Serving God's Purposes in Our Generation (Acts 13:36b)

E-mail From Devil To A Demon

My dear little demon, I appreciate your 24/7 labor to keep your Target neglect His God, our Enemy. But you need to labor with subtlety lest you waste your efforts. You must be extremely careful about how you mess up his devotional life. Are you scheming to cause him think that prayer, worship, meditating the Bible, self-examination and interceding for others are useless? Nah, don’t do such a foolish thing. The more you try to do so, the more he reasons in his mind and may fall into the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Don’t give him a sense of…

Preaching Blues

It’s Thursday and my frustration with last Sunday’s sermon is still just wearing off. As a part of the Timothy’s Inferno Series, I got to preach on the good, glorious, complementarian understanding of gender. This reality rooted in Creation and redeemed by Christ that God has created men and women equal but different, and how those differences play out in the home and in the Church. Here’s what I struggled with: My sermon was only 46 minutes. Now normally, I have no problem with that. I am the king of the 34-39 minute sermon (which is probably long in a…

Marriage And Divorce Stats

Barna Group has come out with a new survey report about marriage and divorce in America. See the entire Barna Group Report here. News report based on the study can also be seen at Baptist Press, Marriage Partnership etc. Here are some of the key findings: a) Christians are more likely to get married than other faith groups. While 76% of Americans get married, 84% of Christians tend to tie the knot, 74% among non-Christian faiths and 65% among atheists and agnostics. b) Lowest likelihood of divorce are Catholics (28%), evangelicals (26%),  Asians (20%) and those who deem themselves to…

Blogging Is/Isn’t Narcissistic

Narcissism - the word we get from that Greek myth about the guy who was condemned to falling in love with his own reflection. That’s how I’ve always pictured blogging. It always seemed like the activity of those who just love to hear their own voice or read their own words. It seemed like what you do if you have an opinion about everything and too much time to sit around saying it. Narcissus I think that underlying fear has surfaced in this blog. And so for the most part, we’ve used this site sort of like a bulletin board.…

Marriage Rate Lowest In Britain

The number of Britons tying the knot has collapsed to a record low. Lowest in the last 150 years that records were kept. See the report in This is London, BBC and Charles Colson’s commentary Breakpoint. In 2006, there were approximately 237,000 weddings in Britain. Two-thirds of all weddings in 2006 were civil ceremonies. The marriage rate for British men is 22.8 per 1,000 and for women 20.5 per 1,000. In the last twenty years cohabitation has doubled. Propotion of people living alone has double since 1971, now accounting for 12%. Divorces peaked in 1993 at 180,000 before falling to…

True Friendship – The Masala In The Curry of Life

How can we find true friendship in this often phony, temporary world? Friendship involves recognition or familiarity with another's personality. Friends often share likes and dislikes, interests, pursuits, and passion. Genuine friendship involves a shared sense of caring and concern, a desire to see one another grow and develop, and a hope for each other to succeed in all aspects of life. True friendship involves action: doing something for someone else while expecting nothing in return; sharing thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or negative criticism.

What Is Friendship?

Dictionaries define ‘friendship’ as a friendly relation or intimacy. Is that all it is? No, it’s so much more then just that. Friendships are made and broken all the time. When they are broken it may be for good reasons or bad. I myself have lost a great deal of friends, and in finishing my 12th year I know I am bound to lose more. Everyone is going there own ways, doing their own things; they are all leaving high school behind them. So I am dedicating this article to the friends I’ve made, the friends I’ve lost, the friends I know I will always have, and the friends that I’ll make in my future.

Seven Hazardous Habits of Executive Level Leaders

Though many may be associates of either senior pastors or business owners, it is virtually impossible to understand the pressures, sacrifices, and weight of responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of effective senior leaders. The following points illustrate some of the hazards of executive level leadership. - 1. Executive level leaders often isolate themselves, 2. Executive level leaders often violate principles of Sabbath rest, 3. Executive level leaders often do not celebrate the processes of success, 4. Executive level leaders often judge themselves by the success stories of other leaders, 5. Executive level leaders often sacrifice the health of their soul for the urgent matters of pending tasks, 6. Executive level leaders often do not have a plan for personal growth and development and 7. Executive level leaders often put the work of the organization before the health of their family and key personnel.

Marriage And Caste Among Contemporary Indians

I see a spread of arranged-marriage related advertisements in a magazine which serves the Indian Diaspora. There are 89 advertisements. 52 of them put the relevant "caste" as "Brahmin". 27 as "Hindu" (and another as "Hindu (Gujarati)") 7 as "Aggarwal" or "Gupta" or "Bania" One is down as"Khatri" Yet another is down simply as "Gujarati", which I take to mean that they are not bothered about the caste provided the other party speaks the language. Naturally, this listing is only one among many thousands that need to be examined for any proper research on the subject. But it is striking....…

Footprints In The Sand

A faith commentary on Leona Lewis’ song Footprints In The Sand - by Samuel ThambusamyWatch YouTube VideoFootprints In The SandLyrics When I was all aloneWith so much I no along the wayThen I heard you sayI promise youI’m always thereWhen your heart is filled with sorrow and despairI’ll carry youWhen you need a friendYou’ll find my footprints in the sand I see my lifeFlash across the skySo many times have IBeen so afraid oohAnd just when  Have thought I’ve lost my wayYou give me strength to carry onThat’s when I heard you say I promise you/ I’m always thereWhen your…

