REVELATION and You

Contributed the following article to the Nov '18 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

 The book of Revelation includes 2 things.

One: What was given by God to Jesus Christ, who in turn revealed it to his servant John through an angel, about what must soon take place.

Two: What John saw and testified regarding the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John wrote it down so that the one who reads it aloud and those who hear it, will obey God and keep what is written, taking to heart all that must soon take place, namely His Coming, Final Judgment and Rewards for our actions.

The purpose of having revealed what must soon take place is not that we may speculate what will now happen and predict what will happen next.

Moreover, the book of Revelation has been written in symbolic or apocalyptic language. Therefore, this book is full of strange symbols such as White, Red, Black and Pale horses, a beast with crowns on its 10 horns that emerges from the sea, another beast with 2 horns like that of a sheep speaking with the voice of the serpent, and many more.  For some reason, those who consider all the above to be symbols, interpret certain other things such as the Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:16-18), waters of Euphrates drying to pave way for Kings from the East (16:12), Kings being gathered at Armageddon (16:16), Satan being bound and those beheaded ruling with Christ for Thousand Years (20:2-6) literally.

While John has written this with a specific purpose, how fair is it to interpret some of it in one way, and understand the rest of it in quite another way, without any regard for its intended purpose? Now, let us again return to the Purpose. What need did John have to make his readers obey God and to instruct them to announce Christ as a witness through their lives? While thousands all through the Roman Empire were undergoing persecution for Christ’s Name, John himself had been deported to Patmos, and logical questions like “What good is it to obey God’s Word? Is not persecution all that comes our way? Is not the Roman Emperor appearing to be all-powerful? Where is our Lord Jesus? How long will we have to suffer?” were weighing down the hearts of the believers, it was to encourage them that the Lord gave this special Revelation through apostle John.

It is in this context that he reminds them, that they are not only companions in suffering but also in Christ’s Kingdom and hence called to endure with patience (1:9). “Christ rules. The dominion of all other powers has been permitted for a season under God’s sovereignty. But end is certain. Those who trust Satan’s deception and spend their present time in pleasure, will take part in Satan’s final destruction too. On the other hand, those who faithfully serve Christ amidst persecution, will enter glory and receive their reward.” This is the sum and substance of the lesson that Revelation teaches.  Trying to interpret each symbol individually while ignoring the purpose this book was written for, will make us lose sight of the prime lesson that this book is intended to teach.

If we read this book, keeping in mind the central purpose of this book, we will be able to identify in its pages two sets of people - those who keep God’s word faithfully and those on the other side who deny God and live only to gain this world, having been deceived by the devil’s schemes. When we recognize this, a question that naturally arises in our mind would be if we are faithfully following the Lord or if we have been deceived by the devil. Even in the seven churches in Asia Minor (Rev 2,3) that the Lord used to symbolize world-wide Church across the ages, we can find both these set of people.

GROUP FAITHFULLY SERVING THE LORD 

They have the seal of the Living God on their foreheads, so that they are protected amidst tribulation (Rev 7:1-4). They are the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and giving the glory of salvation to God (7:9,10). They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, having washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb (7:14). They have the Father’s Name written on their foreheads (14:1). These are the men and women who have not defiled themselves. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. No lie is found in their mouth. They are blameless (14:4-5). They keep God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus, with patient endurance. They take their deeds with them to eternity (14:12-13).

They are victorious over the beast and its image and the number of its name (15:2). They stay away from the sinful ways of the world, pictured as the Great Babylon and as the adulteress riding the beast, ensnaring people with her immorality, riches, power and spiritual/ religious deception (18:4). They have prepared themselves as the universal Church, the bride of Christ. They have received their righteousness to be worn as fine linen, bright and clean. They are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb (19:7-9). They are the armies of heaven following Christ, dressed in fine linen, white and clean, and riding on white horses (19:14).

They had offered themselves to be beheaded for the testimony or Jesus and for the Word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hand. They will come to life and reign with Christ (20:4). They will serve God in eternity, see Him face to face, have His Name on their foreheads, and reign for ever and ever (22:3-5). They are those who continue doing right, continue being holy, and about to receive the reward according to what they have done (22:11,12). They wash their robes so that they have the right to go through the gates into the Holy and Eternal city (22:14). They will partake in the eternal inheritance from God.

GROUP FELLED BY THE DEVIL'S DECEPTION 

They do not have the seal of the Living God on their foreheads. Hence, they are not protected from the plagues, that the Lord permits (Rev 9:1-4). When they happen to escape death by the plagues, they do not repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. They exalt what are not Gods to be equal to or higher than God, trusting and worshipping them (9:20-21). They are tormented by God’s words spoken through God’s ministers, and they gloat and celebrate when the ministers die (11:10).

They worship the Anti-Christ and the devil who gave authority to him (13:4). Their names are not written in the Book of Life, of the Lamb slain from the creation of the world (13:8). They had received the mark of the Beast on their right hands or foreheads, so that they survive, do business and enjoy the world (13:16,17). They await torment by drinking the wine of God’s fury, and by burning by sulfur in the presence of the holy Angels and of the lamb (14:10-11). When God sends great plagues to convict these who have the mark of the beast and worship its image, they refuse to repent of what they have done and instead curse God (16:2,9,21).

