At a diner in LA, a fellow customer mentions that he is a security guard but has been out of work for 8 months.Someone I meet somwhere in southern California last week says his parents house was woth 210K before the recession and is now worth maybe 90K.At one of my lectures, someone says that everyone in the US personally knows at least one person in financial difficulty because the have been laid off or have lost money in business: "It has never been so bad in living momory: Our parents used to tell us about conditions like this during…

The question of purpose is central to gaining personal [professional] competence and productivity. It is purpose that drives us. What if we don’t? Well, as they say if you don’t know where you are going any road is okay.Most of us spend most of our lives wondering about life’s purpose. We mimic what are friends do, we get to do things our parents tell us to do and worse, we get to do what we find in the immediate and the familiar, little knowing why we do what we do with our lives.In Lakshya, it took Karan (played by Hritik…

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;I was made weak, that I may learn to humbly obey.I asked for health, that I might do greater things;I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.I asked for riches that I might be happy;I was given poverty, that I might be wise.I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.I got nothing that I asked for,But everything…

DON’T ask ‘What would Jesus do?’ That’s a bad question.It leads to theological abstraction, endless debate and little or no action. The real question is ‘What did Jesus do?’ In the gospels we have a record of Christ’s completely human life lived out before his Father. We know what Jesus did. It’s an excellent place to discover what Jesus had to say about work.“My food,” says Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34).When He said this, Jesus had just finished speaking with the woman at the well in John…

Reading: Revelation 22:1-9"You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created everything" (Rev 4:11) God uses human instruments of His choice in revival. We should not hero-worship them.The man at the Beautiful gate but in an awful state presented a great challenge to Peter and John who had just experienced revival fires. God used Peter and John to perform an instant miracle on this born lame. Folks were greatly amazed and they ran to Peter and John. When Peter saw it he said, "Why look so intently at us, as though by our…

When God wants to drill a man,And thrill a man,And skill a manWhen God wants to mold a manTo play the noblest part;When He yearns with all His heartTo create so great and bold a manThat all the world shall be amazed,Watch His methods, watch His ways!How He ruthlessly perfectsWhom He royally elects!How He hammers him and hurts him,And with mighty blows converts himInto trial shapes of clay whichOnly God understands;While his tortured heart is cryingAnd he lifts beseeching hands!How He bends but never breaksWhen his good He undertakes;How He uses whom He chooses,And which every purpose fuses him;By every…

Here is an introduction for Message 1 of Christ CrucifiedChrist CrucifiedFor Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor. 1:22-24)A man named Jesus hanging dead on a cross occupies center stage of the Christian faith. He had been executed like a common criminal in his day. To his fellow Jews, death by crucifixion was an abomination, a sign that he was cursed by God. To…

The unprecendented opportunity and prosperity in India have not come without a price – Stress & Sleep-deprivation! As the economy booms and middle-class affluence grows, Indians are becoming forgetful and sleep-deprived. Our bodies are crumbling under the pressure of progress, says a World Health Organisation (WHO) based on a study conducted in six states. The results showed that more than 47 per cent of the respondents suffered from clinical anxiety, an equal number were depressed. Sleeplessness and memory disorders affected more than 34 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Overall 40 per cent felt jaded and fatigued, 30 per…

Expectation vs RealityConflict is the distance between expectation and reality.You can never eliminate conflict but minimize it by:Bringing expectation and reality as close as possibleCreating and managing individual expectationKeep conversation on issue/what and not on person/who.By Samuel R. Chand (www.samchand.com)Mr. Bilson

Sometimes, compliments are nice.Grande with whip and chocolate drizzle mocha frappuccino (a regular) commented that I had a very beautiful face today. I smiled and thanked her awkwardly.Doppio espresso (another regular) hasn't given up yet. He's been asking me out for nearly two months now. Today, along with commenting on how beautiful my eyes were, he told me I was a woman of grace. I suspect he's a nice man. But he must be nearly forty and I'm not looking for anyone.And this might not actually be a compliment, I'm not sure yet. But it helped me learn something about…

The question - have consistently raised over all these years is: how long will the German taxpayer continue to pay for the Euro?It looks as if the Germans are finally going to withdfraw the carpet from under the Euro Expect initially a devaluation of the Euro, then of the PIGS currencies as well as of the ChineseExpect all commodities (including gold) to decline substantially following the Chinese currency down, and loss of demandAt present, it is difficult to see where stability is to be found.What comes to mind, as - have said rarlier, is the dollar, the Swiss Franc and…

Let’s face it! Life is not easy all the time and it does not get any easier when you are a Christian. It almost leaves you feeling like a fish in the bowl. Everybody is watching your walk and your talk. The desire to live right in a so-wrong world seems so pointless with the human perspective especially when people around you do not play fair. Here are few ways to handle office pressures.Expect reality!Well, the truth is that since the fall of Adam, it has been in the nature of the fallen man to slander, play unfair, lie blatantly,…

“THE Bible declares that the mind of person given over to homosexuality becomes depraved or spiritually worthless. This was on full display when pop star Elton John declared, ‘I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.’ This is an outrage and the height of blasphemy and an offence to all those who are Christians,” said Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. “Sodomy is a pernicious sin and to assert Jesus was a homosexual is to allege he engaged in a most wicked and perverted activity. It denies the Christian doctrine of the sinless life…

Some time ago I came across the following poem:My dad gave me a 1 dollar bill,’Cause I’m his smartest son!And I swapped it for 2 shiny quarters,’Cause 2 is more than 1!And then I took the quarters,And traded them to Lou,For 3 dimes (I guess he didn’t know),That 3 is more than 2.Just then along came old blind Bates,And just ’cause he can’t see,He gave me 4 nickels for my 3 dimes,And 4 is more than 3.And I took the nickels to Mr. Coombs,Down at the seed-feed store,And the fool gave me 5 pennies for them,And 5 is more than…

Few people thrive in life without the lift provided by some godly people. My life is no exception. Whatever I am today, it is because God in His sovereignty and grace has used various people, books and situations to equip me in living and serving for His glory. One such person whom God used to make a remarkable influence on my life was Dr. David R. Willis.I am always grateful to God for saving a wretched man like me, or else by now I could have become a smuggler or a criminal. Just few days after I was saved in…

Asian Evangelical Alliance condemns the recent beheading of Sikh traders in Pakistan on February 21. According to Indian media reports, two Sikhs were beheaded by Pakistan based Taliban militants in Khyber and Orakzi areas near Peshawar. The Sikhs beheaded were among a group of persons of unconfirmed number, who had been kidnapped by the Taliban 34 days earlier. The Taliban had demanded Rs 30 million as ransom for their release of this group and beheaded two members after the expiry of the deadline for the payment of the ransom. Two persons, Gurvinder Singh and Gurjit Singh are still believed to…

Shainu and I just got back from spending a week in Israel. A quick recap:How we got there: We have a good friend at Seven Mile Road who knows everyone; one of those networking types who has a connection in every corner of the world. Anyway, he recommended us to a local Philadelphia Jewish Federation that runs these Interfaith religious leaders’ trips to Israel and we got selected. They offer this ridiculous discount where both of us went to Israel for less than the price of one (airfare, hotels, meals, guide, etc – all included).The cool part of this whole…