Final Thoughts on 40 Days of Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren

Whew! Though it took me nearly 60 days (rather than 40), I am glad I spent the beginning of 2006 with Rick Warren’s book (similarly to what I did with the Purpose-Driven Community last spring). I was deeply impressed, particularly with how Rick:* Covered the essentials of the Christian life* Consistently focused on God, rather than ourselves* Balanced biblical theology with practical suggestions for spiritual growth* Developed a few new (to me) insights on the relationship between beliefs and actions* Emphasized how the Christian life is an ongoing process, not an event* Made even old, familiar truths feel alive and…

A Quick Update – Benita Joy's Orphanage Experience In India

So...it's been a long time since i posted an update. life has certainly been an adventure. i'm still in goa, staying and working at the orphanage. it's been a difficult adjustment but by the grace of God, i'm alive and well and happy to be where i am and doing what i'm doing. here is just a sampling of stuff i'm doing and stuff i've had to adjust to: - teaching...every subject, from the basics onwards to algebra and geometry as well as the bible - cutting hair...who knew i could cut hair! just another example of God's grace when…

Growing Number Of Women Smokers In India

Urban Indian women are leaving a new trail - smoke. Women are catching up fast and narrowing the gap across gender lines in the domain of smoking or chewing tobacco. See a report in India Today. It is based on a World Health Organization’s Global Survey of Tobacco Usage. Here are some disturbing finding:# 31% women tobacco addicts in India are between age 15-49.# 25% Indian women light up over 10 cigarettes per day.# 62% of women smokers die in their prime compared to 38% of those who don’t.# 1 in 20 women in India to die between age 30-69…

Light Of The World, Here I Am To Worship – YouTube

Light of the worldYou stepped down into darkness.Opened my eyes, let me see.Beauty that made this heart adore YouHope of a life spent with You Here I am to worship,Here I am to bow down,Here I am to say that You're my GodYou're altogether lovelyAltogether worthy,Altogether wonderful to me King of all daysoh, so highly exaltedGlorious in heaven aboveHumbly You cameTo the earth You createdAll for love's sake became poor Here I am to worship,Here I am to bow down,Here I am to say that You're my GodYou're altogether lovelyAltogether worthy,Altogether wonderful to me I'll never know how much it…

Finding The Quiet Place

Ideally, circumstances and situations of life should not dictate faith or attitudes. The worst situation I could ever deal with came to me. I thought, "There's no way I'm ready to take this." All my strength is sapped out of me and I can't deal with one more major disappointment. So as you can see, I'm not at all a 'person of faith'. At first, I blamed myself, then others around me and now I feel stuck. The situation itself isn't my fault because it was inevitable. My only fault is my attitudes afterwards. I want to escape away from…

More Than Dreams – Visions and Dreams of Jesus Among Moslems

For decades, a phenomenon has been recurring in the Muslim world. Men and women – without any knowledge of the Gospel and without any contact with Christians – have been forever transformed after experiencing dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. Reports of these supernatural occurrences often come from “closed countries” where preaching the Gospel is forbidden and where converting to Christianity can invoke the death sentence. A common denominator appears to be that the dreams come to those who are seeking to know and please God. We decided to capture some of these stories in More Than Dreams - Visions and Dreams of Jesus Among Muslims - Moslems and use them as a witnessing tool to Muslims all over the world.

I’m Yours . . . Only Yours

You don’t know what to sayIt’s like you got it all wrong againWhy does it seem to consume me from the core?Does sin have no bounds to stay clear of my psyche?Does life have no defense, to remain untouched?It keeps growing, just a little here, just a little there You’re trying your best, but it doesn’t seem to goYou’ve laid it on the line, but you don’t have the will to stay the courseWhat do you do, when life’s heaviness comes your way?How to react, when the struggles, take your breath away? God I’m angry with myself, consumed because I…

Marriage And Divorce Statistics

Barna Group has come out with a new survey report about marriage and divorce in America. See the entire Barna Group Report here. News report based on the study can also be seen at Baptist Press, Marriage Partnership etc. Here are some of the key findings: a) Christians are more likely to get married than other faith groups. While 76% of Americans get married, 84% of Christians tend to tie the knot, 74% among non-Christian faiths and 65% among atheists and agnostics. b) Lowest likelihood of divorce are Catholics (28%), evangelicals (26%),  Asians (20%) and those who deem themselves to…

Family Matters

Questions: How should we treat other members of the church? Whom should we help? What should we expect in return? What can our leaders expect of us? What do we owe them? What do they owe us? How can we know? Lord, make me a Fountain of your Love.Draw me into your PresenceAnd fill me with your Holy SpiritThat I would know you as my FatherAnd manifest the image of ChristIn this world, and the world to come. Amen. 1 Timothy 5:1-25 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat [him] as a father; I find it fascinating that Paul is asking…

Get Real

We live in a world of lies, spin and deceit. People say to you things that they don’t mean. They tell other people things about you that aren’t true. Everything is given a spin. Insignificant things are hyped and then presented as a grand spectacle. A word is no longer a word. A promise is no longer a promise. Not surprisingly, there is a heightened sense of mistrust. People do not trust another person that easily. People do not build bridges that easily. On the contrary, they build walls around themselves. The older you grow, the higher and thicker these…