Debate on Baptism

Here's a plaque commemorating a debate on baptism. It lasted for 16 days. I was walking to the county clerks office and chanced upon this plaque. 

This is the nearby downtown area. 

A blast from the past

I found this fifty year old newspaper by chance. It was the day Indira Gandhi visited Washington D C. 

Subversive Jesus by Craig Greenfield

"I did not know that in setting out to change the world, I would end up being changed myself. But since my first encounter with the poor, I have found that if I pray for God to move a mountain, I must be prepared to wake up next to a shovel."

Home

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." - George A. Moore

Wait - Russell Kelfer

Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

“Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.
"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Unremarkable

We often think of the word unremarkable in a negative way. He is an unremarkable person. That was an unremarkable lecture. She looks quite unremarkable. And so on. 

My patient upon hearing the result of her scan report from me was ecstatic. I had said the words, "unremarkable". 

Words could have such profound effects. Or maybe none at all. 

Book club

One of my patients was engrossed in a book as I was entering the exam room. For a moment, I even thought she didn't want to drop it and get on with the doctor's visit. 

She is a member of a local book club. Each person of the club (her's has 13 persons) picks a book. They read it over a month and then meet at the end of the month to discuss the book over a few glasses of wine. 

The discussions go on for two to three hours. She is 66 years old and truly living. 

As for her cancer, she said, "doc, I'm blessed. I take one day at a time." 

Good Conversation

"In good conversation parties don't speak to the words, but to the meanings of each others." Ralph Waldo Emerson

How many times have you finished a conversation and you felt like both parties were talking in different wavelengths? In my case, this happens very often. Especially during these days when everyone's opinionated about something. Two areas where I have noticed this happen is in politics and spirituality. No conversation between two people in different streams of political ideologies or spiritual doctrines will get to the level of "good conversation" as defined by Emerson. 

It's sad that this is true in spirituality when the core beliefs are simple and easy to understand. There is a lack of trust, acceptance and respect in these conversations. Unfortunately, I do not see this getting better in coming days as people cease to interact with others of different belief systems. Everyone's in a cocoon of their own making. 

This will clearly change when the comforts of daily life change into the rigors of mission. My challenge for you if you have found that you are enshrined in a watertight compartment or that have not been speaking to the meanings of each other is to engage in an activity that allows loving and sharing. Work with someone else from a different doctrinal belief in sharing your time, space and talents. Aim to give more than you recieve. And slowly you will notice that you are speaking not just words, but the meanings of each other. 

Home Work = Work from Home

When God Uses Comparisons to Convict Us

Jeremiah 35:16 (Pastor Rock)

16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.

1. God often speaks to us about our relationship with Him by comparing it to our relationships with people in our lives.

2. God often invites us to recognize our sin by way of uncomfortable comparisons.

3. Every spiritual detour is a toll road!

4. God often invites us to recognize His love by way of comforting comparisons.

5. God only asks of us what we’re willing to give one another. But He’s often refused what we give one another!

6. Our loyalties to others often rebuke our lack of loyalty towards God.

7. Our love toward other people often rebukes our lack of love toward God.

8. Our enthusiasm for other people often rebukes our lack of enthusiasm for God and His people.

9. Our trust in people often rebukes our distrust of God.

10. Our obedience to human authority rebukes our disobedience toward God.

11. We tell ourselves God asks for the impossible, but He generally only asks for what we commonly give others.

The second coming

Revelations 22: Jesus says "I am coming soon."  Why has not that happened yet? When is "soon". 

The answer to this intriguing question is that the original word used when translated with meaning implies - "quickly". When he comes again, which will happen, it will happen quickly. With no warning. It will be faster than we can measure. "I will come quickly."

Do not go looking for signs of his coming in newspapers. Don't believe that Obama is anyichrist, Pope is antichrist, that there is a red cow etc. The news will fade away (as it happened this past September when the UN did not declare One World, as several forwards and pastors said), but the words of the Bible holds true always. 

So when you start sharing messages about news articles, and discuss his second coming's time, you end up showing that you probably trust the newspapers more than the word of God. 

- Pastor Michelle Tolle

Spring flowers on a blue sky

Our Plans Vs His Plans

Kicking Against the Pricks

"It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." This statement is lost from all the versions of the bible including Malayalam bible. It is only there in KJV.

But Acts 26:14 speaks of it:

പ്രവൃത്തികൾ 26: 14. 

ഞങ്ങൾ എല്ലാവരും നിലത്തു വീണപ്പോൾ: ശൌലെ, ശൌലെ, നീ എന്നെ ഉപദ്രവിക്കുന്നതു എന്തു? മുള്ളിന്റെ നേരെ ഉതെക്കുന്നതു നിനക്കു വിഷമം ആകുന്നു എന്നു എബ്രായഭാഷയിൽ എന്നോടു പറയുന്നൊരു ശബ്ദം ഞാൻ കേട്ടു.