They have grown rich from the excessive luxuries offered by the spirit of the world that is called as the Great Babylon and as the Adulteress as it lures them with its intoxicating mix of immorality, materialism, power and spiritual/religious deceptions (18:2). They will throw dust on their heads and weep and cry that they have been brought to ruin (18:14-19), when the Lord suddenly puts an end to the world’s power/ economic/ religious system that they so greatly trusted for their wealth and enjoyment (18:8,9). They are going to be thrown into the lake of fire, as their names are not found in the Book of Life (20:15).  They await being consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur as they are the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and liars (21:8). They will be kept out of the eternal holy city, having sought eternal destruction for themselves (22:15).

Where do you belong? The question that we need to ask when studying the book of Revelation is, “which group do I belong to?” Do I belong to the first group that contains the blessed ones? Or do I belong to the second group that appears wise at the present but is truly awaiting disaster? If we are convicted that we indeed belong to the second group today, it should push us to gain entry into the first group. The Lord has given us this book for this very purpose.

On the contrary, we get stuck in unnecessary controversies whenever we see new systems and technological advancements being introduced into the world. The devil is diverting us with questions like, Can I receive the ‘PAN’ card? Can I apply for the ‘Smart Card’? Is it ok to register for ‘Aadhaar’?, Is it right to accept ‘Digital tattoo’, and so on. People who are constantly matching each symbol in the book of Revelation with current developments, can be blinded to their own “sorry” spiritual state by the devil’s deception.

The Lord is coming. Here are what the Lord has clearly stated about His Coming. “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be, Amen!” are His first words in this book concerning His Coming. And in the final chapter, this warning appears thrice. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll” (22:7).  “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what he has done” (22:12). He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon” (22:20).

If you have closely followed, it is Repentance, Works emanating from a repentant heart, and our eternal Rewards that are going to accompany the Lord when He comes, that are being emphasized again and again in this book. Those who faithfully follow him are sure to suffer. But it is going to be only for a season. Gracefully, he also warns (through plagues) those who have compromised with the world. Eternal destruction awaits the unrepentant. But eternal joy awaits those who have put their trust in Him. They are going to rule forever.

Trying to individually interpret the symbols, on the other hand, will be a futile and diversionary exercise. It will be missing the Forest for the Trees. Therefore, let us avoid all speculation about His Coming, and get ready to meet Him. Let us announce the Salvation He offers as Good News. Hallelujah!

(RELATED POST . . . WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT END TIMES )

What ENTERTAINMENT does to our SENSES?

While reporting on the ‘Last Journey’ of Sridevi, the Diva of Indian Cinema, its supposedly first female SuperStar, Editorials of Indian News Papers went gaga over how the spontaneous outpouring of thousands at her funeral, accompanied by the mourning of many more in neighboring Pakistan, Afghanistan and other parts of South Asia, was everyone's envy. What they conveniently forgot is that the last journey was not on the roads of Mumbai on 28 Feb; rather it was on 24th evening when her soul departed inside Jumeirah Emirates Tower. Little did Rishi Kapoor, an industry senior and a distant relative, realize it when he took exception, to what was brought from Dubai being referred to as 'the body' or 'the mortal remains' of Sridevi. What was also missing, if this was indeed a journey, is the thought about the 'next hop' or the 'ultimate destination'!

This raised a pertinent question in my mind. For all journeys we undertake, we undergo a lot of preparation. We decide to buy thermal wear if we are heading to a country with a cold weather. We decide to pack more clothes for changing, if we know that we will not have laundry facilities during our stay there. But, are we not paying scant regard to our very LAST JOURNEY?

Entertainers may be the ones who least think about it; the glitz and glamor surrounding them deafening their ears to warnings of, and blinding their eyes to, an approaching reality -Death. Watching what transpired over the last few days, reminded me of the lives and deaths of Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley before her. And these entertainers also ensure that the vast majority that are enthralled by their presence and performance, pay no regard to their own LAST JOURNEYS as well.

Whitney Houston, known as Queen of Pop passed away in very similar fashion 6 years ago. She was a recording artist, actress, producer and model.  She was known for her golden voice.  During the 1980s, while Michael Jackson ended the dominance of white male artists in Music entertainment, Houston broke the color-barrier for black female artists.

Whitney was just 48 when she died.  Her life had been stuffed out too soon.  On 11th February, 2012, just a day ahead of the 2012 Grammy Awards function, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in California, USA, submerged in the bathtub. Her last performance on stage had been on 9th February in Hollywood, California.

Investigation into the cause of her death concluded that her death was caused by accidental drowning, but heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors.  Bottles of prescription pills were found inside her hotel room and are said to have included an anti-anxiety medication, an antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection, and a pain medication. She had also been drinking champagne in the days leading up to her death, including at a pre-Grammy party on 9th February.

