With the Internet, pornography is only a click-away and more kids are falling prey to sexual addiction than ever before. Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to shield their children from pornography. The problems of teenage pornography and sexual addictions are real, devastating, and increasing. According to some studies, nine in ten teens have been exposed to pornography. Some of those casual exposures result in deviant sexual behaviors or sexual violence for some, while others are susceptible to sexual addiction or perverted behaviors in the future.
Life is not a playground, it’s a battlefield! Many Christians are victims of life’s trials and temptations instead of being victorious over them. From the well-know story of Caleb (Jos.14: 6-15) there are at least three characteristics in him that can challenge believers today to be more than conquerors through Christ. God continues to search for Christians who like Caleb don’t settle for molehills but claim their mountains for God. May God enable us to find a cause, make a claim and be more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus who loving calls us to fulfill His purposes (Rom.8:31-39).
We just cannot live the victorious life or be of maximum use to the Lord, or be a blessing to others in any place we choose. Some may feel that they can choose their own career and their place of residence and then seek to be a witness for the Lord wherever they are. The Lord may in His mercy use such believers in a limited way. But their usefulness in God's vineyard will be only a fraction of what it could have been had they earnestly sought His plan and remained in the center of His perfect will. Stunted spiritual growth and limited fruitfulness are but the consequences of a careless disregard of God's laws.
The Saintly Leadership of Mother Teresa taught me some valuable lessons. She was consistent in her quest to save the very poor, calling them "distress in disguise." In an audio series called "Thirsting for God," she tells of the many times when she faced the impossible just to be rewarded because of her consistency. She was loyal to her cause. In her acceptance speech when receiving the Nobel Peace Prize she simply said "I accept this in the name of the poor." These were the people she was called to lead and amidst the degradation and decadence of human decay she found the self-reliance to be loyal to her cause.
Seven Mile Road is three weeks into weekly corporate worship. So far, we’ve been a bit spoiled. Everything we’ve touched has turned to gold. We need a website – we get a killer one for free. We need a space – we get to use a building sitting on six acres of land. We throw a barbeque – 115 people show up. We launch our first service – we put out seventy chairs but need more to accommodate everyone. . . . So then, it was a shock to my system when we showed up for service in week two and there were only 33 people there. Now I know in my head that numbers don’t matter. Folks on the team thought to themselves, “where is everyone?” Regular visitors came into the room and looked at their watch to make sure that they weren’t there early because they didn’t see people. People noticed.
I Come Before You Today, And There's Just One Thing That I Want To Say, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord, For All You've Given To Me, For All The Blessings That I Cannot See, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord . . . . With A Grateful Heart, With A Song Of Praise, With An Outstretch Arm, I Will Bless Your Name, Thank You Lord, I Just Wanna Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord, I Just Wanna Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord.
Praise is Rising, Eyes are Turning to You, We Turn to You, Hope is Stirring, Hearts are Yearning for You, We Long for You, 'Cause When We See You, We Find Strength to Face the Day, In Your Presence All Our Fears are Washed Away, Washed Away - CHORUS - Hosanna, Hosanna, You Are the God Who Saves Us, Worthy of All Our Praises, Hosanna, Hosanna, Come Have Your Way Among Us - We Welcome You Here, Lord Jesus
At the altar Mark Buntain, a missionary to Calcutta from North America laid his hands on me and said a prophetic prayer as to
how God would use me one day to impact millions. Now I see the
fulfillment of this prayer. I was married on January 27, 2000 in
Calcutta to my beautiful wife Mary, and I moved to the United States on
February 22, 2001. I left home with $50 and two suitcases stuffed with
my clothes and books for a new life overseas. In about four weeks on
arriving on the east coast I ended up for an interview at Network Plus
on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center. I was escorted to the
conference hall. Through the glass windows of the room I saw the most
glorious sight of all - the Statue of Liberty.
I worked on the 81st floor of the North Tower or Tower 1 of the World
Trade Center and my wife Mary worked on the 71st floor of the South
Tower or Tower 2. It was just an incredible experience working in this
incredible building especially for an immigrant who had just arrived in
America in February of that year. We enjoyed so much working together
in the same complex. . . . . "September 11, 2001, started out as such a nice day- no, a beautiful day. Then it all turned. 9:05 am. Terror struck America and changed us forever. None of us will ever forget where we were, who we were with and what we were doing that fateful day when tragedy struck America on what looked like a beautiful day in New York city . . . As we deal with the loss of thousands of innocent lives we were also reminded that history books will also tell the tale of many Americans that faced terror with courage.
