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Brutal Attacks, Forced Con-versions(World Watch Monitor): Hindu hardliners brutally attacked members of the Independent Pentecostal Church in Koh-kameta, Chhattisgarh state, causing some to be hospitalised and compelling others to recon-vert to Hinduism. Worshippers were dragged out of the church and beaten with sticks. Others were forced to sign forms indi-cating that they have renounced Christianity. Two days prior to the incident, the attackers had reportedly conspired to end all Christian activities in the vil-lage.

The brutal tactics of the oppos-ing villagers have caused four assaulted families to reluctantly reconvert to Hinduism. Five other believers were reinitiated at a local Hindu temple. Those in the hospital were also forced to sign the forms, even though some were illiterate. The pledge is a court affidavit, which means anyone who violates it could be arrested. Despite being threat-

ened with death if police were told, the assaulted Christians re-ported the incident to police and the media. When questioned by the authorities, the opposing villagers made their own com-plaints to police, telling them that the Christians had beaten them and disposed of their gods and goddesses. Previous prayer alerts concerning persecuted fol-lowers of Christ in India, as well as informative video reports and testimonies, are available at the India Country Report.

police investigation inad-equate(UCAN) Catholics are accusing police of being insincere in their investigations against ascer-taining the cause for attacks on church buildings in the national capital. St. Sebastian Church in Dilshad Gardenin eastern New Delhi was burnt down on No-vember 30, 2014.

Father Anthony Francis told ucanews.com that police were not looking to see if Hindu hard-liners were involved in burning the church. No one has been ar-rested in connection with this incident.

A series of similar incidents fol-lowed in the next two months.

A stone was thrown through a window of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Jasola while mass was


being celebrated on December 8. Police dismissed the incident as being caused by children play-ing in the street.

A minor fire broke out in a nativity display at Resurrection Church in Rohini on January 5. Police say it was due to an electric short circuit, but church officials said it was an arson at-tempt. Police have yet to take any action.

A Marian grotto at Our Lady of Graces Church in Vikaspuri was vandalised January 15. St. Aph-onsa’s Church was desecrated in South Delhi in February. At-tackers wrecked the church gate, entered the sacristy, broke open the tabernacle and scattered the Eucharist.

70% Of Women Who Get Abortions Christians(Christian Post): Over 40 per-cent of women who have had an abortion in USA say they were frequent churchgoers at the time they ended their pregnan-cies and about a half of them say they kept their abortions hid-den from church members, new LifeWay Research shows.

As a majority of Christian churches do not support abort-ing a child, only 7 percent of women said they discussed their abortion decision with anyone at church, while 52 percent said no

one at their church knew about their abortion. Additionally, 76 percent of them say that the church had no influence on their decision to go through with the abortion.

The survey also found that 64 percent of respondents felt that members of the church were more likely to gossip about their pregnancy or abortion consider-ation rather than actually help them understand their pregnan-cy options.

While weighing their abortion decisions, 36 percent said they expected or experienced judg-mental reaction from a church, while 26 percent said they ex-pected or experienced condem-nation from the congregation.

Only 16 percent said they ex-pected or experienced a ‘caring” reaction from the church, while 14 percent said they expected or experienced a helpful reaction.

Some Christians, Muslims, Mulling Migration(The Hindu): With incidents of religious persecution of minori-ties happening across the coun-try and the Indian government’s inaction to control it, a section of people from Muslim and Chris-tian communities with decent incomes have started weighing the option of moving abroad but are not fully convinced to make


the move yet.Rashid Rehman, a 42-year-old

footwear importer from East Delhi, said the thought of leav-ing did occur to him, but he quickly brushes it aside with his unflinching faith in secular India, which strengthens when he sees countless number of Hindus speaking up for the mi-norities and condemning hate crimes.

“I don’t think we will leave [India]. Until our Hindu friends are talking on our behalf, until we understand that their hearts don’t want us, we are not going anywhere,” he said.

However, the recent violence inflicted on Muslims makes him anxious and also obtuse state-ments coming from senior min-isters who “either tacitly justify the violence or come up with vague statements to ensure ac-countability.”

“The fear factor is there,” he said.

Many on social media argue that India has gone through sev-eral bouts of religious violence and yet its secular character has remained.

A Delhi-based computer en-gineer, who is a Christian, said he was contemplating moving out “if the situation remains the same.”He said that the reason

for his migration was not just communal tensions but “other forms of intolerance as well”.

Freedom Of Faith & Reason-able restrictions(ADF India Team): Recently, a District Collector in Haryana passed an order prohibiting pro-cessions under Sec. 144, Crimi-nal Procedure Code, which re-sulted in a small local church being prevented from meeting. The High Court of Haryana in response to a writ petition up-held the right of the worshipers to congregate there and direct-ed the police to provide them protection during their Sunday morning worship service. In an-other case, a District Collector in Tamil Nadu refused permission to continue worship services at the premises of a church on the grounds of purported com-munal disharmony and ill-will among people in the area. This action has been challenged and is presently pending adjudica-tion in the appropriate court of law.

Both these cases raise very im-portant questions of law, on the reasonable restrictions that can be placed on the Fundamental Rights of every citizen recog-nized under Part III of the Con-stitution of India. No person can be divested of his Fundamental Rights. The Constitutional pro-


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tection available to the citizens of India for exercising their Fun-damental Rights has great sig-nificance. Article 13 is indicative of the significance the framers of the Constitution intended to at-tach to the Fundamental Rights of the citizens. Article 13(2) em-phatically states: The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights con-ferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.

Hindu radicals Storm prayer Meeting(Barnabas Team): Around 40 Christians had met together to pray in the home of another Christian in the Mahabubnagar District of India’s Telangana state on 12 October, accord-ing to International Christian Concern. At around 7.30 pm, a mob of Hindu radicals, led by the previous village sarpanch (council president), broke into the house shouting insults at the Christians.

They beat the Christians harshly, including the women and the children. One of the believers in the group, 25-year-old Swapna, was four months pregnant at the time and begged the attackers to leave her alone because of her pregnant condi-tion. They beat her anyway and

she was later discovered to have lost her baby.

The authorities arrested sev-en people in connection with the attack after the believers registered the incident with lo-cal police. However, they were released on bail later the same day.

A similar incident of violence against Christians meeting to-gether to pray in the private home of a believer took place recently about 35 km (22 miles) outside Delhi. The Christians were beaten and dragged to a police station where they were told, “This is a Hindu nation. Your kind of prayers are not al-lowed,” according to a report published by Christian Today on 13 November.

Christians in India are fre-quently the victims of violent attacks, and these have in-creased dramatically since Hin-du-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014. Prayer meetings are often raided and Christians beaten; many rural Christians have been expelled from their villages and refused access to the village well and pasture-land; and others have been forced to convert to Hinduism, often with violence.


dECEmBEr 28, 2015

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