Pop’s King

Michael Jackson had passed away in similar circumstances about 3 years prior to that, when he was just 50.  Jackson had been rehearsing at the Staples Center, on the night before his concert titled ‘This Is It’ but was found dead in his bedroom in the morning.  He had suffered a respiratory arrest on 25th June, 1999 at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles.   His death too was from a combination of drugs in his body.  He had a known history of drug abuse – overdose of steroids, stimulants, and pain-killer drugs.

Both MJ and Houston had lived troubled lives.  Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, had generated controversy.  In 1993, he had been accused of child sexual abuse.  Houston had started as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, but by the late 1990s, her behavior had changed.  She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances.  With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. In 2000, airport security guards had discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport.

King of Rock and Roll

The tragic lives of Houston and Jackson remind one of someone who dominated the entertainment industry a generation ago.  It is Elvis Presley often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".  Hugely successful, he too had succumbed to drug abuse.  By early 1977, he had become a grotesque caricature of his sleek, energetic former self.  Hugely overweight, his mind dulled by the pharmacopoeia he daily ingested, he was barely able to pull himself through his abbreviated concerts.  At times during concerts, he was impossible to understand and on other occasions, he was so nervous, he could hardly talk.  By middle of 1977, he suffered from multiple ailments: glaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, each aggravated—and possibly caused—by drug abuse.   On the evening of 16th August 16, 1977, he was scheduled to fly out of Memphis to begin a tour. That afternoon, he was found unresponsive on his bathroom floor.  Attempts to revive him failed, and he was officially pronounced dead in the hospital, when he was just 42,

Empty on the inside

All these stars have been the heart-throb of the youth of their time.  On the surface, they were highly successful and the envy of a whole generation, but on the inside they were stalked by loneliness and benumbed by emptiness.  Jesus was very right when he said “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).”  It is having Christ in your heart and life that matters.  Jesus said “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” The Holy Spirit who comes to indwell those who place their trust on Jesus, will remove all emptiness and provide purpose and meaning to our lives. It is time, the youth all over the world, paid heed to the wise counsel of the all-knowing God.

The Victorious CHRISTIAN

Contributed the following article to the Sep '16 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

God wants us to love him because He first loved us. And he wants it to be whole hearted. Our Lord put it this way, “Love the Lord with all your Heart and with all your Soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Mark 12:30). We are complex beings. We are made of Heart, Soul, Mind and Body. We are to offer our complete being to God.

How do we do this? Where do we begin? In Paul’s words, this is offering ourselves as a “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1) and this starts with the Mind. ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom 12: 2).  Real transformation and True Worship start with a renewal of the Mind. 

WITH ALL OUR MIND

Today, we see a new generation of Christians who have turned ‘Christianity’ into a ‘mindless’ religion. They switch their minds off when they worship.  To them, worship is just an ‘emotional’ thing .  But the Lord created the ‘Mind’ for a purpose, and that is to lead the ‘Heart’.  Our mind is to be informed of God’s truth and our heart is to follow.

What we set our minds on, become our treasure. Today, wealth, comfort, fame and success (having the aforesaid in good measure) are all treasured.  Advertisements and Self–Help books are all the time drawing our attention, and making us fix our eyes on them. To offer our minds to God is to be led by faith and truth (revealed in His Word), not by mere sight.  If we walk by sight, we desire all that our eyes look at.  If we walk by faith and truth (because faith is right thinking as well), we will instead walk desiring what the Lord has in store for us

Rather than fixing our gaze with our eyes on the glories of this world, we need to seek with our minds the heavenly, higher, other–worldly glories.  Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mat 6. 19,20). Jesus wanted us to set our eyes on eternal treasures.  Just like we see things that are temporal with the eye, we see things that are eternal and therefore of lasting value with Faith. Faith and truth are the mind’s eyes.

Walking by faith is not a vague, tentative and ambiguous walk. It is very much unlike a blind man navigating a busy street with his stick.  It is walking as surely as a person with good eyes on a busy road. It is said of Moses, that by Faith he saw him who was invisible and therefore persevered (Heb 11:27).  Moses only heard God speak from the Mercy Seat (Num 7:39, Ex 25:22) and yet for Moses it was like having spoken with God face to face (Ex 33:11; Num 12:8). That’s how sure you can be in your Christian walk if you are informed by God’s Word.

The alternative is a cheap conformation that comes from masquerading as God’s children.  Of such people, Paul wrote to Timothy, as a people “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim 3:5). If you want to be truly transformed, offer your mind to God.  Transformation is what God does in response to an offered mind by renewing it.  You cannot transform yourself.  If you attempt that, you will end up masquerading.  The result is absence of power for radical living and a dead conformation to the world’s values and ways.

WITH ALL OUR HEART

Why is this renewing so important for being transformed into God’s likeness.  That is because it has a connection with our Heart, our Soul and even with our Body.  Our Heart has a capacity to lose itself to what we treasure. Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mat 6:22). It is always captivated or apprehended by one or the other – the World or God himself.  Being apprehended by the Holy Spirit is what ‘being filled with the Spirit’ is about.  When He fills our heart, our ambitions, our aspirations and our desires are all about Him. He replaces our lowly desires with lofty ones.