Sadly, where is most of the money going today? Are poor and needy in the priority list of the modern day churches? Sometime back, I did a survey of some churches in my city to rate their overall activity in charity. Do you know what the result was? Not more than 8% of the churches are active in doing service to the poor and the needy. It seems most of the money is going towards buildings, administration and programs, but the poor and needy are greatly neglected by the churches when they should be on their priority list. We need to ask, “Is this pleasing to God for whom the church exists? There is a great necessity to do the former which is our highest priority.
Over the last few weeks, popular media has been covering the
story of the conversion of Sri Lankan second generation Muslim girl, Fathima Rifqa Bary.
Youtube and Facebook has been at the heart of this controversy. Fathima Rifqa Bary
even has an URL after her name – www.rifqabary.com
Listen to Fathima Rifqa Bary testimony on Youtube.
Fathima Rifqa Bary of Columbus, Ohio was raised in a Muslim home, studied the Quran, and practiced the ways of Mohamed. Several years ago, she converted from Islam to Christianity when she found that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Fathima Rifqa Bary continued living in Columbus with her family, sneaking out at night after her parents had gone to sleep to attend prayer meetings and to read her Bible. After her father threatened to kill her for apostasy, a crime under Islamic Sharia law, Rifqa hitchhiked to the bus station and fled to Florida.
The South Asian Global Convention 2009 (SAGC 2009) took place from July 22-26, 2009 in Singapore. SAGC 2009 is the Third Trans-Denominational and International Christian Gathering for South Asian Youth and Young Adults for Mission Mobilization. “This day is sacred to our Lord.” Nehemiah 8:10c. The theme chosen for SAGC 2009 was “Beyond Boundaries” based on Isaiah 54:2. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5 Glory to God in the Highest for SAGC 2009.
Connext 2009 is the Convergence of Emerging South Asian Christian Leaders. Its purpose is to gather young Christian leaders of the South Asian community to connect, encourage, equip and serve together for Kingdom Impact. The theme for Connext 2009 is "Unleashing Your Leadership Potential." Connext 2009 is a three-day gathering of young South Asian Christians to transform participants personally, professionally and spiritually in their leadership calling, abilities, and development and to identify, invest, resource and further support key emerging leaders in the community on an ongoing basis. Click here to the Connext 2009 website.
Did you ever think about how the early churches had spent their finance? I wonder how many believers and leaders truly thought about this matter. And if they thought about this issue and know the answer then I wonder how many are serious enough to follow the example of the early church. Incidentally, it is obvious in the early churches of the New Testament that they didn’t practice the concept of tithing, for they were not under the finite system of law but in the infinite freedom of grace. The renowned bible teacher, Ray C. Stedman wrote, “Nowhere in the New Testament do you find tithing taught or laid upon Christians.” Does this mean they didn’t practice giving at all? Certainly not! The fact is that the early church gave more than a tithe. They practiced generous giving, for they were taught to live by grace.
We come to know through the Holy Scriptures that one of the primary qualifications of a leader is to be hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). However, can we imagine hospitality without being generous? Reflecting on the life and ministry of Paul—an apostle of Christ and a laborer in Christ’s service—we notice that many times he worked with his own hands and was generous with his earnings. He himself acknowledged: You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:34-35)
These days are characterised by gimmicks, techniques, showmanship and sensationalism even in Christian circles. Many ‘new’ things are happening and are being taught by preachers and writers, and we are getting confused not always knowing whether or not something is from God. We know that in the last days there will be many false prophets and teachers bringing out such deceptive signs and wonders that even the elect could be deceived (Mt.24:24). We need to know how we can preserve ourselves in sanity and faith when we are being bombarded by Satan and his demons on one side and slick human operators on the other side.
I am very excited about the forthcoming gathering of young South Asian Christian leaders of North America. Last one was in New York in Sept 2007 and we saw great momentum in what happening among South Asians Christians all over the continent. This time, it is going to be in Chicago and I am part of the local organizing team. This year's focus will be on leadership development and we have a great line up of leaders as resource people. Theme is "Unleashing the Leadership Potential." See details at www.connextonline.org
What is striking and humbling is that Peter could have refused to hear Jesus’ words or at any point said, ‘No’ to his: ‘let me use your boat’, ‘launch out deeper’ or ‘follow me to be a fisher of men’. At that particular point, Peter would have missed out, not just on the catch of fish, but in experiencing the miracle and more so the blessing of being called and sent in Missio Dei! Peter goes deeper, risking the loss of his reputation and career only to gain an experience of God in Christ. He discovers Christ is no ordinary teacher-preacher or miracle-worker, but God’s agent and his ‘Lord’. Jesus is Liberator from guilt and sin; Lord of Peter’s daily work and the true Leader of our missionary endeavors. He finds ‘in Christ’, God’s grace is greater than all our sin, Truth that sets us free and Love that casts out all fears.