Acts 26: 14. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

What does it mean? The following link clarifies the statement.
http://www.gotquestions.org/kick-against-the-pricks.html

ACTS 9:5 in various versions

New International Version
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.
New Living Translation
"Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
English Standard Version
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
New American Standard Bible 
And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
King James Bible
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

പ്രവൃത്തികൾ 9

5. നീ ആരാകുന്നു, കർത്താവേ, എന്നു അവൻ  ചോദിച്ചതിന്നു: നീ ഉപദ്രവിക്കുന്ന യേശു ആകുന്നു ഞാൻ. 

Good morning, Lord vs Good Lord, it's morning

I dream of waking up in the morning saying Good morning, Lord.
All my life I have woken up saying Good Lord, it's morning.

What Would Jesus Say on Social Media? by Karen Ehman

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. — Colossians 4:5-6 What Would Jesus Say on Social Media? by Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut   If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth! - Proverbs 30:32 Here it is, translated for social media: “If you are tempted to slam someone online or brag on Facebook or send off a nasty tweet, turn off the screen and walk away!” That’s it in a nutshell, but maybe we should spell out some rules of thumb that might keep our thumbs and fingers from wandering off into slander, arrogance, or combativeness. Here are six that work for me. 1. Pray Before You Post My friend Suzanne wrote a great online devotional in which she talked about how many people run to check their Facebook page first thing in the morning. She encouraged her readers to instead make sure they consulted their “Faithbook” first — the Bible. How true this is! Perhaps if we spent time ingesting words of truth before we switched on the computer, we might not write things that are unkind or hurtful. At the very least, we should whisper a prayer before we post, asking the Holy Spirit to tap on our hearts if we are tempted to post anything online that would not glorify him. 2. Imagine the Recipient Sitting Next to You The Internet is so impersonal. We see tiny little thumbnail photos of people. We see words typed out on a screen rather than hear them spoken out loud. The pixels-and-pictures environment almost compels us to be rude because it lacks the subtle social cues — the wince, the moment of quiet — that tell us we’ve crossed the line. We feel empowered and also have a sense of anonymity as we tap, tap, tap away on our keyboards. But if a flesh-and-blood person were sitting next to us with eyes we could look into, perhaps we would state things differently. Before you post, ask yourself if you would say things differently if the person to whom you’re writing were actually sitting next to you. 3. Remember: When You’re Online, You’re Also on Stage Unless we send a private message, our online words are available for others to see. Twitter followers see what we tweet. Facebook friends, and the friends of those on whose walls we post comments, also see what we say. And hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of people can see a comment we leave on someone’s blog. This reality should certainly cause us to pause before we post — especially if there is even a remote possibility we might later regret what we write. If I say something in person to a friend and am later convicted I was wrong, I can go back to my friend and apologize. However, if I post something on social media or comment on a blog and later want to retract it, I have no way to chase down all of the people who might have seen the original comment. Just this fact alone should cause us to really weigh our words before we type them out. 4. Ask Yourself If You’ve Earned the Right to Address the Subject at Hand If friends on Facebook are hashing through a hot-button issue of the day, do you have any expertise in the area, or are you only slinging an underinformed opinion? We can’t always be an expert on every topic at hand, so when we aren’t, we might do well to refrain from commenting at all. 5. Ask Yourself If You Have a Close Enough Relationship with the Person to Warrant Offering Your Opinion It both irks me and makes me laugh when I see who hops on my page to offer their unsolicited opinions. Suddenly, people I haven’t heard from in years pop up on my screen offering their pixelated opinion about something I’ve posted. They give me specific instructions and pointed advice on what I should believe about a particular topic. This always surprises me because I don’t have a close relationship with these folks. Why do they think I will take their advice or value their perspective on my issues when they have not been a close friend or confidant? Would they be responsive to unsolicited advice if someone they knew years ago suddenly walked up to them on the street and started telling them what to believe and how to act? If you’re tempted to dole out unsolicited advice to anyone who’s not a trusted friend, then I encourage you to resist the temptation! 6. When You Do Speak, Let Your Speech Be Laced with Grace No need for snark. No need for angry words or critical comments. Our mamas were right: If we can’t say something nice, we shouldn’t say anything at all. When we do speak, we can choose to be gracious rather than accusatory or negative. Our words must glorify God and not just exalt our own opinions. We should be especially mindful that there are people whom we don’t know who might be viewing our online speech. Here is a great guideline from Scripture: Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. - Colossians 4:5-6 So maybe we should jot down these questions on a sticky note or two and post them near the computer to remind us to ask: Is this comment wise? Will writing this comment help me display God’s love to outsiders? Is this comment full of grace? Is this comment seasoned with salt? Have I asked God if this is the best response? Excerpted from Keep it Shut by Karen Ehman, copyright Zondervan, 2015.

Creativity

India in 2016

When the role models disappoint

The face and hands of healthcare and health is a nurse. They have the most impact on the patient and have direct contact with them on a regular basis. But when they smoke and drink huge cans of soda drinks, it shows the disease that ails the public health system.