Often we profess a desire to follow Christ, but our lives do not seem to be driven by the desire we claim to possess. The world accumulates, with scant regard for others. The world wants to build, crushing everyone else under foot. The world is after money, comfort and everything material, sparing no thought for the soul, eternity and God.  Do we carry the same values while professing to believe the truth? If our values are not any different from the crowd, our priorities haven’t changed.  Our heart is consumed by what we treasure. It is therefore important that our mind is set on GOD Himself so that He becomes our treasure.  

WITH ALL OUR SOUL

The mind (with its knowledge and reason) and the heart (with its affection and devotion) are parts of the human soul. The other element is the Spirit which is that part that can communicate with God.  When Adam sinned, this Spirit in man died and with it, his ability and desire to commune with God as well.  While man’s soul was intended to be led by his spirit, it is his body that leads his soul with a dead spirit.  In a regenerate man, a born-again Christian, his spirit is alive and can fellowship with God. If his heart is consumed by a desire for God, his spirit desires to hear God’s heart-beat and follow suit.

The ‘will’ is a faculty of the soul and makes choices and decisions based on what the Heart desires.  “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to god. It does not submit to God’s law. In fact, it cannot subject itself to God’s law. Therefore, a man after the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:5-8). Herein lies the third implication.  If our Mind is not set on what God wants for us, our heart does not desire it, our spirit does not find it, and therefore we do not will to obey God’s edict.  Our day-to-day decisions and choices are indicators of where our mind is set, what our heart’s deepest desire is and what our spirit’s state is.  Are we able to turn the other cheek, return good for evil, forgive and forget, esteem others? We can, if our mind, our heart and our spirit are all set in tune with God. 

WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH

Finally, if our Soul becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, he who raised Christ from the dead, will quicken our mortal bodies too. We shall then be able to mortify the deeds of the flesh through the spirit, and live (Rom 8:13). Far from being sensual, from being ruled by the natural instincts, we will be continually transformed into Christ’s likeness and bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Jude 1:19). Loving the Lord will all our strength also means using all that we are endowed with - our intellectual capacity, our creative talents, our physical abilities - for His glory.

Are we able to not let sin control our lives? Are we able to not give in to sinful desires? Are we submitting parts of our bodies as instruments of righteousness?  Are we able to put to death the sinful things lurking in us - sexual immorality, lust, greed, evil desires? Or are we living only to satisfy our own sinful nature? (Rom 6: 12, 13; Col 3:5-10; Gal 6:8) The answer lies in whether Christ’s Spirit living inside us is in control.  That in turn depends on whether we have offered our mind to be renewed for our Total Transformation.

Here is what we need to do

§  Set our minds on high, on things above (Col 3:2). Fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable (Phil 4:8). Transformation starts with a mind submitted to God.

§  Reflect on our values and choices. Do we find in our lives, the Christian distinctive preached by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount? If not, let us offer our mind to Christ to be renewed by Him.

§  We need to remember that the strength to live a victorious Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit. He gives grace to the obedient, to the one who surrenders his will to God’s will. To get there, let us surrender ourselves, starting with the mind.

Only when our mind, our heart, our will and our body are all ruled by the Holy Spirit, will we be truly led by the Spirit. We shall then be able to offer our lives as true spiritual sacrifice to God, bringing him perpetual honor and glory.

Jesus Christ: A Vicar or Model or both?

Contributed the following article to the Dec '16 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

He was born as a Carpenter’s son; His mother having to travel during full-term pregnancy possibly to escape social ostracization, denied even the minimal comforts of an inn while having to deliver while on travel, and having to be content with the privacy afforded by a manger in Bethlehem; His family having to run into nearby Egypt as refugees during His early childhood before returning to Nazareth. He did not have the luxury of learning under a scholar - the kind that wealthy roman citizens like Saul of Tarsus could afford – possibly trained just as an under-study to His father in carpentry. He as a human, beginning humbly as a fragile, tender, dependent baby, having to be cared for – fed, cleaned, put to sleep - by his mother, and as an adult in later years needing food, sleep, personal hygiene just like any other man who has walked on earth. Why this humiliation for the Creator, charting life just like any ordinary creation for 33-some years, culminating in death on the cross?

It is true that He came in our stead, to pay the price for our sins. The sinless died for the sinful, that we could be granted his righteousness. His suffering was indeed ‘vicarious’. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Surely He took up our pain, and bore our suffering.  He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people He was punished. “My righteous servant will justify many and He will bear their iniquities”. He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.  For He bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors (Isa 53). Yes, He was our Vicar, our Substitute!

We now do not have to face the second death – the eternal hell-fire. Instead we are now being formed again into His image, before we can be taken to where God is, to spend an eternity there. He will then wipe away every tear from our eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. No longer will there be any curse (Rev 21:4; 22:3). Thanks to our precious redemption bought by the blood of our Lord Jesus, shed on the cross. Indeed a glorious future we all look forward to. But what about the present? Will there be pain, tears, death and mourning now? Has that too been removed by our Lord’s suffering on the cross? If He was only our substitute, who has already endured all that we had to, we should be free from any suffering from this point forward.  But our experience post-salvation does not seem to say so? What does the Bible tell us about suffering, here and now?