As the tragic events surrounding Michael Jackson’s death on June 25 unfold, we find that it was more related to the tragic events of his life, starting with his childhood. As we look back we can see that many child stars eventually led tragic adult lives and/or had careers that began to go downhill as they grew older. (For example, Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame, the Olsen twins, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan to name a few.) In these instances I blame their parents for pursuing fame and fortune for their children at the expense of their emotional health. Regarding the church, often people launch out into public ministry platforms while they are still emotional infants and not ready for “prime-time.” It is obvious from the recent autopsy report that Michael Jackson died (emotionally) years ago, using drugs to deaden the pain of his miserable existence.
With the Internet, pornography is only a click-away and more kids are falling prey to sexual addiction than ever before. Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to shield their children from pornography. The problems of teenage pornography and sexual addictions are real, devastating, and increasing. According to some studies, nine in ten teens have been exposed to pornography. Some of those casual exposures result in deviant sexual behaviors or sexual violence for some, while others are susceptible to sexual addiction or perverted behaviors in the future.
Life is not a playground, it’s a battlefield! Many Christians are victims of life’s trials and temptations instead of being victorious over them. From the well-know story of Caleb (Jos.14: 6-15) there are at least three characteristics in him that can challenge believers today to be more than conquerors through Christ. God continues to search for Christians who like Caleb don’t settle for molehills but claim their mountains for God. May God enable us to find a cause, make a claim and be more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus who loving calls us to fulfill His purposes (Rom.8:31-39). 
We just cannot live the victorious life or be of maximum use to the Lord, or be a blessing to others in any place we choose. Some may feel that they can choose their own career and their place of residence and then seek to be a witness for the Lord wherever they are. The Lord may in His mercy use such believers in a limited way. But their usefulness in God's vineyard will be only a fraction of what it could have been had they earnestly sought His plan and remained in the center of His perfect will. Stunted spiritual growth and limited fruitfulness are but the consequences of a careless disregard of God's laws. 
The Saintly Leadership of Mother Teresa taught me some valuable lessons. She was consistent in her quest to save the very poor, calling them "distress in disguise." In an audio series called "Thirsting for God," she tells of the many times when she faced the impossible just to be rewarded because of her consistency. She was loyal to her cause. In her acceptance speech when receiving the Nobel Peace Prize she simply said "I accept this in the name of the poor." These were the people she was called to lead and amidst the degradation and decadence of human decay she found the self-reliance to be loyal to her cause. 
Seven Mile Road is three weeks into weekly corporate worship. So far, we’ve been a bit spoiled. Everything we’ve touched has turned to gold. We need a website – we get a killer one for free. We need a space – we get to use a building sitting on six acres of land. We throw a barbeque – 115 people show up. We launch our first service – we put out seventy chairs but need more to accommodate everyone. . . . So then, it was a shock to my system when we showed up for service in week two and there were only 33 people there. Now I know in my head that numbers don’t matter. Folks on the team thought to themselves, “where is everyone?” Regular visitors came into the room and looked at their watch to make sure that they weren’t there early because they didn’t see people. People noticed.
I Come Before You Today, And There's Just One Thing That I Want To Say, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord, For All You've Given To Me, For All The Blessings That I Cannot See, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord . . . . With A Grateful Heart, With A Song Of Praise, With An Outstretch Arm, I Will Bless Your Name, Thank You Lord, I Just Wanna Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord, I Just Wanna Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord.
Praise is Rising, Eyes are Turning to You, We Turn to You, Hope is Stirring, Hearts are Yearning for You, We Long for You, 'Cause When We See You, We Find Strength to Face the Day, In Your Presence All Our Fears are Washed Away, Washed Away - CHORUS - Hosanna, Hosanna, You Are the God Who Saves Us, Worthy of All Our Praises, Hosanna, Hosanna, Come Have Your Way Among Us - We Welcome You Here, Lord Jesus
At the altar Mark Buntain, a missionary to Calcutta from North America laid his hands on me and said a prophetic prayer as to
how God would use me one day to impact millions. Now I see the
fulfillment of this prayer. I was married on January 27, 2000 in
Calcutta to my beautiful wife Mary, and I moved to the United States on
February 22, 2001. I left home with $50 and two suitcases stuffed with
my clothes and books for a new life overseas. In about four weeks on
arriving on the east coast I ended up for an interview at Network Plus
on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center. I was escorted to the
conference hall. Through the glass windows of the room I saw the most
glorious sight of all - the Statue of Liberty. 