“It is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. How is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pet 2:19-21). Oh! So Christ suffered not only as a Vicar but also as a Model.  Our suffering can never purchase us our redemption, and he had to suffer and die in our stead. We understand that.  But there is another suffering that He expects us to undergo, following His footsteps. We often miss this. We cannot suffer to buy our own salvation, but we need to suffer so that we are made into the image of our Model.

Suffering in this world is guaranteed. What else can we expect from a fallen world? In this dog-eat-dog world, people return evil for good. Selfish exploitation of resources, people, relationships have led to natural catastrophes, sicknesses, and emotional breakdowns. We can choose to retaliate with evil, bitterness and complaining. Or we can choose to follow our mentor and take the suffering in our earthly stride. “When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered He made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges fairly” (1 Pet 2: 23). People do not want to suffer this way. And when they don’t follow the Mentor, they suffer the wrong way, for their own wrong-doing. Binge eating leads to obesity which in turn leads to cardiac arrests. Promiscuousness leads to venereal diseases. Drunken driving leads to accidents and deaths. We saw Peter already telling us that such suffering is not as a Christian; it brings no credit.  “Jesus committed no sins and no deceit was found in His mouth” (1 Pet 2:22).  Suffering like Christ while doing good is commendable, because such enduring is enabled by god-consciousness.

Paul too talks about being moulded into our Mentor’s image through suffering.  He says that he bears on his body the marks of Jesus (Gal 6:17). When he was wronged, he prayed like Jesus. “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them” (2 Tim 4:16). The words of his mentor “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” echoing in his own response to the evil that confronted him.

Paul tells the Church at Colosse, “I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church” (Col 1:24).  He is not saying that Christ’s suffering for our salvation, as our Substitute, is incomplete. Christ himself had said on the cross, “It is finished”, having paid the full ransom. What he is talking about is the other suffering that Christ underwent setting an example, that we should follow in his footsteps.  This suffering will be completed only when Christ returns.  Till then, the church will undergo suffering, even as our Lord himself participates in it alongside us. That is what he told Paul when he was tormenting the Church - it was Christ himself who he was persecuting.

Would we submit to God in our suffering, as our Mentor did? We have the assurance that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:28,29). Knowing fully well that the present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us, he tells the church at Philippe, that it has been granted to us on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him (Phil 1:29). Suffering is not a curse, it is a blessing. It moulds us too like Paul, into the very image that we lost because of Adam’s sin.

In God’s view, suffering for Christ is not a Loss. For a Christian, profit-and-loss accounting does not close here. The day is coming, when we will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not (Mal 3:18). True followers of the greatest Leader who ever walked on earth, disciples of that Perfect Mentor, are those who are willing to suffer here. Their citizenship is in heaven, from where they eagerly await their savior coming with weighty rewards.

This Christmas, may we see the beauty of the Truth that Christ is not just our Vicar, He is also our Model, blazing the trail ahead of us..

EVOLUTION or CREATION: What to Believe?

Contributed the following article to the Jun '16 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

Till the middle of 19^th century, the predominant view around the world, including the western culture, was that God created the universe.  Around that time, an unknown scientist called Charles Darwin became fascinated by what he observed in selective breeding experiments.  He developed a hypothesis and published it in a book in 1859, titled ‘On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection’.  He postulated that all plants and animals  are the product of random interplay of heredity processes  (RANDOM MUTATION), and differential reproduction in which weak traits give way to stronger ones (NATURAL SELECTION).

EVOLUTION: MICRO & MACRO

Darwin believed that it was an undirected, mechanistic process of mutation and natural selection, and its resultant changes that led from one life form (or few life forms) to another over years. Before we get to whether a life form can change to another this way, let us first see if at all variations from environmental changes are possible. 

Studies in the Galapagos Islands showed that the average size and thickness of finch beaks increased during a drought.  Having to crack the few remaining hard seeds would have toughened the beaks of the surviving birds. When the rains returned and seeds became plentiful, the beak sizes returned to normal. Such change at a species level is technically called MICRO EVOLUTION, is supported by scientific evidence and is indeed possible. 

MACRO EVOLUTION on the other hand refers to innovations such as new organs like eyes, new structures like wings and new body parts. This suggests that a unicellular organism moved from one level of complexity to another, over millions of years of time, all through natural selection and finally humans evolved from their immediate ancestors in the animal kingdom such as monkeys and apes.  Scientific evidence does not support Macro Evolution.

William Paley in his book Natural Theology introduced the ‘Watchmaker’ analogy that helps us understand the improbability of Macro Evolution.  If you are walking through a field and find a watch that tells time, you can be sure that the watch was the result of intelligence (there was a watchmaker) and not the result of undirected natural processes. It just could not have fallen into place by itself.  

Biochemist Michael J Behe has given a similar analogy that puts Evolution in it right place - Micro Evolution is all the evolution that has been happening.  He compares the Darwinian explanation for humans to an explanation for a ‘Watch with a cover’ by starting with an assumption that a factory was already making a watch without a cover, and then going on to show what an improvement a cover would be.

IRREDUCIBLE COMPLEXITY

Defenders of Darwinism are offering a story for peripheral features instead of dealing with real complexities of systems like a Retina. Darwin himself realized, that for an organ as complex as the eye with its interdependent features and complicated chemicals to have suddenly appeared in one generation, would be a miracle.   In Darwin’s own words in his ‘On the Origin of Species’ book, “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” 

Darwin however hoped that it too could be shown to have developed gradually. In his words, “Reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a simple and imperfect eye to one complex and perfect can be shown to exist, each grade being useful to its possessor, as is certainly the case; if further, the eye ever varies and the variations be inherited, as is likewise certainly the case; and if such variations should be useful to any animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, should not be considered as subversive of the theory.” But the human eye is an “irreducibly complex biological system”, no part of which can function unless all the other parts are already working, and therefore it cannot be produced gradually.

FOSSIL RECORD

Paleontologists have found an explosion of life around the same period. Almost every major phylum (each a broad classification) of animal life has appeared around the same period. On April 23, 1991, the New York Times reported this discovery under a page-wide headline “Spectacular Fossils record Riot of Creation”.

 If Darwin’s theory had been true, plotting the fossils against Morphological distance (difference in body architecture) along the x axis and time along the Y axis, should have come up as Tree. It should show a common ancestor relating all living things as the stem, a multitude of intermediary and transitional forms branching out, gradually increasing in number and getting more diverse as you move up in time. But the graphic depiction of the actual fossil record is not a tree.  It looks like a bar-code.

Darwin looked for gradual changes of one form changing into another in the Fossil Record, but couldn’t find it.  He admitted in his Origin of Species, “The number of intermediate entities which have formerly existed on earth, must be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graded organic chain, and this perhaps is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory”.  About 155 years have passed since then, and there have been tremendous fossil discovery as Darwin had hoped.  But the evidence is to the contrary, as seen in the preceding 2 paragraphs.

The only way to scientifically prove that man descended from apes is to show a transition between monkeys, apes and humans. But despite what students are being taught in school, paleontologists have not uncovered any transitional fossil not just between monkeys and apes, and between apes and human, but between any major forms.

CREATION: THE ONLY EXPLANATION

IN THE BEGINNING GOD is the only plausible explanation for life.  We all need to go to town with this proclamation rather than being bogged down by the Age of the Earth. 

While all Bible believing Christians have unshakable faith that they did not happen by chance, but were created by God, they are divided on either side of the fence over whether the Earth is young or old.  Some, labeled the ‘Young Earth Creationists’ insist on a young earth that is only about 6000 years old and a Creation Week of 6 literal days of 24 hours duration.  Others, called the Old Earth Creationists’, with the same faith on the creator, allow that each creation day could have been a period of thousands or millions of years.

Science is always evolving but the Word of the Lord stands forever. Getting us into a fight over the age of the earth could be the devil’s deception to draw man’s attention away from the rock-solid truth of Creation. While some think that carbon-dating the earth to be several billions of years old is too hard a scientific fact to ignore, others think that Carbon-dating cannot be accurate over more than a few thousands of years and that the change in atmospheric conditions in the aftermath of Noah’s flood makes the process irrelevant for the period prior to that.

Let us make it unambiguously clear to our colleagues at work, our children at home, our youth in the church and to all other we come in contact with, that the Bible’s opening statement that God created all that is visible stands unchallenged by any contrary view – be it Science or Philosophy. After all, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (with words like speculate, probable and suggest, scattered all over) is just a speculation, a postulation, a probabilistic thinking that man happened by chance.  Contrary to the popular perception created by the ubiquitous picture of ‘Monkey morphing into Man’, and the wide currency provided to it in today’s School Curriculum, EVOLUTION IS NOT PROVEN. IT NEVER WILL BE.

Truly Seeking GOD's Mind ?

Contributed the following article to the Apr-May '13 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

Our God has always been speaking to mankind, at times through visions and dreams.  Sometimes, God’s message was intended for the person he spoke to, like in the case of Jacob and Joseph.  On certain occasions, particularly when God spoke to those who were not familiar with him, it was in order to fulfill his purpose for his people, as when he spoke to King Cyrus.  At other times, as often with the prophets, it was meant to be received and additionally communicated to a group of people.  Who is a Prophet?  He is a spokesperson.  God shares a portion of his burden with those who get close to God’s heart.  When God’s burden becomes their heart beat, they begin to be his spokespersons.  They begin to represent God to a generation that is not directly in tune with God.

In Amos 3:7 we find that the Sovereign Lord reveals his plans to his servants the prophets when he is about to do anything.  Why does he ever do that? We see 3 reasons across the Bible.  Firstly, to warn the people of impending judgment so they may repent and escape from judgment.  Bible is replete with history of people turning away from God, becoming self-centered, bringing forth evil and trampling others under the feet for selfish gain.  The second reason is for the Prophet to intercede for the people about to be judged.  Finally, God also foretold them about his plan for mankind – redemption through the Messiah and a new covenant that was to fulfill and replace the old.

PROPHECY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

We read in Heb 1:1,2 that “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”  God who had been revealing himself little by little incrementally had finally completely revealed himself in the person of Jesus, when he walked on earth as a man for 33-some years.  The God who had been a far-away being had come close that men could see him, touch him and hear him, not in dreams and visions, but in the physical world.  He was the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. 