I worked on the 81st floor of the North Tower or Tower 1 of the World
Trade Center and my wife Mary worked on the 71st floor of the South
Tower or Tower 2. It was just an incredible experience working in this
incredible building especially for an immigrant who had just arrived in
America in February of that year. We enjoyed so much working together
in the same complex. . . . . "September 11, 2001, started out as such a nice day- no, a beautiful day. Then it all turned. 9:05 am. Terror struck America and changed us forever. None of us will ever forget where we were, who we were with and what we were doing that fateful day when tragedy struck America on what looked like a beautiful day in New York city . . . As we deal with the loss of thousands of innocent lives we were also reminded that history books will also tell the tale of many Americans that faced terror with courage. 
Sadly, where is most of the money going today? Are poor and needy in the priority list of the modern day churches? Sometime back, I did a survey of some churches in my city to rate their overall activity in charity. Do you know what the result was? Not more than 8% of the churches are active in doing service to the poor and the needy. It seems most of the money is going towards buildings, administration and programs, but the poor and needy are greatly neglected by the churches when they should be on their priority list. We need to ask, “Is this pleasing to God for whom the church exists? There is a great necessity to do the former which is our highest priority.
Over the last few weeks, popular media has been covering the
story of the conversion of Sri Lankan second generation Muslim girl, Fathima Rifqa Bary.
Youtube and Facebook has been at the heart of this controversy. Fathima Rifqa Bary
even has an URL after her name – www.rifqabary.com
Did you ever think about how the early churches had spent their finance? I wonder how many believers and leaders truly thought about this matter. And if they thought about this issue and know the answer then I wonder how many are serious enough to follow the example of the early church. Incidentally, it is obvious in the early churches of the New Testament that they didn’t practice the concept of tithing, for they were not under the finite system of law but in the infinite freedom of grace. The renowned bible teacher, Ray C. Stedman wrote, “Nowhere in the New Testament do you find tithing taught or laid upon Christians.” Does this mean they didn’t practice giving at all? Certainly not! The fact is that the early church gave more than a tithe. They practiced generous giving, for they were taught to live by grace.
We come to know through the Holy Scriptures that one of the primary qualifications of a leader is to be hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). However, can we imagine hospitality without being generous? Reflecting on the life and ministry of Paul—an apostle of Christ and a laborer in Christ’s service—we notice that many times he worked with his own hands and was generous with his earnings. He himself acknowledged: You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:34-35)
These days are characterised by gimmicks, techniques, showmanship and sensationalism even in Christian circles. Many ‘new’ things are happening and are being taught by preachers and writers, and we are getting confused not always knowing whether or not something is from God. We know that in the last days there will be many false prophets and teachers bringing out such deceptive signs and wonders that even the elect could be deceived (Mt.24:24). We need to know how we can preserve ourselves in sanity and faith when we are being bombarded by Satan and his demons on one side and slick human operators on the other side.
I am very excited about the forthcoming gathering of young South Asian Christian leaders of North America. Last one was in New York in Sept 2007 and we saw great momentum in what happening among South Asians Christians all over the continent. This time, it is going to be in Chicago and I am part of the local organizing team. This year's focus will be on leadership development and we have a great line up of leaders as resource people. Theme is "Unleashing the Leadership Potential." See details at www.connextonline.org 
What is striking and humbling is that Peter could have refused to hear Jesus’ words or at any point said, ‘No’ to his: ‘let me use your boat’, ‘launch out deeper’ or ‘follow me to be a fisher of men’. At that particular point, Peter would have missed out, not just on the catch of fish, but in experiencing the miracle and more so the blessing of being called and sent in Missio Dei! Peter goes deeper, risking the loss of his reputation and career only to gain an experience of God in Christ. He discovers Christ is no ordinary teacher-preacher or miracle-worker, but God’s agent and his ‘Lord’. Jesus is Liberator from guilt and sin; Lord of Peter’s daily work and the true Leader of our missionary endeavors. He finds ‘in Christ’, God’s grace is greater than all our sin, Truth that sets us free and Love that casts out all fears.
As the tragic events surrounding Michael Jackson’s death on June 25 unfold, we find that it was more related to the tragic events of his life, starting with his childhood. As we look back we can see that many child stars eventually led tragic adult lives and/or had careers that began to go downhill as they grew older. (For example, Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame, the Olsen twins, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan to name a few.) In these instances I blame their parents for pursuing fame and fortune for their children at the expense of their emotional health. Regarding the church, often people launch out into public ministry platforms while they are still emotional infants and not ready for “prime-time.” It is obvious from the recent autopsy report that Michael Jackson died (emotionally) years ago, using drugs to deaden the pain of his miserable existence.