After the Pentecost, God has come even closer, into our hearts, making our bodies his dwelling place.  More than a millenium before the New Testament time dawned, Moses had wished that all the Lord’s people were his Prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them (Num 11:29).  What Moses wished has atlast come true.  His Holy Spirit now indwells us and leads us into truth (John 14:16; 16: 13,14).  We live in an age where it is blessed to walk by faith and not by sight (John 20:29, 2 Cor 5:7).

Today, a child of God does not have to look up to someone else as a Prophet to know what God would have us do in any situation.  God has revealed his nature and his pleasure in Jesus and in the written word, and his Holy Spirit who indwells us reminds us of what he has already revealed. We can therefore be God’s spokespersons to the unregenerate around us, if we will only listen to his still small voice and in obedience, reveal him through our life and words.

Can God still use visions and dreams?  He can, in his sovereignty.  Are we to desire visions and dreams? Not after what he has already provided.  Are visions and dreams, a measure of spiritual growth or maturity?  Absolutely NOT. The Bible never says that.  Does God speak to every child of God?  Absolutely, if only you will listen to him as you read God’s word and commune with God in prayer.

PROPHECY TODAY

Today the Lord gives gifts to the church that will help them to bring in those who do not know God.  ‘Word of Wisdom’ and ‘Word of Knowledge’ are often understood to be gifts that help one to understand the secret things of someone else’s life.  People mistakenly understand that God will reveal to a prophet what the future holds for a person – whether they will have a child, will it be a boy or a girl, should they take this job or that, should they marry this girl or that – and they go to someone they think is a Prophet with a gift to foretell.  To be blunt, they think that a prophet is a ‘fortune teller’.  God has clearly and strongly forbidden sorcery, divination and all other practices that the pagan world used, to find what their future held for them (Due 18).

A Prophet as God’s spokesperson is to speak only when God gives him something to tell the people.  There have been times when a Prophet did not have any word from the Lord for long periods.  There was also the inter-testamental period called the hiatus, when God did not speak to the people for about half-a-millennium.  But today people expect to hear a specific word from God every time they go to who they think is God’s prophet.  And this so-called ‘Prophet’ of today always seems to have a word from God, never to disappoint anyone who comes ‘seeking the mind of God’.

DECEPTION

The incident narrated in I Kings 13 is a severe indictment against those listening to false prophets or false prophecies from people who had at some point been used as prophets. These are the deceiving prophets.  Then there are those prophets who are given to deception.  Though they may think that they are indeed prophesying by the Lord, they could actually be following ‘lying spirits’. In I Kings 10 we see about 400 prophets lying to King Ahab influenced by a lying spirit. Paul warns the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:13-15) that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light and his servants too masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Why does God allow such deception?  Deuteronomy 13 tells us that the Lord is testing the people to find out whether they love him with all their heart and with all their soul.  Prophets who lead people away from him are not God’s spokespersons.  What they foretell may take place but that is not a sign that they are God’s spokespersons.  Today’s false prophets lead people to worship idols – not a creation made of wood or stone – their wealth, health, family and sometimes other men who take the place of God in their lives.

Finally, a dream could also be just plain natural with no intervention from God.  A dream comes when there are many cares (Eccl 5:3).  We should be careful not to interpret them as God’s revelation.  Often, we are greedy and itching for something so much, that we want to believe that God is giving it to us.  People who are given to their lusts, tell the Seers to see no visions and the Prophets to give no vision of what is right. They want to hear pleasant things, so they ask illusions to be prophesied (Isa 30:10)

BE ON GUARD

Peter writes in his second letter (1:21) that the word of God in the scriptures is surer than any experience.  We are to look at it as light in a dark place, in our temporary dark periods of anxiety and doubt as well as in our journey called life.  The church at Berea even while listening to Paul who gave us more than a third of the New Testament, examined the scriptures every day to see if what he said was true (Act 17:11). They have therefore been commended as of noble character.

Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint (Prov 29:18).  What we need is a vision in our mind’s eye to catch a glimpse of what God has in store for us.  Let us pray like Paul that that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know him better; that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephe 1:17-19).

Top 3 Concerns

Contributed the following article to the JAN '14 issue of VANAMUTHAM,

a Tamil Christian Monthly magazine published by Serve India Mission,

that attempts to connect the world (with its events and practical issues) to God's word.

My Friend,

   I wanted to share my views on three issues that I believe will be weighing heavily on the mind of any individual.  It is for you to accept my view or reject it, but I cannot withhold it from you for fear of either being rejected or mocked.  It has helped me handle three of the biggest problems in my life, and it is out of friendship and love that I want to share it with you.

   All of us have done things that we are not proud of -- Things that we did out of some compulsion that we felt in our body and mind; Things that we did hoping it would bring us happiness.  We might have lied to someone who trusted us, cheated our elders, grabbed what is rightfully someone else’s, hurt those who suddenly turned enemies, disobeyed our parents, disrespected our teachers, and humiliated someone who was not as wealthy or handsome (beautiful) or knowledgeable as we are.  All of us may not have done all of these things, but I am sure there is none who has not done any of these things. 

   Memories of some of these things haunt us.  Depending on the values we hold today, we try our best to erase memories of these or justify them.  Some of us justify these by looking at people around us and concluding that none is exempt from these and therefore to be human is to be imperfect.  Others among us justify these by attributing our past actions to impulses in the body which are determined by our Chromosomes, something that we are not responsible for.  To be sure, I have had a good share of these from all the years of my existence.

   Next, all of us want to rise above ourselves. We all want to be good people who will not lie, cheat, grab, hurt or disrespect.  We want to be good, kind and do good to others. But our dormant nature rears its ugly head, just when we think we have moved on.  When we stand in any queue, be it at the Post Office, at the Ticket Counter or at a Wedding Reception, the urge to edge out some and gain a few slots up just would not die down. When we are in a crowd, be it at a social party or a team meeting, the urge to stand up and be counted, even at the cost of putting down someone else, just would not go away. When we are moved in our hearts and would want to extend a helping hand, the thought of what it will cost us in time, money and effort just does not help our actions to match with our intentions.

   We are all struggling with these contradictions within us.  We want to do something beautiful but end up doing something else.  But we tell ourselves that we will improve.  We read self-help books and attend camps.

   We are told that we are intrinsically good; that it is what we have acquired over the years through our up-bringing and environment that is causing our actions to be incongruent with our true self; and that they can be shed by inward gazing to see our self in isolation from our actions.  But we have not become any better.

   Others have asked us to wake up the lion inside us.  But we feel ever smaller as we realize again and again that we just don’t measure up to our own expectations.

   Finally, given our past and our present struggles, we wonder what life is all about.  Is there any meaning in life?  Is it not all about finding happiness?  If happiness is what is paramount, does it really matter if we are kind or cruel?  Does it make any difference whether we are proud or humble?  Despite all our blemishes, if we can still be happy, is that not what we should pursue rather than be bogged by this discussion about good and evil?

   We are told that there is no over-arching meaning in life; that we are to give small meanings to our day-to-day activities and events that we come across; that if we can have small things line up our lives that bring us a smile, or a laughter or happiness, we can provide meaning to our life.

   Accordingly, we have crowded our lives with parties, celebrations, ceremonies and travels.  We have arranged trainings, competitions and performances for our children.  But the emptiness refuses to go away.

   If you have read thus far, it is likely you agree with me that you share the Top 3 concerns for life:

1. We all have done things we are not proud of.  2. We want to rise above ourselves.   3. We want to find what will bring meaning and purpose to life.  I will now want to share how I have got these concerns addressed in my life.

   When I have done things that I am not proud of, obviously they are things that are not right.  I find a moral law written in my conscience that is telling me what is right and what is wrong.  If I know they are not right, I deserve punishment.  My own conscience will judge me as a culprit, as someone who has trespassed.  If my own conscience judges me, God the maker of you and me, is greater than my conscience and He being just is sure to judge me.  I therefore deserve and await God’s judgment.  It is this burden of knowing I deserve punishment that is called GUILT.

   I cannot wish my Guilt away.  The fact that others are equally guilty or worse does not help me.  I still deserve God’s punishment, like all others.  Thankfully God understands and He has provided me a way.  He loved me so much that He came down to pay the penalty so I can be free.  I have chosen to trust Him and enjoy freedom. The alternative will be to refuse to acknowledge His kind act for me, and continue to grovel in guilt.

   When I have found that no self-help helps, obviously I need help from outside.   I find that no matter how hard I will, I just don’t have it in me to carry it out.  It is true that when I sow an action, I reap a habit, when I sow a habit, I reap a character and when I sow a character, I reap a destiny.  But the trouble is with the start.  If I am brutally honest with myself, sowing a thought is not necessarily helping me reap an action.  Despite the amount of good books I have read, the discourses I have listened to and the trainings I have attended, being good is something alien.  I am just too selfish.

   Here again, if I am not too proud to recognize my limitation, help from outside is available.  God Himself comes to live inside me.  He gives me a sensitive heart that easily recognizes His prompting. When I obey His prompting, He enables me to carry it out.  The power of Him that created the universe and all that we see around us with His word is available for me to resist the tug from my weak self. God living inside me transforms me by renewing my mind, and enables me to act as He would.

   Now that I have accepted God’s forgiveness and have Him living with me, fellowship with Him has become a reality.  I am no longer alone.  The all-knowing God is living in me.  He knows best and that is true with knowing what brings me happiness and fulfillment too.

   He made me for Himself.  He did not make me for myself, nor did I create myself.  I am therefore incapable of defining purpose.  My creator alone knows what He made me for.

   He does not give me a blue-print about my future.  He does not tell me what I will become in the next 5 or 10 years, and how I will get there.  He tells me what I should do every moment and in every situation.  He has laid out principles in His written word for me, by which I should direct my steps.  When it is His pleasure that becomes paramount to me, I can be sure that my life will be lived out beautifully and meaningfully.  Any time I turn back and look at how my years have been spent, I will see how wonderfully He has accomplished His purposes through me.

   Would you like to have Him, know His purpose, and enjoy His Enabling presence and power to make your life meaningful?